Britannica Concise 2005

Smrti Vsmri-te, 'smor-teV Class of Hindu sacred literature that is based on human memory, as distinct from the Vedas, which are considered to be divinely revealed. Smrti serves to elaborate, interpret, and codify Vedic literature. It is considered less authoritative than Vedic literature but tends to be more widely known. The term has come to refer particularly to texts pertaining to law and social conduct, including the Kalpa-sutras, the Puranas, the Bhagavadgita, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata.

smuggling Act of importing and exporting secretly and illegally to avoid paying duties or to evade enforcement of laws (e.g., drug- or firearms-control laws). Smuggling is probably as old as the first tax or regulation on trade. Two main methods exist: the undetected running of cargoes across frontiers, and the concealment of goods in unlikely places on ships or cars, in baggage or cargo, or on the person.

smut Disease of cereals, corn, grasses, onion, and sorghum, caused by many species of fungi (see fungus). Spores accumulate in sootlike masses (sori) that form within blisters in seeds, leaves, stems, flower parts, and bulbs. The sori usually break up into a black powder that is readily dis¬ persed by wind. Many smut fungi enter embryos or seedling plants, develop throughout the plant, and appeal* externally only as the plants near maturity. Other smuts are localized, infecting actively growing tissues. Control includes growing resistant varieties in noninfested soil, treating seeds with fungicide, using disease-free transplants, and destroying infected plants or plant parts before the spores are released.

Smuts VsmuitsV Jan (Christian) (b. May 24, 1870, Bovenplaats, near Riebeeck West, Cape Colony—d. Sept. 11, 1950, Irene, near Pretoria, S.Af.) South African statesman, soldier, and prime minister (1919-24, 1939-48). An Afrikaner, Smuts studied law at Cambridge University. Returning to South Africa, he was appointed state attorney in Pretoria by Pres. Paul Kruger in 1897. He fought the British in the South African War and joined with Louis Botha to oppose Alfred Milner’s implementation of the peace terms. By 1905 Smuts was reconciled to British control and sought to keep South Africa within the Commonwealth. In World War I he joined again with Botha to suppress rebellion, conquer South West Africa, and launch a campaign in East Africa. He attended the Versailles peace conference and helped promote the League of Nations. When Botha died, Smuts became prime minister. He was defeated in 1924 by a National Party coalition. In 1933 he helped J.B.M. Hertzog force out the extreme nationalists, and in 1939 he replaced Hertzog as prime minister. Under his leadership South Africa helped prevent Germany and Italy from conquering North Africa. In 1948 he was defeated by Daniel F. Malan’s Nationalists. He ended his life as chancellor of Cambridge University.

Smyrna See izMiR

Smyth, Dame Ethel (Mary) (b. April 22, 1858, London, Eng.—d. May 9, 1944, Woking, Surrey) British composer. Bom into a military family, she studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and was encouraged by Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvorak. She first gained notice with her sweeping Mass in D (1893). Her best-known work is The Wreckers (1906), the most admired English opera of its time. Her March of the Women (1911) reflected her strong involvement in the woman suffrage movement. Her comic opera The Boatswain’s Mate (1916) enjoyed con¬ siderable success. Her work is notably eclectic, ranging from conventional to experimental. She wrote a multi volume autobiography. Impressions That Remained (1919-40).

Smollett, detail of an oil painting by an unknown artist, about 1770; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Smythe ► Snead I 1773

Smythe \'smlth\, Conn in full Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe (b. Feb. 1, 1895, Toronto, Ont., Can.—d. Nov. 18, 1980, Cale¬ don, Ont.) Canadian ice-hockey player, coach, and executive. He founded the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1927 and made them into a leading hockey club. In 1928 he coached the Canadian hockey team to an Olympic gold medal. Since 1965 the Conn Smythe Trophy has been given annually to the best player in the Stanley Cup play-offs.

snail Any species of gastropod that glides along on a broad tapered foot and has a high coiled shell into which it can withdraw. Snails are found in the ocean, in fresh waters, and on land. Most marine snails have gills in the mantle cavity (see mollusk). Most land and freshwater snails have no gills; they use the mantle cavity itself as a lung. Snails may be either scavengers (of dead plant or animal matter) or predators. Some species are used as food, and the shells of some are used as ornaments. See also LIMPET, PERIWINKLE, SLUG, WHELK.

snail darter Rare species ( Percina tanasi) of darter that originally was found only in the Little Tennessee River in the southeastern U.S. It became the subject of a legal controversy in 1978, when its status as an endan¬ gered species delayed for two years the construction of Tellico Dam. The situation was resolved when the fish was successfully introduced into the Hiwassee River.

snake Any member of about 19 reptile families (suborder Serpentes, order Squamata) that has no limbs, voice, external ears, or eyelids, only one functional lung, and a long, slender body. About 2,900 snake species are known to exist, most living in the tropics. Their skin is covered with scales. They have good eyesight, and they continually taste the surround¬ ing air with their tongues. Though they lack any voice, they are capable of hissing. Most live on the ground, but some are arboreal or aquatic, and some are burrowers. They move by muscular contraction, aided by elon¬ gated scales on their abdomen. They focus 70% of their mostly solitary existence on tracking, capturing, and digesting their living prey. The con¬ struction of their jaws and bodies enables them to swallow large prey whole. Because they are ectotherms (cold-blooded), a single meal can often sustain them for weeks. Mating and laying eggs or bearing live young are brief seasonal activities. About one-tenth of snake species are venomous; some can kill humans with their bite. Others kill their prey by constriction or simply ingesting. Species range from less than 5 in. (12 cm) to over 30 ft (9 m) long. Snakes grow continuously throughout their lives, shedding their outgrown skin at each growth increment. They are found worldwide, but few species are found on islands or in regions with long winters.

Internal and external features of a snake.

© MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

Snake River River, northwestern U.S. It is the largest tributary of the Columbia River and one of the most important streams in the Pacific North¬ west. It rises in the mountains of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and flows south and west through Idaho, turning north at the Oregon bor¬ der to enter the Columbia in southeastern Washington after a course of 1,040 mi (1,670 km). The lower Snake flows through Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America. See photograph above.

snakebird See anhinga

snakebite Wound from the bite of a snake, especially a venomous one. Nonvenomous snakes leave skin tears that may be treated like scratches. A person bitten by a venomous snake needs medical care as soon as pos¬

sible. Antivenin must be specific to the type of venom, so the snake should be identified or accurately described. Different kinds of venom break down red blood cells or attack the nervous system, causing paralysis. Local tissue destruction may lead to gangrene. First aid for snakebite seeks to keep the venom from spreading to the rest of the body. The bitten limb should be kept still below heart level with a broad, firm (not tight) bandage around it above the bite. Exertion and excitement should be avoided. Cutting, suction, tourni¬ quets, and applying ice are not advised.

snapdragon family Family Scrophulariaceae, containing about 4,000 species of flowering plants in 190 genera, found worldwide. The family is notable for its many orna¬ mental garden plants, including snapdragon ( Antirrhinum species) and foxglove. Antirrhinum contains about 40 species native to western North America and the western Medi¬ terranean. Other members of the family, including butter-and-eggs, are wildflowers. Flowers of the family are tubular and bilaterally symmetri¬ cal (two-lipped).

snapper Any of about 250 species of valuable food fishes (family Lut- janidae), found throughout the trop¬ ics. These active schooling fishes have slender bodies, large mouths, sharp canine teeth, and blunt or forked tails. Many species grow to 2-3 ft (60-90 cm) long. Snappers eat crustaceans and other fishes. Some species, such as the Atlantic dog snapper, contain a toxin. The red snapper, a bright red fish, inhabits deep Atlantic waters. The emperor snapper is a red-and-white Indo- Pacific fish. The Atlantic yellowtail snapper has a broad yellow stripe from the nose to the wholly yellow tail.

snapping turtle Either of two species (family Chelydridae) of edible, omnivorous, freshwater turtles found in North and Central America. They are tan to black and have a rough upper shell, a small cross-shaped lower shell, a long tail, and a large head with hooked jaws. Known for their fierceness, they lunge at aggres¬ sors and prey and bite them with their powerful jaws. The common snapping turtle ( Chelydra serpen¬ tina) has a shell 8-12 in. (20-30 cm) long and weighs 10-35 lbs (4.5-16 kg). The alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temmincki), the larg¬ est freshwater turtle in the U.S., has a shell 16-28 in. (40-70 cm) long and weighs 40-155 lbs (18-70 kg). It lies quietly on the bottom of slow moving bodies of water, luring fishes by means of a wormlike append¬ age on the floor of its open mouth.

Snead, Samfuel Jackson) (b. May 27, 1912, near Hot Springs, Va., U.S.—d. May 23, 2002, Hot Springs) U.S. golfer. Snead reportedly never took a golf lesson. Known for his straw hat and his flowing, powerful swing, “Slammin’ Sam” won the PGA Championship (1942, 1949, 1951), the British Open (1946), and the Masters (1949, 1952, 1954) and was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team (eight times—including 1969, when

The lower Snake River in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, between Oregon and Idaho.

GREG VAUGHN/TOM STACK & ASSOCIATES

Red spot snapper (Lethrinus variegatus)

DOUGLAS FAULKNER

Snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

WALTER DAWN

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1774 I Snell's law ► snowdrop

he captained the squad but did not play). Snead won more PGA tourna¬ ments (82) than any other player in history, and his total number of world tournament wins is estimated at 135.

Snell's law Relationship between the path taken by a ray of light as it moves from one medium to another and the refractive indices of the two media. Discovered in 1621 by Willebrord Snell (1580-1626), the law went unpublished until its mention by Christiaan Huygens. If n x and n 2 represent the indices of refraction of two media, and 0 X and 0 2 are the angles of incidence and refraction that a ray of light makes with the line perpendicular to the boundary (the normal), Snell’s law states that n l /n 2 = sin 0 2 /sin 0j. Because the ratio nfn 2 is a constant for any given wave¬ length of light, the ratio of the two sines is also a constant for any angle.

snipe Any of about 20 species of birds (family Scolopacidae) that fre¬ quent wet meadows and marshes in temperate and warm regions world¬ wide. They are short-legged and chunky, with brown, black, and white stripes and bars. The wings are pointed and angular. The long, flex¬ ible bill is used to probe mud for worms. The common snipe ( Gallin - ago gallinago) is about 12 in. (30 cm) long, including the bill.

snook Any of about eight species (genus Centropomus) of tropical marine fishes that are long and sil¬ very and have two dorsal fins, a long head, and a large mouth with a pro¬ jecting lower jaw. They are found along the North and South American Atlantic and Pacific coasts, often in estuaries and among mangroves and sometimes in fresh water. They range from 1.5 to 5 ft (0.5-1.5 m) long and are valued for food and sport.

snooker Variation of English billiards. It is played with 15 red balls and 6 variously coloured balls. Snooker arose, probably in India, as a game for soldiers in the 1870s. Players try to pocket first the red and then the nonred balls, scoring one point for each red ball and the number value of the others. “Snooker” refers to the position of the cue ball when it can¬ not hit a required ball.

Snorri Sturluson Vsnor-e-'stUer-luB-soM (b. 1179, Iceland—d. Sept. 22, 1241, Reykjaholt) Icelandic poet, historian, and chieftain. Of an influen¬ tial family, Snorri became the “lawspeaker,” or president, of the Icelan¬ dic high court and a vassal of King Haakon IV of Norway. He was the author of the Prose Edda and the Heimskringla, a history of Norwegian kings. His writings are remarkable for their scope and formal assurance; his genius lay in his power to present all that he perceived as a historian with the immediacy of drama. His relations with Haakon deteriorated, and he was assassinated on the king’s order.

snout beetle See weevil

snow Solid form of water that crystallizes in the atmosphere and falls to the Earth, covering about 23% of the Earth’s surface either permanently or temporarily. Snowflakes are formed by crystals of ice that generally have a hexagonal pattern. Snow cover has a significant effect on climate and on plant, animal, and human life. By increasing the reflection of solar radiation and interfering with the conduction of heat from the ground, it induces a cold climate. The low heat conduction protects small plants from the effects of the lowest winter temperatures; on the other hand, late disappearance of snow in the spring delays the growth of plants.

Snow, C(harles) P(ercy) later Baron Snow (of the City of Leicester) (b. Oct. 15, 1905,

Leicester, Leicestershire, Eng.—d.

July 1, 1980, London) British novel¬ ist, scientist, and government admin¬

istrator. Snow was a molecular physicist at the University of Cambridge for some 20 years and served as a scientific adviser to the British gov¬ ernment. His 11-novel sequence Strangers and Brothers (1940-70), which analyzes bureaucratic man and the corrupting influence of power, includes The Masters (1951), The New Men (1954), and Corridors of Power (1964). The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution (1959) and later nonfiction works deal with the cultural separation between practitioners of science and literature.

snow leopard or ounce Endangered species ( Uncia uncia) of noc¬ turnal long-haired cat that inhabits the high mountains of Central Asia and India. It is about 6 ft (1.8 m) long, including the 3-ft (1-m) tail, stands about 2 ft (0.5 m) tall, and weighs 60-120 lb (27-55 kg). Its dense, soft coat, consisting of an insulating undercoat and outer coat of 2-in. (5-cm) hairs, is pale grayish with dark rosettes and a dark streak along the spine. The whitish fur of the underparts may be 4 in. (10 cm) long. It preys on marmots, wild sheep and goats, birds, and other animals. It is hunted principally for the market in goods used in Asian traditional medicine.

snowberry Any of about 18 species of low shrubs that belong to the genus Symphoricarpos of the honey¬ suckle family. All are native to North America, except for one species in central China. All have bell-shaped, pinkish or white flowers and snow- white berries. The best-known orna¬ mental species are S. albus, a shrub 3 ft (1 m) high, with delicate stems, oval leaves, and large, pulpy, white berries, and S. rivularis, slightly larger, with elliptical leaves and a profusion of berries. Creeping snow- berry is a plant of the genus Gault- heria (HEATH FAMILY).

snowboarding Sport of sliding downhill over snow on a snowboard, a wide ski ridden in a surfing posi¬ tion. Derived from surfing and influenced also by skateboarding as well as skiing, snowboarding began to burgeon among young people in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. The first Olympic snowboarding competition was held in the 1998 Winter Games. The two main events are giant slalom (similar to Alpine giant slalom) and halfpipe, in which riders use a large, snow-covered trench (halfpipe) to repeatedly launch themselves into the air and perform various acrobatic feats.

Snowden (of Ickornshaw), Philip Snowden, Viscount (b.

July 18, 1864, Ickornshaw, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. May 15, 1937, Tilford, Surrey) British politician. From 1893 he was a lecturer and writer for the socialist Independent Labour Party (ILP), then became its leader (1903- 06). In the House of Commons (1906-18, 1922-31), he excelled in debates on social and economic questions. He served as chancellor of the Exchequer in James Ramsay MacDonald’s governments (1924, 1929-31) and in 1931 secured Britain’s abandonment of the gold standard.

Snowdonia National Park Park, northern Wales. Established in 1951, it has an area of 838 sq mi (2,171 sq km). It is best known for its mountains, composed largely of volcanic rock and cut by valleys that show the influence of Ice Age glaciers. Mount Snowdon, 3,560 ft (1,085 m) high, is the highest peak in England and Wales.

snowdrop Any of about 12 spe¬ cies and many variations of white- flowered, spring-blooming, bulbous Eurasian plants that make up the genus Galanthus of the amaryllis fam¬ ily. Several species, including com¬ mon snowdrop (G. nivalis ) and giant snowdrop (G. elwesii ), are cultivated as ornamentals for their nodding, sometimes fragrant flowers. They are among the earliest garden flowers to blossom in the spring. Similarly named but very different, the snow¬ drop tree, or silver bells (Halesia Carolina, family Styracaceae), is a tall tree with clustered, bell-shaped

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos rivularis)

SVEN SAMEUUS

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

snowshoe hare ► Social Democratic Party of Germany I 1775

flowers that grows in the southern U.S. The snowdrop bush ( Styrax offi¬ cinalis) of eastern Europe and Asia Minor, also unrelated, grows to about 18 ft (6 m).

snowshoe hare or snowshoe rabbit or varying hare North¬ ern North American species {Lepus americanus) of hare that undergoes an annual colour change from brownish or grayish in summer to pure white in winter. The hind feet are heavily furred, and all four feet are large in proportion to body size, a snowshoe-like adaptation that enables the hare to travel over snow.

snowy egret White New World egret ( Egretta thula\ family Ardeidae). It is about 24 in. (60 cm) long and has filmy recurved plumes on the back and head. Formerly hunted for its plumes, it ranges from the U.S. to Chile and Argentina.

snowy owl White or barred brown-and-white typical owl ( Nyctea scan- diaca, family Strigidae) of the Arctic tundra, sometimes found in Europe,

Asia, and North America. Snowy owls are about 2 ft (60 cm) long and have broad wings and a round head without ear tufts. They are diurnal and eat small mammals, such as hares and lemmings, and birds. They nest on the ground in the open.

Snyder, Gary (Sherman) (b.

May 8, 1930, San Francisco, Calif.,

U.S.) U.S. poet. Snyder worked as a forest ranger, logger, and seaman and studied Zen Buddhism in Japan (1958-66). His poetry, early identi¬ fied with the Beat movement, is rooted in ancient, natural, and mythic expe¬ rience. It initially contained images drawn from his outdoor work in the Pacific Northwest and later reflected his interest in Eastern philosophies.

His volumes include Turtle Island (1974, Pulitzer Prize) and Mountains and Rivers Without End (1996). From the late 1960s he has been an important spokesman for communal living and ecological activism.

Soane, Sir John (b. Sept. 10, 1753, Goring, Oxfordshire, Eng.—d. Jan. 20, 1837, London) British architect. He was appointed architect to the Bank of England in 1788. Various government appointments followed, and in 1806 he succeeded his mentor, George Dance (1741-1837), as professor of architecture at the Royal Academy. His work is characterized by a tendency to reduce Classical elements to their structural essentials, to use linear instead of modeled ornamentation, to favour shallow domes and top lighting, and to handle interior spaces in an ingenious manner.

soap Any of a group of organic compounds that are salts of fatty acids, usually stearic acid (with 18 carbon atoms) or palmitic acid (with 16 car¬ bon atoms). The source may be any vegetable oil or animal fat. Soaps are emulsifying agents commonly used for cleaning; they have long been made from lye and fat. Detergents are entirely synthetic and may or may not be soaps. Soaps of metals heavier than sodium are not very soluble; the curdy precipitate made by soap in hard water is the calcium or mag¬ nesium salt of the fatty acid in the soap. Heavy-metal soaps are used in lubricating greases, as gel thickeners, and in paints. Napalm is an alumi¬ num soap.

soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melo¬ dramatic or sentimental style. Its name derived from the soap and deter¬ gent manufacturers who originally often sponsored such programs on radio. Soap operas began in the early 1930s as 15-minute radio episodes and continued on television from the early 1950s as 30-minute and later hour-long episodes. Usually broadcast during the day and aimed at house¬ wives, they initially focused on middle-class family life, but by the 1970s their content had expanded to include a wider variety of characters and situations and a greater degree of sexual explicitness. In the 1980s simi¬ lar series began to be aired in prime-time evening hours (e.g., Dallas and Dynasty). See also Carlton E. Morse; Irna Phillips.

soaring or gliding Sport of flying a glider or sailplane. The craft is towed behind a powered airplane to an altitude of about 2,000 ft (600 m)

and then released. The glider pilot makes use of rising currents of warm air, such as those above a sunlit field, to maintain or gain altitude. Instru¬ ments used include the altimeter, airspeed indicator, compass, and turn- and-bank indicator. National soaring contests, which include events for altitude, speed, distance, and accuracy in returning to a starting point, are held annually.

Sobat Vso-,bat\ River River, east-central Africa. Formed by the con¬ fluence of the Baro and Pibor rivers on the Ethiopian border, it merges with the Jabal River in Sudan to form the White Nile. A major tributary of the Nile River, it is 220 mi (354 km) long.

Sobukwe \s6-'biik-wa\, Robert (Mangaliso) (b. Dec. 5, 1924, Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony—d. Feb. 27, 1978, Kimberley, S.Af.) South African black nationalist leader. Sobukwe insisted that South Africa be returned to its indigenous inhabitants (“Africa for the Africans”). Charg¬ ing the African National Congress with being contaminated by non- African influences, he founded the Pan-Africanist Congress in 1959 and became a leader in the Pan-African movement. Arrested in 1960, he spent the rest of his life in prison or under house arrest.

soccer See football social class See social class

social contract Actual or hypothetical compact between the ruled and their rulers. The original inspiration for the notion may derive from the biblical covenant between God and Abraham, but it is most closely asso¬ ciated with the writings of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Hobbes argued that the absolute power of the sovereign is jus¬ tified by a hypothetical social contract in which the people agree to obey him in all matters in return for a guarantee of peace and security, which they lack in the warlike “state of nature” posited to exist before the con¬ tract is made. Locke believed that rulers also were obliged to protect pri¬ vate property and the right to freedom of thought, speech, and worship. Rousseau held that in the state of nature people are unwarlike but also undeveloped in reasoning and morality; in surrendering their individual freedom, they acquire political liberty and civil rights within a system of laws based on the “general will” of the governed. The idea of the social contract influenced the shapers of the American Revolution and the French Revolution and the constitutions that followed them.

Social Credit Party Canadian political party. Founded in 1935 by William Aberhart, it was based on the social-credit theory of the British economist Clifford Douglas (1879-1952). By the late 1930s the party advocated employee profit sharing and shareholding. It led the provincial governments in Alberta (1935-71) and British Columbia (1952-71, 1976— 1991), and it won several seats in the parliament in Ottawa between 1935 and 1980. The party suffered from internal conflicts, and at the end of the 20th century it had failed to win seats in any provincial assembly.

social Darwinism Theory that persons, groups, and “races” are sub¬ ject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin had proposed for plants and animals in nature. Social Darwinists, such as Herbert Spen¬ cer and Walter Bagehot in England and William Graham Sumner in the U.S., held that the life of humans in society was a struggle for existence ruled by “survival of the fittest,” in Spencer’s words. Wealth was said to be a sign of natural superiority, its absence a sign of unfitness. The theory was used from the late 19th century to support laissez-faire capitalism and political conservatism. Social Darwinism declined as scientific knowledge expanded.

social democracy Political ideology that advocates a peaceful, evo¬ lutionary transition of society from capitalism to socialism, using established political processes. It rejects Marxism’s advocacy of social revolution. Social democracy began as a political movement in Germany in the 1870s. Eduard Bernstein argued (1899) that capitalism was overcoming many of the weaknesses Karl Marx had seen in it (including unemployment and overproduction) and that universal suffrage would lead peacefully to a socialist government. After 1945, social-democratic governments came to power in West Germany (see Social Democratic Party), Sweden, and Brit¬ ain (under the Labour Party). Social-democratic thought gradually came to regard state regulation (without state ownership) as sufficient to ensure economic growth and a fair distribution of income.

Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) German political party. Formed in 1875 as the Socialist Workers’ Party and renamed in 1890, it is Germany’s oldest and largest single party. Its influence grew

Snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca)

W. SUSCHITZKY

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1776 I Social Gospel ► socialism

until World War I, when centrists led by Karl Kautsky formed the Inde¬ pendent Social Democrats and leftists led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Lieb- knecht formed the Spartacists. The SPD’s right wing under Friedrich Ebert helped crush the Soviet-style uprisings in Germany in 1918, and the party won 37% of the vote in the 1919 elections. The government’s acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles and Germany’s severe economic problems caused a drop in support in the 1920s. Outlawed by the Nazis in 1933, the party revived after World War II in West Germany and grew steadily, receiving almost 46% of the vote in the 1972 elections. It formed coali¬ tion governments with the Christian Democratic Union (1966-69) and the Free Democratic Party (1969-82). In 1990 it reunited with a newly inde¬ pendent SPD from the former East Germany. The party returned to power in 1998 under Gerhard Schroder, who served as chancellor of Germany until 2005.

Social Gospel Religious social-reform movement in the U.S., promi¬ nent from c. 1870 to 1920 among liberal Protestant groups. The move¬ ment focused on applying moral principles to the improvement of industrialized society and particularly to reforms such as the abolition of child labour, a shorter workweek, and factory regulation. Many of its aims were realized through the rise of organized labour and through legislation of the New Deal.

social history Branch of history that emphasizes social structures and the interaction of different groups in society rather than affairs of state. An outgrowth of economic history, it expanded as a discipline in the 1960s. It initially focused on disenfranchised social groups but later began to focus more attention on the middle and upper classes. As a field, it often borders on economic history on the one hand and on sociology and ethnology on the other.

social insurance Compulsory public-insurance program that protects against various economic risks (e.g., loss of income due to sickness, old age, or unemployment). Social insurance is considered one type of social security, though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The first compulsory national social-insurance programs were established in Germany under Otto von Bismarck: health insurance in 1883, workers' compensation in 1884, and old-age and disability pensions in 1889. Aus¬ tria and Hungary soon followed Germany’s example. After 1920, social insurance was rapidly adopted throughout Europe and the Western Hemi¬ sphere. The U.S. lagged behind until the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. Social Security in the U.S. now provides retirement benefits, health care for persons over a specific minimum age, and disability insur¬ ance. Social-insurance contributions are normally compulsory and may be made by the insured person’s employer and the state as well as by the individual. Social insurance is usually self-financing, with contributions being placed in specific funds for that purpose. See also unemployment insurance; welfare.

social learning In psychological theory, a change in behaviour that is controlled by environmental influences rather than by innate or internal forces. In zoology, social learning is exhibited by innumerable species of birds and mammals, who modify their behaviour by observing and imi¬ tating the adults around them. Birdsong is a socially learned behaviour.

social psychology Branch of psychology concerned with the person¬ ality, attitudes, motivations, and behaviour of the individual or group in the context of social interaction. The field emerged in the U.S. in the 1920s. Topics include the attribution of social status based on perceptual cues, the influence of social factors (such as peers) on a person’s attitudes and beliefs, the functioning of small groups and large organizations, and the dynamics of face-to-face interactions.

Social Realism Trend in U.S. art, originating c. 1930, toward treating themes of social protest—poverty, political corruption, labour- management conflict—in a naturalistic manner. The movement was stimulated in part by the Ash Can school, the Great Depression, and the New Deal’s arts patronage programs, including the WPA Federal Art Project. Works in this vein include Ben Shahn’s Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti (1931-32) and William Gropper’s The Senate (1935).

social science Any discipline or branch of science that deals with the sociocultural aspects of human behaviour. The social sciences generally include cultural anthropology, economics, political science, sociology, crimi¬ nology, and social psychology. Comparative law and comparative religion (the comparative study of the legal systems and religions of different nations and cultures) are also sometimes regarded as social sciences.

social security Public provision for the economic security and social welfare of all individuals and their families, especially in the case of income losses due to unemployment, work injury, maternity, sickness, old age, and death. The term encompasses not only social insurance but also health and welfare services and various income maintenance programs designed to improve the recipient’s welfare through public services. Some of the first organized cooperative efforts to provide for the economic security of individuals were instituted by workingmen’s associations, mutual-benefit societies, and labour unions; social security was not widely established by law until the 19th and 20th centuries, with the first mod¬ ern program appearing in Germany in 1883. Almost all developed nations now have social security programs that provide benefits or services through several major approaches such as social insurance and social assistance, a needs-based program that pays benefits only to the poor. See also Social Security Act; unemployment insurance; welfare; workers' compen¬ sation.

Social Security Act (Aug. 14, 1935) Legislation that established a national old-age pension system in the U.S. Dissatisfied with the govern¬ ment response to the Great Depression, about five million people joined “Townsend clubs” to support the plan of Francis E. Townsend (1867— 1960) to demand a $200 monthly pension for everyone over the age of 60. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a committee on economic secu¬ rity (1934), which recommended legislative action to the U.S. Congress. The act provided old-age benefits to be financed by a payroll tax on employers and employees. The system was later expanded to include dependents, the disabled, and others.

social settlement See settlement house

social status Relative rank that an individual holds, with attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle, in a social hierarchy based on honour and prestige. Status is often ascribed on the basis of sex, age, family relation¬ ships, and birth, placing one into a particular social group irrespective of ability or accomplishments. Achieved status, on the other hand, is based on educational attainment, occupational choice, marital status, and other factors involving personal effort. Status groups differ from social CLASSes in being based on considerations of honour and prestige rather than purely economic position. Relative status is a major determinant of people’s behaviour toward one another, and competition for status seems to be a prime human motivator.

Social War or Italic War or Marsic War (90-89 bc) Rebellion waged by ancient Rome’s Italian allies (Latin, socii). The allies in cen¬ tral and southern Italy had aided Rome in its wars, but they were denied the privileges of Roman citizenship. The people of central Italy’s hills— the Marsi in the north and the Samnites in the south—organized a con¬ federacy and began an uprising for independence, winning victories over Roman armies in the north and south. After Rome granted citizenship to those who had not revolted and those who would immediately lay down their arms, Italian interest in the struggle declined. Sulla defeated the weakened rebels in the south, and legislation was passed to unify Italy south of the Po River.

social welfare See welfare

social work Any of various professional activities or methods con¬ cerned with providing social services (such as investigatory and treatment services or material aid) to disadvantaged, distressed, or vulnerable per¬ sons or groups. The field originated in the charity organizations in Europe and the U.S. in the late 19th century. The training of volunteer workers by these organizations led directly to the founding of the first schools of social work and indirectly to increased government responsibility for the welfare of the disadvantaged. Social workers may serve the needs of chil¬ dren and families, the poor or homeless, immigrants, veterans, the men¬ tally ill, the handicapped, victims of rape or domestic violence, and persons dependent on alcohol or drugs. See also welfare.

socialism System of social organization in which private property and the distribution of income are subject to social control; also, the political movements aimed at putting that system into practice. Because “social control” may be interpreted in widely diverging ways, socialism ranges from statist to libertarian, from Marxist to liberal. The term was first used to describe the doctrines of Charles Fourier, Henri de Saint-Simon, and Rob¬ ert Owen, who emphasized noncoercive communities of people working noncompetitively for the spiritual and physical well-being of all (see uto¬ pian sociausm). Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, seeing socialism as a tran-

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Socialist International ► Socrates I 1777

sition state between capitalism and communism, appropriated what they found useful in socialist movements to develop their “scientific social¬ ism.” In the 20th century, the Soviet Union was the principal model of strictly centralized socialism, while Sweden and Denmark were well- known for their noncommunist socialism. See also collectivism, communi- TARIANISM, SOCIAL DEMOCRACY.

Socialist International See Second International

Socialist Realism Officially sanctioned theory and method of artistic and literary composition in the Soviet Union from 1932 to the mid-1980s. Following the tradition of 19th-century Russian realism, Socialist Realism purported to serve as an objective mirror of life. Instead of critiquing society, however, it took as its primary theme the struggle to build social¬ ism and a classless society and called for the didactic use of art to develop social consciousness. Artists were expected to take a positive view of socialist society and to keep in mind its historical relevance, requisites that seldom coincided with their real experiences and frequently under¬ mined the artistic credibility of their works.

Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR) Russian political party. The ideological heir to the 19th-century Narodniks (Populists), it was founded in 1901 by agrarian socialists and appealed mainly to the peasantry. It was the principal alternative to the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party in the early 20th century. It relied on terrorist tactics and carried out hundreds of political assassinations. By 1917 it was Russia’s largest socialist group; its members included Aleksandr Kerensky, Viktor Chernov, and Catherine Breshkovsky. The party split after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and its radical wing joined the Bolshevik government. It was sup¬ pressed by Vladimir Lenin after the Russian Civil War.

Societe Generate \s6s-ye-'ta-zha-na-'ral\ Major French commercial bank, with headquarters in Paris. It was established in 1864 to offer bank¬ ing and investment services, and was nationalized in 1946 along with several other large French banks. With subsidiaries and branches through¬ out the world, Societe Generate provides general banking, investment advising, securities underwriting, foreign-currency exchange, and com¬ puter services.

Sociefy Islands Archipelago (pop., 1996: 189,522), western French Polynesia. Its chief island is Tahiti. The Society Islands comprise two groups, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands. They are volca¬ nic in origin and mountainous. Claimed for Britain in 1767, the islands were visited in 1769 by Capt. James Cook with a scientific expedition of the Royal Society (hence their name). They were claimed by France in 1768 and became a French protectorate in 1842, a French colony in 1881, and a part of French Oceania in 1903. Their chief products are copra and pearls.

sociobiology Systematic study of the biological basis of social behav¬ iour. The concept was popularized by Edward O. Wilson in his Sociobi¬ ology (1975) and by Richard Dawkins (b. 1941) in The Selfish Gene (1976). Sociobiology attempts to understand and explain animal (and human) social behaviour in the light of natural selection and other bio¬ logical processes. A central tenet is that the transmission of genes through successful reproduction is the central motivator in animals’ struggle for survival, and that animals will behave in ways that maximize their chances of transmitting their genes to succeeding generations. Though sociobiol¬ ogy has contributed insights into animal behaviour (such as altruism in social insects and male-female differences in certain species), it remains controversial when applied to human social behaviour. See also ethology.

sociocultural evolution Development of culture and society from simple to complex forms. Europeans had sought to explain the existence of various “primitive” societies, some believing that such societies rep¬ resented the lost tribes of Israel, others speculating that primitive peoples had degenerated since the time of Adam from an originally “barbarous” to an even lowlier “savage” state. European society was taken to epito¬ mize the highest state of existence, “civilization.” In the late 19th century, Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan elaborated the theory of unilinear evolution, specifying criteria for categorizing cultures accord¬ ing to their standing within a fixed system of growth of humanity as a whole and examining the modes and mechanisms of this growth. A wide¬ spread reaction followed; Franz Boas introduced the “culture history” approach, which concentrated on fieldwork among native peoples to iden¬ tify actual cultural and historical processes rather than speculative stages of growth. Leslie White, Julian Steward, and others sought to revive

aspects of sociocultural evolutionism, positing a progression ranging from bands and tribes at one end to chiefdoms and states at the other. More recently some anthropologists have adopted a general systems approach, examining cultures as emergent systems. Others continue to reject evo¬ lutionary thinking and look instead at historical contingencies, contacts with other cultures, and the operation of cultural symbol systems. See also social Darwinism.

sociolinguistics Study of the sociological aspects of language. Socio- linguists attempt to isolate the linguistic features used in particular situ¬ ations that mark the various social relationships among the participants and the significant elements of the situation. Factors influencing the choice of sounds, grammatical elements, and vocabulary may include age, gen¬ der, education, ethnic identity, occupation, and peer-group identification. See also interactionism, linguistics, pragmatics, semiotics.

sociology Science of society, social institutions, and social relation¬ ships, and specifically the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behaviour of organized human groups. It emerged at the end of the 19th century through the work of Emile Durkheim in France, Max Weber and Georg Simmel in Germany, and Robert E. Park and Albion Small in the U.S. Sociologists use observational techniques, surveys and interviews, statistical analysis, controlled experiments, and other methods to study subjects such as the family, ethnic relations, school¬ ing, social status and class, bureaucracy, religious movements, deviance, the elderly, and social change.

sockeye salmon or red salmon Food fish (Oncorhynchus nerka) of the North Pacific that constitutes almost 20% of the commercial fish¬ ery of Pacific Salmon. It weighs about 6 lbs (3 kg) and lacks distinct spots on the body. It ranges from the northern Bering Sea to Japan and from Alaska to California. Sockeyes may migrate more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) upriver to spawn in lakes or tributary streams. The young remain in freshwater one to five years. The kokanee is a small, non- Male sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus migratory, freshwater subspecies. nerka ) in spawning phase

JEFF FOOH-BRUCE COLEMAN INC.

Socotra \s3-'ko-tr3\ Island, Yemen, in the Indian Ocean. Located about

210 mi (340 km) southeast of the Arabian Peninsula, it has an area of about 1,400 sq mi (3,600 sq km). Its interior is mountainous, with flora that includes myrrh, frankincense, and the dragon’s blood tree. The island, mentioned in various legends, was long ruled by the Mahra sultans of southeastern Yemen, except for a brief Portuguese occupation (1507-11). In 1886 it came under British control and in 1967 became part of inde¬ pendent Yemen. Its chief town is Hadlboh.

Socrates (b. c. 470, Athens—d. 399 bc, Athens) Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on ancient and modern philosophy. Because he wrote nothing, information about his personality and doctrine is derived chiefly from depictions of his conversations and other information in the dialogues of Plato, in the Memorabilia of Xenophon, and in various writings of Aristotle. He fought bravely in the Peloponnesian War and later served in the Athenian boule (assembly). Socrates considered it his religious duty to call his fellow citi¬ zens to the examined life by engaging them in philosophical conversation. His contribution to these exchanges typically consisted of a series of prob¬ ing questions that cumulatively revealed his interlocutor’s complete igno¬ rance of the subject under discussion; such cross-examination used as a pedagogical technique has been called the “Socratic method.” Though Socrates characteristically professed his own ignorance regarding many of the (mainly ethical) subjects he investigated (e.g., the nature of piety), he did hold certain convictions with confidence, including that: (I) human wisdom begins with the recognition of one’s own ignorance; (2) the unex¬ amined life is not worth living; (3) ethical virtue is the only thing that mat¬ ters; and (4) a good person can never be harmed, because whatever misfortune he may suffer, his virtue will remain intact. His students and admirers included, in addition to Plato, Alcibiades, who betrayed Athens in the Peloponnesian War, and Critias (c. 480-403 bc), who was one of the Thirty Tyrants imposed on Athens after its defeat by Sparta. Because he was connected with these two men, but also because his habit of exposing the

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1778 I soda ► software

ignorance of his fellow citizens had made him widely hated and feared, Socrates was tried on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth and con¬ demned to death by poisoning (the poison probably being hemlock) in 399 bc; he submitted to the sentence willingly. Plato’s Apology purports to be the speech that Socrates gave in his own defense. As depicted in the Apol¬ ogy, Socrates’ trial and death raise vital questions about the nature of democracy, the value of free speech, and the potential conflict between moral and religious obligation and the laws of the state.

soda, caustic See caustic soda

Soddy, Frederick (b. Sept. 2, 1877, Eastbourne, Sussex, Eng.—d. Sept. 22, 1956, Brighton, Sussex) British chemist. He worked with Ernest Rutherford to develop a theory of the disintegration of radioactive ele¬ ments. In 1912 he was among the first to conclude that elements might exist in forms (isotopes) of different atomic weights but indistinguishable chemically. In Science and Life (1920) he pointed out the value of iso¬ topes in determining geologic age (see carbon-14 dating). For his inves¬ tigations of radioactivity and isotopes, he received a 1921 Nobel Prize.

sodium Chemical element, one of the alkali metals, chemical symbol Na, atomic number 11. A very soft, silvery white metal, the sixth most abun¬ dant element on Earth, it occurs mainly as haute, never free. Extremely reactive, it is used as a chemical reagent and raw material, in metallurgy, as a heat exchanger (in nuclear power generators and certain types of engines), and in sodium-vapour lamps (see electric discharge lamp). Sodium is essential for life but rarely deficient in diets; high intake is linked to hypertension. Sodium in compounds, many of great industrial importance (including bicarbonate of soda, caustic soda, sodium nitrate [Chile saltpe¬ tre], and sodium chloride), has valence 1 . Sodium carbonate, one of the four most important basic chemical commodities, is used in making glass, detergents, and cleansers. Sodium hypochlorite, familial' as household bleach, is also used to bleach paper pulp and textiles, to chlorinate water, and in some medicines. The sulfate is used in the kraft process and also used to make paperboard, glass, and detergents. The thiosulfate (hypo- sulfite, or “hypo”) is used to developed photographs.