- working breed
working dog, any of various breeds of dog bred as guard, herding, draft, or rescue animals. Breeds range from medium to large, but all are sturdy and muscular, intelligent and loyal. Guard breeds include the Akita, boxer, bullmastiff, Doberman pinscher, giant and standard schnauzers, Great Dane,
- Working Bullocks (novel by Prichard)
Australian literature: Nationalism and expansion: Katharine Susannah Prichard’s realism in Working Bullocks (1926) and in Coonardoo (1929), her sympathetic portrait of an Aboriginal woman, was of a more romantic nature. For others, such as Kylie Tennant and Eleanor Dark, realism served social and historical ends.
- working capital (accounting)
accounting: The balance sheet: …as net current assets, or working capital.
- working class (social differentiation)
class consciousness: …the historical mission of the working class (to destroy capitalism and realize the socialist revolution) and its understanding thereof. The problem of false consciousness has encouraged an elitist streak in Marxism.
- working conditions
clothing and footwear industry: Modern developments: …Asian factory workers have better working and living conditions than those obtained during the 1920s and ’30s in the United States and Europe. In some cases Asian plant facilities are superior in working conditions and productivity to contemporary U.S. and western European factories.
- working dog
working dog, any of various breeds of dog bred as guard, herding, draft, or rescue animals. Breeds range from medium to large, but all are sturdy and muscular, intelligent and loyal. Guard breeds include the Akita, boxer, bullmastiff, Doberman pinscher, giant and standard schnauzers, Great Dane,
- Working Forest, A (work by Murray)
Les Murray: The essays in A Working Forest (1997) indict academia for making poetry inaccessible to the average reader and give vent to Murray’s dislike of modern poetic forms. Murray also presented the work of five leading but little-known Australian poets in Fivefathers (1995). In Killing the Black Dog: A…
- Working Girl (film by Nichols [1988])
Carly Simon: …which she also sang, in Working Girl (1988). She also scored music for the films Postcards from the Edge (1990) and This Is My Life (1992).
- Working Girls (film by Borden)
Lizzie Borden: …and produced the 1986 film Working Girls, a feminist docudrama that attempts to de-eroticize the subject of prostitution. Its main character is a Yale University graduate who lives with a female lover and aspires to become a professional photographer. Borden’s next feature, the thriller Love Crimes (1991), was made in…
- Working Group on Indigenous Populations
Native American: International developments: …and Social Council created the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. In 1985 this group began to draft an indigenous rights document, a process that became quite lengthy in order to ensure adequate consultation with indigenous nations and nongovernmental organizations. In 1993 the UN General Assembly declared 1995–2004 to be the…
- working hours
hours of labour, the proportion of a person’s time spent at work. Hours of labour have declined significantly since the middle of the 19th century, with workers in advanced industrial countries spending far fewer hours per year in a given place of work than they did formerly. The movement for
- working memory (psychology)
memory: Working memory: Some aspects of memory can be likened to a system for storing and efficiently retrieving information. One system in particular—identified as “working memory” by the British psychologist Alan Baddeley—is essential for problem solving or the execution of complex cognitive tasks. It is characterized…
- working memory capacity (psychology)
memory: Executive attention: Known as “working memory capacity,” this ability is measured most often through a test that requires people to commit a short list of items to memory while performing some other task. Thus, one form of the test might involve reading a series of sentences and then attempting…
- Working on a Dream (album by Springsteen)
Bruce Springsteen: Back with the E Street Band and into the 21st century: Working on a Dream, released in early 2009, concerned itself lyrically with thoughts of love and life, how fleeting both are and what it takes to stay the course. The music on the album was a much more sophisticated version of what Springsteen had done…
- Working Party No. 3 (international finance)
international payment and exchange: The OECD: The Working Party No. 3 of the organization’s Economic Committee, which is concerned with problems of money and exchange, has made significant contributions; it issued a very important report on balance-of-payments adjustment problems in 1966. At times the personnel of the Working Party has been much…
- Working People’s Cultural Palace (building, Beijing, China)
Beijing: Public and commercial buildings: …People’s Cultural Park is the Working People’s Cultural Palace (formerly the Temple of the Imperial Ancestors), where the tablets of the emperors were displayed. The temple, like the Imperial Palaces in style, was built in three stonework tiers, each with double eaves. On either side are two rows of verandas…
- working point (physics)
industrial glass: Viscosity: For instance, the working point, the temperature at which a gob of molten glass may be delivered to a forming machine, is equivalent to the temperature at which viscosity is 104 poise. The softening point, at which the glass may slump under its own weight, is defined by…
- Working, Holbrook (economist)
futures: The theory and practice of hedging: The rival hypothesis of Holbrook Working maintains that hedging is done with the expectation of a profit from a favourable change in the spot-futures price relation, to simplify business decisions, and to cut costs, and not for the sake of reducing risk alone. Hedgers, according to Working, are arbitrageurs;…
- working-backward approach (psychology)
thought: Algorithms and heuristics: In the working-backward approach, the problem solver starts at the end and works toward the beginning. For example, suppose one is planning a trip from New York City to Paris. One wishes to arrive at one’s Parisian hotel. To arrive, one needs to take a taxi from…
- working-forward approach (psychology)
thought: Algorithms and heuristics: In the working-forward approach, as the name implies, the problem solver tries to solve the problem from beginning to end. A trip from New York City to Boston might be planned simply by consulting a map and establishing the shortest route that originates in New York City…
- Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (work by Terkel)
Studs Terkel: …other books expanded the genre: Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1974) and American Dreams, Lost and Found (1980). Both poignantly reveal that, at times, many Americans felt demoralized and disillusioned by their lots in life. Working was made…
- Workingmen’s Party (American political party)
Workingmen’s Party, first labour-oriented political organization in the United States. Established first in Philadelphia in 1828 and then in New York in 1829, the party emanated out of the concerns of craftsmen and skilled journeymen over their low social and economic status. The “Workies” pressed
- Workington (England, United Kingdom)
Workington, town (parish) and port in Allerdale district, administrative county of Cumbria, historic county of Cumberland, northwestern England. It is located on the Solway Firth where it joins the Irish Sea. The town lies at the mouth of the River Derwent. During the 19th century it grew up around
- workmen’s compensation
workers’ compensation, social welfare program through which employers bear some of the cost of their employees’ work-related injuries and occupational diseases. Workers’ compensation was first introduced in Germany in 1884, and by the middle of the 20th century most countries in the world had some
- workplace bullying (social behavior)
bullying: Workplace bullying: Bullying extends beyond young people and the schoolyard. Adults also experience bullying, and the workplace constitutes one prime venue for its occurrence. Much less research exists on bullying at work, as compared with that in schools, and some of the most developed research…
- Works and Days (epic poem by Hesiod)
Works and Days, epic poem by the 8th-century-bce Greek writer Hesiod that is part almanac, part agricultural treatise, and part homily. It is addressed to his brother Perses, who by guile and bribery has already secured for himself an excessive share of their inheritance and is seeking to gain
- Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam, The (work by Adam)
Robert Adam: The Adam style: In 1773–79 they published The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam in two volumes. A third was published posthumously in 1822. In the preface to the first volume they explain their idea of “movement,” an essential aspect of the Adam style:
- Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, The (book printed by Kelmscott Press)
William Morris: The Kelmscott Press: …variant of Troy, in which The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer was printed during the last years of Morris’s life. One of the greatest examples of the art of the printed book, Chaucer is the most ornate of the Kelmscott publications. Most of the other Kelmscott books were plain and simple,…
- Works of Love (work by Kierkegaard)
Søren Kierkegaard: Three dimensions of the religious life of Søren Kierkegaard: …most notably Kjerlighedens gjerninger (1847; Works of Love), Training in Christianity, Til selvprøvelse (1851; For Self-Examination), and Dømmer selv! (1851; Judge for Yourselves!), go beyond Religiousness B to what might be called “Religiousness C.” The focus is still on Christianity, but now Christ is no longer just the paradox to…
- Works of Mr. William Shakespear; Revis’d and Corrected, The (work by Rowe)
Nicholas Rowe: In The Works of Mr. William Shakespear; Revis’d and Corrected, 6 vol. (1709; 9 vol., including poems, 1714), Rowe essentially followed the fourth folio edition of 1685, although he claimed to have arrived at the text by comparing “the several editions.” He did, however, restore some…
- Works of Robert Burns, The (work by Cunningham)
Allan Cunningham: He edited The Works of Robert Burns (1834), prefacing it with a biography of Burns that contained much valuable new material. He also wrote romances and dramatic poems of little merit, but his lyrical poems, though lacking the unselfconsciousness of the true ballad, are memorable for their…
- Works Progress Administration (United States history)
Works Progress Administration (WPA), work program for the unemployed that was created in 1935 under U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Although critics called the WPA an extension of the dole or a device for creating a huge patronage army loyal to the Democratic Party, the stated purpose
- Works Progress Administration Circus (United States history)
circus: History: …federal government to organize the Works Progress Administration Circus—the only example of a state-run circus ever seen in the United States. As the circus was slowly returning to solvency, a disastrous fire in 1944 destroyed the Ringling big top during a performance in Hartford, Connecticut. The fire, which took 168…
- Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project (United States history)
WPA Federal Art Project, first major attempt at government patronage of the visual arts in the United States and the most extensive and influential of the visual arts projects conceived during the Depression of the 1930s by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is often confused
- Works Progress Administration Federal Theatre Project (United States history)
WPA Federal Theatre Project, national theatre project sponsored and funded by the U.S. government as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Founded in 1935, it was the first federally supported theatre in the United States. Its purpose was to create jobs for unemployed theatrical people
- Works Progress Administration Federal Writers’ Project (United States history)
WPA Federal Writers’ Project, a program established in the United States in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as part of the New Deal struggle against the Great Depression. It provided jobs for unemployed writers, editors, and research workers. Directed by Henry G. Alsberg, it
- Workshop 47 (drama class)
George Pierce Baker: …started his class for playwrights, Workshop 47 (named after its course number), the first of its kind to be part of a university curriculum. He concerned himself not only with writing but also with stage design, lighting, costuming, and dramatic criticism. Baker’s annual lecture tours, following a lectureship at the…
- Workshop for Hard Stone (workshop, Florence, Italy)
commesso: …successor, Ferdinando I, founded the Workshop for Hard Stone (Opificio delle Pietre Dure) as a permanent commesso workshop. The first group of artists employed there perfected the art of making commesso pictures in highly illusionistic perspective. The Workshop was primarily engaged throughout the 17th century in manufacturing decorations for the…
- Worksop (England, United Kingdom)
Worksop, town, Bassetlaw district, administrative and historic county of Nottinghamshire, northeast-central England. It lies along the Chesterfield Canal close to Sherwood Forest. The priory church in the town dates partly from the 12th to 13th century. Granted a royal charter in 1296, Worksop
- workstation (computer)
workstation, a high-performance computer system that is basically designed for a single user and has advanced graphics capabilities, large storage capacity, and a powerful central processing unit. A workstation is more capable than a personal computer (PC) but is less advanced than a server (which
- Worku, Daniachew (Ethiopian writer)
Daniachew Worku was an Ethiopian writer of drama, fiction, poetry, and literary history, best known outside Ethiopia for his novel in English, The Thirteenth Sun (1973). In part, The Thirteenth Sun reflects Worku’s own long record of political activism, which cost him his academic position at Haile
- Worland (Wyoming, United States)
Worland, city, seat (1912) of Washakie county, north-central Wyoming, U.S., on the Bighorn River. Settled in 1900 on the west side of the river as a stagecoach stop called Camp Worland, the settlement was moved in 1906 to the east side where the railroad was to come through. It was named for an
- World (American newspaper)
New York World, daily newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931, a colourful and vocal influence in American journalism in its various manifestations under different owners. The World was established in 1860 as a penny paper with a basically religious orientation. It supported
- World (South African newspaper)
Percy Qoboza: …joined the staff of the World in 1963; he became its editor in 1974. Under his leadership, World grew into the largest-circulation Black newspaper in South Africa. In 1975 he won a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University, where he gained a new perspective on race relations. The next year he…
- World According to Garp, The (film by Hill [1982])
George Roy Hill: Later work: Far more ambitious was The World According to Garp (1982), based on John Irving’s picaresque best seller. Hill managed to transpose much of the book’s black comedy into a relatively coherent story, which was helped immensely by the acting of Glenn Close and John Lithgow. Although it received generally…
- World According to Garp, The (novel by Irving)
John Irving: …his reputation with the novel The World According to Garp (1978; film 1982). As is characteristic of his other works, it is noted for its engaging story line, colourful characterizations, macabre humour, and examination of contemporary issues.
- World Administrative Conference
International Telecommunication Union: …meets every four years; (2) World Administrative Conferences, which meet according to technical needs; (3) the ITU Council, which meets annually and is responsible for executing decisions of the Plenipotentiary Conference; (4) the General Secretariat, responsible for administrative and financial services; (5) the Radiocommunications Sector, which was formed by the…
- World Adoption International Fund (international organization)
Jane Russell: She founded the World Adoption International Fund to aid American adoption of foreign-born children and was herself mother to three adopted children. Russell’s autobiography, Jane Russell: My Path & My Detours, was published in 1985.
- World Aeronautical Charts
map: World War II and after: …war years, and the resulting World Aeronautical Charts have provided generalized information for other purposes since that time. Many countries have used the basic data to publish temporary map coverage until their more detailed surveys can be completed.
- World AIDS Campaign
World AIDS Day: In 1997 UNAIDS created the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) to increase AIDS awareness and to integrate AIDS information on a global level. In 2005 the WAC became an independent body, functioning as a global AIDS advocacy movement, based in Cape Town, S.Af., and Amsterdam, Neth. In addition to ensuring the…
- World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, annual observance aimed at raising awareness of the global epidemic of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and the spread of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). World AIDS Day occurs on December 1 and was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 to facilitate
- World Air Games (sports event)
Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale: …the FAI held the first World Air Games in Turkey. Thereafter the event was held at varying times; its location was selected on the basis of a bidding process.
- World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (international organization)
Nestlé SA: …led by such groups as World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and Save the Children, the boycott later spread to Europe and beyond. Nestlé was also targeted by lawsuits from the International Labor Rights Forum and anti-child-labour activists for alleged child-labour practices on its cocoa farms in Côte d’Ivoire. In…
- World Alliance of Reformed Churches (religious organization)
World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), cooperative international organization of Congregational, United, and Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Originally known as the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational), the group was formed in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1970 by
- World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational) (religious organization)
World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), cooperative international organization of Congregational, United, and Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Originally known as the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational), the group was formed in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1970 by
- World Alliance of YMCAs (Christian lay movement)
Christianity: 19th-century efforts: Their international bodies, the World Alliance of YMCAs and the World YWCA, were established in 1855 and 1894, respectively. The Evangelical Alliance, possibly the most significant agent of Christian unity in the 19th century, held a unique place among the volunteer associations of the age. Founded in London in…
- World Almanac (American publication)
New York World: …statistical and historical annual, the World Almanac. Its publication continues to this day.
- World and Other Places, The (short stories by Winterson)
Jeanette Winterson: …a collection of short stories, The World and Other Places (1998); the vivid memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (2011); and several children’s books and screenplays for television. She was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2006.
- World and the Book, The (work by Josipovici)
Gabriel Josipovici: …his books of criticism, including The World and the Book (1971), The Lessons of Modernism (1977), Writing and the Body (1982), The Mirror of Criticism (1983), The Book of God (1988), and Text and Voice (1992). His novels grew progressively experimental. The first three—The Inventory
- World and the Flesh (film by Cromwell [1932])
John Cromwell: Early career: The drama World and the Flesh (1932) centres on a sea captain (played by Bancroft) who comes to the aid of a ballerina (Miriam Hopkins) during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Following a dispute with Paramount, Cromwell went to RKO, which was reeling from the exit of…
- World Anti-Doping Agency (international organization)
Yelena Isinbayeva: …at the request of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which claimed that she was hindering Russia’s attempts to comply with the requirements set forth by that agency.
- World as Will and Idea, The (work by Schopenhauer)
continental philosophy: Schopenhauer: In his major philosophical work, The World as Will and Representation (1819), Schopenhauer reiterated Kant’s claim that, given the structure of human cognition, knowledge of things as they really are is impossible; the best that can be obtained are comparatively superficial representations of things.
- World as Will and Representation, The (work by Schopenhauer)
continental philosophy: Schopenhauer: In his major philosophical work, The World as Will and Representation (1819), Schopenhauer reiterated Kant’s claim that, given the structure of human cognition, knowledge of things as they really are is impossible; the best that can be obtained are comparatively superficial representations of things.
- World Association (Chinese political group)
anarchism: Anarchism in China: …most important of these groups—the World Association, founded in Paris in 1906, and the Society for the Study of Socialism, founded in Tokyo in 1907—adopted explicitly anarchist programs.
- World Association for Christian Communications
broadcasting: International organizations: …the most important are the World Association for Christian Communications, set up in 1968 and based in London, and the Association Catholique Internationale pour la Radio, la Télévision, et l’Audiovisuel, based in Brussels. Radio Free Europe, based in Munich and financed by U.S. government funds, was established to broadcast pro-Western…
- World Asthma Day
asthma: …which since 1998 has sponsored World Asthma Day, an annual event occurring on the first Tuesday in May that is intended to raise awareness of the disorder.
- World Athletics (international sports organization)
World Athletics, organization of track-and-field federations representing more than 200 countries and territories. The major aims of World Athletics are to establish friendly cooperation among members; eliminate hindrance to participation in international meets on racial, religious, or political
- World Bank (international organization)
World Bank, international organization affiliated with the United Nations (UN) and designed to finance projects that enhance the economic development of member states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the bank is the largest source of financial assistance to developing countries. It also provides
- World Bank Group (international organization)
World Bank, international organization affiliated with the United Nations (UN) and designed to finance projects that enhance the economic development of member states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the bank is the largest source of financial assistance to developing countries. It also provides
- World Baseball Classic (baseball tournament)
World Baseball Classic (WBC), international baseball tournament, first held in 2006, in which many of the world’s best players compete on behalf of national teams. The initial rounds are played on different continents. It was the first international baseball tournament to feature players currently
- world beat
global music, broadly speaking, music of the world’s cultures. The term global music replaced world music, which had been adopted in the 1980s to characterize non-English recordings that were released in Great Britain and the United States. Employed primarily by the media and record stores, this
- World Blitz Chess Championship (chess)
Magnus Carlsen: …Carlsen won the rapid and blitz titles in Moscow, thereby becoming the first person to hold all three FIDE titles: blitz, rapid, and regular.
- World Book Encyclopedia (reference work)
World Book Encyclopedia, American encyclopaedia designed to meet the curriculum needs of elementary through high-school students. It is produced by World Book, Inc., which is headquartered in Chicago. The World Book was first published in 1917 and revised annually from 1925. Its title was later
- World Boxing Association (international sports organization)
boxing: Professional organizations: …two organizations were established: the National Boxing Association, a private body, and the New York State Athletic Commission, a state agency. Divided control led to competing organizations’ sometimes recognizing different boxers as world champions at the same time. In Europe the ruling body was the International Boxing Union, which in…
- World Boxing Council (international sports organization)
boxing: Professional organizations: In the early 1960s the World Boxing Council (WBC) was formed, and the National Boxing Association changed its name to the World Boxing Association (WBA). The International Boxing Federation (IBF) was established in 1983, which added to an already convoluted situation. Since the 1980s it has been common for most…
- World Bridge Federation (international organization)
bridge: Bridge tournaments: …Oslo, Norway, in 1958, the World Bridge Federation was formed to control the world championship matches as previously played and to conduct an Olympiad open to all continents and countries beginning in 1960 and renewable each four years thereafter. Teams in international competition have six players each, of whom four…
- world calendar
calendar: Modern schemes for reform: …for business reckoning; and the World Calendar is designed to remedy this deficiency, being divided into four quarters of 91 days each, with an additional day at the end of the year. In each quarter, the first month is of 31 days and the second and third of 30 days…
- World Cancer Campaign (international program)
World Cancer Day: …new publications for the UICC’s World Cancer Campaign, which functions throughout the year and strives to raise cancer awareness by forming partnerships with health and cancer institutions and by proposing educational activities and creating public service announcements. In honour of World Cancer Day, many health institutions and cancer centres make…
- World Cancer Day
World Cancer Day, annual observance held on February 4 that is intended to increase global awareness of cancer. World Cancer Day originated in 2000 at the first World Summit Against Cancer, which was held in Paris. At this meeting, leaders of government agencies and cancer organizations from around
- World Centers of Compassion for Children International (international organization)
Betty Williams: Williams founded the World Centers of Compassion for Children International in 1997. In 2006 she joined Maguire and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Wangari Maathai, and Rigoberta Menchú to found the Nobel Women’s Initiative.
- World Central Kitchen (non-governmental organization)
José Andrés: World Central Kitchen:
- world championship (sports)
figure skating: World championships (worlds): Worlds are held annually, hosted by ISU member countries throughout the world. The number of skaters sent by each nation is based on the team’s performance from the previous year. A country’s final placements (in men’s, women’s, pairs, or dance) must total…
- World Championship Tennis (international sports organization)
tennis: Professional and open tennis: …Cup captain George MacCall, and World Championship Tennis (WCT), founded by New Orleans promoter Dave Dixon and funded by Dallas oil and football tycoon Lamar Hunt. Between them they signed a significant number of the world’s top players, professional and amateur.
- World Championship Wrestling (American company)
Vince McMahon: …magnate Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling [WCW]) experienced a resurgence, and its cable broadcasts soon surpassed those of the WWF in viewership. McMahon responded by hiring new writers to create soap-opera-like story lines. Skimpily clad female wrestlers became prominent, as did “colourful language” (profanity) and “sign language” (obscene…
- World Chess Federation (international organization)
chess: The world championship and FIDE: …FIDE, its French acronym for Fédération Internationale des Échecs.
- World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy (work by Kanter)
Rosabeth Moss Kanter: …Research and Policy Agenda (1977), World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy (1995), Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers of Management (1997), Move: Putting America’s Infrastructure Back in the Lead (2015), and Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time…
- World Climate Programme
Antarctica: Post-IGY research: …Biological Programme (1964–74), and the World Climate Research Programme (begun in 1980). It also advises the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Representatives of member nations attend business meetings and biennial open science conferences to bring scientists together across disciplines.…
- World Climate Research Programme
Antarctica: Post-IGY research: …Biological Programme (1964–74), and the World Climate Research Programme (begun in 1980). It also advises the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Representatives of member nations attend business meetings and biennial open science conferences to bring scientists together across disciplines.…
- World Commission on Dams (international organization)
Medha Patkar: …was a representative to the World Commission on Dams, the first independent global advisory body on dam-related issues of water, power, and alternatives; the commission was set up in 1998 and in 2000 issued its influential final report, which contained recommendations on improving development outcomes. Patkar also worked with local…
- World Commission on Environment and Development (UN)
Gro Harlem Brundtland: …became chair of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, which in 1987 issued Our Common Future, the report that introduced the idea of “sustainable development” and led to the first Earth Summit. In 1998 she became director general of the WHO, where she tackled global pandemics such as…
- World Communion of Reformed Churches (religious organization)
World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), cooperative international organization of Congregational, United, and Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Originally known as the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian and Congregational), the group was formed in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1970 by
- World Community of Al-Islam in the West (religious organization)
Nation of Islam, African American movement and organization, founded in 1930 and known for its teachings combining elements of traditional Islam with Black nationalist ideas. The Nation also promotes racial unity and self-help and maintains a strict code of discipline among members. Islam was
- World Confederation of Labour
World Confederation of Labour (WCL), labour confederation founded as the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions in 1920 to represent the interests of Christian labour unions in western Europe and Latin America. It was reconstituted under its present name in 1968. Although the
- World Conference (religious meeting)
Community of Christ: The World Conference, which meets biennially in Independence, is the supreme legislative body of the church, and all general administrative officers, including those of the first presidency, must receive its endorsement. The presiding bishop, who is in charge of the exchequer of the church, presents his…
- World Conservation Union
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), network of environmental organizations founded as the International Union for the Protection of Nature in October 1948 in Fontainebleau, France, to promote nature conservation and the ecologically sustainable use of natural resources. It
- World Convention of Churches of Christ
World Convention of Churches of Christ, international agency of the Disciples of Christ. Its headquarters are in New York City. It exercises no authority over its member churches but does provide a means for fellowship and mutual activities for the various national churches. It first met in
- World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches (WCC), Christian ecumenical organization founded in 1948 in Amsterdam as “a fellowship of Churches which accept Jesus Christ our Lord as God and Saviour.” The WCC is not a church, nor does it issue orders or directions to the churches. It works for the unity and renewal of
- World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (international organization)
credit union: Another organization, the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc., represents credit unions worldwide.
- World Council of Service Clubs (international organization)
World Council of Service Clubs, cooperative organization formed in 1946 by several international associations of young men’s service clubs for the purpose of furthering international cooperation and understanding and to encourage the extension of such clubs. Originally known as the World Council of
- World Council of Young Men’s Service Clubs (international organization)
World Council of Service Clubs, cooperative organization formed in 1946 by several international associations of young men’s service clubs for the purpose of furthering international cooperation and understanding and to encourage the extension of such clubs. Originally known as the World Council of