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 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


Jackson, `Stonewall`
(Thomas Jonathan) US Confederate general in the American Civil War. He acquired his nickname and his reputation at the Battle of Bull Run, from the firmness with which his brigade resisted the Northern attack. In 1862 he organized the Shenandoah Valley campaign and assisted Robert E Lee's ...

jay
Any of several birds belonging to the crow family, generally brightly coloured and native to Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In the Eurasian common jay (Garrulus glandarius), the body is fawn with patches of white, blue, and black on the wings and tail. (Family Corvidae, order Pass...

jaguar
Largest species of cat in the Americas, formerly ranging from the southwestern USA to southern South America, but now extinct in most of North America. It can grow up to 2.5 m/8 ft long including the tail. Male jaguars weigh up to 150 kg/330 lb; females up to 90 kg/198 lb. The backgro...

jackdaw
Bird belonging to the crow family, native to Europe and Asia. It is mainly black, but greyish on the sides and back of the head, and about 33 cm/1.1 ft long. It nests in tree holes or on buildings. Usually it lays five bluish-white eggs, mottled with tiny dark brown spots. Jackdaws feed on a wide range of insects, molluscs, spiders, worms, ...

jackal
Any of several wild dogs found in South Asia, southern Europe, and North Africa. Jackals can grow to 80 cm/2.7 ft long, and have greyish-brown fur and a bushy tail. (Genus Canis.) The golden jackal (C. aureus) of South Asia, southern Europe, and North Africa is 45 cm/1.5 ft high and 60 cm/2 ft l...

jacana
Wading bird with very long toes and claws enabling it to walk on the floating leaves of water plants. There are seven species. Jacanas are found in Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, South Asia, and Australia, usually in marshy areas. (Family Jacanidae, order Charadriiformes.) The Austra...

jacamar
Insect-eating bird related to the woodpeckers, found in dense tropical forest in Central and South America. It has a long, straight, sharply-pointed bill, a long tail, and paired toes. The plumage is golden bronze with a steely lustre. Jacamars are usually seen sitting motionless on trees from which they fly out to catch insects on the wing...

jaw
One of two bony structures that form the framework of the mouth in all vertebrates except lampreys and hagfishes (the agnathous or jawless vertebrates). They consist of the upper jawbone (maxilla), which is fused to the skull, and the lower jawbone (mandible), which is hinged at each side to the bones of the temple by ligaments

jaguarundi
Wild cat found in forests in Central and South America. Up to 1.1 m/3.5 ft long, it is very slim with rather short legs and short rounded ears. It is uniformly coloured dark brown or chestnut. A good climber, it feeds on birds and small mammals and, unusually for a cat, has been reported to eat fruit. (Species Felis yaguoaroundi
Jacquard, Joseph Marie
French textile manufacturer. He invented a punched-card system for programming designs on a silk-weaving loom (the Jacquard loom). In 1801 he constructed looms that used a series of punched cards to control the pattern of longitudinal warp threads depressed before each sideways passage of the shuttle. On later machines the punched cards wer...

jargon
Language that is complex and hard to understand, usually because it is highly technical or occupational, used in the wrong contexts, or designed to impress or confuse (`technical jargon`; `writing in pseudoscientific jargon`; `using a meaningless jargon`). Jargon can be subcategorized as, for example, ...

Japanese language
Language of East Asia, spoken almost exclusively in the islands of Japan. Traditionally isolated, but possibly related to Korean, Japanese was influenced by Mandarin Chinese especially in the 6th–9th centuries and is written in Chinese-derived ideograms supplemented by two syllabic systems. Japanese has a well-defined structure of syll...

jazz
Important type of popular music featuring solo virtuosic improvisation. It developed in the southern USA at the turn of the 20th century. Initially music for dancing, often with a vocalist, it had its roots in African-American and other popular music, especially ragtime. Developing from blues and spirituals (religious folk songs) in the souther...

Jason
In Greek mythology, the leader of the Argonauts who sailed in the Argo to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece. He eloped with Medea, daughter of the king of Colchis, who had helped him achieve his goal, but later deserted her

Janus
In Roman mythology, the god of all openings, including doorways and passageways, and the beginning of the day, month, and year. January was dedicated to him. He is represented as having two faces, one looking forwards and one back, (in sculpture, a herm), and was associated with wisdom because he knew the past and could foresee the future. In Roman...

Jainism
Click images to enlargeAncient Indian religion, sometimes regarded as an offshoot of Hinduism. Jains emphasize the importance of not injuring living beings, and their code of ethics is based on sympathy and compassion for all forms of life. They also believe in karma but not in any deity. It is a monastic, ascetic religio...

Jacob, François
French biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965, with Jacques Monod and André Lwoff, for their work on the genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis. They pioneered research into molecular genetics and showed how the production of proteins from DNA is controlled

Jacuzzi, Candido
Italian-born US engineer who invented the Jacuzzi, a pump that produces a whirlpool effect in a bathtub. The Jacuzzi was commercially launched as a health and recreational product in the mid-1950s

jade
Semi-precious stone consisting of either jadeite, NaAlSi2O6 (a pyroxene), or nephrite, Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH,F )2 (an amphibole), ranging from colourless through shades of green to black...

jack
(tool) Tool or machine for lifting, hoisting, or moving heavy weights, such as motor vehicles. A screw jack uses the principle of the screw to magnify an applied effort; in a car jack, for example, turning the handle many times causes the lifting screw to rise slightly, and the effort is m...

Jarvik 7
The first successful artificial heart intended for permanent implantation in a human being. Made from polyurethane plastic and aluminium, it is powered by compressed air. Barney Clark became the first person to receive a Jarvik 7, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, in 1982; it kept him alive for 112 days

Jackson, Andrew
7th president of the USA 1829–37, a Democrat. A major general in the War of 1812, he defeated a British force in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 and was involved in the war that led to the purchase of Florida in 1819. The political organization he built as president, with his secretary of state Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), was the basi...

Jackson, Jesse Louis
US Democratic politician, cleric, and campaigner for minority rights. He contested his party's 1984 and 1988 presidential nominations in an effort to increase voter registration and to put black issues on the national agenda. He is an eloquent public speaker, and in 1998 emerged as a spiritual adviser to President Bill Clinton. He withdrew from...

Jaruzelski, Wojciech Witold
Polish army general, appointed first secretary of the Polish United Workers Party (PUWP) in 1981. He was responsible for the imposition of martial law in Poland in December 1981. He was prime minister 1981–85 and president 1985–90. During martial law he attempted to suppress the Solidarity trade union, interning its leaders and political ...

jazz dance
Dance based on African techniques and rhythms, developed by black Americans around 1917. It entered mainstream dance in the 1920s, mainly in show business, and from the 1960s the teachers and choreographers Matt Mattox and Luigi expanded its vocabulary. Contemporary choreographers as diverse as Jerome Robbins and Alvin Ailey used it in their work

Janata
Alliance of political parties in India formed in 1971 to oppose Indira Gandhi's Congress Party. Victory in the election brought Morarji Desai to power as prime minister but he was unable to control the various groups within the alliance and resigned in 1979. His successors fared little better, and the elections of 1980 overwhelmingly returned I...

jasmine
Any of a group of subtropical plants with white or yellow flowers. The common jasmine (J. officinale) has fragrant pure white flowers that yield jasmine oil, used in perfumes; the Chinese winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum) has bright yellow flowers that appear before the leaves. (Genus Jasminum
Jamaica
Click images to enlargeIsland in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba and west of Haiti. Government Jamaica is a multiparty democracy, with a presidential executive. Its 1962 constitution follows closely the unwritten British model, with a resident constitutional head of state, the governor general, who represents the British...

Japan
Click images to enlargeCountry in northeast Asia, occupying a group of islands of which the four main ones are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Japan is situated between the Sea of Japan (to the west) and the north Pacific (to the east), east of North and South Korea. Government Japan is a parliamentary democracy. I...

James, St
(the Great) New Testament apostle, originally a Galilean fisherman. He was the son of Zebedee and brother of the apostle John. He was put to death by Herod Agrippa. James is the patron saint of Spain. His feast day is 25 July

James I
(of England) King of England from 1603 and Scotland (as James VI) from 1567. The son of Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband, Lord Darnley, he succeeded to the Scottish throne on the enforced abdication of his mother and assumed...

James, St
(the Little) In the New Testament, a disciple of Christ, son of Alphaeus. Feast day 3 May

James, St
(the Just) The New Testament brother of Jesus, to whom Jesus appeared after the Resurrection. Leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem, he was the author of the biblical Epistle of James

James IV
King of Scotland from 1488. He came to the throne after his followers murdered his father, James III, at Sauchieburn. His reign was internally peaceful, but he allied himself with France against England, invaded in 1513, and was defeated and killed at the Battle of Flodden. James IV was a patron of poets and architects as well as a military leader....

James II
(of England) King of England and Scotland (as James VII) from 1685. The second son of Charles I, he succeeded his brother, Charles II. In 1660 James married Anne Hyde (1637–1671; mother of Mary II and Anne) and in 1673 Mary of Modena (mother of James Edward Stuart). He became a Cathol...

Jammu and Kashmir
State of north India; area 222,200 sq km/85,791 sq mi including area occupied by Pakistan and China; population (2001 est) 10,069,900 (Indian-occupied territory). The main cities are Jammu (winter capital), Srinagar (summer capital and the seat of state government), and Leh. The main ...

Javanese
The largest ethnic group in the Republic of Indonesia. There are more than 50 million speakers of Javanese, which belongs to the western branch of the Austronesian family. Although the Javanese have a Hindu-Buddhist heritage, they are today predominantly Muslim, practising a branch of Islam known as Islam Jawa, which contains...

Jade Emperor
In Chinese religion, the supreme god of pantheistic Taoism, also known as the August Personage of Jade and Father Heaven, who watches over human actions and is the ruler of life and death. His court inspects the earth annually, making a detailed account from which he apportions praise or blame; the gods could be promoted or lose their rank acco...

Jazz Age
The hectic and exciting 1920s in the USA, when `hot jazz` became fashionable as part of the general rage for spontaneity and social freedom. The phrase is attributed to the novelist F Scott Fitzgerald

James I
(of Scotland) King of Scotland (1406–37), who assumed power in 1424. He was a cultured and strong monarch whose improvements in the administration of justice brought him popularity among the common people. He was assassinated by a group of conspirators led by the Earl of Atholl

Jakeš, Miloš
Czech communist politician, a member of the Politburo from 1981 and party leader 1987–89. A conservative, he supported the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. He was forced to resign in November 1989 following a series of pro-democracy mass rallies. Jakeš, an electrical engineer, joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (CC...

James VI
Of Scotland. See James I of England

James VII
Of Scotland. See James II of England

jansky
Unit of radiation received from outer space, used in radio astronomy. It is equal to 10-26 watts per square metre per hertz, and is named after US engineer Karl Jansky

Jaguar
British car manufacturer that has enjoyed a long association with motor racing; owned by Ford from 1989. One of the most successful companies in the 1950s, Jaguar won the Le Mans 24-hour race five times 1951–58. They enjoyed a comeback at Le Mans in the late 1980s winning in 1988 and 1990. Jaguar made its Formula 1 debut in 2000, after...

Janequin, Clément
French composer of chansons and psalms. He was choirmaster of Angers Cathedral 1534–37 and was based in Paris from 1549. His songs of the 1520s–30s are witty and richly textured in imitative effects, for example `Le Chant des oiseaux/Birdsong`, `La Chasse/The Hunt`, and `Les Cris de Paris/Street Cries ...

Jaffna
Port and capital of Jaffna district, Northern Province, Sri Lanka; population (2001) 145,600. It was the focal point of Hindu Tamil nationalism and the scene of recurring riots during the 1980s. During the civil war from 1983 the port lost much of its trade as much of the city was ruined in the conflict, though fishing remains important to the ...

Jalalabad
Capital of Nangarhar province, east Afghanistan, on the road from Kabul to Peshawar in Pakistan; population (2001 est) 154,200, of which the majority are Pathan (Pashtun). The town stands on the Kabul River, at a height of 590 m/1,940 ft, and lies on the route connecting Kabul and Peshawar via the Khyber Pass. Jalalabad is well-placed t...

James V
King of Scotland from 1513, who assumed power in 1528. During the long period of his minority, he was caught in a struggle between pro-French and pro-English factions. When he assumed power, he allied himself with France and upheld Catholicism against the Protestants. Following an attack on Scottish territory by Henry VIII's forces, he ...

Jahweh
Another spelling of Jehovah, the Lord (meaning God) in the Hebrew Bible

Janata Dal
Indian centre-left coalition, formed in October 1988 under the leadership of V P Singh and comprising the Janata, Lok Dal (B), Congress (S), and Jan Morcha parties. In a loose alliance with the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India, the Janata Dal was victorious in the November 1989 general election, takin...

Jackson
Largest city and state capital of Mississippi, USA, on the Pearl River, in the central part of the state, 70 km/43 mi east of Vicksburg; seat of Hinds County; population (2001 est) 185,800. It produces electrical machinery, furniture, cottonseed oil, and iron and steel castings, and owes its prosperity to the discovery of gas fields to ...

Jacksonville
City and port in Duval County, northeastern Florida; population (2000 est) 735,600. It is one of the chief southern commercial centres on the Atlantic coast, with extensive rail, air, and highway connections; it is also a port of entry, a financial centre, and a tourist resort. Manufactured goods include wood and paper products, ships, chem...

Jat
An ethnic group living in Pakistan and northern India, and numbering about 11 million; they are the largest group in northern India. The Jat are predominantly farmers. They speak Punjabi, a language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. They are thought to be related to the Romany people

JANET
In computing, network linking academic and research institutes in the UK. JANET is composed of many interconnected smaller networks, controlled by a committee called the Joint Network Team. Sites that subscribe to the network can communicate with each other, with other academic networks, and with external services

Java
(programming language) In computing, programming language much like C developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1995. Java has been adopted as a multipurpose, cross-platform lingua franca for network computing, including the World Wide Web. When users connect to a server that uses ...

Japan: history 1869–1912
For the history of Japan prior to 1869, see Japan: prehistoric and ancient history to AD 400, Japan: early feudal history 400–1192, and Japan: shogunate and restoration history 1192–1869. The period 1869 to 1912 is also known as the Meiji era. Following the restoration of imperial power under Emperor Mitsuhito Meiji in 1869, J...

James II
(of Scotland) King of Scotland from 1437, who assumed power in 1449. The only surviving son of James I, he was supported by most of the nobles and parliament. He sympathized with the Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses, and attacked English possessions in southern Scotland. He was killed...

James III
King of Scotland from 1460, who assumed power in 1469. His reign was marked by rebellions by the nobles, including his brother Alexander, Duke of Albany. He was murdered during a rebellion supported by his son, who then ascended the throne as James IV. Eldest son of James II, he became king at the age of nine. In 1469 he married Margaret, daughter ...

Jackson, Colin Ray
Welsh athlete. He won the 110-metre hurdles gold medal at the 1993 World Championships at Stuttgart, Germany, in a world record time of 12.91 seconds. He also excelled indoors, and in 1994 set an indoor world 60-metre hurdles record of 7.30 seconds. He won his seventh British indoor title at the AAA National Championships in Cardiff, Wales,...

jati
In Hinduism, caste into which a Hindu is born

Jawa
Alternative spelling of Java, the most populated island of Indonesia

Janmashtami
Hindu festival held in celebration of the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar (incarnation) of the Hindu god Vishnu. The festival falls on the eighth day of the dark half of the month Bhadrapada (August –September). The festival is marked with prayer, drama illustrating events in Krishna's life, and a day-long fast, broken at midnight,...

Japanese print
See ukiyo-e (Japanese `pictures of the floating world`)

Jaafari, Ibrahim
Iraqi medical doctor and Shia politician, prime minister 2005–06. A conservative Shia who had lived abroad during the regime of Saddam Hussein, he returned to Iraq after Saddam's overthrow by US-led forces in 2003 and served as vice-president in the US-appointed regime. He led the Islamic Dawa party, a key element of the United...

Jew's harp
Musical instrument consisting of a two-pronged metal frame inserted between the teeth, and a springlike tongue plucked with the finger. The resulting drone excites resonances in the mouth. Changes in the shape of the mouth cavity will vary the pitch of these resonances to produce a melody

jet lag
The effect of a sudden switch of time zones in air travel, resulting in tiredness and feeling `out of step` with day and night. Using the hormone melatonin at the desired bedtime may help to lessen the effect of jet lag by resetting the body clock. See also circadian rhythm

Jerusalem
Click images to enlargeAncient city of Palestine, 762 m/2,500 ft above sea level, situated in hills 55 km/34 mi from the Mediterranean, divided in 1948 between Jordan and the new republic of Israel; area (pre-1967) 37.5 sq km/14.5 sq mi, (post-1967) 108 sq km/42 sq mi, including areas of the We...

Jersey
Largest of the Channel Islands; capital St Helier; area 117 sq km/45 sq mi; population (2001) 87,200. It is governed by a lieutenant governor, representing the English crown and an assembly. Jersey cattle were originally bred here. Jersey gave its name to a woollen garment The island was occupied from 1940 until 1945 by German force...

Jerome, St
One of the early Christian leaders and scholars known as the Fathers of the Church. His Latin versions of the Old and New Testaments form the basis of the Roman Catholic Vulgate. He is usually depicted with a lion. His feast day is 30 September

Jerome, Jerome K(lapka)
English journalist and writer. His works include the novel Three Men in a Boat (1889), a humorous account of a trip on the Thames from Kingston to Oxford; the humorous essays `Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow` (1889); and the play The Passing of the Third Floor Back (story 1908, dramatized vers...

Jericho
Town in the Jordan valley, west of the River Jordan and north of the Dead Sea, 24 km/15 mi northeast of Jerusalem; population (1995 est) 25,000. The site of the old city is the centre of a fertile district where palms, rose trees, grapes, and balsams are grown. It was occupied by Israel from 1967–94 when responsibility for its administ...

Jeremiah
Old Testament Hebrew prophet, whose ministry continued from 626 to 586 BC. He was imprisoned during Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem on suspicion of intending to desert to the enemy. On the city's fall, he retired to Egypt

Jehovah
In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the name of God, revealed to Moses; in Hebrew texts it is represented by the letters YHVH (without the vowels `a o a`) because it was regarded as too sacred to be pronounced; other religions say the letters as Yahweh. Naming something is a way of encompassing and understanding it, so Jews belie...

Jedda
Alternative spelling for the Saudi Arabian port Jiddah

Jesuit
Member of the largest and most influential Roman Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1534, with the aims of protecting Catholicism against the Reformation and carrying out missionary work. During the 16th and 17th centuries Jesuits took a leading role in the Counter-Reformation...

jerboa
Any of a group of small nocturnal rodents with long and powerful hind legs developed for leaping. There are about 25 species of jerboa, native to desert areas of North Africa and Southwest Asia. (Family Dipodidae.) The common North African jerboa (Jaculus orientalis) is a typical species. Its body is about 15 cm/6 in long and...

jellyfish
Marine invertebrate, belonging among the coelenterates (subphylum Cnidaria), with an umbrella-shaped body made of a semi-transparent jellylike substance, often tinted with blue, red, or orange colours, and having stinging tentacles that trail in the water. Most adult jellyfish move freely, bu...

jet stream
Narrow band of very fast wind (velocities of over 150 kph/95 mph) found at altitudes of 10–16 km/6–10 mi in the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere. Jet streams usually occur about the latitudes of the Westerlies (35°-60°). The jet stream may be used by high flying aircraft to speed their journeys. Their discover...

jet propulsion
Click images to enlargeMethod of propulsion in which an object is propelled in one direction by a jet, or stream of gases, moving in the other. This follows from Isaac Newton's third law of motion: `To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.` The most widespread application of the jet prin...

Jenner, Edward
English physician who pioneered vaccination. In Jenner's day, smallpox was a major killer. His discovery in 1796 that inoculation with cowpox gives immunity to smallpox was a great medical breakthrough. Jenner observed that people who worked with cattle and contracted cowpox from them never subsequently caught smallpox. In 1798 he published his...

Jehovah's Witness
Member of a religious organization originating in the USA in 1872 under Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916). Jehovah's Witnesses attach great importance to Christ's second coming, which Russell predicted would occur in 1914, and which Witnesses still believe is imminent. All Witnesses are expected to take part in house-to-house pr...

Jezebel
In the Old Testament, daughter of the king of Sidon. She married King Ahab of Israel, and was brought into conflict with the prophet Elijah by her introduction of the worship of Baal

jet
(mineral) In earth science, hard, black variety of lignite, a type of coal. It is cut and polished for use in jewellery and ornaments. Articles made of jet have been found in Bronze Age tombs

JET
Research facility at Culham, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, that conducts experiments on nuclear fusion. Opened in 1984, it is the focus of the European effort to produce a safe and environmentally sound fusion-power reactor. On 9 November 1991, the JET tokamak, operating with a mixture of deuterium and tritium, produced a 1.7 megawatt pu...

Jerablus
Ancient Syrian city, adjacent to Carchemish on the River Euphrates

Jersey City
City and port in northeastern New Jersey, USA, on a peninsula bordered by the Hudson and Hackensack rivers to the north, and by New York and Newark bays to the south; seat of Hudson County; population (2000 est) 240,100. Jersey City is separated from New York by 2 km/1.2 mi of river, and connected with Manhattan Island via the Hudson Ri...

Jew
Follower of Judaism, the Jewish religion. The term is also used to refer to those who claim descent from the ancient Hebrews, a Semitic people of the Middle East. Today, some may recognize their ethnic heritage but not practise the religious or cultural traditions. The term came into use in medieval Europe, based on the Latin name for Judeans, the ...

Jekyll, Gertrude
English landscape gardener and writer. She created over 300 gardens, many in collaboration with the architect Edwin Lutyens. In her books, she advocated colour design in garden planning and natural gardens of the cottage type, with plentiful herbaceous borders. Originally a painter and embroiderer, she took up landscape design at the age of 48 when...

jetfoil
Advanced type of hydrofoil boat built by Boeing, propelled by water jets. It features horizontal, fully submerged hydrofoils fore and aft and has a sophisticated computerized control system to maintain its stability in all waters. Jetfoils have been in service worldwide since 1975. A jetfoil service operates across the English Channel between Dover...

Jerusalem artichoke
A variety of artichoke

Jeffreys, Alec John
English geneticist who discovered the DNA probes necessary for accurate genetic fingerprinting so that a murderer or rapist could be identified by, for example, traces of blood, tissue, or semen

Jellicoe, Geoffrey Alan
English architect, landscape architect, and historian. His contribution to 20th-century thinking on landscapes and gardens has been mainly through his writings, notably The Landscape of Man (1975). However, he also made an impact as a designer, working in a contemplative and poetic vein and frequently incorporating water and ...

Jennings, Elizabeth Joan
English poet. Her poems are concerned with personal subjects, written in a plain, traditional style. Particularly well known are those which describe her experiences of a nervous breakdown, while others reflect her religious beliefs. Her books include A Way of Looking (1955; Somerset Maugham award), Song for a Birth ...

Jenkins, Neil Roger
Welsh rugby union player. A goal kicker who played at stand-off, he was sometimes selected at fullback. In October 1999 he overtook Michael Lynagh's record of 911 points to become the highest international points scorer of all time and, in February 2001, he became the first player to score over 1,000 international points. He also became the...

Jew
(medieval England) The term `Jew`, for a follower of Judaism (the Jewish religion), came into use in medieval Europe, based on the Latin name for Judeans, the people of Judah. In medieval times, Jewish people were amongst the minority who were literate – every Jewish community h...

Jewish ethics
Questions of right and wrong considered within a Jewish context. In Judaism, guidance over moral issues and social conduct is given in the Torah, which is believed to come directly from God through Moses. The Torah contains 613 mitzvot (commandments), including the Ten Commandments, that Jews should follow in order to serve God, develop the self, a...

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer
German-born novelist, short-story writer, and screenplay writer. She was educated in England and has spent much of her adult life in India, the setting of some of her most widely acclaimed novels, including Heat and Dust (1975), which won the Booker Prize. Among her best-known screenplays are the films A Room...

Jharkhand
State of northeast India, bordered by Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh; area 74,677 sq km/28,833 sq mi; population (2001 est) 26,909,400. It was carved from Bihar and was incorporated in November 2000. The capital is Ranchi. Jharkhand accounts for nearly half of India's mineral wealth, and there is an abun...

Jinsha Jiang
River rising in southwest China and forming the Chang Jiang (Yangtze Kiang) at Yibin