Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics

The Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO), informally named the “Olympics of the Mind,” is a youth program of the NAACP that is “designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African American high school students.” The year-long program recognizes and awards young people who have demonstrated academic and cultural achievement. Gold, silver, and bronze medals, along with cash awards, are awarded to winners in each of 29 categories of competition in the sciences, humanities, business, performing and visual arts, and local and national entrepreneurship/ culinary competitions. Active in nearly 400 cities, ACT-SO is the largest academic promotion for black youths in America.

History

ACT-SO was founded in 1978 by author and journalist Vernon Jarrett (1918-2004). The program was intended to give recognition to young people who could demonstrate academic, scientific, and artistic achievement, allowing young people to gain recognition equal to that often achieved by entertainers and athletes. The first national ACT-SO competition was held in 1978 in Portland, Oregon.

Act! (Italy)

Act! (Italian: Fare!, F!) is a centre-right political party in Italy, based in Veneto.

The party is led by Flavio Tosi, mayor of Verona and former leader of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord, who was ejected from it in the run-up of the 2015 Venetian regional election, due to his opposition to Matteo Salvini's political line.

Act! was immediately joined by three deputies (Matteo Bragantini, Roberto Caon, Emanuele Prataviera), three senators (Patrizia Bisinella, Raffaela Bellot, Emanuela Munerato) and four regional councilors in Veneto (three elected with the Tosi List for Veneto and one with Il Veneto del Fare). All of them were Tosi loyalists who followed him out of the League.

In July Michele Boldrin, leader of Act to Stop the Decline, sued Act! as the names of the two parties looked too similar.

In September a fourth deputy joined the party: Marco Marcolin, also from Liga Veneta–Lega Nord.

In October Act! became an occasional supporter of the centre-left government led by Matteo Renzi, whom Tosi held in high esteem, fueling rumors that the party might either enter in stable alliance with or join Renzi's Democratic Party.

Act (drama)

An act is a division or unit of a theatre work, including a play, film, opera, and musical theatre. The number of acts in a theatrical work can range from one to five or more, depending on how the writer structures the story. The duration of an act usually ranges from 30 to 90 minutes, but may be as short as 10 minutes.

The word act can also be used for major sections of other entertainment, such as variety shows, television programs, music hall performances, and cabaret.

Acts and scenes

An act is a part of a play defined by elements such as rising action, climax and resolution. A scene is a part of an act defined with the changing of characters.

To be more specific, the elements that create the plot of a play or any story, and divide a play into acts include the exposition, which give information, setting up the rest of the story. Another is the inciting incident, which starts all of the action that will follow. Going along with the inciting incident, the major dramatic question is formed; this holds the rest of the play. The majority of the play is made up of complications. These are the things that change the action. These complications lead up to the crisis, this is the turning point. Most of the time, at this point, the major dramatic question has been answered. Finally, there is the resolution. This is the end of the play where everything comes together and the situation has been resolved. This leaves the audience satisfied with the play as a whole. These more specific elements of plot in a play are the main things used to divide a play up into acts and sometimes scenes.

Act (document)

An act is an instrument that records a fact or something that has been said, done, or agreed. Acts generally take the form of legal instruments of writing that have probative value and executory force. They are usually accepted as self-authenticating demonstrative evidence in court proceedings, though with the precarious status of notaries public and their acts under common law, this is not always so.

Common types of acts are legislative, judicial, and notarial acts.

Legislative acts

Legislative acts (fully, acts of statute), or more commonly statutes, are the cornerstone of statutory and regulatory law. They may include in a monarchical system any royal edict, proclamation, or decree setting forth or establishing law as it affects all citizens. In parliamentary or congressional systems, acts passed by a legislature are known as acts of Parliament or acts of Congress.

Notarial acts

A notarial act (or notarial instrument or notarial writing) is any written narration of facts (recitals) drawn up by a notary public or civil-law notary authenticated by his signature and official seal and detailing a procedure which has been transacted by or before him in his official capacity. A notarial act is the only lawful means of proving those facts of which it is the recognized record, whereas on other matters it is usually inadmissible, because, being beyond the powers entrusted to the notary by law, it is non-official. In most common-law countries, multiple-page acts are bound together using a sewn or knotted ribbon (referred to as silk), the ends of which are secured by a wafer impressed with the notary's seal. This is called annexing or annexure.