Encyclopedia

Group process In organizational development (OD), or group dynamics, the phrase group process refers to the understanding of the behavior of people in groups, such as task groups that are trying to solve a problem or make a decision. An individual with expertise in group process, such as a trained facilitator, can assist a group in accomplishing its objective by diagnosing how well the group is functioning as a problem-solving or decision-making entity and intervening to alter the group's operating behavior.
Group psychological abuse Group psychological abuse refers to groups where methods of psychological abuse are frequently or systematically used on their members. Such abuse would be practices that treat the members as objects one is free to manipulate instead of respecting their autonomy, human rights, identity and dignity.
Group purchasing organization A group purchasing organization is an entity that leverages the purchasing power of a group of businesses to obtain discounts from vendors based on the collective buying power of the GPO members. Many GPOs are funded by administrative fees that are actually paid by the vendors.
Group Policy Group Policy is part of Microsoft's IntelliMirror technology which aims to reduce the overall cost of supporting users of Windows. Group policy provides centralized management of computers and users in an Active Directory environment.
Group representation Group representation theory is the branch of mathematics that studies properties of abstract groups via their representations as linear transformations of vector spaces. Representation theory is important because it enables many group-theoretic problems to be reduced to problems in linear algebra, which is a very well-understood theory.
Group rights Group rights are rights that all members of a group have in certain countries, solely by virtue of being in that group. Hence, group rights are not universalized as individual rights are, since not all individuals have the same rights, except in countries where all individuals are guaranteed the same rights.
Group Representation Constituency A Group Representation Constituency or GRC is an unique type of constituency embedded in Singapore's electoral system and introduced since the 1988 General Elections and was formed by merging a existing neighbouring Single Member Constituencies.
Group selection In evolutionary biology, group selection refers to the idea that alleles can become fixed or spread in a population because of the benefits they bestow on groups, regardless of the fitness of individuals within that group.
Group sex Group sex is sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time. The main focus of this page is group sex among humans; however, group sex also exists with other species in the animal kingdom -- e.
Group Seven Children's Foundation Group Seven Children's Foundation or Group 7 is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to provide material, moral and emotional relief to the children of the former Yugoslavia. Group 7 is a result of the humanitarian effort of seven of the former Yugoslavia's world renowned basketball players.
Group Sounds Group Sounds is a genre of Japanese rock music that was popular in the mid to late 1960s. The most well known bands of that era were The Tigers, The Tempters, The Spiders, The Golden Cups, The Mops, The Blue Comets, The Funnies, The Wild Ones, The Happenings Four and others.
Group Sounds (band) Group Sounds is a popular New York City band which formed in 2004. Known widely for their catchy songs, the boys combine fuzzed up guitars, vocal harmonies, bass, drums and keys to create a danceable version of the punk rock of yesteryear.
Group TAC Group TAC (株式会社グループ・タック Kabushiki Kaisha Gurūpu · Takku) is a Japanese anime and computer graphics studio located in Shibuya, Tokyo, and founded in 1968. They have worked on movies, videos, TV shows, and commercials, and have contributed to all stages of the process, including planning, production, sound effects, and so on.
Group Technology Group Technology or GT is a manufacturing philosophy in which the parts having similarities (Geometry and/or manufacturing process) are grouped together to achieve higher level of integration between the design and manufacturing functions of a firm. The aim is to reduce work-in-progress and improve delivery performance by reducing lead times.
Group Theatre (London) The Group Theatre (London, no connection with the New York company with the same name) was an experimental theatre company founded in 1932 by Rupert Doone and Robert Medley. It was active from 1932 to 1939 and reformed as The Group Theatre Ltd.
Group Theatre (New York) The Group Theatre was a theater collective, formed in New York in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. It was intended as a base for the kind of theater they and their colleagues believed in — a forceful, naturalistic and highly disciplined artistry.
Group velocity The group velocity of a wave is the velocity with which the variations in the shape of the wave's amplitude (known as the modulation or envelope of the wave) propagate through space. The group velocity is defined by the equation:
Group-dynamic game Group-dynamic games are experiential education exercises which help people to learn about themselves, interpersonal relationships, and how groups function from a group dynamics or social psychological point of view.
Group-serving bias Group-serving bias is identical to self-serving bias except that it takes place between groups rather than individuals, under which group members make dispositional attributions for their group's successes and situational attributions for group failures, and vice versa for outsider groups.
GroupDAV GroupDAV is a computer protocol used to connect Open Source groupware clients with OpenSource groupware servers. It is an effort to create a "down-to-the-earth" protocol, major goal of GroupDAV being to keep the protocol as simple as possible, and to stay focused on real world issues with OpenSource and free software applications.
Groupe Bull Groupe Bull (also known as Bull Computer or simply Bull) is a French computer company based in Les Clayes-sous-Bois, outside Paris. The company has also been known at various times as Bull General Electric, Honeywell Bull, CII Honeywell Bull, and Bull HN.
Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Europeen The Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Europeen was established in 1978 to bring together the actuarial associations in the European Union to represent the actuarial profession in discussion with the EU institutions on existing and proposed EU legislation which has an impact on the profession.
Groupe de Combat en Milieu Clos The Groupe de Combat en Milieu Clos (GCMC, Close Quarters Combat Group) is a special operations group of the French Navy. It is mainly composite of 17 men (1 commander and 2 groups of 8 people), and it is specialised in maritime anti-terrorism.
Groupe Danone Groupe Danone (, ) (known as Dannon in the United States) is an international food products company with its central headquarters in Paris, France. It specialises in dairy products, and it is especially famous for its yoghurt.
Groupe Galland Laval, Quebec-based Groupe Galland, together with its affiliated companies Autobus Galland ltée, Galland Laurentides ltée, Centre du Camion Galland ltée, Les Autobus Duplessis inc. and Galland Mont-Tremblant ltée, operates charter and scheduled intercity coaches, school buses and paratransit vehicles, as well as providing maintenance service for heavy vehicles.
Groupe socialiste des travailleurs The Groupe socialiste des travailleurs du Québec or GST (in English: Quebec Socialist Workers' Group) was a far left political movement founded in 1973 by militants of the Fourth International in the province of Quebec, Canada . Involved in trade-unions, the GST worked for the creation, in 1974, of the Regroupement des militants syndicaux and, on the municipal scene in the city of Montréal, of the Rassemblement des citoyens de Montréal.
Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare The Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare, in Butare, Rwanda, is one of the oldest secondary schools in the country. It was established in 1929 by the Brothers of Charity to educate Rwandans to assist the Belgian colonial administration.
Groupe X-Crise The Groupe X-Crise (or X-Crise) was a French technocratic movement created in 1931 as an aftermath of the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the Great Depression. Formed by former students of the École Polytechnique (nicknamed "X"), it advocated economic planning as opposed to the at the time dominant ideology of economic liberalism which they held to have failed.
Groupement de recherche et d'études pour la civilisation européenne The Groupement de recherche et d'études pour la civilisation européenne ("Study and research group regarding European Culture"), also known as GRECE (French acronym for "Greece") is an ethnonationalist think-tank, founded in 1968 by the journalist and writer Alain de Benoist.
Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB ("CB Bank card association"), also known as simply CB, is France's national interbank network, with over 46,000 ATMs and over 1 million EFTPOS acceptance points.http://www.
Groupes urbains de sécurité Groupes urbains de sécurité (GUS) (also known as "Croatia"in reference to the use of caps in red and white squares similar to those on the flag of Croatia) () is a defunct Moroccan special police unit which dealt with urban matters basing on "rapid intervention approach".
Groupoid In mathematics, especially in category theory and homotopy theory, a groupoid is a simultaneous generalisation of groups, setoids (a set equipped with an equivalence relation), and G-sets (a set equipped with a group action).
Groups and individuals challenging the official account of 9/11 Groups and individuals questioning the official account of 9/11 describes some of the groups and individuals who do not believe the governmental and mainstream media accounts of the September 11, 2001 attacks and who have researched and developed alternative views of the events that day, also often described as 9/11 conspiracy theories. Some of these characterise themselves as researchers.
Groups claiming an affiliation with the ancient Israelites Throughout the history of the Jewish people, and mainly around the fall of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, there have been several group who have either fled Israel, or were removed and enslaved. Although some groups have been able to prove their Jewish connection, other groups have not.
Groupset A groupset or gruppo (from the Italian for "group", often misspelled grouppo) is a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts. It generally refers to all of the components that make up a bicycle excluding the bicycle frame, forks, stem, wheels, tires, and rider contact points, such as the saddle and handlebars.
Groupthink Groupthink is any decision-making process in which group members go along with what they believe is the consensus. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance.
Groupuscule In politics, there is a tendency on the far left and right for a proliferation of tiny groups, often known by the French term groupuscules, usually characterized by extremely rigid ideologies and built around personalities, that are constantly splitting to create new groups.
GroupVille GroupVille is a serverside web-based groupware solution for desktops (Browsers with HTML and Javascript) and smartphone clients (with HTML browsing capabilty). GroupVille is written in Java using the WebObjects Framework.
Grouse Mountain Grouse Mountain is a ski area and tourist attraction located in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Public access to the mountain is by aerial tramway, the Grouse Grind hiking trail, or the Old Grouse Mountain Highway (foot and bicycle access only).
Grouseland Grouseland is a two-story red brick home built for William Henry Harrison in Vincennes, Indiana during his term as Governor of the Indiana Territory. It was completed in 1804 and dubbed Grouseland due to the abundance of grouse in the area.
Grout Grout is a construction material used to embed rebars in masonry walls, connect sections of pre-cast concrete, fill voids, and seal joints (like those between tiles). Grout is generally composed of a mixture of water, cement, sand and sometimes color tint which is applied as a thick liquid and hardens over time, much like mortar.
Grouville Grouville is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Historically it was called "Saint Martin de Grouville" to distinguish it from the present day parish of Saint Martin (historically 'Saint Martin le Vieux').
Grove cell The Grove cell was an early electric cell named after its inventor, British chemist William Robert Grove, and consisted of a zinc electrode in dilute sulfuric acid and a platinum electrode in concentrated nitric acid, the two separated by a porous ceramic pot.
Grove City College Grove City College is a private liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania with a population of about 2,500 undergraduate students. The college is located about sixty-five miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Grove City Outlets Prime Outlets- Grove City, more commonly known as Grove City Outlets, is an outdoor shopping center located at the intersection of Interstate 79 and Route 208 in Grove City, Pennsylvania, about 58 miles north of Pittsburgh. Grove City Outlets includes more than 140 brand named outlet stores.
Grove Dictionary of Art The Grove Dictionary of Art (1996) is a 34-volume encyclopedia of art. Written by 6,700 experts from around the world, its 32,600-pages cover over 45,000 topics about art, artists, art critics, art collectors, or anything else connected to the world of art.
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. Alongside the German-language MGG, it is the largest Western music reference work.
Grove first Community organization formed In Coconut Grove, Florida in effort to fight buildign of Home Depot in historic neighborhood. While not successful to date, group has postponed the building of the franchise, released a film detailing its efforts and seen its founder elected to city commission.
Grove Mountains Grove Mountains () is a large, scattered group of mountains and nunataks extending over an area of approximately 40 by 20 miles, located 100 miles east of Mawson Escarpment in Antarctica. They were first photographed from the air by aircraft of USN Operation Highjump, 1946-47, and named by ANCA for Squadron Leader I.
Grove Park (Atlanta) Located in police precinct or zone 1 west of downtown neighborhood Vine City and north of the Cascade area, Grove Park is an inner-city neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, yet not too close to the city as it rests just inside Atlanta's perimeter highway I-285. Grove Park is the original home of new sensations such as Atlanta rap star T.
Grove Park Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot Grove Park Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot or Grove Park T&RSMD is a major rail depot owned and operated by Southeastern Trains servicing Class 465 Networker, Class 466 Networker, Class 375 Express Electrostar and Class 375 Outer Suburban Electrostar and Class 376 Suburban Electrostar electric multiple units.
Grove Park-Tilden Township, Minnesota Grove Park-Tilden Township is a township in Polk County, Minnesota, United States which surrounds the city of Mentor. The townsite of Dugdale and the location Tilden Junction are located within the township, and Marcoux Corner is located at the edge of the township.
Grove rugby Grove Rugby, officially known as the Grove City College Men's Rugby Club, is a rugby team in the Allegheny Rugby Union. They play for Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, USA on the college's intramural field.
Grove School (Madison, Connecticut) Grove School is a coeducational therapeutic boarding and day school located in Madison, Connecticut which serves grades six to twelve and post-graduates. Madison is a semi-suburban area, about 20 minutes from New Haven, Connecticut.
Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground in New Haven, Connecticut is located in the center of the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the already crowded burial ground on the New Haven Green.
Grove, Oxfordshire Grove is a village and civil parish in the English county of Oxfordshire (though formerly in Berkshire), which is best-known as the home of the WilliamsF1 Formula One constructor. It has lately been a site of housing development, massively increasing in size and almost merging with the nearby town of Wantage.
Grove, Virginia Grove is an unincorporated community in the southeastern portion of James City County, Virginia, the oldest county in the United States, although a very small northwestern portion of Grove is actually located in adjacent York County. It is geographically located in almost the exact center of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia, composed of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, linked by the Colonial Parkway.
Groveland Correctional Facility Groveland Correctional Facility is a medium security prison located in Livingston County, New York, USA. The facility is located next to the community of Sonyea in the Town of Groveland on the site of a former Shaker community.
Groveland Four The term Groveland Four was coined by the newspapers, for the American cause celebre in which four African-American men accused of raping a Caucasian woman in Groveland, Florida in 1949. The four men were Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Sam Shepherd and Walter Irvin.
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was the 22nd (1885–1889) and 24th (1893–1897) President of the United States, and the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms. He was the only Democrat elected to the Presidency in the era of Republican political domination between 1860 and 1912, after the American Civil War.
Grover Cleveland Park Grover Cleveland Park, the seventh largest park in the Essex County, New Jersey, USA county park system, is a heavily wooded park covering 41.48 acres in the western section of Essex County along the Caldwell-Essex Fells border.
Grover Island Grover Island is an island of historical importance located near the mouth of Crooked River in Camden County, Georgia. The island has over 400 forested acres and about 1600 acres of connected salt marsh and small waterways.
Grover Loening Grover Cleveland Loening (September 12, 1888 - February 29, 1976), aircraft manufacturer, was born in Bremen, Germany. Having graduated from Columbia University where he was awarded the first ever degree in Aeronautical Engineering, he joined the Queen Aeroplane Company in New York, managed the Wright Brothers factory in Dayton Ohio for Orville Wright, published a book Military Airplanes, and became Vice President of the Sturdevant Aeroplane Company.
Grover Loening Award The Grover Loening Award is given to Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members who complete Level III of the Senior Member Professional Development Program. It recognizes those members who have dedicated themselves to leadership and personal development in the CAP.
Grover Mitchell Grover Curry Mitchell (born March 17, 1930 in Whatley, Alabama; died August 6, 2003 in New York City's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) was a jazz trombonist and bandleader. He was born in Alabama, but his parents moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was eight.
Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is the president of the noted anti-tax lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform, and a conservative activist. His close business and political ties to recently indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff are the subject of a current federal investigation.
Grover Rees, III Grover Joseph Rees, III (born 1951), a Louisiana lawyer, is the United States ambassador to the Democratic Republic of East Timor. He presented his credentials to East Timorese President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao in December 2002, following his nomination by President George W.
Grover Whalen Grover Whalen was a prominent politician, businessman, and public relations guru in New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. His first major political assignment was as chief of police, where he was known to be a ruthless enforcer of current prohibition laws.
Grover's Mill, New Jersey Grover's Mill is an unincorporated area within West Windsor Township, New Jersey made famous in Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds where it was depicted as ground zero for a Martian invasion.
Grover's Mommy The fictional character known simply as Grover's Mommy plays an integral but often unrecognized role in US children's TV program Sesame Street. Until season 32 or 33, she was relegated to only appear in books starring Grover.
Grovyle is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise – a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. The purpose of Grovyle in the games, anime and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild Pokémon, untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through various environments, and tamed Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.
Grow (game) Grow is a series of Macromedia Flash games by Eyezmaze which involve adding various items into the game world. Depending on the order of addition, previously added items will "grow" and interact with each other.
Grow light Grow lights are electric lamps designed to promote plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis. It does this by mimicking the light spectrum from the sun, allowing indoor growth with outdoor conditions.
Grow Your Own Grow Your Own is the fourth album and third studio album released by the folk rock band ThaMuseMeant in 2000. Most of the songs were written by Nathan Moore, and two written by Aimee Curl (My Love & Take A Drink).
Growing (band) Growing is a band from Olympia, Washington that was formed by Kevin Doria, Joe Denardo, and Zack Carlson (who left the band following the release of their first album) in 2001. They play instrumental drone rock with elements of noise and ambient music.
Growing Flowers By Candlelight Growing Flowers By Candlelight is the debut album by Ainslie Henderson, released independently in July 2006. Written by Henderson and Hobotalk frontman Marc Pilley, it also featured artwork by design company FeltusFeltus.
Growing region A growing region is an area suited by climate and soil conditions to the cultivation of a certain type of crop. Most crops are cultivated not in one place only, but in several distinct regions in diverse parts of the world.
Growing up in Grenoside Growing up in Grenoside is a book written in the early 1990s about the village of Grenoside in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. In the book, Hannah Brodie (1901-1993) reminisces about her childhood growing up in Grenoside in the early years of the 20th century.
Growing Up (DVD) Growing Up Live is a DVD film by Hamish Hamilton and Peter Gabriel featuring live performances in 2004 of "Here Comes the Flood," "Darkness," "Red Rain," "Secret World," "Sky Blue," "Downside UP," "The Barry Williams Show," "More Than This," "Mercy Street," "Digging In the Dirt," "Growing Up," "Animal Nation," "Solsbury Hill," "Sledgehammer," "Signal to Noise," "In Your Eyes," and "Father,Son."
Growing Up Creepie Growing Up Creepie is an animated television series produced by Discovery Kids. The show centers on the life of a girl, Creepie, who, as a child, was left on the doorstep of the abandoned Dweezwold mansion and raised by insects.
Growing Up Gotti Growing Up Gotti was an American reality television series that appeared on A&E on Mondays at 9:00 PM EST. The show followed the life of Victoria Gotti, daughter of late Mafia boss John Gotti, and her three sons with ex-husband Carmine Agnello, Carmine Gotti Agnello, John Gotti Agnello, and Frank Gotti Agnello.
Growl Growl is a global notifications system for the Mac OS X operating system. Different applications can use Growl to display small notifications about events which the user deems important, in a consistent manner.
Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice is the second game of the Growlanser series developed by Career Soft. It is the first game of the series to be a Tactical role-playing game, and carries on notable features from the first game such as branching storyline points and multiple endings.
Growling Grass Frog The Growling Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis), also commonly known as the Southern Bell Frog, Warty Swamp Frog and erroneously as the Golden Bell Frog, is a species of ground dwelling tree frog is native to South eastern Australia; ranging from southern South Australia along the Murray River though Victoria to New South Wales, and populations through Tasmania. This species common names varies between state, the name Southern Bell Frog applies to NSW, Growling Grass Frog in Vic & SA and Green and Gold Frog in Tas.
Growlithe is one of fictional species of Pokémon in the Pokémon franchise. Growlithe's name is derived from the words growl, because it growls at its enemies, and lithe, which refers to its readily bent posture before it attacks them.
Growmark Growmark is the company that partly owns the Norfolk FS. It is a regional agricultural supply cooperative that provides for Haldimand County, Norfolk County, Kitchener, Waterloo, Oxford County, and Middlesex County.
Grownups Grownups is a BBC3 sitcom written by Susan Nickson, who also created the popular BBC3 sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. It follows the trials and tribulations of a group of 20-something friends, facing the decision to settle down or carrying on partying.
Growth attenuation Growth attenuation is a medical treatment which involves adminstering estrogen to cause closure of the bone plates, resulting in stunted growth. This is usually done on people who wish not to grow any taller beyond a desired height.
Growth cone A growth cone is a dynamic, actin-supported extension of a developing axon seeking its synaptic target. Their existence was originally proposed by Spanish histologist Santiago RamĂłn y Cajal based upon stationary images he observed under the microscope.
Growth curve A growth curve in biology generally concerns a measured property such as population size, body height or biomass. Values for the measured property can be plotted on a graph as a function of time; see Figure 1 for an example.
Growth differentiation factor-9 Growth differentiation factor-9 is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) superfamily that is expressed in the oocyte. It has a critical role in granulosa cell and theca cell growth, as well as in differentiation and maturation of the oocyte, and therefore has a significant role in fertility.
Growth factor The term growth factor refers to a naturally occurring protein capable of stimulating cellular proliferation and cellular differentiation. Growth factors are important for regulating a variety of cellular processes.
Growth failure Growth failure is a medical term for a pattern of a child's growth which is poorer than normal for age, sex, stage of maturation, and genetic height expectation. Growth failure usually has an abnormal cause or causes.
Growth Fetish Growth Fetish is a book about economics and politics by the Australian left-wing political theorist Clive Hamilton. Published in 2002, it became a best-seller in Australia, a very unusual feat for what is normally considered a very dry subject.
Growth hormone treatment Growth hormone (GH) is a protein hormone secreted by the pituitary gland which stimulates growth and cell reproduction. In the past growth hormone was extracted from human pituitary glands and given to deficient children.
Growth hormone treatment for bodybuilding Growth hormone (GH) has attracted increasing interest and use by amateur and professional bodybuilders, as well as professional athletes to increase performance and muscle growth. GH is used by many bodybuilders or athletes whose performance has plateaued - even with the use of anabolic steroids.
Growth chart A growth chart is used by pediatricians and other health care providers to follow a child's growth over time. Growth charts have been constructed by observing the growth of large numbers of normal children over time.
Growth in membership of the European Parliament The membership of the European Parliament has grown from 78 in 1952 to its current maximum limit of 732. The earliest ancestor of the parliament was established as the 'Common Assembly' of the European Coal and Steel Community, in September 1952.
Growth investing Growth investing is a style of investment strategy. Those who follow this style, known as growth investors, invest in companies that exhibit signs of above-average growth, even if the share price appears expensive in terms of metrics such as price-to-earning or price-to-book ratios.
Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy The growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy began as an alliance between the communities of the valleys in the central Alps to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure the peace along the important trade routes through the mountains. In the late Middle Ages, this region belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, and because of its strategic importance the Hohenstaufen emperors had granted it reichsfrei status in the early thirteenth century.

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