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15-letter words containing c, h, i, p, e, r

  • computer ethics — (philosophy)   Ethics is the field of study that is concerned with questions of value, that is, judgments about what human behaviour is "good" or "bad". Ethical judgments are no different in the area of computing from those in any other area. Computers raise problems of privacy, ownership, theft, and power, to name but a few. Computer ethics can be grounded in one of four basic world-views: Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, or Existentialism. Idealists believe that reality is basically ideas and that ethics therefore involves conforming to ideals. Realists believe that reality is basically nature and that ethics therefore involves acting according to what is natural. Pragmatists believe that reality is not fixed but is in process and that ethics therefore is practical (that is, concerned with what will produce socially-desired results). Existentialists believe reality is self-defined and that ethics therefore is individual (that is, concerned only with one's own conscience). Idealism and Realism can be considered ABSOLUTIST worldviews because they are based on something fixed (that is, ideas or nature, respectively). Pragmatism and Existentialism can be considered RELATIVIST worldviews because they are based or something relational (that is, society or the individual, respectively). Thus ethical judgments will vary, depending on the judge's world-view. Some examples: First consider theft. Suppose a university's computer is used for sending an e-mail message to a friend or for conducting a full-blown private business (billing, payroll, inventory, etc.). The absolutist would say that both activities are unethical (while recognising a difference in the amount of wrong being done). A relativist might say that the latter activities were wrong because they tied up too much memory and slowed down the machine, but the e-mail message wasn't wrong because it had no significant effect on operations. Next consider privacy. An instructor uses her account to acquire the cumulative grade point average of a student who is in a class which she instructs. She obtained the password for this restricted information from someone in the Records Office who erroneously thought that she was the student's advisor. The absolutist would probably say that the instructor acted wrongly, since the only person who is entitled to this information is the student and his or her advisor. The relativist would probably ask why the instructor wanted the information. If she replied that she wanted it to be sure that her grading of the student was consistent with the student's overall academic performance record, the relativist might agree that such use was acceptable. Finally, consider power. At a particular university, if a professor wants a computer account, all she or he need do is request one but a student must obtain faculty sponsorship in order to receive an account. An absolutist (because of a proclivity for hierarchical thinking) might not have a problem with this divergence in procedure. A relativist, on the other hand, might question what makes the two situations essentially different (e.g. are faculty assumed to have more need for computers than students? Are students more likely to cause problems than faculty? Is this a hold-over from the days of "in loco parentis"?).
  • computer-phobia — a person who distrusts or is intimidated by computers.
  • connoisseurship — a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste: a connoisseur of modern art.
  • conservatorship — the legal status of a person appointed by a court to protect the interests of someone, such as a child, who is unable to manage his or her own affairs
  • corn-leaf aphid — a green aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis, widely distributed in the U.S.: a pest of corn and other grasses.
  • counterpunching — Present participle of counterpunch.
  • cricopharyngeal — of, relating to, or involving the cricoid cartilage and the pharynx.
  • cricopharyngeus — (anatomy) Part of the inferior pharyngeal constrictor, arising from the cricoid cartilage.
  • cross-ownership — ownership of two or more similar or related businesses, as communications media, especially in the same locality: to forbid cross-ownership of newspapers and TV or radio stations in the same city.
  • cytophotometric — of or relating to cytophotometry
  • decipherability — to make out the meaning of (poor or partially obliterated writing, etc.): to decipher a hastily scribbled note.
  • demographically — of or relating to demography, the science of vital and social statistics.
  • dermatoglyphics — the lines forming a skin pattern, esp on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet
  • durchkomponiert — having a different tune for each section rather than having repeated melodies
  • echocardiograph — an instrument employing reflected ultrasonic waves to examine the structures and functioning of the heart.
  • electrophoresis — The movement of charged particles in a fluid or gel under the influence of an electric field.
  • electrophoretic — Of, pertaining to, or produced by electrophoresis.
  • eleutherophobic — afraid of freedom
  • epichlorohydrin — an organic compound used as a solvent in resin-making
  • fourth republic — the republic established in France in 1945 and replaced by the Fifth Republic in 1958.
  • frederic chopin — Frédéric François [fred-uh-rik fran-swah,, fred-rik;; French frey-dey-reek frahn-swa] /ˈfrɛd ə rɪk frænˈswɑ,, ˈfrɛd rɪk;; French freɪ deɪˈrik frɑ̃ˈswa/ (Show IPA), 1810–49, Polish composer and pianist, in France after 1831.
  • french-speaking — able to speak French
  • fusospirochetal — Relating to fusospirochetes.
  • fusospirochetes — Plural form of fusospirochete.
  • geodemographics — the study and grouping of the people in a geographical area according to socioeconomic criteria, esp for market research
  • geostrophically — By means of, or in terms of, geostrophy.
  • get the picture — understand
  • graph reduction — A technique invented by Chris Wadsworth where an expression is represented as a directed graph (usually drawn as an inverted tree). Each node represents a function call and its subtrees represent the arguments to that function. Subtrees are replaced by the expansion or value of the expression they represent. This is repeated until the tree has been reduced to a value with no more function calls (a normal form). In contrast to string reduction, graph reduction has the advantage that common subexpressions are represented as pointers to a single instance of the expression which is only reduced once. It is the most commonly used technique for implementing lazy evaluation.
  • graphic granite — a pegmatite that has crystals of gray quartz imbedded in white or pink microcline in such a manner that they resemble cuneiform writing.
  • hair specialist — an expert in the treatment and care of human hair
  • hardship clause — a clause in a contract which covers unforeseen events that would make it more difficult for one party to complete the contract, and in which case offers alternative terms
  • helicopter view — an overview of a situation without any details
  • hemicryptophyte — any perennial plant that bears its overwintering buds at soil level, where they are often partly covered by surface debris
  • hepatocarcinoma — (pathology) cancer of the liver.
  • high-principled — possessing or displaying very high moral or ethical principles
  • hip replacement — a surgical procedure involving replacing the hip joint with an artificial implant
  • honeycomb tripe — a part of the inner lining of the stomach of the steer, calf, hog, or sheep, resembling a honeycomb in appearance and considered a table delicacy.
  • hospital corner — a fold on a bed sheet or blanket made by tucking the foot or head of the sheet straight under the mattress with the ends protruding and then making a diagonal fold at the side corner of the sheet and tucking this under to produce a triangular corner.
  • housing project — a publicly built and operated housing development, usually intended for low- or moderate-income tenants, senior citizens, etc.
  • humpback bridge — arched bridge
  • hurdle champion — a hurdler who has defeated all others in a competition
  • hybrid computer — a computer system containing both analog and digital hardware.
  • hydraulic press — a machine permitting a small force applied to a small piston to produce, through fluid pressure, a large force on a large piston.
  • hyper-energetic — possessing or exhibiting energy, especially in abundance; vigorous: an energetic leader.
  • hyperactivation — (biology) A form of sperm motility associated with active beating of the flagellum.
  • hyperactiveness — The state or quality of being hyperactive.
  • hyperbolic sine — one of a group of functions of an angle expressed as a relationship between the distances of a point on a hyperbola to the origin and to the coordinate axes; sinh
  • hypercalcinuria — Condition of high levels of calcium in the urine as caused by high levels of bone resorption seen in osteoporosis or hyperthyroidism.
  • hypercatabolism — an abnormally high metabolic breakdown of a substance or tissue which leads to weight loss and physical deterioration
  • hypercatalectic — (of a line of verse) containing an additional syllable after the last dipody or foot. Compare acatalectic (def 2), catalectic.
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