15-letter words containing s, h, u, e, r
- citrus whitefly — See under whitefly.
- 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"?).
- 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.
- consumer choice — the range of competing products and services from which a consumer can choose
- copper sulphate — a copper salt found naturally as chalcanthite and made by the action of sulphuric acid on copper oxide. It usually exists as blue crystals of the pentahydrate that form a white anhydrous powder when heated: used as a mordant, in electroplating, and in plant sprays. Formula: CuSO4
- countercathexis — (psychology) The suppression or repression of mental energy.
- counterflashing — (construction) Formed metal or elastomeric sheeting secured on or into a wall, curb, pipe or other surface, to cover and protect the upper edge of a base flashing and its associated fasteners.
- counterpurchase — barter, especially of products or materials between international companies or importers and exporters.
- couples therapy — a counseling procedure that attempts to improve the adaptation and adjustment of two people who form a conjugal unit.
- court of arches — the court of appeal of the Province of Canterbury, formerly held under the arches of Bow Church
- cricopharyngeus — (anatomy) Part of the inferior pharyngeal constrictor, arising from the cricoid cartilage.
- crush-resistant — not being easily creased
- culture-shocked — a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.
- curate's-eggish — good in parts
- curl one's hair — to form into coils or ringlets, as the hair.
- curtain shutter — a focal-plane shutter consisting of a curtain on two rollers, moved at a constant speed past the lens opening so as to expose the film to one of several slots in the curtain, the width of which determines the length of exposure.
- cut the mustard — to come up to expectations
- deoch-an-doruis — a parting drink or stirrup cup
- deutsches reich — former German name of Germany.
- droste-hulshoff — Annette Elisabeth Freiin von [ah-net-uh ey-lee-zah-bet frahy-in fuh n] /ɑˈnɛt ə eɪˈli zɑˌbɛt ˈfraɪ ɪn fən/ (Show IPA), 1797–1848, German poet.
- duchesse brisee — See under duchesse.
- ease the rudder — to reduce the angle the rudder makes with the fore-and-aft line so that the vessel will turn more gradually
- echinodermatous — belonging or pertaining to the echinoderms.
- edriophthalmous — (of certain crustaceans) having stalkless eyes
- eleutherococcus — a shrub, Eleutherococcus senticosus, which is found in Siberia and which is used in herbal medicine. It supposedly increases stamina and boosts the immune system
- enantiomorphous — Of or pertaining to enantiomorphs or enantiomorphism; enantiomorphic.
- estuary english — a variety of standard British English in which the pronunciation reflects various features characteristic of London and the Southeast of England
- fallout shelter — protective bunker
- false buckthorn — a spiny shrub or small tree, Bumelia lanuginosa, of the sapodilla family, native to the southern U.S., having gummy, milky sap and white, bell-shaped flowers and yielding a hard, light-brown wood.
- fischer-dieskau — Dietrich [dee-trik;; German dee-trikh] /ˈdi trɪk;; German ˈdi trɪx/ (Show IPA), 1925–2012, German baritone.
- fish restaurant — a restaurant which serves mainly fish
- flowering shrub — any shrub that produces flowers
- fluorochemicals — Plural form of fluorochemical.
- fluorophosphate — a salt or ester of a fluorophosphoric acid.
- force the issue — to compel decision on some matter
- foster daughter — a girl raised like one's own daughter, though not such by birth or adoption.
- french guianese — an overseas department of France, on the NE coast of South America: formerly a French colony. 35,135 sq. mi. (91,000 sq. km). Capital: Cayenne.
- freshwater drum — an edible drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, of the fresh waters of North and Central America, sometimes reaching a weight of 60 pounds (27 kg).
- frozen shoulder — joint stiffness at top of arm
- fusospirochetal — Relating to fusospirochetes.
- fusospirochetes — Plural form of fusospirochete.
- giant schnauzer — one of a German breed of large working dogs, resembling a larger and more powerful version of the standard schnauzer, having a pepper-and-salt or pure black, wiry coat, bushy eyebrows and beard, and a docked tail set moderately high, originally developed as a cattle herder but now often used in police work.
- gloucestershire — a county in SW England. 1255 sq. mi. (2640 sq. km). County seat: Gloucester.
- graduate school — a school, usually a division of a university, offering courses leading to degrees more advanced than the bachelor's degree.
- great south bay — an Atlantic Ocean inlet, between the S shore of Long Island and Fire Island and other barrier islands. 45 miles (72 km) long.
- group therapist — a psychotherapist who conducts group therapy
- guest of honour — If you say that someone is the guest of honour at a dinner or other social occasion, you mean that they are the most important guest.
- half-understood — partially understood
- 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
- hare and hounds — an outdoor game in which certain players, the hares, start off in advance on a long run, scattering small pieces of paper, called the scent, with the other players, the hounds, following the trail so marked in an effort to catch the hares before they reach a designated point.