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15-letter words containing s, t, e, m, h

  • 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"?).
  • cut the mustard — to come up to expectations
  • cytophotometers — Plural form of cytophotometer.
  • delsarte method — a theory or system devised by François Delsarte for improving musical and dramatic expression through the mastery of various bodily attitudes and gestures.
  • dendrochemistry — (chemistry) the science, related to dendrochronology, that uses the analysis of trace minerals in tree rings to study air pollution in past times.
  • dermatoglyphics — the lines forming a skin pattern, esp on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet
  • dermatographism — a condition in which touching or lightly scratching the skin causes raised, reddish marks.
  • dermatophytosis — a fungal infection of the skin, esp the feet
  • diaheliotropism — the tendency among plants to respond to the light of the sun by orienting their leaves perpendicular to the sun's rays, such that the upper surface of the leaves receives maximum light
  • dichotomous key — a key used to identify a plant or animal in which each stage presents descriptions of two distinguishing characters, with a direction to another stage in the key, until the species is identified
  • dichotomousness — the quality of being dichotomous
  • dimethylsulfide — Alternative spelling of dimethyl sulfide.
  • distinguishment — to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
  • dutchman's-pipe — a climbing vine, Aristolochia durior, of the birthwort family, having large, heart-shaped leaves and brownish-purple flowers of a curved form suggesting a tobacco pipe.
  • echinodermatous — belonging or pertaining to the echinoderms.
  • edriophthalmous — (of certain crustaceans) having stalkless eyes
  • electrothermics — the study of electricity and heat, or of electrically generated heat
  • enantiomorphism — (chemistry) The relationship exhibited by a pair of enantiomorphs.
  • enantiomorphous — Of or pertaining to enantiomorphs or enantiomorphism; enantiomorphic.
  • enfranchisement — The act of enfranchising.
  • erythema solare — inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun
  • ethnocentricism — Ethnocentrism.
  • ethnomusicology — The study of the music of different cultures, especially non-Western ones.
  • euphemistically — In a euphemistic manner.
  • fifth dimension — a theoretical dimension beyond or in addition to a fourth dimension.
  • flemish brabant — a province of central Belgium, formed in 1995 from the N part of Brabant province: densely populated and intensively farmed, with large industrial centres. Pop: 1 031 904 (2004 est). Area: 2106 sq km (813 sq miles)
  • former prophets — a subdivision of the books constituting the second main part of the Hebrew Bible, Joshua, Judges, I-II Samuel, and I-II Kings
  • forthcomingness — coming, forth, or about to come forth; about to appear; approaching in time: the forthcoming concert.
  • fortysomethings — Plural form of fortysomething.
  • free atmosphere — the part of the atmosphere that lies above the frictional influence of the earth's surface.
  • french tamarisk — a shrub or small tree, Tamarix gallica, of the Mediterranean region, having bluish foliage and white or pinkish flowers.
  • 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).
  • gas thermometer — a device for measuring temperature by observing the change in either pressure or volume of an enclosed gas.
  • geomorphogenist — one who studies, or is an expert in, geomorphogeny
  • geomorphologist — A geologist whose speciality is geomorphology.
  • get the message — a communication containing some information, news, advice, request, or the like, sent by messenger, telephone, email, or other means.
  • give sth a miss — If you give something a miss, you decide not to do it or not to go to it.
  • give them heaps — to contend strenuously with an opposing sporting team
  • gödel's theorem — either of two theorems published by the mathematician Kurt Gödel in 1931 that prove all mathematical systems are incomplete in that their truth or consistency can only be proved using a system of a higher order
  • green's theorem — one of several theorems that connect an integral in n -dimensional space with one in (n − 1)-dimensional space.
  • hamiltonstovare — a large strong short-haired breed of hound with a black, brown, and white coat
  • hampstead heath — a popular recreation area near Hampstead in N London
  • have a smack at — to attempt
  • health minister — a government minister who is responsible for health
  • hemel hempstead — a town in W Hertfordshire, in SE England.
  • hemicolectomies — Plural form of hemicolectomy.
  • hemiglossectomy — (surgery) The surgical removal of a portion of the tongue.
  • hemochromatosis — a rare metabolic disorder characterized by a bronzed skin, cirrhosis, and severe diabetes, caused by the deposit in tissue, especially of the liver and pancreas, of hemosiderin and other pigments containing iron.
  • hereditarianism — a person who believes that differences between individuals or groups, including moral and intellectual attributes, are predominantly determined by genetic factors (opposed to environmentalist).
  • hermaphroditism — the condition of being a hermaphrodite.
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