Dictionary Says Research Articles

Making Sense of Scènes à Faire Through the Lens of Feist

Scenes a faire: what is it, and why do we need a French name for it? Because when we explain it in English it doesn’t make any sense at all. Scenes a faire, Black’s Law Dictionary says, means “standard or general themes that are common to a wide variety of works and therefore are not copyrightable.” A number of other definitions of the term similarly deny copyrightability. For example, this is from a First Circuit case: the court “denie[d] copyright protection to elements of a work that are for all practical purposes indispensable, or at least customary, in the treatment of a given subject matter.” So again, we deny copyright protection. As Dale Cendali spoke to moments ago, most courts don’t look at it that way. The majority view is that it does not invalidate the copyright; it’s not a question of copyrightability. It’s a question of what is infringing activity and whether sharing this element actually rises to the level of infringement or not, not whether the scene a faire is copyrightable.

E-ДЖИХАД. ІНФОРМАЦІЙНА БОРОТЬБА АЛЬ-КАЇДИ Й ІСЛАМСЬКОЇ ДЕРЖАВИ НА «СТЕЖЦІ БОГА» – ВИБРАНІ ПРИКЛАДИ

У статті розглянуто питання е-джихад (кіберджихад) як ведення джихаду з використанням інформаційних засобів. Зазначено, що мовна обсерваторія Варшавського університету зареєструвала слово «кіберджихад» у 2016 р. у «Словнику польської мови» зазначено, що це «дії проти невіруючих і послідовників інших релігій, котрі проводяться ісламськими фундаменталістами в Інтернеті». Однак таке визначення дуже неточне й навіть частково хибне. Джихад є поняттям дуже розмитим і складним. Історію використання джихадистами Інтернету розділено на три основні періоди. Перший мав місце до атаки на World Trade Center (11 вересня 2001 р.). По-перше, Інтернет не був тоді ще поширеним інструментом, по-друге, ісламісти лише ставали сильніші. Початок конфлікту Аль-Каїди і талібів зі США започаткував другий етап. Третім етапом є нинішня ситуація, яка змінилася в результаті виникнення Ісламської держави (ISIS). Доведено, що е-джихад – це концепція, що прийнята й використовується в науці протягом деякого часу. Мета статті – перевірити, чи відповідає діяльність Ісламської держави та Аль-Каїди в Інтернеті концепції джихаду. Завдяки цьому поняття джихаду прояснено та зіткнулося з обраними прикладами діяльності. Науковці стверджують, що «Ісламська держава» й «Каїда» використовують нові технології для широкого розуміння джихаду, уключаючи бойові дії (kital).

GRAMMAR MISTAKE OR CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS

The starting point of the article is its title. There are some nouns and adjectives but no verbs in it. Neither main, nor auxiliary verbs. Even though it is a question, the structure does not follow any of the question types either. This makes us think that the title of the article in particular and the headlines in general do not follow the structure of the English sentence. That is a common situation. A lot of headlines in newspapers and on covers of magazines, advertisements or just e-mails do not follow the grammar rules of a language. The Cambridge Dictionary says that headlines often use non-standard grammar and sometimes they are difficult to read. On the one hand, the main features are the use of a series of nouns, ellipsis, lack of articles or verbs (especially the verb to be). Is it a mistake or just a way to attract the reader’s attention? The article aims at providing an analysis of this type of ‘mistakes’ and address this knowledge gap. On the other hand, in order to make the news more dramatic, powerful and persuasive, to make events sound as if they are happening now, headlines commonly use the present simple, even if the article refers to a past event or the to-infinitive form to refer to future events. It is easy to relate the present perfect to the past. Although it is called present, the present perfect is a tense with past-time reference, It refers to actions and events in English that have happened up to now, in the recent past. This is the reason it is often compared to the past simple. But how can we relate the present simple to past actions and events? In formal writing the present simple is also used to refer to events in the past. Yet another ‘mistake’ should be mentioned. Especially the advertisements give the reader the benefit of the doubt. They use grammar items which are not suitable for this very situation. For example, the use of countable and uncountable nouns in English is different in regard to both determiners and verbs. However, they are used interchangeably. A similar ‘mistake’ is made with the plural form of the noun and the possessive (body’s instead of bodies, Victoria’s Secretad). The present study comes to the conclusion that the creative effectiveness of headlines and ads is the reason for all the ‘mistakes’. It is expressed only by key words to grab the attention of the reader.

Winter is coming: The dawn of Innovation?

As stated by the Cambridge on-line dictionary, Editorial, as a noun, is “an article in a newspaper that expresses the editor's opinion on a subject of particular interest at the present time”, whereas/and as an adjective, Editorial is “relating to editors or editing, or to the editor of a newspaper or magazine“. On the other hand, about the definition of a Journal, the same dictionary says “a serious magazine or newspaper that is published regularly about a particular subject”. This means that, in the Editorial, the editors express their perspectives or opinions “on a subject of particular interest at the present time“. It is in this context that we came across the idea of talking about Winter, as this issue was being prepared, Winter was indeed coming and this led to the title of this editorial. (...)

Discourse Study of Genre: Autobiography

<p>What arouses our interest is curiosity to know about others. What is an autobiography? The dictionary says: “A personal account of one’s own life especially for publication”. Autobiographies offer insight into the mode of consciousness of others especially in the case of men of notable achievement to know the personal story of well-known events, of motives and intentions that are hidden behind them. This type of knowledge is interesting and instructive.</p><p>Unlike novel we are won over by the hero, in the case of the real hero of the autobiography he is won over by his achievements. We admire him by knowing him intimately and by peeping into his privacy. Autobiographies are works of art that keep us spellbound and fascinating. Autobiography is a form in which a writer speaks of himself and events of his personal life which he had experienced.</p>

Why the Document Is Important . . . and How it Is Becoming Transformed

From the Latin documentum, the French word document appears occasionally in the thirteenth century, most often in the plural form documens or documenz. The Dictionnaire du Moyen Francais1 gives two meanings:A. Lesson, teaching, . . .B. Writing that serves as evidence.Thus the term has since the Middle Ages come to acquire two complementary meanings that have established themselves over the centuries along the dimensions of transmitting and proving. In the Middle Ages the documens are first of all lessons that are not necessarily put down in writing-or documented. The Latin doceo means 'teach'; documentum is the act of teaching.The second meaning, of proving, or evidence, refers to titles, often title deeds. The English record, literally a 'recording', is often translated into French by document, which accounts well for this function. Here is what the Oxford dictionary says of its etymology:Middle English: from Old French record 'remembrance', from recorder 'bring to remembrance', from Latin recordad 'remember', based on cor, cord- 'heart'. The noun was earliest used in law to denote the fact of being written down as evidence. The verb originally meant 'narrate orally or in writing', also 'repeat so as to commit to memory'.We still have in English the expression: Team by heart' similar to the French 'apprendre par coeur'.Thus, according to their etymology, the French document and the English record have almost the same meaning, though they come from two different Latin words: the first emphasizes transmission and the lesson, the second memory and evidence.The modem concept of a document combines the two senses, probably as a result of the slow crossbreeding of (confidential) legal practices and nobler (and more open) monastic transmission practices. It also results, perhaps even more surely, from the transformation of the relationship to truth which is no longer revealed, preserved, and handed down by King and Church, but constructed through reason and demonstration.In any event, the term 'document' does not seem to have been much used until the eighteenth century, though already in this century the public sphere is marked by an impressive epistemic infrastructure of museums, academic libraries, and scholarly journals, which serve the presentation, classification and comparison of documents arising from scientific activity. The word 'document' actually becomes prevalent only in the nineteenth and especially the twentieth century, when the meaning is established of a privileged vehicle in the circulation of knowledge, in the dissemination of technology, and also in ensuring the stability of organizations and the development of trade. Therefore, it is likely that its contemporary success stems directly from the scientific and industrial revolution, which needed powerful tools to transmit, convince, and prove.The growing popularity of the word reflects this vast movement. But, in France, it is not until the ninth edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Academie-dated 1992 (!)-that its definition is expanded beyond two lines. Yet today we are overwhelmed by documents, in our pockets and on our furniture, in our workplaces and in our home, in public spaces and even more all over the web. The whole social sphere is affected: family, school, government, the organization of work, industry and commerce, recreation, culture, the definition of states, the development of public space, international exchanges and, of course, technology, science, and law. Documents are involved in the regulation of all the workings of society, often today including our privacy. We speak of 'documents' about everything, to the degree that the word is somewhat emptied of its substance.1. First DefinitionsThe first serious reflection on the term 'document' is probably that of the Belgian Paul Otlet (1868-1944):The Book [or document] thus understood has two aspects: a) it is primarily a work of man, the result of his intellectual work; b) but multiplied in many copies, it also presents itself as one of several objects created by, and able to affect, civilization. …

The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien by Christopher Snyder, and: The Essential Tolkien Trivia and Quiz Book: A Middle-earth Miscellany by William MacKay (review)

Reviewed by: The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien by Christopher Snyder, and: The Essential Tolkien Trivia and Quiz Book: A Middle-earth Miscellany by William MacKay David Bratman The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien, by Christopher Snyder. New York: Sterling, 2013. xiii, 337 pp. $24.95. ISBN 9781402784767. The Essential Tolkien Trivia and Quiz Book: A Middle-earth Miscellany, by William MacKay. New York: Fall River Press, 2014. xi, 128 pp. $10.95. ISBN 9781474911074. [End Page 254] These are two books intended for a general audience with only a superficial acquaintance with Tolkien’s works. Though they contribute little or nothing to Tolkien scholarship, they are interesting for their presentation of the public perception of Tolkien today. Christopher Snyder is that rare thing, a medievalist writing on Tolkien who did not become a medievalist through being a Tolkien fan first. Snyder is highly enthusiastic about the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies, and though he (mostly) avoids confusing them with the book, he cannot help conflating them. This is signaled at the very beginning, when Snyder opens his preface by quoting from the movie script (ix). And although this is a book about Tolkien, a 33-page appendix on “Media and Middle Earth” devotes 22 pages to Jackson’s productions, including notes on casting and plot summaries focusing on noting the differences between movies and book. Primarily, however, this is not a Jackson fan’s Tolkien book but a medievalist’s. Appendices aside, the book consists of three parts. A brief opening biographical chapter is a basic rote account, with the advantage of not getting bogged down in details. Here appear summaries of “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” and “On Fairy-stories.” This chapter seems to attract Snyder’s interest the least, for it is often too succinct—a brief observation that Tolkien worked on the Oxford English Dictionary says nothing about what he did there or its significance (15), and the book’s quota of niggling factual errors is concentrated here, such as a reference to a book titled Leaf and Tree (22). In a chapter titled “Tolkien’s Middle Ages,” Snyder is most in his element. Here he is more sure-footed, whipping his way through a variety of medieval and medievalist history and literature, from a brief introduction to classical civilization through the pre-Raphaelites and George MacDonald. Snyder ties this to Tolkien with potential sources and parallels: for instance comparing the fates of Arnor and Gondor with those of the two halves of the Roman Empire (41) or referencing Tolkien’s own alliterative verse when discussing Icelandic literature (68–69). The remainder of the main text—well over a third of the book—does pretty much the same thing the other way around, consisting of plot summaries of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and The Children of Húrin. Tending to assume that the reader already knows the story well, they are pecked with references to potential sources [End Page 255] and parallels. While largely focusing on ancient and medieval source material, particularly for the last two books, the source and parallel references run all over the map. All are interesting but there’s no consistency of style or of depth, and while Snyder shows familiarity with Tolkien’s known inspirations, he’s very scanty on the author’s development of his ideas from The History of Middle-earth. Some of these are conventional, some are borrowed with credit from other scholars, and some are a little loose or speculative. A comparison of the wounded Frodo’s journey from Weathertop to Rivendell to the Goethe-Schubert song “Der Erlkönig” works better in relation to the more frantic pace of the movie than of the wearying slog of the book (132–33). Presentation of the moral aspects of the story is pretty much limited to an appendix entry on the moral virtues associated with individual Lord of the Rings characters (279); in the main text, we are told that the discussion of Boromir’s death “very closely parallels the...

In the Eyes of the Beholder!

In the Eyes of the Beholder!

The Specter of Russian Nationalism

When he was named acting president of Russia on December 31, 1999, Vladimir Putin inherited a country still reeling from the Soviet Union's breakup: economic woes caused by the rapid privatization of state assets and the August 1998 financial crisis, ethnic unrest and war in Chechnya, and Russia's demotion from superpower status. Over the next seven years, the Putin government introduced a series of national reforms aimed at making Russia once again a major player on the world stage. Dmitry Medvedev's election as the new president means that his term will be a continuation of the policies set in place by his predecessor and mentor, who stays on as prime minister and seems literally prime—"first in rank, authority, or significance," as the Oxford English Dictionary says.

Crisis Management: The Transformation of National and International Systems of Response

In the past, several wise men have passed their judgment on a proper response to a crisis. And so, Talleyrand advised, “In critical situations, let women run things.” James Reston said in 1967, “International crises have their advantage. They frighten the weak but stir and inspire the strong.” In another bon mot, the Diplomat’s Dictionary says, “The usual response of international organizations to crises passes through predictable phases: they ignore the problem; they issue a statement of concern about it; they wring their hands while sitting on them; they declare that they remain seized of the matter; they adjourn.” Regrettably, none of these half-serious comments are helpful. Neither are the experiences of the decades of the Cold War of much assistance. During those days, several serious international crises occurred. Some of them had a truly historic and strategic nature, like the Berlin crisis in 1949 and 1961, the Suez crisis of 1956, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, and the crisis at the end of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Others were of lesser magnitude, with smaller possible implications, and these occurred more frequently. All have had more or less far-reaching political consequences; all have been described, debated, and analyzed at length. However, these experiences and analyses prove of limited value in understanding and preparing for today’s menace, which may bring crisis upon us. The crisis of today may be brought on by a faceless, stateless, unpredictable, irrational, immoral, non-territorial, transnational threat, created by the rise of global terrorist activities. Those who pose this threat use unpredictable instruments and methods of action spanning the widest spectrum, including various forms of warfare affecting mass populations. The old tenets of deterrence seem to fail entirely in the face of readiness for self-sacrifice. Old means of warfare accustomed to a symmetrical doctrine and a comparable type of forces are painfully inadequate, disproportional, and ineffective. It is clear that the traditional response, focusing on a framework of national preparedness and organization, is no longer able to cope with the global character of the threat, which materializes in unexpected (or at least randomly chosen) locations. There is no longer any differentiation between civilian and military targets. Notwithstanding the false veil of religious argumentation, the main purpose of waging this type of warfare is seemingly to inflict “pain” on industrial states and societies that are associated with Western civilization. If so, then the destruction of human life is as important to the promoters of this new type of warfare as is the destruction of the national and international economic, technical, financial, administrative infrastructure of states and nations. In this way the menace is oriented at all levels of the modern organization of societies: from the international, regional, national, and local levels down to the in-

HAVING FUN YET?

It is my happy task to extend formal welcome to the Academy's new Fellows. Let's all join in this welcome-with round of applause. New Fellows, in the years ahead you'll find that one of the best things about Academy membership is coming to these annual meetings. This is great place to learn about new research and clinical advances, to learn about new equipment and practice tools, and to learn about health-policy trends. But I predict that beyond the learning, the thing that will bring you back to these meetings year after year is that they'll become reunions you won't want to miss. Reunions of friends who trained together. Reunions to nurture growing professional friendships. Reunions where we meet new people with whom we already share special bond: the bond of Academy fellowship. Reunions have whole new meaning since September 11, don't they? Even after five months, we all have heightened appreciation of this chance to reach out, to reunite, and to reconnect. At every kind of reunion-whether it's family reunion, school reunion, or an Academy reunion-even though there's this bond that brings everyone together, don't you find that there's at least one person whose approach seems perhaps bit blunt, or surprising, or contrarian? That person is curmudgeon . At this Academy reunion, I'm the curmudgeon, and to welcome the Academy's new Fellows, I offer A Curmudgeon's View of Career Management. The Appropriate Word 1 suggests that curmudgeons are often grouchy! The dictionary says curmudgeon is a cantankerous person2 -ill-tempered, quarrelsome, and disagreeable. Doesn't sound so good, does it? Then why is The Portable Curmudgeon 3 such popular book? Well, curmudgeons are truth-tellers who say what they really think, and when people speak their truth-even if we are …

The Wrong War

WARS have typically been fought against proper nouns (Germany, say) for the good reason that proper nouns can surrender and promise not to do it again. Wars against common nouns (poverty, crime, drugs) have been less successftil. Such opponents never give up. The war on terror ism, unfortunately, falls into the second category. Victory is possible only if the United States confines itself to fighting individual rather than the tactic of terrorism itself. Yet defining who is a is more complicated than it might seem-and even if it were not, choosing one's enemies on the basis of their tactics alone has little to recommend it. The OxfordEnglish Dictionary says that a is someone who attempts to further his views by a system of coercive intimidation. ... The term now usually refers to a member of a clandestine or expatriate organization aiming to coerce an established government by acts of violence against it or its subjects. This definition is fine as far as it goes, but in practice the use of the term is more problematic. The dictionary's citations describe the following terrorists or groups involved in terrorism: the Russian government of Tsar Alexander III, the French Resistance during World War II, the Zionist Irgun in Palestine, the Kenyan Mau independence movement, the African Na tional Congress (ANC), Irish nationalists, and Greek Cypriots. At least some of these groups are widely admired, and it is telling that the citations referring to the Greek Cypriots and the ANC raise questions as to whether the terrorist label was properly applied. Like beauty, it would seem, terrorism is in the eye of the beholder.

Jerome's dates for Gaius Lucilius,satyrarum scriptor

TheChronicleof Jerome states that Gaius Lucilius was born in 148 B.C. and died in 103 B.C. in his forty-sixth year. TheOxford Classical Dictionary(1996) says that Gaius Lucilius was probably born in 180 B.C. and died in 102/1 B.C.

CLIPPINGS

The 1980s' great paradigm shift to distributed computing delivered “location independence,” which might well be thought of as location irrelevance…. A fully wired world has no inherent concept of place in the physical way. “Location” last had meaning when it could be “surveyed and marked off” (as the dictionary says). An electronic identity is equivalently without physical embodiment; rather, it is exactly equal to the ability to control a name by controlling its cryptographic key. I postulate, then, a fundamental change: the boundaries of the future will be overlapping spaces defined neither by their geometry nor their mass but by cryptographic keys that alone can demarcate the scope of their identity.

The Emergence of Nationalism Under Gorbachev

Why did nationalism emerge in the Soviet Union under Gorbachev? At first glance the answer seems deceptively simple: nationalism emerged because of policies like Glasnost and perestroika. The republics had always had nationalist sentiment, but the Soviets had repressed this feeling, and once restrictions on free speech abated, nationalism simply burst forth. This hypothesis, sometimes called the sleeping beauty theory, is not satisfactory, however, because it does not explain why some areas were more nationalistic than others. Most importantly, though, the theory paints too simple picture of the event and does not address other factors that played key role. To start at the very beginning, nationalism must be defined along with its basic characteristics. The Collins English Dictionary says that it is a sentiment based on common cultural characteristics that bind population and often produces policy of national independence or separatism. Gellner adds that, in such case, ethnic boundaries should not cut across political ones. (Gellner 2) What are these vaguely mentioned characteristics to which the Collins dictionary refers? People desire their own land where they can speak their own language, practise their own religion, control their own economy, protect their own environment, make their own rules, and surround themselves with their own culture. All ethnic groups, however, do not have these nationalistic desires. If some ethnic communities can live together peacefully and happily, why does nationalism occur? This is not simple question, but it is central to understanding why nationalism developed under Gorbachev. There are number of reasons why nationalism emerges, and many, but not all of these different preconditions must be present in order to

Communication Skills: The Technology-Education Student and Whole-Language Strategies

Communication, the dictionary says, is an act of transmitting, an exchange of information or opinion. In today's technologically oriented society, young people must be prepared to communicate in a unique way. Technology education is an integrating discipline designed to develop technological literacy as part of all students' fundamental education through an activitybased study of past, present, and future technological systems: their resources, processes, and impacts upon society (Technology Education in N.Y. State 1986). This is an instructional area that stresses understanding, using, and controlling technology. The use of modern tools, machines, and materials and related technical activities place emphasis upon creativity, human inventiveness, abstract conceptual thinking, decision making, problem solving, design-planning-construction, and both individual and joint endeavors. The technology learning activities serve as the vehicle that relates other subject areas to technology and the world of work.

Just This: Buddhist Ultimate Reality

My task is to say about reality as Buddhists would understand term. My Christian partners in dialogue will probably have an easier time speaking of their reality, not having to resort to kind of paradox that is so inescapable for Buddhist. Buddhists also face other difficulties. The primitive Buddhism of India is different in many ways from Sino-Japanese tradition, and there are, it seems to me, important differences betweenJapanese Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. It is often difficult to generalize about Buddhism, whereas in central issues, Christianity seems more unified in its doctrines. Christians have also been diligent over centuries telling us in rather unambiguous terms just what is, but in Mahayana Buddhist traditions, it has usually been thought to be futile or presumptuous to say anything positive about ultimate, given Mahayana disdain for concepts and language. For many Mahayana Buddhists, such terms as ultimate are meaningless, as they would be to most rabid Wittgensteinian. Moreover, paradoxical language abounds in Buddhism, with talk of a groundless or ground that is not a ground, the which is no different from non-ultimate, this very body is Buddha, and so on. However, I will try to eschew paradox and attempt to be clear and unambiguous in saying about Buddhist ultimate. Before proceeding with Buddhist ultimate, I want to look briefly at term itself. What are we talking about? What do we denote by term? A dictionary says that by ultimate we mean farthest: most remote in space or time; extreme. A second meaning is last in a train of progression or consequences. It gives as noun form, something final. All meanings seem to indicate a state or condition of finality beyond which there is nothing. It is end, and nothing lies beyond it or can. It is extremus of whatever it is that we are pursuing. While in religious context there is only one for believer, there are in fact many ultimates of a nonreligious nature, and nature of these ultimates casts an interesting light on concept of the Ultimate. People speak of baseball pitcher, for instance, or

Presidential Address: State Formation in Asia—Prolegomenon to a Comparative Study

The dictionary says that a prolegomenon is “a learned preface or preamble, … introductory or preliminary observations on the subject of a book.” And indeed, the remarks I am about to make are preliminary to a volume on state formation that Lloyd Rudolph and I hope to produce one of these years. Such a prolegomenon is also a commitment to a path of action, a justification, a polemic in favor of what one proposes to do. Today, I want to speak for the domain of comparison.

Cardiac Surgery in Perspective

The dictionary says that to put something in perspective is to view it with “a proper pattern of relationships.” We will attempt to place the broad field of medicine in perspective, using cardiac surgery as an exemplary microcosm of medicine as a whole. First, we will sketchily review the continuing evolution of cardiac surgery. Then we must briefly review the overall record of this world in which we find ourselves, in an effort to discern a unifying pattern of action with which medicine should be in harmony and in “proper relationship.” This leads us to the idea of progress, and a glimpse at what thinking men through the ages have felt about this idea. Finally, it is left for us to consider how the identification of this pattern of progress might provide guidelines for the appropriate ongoing role of the practice of medicine as we move into the future.

Inadvertent Is Unintentional

To the Editor.— Despite Dr Mayhew 1 and Webster's Third New International Dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary dates the use of inadvertent to mean unintentional to 1742— and the American Heritage Dictionary says it still means that. If is meant—with its connotation of culpability—then the word negligent should be used. The term inadvertence, by itself, does not convey that meaning to me, or to most people.