Why is a feature film so called?

The term evolved from the days when the cinema-goer would watch a series of short subjects before the main film. The term 'feature' was an inheritance of the Vaudeville programme. When the feature film was first marketed, it meant a special film, that could be featured between advertising shorts. A feature film was one

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What is the R V Park concept?

R V Park stands for Recreational Vehicle Park. Such parks have facilities for parking of vehicles used by a tourists, at a nominal fee. Thus, the tourists can travel, cook, eat and sleep in the specially-designed road vehicles, eliminating the need for hotels and restaurants. This makes tourism very economical. Such parks are

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What is ambergis?

Ambergis is a solid, waxy material produced in the sperm whale and in the pygmy sperm whale. Ambergis is formed in the rectum of the whale by indigestible objects from animals on which it feeds (like beaks of squid and cuttlefish). The ambergris is usually released when the whale dies. When released, it is pale white and soft with a strong smell quite like cow manure. Over time and exposure to the elements, ambergis oxidizes, becomes darker in colour and loses its unpleasant odour. It is used in the manufacture of perfume. Ambergis is found in lumps, ranging from 15 gm to 400 kg.

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Word of the Week: Rape

Word of the Week that was: Rape

Meaning: Rape, sometimes called sexual assault, involves sexual intercourse with another person without their consent

Etymology: From the Latin verb 'rapere' which means to seize or take by force

Origin: Rape originally had no sexual connotations. The word is still used generically in English. In ancient times, rape was viewed less as an assault on a woman and more as a serious property crime against the man to whom she belonged, typically the father or husband. The loss of virginity was an especially serious matter. A raped woman's prospects of finding a husband and an appropriate bride price reduced.

Current Significance: On Thursday, Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, who is accused of raping his maid, was remanded to judicial custody till July 2. Rape is increasingly reported, giving rise to the perception that its incidence is rising across the world. A recent survey in South Africa found one in four men admitting they had raped someone at least once. Nearly half admitted more than one attack. The study, by the country's Medical Research Council, said practices such as gang rape were common because they were considered a form of male bonding.

History: The history of rape and its changing meaning is complex. In Roman times, rape was considered a 'public wrong' or iniuria publica, as opposed to a 'private wrong' or iniuria privita. Rape-along with arson, treason and murder-has always been a capital offense. Till the colonial period, rape along with arson, treason and murder was a capital offense. In England in the early fourteenth century, a rape victim was expected to gouge out the eyes and sever the offender's testicles herself. Mediaeval theologian Thomas Aquinas argued that rape, though sinful, was much more acceptable than masturbation because it fulfilled the procreative function of sex, while the other acts violated its purpose.

Public perception of rape arguably changed with the 1988 film 'The Accused', starring Jodie Foster. The film explored issues pertaining to the legal and moral responsibility of witnesses. It also challenged the prevalent view that a scantily clad woman in a bar on her own was "asking for it".

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Words of the week : Cricket Test

Words of the week : Cricket Test

Meaning: Bloodied by a fearsome terrorist attack and badly hit by economic fraud, cricket is being tested like never before. This is a cricket test rather than Test cricket

Origin: Test cricket has had a remarkably smooth run for a 132-year-old game. But two disparate events appear to have plunged it into a crisis - the sudden disappearance in disgrace of Texan billionaire Robert Allen Stanford and the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team touring Pakistan. Stanford's abrupt exit - without paying the bills - has arguably left world cricket without too many options about how to create a new order that would reconcile the various forms of the game and its warring parties. Just a few months ago, in the West Indies, Stanford had played benefactor to an English version of the Twenty20. It was meant to compete with the new and, until now, hugely successful Indian Premier League (IPL). Then Stanford disappeared. And now, there are fears over security in the sub-continent, which means South Asian cricket can never really be the same again, at least for the foreseeable future. Already, insurance premiums for cricket matches are spiralling. It may become impossibly expensive for organizers, broadcasters and cricket boards to buy the special contingent policies they take out to cover loss of revenue when a match is cancelled because of adverse weather or terrorist attack

Etymology: Before Stanford and Lahore, Test cricket was already in a crisis. Even fanatical fans of Test cricket admitted the five-day game was, well, a bit too long. Many reluctantly agreed it was the sporting equivalent of an epic novel. Twenty20, cricket's 21st-century avatar, was meant to let the game chime with an age that demanded instant gratification. It's thought that there simply aren't enough days in the year and dollars in Test cricket to preserve Test calendars

Current significance: The cricket test is hard-going because Test cricket is in the doldrums and it's getting harder even to conduct an IPL Twenty20 match. Till Saturday, it was feared that security concerns would force the IPL to be postponed or not held at all this year. But it's going ahead, albeit with a revised gameplan.
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What is the origin of the term 'earmark'?

Earmark, which we now use to mean 'to designate' or 'to set aside for a particular purpose', actually has a very simple origin. For centuries, farmers marked their livestock as their property by cutting distinctive notches in the animals' ears. Earmark in this literal sense, first appeared in English around 1591. But the use of 'earmark' in the figurative sense arose only in the late 19th century.

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What are floaters?

Floaters can be any of these things:

• Musca volitans: spots before the eyes caused by opaque cell fragments in the vitreous humour and lens of the eye;
• a debt instrument with variable interest rate tied to some other interest rate;
• a vagrant with no established residence or visible means of support;
  
• an employee who is reassigned from job to job as needed;
  
• a voter who votes illegally at different polling places in the same election;
  
• a swimmer who floats in the water;
  
• an object that floats or is capable of floating;
  
• an insurance policy covering loss of movable property (like jewellery) regardless of location.

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Word of the week that was : Summit

Meaning: The highest point; the top; the highest level or degree that can be attained; a conference or meeting of high-level leaders, usually called to shape a programme of action. Summited, summiting, summits is its verb form Etymology: Middle English somet, from Old French sommette, diminutive of som, top, from Latin summum Current significance: This is turning out to be the summer of summits. Here are two that made headlines this week

SUMMIT OF HOPE

With the world facing the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was much hype and hoopla about the G 20 summit in London on April 2. Some called it the summit that would save the world, which may seem an overdone claim for a grouping of finance ministers and central bank governors. But US president Barack Obama attended and the leaders agreed a trillion-dollar stimulus for the world economy. Sections of the world's press were suffused by hope. Le Figaro lyrically said it was "The symphony of a new world”. French business paper Les Echos expressed relief the leaders had put aside divisions and egos to create a new powerful grouping, commenting "If it's not exactly a world government ... it's much more than a summit”.

SUMMIT OF SHAME

For India the week was the very summit of shame with the CBI giving Congress leader Jagdish Tytler a clean chit in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The case against Tytler, Congress candidate for the north-east Delhi parliamentary constituency, relates to a mob arson attack on a gurdwara on November 1, 1984 after Indira Gandhi's assassination. The all-clear for Tytler is seen to be the low point for the rule of law. And that's when it had started to seem things would be different with Gujarat's Maya Kodnani becoming the first government minister anywhere in the country to be arrested in connection with communal violence. Tytler, however, seems to underline Kodnani's unique status – she is more the exception than the rule.

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What is a staycation?

A staycation is a neologism in vogue, where a person or family stays home instead of taking expensive and stressful vacations to exotic locations. It is a new travel word and is very popular what with today's recession and high prices. It could involve taking day trips in and around the city. Such a vacation could also include activities like doing up the house and lazing around in the backyard and attending local festivals.

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What is tongue grafting?

It is a term used in grafting of plants. For the whip and tongue graft, similar cuts are made on the stock and scion. These are made with a single draw of the knife and have a smooth surface so the two can develop a good graft union.

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What is Defty?

Almost every institutional investor and offshore fund enterprise with equity exposure in India would like to have an instrument for measuring returns on equity investment in terms of dollars. To facilitate this, a new index the S&P CNX Defty, a dollar-denominated S&P CNX Nifty, has been developed. S&P CNX Defty is S&P CNX Nifty, measured in dollars. It provides an effective tool for hedging Indian equity exposure. It also provides fund managers an instrument for measuring returns on their equity investment in dollars.

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What is bruxism?

Bruxism is the involuntary gnashing of teeth. Some people with bruxism — originating from the Greek word ‘brychein’ — clench their teeth during the day when they are tense. This is different from tooth grinding or clenching that occurs at night, which is called sleep bruxism. Mild bruxism may not require treatment, but in severe cases, can lead to jaw disorders, headaches, damaged teeth and other problems.

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What is mobile elbow?

The mobile elbow results from using the mobile for long hours. Called the 'cubital tunnel syndrome', it is also called 'cell phone elbow'. The problem occurs when the ulnar nerve, which runs across the elbow, down to the ring and little fingers, gets over-stretched and blood supply is restricted, sparked by holding a phone to the ear for long periods.

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What is cryopreservation?

Cryopreservation (freezing at super cold temperatures) of tissue and cells is a technique which puts the cells in suspended animation where they can retain their viability indefinitely. Cryopreservation protects against catastrophic losses caused by such events as disease outbreaks, fire, breeding cessation, or genetic contamination and eliminates the necessity of maintaining stocks 'on the shelf' when those stocks are not being actively used. Cryobiology improved rapidly with the discovery of the beneficial effects of cryoprotectant substances that are added to cell freezing solutions. Cryopreservation is now routinely used to store semen, embryos and all types of cells/tissue of animals and humans.

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What is helicopter parenting?

What is helicopter parenting?

It's a colloquial term that refers to a style of parenting which involves paying extremely close attention to children. It's also called overparenting. It gets its name from the fact that parents hover over children like a helicopter, to make sure they aren't harmed in any way. This particularly pertains to school-related problems. It can be detrimental for children who end up being overprotected.

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What is the Latur pattern of study?

The Latur pattern of study involves continuous and methodical practice of model question papers months before the board exams. This method was devised by principal Aniruddha Jadhav of Rajarishi Shahu College in Latur, who felt this mechanical methodology of continuous study helps students in providing point-to-point answers to questions which could be expected in the examination. This methodology, however, has been lambasted by educationists who consider it a tool to gain temporary advantage that does not aim to prepare them for advanced learning.

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What is an electron gun?

It is a device in the back of a "cathode ray tube" television or computer monitor (pre-plasma or LCD flat-panel). The electron gun fires a stream of electrons from the back of the TV onto the inside face of the screen, which is coated with a material that glows when hit by electrons. By using powerful magnets to direct the stream across the screen, a series of dots ('pixels') is built over the screen which appears as an image.

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What is telepresence?

Telepresence is the next-gen videoconferencing technology, which provides superior images. The demand for telepresence solutions has grown, with companies seeing it as an alternative to send executives for meetings. It also reduces a company's carbon footprint by cutting down frequent flying. Setting up a telepresence suite can be very expensive, though.


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Why are the Emmy Awards so called?

The Emmy Awards were instituted by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) as a television equivalent for the Academy Awards for films. The first Emmy Award ceremony was held in January 1949. The name ‘Emmy’ chosen by ATAS is the feminization of ‘Immy’ — the nickname for the image of the orthicon camera tube that led to the development of television. The name Emmy was complemented by the award statuette design that depicts a winged idealized woman holding an atom. The wings represent the art and the atom represents the science and technology of the television medium.

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What is rhinology?

Rhinology is the study of the nose, including the sinuses, and concerns itself with medical and surgical diseases of the nasal passages and paranasal sinuses. It is becoming more important after the introduction of nasal endoscopes. A rhinologist is a specialist otolaryngologist (an ENT specialist). Rhinology was practised as early as 4000 BC — there is an inscription on the tomb of Seklet-n-Ankl, an old Egyptian physician, that “he healed the King’s nostrils”.


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