Protocol (Vocabulary: Science and Government Terms)

PROTOCOL (Vocabulary: Science and Government Terms)

Protocol originally meant something like "a summary on the first page of a document." But it has come to mean a proper procedure, and is often used in these four fields:

• politics: a formal agreement between nation states, as the Kyoto Protocol, a former international treaty aimed at reducing green house gas emissions.
• diplomacy: protocols are a set of international courtesy rules, meant to maintain harmony in meetings and negotiations even between hostile nations.
• science: protocols are predefined written procedures for conducting experiments. They help standardize methods to permit replication of results by others.
• computers: a communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more elements in a communications system to--well--communicate. For example, the "http:" you see at the start of every full URL means "HyperText Transfer Protocol."

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America: An American youth organization that trains boys to be good citizens and leaders, as Cub Scouts (ages 5-11) and then Boy Scouts (ages 10-18); other programs take members to age 21.

Once highly respected, its reputation has suffered in recent years.

Aborigines (Indigenous Peoples)

aborigines (or indigenous peoples): First people known to live in a region, before outside settlers came.

Although the term is often taken to mean the original inhabitants of Australia, every continent (and Oceania) has numerous aboriginal groups (though there are few in Europe).

The Bastille

The Bastille: Former Paris prison where political offenders were held.

Its destruction on July 14, 1789 (now celebrated as "Bastille Day") was a symbol of liberation during the French Revolution.

A public square with an opera house stands on the site today.

The Pyrenees

The Pyrenees: 310 mile (nearly 500 km) mountain chain with a maximum altitude of 11,168 feet (3,404 meters).

Located between France and Spain, with the microstate of Andorra in between. The Pyrenees separate the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) from the rest of Europe.

Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid: a late 19th-century American outlaw and folk hero, killed at age 21.

He claimed to have killed 21 men; others say only eight.

A ruthless killer who at least twice escaped jail, he somehow became a folk hero and subject of over 50 movies.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace: a grassroots-funded environmental organization founded in 1971, now with offices in over 55 countries.

The group often actively protests abuse of the environment, fulfilling its mission to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity."

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution: the development of industry from around 1750, causing cities to grow larger. The Group of Eight (G8) are highly industrialized nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US. Some countries are still not fully industrialized.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin: U.S. Founding Father, printer, writer, scientist, and diplomat. Never president or congressman, but 1st U.S. Postmaster General. Many familiar sayings come from his Poor Richard's Almanack, like "A true Friend is the best Possession" and "Haste makes waste."

Expatriation

expatriation: leaving the country one was born in to live in another.

One who does this is called an "expatriate," usually shortened to "expat." (Be careful! An "expatriate" is not necessarily an "ex-patriot"!) It's an adjective, too: "He lived in the expatriate community for 20 years."

Alexander the Great

 

Alexander the Great: Son of Philip II of Macedon, and ruler of Greece in the 4th century BCE.

After tutoring by Aristotle he conquered much of the ancient world, from Greece to India. Then, legend says, he wept, "for there were no more worlds to conquer." He died at age 20 or 21.

Nagasaki

 

Nagasaki: A city in south Japan.

From 1641-1858, the only Japanese port open to foreigners, where Dutch and Portuguese conducted trade.

In 1945, it was the second city (after Hiroshima) hit by US atomic bombs, and (thankfully) the last city devastated in this way. Pop. 407,624.