ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Free time is a significant part of an adolescent’s life. It has been estimated that youth spend more time on leisure rather than productive activities: 20-30% and 45-55% correspondingly (Steinberg 222). A young person may choose to take up a part-time job, prioritize their time with various activities including mass media, or combine different options. The film Coach Carter illuminates the story of a school basketball team and their coach, Ken Carter. It is a perfect example of the influence that leisure activities and peers may have on young people. The sphere of work is not illustrated in the film. In relation to adolescent development, the theories of supervised and unsupervised leisure and mass media impact may be applied; apart from that, one should also pay attention to peer groups. The film is set in 1999 in America. Typical leisure patterns of those times correspond to the findings: the teenage characters spend the majority of their time on sports or hanging with friends. One of the school-sponsored extracurricular activities, basketball not only induces pleasure for the team players but also becomes the purpose of their lives: “Basketball is the only thing that these boys have got” ( Coach Carter ). Theoretically, participating in structured leisure activities brings school performance improvement, reduces drug and alcohol use, and reduces delinquency (Steinberg 231). It is especially important for poorer and dysfunctional families. Suppressed by the surroundings, both senior and junior students join the game because it is the only way to escape from the harsh reality where they fail academically and socially. Richmond expects to graduate less than a third of all students; in general, most of them are likely to follow in the footsteps of their relatives, be involved in crimes, and go to jail like Lyle’s father. Under such circumstances, the Richmond team has been saved by their coach. Ken Carter establishes rules intended to discipline and prepare the students for college; the most crucial requirement is a 2.3 grade point average. His tough measures provoke an outcry, but the results are more than impressive ( Coach Carter ). Basketball raises the boys’ self-esteem and comforts them psychologically. The film proves that structured activities are equally good for successful and low-performing students: while Damien, Ken’s son, has always been studying at a high level and continues to do so, the Richmond students also make progress under Carter’s guidance. Just as supervised activities are beneficial, the unstructured ones may cause much harm. If an adolescent is socially isolated and undertakes unsupervised activities, they may be involved in deviant behavior, drug and alcohol use, and so on (Steinberg 234). The film provides various examples. Timo Cruz’s actions corroborate this idea by a strong contrast between his past and present. The boy used to
Introduction A Doll’s House by Henrik IIbsen and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are popular plays written in 1879 and 1949 respectively. Both literary works have received wide critical acclaim and are studied by scholars worldwide due to the relevance of the works to the issues of the present time. Despite being written in different centuries and different countries, the plays explore similar issues affecting middle-class families, such as financial struggles, intergenerational conflict, gender inequality, and many others. Summary Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House follows the story of a Norwegian family on a Christmas Eve. Torvald Helmer, a bank manager who has recently earned a promotion, and his wife Nora Helmer are visited by family friends, Kristine Linde and Dr. Rank. Their presence, as well as the appearance of Torvald’s employee Nils Krogstad, reveal many hidden truths about the Helmer family and uncover an entire cycle of complex relationships between the characters as they try to resolve their problems and conflicts. At the core of the conflict in A Doll’s House is the loan that Nora Helmer borrowed from Krogstad, fabricating her father’s signature on the document. Krogstad threatens Nora to reveal the information about the debt to her husband, who is unaware of the arrangement, in case he is fired. Nora asks Kristine to pacify Krogstad, who used to be the latter woman’s lover in the past; however, the truth is still revealed, forever changing the relationship between the Helmers. Similarly, Art
Introduction The emergence of print and the printing revolution played a critical role in the development of global society and many individual cultures. It had several direct consequences, including the increased accessibility of books, improved information flow, and the commercialization of literature as a whole. However, there were also some indirect effects linked to the emergence of print, such as social responses and cultural shifts that affected the development of society in Europe and the rest of the world. This paper will examine the effects of printing on society and culture, as well as outline how it changed the interaction between the text and the reader. The Emergence of Print The emergence of print dates to the mid-15th century, although there are several possible accounts of how the printing press was invented and by whom. According to Johns, the history of print began when Johann Gutenberg developed the press around 1455 with the help of Johann Fust. 1 The two partners split up shortly after that, with Fust and his son-in-law continuing the dissemination of the invention, thus triggering the emergence of print in Germany, Europe, and the rest of the world. 2 If this account is true, then the printing press first appeared in England in 1471, and the first printing office in the country was established in Westminster. 3 However, there remain some questions about whether or not the printing press was invented by Gutenberg, and various printed documents are supporting other theories. Despite the concerns about the origins of the printing press, the impact of this technology on the lives of contemporary people cannot be doubted. The invention of the printing press and the dissemination of this technology-enhanced the book trade, creating a large and diverse market for books in most parts of Europe. The increased availability of books meant that it cost less for publishers to produce copies, which increased competitiveness in the industry. Printers and booksellers sought to maximize their profits by purchasing the rights to print or sell books exclusively. 4 By giving rise to literature as an industry, the emergence of print resulted in important social and cultural changes. The main outcome was the improved availability of books due to the increased number of copies in circulation. 5 As a result of this, the flow of information in society was enhanced, leading to advances in science, politics, and education. The emergency of print also led to an increase in literacy, as education became more accessible to people of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Many authors contend that print was the key technology of the time, as it made an immense contribution to the development of culture and society during the early modern period. 6 Nevertheless, as the following section will show, the social responses to the emergence of print were not always positive. Social Responses The initial social responses to the emergence of print were mixed. While most educated people appreciated the increased availability of knowledge, there were two main concerns
Introduction The Hispanic group consists of several categories of people and although they have some similarities, there are a few unique traits that make each group different. This paper is going to look at these individual groups with regard to different aspects of their lives. These groups are the Mexican Americans, Cubans, Guatemalans and the Puerto Ricans. Discussion Most of the Mexican Americans are Roman Catholics with a few practicing Protestantism. Their main language is Spanish although English is used in educational institutions. There are high levels of poverty among the Mexican Americans since most of them do not have American citizenship. They therefore take up low paying jobs as illegal workers. Social status is determined by the kind of employment one is able to obtain. Initially, women stayed at home and performed household chores but due to the low income, they were forced to look for some source of income. The main political issue relates to the Mexican American borders and the reduction of illegal immigrants (Denton, & Emory, 2002). The other group of Hispanics is the Puerto Ricans. In this group, there are high numbers of Protestants although their traditional religion was the Roman Catholic. Like the Mexican Americans, they also speak Spanish. There are two political groups in Puerto Rica: the nationalists and the statists. The statists believe that Puerto Rica should be governed by its own constitution while the nationalists believe that they should be governed by the American government. These people are able to obtain high paying jobs so their social status is generally higher than tha
Islamic Modernism may be defined as a reform of inherent Islamic tradition by stressing the importance of Sunnah 1 And Quran 2 To the needs of contemporary society, encompassing its modern institution and technology. Islamic modernism emerged in the 19th century from different parts with a primary goal to reinstate the dynamism, flexibility, and potency of Muslim communities. In particular, Islamic modernism emerged to counter western influence. Islamic modernists borrowed certain western aspects to avert the replacement of Islamic culture by western culture. For instance, they used science and technology to reclaim Islamic heritage because European science originated from classical Islamic learning (“Modernism” par. 1). Modernists differentiated between acquired knowledge (via reason) and revealed knowledge by ensuring that both did not clash. Primarily, major modernist movements emerged in India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, and Egypt. Specifically, these movements focused on politics, law, education, society, intellectual, spiritual, and moral issues (Rahman 317). Some notable Islamic modernists were Shah Wali Allah, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani’s, Muhammad Abdul, and Rashid Rida. This essay paper reviews the manner in which modernists shaped Islamic culture. Islamic modernism began in Egypt and India in the second part of 19th century. Mainly, these movements were characterized by a remarkable intellectual development (Moaddel, “Islamic Modernism” 2). Notably, groups of like-minded Muslim elites critically examined the conventional conceptions and methods of jurisprudence and, at the same time, formulated new approaches to Islamic theology and Quranic exegesis. In particular, new approaches were considerably a “rebellion” against Islamic orthodoxy and favored enlightenment. The main theology issues that emerged among modernists’ thoughts revolved around the validity of knowledge derived from the external sources of Islam and methodological adequacy of the four primary sources of jurisprudence – Quran, Hadith 3 , Ijma 4 And Qiyas 5 (Moaddel “Discursive Pluralism” 4). The modernists decided to reinterpret Quran and Hadith and transform Ijma and Qiyas to formulate a reformist project in order to align Islam with prevailing standards of scientific rationality and modern social theory. Through impressions from west achievements, ranging from Darwinian evolution, Spencer’s sociology, Newtonian conception of the universe to western lifestyles, modernists argued that Islam as a global religion was in a position to adapt itself to the dynamic conditions of the modern age, with perfect Muslim society being characterized by law and reasoning (Moaddel 3). In this regard, modernists showed Islam as compatible with natural and deistic religion. Modernists reforms aimed to deal with aspects relating to the law of evidence, modern education, the status of women in the society, right of Muslim to have independent thinking and rationality, constitutional reforms, the nature of the universe, man and God, and, the freedom of individuals (Rahman 317). However, the principal focus was on intellectual and spiritual issues. The emergence of
Introduction In any society, development is associated with social changes. Moreover, no single society can remain stagnant without interacting with the outside world. As such, social changes are unavoidable and they happen from time to time. It is worth noting that sociological changes vary from on society to another. As such, values, institutions, customs among other aspects of societal change are not equal or similar among societies (Ansari, 2014). Therefore, there are societies that are considered to be ahead of others in as far as growth is concerned. Cultural hegemony forces societies that are deemed to be backward to emulate the societies that are ahead as the latter try to improve. The Western World is considered to be ahead of other regions since they have higher volumes, paces and quality of societal growth. Other regions, including Second and Third World, tend to emulate the Western World in the efforts to modernizing their societies (Ansari, 2014). On the other hand, some countries argue that they can develop and get better without emulating the West. There is, therefore, the need to evaluate whether modernization requires westernization (Farhat-Holzman, 2012; Chen, Chittoor, & Vissa, 2014; Lal, 2000). In the course of establishing whether westernization is a prerequisite for modernization, it is prudent to define the two terms. Ansari (2014) defined modernization as a “kind of social change in where a traditional society inclines to develop new patterns of conduct in response to n
The presentation of personal ideas normally takes numerous forms. Various activities performed by individuals help them in presenting their ideologies views about earthly things to the public. A paradigm can be defined as a pattern of conducting activities. The drawing paradigm normally offers personal perceptions possessed by draftsmen about views regarding life. While the presentation of the ideas using drawings continues to amaze many people, others fail to understand the message passed through the drawings. Traditionally, people considered draftsmen as complicated people, who could not be easily understood. Some societies considered them to be social misfits owing to their presentation of illustrative arts with hidden meanings. The development of this stereotype presented a surmountable challenge to draftsmen in the past. Majority of them could not live their lives comfortably within their societies. Within the traditional perception, draftsmen were considered to have some form of supernatural powers possessing their thoughts. The drawings presented by the draftsmen could sometimes be considered as those that represented evil. Failure to understand the perceived meaning of the drawings led to the development of such stereotypes. These stereotypes could be defined as being misleading, owing to the impact of some drawings on the society. The picture of the last supper, drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, became the most reproduced religious art illustration. This reproduction of illustrative art vehemently indicates the benefit imminent from drawing and draftsmen. The reproduction also proves the stereotypes to be untrue. Paradigms seek to offer explanations regarding solutions offered, through activities undertaken on a daily basis. They determine the ac
Introduction This report describes our project, which is a business that is environment friendly. The focus on eco-business stems from the understanding that the transformation of our environment brings with it intricate relationships bearing both enterprise and livelihood opportunities. [1] Consequently, the project we came up with, as Spedding advices, is financially viability, environmentally sustainability, and socio-culturally acceptable. [2] Much of what is presented in this paper stems from my role in developing the project. My main contribution to the project consisted in researching on different aspects of the business and doing a market analysis. Business Idea Generation Process The idea for our Eco-business dawned on us after scanning the New York City (NYC) neighborhoods. NYC being an urban area, many of the inhabitants are preoccupied throughout the day in their various jobs. Therefore, it is very difficult for them to engage in gardening or any other activity of the same nature. While carrying out our survey, we realized that in NYC there are a number of individuals engaged in community gardening. However, upon further investigations, our respondents intimated to us that despite the numerous faming activities that take place in the area, people find it difficult to partake in those farming activities due to time constraints. Secondly, in order for them to engage in farming, they have to travel a long distance to community gardens. Moreover, growing vegetables at home tends to be impossible due to lack of implements that would facilitate the same. Finally, many residents that we spoke to do not know where they could buy implements for home gardens. Business Branding Having identified the aforementioned concerns, we recognized a prime business opportunity. Our business idea revolves around assisting or helping NYC people to start growing vegetables in the comfort of their homes. We are keen on helping people start growing vegetables for their own consumption but also because of the related environmental benefits. In so doing, we came up with a brilliant idea that we now call INTO-MEET-SEE. We chose the brand name because we hope to encourage people to take plants into their homes. Our brand name suggests to individuals that, ‘bring
The service division The service division is responsible for the provision of proper services to a company’s clients. A successful service division requires a well-organized team whose qualities are reflective of their leader. The leader in question should be conceptual, a good communicator, be effective, and interpersonal. As a recruiter, it is significant to take into consideration several factors before selecting potential managers. These skills should reflect on professional planning, organizing, leading, and controlling that the service department entails. Recruiting the right manager will, in turn, improve the performance of the department in terms of excellent customer service. The knowledge of management functions, behavior, and skills enables a recruiter to come up with questions and conditions that all potential employees should pass. Five questions that determine the candidate’s capability regarding taking charge, organization, motivation, returning to the service market (Compton, Morrissey & Nankervis, A. R. (2009). Are you a team player or a team leader? A team leader is an individual who manages and controls a group of people in an organization or establishment. A manager should be able to portray this skill during their interaction with the rest of the employees. A leader needs to form sustainable relationships with their employees. This builds a level of trust that encourages an employee to confide with the manager without overstepping his or her bounds. Some of the qualities required for this role are respectful, loyal, and hardworking. Most people who possess these qualities can lead to different types of groups that are tasked with managing. Are you capable of overseeing the wellbeing of the company and staff needs as a whole? Overseeing the w
Introduction Caltex was a major investment in the economy of South Africa. It had provided employment opportunities by employing 742 black workers in refinery jobs. The company had also kept its wages well above the averages. The presence of foreign corporations in South Africa had helped to improve the real earnings of black industrial workers. Between 1970 and 1975, black incomes in Johannesburg rose to 118 percent, while between 1975 and 1980 black per capita income was expected to rise 30 percent. However, Texaco and SoCal were perpetrators of apartheid albeit indirectly. Timothy Smith 1971. Main text Sarcastically, the management of both Texaco and SoCal claimed that they fully adhered to the 1997 ‘Sullivan principles’. They argued that they were committed to improving the economic working conditions of its black employees and their continued presence in South Africa did not constitute an endorsement of South Africa’s apartheid policies. The management had only accepted the principles since they were to operate within the existing South African working conditions which were within South African laws. The management clearly knew such principles could only exist in writings since South African laws did not permit that. To some extent Sullivan’s principles like ‘equal pay for all employees doing equal or comparable work for the same period of time, had no meaning at all since the blacks and the whites did not have equal work at all. Caltex indirectly supported apartheid by providing economic support to the South Africa government. It provided about 7 percent of its oil sales to the South Africa government. Timothy Smith 1971. Apartheid is a social evil. As a stock
In the article it is clear that in the 2004 presidential election federalism was noticeably absent and no party candidate brought up issues that weighed down the states and localities. The contest was streamlined by the then on-going war against terrorism and the fluctuating conditions in Iraq. While there was much progress on internal security, a continuation of intergovernmental wrangles over federal grants proceeded. In a number of policy areas such as healthcare, education and general environmental protection, the federal-state disputes were quite evident. The economic growth rose as states encountered an increase in revenue but their financial state was fogged up by the rise in costs for education, Medicaid not leaving out employee pensions and prisons (Krane & Koenig 2005). The decisions made by the United States’ Supreme Court with regards to cases where they ruled with a federal aspect has suggested that the court acted in a way to cut back power of the Congress instead of granting the states more power. Most of the events that unraveled in the first Bush administration should be seen in a broader perspective against the changes that took place in the political party system. The Democratic Administration in 2004 only gave a suggestion in a federalism dimension that the resolution to outlaw (or not) gay marriage be handled by state governments. Federalism in America has grown to be more nat
An Overview of the Trait Model of Personality The trait model of personality posits that personality is made up of several other broad traits or characters. Specifically, the model concentrates on the personality by observing differences between people. Psychologists have demonstrated that the interaction and combination of these different dispositions create personality, which is unique to every person. The trait model of personality distinguishes and assesses these different personality traits. One major theorist of the trait model of personality is Gordon Allport. Allport observed that a certain English dictionary contained over 4,000 words to reflect a specific personality trait. Consequently, Allport was able to classify various traits into three primary trait types. First, Allport identified Cardinal Traits. The traits are part of a person’s entire life in most cases to the extent that one may simple referred to using these traits. Individuals with cardinal traits are recognized for these personality traits, and their names are often associated or are synonymous with such traits. Allport noted that cardinal traits were rare in individuals, and they normally developed in later stages of life. Such traits could be reflected in descriptive names like Freudian, Don Juan among others. The second types of traits identified by Allport were the central traits. According to Allport, central traits