ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Musical artists often respond to personal and social situations in their lyrics. How they portray that situation is sometimes deliberate and highly symbolic. While portraying the situation, they create a unique perspective that enables their listeners to view the situation in a deliberate manner; what experts call the artist’s agenda. Often, artists respond to situations in their lyrics to either: Celebrate a specific belief or faith, Invite listeners into a culture to experience it authentically, sometimes dispelling any misinterpretations outsiders may have, criticize traditions or current events within a culture and often call for reform or change, and force readers to question their beliefs and values. This paper will analyze a song titled “Girls not Grey”, which was composed by the A Fire Inside (AFI), and explain the band’s agenda with regard to this song. “Girls not Grey” has been seen by many as a campaign by AFI to enlighten musicians and the rest of the society on the dangers of drug use. A Fire Inside (AFI) is a rock band based in California, USA (Ovguide Editors 1). The current society faces numerous challenges that are caused by drug addiction. Drug use is common among the young people and most importantly musicians. The use of drugs such as cocaine and marijuana is often advertised in the mass media and this attracts the attention of many potential users. Musicians are often forced to use illegal drugs so as to gain courage and energy to face huge crowds. According to Tiegel, rock musicians are the most vulnerable artistes (56). Tiegel notes that the culture of drug use is very common among rock musicians and warns young rock artistes to be on the lookout. “The music industry’s love affairs with drugs, from uppers and downers, to the smoking of marijuana, which musicians, producers, and long haired general mangers and doctors agree should be classified separately from the hard drugs, has caused numerous problems” (Tiegel 58). Drug addiction has caused the deaths of several musicians, and it has crippled the careers of many. The deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix were believed to have resulted from the use of drugs. Despite the death of these two musicians, the use of drugs by musicians is still is worrying. Tiegel argues “the rock musician’s world at best is a house of dreams and cards. He has a short life and he does not know how long it will last, so he wants to be up for every performance; he wants to be on top”(58). Dr. Birnbaum, an expert of drug addiction, indicates that musicians often use drugs because “drugs are so much a part of the youth scene, and the musician thinks he needs the drug to survive, work under duress, be functional on the road
The Volkswagen diesel fraud scandal is one of the biggest and loudest scandals that happened in the year of 2015. It has erupted in September of last1 year when the Environmental Protection Agency (also known as EPA) detected that the cars manufactured by Volkswagen and sold in the United States of America do not match the requirements of the organization in reference to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced by the vehicles. The conflict became aggravated to the fullest when it turned out that the newest series of the Volkswagen cars were equipped with a device designed to fabricate the test results when the vehicles were undergoing the emission tests. The software installed in the scandalous vehicles was quite sophisticated; its function was to identify when the cars are being tested and adjust the amount of emitted carbon dioxide making the reviewers recognize the vehicles as environmentally safer. This massive case of cheating caused the reputation of the world-renowned car manufacturer to implode. The consequences and the public reaction to the fraud were heated up by the advertising campaign launched by Volkswagen prior to the scandal. The campaign videos emphasized that the cars were environmentally friendly and that their emissions were cleaner and safer. According to the findings of the EPA, about half a million of flawed cars were sold in the United States (including such models as Volkswagen Beetle, Jetta, Passat, Golf, and Audi A3) (Hotten par. 2). The manufacturer’s reaction to the scandal was to admit to fault and accept the consequences. As a result, the company is in need for a new strategy in order to bring their brand image and reputation back to life, improve the consumers’ trust, gain revenues, and become a strong competitor in the industry. This paper proposes such strategy, presents sales forecast perspectives, customer management approach, sales training and mentorship, and outlines the key performance indicators. Summary of Project This project aims at the evaluation of the issues faced by Volkswagen Group after the massive scandal that occurred in 2015. The project is attempted as guidance and a set of recommendations for the future developments and strategy of Volkswagen on its way towards the restoration of its reputation and brand image damaged by the emission deceit. The main principle of the proposed strategy is admitting the errors of the past, recognizing the wrongdoings, and emphasizing the ethical choices and lessons learned after the scandal. It is assumed that since the damage caused by the emissions deceit was significant at multiple levels, the company is now bound to handle the outcomes without ignoring the initial cause. In other words, regardless of how much the leaders of Volkswagen Group are wil
Introduction Literature brings to focus the real world situation in a piece of structured fiction. Through novels, poems, short stories and such other related literatures, one is able to give a reflection of what is really happening in real life situation in a factious manner that may not appear to be too direct or confrontational. Many authors in the United States of America have done marvelously well in bringing out the real situations as regards to social, political and cultural life in a fiction form, with an aim of developing a culture where everyone appreciates the need to be a responsible citizen and a member of society. The Human Stain by Philip Roth is a piece of literature that has been put together to focus not only on the American culture and how diverse it is, but also on political issues that the country faces and how both culture and politics affect leadership in America and the current world at large. As regards to culture, it clearly explains the morals that one is expected to observe and follow keenly while interacting with other members of society and in any leadership position. It also explains conditions that could cause trouble to an individual. American culture according Roth’s literature is supposed to be seriously observed though much of it is politicized (Roth 44). Generally, culture gives society a direction or guideline on how things are supposed to be carried out ethically but when politicized, it means much of basic truths of culture are violated and in a country like America where people are from different countries with cultural differences, cultural balance should be observed in order to accommodate all people. The book brings out America as a nation that seriously discourages racism but promotes cohesion within and without the nation. It is also portrayed as a much-diversified nation that appreciates other peoples’ culture and easily adapts to it no matter how strange it may look. Human stain is all about general human weaknesses pictured within a social or political organization (Roth 46). All humans have different weaknesses, which culture should be able to admit, accommodate and put into consideration. This is especially so in leadership. Leaders have differing weaknesses that should not be used to eliminate them from their positions but rather the society should help them in overcoming such weaknesses for perfect leadership. In a diverse country like America with different people who vary in terms of culture, different cultural values should be recognized and appreciated to enhance coexistence. People have different ways on how they work. This literature brings out different leaders from different origins and with different styles of leadership in Athena College. Their colleagues and the entire college fraternity appreciate some of these leaders while others are not (Roth, p. 48). Coleman’s way of leadership does not please the staff and the students, who unlike Coleman are accustomed to
The Cold War became a global geopolitical, military, and economic confrontation between the two blocs of states, the centers of which were the United States and the USSR, from 1946 to the end of 1980. The countries fought for a dominant position in world public opinion. One of the main roles in this confrontation was occupied by Africa because it had air and naval bases, and since Africa is rich in food and mineral resources, it was attractive to the opposing countries. The Cold War led Africa to certain consequences, for example, the transformation of political systems as multiparty democracy is not suitable, moreover, threatens the needs of the new African states. This means that people will not organize and vote, and as Reynolds (2015) claims, they will form political parties based on ethnic affiliations. As a result, African leaders were first opposed, and then moved to eliminate multi-party systems, advocating a single party. Another consequence that affected Africa was the military coup in 1966, which uprooted a corrupt regime. The leaders of this coup became heroes for their people, and the politicians disappeared from sight. In the south, people cheered, but in the north, the reaction was more restrained. Meredith (2005) states that the northerners began to weigh the consequences of the coup and they had some doubts about the true intentions of this coup. Over time, the northerners became increasingly convinced that the coup was staged not to root out corruption, but to seize power by one of the tribes. This suspicion was the cause of the civil war, which lasted for more than two years and claimed the lives of almost a million people. In conclusion, the Cold War claimed millions of lives and was very costly. For many African countries that were engulfed by the war, this was a real tragedy, since the country’s internal problems were in the background for the United States and the USSR. All the problems of Africa that arise from the confrontation of countries remain to this day and remind us of the painful legacy of the Cold War.
Burnout at work appears to be an increasingly severe problem for US employees. An article by Vavra (2019), “Burnout is an Official Medical Diagnosis Under WHO Handbook Updates,” provides a brief description of burnout according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) handbook. Moreover, the author recounts symptoms and contributing factors, as well as possible medical conditions that can be caused by this mental issue if left unresolved. Therefore, this article presents practical information allowing managers to obtain the necessary knowledge on such a widespread problem and motivation for workplace environment improvement. WHO defines burnout as a specific syndrome that forms in the context of severe work stress experienced for a prolonged time. The inclusion of this condition in the International Classification of Diseases will allow medical professionals to recognize and manage this state before it leads to significant health complications. The author mentions the following symptoms: “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion increased mental distance from a person’s job or feeling negative or cynical in relation to work and reduced efficacy” (Vavra, 2019, para 4). It should be noted that these signs are relevant to the diagnosis only in the work context, and this condition is distinct from other mental disorders. There are contributing factors that can worsen the psychological state of an employee, such as lack of autonomy and peer support, unstable workplace dynamics, mixed job demands, and disrupted work-life balance. People with monotonous jobs and extreme workloads are at higher risk of developing symptoms of burnout. Being in such a state without appropriate mitigating measures may lead to feelings of sadness, anxiety, and anger, along with consequent fatigue, insomnia, and possible substance abuse. Experiencing burnout chronically is associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and general susceptibility to different illnesses. The first step to address such a problem should be inducing and promoting employees’ awareness of both personal needs and healthy mental practices. This can be encouraged by relevant information on self-care and adequate training. If an employee’s responsibilities appear to be a potent and constant stressor, he or she should feel motivated and entitled to discuss this issue with the supervisor. A simple act of bringing attention to the matter makes it possible for managers to offer a solution or help employees to prioritize their tasks. The costs of poor mental state and benefits of a burnout-free environment are essential not only for workers but for business owners as well. Staff meetings and group events are valuable methods of establishing good communications among workers within the organization. Moreover, creating schedule o
Introduction The Gaza conflict became notorious quite a while ago. Starting in 2005 after the election of Hamas, a political party, as the Gaza government, it was caused by the outcomes of the disengagement plan, in accordance with which Israel was given the right to retain the territory, which the Palestinian government considered the property of the Arabs (Gen 14). Even though Israel monitors the Gaza Strip at present, military actions continue to take place in the specified region. Players At present, there are only two major players involved into the conflict, i.e., Israel and Gaza Strip (Cordesman 258). However, a closer look at the organizations, which are currently acting on behalf of the aforementioned states on the territory of Palestine, will reveal that the number of parties involved in the conflict is much bigger than it is traditionally assumed. More to the point, it is obvious that the forces of Israel are less numerous than those of its opponent. To be more exact, such organizations as Mossad, ISA and IDF are being used in order to defeat the adversary and claim the specified area (Morag 126). As far as the forces of Gaza Strip are concerned, the notorious Hamas together with DFLP, PIJ, PFLP, and a range of minor organizations (13 in total) fights for the victory of the Arab population (Cordesman 259). As far as the supporters of Hamas and its rule are concerned, infamous Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, as well as Iran, Qatar, Syria, Egypt and Turkey, are on the side of the Arabs. Nation-state boundary changes No major nation-state boundary changes have been made so far in spite of numerous battles, major losses on both sides of the conflict and the application of modern weapons. Apart from Israel’s statement concerning Gaza being a “hostile territory” (Wilmshurst 282), no drastic changes in the geopolitics of the region have been made. International relations Because of the unceasing conflict, the international relationships between Israel and the rest of the world remain quite tense, much like the relationships between Palestine and the rest of the states. Some countries, like the United States, provide support for the Israeli people, others tend to sympathize with the Arabs and consider their arguments more valid (Wilmshurst 287). Western Interventions Naturally, the conflict has triggered the intervention of other states in their attempt to help the two nations reconcile and attain peace. Unfortunately, the peacemaking missions have had little to no effect so far; according to the 2014 reports, the United States government, which supports the Israeli people, has attempted to help the Israeli people fight the terrorists. However, since terrorists are in close proximity to the residents of Gaza, the military actions have been terminated as life-threatening. Conclusion The effects, which the Gaza conflict has had on the geopolitical state of Israel, are quite impressive. However, at present, there are com
Power Buchanan and Huczynski elucidate ‘reward power’ as the ability of a leader to make his followers or subordinates believe in his capability of rewarding them when a job has been successfully accomplished. When the leader rewards them, the followers or subordinates acknowledge his power to reward, as a fact and not a myth (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004). It is this strategy of rewarding efficient people, which Mr. Beak has adopted, in order to achieve the set targets and ascertain good results for the company, which has subsequently resulted in bringing more success to the company. The rewards which Mr. Beak provides to the workforce vary. They may be in the form of monthly bonuses, gift vouchers or could be holiday trips for the successful employee. The rewards could also be in the form of an award for the ‘employee of the year’ or a BBQ party when a particular huge weekly order goal has been accomplished by the company’s employees in a collective effort. Mr. Beak also rewards his employees by moving them up the hierarchy ladder if the employee displays potential and hard work. Participative Leadership The involvement of colleagues in the decision making process is also a crucial strategy adopted by Beak and Johnson to achieve rapid growth. In spite of being the owner of the company, Mr. Beak avoids taking any crucial decisions, individually. The skills he employs in taking vital decisions include the display of trust and empowerment in his employees, by delegating responsibilities to them and enabling them to negotiate in the process of decision making. Thus, by doing so, the burden and stress of taking crucial decisions, sometimes involving millions of dollars, is reduced. Mr. Beak firmly trusts and believes that the decisions taken by the leadership team of the company will bring success to the company. It is this trust and belief in his team and style of functioning, which makes his employees absolutely committed and dedicated in achieving the goals and objectives desired by Mr. Beak from them, for the ultimate success of the company. Transformational Mr Beak is the kind of personality, who works on building a firm relationship with his stakeholders, on the basis of trust. His prime focus is to ensure that a responsibility undertaken by the company is accomplished successfully and on time, so that the company can survive in the competitive market and as such he believes in getting the work done by his employees. However, rather than focussing entirely on getting the job done, Mr. Beak works with his employees and creates new opportunities to recognise and develop leaders in the process. Mr. Beak constantly motivates his workforce to work hard and achieve better results, thus exploiting their full potential to enable them to become heroes of the company. If Mr. Beak is rated according to the MLQ, he will score medium on his transactional style of functioning and very high on his transformational style of functioning. Mr. Beak functions in a liberated atmosphere and is accessible to one and all in the organisation. He firmly believes that one does
Introduction Narratology should be viewed as a specific discipline, the purpose of which is to examine different elements in a text as a narrative with a focus on its unique structure. In this context, a literary text becomes perceived as a narrative discourse or the description of a series of events to represent a certain story or a plot through accentuating actions performed by the characters of a story. Thus, the scope and nature of the narratological interpretation can be discussed as limited by different researchers’ visions regarding narrative structures to examine and narrative components to pay attention to (Genette 1980: 2-9). From this perspective, the thematic or textual content of any narrative as the presentation of sequences of different events is usually influenced and formed by narrative structures. While referring to O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” it is possible to state that this work can be viewed as a traditional textual narrative representing its key elements in a clear manner. A closer analysis of the text and its narratological interpretation allows for concluding that this literary work is a typical example of a narrative. The purpose of this paper is to provide the discussion of different approaches to narratological interpretation with reference to theorists’ and researchers’ views and illustrate the details of the analysis referring to O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” as a narrative. Nature and Scope of Narratological Interpretation and the Idea of a Narrative Discourse Many researchers tried to define a narrative in the context of narratology to explain the subject of examination and analysis. Thus, a narrative is a recollection of events (a story) that can be narrated in different forms, and there are also various modes of expression (a discourse) (Genette 1980: 5-14). Some narratologists limited the definition of a narrative to representing only past events in these types of literary texts (Cobley 2014: 212-215). The focus on discourse and a story provoked the development of two traditions and directions in narratology: discourse narratology and story narratology (Culler 1981: 170-172). Culler (1981: 186) noted that “Analysis of narrative depends … on the distinction between story and discourse, and this distinction always involves a relation of dependency.” In this context, according to Culler (1981: 186), discourse narrato
Introduction   * Diabetes is one of the terminal conditions affecting many people today.   * Sedentary lifestyles and unbalanced diets are critical risk factors.   * It currently affects both children and adults.   * Healthcare professionals should collaborate to empower such patients.   * Effective leadership can result in successful diabetes management.   * This presentation summarizes the completed Nursing Leadership Project Proposal. Nurses can collaborate and apply evidence-based strategies to empower their diabetic patients. The involvement of all key stakeholders is also necessary. Those in leadership positions should guide their followers and patients to manage this condition successfully. Project Description   * Leadership and management will result in effective diabetes management.   * Nurses can present superior policies to analyze this issue.   * Those who take up leadership roles find it easier to enhance patients’ experiences (McGill et al., 2017).   * Empowered individuals will record positive health outcomes.   * Institutions can consider the impor