ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Although it might seem that celebrities live in their own perfect world and are completely detached from the mundane reality, their effects on common people’s lives are quite ample. The impact of their decisions and actions is linked closely to the influence of media on society (Rui and Stefanone 3). The issue has been studied extensively by scholars; however, there is another way of looking at the subject matter. Particularly, one may wonder how celebrities manage to retain their influence as time passes. In their article, Lunardo et al. state that there is a direct connection between the personality dimension of a celebrity and the cultural field which the person in question represents (Lunardo et al. 700). Although the study could have included other variables apart from sophistication, sincerity, competence, excitement, and rudeness, the overall depth of the analysis and the opportunities that the research opens for future studies make it a profound and important paper. Summary The thesis proposed by Lunardo et al. seems quite compelling since it identifies the essential variables and the connection between them concisely and effectively. It could be argued, though, that the choice of the variables could be wider. Nevertheless, the overall argument made by Lunardo et al. is rather compelling. It is remarkable that the thesis is both argumentative and informative since it sheds light on the factors that shape celebrities’ influence on mass media and at the same time makes a very clear statement about the connection between the said variables. The extensive literature review, in turn, supports the argument made by the authors, contributing to the enhancement of the importance of the thesis. Evaluation The authors carry out the analysis very diligently by studying the effects of a range of factors on the changes in the impact of celebrities on popular culture. The transfer from one topic to another during the analysis, i.e., from the study of human brands to brand personality assessment to the categorization of famous people’s appeal in a particular time slot, is seamless and, therefore, natural. Thus, a coherent overview of the crucial factors is conducted. The research methodology used by Lunardo et al. is also compelling and efficient. The use of a case study helps explore the subject matter fully. Particularly, the environment of a case study allows viewing the development of the observed phenomenon in a natural manner (Lunardo et al. 687). Hence, a profound analysis can be conducted. The authors do not consider opposing arguments enough in their study. For instance, it would have been useful to include information about factors such as media, which allows masking certain characteristics of celebrities. Nevertheless, the research can be considered rather compelling due to the extensive focus on the crucial factors and the connection between them. Lunardo et al. also introduced a range of studies in their research prior to carrying out the analysis (686-690). Thus, the objectivity of the study can be considered high. Discussion The approach used by the authors has a range of
The use of plea bargaining has been debated by many lawyers and politicians. This practice can be viewed as an agreement or a compromise between a prosecutor and a defendant (Lab, Williams, & Holcomb, 2010). It means that an accused person accepts the charges, while prosecutors demand a more lenient sentence. This is one of the policies which are often adopted by legal professionals. Currently, this practice should not be abolished because it significantly alleviates the burden carried by the court system of the country (Lab et al., 2010). If it is made illegal, the judges will have to try an overwhelming number of cases. As a result, their effectiveness will decrease significantly. Admittedly, there are some limitations that should not be overlooked. For instance, sometimes, criminals may escape punishment provided that they agree to cooperate with prosecutors. Nevertheless, this limitation does not imply that this cooperation should be completely prohibited by legislators. This is one of the main arguments that can be put forward. However, it is necessary to try some alternatives to plea bargaining. In particular, they can develop the so-called diversion programs that can diminish the number of cases tried by courts. For instance, some of the minor offenses can be decriminalized. To some degree, this policy will decrease the bargaining power of prosecutors. Moreover, legislators can identify circumstances when plea bargaining can be allowed. This policy may ensure that a person, who commits a serious felony, does not escape punishment. These are some of the suggestions that can be made. However, these alternatives can be effectives implemented only if the crime level drops significantly. Currently, plea bargaining remains a valid option that cannot be dismissed. Reference Lab, S., Williams, M., & Holcomb, J. (2010). Criminal Justice, The Essentials . New York, NY: Oxford University Press, US.
What appear to be the problems at this Burger Boy? As the ‘Burger Boy’ appears to be a valid and truthful narrative that was written by Jerry Newman that devoted almost two years of being employed at several restaurants of the famous fast food chain, the problems that he had identified in this experience retell are considered to be binding and credible. Several issues had been established with the given location, such as shortage of working staff; the absence of the understandable and coherent description of various jobs occupied by the staff; the lack of personnel that is responsible for the difficult and urgent situations at work, for example, one of the employees calling sick or else. As the story of Jerry Newman tells the reader about the particular episode from his work days on the Friday afternoon around lunch time, the circumstances could be evaluated as stressful and overloaded with work. The problems with this particular location of Burger Boy were established when two out of ten workers warned the authorities that they will not go to work that day due to health problems. As a result, the remaining employees were departed from their formal daily positions in order to make restitution for the people that were not present. It came into sight that that particular Burger Boy location did not possess an adequate number of staff workers in order to compensate for missing employees during rush hours. The policy of the management to make the current workers in charge of assignments that were usually not their responsibility had led to the dissatisfaction with the service not only of the clie
Introduction Baroque art was a counter-Reformation launched by the Catholic Church in the 17 th century against Protestantism (Gardner, Kleiner, & Mamiya, 2006; Cohen, 2002). Much of the Baroque Art aimed to revive the Catholicism’s predominance and centrality. The Renaissance artists revealed an orderly rationality through their art, Baroque artists revealed a more complex and dynamic aesthetics (Gardner, Kleiner, & Mamiya, 2006). The baroque art was potent with realism. This essay studies three works of art of this period viz. Gianlorenzo Bernini’s The Ecstasy of St. Theresa (1645-1652), Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew (1599-1602), and Rembrandt van Rijn’s Resurrection of Christ (1635-1639). Gianlorenzo Bernini’s The Ecstasy of St. Theresa Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is a representation of the ecstasy St. Theresa experienced when her heart was pierced by the angel with an arrow of divine love. Bernini depicts the saint and the angel suspended on a cloud, which is considered to an innovation (Warma, 1984). An angel, representing divine love, is on the saint’s right side of the saint. He holds an arrow very loosely in his right hand and with the left holds the saint’s habit. The stature of the saint is reclining which actually depicts the saint’s passivity (Warma, 1984). The drapery of the angel shows a backward recline indicating that he has struck Theresa at least once with his arrow and is about to do it again. The idea that is portrayed here by Bernini is death from the World, which is accompanied by nuptial ecstasy that one experiences when one is raised to live with God. Bernini’s sculpture shows Theresa full of tension as he depicts her body moving forward and backward simultaneously. It appears in the sculpture as if her head has fallen back as she finds it difficult to hold it upright. Even though one of her hands hangs by her side it is not relaxed. Therefore, it is difficult to understand if she is trying to lift it up or if it is falling freely. Warma (1984) indicates that Bernini by depicting a vision as well as a feeling of ecstasy has portrayed a hei
The challenges and threats facing Uber self-driving taxis The idea of the creation of an autonomous vehicle is not exactly new. Companies have been considering it since as far as the 1980s. Nowadays, many major companies are paying attention to this prospective market and are working with IT companies dedicated to the research and development of such vehicles. The partnership between Uber and Volvo is one such example ( Uber to Deploy Self-Driving Cars in Pittsburgh 2016). Are they inventing a blue ocean with their driverless taxi project? Yes and no. “Creating a blue ocean” means developing a new market space rather than trying to claw their way into an established one and face the competitive challenges. They are not the first to come to this idea. Nevertheless, so far, the market for autonomous cars is relatively empty and could still be considered a blue ocean. The reason for that is simple – none of the companies involved in similar projects have yet released a model into the auto market en masse. Many obstacles are still in the way, ranging from prices to safety to the inability of old traffic regulations to adapt to this new reality. Volvo and Uber will face the same challenges as all other developers of autonomous cars. One of these challenges is the unwillingness of the customers to delegate control to a computer. The idea of letting a machine carry you to your destination is unsettling for many customers right now. It was the same with automatic elevators, years ago. It will take some time to build up such trust, and any major accidents involving autonomous prototypes are going to cause long-term trust issues. Another major issue that most companies are struggling with right now is making the computer understand the nonverbal cues from pedestrians and regulators. Since every person is different, their cues differ one from another. The differences make it difficult for a machine to recognize them since there are too many different patterns to the program. Some autopilots are not even capable of recognizing the pedestrians yet, and could only interact with other vehicles. The computer must be able to navigate on the road just as well as any human can. Lastly
Introduction People have the ability to choose between objectivity and subjectivity. Objectivity refers to the ability to judge issues from a personal perspective. Objective thinkers see beyond what other people say. According to Pillar, objectivity is intelligence because it provides room for rational thinking and reasoning beyond the ordinary (par. 2). On the other hand, subjective thinkers merely rely on the reasoning of scholars and experts in various fields. For instance, the fact that the sun rises from the East and settles in the West is a subjective reason. In essence, it is impossible for people to reason beyond the ordinary. Subjectivism does not incorporate logic or intelligence. This paper intends to discuss the possibility that people could be completely objective in thinking. Possibility of Being Completely Objective Social scientists explain that it is impossible to attain objectivity. People constantly look for knowledge in both primary and secondary sources. Research can never end, and this explains why it is impossible to be completely objective. Individuals will often criticize materials generated by social scientists and this explains how intelligence seeks proof from policies. Seeking intelligence is a natural process that signifies objective reasoning. It occurs in a cyclic manner and can never come to a possible conclusion. Kahneman and Tversky argued that people would often distort the world due to their overconfidence in explaining things. Most of them do not have solutions to the problem, but through collective efforts and using intelligence, people could find credible answers to various situations (Kahneman 15). In essence, intelligence has no limits. Importance of Intelligence to the Intelligence Community Objectivity should be a vital trait for the intelligence community since they have to create a connection between different aspects in life. They include crime, politics, education, and culture. The intelligence unit demands complete commitment from objective individuals. In most cases, they could apprehend an innocent person without assessing other possibilities. Intelligence creates a boundary between propaganda, public relations, and sentiments from normal political rallies. Without objectivity, it would be impossible to assess the intelligence of such experts while in the field (Ehrman et al. 7). The intelligence community comprises of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Most of them view ideologies differently, as nature and nurture most of them dissimilarly. Objectivity and Subject
Introduction In the 21 st century, businesses move toward the paradigm of transparency, meaning that open and independent analyses of their financial statements are required. Such analyses focus on the official financial statements of companies and provide stakeholders with objective information in regards to the stability and performance of the organizations. The discussed tendency has become particularly important in the energy sector of Kuwait. In a competitive market, it is vital to possess a full understanding of each company’s ability to fulfill its obligations and execute all operations in a reliable manner. This way, stakeholders will know, for example, if the organization’s debt load is not serious enough to have adverse implications on its functioning in the upcoming period. Furthermore, the ability of the management to utilize their assets and resources efficiently is revealed through the analysis of such statements. This analysis report focuses on two major players of Kuwait’s energy sector: National Petroleum Services Company (NAPESCO) and Independent Petroleum Group (IPG). The purpose of the analysis is to examine each company’s financial performance rates between 2019 and 2020 with the subsequent inter-organizational comparison. NAPESCO The National Petroleum Services Company (NAPESCO) launched its operations back in 1993. It represents a private entity, initially providing pumping services for residents of Kuwait. As the business grew, the area of NAPESCO’s responsibilities extended, encompassing an array of energy and construction sectors. Nevertheless, energy remains the key industry for the company. Considering the specificity of its operations, NAPESCO lays considerable emphasis on environmental studies in order to mitigate the potential impact of energy production. This way, the company contributes to the sustainable development of the industry while gaining an additional advantage in the eyes of the stakeholders. In 2003, NAPESCO became a publicly-traded company on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Following this decision, NAPESCO managed to expand its operations further, becoming one of the key energy market players in the Gulf. As of now, the company’s current mission is to become the undisputed leader in its region, providing maximum returns for shareholders with impeccable value for the stakeholders. The success of this mission will depend heavily on financial performance. The ration analysis is required in order to evaluate whether NAPESCO’s plans correspond with the practice. Working Capital The following formula was applied to determine NAPESCO’s working capital: (Current assets) – (Current liabilities) = (Working capital) 2019   * Current assets = 36,667,233 KD   * Current liabilities: 4,689,293 KD   * Working Capital = 36,667,233 – 4,689,293 = 31,977,940 KD 2020   * Current assets = 37,707,099 KD   * Current liabilities: 5,036,715 KD   * Working Capital = 37,707,099 – 5,036,715 = 32,670,384 KD NAPESCO slow an insignificant increase in working capital between 2019 and 2020, which speaks of its stability. Current Ratio The following formula was applied to determine NAPESCO’s current ratio: (Current a
Introduction Environment can have many effects on a person living with an illness. Alzheimer ailment is a permanent and progressive brain disease that tampers with the memory and thinking ability. It affects people of all education, cultural and financial environments. It is the major basis of dementia in grown-ups. Dementia is memory loss and intellect interfering with everyday activities and existence (Weiner & Lipton 2003). Researches have maintained that is not a disease but rather, signs coming collectively with some ailments and situations. Other signs include agitation and depression (Weiner & Lipton 2003). Dan has been living with the illness for several years now. Following an interview, it is discovered that he becomes agitated at the noise coming from. This interview will help establishing the effects of environment on Dan who is living with Alzheimer disease. Background history In the 18 th Century, the word dementia was being used in hospitals. It referred to psychological inability regardless of period, reversibility and pathological backgrounds. Dementia was later identified as cognitive paradigm in the 19 th century. In the 1980s, delusions and hallucinations were added as signs of the disease (Weiner & Lipton, 2003). In 1906, a collection of brain cell abnormalities were identified as a disease by Doctor Alois Alzheimer. This was after one of his patients had died due to memory complications. There have been many breakthroughs in AD research after more than 100 years since the discovery. Researches in the 1960’s show a link between cognitive reduction and the number of ailments in the brain. This is when Alzheimer was identified as a disease. Drugs to cure cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer were approved after more research was done on Alzheimer disease genes (Weiner & Lipton 2003). Dan’s occupational history Examining Dan’s case, from the interview, it is established that he has worked with different companies in the UK. He worked for long hours and up to an overtime of 100 hours in a month. Day offs were minimal and his job was very demanding. Workers were humiliated in front of others whenever their productivity failed to meet the expectations of the boss. Some workers even collapsed and died in their work place. Facing these conditions meant the workers had to be very strong-hearted, since there was no occupational therapy. These jobs required enough motivation and therapy if Dan was to measure up. Dan has also disclosed that he takes pleasure in driving alone. He rarely undertakes any exercises and he does not participate in any sports activity. Theoretical perspective Occupational Therapy Practice Framework can b
Introduction The evolution of the public health care to the present form has been long and went through various stages in history characterized by various events that shaped it to the present form. These stages were marked by various landmark events that helped the policy makers to shape the public health policy. The London cholera epidemic and the emergence of Dr. John Snow were particular events that helped to shape the public health. The London Cholera epidemic In the February of 1854, a deadly cholera epidemic struck Soho in the East of London leading to heavy devastation of the neighborhood. Similar spurts had been witnessed before but it was this outbreak that really woke up the medical professionals and state officials from ignorance. Soho neighborhood had been characterized by unsanitary conditions which included animal waste from cowsheds, slaughter houses, and decaying sewers (Summers, 1989). There were also several poorly drained cesspits below floorboards of most of the overcrowded cellars in the neighborhoods. The deplorable conditions in the neighborhood were openly a disaster in the waiting. There were largely held beliefs that cholera was caused by mists and miasmic atmosphere. Medical researchers at the time had very little information on the diseases. It was evident that even after the previous epidemic in 1853 had killed up to ten thousand London inhabitants, very little effort had been put to address the cause of the disease. Dr John Snow, the father of epidemiology from his research advanced an idea that it was caused by contaminated water an idea that received heavy opposition from both leaders and other medical professionals. Earlier on, no measures had been taken to contain previous outbreaks till the 1854 outbreak rampaged through the industrial cities killing thousands of people (Johnson, 2006). From the Broad street pump, cholera outbreak spread to the rest of the East London at an alarming rate leading to deaths of about 616 people. Most households lost some members and as a result residents fled the area leaving the weakest. Dr Snow believed that the cause of the outbreak was the contamination of water from sewage from which he narrowed one source of contamination as a water company in South London. His claims were vehemently denied by the company and the authorities. He cemented his theory by linking the 1854 outbreak to water pump in the Broad Street which according to him was the epicenter of the outbreak. His interviews in the district linked most of the infections and deaths to the pump. On examining the water from the source, he found white particles which he believed were the causative agents of the disease. His argument was that if the epidemic had been caused by the said mists and miasma, the disease would have been uniformly spread geographically. He mapped the area and found that rather than a uniform spread, the diseases infections