ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Greek tragedy “Antigone” explores the themes of the conflict between the law and the internal sense of right and wrong. The main heroine Antigone defies the orders of King Creon, who has decided to refuse burial to one of her late brothers while surrounding the other with laurels. Despite the dangers of such disobedience, Antigone ploys to perform a burial to the dishonored Polynices and gets caught by Creon. In my opinion, the tragedy touches on two central themes: the potential of fallacy in the enforced laws and the spiritual importance of grief and mourning. I believe it is a common experience for people faced with injustices to feel powerless against the more privileged groups, who are typically in far greater control of their surroundings. Paradoxically, those who have the greatest power to design and enforce rules for others frequently consider themselves to be an exception. Namely, refusing anyone a burial would be considered an unimaginable blasphemy in ancient Greece, where people believed it to be necessary for the smooth transition to the afterlife. Thus, Creon clearly abuses the power of his position as a king too, essentially, committing an atrocity against Polynices. When asked by Creon if she was aware of the prohibition before attempting the burial, Antigone admits that she was and openly denies the unjust order. She states that Creon’s orders were “laws were not ordained of Zeus,” but instead contradict the higher and fairer order of the heaven. Her anger and internal rebellion against what is correct in favor of what is right resonated with me on a personal level. Throughout the year 2020, I have experienced powerlessness and sometimes even fury when learning of the continuous power abuse committed by people and institutions in positions of authority. I sympathized greatly with the widespread wave of protests against the establishments that shook Western society in recent months. The realization of how easy it is for persons in power to twist the law to their advantage is horrifying, as socially, we do not have a functioning alternative. It is obvious to me that the world cannot exist without law, order, and trusted officials to represent and, to a degree, control the people they represent. Yet Antigone’s insistence on how rebelling against unfair and unreasonable laws might sometimes be the best way to honor what is truly right inspires recognition in me. The emotional importance of grief and mourning is another thematically important element of the tragedy I wanted to reflect on. Socially, we are encouraged to stay positive no matter what, always focus on the bright side and, in general, carry on with a smile regardless of personal circumstances. However, I
Introduction Malcolm Shepherd was one of the highly prominent individuals in adult education in the United States. In the early 1950s, he became the Executive Director of the Adult Education of the US. He pioneered the writing of the first reports on informal adult education. In addition, his attempts to innovate an exceptional basis for learning via the andragogy strategy gained popularity and was adopted by many learning institutions. Moreover, Malcolm Knowles together with his wife Hulda wrote admired works on self-direction and group works (Hale, 2011). His biography is a source of inspiration for educationists, researchers, and students. This paper reviews his life, contribution, and accomplishments. Malcolm Knowles’ Upbringing and Early Life Malcolm was born in 1913 and raised in Montana. He seems to have had a happy childhood. Malcolm regularly went together with his father, who was a veterinarian, on visits to ranches. Knowles says they engaged in rigorous discussions regarding all sorts of subjects while driving back and forth the different locations. They often discussed the right and wrong, sources of happiness for children, politics, and religion. He also says he often felt accompanied rather than an inferior whenever they were on the journeys since his father often sought his opinions first before saying what he thought (Knowles, 1984). Malcolm Knowles says that his mother helped him be considerate, affectionate, and courteous. His schooling also reinforced the virtues in him. He was involved in scouting activities. As a result, he learnt over fifty merit badges and executed leadership roles. The knowledge he acquired in the scouting process was important in his development in high schools and in the life after school (Knowles, 1984). On successful completion of high school education, Malcolm Knowles got a scholarship to Harvard. He took courses in philosophy, literature, ethics, history, political science, and international law. He was persuaded by the lecturing of his philosophy tutor Alfred North Whitehead. His extracurricular activities were of great significance to him. Further, he held crucial leadership positions in the institution. He was elected the president of the Harvard Club and president of the Phillips Brooks House. He also became the general secretary of the New England Model of Nations. Involvement in charity work got him in a boy’s club. Knowles also met his wife Hulda at Harvard while doing charity work. Her father was working for Detroit and an active unionist. Knowles was pleased t
In the last chapter of the novel Candide proclaims “…we must cultivate our garden…” (Voltaire 120).This assertion marks the realization of the protagonist that we ought to control and make an impact on what we already have. During the entire novel, various characters are engrossed in an unfulfilled life as they seek for happiness and joy. They attribute their failure to fate where they assume that everything occurs due to fate and their actions are devoid of free will. Indeed, they suppose that making choices in life only signify their role in the fate’s ‘master plan’. When Candide realizes that one can control what they have in pursuit of happiness, he makes the comment to justify the rationale of their sufferance during their odysseys. On the one hand, the characters realize that they only have their lives to control and it becomes apparent that they could attempt to make the best out of it. In consideration of the journeys that the characters embark in search of pieces of a puzzle, they appreciate that the greatest puzzle lies in their souls. This is contrary to their initial belief that they could find the pieces and complete the puzzle. Indeed, they already had their pieces within them. As such, they could only cultivate their garden, which is synonymous to conclusion that they can only control what they have. Candide on the other hand finds out that he could not be happy in Venice since he could not be with Cunegonde – his love. Besides, he learns that materialism could guarantee him neither happiness nor success. Social status could not assure him of contentment. In fact, he did not have control over all these things he yearned. However, when he settles down and concentrates all his efforts in his farm, he achieves happiness. Therefore, the concluding remark he makes is based on his experiences that are depicted in the novel. It is appropriate therefore for him to conclude that everyone ought to cultivate their gardens, which they could control. Works Cited Voltaire. Candide. New York: Penguin Classics, 2005. Print.
Abstract Being an efficient leader is not an easy task, mostly because there is no book – the choice of the strategy depends on the situation, and being flexible and resourceful is the key to successful leadership. However, in the realm of the present-day world, flexibility does not seem to be enough. In the world where the globalization process is taking place, a leader must be able to develop the communication skills required for cross-cultural dialogue, as well as analytical skills required to address the emerging conflicts properly and solve problems efficiently. Though Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned scientist, is differently-abled due to the motor neuron disease resulting from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he has proven to be one of the most successful leaders in not only teaching but also the popularization of science and scientific research. Introduction Scientists are rarely viewed as leaders. The way an average person sees them, scientists are engulfed in research to the point where their anti-social nature turns them ostracized by the rest of the world. The truth is quite different from the myth, as it often happens; in fact, scientists, especially those that popularize science, often prove successful leaders, and the world-renowned Stephen Hawkins is one of such people. By incorporating the elements of visionary and cross-cultural leadership, he manages to succeed as not only the man that makes science evolve and become understandable to those interested in it but also the leader of a research team, the MIT students, and a variety of scientific projects. By incorporating the elements of two leadership styles to create a transformational one (Kaifi & Mujtaba, 2010), Hawking facilitates a radical change in the academic environment (Conceicao & Altman, 2011), the realm of science and the everyday world by analyzing the current tendencies and incorporating his communication skills to create the language that everyone can understand. About Stephen Hawking Stephen Hawking is one of those people that have a dozen biographies written about them. There are no facts about the scientist that hare left undiscovered, and it is quite complicated to reveal something about him that has not been known yet. Born in 1942 in Oxford, he attended the St. Albans School and then Oxford College. After retrieving the degree in Natural Science, he enrolled in Cambridge to study Cosmology. In 1979, he became the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge. Hawking has been researching the laws that the Universe is governed by and has written to a range of both academic and popular articles regarding the subject matter ( Brief biography, n. d., para. 1–5). Visionary Leadership Tough, traditionally, there is a thick line drawn between a leader and a scientist for an average citizen, a scientist has a range of advantages for becoming a visionary leader (McLaughlin, 2001) compared to the representative of any other profession
Case summary Ben & Jerry is a company that is involved in the manufacture of ice cream and it is a distributor in the UK, the US, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, as well as other nations. It is a company that has been committed to ensuring customer satisfaction. It has been involved in a number of activities that it carries out to deliver customer rights, despite the fact that the company was taken over by Unilever in the year 2000. Ben & Jerry has continued to grow under the ownership of Unilever. It has continued to execute its corporate social responsibility activities. Among the activities it has continued to advocate for include the supply of healthy foods to the citizens. For instance, the company has been against the Obama administration’s idea of introducing genetically engineered foods. It feels that genetically modified food is not healthy food for the citizens, thus it has collaborated with other groups with a similar opinion to advocate for the same. In addition, the company has been an advocate of a green environment. Global warming is an issue that has become a serious issue. Many organizations, as well as government and social leaders have been advocating for a green environment. Ben & Jerry is one of such organizations that have been supportive of the use of clean energy that produces less or no greenhouse gas. For instance, its truck fleet uses renewable energy from Native Energy, an energy provider located in Vermont. Its social responsibility has been among the factors that have helped in building the corporate image of Ben & Jerry, thereby giving it a competitive advantage. Ben & Jerry advocacy for sustainable consumption Ben & Jerry is a company that has been highly supportive of sustainable consumption and has used a number of approaches to achieve this. The company believes in sustainable consumption and has continued living by this philosophy, despite being taken over by Unilever. For instance, the founders of Ben & Jerry went to study how
Recently, the global community has witnessed a spread of the anti-vaccination movement the followers of which refuse to immunize their children upon birth, citing allergic reactions. Some groups go as far as denying the progress of public health brought on by vaccines. Although studies questioning the immunization benefits exist, the majority of the scientific community agrees on the safety of most existing treatments. Termed “anti-vax”, the movement has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a danger to global health (“Ten Health Issues”). The first vaccine hesitation wave of the 1990s triggered numerous worldwide epidemics of measles, a contagious infectious viral disease. Fortunately, the condition is vaccine-preventable, as over 80% of the lethal outcomes have been eradicated since the first outbreak in the 1980s (GBD 2015 Mortality Collaborators 1482). Because of its easily spreadable nature, measles has been a public health concern and required mandatory immunization in many countries since then. The disease affects 91% of all unvaccinated people, sometimes resulting in serious complications, including but not limited to pneumonia, diarrhea, seizures, and even blindness (Atkinson et al. 210, 216). Since 2017, the death toll for measles-affected populations has been rising due to the mass-following of the anti-vaccination movement and presents a serious threat to global health (“Measles Cases Spike Globally”). Since anti-vaccination is a complex problem, it requires an ecological framework approach to solve it. Focusing on the US as the sample population, one can rely on the interaction of the model’s components (personal, interpersonal, organizational, community, policy) to achieve the desired result (Balcazar et al. para. 9). Firstly, “pro-vaccination” activists need to ensure full comprehension of the problem and its solution. That is, they need to know both sides of the story, analyzing which side lies closer to the truth, and focusing on that as their message. Next, activists need to use their network to pass their knowledge. For instance, they could share recent findings of vaccination-related research, such as the life-long stabilization of health systems of a treated person as well as the effectiveness of the method overall (Wilder-Smith et al. 138). Spreading truthful information would encourage others to reconsider their views, perpetuating the correct stance across the person’s network. Furthermore, as the problem moves onto the organizational level, it affects individuals otherwise not reached in intrapersonal interactions. Organizations can educate the population about the vitality of immunization. Apart from hosting information sessions and seminars, they can partner with institutions and offer free vaccinations. Similarly, such organizations can tackle the community level, spreading their message until the understanding becomes collective. Then, the network effect is likely to take place through the individual members of the group, and information to expand onto adj
Introduction Ernest Hemingway emerged as one of America’s more colorful writers in the early to mid-1900s, presenting himself as the ultimate man’s man, worldly traveler, mighty hunter and hard-drinking spinner of tales. Within a short span of time, 1925-1929, he had established himself as having produced some of the most important literary fiction in his century. His short stories focused on the virtues held by men a generation or two earlier than him as well as the effects and aftereffects of war. Yet each story contained a deeper message within the lines, if the reader felt the desire to go searching for it. He believed in omitting extra details as a way of strengthening his stories. He compared this to an iceberg. Just like only the top 1/8th of an iceberg can be seen above the water with the rest remaining below the surface providing it with its momentum and dignity, Hemingway believed his stories should follow the same structure. Although some critics loved him, others said his stories were shallow. “He had no sympathy for women, they said, portraying them either as manhood-destroying bitches or as mere objects of sexual domination” (Lynn 10). A close reading of his stories reveals not only the messages the author intended to send, but also some insights as to the way he felt about things. Understanding how Hemingway struggled in his relationships with others, particularly women which can be traced through many of his works including “The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” opens consideration of what he truly intended in building the character of Margot. Main body In “The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, Hemingway reveals his latent fear of strong women and being dominated as he depicts the story of a middle-aged man who is finally beginning to understand his true worth and his wife, a woman who has nothing but contempt for her weak and cowardly husband. Written during his real-life marriage to Pauline, the author’s marriage was beginning to show signs of wear. According to Allen (2000), this marriage was only approximately two years from breaking up, the final straw occurring when Hemingway took a female reporter from Key West with him to a correspondent’s job in the Spanish Civil War. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that during this, the couple’s first safari, Francis fled from the sight of his first lion. There is an interesting parallel in Hemingway’s life in that he and Pauline went on their first safari in 1933 (Allen 3). The couple’s relationship is also characterized in a strongly similar fashion to Hemingway’s relationship with Pauline, “They had a sound basis of union. Margot was too beautiful for Macomber to divorce her and Macomber had too much money for Margot ever to leave him” (Hemingway 22). This is a significant clue as to the realism of Margot’s character – she is symbiotically connected to Francis, giving her an androgynous and duplicitous nature. Margot Macomber is characterized throughout the stor
The Power of Education Becoming a Professional Teacher According to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, becoming an educator in California is a multifaceted procedure, which includes the following steps: preparing application forms, due to the specific occupational requirements, meeting a fingerprint regulation as well as examinations verification through recognizing credentials. It must be noted that there are some specific requirements for teachers who qualify in special education or language teaching. Thus, teachers of English have to possess a language development authorization such as ESL, EL, or CLAD certificate so that to be eligible for getting the position of an educator. The professionals of special education must hold at least one authorization for working in a particular area such as Physical Impairments, Early Childhood Education, Moderate Disabilities, etc. ( Commission on Teacher Credentialing , 2012). College Education and Success In his book, Paul Tough (2013) reflects on the principles of higher education. His personal experience of dropping out from college provides an account of personal decisions that were taken by a conscious young man, who suddenly found himself resenting studying. When analyzing Tough’s thoughts and grounds for leaving a college, I did not feel adverse about his choice. The reasoning of the author is completely mature and logical. Moreover, his eight-page review of this crucial verdict proves that the arrangement was not a spur of the moment, but rather a decision, which was grounded in mature and logical reasoning. The author emphasized that he felt doubtful, and even scornful about the fact since dropping out of college is perceived as a harsh violation of social norms in any community: “It felt at the time like a weighty and fateful choice, and it still does” (Tough, 2013, p. 176). Thus, a generalized repugnance of uneducated citizens is a problem of a global society. Instead of grudging such people, one should concentrate on the changes that have to be brought into modern education for it to become motivational and rewarding. Unfortunately, today, a path to success does not always go through academic cognition. It is a way that outlines personal choices, failures, and decisions that turn an i
Introduction Corporate Governance Systems are capable of reshaping investment policies and decisions in corporations where analysis of various types of investments are multifaceted and it is complicated to determine how returns from investments are distributed. The US capital market is often called ‘market-centered for it is well developed and more significant than any bank intermediation. Corporate ownership is highly fragmented and private households constitute the largest group of shareholders, owning about three-quarters of all US stocks. Despite so many efforts in US stock and bond markets, following German counterparts many US corporations failed to create internal capital markets by adopting a multidivisional structure. Contrary to German multidivisional corporations, however, US multinationals became the target of leveraged buyouts. During the 1980s a large number of US corporations were restructured as a result of hostile takeovers. German and U.S companies operate within their own financial systems. Germany’s financial system is dominated by large universal banks where the U.S corporate system is composed of markets for corporate stocks and corporate bonds. Market-Centered Corporate Governance The United States Corporate Governance system is backed by a stock-market-centered capital market. Unlike Germany who rests on a bank-centered capital market, the U.S market is escorted by a limited role of financial institutions in Corporate Governance. There is also competition not only between products but among governance systems which many U.S writers have pointed that the bank-centered capital markets of Germany allow executives to manage in the long run while U.S. managers invest shortsightedly because of the reason they fear and focus on quarter to quarter earnings growth. In fact the reason they provide for not investing sharply is the uncertain stock market’s fickleness that can be enforced by the market for corporate control. The historical perspective tells us that market control over the allocation of US corporate resources is not new for most of the century salaried personnel has exercised authoritative control over corporate resource allocation. Decades followed after World War II made the US the world’s most productive economy were unlike the devastative effects in retarding the relative performance of other leading industrial economies, US enterprises retained a considerable lead in most industrial sectors. In the post-World War II decades, the U.S not only held dominant positions in capital goods industries such as steel, machine tools, and chemicals but was also a leader in consumer goods industries such as automobiles, consumer electronics, and pharmaceuticals. The post-war leadership of US industry was not, however, confined to the mass-produc