ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
No other topic has recently attracted the world’s attention like Visual Culture and this is due to the force at which visuals or pictures are getting into the market (Bryson 2003). Scholars have staged heated debates on whether visual culture should be an independent discipline in humanities or not. This paper provides a summary of Bal’s article ` Visual Essentialism and the Object of Visual Culture’ and subsequently a critique on the chapter “visual culture”. The paper concludes that time has come for visual culture to be accorded independence and be handled in lecture halls as a discipline. The analysis focuses on the author’s failure to take sides hence giving other scholars to come in and discuss the topic in discussion. It is the views of these other scholars that are used to support the paper’s thesis that visual culture should be a discipline. The article kicks off by the author introducing the reader to her thought on the subject of visual culture as a discipline. The article goes on to argue that classifying visual culture as a distinct discipline is like to mix up religion with theology whereby religion is the ‘field’ while theology is its ‘dogmatic intellectual circumscription’(p.2) The article continues to extract that it will be difficult to try to study visual culture using the methodology of an existing discipline because its object can not be studied under the paradigms of any other existing discipline. Before scholars undertook to investigating the fate of the discipline, Bal propo
The courthouse can be one of the best places for information about how businesses operate. In addition to all of the filings regarding business licenses and deeds for property purchased in the course of business, companies often head to the courthouse to file a lawsuit when they have a dispute with a customer, a supplier, a competitor, or an employee (Roush, 2004). Hundreds of thousands of business-related lawsuits are being filed in state and local courts each year. For instance, the 1992 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts discovered that there were 762,000 tort, contract, and real property cases around the country. Of those, only 2% went to a jury (Roush, 2004). In 1996, there were an estimated 15,636 tort, contract, and real property trial cases in the 75 largest counties in the country (Roush, 2004). In some states such as New York, there are special courts set up to specifically handle business-related lawsuits that may be too complex for other courts to handle in an effective manner. Out of all these cases filed ever year, there has got to be a great business story or two or a thousand waiting to be written. Some businesses spend a large amount of time in the courtroom. In 2000, retailer Wal – Mart Stores Incorporated was sued 4,851 times, or once nearly every two hours, according to a USA Today account of its legal tactics (Roush, 2004). In Florida, the case of a leading hurricane shutter company is said to have gone against work timelines thus violating business laws. A 42 year old company based in Hallandale Beach was accused of major delays the o majority of its customers who had paid up front. This was contrary to the state laws which stipulate that any contractor who takes payments upfront should get working with immediacy to avoid penalization as a result of delaying the client or customer. Essentially, it went on record that the company president admitted that the company was unable to meet the client’s needs in time due to the fact that the materials that they had received had been rendered obsolete if not totally defective (Aven & Aven, 2011). Joel Metter who holds the office of the consumer protection advisor went on record when he declared that the company’s license might be revoked due to the fact that the company had flouted the rules and regulations governing contracts. Some of the ethical considerations which were violated by this company included a lack of fulfilling the terms on the contracts (Aven & Aven, 2011). This was in essence the major driving force behind the legal approach which was taken by the victims. In businesses there are two types or forms of risks. That is, the non – entrepreneurial risk which is found in fire, pollution or fraud (Sadgrove, 2005 ) and the entrepreneurial risk. In the case of non – entrepreneurial risk businesses cover or protect themselves from these risks by insuring their ventures. Secondly, the entrepreneurial risk happens when a business or company builds a new plant, launches a new product or buys out another business
Introduction Climate change is one of the most persistent issues affecting the globe in modern society. Every nation and its constituents must be at the forefront of creating ideas that can solve the issue of climate change, and business institutions should make efforts to reduce their carbon emissions. Though some companies have mapped out strategies to handle the issue, there is still a necessity for other stakeholders like politicians and business advisors to offer better guidelines. The United Kingdom, as one of the G8 countries, has been a key player role in the mitigation of disastrous climate change. The aim of the UK is to balance the levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) to circumvent the perilous issue of climate change, as well as make it probable for people to acclimatize to an inevitable climate change. This goal has pushed the UK to the vanguard in establishing a low carbon economy coupled with promoting a green and steady economy. One of the outcomes of this effort was the enactment of the Climate Change Act (2008) that founded the first legitimate national framework of minimizing GHG emissions by not less than 80 percent by 2050. This paper focuses on the Climate Change Act 2008 coupled with how it has attempted to balance economic growth and protection of the environment in the UK. Background of Climate Change Act 2008 of the UK Before the UK embarked on ratifying laws targeting climate change, the structure for climate change alleviation was incorporated in a national climate change plan that was initially approved in 2000 and later modified in 2006. The climate change plan was supported by the energy white papers of 2003 and 2007 that reaffirmed the importance of minimizing the production of carbon dioxide. Moreover, the white papers asserted the significance of using clean as well as cheap energy supplies. 1 The drive to make the target set by the UK to be legally obligatory begun in 2005 and the ideology of formulating a climate law composed of aims and financial plans evolved as the main highlight of the public as well as political crusades. The promoter of this campaign was an environmental organization referred to as Friends of the Earth . 2 In April 2005, an epitomized climate bill was brought in the House of Common with three parliamentarians under the leadership of John Gummer. The bill went through scrutiny in the parliament and within a month, it earned the endorsement of 412 parliamentarians out of the possible 646. In May 2005, a campaign under the name Big Ask started under the watch of Friends of the
In Judith Wright’s poem “Naked Girl and Mirror”, the author talks about physically maturing. She starts the poem with the light and airy ideas of childhood. During this time of life, she points out, there is no such thing as a body in terms of something to take care of or something to make attractive. Instead, there is only the mechanism that makes it possible for the child “to laugh and run / and stare at stars and tentatively dance” (2-3). But as she looks into her mirror, she realizes that she has developed breasts, “those sudden shy/curves furred with light that spring below your space” (13-14). As she talks about these sudden developments that have changed the way she sees her body, trapping her into a form and an idea that she doesn’t want to be limited by, she talks about the “eyes I will not answer; shut out here / from my self, by its new body’s grace” (20-21). Realizing that she is a ‘lovely girl, she feels betrayed because now she will be expected to live up to certain expectations of what a ‘lovely’ girl should be and do. In Seamus Heaney’s poem “Follower”, the author talks about his relationship with his father. He begins the poem by talking with admiration about how strong his father was, “his shoulders globed like a full sail” (2) and how knowledgeable he was, “his eye / narrowed and angled at the ground/mapping the furrow exactly” (10-12). This development of the father takes up half the poem. The second half of the poem is focused on the speaker, the child. He describes himself as clumsy and of only contributing to his father’s work, “Sometimes he rode me on his back/dipping and rising to his plod” (15-16). As he highlights how he “was a nuisance, tripping, falling / yapping always” (21-22), the author makes a sudden shift, bringing the audience to a much later present as “today / it is my father who keeps stumbling / behind me, and will not go away” (22-23). He is reminding himself to be patient with this man who has always had patience and time for a young boy who was at least as much of a nuisance.
Some students and teachers from American educational institutions claim that murals on the walls of high schools should be whitewashed. Several schools in the United States are already in the process of removing paintings since they depict horrible truths about the history of the country, such as slavery and genocide. However, it is essential to keep the murals as a means of learning history and preserving art. High schools claim that minority students and their parents are being emotionally affected by the degrading images. Various murals, portraying the life experience of George Washington, depict the scenes of slaves working on the fields of his Mount Vernon (Smith, 2019). Besides, several paintings show dead Native Americans, which upsets the feelings of emotionally unstable students (Smith, 2019). For this reason, their parents claim that their children’s reactions should be taken into account. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand that murals are a vital heritage of American history and should be perceived as a work of art. As mentioned by Smith (2019), in a democracy, it is unacceptable to destroy the creation of art even if it contributes to the appearance of negative emotions. Murals portray the reality of those times, and they remind about the problematic history of American society. Besides, students cannot state that they know everything about art and that the murals should be removed. Instead, they need to accept that opinions about art are a continual stream and that the best paintings should include various interpretations. Overall, even though some murals can encourage the emergence of undesirable emotions, they should be kept on the walls of high schools. They are a form of art, and art should never be destroyed. People have to learn to live in harmony with their history and recreate it with the help of murals.
Introduction The regulation of compensation and benefit programs in the legal field is an important aspect of the control of labor relations between employers and employees. The application of specific policies and laws is intended to define the rights and obligations of both parties, and the consolidation of these obligations is coordinated in accordance with relevant regulations. The analysis of the proposed cases can help determine which laws are best suited to each scenario and why. As an additional rationale, possible arguments will be offered to the aforementioned rationales, and with the help of relevant academic resources, counter arguments will be given. All the cases reviewed are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and need to be analyzed under this law that defines the nature of compensation payments to employees, regulates working hours, and controls the order of payments on individual occasions, for instance, vacations. Meal Period The first case to consider concerns a situation in which employees had a 10-minute meal time that was not paid. In accordance with the agreement with the management, the workers were asked to leave the workplace 20 minutes before the end of their shifts, which, according to the suggestion of the managers, was supposed to compensate for lunchtime. However, the proposed terms violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to this law, if employees work more than 40 hours per week, they are entitled to compensation from an employer in no less than one and a half of their basic rate (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.a). Managers’ explanations that the mealtime allotted was not included in working hours is unfounded due to the regulation of working hours and the employees’ right to take a break (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.a). In addition, based on the case scenario, the employees left their workplaces without interrupting the operation of machines, which did not give the employer any reason to refuse compensation for the subordinates’ activities in excess of the norm. As a potential counterargument, one can suggest the idea that the mode of work considered is a positive innovation in view of the possibility for employees to leave work earlier. However, even this perspective is not reasonable due to the factor of fatigue. According to Matsumoto and Gopal (2019), working overtime poses health risks to employees and, therefore, the threat of penalties for employers to compensate for the damage to subordinates due to exceeded work hours. In addition, in the absence of adequate overtime benefits, executives run the risk
Due to the pandemic, all aspects of everyday life have changed. As a result, consumers have new problems and habits that influence how they purchase products and services. Many changes in consumers’ behavior will remain post-pandemic. Thereby companies are adjusting to the unique demands of the market. For example, the pandemic makes people feel anxious and fearful about their health and the health of others. Therefore, some consumers may experience panic-buying of medications and hygiene products, while some remain calm and cold-minded. Moreover, consumers are now more conscious about what they buy and where. They aim to limit food waste, support local shops, and make sustainable choices. Consumers also value more social connections and interactions than ever before. However, many people struggle to interact with their family members constantly. As such, entertainment products and services are the most needed by consumers. Many companies implemented a crisis marketing strategy, such as providing free services, giving hand sanitizers as a gift, and other measures. For example, Amazon Prime offered free video content for kids, while Headspace, a meditation app, provided a free subscription through the end of 2020. In addition, companies support people in their experience with staying at home and encourage them to be positive as much as it is possible. For instance, Adidas’s Hometeam social media campaign illustrated sports celebrities at home. They do sports, cook healthy meals and interact with people at home, making customers connect to their idols and feel less lonely. It is seen that companies are adapting to the new demands of consumers through various marketing strategies and innovative ideas. I agree with the statement that “We are feeling machines that think.” People have an incredible spectrum of emotions that influence their decision-making process. For example, some people purchase products by carefully reasoning their needs rather than randomly buying things that were not planned. However, such people are less than those who give up on the thrill of purchasing some “cool” stuff. Marketers understand that most consumers are led by emotions more than reason. Therefore, the marketers try to pick up consumers emotionally by implementing different marketing strategies. As we discussed earlier in the class, the power of food has a significant impact on the way we buy food items. For example, companies offering fast food, restaurants, and cafes try to make their food look delicious through their ads to attract more clients. The cute packing of a product also plays a vital role in making people purchase it. For instance, children’s products and services, such as toy
The geographic Pacific Northwest region (PNW, Cascadia) is situated in the western part of North America and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west and by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Geographers and other scientists have different points of view on the definition of its boundaries; however, it is commonly accepted that the Pacific Northwest includes the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. The large variety of marine and terrestrial resources made agriculture the secondary food source and allowed for the development of storage-based subsistence economy in the Pacific Northwest, especially in Oregon. At early stages, the Pacific Northwest dwellers did not develop agriculture because of abundant natural resources. Hunting, fishery, and gathering were enough to procure food (“Northwest Coastal People” par. 2). The Pacific Northwest dwellers benefited from the fact that the Northwest Coast was abundant in Pacific salmon. In their continuous learning of how to exploit this, they developed a system of fishing tools and used it for procuring other marine species such as shellfish, whales, oysters, etc. In summer, the Pacific Northwest dwellers gathered berries and roots and hunted for elks, bears, mountain goats, and deer. With such a variety of food sources and relatively low mean minimum temperatures, the Pacific Northwest dwellers were not particularly interested in agricultural development (Olen et al. 8). Scientists often study the importance of aquatic and terrestrial resources in the evolution of the Pacific Northwest peoples. Ames samples five sites where archeologists found the evidence that marine mammals, large and medium land mammals, such fish species as salmon, smelt, sturgeon, mollusks, and plant foods were the significant part of the Pacific Northwest societies’ economy (216). The list includes the Five Mile Rapids site that is situated near the Dalles, Oregon. The economy of Oregon may be defined as a storage-based subsistence economy, in which salmon industry took the predominant part. According to Ames, “deposits at Five Mile Rapids at the upstream end of the Columbia River Gorge dating ca 7600-9800 B.P., produced 150,000-200,000 salmon vertebrae”, which makes it possible to conclude that storage played an important role in the development of Oregon subsistence economy (216). There are six pieces of evidence that suggest the salmon storage-based economy in Oregon: rectangular surface dwellings and villages
Every country in the world aims at becoming secure from both internal and external enemies. As a result, each country endeavors to ensure that it has the required prowess to fight when the need arises. In this regard, production, as well as the purchase of weapons, takes up a substantial budget of any country’s budget. At one time, the need for protection and the urge to be prepared whenever the enemy attacks led to a standoff between the United States and Russia. This was referred to as the Cuban Missile Crisis. As early as the 20 th century, the U.S. had protectorate powers over Cuba. As a result, the U.S. had made a lot of investments in Cuba. Being close to America, Cuba was a very crucial place that any enemy to the U.S. would obtain. The U.S. special plane flying over the Cuban airspace discovered missiles in 1962. These missiles had been planted there by Russia. Noticing this, America prepared itself for war against Russia. Among the main causes of the missile tension was the presence of American missiles in Turkey, which is a neighbor of Russia. Notably, the U.S. had several missiles in Turkey, and this to Russia was a security threat. However, earlier efforts by Russia to make the U.S. remove these missiles had failed. Moreover, there had been tension between the U.S. and Russia on who should be the superpower of the world. Consequently, the presence of nuclear weapons in the neighborhood of Russia seemed as an aggression by the United States. On the same note, the leadership of Cuba changed in 1959, and the new administration had close ties with Russia. The people who America had been supporting since the 1950s were not the ones in power. Consequently, all American owned companies in Cuba were nationalized with no compensation. The American strongman in Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, became powerless in the new administration. The new ties between Russia and Cuba worried America since it was easier for anything to happen. Arguably, Russia took the act of the U.S. had missiles in Turkey as a way of positioning itself for war against Russia. They, therefore, had also to position themselves for the war of equal measure. Nonetheless, though the tension lasted for almost two weeks, the war never broke out. After noting the presence of missiles in Cuba, America confronted Russia. Russia required that America removes its missiles from Turkey. Unknown to Russia was the fact that the missiles of the U.S. in Turkey were worn out and were due for removal. However, the President of U.S. would not publicly accept the offer for this could comprise his position as a tough man against communism and Russia in particular. The U.S. knew that removal of its missiles was the solution. Consequently, the president resolved to comply with the requirement of Russia but not in public. Anyway, the U.S. was to do away with the missiles in Turkey but doing so in public would be tantamount to a defeat. The U.S. president did not promise to remove the missiles from Turkey in public, but he did promise not to invade Cuba if Ru