ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Urban development has been the cause of increase of emissions that affect the ozone layer; it also results in accelerated rates of global warming effects. The consequences of urban sprawl affect the environment in a number of ways with high level of energy consumption and use of transportation, cooling and heating facilities as well as sustenance of social thriving of urban neighborhoods. The appearance of such situations has risen from the need to mechanize transportation in neighborhoods without any consideration of the effects of the human activity. Sprawling of urban centers leads to an increase of demand of consumer goods, for example, household appliances and automobiles to facilitate the urban lifestyles 1 . Problems and causes Motorization remains a significant contributor to gas emissions into the atmosphere and environment translating to cases of global warming. Green house emissions also contribute highly to emissions which in turn pose social impacts on the community through creation of social polarization, being main contributors to loss of agricultural land. Urban sprawl and motorization have led to significant environmental and social problems. Rapid motorization leads to social problems with greenhouse emissions being a critical point of concern 2 . It is a cause for loss of farmlands and the reason for polarization of urban centers leading to social alienation and stratification. As much as motorization was seen as a development in the past, it has now become necessary to implement change as a means of initiating compact structures of defined and structured cities. Popularization of vehicles started as a venture for mobility though it never had the consideration of mobility and that is a serious social problem for the society. People can no longer access places in good time because of the motor congestions on roads. Congestion constrains social livelihoods from catering for the needs of people by increasing pollution from the use of fossil fuels. Through polarization, social inequality arises which leads to a critical economic impact on people with serious stratification in the prices of important requirements, such as the constructions of houses. Loss of farmland resulted from extensive suburbanization, which transformed geographical composition of landscapes and changed social settings. New dispositions of land developed changes in social ecologies, leading to changes in urban settings following the motorization sprawl. Increase in motorization leads to an increase in need of parking spaces, and that takes up farmland as well as pushes the development of sustainability to the rural areas. Such developments witho
Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) is associated with damage to the spinal bones. According to statistical data, every year, this type of injury accounts for 40-80 cases per million population (World Health Organization). The most common causes of TSCI include traffic accidents, falls from the height (including suicide attempts), degeneration due to disease, and so on (World Health Organization). Other common causes may also include medical errors committed during operations on the spine or traumas due to sharp turns of the head. Types of TSCI TSCIs are divided into two major groups: incomplete injury and complete injury (“Spinal Cord Injury”). The former refers to an injury that does not impair the functions of the spinal cord or causes only a partial functional impairment, while the latter implies the injury causing the complete rupture of the spinal cord. The incomplete injuries are most common. They comprise up to 60 percent of all TSCI cases (“Types of Spinal Cord Injuries”). The most common types of partial injury are anterior cord syndrome, central cord syndrome, and Brown-Sequard syndrome. XII thoracic and V-VI cervical vertebrae are exposed to accident-associated TSCI most frequently and usually lead to fatal cases, while the lumbar − the least (Zulkipli et al. 6). These findings support the assumption that “the higher the injury occurs, the more severe the damage” may be (“Spinal cord injuries” par. 1). Even with minor spine injuries, the irreversible impairments of the spinal cord can be developed and, with more severe traumas, especially those associated with the narrowing of the spinal canal, the possibility for the severe brain damage increases (Hsiang 1). At the same time, damage to any section of the spinal cord may affect individuals’ sensory, motor, and reflex abilities. The types of complete TSCI are tetraplegia, paraplegia, and triplegia (“Types Of Spinal Cord Injuries”). Immediately after the trauma, deep dynamic disturbances occur in the nerve cells and, due to this, their functioning becomes disrupted. In other words, the body becomes paralyzed starting from the location of the fracture and below. As a rule, the duration of a spinal shock depends on the severity of the injury. However, at the initial phase of all TSCIs, the picture of the spinal shock is identical, and it may largely complicate the diagnosis. TSCI is associated with hematomyelia − “intramedullary hemorrhage, which can extend over several spinal cord segments” (Rosman and Harini par. 6). This phenomenon is very destructive and most frequently occurs at the level of the cervical and lumbar thickenings. Its symptoms can manifest right after the injury and, as the bleeding increases, they can progress for several hours. O
The article by Curry and Stasio (2009, pp. 473-481) acts as a literary source of information when a clinician intends to gather data on a clinical trial. However, a critical review of this article reveals that there are several issues that the authors fail to adhere to. The evaluation carried out in the current paper seeks to point out these areas. According to Brody (2012), a research article is expected to provide adequate and reliable information on its subject matter. That notwithstanding, the evaluation conducted in this paper highlights the relevant issues addressed by Curry and Stasio in this article. The article is titled The Effects of Energy Drinks alone and Alcohol on Neuropsychological Functioning (Curry & Stasio, 2009, pp. 473-481). It is published in the Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical Experiment journal. The clinical trial is reviewed against the CONSORT criteria. CONSORT Evaluation of the Article The Title of the Article Curry and Stasio (2009) are evidently reporting about a randomised control trial. According to the title of the report, the aim of Curry and Stasio is to identify the effects of energy drinks and alcohol on neuropsychological functioning. According to the CONSORT criteria, researchers are required to indicate the methodology adopted in the study in the topic of their report. To this end, Curry and Stasio should have mentioned that their study is a randomised trial. The article can effectively capture the attention of the reader if the word ‘randomised’ is included in the title. An example of an effective title article is found in the report detailing the findings of a study carried out by Bolliger et al. (2000, pp. 329-333). Bolliger et al. (2000) make it clear that their study is a randomised clinical trial. They inform the reader that the aim of the study is to determine the efficacy and safety of oral nicotine inhalers in smoking reduction. In the case of Curry and Stasio (2009), an appropriate title should read like this, “ Neurological Functioning: A Randomised Clinical Trial on the Effects of Energy Drinks with Alcohol and Alone ”. An elaborate title helps one to locate the article easily from online and other databases. For example, typing the search terms “randomised clinical trials” in the search engine should direct one to the article by Curry and Stasio. Analysing the Abstract of the Article In some cases, a researcher may find it hard to access journal articles from libraries. In such instances, an abstract becomes useful as it outlines four fundamental issues about the study. The issues highlighted in this section include the names of the authors, the objectives of the research, and th
Introduction Laurence Olivier’s need to focus on less traditional approaches, his need to shorten the production, and the need to perform a psychological analysis of the characters determine his interpretation of the play ‘Hamlet’. He illustrates this through various scenes, settings and themes in the film. De-emphasizing tradition When the ghost appears to Prince Hamlet in the original Shakespearean play, he talks about purgatory and his wanderings on earth before describing the details of his death (Shakespeare 1. 3. 14). These same descriptions are not prevalent in the 1948 film. One of the possible reasons for deletions of these lines could be Olivier’s need to remove politics and tradition from this new film. It should be noted that he designed his previous production to inspire patriotic sentiments among the British people. The presiding British Prime Minister – Sir Winston Churchill – had instructed him to do so because the country was fighting a war. However, after the end of the war, there was no need to focus on these elements anymore. Director Laurence Olivier wanted to dwell on the characters in the play. He did this mostly through the main character Hamlet. In his version of the play, the ghost of Hamlet’s father does not talk about purgatory and other after life issues. Instead, the ghost dwells mostly on the circumstances surrounding his death. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, the Catholic Church played a pivotal role in the daily lives of its people. Therefore, most citizens ascribed to the values and beliefs taught by members of the Catholic Church such as receiving ordinances from the latter and going to heaven. If Olivier had included this part in his 1948 film, then he would have upheld Shakespeare’s belief in the traditional. Since he wanted to depart from this, then he made the right choice by omitting that scene from the play. Hamlet as a man that reasons The ghost in Shakespeare’s play describes most of the incidents surrounding his death verbally. While the same thing takes place in Olivier’s 1948 version, something slightly different happens when he adds a flashback (Play within a play) in the film. The director gives the audience a visual summary of the plot surrounding his death. One can see Claudius pouring poison into the dead King’s ear (Olivier). This makes the allegations made by the dead King appear logical. Therefore, when Hamlet refuses to accept these claims, then he appears to be more analytical than he needs to be. Although Shakespeare shows a skeptical Hamlet in the original play, the playwright does not emphasize Hamlet’s analytical nature in the play as much as Olivier does; audiences can see the Ghost’s narrative visually in the 1948 film. Hamlet now seems like a reasoning man in the film because he does not accept assertions at face value, even when the story seems quite convincing; he chooses to investigate for himself the truth behind the assertions. This ghost scene was pivotal in depicting a distinct character in the name of Hamlet. Many writers have interpreted Hamlet in their own way. Olivier’s Hamlet seems deeply distressed but still in firm control of his actions. The Ghost gave him a p
Global warming was a bogeyman story in the first part of the twentieth century but it has become a reality for people of the twenty-first century. People have acknowledged changes which have been taking place and are trying to react accordingly. Thus, it has become estimated that 150-200 million people will become refugees due to climate warming (Afifi and Jäger 101). It is noteworthy that researchers stress that the number of forced migrants is quite rough as further research is required. Nonetheless, it is clear that a lot of people will have to leave their homelands trying to escape from unfavorable climate conditions. It is necessary to understand particular causes of migration to be able to develop efficient measures to help people. In the first place it is necessary to note that climate change is associated with extreme weathers. Numerous tornadoes, storms, floods, droughts and so on damage vast areas and make them uninhabitable: people’s dwellings are destroyed, ecosystems are damaged, lands turn into marshes, cultivated land deteriorates and so on (Miller and Spoolman 513). It is especially true for coastal areas which are affected by these natural disasters as well as ocean rise. Global warming often damages farming and vast areas become unsuitable for cultivation. This leads to famine. Clearly, urban areas are also becoming less comfortable. Global warming leads to spread of numerous diseases which were not common or were typical of African or Asian areas. Higher temperatures also speed up a variety of chemical reactions producing dangerous chemicals “in photochemical smog in urban areas” (Miller and Spoolman 513). Finally, people also predict numerous wars for resources such as water, food, oil, wood, and so on. Obviously, all these events will force millions of people leave their homelands as this is already happening since refugees from African countries are trying to escape to European or other developed countries. Admittedly, the most effective way to diminish the effect of global warming is to reduce climate change or, at least, slow it down. However, people are yet to find the solution to this problem. Meanwhile, they have to start developing strategies to avoid events mentioned above. Of course, the most effective way to solve this problem would be creation of a global government which would distribute natural resources among people of the world. This will require construction of systems which could transport resources across countries. It may seem a costly project but it will be cost-effective compared to numerous programs to tackle issues concerning refugees. However, the global government is unlikely to exist as national interests often (or rather always) overweigh. Though, it is clear that governments of developing countries will not try to solve such issues as famine due to lack of funds and monetary assistance from other countries is not enough. Therefore, it is clear that people are unlikely to come up with an efficient solution and lots of people will becom
Issue Uber, a transport service, is a digital transportation company that offers passengers the opportunity to book a ride from the comfort of their mobile phones. This company which is in its sixth year of operation has been getting relevant customer reviews and increased customer loyalty. However, recently the management has been receiving complaints about the professional ethics of their cub drivers. Such comments have heavily affected the company’s productivity because many of the customers are currently ceasing from seeking Uber services. One of the most recent reported cases that questioned the business ethics of the company’s cub drivers was written by a client who claimed that the driver was smoking while driving. The client claims that she severally requested the driver to stop smoking because the smoke affected her. However, instead of listening to the customer’s pleas, the driver got annoyed and started talking to the passenger in an abusive manner. He argued that a woman had no authority to question or dictate his actions. The driver even went ahead and threatened to throw the lady out of the car if she continued insisting that he stop smoking. This awful experience made the lady develop a negative mentality towards Uber services as she believes that their drivers are unprofessional and disrespectful to women. Such adverse experiences from this lady and many other customers have lowered the company’s customer satisfaction levels, thus reducing its productivity. This problem has caught the attention of the company’s management which is currently seeking to come up with an appropriate solution. The management’s main aim is to ensure that all their drivers uphold high standards of business ethics and that their customers are satisfied with the company’s services. Solution Discrimination is one of the most common business ethics issues that are experienced in various businesses globally. In different companies, people are discriminated against based on factors such as; age, race, religion, and even gender. In this situation, the client was denied the opportunity to express herself because of her gender (Nuseir & Ghandour, 2019). Discrimination is not only considered to be unethical in business, but it is also illegal. Various laws have been put in place to fight the existence of discrimination and harassment in the business field, but the evil act is still practiced in multiple business entities. The management can solve this problem by ensuring that they develop strict discrimination and harassment policies. Setting such policies will help in preventing their drivers from exercising any form of harassment or discrimination towards the customers or even their fellow drivers. An excellent example of approaches that can be implemented is that drivers who are reported to be discriminative should be kicked out of Uber services. This policy will influence drivers to learn how to treat people equally and with respect because of their desire to keep working with Uber. In addition, the management should also consider training the drivers about bu
Whether an individual can be sacrificed for the sake of the community is a matter of long debate. The principle of Kantian deontology suggests that even if the greater good is eventually achieved the sanctity of human life and dignity cannot possibly be violated. The proponents of the Utilitarian theory, on the other hand, hold the opposite view and believe that the primary focus must be on the common good. This paper will examine both views and argue that the practice of sacrifice of an individual is inadmissible in the modern world. Summary of the Book The book is written in a form of a series of interviews with the survivors of the zombie war. It follows the chronological progression of humanity’s fight against the new threat to its existence. The first outbreaks of the disease were registered in China; however, due to the attempts of the Chinese government to prevent its people from discovering the true nature of the illness epidemic quickly spread to Africa. It was initially believed to be a form of rabies; therefore, other countries, with the exception of Israel, did not regard it as a cause for serious concern and did not take measures to quarantine themselves. Moreover, a major pharmaceutical corporation developed an ineffective vaccine that was presumably helpful in the treatment of scary diseases. A period before the start of the war was a short time of the world’s realization that the disease must be treated with the utmost caution and severity. Despite all measures taken by the Chinese government, the epidemic quickly swept through the entire nation and spread to the American continents and Europe. Governments across the globe took drastic measures and decided to relocate some parts of their population to safer areas such as the cold territories of Canada, Kamchatka, and the Arctic. Ten years after the first outbreaks of the pandemic the official end of the war was announced. The political map of the world was rearranged forever. The nations of Israel and Palestine signed peace, China and Cuba became democracies, Russia turned into a theocratic state known as the “Holy Russian Empire” (Brooks 47). Proponents of Sacrifice The sacrifice of the individual for the sake of community was the inherent characteristic of virtually every human society since its dawn (Pan 102). It seems, that in order to truly belong to some community, to be a real member of it one must give away some part of their individual freedom (Pan 102). German scholar Walter Burket believed that the sacrifice is the key component that differentiates humans from an animal kingdom and it allowed mankind to prosper in spite of the apparently overwhelming opposition from nature (Pan 102). He claimed that the sacrifice is more than just a tradition; rather, it is an “enduring obligation” that influenced the formation of an ancient world ethic and demanded a sacrifice from the warriors in a battle (Pan 105). It made possible the survival of the group after the physical destruction
Targeted Company: Apple Incorporation The targeted company for this exercise is Apple Incorporation. The company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market. Apple Incorporation’s ticker symbol is NASDAQ: AAPL. Apple Incorporation is currently “one of the leading producers and marketers of personal computers and consumer electronics” ( Apple , 2015, para. 2). The firm operates in the information technology industry. The company’s major products “include hardware devices, consumer software, and online services” ( Apple , 2015, para. 2). The “major hardware products marketed by Apple Incorporation include the iPhone, the iPad, the iPod, the Apple Watch, and the Mac personal computer” ( Apple , 2015, para. 4). Apple’s major “software products include iOS and OS-X” ( Apple , 2015, para. 4). Financial Health of Apple Incorporation Several ratios can be used to determine the financial health of an organization. The first essential financial ratio is profit margin. Apple’s profit margin ratio increased from 22 percent in 2014 to 23 percent in 2015 ( AAPL Company Financials, 2015). The ratio stood at 22 percent in 2013. The second important ratio is Return on Equity (RoE). This “RoE ratio portrays the amount of net income returned by a company as a percentage of shareholders’ equity” (Fridson & Alvarez, 2011, 63). Apple’s RoE has increased steadily within the past three years. The recorded RoE in 2013 was 30.64 percent. The RoE increased to 46.25 percent in 2014. The current RoE is 46.25 percent. The other important ratio is the Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). The 10k statement indicates clearly that Apple’s ROIC has been increasing steadily for the last four years. The firm’s ROIC was recorded at 26.2 percent in 2013 and 31.32 in 2014 ( AAPL Company Financials, 2015). Apple’s current ROIC is 31.32 percent. Analyzing the Above Trend The above three ratios show clearly that Apple has remained profitable within the last few years. The trend supports the fact that Apple Incorporation has been performing positively in the information technology industry. The current RoE explains how Apple uses its investments to generate income and support. A “RoE above 22 percent indicates that a company is performing excellently” (Fridson & Alvarez, 2011, p. 64). Apple’s profit margin has increased within the past few years. This trend can be used to describe why the firm has been performing well in the industry. The current percentage means that Apple earns new income from every single dollar invested. The ROIC ratio is “used by financial experts to determine whether a company is turning its assets and capital