ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Born in 1930, Stephen Sondheim is a renowned composer and lyricist with an American origin. Throughout his career, Stephen has scooped numerous awards that have made him very popular in the music industry. The numerous lyrics and scores that inundate the music industry are just but the result of his great work. No wonder Scholars say that if not the greatest, then Sondheim is one of the best artists ever known in the theatre of music. The awards he has scooped range from the Academy Award to the Pulitzer Price. Early Life Sondheim’s Jewish parents, Herbert Sondheim and Etta Janet bore him in the city of New York back in the year 1930. His parents brought him up in Manhattan and divorced later in Pennsylvania. The career of Sondheim’s mother was the design of clothes while his father used to manufacture the same. Since he was the only son in a well-off family, Sondheim suffered so much emotional neglect in his upbringing (King 118). While in New York, he attended Fieldston School among other schools as George school. While in Fieldston School, Sondheim wrote his first music and later graduated in the year 1940. When Sondheim’s father abandoned him, his mother ill-treated him psychologically; something that Sondheim hated so much that he refused to attend her funeral when she died. Career When he was only ten years old, Sondheim met a man who had a great impact in his career. The man was none other than the famous lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II who later became his surrogate father. It is during a ceremony marking one of Hammerstein’s music production centres that Sondheim met Harold Prince who in later years played a major part in directing Sondheim’ shows (Secrest 120). During the period when he was in George school, Sondheim made a breakthrough in music through a comic that reflected on the happenings in his school. Though greatly appreciated by Sondheim’s peers, Hammerstein did not like the piece and took it as an opportunity to teach him what according to Sondheim, would keep other lyricists learning in their entire lives. Since that time, Sondheim has been active in the music theatre and this has made him collaborate with successful lyricists like Hal Prince, James Lapine and others. Besides songs, Sondheim has written many books, and anthologies. He has also played a major role in the production of many films and articles that have appeared in television world all over. Honors and Awards On his birthday as he turned eighty, Sondheim’s works received a major positive boost; numerous concerts that mainly included Sondheim’s songs and music marked the day (Suskin 697). Some of the original performers were occasi
Since the end of the 1980s, rap culture and rap music have become extremely popular in all countries around the globe. Because of its essential commercial application in American popular culture as the dance-related song (the demand for a new product) and because of the need of each new generation of American youth to identify itself musically according to its own terms, the history of rock and roll has unfolded in an often confusing succession of substyles or subgenres that represent a broad range of expression. Today, many teens (generation Y) idealizes rap music that glorifies and promulgates immoral choices and criminal activities. Rap music is so popular today because it reflects and symbolizes freedom and rebellion, belonging to a particular suture and unique identity for both blacks and whites. The birthright of rap demanded that this traditional function be redefined as American youth “fell into” power and began to exert influence on society, largely because of their number and their middle-class purchasing privileges. For, in addition to its entertainment value, rock and roll also must be judged as political and social to an unprecedented degree (Boyd 43). Its point of view was conditioned initially by adolescent frustration and soon after by youthful cynicism, on the one hand, and idealism, on the other. This redefinition of the popular song included forays into subjects and moods foreign to the mainstream’s entertainment experience. Thanks mainly to the champions of the folk revival of the 1960s and the dynamic African-American musicians leading the Civil Rights Movement, serious — and highly volatile — problems such as social injustice, hypocrisy, war-mongering, and the destruction of the environment entered the rock and roll sensibility. Just as great a departure from custom Counterculture forced the issue during the 1960s. (A similar phenomenon must be observed in the subjects and nature of films directed to the American public during the same period.) The threat was undeniable and uncomfortable to many adults; the fact that teenagers were making it was radical, a cause for much hand-wringing by those threatened (Iwamoto and Creswell 23). Rap culture has come to accept a premise already in force in folk music and fine-art music, that the subject of music is the entire range of human experience. Whereas many advocates welcomed this openness in the spirit of uncensored expression and as evidence of the music’s “coming of age,” opponents redoubled their efforts and publicized their genuine horror, all the while repeating their time-honored battle cry that the personal and public behavior of young Americans is influenced directly and in the most negative way by experiencing this repertory of the song (Jenita et al 175). Much criticism, ranging from thoughtful to hysterical, has been focused on a cult of violence initially associated with the 1990s subcategories of punk and heavy metal and more recently with g
Executive Summary Sustainable development is vital in a business environment. Reflectively, this concept defines the feasibility of a company and its solvency within a specified period of time. In the contemporary society, the term sustainability refers to the ability to survive within a profitablemodel. In business environment, sustainability is affected by forces in the market, decision science, corporate structure, and real financial management, in short and long term. Therefore, a business organization must put in place stringent measures and strategies aimed and monitoring expansionary modules within feasible levels. This paper reviews the current issues in operations management of the Luen Thai Company and develops an operations performance measurement system. Overview of Luen Thai Company Culture in a corporate organization is the key upon which management uses to make such an organization succeed. However, sometimes, it becomes harder to translate the theoretical perspectives into practical elements that help to strengthen the firm’s operations. The issues also extend to complexity when the entire working environment is taken into considerations. As businesses are opting to merge up, the key factor of emphasis is how communication culture is to be maintained by such organizations. The main challenge facing the global Luen Thai business is the adoption of proper communication and operations management models that can be more flexible to change operation of this organization. As a matter of fact, quality operations management model is the backbone of a promising company since it determines survival and productivity in terms of flow of operations and streamlining overhead costs. For instance, the coordination between the production and marketing team is wanting. Nature of operations systems Reflectively, relaying information on the success of a production is dependent on labour and operating costs, which are often balanced for value maintenance. In the process of balancing the act, a quality operations management system should be capable of applying the scientific skills in an artistic manner through informed and perfectly framed use of soft skills to address technical aspects of production management. In every business field, the question of factors facilitating success is often posed. In order to present a comprehensive answer to this question, it is of essence to measure success as a component of the existing operation system (Lin, 2010). Generall
The adolescence stage precedes adulthood. It can be defined as “a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage” (Jessor 12). Generally, puberty is linked with adolescence development. Nonetheless, the onset of puberty may appear in preadolescence especially among females. “Adolescence is characterized by a number of cognitive, emotional, physical and attitudinal changes, which can be a cause of conflict on one hand and positive personality development on the other” (Wolfe and Jaffe 34). The environment in which adolescents operate has a significant impact on their psychological development. Psychologists contend that bad habits rarely occur among teenagers who interact properly with their parents. The adolescents usually face myriad development challenges that range from physical to psychological. For instance, they are usually tempted to indulge in risky activities that may interfere with their normal development. It has also been identified that many risky habits that advance in adulthood like smoking normally begin at adolescence. It is in this context that various measures should be taken to mitigate risky conducts that are currently prevalent among the adolescents. There is a common cliché that teenagers perceive themselves as immune and invulnerable to danger. “This cherished assumption about the adolescent mind is expressed as a truism in countless public health messages aimed at parents of teenagers, and underlies many efforts to educate young people about their risks” (Johnson 67). Scientific data on youth’s behavior indicates that most of them know that they are vulnerable to various risks. For instance, many adolescent girls know that they are likely to get premarital pregnancies if they are not careful about their sexual activities. Elaborate studies on the nature of adolescent’s risk taking shows that most of them make rational assumptions when making choices. However, they do not choose to take risks based on a conviction that they are not vulnerable. “Even if adolescents take risks, they mentally weigh them against perceived benefits” (Santrock 267). Psychologists contend that individuals’ experiences can be represented by specific mental processes. For instance, the brain has the capacity to encode, keep and memorize our experiences. Risk taking action may be based on one or a combination of the mind processing mechanis
Introduction The software industry is a dynamic industry which has undergone several changes and one of the current trends in the industry is cloud computing. This technology is known as software as a service (SaaS), using this technology service delivery has improved in the software industry. Several outsourcing tools are available online for different uses and purposes. Outsourcing tools rely on the technology of cloud computing whereby all processes are run on a web browser. Several cloud computing technologies are available online and they include from simple tasks such as scheduling meeting, backup solutions. All these solutions are run or processed using software technologies. Software as a Service Cloud computing relies heavily on software to undertake the processes needed by customers. Several cloud computing tools were developed to make processes and other activities easier for customer use. This essay is going to investigate one cloud computing tool used in management of data centers on a pre-defined environment. OpenNebula is cloud computing tool that is used in enterprise-class cloud computing management. Through opennebula.org, customers get the opportunity to download an enterprise management cloud computing tool (Fornes The Software as a Service Dilemma) . The OpenNebula project was dedicated to making a total virtual machine (VM) software toolkit. OpenNebula runs on different software platforms in providing deployed solutions in networking, storage, user management and virtualization. The importance of using a cloud computing system like OpenNebula is that it makes operations effective by providing different resources at one go. Cloud computing systems like OpenNebula are developed as bundled applications into one suite. As a result, operating such softwareis cost effective compared to other software because operating different software which is license based are expensive. Operating different software on one platform is challenging and it not scalable since it takes a lot of computer resources (Buyya 138). The biggest advantage in using open-source software like OpenNebula is the availability in many versions. Open-source software is designed by a team of developers who form a community of developers. In the development of OpenNebula, several developers were involved in the development of the software and thus they test the software to come up with high-quality software (Chee 42). Compared to use of other software or systems such as telephones or e-mail communication is that cloud systems operate remotely. Total control over cloud systems is difficult considering the fact that some companies offer cloud computing services at a fee or free. Thes
Introduction People make unreasonable decisions, as they do not think from cause and effect perspective. They fail to give their decisions a second thought, and so they end up regretting. Because of their unwise decision-making, they face very harmful and expensive consequences. However, one can avoid making such mistakes by calculated and critical thinking. Critical thinking is taking control of one’s brain, or challenging one’s own judgment. Critical thinking does not just come; it needs cultivation, nurturing, and exercising. Only when people learn to challenge their intelligence and think critically, will they avoid many of the fatal mistakes they make, and in return save much time and resources. A sample situation of ‘mindlessness’ acting Oftentimes, people fall victims of acting without prior thinking. For instance, a very close friend of mine finished her studies recently. In her search for a job, a company offered her one that was paying around £18,000 for a fresh starter in her field of study. She felt that was not up to her standard and thought £30,000 or £35,000 job would suit her needs for a start; therefore, she declined the offer. She also declined the offer because she felt that the company was in a small town while she preferred staying in the capital city. Later on, on getting to the city of her interest, the only jobs that she could secure offered between £12,000 and £15000. She also realized that the cost of living in the city is very high. The current offers cannot support her and meet her basic needs let alone some luxuries. Time is now gone, yet she has not found a satisfactory job, in fact she does not have any. The objective of citing this example is not to show how unfortunate people can be or how good some are, but it is to show how costly ‘mindlessness’, which most people fall victims, can be. It is therefore wise to think critically before making important decisions; critical thinking improves such situations. Among the key concepts of critical thinking are clarity, accuracy, and logicalness (Paul & Elder, 2009, p. 14). Before declining the first offer, my friend would have clarified her thoughts probably by sharing with more experienced people in her field. This would have reduced doubts and prevent her from making this kind of mistakes. By so doing, she could make accurate decision. Sharps and Martin (2002) posit that, “people often make decisions without reference to vital information, even when such information is readily available” (p. 273). After gathering sufficient information through consultations, my friend would have made a better decision, take the offer and gain experience before looking for the job of her dreams. Of course, there are companies that give her desired pay, but to experienced people. These kinds of mistakes are very common in life, even in the government planning
Introduction A global city is a city which has a big economic significance in the world. Thus for a city to be deemed as global or world class it has to pass certain criteria. These criteria include economic characteristics, political characteristics, cultural characteristics, transport characteristics, and many others such as population, information exchange, human capital, and business activities. According to recent surveys Asian cities are emerging as newcomers in the prominence of cities on the globe. For instance in the latest survey according to Kearney (2010), 5 of the top ten global cities come from Asia. Currently London is ranked second after New York City. Reasons why London is a global city The city of London is considered a global city because of many reasons. The city is a metropolitan and therefore it has a mixture of different cultures. According to Bloomberg Businessweek (2010), London ranks second after New York. This index is based on the rich human resource and the cultural wealth and other strengths. Business activities in London are also of a very high index. The human capital of the British capital is also increasing. Population of London According to Bentham (2010), London’s population is set to reach 8.3 million people. This means that the population is increasing by 10% in a period of eight years. In addition to this, more people in England are moving from the rural areas into London for many reasons. The report also states that fewer Londoners are moving abroad. Increased population has the advantage of increased human resource and also the presence of a ready market for goods and services. GDP of London The GDP of London is currently on the rise. As Packer (2004) writes, London has grown to become a major financial centre of the world. London is a metropolitan capital and which still remains a powerful center where the world gets sucked. Before being overtaken by New York in the twentieth century, London had been leading other world cities in terms of size and wealth. Cultural wealth of London Since time immemorial, London has continued to increase in its cosmopolitan state. The British capital has continued to attract human labor from across the whole world. For instance it attributes its name from Italian linguistics whereby the city of London emanated from the Roman Londonium which was a tribal capital of Britannia. Cultural wealth of London is an accompaniment of the way in which Britain gained colonial powers. Slave trade as Packer (2004) puts it, made Britain ports to fill with cultural diversity which later on spread to the interior. Transport facilities London has invested heavily in the transport sector. There is an excellent network of roads and railway lines traversing across London. London is also well known for its highly developed marine transport. The good network of transport facilities provides the ease of movement of goods to and from the market. Movement of Human labor is also enhanced. According to Litman (2006), London has continued to decongest its roads by implementing certain measur
Amazon is among the most successful companies globally, and its investment decisions address all five types of engineering economics decisions. Recently, the company invested $15 billion in the development of its platform for third-party sellers and for promotion through the free delivery day. In regards to equipment and process selection, Amazon decided to invest in improving the sales of third party shops that use this platform. As such, the $15 billion investment targeted different digital tools and delivery processes, which would improve the sales of those third parties. Since Amazon is a digital company, equipment replacement in its case may relate to the introduction of new and more efficient online tools for shops that sell through Amazon. New product or product expansion is associated with the company’s decision to invest in the development of services for small and medium-sized businesses that sell on Amazon. As such, Amazon expended the tools that were already available to sellers, helping them reach their target audience more efficiently. Cost reduction is associated with Amazon’s new inventory management program. As part of this investment, the company provided a Prime free shipping day to its customers, which allowed it to sell some of the inventory and reduce costs associated with maintenance, in accordance with the program’s objectives. Improvement in service or quality, in this case, relates to the investment in the platform for third-party sellers who work with Amazon. Since the latter receives a commission from sales, one can argue that Amazon benefits from an increase in sales for third-party sellers. Thus, the introduction of 225 tools for these small businesses is a significant improvement in quality when viewing Amazon as a platform provider for small online shops.
Literature, cinematography, creativity, philosophy, and, in general, the culture of postmodernism have had a tremendous impact on modern society and the perception of some familiar things, such as time, parent-child relationships, and space. The postmodern literature authors abandon the classical understanding of linear narrative and prefer a cyclical or rhizomatic version (the term belongs to Felix Guattari and Gilles Deleuze). In a new way in postmodern literature, the authors boldly describe their own intimate experiences concerning previously taboo topics. Their works are full of reflections of human experience and deeply personal experiences. These experiences are applied to universal human knowledge or each person’s experience individually. For the first time, the authors started talking about the horrors of war and the animal fear that a person experiences. Authors no longer romanticized the war; its participants were not described as heroes. An ordinary person, yesterday’s student or worker, turned out to be in the war. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton paid considerable attention to mental problems in their prose and poetry. In addition, their diaries, espec