ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Numerous movies have developed moral themes that are very much contrasted to real life. Even though some stories are fictional, they have a direct connection to people, as the events portrayed have taken place at some time and in some form. The movie “Slumdog Millionaire” by Danny Boyle tells a life story of an Indian young man who has won on the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” ( Slumdog Millionaire ). The theme of the movie is that even when people live in poverty and unacceptable conditions there is still place for courage, dreams and heroism, and it does not matter where one comes from. To the people who live in the West, the movie might seem as foreign and inapplicable to life in the United States or Europe. The traditions and beliefs of Indian culture are very much different from other parts of the world but the moral fabric of people is the same globally. In the movie, the events that are taking place presently are linked back to a man’s past. A character by the name Jamal Malik is being a guest on the famous program “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and in order to answer the questions correctly, he recalls events from his life and this enables him to remember the information very vividly. The only possibly fictional part of the movie is the coincidence in how the questions specifically relate to his life, even though one might argue that coincidences are all that happens in the world. The central theme of the movie is not the game show but the life of a child who grows up in a place filled with crime and danger. The “slums” that are described in the movie are one of the worst places in any society and go back in history up to 5,000 years. The separation between classes existed for a long time where one part lives in luxury and the other lives below poverty line. Some of the causes were the many languages spoken, geography, invasions, religious differences, practices and ethnicities. This created a separation between people, making some significantly less fortunate (Mohanty 59). This is a direct connection to life in the United States where people live in poor conditions, limited by poverty and criminal activity. There are very many reasons why people end up living in poor areas and ghettos, and it is unfortunate that a lot of individuals who have good heart and are talented, have no choice but to have the absence of opportunities and beneficial circumstances. The physical area of where people live, greatly determines the activities that take place and so, there is an enormous
Introduction To compare the principal characters in the two books written by Jamaica Kincaid and Athol Fugard is akin to doing a study on socio-ethnic issues that inevitably crop up in places that are dominated by racial discrimination and resulting in political and economic change. When one begins reading one book, there are quite a few situations that force a reader to pause and recollect similar passages in the other one. Probably it is the similarity in a location that causes a reader to stop and ruminate on the comparisons and contrasts. There is also a situational similarity in both the books – the issue of growing up. Adolescence is a very difficult age, fraught with personal tussles of all hues. Both Kincaid and Fugard have gone into great detail to describe this difficult period in the lives of their protagonists, with differing results, of course. Annie John – the pains of growing up The transition from child to adult can, in no way, be an easy one. Annie John’s life is no exception to this universal rule. As a child who adulated her mother with an almost unnatural intensity, to an adult who is repelled by what her mother is really like, Annie’s journey goes through a series of events. Initially, she is devoted to her mother mainly because she is the central figure in her life; her father barely exists, as far as she is concerned. In her opinion, her mother can do no wrong. Her relationships with those outside her family are governed by the level of approval that her mother shows. However, this is the first situation where Annie realizes that her mother and she are not on the same wavelength anymore. She realizes that if she needs to gain a friend, she will have to do it at the cost of losing her mother’s confidence. This does not seem to deter her in any way. Also, it is difficult for her to come to terms with the fact that her mother spends a lot of time with people on their deathbeds. Her disillusionment with her mother reaches its peak when she finds her mother engaged in a sexual act with her father. More than the act of sex, what repels her more is the fact that the image of her mother’s hand on her father’s back is reminiscent of a corpse. In the heat of an argument, her mother calls her a slut, sealing whatever door to reconciliation, there might be between them. She retorts, “like mother like daughter” (Kincaid, 1997) – a statement that exhibits righteous indignation. Towards the end, Annie decides to leave her hometown and move away from all that she has held dear to her, just as her own mother did, several years earlier. Moving to a new life, that she believes will be a lot less tumultuous than the one she has led till now. Harold – from friend to master Harold or ‘Hally’ as he is affectionately called by his ‘friends’ Sam and Willie (his servants) is a pleasant companion, quite comfortable in their colored company, who, with child-like innocence joins them in their
Target Target is famous for its high-quality goods and low prices, which makes the discount retailer one of the most successful companies. The company is trying to make shopping experience of their ‘guests’ easy and enjoyable, which, in its turn, will help them create loyal customers and attract new ones. I have researched the company’s merchandising strategies in detailed and compiled a report. This report is divided into the following subtopics: easy shopping, atmosphere, service, educating guests. Easy shopping Obviously, one of the biggest expectations of customers is easy shopping experiences. Fisher and Raman (2013) note that such retailers as Target have millions of units and it is crucial to place them so that customers could easily find the product they need. Target stores are divided into sections where goods of certain types can be bought. Similar groups of goods or products which are often bought together are placed in one section. Besides, Target stores utilize numerous tools of visual merchandising. For example, hangers, floor plans, planograms and so on help guests find their way to the goods they need. Of course, it is easy to detect special offers as hangers and stickers attract guests’ attention. It is also necessary to note that the company distributes booklets and leaflets where some special offers are highlighted. The company’s website also helps its guests to learn more about products available, special offers, latest news and so on. The vast majority of stores have a digital screen which can help customers navigate the store. The size of stores can be different, but the layout is always simple. This contributes to creation of the atmosphere of enjoyable shopping experience. Notably, the stores are quite easy to spot in cities and the size of the store depends on the location. Within city centers, the stores are smaller though they still meet customers’ expectations as the most popular goods are always on the shelves. Atmosphere Target stores are also famous for their friendly atmosphere. Creating collaborative and friendly atmosphere is one of the company’s priorities ( 2011 Annual report , 2012). Employees of the company are team members who are encouraged to drive the change and make the stores more guest-friendly. Hence, team members are ready to help customers find the goods they need or provide the necessary information about the goods. This creates a special atmosphere of enjoyable shopping. Admittedly, Target stores also employ such interior atmospheric elements as merchandise presentation, scents, color, sound, clea
The human nervous system can be compared to a college computer network with a central processing unit made of layers of servers and storage, as well as wiring to multiple input devices and output displays. Analogously, the nervous system controls all bodily functions and is responsible for perceiving and reacting to stimuli, whether automatically or by conscious thought/command of the person. The two major branches of the nervous system are the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The Central Nervous System is the more important of the two as it controls all bodily functions, deliberate movement, homeostasis, the constant activity of the heart, and breathing, just to name a few. The CNS is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. Pursuing the computer analogy, the brain is the central Processing Unit of the entire nervous system. All information must first travel to the brain via an electric current before the body can trigger a response. The spinal cord is the main pathway where all electrical signals from stimuli pass and it is this part of the CNS that makes contact with the Peripheral Nervous System. As powerful as it sounds, the Central Nervous system is very delicate and is protected by a variety of bony structures to prevent damage. External damage can be devastating to the human condition. Damage to the spinal cord may result in paralysis, while damage to the brain can incur amnesia or serious impairment of bodily functions. For this reason, the brain and the spinal cord are protected by the skull and the vertebral column respectively. The Peripheral Nervous System is, as the term implies, scattered throughout the body. The PNS can be likened to a collection of input and output devices serving the brain. In organic terms, the PNS consists of all nerve cells external to the CNS. While the essential element of a nerve cell is the neuron, many of these form longer processes called axons. Axons are responsible for conveying electric impulses to and from the CNS. They thus form one long intricate connection of nerves throughout the body. The PNS is made up of two types of neurons, the afferent and efferent types. Afferent neurons are responsible for carrying the electrical signal produced by stimuli towards the Central Nervous System for processing, while efferent neurons are responsible for delivering these electric currents from the CNS towards the Peripheral Nervous System and thence, the organs of motion, speech, and locomotion; the muscles that direct posture and “body language”; even the instinctual reactions that require no conscious thought such as sneezing, curling up one’s toes at the sight of an attractive person, jumping with surprise, and the well-known “fight or flight” stance that pumped-up adrenalin provokes. In sum, th
Introduction It has come to my attention that the university does not have a strict policy on the displaying of religious decorations around the campus grounds. Consequently, students and staff members are at liberty to put up religious decorations to mark their various religious celebrations and holidays. This practice is harmful considering the fact that the university is an institution that is founded on secular values. I therefore wish to provide a comprehensive discussion on why decorations for religious holidays should be prohibited on campus ground. Considering that this view is supported by other respectable universities, I will give a number of similar policies in universities around the world to support why our university should support the same policy. Why Religious Holidays Decorations Should Be Disallowed The educational system promoted in the United States is secular in nature and a separation between religion and education facilities is desired. Specifically, the university is a secular institution serving students and staff of varied religious backgrounds. Fairness demands that the institution should not endorse a particular religion but rather maintain a neutral stance to all religions. Members of the campus are to be treated with respect regardless of their religion and every person is to be tolerant to religious views that might be different from theirs. Display of religious decorations on campus grounds might create the impression that the university endorses a particular religion. Allowing decorations on campus grounds sends the message that the particular religious holiday is of significance to the society. A reasonable observer is therefore likely to assume that the decorations are a sign that the school administration endorses the particular religion. This is especially so when the major world religions are given preference over minor religions. When this happens, religious decorations fail to create a neutral public face since those decorations “serve to support one world view – whether religious, cultural or social – and unavoidably treat people with other world views in an unequal and detrimental manner” (Tonya, 2005, p.139). Display of religious decorations may have the undesirable effect of promoting certain religions in the educational institution. Th
Both articles that study the role of Canada in peacekeeping focus on changing the country’s image for the country’s population. Both authors also note that the government’s efforts to improve the rhetoric took time, but as a result, they changed people’s attitudes toward combat for peace. Kros (2015), in his article, says that after the events in Afghanistan, politicians began to change rhetoric by positioning Canada as a country of a peacemaker who should use force to protect world peace. After years, this rhetoric has led to changes in the consciousness of society and people accepted the need to send battle groups to resolve conflicts. Kros notes, “Among the general public, the term “peacekeeping” remained the favored and simplest way of evoking Canadian activities to promote peace abroad, even if, in fact, they no longer entailed peacekeeping but, instead, a whole range of other missions, including combat” (2015, p. 94). Landriault (2018) also confirms this idea by noting that the level of support for foreign intervention and participation of Canadian troops has increased. Consequently, both authors claim that Canadians support the state’s new rhetoric of peacemaking, which can include violence and fighting. The authors of both articles express an opinion that Canada still has not abandoned its traditional position as a peacemaker and that Canadians prefer this way of building peace in the world. Landriault (2018) emphasizes that although the level of support for foreign interventions among the population is high outside the context, this statistic is different if the question is moderated to a more specific situation. Landriault says, “Indeed if Canadians are generally highly supportive of peacekeeping, it does not mean that they oppose specific combat missions” (2018, p. 71). Kros (2015), also confirms this idea and suggests that although Canadians allow forceful intervention to some conflicts, they still prefer soft power; thus, it is unclear if Canada is ready to refuse its traditional politics. Consequently, although the rhetoric of power in Canada and the methods of peacekeeping began to change 15 years ago, Canadian society is still not ready to accept forceful methods and violence to ensure peace.
Introduction New Public Management (NPM) is a term that various governments have been using since the 1980s to modernize the public sector. The NPM reforms are meant to change the old system of traditional public administration and come up with a revamped system of public administration (Lynn, 1998). According to Larbi, Key elements of NPM “include various forms of decentralizing management within public services, increasing use of markets and competition in the provision of public services, and increasing emphasis on performance, outputs and customer orientation” (Larbi, 1999, pp. 1). These reforms were necessitated by economic, social and technological factors. The existence of economic and fiscal crises has increased the need in the financial system a high technology that would make delivery of public services less costly. The Origin, theory and principles of NPM The origin of NPM . The New Public Management approach to public management was founded on a critique of bureaucracy as the organizing principle within public administration (Dunleavy, 1991). He claimed that bureaucracy was plagued by progressive inflexibility which was based on complex hierarchical rule based systems and top-down decision making which caused it to become increasingly distant from the general publics’ expectations. According to Kelly (1998), NPM focused on what was believed to be the critical aspects of private sector modes of organizing and managing public sector and public administration. While the State Owned Enterprises continued to incur losses due to poor management and inefficiency by its managers, the private sector mode of management was claimed would help these government institutions out of those problems hence enhancing service delivery to the people of the countries concerned. Governments were urged to incorporate the techniques of business administration and business values which included the values of competition, a preference for market mechanisms as a way of social choice and respect for the entrepreneurial spirit (Yamamoto, 2003). Following these recommendations the public sector reforms have started been initiated and as a result governments institutions have started moving forward in terms of profit making, and accountability (Mathiasen, 1996). In Japan for instance, scholars have tried to look at the various techniques that the government used in order to make her the most industrialized country in Asia because the new public management ideas were introduced in Japan few years back through the assistance of programs set out by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Principles of NPM. NPM as a term can be used to describe; organization and management design, how the new institutional economics can be applied to public management, and a pattern of pol
I am writing to request you to allow us to use the social networking tool ‘Facebook’ in our office. No organization can operate without the use of the internet and that social networking is one of the fastest, cheapest and effective ways of communicating in the office. One of the major benefits of using Facebook is for marketing purposes; almost 80 percent of the target market is on this social network and this will enable the marketing of our services over the social website and share all the information with the clients. Another benefit is that it will save on the costs of advertising, while at the same time there are no legal procedures to be used as compared to when marketing over the media (Jobs, 2009). Facebook may act as a tool of recruitment too; job adverts may be carried out on the website. With a social network, one can be able to communicate with customers as they give views on what they want and also how they want something to be done. This will be an easier way of getting customer’s views and try to improve on the quality of services offered to them. The customer relationship will also improve because there will be a direct communication between the company and the client when they ask questions or need to be assisted (Jackie, 2012). Within the workplace, it will reduce movements from one office to another since one can send a message and be able to receive an instant reply. Besides, it will save the costs incurred in making calls from one office to another. Facebook is a global website and everyone can be able to access it, for this reason, customers can be well informed of the products and services offered, and they can keep in touch if they are interested. However, there are disadvantages which include; putting the company’s reputation, image, and opportunities at a risk. People can post anything on the webpage since there are no restrictions to what is to be posted. Some people may decide to post positive things while others may share some negative comments and complaints that will tarnish the company’s reputation. More time will have to be spent on the internet as the company will keep updating the webpage and also responding to the customers’ inquiries. In addition to that, fraudsters may also take advantage of this by running some illegal activities using the company’s name; this might put the company at a very big risk. The information that has been given online like email addresses and telephone numbers may result in one being stalked by strangers. Also, competitors may take advantage and post on the company’s site negative comments which will affect the firm, some posts that are not so relevant may at times annoy the customers and thus the followers are turned off. In the workplace, the employees may spend their time doing a lot of personal chatting which will reduce productivity (Chruskiniski, 2011). However, if the company is to use a social network, the best thing is to take caution of things to be posted on the platform as websites are more effective than the use of billboards and thus will reduce costs and time as well increase the profitability of the company. I