ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Observing the latest extravagant models of shoes designed by such famous masters as Manolo Blahnik, Salvatore Ferragamo, Christian Louboutin, Roger Vivier, and many others, the viewer of the Shoe Obsession exhibition can be inclined to ask about the designers’ motivation, intentions, and goals while creating the shoes. What is the purpose of creating such lavish, but rather unpractical shoes? What inspires the designers to develop such unusual forms and use such odd accessories? The answers to these questions can be associated with the shifting goals of producing shoes. Today, designers focus on creating shoes as on the development of the art object which can be successfully used on podiums and in the real life. Modern women are not afraid of wearing the unique shoes in their everyday life. Moreover, it is rather difficult to surprise a modern woman in relation to the tendencies in the shoe fashion. From this point, the models presented by the designers at the Shoe Obsession exhibition can be discussed as the attempts to shift the shoe fashion at the new higher level and to present shoes as the pieces of the designers’ art. That is why, it is important to concentrate on discussing the most remarkable models designed by Roger Vivier, Marieka Ratsma, Gianluca Tamburini, and Christian Louboutin. The Shoe Obsession exhibition presents the imaginative models of shoes which evoke the variety of the viewers’ emotions because of their originality. The experimental shoes by Janina Alleyne, the imaginative models by Salvatore Ferrgamo, Charline De Luca, Serio Rossi, Alberto Guardiani, and Noritaka Tatehana support the idea that shoes are no more justified according to their practicality (“Experimental Shoes by Janina Alleyne”; “Shoes by Salvatore Ferrgamo”; “Shoes by Noritaka Tatehana”). The beauty and uniqueness of design is important. Shoes by Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin are the part of the fashion cult the main features of which are lavishness and vividness (“Shoes by Manolo Blahnik”; “Shoes by Christian Louboutin”). The heels of the contemporary shoe models are extremely high. It seems that they accentuate the women’s efforts to reach the tops (“The Main Gallery”). The imagination of the shoe designers is not limited today by the practicality concept, but it is ruled by the idea of extremes and extravagance (“The Introductory Gallery”). Feathers, crystals, and spikes are used to decorate the shoes of any whimsical forms (“Shoes on Loan from Saks Fifth Avenue”). However, in spite of the heels’ sizes and unusual decorative elements, a lot of models presented at the exhibition can be discussed the dream of many women. The reason is in the fact that the possession of such shoes can be comparable with the possession of brilliants. Biotech is the model presented by Gianluca Tamburini’s brand Conspiracy. Thin and harmonic forms
Adolescence is one of the most complex developmental periods in individuals’ life. Researchers emphasize its critical transitional character – the changes which a person experiences during this time provoke inevitable conflicts with both other people and oneself (Ehrlich et al. 2015). Throughout the first phase of adolescence (12-15 years), the relationships which a child previously had with the world and self are breaking, and the new processes of self-cognition and self-identification begin (Ehrlich et al. 2015). These processes ultimately lead to the formation of the worldview that lays the foundation for one’s independent adult life. For this reason, the importance of adolescence cannot be underestimated. The term “worldview” can be defined as a complex of ideas about the world and its own place in it; a set of perceptions which one holds and which largely regulate his or her daily activities. Three major constructs of the individual’s worldview can be distinguished, i.e., the perception of self, the perception of others, and the general perception of the world. These individual ideas are formed under the influence of personal experiences of events, communication, and so on. In its turn, the worldview determines the way in which a person sees reality and affects his or her choices and behavior. Sense of Individuality and Identity One of the primary needs of every adolescent is the development of a sense of individuality. It is closely associated with one of the major needs of every human being – the need for self-expression. Teenagers are especially sensitive towards mastering the means of self-expression, and it is possible to say that the emerging sense of individuality runs the given process. With the sense of individuality, the need for support and acceptance of one’s distinctiveness by others occurs. Ironically, teens seek individuality by pursuing peers’ approval and adhering to certain groups. For this reason, peers and “friendship clusters” frequently become more important than parents and other adults. As it is stated by Clark (2011), a cluster is “a family with a set of respected and controlled expectations, loyalties, and values” (61). It is bound by common interests and partic
Introduction World music is a type of music that incorporates different musical styles from all over the world. It includes both non-traditional and traditional music, and sometimes there is a fusion of more than a single cultural tradition. It is simply music from the local areas. It is performed using various traditional instruments, such as the steel drum. Mahotella Queens was a world band of its time (Feld 45). The band took South Africa and the whole world by storm during the 1970s. As much as they had the vocals, their type of music attracted all types of the audience. The goal of this paper is to describe the band and its music as world music. It will analyze and describe the attributes that make the band a world band and describe it in detail with including its achievements. The Name and Description of Band and Its Origin Mahotella Queens is a pop group in South Africa. The group took over South Africa in the 1970s, and they are still making music today. Their music is a hybrid blend. It is a mixture of various African genres of music. They mixed the traditional South African music with pop to develop Mbaqanga. Mbaqanga is a mixture of South African jazz, gospel, souls, blues, and South African traditional music. The group has created a great sound that is harmonized with the superb vocals (Mojapelo 210). The group was formed in the 1960s and was led by Nkabinde’ Mahlathini. The musical group was loved all over South Africa due to its numerous performances all over the country. They did modernize the South African music scene. They were also loved because their songs were soothing to the oppressed people of South Africa. It was during the Apartheid. Mahotella Queens produced the best music in South Africa at that time. The members of the band had marvelous voices and mixed them into a tune. They also knew how to do a live performance that left the audience craving for more. They knew how to dance to their rhythms. The group consisted of Nobesethu Mbadu, Hilda Tloubatla, and Mildred Mangxola. Their music was later called the “indestructible Beat of Soweto” (Feld 241). The Queens disappeared from the music scene for a while in the mid-1970s. The period was a time for their break so that they could settle down to their families. They came back later in 1987, where they joined Mahlathini for a tour in the U.S.A and Europe. Their audience loved them. The band has had many tragedies. Mark Mankwane, the lead guitarist, died in 1998. The death of the group’s partner was the greatest hit that made them stop singing for a while. Mahlathini died in 1999. Having a desire to keep Mahlathini’s spirit alive, they came back to the music industry again (Mojapelo 262). They came back with new strategies developing their various skills of being arrangers, writers, and soloists. The group developed its music and went on world tours. The band Queens was successful in the music career. It has received various awards. The Queens received WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) Award in 2000 for contributing tremendously to World Mus
Genomics, Prevention and Control of Common Chronic Diseases is an article written by Khoury et al. This piece of writing places of interest is priorities that have emerged on issues of genomics and disease control. However, the article emphasizes on the use of family medical history in public health practice. Family account is an important part of a patient’s medical record. Through the medical family account, physicians predict some medical complications (Haga, 2008). Family medical history is not disclosed by most patients due to lack of knowledge and bad mind-set towards the release of the information. People have been educated to promote healthy lifestyles by majoring in controlling body weight and periodic test. Patient’s medical history is always ignored and it’s important to be identified before treatment (Haga, 2008). Family medical history if fully utilized in public health, it will link the gap between personal approach to genetics and community approach to inheritance this will capture more information about a genetic disease. This should be done through observing disease prevalence in the community rather than an individual. Through conducting population-based research, storage of information on genomics of a population and the health status will control the chronic disease burden. Once population based disease prevalence data is put in place, there will be a clear prediction for chances of another disease to occur in a certain population. Prevention measures will then be put in place. This will promote disease prevention resulting to a more healthy community (Haga, 2008). Once the public is assured of adequacy in health capacity as a result of genomics, the practice will be universally accepted and implemented. Although there is little application of genomics to control deadly diseases, more needs to be done in order to realize the full potential of research on family medical history. For application of genomics to succeed it requires input from both the public health sector and the public. Development of tools to enhance the viability of the process is also vital. The advance of health policies that encourage the use of genomic information in promoting a healthy community will make this a reality (Haga, 2008). This article basically highlights the importance of genome to control persistent diseases. It also emphasizes on the importance of collecting data about the family medical history for the treatment several fatal diseases. The author argues that most chronic diseases have a history which helps to ascertain the prevalence of risk factors. Since the mid-20 th century, personal medical history has been linked to the health of an individual. It is also known that the salience of a disease i
Introduction With the burst of the Internet and different kinds of blogs, there is now too much information available written by too many people on every single topic. But it does not mean that those people who go online read all that has been written. In fact, according to Jacob Nielsen, “On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely” (Nielsen par. 1). Main body In his article How to Write for the Web – a New Approach for Increased Engagement , Dan Petrovic raises an interesting question: “Why am I even writing if people are not reading?” (Petrovic par. 4). He decided to undertake a study, and the results were stunning: all most people read on the Internet is not that 20% of words written, but just the headline of the article and then they move on. That is the phenomenon of the Web – people do not want to spend too much time reading one page, they want to scroll down. According to the author’s study, only 16% of people will read an article from word to word, and the others will either scan it or simply skip it (Petrovic par. 3). So, the logical question is how to write for the web to delight both groups of readers – those who scan an article and those who read it from word to word. There are some simple rules to be followed. First of all, those who read on the internet are not readers; they are scanners (“9 Simple Tips for Writing Persuasive Web Content”, par. 9). They prefer pieces with highlighted headers and sub-header, so they do not spend too much time to get the main idea of the article. As the aftermath, second, the most important information should be put on the top of the page, so it is easier to scan the whole thing (Lorber par. 10). Third, there have to be facts in the article moving it forward (Copeland par. 12). Any idea stated in the article should be buttressed up by facts, so the reader trusts the author. Besides following these rules, the answer to the question lies in using a method called “inverted pyramid” that was first used in writing articles for newspapers: These days, it is common place in press and news releases where all of the most newsworthy information in the article is presented first, and the rest of the details are presented in order of diminishing importance. (Zomick par. 2) It is impossible
Radical innovation is a kind of disruptive innovation, which is connected with the creation of new products. The reason, for which they are disruptive, is that radical innovations bring new concepts that are supposed to alter the already established habits and values of the consumers. They disrupt the existing foundations, on which firms build their success. Among the most significant barriers to radical innovations, there are knowledge sharing, or transfer, barriers (KSB). The literature on radical innovation barriers is vast but discusses mostly certain types of barriers. Such information is more of interest for the firms compared to the information on interpersonal communication. The importance of studying the issue of radical innovations, and especially the barriers to them, is widely acknowledged. In the literature, the barriers are studied, in general, as well as they are categorised, identified, and understood. However, studies are mostly concentrated on one single barrier, offering deep insight into it. Such an approach has led to a fragmentary perception of the barriers to radical innovation (Sandberg & Aarikka-Stenroos 2014, p. 1293). As M. Assink mentioned, in 1990-2004 the literature on radical innovation was demonstrating a tendency to devote more attention to successes rather than to failures (2006, p. 216). In 2006, C. Markides indicated a need for a new comprehensive definition of disruptive innovation (2006, p. 19). Radical innovation barriers are believed to be dynamic and dependent on the type of the activity of a firm (Sandberg & Aarikka-Stenroos 2014, p. 1293). In general, radical innovations receive less attention compared to other forms of innovation (Story at al. 2014, p. 1271). In the studies devoted to radical innovation barriers, a serious part belongs to the research on knowledge transfer barriers. Among the factors that define KSB, the literature names the following: “lack of
Introduction Africa continent is well known for its high rates of poverty. This kind of poverty exhibited is worse such that about nine million children die annually due to this extreme poverty and diseases (Jeffrey). It is pitiful for human to die of diseases, which can be treated and prevented. Nevertheless, poverty makes it difficult for majority of impoverished African governments to solve such epidemics on their own. Most of the international communities are very much ready to help solve this problem via international aid directed to Africa. Such global agencies and organizations include for example; the global fund, which aid in fighting against malaria and AIDS (Jeffrey). Moreover, the global alliance on vaccination and immunization is another international organization that targets on saving lives of millions of poor children living in Africa by offering their services at a very low cost. Many critics support the fact that African poverty was developed by their own selfish government leaders who create poor government policies which hinder developments. Such poor government policies cannot boost the countries economy but only make the politicians squander the money received on aid instead of implementing developments. High rates of corruption exhibited by African leaders also make it hard for the continent to develop even with aid support (Jeffrey). Main argument Africa does not deserve aid Many critics have strongly opposed the foreign aid being poured on Africa, stating that it is wastage of money. Most African countries still wallow in extreme poverty even after receiving foreign aid for decades. For example, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda himself confessed that his country for more than a decade has been depending totally on international financial aid (Jeffrey). In fact almost half of Rwanda’s budget approximately 70% depends on international funds. It is clear that immediately this aid is stopped, then Rwanda would immediately collapse. The question is how long shall they depend on foreign aid? There is no country worldwide in history which has ever been successful in ending poverty and improving its econ
A crisis is a period or an event which may lead to a dangerous or unstable situation that distresses an individual, a society, or a group. It is an adverse change in environmental or human affairs, especially when happening abruptly, with little or no warning. A crisis may take different forms: being robbed, assaulted, or harassed, facing death or illness, or even losing a job. Sometimes, it can be prompted by inner stressors such as despair with undesirable self-talk. The crisis requires one’s attention; hence seeking assistance helps one address a range of problems they might not have considered. Early intervention can significantly improve one’s ability to cope with what has occurred and its effect on their life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was involved in a severe financial crisis that triggered me to seek emergency assistance from several firms and individuals to intervene in my situation. The Crisis The COVID-19 pandemic was an emergency disaster that caught each person unaware and unprepared. I am one of the individuals who were negatively afflicted by the outbreak in many ways. I worked in a certain company as a cashier, and my life was running smoothly since I had some income to take care of our family. Although I had a frequent income flow from the job, I had not thought of saving or investing some portion of the money. I also used the income to pay my fees since I attended part-time studies in a nearby institution. I had previously never been into any form of a financial crisis; hence I could not think that something like that might happen to me. When the COVID outbreak was announced, the government imposed strict restrictions and regulations on businesses, such as the closure of hotels and restaurants to minimize the interaction of people. The restrictions set were to curb the spread of the disease and struck many individuals through losing their jobs, which happened abruptly with no one’s prediction. I lost my job unexpectedly with no savings, no investment, or any other source of income, and I was the breadwinner of our family. Therefore, that led me to depression since I had no clue what to do afterward, and everyone else was looking upon me to provide. At first, I thought the COVID outbreak was a short-term thing; hence I had little hope of resuming work after a while. Then, the disaster persistent daily with no signs of diminishing, and one day it struck our family. My parents got infect
The introduction of the Racial Quota System in education as a form of Affirmative Action not only provides black and poor students with the opportunity to get specialization in the Brazilian universities but also challenges a lot of young people to identify themselves as white or black. On the one hand, the usage of the Racial Quota System in a country with great racial diversity is a kind of racism and discrimination when people should divide themselves into two opposite groups. On the other hand, quotas can give poor young people an opportunity to receive a good education and compete within the job market successfully. However, young people have different visions of the problem and negotiate their racial identity in the new context from the perspective of many factors, paying attention to the contrasting issues of racial discrimination and equal opportunity. Josie DeSouza is inclined to identify herself as black to receive the chance to start a new life, study business administration and move from the slums of Brasilia. Thus, it is typical for her to discuss herself as a black, and she states that the new quota system is a good opportunity for poor people to get an education, and those persons who are against the system are rich men. That is why Josie’s identity is the chance to help herself to change her future life. Rafael Mendez attends the private school Galois. He is brought up in a family of engineers, and he also plans to become a civil engineer. Rafael focuses on the negative sides of implementing a Racial Quota System in education. The young man will be a general applicant because of his racial identity, but Rafael explains his opposition to the system with references to increasing the level of racism and discrimination in society. He prepares much for the examinations and tests and hopes to enter the University of Brasilia, but the problem is in the accentuated division of society into blacks and whites. Karinny DeSilva concentrates little on her racial identity, and she plans to use the concept to gain some benefits. Thus, Karinny is a light-skinned girl, but she is ready to identify herself as a black to enter the university with the help of the Racial Quota System.