ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
In his work Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius develops a cosmology according to which the universe functions in a non-random way. Moreover, his model implies that there is a certain force which maintains this orderly functioning of the universe. Yet, cosmology also leaves some degree of freedom to people, and their actions are not described simply as deterministic. These are the main principles that this philosopher distinguishes. This paper is aimed at discussing such a novel The Golden Ass written by Apuleius. In particular, it is necessary to determine to what extent this novel is consistent with the cosmology developed by Boethius. On the whole, it is possible to argue that this literary work provides the model of a chaotic or disorderly world which is not necessarily driven by some internal logic. Therefore, it does not support the views expresses by Boethius. Nevertheless, there are some important similarities. In particular, both authors pay attention such a concept as free will and underline its limitations. These are the main arguments that should be examined more closely. To some degree, Apuleius’ novel challenges the ideas expressed by Boethius because this literary work stresses the importance of gods, goddesses, and even demons who can affect the life of a person. This worldview is not compatible with the cosmology developed by Boethius who believes that God is the single force which can influence the universe, including human beings (Boethius 114). In contrast, the narrative presented by Apuleius contains many examples indicating there can be no single power which can govern the life of people. For instance, one can refer to the story of Cupid and Psyche. In particular, Cupid saves Psyche even despite the will of his mother, goddess Venus (Apuleius 183). Moreover, he even asks Zeus to grant immortality to Psyche (Apuleius 183). These conflicts and compromises challenge the concept of some universal power which has no rivals. So, Apuleius’ conception of the world challenges Boethius’ cosmology. This is one of the main points that can be made. Furthermore, in this novel, Apuleius frequently stresses the role of coincidence and fortune as one of the key factors that affect the life of the main characters. The events that the author describes are not necessarily determined by some rational being that has some clear objectives. It is important to mention that Boethius reduces the role of chance or luck to the minimum. Instead, he attaches much importance to God’s providence (Boethius 114). In his view, fate is only the instrument through which divine reason “weaves all things together in their proper orders” (Boethius 114). More importantly, in his opinion, providence is a benevolent force which seeks the wellbeing of a person. This is one of the main assumptions made by this philosopher. In contrast, Apuleiu
Introduction The origins of modern astronomy go back to ancient times, to the 3rd and 2nd millennia before Christ. This period of history was connected with complex cultures that developed in Egypt and Babylon. The main problem is that this knowledge is fragmentary because only a few writings survive from this period. The next period was connected with discoveries and world order developed by Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle (384–322 BC) rightly points out that the shadow of the Earth cast on the Moon during an eclipse is invariably circular, and that only if the Earth is a sphere can this be the case 1 . Not only did the Greeks know the shape of the Earth, but Eratosthenes arrived at an excellent estimate of the Earth’s actual size. Ever since then, everyone has known that the Earth is spherical. So, it was the sky. The classic Greek model of the universe: was a spherical Earth at the center of a spherical cosmos. At the very center was the sphere of Earth; around it, the shell of water, then the shell of air, and finally the shell of fire. Bodies were made of these elements in varying proportions. Plato described his ideas in Timaeus stating that humans lived in a cosmos governed by the law 2 . Main body The next step was made by Eudoxus who formulated for each planet a concept of either three or four concentric spheres, which he used in a mathematical demonstration that the planets’ movements were law-like after all. He supposed that each planet is set on the equator of the innermost sphere, which rotated with uniform speed, carrying the planet with it 3 . The poles of this sphere were thought of as embedded in the next sphere and carried round by it as it too uniformly rotated, and so on for the third and the fourth. The angle of the axis of each sphere was carefully chosen, as was its speed of rotation, with the outermost sphere in each case generating the daily path of the planet around the Earth 4 . For each of the five lesser planets, two of the spheres rotated with equal and opposite speeds about axes that differed only slightly. Aristotle has exercised a quite different limitation: the spheres of the models were constructions in the minds of mathematicians and did not explain in physical terms how the planets come to move as we observe them do. His solution was to convert the mathematical spheres into physical reality and to combine them to make one composite nest for the entire system 5 . The great contribution was made by Apollonius of Perge and Hipparchus of Nicea. They created complex models of the universe based on eccentric circles. Apollonius of Perga developed two geometrical tools that supplied this flexibility. In one, the planet moved uniformly on a circle, but the circle was now eccentric to the Earth 6 . As a result, the planet would appear to move faster when its path brought it nearer the Earth, and slower when it was away on the far side of its orbit. In the other, the planet was located on a little circle, or epicycle , whose center was carried around the Earth on a different circle 7
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 commonly known as SOX is a policy that was passed by the parliament of the US to become law. This policy was meant to create transparency for investors which entails financial statements and also internal controls over financial reporting (I.C.F.R); disclosures were also included in this policy. The policy was established to address the frequent frauds that had taken place in most large organizations such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco among many others. Sections 404 (a) and (b) of the policy states that public organizations must use their own expertise to evaluate their Internal Control over Financial Reporting and thereafter seek additional evaluation of controls conducted by independent auditors who are usually in private practice. Small public organizations that have a public float of a monetary value which is less than $75 million have been exempted from this procedure until the end of July 2006 and July 2007. They consist of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Section 404 (b) commands that the attestation of the auditor who evaluates the controls of the small public organization be presented in a form known as 10-K but again the adoption of this policy has been postponed to the end of the year 2009 or later as may be found appropriate. The postponements were introduced to give more time to small public organizations so that they can realize their present faults in internal controls and make the necessary adjustments within a timeline of four years. If the small public organizations were rushed they would not bring the desired results like the big organizations because they don’t have enough funds to cater to the cost of adoption. Introduction Small public organizations were made to present their findings on section 404 (a) about the assertion and usefulness of their internal controls over financial reporting (I.C.F.R). This report focuses on the Sarbanes Oxley law, especially SOX 404 and its effects on internal auditing functions. Sarbanes Oxley Act is a federal policy that was passed by policymakers in the U.S. in July 2002. The policy brought new regulations that were to be observed by all publicly owned organizations in the U.S. The policy was named after the people who were the pioneers of its implementation that is Paul Sarbanes and Michael G. Oxley. The policy aims at protecting investors by making employees be cautious about their activities in a bid to prevent white-collar crimes in public organizations. SOX 404 aims at improving an organization’s internal controls, ensuring shareholders and other parties are in line with the financial reports of the company (Internal Control Practitioners 25). Lord and
Parents, psychologists, and educators have not come to the consensus as to the efficiency of spanking and its consequences. Overall, this issue has always been a subject of a heated debate. It seems that the most prudent approach to this problem is to differentiate between corporal punishment and child abuse. Secondly, it is of the crucial importance to keep the sense of proportion while resorting to such method of education. Under certain conditions, spanking may quite acceptable, especially if improves the childs behavior and what is more important does not hurt his or her feelings. The thing is that the sometimes punishment may transform into humiliation, which, undoubtedly can have only adverse impact on the childs development but one cannot say that spanking (or corporal punishment) is totally inadmissible. Traditionally, it is believed that such form of corporal punishment may have rather detrimental effects on the childs developments. For example, according to Patricia Farrell, spanking eventually leads to aggressive behavior, especially, as far as long-term effects are concerned (Farrell, 13). At first glance, it may seem that this argument is quite grounded, because very often spanking may transform into child abuse, which makes the child habituated to violence and aggression. Nonetheless, in this particular case, we should make a clear distinction between domestic violence and corporal punishment. Naturally, when a child is turned into a scapegoat, with time passing he or she will become aggressive, but punishment is aimed at improving his or her welfare. The parents should make the child understand that such measures are for his own sake. The major mistake that parents or even educators so often commit is that they punish the child without giving any reason for it. Par
Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is a play authored by Sophocles. It was first performed in 429 BC in Athens, Greece (Knox 133). The play is the second of several Sophocles’ plays, and has been regarded as an excellent piece by many scholars (Belfiore 176). This report will highlight about the author, discuss the setting of, and the theme of fate in the play, before giving personal impression about the play. The play is about Oedipus the king. He is respected by his people, but falls disgracefully from power. Its unravels an oracle such that Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother unknowingly. The plan to kill Oedipus takes a twist when his mother and the servant refuses to kill him, allowing the opportunity to live and later to fulfill the oracles. The life of Oedipus is saved the second time when a shepherd finds him and hands him over to King of Corinth for adoption. Oedipus grows without knowing his biological parents. He learns of the oracle and wishes to avert it only to allow fate take its course. Oedipus meets his father and kills him while escaping from that fate, and later marries his mother. He also saves the people by solving a riddle and fulfills the oracle that the murderer of King Loius would be revealed. Sophocles was among the Greek’s great playwrights (Belfiore 176). He was born in 495 B.C near the town of Athens and received the best education in his time. He majored in arts. He was influential and many people liked him. His career had began at an early age when he participated at a competition and took the first prize. This is when he used his skills to include characters in a play by reducing its chorus. Sophocles wrote over one hundred and twenty plays but only seven have been successful. These are Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex), Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Electra, Ajax and Philoctetes. The setting of the play is in Thebes city, which is portrayed as a city in crisis; the city is struck by a plague (Sophocles 22-32). The palace of Oedipus as well as the altar of Zeus features in much of the play. In general, this setting characterizes the whole of Oedepus (Sophocles 51). Fate is a main theme in Oedipus Rex, and is plainly indicated in the play. The characters believes in fate. The mother of Oedipus, Queen Jocasta, believes in the fate that Oedipus would kill King Lauis (Sophocles 711-714). Oedipus also believes in the same fate and runs away from his guardians to avoid killing them (Sophocles 791-793). Thus, Sophocles allows the characters to reveal the theme of fate to the reader. Fate is also largely demonstrated by the oracles in the play. The theme of fate is demonstrate in the unavoidability of the oracles. The prophecy that Oedipus would commit adultery with his mother and murder his own father comes true, even when Oedipus’ parents plans to alter it. When Oedipus reveals about the oracle, he escapes from
Jin Ping Mei (Translated the Plum in the Golden Vase) is a Chinese novel classified as a naturalistic artifact. Naturalism denotes a movement in various cultural dimensions enlisting film, theatre as well as literature that were propagated to function as a form of art replicating a close link of art between the profound realities of day-to-day life. The naturalism movement was in direct contrast to movements like Romanticism and Surrealism, which were in art matters put together and embellished with highly symbolic and impractical artistic presentations. Jin Ping Mei was penned by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (pseudonym). Renowned Qing critic Zhang Zhupo has called the text “the most exceptional book that still exists under the heavens.” The thrust of the paper is focused on taking a multidimensional exploration of the importance of the theme of sexuality threaded in the composition of the novel by Sheng. Satyendra Indira (1993) notes, “Coming after the other great classical; works of literature, the novel by Sheng can be said to be the first full-scale artwork in the stable of Chinese fictional work to portray sexuality in a graphically overt manner.” The scholar likened the novel to other English novels such as Fanny Hill or Lady Chatterley’s Lover in English owing to its sexuality thematic thrust described by the scholar as giving the text notoriety in China akin to some English works like the ones mentioned above. The novel by Sheng is awash with sexual interludes, which effectively strike a note on the danger of the women’s sexuality as well as on the crucial aspect of excessive and ungoverned sexual activity. (Durham 2003) notes that the novel by Sheng has resonated extensively in the Chinese psyche for centuries citing that its essential critiques are legion. (Durham 2003). The novel has played into the intellectual masculinity of the male readers and commentators in past years, making the issue of whether the text can be categorized as classic or pornographic depend on the sex of the reader. The forms of obscenity in the novel and generations of readings have more to do with misogynist probity that is communal in varying and different measures in the novel and readers similarly.” (Durham 2003) further notes that neither authorial objective nor textual essence conveys its obscenity to the text. Somewhat; the latter is the combined creation of complicit textual and reading processes’. The scholar claims that the thematic thrust hinged on misogyny is the thread responsible for keeping readers and the novel together over the past years. The pervading and unrelenting theme of misogyny right through the text has an acute presentation of men’s relations and interactions with their women counterparts as well as with animals characterized by craving, striking cruelty, hatred
Introduction The Ramayana is a classic poem about bravery, humor and magic. The original composition of the poem was done by the Sanskrit poet known as Valmiki at around three hundred B.C., and remains to be an integral part of the religious and cultural expression of India. The story is set in India. The story revolves around Rama, together with his wife who has been expelled from Kosala, their kingdom, for a period of about fourteen years. The reason for their banishment was as a result of the conspiracy by the mother of one of his four brothers to bar or block him from the leadership. In their journey out of the kingdom, they are accompanied by Laksmana, his brother. This is one of the most accepted and popular Indian legend, and is extensively recognized as being among the great literary masterpieces in the whole world. This is a timeless and enduring epic, inspired as well as inspiring; in addition, it raises above all bounds of tradition, time, religion and language. In the text, the characters of Rama and Sita represent the ideal man and woman in India. Body Rama’s epic of banishment, betrayal together with struggle for saving his beloved wife called Sita from the demon’s clutches as well as reclaiming and restoring his throne has substantially influenced the literature, culture and art of the Southeast and South Asia. The extend of this influence cannot be matched in the history of the literature of the world, except, maybe the Bible. All through the centuries, we find that there has been production of numerous versions of the epic. India’s classic era was a period where the society’s value was exclusively on the basis of religious responsibility of a single man and the cleanliness of a woman. In this text, Rama and his wife are depicte
Introduction The culture of America is radically different and diverse form that of the rest of the world, particularly the Asian countries, and more specifically India. India and America are not only distinct by way of their geographical locations, but also their varied cultural practices. Main body Children in India are raised mostly in patriarchal joint family systems, and the head of the family is usually the senior most male, in most cases the grand parents of the child. Children are socialized in a happy and cheerful environment with great love and affection. Since a majority of women in India are still home-makers, there is personal attention in the upbringing of children. The diet of a growing child is carefully and personally prepared at home by the mother and out side food is strictly prohibited for children up to the age of 2-3 years. Emphasis is laid on regular routines such as rising early, bathing, performing religious rituals and having meals together. Respect for elders is a prime conduct and most of the families care for the senior members of the house. Mothers may or may not get the support of their spouses as culturally and traditionally the rearing of children is the responsibility of the mother. In contrast, American children, in most cases are raised in nuclear families or sometimes even by single working parents. The children are not socialized by familial systems but nannies, care-takers, teachers and friends. There is reduced emphasis on the upbringing of the child in a qualitative manner. Adult supervision is not present for many children and in the case of working parents or working mothers, the practice of eating out side food is common practice. Respect for elders and seniors, is not usually seen as the core values of the cultural American system. Whereas, there is greater emphasis upon family and relativ
A new and stronger approach is being developed in the quest to have more concrete structures, coupled with the advent of improved composite materials. A new approach that utilizes fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) is at the centre of the ongoing advancements. The FRP method is superior to prior materials since the composite material has better mechanical properties. The FRP, therefore, finds more use in a range of structures, including masonry walls, beams, slabs and columns, among others. Improving and modifying reinforced concrete structures is usually very challenging for urban developers. The constantly emerging design codes, as well as natural events that lead to wearing out of reinforced concrete structures as a result of environmental exposure alters most concrete structures. Bridges and other civil structures usually present a lot of problems when it comes to maintaining, upgrading or rehabilitating them. Making replacements of deteriorated structures is a costly exercise that requires labour and new materials. This drawback is compounded by the fact that replacing these structures disrupts people’s daily lives. Resultantly, it is advisable to do retrofitting as an upgrade option on the structures. When choosing the method for strengthening the structures, one has to consider a number of factors. It is paramount to consider the strength needed for the structure before selecting the strengthening method. Secondly, it is important to consider the change in the stiffness of the member to be strengthened. It is also wise to consider the environmental conditions around the member to be strengthened. Finally, the complexity of the shape of the member should be used to determine the strengthening method to be used. In light of the above considerations, external components are very handy for strengthening concrete structural members. This requires the use of FRP composite, which is bonded to the tension face. One can also use steel plates for concrete structures. There has been increasing preference for FRP composites as opposed to steel plates as systems for reinforcing concrete. This is because FRP composites have higher strength to weight ratio compared to steel. Moreover, FRP composites can be easily handled and installed. In specific, FRP composites are flexible enough to fit into complex designs. Finally, FRP composites are preferable to steel plates since they are more resistant to environmental conditions.
Despite the controversy that surrounds the causes of global warming, human beings are slowly beginning to appreciate the fact that much of the heating up of the earth’s surface is attributable to their activities. Given the fact that the causes of global warming are seemingly apparent, one wonders why it has taken man decades to appreciate this fact. In a nutshell, global warming can be defined as the overheating of the earth’s surface with time. It has affected our planet very negatively by, among other things, changing the climatic conditions, affecting biodiversity and causing natural disasters like floods, hurricanes etc. These effects on the planet have an adverse effect on life, especially human life. People lose their lives during disasters, lack basic requirements after the environment and infrastructure is damaged. This paper is an in-depth exploration of global warming as a subject of concern to human beings. Global warming has been known to exist since the nineteenth century. In fact, scientists had given the suggestion that human activities were contributing to global warming from as early as 1880. This is despite the fact that the hypothesis remained unclear as people viewed it to be too scientific. It had been suggested that burning of fossil fuels led to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which in turn led to global warming. The hypothesis was further viewed as a curiosity since the predictions for the early 20 th century that by 1940, the world would have experienced a one-degree Celsius rise in temperature did not hold. However, studies starting from 1980 gave interesting revelations about the relationship between human activities and global warming and thus global warming