ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Tsunamis have gained worldwide notoriety following the two devastating tsunamis that have occurred in the course of the last ten years. These natural catastrophes have demonstrated that tsunamis are high-impact disasters that can cause massive destruction and death within a few minutes of their occurrence. The impact of tsunamis is especially considerable since the world has a higher coastal population today than ever before in history. Considering the significance of tsunamis, this paper will set out to define tsunami, explain their causes and offer some real-life examples. Tsunami: Definition and Causes A tsunami is defined as a series of waves most commonly caused by violent movements of the sea floor (Dudley and Lee 61). The tsunami can travel up to the coastline with the water penetrating into the coastal area leaving great devastation in its wake. The first cause of tsunami is seismic activity on the ocean floor. The second cause is submarine landslides, which can be triggered by earthquakes. These landslides cause large displacements of water thereby generating tsunamis. Coastal volcanoes are the third source of tsunamis. If a volcano originates from the ocean bed, it can displace water and generate large tsunamis. Most tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean since active features such as deep ocean trenches, explosive volcanic islands, and dynamic mountain ranges surround the ocean basin (Dudley and Lee 62). Seismic activity on the ocean floor is the most prominent cause of tsunami and Bryant reveals that earthquakes have caused 82.3% of all tsunamis that have occurred in the Pacific Ocean over the past two millennia (127). The displacement of the Earth’s surface during underwater earthquakes produces great potential energy to the overlying water. Dudley and Lee reveal that most of these earthquake tsunamis occur at the great ocean trenches where the tectonic plates that make up the earth’s surface collide and are forced under each other (62). Submarine earthquakes can generate dangerous tsunamis and that the intensity of this tsunami is generally proportional to the earthquake magnitude (2033). In spite of their frequency, most of the tsunamis produced by seismic activity go unnoticed since their force dies down before they reach the shore or their amplitude is so small that they go unnoticed. Bryant reports, “damaging tsunamis are often associated with earthquakes with a surface wave magnitude of 7.5 or more” (125). Dudley and Lee state that most of the tsunamigenic earthquakes occur in small thrusts and only small tsunamis are produced by these smaller quakes (62). However, large earthquakes periodica
This paper argues that the third person narrative point of view used in Mao Dun’s “Spring Silkworms” and Huang Chun-ming’s “The Drowning of an Old Cat” is necessary for the authors to represent the complete picture of the people’s struggles against the unjust social rules and conditions, and the authors’ use of this narrative point of view can be compared with references to its role for emphasizing the stories’ ideas. Thus, the focus on the narrative point of view followed by Mao Dun and Huang Chun-Ming is important to be discussed in the paper because this is the technique with the help of which the authors address the readers and convey not only their visions of the situation but also all the inner motives and thoughts of the depicted characters. Thus, while comparing Mao Dun and Huang Chun-ming’s stories, it is significant to state that the authors use the third person omniscient narrative point of view in order to create the complete picture of the stories’ world with references to the characters’ visions, thoughts, and ideas because this approach is the most effective to provide all the necessary details and judgments about the characters and guide the readers to understanding the stories’ ideas. Mao Dun and Huang Chun-ming’s approaches to using the narrative point of view are similar because the authors intend to represent the world round the characters thorough the characters’ eyes and as the objective reality to provide the readers with the opportunity to conclude about the characters’ decisions and actions independently. That is why Mao Dun and Huang Chun-Ming use the singular and plural forms of the third person narrative point of view which serve to represent the main characters and their ideas as well as to focus on the whole picture and the actions and feelings of all the participants of the described events. Thus, Mao Dun provides a description of the events and situations operating the singular and plural points of view. For instance, to represent the thoughts of the main character Old Tung Pao in “Spring Silkworms”, the author uses the third person singular, “He watched the river boat approach, he watched it sail past and glared after it until it went tooting around another bend and disappeared. He had always abominated the foreign devils’ contraptions” (Dun 13). Referring to Old Tung Pao’s thoughts about ‘foreign devils’ contraptions’, the readers can understand on what images the villagers focus while observing the growth of new machinery, and what negative
Introduction Nowadays, many people in the West tend to refer to the issue of what accounts for the qualitative aspects of how men and women create/break relationships, as something rather phenomenological. Partially, this explains the current proliferation of numerous ‘relationship councilors’, who are able to make good money by the mean of deliberately complicating the issue at stake. Nevertheless, there is in fact nothing truly complex about how the representatives of both sexes form and dismantle romantic/marital relationships with each other. The reason for this is that the actual mechanics of the concerned process never cease being thoroughly consistent with the fundamental principles of the Darwinian theory of evolution. In my paper, I will explore the validity of this suggestion at length, in regards to the themes and motifs, contained in the films When Harry Met Sally (1989) and The War of the Roses (1989). Main Body One of the most notable features of the film When Harry Met Sally is that this movie promotes the idea that, within the context of how men and women go about establishing a romantic relationship, it is specifically the former who play a leading role in the process. Moreover, as the film suggests, the whole thing is quite capable of taking place, contrary to what happened to be women’s conscious stance on the issue. The validity of this statement can be illustrated, in regards to the film’s scene in which, while talking to Sally (Meg Ryan), Harry (Billy Crystal) expounds on the sheer impossibility for men and women to refer to each other in strictly platonic terms: “Men and women can’t be friends, because the sex part always gets in the way” (00.12.05). As it can be inferred from Sally’s disagreeing reaction to Billy’s idea, she did not find it particularly appealing. The same can be said about how Sally used to react to Billy’s other sexist remarks, throughout the course of the movie, as they stood in a striking contradiction to her rather idealistic views on human nature, in general, and on what accounts for the main quality of social interactions between men and women, in particular. Nevertheless, as the film’s plot continues to unravel, Sally could not help feeling increasingly attracted towards Billy, which in the end caused her to forget its own insistence that inter-gender relationships could be ‘asexual’, and to end up sleeping with him. When assessed through the lenses of Evolutionary theory, however, this plot’s development does make perfectly good sense. The reason for this is that it shows that, in full accordance with this theory’s main provision, while interacting with men, women tend to appraise the latter in terms of what would be their value, as hunter-providers. One may wonder about how was it possible for Harry to end up being ‘qualified’ as a good hunter-provider in the eyes of Sally? After all, Billy Chrystal is far from being considered someone who radiates the strong spirit of masculinity. The answer to this question can be formulated as follows. Despite his lack of physical vigor, the character of
Introduction Background The contemporary reward system for top management is mostly performance based, also known as pay for performance. The idea behind this reward system is that through the recognition of performance by the executives, their interest merges those of the shareholders of the company hence bridging the principal-agent gap. This reward system is American-based and has attracted a lot of debate from human resource scholars as well as from other relevant stakeholders. This paper is a research report prepared by business analysts (BA) who have been instructed to conduct research for a client company and write a report regarding McDonald’s (the client) foreign direct investment project in China, which is the largest emerging economy. Based on the fact that the provision of professional HRM consultancy was part of the contract, there were instructions to conduct a research and give recommendation in terms of a report on whether McDonald’s should use performance based pay for executives in the new venture in China. McDonald’s Corporation is the largest fast food restaurant in the world. The giant chain has continuously expanded internationally for a long period of time opening stores in different countries across the globe. In China, rivalry among competitors is severe and hence this food chain is facing a lot of competition from other established chain stores. In this country, Colonel Sanders and Mao have more popularity than McDonald’s which makes the competition here very severe. This explains why McDonald’s need to invest in good strategies when opening their venture in China. The company projects that by the year 2013, it will have added more than 700 outlets to the 1300 that are already in existence (Jie, 2008). Despite the normal challenges, McDonald’s is not lagging behind in its quest for expansion bearing in mind that the chain is opening new restaurants at a high rate. The motive behind McDonald’s venture in China is the desire to maintain its worldwide market position as the biggest fast food chain. The company plans to add its presence in China by ensuring that
Introduction Literature is one of the most beautiful kinds of art. It expresses the highest feelings that people experience in their lives. Accordingly, love is one of the most popular topics for authors of all countries and epochs. This very paper will analyze such a literary genre as courtly romance story in all its aspects. Thus, the paper is going to consider one of the most notable stories of this genre, “Tristan and Iseult”, and than concentrate on the discussion of “Joseph Andrews” by Henry Fielding. Courtly Romance and Tristan Story To begin with, it is necessary to consider the development of courtly romance style. Thus, it appeared in Europe during the Middle Ages. To be more exact, it happened in the 11 th and 12 th centuries. At that period, the European understanding of beauty in all its forms changed from the aggressive to a tolerant one. What is also very important is that the attitude of authors and their characters towards women in their works and in real life changed for the better. Thus, after the early Middle Ages when a woman was scorned and considered to be nothing more but a housewife, the 11 th century turned the woman into the embodiment of the Goddess for whom all the knights and ordinary men bowed down (Bedier, 2005). One of the brightest examples of the courtly romance literature of the earliest period of its existence is a French lyrical poem “Tristan and Iseult”. Its author is unknown to the historians of literature but all the critics recognize this person’s talent. The plot of the work describes the love story of two young people who could not be together because of the differences in their social positions. Traditions were rather important in their society, and the love story of the young people ended with their deaths. To emphasize all the beauty of this work of art, the author used such a strong device as allegory – after the deaths of Tristan and Iseult, two trees grew on their graves with branches intertwined so much that no one ever could separate them with hands or axes (Bedier, 2005). Joseph Andrews Accordingly, following the traditions of the old masterpieces of courtly romance, the authors of the 17 th and 18 th centuries created their works reflecting the same very important topics – love and death, the struggle between men and women for superiority in the society on the whole and in every single family in particular. However, long before the emergence of the Women Rights Movement, Feminism, and Women Suffrage, the authors of this epoch filled their works with overall respect and admiration of women: “This young creature (who now lived with a farmer in the parish) had been always beloved by Joseph, and returned his affection.” (Fielding, Ch. 11). Henry Fielding was one of the masters of courtly romance prose in England. His best known work is “Joseph Andrews” in which the above mentioned topics are skill
Fiat is a manufacturer and a seller of the common Fiat brand vehicles based in Italy and with many sales branches around the world. It has been successful for many years in the production of its vehicles and has made a lot of returns from that. However, the company has faced a lot of challenges, especially the effects of the global financial crisis, factors that have caused it to undergo a recession and a great fall in its business resulting to very low returns. On the other hand, the company has undergone a lot of pressure from its competitors in Italy and also other car manufacturers from prominent countries like Germany and Japan and this has resulted to a lowered competitive advantage. All these factors have contributed to what has been referred in the vehicle business world as the fall of Fiat. In addition, the company suffered a lot of pressure, both internal and external, which forced it to experience a severe downward trend. The effects of the global oil crisis and the high rates of political instability in Italy cost the company a lot and forced it into a large debt burden by the mid 70s. The company had a lot of struggles within its management and as a result of the stiff competition from its main competitors like the Volkswagen and Japanese car manufacturers especially due to the lack of flexibility in its manufacture strategies that did not allow it to meet the rising requirements of its target market in Italy and around the world. The greatest challenge for the company was its penetration into the world market as the competition there was very stiff and most of its competitors were considered as offering better services, higher quality and more competitive and friendly prices. All these resulted to a lot of problems and complications within the company (Hoffman 46). Though the management of Fiat was trying all it could to contain the situation, the company continued to fall further especially in its sales and image, even as it plunged deeper into debts that could not be easily covered. The climax of the situation was experienced in 2002 when the company was left with no other option rather than instilling restructuring strategies as well as seeking for more sources of income and lowering its spending. The company undertook a lay-off in its labor sector and over 14, 000 workers were laid off within a span of one year. This cost the company a lot as there were thousands of families that depended on it for their income and hence there was a public unrest as a result of the lay-offs. The international bodies, especially the humanitarian ones, were also opposed to its decision resulting to lowered acceptance both within the country and around the world. This further resulted to loss of a large part of the market share and lowered returns, leaving the company in a lot of debts and losses. However, all was not lost. After what was seen as the final blow for the company and as the f
The question of the validity of personality measurement has attracted both criticism and support. In this paper, the articles containing a positive evaluation of the notion are going to be viewed. The authors of these studies do not attempt to ignore the issues related to the concept but endeavor to address them. Mischel’s Ideas The article “On the Future of Personality Measurement” by Walter Mischel (1977) is devoted to the issues connected to the notion of personality assessment and to the forthcoming research that, in the author’s opinion, is bound to resolve the related difficulties and significantly improve our knowledge of the human psychology. Upon analyzing the previous experience connected to the issue, the author comes to the following conclusions. First of all, he points out the multitude and complexity of the variable factors that influence human behavior. He insists that focusing on one of them leads to limited inferences and should be avoided. This idea is connected to that of specificity or contextualism, which may be used to describe the behavioral conditions that exist as a system of coexisting and interrelated factors. Mischel (1977) points out that at the times of his studies, both the environment and the inherent inner factors were receiving due attention. Subsequently, the author calls for a careful approach to the related studies along with “modest” scientific goals. This suggestion is also caused by the fact that the scope of information, which the field attempts to embrace, is enormous. From the point of view of avoiding bias and oversimplification, smaller goals are preferable. Apart from that, Mischel (1977) points out that the subjects of relevant studies, regardless of their possible scientific ignorance, are capable of contributing to the research, which is an opportunity that should not be ignored. Finally, the author suggests that naturally occurring behavior is a priority, as he points out the fact that numerous studies are being conducted in overly simplified, artificial situations. In general, the author defines a number of mistakes his peers tend to commit and suggests paying attention to them. Hogan and the Defense of Personality Measurement In his article “In Defense of Personality Measurement: New Wine for Old Whiners,” Robert Hogan (2005) expresses his opinion about the reasons due to which the idea of personality measurement needs defense. He believes that the concept of personality measurement is not flawed and can be very helpful (particularly in the field of employee recruitment), but it is underrepresented in scientific circles and not studied enough. Therefore, it may be pointed out that not all the issues that Mischel (1977) had mentioned were eliminated. Hogan (2005) also concludes that the critics of the notion tend to ignore the data that proves the validity of personality measurement and its usefulness. The author proceeds to describe personality, pointing out that it is not a set of traits, but a generalized idea of human nature or an attempt of explaining the differences
Introduction Terrorism is a disaster induced by individuals with sectarian interests in other people. Terrorist attacks result in massive explosions that lead to massive deaths, injuries, and destruction of properties. When such a disaster occurs, both national and international communities are concerned hence, the need to prepare for such disasters. If societies and governments prepare in advance for any emerging disaster, then they will safeguard their citizens effectively from terrorism catastrophes. A good example is the September 11 attack, which prompted every government to take effective measures in protecting their citizens from terroristic attacks. Main body Emergency preparedness is a discreet step towards a free-disaster environment and security. Terrorist attackers aim at people and tall buildings; especially in shopping malls. In case such an attack is successful, there is surety of great damage. Survivors in most cases suffer from stress and psychological trauma hence, the need for quick rescue measures. When an attack has happened, especially in shopping centers, there are major precautions and procedures to follow. The first step to take after a terrorist attack is to check on injuries. There will be victims who will require first aid immediately while others will require advanced medication. One should be careful not to get near the site of the attack, as there can be further explosions, which can result in injury or death. The second step is to keep away from any damaged efficacies. Early witnesses should report the matter to the police immediately for security and investigation purposes. The third and most important step to take is to switch off the available electrical gadgets to prevent the spread of fire. In shopping malls, there can be gases making the situation more volatile, hence the need for precaution during the response (Tricia, 2007, Para. 2-4) Security agents should help in restoring order immediately as rescue continues. This is because; if normalcy is not restored immediately, most victims will suffer more due to fears and shocks. On the other hand, Innocent individuals will be hurt due to negligence, as they do not understand safety measures on disaster preparedness. Effective securities to natural disasters like terrorism include guidance and counseling to victims to help them come into terms with the situation (Edward, Willoughby, 2002, para.18-20). The media is instrumental in reporting disasters like terrorism, flood, and earthquakes. It is astonishing to note that, from research carried out; the media has been reluctant to report terroristic incidents appropriately and efficiently. Journalists should raise awareness to people instead of victimizing responsible authorities. Poor perceptions will lead to poor communication between different assemblages while subjecting more people to injuries. Journalists should report terrorism attacks with authenticity, and always advise people on safety precautions. The media should participate in the exchange of information on disaster risks. If the