ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Africans in America Slave trade became a big business in the United States from 1600 to 1700, mainly because of increased agriculture and improved technology that contributed to high production. Many workers were needed to work on farms, yet the American population could not sustain production demands. Some people had to be ferried from Africa to work on European farms. The issue of profitability was of great concern to landowners meaning that they could not afford to pay people to work on their farms and still maintain high returns. In this regard, they had to find an alternative that would provide quality labor, but at no cost. Africa provided this solution since slaves were transported from the region and were ferried to the US to work in the fields. In 1619, the history was made in America when the first bunch of African slaves arrived in the country ready to work for the white settlers (Davidson, Delay, and Heyrman 89). A Dutch slave trader sold all African slaves he had ferried from Africa in Jamestown. He received food that would sustain his employees and his family through the sale of slaves. Africans were considered indentured ser
Abstract This paper assesses the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and how it began. The study gives an evaluation of occurrences which have made a significant impact on the crisis (Boix, 2003). The review later examines how the Palestinian film makers have been dealing with the conflict which has adversely affected growth and development especially in Palestine and brought about deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and members of the military from both Israel and Palestine in a period of 100 years. The evaluation also establishes how the crisis is analysed by other filmmakers outside the realm of Palestine. The study is founded on analyses of films about the Israeli -Palestine conflict and later on compares how the film makers present the main factors enhancing the conflict in their films. Purpose of study The paper evaluates the impact of films in relation to the conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians. This fact is achieved by assessing the outcome of the crisis as portrayed by Palestinian and other film makers. Objectives 1. To examine the roles of films as methods of conflict reduction in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. 2. To reveal the biasness of media coverage of the conflict. Introduction The conflict between Israel and Palestine has always been founded on religious and historical doctrines. The conflict has been transformed by the military actions between the two states of the Middle East. Most conflicts in the world are defined by ideological, religious, historical and philosophical bases. Certain groups or people may hold opposing ideas, opinions, feelings and wishes against others. The cause of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis has been that the Palestinians have been seeking the right to own part of their historical land while the Israelis who constitute the Jews have been claiming that the land of Gaza has been their Biblical right. The Gaza conflict has been rated among the world’s longest refugee crises and worst humanitarian situations. After a long battle over Gaza between the two countries, a peace treaty was made by the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations in 2003 to stop the fighting and find a peaceful solution for the region. The settlement was to oversee the making of a Palestinian state which would be a neighbor of Israel. Under the peace treaty, the Palestinian Authority was to withdraw its militants from the West Bank. This act was supported by the U.S law and order campaign. As the peace process continued, the Palestinian territory continued to experience power struggles with
This is a semiotic analysis of a text and includes various aspects. To start with, this paper will discuss the various signs in the selected text, and how these interrelate to give meaning to the text. It will go further to discuss how the text can be read in terms of dominant, negotiated and oppositional readings. It will describe the gaze captured by the signs, as well as how the text has included and excluded meanings via myth and ideology. Signs and Sign Systems The text, ‘Mayor Backs Evicted Supporters’ consists of various signs that are used to give meaning to it. Among the signs used, the most obvious is the word. Some words have been formatted to distinguish them from the rest in terms of dominance. Such words include the headline that is boldly written, the anchorage, the word that kicks off the reading, and the words that at the top left-hand corner below the headline. The image of three policemen and a lady, pinned on the ground, by these three policemen is another sign. This photograph aims at giving a glimpse of what was taking place at the scene of the event from where the photograph was taken. Policemen signify law and order, authority, brutality and violence. A woman on the other hand and especially in contemporary times is usually unmarked and signifies beauty, attraction, submissiveness and sexiness. However, contrary to what a woman is associated with, the image brings out a totally different picture of the woman. In this picture, the woman is seen as a law breaker being hunted down by the policemen. The darkness of the picture makes it worse because, illegal activities generally take place at night and therefore, one can think that this woman was arrested as a result of breaking the law by engaging in unlawful acts like prostitution. This picture therefore shows an act of policemen trying to restore calm and order in the city. However, using a woman raises an eyebrow because women are not perceived to notoriously break the law to the extent that three armed policemen are needed to calm down and handcuff a single unarmed woman (Thwaites, Davis, & Mules, 2002). Combining the Signs It is after reading the headline that one gets to understand what the picture is all about. The image alone therefore may construct a certain meaning that may not be the actual. However, with an interaction of all the various signs, the meaning derived from the text becomes more articulate and accurate. Thereby, from the headline, the woman may be among the many protesters being backed up by the mayor, but on the other hand, being evicted by the policemen. In addition, the writing at the top left-hand corner just be
Overview When an individual is charged with a criminal act, he or she has the right to defend him or herself and use the best legal representation available to him or her. The work of criminal defense is normally performed by criminal defense lawyers whose main task in court is to defend the ordinary people charged with the acts of violating the existing laws. Within criminal law, there are found certain conditions that will seem to make negative, a criminal element, especially the element of intent. These elements are what are known as defenses. The defenses have the potential and may give limited or total refuge from punishment. There are numerous criminal defense cases that are normally used by criminal defense lawyers in their court representation. These cases of criminal defense are the subject of analysis. The Insanity Defense In this type of defense, the perpetrator of a criminal act is deemed to be mentally ill of deficient at the time of the commission of act. The premise on which this defense is advance is that the person was not of sound mind when he or she was committing the criminal act and that he or she was unable to understand the consequences of such an action in question. Due to this kind of defense, the accused is supposed not to be held criminally liable to act the commission of omission. For this type of defense to be adopted by the court, the accused, normally, must undergo mental examination to determine that truly he or she is mentally deficient and in deed was not aware of the consequences of the crime he or she might have committed. Nonetheless, it is important to no
Introduction The architects of the Grenfell Tower applied the Brutalist style that saw the completion of the structure in 1974. The Brutalist approach to the construction of the Grenfell Tower made it acquire not only industrial and prefabricated construction tactics but also a modernist aesthetic touch. Over the years, dwellers of the residential high-rise complained about faulty smoke detectors and sprinklers that threatened their safety. In response to the need for refurbishment, Dening and Elmer reveal that Studio E Architects installed the Reynobond PE cladding in the tower’s PIR insulation boards in 2016.[1] The fire tragedy experienced by residents of the Grenfell Tower evoked concerns from interested parties, owing to the role of the architect and other parties in the devastating event. In this light, it is crucial to examine the extent to which the role of the architect failed to the extent of leading to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. This paper argues that although the witnessed tragedy may be associated with some form of laxity on oversight agencies, Studio E Architects significantly failed in its mandate of providing the required architectural standards. Consequently, there is a need to examine the possible actions that the architectural firm could have taken to mitigate the incident. The Role of the Architect in Grenfell Tower’s Fire Tragedy Studio E Architects assumed the role of the Principal Designer responsible for the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower in 2016. Nonetheless, according to Dean, the architectural approach during the cladding renovation works are perceived to have neglected the required safety precautions, thus leading to a devastating fire that set the Grenfell Tower ablaze, a situation that resulted in the death of at least 71 people.[2] The reconstruction contract required such architects to fit the high-rise building with the external cladding. The process required them to install at least three layers of cladding on the external parts of the building. According to Moffat, the first layer constituted a Celotex RS5000 thermal insulation with a 150mm thickness affixed to the precast panels, as well as the reinforced concrete frame.[3] The presence of polyisocyanurate (PIR) in the Celotex makes it classified as a material with a fire performance rating of Class 0, the highest achievable degree as per the laid-down building regulations. Nonetheless, as Kuffner reveals, the rating implies that the ma
Introduction Issues touching on ethics are distinct subject to the daily morality as well as the social code. A majority of the ethical issues together with those in the business sector always revolve around principles of morality among others. In the enterprise environment, ethical issues derive from personal marketing, promotion, provisions, and contracts cum costing. A good many of the ethical issues related to business activities are drawn from market exploration, market addresses, and costing (Voaklander, Rowe, Dryden, Pahal, Saar, & Kelly, 2008). The kind of market research that infringes on the confidentiality of consumers or research conducted based on the typecast is unscrupulous. The consumer’s rights ought to be respected as the corporation inquiries for the reasons of advertising or rather getting feedback on their performance. The research techniques engaged for this purpose ought to honor such rights of the clients. It is also unscrupulous for corporations to leave out latent customers from the target market. The hindrance of some customers through conducting discerning or discriminating marketing or rather targeting consumers who are susceptible, such as children or the needy is unethical. In addition to this, price bigotry and rapacious pricing are dishonest in business. From the issues above, PharmCARE desecrated the ethics by, not paying interest to the market addresses. This is because even upon learning that AD23 was linked to about 201 cardiac deaths (Sullivan and She, 2003). The company went ahead to continue selling the drug AD23 even upon learning that it was linked to the heart attack disease that was infecting those who had taken the AD23 drug. The company overlooked this data and continued to proffer the drug for public consumption despite its injurious effect on human health in terms of heart attacks and cardiac arrests. Marketing ethics demands that consumer satisfaction overrides the profit targets of any business. PharmCARE was more into profit and purposefully ignored the aspect of customer satisfaction. It demonstrated this by continuing to sell the AD23 drug and paying its staff members to lump sums in terms of salaries and benefits despite the public outcry that was pouring in concerning the harmful effects of the drug. In summary, the company violated business ethics as it hardly cared about the consumers who are the building blocks of any business enterprise (Sullivan and She, 2003). Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing by drug companies The use of Direct-to-Consumer marketing, particularly when the pharmaceutical companies employ this marketing strategy has evoked a lot of debate all over the globe. The opinions on the weaknesses, as well as the merits of this marketing strategy, have engrossed almost comparable claims. Direct-to-Consumer marketing stratagem allows the pharmaceutical companies to sell their merchandise directly to the clients without any intervention from the intermediaries. Pharmaceutical corporations have the merit of affecting directly the consumers’ decisions as they directly sell their prescriptions to them. Such a decision may be either beneficial or harmful to bo
Angelina Grimke is one of the most famous writers who had a huge impact on the Harlem Renaissance. She was born to the family of mixed racial heritage; her father was black and her mother was white. Her literary works are all about the constant racial discrimination and injustice the black people in the US have endured. Her literary heritage constitutes plays, poems and short stories. The main themes highlighted by her works are sexuality, racial discrimination, violence and prejudice. Grimke’s most memorable work is the play ‘Rachel’ which was finished in 1916 but it was published 4 years later, in the year 1920. The play is about a woman who vows not to give birth to a child after seeing the horrors of racism within the society. Her play has historical significance because it focuses on the segregationist attitudes which many whites in the US had against blacks. The play is set at the time when slavery was abolished but blacks were still treated as inferior race (Gates and McKay 968). Grimke’s play was one of the first to be written by black authors highlighting the plight of blacks in the US. Many African Americans were victims of violent attacks by racist white mobs without any provocation from their side. Her work was instrumental in bringing to light racial prejudices that were deeply ingrained in the American society. Her works touched on such themes as racism, love, black pride, life and death. Grimke‘s works influenced the Harlem Renaissance which occurred from the 1920’s to the 1930’s. Her works cleared the way for other African American writers based in Harlem, New York, to publish literature on racism among other social issues. Her work inspired other African American writers to dwell on the ills and their impacts on the society. The author uses metaphors to illustrate tough experiences African Americans faced, and the oppressive environment they had to survive in (Gates and McKay 968). She also came from the background of mixed racial heritage and as such, she understood what it felt like to be discriminated against. Grimke’s play Rachel dramatized real truths in the contemporary society. The play was a harsh indictment on American society’s prejudices and attitudes towards people of other races. It involved an all-black cast; and it sought to rally support for a boycott against the film, The Birth of a Nation. The film proved popular with many audiences but negatively portrayed blacks in the US. Grimke joined other activists to advocate for banning of the film because of its prejudices against blacks (Gates and McKay 969). Her play sought to criticize the oppression against African Americans. She explores issues of sexual desires in her poems revealing that she is a lesbian. Such relations were not t
Introduction Democracy is probably one of the most complicated concepts to be understood in political science. On the one hand, it seems to be so easy to comprehend the main idea of democracy as the form of government that is controlled by the citizens. On the other hand, such form of government has a number of components which have their own characteristics and peculiarities which are hard to define. Due to the Hudson’s idea that the citizen participation may have two faces, it is not always easy to define the impact of such participation on democracy in the USA. A certain control is required to enhance political participation and define its level by means of which it is possible to consider citizens’ opinions and promote the worth of government; in other words, political participation may enhance considerably American democracy in case this participation is properly organized in the forms of votes or Internet activities; however, current conditions undermine democracy a lot. Summary of the Author’s Ideas Hudson is one of the writers who creates a powerful system by means of which it is possible to evaluate the conditions under which American democracy may be organized. His American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future is a unique collection of professional ideas of what may challenge democracy and how this sphere of life may be improved. He introduces four theories of citizen participation and clearly describes an appropriate model for each. The role of people is huge indeed, and society should realize its impact on the development of the country. The author defines two sides of citizen participation: on the one hand, “fewer citizens seem interested in showing up to vote representatives into office”, and on the other hand, “elected representatives are beleaguered with citizen activists monitoring every vote and ready with vociferous demands on every conceivable issue” (Hudson 144). The role of citizen participation in the system may be both decreased and increased under different theories given. For ex
Being culturally biased is an issue that can hurt therapists-clients’ relationships, quality of services, and patient outcomes. Therefore, psychotherapists need to consider various factors when addressing cultural differences to guarantee better results (La Roche & Maxie, 2003). They should first address the most salient cultural differences to establish a good therapeutic alliance (point 2). This approach can help clinicians understand their clients’ unique cultural perspectives about particular issues (La Roche & Maxie, 2003). Additionally, it can help open an opportunity for further discussion about the implications of their differences in the therapy. Psychotherapists should also address similarities to set an excellent introduction to a discussion about cultural differences (point 3). Although patients and therapists may differ considerably in various cultural attributes, there is a possibility of the two parties sharing cultural similarities. Therapists alleviate clients’ doubt and increase their credibility when addressing commonalities (La Roche & Maxie, 2003). Acknowledging similarities is instrumental in establishing rapport and instilling a sense of comfort, acceptance, and security in the patients. Therapists should recognize that their cultural competence can significantly influence the way differences are addressed (point 9). Their beliefs and attitudes towards clients from dissimilar cultures can play a critical role in psychotherapy (La Roche & Maxie, 2003). Therefore, they should assess their thoughts and feelings about providing services to patients from different cultural backgrounds and ensure they have basic information about their clients’ cultures. From the case study about Carlotta Hernandez, Mr. Cutoff demonstrated cultural bias in different ways. He praises Ms. Hernandez’s academic achievement, indicating that he favors people who thrive well in education over uneducated or poor performers. He also encourages his client to cut ties with her family or minimize contact with them. To Mr. Cutoff, individual achievement is more important than familial relationships. He does not understand how much Ms. Hernandez values healthy family connections, which worsens his client’s condition when he proposes disconnection of these relationships. Reference La Roche, M., & Maxie, A. (2003). Ten considerations in addressing cultural differences in psychotherapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice , 34 (2), 180-186. Web.
Introduction In 2015, the world was exposed to one of the most provocative and educative movies called Straight Outta Compton. It is the story about three outstanding rap artists, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E, who created a group, N.W.A, as an attempt to introduce their art as a reflection of the reality they had to live in ( Straight Outta Compton ). Straight Outta Compton is not an ordinary biographical movie that tells a story about people. The movie is the story of a political war where one party cannot accept rap songs as a new form of art, and another party cannot but promoting rap songs as truth-telling street knowledge. Straight Outta Compton is the movie with a message has the power to transform political sensibilities including racial injustice and prejudice, the inability to clarify cultural underpinnings, and the necessity to become a political revolutionist in order to protect personal and community’s ideas and beliefs and resist the rules and obligations established by the government. Racial Injustice One of the most evident and attractive features of Straight Outta Compton is the necessity to introduce the question of racial inequality as an unchangeable issue that bothers people of different ages and races. On the one hand, it is expected that the filmmakers try to underline racial prejudice as one of the main concerns at the end of the 1980s when the rap group N.W.A was created. On the other hand, it turns out to be a real challenge to explain what problems people could have when they have a different race. The scene when Eazy-E is arrested in front of his mother and the inability to talk and explain the situation proves that racial inequalities and prejudice cannot be avoided or understood. People like the idea of being different, and they are ready to use their color of skin as the main excuse for their decisions. Cultural Underpinnings Cultural underpinnings are also observed in the movie in order to prove that people are ready to support one idea in case it is explained and supported in terms of their cultural preferences. The scene when people listen to Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline” and demonstrate their true emotions when they hear that it is impossible to avoid an idea of “living with the whites one big house/and not another nigga in site” ( Straight Outta Compton ) could be used to explain how people stay dependant on what is imposed and not clearly explained to them. Constant instability and inability to choose and decide independently make people weak. N.W.A. is a challenge for society to see the truth and realize the importance of their cultural roots. Political Revolutionist Finally, almost every song performed by N.W.A. is a call for people to comprehend how miserable and unstable the political situation is because of the possibility to avoid the law, offend some representatives of society, and stay legally clean even being an evident political revolutionist. When the group offers its “Fuck Tha Police” is one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. It proves that if a person is humiliated by the police many times, one day, he will find a way to revenge in the most unexpected and effective way. Po