ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Machu Picchu is an abandoned city that stands on a mountain ridge in Peru. Located on one of the highest points of the valley, it overlooks the nearby mountains and is surrounded by steep slopes covered in tropical forests. A mountain peak, which continues to a mountain ridge, can be seen right next to the far end of the city. During the day, the entire area is covered in light, which allows the visitors to see every detail of the buildings. There are two broad sets of structures, divided by a large green field, and a stairs-like structure, which ascends to the other part of the ridge, on the opposite end of the city from the mountain peak. The walls of the buildings are made of gray stone; they are low but thick, with small windows. The city looks like a citadel, even though the area is not surrounded by any defensive structures. Indeed, these were unnecessary due to the height of the mountain ridge: on a cloudy day, the top of the mountain peak and the ridge disappear behind the clouds, emphasizing the enormous altitude of the location. It is considered that an Inka ruler built the city in the mid-15th century (Kleiner 858). Due to the location of the structure, positioned at 2 430 m above the sea level in the Peruvian Andes of South America, it is likely that the city was created as a “place devoted to the understanding and worship of the greatest God of all, the Sun God” (UNESCO sec. 5). One of the main buildings is located on the highest point of the city and has two windows, each one allowing the sunlight to shine right through on the mornings of both winter and summer solstices (UNESCO sec. 5). The windows and walls of the other buildings, too, were constructed in accordance with the nature surrounding the city: “The Inka carefully sited buildings so that windows and doors framed spectacular views of sacred peaks and facilitated the recording of important astronomical events” (Kleiner 858). The fields covering the southern slopes wer
Abstract Tram systems offer a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to providing public transport to city residents while also serving to reduce traffic congestion. The Edinburgh tramway project, which forms the basis of this paper, was initiated for the same reasons. The paper presents an analysis of this project in terms of its description and management with references to theories that have been established to address the subject of project management. The project turned out to be one of the most controversial tramway projects in England. It was characterised by massive delays and changes in the project’s cost estimates. Political matters took the centre stage, with different politicians taking advantage of the controversy that surrounded the project to achieve their interests. Interest in the project was mainly from the Scottish population and politicians. Scotland’s government was the main financier. The whole project was divided into several contracts that focused on specific sections and phases of the project. Other similar projects in the UK have some connection with the Edinburgh project. As the paper confirms, they offer great lessons on the management of any project. Introduction The Edinburgh Tram Network Project is located in Scotland in the United Kingdom. According to Boateng, one of the reasons for the initiation of the project was to support the region’s local economy in terms of improvement of accessibility of various places within it 1 . Secondly, the project intended to promote sustainability whilst minimising significantly the level of environmental damage that resulted from heavy traffic. Another purpose was to solve the problem of traffic congestion in Edinburgh. Issues such as safety and security of the transport system were also a major concern in the initiation and implementation of the project. Moreover, the project was expected to have immense social benefits to the residents of the areas that the rail line served. In the project’s scope, the tramline constitutes of a double track that connect the city centre to Edinburgh Airport. The track also links areas of development in West and North Edinburgh. With this hint about the project, this paper begins by providing its brief description. It also analyses the project’s management process with reference to salient theories that are applicable in project management. Lastly, the paper also provides some key lesson that project managers can learn from this development. Project Description Edinburgh Trams, which is run by Transport for Edinburgh Company, is a rail line that stretches from York Place to Edinburgh Airfield. The stretch that covers a distance of about 14 kilometres has 15 areas of offloading and loading of passengers. According to Lowe, work in the projec
A Midsummer Night’s Dream written by William Shakespeare is considered to be a romantic comedy that highlights Athenian lovers’ adventures. This work is one of the most prominent stories of the author and it is widely known in all countries of the world. The story under analysis sponged some features of mythology in the combination with adventurous motives. During the whole story, Shakespeare strived to show the process of his characters’ change under the influence of social and moral factors. One of the brightest examples of such change among all the characters is Helena, one of the four young lovers of the story. Helena’s emotional states changes with every passing episode of the story. Unrequited love is the main reason for the complete change of this character. The author showed the transference of the indifference in the jealousy observed in the middle of the book. “Call you me fair… motion of Demetrius’ heart” It underlines the completely indifferent attitude of Helena to the feelings of her beloved person. While gradually Shakespeare shows how her jealousy grows and influences her behavior and actions. The concept of love is the most influential in the formation of the character’s individuality which is completed only at the end of the story. Helena changed her relationship with Hermia after the Puck’s intervention with love potion. Shakespeare highlighted their friendship at the very beginning of the story being at school. “All school-day friendship, childhood innocence?” Being friends they tried to do everything together. They had trust in their relations and were ready to tell everything to each other. “As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds had been incorporated. So we grew together.” The intervention of Demetrius and Lysander became the main reason for the rapid change of their relationships, for the disappearance of their friendship. “You thief of love. What, have you come by night and stolen my love’s heart from him?” Thus, Helena’s attitude to Hermia changed completely because of the love potion effect. Two former friends lost trust in each other because of the feelings, emotionality and fight of their men. Helena is considered one of the most significant changes for the better because she managed to turn from a lovesick girl into a really happy and independent woman. At the beginning of the story, Helena was a naïve and unsuspecting girl who never considered herself to be a beautiful woman. But further on Shakespeare showed the new character of Helena who is a strong and self-confident woman managing to refuse Demetrius’ advance who just made some fun of her. The author showed that Helena was able to show belief in herself and express her individuality. Thus, it should be noted that the character of Helen is the brightest one in the story because one can observe all the stages of her change during the adventure. She is an example of a woman who despite love difficulties was able to resist society and show h
In the article, “Early-Life Stress and Adult Inflammation,” the authors provide a literature synopsis of the relationship between early-life stress and inflammation in adulthood. They also discuss how factors that include neuroendocrine, epigenetic, psychological, and autonomic responses to childhood experiences put children at risk of inflammation in adulthood. The article’s conclusion provides recommendations that urge health care practitioners and other stakeholders to implement programs that aim to reduce the prevalence of stress among children. Modern psychology is primarily founded on the fundamental assumption that stressful experiences hurt individuals’ mental health. Studies conducted in the field of health psychology have shown that stress experienced during childhood affects physical well-being immensely (Fagundes and Way 277). For instance, it increases the risk of the development of conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. This claim has been augmented by research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. Research studies conducted in the fields of biological and behavioral sciences have validated the argument that early-life stress impacts physical well-being negatively. In that regard, certain conditions that develop in adulthood can be attributed to stressful situations that are experienced during childhood. Inflammation is a normal mechanism elicited by the immune system to eliminate foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses (Fagundes and Way 278). However, it affects optimal body functioning if it persists. High levels of inflammation are common occurrences in conditions such as osteoporosis, certain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, and they are also predictors of mortality, life quality, and morbidity in adults. Psychologists have studied both chronic and severe life stressors in children to determine how they affect the proper functioning of the immune system. Examples of conditions linked to chronic inflammation include periodontal disease, osteoporosis, fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, frailty, disability, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Previous studies conducted on early stress and inflammation have focused on socioeconomic status and parental maltreatment as the major sources of stress. Children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, experience numerous conditions that expose them to chronic risk. Moreover, they are subjected to a high risk of malnutrition, poor health
About Al-jazeera Al-jazeera is probably the most successful news television network, with an Arabic origin, in terms of number of viewers. In fact, it is arguably the most watched news television channel in the Arab world. It has a rising viewer following in the rest of the world especially in the English speaking developing countries. The channel originated from Qatar under the funding of the Emir of Qatar who wanted to create an independent news channel (“Who is Aljazeera?”). He wanted his country to be different from the traditional Arabic countries. The word Al-jazeera is an Arabic word meaning the island and the naming of this television channel was after its origin, Qatar that is an island. The naming may be symbolic in that the channel claims to be the only politically independent television network in the Middle East and thus an isolated case in the Middle East television world. Most of the other Arabic networks are heavily controlled by the political regimes of the respective regions. Having been founded and funded by a non-democratic government, one may wonder how it can be politically independent. Can the Emir fund it and still allow it to carry out broadcasts without bias? Such questions and the controversial content of the channel make most people doubt its editorial independence. However, over the years Aljazeera has acquired the trust of many of its viewers especially from the Middle East although a notable portion of the rest of the world also trusts the channel. The approach taken by Aljazeera in collecting and broadcasting information may be controversial but more people are appreciating and trusting Aljazeera. The channel has no editorial control center and therefore each section is allowed to air its contents independently. Two scholars, El-nawawy and Powers carried out a study of Aljazeera. They concluded that the television network is able to air controversial issues in a way that does not create more disharmonies. History of Al-jazeera Al-jazeera was first launched in 1996 and the station aired all its broadcasts in Arabic until 2006 when an English version of the channel was launched. Earlier in 2003 before the launching of the English-language version (Al-jazeera International), an Aljazeera English site had been created and featured an English translation of the networks content. The contents of Aljazeera Arabic and Aljazeera English channe
A watershed is one of the units discovered to play a role in conservation of the environment (Carlsen 44). It is through watersheds that water is regulated ensuring sufficient water for the present need and the future to come. The watershed has a joint role of preserving the environment and also maximizes its use by encouraging the flow of resources (Blake 2). Watershed management programs have been encouraged across states to support the environment and improve the standards of living for the people around (Carlsen 44). Developing a watershed is an effective strategy in water management and animal conservation. A watershed sustains water management cycle, for instance the Columbia River basin around the Pacific Northwest. The Colombia river basin management program covers Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The river basin through the Washington department is able to regulate the quality of water and the distribution of water to the surroundings. The watershed is highly favored because it is able to optimally distribute the flow of the natural resources (Ffolliot 76). It is able to satisfy the great demand for water and still ensure ple
Introduction The world has never been so interconnected and rapidly changing. Any piece of information, events, people, fatal diseases are spreading with incredible speed. All this, of course, is thanks to technology and the Internet. People were able to make decisions in seconds with unlimited access to content and information. However, who is controlling this data flow? Does a person create his reality, or does artificial intelligence do it for him? The Netflix film “The Social Dilemma” tries to find an answer to this and other questions. Background The Social Dilemma is a 90-minute Netflix documentary in which former employees of Google, Facebook, Instagram talk about how social networks manipulate people. The algorithms that underlie their actions help track and predict users’ actions and interact more effectively with them, thanks to which social networks promote advertising. But these algorithms can lead to addiction in users. The developers also say that the algorithms that underlie the actions of social networks can be used to destabilize the situation in society, influence election results, and spread fake news and false information. Therefore, the film certainly reflects on the ethically moral component of social networks and the Internet space. It is especially interesting to consider the ethical concept of defining what reality is and who creates it. Thus, “Social Dilemma” shows that the usual Google search is not universal for all users. In fact, depending on the country, Google changes the search suggestions and the order of the links. Moreover, the news feed on Instagram or Facebook is also formed based on a person’s preferences. On the one hand, the user receives the informational content that they like the most. On the other hand, an illusory subjective awareness of the world is created. A potentially false perception of events is presumed one-sidedly to interest a person, not allowing them to think critically. Hence, as Roger McNamee, Facebook’s early investor capitalist, rightfully stated, “Over time, you have a false sense that everyone agrees with you because everyone in your news feed sounds just like you” ( The Social Dilemma 00:56:20). Furthermore, once a person gets this distorted impression, “it turns out you are easily manipulated” ( The Social Dilemma 56:40). Overall, this understandably raises a crucial ethical co
In any field of human activity, the question of ethics is multi-layered and complicated. The engineering is no different. The engineer is responsible for achieving the goals of the organization he works for, as well as, answering the concerns of the public safety. This paper will explore how this conflict of interests can be resolved without compromising any of the ethical responsibilities. Concept of Engineering Ethics Simply speaking, the engineering ethics are a code of conduct combined with personal judgments of separate workers in the field. A moral code usually appears when an occupation organizes itself into a true profession (“Thinking Like an Engineer” 153). It is worth considering that the early codes were frequently misinterpreted as to what were the primary ethical obligations of an engineer. For instance, the commentators found the employers’ satisfaction and content to be valued higher than the engineers’ public duties. Another argument disadvantageous to those codes is that its legal nature was debatable; consequently, the codes were to be regarded as guidelines which were not necessarily compulsory. Finally, in relation to the codes being no more than guidelines, it is argued that they did not provide enough specificity to actually guide (“Three Myths” 9). Davis argues that these arguments appear far-fetched, uncrowning them as myths. First off, there is no evidence of loyalty to “the employer;” instead, the codes are client-oriented, but not necessarily bid engineers to prioritize their clients’ satisfaction. Furthermore, the imperative of avoiding public conflict in itself subsumes the engineers’ conforming to the public interest. Also, the purpose of these codes (which is, in fact, guide ethical conduct, not regulate the legality of actions) is often misunderstood, resulting in claims of the illegitimacy of the codes and suchlike (“Three Myths” 10-14). It is important to consider that a code – any code – is a convention agreed on by professional ruling out the moral obligations of the workers in that field. Professions are organized to serve and as such the moral code contains obligations towards people affected by the job and its results. Thus, for a worker in a certain field to be considered ethical that person must follow the rules outlined in the code of his profession. For the longest time, there have been no strictly codified sets of rules for engineers. However, from the ancient times to the second half of the 19 th century engineers followed certain rules which were generally defined but the concepts of virtue in their contemporary societies (Moriarty 33). The ethical codes of today also take the general concepts of morality into consideration though they tend to be more comprehensive covering a wider range of social interactions. First sets of ethical rules for engineers date back to the beginning of the 20 th century (“Three Myths” 9). Since then, the codes have been rewritten and improved countless times. They cover not only the questions of the relationship between the engineer and his employee but also the limits of one’s compe
Introduction Critics have emerged questioning the benefits of homework in a students’ daily learning progress. They claim that homework leads to frustration, fatigue, and nervousness in the learners. The critics say that homework is brought about by a lack of appropriate management and monitoring of the students by both teachers and parents. Main Body In general, homework can be very beneficial to students in several aspects. Homework gives student’s an opportunity to test their capability of working independently and to conduct a review on what they were taught. The assignments also create an opportunity for teachers and parents to interact. All these benefits are lost if the concerned parties neglect their responsibility of putting appropriate mechanisms in place to ensure the homework helps students to develop their knowledge and skills. Parents should be responsible for ensuring that their children have a peaceful environment of doing their homework. This is meant to limit distractions that might create errors in the pupil’s work. A good example of this is a case where parents should encourage children to do their homework in a room without television or radios. Parents should also provide the required resources to minimize movement when undertaking the assignment. This can best be achieved by liaising with teachers to learn the nature of the required materials to undertake the assignments. Parents should also show interest in whatever their children are doing and be ready to give direction when they are stranded. Giving direction should not mean doing the assignment for them, but just giving guidance or correction on the small mistakes. Parents should set aside time for doing the assignment that does not collide with the family chores. The completed assignment must be checked by the parent before the child is allowed to proceed to other activities. If mistakes are identified, correction must be done immediately before the work is handed over to the teachers. After the assignment has been checked, comments given by the teacher should be addressed before the student can proceed with the next day’s work. In this way, the students will learn from the mistakes they had done the previous day. For high school and college students, homework can be a big source of stress if not managed efficiently. This is because it leads to confrontation with their tutors. These students need to realize that the first step in proper homework management is to have a notebook.This is used to record all the assignments given in class with all details such as date of submission, reference materials to be used and the mode of presentation. The second thing that they need is a weekly work plan which they should use to indicate the day and time they will work on each assignment. The plan helps students to prioritize their work depending on the date of submission. This eliminates the last-minute rush that finally makes the students plagiarize on their work. The