ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Wu Zetian was the only female monarch in the history of China, who rose to power due to her distinguished personal qualities and ruled the country for around 50 years. In imperial China, women were inferior to men and were praised for traits that helped them serve their husbands and be worthy of them. Wu Zetian’s character and actions often contradicted the common perceptions of feminine behavior and can be considered as proto-feminist, changing the role of women in society. Character of Wu Zetian Wu Zetian was the only female monarch in the history of China. She ruled from 665 to 690 through her husband Emperor Gaozong and her sons Emperors Zhingzong and Ruizong, and then became empress regnant of the Zhou dynasty and ruled from 690 to 705 (Custer 2019). Her reign was characterized by the major expansion of the Chinese empire, a series of wars, important changes in social classes in Chinese society, and state support for Taoism, Buddhism, education, and literature (Peterson 2016). Though ruthless towards her enemies, Wu Zetian was a skilled monarch, and her rule was marked by profound efforts to strengthen the empire and political stability. Throughout all her life, Wu Zetian had strived for and achieved considerable political power, gradually establishing her authority at court. She was the real power behind the throne for 23 years of her marriage to Emperor Gaozong and usurped the throne after the death of her children. Wu Zetian was described as a well-educated and charismatic woman and a strong political leader (Custer 2019). The traditional folklore portrays her as a determined person, ruthless in her endeavors to grab power, who did not care for who she hurt and what she did (Peterson 2016). She was even suspected of murdering her own child to eliminate her competitor (Custer 2019). Overall, her actions and character provided a contrast to the behavior of women typical for imperial China, and she was equally admired and criticized. Women in Imperial China Imperial China was characterized by a strict division of sexes, with women regarded as inferior to men. They were restricted from participation in various realms of social life and generally remained at home while business was conducted by men. Imperial policies prevented women from owning property, taking examinations, and holding office, they were educated separately, and their activities were generally limited to female-specific occupations (Cartwright 2017). The social life was structured according to the Confucian gender principles of the separation of male and female, with women being subordinate to first their fathers, then their hus
La Cathédrale Engloutie, by Claude Debussy, written between 1909 and 1910, evokes an ancient church that has sunk below the waves (Thiollier). The listener might imagine that this occurred as a result of an earthquake, perhaps as punishment for human arrogance, or perhaps as a result of enchantment. It mysteriously reappears from time to time, with its tower bells ringing out loudly. Like some sort of ecclesiastical Brigadoon, frozen in time, the drowned cathedral comes alive again, with all its music and grandeur. It then disappears beneath the waters. Written in Debussy’s mature years, La Cathédrale Engloutie is programmatic and reflects as well his willingness to experiment with chords that were not necessarily familiar to 19th and early 20th century listeners. In these respects, this work represents how much Debussy innovated in composition and how much later listeners owe to him. The piece begins quietly, suggesting that the church is becoming more visible, and the bells and other ecclesiastical music more audible. There is a motif that suggests a hymn, or the higher range of tower bells or perhaps a carillon. This disappears, to be replaced by low notes that may suggest the depths of the ocean. Then the sound of tower bells, being rung in ‘rounds,’ is quite distinct again. The listener then hears rising, major chords that may hint at the church appearing fully to the eye and ear. Majestic chords, like those on an organ, perhaps, sing out what could be a hymn tune, a song of praise and thanksgiving. This fades to near silence, along with a sound very much like a few last giant tower bells being rung down to rest. Another tune is heard, a gentle and pleading one that increases in intensity and fades likewise, with a few more chords evoking the sound of partially tuned bells clanging together. Then a rumbling in the lower registers may suggest that the cathedral is ponderously sinking back to the very bottom of the ocean. Claude Debussy (1862-1918), although a prize-winning student of the Paris Conservatory, was not shy about novel experimentation with chords, and instrumental effects (Encyclopedia Britannica). As such, his innovations have shaped subsequent classical music, movie scores, and popular songs in powerful ways. His great gift to subsequent generations of listeners is his ability to combine musical elements in previously unheard of fashion. He absorbed and then freely used non-European harmonies and rhythms. He had heard unfamiliar folk music while traveling through the Slavic countries and was later struck by Javanese gamelan music, performed at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 (New World Encyclopedia). Both influenced his work. Debussy was also strongly affected by the work and thought of the Impressionists who were taking the art world, in France especially, by storm. They were overturning all previous constraints of academic art. Artists such as Cezanne, Monet, and Renoir wanted, instead, to paint what they saw – their impression of a scene. Although Debussy preferred to call himself a Symbolist, it seems clear that he was trying, as well, t
HIV/ AIDS Campaign Slogan One of the most important processes in the provision of health care services is the effective communication of health information (Ratzan, 2014). This involves sharing medical information with patients, health care professionals, and creating public awareness through campaigns. Health campaigns play a pivotal role in achieving effective management of diseases because people get an opportunity to learn numerous things about a certain illness (Stolley, & Glass, 2009). The most important element that one should consider when developing a health campaign is the slogan. This is the catchword or phrase that defines the objective of running a campaign to sensitize people about a specific disease (Ratzan, 2014). Developing a campaign slogan for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) /Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is complex and requires careful consideration with regard to the interplay of factors that characterize its propagation (Stolley, & Glass, 2009). A good example of a slogan for an HIV/ AIDS campaign is Hate the Disease, not the Diseased . The reason this slogan would be effective in running a health campaign for this kind of illness is that it touches on one of the main factors that have affected its effective management. One of the challenges associated with HIV/AIDS is the stigmatization of people living with health conditions. It involves verbal, physical, and emotional abuse from family members, friends, and the community (Ratzan, 2014). These are some of the factors that influence the development of this slogan. Studies have established that anybody can be affected by this condition, thus no need to stigmatize those already living with it. People can contract HIV unknowingly through various ways that are at times beyond human control (Stolley, & Glass, 2009). For example, this can happen in an accident scenario or through the failure of contraceptives such as condoms. Another factor that influenced the development of this slogan is the fact that most cases of stigmatization against people living with HIV/AIDS develop because people lack knowledge and education about the health condition (Stolley, & Glass, 2009). For example, some people believe that they can contract the disease by shaking hands with an infected person or even being in the same room with them. One of the main things considered when developing this slogan was the fact that most people tend to worry a lot about associating with people living with the disease yet they do not have essential information about it. There is an urgent need for people to develop hatred towards the disease and learn various ways of keeping themselves safe from contracting it (Ratzan, 2014). Some of the communication channels for this kind of health campaign include the use of mass media, social media, workshops, traditional channels such as billboards, and sporting events (Stolley, & Glass, 2009). Mass media has the potential to reach a lot of people through various radio and television programs. Social networking sites are also an effective strategy for comm
Introduction “ Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?” is a book that discusses the theory of justice and the diverse ways in which it is perceived by different people in the society. The author, Michael Sandel, tries to force the reader to look into the circumstances that happen in real life and allows them to make the decisions on the right thing to do. Sandel pushes his readers into tracking their personal moral obligations by laying a series of challenges based on everyday situations, which help them make the best resolutions on the right actions to take. In this essay, the first five chapters of the book are reviewed based on the main concepts. Chapter review In Chapter 1, titled “doing the right thing”, three cases are presented. Case one concern the laws prohibiting gauging of prices. Precisely, it refers to the price changes that came into effect subsequent to the Florida’s Hurricane Charley. As clarified by Sandel, the arguments in support to and in contrast to price-gauging laws are based on three concepts: well-being, liberty and virtue. He then discusses about who is eligible for the “Purple Heart”. In determining this, people need to know precisely which qualities are necessary to deserve this honor. The final case is regarding the latest bailout that came after the financial crisis. Specifically, he discusses about the feelings of different people towards the bonuses awarded to the executives of the companies involved. Even though some felt that the bonuses were justified, most individuals thought it was unfair primarily because they compensated failure rather than success. The author describes three conceptions of justice that aids in understanding how decisions are made and he discusses them all through the book. Utilitarianism, also described as capitalization on welfare, is the first conception. This is followed by another conception regarding liberty and personal rights. The last conception discusses the idea that justice is associated with virtue and a decent life in general. Before recounting the various concepts of justice, Sandel also discusses what are described as the moral dilemmas. These can be clarified by applying ethics in the reasoning process, which directs every individual in different ways dependent on their characters and the manner in which they deliberate and justify their decisions. In this case, clashes may result from partial reasoning or contradictory moral obligations. Chapter two, labeled “The Greatest Happiness Principle or Utilitarianism” , deliberates over the idea of utilitarianism by relating two various attitudes. First is the idea of Jeremy Bentham. The idea concentrates on getting maximum pleasure and lessening pain so as to make the most out of the overall utility. In this notion, the rights of a person may be disregarded, like in the incident of torture. The idea of John Stuart Mill presents th
The retail industry is a very competitive area, which has only become even more intricate and difficult to navigate after the enhancement of the globalization process and the focus on expansion among retail companies. Being the indisputable global retail leader, Walmart has served as the example of implementing the expansion process correctly, both from the organizational and legal aspects of the process. However, even Walmart’s progress has seen peaks and valleys as the company has been adjusting its operations and standards to state-specific requirements. Observing an organization of the scale as large as Walmart managing cross-cultural tasks and human resource management (HRM)-related objectives in the global market, particularly, in two different cultural settings, will help to define general strategies’ that other companies and follow in order to succeed in their HRM and cross-cultural management (CCM). Therefore, a comparison of Walmart’s stunning success in the U.S. and its recent failure in Germany will serve as the example of how CCM and HRM issues should be managed on a global scale. Research Question What were the main CCM- and HRM-related factors that prevented Walmart from successfully entering the German retail market compared to the stellar performance of Walmart in the U.S. retail environment? Research Objectives This study seeks to locate and analyze the main cultural and HRM-related factors that have contributed to Walmart’s success in the U.S. retail market and its failure in the German one. Specifically, this study will explore the CCM approach that Walmart has deployed in the U.S. setting and compare it to the CCM framework used in the German context. Similarly, the HRM strategies adopted in the American workplace environment will be paralleled with those that Walmart considered appropriate for the German setting. Thus, the company’s ability to adjust to different locations and its flexibility in managing CCM and HRM will be tested. Literature Review Walmart has gained quite an acclaim over the decades of its operations in the American economic context. Having built its reputation around the idea of providing the best price-quality ratio for its products, Walmart has quickly gained substantial support in the U.S. (Nanjundeswaraswamy et al., 2020). However, research states
Introduction Revlon is a global leader in the beauty and personal care industry, focusing primarily on color cosmetic products. Since its establishment in 1932 by Charles Revson, Joseph Revson along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, it has grown to be a leading global brand name with subsidiaries all over the world. It is now eyeing the vibrant Russian market on its expansion plan. However, before venturing into this highly competitive market, as per business requisites, it is required to conduct an investment feasibility study of extending Revlon’s color cosmetics products into the Russian market. In this report we will conduct a PESTEL analysis to understand Russia’s attractiveness as a country and use the Michael Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model – with a bias on the two major competitive forces of the model, namely the bargaining power of suppliers and bargaining power of buyers – to understand the competition in the Russian color cosmetics industry in order to determine its attractiveness as a market for Revlon and analyze the intensity of competition in Russia’s color cosmetics industry. But, first let us get a general overview of Russian cosmetic industry to understand the market. According to the “Russian Cosmetics Market Forecast (2008-2012),” Russia is emerging as one of the most vibrant cosmetics industry within Europe; figuratively, as ofo 2008 the industry enjoyed a growth of approximately 9-14 % annually (Global Impact 2010) and for the first time the industry hit the US$ 9 billion mark. This trend can be attributed to factors such as growing per capita purchasing on cosmetics, promising consumer preferences, growing products creativeness and the attractiveness of the Russian cosmetic industry that has attracted many international players in the market, which have shown the sustainability of the industry even in the long run. Even during the 2007-2009 global recession the market remained strong and as of now is expected to grow at approximately 8.8 percent annually during the 2010-2013 period (BAC 2011). Figure 2. growth in the size of russian cosmetic industry before 2007 source alexander aginsky the russian blog. The Russian color cosmetic industry is dominate
Introduction Free trade is the removal of barriers, tariffs, taxes and quotas and any other restrictions by the government on international trade to easily exchange certain commodities (Narlikar 22). Mostly, free trade is considered as a noble idea by many countries because of the removal of barriers, making exportation easy and less expensive. This makes a country to focus more of its resources efficiently and achieve extra real income. Some countries consider this a threat because of product differentiation; they claim that there are countries with an advantage of high technology, which they use in producing quality and cheap products; therefore, going into free trade with them would mean losing market for their products. This is because they do not understand the benefits of free trade with product differentiation, however, once they realize that much of international trade is based on product differentiation, the countries will have more winners than losers; this is because they would experience the benefits of free trade. Benefits of Free Trade with product differentiation Static Gains Product differentiation increases export opportunities; this is because countries specialize in producing goods that they can produce efficiently. For those goods which cannot produce efficiently, they import them (Narlikar 45). Producing the same goods but of different quality, price and customer preferences does not mean that those with high prices, or low quality will lack market; this is because each of these goods come with other advantages which the others do not have, and this makes the goods equally competitive. Consumer Savings Product differentiation would also be beneficial to consumers, through product differentiation, the consumer has many products to choose from, therefore, he or she is free of what he or she wants according to the ability to buy. Also, because of competition between products of the same quality in the market, the sellers of these products will opt to sell at lower prices: these would be favorable to consumers allowing them to buy more. According to the estimates from members of International Economics, American consumers would save about 1.2% of their country’s GNP; Japanese consumers would save about 5% of their country’s GNP, while the Korean consumers save close to 4% of Korean GNP (Cleaver 78). Product differentiation also increases competition in local markets; this weakens anti-competitive practices that intimidate domestic producers. This shows free trading of goods despite the difference in product quality and preferences benefits the buyer more than if there were no trade at all between countries. Stable employment and higher wages In the United States, jobs associated with exports have risen four times faster compared to the overall jobs created by the private-industry (Narlikar 66). The American now owes this to exports. According to statistics, production and non-production workers in America’s exporting firms collect an average of 14% higher pay compared to non-exporting
Developmentally appropriate practice refers to a mode of education that focuses on the child as a developing human being and a constant learner. In this approach a child is seen as an active member in the learning process. The program has five characteristics. First, the program is aimed at social, emotional and cognitive development. Its main focus is on children learning to take turns on what they are doing, to respect others and feeling good when one makes an achievement. Second, children are allowed to grow at their own pace and pursue their own interest without being told what to do to some extent, normally behavior changes as one grows. ‘’The head start program served as a pre-school model to provide equal educational opportunities for ‘at risk’ children” (Bredekamp(b), 259). Thirdly, the child controls his/her own learning by the shadow of discovery and exploration and not being controlled by the teachers which is best done when they have important learning material with them. Fourthly, the activities given to a child matches his or her current level of functioning with the aim of making the child participate in activities that require skills just slightly in advance of those already in the child’s list hence trying to widen his thinking or reasoning slowly by slowly. Lastly, is realistic academic orientation where children are introduced without pushing the child too far academically but in accordance to the level he best fits (Carta 251). Discussions around developmentally appropriate practice ensure that children understand the physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language. Children gain understanding of things through talking about them and designing appropriate learning techniques. A teacher must always study and know that children make broad assumptions on their typical behaviors in certain age stages. With this knowledge,
Introduction   * The United States of America values education and believe that it is they key to a better future for individuals and the country at large (Ellsworth, 2008).   * It is due to this fact that institutions of higher education were introduced and developed in the country.   * In almost all the cities and states of the country, there are institutions of higher education that have been designed to meet the needs and requirements of individuals and the country.   * In the state of Georgia, there are several institutions of higher education that have been established to meet the post secondary needs of the community.   * The system of higher education that the state has embraced is large and the citizens of the state believe that it is effective, efficient, rigorous.   * This is essential as it gives individuals the chance to shape their careers; a key requirement for economic growth and sustainability. Post Secondary Institutions   * Georgia has a variety of post secondary institutions.   * These institutions range from universities, colleges and technical training institutes.   * While universities and colleges within the state impart knowledge to students that may lead them into multiple careers, institutions such as culinary schools train students to be professionals on specific fields.   * The following are some of the institutions of post secondary education that are present in the state of Georgia:       + Emory University;       + Georgia Institute of Technology;       + University of Georgia;       + Art Institute of Colorado;       + Faulkner State Community College;       + Culinard;       + Christian International School of Healthcare Professions;       + Adam International University;       + American College of Education;       + Remington College. Demography   * The state of Georgia accommodates a high number of students in its post secondary institutions.   * These students come from within the state of Georgia and other states of the country.   * There are also international students in these institutions.   * The total number of students who are currently enrolled in post secondary education within the state of Georgia is 978,810 (Tobin and Kincheloe, 2010). Graduation Rates   * A high proportion of the students who enroll into post secondary institutions ion Georgia complete their courses and graduate.   * Georgia has a total of 183 institutions of higher education.   * Of these institutions, one can get an associate degree from 101 of them, a bachelors degree from 64 and graduate degree from 45 of them (Therlin, 2009).   * Students can also graduate with certificates and diplomas. Table: Higher Education Statistics for the Largest Georgia Institutions Institution (NCPP, 2008). Conditions of Post Secondary Education in Georgia   * The status of post secondary education in Georgia is high.   * This education like in many other states is expensive for working and poor families to afford. Instate students pay approximately $4,000 while put of s