ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
History is flooded with scenarios in which people claim to make predictions. Some ancient prophetic examples include Toledo in 1184 and Nostradamus in 15555. The latter was an astrologer in France who worked for the Queen and prophesied that her rival the Queen of England would die. Additionally, he wrote a series of other predictions in a very popular book that “has remained in print to this day” (Boese 6). Many modern followers have read his book and used it to make predictions about modern-day living. They strongly believe that he was gifted and further strengthened his affirmations through the use of astrology. Toledo was also an astrologer who lived in Europe. He made predictions about the end of the world through the use of a letter. He asserted that the world would experience famines, storms, drought, earthquakes, and other similar disasters. Toledo-based his affirmations on the alignment of “the planets in the sign of the Scales and the tail of the Dragon” (Boese 2). Such predictions continued into the twentieth century where persons such as Raffaele Bendani predicted that “a swarm of earthquakes will destroy the Italian capital of Rome” (Bressani 3). He based his predictions on the alignment of planets about the moon and the earth, and the effect of gravity. The individual even added the tenth planet “after his hometown Faenza to explain the presumed patterns of the earthquakes.” (Bressani 15). An earthquake did occur in the same year of his prophecy although it missed his prediction by two days. Furthermore, the earthquake was quite minor and its magnitude was nowhere near what Bendani predicted. In recent times, doomsday prophecies have been flouted. A community of believers cited 21 December 2012 as the end of time. They attribute it to the alignment of a foreign body – Planet X- which will “pass by earth and create a polar shift that will cause devastation.” (Wong 37). The followers also use ancient Mayan calendars to validate their claims. The Mayans chose this date as the end of a cycle in their calendar. It was a time when “the sun, the earth, and the galactic equator would come into alignment in a Milky way band.” (Wong 38) The proponents argued that a dangerous polar shift would occur because of the magnetic activities and solar energy from the alignment. While most of the above followers may appear to contain reasonable arguments, especially in ancient times, their assertions fail to hold water when analyzed through a scientific lens. The most immediate negation of these claims is the fact that most of their claims rarely came true. Some, like the Bendani earthquake prediction of the 1920s, might appear true, but they missed the mark about precise details on the events. Furthermore, the premises of these believers are mostly founded on other fallacies of logic and argument like the use of opin
Introduction The history of militia use in the USA stretches back to the very establishment of the 13 colonies in North America. The English colonists used militia units in their wars against the natives and later against the French. Militias saw plenty of action during the Anglo-French war, the Revolutionary war, the war of 1812, and the Mexican-American war. During the first three wars, despite several victories, the militia never proved itself as an effective or reliable military force. The British army regarded the colonist militia as undisciplined rabble. Many battles during the War of 1812 were lost due to how incompetent and unreliable militia units were. However, during the Mexican-American war, the militias performed admirably, contributing greatly to many victories for the American army. One of the most successful examples was the battle at Buena Vista. The American militias were much more effective during the Mexican-American war due to improved training and discipline, the quality of high and junior commanding structure, and competent military bureaucracy. The paper will support this thesis by analyzing and comparing the battle of Buena Vista to the battle of Bladensburg. The Pros and Cons of American Militia American militias sometimes referred to as citizen soldiers, were men aged between 15 to 50, who volunteered to serve in the stan
Italian Futurism Futurism originated in Italy at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a broad artistic impulse rather than a movement. It started as a rejection of the values of secession and post-secession. The basic proposition of this approach to art was that industrialization and modernity have to be incorporated into the artistic expression because the proponents of the movement strongly believed that industrialization would improve human society. The values that the proponents of the ideas of futurism shared are industrialization, patriotism, temerity, mechanical speed, etc. In addition, they advocated destruction of the academia. The ideal context for their artistic expression was a modernized city (Frampton, 1992, p. 84). In architecture, this artistic impulse was shaped as a movement by Antonio Sant’Ellia. In his essay called “Messagio”, he expressed a belief that architecture should be in opposition to the culture of the time, and advocated a shift from static shapes to more dynamic ones. He also thought that new synthetic materials should be incorporated in new structures and the old, traditional ones, such as marble, should be completely abandoned. In his “Manifest of Futurist Architecture”, Sant’Ellia claimed that permanent buildings, such as cathedrals, had become useless, and that new buildings should last shorter than the human lifespan. His sketches of a modern city reflected these ideas to an extent, but he was not able to completely break with the ideas against which he openly spoke (Frampton, 1992, pp. 85-87). Dutch Neo-Plasticism In 1918, “Manifesto of de Stijl” was published in the Netherlands. The authors of this short essay attempted to resolve the conflict between the universal and the individual, which had exploded as a consequence of WWI. Under the influence of Spinoza’s philosophy and Calvinist theology, the new movement sought to destroy all traditional forms and shapes, which acted as an obstacle for pure artistic expression to realize itself. This view was in accordance with the modernist tendency to destroy everything that stymies development and modernization. The focus of this movement was on primary colors and orthogonal shapes, and on emphasizing horizontal and vertical dimensions of the world. In addition, all aspects of artistic works were elemental (Frampton, 1992, pp. 142-143). The architects of this period were interested in furniture and interior design. Van Doesburg is widely considered an embodiment of this movement. He published his “16 Points of a Plastic Architecture”, where he defined its main principles. With these ideas in mind, Rietveld designed the famous Schroder-Schrader House in Utrecht. This house incorporated all of the 16 points suggested by Van Doesburg. He relied heavily on the principles of functionality and economy. The building was an antithesis of cubism and traditional decorative styles. Rietveld described it as anti-monumental and stripped of all
Introduction Rationalism is a branch of epistemology which studies people’s opinions applying to reason as a foundation of knowledge and justification. It is the theory in which the principle of truth is not sensory but academic and deductive. There are varying degrees of emphasis on rationalism. This has led to a variety of rationalist perspectives from the average position that reason has priority over other ways of gaining knowledge. Rationalism is thus similar to philosophy and the Socratic life of query. It is normally related to the introduction of mathematical techniques into philosophy. It takes into account issues such as knowledge and the difference between knowledge and belief (Barneskole 215). It also considers whether certainty is different from knowledge and whether knowledge is possible in reality. Rationalism claims that knowledge in contrast to opinion is only possible if founded on clear principles. Such principles are not gained via experience but are implied through reasoning. In rationalism, sense experience cannot offer the assurance needed to guarantee that what people know is factual. As a result, rationalists have to depend on reason itself as the ground for establishing whether people’s opinions are rationalized true beliefs and that is knowledge. This paper will compare and contrast Plato and Descartes versions of rationalism and the strengths and weaknesses involved in both approaches. Discussion Similarities between Plato and Descartes Versions of Rationalism Though Plato and Descartes lived hundreds of years a part from each other, there is a number of similarities in their versions of Rationalism. Plato argues that justification is by reason and not senses while Descartes goes ahead and show
Introduction The age of globalization has significantly weakened the boundaries between societies. As a result, in most countries diversity at the workplace is a fact that requires attention and poses certain difficulties (Hsiao, Auld and Ma 110; Almutairi, Gardner and McCarthy 187; Loney, Cooling, and Aw 298). Consequently, organizations are faced with the necessity of creating diversity policies that would respond to the needs of their employees and partners. In this paper, the diversity policy of Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD) is going to be described and evaluated with regard to various factors affecting its introduction. The culture and ethnicity-based diversity is chosen as an area of particular importance due to the specific features of Abu Dhabi labor force. The general requirements of the labor market are going to be taken into consideration. Workplace Diversity Diversity is commonly concerned with personal characteristics that may include ethnicity, gender, age or sexuality as well as education or income level and other factors (Hsiao, Auld and Ma 102). Some of diversity aspects exhibit greater impact on the organizational performance than others (Lu et al. 860). Similarly, of them influence the performance directly (for example, the education level), others tend to modify the workplace relationships. For instance, when left unattended, cultural diversity can result in conflicts, misunderstandings and the decrease of mutual trust between coworkers (Almutairi, Gardner and McCarthy 188). Neglected diversity in this situation can be considered as its mismanagement (Hsiao, Auld and Ma 102; Lu et al. 857). At the same time, the positive influence of proper diversity management on employee job satisfaction and performance and its negative impact on turnover intention have been described by numerous studies (Hsiao, Auld and Ma 102). Apart from that, the beneficial effects of diversity, which result from migrants bringing new beliefs, ideas, and views, have been pointed out (Loney, Cooling, and Aw 303). Therefore, in order to avoid possible complications caused by workplace diversity and exploit its advantages, proper management strategies must be implemented. Diversity at HAAD HAAD History HAAD has been responsible for healthcare regulations of the Emirate since 2007 (Koornneef et al. 117). HAAD is not concerned with direct delivering healthcare services or providing health insurances (Podolak, Harrison, and Vetter 129). Instead, its tasks include developing the healthcare strategy and setting regulations, monitoring their accomplishment, licensing professionals and facilities, and promoting health with the help of special programs and campaigns (Koornneef et al. 117). The scope of the organization’s work is enormous. For example, in 201
Globalization has many consequences. But one of its more ubiquitous effects is the rise of global cities. Social scientists who made it their lives work to focus on the study of cities and the relatively new phenomenon called global cities are prone to generalize that this type of megalopolis is very much needed in this new global economy. But in recent years the same experts are also saying that while the creation of global cities is inevitable, the negative consequences such as those related to overpopulation, high crime rate, pollution, and racism should not be considered as an acceptable outcome of global cities. For the sake of this study, the focus will be on the city of Los Angeles, California, and how it emerged to become one of the most important global cities in the world today. Globalization Before going any further it is important to make a quick detour and examine a related phenomenon. Globalization is an idea that must first be understood to completely grasp the concept of global cities. Globalization is of course brought about by the rapid developments in transportation, communication, and the ability to transfer money from one place to the next. But the more technical term for this is Foreign Direct Investments, also known as FDI. The aforementioned technological breakthroughs in transportation and communication resulted in the movement of money, people, and products all over the world. Another major consequence of globalization is the decline of national or government ownership of giant corporations and transforming these businesses into “transnational corporations” – business entities that are without borders and can create considerable changes all over the world. In the past, it would have been impossible to establish a conglomerate without the aid of national governments. In fact, it is common to find governments interfering in the business aspects of many giant corporations. This is seen in national industries that are heavily regulated by the government. But the United States as well as other highly industrialized nations led the way in the creation of a new system where instead of government interference, the free market will be given a free hand to create checks and balances – therefore ensuring sustainable growth. This led to the rise of transnational companies that are controlled by corporate leaders and their major shareholders. These leaders and decision-makers need not have the same citizenship and may have varied interests outside their business dealings in the said transnational corporation (Sassen, 2002). Therefore Japanese businessmen can inject FDI into a transnational corporation that has its headquarters in Finland and American businessmen can move millions of dollars in investment money to transnational corporations whose bus
Jay Richards, the author of “Money, Greed and God” tarts his book by saying that in the battle between communism and capitalism that happened in the twentieth century capitalism became the winner. As a result the world’s society today is mainly capitalist. In his book Richards explores the relationship between capitalism, finance, economy and Christian faith. The author states that in the world of nowadays capitalism is mostly viewed as a negative phenomenon that destroys non-material values, shifts people’s lifestyles, encourages greed, envy and gluttony. He writers, “just turn on the TV and you’ll see capitalism blamed for almost every social problem” (Richards, 2010). Yet, the author disagrees with the public opinion about capitalism stating that it is not the problem of the modern society, on the contrary, it is the solution to the biggest issues. Many Christians grew to despise capitalism and often mention that in the Bible it says that love for money is the root of all evil. Richards points out positive intentions and outcomes of capitalism and notes that capitalism and greed should not be mixed up. The author notes that people were made in the image of their creator, this is why crea
Introduction Just like many other business processes, there is an increasing need to use the principles of management during business negotiation. These principles include planning, organizing, directing and controlling. They aid in attaining completeness, as far as business negotiation processes are concerned. This paper explores the need to embrace each of these principles during business negotiation. Essence of planning, organizing, directing and controlling According to Lewicki and Hiam (2006), businesses negotiation comprises of different processes. This is why there is need to have adequate preparation for negotiation. Strategic planning is vital since it ensures that all the issues to be negotiated about are identified and clearly understood by the negotiating team. Planning also helps in addressing the critical issues that need to be captured during the entire process. This ensures that there is flow in negotiation. Organizing is another critical managerial principle in business negotiation. Organizing comes in during the pre-phases of negotiation. The essentiality of organizing during business negotiation revolves around the logistical issue that appertain the negotiation. Issues of venue, time, listing of issues to be negotiated about, and the approaches to be deployed in the process of negotiation are brought out (Lewicki & Hiam 2006). Directing ensures that a certain level of command is attained by the negotiators in line with the main goals of the firm; which mostly revolve around business sustainability and profit making. Controlling ensures that the desired procedures are strictly adhered to during negotiation. Controlling also ensures that a desired level of flexibility is attained during the give and take part of the negotiation to ensure that the g
Improvements in schools should be closely associated with the improvement in the sphere of technologies and innovation. Today, technologies are available in different educational institutions, and the focus on using them is one of priorities for contemporary educators. That is why, it is necessary to find the answers to questions about the appropriate use of technologies to work with different types of data effectively as well as about the role of the shift from using traditional wired networks to using mobile wireless networks in school environments. Why Should We Have Separate Databases and Data Warehouses? While discussing the ways of recording and storing the data at the high school, it is necessary to state that the separate use of databases and data warehouses is necessary to contribute to the persons’ effective access to the appropriate data because databases and data warehouses are designed to respond to different purposes and tasks. A database is the simple electronic base which contains the multiple data organized in files. A data warehouse is the more complex database which contains the data systematized according to the definite subject. The data available with the help of the data warehouse can be collected from different sources. Thus, the data found in the data warehouse is organized to be searched and analyzed effectively (Bernhardt, 2013, p. 401). For instance, teachers are often interested in using databases in which the demographic and student learning data are stored. Teachers also often use the information on the course contents stored in the special databases. On the contrary, school administrators prefer to use the data warehouses to receive the access to all the available information which is systematized according to the categories and topics. As a result, to provide teachers and administrators with the opportunity to access the necessary data immediately and without any problems and while followin
Globalization can be defined as a means of advancing reliance by forming associations or integration within the people, companies, states or zones. These associations have impacted economic growth through progressiveexchange of commodities, services, skills, innovation, investments and populations (Beerkens, 2006). Minimum barriers to trade and investment, reduced transport expenses and reduced costs of information technology are key elements that have contributed to an increase in globalization (Doole and Lowe, 2008). In order to experience economic growth firms should apply external business venturing strategies, develop their communication systems and improve organizational capacity. On the other hand organizations that are yet to adopt these strategies have not experienced as much financial gains (Levitt, 1983). Economic trends within international market contribute towards development and formation of alliances and partnerships amongst companies. Such alliances require detailed agreement between partners and also provision of quality products and services capable of meeting competitive standards within target markets (Levitt, 1983). Such trends drives company’s towards restructuring their strateg
Inter-links and synergies of the five objectives of operations management Operations management has become increasingly important over the last couple of years as a result of the changing business environment. The level of competition among organizations is becoming stiffer each day. The competition puts pressure on the organizations and the management to work tirelessly to gain and maintain a competitive edge. Any organization that is willing to succeed in the current business world cannot afford to relax in the competition (Slack, 2009). Losing a competitive edge means that the organization loses its customers and sales. One of the ways that have the capability of guaranteeing the organization a competitive edge is customer satisfaction (Slack et al. 2012). Customers are always willing to get quality products and services from organizations. Therefore, quality production can increase customer satisfaction and an organization’s competitiveness. Operations management is the department that plays a major role in production and providing quality products and services. It oversees the design and management of processes, services, as well as the supply chains that are carried out as raw materials are converted into finished products ready for use. It also oversees the movement of products from the location where they are produced to the point where they are consumed (Slack et al. 2012). The operations management acquires, develops, and utilizes resources that an organization requires to deliver the goods or the services to the customers (Mahadevan, 2010). Operations management has 5 major objectives, which include cost, quality, speed, dependability, and flexibility (Slack, 2009). Most organizations that have been success
Introduction Businesses are always seeking ways of improving their offer to facilitate benefit for the company. One such tool is suggested in the article by Goldstein et al. (2008), which gives an overview of the possible default parameters of products. Defaults are the properties of products that are chosen by the company and which are accepted as a client’s choice unless they actively change these parameters. The article states that managers should pay the defaults design more attention. It reviews the benefits and risks connected to defaults and suggests a taxonomy of defaults. This taxonomy classifies the common types of defaults in order to help the companies choose the most optimal one according to their products, customers, and aims. The current work summarizes the main ideas of the article and discusses how the suggested solutions may help businesses. Main Purpose The purpose of the article is to provide a useful tool for optimizing defaults design. This tool should facilitate reasonable decisions considering the interests of the company and its clients. Objectives There are several objectives to consider in the analyzed article. First, it presents notable cases of defaults design in different companies, such as Dell, Audi, Daimler, and AT&T. Second, the article justifies the rationale to design defaults properly. Third, it suggests a division on mass and individual default depending on the primary type of clients. Moreover, the authors describe several types of defaults, mentioning profits and risks for each one. They also discuss the case when the suggested type does not reflect the company’s situation. Finally, the article