ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Background The logistical requirements for Cirque du Soleil were mind-boggling. Consider the following facts regarding the company’s global operations. Cirque du Soleil employs close to two thousand people (Rivard, Pinsonneault, and Croteau 2). In addition, the company has to deal with three permanent shows in the following locations: 1) Treasure Island in Las Vegas; 2) Bellagio in Las Vegas; and 3) Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida. Aside from the three permanent shows in Las Vegas and Orlando, the company manages five tours on the road. In response, the company established an office in Nevada to handle the permanent shows. Cirque also invested in the establishment of regional offices in Montreal, Amsterdam, and Singapore to take care of roadshows (Rivard, Pinsonneault, and Croteau 2). At the end of the year, Cirque de Soliel performed a total of 5,000 shows in more than 40 cities around the globe (Rivard, Pinsonneault, and Croteau 2). It does not come as a surprise that the company benefited from the expert use of Information Technology. The Level of IT Alignment in 2008 Cirque du Soliel experienced a high level of IT alignment with respect to business operations. The proof of this assertion was made evident upon the discovery that in 2008, the use of Information Technology was no longer limited to automating existing processes (Rivard, Pinsonneault, and Croteau 3). In fact, during Danielle Savoie’s tenure, IT was utilized to support knowledge management and leverage it to transfer knowledge processes and across projects (Rivard, Pinsonneault, and Croteau 3). This new development was exemplified by the creation of Cirque Memory. It is a knowledge repository that collected information that was created in the course of a typical preparation phase leading up to a show. The type of knowledge stored in Cirque Memory includes but not limited to the following:  1. artist’s make-up and costumes;  2. sets;  3. staging;  4. casting,  5. sketches;  6. notes; and personnel information (Rivard, Pinsonneault, and Croteau 3). In other words, IT was used to keep track and monitor the creative work that goes into every show. The end result of the process is two-fold. First, the documentation and recording process increases the efficiency of the workers, staff, and artists. They were able to avoid duplication of work, especially when it comes to providing access to important data, especially those that pertain to stage design, costumes, and information needed to replicate the shows in different parts of the world. Second, Cirque Memory preserves the ideas that were created during the course of the creative process. Danielle Savoie asserts that this helps the company preserves its heritage. She seems to limit the documentation capability of Cirque Memory and simplifies it as a mere recorder of data. However, the intangible value of Cirque Memory goes beyond recordkeeping. The ideas that were generated through the brainstorming and analysis of current practices constitute a body of knowledge that can be considered as part of the competitive advantage of Cirque du Soliel. It has to be pointed out that the company was a tr
Introduction Prescribed solutions from societies that do not experience lack in its absolute sense will not work for the world of third world counties anguishing in poverty. Historically, such prescriptions have led to increased dependence on hand outs and or a complete breakdown of institutions necessary to fight poverty at an indigenous level (Dos Santos 1970). This essay is a critical assessment to the phrase below, made by Sachs (1992) while referring to the worthlessness of development as a solution to poverty. The impression of development stands like a decay in the scholarly scene (Sachs 1992, p. 1). The same author proceeds to say, “delusion and disappointment, failures and crimes have been the steady companions of development, and they tell a common story: it did not work” (Sachs 1992, p. 1). “Moreover, the historical conditions, which catapulted the idea into prominence, have vanished: development has become outdated” (Sachs 1992, p. 1). The author finished by stating that “but above all, the hopes and desires, which made the idea fly, are now exhausted: development has grown obsolete” (Sachs 1992, p. 1). Development Serves First World Nations Not Third World Nations The differentiation-integration model of development theory uses various components of societies to define development. However, it falls short comprehensively offering the universal depiction of development as an end means to solve the poverty problem. Even after bringing forth the question of taking into account social, psychological conditions, and concomitants of productive development, it goes on to narrow the focus to a question of transitioning from backwardness to advancement in the economic status (Bernstein 1971). The problem here is that the advancement refers to first world countries. Thus, the notion of modernization is simply a quest to transform third world into first world without offering a lasting solution to the cause of the poverty (Banuri 1990). The first-world countries became economically superior by relying on the abundance of raw materials and cheap labour from the world. It has also been having international market access that fosters trade. On the other hand, modernization theorists expect third-world countries to replicate similar situations, and become economically advanced, when the conditions do not allow them. While they may have abundance in raw materials, they lack the freedom and capacity to exercise their capacity of resource exploitation (Peet & Hartwick 2009). They receive very little actual help at the grassroots level. Much assistance comes in rhetoric form as knowledge transfer under the pretence of capacity building or economic assistance that transforms them into debt servicing nations. Thus, the so-called development throughout the world has led to the creation of additional dependence of the
Our perceptions of various real-life situations that we are confronted with shape the way we communicate with people and there are several factors that influence our ability to communicate during such situations depending on how we perceive them. It is a human tendency to make errors while communicating with people around us, which often depends on the kind of relationship we share with the person that we are dealing with. In this context, a lot depends on our cultural background and our ability to empathize. Being skillful in perception checking often clarifies mistaken perceptions and leads to a better communication pattern. I believe the concept of perception checking is foolproof, and also a powerful tool of communication if used effectively since it deepens the understanding of self which further determines a person’s effectiveness in perceiving correctly in the face of sensitive situations that further have a strong bearing on our levels of happiness and contentment. The basic purpose of a perception check is to get correct information by asking the most specific and relevant questions so as to get specific information to understand self and the situation in hand, thus implying effective communication in extracting maximum understanding. This enables a person to take remedial action
An imagination of a world of utopia is one thing, amongst others that has always intrigued and struck me. This is because in such a world of imagination, I feel more realistic and scary, with all manner of ideas which encompass my thoughts. Such dystopian thoughts made the writing of the narrative “from within and without” inescapable, especially when almost all scenes seem intriguing, sometimes horrible. My imagination of recent trends in globalization acted as an impetus towards writing the dystopian narrative. Being an ardent reader of dystopian narratives, I discovered in the course of research that though the turn of dystopian narratives had already been detected from previous decades of nineteenth century, the nature of dystopian world building has been changing (Desmet 7-30; Kerby par. 1-13). This has been attributed to varying changes in terms of politics, society and ideology (Desmet 20). In this regard, the almost Marxist twist which I employed in the narrative depicts the dystopian world in line with the Marxist critical assessment of capitalism that points out the ever decreasing “unlimited faith in the power of science” (Desmet 16). This was evident in the following extract from the narrative ‘from within and without’. “…, this showed images and reflections of everything and everyone. These images were multiplied and reduced ad infinitum to make the intruders uneasy and oppressed when they learnt that the least of their gestures was being monitored. The design was unique as movement or sound echoed were projected from room to room and then to the ultimate professor’s room and surveillance station. The professor was a man of highly sophisticated pleasures and not even the well versed prostitutes he employed for a couple of weeks knew the room where he slept. The soldiers on the ground
There has been a lot of debate in the U.S on which sectors need to be given the first priority in budgetary allocation. The American citizens are being faced with a lot of challenges that need government attention in order to improve the lives of its citizens. Although there are many issues that need immediate attention, the healthcare sector stands out as the one that needs to be given the first priority (Koningsberg, 2008). Washington has over the years ignored the health care sector and in the process leaving the poor struggling to access quality health care due to selective policies that favor the rich. The recent healthcare bill that is sponsored by the Government is a welcome relief to those people who are unable to pay the expensive premiums charged by insurance companies. This paper will discuss why the policy issues in the healthcare sector need to be given the first budgetary priority by both the senate and the government. Over 47 million citizens in the U.S do not have a health insurance cover which makes this a major source of concern (Bowles, 1993). This numbers are always moving up because of the ever increasing cost of living. The healthcare problem qualifies to be given the first priority because there is no way a population without proper healthcare can be economically viable. From a personal experience, my mother lost her life because of breast cancer because she was unable to access medical attention. Since she didn’t have a medical insurance to cater for her treatment, she was unable to access treatment on time and later succumbed to the illness (Gosling, 2009). The cost of health insurance has been increasing and in the process making it difficult for the poor to access quality medical care. The healthcare bill that is fully supported by President Obama aims at subsidizing health insurance premiums paid by low income earners (Gosling, 2009). The government intends to achieve that by putting a healthcare policy in place that regulates insurance companies and thus prevent them from exploiting the poor. The government also intents to set aside abudgetary allocation to cushion low income earners from paying expensive insurance premiums for their heath. This policy will ensure that many citizens become insured to ensure that no citizens fail to receive medical attention due to the inability to pay for health insurance premiums (Koningsberg, 2008). The healthcare will also ensure that the price of d
Introduction The exploration of femininity as a concept and as a combination of qualities inherent to a female-identifying individual has always been subjected to heated debates. From the Western perspective, modern feminism has been challenged by the view that there is no place for issues of femininity because women have the right to vote, work, prevent pregnancies, and choose any career in their life. Therefore, feminism has been referred to as unnecessary because there are no real issues against women have to fight. Nevertheless, there are still some significant barriers that prevent twenty-first-century society from enjoying equality. The current paper will explore the most pressing issues in femininity, with a focus on the racial issue as women of color are still are among the most oppressed population groups. Domestic Labor Throughout centuries, the central act of the female role has always been attributed to housewives (Dalla Costa 1). It has been assumed that all women are housewives, including those who work outside their homes. Domestic work is measured not only by the number of hours that one spends at home but also in the quality of life and relationships that a woman creates. This idea was initially generated by the surge of capitalism, which elevated the tole of the family, the increased reliance on male labor due to industrialization, and the increased costs to capital. As men were turned into wage laborers that served their factories, women were given the role of the housewives struggling with the separation from their husbands. The advent of capitalism also diminished the role of women’s physical integrity in the context of ensuring that they maintain their social roles. A woman was subordinated to a man because she did not participate in social production and thus could not independently present herself on the labor market. From such a diminution of women, capital constructed a female role which was meant to be reduced by a man. When speaking of the current issues in femininity, women are not reduced to their roles of housewives to the extent to which they used to be. The division of domestic labor still exists today, with eight out of ten women still saying that they do more housework than their husbands or boyfriends (Burkeman). However, at the center of this issue is not the number of tasks one completes around the house but rather the idea that caring for children and keeping a house clean is the work of women. And, since women earn less on an overall scale, they should give up their careers for the sake of becoming full-time housewives. It goes without mentioning that when a woman decides to stay at home, her decision should be supported. Nevertheless, assuming that housework is everything a woman should do is perpetuating the stereotypes brought by capitalism. Mass Media Mass media, with Hollywood movies and fashion magazines, in particular, play a significant role in perpetuating unhelpful stereotypes. A woman in mass media is presented as a character-less persona that is supposed to look fabulous to be considered worthy. This
Healthcare professionals can face many issues at their workplace. While many problems such as staff shortage, long working hours, or exhaustion are common for all units, some concerns arise in specific departments more frequently than in others. The problem of violence, for example, is undoubtedly present in all areas of healthcare, but Intensive Care Units (ICUs) can have higher rates of almost all its types – verbal abuse, physical violence, and threats (Park, Cho, & Hong, 2015). Thus, this issue has to be addressed to reduce the rates of violence and mitigate the possible outcomes to such negative occurrences. Many change models and strategies can be chosen to achieve success, but Lewin’s Change Theory may be the most suitable one. This essay aims to present a realistic plan for healthcare professionals in ICUs focused on training and communication skills development to reduce the rate of violence in the unit. Identified Problem and a Realistic Change The identified issue is violence in the workplace. As Park et al. (2015) state, violent incidents may be perpetrated by different types of people. However, the majority of all cases feature patients and their family as the primary aggress
Unique functions of a trial court All trial courts only hold trials on cases. As opposed to appellate courts, trial courts always have jurisdiction over the original case. This simply implies that the trial courts are responsible for hearing a case for the first time it is taken for trial in a court. Appellate courts only hear appeals from individuals or groups of people who had previously gone to a trial court or any other lower court. It is only in trial courts that one would expect to find the jury. The jury is expected to find the facts linking to the case (Walker, 1980). In the case of Woburn, the trial court could only address the issue brought up about the contamination of the town’s drinking water. The court could only try the case by using the facts. If the court found that the companies caused the contamination, then the companies would be found guilty. Anything beyond that would have to be handled in the court of appeal. The preponderance of the evidence The term preponderance of the evidence means that the side that would provide greater evidence concerning the case would lead either the judge or the jury to take one side as opposed to the other. This means that the side that provides evidence that is more convincing would be favored. A mere preponderance is not as heavy as having truth beyond reasonable doubt which is the burden of proof in a criminal court. This difference in the burden of proof in civil and criminal trials is due to the assurance of the conviction. In criminal court, the conviction must be certain but in a civil court, the trial might require more hearing in an appellate court (Walker, 1980). This difference might be due to the differences in remedies available in the different courts. It was easy for the plaintiffs to prove their case because the evidence was clear. The water contained the deadly chemicals that were being emitted during the companies’ production process. The truth When Facher said that the truth was at the bottom of a bottomless pit, he meant that the trial was an unreliable method of finding the truth. He believed that the truth did not only lie in the chemicals that were found in the water. He believed that the truth was found somewhere beyond the evidence provided in court against the companies. However, he was not correct when he suggested that because the truth is always based on evidence. The concerns of Schlichmann Schlichmann was so concerned when the judge did not allow his clients to go to the witness stand to recount their stories of the illness and death of their children before he could listen to the experts. Schlichmann was not impressed b
Brief Introduction In the critical review article, the views of Norman Kutcher on the formation of friendships are discussed in detail. Kutcher noted that friendship was extremely beneficial when it came to the formation of relationships in societies that subscribed to Confucianism. In particular, Kutcher talked about the fifth relationship, which was indeed a valued principle in the Confucian society. In this article, the views of other scholars are discussed in order to strengthen the works of Kutcher. Friendship is a concept that has been analyzed by a number of scholars due to its importance in uniting people in society. The Power of Female Friendship Dobransky, P. (2008). The Power of Female Friendship. New York: Penguin Books. The above scholar conducted an extensive study on the differences between women and men concerning the formation of friendships. He noted that human behavior should be analyzed differentiating between the mind and the brain. The mind is software while the brain is a collection of specified anatomical bits of hardware. Using the brain is remarkably easy and elegant as opposed to the utilization of the mind. In the same way, men are different from women because they have different gender instincts. The analysis of this scholar is similar to that of Kutcher because he differentiates between human brain and the mind. Kutcher noted that there exists a difference between friendship and family ties. Friendship has an ability to influence the morality of an individual (Dobransky, 2008). The above researcher came up with a system that would help friends in solving problems easily. Furthermore, an individual can resolve internal conflicts that come about as a result of forming friendships through the model developed by the researcher. For instance, issues to do with professional prosperity, family links, sense of belonging, finding a mission in life might be resolved through the application of the Quantum psychology theory. Apart from resolving internal conflicts, an individual can utilize the theory in strengthening friendships and improving relationships with other people. However, to resolve internal conflicts and solve interpersonal issues, an individual must be well connected to other members of society. It is surprising to note that the theory can help an individual in resolving issues affecting the environment. The researcher observed that two members of the same gender might have different high brains, but their emotions might be similar. It is common to find members of the same gender behaving in a similar way. Negative emotions have negative effec
Distinguishing Research Purpose and Practical Purpose Every research activity is triggered by the need for some practical solution to a problem that hinders the achievement of a desired goal (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010). Since the practical solution needs to be backed by evidence, research must be conducted at small scale. Upon successful outcomes, the research study is then implemented on a large population. At times, there is no synchronisation between the research purpose and practical purpose at a glance. The research purpose focuses on the analysis of current stats whereas the practical purpose is all about the need for change in the current setup. These concepts are going to be explained using the example of desktop virtualization. Desktop virtualization refers to the idea of catering for the need of having huge resources with every computer in the network. This is because resources such as the printer, high memory space, specialised software, and added features are allocated to the server only. Nevertheless, these resources are needed to perform organisational functions. At times, when employees are away from the office, they cannot have access to the server resources, and this hinders their performance. Consequently, the organisation suffers due to poor productivity. This is a problem that needs to be resolved. There can be empirical data pointing to the activities that were supposed to be carried out off-site. However, these activities were not performed due to lack of server resources. There could also be information on activities to be performed off-site and the quantum of those activities. The main issue remains to be how to address this problem. The answer to this problem can be sought through the provision of the necessary resources at every location. This is a challenge since employees are in constant movement and there is no fixed location. The other option is to limit movement to facilitate resource allocation. This option is not viable since the business has to be dynamic to succeed. The viable solution is to introduce changes in the system such that it supports working from remote locations. The proposal for change can be regarded as a practical solution. The change of the system is what has been referred to as desktop virtualization. This will enable employees to access the required resources from anywhere. This will be made possible by granting access to the server or resource contained system. The security measures should be strict to counter any malicious attack. In this case, the research purpose is to share the resources located at the server. Therefore, the research purpose will be about the number of nodes for desktop virtualization the software required, and the bandwidth consumed. When viewed from the perspective of a practical purpose, the focus is upgrading the nodes to ensure that they all have resources attached with the server. This serves two core purposes: extended capability at every workstation and cost-effectiveness on the part of the network owner. The practical purpose will entail on how to make all computers access server to save on the cost of allocati