ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Agriculture is an economic branch that provides food to the population through growing plants and livestock. At the dawn of humankind, people obtained food through gathering and hunting and then switched to the development of farming methods – this phenomenon is called Neolithic Revolution. Historians have developed several theories about the reasons why many communities preferred settled agriculture over hunting and gathering. Despite the advantages of old methods of finding food and the disadvantages of agriculture, the transition could occur due to the human factor. Several theories are suggesting what exactly became the causes of the Neolithic revolution. According to Oasis Theory, after the Ice Age, people united with animals near water sources (“Environmental archaeology,” n.d.). Following Braidwood, who disagreed with the first theory, people naturally came to an understanding of how to use new sources of food and developed ways to domesticate plants and animals (“Environmental archaeology,” n.d.). However, some evidence indicates that the transition took place after the appearance of the first settled societies. In this case, the Neolithic Revolution’s reasons could be the need for controlled food sources and the need to get more. Thus, the transition to agriculture could occur for social reasons. The development of agriculture took place through the domestication of animals and plants. Domestication is a process when through a selection made by man, organisms – plants and animals – change their qualities; for example, they give more fruits. As a result, domesticated species depended on humans and their efforts to grow them. In this way, people refused foraging and hunting in favor of production. Scientists can learn how exactly people ate with archaeological findings, in particular, elements present in bones and other remains (Kelly & Thomas, 2013). Based on these pieces, they build theories about the relationship of people with nature. The transition to agriculture, mainly growing grain, was a long process and was followed by significant achievements of people in engineering, science, and other spheres. However, scientists wonder why this transition occurred because more and more arguments indicate that this change led to a lower quality of life (Martin & Wadley, 2000). For example, hunters and gatherers worked less and only for themselves, and in agriculture, there were long working days and the need to work for the common good. Moreover, in settlements that developed faster due to agriculture, diseases spread more quickly. Nevertheless, people chose to create a society and develop with the help of agriculture. The suggestions about the social origin of agriculture provide the basis for several more theories. For example, food supplies that could be done through dome
In her study Applicability of the Resource-Based and Dynamic-Capability Views Under Environmental Volatility , Lei-Yu Wu aimed to test the validity of the hypothesis that: “A highly volatile environment does not weaken the positive relationship between ﬁrm dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage” (28). The deployed methodological approach was concerned with asking 2000 of the randomly selected CEOs from firms in Taiwan to fill out a questionnaire (containing questions, related to the tested hypothesis), and analyzing the obtained 253 valid responses. The analysis’s focal point was to determine the discursive acuteness of the following factors (variables), within the context of how the sampled respondents usually go about ensuring the commercial successfulness of the affiliated organizations: resources, environmental volatility, dynamic capabilities, and competitive advantages. The instrument of the obtained data’s quantification was a 7-point Likert scale. In the aftermath of having conducted the study’s empirical and analytical phases, Lei-Yu Wu determined that a particular organization’s ability to address competitive challenges, by the mean of relying on its well-established access to the rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources, negatively relates to the measure of the affiliated environment’s volatility. As the author pointed out: “In highly volatile environments, the effects of resource accumulation on gaining competitive advantages are considerably reduced” (31). Hence, the study’s foremost conclusion – one of the main keys to ensuring that a particular firm would be able to maintain its competitive edge in the highly volatile environment, is increasing the extent of this firm’s dynamic capability. Even though the study by Lei-Yu Wu can indeed be referred to as being rather enlightening, in the discursive sense of this word, there are several limitations to it, which in turn undermine the provided conclusion’s legitimacy rather substantially. These limitations can be outlined as follows:  1. In her study, the author does not provide readers with analytical insight into the phenomenological/qualitative subtleties of the researched subject matter. That is, no answer has been given, as to what creates the situation when it is specifically the operationally flexible/dynamic organizations, which appear to be much less resource-dependent, as compared to what is being the case with the conventionally functioning ones.  2. There is a good reason to believe that the factor of perceptual/cognitive biases played a significant role, within the context of how the sampled respondents proceeded with filling out a questionnaire. This, o
Introduction In the modern day business environment, organizations are constantly forced to exhibit innovation and enhanced performance to remain relevant and profitable in an ever increasingly competitive arena. The input of both the individuals and groups in the organization is invaluable towards the achievement of organizational goals. Whereas the potential of groups and teams is monumental and crucial and as such indispensable to the organization, there comes a time when the fate of the organization may hang on the very shoulders of an individual. However, it is not always easy to make an impact in an organization especially if you are a new employee. There are various challenges that a new employee faces before he/she gets accepted by other employees. For example, competition is always rife among employees and conflicts of interest are always bound to occur. This is mainly attributed to the fact that each organization has a culture that new employees must adhere to. At the same time, existing employees always undermine new employees or view them as threats. With this in mind, this study shall provide a detailed analysis of the challenges new employees are bound to face upon joining a new organization. How these challenges affect the emotional status of the new employee shall be discussed and the various factors that may mitigate their productivity addressed. Solutions as to how a new employee can adapt to the new environment with ease shall also be offered. To this end, a detailed analysis on how being a new employee affects an individual’s stress levels, motivation and attitude towards work shall be presented. The organizational context Morgan defines an organization as an institute, group or an association which has a specific purpose and goals. For a group to deem itself as an organization, there must be observable elements of cooperation and coordination within the members of the group by a pre-prescribed format. As such, the key to the establishment of any organization is the presence of some common and quantifiable goals which are to be pursued collectively. In an organization, the role that an individual plays must be looked at against the background of the overall effects that his actions may have on the entire organization. However, being a new employee has a devastating effect on the role that the individual must play. For example, other employees may intentionally refuse to share vital information, the managers and supervisors may undermine your capabilities thereby assigning you tasks that are below your potential, and you may face difficulties in socializing with other members since friendship is a process that requires trust and time neither of which a new employee possesses. Consequently, the new employees find it very difficult to get work done since they are often isolated and without adequate knowledge of the organizational structure and mechanisms. Traditional organizations have been characterized by rigidity and structural form whereby emphasis on an individuals input has not been as pronounced. The traditional organization is modeled around pre-defined plans and set goals which are all dir
Introduction Japan has a history on vast and varied forms of poetry. The history dates back to the time Chinese introduced its poetry to Japan. Afterwards, the history merged into the Japanese culture. The poems stand out for their easy comprehension, and intense, emotional connection with the readers. One of the popular Japanese poems is the Haikai. It consists of three short lines. The first line, has 5 syllables, second has 7, and third has 5 syllables. Haiku’s thematic concerns are experiences, nature, and emotions. Waka is a general term for Japanese poem and literature. They are short poems that need unique structural features and aim at expressing feelings. In the early ages, poets composed them to capture feelings instead of explaining the feelings. Japanese used waka poems in ancient times to celebrate occasions and they still do. They address real life events e.g. love, misery, poverty and death. Renga a collaborative Japanese poem involved two or more poets creating a poem simultaneously, writing in alternating sections then compiling the poem. Th
The play “August: Osage County” by Tracy Letts is undoubtedly rich in text. The characters have been developed in a very compelling manner. The way they have been presented criticizes the American society in this current age. The main characters in the play, the Weston family, have outstanding personalities. Besides being overly sensitive, the Weston family is for clever members. Their unity is coupled with destructive and supportive engagements. In this essay, I am going to focus on the character profiles of the main characters in the play. The main characters are the Weston family members. I will also discuss the themes in the play. The Weston family has five members and a housekeeper who lives with them. Individual members of this family have distinct personalities. They influence each other with their mannerisms. Beverly Weston is the Father of the home. He has three daughters who are over 40 years of age. He is married to Violet. He is an outstanding intellectual who at one time was a world class poet. He has a chronic habit of alcoholism. Though polite, he is emotional and miserable. These mournful and dejected characters have ultimately made Beverly suicidal. Violet Weston is the wife of Beverly. She is a conniving woman. After the death of his her husband, she is depressed. To keep herself going, she turns to pills and pain killers. She eventually gets addicted to the drugs. She later learns that her mouth has cancer. Despite her affliction, Violet does not desist from her scornful and evil abuse. The first daughter of Violet Weston is Barbara Fordham. In the entire play, she is seen to be making great efforts to maintain sanity in their family. She is a mother to a 14 year old girl. She is strong and caring. Her mother was unruly and she took it upon herself to contain her. Her marriage was falling apart and her daughter was smoking pot. Barbara consistently tried to bring sanity to their lives. Ivy Weston is the second daughter of Violet Weston. She is reserved but a timid stereotype (Letts 137). She has had to contend with her mother’s outrage for a long time since she lived closer to her home. Despite her calm outlook, she conceals so much dirt. She has kept a secret love affair with her cousin (Letts 124). The youngest daughter is Karen Weston. She yields to self pity and moves away from their family to live in Florida in pursuit of happiness (Letts 144). She claims her adult life has been miserable. She later returns with a 50 year old businessperson as her fiancé. The man later turns out to be hateful in the drama. Hired by Beverly, Johnna Monevata is the housekeeper of the Weston home. Beverly disappeared a few days after hiring her. She says that her stay in that home was because she needed the job. She is stable and upright morally. She is also considerate. There are occasions when she has saved the day for the family members. Lessons in the play “August: Osage County” In the en
Introduction Purpose The purpose of the report is to highlight the appropriate market entry strategy for ASOS in Dubai. Main contents This report reviews the company’s expansion strategy and applies it to a proposed expansion into Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The report considers the business, industry, and consumer factors affecting the suitability of the business location. It then recommends an appropriate market entry strategy. Company Background Overview ASOS is an online fashion retailer from the UK, and it operates country-specific retail fashion businesses. Description ASOS has been targeting 20-something year-old customers with its exclusive own-brand label. It also runs more than 800 other brands in its online stores. It serves a fashion conscious age group around the world, relying on website and mobile or tablet apps for its e-commerce business (asos, 2015). Country and market analysis Dubai is home to several free economic zones and shopping complexes that make it the shopping capital of the Middle East. The UAE ranks as the fifth strongest emerging market in the world, a position that has made it among the most sought after destinations for retailers (Sambridge, 2013). Dubai has attracted global retail fashion and high fashion giants like Victoria’s Secret, whose market entry depends on the availability of high per capita disposable incomes. External factors The UAE currency is pegged to the US dollar, which makes most business transactions certain and attractive for many international companies. In addition, the country has a population of more than 2.3 million people and a high GDP per capita that surpasses 41,000 US dollars annually. The country ranks as number 31 in the World Bank Doing Business 2016 survey. This rank highlights the ease of dealing with construction permits, gettin
Introduction The American film industry has continuously taken the step of addressing the events of the holocaust in several of its productions. Baron estimates that “starting in 1980, over 20 films about the holocaust have been released to theaters or aired on television annually” (74). Hollywood, as the supreme cinematographic industry of the modern western world, has focused considerably on the topic of movies and profiting them. Various productions stand out in Hollywood approaching the themes of the holocaust from different contexts. Consequently, these productions endeavor to build on the imagery of this period of history, which up to today intrigues and influence the entire western civilization. The unquestionable dimension of that historical period allies itself into the ever-growing appropriation and theorization of the events of the holocaust and their validity. Given that, this paper will seek to analyze how Sophie’s choice, a holocaust-related Hollywood movie, an introspection of how it communicates with theories about the events, as well as how it diverges from, or endorses survivors theories that relate to testimony and trauma is vital for consideration. Holocaust entangled a period in history when, due to perceived beliefs of racial inferiority, the German Nazi regime mass killed Jews totaling to around six million. The regime also targeted races not related to Jews. Such groups included disabled, gypsies, Russians among others. About 200,000, gypsies, about 200,000 physically or mentally challenged patients from German race were also murdered. Additionally, “…other groups were prosecuted on political, ideological and behavioral grounds, among them communalists, socialist, Jehovah’s witness and homosexuals” (Dawidowicz 3). Many of the people belonging to holocaust target group, particularly the religious leaders and those whose behavior did not much some of the prescribed social norms principally died out of starvation, mistreatment and or neglect. The 1982 movie, Sophie’s choice by coordinator Alan J. Pakula, talks about a former concentration camp inmate who is going through the underlying process of overcoming the trauma. Sophie, the main character, is cinematic representation of the most influential source of assessment of the horrors of world war two holocausts, the survivor. In the life of a survivor like Sophie, besides the issue of testimony, there is inherent question of trauma- as defined by psychologists and discussed by Denmark La Capra, which besides generating consequent immeasurable damaging effects on the lives of the victims, strongly influences their capacity to testify (32). Consequently this paper also has the objective of conducting an analysis of Sophie’s testimony as compared to those of real survivors as well as how trauma manifests in Sophie’s life. The context of the analysis of the usage of the image of survivor represents the mainstream cinematographic industry: Hollywood. Hollywood is cinema is the most popular and, therefore, the most viewed since before the even
Introduction Despite the fact that the book How to Win Friends and Influence People was written rather long ago, it is still applicable to the contemporaneity and to the modern communicational patterns. It is a compilation of advice that can be used notwithstanding the setting. In particular, the principles proposed by the author can be useful both in everyday circumstances and in work life. Importantly, to be able to apply these guidelines correctly, it is essential to review and analyze them. Analysis It should be noted that the first chapters of Part Three raise such basic elements of communication as argumentation, respect to interlocutors, and the conduct in a situation when another person is wrong. These chapters are of particular importance since many people do not realize the influence of possible miscommunication on the subsequent events. The author of the book emphasizes that “nine times out of ten, an argument ends with each of the contestants more firmly convinced than ever that he is absolutely right” ( Carnegie , 1981, p. 120). Notably, this statement reflects the idea that constructive discussion or exchanging ideas is more functional and efficient rather than trying to persuade someone that one viewpoint is correct while the other one is false. This is a significant guideline for me since I tend to distinguish the right direction from the wrong one instead of working jointly and collaborating with others to find a path that is effective and feasible. The two approaches that I consider to be the most important are the idea that it is essential to evaluate the situation from the other person’s standpoint and the need to be sympathetic towards another’s ideas and perceptions. The author stresses out “there is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does” ( Carnegie , 1981, p. 175). It can be assumed that any statement has certain underlying reasons that drive someone to think this very way. Therefore, to be able to understand the context and the subjacent reasoning it is necessary to learn the other person’s argumentation, which also implies being tolerant toward perception that might contradict someone’s personal comprehension. In that matter, such an approach will allow eliminating the waste in the work process, respecting the diversity of ideas, and opting and idea that is most suitable (MacGr
Many studies suggest that low wages or salaries and unemployment make less-educated individuals more likely turn into criminal activities. Legislations can put more policemen in the streets, formulate harsh sentencing laws, and take steps that will reduce crime, but there are limits how these policies can help in crime prevention. Various crime statistics in U.S. suggest that levels of school attendance, academic achievement, graduation rates and enrollment rates play an important role in the involvement of school going children in the criminal justice system. A research that was carried out from 2000 to 2006 indicate that the level of education among students in America can have an impact on the employment opportunities for future work or employment. For example in Australia, between the 1979 and 1985, there was overall increase in educational inequality. This educational inequality was associated with conviction rates for some, but not all, offences. Places with experience higher level of violent crime, these places experienced higher level of educational inequality. Additionally, there was a correlation between racially motivated crimes and educational inequality. According to Becker (1968), there is a strong correlation between violent crime and poverty. In addition, In learning institution (such as primary schools or elementary schools) where there is worse teacher-to-pupil ratio, conviction rates for criminal activities, while conviction rates for racially motivated offences were lower. “Although students in the U.S. have experienced improved economic prosperity and quality of life in the past years, these improvements have not spread to all citizens” (Hirsch 24). According to Becker (1968), income of the top one percent of the American citizens has seen improvement than that of the bottom ten percent since 1990. The poorest students (10 percent-20 percent of the American population) continue to leave high school without any qualifications, and this group of population is found to possess poor basic skills that are needed in the job market. It has also been found that a poor person or individual is more likely to live in unpopular and unsafe places where criminal activities are rampant. Different theories suggest that there is a correlation between educational inequality and criminal activities. All these theories suggests one thing, relative income among the poorest people’s income will have an impact on a persons’ decision to enter into criminal acti