ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Daubert (1993) marks the importance of reasoning in cases involving scientific evidence. Prior to this decision, the jury accepted any evidence presented in combination with the Frye test. This test was used as a standard for determining the admissibility of scientific evidence in Federal courts. The precedent is based on the concept of “reasoning or methodology” which means that in outlining the criteria that might be used to determine the scientific validity of the evidence. Thesis In spite of the advantages and opportunities proposed by the Daubert decision, it creates a lot of challenges for forensic science and DNA testing in particular. Main text According to the Daubert decision, the Supreme Court took a broad view of “science ” based on the data and reasoning facts considered as expert evidence. The expert evidence is a critical component of many trials, and before the Daubert decision juries were influenced by expert evidence that is not based on a scientific knowledge (Dixon and Gill 2). The Daubert decision assigns the role of federal judges as “gatekeepers” and introduced new standards for evidence testing. The main criteria that judges have to consider involve:  1. whether a theory or methodology can be (and has been) tested;  2. whether it has been subjected to peer review and publication;  3. whether it has been subjected to peer review and publication,  4. the known or potential rate of error;  5. the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique’s operation;  6. whether it is generally accepted in the scientific community (Dixon and Gill 3). In spite evident benefits and opportunities of the new approach, it creates numerous challenges for forensic science and DNA testing. Following Kaestle et al (2006) Daubet “sets a more “lenient” threshold for admissibility than the other; both require a pretrial showing of scientific validity. The principal distinction between the two lies in the question, “who decides the issue of scientific validity” (53). Taking into account DNA identification technique, it is possible to say that within species, the number of similarities is far greater than the number of differences, but because of the uniqueness of DNA, theoretically, no two people are exactly the same, save for identical twins. In theory, from organism to organism, the sequence in which molecules form the DNA chain differs. Both the White and the Jeffreys methods for using polymorphic strands as an identifying marker—now the Lifecodes DNA-Print and the Cellmark DNA Fingerprint, respectively— individualize by using length polymorphism. This technique is called restriction fragment length polymorphism ( RFLP ) (Watson and Witkowski 5). To do this, a relatively large
Introduction All over the world, true democracies are measured on not only how often they hold elections, but also how free and fair are the elections, how inclusive the elections are but also how competitive they are. In both the presidential (United States) and parliamentary (United Kingdom) forms of government, elections are a true measure of the strength of the democracy. There are different types of elections. They include general elections, by-elections, primary elections, etc. Elections are decision-making processes where the general citizens (those who are legally eligible to vote) choose the people who are to govern them for a certain period maybe four to five years. By conducting elections and choosing the government then what the people say is that the power given to the government belongs to the people. Analysis The United States elections of the year 2008 that are scheduled to take place on the fourth day of November 2008 will include presidential elections together with their vice presidents. At the same time, new senators will be voted in, there will also be a couple of state and local elections without forgetting the election of new members of the House of Representatives. The elections will mark the 55 th time that the country has held quadrennial elections in its history. The 2008 general elections will be a very special election. This is because there is something that will be happening that more than half of all United States of America citizens have not seen in their lifetime. This is because the elections will mark the first time since 1928 that the country will be going into the ballot box without having an incumbent president or vice president carrying the ruling party’s flag to the elections. This is because neither president bush (whose second term will be expiring-constitutionally he cannot vie) nor the vice president dick Cheney (who has categorically refused to run) will be spearheading the campaigns. Compared to other general elections the 2008 presidential elections seem to be the one that will be most hotly contested. This is first because no incumbent will be running. Historically incumbents have a relatively higher chance of being elected. Secondly, the 2008 elections have become some kind of an online election. In search of votes, many candidates have turned to the internet. As a result, history is in its making as republican candidate Ron Pol sends records tumbling as he made history by raising $4.2 million in a single day on November 5 th , 2007. In addition to this, there is a new debate springing up within the political divide. With support for an African-American candidate, barack Obama increasing, new questions of whether the time is ready for America to have a black president have become commonplace. Because of all this, campaign issues have gone further this time round to encompass issues that are centuries old like the issue of slavery and slave trade. In addition to this, issues of religion have sprung up especially after it had been falsely rumored that the democratic, African-American candidate
The United States of America has over the in the recent years strongly involved itself in fighting and stopping attacks by insurgent groups. These groups are largely associated with terror and extremist movements. Therefore, they consider them as enemies who are merely waiting for the best opportunity to strike. In Africa, the insurgent movement in Sub-Saharan Africa is a group that has existed for a long time. It is a major cause of terrorist activities globally (Poynting and Whyte 97). Information obtained from the United States Commission Report on Terrorism against the United States repeatedly mentioned that Sub-Saharan Africa was hosting Libya mercenaries and the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) among other insurgents. This region is a hub for terrorists (Gus 200). Notably, the USA has never argued that Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole is a threat to people. Its involvement is a move aimed at curbing terrorist activities and destroying terror networks while protecting the lives, property and economies of nations. The involvement of the USA United States has bombings moved to great lengths in fighting against terrorism in Africa since the September 11. There is great level of threat both at home and overseas where its embassies and citizens are located. The Sub-Saharan Africa is faced with diverse religious dynamics, underdevelopment, low literacy levels in some regions and high rate of unemployment. These factors have made it possible for terrorist insurgent groups to easily form and grow. The group has grown because it has been able to tap the jobless youths in the region, women and ex-military officers (Gus 210). Besides, the group has been a major cause of terror attacks in the horn of Africa, Europe and the USA. Its network is believed to receive major support materially and financially by certain politicians and interested groups globally (Poynting and Whyte 115). The easy recruitment of members especially for this group, financial capabilities, state of the art weaponry and the fact that states harbor and hide terrorists creates the sense the United States that indeed there is a greater support of terrorism. Consequently, it will indeed be very difficult to fight racialism because an influential faction rides on it and further use it to achieve key objectives such as inflicting terror. The insurgent movement generally holds the largest number of terrorist groups in Africa (Gus 100). Groups designated as terror organizations (such as Al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood) are closely associated with this insurgent movement. As a result, there is a sense that fighting terrorism in the Middle East without extending it to Africa will not bear much result. While this is not enough to justify their involvement since African nations are capable of handling their security issues, it is true that dealing with a terrorist network requires a holistic approach. Nonetheless, the major force that drives the USA to implement the necessary certainty for action is the most important step that ought to be taken. Analysts consider the insurgent movement in Sub-Saharan Africa to have a vast network while lo
Gene therapy is aimed at the correction of genetic failures by planting healthy DNA particles into disordered cells (Niidome & Huang, 2002). Geneticists have made their goal to locate and replace the disordered genes with healthy ones – and reach the goal using viruses that transfer the genes into cells. Genetic therapy can be subdivided into two types. The germinal therapy affects not only the patients themselves, but their potential offspring as well; it is deployed in lab conditions, as yet. Somatic therapy uses only those cells whose chromosomes are not hereditary, thus affecting the patient only. It is widely used and so far has been a success in curbing genetic failures – the fact that speaks for itself in the ethical battle evolving around the subject. Technological issues can be fixed first-handedly, while the ethical nature of such treatment is still questionable. Historically, genetic disorders have created inequality that has nevertheless been treated as a givenness. With the development of this therapy, the collective subconscious started to wonder over the ethical stance of gene modification. Ethical arguments against this kind of therapy mainly feature the unsafety, the godlessness of such interference, and the “slippery slope” issue (Wirth, Parker, & Ylä-Herttuala, 2013). The da
Introduction Henry James’s book “The Turn of the Screw” is considered to be one of the brightest examples of suspense and ghost stories. Although it is not lengthy, the narration is considered by critics as a model of intricate plot and child ghost story. The book is over one hundred years old, but it still interests the readers in many countries of the world. Apart from numerous editions and translations, “The Turn of the Screw” was adapted for several movies and even an opera. The story covers several important themes, and its characters are diverse in their nature. Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw” is a fantastic work of fiction well worth reading. Themes There are several topics raised in the book: society and class, innocence, the fight between good and evil, repression, wisdom, gender, appearances, and, of course, the supernatural. The latter theme is introduced as early as in the book’s prolog: “I quite agree – in regard to Griffin’s ghost, or whatever it was – that it’s appearing first to the little boy, at so tender an age, adds a particular touch” (James 3). Later, the theme is emphasized by the governess’s mentioning of sinister sounds and visions: “the possible recurrence of a sound or two, less natural and not without, but within, that I had fancied I heard” (James 14). Throughout the whole story, there are frequent remarks of ghosts that are seen by the governess and probably by the children. The theme of class and society is represented in the depiction of relationships between the servants, the governess, and the children. Upon arrival, the governess is met by “a civil person who dropped me as decent a curtsy as if I had been the mistress or a distinguished visitor” (James 12). The young lady was not used to such reception. Another mentioning of this theme can be traced in the way the author describes the children. They are always set higher than anyone else: “a pair of little grandees, of princes of the blood” (James 25). Themes of innocence and repression are tightly connected in the character of the governess. On the one hand, the young lady uses big words such as “contaminate” and “corrupt” to express her astonishment when she is told about Quint’s actions (James 21). On the other hand, her virginity makes her think of physical contact frequently. Probably when the master touches her hand at their meeting, it is her first experience of a thing of this kind. Later, the governess frequently thinks about the master and hopes to see him again. Gender is depicted in the story through the character of the master: his overwhelming masculinity is his most distinctive feature. The governess tells Mrs. Grose that she was “carried away” by the master (James 15). Another gender issue is the relationship between the governess and Miles and her desire to control him. Finally, Bly is run entirely by women,
Taking even a brief look at the USA, its culture, traditions and ideas, is enough to understand that the entire country is shot through with the spirit of Christianity; every single detail starting from the morning sermons to the Christmas traditions, serves as an undeniable evidence of people’s faith. However, when reconsidering the history of the nation objectively, one can see that the entire state is based on the principles that do not comply with the basic ideas of the Christian faith. Therefore, the controversial issue of the USA fundamental faith needs to be researched. Despite the common belief that the USA is nowadays populated mostly by Christians, who make 76% (Diversity Resources, Inc., n. p.), and is considered to have been founded by Christians, it is highly doubtful that the basic principles of the USA democracy are based on solely Christian ideas, which means that the USA is rather a country of considerable religious diversity and a place where people of any faith can find their shelter and be treated equally. To understand the essence of the way Christian ideas and the Christian belief settled in the United States and the way the American people came to believing in the Christian principles, it is necessary to travel back in time and see what the United States were based on. Therefore, it is most reasonable to start with the Founding Fathers themselves and the postulates that they were trying to promote to the newly established States of America. Since the religion that the former were grounding the first set of laws in the United States and the principles of the USA democracy on certain beliefs, it is reasonable to suggest that the faith the Founding Fathers relied on was the foundation for the further USA cultural and spiritual development. Oddly enough, unlike most people might have thought, the Founding Fathers could hardly be called fully Christian – professing deism, they were not exactly the Christians. According to Holmes, deism was the primary religion of the United States, which is why it “proved influential in the United States from roughly 1725 through the first several decades of the nineteenth century” (Holmes 49). As Holmes marked, “Emphasizing human inquiry, reason, and personal freedom, it catered to American principles of individuality” (Holmes 49), thus, offering sufficient grounds for the further development of the democracy stronghold. Therefore, it must be admitted that at the very beginning of the United States formation, the basic belief that the state principles were being based on could hardly be denoted as the Christian ones – even though Deism is, strictly speaking, a branch of Christianity, it differs too much from the traditional Protestant or Catholic vision of what belief is. Hence, it can be considered that the American nation did have certain non-Christian roots deep down in the past. It can be argued, though,
Introduction Philosophy is part and parcel of our lives. The term philosophy is derived from a Greek phrase which literally means, “The love of wisdom” (Soccio, 2009). Philosophy can today be used to refer to person’s beliefs, values and general way of life. In this case, we will be talking of someone having a philosophy and not someone being a philosopher. The first philosophers were considered to be wise for their boldness in asking some questions like what life’s meaning was, or where our origin was. One such philosopher is Aristotle whose arguments have come to be known as the Aristotle logic (Robin, 2007). Aristotle is reputed to be the first man to study the logic concept although there have been other numerous contributions to the concept over the years. Logic and Philosophy Philosophy generally deals with the interpretation, meaning, evaluation as well as logical consistency. There are at least two hundred areas of study in philosophy (Soccio, 2009). Because there are so many branches of study, there is usually conflict of interest and some philosophers even suggest that some of those arrears should not be considered as philosophical disciplines. For example, a philosopher that is a logician may have a hard time embracing metaphysics. The main reason would be that metaphysics is at best confused and abstract. Only until very recently, the philosophy from the west has been characterized by logical reasoning which involves written arguments. This in a way blocked out any other expressions of philosophical wisdom. After the eighteenth century, philosophers were no longer considered to be a certain clique of highly literate men who were able to fend for themselves or who were associated to the church. Today, learning institutions have made it possible for other people to study philosophy including women who were not considered worthy of the tile of philosophers (Soccio, 2009). The author defines philosophy as the “love for wisdom.” Ideally, it means that philosophy is not a career. On the contrary, a philosopher is someone is in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom because he wants to know and not because he has to know. Philosophy is therefore not merely a means to the end. In fact, Liddell & Scott describe it as a passion for wisdom. This would imply that philosophy is not to be looked at as a career but as a hobby. It is however interesting to note that while today’s philosophers have more wisdom than the olden day philosophers. They are not necessarily wiser than they (Kimura, 2006). One other important issue that the author deals with is the fact that the tides have changed as far as archetypes are concerned. Philosophy was considered to be a privileged position that only a few people from the elite class held. This is hoverer
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about the difficult life of American migrant workers during the Great Depression. It uncovers the hardship of this historical period and reflects the author’s personal experience and knowledge about the lives of migrant ranch workers. Steinbeck invites the reader to think about each personage with compassion as he describes all characters as they are, with no judgment or admiration. This essay will examine the key themes of the story and the historical context, provide a brief analysis of the main characters, and give an overall reader’s opinion about the novel. The events in the novel take place during the Great Depression. Lennie and George, two migrant workers, arrive at their new job on a ranch in Salinas, California, where they will be bucking barley. Lennie and George are friends, and they are dreaming of having their farm one day. Lennie has a mental disability, so George has to look after him. Two friends stay in the house with other workers, where they get to know some new people and realize that they are the only ones who stick together while the rest of the workers are loners. Later on, they meet Curley, the son of their boss, and Curley’s wife, who is the only female on the ranch. Curley is a boxer, so he immediately dislikes Lennie because he is much bigger and stronger than other men, whom Curley can easily fight. Meanwhile, Curley’s wife is always seeking attention from the ranch workers as she feels very lonely. George refuses to talk to her and warns Lennie to stay away from her as well because he thinks that it might get them in trouble. Further in the novel, Lennie encounters Curley’s wife in the barn. As always, the girl is desperate for attention, so she starts a conversation with Lennie and even encourages him to touch her hair. However, she gets scared when Lennie pulls her hair too strong and starts screaming when he does not let her go. In turn, Lennie gets a panic attack and accidentally breaks her neck. The girl dies, Lennie realizes what he has done and runs away, but everybody on the ranch immediately understands who killed her. The workers follow Lennie with a clear intention to kill him. To save his friend from suffering, George finds Lennie first, calms him down by telling his favorite story about their farm, and shots him in the head. The protagonists of the book are George and Lennie. The two men are very different in many ways. Whereas George is small and lean, Lennie is big and strong. George is witty, smart, and independent, whereas Lennie has a mental disability and needs constant help. These two people are the only friends in the novel since the rest of the workers are very isolated. Generally, the book has quite a few characters, but each of them occupies a special place in the plot. On the surface, this is a story of the unique friendship between two men. Still, there are a few other relevant themes that are essential for this novel, which are loneliness, moral issues, and the hardship of living during the Great Depression. The idea of friendship is represented in the relationship between the two prot