ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Abstract The world is embracing the use of technology to improve education at a very fast rate. Employers are now turning to the use of testing software to carry out staff recruitment exercises and for a long time, professional bodies have been using online testing software to test candidates. Online assessment methods are now also being implemented by educational establishments to assist in guiding students from early ages of schooling. This paper looks at the role played by technology in the education field and more especially, in the area of assessment. Specifically, two online assessment tools; Scantron Performance Series and Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), are discussed. Introduction The quest for accountability in the education system and the desire to ensure that students are taught well has continued to grow over time. This has driven stakeholders to start considering alternatives to guide the teaching process for the good of both the teacher and the student. Educators are faced with a tough challenge to come up with innovative ways that guarantee the success of the education system besides ensuring that they are able to perform to the expectations of the public. Review and Literature Generally, the goal of any education system is to create of a healthy learning environment that provides the students with the opportunity to successfully learn and develop to their full potential. The key hurdle to deal with here is the huge variation that often is noticeable among students in terms of learning abilities. While others are perceived to be fast learners, some tend to be slow and require some special treatment and a lot of patience, understanding and support to enable them benefit from the entire learning process. The traditional approach to teaching requires the teacher to use his/her own intuition to make judgment about the students’ abilities. While this might help especially is the teacher has the interests of the student at heart, more often than not it is flawed and leaves a lot to be desired. We cannot with certainty use our human judgment to clearly tell where each student is at in the learning process and who among the students have need of support. As a result, slow and poor performing students receive a very unfair treatment. The need to use improved assessment tools arose from the fact that teachers wanted to have faster, reliable ways of evaluating students so as to identify the chal
Introduction The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical gospels. Similar to Matthew, it draws on the material found in the Gospel of Mark for parts of its narrative while adding original stories and details. The Gospel of Luke is thought to have been written by Luke the Evangelist, although this theory is unpopular in the scholarly community due to certain inconsistencies it creates. This essay explores the changes made to selected scenes from Mark by Luke and the possible motives for those alterations. Changes to Mark 14:3-9 Mark 14:3-9 tells the story of a woman anointing Jesus at the table of Simon the Leper and the reaction to that action by the people around him. In Mark, the onlookers are angry that the woman would waste expensive perfume that could be sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus replies that she has done a beautiful thing in preparing him for his burial, as the poor would always exist, and people would always be able to help them, but Jesus would not always be on Earth. Luke, however, has the woman anoint Jesus’s feet with her tears and dry them with her hair. Furthermore, he describes her as a sinner, which is the reason for Simon’s question about why God’s prophet would so openly accept affection from such a person. Jesus responds by telling a parable of two sinners, making the point that one that is forgiven much will react more strongly than one who is forgiven little. According to Muddiman and Barton, many interpretations of the event exist, but the one they choose says that the story is meant to contrast Simon and the woman (154). The woman is a great sinner, but shows great love and is therefore forgiven, while Simon is a small sinner who remains content with his position and needs to learn from the incident if he wants to attain forgiveness. Changes to Mark 3:31-35 Mark 3:31-35 recounts Jesus’s gesture in which he
Introduction The tremendous revolution in information and communication technology (ICT) has become remarkably dominant in everyday life. It entered both practical and scientific life until the situation reached the point of abandoning some traditional tools and replacing them with electronic or technical implements. This improvement of ICT literacy is defined into the vital 21st centrally as skills digital literacy (Ritzhaupt et al. 2013). The concept of digital literacy includes not only the ability to find data and access Internet sources. It also means the responsible and rational usage of digital technologies and tools to optimize everyday processes (Cooper, 2006). However, since digitalization has become ahead of the abilities of the majority of users, there is continuing debate around digital literacy as a gap between certain social groups. The level of digital literacy development is not the same throughout the globe since there are differences between certain groups of people, determined by many factors, such as age, gender, education, and person’s status. Therefore, the ongoing divide between genders in a society based on digital capabilities suggests that significant socio-economic (SES) variables can impact adolescent’s literacy, particularly at home and school. This essay will demonstrate that gender has a minor influence on digital literacy, while SES has a major impact on digital literacy. Gender Impact on Digital Literacy In addition to the concept of ICT literacy, there is a term digital divide, denoting social inequality between people with different access to information technology. The digital divide is usually determined by the user’s gender, age, social status, or place of residence (Ritzhaupt, Liu, Dawson, & Barron, 2013). For many years, there has been a stereotype that one of the causes of the digital divide is gender. However, scientific data suggest that people of all parameters around the world are influenced by the digital divide. They claim that one of the problems of the gender digital divide is computer anxiety based on boys’ and girls’ models of socialization (Cooper, 2006). Therefore, it leads to differences in attitude to the computer and the way of searching for information. A study conducted between Caucasian and African American children showed that girls use ICT more meaningfully and effectively (Jackson et al., 2008 cited in Ritzhaupt et al., 2013, p.4). Moreover, a study described by Cooper (2006, p.12) shows that females succeeded in learning and operating with a computer when they are alone. In contrast, in the presence of males, their learning decreased, and they experienced a high level of computer anxiety; thus, female’s performance was affected by mixed sex. When searching for information on the Internet, females browse fewer pages than males and look for relatively specific content. Additionally, girls with low social status often fail to answer the search question, while peers with higher social status were as successful as boys (Parycek et al. 2011. p.20). Hence, the social
Introduction Gluttony is an excessive human desire that leads to over-indulgence and disproportionate consumption of drinks, food, and accumulation of wealth. Since glutton is a disproportionate greed, some religions such as Christianity and Islam considers it as a vice and sin which people should shun so that they can help the needy. It is a deadly sin because it deprives the needy of the privileges of benefiting from the wealth that the society owns. According to Prose, “like lust, its sister transgression, the sin of gluttony reflects a constellation of complex attitudes toward the confluence of necessity and pleasure” (8). Since the modern society perceives gluttony as a sin, people are very conscious about the nature and the amount of food that they take because gluttony is not only a religious issue, but also a health issue. Hence, by following appropriate diet, people are able to eat well, and thus reduce their predisposition to gluttony. Therefore, this essay evaluates how gluttony is a ‘nightmare vision’ as depicted in topic “The Wages of Sin”and the film, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. “The Wages of Sin” “The Wages of Sin” depicts gluttony as a ‘nightmare vision’ because The Last Judgment painting illustrates how gluttons are facing a nightmare in hell. The painting shows six gluttons, two women and four men, who have sinned and are spending their time in hell while dining. Prose describes that, “the men have huge bellies, fleshy arms, and backs; one has pendulous breasts” (44). Such description indicates that the six sinners who are dining in hell have abnormally huge bodies due to their glutton habits. Since gluttony is a sin, critical analysis of the painting shows that the six sinners are in hell paying for their gluttony. Moreover, the sinners have extended their excessive eating habits into the hell because they are at the dining table ready to display their gluttonous behavior. Fleshy arms and huge bellies depict the impact of gluttony on their health for all the sinners are obese. The painting also illustrates how the gluttons are suffering because they are sitting at the dining table that has a variety of foodstuffs yet they are unable to eat. The dining table has chicken, wine, and loaves amongst other foodstuffs that make the gluttons salivate. Around the table, a band of demons exists, whose job is to prevent “the gluttons, by holding their arms and
The Costco Lenders At the end of fiscal year 2009, Issaquah (Washington state)-based Costco Wholesale Corp. operated 567 membership warehouse-type retail stores all across North America, Mexico, the UK, and northeast Asia, besides having a solitary foothold in Australia. It stands to reason, therefore, that requirements for trade credit tend to be dispersed rather than centralized. That fiscal year, the company had sixteen letter of credit, revolving credit and commercial paper facilities with as many financial intermediaries in seven countries (Costco Wholesale, 2009, pp. 70-71). Within the limits of this short paper, we cover the Royal Bank of Canada and an undisclosed Japanese investor as two examples of lenders. The Stock Issuer and Transfer Agent Financial Intermediary Mellon Investor Services is the investment bank affiliate that issues Costco stock. Mellon Bank (2004), through subsidiary Mellon Investor Services (MIS), issues, sells and otherwise administers shares of Costco for investors wishing to acquire as little as $250 worth of shares and as much as $250,000. The Role of Costco Financial Intermediaries The Royal Bank of Canada (2003) agreed to provide the 77-outlet Costco Canada a C$60 million credit facility that could be drawn as advances by Canadian stores, U.S. stores, guarantee letters, letters of credit and bankers; acceptances. Interest accrued from day to day while advances were outstanding; Costco (2009) reported cost of Canadian credit lines at 1.76 percent per annum, towards the lower end of the 0.64%-3.05% range for facilities arranged elsewhere in North America, Japan and in the UK. Royal Bank of Canada agreed to deposit advances directly to Costco at the designated branch of account on notice of formal intention to take an advance. Lead time depended on whether the advance requested was at least $100,000 (and multiples thereof) or $10 million (and multiples). Defaults incurred a penalty of Prime Rate plus 2%. Further, the facility protected the bank from exchange rate fluctuations vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar with a provision that Costco would pay on demand any amount exceeding the principal if the excessive drawdown was caused by currency movements. The Japanese example was a case of the wholly-owned subsidiary in the country issuing several promissory notes via a private placement in October of 2007. A private placement usually means that the lender was an individual, family or fund that did not wish to be identified. The total placement amounted to $69 million, with an eight-year term (and therefore maturing in 2017). Costco Japan bore costs of 2.695% per annum in order to retire “…2.07% Promissory Notes in October 2007 and for general corporate purposes…” (Costco, 2009, p. 40). Given that the new promissory notes cost more, the company evidently needed working capital more than it needed to retire the 2.07% Promissory Notes. At Me
Technological advances are widely regarded as the foundation of modern society. Through various inventions, people have been able to promote the development of the human civilization and improve standards of living. Technology is essential to the survival of humans in this modern era. Organizations make use of technology to increase their productivity and promote economic growth. Owing to the huge significance of technology, new technology is constantly being developed and implemented with the aim of improving human life even further. However, new technology sometimes may potentially bring harm or even disaster to the society. This paper will set out to discuss the potential negative impacts of technology from an ethical standpoint. The paper will show that sometimes, the risk to society posed by new technology does not justify its implementation. New technology is capable of causing widespread and catastrophic destruction to the society. While some old technology is dangerous, the scale of destruction that it can cause is normally limited. However, some new technology is capable of causing great destruction at an instance. For example, nuclear power plants have emerged as a feasible method of producing vast amounts of electricity for the world. Proponents of this technology argue that these power plants will enable countries to satisfying the rapidly growing demands for electricity. They also argue that nuclear power plants will help to offset the environmental impacts of some traditional electricity production methods such as fossil fuel use and coal burning. While nuclear technology does provide these benefits, it
This research paper is aimed at exploring the process of outsourcing and the effects that it has on the US economy. Every phenomenon has its advantages and disadvantages. Our main task is to weigh the pros and cons of this process and analyze the influence it has on the financial state of the companies themselves. It is also necessary for us to determine the long-term effects of outsourcing. The very term “outsourcing” has become an inseparable part of the business lexicon since the early eighties. This phenomenon is closely connected with the process of globalization, which has affected nearly every aspect of our lives. First, it is of crucial importance for us to give a clear and concise definition of this term. Overall, outsourcing is a subcontracting of product manufacturing to some third party (Kern, 202). There can be various reasons for doing it. The main purpose of outsourcing is to save costs and expenses a company may sustain in connection with the production process. Moreover, by means of outsourcing a company may improve the quality of the product for instance if the third party specializes in some particular aspect of manufacturing. It is of the utmost importance for us to give at least the most general survey of outsourcing, especially within the context of globalization. First, it should be mentioned that this process began in the early sixties. Overall, it was characterized by the transfer of industry from the so-called “first world” to developing countries. This process significantly intensified especially due to the development of high technologies in general and the World Wide Web in particular, because the transportation costs were decreased (Hoogvelt,98). At first glance, there seems to be practically a question about the effectiveness of this process, but as it has already been mentioned before outsourcing should be viewed within the context of globalization. It is also worth mentioning that there is a certain type of outsourcing, which is usually called off-shoring. The main peculiarity of this process is that the business process is relocated from one country to another. The question arises what are the reasons for doing it. First and foremost, the company, which relocates its manufacturing process to some developing country gains access less expensive workforce, like for instance in China and India. In other words, we can say that off-shoring provides better prize quality and cost-benefit ratio. On the one hand, it is worth mentioning that such an economic phenomenon as off-shoring has given a considerable boost to the developing and probably to third-world countries because it provides a great number of job sites in these countries. Nevertheless, there is always the reverse side of the coin: the number of the so-called sweatshops, workshops where employees usually work long hours and under very poor conditions. It is worth mentioning that as soon as life and work conditions in these countries impr
Most noted for influential ideas in the spheres of economics and labor, development of communist ideology. Marx’s most famous works are “The Communist Manifesto” and “Capital.” Biographical Information Marx’s ideology made a big impact on multiple spheres of life, such as economics, politics, and the structure of society. These ideas influenced educational systems and ideologies of the whole world. In 1844 Marx wrote “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts” and explored his idea that a man has “free, conscious activity,” this idea made an impact on education (Price, 2012). Marx believed that a person’s self-creation and self-education happen mainly through labor. Marx created stimulation for the educational systems to start teaching about the importance of labor and involving the students into their first labor experiences. Historical/Political Context The era when Marx’s most active stages of life happened was the time of class struggle in Europe. Marx was one of the radical thinkers and writers, involved in movements that were considered dangerous and extremist. Marx and his wife were banned from Paris and then from Germany for the kinds of articles the philosopher was writing, his ideas and his attempts to publish his own works and make them available for wider access. According to Karl Marx, society can be divided into two classes, called bourgeoisie and proletariat. The philosopher wrote that capitalist society is the society ruled by the dictatorship and domination of the bourgeoisie class, where the rights, freedoms, and opportunities for the working class to develop were limited. This included the educational system; the children coming from not wealthy proletarian families were denied to have an education. Beliefs on Education Marx was the philosopher who used a materialistic approach in order to understand the processes of social development. This means that his ideas were based on the belief that humans have certain material needs, and that the physical conditions of their lives define the way the society develops. Marx believed that all necessary material requirements are fulfilled through physical work. Physical work or labor was, according to Marx, a source of development and self-education. All the needed knowledge, essential for a good proletarian could be learned through being involved in labor. Impact on Education These days schools are no longer viewed as socially neutral institutions (Anyon, 2011). Schools are parts of the social structure, they are involved in political and economic issues, and they play a significant role in shaping society, its views, and ideas about the world and culture. Marx’s theories have created a big impact on the way society and the processes going on in it are being studied. His teachings about class-struggle as the basis of social development and a very important moving force in the
Introduction The following is an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of point of care testing with reference to diabetes. The additional tests required for long term control of the disease are also discussed. It is important to first define the meaning of diabetes and point of care testing before determining the advantages and limitations of point of care testing. Diabetes is a relatively familiar condition in the world today. It is a collection of metabolic illnesses whereby the blood sugar is higher than normal. High blood sugar has the effect of producing the classical symptoms making one to urinate frequently. In addition, one feels thirsty and hungry most of the times. Diabetes occurs in two types, 1 and 2. When the body fails to produce insulin, it results to type 1 diabetes. According to This type of diabetes therefore calls for an insulin injection (American Medical Association & College of American Pathlogists.2007, 71). Type 2 results from the failure of insulin to function well in the body and therefore causing insulin resistance complications. An insulin resistance complication arises once the cells fail to utilize the insulin well. Other modes of mellitus diabetes are gestational diabetes, which is associated with pregnant women, congenial diabetes, and steroid diabetes among others. All the above types of mellitus diabetes can be easily dealt with through improving the insulin functionality. However, type2 diabetes may be managed through prescriptions. Mellitus diabetes has long-term effects, which includes; damaging the retinal, cardiovascular illnesses, hypoglycemia among other effects. Diabetes Mellitus is very costly to manage and therefore, frequent treatment is essential since it ensures that the blood pressure is controlled. Frequent treatment is also ideal as it helps to check the body weight (Ozcan, 2003, 86). Approximately, more than 120 million of the world’s population have diabetes.For instance, Type 2 diabetes is the most prevalence in the United States affecting more than 85% of the adults (Lewandrowski, 2001, 58). Point of Care Testing Point of care testing commonly referred to as POCT is an analytical testing whereby, the patient’s samples are tested outside the laboratory in the vicinity of the patients medical staff.The medical staff are usually untrained and the devices used may be situated in portable carts. Point of care testing thus brings the laboratory tests to the patients instead of sending the patients to the laboratories. Point of care testing has been enhanced through the development of transportable analyzers that ensures rapid test outcomes (Estridge et al., 2000, 17). Point of care testing was because of development of the blood glucose monitors for home usage by the diabetics. Point of