ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in 2019, coronavirus infected more than 140 million and killed more than 3 million people all over the world (“COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic”). China became the first country that identified and combated the new virus, which made a significant impact on at-risk populations, such as women and children. The response to COVID-19 was immediate, yet the mentioned populations were disproportionately affected by its consequences. The total lockdown led to school closures and severe health deterioration in children, while women faced domestic violence, the inability to meet basic needs, inappropriate treatment as frontline workers and migrant domestic helpers. COVID-19 and Chinese Women As reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), 70% of health workers are composed of women, meaning that they were the first to work with infected patients (Owen). In early 2020, hospital staff encountered increased working hours, harsh conditions, and a lack of timely rest. Many care providers were instructed not to leave their workplaces, but female workers were discriminated against their natural needs. There was a lack of period pants, pads, and disposable pants, which indicated that menstruation needs were overlooked (Owen). Paradoxically, a greater attention to hygiene as a measure to reduce the impact of coronavirus was accompanied by the disregard for basic female needs. Another point related to COVID-19 and Chinese Women refers to role equality. Feng et al. state that in China, the population is still more comfortable with considering that male domination is the only appropriate society model. This, for example, can be traced on the presentation of female medical workers in the media. In the outbreak of the virus, male leadership and heroic sacrifices of men were translated to people, while the contribution of female hospital workers remained largely unpublicized. However, it should be stressed that the Chinese government officially encouraged the community to follow the principle of gender equality (Alon et al.). There is a need to implement gender-sensitive policies that would change the practice of female health providers, thus improving their position in terms of employment, social service, and media. Domestic violence rates increased with th
Introduction The health status of an individual significantly affects the way that person operates, or performs his/her duties. Nutrition is a colossal determinant of how well people do health wise. Nutrition for kids and school-going children is an important factor in their growth, development, and even performance in school. This paper examines the impact of good/bad nutrition on children in elementary school, and analyses the pros and cons of a possible government policy, requiring all public elementary schools to provide free breakfast to children in their schools. Problem statement In the United States of America, elementary education is obligatory (1). Elementary schools offer this education, and children attending these schools are on average, aged between six and18 years (1). The age depends on an individual state, and funding in public schools comes from the Local, State and Federal governments (1). The children’s performance and other activities at school are greatly influenced by their health status, a significant determinant of which is their diet (2). The nourishment one obtains from the food eaten is what is commonly referred to as nutrition (3). A good nutrition for children and teenagers is vital, since it not only affects their daily life, but also their future (2). The nourishment a child gets impacts significantly on that child’s health later in life. It determines such factors as the likelihood of that child becoming an obese adult and suffering from illnesses such as diabetes among other health conditions (3). The health of children is important to both families and the whole society. It is, therefore, in the state’s interest to ensure that they are well nourished from an early age. This duty should not be left to families alone, since many of them are facing difficulties providing nutritious and healthy meals for their children. This difficulty stems from a myriad reasons ranging from tight schedules, economic hardships, to irresponsibility on the part of parents. It is possible to reduce the problem of poor nutrition among school-going children by a wide margin, by involving the government in these efforts. Requiring all public elementary schools to provide free breakfast for children in the schools would ensure that, a significant number of school-going children access good nutrition. Pros of the policy A balanced diet is essential for children during breakfast, lunch and supper. The health benefits from healthy feeding are innumerable, not only in the present, but also later in life (4). Children can obtain good nourishment only from healthy feeding, and this means eating portions of food that meet their dietary needs. School-going children in particular, need to have a closely watched diet. The reason for this is that poor nourishment has been proved to interfere with the learning capacity of a child (4). Poor nutrition hampers the development of a child not
Over the years, the US government has taken significant measures through formulation of policies and laws, advancements in technology and security systems to protect the country and its citizens from terrorist attacks. One such step that was taken by the US government is the creation of the Department of Homeland Security to prevent terrorist attacks and other criminal activities. However, terrorist acts committed throughout the world present unique challenges, problems as well as hazards to states, security forces and emergency responders. Past terrorist incidences in the US have shown that there could be dynamics which limit US security forces from protecting the country more effectively. Acts of terrorism threaten successful utilization of the industrial control systems in controlling major terrorism activities. The proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons as well as missiles as a way of terrorism attack remains among the key security issues in the US (Bevelacqua & Stilp, 2004). The threat that the US faces from strategic attacks by use of NBC weapons would most likely be intended to cause political loss or lessen public support for the US ambition of pursuing NBC proliferation. There is an increasing national concern on the possibility for, as well as, consequences of, terrorist use of NBC weapons against the US and its forces. Joseph and Reichart (2000) assert that this threat is real considering the threat that is already posed to the US security forces abroad. However, ICS which is used to control automated processes of almost all production facilities is also threatened by terrorist acts. Cyberattacks against the US ICS systems remain the biggest threat to possible NBC attack. Baker, Filipiak and Timlin (2011) state that even those who had previously noted security holes in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems ignored the risks since it had not been proved that other nations could exploit flaws in security systems for purposes of sabotage and political reasons. However, things have changed over time. The Homeland Security New Wire (2011) reports that cyber attacks on the US ICS systems have emerged as the greatest threat to ICS infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security has warned that “Anonymous, which is an international hacking group”, has threatened to launch an attack on the industrial control systems, which is the software that controls automated processes for almost all key utility or production facility like power plant/stations, ph
Financial statements of a company offer crucial details regarding its monetary status. They are generated from daily bookkeeping that shows the movement of funds into and out of the company. Details on the financial statement ensure that there are benchmarks and views that assist a company in making important adjustments and determining its overall course (Osadchy & Akhmetshin, 2015). This goes a long way towards helping a company to make decisions concerning expansion and funding. Financial statements shape marketing approaches by offering data that indicates the factor of a company’s operations that yield a high return on investment. A balance sheet establishes the monetary health of a company at a given instance. The list of assets shows what the company owns, for instance, the available cash and banked amount. The liabilities denote all the things that the company owes, for example, unpaid bills (Lachmann, Stefani, & Wöhrmann, 2015). One crucial aspect of a company that is included in a balance sheet is its net worth, its value when the liabilities have been deducted from assets (Cao, Chychyla, & Stewart, 2015). Cash flow projections map the expected income and expenses in the course of a forthcoming period. It is a fundamental planning tool that assists the company to expect and prepare for possible revenue deficits through conserving resources or soliciting funds. Financial statements of a company operate jointly to give details concerning its financial status. When the loss and profit statement indicate that the company is making a profit while the cash flow and balance sheet statement demonstrate otherwise, it is probable that the company’s profits are gradually increasing. Information on financial statements makes sure that some benchmarks and practices enable a company to make the necessary operational changes and determine its overall position.
Introduction Before the end of the century, the electronic and economic world was cast under the clouds of the Y2K bug (that of course, never was) and the hype-makers on the one hand made fitting tributes such as the musician of the century, among other things. Beatles, of course, was the legendary band or group that represented not only a 60s era but a century, the 20 th century, topping among others “respectable” musicians or groups, or orchestras. Some brows or a lot could have been raised. But definitely, those who agree would not care if brows remained raised. Rock’s roll defined a 60s era, it will continue to define youth. And youth is a universal occurrence. Everybody passes through a stage that is confusing and at the same time brewing with energy — anger, happiness, adventure, and the perception of dawn that could be either promising or depressing. Rock’s roll provided all the answers. It became the counterpart of every youth’s wishes, fervent prayers, and dreams. Its background could be traced back to Elvis Presley, as although a self-acknowledged to have been influenced mainly by Black musicians such as Li’l Richard or Chuck Berry, it was inevitable that the credit would be given to him due to his popularity with the general genre. However, other forms such as rock music from groups or bands emerged to mutate and improve the previous offerings given. Due to their popularity, ordinary listeners such as this writer became familiar with the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, and of course, the Doors, among many other bands introducing a whole lot of new forms that would soon be called the varieties of the rock genre. It was the dawn of a new era that Greil (969) said will stand. It was quite prophetic, definitely true. This paper will try to take a look at the different music within that era and attempt to explain why it became so big. The stance I would like you to take is rooted in the idea that it became a voice/outlet for the disheartened youth of the 60s and the counter-cultures that struggled to form an identity. Discussion Brommel (2000) and the researchers before him all agreed that genre of novels, films, music, or any by-product of culture and tradition, or trend for that matter emerged as a response to particular social conditions such as changing relations between public and private spheres, class identity and formation, gender roles, among others. The blues, for example, had been widely examined and regarded as much more than entertainment. Its derivatives of country blues to rhythm and blues were said to have come into a form in part because it was able to perform the cultural work required by the original blues audience. Brommel (2000
Introduction It is a fact that the fall of the Soviet Union led to various ethnic conflicts. Perhaps this can be described as the failure of effective international relation policies. On the other hand, ethnic conflicts have resulted in a greater vision of instilling democracy in the countries with poor human rights records. As much as the downfall of the Soviet Union led to subsequent problems, there are also solutions attached to the same. Problems According to Chaim Kaufmann, ethnic identities are used to validate ethnic conflicts (Jervis and Art 439). It is natural that members of opposing communities cannot support rival ethnic communities. Eventually, a group of hardliners is created making it difficult for peace treaties to take place. It is almost certain that loyalty to ethnic identities becomes essential during an escalated ethnic conflict. In this regard, non-allegiance to such ethnic allegiance results in the formation of extremists. The extremist philosophies in relation to the ethnic loyalty and identity are a dangerous trend as it may cause genocide. Such a trend was evidenced during the Rwandese genocide in 1994. The issue of the security dilemma is critical during the ethnic conflicts. The government inability to provide security to its citizens leads to anarchy. It is important to note that ethnic conflicts can cause either ethnic portioning or ethnic separation. The separation of the ethnic groups is problematic since the groups would resume to war even after peace is achieved. In fact, separation is not a guarantee mechanism towards peace. This is opposed to partitioning, which does not require portioning of the ethnic groups. The moral hazard of assuming an automatic humanitarian intervention contributes to the ethnic conflicts. This tactic of the ethnic groups, that prefer section from a state, has been used many times. Such strategies justify moral standing on the waged violence against other ethnic groups. In reality, humanitarian intervention has been a major cause of mass killings as evidenced in Kosovo. The third parties to ethnic conflicts especially the international community have caused more problems for maintaining neutrality in situations that require international intervention. The principle of neutrality in the ethnic conflicts is immoral if the conflict leads to genocide. Solutions According to Chaim Kaufmann, there are solutions that can guarantee the ethnic peace (Jervis and Art 404). For example, the problem of the ethnic separation can be dealt with through reconstruction of the ethnic identities through partitioning (Jervis and Art 452). This entails demographic partitioning of the ethnic groups in a manner that does not give the ethnic groups powers to suppress others using their population numbers. Using suppression to give a complete victory to one ethnic group can also be viable, if it leads to absolute peace. The current trends in dealing with the ethnic conflicts have been power-sharing and state-building. The first trend ensures that the ethnic
Introduction Patients and their family members, at the terminal hours of their life (Twycross 6), expect care as better as possible and express some common desires, attitudes and, mental and physical manifestations that are closely related to their social and spiritual variables (Pompei and John 112). The change in the geographical milieu has changed also end-of-life care from time to time (Byock 760). Sudden death and death at a young age have always been unexpected (Gordon 354). But in the past, there was an intention to die after a short illness. It was common that the patients would breathe their last at home. But the scenario started to change over the last 50 years or so when medical science began to progress rapidly 1960s with the initiation of bacteriology assisted by the inventions of modern technology. People began to expect longevity with the help of modern medical science. As it is stated by Chan “over the last 50 years, more and more people are living longer, but with chronic illnesses causing gradual deterioration” (2). People began to depend on the institutional health care system more and more. “More are spending their last months in institutional care” (Chan 2). Consequently, the end of life care developed as a separate branch of study. Successful management and care of pain at the end of life requires a holistic approach including the physical, social, psychological, spiritual viewpoint of both the carers and the patient (Arnold 11-31). It requires an all-embracing “understanding of pain control strategies” (Wong On-Nin John., et. al. 283). Understanding the nature of pain and the adoption of the palliative approach to the pain is crucial to its success. At the end of life, patients undergo physical and mental weakness, immobility, mortification of taste and, mental and physical bereavement. Indeed at this stage, the patient’s condition may deteriorate suddenly and unexpectedly. The deterioration of the patients’ status eventually is assisted by various levels of stress, anxiety, and emotional outburst of the patients, their family, and the carers. Control of symptoms including management of pain and agitation, and mental support from the family members get priority. Effective medical teams should adopt the approaches the health-care of the patient strategically. The slogan of ‘freedom from pain’ stated in the World Health Organization Document “Freedom from pain should be seen as the right of every cancer patient and access to pain therapy as a measure of respect for this right” (Bistros 4). Assessment of Symptom and Care of Patient The goals of the end of life care are to be determined by the nature and assessment of the end of life by the patients’ attitude and the carers’ viewpoint. It is generally designed to attain dignity for the dying patients and to ensure the psycho-physical comfort as required in regard to place of c
Outline Music is universal and has no language. But it is representative of the society where it is popular. Even with seven notes, music is diverse and unique and each country or region has its own style, rhythm and melody. For a native, the common varieties of music become a part of his or her culture. But for the ears of a person not familiar (alien) with music popular in a different country may find it strange. But it can also help him or her understand the society and its people. This paper looks at the perceptions of a person very unfamiliar with American popular music and his analysis of the society through the diverse types of music popular here. Introduction The cliché that music has no language or boundaries is often used to illustrate the universality of music. Even though the basic notation in music can be expressed in seven notes do, re, mi, fa, so, la, te, the sheer variety of sounds that is seen in music around the world is astounding. American popular music is a rich and diverse one that is original and unique. But even so, it has also borrowed willingly from music styles from around the world especially from its land of their dark brethren, the Africans. It has also borrowed extensively from regions in Latin America, and from Asia like India and the Arab world. It would be interesting to view the perception of American popular or pop music as it would sound to an alien not yet exposed to any form of music from this country. This paper attempts to do just that. It is an honest expression of opinion from a music lover from Asia. Discussion A personal opinion of this writer is that an alien with regard to a particular type of music need not come from another planet. Planet earth is so diverse and varied in this regard that a person from Saudi Arabia may find music from Germany quite strange and even unappetizing. Here the concept of universality of music does not justify its qualification that it has no lan
Introduction The end of the XX century and the beginning of the XXI one were truly a breakthrough. The rights of a number of people previously considered social outcasts were finally acknowledged, and the U.S. seemed to have proven its right to be called the land of democracy once again. However, over the past few years, the issue regarding same-sex marriage has appeared several times. Gaining their indefeasible rights and freedoms, gay people want to live their normal lives and create families. However, in most cases, the law turns into a stumbling block for gay marriages. A Brief history of the LGBT community in the USA Given the controversy of the subject, it is easy to understand why allowing homosexuals to marry has raised so many discussions and protests. Even in the USA, the place considered the epitome of democracy, marriages between homosexual people have been allowed only in thirteen states so far – according to the 2013 records. Only New York, Rhode Island, California, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Delaware, Connecticut, Washington, Vermont, Maine and Maryland legally support marriage between gays and lesbians. Despite the fact that the movement supporting the rights of gay people started in the distant 1970s, six states still disapprove of gay marriage and keep it officially banned (). Current issues and the attitudes towards same-sex marriage As it has been stated above, only thirteen states of America approve of same-ex marriage legally. However, there is often a big gap between what has been approved of officially and what people think is right. Therefore, it will be a good idea to take a cl
Introduction Among the variety of accidents that take human lives in the sphere of aviation, the cases of Challenger and Columbia remain to be one of the most significant and influential. The difference between these two accidents is about 17 years; still, many researchers and scientists find it necessary to compare their differences and details and understand how the concepts of aviation safety should be considered. The losses of these two space shuttles help to illustrate the risks that are connected with human intentions to explore space and consider a number of ethical, organizational, technological, and scientific aspects. The current paper aims at discussing the details of the two accidents and the lessons taken from Challenger and Columbia cases about the necessity to pay more attention to technological and organizational aspects of aviation safety. Accidents and Findings Challenger and Columbia were the disasters that changed the way of how aviation should work considerably. The accidents made the representatives in the sphere of space aviation more attentive with a number of issues. Challenger and Columbia had many differences and similarities, the evaluation of which can help to comprehend the worth of the events. Similarities On the one hand, the accidents were similar to each other due to the evident facts that the mistakes were made by the NASA representatives and the inabilities to gain control over all aspects of the work. The point was that NASA had been informed by Morton Thiokol’s workers about the potential danger of the O-rings used in the spaceship before the flight. It was necessary for NASA to make fast decisions and change the current state of affairs. The investigations of the accidents proved that lack of corporate culture and inabilities to make appropriate solutions turned out to be the roots of the accident of Challenger, and poor technological equipment led to the disaster with Columbia. Another important aspect of the accidents was the necessity to attract the attention of media. The Columbia’s and Challenger’s missions had been discussed a lot before the actual flight in media, and people were bothered about the general impact of the accidents and less focused on the crucial technological aspects. The accidents were also similar in the number of astronauts, their ge