ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
American historical heritage is rich and diverse. Writers were the ones to picture this rich experience in their works. A closer look at works of these contemporary writers reveals a common idea presented differently in their writings. Therefore, it is not a coincident to find multicultural writers like Anna Raya and Zora Neale Hurston exploring similar historical themes in their works. These authors explore racism and identity crisis, and their adverse effects on American society. This essay compares and contrasts various ideas, styles and other elements of writing between Raya and Zora’s essays. Zora’s short story, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, explores a sense of pride in being black and her unique identity. On the other hand, Raya’s short story called It is Hard Enough Being Me portrays difficulties multicultural Americans are facing in their attempts to define themselves in a racial American society. Zora defines her sense of pride and uniqueness in being a black American. She proudly starts her writing by asserting her origin and sense of identity. She knows that she is different from the rest and must maintain a positive attitude. Unlike her contemporary writers such as Brent Staple’s Black Men and Public Spaces who presents characters full of fear about their skin color, Zora holds her identity and race in high esteem. In a racial society that discriminates against blacks, Zora does not consider this a disadvantage; instead, she treats such challenge as an opportunity to stand against social order and claim a new one – where her identity is different rather than a dishonorable one. The author talks about her path to self-understanding through proving everyone else that she is unique. In fact, Zora was the one to take up the challenge of showing that a black person is a human, first of all. She then forced the society to face that a black person is not only human; moreover, he/she is a unique identity. (Steinbeck, 2008). While Zora positively reinforces her identity and uniqueness, Raya presents confusion and struggle to define her identity. Raya demonstrates the confusions and uphill tasks that American youth had to undergo in their struggle to fit in a multicultural society shaped by racism. People referred to Raya as Latin a. By virtue of being a Latina , they expected her to know salsa dance, Mexican history, and, above all, speak Spanish (Sylvan & Hugo, 2007). However, she did not know any of the above. Raya considered searching for her heritage and coping with college burden life (Sylvan & Hugo, 2007). Raya lacks the positive attitude we see in Zora when it comes to her cultural heritage. Zora calls for attention and hopes that the Miami Chamber of Commerce will take notice of her for being the first black to welcome tourists in Florida. She takes pride in being the first black to welcome tourists. By doing this, Zora distinguishes herself as a unique black who prefers being the first in everything. There is always a sense of pride in being the first person in accomplishin
Introduction Social justice is a perennial topic for discussion that requires a collective effort to be achieved and maintained. It implies a fair attitude to people and equal distribution of rights and responsibilities (Lupton 73). The opposite of justice is social injustice which “occurs when power is used to exploit, abuse, and even destroy” (Hoang and Johnson 65). When I witness the acts of injustice, I believe that everything that happens is a God-given test to stretch the limits of human character and let people make the final choice of their true identity. I think that striving for justice is a divine mission not because it will allow one to be distributed to Heaven but to create a better world on Earth. I maintain this personal theology even though I witnessed a lot of social inequity enough to stop believing in God’s existence. Indeed, the stories of neighbors’ daughters being raped and beggars on our streets are examples of social injustice. Justice was one of the ultimate goals of Christianity because only through doing good and right to others can people obtain a divine blessing from God. Calling to Social Justice: Personal Story I became interested in social justice when my High school friend’s stepfather was raping her for two years since her mother’s second marriage. She was afraid of asking for help from anyone, but she decided to escape after her mother refused to believe her when the girl finally revealed this continuous sexual assault. Luckily, she came to our house, and my parents called social services and police to investigate this case. Medical examination confirmed that the girl was raped, but her stepfather managed to disappear; thus, the official identity of the rapist was not proven. My friend had to move to Pittsburgh to live with her aunt because she could not tolerate her mother’s betrayal and her approach to life. Neither her mother nor stepfather were employed and were accustomed to receiving aid from church and public services. Indeed, according to Lupton, the “compassion industry…may be hurting more than helping” because it removes the need for “personal initiative,” converting people into lazy complainers whose moral boundaries disappear (3). This case was an example for me of how toxic forms of charity create indolent and monstrous behavior. The Four Methods of Social Action Justice starts with the right action, which is often misinterpreted in the modern world. Four methods of social solidarity are known: arts, direct action, solidarity, and community development. First, community development is the method that aims to transform low-income families and communities into self-sufficient groups through
Introduction The anti-globalization movement have been very successful in making slogans against world’s trading system. Strength held by international Non-Profits, especially through their supporters, has been the power behind this success. Some of the slogans include: “Another world is possible” that is the slogan for the World Social Forum, an annual meeting of the anti-globalization movement (Taggart). However the most successful slogan has been the “Fair Trade”. This slogan has two meanings that are addressed below. One meaning is used to attack effects of globalization to developing nations and the other is used to attack same effects to producers of developed nations. “Fair Trade” for Poor Nations Producers Fair trade enthusiasts claim that producers in developing nations sell their commodities at throw way prices to multinationals who process and sell at high prices in international markets. The fair traders thus intend to coarse people into buying commodities directly from poor producers. The following is stills small but it is making influence is making inroads through powerful Non-Profit Organizations (Booth). Affording to sell commodities above ongoing market prices makes these producers rely on the small creek of fair trade enthusiasts. This culture of dependence could hurt end up hurting the people it is intended to help incase their consumer change taste passion for fair trade (Nicholls, 2005, p, 242). Most of poor sellers in developing nations also specialize in single commodities. The higher price incentive offered by fair traders will lead to small scale monoculture in agriculture countries. Failure to div
Scholars refer to Confucianism as a system of thought based on the teachings of Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E. Confucius had a significant influence on the life and thought of China more than any other person in Chinese history. He had titles like Sage of All Time and First Teacher (Molloy 11). Religion has shaped human civilization almost from the start of civilization for more than 10,000 years ago. Today more than half of the world’s population practice either principal or indigenous religions. Religion still shapes people’s lives significantly in politics and culture. There is ever increasing ethnic and cultural differences, which have led to several religions practiced alongside each other. However, this essay shall focus on how Confucian thought challenge world view through his teaching of moral code reflecting on ethics, humanity, and love. There are about six million people who today call themselves Confucians. They mostly live in Asia, particularly in China. In Europe, North and South America and in other continents there are a small numbers of people who identify themselves as Confucians. For over 2,000 years, China’s poetry and history, government and social life, and the ethics of the society dominate philosophical system of Confucianism. Confucius emphasized on the ideal of order and harmony. Confucius emphasized that people should live in harmony. He suggested a system of interpersonal relationships and proper governance. In the system, age favored over where only friends were equal. He regarded government as the noble duty of all because ethical governance would bring joy to the people. This explains why people are loyal to their country and the government of the day, while living in order and harmony with each other. He also believed that through education anyone could reach the highest standard of a gentleman (Molloy 13). Confucius viewed the family as a basic unit of society. The family reflected the social, economic, and political units of the society. Family served as the natural environment for moral training. It also acted as the bridge between the individual and society. Therefore, individuals achieved their human po
Introduction Most employers worry about the nature of housing that their employees use. If it is not the actual type of the house, then it is usually about the cost of decent housing or the distance from home to work. Each of these factors plays an important role in determining the amount of housing allowances employees receive. A labor housing development project gives an employer the capacity to assure the living conditions of employees and to reduce the size of the wage bill because it helps to eliminate the time and money employees spend accessing the place of work. This project plan raises the key issues for consideration when planning to commission a labor housing project. Vision for Labor Housing Development The vision for the labor housing development project is to create decent, affordable, and conveniently located houses for company employees. Decency comes from the need to ensure the employees feel confident about their housing based on their income so that they opt to use the company’s houses instead of renting their own. The need for affordability comes from the restricted budget lines available for the project. Convenient location means easy access to the offices, social amenities such as malls, places of worship, educational facilities, health facilities, recreational facilities and entertainment spots. Strategic Issues Identification of a Suitable Location for the Development The need to identify a suitable location stems from the desire to achieve a suitable balance between the necessary issues that will make the project successfully. One of the cardinal values of the company is for employees to attain a healthy work life balance. This means that it is necessary to find a separate piece of land to construct the housing units in order to provide a clear line between home and work. The location must be near enough to the existing premises to reduce commuting time, and must be within reasonable distance from social amenities. Project Financing Raising the finances for the project is a key issue because of the unavailability of the funds to develop the units. In this sense, there is need to consider different funding mechanisms to settle on a viable financial strategy to guarantee the success of the project. Options include a corporate loan, using a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model from investors in the building and construction industry, or internal financing by selling equity to the housing project to the existing employees. Design and Construction of Housing Units The design and construction technologies used in the development of the housing project will determine their attractiveness to the existing employees hence there will be need to find a way of involving them in the design proce
The work of art chosen for this essay is Why Not Sneeze, Rose Sélavy? created by Marcel Duchamp in 1921. This readymade consists of several objects: a birdcage, sugar cubes made from marble, cuttlebones, and a thermometer. The object also includes several wooden sticks. Marcel Duchamp was a French painter and sculptor. He is most famous for his readymades, pieces of art that include commonplace objects but are seen or displayed as works of art. When viewers first encounter Duchamp’s readymades, they can experience confusion since his works often consist of everyday objects. It is the details and the context that make viewers re-evaluate a work of art, view it closer to understand the meaning behind the work. Duchamp’s readymades often challenge viewers to change the general perspective and see things differently. I decided to choose this work of art because, unlike the best-known readymades by Duchamp, this object does not represent the everyday objects we use in our lives. It may be possible to see a birdcage in someone’s room, a thermometer, even a cuttlebone—but not all these objects together. Although created from ordinary objects, this is a semi-readymade, i.e., an object that was altered by the artist. It appears to me that this object is a meta-reflection upon Duchamp made by Duchamp himself. An article by Helen Molesworth discusses Duchamp’s life and work (52). The author provides an explanation of how Duchamp’s work and leisure are reflected in his works of art (Molesworth 52). Since Duchamp also saw his readymades as “humorous objects,” the object discussed in this paper is ironic (or meta-ironic) because Duchamp doubles the “inappropriateness” of his objects in this work of art (Molesworth 58). According to Molesworth, “play and laughter… offer a momentary release from identities” (58). The presented readymade is freed from all of the routine activities connected to it; there is no birdcage, no thermometer, and no sugar cubes. Marble cubes are fake and appear in the wrong context – Duchamp’s counterfeit of his own readymade. The roots of readymades can be found in the Dada movement or Dadaism, of which the main aim was to push the boundaries of art so far that it would not be clear what art is and what art is not (Paulescu 154). Aestheticism and “beauty,” often ascribed to works of art, were of no interest to Dada artists. The Dada movement emerged in the 1920s and re-played and re-evaluated the horrors of World War I (Prager 239). The Dada artists used collages, clippings, fabric, nails, and even dust to create new, “anti-art” objects to express the trauma that remained after the war: the meaningless of the world (Paulescu 240). They focused on the irrationality of objects and the context that surrounded them. Art could not be “contextless” and in many ways relied on the thoughts and discussions of viewers (Molesworth 51). Does this a
It is not an easy task to understand if a person is able to identify his/her own place in society without making some mistakes. Many people continue suffering from poverty, cannot realize true damages of wars, and build up the ideas that cannot be commonly supported. The history is the best example of how wrong or right people can be in regards to their decisions to change their lives. The evaluation of several historical documents is a good opportunity to understand the reasons for people’s decisions and the attempts that are made radically. The Crime of Poverty is the discussion developed by Henry George concerning the reasons for why not all people can be rich and if it is possible to avoid poverty. His most powerful idea is the identification of poverty as social crime but not as a crime made by an individual (George 217). He explains that people, both rich and poor, should take responsibility for the conditions under which poverty is developed. It is not enough for one person to have a desire to get rid of poverty. It is more important for society to understand the urgency of poverty and take the steps that can change the situation. In spite of the fact that some people can believe in the importance of poverty as a measurement of abilities and duties, George cannot agree with this statement. The ignorance and poverty are the two issues that make people weak. There is no natural reason for people to be poor only and rich only (George 218). Sometimes, it is normal to have just enough for living. The inability to overcome poverty by not harmful means leads to the necessity to begin wars and promote strikes. Clemens’ Comments on the Moro Massacre is the work that introduces one of the worst aspects of poverty. It is the time when not only men but women and children as well are ready to take arms and defend their rights to live under appropriate conditions. The results of the massacre amazed: the lives of so many people were ended suddenly. The battle provoked by the tribes of Moro against the Americans led by General Leonard Wood and was defined as one of the battles that may cause mixed emotions because among the variety of tears and scared dead faces left after the battle, the Americans saw the glory of their victory over those, who provoked the battle (Clemens 252). Finally, in case the battles and wars helped to achieve the goals and change the conditions under which people can work and live, it is possible to create the strategies according to which
Introduction This paper compares the behavior of old and young people in regard to using blackberry messenger. The writer observes and records multi-tasking habits of six characters used for this study. The six characters comprise of three young people and three old people. The characters form two categories of people; young and old, which incidentally is the focus of the study. As a more sensitized user of Blackberry messenger, I will use this paper to draw a comparison between my own habits with the Blackberry Messenger and the older people. The modern lifestyle continues to put more demands to people. The demands require more time on economically productive activities than socialization. Technology has come in handy in bridging the gap through the social media. “Internet on the go” supported by the blackberry provides a reliable solution for staying in touch with the loved ones from anywhere (Mittal and Gupta 2010). The table below illustrates the reflections on my own use of the blackberry messenger compared with how old people use it. Situation, Reflection and Observation Situation          Reflection                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Observation                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Social networking    * The Blackberry messenger enables me to keep in touch with my peers through emails, chatting and following their updates. The device is portable, user friendly and one I can multi-task with it i.e., use it as I cook, listen to music and watch TV    * The first old person observed, was seen using the blackberry and at the same time listening to radio. He enjoyed the music at the same time chatting with friends on the blackberry.                                    Habit                * Repeated use of the blackberry messenger develops into dependence. Addiction to the device impairs ones human relations skills.                                                                                                                         * The second one was talking to a friend while using the blackberry messenger. He was more focused to the conversation than on browsing.
Introduction Financial statements are used in business to give a summary of the numerous operations that has taken place during a certain period of time. In most cases, they are prepared yearly, half yearly, quarterly or any such period specified in their memorandum. The financial statements include cash flow, balance sheet, and Profit and loss account. They all disclose certain information that is relevant to its users. This paper focuses on a business start up and how these financial statements mean to my business. My Business Venture With the world population on the rise, there has been an increase in the number of young people. They are constantly buying products for beauty purposes. There are numerous products in the market; however I wish to start herbal cosmetic business. I aim to establish the business in the town centre. The Balance sheet This is a statement that equates owner’s capital and liabilities on one side and long-term assets and short term assets on the other. It is an account that shows the financial strength of the business. Trading account summarises the operation gain in a business and finally Cash Flow explain the differences between opening cash and closing cash. The following is first years, trading account, Cash flow and balance-sheet: Trading Account Balance sheet Cash flow Statement Market Size The young, the old, the well to do in the society, and the poor will be my target customers and thus my market size will not be limited to any category of customers. I will produce product to fit all the above population groups. I will not limit myself to production of women or men products but I will produce products for both genders. Market Place The market segment, that the marketer want to target, will influence the distribution that he is going to use. Where the customer is more likely to be found should be the place that the goods are provided. If the target customers are people who value recognition, most of them are the high class, they are more likely to be found in the shopping malls and “designer” shops. If the products are targeting the lower class, they should be distributed in the supermarket that is expected to be less expensive than the shopping mall. These are found in the area that people of a certain class live. If the target is the low class, the goods should be available in the local slum and suburbs’ shops. If the target is for the middle class, strategies should be put to persuade them to try the products. The middle class are known to be looking for something extra at the same price. There will be no harm if the products are distributed in the competitors area, efforts should be the way we display what we are offering extra 1 . Sales Forecast With improved quality and awareness, I expect that there will be an increase in the sales value; w