ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction There are a vast number of controversies that exist in the realm of human life in the society today. The United States of America as a contemporary society is no exception as there are many controversies ranging from one field or realm of human life to the other. This is for example controversies surrounding politics, technology, social issues such as abortion, the use of biological weapons and dozens of others. All these controversies make headlines on a daily basis as people engage in debate and discourses based on their different opinions. In any policy enacted or for any existing policy in America, there is usually a controversy emanating from two conflicting opinions. In the United States of America, education system which is one of the public sectors has raised many controversies. The author of this paper will discuss several controversies emerging in this sector in the recent past. The education sector in this country will be looked at from the perspective of a public policy. To this end, the researcher will describe and analyze the scope of the public policy concern, identify the stakeholders and affected constituencies, identify political institutions that are relevant to the policy aspect of public education in the United States of America and analyze some proposed policies to address the issue. These and other issues will be looked at in this paper. Current Issues in the United States of America’s Education System The schooling system in the United States of America has remained the centre of many debates since it was started. The question has always arisen as to what are some of the most debated issues in the US education system. It is to be noted that there are many issues which are debated in this country’s public education system. These range from funding, development of the curriculum, prayers in schools among others (Wilsonr, 2008). The following are some of these issues which the author of this paper is going to put into perspective: Prayers in the Public Schools: A Controversial Issue There are many parties involved in the debate around this issue especially the Atheists who are of the view that prayers in schools is just a waste of time as they believe that prayers do not lead to anything substantial for the learner or for the school at large. They are against the Bible doubting the existence of the deity espoused therein. Some of these controversies have even ended up in courtrooms as there are other people in other schools of thought who are firm believers of prayers in both public and private schools in the United States of America. Standard Ways of Testing the Competency of Learners in American Schools People are divided on this subject as they hold different opinions on the same. There are those who are for the standard tests while others are against the same. There are contentions that learners with different levels of strength are subjected to the same test conditions creating unfair and ‘unleveled’ playing field for the
Introduction A particular attitude towards Jews from other nations has existed for a long time. The rise of the Nazi ideology is linked to the development of racial antisemitism, a radical form of intolerance towards Jews, the largest manifestation of the Holocaust. Many historians have researched and tried to explain this phenomenon because “hatred and fear of Jews were central to Nazi ideology” (Strayer and Nelson, 2018). This essay analyzes two notable works: by Beth A. Griech-Polelle, and by Daniel Goldhagen. It particularly examines how revolutionary the ideas they presented were, whether they were closely related to existing traditions, and how they correlated with current views. Often, various researchers strive to look at an existing problem in a new way and present a revolutionary idea, but Beth A. Griech-Polelle did not set herself such a task. In her book “Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust: Language, Rhetoric, and the Traditions of Hatred,” the author attempts to provide the reader with information about the phenomenon of antisemitism based on existing documentary evidence. The book explores how the Nazi ideology created the perception of Jews as “radically “other” and threatening” (Strayer and Nelson, 2018). Griech-Polelle mentions that it does not cover all aspects of the Holocaust, but “focuses on the theme of the power of language and how language and rhetoric can result in deadly actions” (Griech-Polelle, 2017, 1). The work is intended for use by students and teachers. The work of another author, on the contrary, seeks to present and explore a new idea of the development of the Holocaust. In his “highly controversial book” (Strayer and Nelson, 2018), Daniel Goldhagen argues that the most ordinary Germans became “voluntary executioners.” It happened due to the unique and violent “eliminationist antisemitism” developed in previous centuries in German political culture. Goldhagen reexamines “the character and development of antisemitism in Germany during its Nazi period and before” (Goldhagen, 2007, 7). Thus, the author tries to understand the social mechanisms that led to the development and spread of antisemitism. Particular attention is paid precisely to the motivation of people who took part in the Holocaust as executioners. Revolutionary Ideas on Common Issues The idea of studying the impact of ideological propaganda through language is not new to researchers of Nazi Germany and antisemitism in general. For example, Viktor Klemperer, in his book “Language of the Third Reich: LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii,” which was firstly published in 1947, also explores the language of Nazi propaganda through documents. Another topic of Griech-Polelle’s book is the study of creating the image of the enemy and outsider threatening peace and prosperity of German people (Griech-Polelle, 2017, 1-2). Thus, the book is mostly an overview based on the works of colleagues and predecessors. The author tries to create a complete picture of the Holocaust’s origin as possible and describe its features. The phenomenon of antisemitism has been known since antiquity, but only in Naz
In many ways, the era preceding 1949 was a trying time in china. This era was marred with challenges such as domestic wars among the communities in china, international feuds in Asia and the world at large (like world war 1 and 2), economic challenges like the great depression of the 1920s and the increasing growth of U.S.A as a world superpower. Therefore, as of 1949, there were still many issues for china to deal with especially in regards to human development and general well-being since the historical challenges acted as limitations in one way or another. However, the government of China carefully assessed its options for making progress, took note of their strengths and weaknesses, then started making small steps towards changing all important industries in the country to encourage a holistic development in China. Fast forwarding to 2012, China is commendably a formidable economic force to reckon with. Its high GDP, highly industrialized nature, good interrelations with other countries, oneness in thought of the Chinese people, superior technologies and great products and services are some of the notable developments that places China above many countries. These developments have greatly improved the nature of human development and well-being in China since a good number of people have some form of employments. In addition, china deservingly boast of a great healthcare system that has been able to reduce the prevalence of deaths thus reducing the mortality rate in the country, unlike many other regions that still contend with deaths from some diseases that could be prevented by good human development and well-being systems. So, what is the secret behind China’s catapult to the world of success? Well, according to most scholars, there are two specific issues behind china’s lauded success. These are:  1. Public initiatives  2. Private initiatives According to researchers, the development of company laws, the emergence of general principles of corporate social responsibility, the establishment of corporate social and environmental disclosure and the development of socially responsible investing as well as environmentally responsible financing are some of the key public initiatives responsible for China’s heralded well-being. These initiatives have helped by encouraging hard work, objectivity, accountability, and efficacy in their endeavors. On the other hand, two issues come into play regarding the private initiatives. Firstly, there is the emergence and development of human development standards and guidelines in China—w
The Beat Generation was born in the 1940s in post-war America. The movement had gained maturity and had started to articulate its philosophy in the 1960s. The Beat Generation was termed by Kerouac in an interview with John Clellon Holmes in 1948 (Stephenson 2) and is supposed to have started to emerge during World War II. It was then adopted in John Clellon Holmes’ 1952 novel Go (Holmes). Jack Kerouac writes in his book The Origins of the Beat Generation , “It goes back to the inky ditties of old cartoons… to Count Dracula and his smile … To Clark Gable” (Kerouac 17). The generation and its literature were widely influenced by the socio-economic-political condition of the time. As Kerouac pointed out: …this America was invested with wild selfbelieving individuality and this had begun to disappear around the end of World War II with so many guys dead… when suddenly it began to emerge again, the hipsters began to appear gliding around saying “Crazy, man.” (Kerouac, The Origin of the Beat Generation 18) The beat generation, through its poetry, created a social statement against the increasingly stifling social ethos of the time. The poetry of the Beat Generation exuded of the ideal of the Beat Generation that was to “escape” in a “vision” (Wallace 3). This essay describes the beat generation and when and how they thrived, and their poetry. Origin of the Beat Generation The Beat Generation started from 1940s and the undisputed leader and chronicler of the movement was Jack Kerouac. By 1950s, the lyrical side of the movement gained full maturity with radical poets like Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac. the Beat culture was a movement that revolted against the stifling ethos of the then American society that led to the adoption of a lifestyle of alcoholism, drug addiction, mental problems, etc. Gregory Stephenson believes that the origin of the Beat Generation was “characterized by violence, desperation, confusion, and suffering” that is transgressed to a “beatific stage” that is marked by a “vision” and is communicated to the fellow human beings (Stephenson 3). The two distinct phases stated above molded the literary works created by the movement. In the first phase of desolation there was uncertainty and violence observed in the Beat group: During this period David Kammerer was killed; Lucien Carr and Neal Cassady, and Gregory Corso were incarcerated; Carl Solomon and Allen Ginsberg were institutionalized; Bill Cannastra and Joan Burroughs were killed; William Burroughs was addicted to opiates and lived in exile; Michael McClure underwent his dark night of the soul; and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Jack Kerouac pursued their separate and solitary wanderings. (Stephenson 3) However, it is in the second phase of the movement that the Beat Generation achieved a humanistic spirituality and mysticism in its id
It has always been said that ‘education is the key to success’. However, few people have taken time to reflect on this phrase and on the extent of the success mentioned therein. To most people, the successes of education are associated with the immediate phenomenon surrounding them, such as a good house or a car. The success of a community and the country in general is dependent of how educated its members are. Education is essential for a stable economic growth, competitiveness in the global market and long-term health and success of any country. Hence, it is essential for the prosperity of any nation and the more educated and civilized a nation’s population is, the more prosperous it is. Education and economic well-being A skilled labor force is very essential for the prosperity any nation. However, skills are not merely learned through classroom studies and assignments, instead, they are acquired through experience and constant practice. In a broad sense, we can consider skills as integrating not just communication and analytical abilities but also attributes such as patience and diligence. Therefore, education from this viewpoint is multi-faceted, extending past the classroom to provide the skills and traits required in various professional roles. These skills, attributes, and values are only achieved through education and are considered as components of what economists refer to as ‘human capital’. Economists have always underlined the importance of human capital to a nation’s growth and prosperity. Economic prosperity is commonly gauged by the living standards of a nation’s inhabitants, and improvement of living standards is strongly related to an increase in the productivity of the nation’s workforce. In order to improve the living standards, the productivity of the individual members of the country must increase. Education boosts this productivity in two ways: it supports innovation that generates new technologies and consequently increases the productivity of the workforce, secondly, it improves the skills of the workforce and this allows them to use existing and new technologies effectively (Barrow et al, 2003). Therefore, education is key to improving productivity and greatly influences a country’s achievement of economic prosperity. Research and Development Research and development is very important towards the prosperity of any nation as it generates technological advancem
History of Tencent Since its inception in 1998, Tencent has realized a splendid growth to become one of the largest and most visited portals originating from China. For about ten years, the growth of Tencent has been quite steady due to its operating strategy that is user-oriented. Tencent made the first sale of its stocks in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 16 2004, becoming a public company, Tencent Holding Limited (Tencent 1). Its value then was as about USD 1billion. It has, however, made an incredible growth to register a value beyond USD 100 billion. This has made it rise even globally, now being ranked after Google and Amazon. The market value for Baidu is half relative to Tencent. The tremendous growth was recorded in the year 2004 when the company’s earnings increased from $186.77 million (1.14 billion Yuan) to $7.19 billion (43.89 billion Yuan), with 158 percent as yearly compound rate of growth. Compared with other online games firms, Tencent has made bigger steps to take a market share of about 50 percent, notwithstanding the year they started. For example, SNDA, which is a games enterprise, only has a fifth of Tencent’s market share though it entered the market two years earlier than Tencent. Tencent, being the largest online services provider in China, has an extensive range of products. These varied platforms try to meet the different online needs in the market. Some of the products provided include portal for various information, e-business platforms, online games, and instant messaging consisting of WeChat, QQ.com, QQMail, QZone, 3Q.com, QQ.com, SOSO, PaiPai, and Tenpay. Tencent in the USA Tencent has also penetrated the global market, especially the U.S. With its office in California, the company seeks for the best talents for its gaming and mobile platforms (Gaudiosi 1). It is reported that Tencent registered about 100,000 WeChat users in the U.S. within a month. Further, the mobile game products have grown significantly. Tencent acquired 14.6 percent of Glu Mobile Inc., a U.S. mobile game developer. The strategy of acquisition seems to be a game-changer in the U.S. mobile gaming industry. The two companies will collaborate to create games with a global appeal. Tencent Platforms WeChat This app is used to send messages and make calls without charges. The types of messages and calls the app can do are quite varied. For instance, WeChat sends multimedia messages as well as SMS. To enhance what the user feels, the app has a gallery with stickers. In situations where the message is meant for more than one recipient, a group chat of up to 500 people can be created. The WeChat app can facilitate voice calls as well as video calls. WeChat is one of the most secure apps. User is able to control what should be in the public domain. As a result of the stringent measures it has taken to enhance security and privacy, WeChat has been awarded TRUSTe
Feelings Experienced by New Managers after Promotion New responsibilities and roles emerge whenever a person gets a promotion. The book “Becoming a Manager” outlines several challenges and feelings that emerge after an employee is promoted. To begin with, the promoted individual should deal with certain organizational challenges. The promoted individual “feels withdrawn and pressured to address the changing needs of his or her peers” (Hill, 2008, p. 2). Many workmates become unhappy when one of their peers gets promoted. The “new manager will be unable to cope with most of his or her peers” (Hill, 2008, p. 7). This situation can result in new feelings that can make every new manager less effective. According to Frost (2004, p. 115), “panic and anxiety also occur after a promotion”. Many individuals become overwhelmed after getting a promotion. Some “people begin to wonder if they will be able to complete their new responsibilities” (Frost, 2004, p. 113). This feeling occurs when the new manager is unable to complete most of his or her duties. The individual must use the best skills in order to mentor his or her employees. Newly-recruited managers also encounter different emotional challenges. Every new change compels a manager to address the needs of his or her stakeholders. This discussion explains why different individuals are unable to cope with these new obstacles. Many organizations “expect their managers to become the best change agents and network builders ” (Hill, 2008, p. 8). They should also become competent agenda setters in order to produce the best outcomes. These challenges and feelings might affect the effectiveness of different managers. The success of these managers depends on their abilities to deal with the above feelings. Every new manager should be able to cope with the above challenges. Steps to Overcome Such Feelings The agreeable fact is “that Career Advancement (CA) is something critical and exciting” (Frost, 2004, p. 124). Managers should use effective plans and strategies in order to deal with the above feelings. The first step is “understanding the targeted roles and duties” (Hill, 2008, p. 16). The promoted individual should be aware of his or her new roles. The person should understand the requirements, ethical aspects, and protocols of his or her new position (Hill, 2008). These aspects will make every manager confident. The new role can result in disagreements and misunderstandings. Managers should also establish the best communication plans. A proper communication plan will ensure every employee gets the best support. New managers should deal with every challenge affecting their employee
The use of social media in learning environment is growing and becoming more popular, as students reach for new methods to maintain their social status quo and exchange information. This usage has also increased with the accessibility of mobile phones and other gadgets like tablets among others. Moreover, the use of social media is also growing and becoming popular amongst teachers, as they explore new methods to keep communication with students or facilitate learning (Wasserman, & Faust, 1994, p. 21). The effects of using social media such as Facebook and twitter are increasingly being assimilated into actions, thoughts, and relationships of individuals in the society and learning institutions; therefore, the usage of social media has numerous implications on stakeholders, in the education sector (Pearlman, & Abram, 2010, p. 12). The use of social media such as Facebook in learning institutions should be banned, as it causes insomnia and lack of concentration in students. Students, who spend most time using social media, such as Facebook and twitter, find it hard to concentrate in class because of the addictive nature of the social media. Several researches on students who spent most of their time on social media indicate that they have a shorter concentration lifespan and most often than not, they are permanently distracted. A physiological research by Professor Larry Rossen, revealed that students studying something valuable to them lost concentration span within three minutes, because they were out of task, and thus social media such as Facebook should be banned from schools (Awl, 2009, p. 52). Secondly, social media such as Facebook and twitter reduce concentration in class because of their extensive multi-tasking nature associated with them. For instance, most students spend their time listening to music or sending short messages to their friends while doing their homework (Zillman & Vorderer, 2000, p. 24). In most cases, students find themselves turning their attention to the music or instant texting thus making grammatical mistakes in their assignments or taking more time to finish their assignments (Vander, 2008, p. 32). Teachers find difficulties while marking assignments because of use of slang language, abbreviations, and poor flow of ideas; thus, restrictions should be put on use of social media or it must be banned altogether. Moreover, social media such as Facebook, Google chat, and twitter reduce concentration amongst students because of their time consuming nature. The time spent on social media amongst the youths averages six hours or so per day, which could be otherwise turned into productive study time. Cases of students skipping classes to watch television programs or play video games are rampant in learning institutions, thus diverting the students’ attention to studies. In spite of having some useful educational programs aired through the social media, such as television, most of the television programs, which are popular amongst the students, involve violence and sexual content. In most cases, students divert their concentration in class to imaginations
Introduction The society has been immensely influenced by the technological changes, which are reshaping some of the activities. The emerging technologies in one way or another have affected every member of society, irrespective of age. Video Games have had the greatest influence on the lives of children. Children no longer appreciate the outdoor games as was before, as most of their time is spend indoors playing video games. Although this trend may have a positive impact on the lives of the concerned children as far as their knowledge of computer is concerned, there are various negative impacts. Various educationists have confirmed that outdoor plays are very important to the development and growth of children. It helps them develop socially as they meet with their friends and learn to share discussions, get involved in physical activities and develop physically through such games. The paper talks about some of the negative effects of computer games (Finkel, 1995). It is established through research that computer games do not help children grow academically. In fact, computer games contribute to inactivity of body cells, which might lead to oversight hence causing diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Moreover, indoor games contribute to poor academic performance among students because most of the time is spend on useless games that do not offer any academic lessons. Lastly, computer game