ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The production under review is Shasta College Theatre’s version of the legendary Little Shop of Horrors . The production team did a great job presenting a famous gruesome story and projecting its main message: the greatest evil is not some supernatural monster but human greed. This story has already been introduced in various forms numerous times. The musical will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, while the original film, the play is loosely based on, was released more than 60 years ago (Brantley, 2019; The American Film Institute). Nevertheless, the story’s message is still relevant, and Shasta College Theatre made a good choice deciding to remind us of it through their performance. Little Shop of Horrors tells us the story of Seymour Krelborn, a poor orphan working as an assistant in a flower shop run by nagging and grumpy Mr. Mushnik. Seymour is secretly in love with his pretty co-worker Audrey, but the girl does not seem to reciprocate his feelings and is in a relationship with a sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello. Everything changes as a mysterious plant resembling a venus flytrap appears one day, and Seymour starts taking care of it. The exotic plant brings sudden popularity to its new owner and improves his relationship with the boss and Audrey. Seymour gives the plant the latter’s name and calls it Audrey II. However, it is not as nice as its namesake, and it demands human sacrifices for further help provided to Seymour. Initially, he rejects the monster’s proposal, but he changes his mind when he witnesses Orin abusing Audrey. Even though Orin ultimately died of gas asphyxiation, Seymour did nothing to help the man and made him Audrey II’s first victim. Then he feeds Mr. Mushnik to the plant when the shop owner gets suspicious of Orin’s sudden disappearance. Seymour and Audrey get closer, and the guy realizes he does not need the plant’s help anymore and intends to kill it. Unfortunately, he is late as the hungry, vicious monster attacks and mortally wounds Audrey. The play ends with Seymour’s futile attempts to kill the plant, which wishes to conquer the world by spreading its leaf cuttings. Seymour tries to destroy it from inside but fails and becomes the carnivorous monster’s new prey himself. The final scene shows us Audrey II’s victims turned into the plant’s flowers and begging the audience to never listen to the vicious plant’s urges no matter how persuasive they sound. Even though the final words seem to put the whole blame on some alien influence, the Shasta College Theatre’s production team made it clear: the main message of the play is quite the opposite. Audrey II serves as a symbol of human inner evil temptations, greed, cowardice, and weakness. Everyone makes moral choices, but when one commits a crime, one must be responsible for it. This idea is represented through various means providing the audience with a holistic picture. What I would like to note is the costumes, especially the ones of Seymour and Orin. When one looks at Seymour’s glasses and simple, neat clothing, one cannot help but sympathize with this nice-looking guy and blame anyone but him.
It is important to note the fact that diversity in the workplace can be defined as an organization’s tendency to hire and promote a diverse set of individuals who are multicultural in regards to background, education, language, sexuality, age, ethnicity, race, or gender. It is not highly challenging to assess whether a workplace is diverse or not because one needs to categorize the present people in accordance with the measurement metrics listed previously. If the workplace is primarily and predominantly occupied by individuals of one specific group, then there might be a lack of diversity. The key advantage of workplace diversity is a better representation, improved decision making, and an expanded talent pool, whereas the disadvantages can be performance, social integration, and other negative outcomes (Guillaume et al., 2017). In other words, diversity can be a certain form of a double-edged sword. It should also be noted that the positive impacts of culture in the workplace in regards to the subject at hand revolve around a higher degree of equality and multiculturalism. The negative ones might be focused on more challenges of ensuring teamwork and cooperation. As a leader, one should encourage diversity in the workplace because the shift in paradigm needs to be initiated from the top to the bottom, which means it is the leader’s responsibility to ensure the change takes place. In order to accomplish the goal of diversity and inclusivity, the national CLAS standards can be utilized through strict and strong adherence to the key points. One needs to be highly aware of vast cultural and linguistic differences among patients, which can be more easily overcome through a presentation of a diverse set of workers in the workplace. Reference Guillaume, Y. R. F., Dawson, J. F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38 (2), 276–303. Web.
A perspective is an approach that bears particular assumptions or beliefs about the nature of the human behaviour. Each psychological perspective has its weaknesses and strengths as well as each psychological perspective having a different point of view on the understanding of human and animal behaviour. The knowledge and understanding of the psychological perspectives can contribute to the assessment and identification of the behaviour as well as the choice of intervention. However, one perspective cannot apply to every individual due to the fact that it can be relevant in one situation and irrelevant in another. Thus, a choice of the psychological approach will be determined by the context in which the behaviour occurs. The psychodynamic perspective is the approach that is based on Freud’s works about human behaviour being determined by a feeling of subconsciousness. This psychological approach states that the visible issues that occur in children are caused by inner conflicts. Such problems may easily appear from early traumatic experiences in the past as well as badly-resolved relationships. Because of the lack of the inner resources, the majority of children cannot safely deal with trauma, thus, the dealing method is linked to improper behaviour ( Behavioural, emotional and social development unit 11. Psychological perspectives on behaviour 2012, p. 2). Psychologists Watson, Thorndike, and Skinner greatly influenced the development of the behaviou
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics Aristotle in his virtue ethics states that a virtuous individual is someone with ideal traits. These characteristic traits normally come from an individual’s innate tendency but should be cultivated. After they are cultivated, these character traits supposedly become stable in an individual. Moral consequentilaists and deontologists are normally concerned with universal doctrines that can be utilized in any situation that requires moral interpretation. Unlike these theorists, Aristotle’s virtue ethics are concerned with the general questions such as “what is a good life”, “what are proper social and family values”, and “how should one live” (Bejczy 32). Aristotle developed his virtue ethics based on three central principles; eudaimonia, ethics of care, and agent based theories. Eudaimonia stipulates that virtues can be seen in the way an individual flourishes; flourishing under this concept refers to one’s ability to perform their functions with distinct accuracy (Bejczy 33). The distinct function of humans according to Aristotle is reasoning, and a worthy life is characterized by good reasoning. The agent based theory places emphasis on the fact that virtues are determined by common institutions people use to label traits in other people as admirable. According to Aristotle’s virtue ethics, a virtue like honesty does not necessarily refer to the tendency of people acting honestly, or the classification of the virtue as a desirable trait. Instead, Aristotle purports that the virtue of honesty is predisposed and entrenched in an individual (Bejczy 34). In virtue ethics, therefore, an individual cannot be labeled as honest since he is not cheating, or by observing the honesty in one’s dealings. In addition, if an individual acts honestly because he/she is afraid of being caught, or because he/she thinks it is good to do so rather than recognizing that engaging in a contrary behavior will be dishonest, such as an individual cannot be labeled as honest (Bejczy 35). The choices made by an honest individual will always reflect the views the individual has regarding truth and honesty. Aristotle’s virtue ethics is mainly concerned with the questions of “what is a good life”, “what are proper social and family values”, and “how should one live”. An honest individual values honesty and in most cases will choose to have honest friends, raise his/her children to embrace honesty, and work with honest people. Aristotle’s virtue ethics also differentiates between continence and perfect virtue (Bejczy 36). Perfect virtue implies that people who are fu
Same-Sex Schools Same sex classrooms were widely practiced in ancient times before the middle of the 20 th century (Yates 1971, p. 34). The concept of same sex classrooms works when girls and boys are separated into different classes, buildings or schools where they do not get to interact as freely as they would in the conventional classroom setup. Same sex classrooms has been traditionally practiced in the past at specific levels of learning but more especially in high schools and in institutions of higher education. However, recent times have seen the practice infiltrate in practically all levels of education including the elementary level. This has created a new platform for debate as is affirmed by Hayes (2003) who notes that “Any number of studies show that single-sex education is beneficial for college-age women. But the work done so far to study the issue for students in kindergarten through 12th grade is, at best, spotty and inconclusive” (p. 65). The practice has been evidenced in many parts of the world but it is important to acknowledge that its extensiveness are practically determined by the culture and religious backgrounds of the population group in question. The establishment of single-sex classrooms has for long been a rather controversial issue considering segregating boys and girls are not essentially politically correct. This debate has especially been exacerbated by the fact that it is even applied at elementary levels. This has caused quite a stir in most centers of education across the world. There are obviously a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with single sex classrooms but proponents of the concept note that it improves academic performance while its critics note that it essentially deprives young students from a healthy social life (University Language 2011). The debate about the establishment of single-sex classrooms is very controversial and intense but this study notes that establishing single-sex classrooms especially for young children is not healthy for the comprehensive growth of children at an elementary level. Conceptual Understanding In the United Kingdom (UK) single sex schools have been quite common in a number of the country’s public and grammar schools. However, a number of these schools are currently coeducational but the trend has quickly infiltrated into other lower level of education schools such as elementary schools (Sullivan 2011). In UK’s educational system, the commonly known single-sex schools at the primary level are Winterbourne Junior Boys’ School and Winterbourne Junior Girls’ School but through a government report released in the year 2007, single-sex classrooms have been approved by the government to uplift educational standards (Sullivan 2010, p. 6). In Britain, the number of single-sex schools has not been commensurate with other parts of the world. For i
Euro Disney was a company on the verge of economic collapse reflected on the grim figures of its financial statements. Below is an illustration of the statement from 1993/1994. To steer the organization into profitability to become a market player and strategically position it in the market, the organization’s risk-taking intellectual executives had to embrace knowledge management skills integrated in the organization’s culture, behavior and vision to be a market leader, to gain a strategic market position. One of the key elements for the management was to use value addition and analysis techniques in the design and implementation of its value chain activities in addition to embracing the four concepts of product, price, promotion and place in the pursuit of a bigger market share, a strong brand name and image which are vital for any business interest. These value chain activities could help position Euro Disney at a strategic position if the business managers envisaged them in the infrastructure of the company by identifying the human resources available, their knowledge and skills, the technology they had. Technology was catered for by integrating different subsidiary companies in addition to identifying logistical needs of the company and its subsidiary companies. These value addition activities are a chain of events and activities which add value to the final product making it more valuable than the original product and competitive in the market. In addition to that, as illustrated in the case study, these value chain activities lead to the final cost of the product being lower than the value of the final value-added product. This is a combination of activities such as economies of scale, experience, supply costs, and the product design process. Euro Disney failed in this (Strategic Management 1). Euro Disney has integrated the above factors in its value addition process particularly in the development and design of many of its unique products tailored to reflect the target market. The unique products include identification of cultural values of the target market such as the European markets and the Japanese market. One of the successful integration of value addition activities included the Japanese Tokyo Disney land, a target market. The management of Euro Disney identified the unique market characterized by the 2 million
Introduction This assignment is a discussion on the topic of Globalisation, Social Policy and Social Provision. In the discussion, I have defined and explained what social provision is, how it emerged and how it relates to social policy and globalisation. The discussion also looks at various actors and polices in social provision, how effective they have been and the challenges as well as the possible way forward. The discussion draws from various readings as well as on internet resources. Discussion Social provisions can mean different things to different people and in different countries. This is because of the historical economic, political and social differences between different countries world-wide. But generally, social provision refers to the provision of welfare services to citizens of a country. The concept has got its origin from the English poor law act, which required churches and other charity organizations to provide the poor with basic needs including food, shelter and clothing (Deacon 25). Based on its history, the concept is mainly used to refer to the provision of welfare services to the less fortunate in the society, basically the elderly, the disabled, orphaned children and people in difficult situations. The nature of social provision in developing and developed countries however differs in terms of definition, scope and the target beneficiaries. In the developing countries which are characterized by high levels of poverty, almost over 50% of all citizens are in need of social provision (Deacon 25). In these countries, social provision is mostly done by non-governmental and charity organizations, with the governments playing a marginal role in the same. In the developed countries on the other hand, majority of the citizens are able to provide for themselves, and therefore the nature of social provision is a matter of governments’ responsibility to all citizens rather than a privilege given by the governments to some segments of the population (Deacon 25). Social provision constitutes of provision of social services like education, social security, food, shelter among other social necessities. It may take the form of direct cash given to the beneficiaries, subsidizing services or goods, or giving vouchers to those who are targeted by the social provision programs. In the developing countries, the access to social welfare services is based on some eligibility criteria. This can be attributed to the high number of deserving people. Such criteria may include things like extreme poverty, old age, orphan hood, destitution or displacement by ethnic, civil strife or political violence which are prevalent in these countries (Deacon 25). In the national context, social provision programs take care of the unique needs and priorities of a particular country irrespective of the service provider. The providers are usually the governments and other non-governmental
Definition of white collar crime White collar crime refers to a crime that is committed by a person in the high rank, or a person who is highly respected and with a high social status in the society (Sutherland, 1983; Gerber & Jensen, 2006). Also, it can refer to illegal or dishonest business schemes where consumers can be cheated. Also, white collar crimes may refer to any unlawful act that is committed by officials in the private and public sector (Sutherland, 1983). It can be fraud, swindling, theft or embezzlement. According to Lewis (2002), white collar crime is said to be committed through financial dealings. It can be described as a crime that does not cause any violence, but has an intention of gaining money. Initially, this was a crime that was assumed to have no impact in the society. The white collar crime is not only committed by people of high ranking, but it can also be committed by people from humble or divergent backgrounds. Embezzlement is a form of white collar crime. Embezzlement includes illegal use of another person’s property which the offender was given the responsibility to manage. In this case, the offender uses the property as his or own without authority by the owner. In embezzlement, the perpetrator of the crime uses illegal means to gain undue financial benefits. Nevertheless, the individual may legally possess the property in question, but he may make use of the property in a wrong way (Geis, Pontell, & Pontell-Geis, 2007). In-depth definition and explanation of embezzlement Embezzlement may be fraud involving mi
Introduction The debate on whether to legalize the use of marijuana has been there for the last 20 years. There have been interesting and viable justifications for allowing marijuana for medical purposes. Similarly, satisfying stances have been raised by the opposing side in this debate. Finding a way to accommodate both the opposing and proposing sides has been an extremely difficult task. This essay seeks to show that allowing marijuana to be used for medical purposes is a bad idea. This is with disregard to its effectiveness in suppressing pain. Effects of smoking marijuana As we think about a possible benefit of legalizing marijuana, we should pay more attention to the effects and implications of its use in society. Psychologists advise that before making any decision, we have to weigh the benefits against the negative implications. When the benefits outweigh the negative implications, then one can consider the option. However, the negative implications exceed the benefits, then it means the option is not worth taking. In this case, marijuana is known to have serious implications on its users, and these adverse effects outweigh its usefulness in a very significant margin. Marijuana has several short-term and long-term effects on humans. Some of the short-term effects of marijuana are detrimental and can cause great harm to users. For instance, the use of marijuana causes numbness hence disabling the sensory system. In addition to this, it causes panic and anxiety hence causing the user to hallucinate. This effect exonerates smoker control over his or her body and mind. In this state, one’s rationale is compromised, and he or she might end up hurting him/herself or other people. Marijuana causes the user to develop poor coordination of movement hence inhibiting his/her response to other senses. In addition, it also makes the user feel sleepy, lazy, and depressed. It also causes the heartbeats to increase. The increasing rate of heartbeats caused by the intake of marijuana can easily cause a person to have a heart attack, and this can be lethal. Long-term effects of marijuana include:  1. Growth disorders.  2. Decrease in male sex hormones.  3. Destruction of the lungs.  4. Reduced sexual capacity.  5. Reduced learning capability.  6. Reduced power to understand among other effects. Rationale Given the effects mention above, the benefits of legalizing the use of marijuana as a medical remedy for pain is unjustifiable. The health implications caused by smoking marijuana or using it in its numerous forms are too detrimental to ignore. Marijuana is a very effective pain reliever b
One of the most notable aspects of a post-industrial living in today’s world has to do with the fact that, as time goes on, the gerontology-related issues become increasingly acute, in the sociological sense of this word. Such a development appears to have been dialectically predetermined by the essence of demographic dynamics in the West – the birthplace of the term ‘gerontology’. As Schmid, Brandt, and Haberkern (2012) pointed out, “All European societies face demographic aging due to reduced fertility rates and increased longevity” (p. 39). In its turn, this explains why the recent decade saw the publishing of a number of academic articles, the authors of which strived to explore the previously overlooked aspects of aging in today’s world, in general, and to elaborate on the process’s qualitative specifics, in particular. In this paper, I will aim to identify the main themes contained in some of the articles that were recommended for reading through the weeks 7-12, to expound on what should be considered these articles’ discursive significance, and to provide a critical evaluation of the would-be found argumentative stances. The main idea that I am going to promote throughout the paper’s entirety is that the aging-related issues cannot be referred to as such that represent the value of a ‘thing in itself’ in the sense of being the legitimate subject of positivist inquiry. That is, for us to be able to have a better understanding of the significance of aging, we may never cease being thoroughly aware of the effects of the discursive framework (within which the issue is to be discussed) on the discussion’s outcome. In its turn, this framework is defined by the affiliated socio-economic circumstances, as well as by the culturally predetermined qualities of the associated people’s mentality. Out of the would-be reviewed articles, the one by Biggs and Powell (2001) [ A Foucauldian analysis of old age and the power of social welfare ] appears to be most closely related to the actual thesis of this paper. The reason for this is apparent – the article’s actual content is concerned with subjecting the issue of aging to the so-called ‘Foucauldian analysis,’ in order to obtain some in-depth insights into what defines the actual philosophy behind the currently deployed (in the West) care-policies, with respect to the elderly. According to the authors, the foremost characteristic of how the coming of age is being perceived in the West is that, due to being physically incapacitated, the process in question is considered strongly detrimental to one’s existential agenda. As they noted, “In Western culture, the aging body is perceived to be the ‘bottom line,’ subjecting us to relentless catalogs of ‘betrayals’ through p