ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Assets to be Integrated into the LMS As the chosen LMS would have to operate in a large learning center for children of all grades, ranging from kindergarten-level to high school, it would require numerous learning assets to be integrated into it and readily available to teachers, parents, and students. Some of the major learning assets are as follows:   * Online lectures. These types of lectures should be available to disadvantaged individuals and children studying from home. The delivery modality for this learning asset is synchronous, as the users must be able to interact with one another and provide timely input should there be any questions or requests (Oliveira, Cunha, & Nakayama, 2016). It is an interactive asset in that the students and the teachers can interact with one another using the LMS as an intermediate environment.   * Offline recordings. Some children may miss classes due to sickness or any other force majeure events. Having all the lessons recorded would allow students to refresh their memories. The modality for this asset is asynchronous, as the students would not need to be present in the same time-space in order to use the recordings. This is a non-interactive asset, as the students will be able to receive input, but not produce output, due to the asynchronous nature of the recordings.   * Discussion threads. By presenting a contested topic, teachers would be able to encourage students to share their own thoughts in text, by writing statements, theses, and arguments to support or rebuke each other’s points and opinions (Oliviera et al., 2016). As a result, new truths would be able to emerge. Such systems are frequently used in universities to facilitate academic discussion. The modality of the delivery for this asset is hybrid, as the students would be able to provide text input in real time and have access to it later, in order to track the flow of the discussion. It is an interactive asset, and the students and teachers would have the tools for providing input and output at the same time.   * Online quizzes. This type of learning asset allows testing students and automatizing the review and grading processes, significantly speeding up results and reducing the workload on teachers (Soykan & Şimşek, 2017). The automated grading system would exclude cheating and favoritism while providing instant results. Due to the requirements for grading speed, this asset would follow a synchronic delivery modality. It will also be an interactive model, since the students would be able to provide input and receive output from the system. Curriculum Objectives The following outline of curriculum objectives supports the use of particular learning assets by teachers and students:   * Curriculum
Intimate Relationships theories by Rowland Miller At the beginning, I would like to emphasize, that the film “Time Traveler’s Wife” is one of the best examples of relationships for the analyses through the prism of Rowland Miller’s theories and concepts. The latter had been found in the 5 th edition of Interpersonal Relationships, outlining the processes of formation, development, and deterioration of human connections, explaining the problems and the roots of these problems of human relationships, and, generally, covering the main aspects of relationships paradigm. Firstly, it would be appropriate to point out the main theories of Rowland Miller’s research into interpersonal relationships. To follow the natural human development while growing up, Rowland Miller offers to our consideration the attachment theory. There he, together with scholar Dollard and Bowlby, describes the formation and mechanism of attachment, which occurs with a personality in the years of early childhood. The attachment theory is being considered through the prism of two main approaches, including learning and evolutionary theories . The first theory anticipates the fact of child’s attachment formation to people, who provide the most primary care, while the latter claims, that children are ready to get attached to those, who respond to their releasing stimuli. They choose a particular attachment figure, which is supposed to be further used as a firm ground for world exploration and cognition. This first child’s attachment is a pattern for interpersonal relationships in future. The next theory, introduced in the work of Rowland Miller is interdependence theory , which is inextricably linked to the terms of CL (comparison levels) and CL alt (comparison levels for alternatives). The author represents the definition and concepts of CL, which means for “the expectations that determine whether or not we are satisfied with our relationships” and CL alt , which, in its turn, denotes to “our perceptions of how well we would do if we left our current relationships”. [2] Generally, the psychologist expresses his point of view, connecting the state of satisfaction with the state of dependence. Naturally, the both mental and emotional aspects concern the issue of relationship. Hence, interdependence theory considers the interrelation between one’s expectations and one’s outcome, the balance or misbalance between what we wanted to have and what we really have. The author also emphases the inability to set a clear boundary between satisfaction with the relationships and dependence on it. Triangular love theory , being described in the Chapter 8 of the book Intimate Relationships , concerns the matter of the three separate units, the combination of which are to set up healthy long-term relationships. These are closeness, fervour, and responsibility. The author claims, that love, including only one part is much weaker, than love, including all the three in a “composite”. Rowland Miller explains, that there are many aspects, which have to be taken into consideration while analyzing love relationships. T
Introduction Speaking and listening is an integral part of learning and thinking (Brace, Brockhoff, Sparkes, & Tuckey, 2006, p.2). Teachers must know how to develop appropriate strategies that incorporate the principles of field, tenor, and mode (Flynn, 2004). Teachers must learn to understand the different phases in speaking and listening such as the beginning phase; early phase; exploratory phase; consolidating phase; and conventional phase. An effective teacher in this field must know how to incorporate all the principles learned in the First Steps Speaking and Listening Map of Development framework when creating a speaking and listening learning activity. The Text & First Steps The first thing that has to be done is to choose the reading material. The material that was used came from a favorite children’s story entitled Jack and the Beanstalk. The material was chosen because the publisher and the author made a deliberate attempt to tailor-made the story to cater to children that are in Grade One and Grade Two. The classification can be seen in the front cover of the said book where it says Level 1-2. A close examination of the book will reveal that it was created to encourage both teacher and student to read the story. The first page and the introductory portion of the story are tailor-made for the adult reader. This can be seen in the use of more complicated sentences and terminologies such as: “One day the cow stopped giving milk, leaving Jack and his mother nothing at all to fill their bellies” (McKay, 1998, p.1). However, after reading the first page of the book, the teacher allows the child to read because this time around the sentences are much simpler and the vocabulary used is appropriate for a seven or eight-year-old child. Consider the following example: “Jack did as he was told” (McKay, 1998, p.2). It is now easier to understand the meaning of the banner that says “We both read” (McKay, 1998). The book was developed to make it easier for teachers and students to take turns reading. The First Steps Speaking and Listening Phase for which this text is appropriate would be the Exploratory Phase. The back and forth format where the adult reads part of the story and then gives way for the participation of the children is a good example of the exploratory phase when using the text for the speaking and listening exercise. Furthermore, the use of this particular text provides opportunities for the small group of children to participate in authentic unplanned and planned speaking and listening exercises. Reading Aloud The children appreciated the fact that I tried my best to provide appropriate facial and vocal expressions to make the story interesting. I realized that the story must be interesting before the children can be drawn in to participate. Nevertheless, ignorance of the importance of pace, as well as facial and vocal expressions, can easily render a wonderful story into a boring interaction. Children at
Abstract The following work is devoted to investigation of the issue of anarchy, its main peculiarities and origin. The works The Anarchic Structure of World Politics by Kenneth Waltz and Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics by Alexander Wendt are taken as the basis for this paper. Deep analysis of the main ideas, touched in these works, is provided. Moreover, the comparison of two different approaches of these authors to the issue is made. On the basis of this comparison new approach to the question of anarchy is created. In the end of the work conclusions are made. Main Body Human beings have always had the desire to be organized. Having originated from a social mammal, they saved and enlarged this need. Even prehistoric primitive communities of people were organized. There were some men who knew what to do in order to guarantee survival of a community and its further prosperity. With the development of society its structure became more complicated. Not only people who control the activity of a community, but even the whole institutions appeared. However, in general their functions remained the same. These institutions had to guarantee existence and survival of society which gave birth to them. The sphere of activity of these institutions obtained its own term policy. It was obvious, that a state, to be powerful enough, should have clear course of its policy and adhere to it. Policy became one of the main factors which regulated the life of a country in the whole and every its citizen in particular. Absence of a clear policy was expected to lead to the collapse of a country and was called anarchy. Throughout the time, this term had been associated with wars, destructions and devastations. However, different scientists tried to investigate this issue and analyze different sides of this problem. Kenneth Waltz is one of them. In his work The Anarchic Structure of World Politics he tries to understand how politics is ordered as a system and the main principles of its functioning. However, he also underlines that the definition of the structure of politics is rather vague and, moreover, different kinds of politics have different structures. The author underlines that there are no rulers in international politics structure, that is why it can be called anarchic (Waltz, 2012). Every state has its own ideas about what to do and main purposes of its policy. Simultaneous existence of a great number of states with their own international policies creates chaos which, in its turn, leads to anarchy. There is a comparison of international relations with the relations within the USA. Each state has its own peculiarities, needs and strong sides and cooperation between all spheres of economy can lead to prosperity of the whole state. However, this model does not work while talking about international relations as there is no strong le
The modern definition of “tantric sex” is connected more to the blissful sensations. As White states, the goal is to replace thoughts with “enlightened God-consciousness” (15). It can be concluded that the modern notion is focused on the physiological aspect. The first example of the way that pre-modern tantric sexual practices differ from the popular notions of “tantric sex” is early Hindu Tantra. As White states that in the past sexual intercourse had a rather practical meaning as it was used for “generating the sexual fluids that constituted the preferred offering of the Tantric deities” (16). The process of initiation involved a male and a female – an initiate and a consort. The role of the female consort was essential in the process as it was considered that females had vital fluids to which males had no access. The second example is Hindu Tantra of the 10 th and 11 th century. At that time, the aspect of consciousness was recognized as part of the notion. As White explains it, the orgasm was accompanied by physiological feelings and the “effects of the oral consumption…substance as female discharge (sexual emissions and menstrual blood” (17). The act was supposed to bring the thought process of a man to the God-consciousness. Works Cited Bryant, Edwin, editor. Krishna. Oxford University Press, 2007. White, David, editor. Tantra in practice. Princeton Readings in Religions, 2000.
Buying things on the internet is more popular than ever – but are there any downsides to this activity? Find more in this online shopping benefits and drawbacks essay. Introduction Online shopping has emerged as a new and important way of making purchases. Due to the increased use of computers and the internet, more people have started to engage in this activity. Businesses see online shopping as an opportunity that can be exploited to increase profitability. For this reason, many businesses in the UK are offering online shopping services to their customers. By doing this, the businesses are able to increase their sales and attract more customers. Consumers also benefit from the convenience offered by electronic commerce. To begin with, online shopping is easy to take part in. The WebWise Team (2012) explains that a person only needs a credit or debit card and a secure password in order to engage in online shopping. However, online shopping has some potential drawbacks due to its electronic nature. This paper will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of shopping online with examples from my own experiences in online shopping. Benefits of Online Shopping Online shopping is convenient for the customer since he can make purchases from the comfort of his house. To take part in online shopping, a person simply needs to visit the website of the business and browse through the list of available goods or services. He then clicks on the item he wants to purchase and once the payment is made, the transaction is complete (WebWise Team 2012). The goods are then delivered to the customers’ address within a given duration of time. This is a very easy way of shopping compared to traditional shopping where a person has to physically visit the business in order to make a purchase. Personally, I have used online shopping to buy books from online stores. I have been able to obtain these products without visiting the bo
Panic disorder (PD), which is a form of anxiety disorder, is majorly characterized by intense fear that activates acute physical responses for real and imagined dangers. In accordance with DSM -5, the condition is marked by four or more of the prodromes which are associated with panic attacks. The symptoms outlined in the DSM-5 incorporate pulsations or accelerated pulse rates, sweltering, quivering and shaking, dyspnea or suffocation, a choking feeling, pain at the upper parts of the chest, nausea or abdominal discomfort. Other signs according to DSM-5 guidelines encompass dizziness or lightheadedness, depersonalization or feelings of delusions, fear of losing control of oneself or becoming deranged, intense worry about death, stupefaction or paresthesias, chills or heat waves. Due to the increasing occurrence of the condition among different people today, a great understanding of the disorder should be analyzed based on historical perspective, causes, prevention, cross-cultural issues, and the biblical worldview of the sickness. Historical Context Psychiatrists and clinicians have had a changing perspective of PD’s mental condition. In the past, PD was not entirely recognized as one of the mental conditions (Kupfer, 2015). Therefore, psychoanalysts were not linking the symptoms of the disorder to any mental deviation. Before 1980, medical researchers and psychologists were not able to establish a comprehensive notion of PD (Kupfer, 2015). The diagnostics that are presently used for this particular sickness have evolved since the inclusion time of PD into DSM. Moreover, according to DSM-3, the prevalence percentages of PD and recurrent panic attacks from the general population were defined at 2.7% and 7.1%, respectively (Na et al., 2011). Over a period of time from 1980, researches that have been conducted have shown that gender has played a significant role in increasing the prevalence of the sickness (Kupfer, 2015). Therefore, the continuous researches on this particular contagion clearly show the changing view of psychotherapists’ and general public views about PD. In addition to changing the general public’s, psychologists’, and medical practitioners’ view treatment models have changed too. For instance, PD was considered to be part of human living, and little attention was accorded to treat the condition (Kupfer, 2015). Furthermore, the society was harsher on women, and on any form of mental disorder, they were placed in a facility which was ruled by a man, and any form of disobedience attracted severe punishment (Kupfer, 2015). Currently, this has changed to a great extent, and a modern woman with mental problems such as panic attacks might get treatments tailored to suit her gender and elementary theories. As well, people who had mental conditions such as anxiety disorders were placed in facilities that were similar to the present-day jails (Kupfer, 2015). As time went on, due to extensive research and innovations in the field of psyc
The importance of compensation in a commitment of employees is a long fact. Despite this, many compensation plans fail at achieving the said goal, with complexity and unresponsiveness being the chiefly responsible factors. The article describes a compensation mechanism which is simple, transparent, and effective, and with little adjustment can be implemented within most of the start-ups. The central premise behind the approach is the alignment of the compensation scheme with the current objective of the organization. In other words, compensation should be adjusted as soon as the new objectives are determined, and the new performance indicators are isolated. The example described in the article outlines three stages – customer acquisition, customer retention, and scaling up the business. During the initial stage, when the focus was on the rapid build-up of the customer base, the salespeople were paid for the recurring monthly payments while the claw-back was implemented on commissions to balance out the potential losses. Once a sufficient number of customers was acquired, the management turned to the reasons behind the high churn level. As soon as the data suggested its relation to selling practices, the compensation became dependent on the retention level, with the lowest-performing group of salespeople being penalized. Finally, once sustainable growth was prioritized, the data pointed to the influence of the length of a prepaid period on the loyalty of customers. Thus, the third adjustment was implemented, which favored sales strategies resulting in longer prepaid terms. Each change was accompanied by appropriate monitoring which evaluated the purported success. At first glance, such a scheme does not introduce anything new. Upon closer inspection, however, it reveals two characteristic features. First, it relies on thorough data processing rather than intuitive guess. Second, it decreases lag, that is, once new issues or objectives become visible, they immediately find reflection in compensation plans. Similarly, the delay is minimized in the actual outcome of the new plan: both benefits and shortcomings of salespeople’s actions immediately affect their paycheck. The suggested approach is valuable for small businesses for which time is an important issue. While its direct application is not recommended, with certain adjustments it can be used to improve the company’s performance and boost the productivity of staff members under similar conditions.
Process to follow when changing team structure It is inevitable once in a while to restructure an organisation in terms of resizing the employees. The restructuring process is normally referred to as retrenchment and the process must be carried out in a manner that will ensure all employees are comfortable and that the affected employees are not psychologically affected. There are various reasons that lead to loss of jobs and these may include; technological changes and closure of the workplace. For this organisation, the reason as to why there is need for a restructuring of the team is due to the current economic downturn being experienced in the world. In order to make these changes, the following process will be followed. Ensuring that the restructuring is necessary: it is important to ensure that the process is necessary in order to avoid mistakes that may cost the company in future in terms of new employees’ recruitment costs. Evaluating alternatives: in some cases, other alternatives may be sought instead of reducing the number of employees. Some of these are; freezing new hiring, reduction of salaries and voluntary early retirement among others. In this case however, it is necessary to carry out the retrenchment process. Gathering important information on the process: it is important to get as much relevant information as possible such as the legal and economic consequences before engaging in the process of retrenchment. Carry out consultations with key stakeholders: carrying out consultations with employees, trade unions and any other stakeholders is important in ensuring that the process runs smoothly. Establish the right retrenchment procedure: it is important to create a committee to implement the retrenchment procedure and the members should be from the organisation. Implement the retrenchment plan: the last step is to implement the plan and this involves conducting interviews with the every employee who is affected by the retrenchment as well as making sure that severance payments are made in time. Resistance to the changes and how to manage them Retrenchment is a form of organisational change just like any other and therefore there is bound to be resistance from employees. It is therefore important for management to anticipate this change and prepare adequately to handle it in a manner that will ensure that the process is successful and that all employees are left satisfied. The success or failure of the retrenchment process will greatly be influenced by how management handles the expected resistance from employees. Such resistance should be managed so that the process can be implemented in a manner that is in the best interest of all stakeholders. The main factor that may lead to employee resistance in the case of retrenchment is the lack of proper communication by management. In order to effectively manage employee resistance, the management will be expected to communicate the intentions early and to ensure that all stakeholders are involved in the process from the beginning to the end. Consultations with all stakeholders will ensure that the management and employees reach a common ground and lay dow