ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Bombing of Dresden was a series of well choreographed attacks on the German City named Dresden. The attacks themselves happened in the dying months of the Second World War, and were marked by four clear raids in the three days between 13-15 February, 1945. They were implemented by missions from the British Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force. In the period, close to 4,000 tons of explosives were dropped on the city. By the time the bombing was over, over 40 square kilometers of destruction had been caused across the city with thousands of civilians falling victim. How the bombing happened The United States Army Air force had planned to start the raid on the night of 13 February 1945. However, on that night incidence of bad weather forced the force to abandon any planned missions, leaving the British Royal Air force to begin the raid. Initial plans had stipulated that two back-to-back raids would be carried out within a span of three hours. However, that night, the plans changed and several attacks were carried out in order to throw the Nazi soldiers of the mark. 360 large bombers lodged attacks on a synthetic oil plant 98 kilometers away from Dresden, as smaller bombers dropped bombs in Magdeburg, Bonn and Nuremberg. The first planes from the Royal Air force started the journey from 1,100 kilometers away and they were tasked with the role of identifying Dresden and releasing Magnesium flares to light up the areas that the areas that the bombers would release their loads on. Next followed some double-engined marker planes which were to chart out the path that the attacks would follow. 1,000 pound target indicators were dropped in the areas around Dresden. The markers released a red glow, which the bombers directed their aims at. The area around the Ostragehege stadium was crowded with timber buildings and it formed the primary target, owing to the combustibility of the material used in the constructions. Later, 254 primary bombers followed carrying five hundred tons of highly-explosive bomb and 375 tons of fire bombs. The high explosives were mainly set out to cut out the water supply connections, destroy roofs, doors and windows, laying out an air-flow path to help fuel the fires caused by the fire-bombs. Everything went as per plans with the bombers arriving in Dresden much to the shock of the military forces in Dresden. In a rush, sirens went out in the City but it was too late as the bombers dropped their cargo at the areas they had been intended. Three hours later, a second attack was lodged and by this time hundreds of fires could be identified from over 500 kilometers away, in the air. The latter attacks saw over 1800 tons of explosives released in the area. The next day 431 bombers from the United States Air force release 770 tons of explosives on Dresden. More attacks followed in neighboring cities, with 60 B-17 bombers dropping 154 tons of bombs on Prague. By midday, on the 15
Introduction The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is regarded to be a book with no clear plot and sequence of the events. It is argued, that The basic plot line is the Raoul Duke’s and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo’s trip to Las Vegas in order to report the Mint 400 motorcycle race, as he is a journalist. Nevertheless, they soon choose to abandon their work, and start experimenting with drugs (LSD, cocaine, mescaline and cannabis). Starting of these experiments is also the beginning of the events, that for the plot line (which is unclear), which happens mainly in thei minds, as they experience the hallucinogenic trips, during which they destroy hotel rooms, wreck cars and have visions of anthropomorphic desert animals, all the while ruminating on the decline of American culture. Scene Analysis The most interesting scene for the analysis is the Raoul Duke’s and Dr. Gonzo’s way to Las Vegas. Originally, it is the very beginning of the novel, and all the minor characters are not represented yet. However, they exist, and their view of this trip is rather interesting, as they even do not imagine the future events. They can not expect, that Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo will abandon their reporting the motorcycle races, and try the drugs, where they will meet all the minor characters. It is interesting to mention, that it is not even known for sure, if these characters exist, or they are just the creations of the hallucinations. The way to Las Vegas may be regarded as the probability of further appearing of characters. The further situation may be expressed in the following passage, that expresses the following events from the viewpoint of the minor characters: We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive…” And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: “Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?” As for the story from the view point of the protagonists, it should be mentioned, that they try to reach Las Vegas in order to do their job, which will, probably, make them more experienced and respected among the editorial staff. The message, that is offered as the center of the plot is the changes in American culture, that the protagonists represent, and one of their aims is to promote these changes. They also search for the American dream, that is hard to find in the contemporary USA. However, the trip was the classic affirmation of everything right and true against false and left. Conclusion The novel is aimed to represent the current situation within the people, who search for happiness and success. Instead of struggling for success, most young people select the easiest way of being ha
I’ve always thought that Forever 21 was a brilliant name for a fast-fashion retailer. These two words succinctly encapsulate consumerism’s mission statement: to evoke the dream of perpetual youth through constant shopping. Yet it also conjures the suffocating shabbiness of that fantasy, the permanent desperation involved in trying to achieve fashion’s impossible ideals. Forever 21 was found in 1984 as a single store in Los Angeles called Fashion 21 . The worldwide success of Forever 21 and the other even more prominent fast-fashion outlets, like H&M (2,200 stores in thirty-eight countries), Uniqlo (760 stores in six countries), and Zara (more than 4,900 stores in seventy-seven countries) epitomized how the protocols of new capitalism—flexibility, globalization, technology-enabled logistical micromanaging, consumer co-creation—have reshaped the retail world, and with it, the material culture of consumer societies. Though retailers have long employed trend spotters to try to capitalize on bottom-up innovation, fast-fashion companies have organized their business models around the principle relying on logistics and data capture in order to respond rapidly to consumer behavior. With small-batch production runs and global labor market to exploit, fast fashion accelerates the half-life of trends and ruthlessly turns over inventory, pushing the pace of fashion to a forced march. Fast fashion’s accelerated rate, and its unscrupulousness about copying branded designs, means that luxury houses and name designers, which dictated fashion seasonally, now must increasingly adapt to the ramifications of fast fashion’s trial-and-error approach. Despite apparently democratizing style and empowering consumers, fast fashion in some ways, constitutes a dream sector for those eager to condemn contemporary capitalism, as the companies heighten some of their current contradictions almost systematically: the exhaustion of innovative possibilities, the limits of the legal system in guaranteeing property rights, the increasing immoderation of the world workforce. Their labor practices are in the long tradition of textile-worker exploitation, offering paltry piecemeal rates to subcontracted suppliers and overlooking how they treat employees 1 . For instance, before the GATT Multifiber Agreement lapsed in 2005, allowing Forever and other garment-makers to outsource much of their manufacturing to Asia, the company’s domestic labor practices generated lawsuits filed on behalf of workers who alleged sweatshop conditions. In a press release, the Garment Worker Center, a California-based workers’ rights group, noted some of the conditions that prompted the suits: withheld wages, long hours without legally mandated breaks, rat and cockroach infestations, and a lack of bathrooms and access to drinking water.
Literary Analysis of The Stranger by Albert Camus Literature has always been reflecting major trends in various spheres of social and political life at a certain period. Philosophical views also have an immense impact on the development of literary works which represent the core ideas of the epoch. The philosophy of existentialism emerged in Europe, sharing the ideas of individuality and freedom based on which people make decisions. Albert Camus is considered as existentialist, but he acknowledges his contributions to absurdism the basic principles of which are highlighted in his novel The Stranger . Albert Camus is a famous author and philosopher who was born in the family of French expatriates in Algiers. He studied philosophy at the university so that after obtaining a degree he explored the concepts of existentialism in the middle of the 1930s and examined the principles of the absurdity of human existence several years later. Based on the analysis of the newly acquired philosophical ideas, Camus started to work on his first novel The Stranger . It incorporates the ideas of absurdity which question the value and sense of human life depicted throughout the subjective experiences of the protagonist. He acts based on his prejudices and choices but realizes what he is doing and knows the value of words (Camus 100). In general, the literary works of the writer explore a search for justice, liberty, and faith in human dignity, disregarding the external factors and neglect of personal identity. Nevertheless, the philosophy of Camus states that people have enough opportunities to determine destiny by making deliberate choices but not chances determined by fate. The themes of existentialism and absurdism are discussed in The Stranger , a novel about the man who considers the universe is pointless. Meursault, the protagonist, obviously lacks remorse when his mother dies so that his behavior is not typical during the funeral. When the caretaker invites him to the room, he drinks some coffee with milk and smokes (Camus 12). Such behavior is perceived as disrespectful and inadequate because people are usually upset when their family members pass away, while the main character remains unflappable. Indeed, society is formed based on some ideological principles the neglection of which may lead to the disruptions and uncertainties in the system (Camus 101). Subsequently, the ideas of absurdism affect the audience because they define uncommon values associated with a differentiating behavior that expresses the inner self of the person rather than masks one’s true feelings and motivation for actions. In this case, the existentialism dogma questio
Introduction In the beginning, when Philips went worldwide, there arose congestion in the electric lamp industry and the company had to reposition itself for competition. The strategy entailed the establishment of sales organizations in overseas markets through joint ventures with the locals for easier market penetration. Later Philips entered into an agreement with General Electric over bilateral sharing of patents and the company changed from a highly centralized entity to a decentralized sales organization with independent marketing companies. In anticipation of the Second World War, the company had to strategize for business continuity. It transferred all its overseas assets to British and US-based trusts. This enabled the individual country organizations to operate more independently during the war. The organizations were independent in financial, legal, administrative matters and the research function but product development, production and global distribution were handled by fourteen product divisions at Eindhoven, the headquarters. The organizations reported to a reported to the 10 member board at Eindhoven (Bartlett, 2009). There came a time when the profitability of the company dipped and a committee was formed to draft a policy paper on the division of accountability between the organizations and the product division. The company’s strategy was to balance the managerial relationships between the PDs and National organizations with a bias towards the product divisions. Another strategy was to reduce product lines marketed by the product department and benefit from economies of scale by maximizing production. Other strategies included the Closure of inefficient scale driven plants and concentration on manufacturing centres, transformation of an old mass production line to modern flexible manufacturing cells and trimming the workforce (Bartlett, 2009). On the other hand, Matsushita sold mostly through mass merchandisers and discounters under their private brands. However, yielding to the pressure of the national governments in the developing nations, Matsushita opened plants in foreign countries. The manufacturing costs rose in the home country of Japan, the company shifted the more basic production to low wage countries. Almost all high-value components and subassemblies remained in the scale intensive Japanese plants (Bartlett, 2009). Another strategy was issuing the local managers with discretions on how to achieve the targets set by the parent company. This allowed for innovation as a response to the local market conditions. Local nationals held key positions but remained supported by Japanese advisors with strong links to the parent company (Bartlett, 2009). The Differences in Strategy Phillips focused on establishing a global portfolio of organizations that were responsive while Matsushita tried to achieve its global competitive edge by centralizing and ensuring efficient operations (Bartlett, 2009). Strategies Implemented By Matsushita and Philips Philips has generally shifted to relocating production to low wage areas to maximize the returns. There is also the closure of inefficient scale driven p
Introduction Art education is an area of learning that deals with visual, tangible arts, such as sculpture, drawing, painting, and design in jewelry, weaving, fabrics, and pottery. Art education however increases student participation in other areas of the academic environment because it requires learners exercise their brains. Research shows that there is no set art education curriculum content for it is regarded as a continuous process. According to Dr. Maria Montessori, art education requires an organization that involves many and perhaps all of the cognitive operations known from theoretical thinking. “Art and creativity should not be restricted to being an artist but allow any individual to create things, solve a problem differently and contribute to the workforce, society and humankind.”(Elliot, 2001) As for curriculum orientations, there are three broad categories namely: child-centered, society-centered, and subject centered. It is the status quo in art education that has compelled curriculum developers to try and change content and instructional practices. As Robert Murray pointed out, the current art curriculum reform proposals fail because they attempt to reform education by directing teachers on what to do rather than empowering them to do according to the expectations. According to Eisner (1985), art curriculum need to be changed if educators expect to achieve the set goals and objectives. In general, curriculum entails the use of qualitative methodology which includes the nature of teaching and learning, teachers’ beliefs, and commitments. The role of art educators in curriculum orientation is to evaluate whether the system is working, needs to be changed or whether new policies and solutions should be initiated. Statement of the Problem Does the art education curriculum offered a call for amendment or is it the best? Arts are not considered to be academic and therefore more freedom is exercised as far as the content required is concerned. Art educators are considered to be diverse in training, commitment, and aspiration since curricular are shallowly or not at all followed. The context offered in art education differs widely as compared to the other sector of education. Therefore, art educators tend to draw their resources, personal beliefs, and visions as well as a small array of customs. “Educators should realize that the vital part of curriculum orientation is to make sure both the individual and the society in which they function achieve self-fulfillment.” (Eisner, 1998) They should therefore implement the curriculum for the benefit of the learners. According to Pinar and Reynolds (1995), art educators should make sure they have planned instruction, structured series of intended learner outcomes and the official documented objectives to improve the overall performance of the learner. Educators will need to
General Electric is one of the largest and most well-known corporations in the world. It is a conglomeration of many businesses and hence cannot be slotted into a single market structure. Hence each of its businesses or divisions can be analyzed separately. The company has the following main areas of business namely, aviation, consumer appliances including lighting and electronics, finance, oil and energy, and healthcare. Market structures are usually divided into four according to their characteristics. They are a monopoly, oligopoly, free-market structure, and monopolistic competition. A monopoly is a structure there is only one seller (or manufacturer), whereas in an oligopoly there will be few sellers (or manufacturers). A free market is one where there are a large number of players (both buyers and sellers). Monopolistic competition is “a market structure in which there are many sellers each producing a differentiated product. Each can set its own price and quantity, but is too small for that to matter for prices and quantities of other producers in the industry.” (Deardorff). The Company’s aviation division is a perfect example of an oligopolistic market with only two other players (Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney) operating. This is with regard to engines for passenger and military aircraft. The consumer electronic division is operating in a free market economy. There are a large number of big, medium, and small players operating in this industry. This scenario is the same in the case of the finance division. With regard to healthcare, the company is a manufacturer of sophisticated health equipment like X-rays, ultrasound, and molecular imaging. This sector can be considered to be oligopolic in nature because of the high investment involved. Its other healthcare products operate in a more or less free-market structure. Energy and oil and gas is also an area where large investments are needed. In that sense, the market tends towards an oligopolistic structure. But in the case of oil and gas, the price is controlled by the countries that have rich oil reserves and oil exploration and refining companies do not have much power in the matter of pricing. Advertisements are not generally needed in a monopolistic market. But it can be done to create product awareness and also an image for the company. An example would be the Indian Railways owned by the Government of India. It is totally monopolistic in nature with regard to rail travel in the country. But the Indian Railways do advertise in order to create a better image of the organization. Advertising is very useful in an oligopolistic market. The two main advantages are to create awarene
In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker presents the topic of one’s ancestors and traditional family and whether one should forget them when leaving home. To be more exact, the author focuses on the problem from the African-American people’s side. Walker (2020) discusses whether people after embracing African heritage can forget their African-American ancestors through implementing into her story three characters: Mrs. Johnson, Maggie, and Dicie. To begin with, Walker (2020) presents three women from different perspectives, not with identical values or speech forms. For instance, the girls’ mother is more friendly, and she addresses the reader as you, “Have you ever seen a lame animal?” (Walker, 2020, para. 9). Furthermore, she seems honest and describes everything in vivid detail, sometimes in unnecessarily large amounts, “I never had an education myself. After second grade, the school was closed down” (Walker, 2020, para. 13). Overall, Maggie seems indeed similar to her mother, and they do share numerous identical features; however, Dicie is obviously more distant from her family and is similar to them neither in a language, nor in values. Furthermore, the family’s values vary since Dicie is more focused on her career and prosperous future. To be more exact, she left her home to seek a better life with more comfortable conditions. In contrast, Maggie and her mother find their happiness in the family and respect their ancestors (Walker, 2020). In addition, Dicie is looking to change her name to forget about her African-American heritage. At the same time, Mrs. Johnson believes that this part of her daughter’s identity is more crucial than she realizes. To sum up, Alice Walker proves that denying one’s heritage is wrong no matter how offensive it might be to one’s beliefs and ideas. Therefore, she attempts to contrast both points of view by creating three characters with entirely different values and even speech forms. Overall, the author explains a crucial topic to the reader by focusing not just on African-American people, but everyone in general. Reference Walker, A. (2020). Everyday use. Harper’s Magazine. Web.