ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction This research paper focuses on durability issues based on sulfate attack on concrete. It presents a brief literature review and how durability issues related to sulfate attack are generally tested according to specific ASTM standards. The research includes synthesis of the used literature and suggestions on the improvement of the current test methods. Background / Literature Review It is imperative to recognize that multiple factors influence durability of the concrete, and the sulfate attack is among them (Merida & Kharchi, 2015). Sulfate attack is a chemical reaction that involves the attack of elements of the cement paste by sulfate ions. In this context, researchers have focused on i. Sulfate enters into the concrete via the capillary pores and moves through osmosis as the concentration gradient between the inner concrete sections and the sulfate source increases. The reaction occurs between sulfate ions and unhydrated elements, such as calcium hydroxide and calcium aluminate hydrate of the hardened concrete paste forming mainly portlandite (Rozière, Loukili, Hachem, & Grondin, 2009). They further react to form ettringite and gypsum, leading to ultimate expansion, cracks, disruption, and deterioration of a concrete structure (Al-Akhras, 2006). The attack causes calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) degradation because of leaching of calcium components. This reaction eventually leads to gradual weakness of the concrete structure alongside surface erosion, loss of outer layer, and chipping (Merida & Kharchi, 2015). Internal sources of sulfate attack are rare, but they emanate from materials us
Weber’s ideal-type is an analytical tool used to examine sociological phenomena by making broad statements about society’s structures. However, the claims made are not reproducible but offer an adequate explanation of the phenomena’s underlying reasons (Ritzer, 2011). One application of this methodology in Weber’s work is the legitimate authority concept. This idea examines the power accepted by both the ruler and the ruled to be appropriate (Ritzer, 2011). The origins of this justification include traditional beliefs, laws, and individual abilities, which Weber uses to classify rightful power into three distinctive types. Weber uses the ideal-type to highlight the instances in a society where hierarchy is maintained through a consensus. Subsequently, Weber classifies the domination of groups into three ideal-types (Ritzer, 2011). The first is traditional authority, whereby a leader’s legitimacy rests on a society’s beliefs and practices. In this case, religious customs dictate who should control the rest (Ritzer, 2011). An example is absolute monarchs, who ruled over various societies across the world. The second type of authority is charismatic, in which case a ruler’s legality is due to exceptional abilities, such as excellent oratorical skills as was the case with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Thirdly, there is the rational-legal authority, which is the most common method of justifiable domination in the current societies. As such, Weber’s ideal-types, traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal authorities, describe situations in society leadership where consensus is used to maintain the hierarchy. In the rational-legal ideal-type, the legitimacy of governance rests on society’s confidence in the laws formulated by its members. Consequently, persons with power are required to gain control through means specified in the country’s legal code (Durkheim, 1952). An example is the president’s office, which has been occupied by different individuals elected by the people as stipulated in the United States’ Constitution. This leadership approach applies to many other countries which use a set of statutes to guide their operations and conduct. To conclude, Weber’s analysis of power relations in society using the ideal-type provides an excellent examination of his concepts. Dissection of authority is relevant because of the recent rise of populist leaders across the globe. Weber describes legitimate authority as power which is seen by the ruler and his subjects to be justified. Moreover, he classifies legitimate authority according to the sources of the validity of their control, such as traditional beliefs, modern laws, and individuals’ exceptional abilities.
Executive Summary According to economists and business analysts, the ability of a product to sell or to attract a higher clientele depends mainly on how it is packaged, marketed and advertised to the potential market segment. As such, it is always important to select a name and a presentation technique that will motivate the consumers to buy a product irrespective of the available substitute goods. In today’s society, branding has become a significant strategy to employ while trying to eliminate competition or/and competing effectively. Branding presents an organization with the opportunity to enhance its reputation and make itself known by the consumers. It is an important tool to utilize especially since consumer loyalty in today’s world can easily be swayed. Therefore, if an organization intends to remain successful in the highly dynamic markets, it is imperative that they employ some cutting edge innovative brand in order to keep the consumers ‘wired’ to the products that the organization is producing. Introduction According to Walser, a brand can best be defined as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers” (39). As such, it should be known that branding is not only about making the consumers buy your product but also a means of making them understand that your organization has the ultimate solutions for their needs and desires. It is an important concept because a product brand acts as a guarantee that the organization will always cater for the needs of the target consumers at all times. Consequently, branding plays a pivotal role in forging a long lasting relationship between the consumers and the product because they are assured that the desired quality of the product will always be there. As mentioned earlier, brands are very important in the marketing process of a given product. This is mainly because a brand goes a long way in reputation building as well as creating an image for your organization. In most cases, consumers do not buy products because of the management and financial status of an organization but their decision to buy a product solely depends on how it is presented and its ability to satisfy a given need. Therefore, giving a product a good name or a relevant symbol will suffice in convincing the consumers that a given product is what they need. Brands are very critical towards the success of a business and often refer to what an organization is doing to make itself known to the general public. According to Randall, branding may range from posting an advert, tagging your car with the business logo, using an attractive letterhead on your invoices or letters with essential details on what your business is all about. The author suggests that in so doing, it may not be a surprise when referrals start trickling in, phones start ringing or people recognizing your product when they see it. A marketing rule of thumb is that you must be seen, heard and remembered by your target market. Branding offers the avenues through which these aspects can be addressed simultane
Lord George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) was as famous poet in his lifetime; this is because of his personality cult and for his poetry. Byron is mostly known for his creation of the idea of the ‘Byronic hero’ – this is a, “glum young man, growing on some mysterious, unforgettable event in his past” (Watkins, p. 35). Byron’s has a great influence on the European poetry, literacy writing, music and art. He had been immense, although some of his poems were widely condemned on moral grounds by his critics. However, Byron still remains a great poet even in these times with his poems being published in several poetry books. Byron was celebrated in his life for his general life excesses including huge debt and several love affairs, rumors of a shocking incestuous connection with his half-sister, and self-imposed exile (Watkins, p. 36). However, he remained famous and was described by Lady Caroline Lamb as “ mad, bad and dangerous to know ” (Watkins, p. 36). Other people said that he also suffered from bipolar disorder, or manic depression. Byron remained a much controversial man and even participated in the war against the Ottoman Empire during the Greek War of Independence; this has since seen Greeks revere him as a national hero (Watkins, p. 38). Lord Byron died at a tender age of 36 years after succumbing from a fever he contracted while in Missolonghi in Greece (Watkins, p. 38). Bryon lived to write many romantic poems in his life and was fond of using women and love affection in his works. He was a good poet and was able to compose poems that combined different poetic devises like rhyme, metaphors, simile, alteration and, sometimes, songs. He was also a great composer of music songs, which were of a romantic nature. One of his works is called the “ The Ocean ”. It is one of the common poems by this writer. The poem has been translated to many languages, and several poets have drawn several themes from this poem. The poem uses several features of nature and the general environment as part of its style in sending the message to the audience. In this poem, “ the ocean ”, George Gordon employs several poetic devices in realizing the theme in the poem. As usual, Lord Gordon has employed some romance and a sense of affection in his poem, which is a character associate in most of his poems. This poetic period in itself was a revolution that was greater than other writing works. While the earlier era was based on order, rules, and logic, the poetic period was based on other foundation (Sprague, p. 66). This poetic period was inspired by early emotions and passion, nova art and wild feelings earlier to this; poetry was so much in vigor was considered as heresy of literature work. Other areas affected were music and art, but p
Introduction Sexualization and objectification of women in the mass media has been a common practice by majority of the media outlets in the Western world. This practice has been fueled by the perception that sex sells. Sexualizing images have therefore become prevalent in corporate advertising and popular media. A significant industry that has capitalized on sexualization and objectification of women is the music industry. The phenomenon has spilled over to the print advertisement where young female musicians have their images displayed. A report by the American Psychological Association (2007) asserts that the sexualization and objectification of girls through mass media has broad and far-reaching harmful effects on women. This paper will discuss the effects of sexualization and objectification of young female musicians by the print media. It will begin by highlighting the influence that young musicians have on the society to underscore the impact of their sexualization. The paper will then expound on the numerous negative effects of this objectification by the print media. Young Female Musicians and Society Young female musicians have significant influence on American youth of all ethnic and racial heritages. Artists especially in the hip-hop genre have influenced the youth who make up the bulk of this genre’s audience and customer base. Studies reveal that popular culture in general and hip-hop culture in particular heavily influences teenagers and informs how they make sense of their lives and the world in general (Emerson, 2002). The society is therefore likely to view the female musicians as role models, and copy some aspects of their lives including fashion. For their part, young female performers are required to live up to the prevalent notions of physical attractiveness and measure up to the rigid standards of beauty; a fact made clear by the lack of variety in body size and weight by the many female music stars currently enjoying widespread success. The musicians who try to define themselves differently often face opposition and their commercial success may be hampered. This is in line with findings by Gordon (2008) which declare that young female artists who refuse to be defined by their sexuality and try to project a positive sense of self often risk alienation and marketing invisibility. Negative Effects of Objectification/Sexualization The objectification of young female musicians in advertisements has led to higher levels of body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem and body esteem by women in the general public. Lavin and Cash (2000) suggest that this objectification of female musicians negatively influences how women feel about their bodies. Objectification of female musicians leads to self-objectification by women in the general population. Calogero (2004) declares, “All women who live in a culture where the female body is treated as an object to be evalu
The case of AT&T and Time Warner is one of the highly controversial merger instances, where one of the largest communications companies seeks to merge with one of the largest media content producers. It can be considered as an example of vertical merger cases, where a distributor acquired a producer or manufacturer. It is important to note that AT&T provides services, such as high-speed internet, next-generation television, and advanced mobile services. Time Warner possesses a large library of high-quality premium content for a global audience, and thus, combining these two giants evidently creates a serious concern in regards to anti-trust laws (Kumar, 2018). Such laws are designed to ensure fair and equal competition, where consumers will be protected from business practices, which can be considered as predatory. The agreement for acquisition between AT&T and Time Warner was invoked on October 22, 2016, which is estimated to have a value of $85.4 billion, where AT&T pays $107.5 for a share comprised of stock and cash (Kumar, 2018). In other words, the deal was confronted by the United States Department of Justice because it will clearly allocate a high concentration of power in the hands of a small group of people. The merger between AT&T and Time Warner will severely damage the fairness factor of competition since AT&T’s main competitors will be at a disadvantage due to the lack of access to the premium content of Time Warner. In addition, it is important to point out that such poor competition in the market will hurt consumers because power concentration will eliminate incentives for improvement of services and products, which will lead to low quality. In addition, AT&T can achieve a monopolistic position through predatory pricing strategies, where competiti
Introduction Among the social problems that arise in society, some have devastating consequences. These include poverty, drugs, and low social status. Chicago is a city of contrasts, combining luxury and wealth with serious street trouble, the most serious of which is shooting. Chicago’s west and south neighborhoods are recognized as the most dangerous places to live in all of America, with murders, robberies, and shootings being heard every day. It is crucial to understand what are the reasons for these incidents and what motivates people to kill. In 2016, more than 700 people were killed in shootings in Chicago, greatly prompting the public to notice (CBS News, 2017). The work provides an overview of the problem of gun violence, which affects the lives of Americans in Chicago. The Emergence of Gun Violence: Causes and Impact on Society The legalization of gun sales is a subject of debate that does not die down daily. With a low crime rate, guns are unnecessary for ordinary people because the police can protect them (Aynes, 2011). But how can one trust the police when even police officers fear for their lives and want to go home to supposed safety? Unfortunately, it is not a problem of the cops themselves but of the system that has emerged on the streets of Chicago. The emergence of gun violence is primarily due to the growth of the black population in Chicago in the 1960s. Factories opened, infrastructure developed, but soon the factories were displaced, and many people lost their jobs. Gradually the process of forming gangs took place, in which people found the same unfortunate unemployed and tried to find a way out of poverty. With the growth of drugs and the availability of guns, more and more gangs began to engage in criminal activity, which inevitably led to street fighting (60 Minutes Australia, 2019). Soon the crews started feuding with each other, and the situation deteriorated manifold. Innocent people who were unlucky enough to visit a store during its robbery, who were walking home and accidentally returned to the wrong alley, were involved in the wrong place at the wrong time. More than 50 gangs are operating in Chicago, carrying out criminal or similar activities. The gangs are divided into factions, each of which “controls” certain areas of the county. Instead of directly combating gang activity, since 2012, the police have shifted their focus to patrolling at the mayor’s behest (60 Minutes Australia, 2019). However, as statistics have shown, this has only led to increased violence: more than 80 percent of crimes are committed by gangs, which is an intimidating figure. The factions’ animosity int
Case history At first, it is important to discuss the history of this case as well as the symptoms displayed by the patient. Dr. P. was a music teacher who had difficulties in recognizing the faces of students and colleagues; nevertheless, he could easily recognize them by their voices. Thus, one can suppose that this person could not memorize visual information. However, this individual exhibited more disturbing symptoms. In particular, he could mistake water hydrants for the heads of children (Sacks, 1999, p. 9). In the beginning, he thought that his eyesight had been impaired in some way. So, he decided to seek the assistance of an ophthalmologist. Nevertheless, the examination revealed that there had been no problem with Mr. P.’s eyes. Moreover, it became apparent that his difficulties could not be resolved by an ophthalmologist. The problem is that this patient could confuse objects that had similar shapes. For instance, Mr. P. could confuse a shoe and a foot (Sacks, 1998, p. 11). Apart from that, this individual could not interpret the meaning of an object. For instance, when looking at a glove, he could depict as a “continuous surface” that was “infolded on itself”, but he could not immediately name it (Sacks, 1999, p. 16). One should also keep in mind that Dr. P knew the word glove and its meaning. Furthermore, while looking at a rose, he could name different attributes of this flower. However, he could identify its name, only whe
Introduction The progress of medical technologies, the increased financial pressure within the industry, and different reforms affect the fundamental changes in the work of health care organizations. Therefore, various medical organizations have to develop new differentiation and branding strategies to increase their competitive advantage. These strategies can strengthen the organizations’ relationship with clients oriented to meeting their needs effectively. From this point, branding strategies are relevant to achieve the goals of health care organizations. However, there can be many challenges experienced by health care organizations while promoting their services with references to branding. In spite of the fact that the focus on branding can result in such consequences as the increase in financial spendings and service prices, it is important to state that the use of branding is mostly beneficial for health care organizations because the branding strategies contribute to improving the organization’s competitive advantage within the industry and to increase the services’ quality; but it is necessary to refer to such aspects as trust and quality because they a
Introduction Egypt was an ancient slave state, which in a short time reached a level of development that no other country had achieved. Egypt was located in the northern part of Africa; it emerged during the Paleolithic period. The availability of native soils and building materials contributed to the development of agriculture and construction as the crafts and trade, which helped enrich the state and develop science. Religion As all life of the Egyptians was determined by the nature of their country, so the religion of ancient Egypt consisted in the closest connection with nature. The initial religion of ancient Egypt was to realize the Gods in the form of birds and beasts. This was due to the fact that belief in the Gods originated with the Egyptians when hunting was their main occupation. At a later time, when hunting lost its former significance, Egyptians still depicted Gods with the head of an animal or bird, but with a human body. With the beginning of agriculture, the Egyptians became more dependent on nature, so they started to revere the sun god Ra, the deities of the earth, the sky, and the moon. The Egyptians attributed the creation of the earth, people, animals, and plants to Ra. (Flinders 102). The Nile was especially worshipped as a deity; the nation’s development depended on the floods of the Nile. Architecture The peculiarity of the architecture of ancient Egypt is palatial buildings, which were usually built of flimsy materials. Other creations include pyramids, mastabas (trapezoidal-shaped tombs built for Egyptian nobles rather than pharaohs), and rock tombs. The Theban temples of Luxor and Karnak are particularly remarkable, with their huge halls and open columned courtyards (Rossi 234). The surfaces of the temples were covered with painted reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions. In ancient Egyptian sculptural art, the desire for monumentality was noticeable. Grandiose statues up to 20 meters in height carved out of the rocks are not uncommon. For example, the Great Sphinx (statue of a lion with a human head, symbolizing the power and wisdom of the pharaoh) and the equally gigantic statues of Ramses II. Ar