ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The main characters in the story are Enoch, Haze, Mrs. Flood, Asa Hawks, Sabbath Lily, Mrs. Hitchcock and Hoover Shots. The main character Haze, is displeased with Christianity and seeks ways to spread anti-religious messages. Haze is from a strong religious background and several experiences weaken his devotion to Christianity. In the story, he is portrayed as an atheist who despises Christianity. However, he is still influenced by religion despite his loathing for Christian practices and beliefs. Haze brings out his spiritual connections to Christianity in a strange way. Asa Hawks and Lily portray the manner in which the church and its leaders participate in immoral and corrupt practices for their own personal gain. They represent the moral decadence that has negatively affected the sanctity of Christianity. Hoover Shots uses his trickery to take advantage of gullible worshippers to become rich yet he does not have a strong religious conviction. Enoch, Haze, Hoover Shots, Asa and Lily show the manner in which religious beliefs are corrupted or misrepresented to achieve certain ends. Haze has a strong drive that encourages him to spread anti –Christian messages. However, in his quest to do so, he finds out shocking details about the true nature of Asa, Hoover Shots and Lily. The three are not righteous as they claim and are only motivated by what they can gain from religion. The main characters in the story satirize Christianity and how it is practiced in different places. These characters show how appearances are easily disguised by some people to portray a false image of what they are not. They interpret the concept of spiritualism and religion through bizarre methods to achieve different objectives. The car represents the theme of death as shown in the story. Haze runs over Hoover’s false prophet using his car who later passes away. Haze also succumbs to injuries in the police car and later passes away. The car is used symbolically to show the transitions Haze is going through in his life. Enoch’s gorilla transformation is motivated by his desire to show others how important he is. He uses the gorilla suit to make other people recognize his worth in the society because the job he does at the zoo makes him feel inferior. The potato peeler seller in the street makes Haze meet with Enoch, Sabbath and Asa. This is symbolic because they are some of the main characters who help to advance the plot in the story. O’Connor shows sacraments to be very important to Catholic devotees. Sacraments are used to signify that Catholics identify with doctrines their religion contains. Sacraments serve as a testimony to their faith which binds them together as devotees with common religious beliefs. The aspect of mediation in Catholicism is used to make peace between two or more parties who have a conflict. Mediation encourages conflicting parties to tolerate one anoth
Article Review & Analysis 1 Otake, K., Shinozawa, Y., Sakurai, A., Oka, M., Uetake, T., & Sumita, R. (2015). A Proposal of SNS to Improve Member’s Motivation in Voluntary Community Using Gamification. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 6(1), 82-88. Article Summary This article dwells upon the use of gamification tools to motivate people to participate in voluntary communities through the improvement of communication within the groups. The researchers explore the influence of the use of social networking services (SNSs) on members’ motivation to take an active part in the community’s activities. One of the goals of the researchers was to identify the major peculiarities of an effective SNS to introduce the corresponding service. The researchers developed a social networking service (f-Simo) and examined its use in a local university. The research is based on the quantitative analysis of data although elements of the qualitative research (several brief interviews) are also employed. The researchers look into characteristics of the games utilized and identify seven major aspects: the use of badges, names, and scores, graphic interfaces, virtual currency, rewards, assignments, simple games between activities. Before the experiment, the researchers conducted surveys to identify barriers to members’ motivation. Two major problems reported were the difficulty to acknowledge the benefits of the practice and the inability to see other members’ achievements. The authors developed the service based on the features of used games and with regards to the barriers outlined. The quantitative analysis of the members’ participation shows that the developed services proved to be efficient. The number of practice sessions, as well as practice time, increased significantly three weeks after the start of the experiment. The researchers also conclude that the use of badges, names, and scores of members, as well as assignments promoting collaborative work, affects positively members’ motivation. Problem Statement After the analysis of existing games and students’ accounts of barriers to participation in voluntary communities, the researchers developed and evaluated a social networking service aimed at improvement of voluntary community members’ motivation. Research Questions Although there are no particular research questions outlined, it is possible to formulate the research questions as follows: RQ1: What features of SNSs positively correlate with the motivation of voluntary communities’ members? RQ2: How can the developed SNS affect the members’ motivation? The research questions outlined are valid as they enable the researchers to develop and evaluate an effective gamification tool that motivates members of a group to communicate more effectively and participate fully. Methodology   * Quantitative analysis – deductive, descriptive   * The game developed based on existing games   * The variables included the number of practice sessions,
Ogunbodede, O., McCombs, D., Trout, K., Daley, P., & Terry, M. (2010). New Mescaline Concentrations from 14 Taxa/Cultivars of Echinopsis spp. (Cactaceae) (“San Pedro”) and Their Relevance to Shamanic Practice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 131 (2), 356-362. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.07.021. This article by Olabode Ogunbodedea, Douglas McCombs, Keeper Trout, Paul Daley and Martin Terry on New Mescaline Concentrations From 14 Taxa/Cultivars of Echinopsis spp. (Cactaceae) (“San Pedro”) and their Relevance to Shamanic Practice is based on a research on how Echinopsis species and cultivars contain alkaloids of mescaline and their significance to shamanic practice. These alkaloids were noted to have a percentage of dry weight of 0.053% to about 4.7%. The article points out that it is probable that shamanic practices included high containing mescaline plants in their rituals. To back this up, it particularly singles out the E. pachanoi plant from Peru. During the undertaking of research for this article, “the columnar cacti of the genus Echinopsis used by shamans in traditional drugs for therapeutic purposes was analyzed as its vegetative clone quality from plants found in South America and also due to its usage by shamanists. Mescaline content in each of the cacti was measured from the cortical stem chlorenchyma by Soxhlet extraction with methanol” (15). This tests and procedures were consistent and comparable concentrations could be gotten which helped in grading the different selected species of Echinopsis under observation. The conclusion was that all contained mescaline. The article concludes that plants with high mescaline content are most probably connected to shamanic practices (Ogunbodede et al. 2010). Adams, C. (2010). Psychedelic and Holistic Thinking: A Tool for Science. Drugs and Alcohol Today, 10 (1), 33-35. This article seeks to remove the perception on psychedelic drugs observed in the United Kingdom and United States, as being the most harmful and needing no medical study. This category of drugs is widely classified wrongly and persons using them are often stereotyped and termed as delusional and disorganized people. Adams in this article tries to show that despite the label on psychedelic drugs and
Introduction Google Company is a multinational company which came into existence once there was a strong need among internet users to find a search engine. Since its inception, Google has made remarkable progress in the corporate map because its popularity has tremendously soared over the years. Currently, Google is deemed the world’s most used search engine and its usability has penetrated to the core of English language since the word “Google” has been incorporated into the English dictionary and even informally, if one wants to find information about a person, one would often say “Google the guy” (Hill 2009, p. 1). Until the year 2008, Google did not command the huge market share it enjoys today since its market share was only estimated to be about 45%, while other search engine companies such as Yahoo took the rest of the share (Hill 2009, p. 1). However, after the year 2008, Google has commanded a strong market presence of about 61% in its primary market (US) while other search engine companies trail behind. For instance, yahoo is estimated to control only about 20% of the market share and Microsoft is estimated to account for less than 10% of the market share (Hill 2009, p. 1). This huge market share has seen Google enjoy huge profits which have also tremendously grown over the years as more advertisers pay for advertising space in the company. Google’s business model has been a simple one, in the sense that, companies pay for every click customers make to their company’s websites. This is done in an online bidding manner where the company with the highest bid is given priority in the search engine website (Hill 2009, p. 1). Currently, Google has grown to add more product features to its company and at the moment, it has developed auxiliary products such as Google maps, Google mail, Google desktop and the likes. This growth has pit Google on the collision course with its competitors since it is said that, the company is adopting a business model which is beyond its search engine core business line. With this fact ascertained, Google’s competitors have gone all the way to expand their market share because to them, Google seems to be expanding into business ventures that have been predominantly the preserve of a few other companies (Hill 2009, p. 1). For instance, through Google’s online word processing program and spreadsheets, the company has come very close to Microsoft’s word and Excel programs and this has threatened Microsoft’s share of software application in the information technology world. As a result, Microsoft has tremendously increased its investments in search business to measure up to Google’s dominance in the industry. Yahoo has also adopted the same strategy. This trend provides a problem for Google because it is feared that Google may have bit more than it could chew. The greatest challenge the company now faces is the competitive strategy its competitors have adopted an
When John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums” first appeared in the October 1937 edition of Harper’s Magazine, Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been re-elected president of the United State of America. During the history of mankind, women have been often regarded as inferior to men. Consequently, many women have audaciously strived to liberate themselves from this long-standing prejudice, and highlighted the female ideal of independence. John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums” reflects the struggles of a stereotyped woman of the time, Elisa Allen to find her own identity in the oppressive world of men. John Steinbeck’s short story, Chrysanthemums, through the protagonist, Elisa Allen illustrates women’s efforts to explore the life beyond the traditional standards. Elisa is desperately searching for appreciation, and goes to great lengths to achieve her aspirations. Regrettably, her desires for equality are not granted due to the discrimination based on her sex. The time has not come yet; and she has to let go of her dreams for liberation. (Hayashi, 1991) At first glance, this is a simple story with an ordinary plotline. But the deeper we understand it, we start to discover that life have its limits and restrictions especially for women which are usually indefinable. Throughout the story, Elisa suffers a failure from the masculine role she sees as equality to the feminine role she sees as passive. Her frustration with the male-dominated society causes her to let go of her dreams for liberation and to become what society expects her to be a passive woman. Her chrysanthemums meant a lot to her. She is very proud of them. When Elisa’s husband Henry comes over and compliments her garden and ability to grow things Elisa is smug with him and very proud of her skill with the flowers. Her “green thumb” makes her an equal in her own eyes. It is safe to say that they were almost like her children and she took care of them like a mother. We see this when she talks about them so passionately with the tinker. Nevertheless, she is depicted as a woman whose strengths are really too much for the tasks at hand. “She was cutting down the old year’s chrysanthemum stalks with a pair of short and powerful scissors.” This not only shows that she is physically strong but symbolize to the readers that she wants more from life than just being a gardener. She has too much energy for the job. (Shillinglaw, 1997) The vibes from Elisa’s infatuation with these flowers are picked up by the old man and there is an unspoken friendship between these two perfect strangers as they have both chosen their own preoccupation in life, his being a passion of pots and hers a love of chrysanthemums. It is this camaraderie that ignites the realization that she longs to break free from the everyday routine she calls life. Elisa’s character undergoes a dramatic change. Her love for the natural beauty of the flower
Abstract This research aims to explore the differences in the representation of Muslims and Islam in cable news channels. The selected media companies are Fox News and CNN, from which several articles have been selected for discourse analysis. The research results indicate that there are visible differences in the reporting of the Christchurch terror attack. Fox News prefers to label the incident a mass shooting while CNN views it as a terrorist attack. Therefore, it can be concluded that even when terror attacks are undertaken by non-Muslims, some media new media channels will still make references to Islamic terrorism and fail to acknowledge the acts of non-Muslims are terrorist. Introduction Islam is one of the major religions in the world and one that has sparked controversial debates in the media and other platforms. In such countries as the United States and the United Kingdom (UK), Islam has been racialized, which has resulted in hate crimes and Islamophobia. The racialization is arguably the result of how the media represents the religion in light of the several terror attacks conducted by extreme Muslim groups. The emergence of the Islamic State in 2014 could only worsen the situation as manifested by the extensive reporting on their activities in news media outlets (Sikorski et al., 2021). Several researchers have used discourse analysis to explore differences in reporting terror incidences and how the media houses represent Islam. However, there is a need to examine how hate crimes and terror attacks against Islam are depicted in the same media. The Christchurch shooting in New Zealand makes a perfect case study. The focus could be on how the attacker is portrayed in comparison to Muslim terror attacks. However, considering that the attack was the result of hate sentiments, it would be prudent to explore whether the media perceives Islam and Muslims differently as a result of the attack. Research Objective The objective of this research is to examine whether there are noticeable differences in the representation of Islam between Fox News and CNN during the Christchurch terror attack in New Zealand. The rationale is that these two media houses are among the largest in the world and their geographic outreach goes beyond national borders. Additionally, the two news media companies extensively covered the incidence being investigated, which should allow room for a discourse analysis exploring the differences in how they represent Muslims and Islam. Research Question Is there a noticeable difference in how cable news channels represent and portray Islam and the Muslim community during Christchurch terrorist attack? Literature Review Islamic represe
Introduction A concept of power can be treated in different ways. It can be defined as the right or ability to influence and control other people or some happenings. It may touch different spheres of life, its global and individual aspects. The issue of power is often associated with political authority and is typical of men. However, women should not be treated as powerless and stay abused or controlled. There are many other aspects of power such as economic, social, spiritual, etc. where women can embody their power. Besides, female power greatly depends on the cultural background. Women Power The Asante Confederacy in Ghana can be an example of women’s economic power. It is a rare case of the matrilineal community. Although women have some official authority positions, there are more men in power. In this community, women have more influence in the field of trade, thus having economic power. Since economic independence is crucial for Asante women, they are involved in farming and trade equally with men. They are the leaders of the regional market being in charge of all trading questions. Gradually their power progressed from solving internal market disputes to negotiating on the external level. Consequently, Asante females do not fight for power with men but share the spheres of influence. The power of women may be observed not only in politics or economy which are traditionally dominated by men. In some conventional societies with long cultural traditions, the power of women is realized in the domestic or private sphere. The men here are involved in the public sphere. They solve political issues, manage military operations, work on the legal system, and govern the economics. At the same time, women are responsible for the private sphere and are accountable for children and households. Such division is characteristic of patriarchal societies. This type of power can be observed in Japan, especially with Japanese employees working abroad. A Japanese wife is expected to follow her husband anywhere. Her task is to create a traditional Japanese home. On the one hand, this tradition may seem discriminating. However, it is also a kind of power. It includes being a mother, wife, homemaker, and taking care of family members. It is a kind of hidden power that is often unnoticed but has a significant influence on the emotional and physical health of the family. In some traditional patriarchal societies, the accepted gender structure may change unexpectedly. Typically, women follow their men in immigration. However, the situation is opposite for nurses from the Indian state Kerala. If they choose to leave the country, their husbands follow them. The fact of choosing a nursing profession confronts marriage traditions. In the Keralite community, the girls are not allowed to communicate with men who are not their relatives. However, a nurse deals with different patients, both male and female. It gives them some particular power which may be called professional. Together with some power, the nursing profession
“An Inconvenient Truth” vividly depicts the problem of global warming and its impact on the future of our planet. Al Gore travels around the world in order to educate people about climate change and its terrible consequences on the Earth. The movie involves personal stories and memories including his sister’s death and son’s car accident, G. Bush’s presidential elections, and his college years. Al Gore underlines that most of the media, and many of those involved in the investigation and analysis of global climate change, seem to have accepted the relationship as not clear. A survey of environmental scientists involved in the study of the earth’s changing climate revealed that many still had doubts about the extent of the warming. Al Gore discusses the political and economic of global warming and the main causes of the government’s apathy towards this problem. To appeal to the audience, Al Gore uses a lot of vivid examples such as the melting of the ice in Greenland and water salinity which ruins the fauna, impact of CO2 on human health and vegetation. The advantage of this film is that it addresses a global audience and educates people about the causes of emissions and pollution. Assessments of the impacts of global climate change are frequently based on estimates of biophysical changes, particularly potential changes in agricultural yields and water resources. It is scientifically proved that there is the enhancement of the greenhouse effect, brought on by rising levels of greenhouse gases. Levels of greenhouse gases, including CH4, N2 O, and CFCs have also been rising. Vivid examples and theoretical explanations of the causes allow the unprepared and uneducated viewer to understand the importance of global warming and its impact on the Earth. Using arguments and emotional appeal, Al Gore persuades viewers that global warming is caused by many factors resulted from technological innovations of our time. Today, global warming becomes a major problem of our civilization, caused by severe weather disasters such as hurricanes and tornados. For our civilization, it is important to find appropriate solutions to reduce the global warming effect and safely live on our planet. The link between recent warming and the enhancement of the greenhouse effect is clearly portrayed in the movie. The analysis of global warming should be based on scientific facts and data, current trends, and estimations rather than hypothetical scenarios deprived of theoretical background.