ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The black-white test score gap examined by George Farkas indicates at the significant discrepancies in the academic achievement of white and black students. These inequalities are a great concern to various professionals because they suggest that the current system of education can be very inefficient. More importantly, these differences may imply that the methods used by teachers can be biased against certain ethnic or racial groups. Overall, George Farkas offers several explanations that can throw light on the underlying causes of this gap. For instance, he notes that many African-American children can enter primary school without the necessary learning skills that should be developed at the kindergarten stage. This argument is particularly relevant if one speak about literacy and arithmetic. Without them, a child cannot cope with more complex tasks. As a result, this individual can perform poorly during later educational stages. Additionally, one should not forget about the influence of economic and social inequalities which often impair the learning activities of a child. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about families, affected by poverty, crime, or drug abuse. Certainly, this scholar does not deny the importance of institutional racism; nevertheless, this factor is not critical for explaining the existence of the black-white score gap. More likely, one should consider the inefficiencies of current educational practices. Overall, George Farkas focuses on the pre-school education of African-American children. Much attention should be paid to their literacy and counting skills because they serve as the starting point for their later academic achievements. In the long term, this policy can minimize the gap. Additionally, he pays attention to the role of parents who should encourage children to become more involved in their studies. Moreover, this author speaks about tutoring programs that can help some children overcome their learning difficulties. These programs should be designed for the needs of children whose parents may not be able to take proper care of them due to various difficulties. Overall, these suggestions can be very helpful for reducing the gap, which affects the lives of many children as well as adolescents. To a great extent, the recommendations offered by this scholar suggest that affirmative action is still necessary, even though this policy often gives rise to criticism. These are the main details that can be singled out. To a great extent, this discussion can be related to the sociological perspective because it illustrates the long-lasting legacies of social inequalities. Even though racial discrimination has been explicitly prohibited, American society still has to struggle with inequality. Moreover, the issues discussed by the author can highlight the impact of education on the development of society and its stratification. For instance, the inefficiency of the ed
Motivational models for English Foreign Language (EFL) improve student motivation. Research has shown that motivation provides the basic impulsion to begin foreign language learning and subsequently the stimulus to keep up the often mind-numbing learning processes. Sound hypothetical consideration supports contemporary motivational strategies. However, no empirical evidence backs up the strategies causing the need for further research. Research has revealed the significance of the learning environment in shaping the motivational aspects of learners. The systematic motivation strategy by Dornyei provides a parsimonious system of four dimensions. The first dimension is creating basic motivational conditions. This involves establishing a positive teacher-student relationship, supportive classroom condition, and creating a cohesive learn group. The next dimension is generating initial motivation. The strategy provides that teachers have a role to use appropriate strategies to enhance the learners’ anticipation for success and adopt a positive mindset regarding the language. The other technique is maintaining and protecting motivation through simulations and engaging in enjoyable tasks. This technique aims at promoting learner autonomy and positive culture. The teacher should also encourage students to undertake positive retrospective self-evaluation. The Macro-strategy is effective for teaching English Foreign Learners because it has the four dimensions. It gives priority to appropriate teacher behavior. Both the Taiwan and Hungarian survey provide that presenting a personal role model is an extremely influential device for motivating students. Teachers need to understand their responsibility as leaders in all learner teams. The research confirms the significance of the teachers’ projection of enthusiasm in the subject matter to have a strong influenc
In the article, Current tissue engineering strategies in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, Leong, Petrigliano, and McAllister (2013) review the available literature on this topic. The tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ranks amongst the most prevalent causes of ligament injury. The correction of the ACL tear requires surgery, which involves the use of autografts, but this strategy raised issues surrounding the harvest of the autografts and the effects on the patient coupled with rerupture rates. Scientists shifted focus to synthetic grafts, but they also posed numerous challenges, which forced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw them from the market. In the absence of any synthetic ACL replacement in the market, scientists moved to tissue engineering in a bid to come up with tissue-engineered ligament grafts. However, the tissue-engineered approaches to ACL tears are hindered given the complex properties of the ligament and its incapability to heal after a rupture due to its intraarticular positioning. Therefore, given the aforementioned challenges, scientists started focusing on medial collateral ligament (MCL), which is placed at the extraarticular and thus it heals easily after a tear, in a bid to relate the healing procedure to ACL. Unfortunately, these ligaments have different mechanical properties and thus drawing a positive correlation between the two healing processes posed a challenge. Nevertheless, scientists have come up with ways of studying the ACL tear healing process by adopting different strategies. The first one is the use of biomaterial scaffolds. This approach appeared to work but it faced numerous in-vitro challenges including decreasing tensile strength and reabsorption of collagen, which was used as a scaffold. However, silk-collagen scaffolds were found to have over 25% matching properties with the native ACL, and FDA has already approved the use of synthetic biodegradable silk-collagen polymers. The choice of cell sources underscores the other approach to ACL substitutes via tissue engineering. Ligament fibroblasts are the preferred choice for ligament regeneration, but they occur in small amounts in addition to having poor proliferation properties. However, stem cell technology now facilitates the use of multipotent and pluripotent stem cells. The choice of cell sources for ACL tear reconstruction is thus a key aspect as the right cells assist in multidimensional aspects in the regenerative process. Growth factors also play a key role in ACL regeneration as they influence different properties in the regenerative process. Most growth factors influence mitosis, which is a key aspect in ACL regeneration and thus they play an important role in tissue engineering. Mechanical conditioning is another important aspect in ACL tissue engineering. The knee has to withstand different forces and the mechanical properties of its constituents are critical elements. Mechanical strain has been shown to stimulate cell growth, but more research is needed to ascertain such findings in vivo. Finally, animal studies play a key role in the study of tissue-engineered ACL
Abstract The actions of an ERP project stakeholder determine whether a project will succeed or fail. In particular, their interactions influence each other’s role and determine the final project outcome. This paper identifies the different stakeholders involved in an ERP project selection and implementation process, the challenges they face and the impact a project has on the roles of the stakeholders. The analysis reveals that the business owners/CEOs, the project managers, the system administrators, the vendors, the sales team and the system users are the key stakeholders of ERP projects. In addition, the analysis of their specific roles and relational ties shows that ERP implementations have positive and negative impacts on all stakeholders. Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems provide information technology solutions for large and small firms. To attain operational excellence in the modern business environment, firms have been compelled to replace the existing systems with new ERP systems. However, ERP projects are not only costly but also complex to implement. This explains why successful ERP projects are rare. Most ERP projects turn out to be unsuccessful because of poor planning and resistance to the new change. Research focusing on ERP project success factors indicate that management support and stakeholder collaboration contribute to successful ERP projects. The individuals involved in business management, company management and project planning make up the ERP project stakeholders. They create a network of relationships, influence one another and make decisions that affect the final outcome of a project (Wallace & Krezmar, 2001). From an organizational perspective, ERP projects are not only comprehensive but also require the integration of company-wide systems and processes. They normally involve many stakeholders and affect all departments of the organization. This paper examines the different ERP project stakeholders, their roles, their relations and the
One of the most frustrating things in the use of computer technology is being infected by computer viruses! Imagine yourself conveniently working on a computer on a very important task, and then all of a sudden, the file you have been slaving on for nights on end disappears! Most likely, it has been “eaten up” by an irritating, nerve-wracking computer virus. What is a computer virus? A computer virus “ is a software program that attaches itself to, overwrites or otherwise replaces another program in order to reproduce itself without the knowledge of the computer user ,” as defined by Collette Dilly (2001). It is actually similar to a biological virus wherein both the computer and biological virus share the same characteristic of “infecting” their hosts and have the ability to be passed on from one computer to another. Just like humans, a computer that is infected with a virus also becomes “sickly” and thus, prone to suffer malfunction in its operation or running of computer programs and software. Trading programs with other people’s computers may contaminate one’s computer programs. The use of modems necessary to connect to the internet can likewise acquire viruses. Some unsuspecting users may get it from seemingly innocent emails. When this program enters your computer through your input device, it hides in your computer’s memory and starts to duplicate itself like a disease. When you save your data, you also save the virus. Slowly but surely, the virus crowds out your data and causes major system problems. (Trickum Middle School, 1997) What does a virus do to a computer? These computer viruses are actually created and developed by people using bits and codes designed to adapt to a computer’s system or files and data. Depending on the particular type or kind of computer virus, the effects of viral infection on computers may range from a simple display of some sort of messages to a devastating crash of your computer system and programs. The most common types of computer viruses are Trojan Horses, E-mail viruses, and Worms. A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically. An e-mail or network virus moves around in e-mail messages and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim’s e-mail address book. A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole and then starts replicating from there, as well. How can we protect ourselves from computer viruses? Users should also consider the variety of anti-virus products currently available to protect their computers.. There are three classes of anti-virus products: detection tools, identification tools, and removal tools. Scanner
All of the state and federal courts comply with the indeterminate sentencing regulations outlined for every state in the United States of America. In the majority of cases, the court rules a maximum sentence, but the jury is in the full right to choose from an extensive number of options — fines, incarceration, trial, and much more (Harrison, 2010). The decision concerning the release dates lies on the shoulders of the parole board. Indeterminate Sentencing The notion of the indeterminate sentence is based on the expectations that the act of imprisonment will re-educate some criminals. Another implication of this sentence model is that the reply to the sentence is different in dissimilar individuals (Harrison, 2010). Custodial representatives commonly favor the benefits of indeterminate sentencing for the reason that the motivation to get out of jail earlier encourages the inmates to behave appropriately while imprisoned. The key benefit of indeterminate sentencing is that the criminals who demonstrate the ability to change and behave appropriately will be liberated earlier than those who behave incorrectly and recurrently break the law. Another benefit is that there is a vigilant and explicit assessment before the lawbreaker leaves the prison and gets back to the normal life in a community (Harmon, 2012). The main drawback of indeterminate sentencing is that it permits the parole board to reach arbitrary and biased verdicts. It happens a lot that rather harsh decisions are made, and criminals receive inadequate sentences. Determinate Sentencing The determinate sentencing model, on the contrary, is compliant with a definite sentence which is not contingent on the inmates’ behavior and only depends on the jury’s decision (Bales & Miller, 2012). The key benefit of this model is that the jury pronounces the verdict at once without any regard to the future behavior. Nonetheless, this advantage is a kind of a drawback at the same time. Even though the court should be strict and just, the prison setting is able to change the lawbreakers from the inside and alter the way they think and behave. The use of the determinate sentence model gives those inmates no chance to minimize the number of years they will spend in jail (Bales & Miller, 2012). Louisiana’s Sentencing Model In 1916, Louisiana’s initial indeterminate sentence regulation was approved by the state administration. Since then, it has been revised on several occasions. There are two keys points that were affected by the judicial deviations the most (Harrison, 2010). First, there are crimes that are exempt from the requirements of the law. Second, the law initially presupposes a minimum sentence which can be forced. Under the requirements of the previous conditional release legislation, the excluded crimes are vital for the reason that only those inmates who were disciplined with an indeterminate sentence could be released on bail. The mi
Movie Review Lincoln is a movie produced in the US in 2012 by Steven Spielberg, director, and Daniel Day-Lewis acting as President Abraham Lincoln. Sally Field is the president’s wife, Todd Lincoln. The movie is mainly concerned with the president’s last days when he was trying to push parliament to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. While in his office, the head of state seems worried about the Emancipation Proclamation ratified in 1963 since slave states were expected to move to court to challenge the validity of the law. In the president’s view, the new law must be passed within the month to ensure the rights of the minorities and slaves are protected before the end of the war because chances of enslaving them would be minimal. The type of government that is demonstrated in the movie is democratic since elections are held periodically to select the officials and each citizen is free to seek any position. This means individuals have voting rights as they are given the opportunity to choose leaders based on experience, manifestos, and their agendas for the country. Similarly, TEKS espouses the kind of governance structures illustrated in the movie since students are allowed to select the course units once they are in the higher levels of studies. In the movie, it is clear that an individual is allowed to select a leader of his or her choice once he or she attains a certain age. TEKS gives an individual a chance to decide what he or she desires in life as far as education is concerned. In the selection of leaders in TEKS, each student is given an opportunity to convince the panel that he or she is capable of delivering the institution’s objective and aim. This aspect is evident in the movie because citizens are allowed to vote freely for the bill or individual without much interference from the government. Unlike in other instructional plans and curriculums, TEKS allows an individual to go through various topics before moving on to the next level of study, something that allows knowledge accumulation and skill development. In the movie, citizens are provided with several ideas and their only responsibility is to select the best among the existing ones. Government is a large organization charged with the responsibility of taking care of the wishes and the desires of all people in society. In other words, its main role is to provide an enabling environment that guarantees individual fulfillment. Based on this, it should have certain characteristics that allow it to function normally, one of them being the ability to communicate the agenda clearly. In the Movie, the president is in a position to communicate government programs undoubtedly through his representatives in the parliament. In the TEKS, the board always informs students of the expectations of each course unit, which proves the agenda is communicated openly. Another important feature of government is optimism meaning it should always be positive in what it does even though things might be heading in a bad direction. This would allow the citizens to adopt a similar approach leading to hard work and cooperation even in times of economic and political difficulties. In the Movie
Creativity is often related to freedom in every meaning of its word, starting with the space to create, and up to the need for the “room for imagination,” which, basically, every artist needs to come up with an original and exciting idea. Creativity and oppression, on the contrary, are rarely related to each other; indeed, they never go hand in hand, with violence obviously affecting creativity in the most negative way possible. However, when considering oppression as a source of emotions, one must admit that it does affect creativity, even if this effect comes in the most negative form possible. Therefore, despite the seeming lack of links between the two phenomena, Marion Young’s five types of oppression are obviously relatable to Richard Florida’s recent edition of The Rise of the Creative Class Revisited. When evaluating the contribution that Young’s work can possibly make to Florida’s work, one must mention the fact that, though often considered the negative force that reduces people’s creativity to zero, oppression can be the booster that finally reveals a person’s need to create under any circumstances. In other words, oppression pushes an artist’s need for sublimation to the breaking point, where it comes out in the form of the most sincere and impressive statement, be it a one-man show or a consolidated work of several authors. As Young stresses, there are five manifestations of oppression, and the basic concepts of each of them can be found in Florida’s new edition as a factor that affects creativity. To start with, there is exploitation, which definitely rubs elbows with the basic definition of creativity as the need to “cultivate and utilize all of our national and human resources” (Florida x). While the given argument might sound lacking in appreciation of the author’s vision or contribution to culture, in fact, creativity does presuppose that certain resources are used to create something worthwhile. Without the given element as a criterion for art critique, it would be impossible to define the value of an artwork within a specific cultural setting. Another side of oppression defined by Young (Young 4), marginalization comes as a close second to exploitation. Again, while, compared to the traditional interpretation as creativity as an urge to create, marginalization might have little to do with the process of creation, it must be admitted that, in some way, creating something that makes a statement does set the author apart from the rest of the crowd; which is even more disturbing, it is the crowd to decide whether the author should be appraised or ostracized. The fact that Young tends to shift the concept of oppression towards politics and the related issues, however, sets the idea of Florida’s book and Young’s writing somewhat apart, though, since, traditionally, art is considered as the phenomenon that is not supposed to be affected by the political forces, economical processes or f