ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The play Death of a salesman is indeed an anatomy of the American dream especially because the plot of the story revolves around some of the basic material gains that individuals in the American society yearn for. This is evident from the onset of the play when the lead character Willy Loman arrives home after a failed work mission and immediately embarks on blaming some of his woes on his under-achieving son Biff. From the flashback Willy is disappointed that Biff was a representation of a bright future when he was much younger but turned out completely different on growing up (Miller 1-3). This is definitely what happens to most families in the American society where individuals get into life hoping to have all the best in terms of material wealth as well as have families that would be the envy of most of their neighbors (G.Perkins, B. Perkins and Phelan 1928). Fathers and mothers have dreams of how their children would be even more successful and they (the parents) tend to bend their children towards growing up in this direction which is sometime informed by the parents’ failure to achieve certain goals in their own childhoods. Unfortunately, in most cases, the children tend to have their own wishes and aims and in the process of trying to fulfill the desires of their hearts they end up disappointing their parents. The rant by Willy about not taking the opportunity to accompany his brother on his mission to Alaska and Africa, and therefore missing on the chance to become as wealthy as Ben is a complete revelation of how individuals in the American society fail to appreciate the little blessings they have in their wish to have everything. This desire for all the best of things in the world is the guiding principle of the American dream and figuratively speaking it is the primary fuel that keeps the fire burning. In society most people would not appreciate the fact that they are lucky to have three square meals a day and even the potential to bear children just because they can see other individuals living better than them. If the sons that Willy found a failure were to be taken out of his life by him not being given the ability for procreation, it is definitely predictable that Willy would start complaining about his inadequacy as a man. It is Willy’s inability to attain most of his heart’s desires that leads him to committing suicide. His son, Biff, also responds to his own inability to achieving the American dream by resorting to theft. He regards his kleptomaniac state as a way of rebelling against the corporate world which he could not penetrate. In the American society, most individuals would resort to inappropriate ways of dealing with their frustrations and Biff’s case is not unusual. The American dream leads individuals to always want appreciation from other people in society. Almost everybody would do anything to become popular and when
The article “Chronicle of Health Creation” by Weeks dwells upon the concept of interprofessional teams in the national pain strategy. It is stated that pain management requires an integrative approach that presupposes the collaboration of different healthcare professionals (Weeks par. 6). It is also stressed that the use of interprofessional teams is becoming more common, but there are still various gaps in this area that can be removed with the help of effective on-job training and formal education. The article is relevant to the field of integrative care and the use of interprofessional teams as it unveils some peculiarities of this approach in pain management. It is necessary to note that the use of interprofessional teams has been discussed quite extensively in news and scholarly articles. For instance, researchers and practitioners share their knowledge on the effectiveness of this approach in particular spheres. Pain management is also the area where the integrative approach has become widely discussed. Researchers note that the quality of services provided is increasing when interprofessional teams are in the play, and the personnel’s confidence plays a significant role in this process. It is stressed that this approach is effective in chronic care as well, and it is associated with the effective collaboration of professionals and provision of high-quality healthcare services. Professionals working in interprofessional teams share knowledge and experience. Practitioners also apply different perspectives and insights to address particular issues. Obviously, any health problem has many features and causes, which makes it important to look at it from different angles. In simple terms, professionals employ different skills and methods that turn out to be beneficial for the patients’ health and wellbeing. Moreover, researchers note that the use of interprofessional teams leads to the lower level of the personnel’s burnout as well as a high level of care. The article in question touches upon the topic of education and training that is relevant to the integrative approach (Weeks par. 13). It has been acknowledged that this method should become an integral part of the medical curriculum. For example, many researchers concentrate on interprofessional education in nursing homes and stress that it positively affects the delivery of care. It is clear that on-job training and formal education should include the integrative approach as practitioners should be equipped with skills to effectively collaborate in interprofessional teams. It has been found that the method may be implemented inefficiently, which results in the personnel’s dissatisfaction with the approach and the provision of low-quality care. Therefore, medical schools and every health
The first decades of the twentieth century became the era of significant changes and experiments in different fields of social life. Controversial political processes, revolutionary mood, struggle for the rights of different social groups, significant scientific discoveries, reforms; finally, the World War I – the changes took place at different levels, from the supreme power of states, to the world-view of an average individual. Not unexpectedly, the dynamic spirit of the time found its incarnation in art. Literature, visual arts, theater, music, architecture became the field for bold innovations and experiments. Always fulfilling the role of a mirror that reflects the spirit of an epoch, art demonstrated the anxiety and at the same time aspiration for breaking the borders that prevailed in the society. Music did not become an exception: composers who worked during the first decades of the twentieth century experimented with musical form, tonality, sound, instruments, the way of performing musical works. Taking the legacy of the previous centuries as the background at the starting points, composers find new approaches and devices of expressing their ideas. Béla Bartók is one of the brightest composers of the first half of the twentieth century. His works are considered the gem of Hungarian musical legacy. Bartók is one of the composers whose works possess characteristics of Expressionism in music. Particularly, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (1911) demonstrates certain influence of Expressionist tendencies in music (Hailey, p.103). Bartók’s famous opera is innovative and experimental in different aspects, which makes it of particular interest for musical theorists and critics. In this essay, the role of orchestra in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle is discussed from the perspective of the plot of the opera and of from that of musical conjuncture of the discussed period. Expressionism is a cultural movement that was widespread during the first decades of the twentieth century. The first wave of Expressionist art belongs to Germany; however, Expressionist traits can be found in the works of artists from different countries of Europe (Lee, 2008, p.14). Expressionism in music, as well as in other kinds of art, implied shift from outer to inner, from simple narration to expression of one’s thoughts, sensations and emotions. Greenberg says, the purpose of a work of art that belongs to the Expressionist tradition is not just “to express ideas and notions, but to express with greater immediacy sensations, the irreducible element of experience” (cited in Hailey, p.105). Thus, Expressionist traits give an artist opportunity to expand his/her focus, look beyond the external side of the events and look deeper into the action. With a short, but neat quotation, Lee summarises this peculiarity of Expressionism, “Expressionist artists want to show us how they feel about what they see” (Lee, p.14). All discussed above makes it possible for Bartó
Introduction Christian spirituality is a kind of belief that underlines the fact that the Holy Spirit is allowed to control and lead a believer’s life. This belief draws attention to one of the non-contemporary aspects of human reality. This reality is life with God and eternal future. One of the writers who pay lots of attention to the idea of Christian spirituality and its importance in our every day life was Clive Staples Lewis. C. S. Lewis was a well-known writer, literary critic, and Christian apologist. His best works were The Space Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia. This writer preferred the world of Christianity writing, and did not want to limit his works with concrete genres and experimented a lot. (Edwards) The number of messages he want to present in his works is really considerable. One of the messages, which C. S. Lewis wanted to convey in The Chronicles of Narnia, was the idea of Christian spirituality and its impact on the life of every character. Discussion There were two leading figures in the English literature at the beginning of the 20 th century: J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. They were very close friends, and such deep friendship had a significant impact on both writers. Tolkien’s ideas about myths and imagination, which may be so close to reality, helped Lewis to find the real truth of Christianity. Being a desperate Roman Catholic, Tolkien truly believed in his Christianity faith. Lewis was an atheist and always tried to find concrete material explanations to the sense of life, his destiny, and origins. With time, Tolkien convinced his friend about the truth of Christian spirituality, and those changes were reflected in lots of Lewis’s works. The Chronicles of Narnia presents lots of allusions to Christian principles in the ways, which are comprehensible either to young or adult readers. Lewis’s books may be interesting both to Christian and non-Christian people. One of the first books about Narnia was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was a kind of apologize of the author because of his lack of faith. It is a story about four kinds, who find a wonderful country, Narnia, on the other side of the wardrobe. It was the country, which was ruled by a fair king Aslan, a magic lion. However, the White Witch raised th
Photography does indeed provide a platform for seeing the world differently. Since photography largely focuses on the beautiful, it is in constant need to define beauty. Close up photography has altered world perceptions on beauty by challenging conventional wisdom on the same. Objects that the naked eye sees can very easily become generic. Therefore, photographers need to challenge themselves by discovering new ways of seeing the ordinary and the close up is one such approach. Susan Sontang explained that photographs set the standards for beauty. However, they differ from other forms of art like paintings because it they have an element of truth in them. Many individuals assume that if a photograph represents something, then the actual object should actually look like it. Therefore, the beauty that the photo represents is largely derived from the actual object. Close ups reconcile this need to see beauty as truth. They create a new way of seeing that enables viewers to find beauty in what they would have categorized as ordinary. The camera, through the close-up technique, enables photographers to idealize daily life. They are able to bring out something that only the camera can generate. To this extent, Susan Sontang’s assertion that capturing a close up has changed the way people view the world is true. It brought a new and refreshing way of looking at the world. The method isolated objects and thus transformed them into living things. In the practice photography for Praxis 3, some of the ideas came out quite clearly during the close ups. All the photographs involve plant parts; most were flowers while a few of them consisted of leaves. The colors, textures, shapes and lines on the plant parts that compelled me to take the photographs would only be visible through the close up technique. When one looks at the images, it is clear that most of them are unique and refreshing. These elements would not have stood out if another technique other than close up was used. Many people find flowers beautiful, but the beauty epitomized in the Praxis 3 images was not conventional. The isolation of one part made this fresh perspective possible. While Sontang acknowledges that the close-up is a reflection of truth, it is still subject to the photographer’s viewpoint. As such, it is an exploitation of one’s reality in order to fit into the photographer’s worldview. Photography, in whatever form, is a subjective habit that largely depends on the photographer’s focus. The individual will manipulate geometry, angles, light and their camera parts in order to get the perfect look. Notions about beauty will determine how they find the right moment. Even the manner in which subjects interpret close up photos is dependent on their tastes. Most times, their opinions will not coincide with that of the photographer, so a label will give them an indication of what the object is. Nonetheless, some congruence on the idea of beauty must arise between the photographer and his audience as the photographer lives in a society. During the Praxis 3 photography, some elements of distortion did arise during the phot
Historically, William Shakespeare and John Donne are among the famous poets. In his Sonnet, shall I compare thee to a summer’s day Shakespeare carefully describes the physical body of his woman. He uses figurative language to draw a perfect picture of his lover. On the other hand, in his poem the flea, Donne uses images to seduce his partner. Authentically, nature or environment correlates with life, beauty and success. The two poets apply a persuasive tone to induce seductive or erotic feelings in their lovers. Although the two poems highlight the theme of love, structurally they present some differences and similarities as expounded in the next discussion. Both playwrights use a persuasive tone to seduce their lovers. For example, Donne struggles to impress and convince his lover to forgo her virginity for the sake of their love. Historically, a woman who upheld virginity until marriage had high integrity. However, Donne’s aim is to persuade his partner to break a culture and face the shame from the society. Intuitively, he perceives it will not happen. The playwright compares their love to the life of a flea. Donne belittles her womanhood (virginity) when he tries to evoke guilt in his lover by saying, “How little that which thou deniest me” (stanza 1 line 2). According to him, the flea has mixed their blood bonding them into one person. Surprisingly, he says, “Where we almost, nay more than married are” (stanza 1 line 11) yet they are not. He throws challenges to his partner by saying that through the flea they have already consummated their relationship, which is a sexual sin. Furthermore, he asserts that intimacy will not defy their purity but rather strengthen their relationship. Alluding from religion, he tells the lover that he is suffering, which is against monastery teachings. Donne applies both visual objects and religion to change the mind of his lover. Unfortunately, the woman remains adamant holding on to her rules. Eventually, she decides to kill the flea. However, Donne enlightens her that this will not break their relationship, love or bond or cause pain in his heart. More over, Donne indirectly threatens his lover because according to him, she will still be honorable and respectful if she consummates their relationship. In addition, he carefully chooses his words to arouse sexual feelings in his partner. Unluckily, the partner‘s decision to adore her culture motivates her to turn down all his advances. Similarly, Shakespeare use of flattering words to describe his partner is to compel or persuade her to love him. Like Donne, he applies the persuasive tone to evoke romantic feelings in his partner. He uses the sun and clouds to describe her beauty and elegance. According to the playwright, his partner’s youthfulness will stay forever, which is not true because beauty fades with age. To persuade her more, he immortalizes her body, which is unreal. However, the decision to accord her eternity is not only to show his love for her but also to prove that she will be i
China being the most populous nation in the world with a population of about 1.3 billion people grouped into fifty six distinct ethnic groups, covering most of East Asia has a very diverse culture making it be appreciated by other civilizations in the world as one of the oldest and consistent. These aspects are what define a complex culture which greatly varies in provinces, cities and towns in China. Chinese culture has been in development since the Xia Dynasty (CA. 2100-CA – 1600 BC) to modern China which began in the early 1900s, and has seen constant changes due to the diversity of the Chinese who consist of two groups; the Han Chinese, who are the majority and the national minorities 1 . Communist and Maoist ideologies that emerged in the 20 th century, assimilated and embraced by the changing Chinese culture are important to establish the basis of how the Chinese culture has evolved from hundreds of years ago to a modern culture. Distinctly, the Chinese culture is defined by five major elements of ancient practices and traditions, which form the core of the society and beliefs in modern china, which are, food, clothing, housing, transportation and education. Food in China is traditionally believed to have medicinal value, thus the use of plants such as garlic, tree fungus, scallions, fresh ginger, dried lily buds and much more herbs in almost all their cooking. Scholar Yi Yin (early Shang dynasty) stressed the need for better health, and nutrition a major principle in preparation of food in Chinese culture. Also in Chinese culture, there are two styles of cooking, the Southern and Northern styles. Southern Chinese cooking style is characterized by the Hunan and Szechwan cuisines; abundant use of chilies is what makes these cuisines famous. Importance is given equally to aroma, flavor and color in cooking of each dish. Northern style cooking is mostly oily, and they are inclined to having vinegar and garlic flavors more profound, with areas of Tientsin, Peking and Shantung being the most recognized for northern style cooking 2 . Chinese culture dictates that one has to be seated while eating and seating arrangements follow a set down order of who will sit down first from men, to women, then the old and lastly the young. Chinese prefer darker over lighter colors. And correlate specific seasons with specific colors black is related to winter, white associated with autumn and red associated with summer. The clothing the Chinese wear can be described as having three major types depending on function or occasion e.g. a tunic that extends to the knees and is a ceremonial two piece costume called a pien-fu, a skirt like long robe that goes all the way to the ankles called ch’ang-p’ao and lastly shen-I. The Chinese are not a deeply religious people, and Chinese cultural religious outlook consists of a mix of practices and beliefs due to the diversity of their ethnicity. Religion in China is majorly made up of four main traditions: Taoism, Chinese folk religion, Buddh
The present paper analyzes an empirical-based study on the patterns of female offending in the light of state dependence and population heterogeneity approaches to offending. The study was conducted by Gunnison and McCartan, researchers in the field of life course and female criminology, and was published in the Western Criminology Review in 2010. The study brings together several approaches to criminology, namely, the feminist, life course, and control theories. Particularly, the authors discuss the state dependence interpretation of criminal behavior continuity in light of control-based theories, notably Hirschi’s social bond theory (Robert Lilly, Cullen & Ball, 2014, p. 115). On the other hand, the population heterogeneity explanation builds upon trait-based theories (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, p. 46). The study also draws on gendered and feminist criminological theories. Thus, the authors take a liberal feminist stance on social control and socialization of male and female children that result in different offending patterns (Robert Lilly et al., 2014, p. 276). The study examines female offending and, particularly, it aims to distinguish between discrete groups of offenders. The authors assume that there are two distinct patterns of female offending: persistent and late-onset. Persistent or chronic offenders are those individuals who enter into offending early on and continue with it later in their lives. On the contrary, late onset offenders get involved with crime at later stages of their lives (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, p. 45). This distinction is significant because the two discrete groups exhibit different offending trajectories (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, p. 46). Previously, these patterns were mostly researched with male samples, and the authors intend to cover the existing research gap by looking at female offenders. The authors utilize a mixed-method approach to data collection and analysis. The data collection stage consisted of a series of self-report surveys of one prison’s female offenders. The surveys largely yielded quantitative data, although several open-ended questions were introduced to collect qualitative feedback from the inmates (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, p. 49). The authors operationalized the concepts of state dependence and population heterogeneity into several variables, including physical and sexual abuse, delinquent associations, self-control, and others (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, pp. 50-51). Consequently, they used descriptive statistical methods and chi-square tests of independence to establish the link between the abovementioned variables (both juvenile and adult) and persistent and late-onset offending (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, p. 52). The study yielded several important findings. One of them is that prior sexual abuse is a significant predictor not only for onset into offending but also for one’s continued criminal involvement. This finding is significant because frequently, only the initial, rather than continuous, involvement in crime is attributed to sexual abuse (Gunnison & McCartan, 2010, p. 55). Consequently