ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Opioids have been used by humanity for a long time, mainly for the treatment of pain, spiritual, and recreational purposes. Nowadays, they are commonly used in medicine, primarily for the management of cancer, acute, and chronic pain. Even though there are benefits of opioid therapy, there are also numerous side effects of this type of treatment. The easy availability of opioid medications has had severe adverse consequences for the US citizens, especially for New Jersey’s population. The purpose of this essay is to consider New Jersey’s opioid crisis from the perspective of its relationship with opioid therapy and examine both benefits and risks of this kind of treatment. New Jersey’ Opioid Crisis as a Part of the US Opioid Epidemic There is a significant increase in opioid addiction and death in New Jersey. New Jersey’s opioid crisis can be considered as a part of the US present-day opioid epidemic. One of the most significant causes of the spread of the disease is the production and prescription of opioid painkillers. The national crisis began in the 1990s when pharmaceutical companies marketed new drugs and claimed that they were non-addictive (DeWeerdt, 2019). The marketing resulted in a sharp increase in the availability of the pharmaceutical narcotics, and the medications quickly became popular substances for the management of chronic pain. Despite the claim that the new opioid painkillers were less addictive, many people, who had been prescribed the drugs, moved from legitimate use to dependent and then abused one. For example, one of the pharmaceutical companies, Purdue Pharma, introduced a painkiller called OxyContin (a formulation of oxycodone) in the 1990s. The company convinced doctors that the drug was safe, effective. and non-addictive. However, it turned out that the drug caused dependence. As a result, there was a steep rise in people addicted to OxyContin in the US. According to Higham, Horwitz and Rich (2019), “the volume of the pills handled by the companies skyrocketed as the epidemic surged, increasing about 51 percent from 8.4 billion in 2006 to 12.6 billion in 2012.” Later, Purdue Pharma, declared that its statement the OxyContin’s safety was wrong, but it was too late. The prescription of opioid painkillers has exploded dramatically since the 1990s. Nowadays, the US is one of the two largest consumers of opioids worldwide (Kim, Nolan, & Ti, 2017). According to Rose (2018), “the United States consumes 80% of the world opioid supply” (793). Researchers note that, from 2000 to 2014, the opioid overdose death rate increased 200% in the country (Rudd, Aleshire, Zibbell, & Gladden, 2016). Speaking of New Jersey, in 2016, more residents were killed by drug overdose than guns, car accidents, and suicides (Stirling, 2019). One of the leading causes of the high rate of overdose death in the state is an inappropriate utilization of prescription painkillers to treat pain. Opioid Therapy The opioid mode of action is that it binds to opioid receptors in the central nervous system. According to the Centers for Disease Cont
A book that starts with the phrase “I was not sorry when my brother died” does not promise any positive emotions while reading (Dangarembga, 2004, 3). A book that opens with a leg, blown off by a bomb flying through the air and getting hooked on a tree cannot but horrify the reader with the first pages (Dangarembga, 2006, 3). Terror-stricken and willing to know what has happened, the reader starts the journey through Tsi­tsi Dangarembga’s novel The Book of Not: A Sequel to Nervous Conditions (2006). The main themes that this work is focused on are racial prejudice/ inequalities and war/revolution. The book under consideration is a sequel to the seminal Nervous Conditions. The two works reveal the idea of nervous conditions. This idea is borrowed from Jean-Paul Sartre’s introduction to Franz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth and implies a function of mutually reinforcing attitudes between colonizer and colonized that cause psychological disorder of the colonized. The mental condition of the main character of the book is the main point of this paper’s concern. The main character’s moral state is determined by her aspiration to the ideals of the colonial system, but the girl’s strivings are constantly brought up short by the realities of racism. As in the Nervous Conditions , in The Book of Not the main character, Tambudzai or Tambu does not feel sorry for her sister Netsai whose severed leg is described at the beginning of the novel. When the action starts, the author vividly describes the picture of nationalists, but Tambu calls it “this primitive scene” (Dangarembga, 2006, 5) and wants to get away from it. She feels as if she jumps into the spinning limb and rides as it rotates moving up to somewhere out of it. This is a very successful metaphor suggested by the author. I believe that this description of the girl’s feelings implies that she wants some changes in her life but does not know what to do about it. Still, we know that the girl wants to be somewhere at the prestigious Young Ladies’ College with a scholarship that will turn her into a lady with a promising future. But this future is so far away from her. Instead, Tambudzai faces a series of “notes”: first, she can only bow her head “to summon the peace that comes with not seeing.” (Dangarembga 28) Then, she is “peopled not by those who looked like us but by Europeans” (Dangarembga 38). Her rights there are constantly infringed upon: African pupils live in six in a room intended only for four students. The senior students who should have separate rooms have to live with first formers. When the main character uses the toilet reserved by the white students, the headmistress reprimands her and accuses her of having a complex. Tambu’s school develops in her a sense of her inferiority. Though she has achieved the best o-level grades in her
Discuss the memory of traumatic events like murder, betrayal, injury, or death in “On Parole”, “The Briefcase”, and “The Housekeeper and the Professor”, contrasting the ability to forgive and come to terms with the past by some (Matsumoto, the professor), with an inability to shake off the past in others (Kikutani) Memories of traumatic events are most overt in the story On Parole , where Kikutani is incarcerated for killing his wife and lover. The story centers on efforts to live his life after prison in the halfway house and later the apartment he rents; however, he is haunted by memories from both prison and his crimes. He has a problem settling into normal society at first because it is hard for him to do normal things like going to the bathroom without asking or walk without marching as he was used to it in prison. However, when the memories of his wife resurface, and he goes to the grave to pay his respects, he realizes that he feels no remorse. From a psychological point of view, it can be reasoned that the trauma was so much that he developed the denial that became his coping mechanism. However, even this was temporary because, although he felt no remorse when his new wife tries to set altars in memory of his victims, he reacts violently and kills her. Evidently, Kikutani is unable to handle his grief from the past, and he fails to forgive himself, which explains his intolerance and ultimate sliding back into his murderous self. On the contrary, while in The Professor , the issue of memory is also overtly discussed, it is in a more technical and much less dramatic and violent sense. The professor apparently suffered from trauma in a car accident, which destroyed his short-term memory, leaving him only able to remember what happened in the previous 80 minutes. Unlike Kikutani, who tries to deal with his issue by avoiding people and relationships, the professor works hard despite his memory to build a lasting relationship with the housekeeper and her son, whom he calls to help him remember mathematical connotations. He pins names of people and ideas to his suit. In fact, throughout the book, his traumatic memory loss seems to make him a better person, which sharply contrasts with Kikutani (Ogawa, 2009). Finally, in The Briefcase , unlike the other texts, the idea of loss or past hurt is understated. This is evidenced in the fact that Tsukiko assumes that the Sensei’s wife is no longer there because she died, and this is the same assumption the reader takes until several chapters later when it is made clear that she left him. However, one is forced to ask, given that he has been portrayed as a kind, sensitive, and overall good man, why would she leave him in the first place? The best one can assume is that it is just to Tsukiko that he is nice or that the memories of his marriage life have to lead him to become a better person like the professor. This is contrary to Kikutani, who is over-powered by destroyed by his memories (Ogawa, 2009). Compare the tense, conflicted attitude of children toward their parents in “Real W
Many westerners discuss the principles of Zen as the answers to the variety of daily questions because Zen aims to break the eternal conflict associated with the duality of phenomena and processes. According to the ideas of Alan Watts presented in his book “This Is It”, Zen provides the westerners with a lot of paths to justify their daily feelings, thoughts, and actions because the westerners discuss these religious and philosophical views as rather flexible to explain their ordinary activities and experiences (Watts, 2011, p. 108). Christianity and other Western religions provide people with a range of dogmas and canons to follow them strictly. Different Asian philosophies and religions provide people with a variety of moral principles and values to understand and accept. On the contrary, Zen does not provide principles, but it aims to explain the current phenomena and relations between the nature and individuals. Furthermore, Zen accentuates the role of individual in the world and provides definite excuses appropriate for the life here and now, without focusing on the spiritual growth for the further better life and experience, as it is stated in other Western and Asian religions (Watts, 2011, p. 109). That is why, Zen is attractive to westerners because its ideas do not make people feel the pressure of choosing between intelligence and instincts, science and nature, individualism and the focus on the good for other people; thus, westerners receive a kind of a recipe of how to live happily and follow the natural and spiritual balance now, in this world and in this life. Zen can be used to solve the problem of Dualism in the daily life because it demonstrates the ways how to avoid and resolve the ordinary conflicts based on the duality of ideas and meanings. According to Watts, Dualism is the necessity to choose between the ruling principles in the life such as the scientific knowledge and natural laws, intelligence and instincts, evil and good, individualism and humanity. Dualism is the origin of the constant conflict in the people’s life which can be resolved with the focus on Zen. However, Dualism is the important aspect of the people’s life, and it cannot be avoided, but it can be understood from the philosophical perspective as the source of the balance in the world (Watts, 2011, p. 48-49). From this point, Dualism manifests itself in everyone’s life, but it can be unnoticed. In my life, I focus on Dualism while discussing the negative processes, situations, and phenomena and while thinking about their opposite positive sides and meanings. Furthermore, I refer to Dualism while thinking about the nature of the people’s actions and words. The choice between the evil and good is easy, but to make the right choice while focusing on the nuanced situations and phenomena is the challenging task. For instance, it can be difficult for me to accept the necessity of the unpleasant choice even while knowing about its opposite positive side and expected positive outcomes. The most difficult choices are associated with the necessity to focus on my intelligence and rationality or on my spirituality and instincts. Dualism
Introduction Whether in print or broadcast media, the overall role of adverts remains irreplaceable in business marketing. Have you ever asked yourself why companies, manufacturers and even individuals are usually forced to advertise their products and services even when they are sure that what is being offered would outshine existing products in the market? Obviously business people clearly understand that advertising is a tool which every business requires to help the company in establishing and maintaining the best competitive advantage in the field. For this reason, investing in adverts can be the best idea in ensuring that whatever that is being offered gets the attention of the public. As a communication tool, adverts ought to have certain characteristics so that they do not cause a business to loose its existing and potential customers. This essay analyses two print adverts from Coca Cola Company by focusing on some of the characteristics of a print advert that make it resourceful or disastrous to any business in the world. Role of print adverts Like any form of advertising, print adverts play a very important role in business. Through print media like magazines and newspapers, companies and manufactures are able to communicate to their customers and prospective ones concerning existing offers, upcoming ones, some important changes like a new product being launched among others. In other words, there is a lot that could be communicated trough adverts (Noronha 1). Based on this role, it is worth noting that adverts act as advocates to sellers, and paint the company’s profile for the public to scrutinize for the purpose of making purchase decisions. It has to be mentioned also that some companies have lost customers and even threatened with business closure because of poor print adverts which portray a negative image of the company and the product being publicized. Why would a company invest in print media? Research indicates that an average American citizen spends half an hour daily reading newspapers, journals and magazines. This might not be shocking to most people since the United States prides on having the highest number of outlets for print media globally with a worldwide circulation network. Although some people argue that print media has considerably overtaken all other forms of media advertising, ignoring print media would be ignoring a huge population that daily finds print media as their source of information and guide on making of important decisions in making purchases (Noronha 1). It is important to further double emphasize that print media adverts go beyond the normal communication purpose and focuses on carrying the image of the business or c
Introduction Socialization is a process of acquiring other people’s Ideas and norms providing a person with necessary abilities for building him/herself and for societal participatory. On the other hand socialization may not be normative as “it also describes processes which may or may not affect the reflexive agent s, and which may or may not lead to desirable or moral outcomes. Individual views on certain issues, such as race may again be socialized within a society” (Mathews, 2002). Socialization also prepares an individual for the roles he/she is to play, providing him with the necessary repertoire of habits, beliefs, and values, the appropriate patterns of emotional response and the modes of perception, requisite skills and knowledge. It also provides persistence and culture (Chinoy, 1961). Conformity to socialization is the way a person tends to have the same behaviors of a group of people he or she is attached to. Conformity and obedience to authority in socialization is responsible in shaping or bringing up a morally upright person. The impacts of this can have diverse influences on a individuals in the ways of his/her living. Therefore this paper is going to discuss on the issues of the impact that my socialization in conformity and obedience to authority and how has affected my life. The paper will also show how these issues influenced my attitudes towards the general ways of life, choice of occupation, and other important aspects in my life. The paper will then conclude by highlighting on how socialization affects individuals. My initial socialization My first socialization came about when I was still a little kid. I started learning the outlooks, values, and measures needed off me as a member of my family and community. An example of this is when my mother used to guide me in treating other kids as equals and not to show any discriminatory remarks or any other immoral behaviors towards them. These aspects mould me into knowing that it was acceptable and in order to treat the people around me as brothers and sisters. Socialization also taught me to learn from them as they learn from me. In addition these aspects have been permanently put into my conscience as I still have these opinions to date. Secondary, developmental, anticipatory and occupational socialization My next step in socialization was in relatives, friends in the neighborhoods, friends at school and people who I interacted with directly. This stage comprised of schooling and learning to get conversant to the important
The differences and similarities of the book and movie version of The Blind Side can be understood by looking at how the author – Michael Lewis – and the director attempted to inform and entertain their respective audiences. It can also be explained by the strengths and limitations of the medium that they used. There is a big difference in how a writer can talk about the details of a particular subject matter and how a movie director can fit everything and tell a good story in just two hours of film. But when simplified even further the movie version differs from the book because the author wanted to show the evolution of how American football is played and conducted using the story of Michael Oher the protagonist as some sort of a case study while the movie version wanted to showcase the extraordinary story of Michael Oher and how his life can be used as a model to inspire others to live life and reach one’s potential even if the odds are stack against that person. About the Game The focus of the book was the evolution of the game. The movie’s focus was on the triumph of the human spirit and understandably so because the movie was marketed as an inspirational movie. It was created to make the audience feel good. This does not mean that the movie completely strayed far from the spirit of the author’s work. It is simply about the need to focus on one story. The author can tackle a major issue and then have enough space to talk about an example of how the game has totally been transformed by including the inspiring and yet true-to-life story of Michael Oher. On the other hand director, John Lee Hancock cannot afford to totally copy the format of the book and adapt everything to the screen because as mentioned it is impossible given the limitations of the medium used. The book had a lengthy introduction about a football hero named Lawrence Taylor and why he was a terror in the football field (Lewis, p. 16). The author even claimed that Jerry Sizemore, an NFL professional who played for the Philadelphia Eagles quit because of fear as to what Taylor will do to him during an actual game (Lewis, p. 16). And this framed the introduction as to why the game has evolved – football has always been known for the grace and athleticism of the quarterback working in perfect unity with the receiver and the rest of the team. But Lewis pointed out that when Taylor arrived at the scene, he changed the way football was played because of the strength, speed, agility, and violence he brings with him. The game had to evolve not because of Taylor’s prowess but due to his effectiveness to disrupt play, intimidate opponents, and most importantly to win games. He was so successful in fact that football coaches began to scout for athletes that have the same profile, height, body weight, etc. Lewis summed it all up by explaining how a defender should play according to Taylor’s point of view and Taylor said: “I’ll drive my helmet into him, or, if I can, I’ll bring my arm up over my head and try to ax the ‘sonuvabitch’ into two. So long as the guy is holding the ball, I intend to hurt him … If I hit the right, I’ll hit a nerve and he’ll
Introduction The transport sector has become the focus of attention among policymakers because it contributes to a great amount of environmentally destructive greenhouse gas emissions and also consumes a large portion of a country’s petroleum expenditure. Because of this, most governments around the world are considering shifting to electric vehicles as alternative means of transportation. The motivation comes in the form of tax exemptions, government subsidies, or consumer price incentives. In the United Kingdom, they focused on enhancing technology-neutral measures like stern vehicle GHG emission standards, while in China the government has instituted a number of programs to entice consumers to purchase what they call NEVs or new-energy vehicles (Mangram 294). Electric cars can help reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality, but these are difficult to introduce in the market since they are a threat to the gas-powered auto industry; that is why some states have difficulty promoting development of electric cars. Tesla CEO Elon Musk (qtd. in Stringham, Miller and Clark 86) argues that new entrants trigger innovation and barriers in the auto industry could be overcome. Tesla has been in the forefront of providing the world with luxury electric vehicles and has encountered various challenges in its entry in a very-stiff competitive car industry. But the automobile industry is quite immune to the threat of new entry and starting competitors like Tesla. According to Michael Porter, barriers to entry may include economies of scale, learning curves, factors in distribution, and other financing problems. Economies of scale have tremendously grown after World War II due to automation and mergers and acquisition (M&As). In the nineteenth century, there were six leading car manufacturers – General Motors, Ford, Chrysler (plus AMC/Jeep), Honda, Nissan, and Toyota – but the same is still true these days in the age of globalization and high technology (Stringham, Miller and Clark 85). Tesla is still a young competitor against a 150-year-old internal combustion engine (ICE) car industry (Mangram 289). This paper attempts to analyze the success (or failure) of Tesla cars in its entry in the competitive car industry and how the driving public, both in the United Kingdom and China, has accepted it as a necessary means of transportation. Literature Review Technology Innovation Much of the progres