ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Over the years women’s beauty has been a subject of fashion magazines, since what looks good results in larger sales and, therefore, greater profits. It is not a secret that an attractive advertisement duly appreciated by the consumers facilitates the promotion of a product and brings fame to the manufacturer. However, the desire to get more profits often leads to an opposite result, especially when it comes to women’s representation in magazine advertisements. The matter is that “sexual revolution promoted discovery of female sexuality” (Wolf 11), and these days women are ready to demonstrate every single part of their bodies with the purpose of proving that they are liberated and independent on everybody else’s judgmental opinion. Some people keep to the point that indecent representation of women in magazine advertisements is a mere display of their attractiveness and sexuality whereas others state that it is offending, humiliating and demeaning to women, both represented in the magazine and those who, looking at the picture, strive to correspond to modern beauty standards. It is necessary to discuss one of such magazine advertisements in order to find out how it reflects dominant ideas of gender and whether there are people who approve such a representation of women in the advertisements. To begin with, one of the magazine advertisements that caused ardent criticism was Dolce & Gabbana’s advertising campaign featuring ‘fantasy rape’. In her article “Gabbana on Why D&G Pulled ‘Fantasy Rape’ Ad” Susanna Schrobsdorf discusses what exactly the designers meant by this picture and whether it indeed “indisputably promotes violence against women” (Schrobsdorf). Aiming to present authentic information about the designers’ intentions, the author publishes the interview with Stefano Gabbana obtained via e-mail. Despite Gabbana’s stating “It was never our purpose to cause any controversy and instigate violence against women” (Schrobsdorf), dominant ideas of gender are vividly reflected in this advertisement. Only the very fact that the picture represents a woman in a bathing suit and five half-naked men is demeaning. The woman is depicted as lying down on her back with blank look on her face and this definitely does not emphasize her sexuality or “recall an erotic dream, a sexual game” (Schrobsdorf). The dominant ideas of gender are reproduced in the advertisement by depicting the men’s superiority over women since the men are standing while the woman is lying on the floor with her eyes closed and her face expressing submission. This reminds of those times when women were dependent on men, and when the restriction of women’s rights was acceptable since the men were the ones who were stronger physically. Apart from demonstrating violence, the advertisement brings about another negative point for discussion. This is representation of a woman’s ideal, most of women find hard to follow. Here, it is worth mentioning that before the Industrial Revolution, the average woman could not have the same feelings about “beauty” that modern women do who experience the [beauty] myth as continual comparison to a ma
Abstract Lowe’s Company has a strong market position, which assists it to generate higher sales every year. However, it is important to evaluate whether the company is generating enough profitability and cash to ensure that its competitive advantage can be maintained in the coming periods. In this paper, the company’s Return on Invested Capital and other profitability ratios are calculated and analyzed for the last three years. Moreover, the company’s cash flow statements are evaluated to determine the firm’s cash-generating ability. The results indicate that the company has a strong, profitable position. Moreover, its cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities increased in the last three years. It is concluded that the company is unlikely to face any major financial problem. Introduction In the previous analysis part, balance sheets of Lowe’s Company (Lowe’s) were analyzed for the last three years, which indicated that the company’s net book value increased in 2016. Moreover, the company reported an increase in its earnings in 2016 (Lowe’s, 2017). It would be interesting to investigate the company’s cash flows especially operating cash flow and the company’s profitability during 2014-16 to assess its position. Return on Invested Capital The company’s profitability is assessed by calculating the return on invested capital ratio. The ratio indicates the effectiveness of a business to earn profits from its investment (Bodmer, 2014; Procházka, 2016). The return on invested capital of Lowe’s increased by 0.18 percent in 2015. The main reason for the improvement in the ratio value was the sales growth of home improvement products and appliances in 2014. Further improvement in the ratio value was noticed in 2015 due to the substantial increase in net earnings. The persistent increase was followed by the increasing demand for home improvement products fueled by the increasing demand for new homes and renovations. Additionally, Lowe’s succeeded in controlling its capital expenditure in the last three years and focused more on increasing sales per square foot in its existing stores that increased its net earnings. Table 1: Return on Invested Capital.                                     2016    2015    2014   Net earnings                        3,093   2,546   2,698  Add:                                                       Interest expense – net              645     552     516    Provision for income taxes          2,108   1,873   1,578  Earnings before interest and taxes  5,846   4,971   4,792  Less:                                                      Income tax adjustment               2,370   2,058   1,769  Net operating profit after tax      3,476   2,913   3,023                                                             Average debt and equity             21,958  20,693  21,744 Return on invested capital          15.83%  14.08%  13.90%  The consistent growth in the ratio value can be note
Introduction Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods is widely accepted as a travelogue that illustrates the story of a man named Shadow who is released from prison after three years long battering. Most of the events in the story are set in various parts of American. These episodes engage on the world map. The art of story telling or telling tale often influences the creation of human perspectives about myth cycles. One can see the conscious effort on the part of the author which forces the reader to believe the mythical elements that are discussed as the story unfolds. The central theme of the novel is the journey of Shadow and the conflict between the new gods and the old gods. In literature, stories based on various mythologies have often shown the tendency to make the readers believe in its particular mythology through the use of style, diction, word choice and other narrative techniques. The most significant fact is that the novel contains important elements of both realism and fantasy and it inspire the reader to consider this novel as an original work of fantasy. In the novel American Gods , the author applies a particular style of narration that opens in a casual way of reality and then glides into the world of imagination. The cycling of American Mythology is revealed through the demonstration of old God and the new one, henotheism. Narrative style or the way telling tale influence the formation of perceptions about mythology among the readers and Gaiman’ novels American Gods helps the reader to belief the existence of today’s myth cycles . Gaiman introduces the mythical character of Mr. Wednesday in the story and presents him in a casual setting as a mysterious stranger and then he changes into super natural status. Gaiman’s illustrations and narrative style are highly lyrical and these force the readers to accept the mythical events as reality. The novel is enlightened from the view point of a third person and the narration initially follows the central character Shadow and then twists and turns to envelope other characters. The cycling of American mythology is vividly pictures in the story American Gods and the character of Mr. Wednesday is revealed as the Norse god Odin who fights with coming Gods, competing for the thoughts of the people. Steven H. Silver analyses that “In Gaiman’s world, once the gods arrive in America, they remain, growing weaker as their believers die out or turn to other deities or beliefs, an idea which is known as henotheism” (Gaiman). It is clear for a reader that Gaiman’s novel depicts not only a system of American religious belief, but also the shady and mysterious underside of the United States in which people from America would wish to remain concealed from the world. This way of presentation always inspire the reader to connect various material aspects of their life such as, political movements, soc
Introduction The roaring 1920’s describes a period in the American history after World War I distinguished by significant socio-cultural changes, organized crimes and the great economic depression. Fashion entered the modern era with the trendy flipper fashion making a significant impression. The film and music industry underwent a transformation with the introduction of sound featured films. The dance clubs gained popularity during this epoch often christened ‘the Jazz age.’ The 1920s period was marked with breaking away from traditions caused by the introduction of new fashion and dance. At the same time, the 1920s era was marked by rise in the level of organized crime including the Mob who had much influence in the American society and government coupled with speculative investment that led to decline in stock prices causing a major economic depression. The Icons of the Roaring Twenties The 1920s epoch was characterized by a flourishing nightlife in cities such as Chicago with many nightlife establishments hosting popular dance bands, dancing contests and life radiobroadcasts for the audience (Kyvig 2001, 234). However, social evils such as prostitution and gambling flourished at the same time leading to prohibitive drinking laws in major cities. Dancing boomed in the 1920s with many social and ethnic groups attending nightly recreational dance halls popularly known as cabarets. The cabarets were influential to the majority of fashionable middle class. The nightclubs combined fashionable jazz music, public dance halls that hosted dancing competitions, and beer gardens for drinking. The nightlife flourished despite prohibition from the council authorities regulating drinking. Prostitution and gambling arose with the active nightlife The entertainment industry including the film industry flourished in the 1920’s with a rise of music stars and motion picture production (O’Neal 2005, 58). The film industry’s relocation to Los Angeles facilitated the rise of Hollywood movie stars who lived luxurious lifestyles and had a lot of fanatical support. This marked the Golden era of Hollywood. Silent films were predominant in the early twenties but all this changed in 1927 with the introduction of the jazz singer, Al Jolsen. Before then, stars of silent films like Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin were the only brilliant entertainers of the early 1920s. Buster Keaton is another comedian star of the silent films before the invention of the talkies that transformed the film industry. The genres of the films included war, romance, biblical stories performed by Cecil Demille and silent comedies. The fashion of the 1920s was marked by the introduction of the flipper fashions, new hairstyles that were a breakaway from the traditional past and the jazz music. The flapper fashion and hairstyles faced resistance from older generation up to 1925 when the new fashi
Introduction Ernest Finney, in his book, Sequoia Gardens presents California in a rich and complex manner. This in a way contradicts the present California as it is, and at the same time echoes some activities which take place in California. In the stories, ‘Sequoia Gardens’, ‘Olive Princess’ and ‘Up On The Yuba’, Ernest Finney portrays California in different ways ranging from the people, the activities they do , the law governing those activities as well as people’s thinking and way of life. He takes the struggling people and mimics their way of life in the stories, representing the poor in California. Each story is a form of its own in that, some are festive and cheerful while some are dark and savory, all these representing the poor people in California. Finney drapes the reader skillfully with each character and explores the common person and ordinary people like us. Raul, a struggling young man, is portrayed as hard working amidst all the danger and hardship. Lindsay and Gabe (Gabriel) in olive princess are seen as two different characters. Gabe struggles to change Lindsay’s shallow thinking as he struggles with his life amidst police brutality, and attains success in the end. In the story, ‘up on the Yuba’, Hiram is a struggling miner who is hell-bent to prove to the people that he can make two cups even if others cannot. He is determined to make a lot of money despite how tiresome this is. In all the stories, struggle is a dominant theme as we
Introduction Companies change over time and introduce new products and services to the market to suit the needs of the target audience. This issue is especially evident in the media industry because it has experienced major changes within the last decades. These alterations are mainly facilitated by the increased popularity of resources on the Internet. This paper aims to examine Google, its creation and worth, as well as the meaning of the company in the context of media. Establishment of Google When it first began, the company’s main objective was to develop a way for efficiently searching through web pages and ranking them based on specific criteria, which would help users locate necessary information more easily. According to Google’s official website, its two co-founders decided to create a system that would rank web pages based on their importance (“From the Garage to the Googleplex”). This idea began as a project at Stanford University. However, it was soon noticed by investors in Silicon Valley. Thus, a fascinating fact regarding Google’s primary goal is that the aim of this business has not changed since it was first started by Brin and Page, although the product range expanded significantly. Officially, the organization was registered and began its operations in 1998 as Google; however, prior to this, its creators worked on developing a prototype for their search engine. Hosch and Hall argue that Google was created because Brin and Page “were intrigued with the idea of extracting meaning from the mass of data accumulating on the Internet.” The original product that helped begin this business was called Backrub. It should be noted that although Google offered a remarkable solution for the market, it was not the only means that allowed users to search through web pages. The significant difference was the specific type of algorithm, and the criteria are considered. The company’s strategy permitted users to see websites that were cited or linked to by other resources on the Internet when other solutions were only considering the number of times a search phrase appeared on a page (Hosch and Hall). The idea was that websites that are more valuable and contain essential information attractive to users would be referred to by other web pages. Therefore, the initial product that Google offered to its users was a search engine with an algorithm that allowed one to obtain valuable information within the Internet. The market that it was developed and sold in was technology. Contemporary Google Now, Google is part of the parent company – the Alphabet that incorporates a number of online services offered to users. Hosch and Hall state that “more than 70 percent of worldwide onlin
Introduction The concept of a healing hospital focuses on alleviation of stress and other health risks for patients, health providers, and visitors in a health institution. Erie Chapman (2011) refers to a healing hospital as a center for love characterized by a series of positive encounters. These encounters are aimed at relieving stress that is an inhibition in the healing process. Recognizing that the hospital environment is normally thought to be a place limited to diagnosing and treating illnesses and injuries, the intrinsic factor of alleviating stressors such as painful treatments and lack of personal freedom is addressed by the healing hospital concept. The new healing procedures can lead to prolonged hospitalization rather than undertaking complex medical procedures on patients recognizing the importance of touching the mind, body, and spirit and sustaining all-inclusive care through attention to patients and visitors’ dignity and privacy. The overall objective of a healing hospital is to improve the general well-being of patients and their immediate family’s mental, emotional, and spiritual concerns. Within the milieu of a healing hospital environment, certain barriers and intricacies must be overcome to create an effective healing hospital. The objective of the paper is to examine these challenges, and most importantly, the components that distinguish a healing hospital from a regular hospital and their relationship to spirituality. Components of a Healing Hospital A healing hospital’s operations go beyond its physical structures. Its concrete culture of compassion and care distinguishes it from normal health institutions. A regular hospital only qualifies as a healing hospital when it meets the following three fundamental pre-requisites: A healing physical environment A healing hospital does not just display compassion and care amongst its staff, the physical environment reflects the loving care objective too. Such a facility prioritizes not only how to care for patients would be improved, but also how its staff, as the caregivers, would interact with patients’ family members and other visitors. This undertaking recognizes that a loving, compassionate, and aesthetically pleasant environment enhances the healing process. A true healing hospital integrates aesthetic features, caring, and love to help patients handle the stresses of sickness. Apart from the staff interaction with patients and visitors, several physical structures are put in place to fulfill the healing mission. For instance, patient rooms are designed to minimize noise intrusion. This construction model recognizes that to facilitate healing, then patients must be allowed to sleep. It is known that cells regenerate much faster when a person is asleep, hence repairing any tissue injuries. Hence, sleep is needed most in a hospital, and the healing hospital excels at creating a noise-free atmosphere to allow patients to sleep at their free will. Therefore, a low noise atmosphere is important for both the patients’ bodies and spir
The Americans and the Western nations’ political systems and ideologies are in a way based on the ancient Greece and the Romans’ ideas. These countries are not the only ones that were affected. However, most of the ideas that are being used by governments in the world were originally borrowed from Greece (Wolin, 1960). Issues of Democracy and republican governments are some of the major political ideologies that were adopted from these two ancient states. People’s participation in political constitutions and content has its origins in these societies. Changes that occurred in Greek city-states and Roman Empire that explain the emergence of specific understanding of politics Firstly, the ancient Greece was once never a unified state but a conjugant of different nations. The large geographic boundaries that resulted in travel and communication difficulties brought the need for communities to adopt their own governing bodies and councils. These political units were known as city-states. These city-states, being separated by large geographical terrains, adopted different political systems. For example, the Corinth adopted the oligarchy system of government. Other city-states such as Sparta established mixed forms of government, which constituted both oligarchy and monarchial systems of government. This is how these aspects of politics emerged. Athens developed a democratic form of government that allowed the citizens to participate in the drafting of the constitution and the governance of their city-states. They purposefully did this to quell the long periods of unrest and conflicts in the city-state. These reforms transferred power from the hands of a few nobles to the citizens thus ensuring political participation. This is also known as democracy. Democracy is undeniably the most practiced form of governance in the civilized world. The Athenian government was made up of three major segments. These included the assembly, the council and the people’s court. They consisted of juries made up of the citizens. This was in order to oversee cases involving fellow citizens. Different from the Athenian form of government, the Romans adopted a Republic structure of governance. In this form of government, the elected persons (apart from just governing) were also expected to be responsible and responsive to their voters (Augustine, 1961). The Romans were the first to draw up a constitution, which was a tool that was later adopted by a majority of governments around the globe. These countries exhibited republican tendencies. These sets of laws written down by the Roman government were, at the time, collectively known as the Laws of the Twelve Tablets. Nations later came to realize that having the laws wr