ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Indoor air quality in schools has a significant effect on students’ health. Schools offer a key indoor environment for students away or besides their home environment since they spend over ten hours per day at school. Since students spend many hours in schools, the issue of indoor air quality is of great significance and it should be handled with care (Daisey et al., 2003). Indoor air pollution might lead to students suffering from long and short-term health complications. Besides, it might degrade the learning environment and affect the students’ performance. A research proved that “poor indoor air quality contributes to asthma attacks, absenteeism, and more illness” (Salleh et al., 2011, p.419). Researches done in the United States proved that good indoor air quality influences the trend of school attendance among the students. Indeed majority of the students suffer from respiratory diseases, skin and eye irritation, fatigue, sneezing, coughing, and nausea due to poor indoor air quality (Daisey et al., 2003). This paper will focus on poor indoor air quality in schools in the United States, its causes as well as the health problems associated with poor indoor air quality. Causes of poor indoor air quality Many factors contribute to poor indoor air quality. The factors include “poor ventilation, availability of contaminant sources like building materials, indoor temperature and humidity, and maintenance activities…the contaminants may range from particles, formaldehyde, radon, bacteria, fungi, to nitrogen oxides” (Salleh et al., 2011, p.419). At times, the level of contaminants in indoors increases relative to the concentration outdoors. The concentration of contaminants in the indoor air may lead to the occupants experiencing a range of health symptoms and discomfort. Daisey et al. (2003) posit, “It is hard to identify the cause of discomfort due to the presence of both indoor contaminants and other indoor environmental factors” (p.62). Generally, water damage and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are the major causes of poor indoor air quality. Malfunctioning HVAC systems lead to accumulation of carbon dioxide and indoor air pollutants in classes subjecting the students to health problems. HVAC systems that do not regulate the level of humidity in the buildings might lead to growth of mold and bacteria, which cause illnesses like coughing and breathing problems. Other causes of “poor indoor air quality include choice of the building materials, poor site selection, roof design, and improper installation among other causes” (Salleh et al., 2011, p.420). The site where a building is located contributes to indoor air quality. Schools located in regions with high humidity are prone to growth of mold if they do not have proper heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (Godwin & Batterman, 2007). Besides, building repairs also contribute to poor indoor air quality. Some school buildings are too old such that it is hard to maintai
Introduction The journal article titled “Alterations in Brain and Immune Functions Produced by Mindfulness Meditation” a randomized, control study carried out by Richard Davidson and others published in the Psychosomatic Medicine, 2003, to evaluate the effects on the brain and immune function of a well-known and widely used 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work environment with healthy employees. The purpose of this clinical trial was to explore the underlying changes in biological activities that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health as a result of meditation. The results of this study will be specifically used to evaluate the use of meditation techniques. There are two types of meditation namely cultic and non-cultic type which was developed specifically for clinical studies use. Many research papers purport to support the notion that relaxation and reduction of stress that arises from mediation have prophylactic and therapeutic health effects. In this particular study, the authors concentrated on emotion-related brain activity due to the fact that other studies have shown that meditation is effective in reducing anxiety and also increases positive effects. The authors further say that, “we have established that the frontal regions of the brain exhibit a specialization for certain forms of positive and negative emotion” (p. 564). Other studies have also shown that some specific positive emotions and in people with dispositional positive effects do have left-sided anterior activation. They therefore hypothesized that subjects practicing meditation should also demonstrate increased left-sided activation as compared to the waitlist control group in this study. In this study, they also attempt to establish the role played by meditation in boosting body immunity. This is a result of other scientific studies that have shown close relationship between meditation and enhanced immune reactions. In order to prove this hypothesis, the authors vaccinated
N. Scott Momaday ranks prominently among American Indian authors. His masterpiece has been “House Made of Dawn” that won the 1968 Pulitzer Price. The book has the distinction of being the premier nonlinear and non-chronological ritual book ever written by an American Indian (Allen). Momaday adroitly utilizes symbolism to create many facets of the book’s characters. The symbols used are of ever-present Nature. These symbols not only underline man’s overall insignificant but integrated part in the general set up of Nature, but they also contrast Nature with indulgent, defective and destructive man-made conventions (Eberhart). The first use of symbolism involves the eagle. Abel decides to leave the Kiowa community because he is unable to find an identity but just following the teachers of his grandfather, Francisco. He longs for identity and freedom which are symbolized by the eagle with added ingredients of beauty and life. On one occasion, Abel observes an eagle flying overhead with a snake clutched in its talons. He is awed by the sight that he finds “awful, holy and full of magic and meaning” (Momaday, 14). The image represents Nature’s dramatic power, projecting a unification of the spirits of the earth and sky. Abel’s feelings are in large part due to the Indians’ belief that the image of the eagle clutching a serpent in its claws is the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl’s icon that rivals the Christian cross (Eberhart). On another occasion, Abel watches a male and female eagle in flight playing boisterously in the air over the massive Valle Grande that reflected “the great spatial majesty of the sky” (Momaday, 15). On both occasions, as Abel watches the eagles flying across the land and vanishing into the clear blue sky, the restrictions that hinder his life under the prescribed Kiowa societal rules is felt in all its harshness by him, making him long for the freedom of an eagle – a freedom that is totally alien to him. The second use of symbolism involves rain. Momaday utilizes rain to denote a form of convergence that precedes sensational happenings in the life of the book’s characters. For example, it is raining when Angela St. John seduces Abel (Momaday, 57), sparking off an association that deepens Abel’s sense of insecurity and loss of identity because Angela keeps exposing his futile life while promising to assist him locate better employment away from the Indian reservation. Abe
Psychology is a very complicated and competing subject that dwells upon the possibilities of human mind and other related aspects. There are a lot of different theories in psychology which are not related to each other. Dwelling upon the idea of Carl Jung, it is important to state that his analytic theory and ideas related to human mind are different to those developed by such famous psychologists as Freud or Ericson, however, it does not mean that his ideas are wrong. Carl Jung manages to provide some evidence and support to his theories, even though it is obvious that many respected psychologists disagree. It is always possible either to support or to contradict the psychological theory as the field is not discussed up to the end. Carl Jung is sure that human mind develops during the whole life and does not stop in the childhood as Freud believes. His eight personality types are really important as they allow to look critically at other psychological theories which exist in the modern world. Moreover, it is possible to reference to the assessment instrument where Jang’s functions of thinking, feeling, intuiting, and sensing are considered. Finally, one of the most important issues discussed in Jung’s theory and which is referred to self-realization covers all aspects of human personality including limitations (Funder, & Ozer, 2010). Trying to specify some of the ideas presented by Carl Jung and discussed above, the idea of consciousness evolution should be considered. Jung is sure that human conscious developed through the life and does not stop at childhood. Moreover, Jung is sure that consciousness developed greatly from childhood to elderly age, therefore, it is possible to conclude that people remain at the development stage, that is why they are unable to use the whole potential of their mind. Being less developed in the past, people will be able to use their psychological potential fuller in the future. The evolution of consciousness is based on the idea that as everything except consciousness can be explained by the Darwin theory, therefore, it is possible to find the evidence that Darwin theory may affect consciousness (Lawson, 2008). It is essential to mention that disagreeing with Freud in relation to his consciousness theory, Carl Jung also contradicts his dream theory, “the sexual images which for Freud are the not very interesting end of the matter may be – as Jung suggests – only themselves the beginning, leading to further meaning for which they themselves are the symbolic language” (Jung, 2001, p.
The anti-federalists had a variety of objections to the constitution but in general they were united by their believe that liberty could be secured only in small republic with limited enumerated powers in which the rulers were physically close to and were closely checked by the ruled. Brutus argued along this line to convince the citizens not to vote for the then proposed constitution. According to Brutus who was speaking on behalf of the public argued that people had their power to determine and shape their destinies as well as solves matters that are of their interest. He advised them to vote for the Federal constitution that was prepared on behalf of all states only and only, if they felt that it was good to them. He urged them to make calculated move and be decisive while voting for the constitution. He was advocating for a constitution that would protect the liberty, the human rights and bring happiness to citizens and through this the future generations. (Brutus 18 th October, 1787) Brutus was specifically opposed to the idea of curtailing the liberty of citizens, despotism and promotion of aristocracy, as this would bring to an end the freedom of citizens. The anti federalists were against the absolutism of the Federal laws that everybody was bound to respect. Infact, every individual no matter their status were to be affected by the federal laws something that would make citizens to lose their say in political matters. Anti federalists were opposed to the idea of submitting their power of collecting state revenues and taxes to the Federal Government. According to Brutus if a large society was made the state would lose their powers in allocating duties, taxing imports and exports as these would be determined by the United States which would have absolute powers to collect and use that money as they wished. Brutus and his people were concerned over the judicial power which was subject to be created and dictated upon by the US Congress there by swallowing all the powers of the small state courts. They opposed the idea of US being under one government. “It is natural to a republic to have only a small territory” (Brutus 1787) Madison in his reaction to Brutus opinions, in 1887 praised the formation of the constructed union that to him was a break through in the fight against the control and violence propagated by factions. According to Madison faction was any group either comprising of the majority or minority with a motive of pursuing their interests against the wish of the community. He believed that there were only two ways through which faction would be eliminated and one way of curing was by removing its causes and by controlling its effects. This was to be done by killing the liberty of citizens that is, making all citizens to share same opinions, passions and interests as this was the only viable means of reducing divisions. “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire an aliment without which it instantly expires” (Madison J. 1787) He believed that factions existed because of fallible reasoning in men. Thus the conditions for the faction survival exist in the na
Melanctha’s relationship with desire is complicated and out of the ordinary. Despite the fact that she hails from a black and white origin, her lifestyle is seen as a total breakaway from the discreet nature of white man behavior. In this regard, she is seen as identifying more with her black side as can be witnessed from her vulgar and vernacular attitude towards common issues about life and desire in particular. Jeff and Melanctha’s interaction in their domestic setup is evidence of Melanctha’s complex relationship with desire, in the sense that, her interaction with Jeff is not a conventional one, or of a woman befitting her position in society. In other words, Melanctha’s relationship with Jeff is more of a competitive nature, and as Wilson (171) notes, “their argumentative and competitive nature is a representation of the author’s radical and stylistic representation of modernism”. When we analyze her arguments with Jeff, we realize that Melanctha tries to show her desire for a more flexible but particular relationship with Jeff. Wilson further affirms that “Melanctha initially imagines Jeff as desiring inside knowledge, or unconventional insight, just as she hopes, because he ‘aint’ never ashamed to be with queer folks” (171). This analogy explains Melanctha’s complex relationship with desire, especially from the basis of her unconventional desire to compete with Jeff. After further analyzing Melanctha’s “out of the ordinary” attitude with life, we observe that she is excluded from domesticity and marriage, because her desires did not fall into the conventional behavioral patterns expected of women in her time. In reference to Melanctha’s seclusion from marriage, the above sentiments are also supported by Mathews who says that Jeff abandons Melanctha “because of her way of not ever being equal in feeling to anybody real” (79). Jeff is also quoted in Matthews (79) as writing to Melanctha saying, “you can never be equal to me”, meaning that Melanctha had a strong desire of being equal to her husband; an attribute which was quite unacceptable of her (bot
Gloria Naylor was born on January 25, 1960 in New York after her mother Albert McAlpin had decided months before that her first child would not be born in a southern place. “Conceived in one region and one decade, yet born in others, Naylor entered life in transcendence” (Wilson Jr. 2). She has confessed that conception in the South has played a more important role in shaping her life as a writer than growing up in the North. Her southern roots and northern perspective and to a certain degree her position in the family as the eldest child and her enrolment as a Jehovah’s Witnesses at the age of 12 endowed Naylor with an ability to view life with a unique perception. In school, Naylor was a brilliant child and an avid reader with a penchant for writing. She graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.A, in English in 1981 and while she was still in college, she turned a professional writer (Wilson Jr. 3). She faced difficulties both as a woman and as a black person and this made her admire black women who were strong achievers. She felt that this was a world where African American women were discriminated on the basis of their gender and race and that their lives could be best studied in the context of the south. This philosophy is reflected in her novels where the majority of characters are portrayed to have southern roots. Her major works include Linden Hills (1985), Mama Day (1988), Bailey’s Cafe (1992), The Men of Brewster Place (1998), and 1996 (2004) (Ashford 73). She has received many awards and honors both as a student and as a writer and her book “The Women of Brewster Place” won the National Book Award for first fiction in 1983. “The Women of Brewster Place” is described on its cover as “a novel in seven stories” and it traces the lives of seven black women struggling to survive in a difficu
Business becomes one of the main moving forces of the modern world. The fact is that nowadays various international companies have the level of incomes that exceeds the budget of some states and these organizations contribute to the development of the country and society greatly. The models according to which they are organized are different, however, the efficient supply chain is necessary if a company wants to evolve and guarantee stable incomes. Additionally, in the course of evolution, a company needs more and more human resources and it has a great positive impact on the community. Various stages of the supply chain demand different specialists perform certain activities. With this in mind, it is possible to analyze a certain supply chain model on the background of the case study connected with the activity of Beta Widget Maker. The given analysis will help us to obtain a clear vision of the given issue. Starting the analysis, it is vital to describe the basic business process of Beta Widget Maker (BWM) to understand how the company functions and the goals it wants to reach. Nevertheless, BWM is the company that “manufactures and sells “widgets” directly to the public throughout the continental USA” (Engemann & Henderson, 2011, p. 251). The orders are received with the help of the Internet. At the moment the company provides work for 430 individuals who work in its various departments which are very interdependent and their efficient functioning promotes the increase in the level of performance of the whole company. BWM is located in central Iowa and the local community considers it to be a good place to work. It should also be said that the company manufactures its products and, that is why has a complicated supply chain which consists of a great number of stages which are very important for the final result. Thus, analyzing the supply chain of the given company, it is vital to admit several important aspects. The figure shows that the stage of manufacturing is part of the supply chain and is a very important part of the whole process. Moreover, it is almost the very beginning of the supply chain and, that is why some problems on this stage might result in the collapse of the whole process. Analyzing this aspect in terms of outsourcing, which is rather popular today and is said to have a great number of benefits, it is vital to say that it could also introduce some problems connected with the business continuity of the given project. There are several reasons for this statement. First of all, the issue of outsourcing implies the fact that some activities or processes are given under the control of anot
Abstract The publishing industry possesses many risks that are especially salient in a world which is becoming more dependent on digital technologies. Nevertheless, it is far from being forgotten. Some of the most significant threats are the high level of competition within the industry itself, as well as the lowering costs that allow new players to enter the market. The industry has experienced a major change after the mass spreading of e-book technologies. This new type of media has the potential to reform the book publishing industry, creating a higher level of stability associated with saving costs and receiving income from advertising. One p
Introduction The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is an independent state that is situated in East Asia (Atwill and Atwill 3). It is typified by a population of about 1.35 billion people, making it the most populous nation across the world. The “history of the PRC can be traced to the earliest civilization, which happened in the fertile area of the North China Plain” (Mitter 4). It is critical to underscore that the political system of the nation was founded on hereditary monarchies that ensured that certain families were in leadership for quite some time (Rowe 23). For the past 2,000 years, China was characterized by one of the largest and most complex economies, which enabled it to make important social and technological impacts at both national and international levels (Mitter 10). This paper discuses the program that I could have proposed if I was a student in the initial years of the PRC and active in the May Fourth Movement. It also concentrates on highlighting the issues faced, the existing ideas, and amicable solutions. It draws on the history of reforms and Western imperialism. Discussion The May Fourth Movement was organized and executed by students from about 13 universities in the PRC with the aim of giving their views in relation to Western imperialism and cultural attributes. The participants argued that the Chinese government could not have agreed to the Treaty of Versailles, which allowed Japan to take some territories that were located in Shandong. It is important to note that the territories were surrendered by Germany when Tsingtao was under siege (Atwill and Atwill 89). If I was a student and an active member of the movement in the nation, I could have proposed an excellent framework to help the nation to solve a number of issues. First, the program could have called for a return of the Shandong territory to the PRC, which was its right owner. Although persons representing the nation in the Versailles meeting had said that the region should be given back to China, the Western Allies were the majority in the gathering. Thus, they rarely paid attention to the demands of the PRC. Second, the framework could have highlighted all the steps that could be used to let people know the problems affecting their country. For example, university students and local opinion leaders could be motivated to go around the nation to tell people that Western imperialism could not make the country improve both culturally and economically. Third, if people could know that the Western powers were taking advantage of the weak government, then they could be encouraged to hold continuous peaceful demonstrations so that the government and foreign powers could have realized the seriousness of the matter. Fourth, I could have proposed for the formation of a task force to evaluate the merits and