ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Imogen Cunningham was the first American female photographer, which makes her works particularly compelling. She was born in Portland, Oregon in 1883 and began her career in photography 1906 after being inspired by the work of Gertrude Käsebier (“Imogen Cunningham”). I chose to focus on the work Imogen Cunningham for this assignment not only because she paved the way for other female photographers in America but also because her artworks exhibit a great variety of content and aesthetics. Cunningham’s first job in photography involved taking pictures of flowers and plants for the botany department of the University of Washington in Seattle (“Imogen Cunningham”). This had impacted her future work, which was largely focused on close-up botanical photography. After graduating, Cunningham opened her first studio in Seattle, where she began developing her skill in portrait and nude photography. Cunningham’s work received a critical appraisal, allowing her to enter the field of fashion photography through employment in Vanity Fair (“Imogen Cunningham”). Throughout life, she also explored a variety of genres and methods, such as street photography and commercial studio photography. However, the aesthetics of Cunningham’s artwork allow identifying her personal style. Most of the pictures appear smooth, black and white, with little details in the focus and low contrast, although she also has some works in sepia. The minimalist aesthetics of Cunningham’s photographs allow them to convey a variety of emotions and feelings, thus captivating the viewer. Cunningham, Calla. The first picture chosen for analysis is Calla, created in 1925, which is an excellent example of Cunningham’s botanical photography. The picture focuses on a single white Calla flower, with some leaves and stems visible in the bottom right corner (Cunningham, Calla). The image is in black and white, with yellow undertones that produce a low, smooth contrast. The structure of the plant is a spiral, which provides for added depth due to the arrangement of highlights and shadows. The composition of the image brings forward the texture of the flower with its smooth vertical lines, which
Why did the South have to secede The United State of America was subdivided into two major parts, which are the Southern and the Northern States. The southern region, where I belong was composed of the blacks while the Northern was occupied by the Unionists, the whites. However, the subdivision was due to the political rationale (Ewing, p. 36). After our victory in the presidential elections of 1860, as the Southern States, we opted for secession. However, the Northern States too embraced the idea while the remaining fourteen states were in doubt of which side to belong to. However, the action of Georgia was the determinant for the disunion in the Deep South. Dixie turned to Georgia’s pre-war capital; Milledgeville, the source of the lawmaking confrontation that would pave way for civil battle (Ewing, p. 37). After the presidential elections, we Southern States mirrored the hot debate that emerged two months before the election in which 51% of the Georgians supported secession. This was a gripping tale, very colorful to the participants following the January 19th convention that led to a historical election, 166-130 secession win in favor of Georgia. This was one of the confrontations that shed brilliant light on American history. Nevertheless, we made a historic election on how great the 16 th American president was in election history, which is still remarkable to date. However, as the Southern States, we passed through a lot of disturbance for decades due to autocracy of the republican authority perceived to be the death blows to the South. In addition, we were marginalized by the republican government; for example, the increase of tariff acts in favor of the Northern side and many more (Ferleger and Paquette, p.98). Following the annual speech of President Buchanan in the course of action, he reiterated that congress could not force us to secede while we as the Southern States had no rights to separate. However, the secession crisis continued after Buchanan was succeeded by President Lincoln. Why the secession was our best interest as Southerners Due to the frustrations by the republicans, we resolved to separate with no intensions to topple the government, like South Carolina tried to secede by the 1830s. The constitutional amendments never had an option of secession; to us, this was a dictatorial rule with no state freedom on an alternative action to take if the normal operational situations fail. As a representative of Southern States, I would totally disregard the association with the republicans, due to its negative consequences (Ewing, p. 39). Why the Northern views were wrong for the South The Nort
Adequate family functioning and dynamics has a vital role in shaping self-image and identity among the members of the family. However, the actual social functioning depends largely on cultural and ethnic background, family structure, sociological and psychological factors that vary significantly from one community to another (Smith & Stevens, 2013). In this respect, high level of functioning among Hispanic families plays a pivotal role in decreasing the number of Hispanic adolescents consuming alcohol, drugs, and substances. Specifically, cultural image of a Hispanic family significantly influences self-image construction. In this respect, it is necessary to define the peculiarities of Hispanic culture in terms of family structure traditions, gender role distributions, and influence of family problems on members’ substance abuse. In addition, specific emphasis should be placed on the analysis of such aspects as wholeness, change, and its influence on family members, particularly on Hispanic adolescents. Finally, it is also purposeful to define the corresponding approaches to treating family members. Mouttapa et al. (2009) explore the connection between self-image and family functioning within the context of Hispanic culture. Specifically, the researchers argue, “…Hispanics score significantly lower than other ethnic groups in living up to one’s own expectations, living up to the expectation of others, and feelings of success” (p. 704). It is suggested that performance of specific behaviors is aimed at reaffirming a current self-image. For instance, adolescents strive to enhance their week self-concept by taking up drinking, smoking, or consuming drugs. This low image, however, is strongly associated with poor family functioning. At this point, “…dysfunctional family structure, inadequate parenting discipline skills, lack of support from parents, and parental monitoring…are strongly associated with adolescents’ selection desire to fill a void and associate with substance-using friends” (Mouttapa et al., 2009, p. 704). Social aspects also influence significantly the assimilation process of the Hispanic adolescents in the United States. These ethnic minority groups are significantly influenced by so
Introduction The United States is one of the countries that seem not to emphasize on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The American companies take long to issue reports on their corporate social responsibilities. The country does not have regulations that require all organizations to issue CSR reports. Today, countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Netherlands require their companies to give CSR reports, especially the environmental report (Cecil 43). This does not apply in the United States. This paper will discuss how corporate social responsibility is considered in the United States. Additionally, the paper will discuss if the government and organizations participate in CSR and what the public think about corporate social responsibility. How CSR is considered The fact that there are no laws that require organizations to issue CSR reports in the United States is a clear indication that the country does not emphasize corporate social responsibility. Nevertheless, many stakeholders are now calling on their organizations to issue reports concerning their corporate social responsibilities. Presently, many stakeholders consider corporate social responsibility as one of the business performance indicators (Cecil 44-47). A business that engages in corporate social responsibility is consider
Thesis statement This essay is a review on the book, Dawn over Suez: the Rise of American Power in the Middle East 1953 – 1957 by Steven Z. Freiberger. Published in 1992 by Ivan R. Dee, the book explores the issues surrounding the Suez conflict. The paper will start with a summary of the book where it gives a compendium of the major points. Critical analysis will then follow where the paper will highlight issues like who is the author of the book, where did the author get his information, how professional is the book, and what sources are used. Other elements of the critical review will include how readable is the book and how well the book is written. Ultimately, the paper will close with a conclusion by summing up the highlighted ideas coupled with underscoring the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Summary In Dawn over Suez: the Rise of American Power in the Middle East 1953 – 1957, the author, Steven Freiberger, majors on the heralds of the Suez crisis if 1956. He accounts for the issues surrounding this controversial occurrence. Unfortunately, most writings on this issue major on the crisis part of the 1956. However, Steven Freiberger expands his research back to early 1950s to investigate the precursors of the crisis. The author uses novel and updated information, which makes this book one of unequivocal accounts of the Suez issue. He adopts a distinguished perspective to the issue and gives fresh renditions based on the novel ideas gathered throughout his widespread research. Steven holds that the 1956 crisis was simply an apogee of the American vexation with the ever-growing British control over Asia and especially the Middle East. From 1953, the American government under the leadership of Dwight Eisenhower started scheming ways on how to tame British imperialism by sympathizing with Arabs to show that they were not at peace with the Britons’ belligerence. As the secretary of state at the time, John Foster Dulles assumed the responsibility of propagating the United States’ agenda in the Middle East and at the same time maintaining the degenerating British-American relationship. The growing tensions burst in 1956 during Eisenhower’s reelection bid. Perhaps due to the campaigns’ mood, Eisenhower lost his patience and pushed for the toppling of Anthony Eden from the British prime ministerial seat. Unfortunately, Eisenhower’s strategy flopped, thus estranging the Arabs who became easy prey for the Soviet Union, which moved with speed to occupy the Middle East. In 1957 after winning his reelection bid, Eisenhower was faced with two equally important tasks of superseding the British’s rule in the Middle East while at the same time taming the fast spreading communism in the region under the influence of the Soviet Union. In the quest to achieve the latter objective, Eisenhower pledged to offer military and monetary support to any Arab nation und
Financial Plan The most important element of a business plan is the financial plan which presents the necessary financial prospects and expectations of a business. The financial plan is the basic component of the business plan as it provides the feasibility of a project and enables the investors to make logical decisions regarding the acceptance and rejection of the project and whether the business would provide the expected cash flows and profits relative to the amount invested. The financial plan also provides insight into the expected payback period of the business to carry out a comparative analysis with other alternatives to make decisions regarding the investment of funds. The financial plan of the Cold Stone Creamery franchise illustrates the expected amount of investment required to open the franchise and operate it effectively. The expected financial performance of the company depending on the profits, cash flows, and position of the company is highlighted in the financial plan. The main components of the financial plan can be analyzed individually through the expected sales, profit and loss, breakeven point, and payback period. The expected profit and loss of the business are presented through the prospect income statement. The financial analysis and evaluation included in the financial plan are completed by implementing various assumptions related to the expected level of sales, operating expenses, and growth in future years. These assumptions have been emphasized in a separate section of the financial plan to help in a better understanding of financial statements. The financial viability of the project is further illustrated by applying the capital budgeting technique of the payback period. Important Assumptions The expected financial analysis completed in this plan and various tools and techniques applied are based on various assumptions regarding the expected growth rate, the profit margin, and funding of the business. It is expected that sales of the company will increase by an expected annual growth rate of 6 percent and this is based on trends in sales of other franchises already operating in various areas. Some franchises display a high growth rate of up to 9 to 11 percent while other franchises operating in competitive areas depict lower growth rates of 5 to 7 percent. The average growth rate in sales should be around 8 to 10 percent but a growth rate of 6 percent has been implemented to incorporate the adverse effects of the recent financial crisis in almost all areas of business. The ownership of the company will be based on s
Introduction The internet is the most recent fundamental media in the contemporary society, which entirely relies on web browsers. The establishment of the web in the year 1989 was a triggered by the massive development of social sciences, as a result of increased urge to share accumulated knowledge among scholars and researchers. According to Baym (2007), the internet has massively revolutionized the contemporary information dynamics with regard to the converging diverse global cultures. Considering the power of visual images on behavioral changes, the television has largely played a very significant role in the currently experienced modernization as a result of globalization. As noted by Lester (2002), the ability of the media to allegorically amalgamate diverse lifestyles is facilitated by the level of motivation towards its use. As television out-fashioned the radio, the internet as the most personalized digital media has the potential to render the television less relevant. This paper will discuss the impacts of digitization and convergence on the internet in the currently globalized society. As noted by Geer & Ranum (2005), the massive use of the internet in the contemporary society has culminated into an integral man of the 21 st century, which far much enhanced co-existence. It is important to note that, the diverse cultural groups from various parts of the world have been brought closer into universal lifestyle through the digital media. Quite importantly, the internet has created enough space for solving various worlds’ diverse problems. According to Boyd (2008), global archives are becoming more open and liberated to enhance information sharing among the integrated global community. One of the most significant social media, the internet has radically been facilitating cultural integration across the world. For instance, Semantic Web has actively pushed efficiency in the information sharing through the internet, since it is instilled with special software to translate information from one language to another. As a result, it has been easy and more efficient internet users to share information sufficiently, despite their diverse languages. Eric (2007) holds that, the rise of multiculturalism has been largely triggered by the rise of common media among nations. With the massive advancement of the internet, social cohesion and cultural integration among the people has been highly facilitated. This is due to the persuasive nature of this media, since most of the information shared within the browsers is both images and words. Since images are powerful information conveyers due to their accuracy in creating mental pictures, individuals have been finding it easy and to adopt practices from other superior cultures easier. As a result, the internet media can be described to have played a remarkable role of facilitating cultural integration and interconnections among the people. Following the current advancement in technology and modernization, the need for cultural integr
Religion is one of the emerging issues in the modern era and forms the backbone of most literary works. Religion as a theme is seen to influence the operation of those who believe in it. It forms the functional framework that predetermines ones actions and behavior. Philosophers have pondered the meaning of consciousness for a very long time. Consciousness includes all the mental sensations that are roaming through one’s mind at a given time; ideas, emotions and perceptions. It is the perception that passes in a person’s mind. It is being aware of who you are (John Locke). Religion encompasses any belief in something or someone. Religion is what determines the habit of someone. It also has a direct influence on the thoughts of a person. There is a strong relationship between religion and conscience. These two are almost intertwined. They are complementary to each other with religion having a direct influence on one’s conscience. James Joyce’s Dubliner is a vivid collection that depicts conflicts that exist between the modern era and the early times of the 20 th century in terms of beliefs and cultural practices (Parrinder 27). Joyce advances the significance of Dubliners by providing readers with insights into the current transformed world (Parrinder 29). According to Joyce, the current era is the type that compels people to know more about the world they live in and fully understand the potential that it possesses (Ellmann 127). The writer uses life in Dublin to forward his goal by indirectly criticizing its beliefs and exposing certain failures in their fundamental beliefs hence implying that not all beliefs are good. Beliefs can change one’s life either to the negative or to the positive depending on the circumstances. In the story of Dubliner, Joyce depicts Dublin to be a city where religious oppression is at optimum and intolerable to the citizens (Foster 36). In his first story, ‘the sisters’, Joyce uses Dublin as a country whose citizens have a strong belief in religion that they have become slaves to it (Foster 35). In this story we are told of father Flynn who was always unhappy and usually looked disappointed. The answer to his disappointment is attributed to the time when he accidentally broke his chalice. Having been a father, he felt guilty of himself and he had to go to the church and hide himself in darkness just because he felt he had sinned against God. It is his strong belief in religion that directly dictates his conscience which then has a direct influence on his attitude towards life. Also, in the same story, most characters seem to be deeply rooted in religion just from the way they express themselves. The phrase ‘may God have mercy upon him’ has been repeatedly said by a number of characters when referring to the late father Flynn. They all think that every word they utter is offensive to God in a way. The narrator in this story seems to be greatly affected by what he hears especially from his seniors. At some point in the story, he had a dream that
Divergent Plate Boundary Feature The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent plate boundary feature located between Africa and North America. Its length is 75,000 km, which makes it the largest ridge network on the planet (Vecchione et al., 2011). Like any other divergent plate boundary, Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a high area. This feature occurs as plates move away from each other, the crust stretches, becomes thin, and pulls apart. It is constituted by magma that solidifies after flowing through a fissure that is produced as a result of stretching the lithosphere (Lutgens, Tarbuck, & Tasa, 2011). As to geologic activities associated with the divergent plate boundary, it is possible to mention the creation of new seafloor. For instance, submarine mountain ranges are created, or the ocean basin can be widening (Searle, 2013). Furthermore, shallow earthquake activity is another feature of the divergent plate boundary. The formation of deposits is also a ‘product’ of divergent plate boundaries’ activity. It is necessary to note that one of the most important economic activities associated with a divergent plate boundary is the extraction of natural resources. These geologic features form such valuable minerals as iron sulfide and lead sulfide (Searle, 2013). These mineral resources are still widely used in various industries. Importantly, some minerals ‘travel’ towards the surface, and when they interact with ground water, such important resource as copper is created (Searle, 2013). Clearly, this process is very slow as it requires millions of years, but people now use the results of the activity of divergent plate boundaries. Other types of deposits created by divergent plate boundaries are salt and gypsum that are found on the surface of evaporated lakes. Tohoku Earthquake The Tohoku earthquake of 2011 is one of the deadliest natural disasters that took place in the world. This was an earthquake with the magnitude of 9.0 M w and five aftershocks with the magnitude of 7 as well as hundreds of aftershocks of M5 (Alcantara-Ayala, 2014). The earthquake of such magnitude caused another natural disaster, a tsunami, which in its turn, led to a number of nuclear accidents in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The earthquake occurred due to the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Honshu plate (Smits, 2014). The earthquake was a result of another massive earthquake that took place in 869. The Tohoku earthquake caused the tsunami, landslides, floods, fires, and accidents in the nuclear power plant mentioned above. This earthquake feature involved almost 20,000 human losses, almost 367,000 people affected, and the economic damage of $210 billion (Alcantara-Ayala, 2014). The Japan Meteorological Agency sent warnings concerning the earthquake seconds after it occurred and around a minute before it reached cities (Smits, 2014). The agency also sent warnings concerning the upcoming tsunami around 10 to 30 minutes before it reached the coast. Numerous seismometers were used to measure and predict the earthquake. It is also necessary to note that a historical a