ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Fat Girl is a short story created by American writer Andre Dubus in 1995. On the one hand, it is an ordinary story about a girl, Louise, who has problems with her weight, and who cannot find the necessary portion of understanding with her parents and friends. On the other hand, The Fat Girl seems to be a powerful narration, where the issues of culture and identity touch upon each other and destroy child’s self-confidence. Cultural impact on a personality is considerable indeed; and when a person, like Louis, is weak or unable to understand what she wants, her struggle and the desire to learn her identity better are equal to zero. The Fat Girl has a specific plot that helps to understand the connection between culture and identity and define the power of culture over identity through the discussions about the image of American body, its influence on the ordinary life, and the ability to create the existing norms and rules. The story’s plot is specific that helps to understand that culture influences society more than identity itself. The Fat Girl begins with a description of relations between Louise and other people. Author’s attention to the details of how other people treat the girl helps to realize that the story is not about the girl herself; it is about the way of how other people see her. From the very first lines, the author shows how powerful the idea of cultural dependence can be. Louise’s life is built on other people’s points of view: a drunken boy, who “jammed his tongue into her mouth and ran his hands up and down her lips” (Dubus 233), her father, who “looked at her the lights of love and pity” (Dubus 233), or her mother, who provides her with a number of hints on how to live and meet new people and says that “if you’re fat the boys won’t like you; they won’t ask you out” (D
Subcontracting is a situation whereby a company or firm being the main manufacturer (contractor) hires/contracts another firm (subcontractor) to manufacture the products as an alternative. The main benefits is that subcontracting firm focus more on other crucial business areas such as marketing, creation of more employment opportunities since work is done by other people employed by the subcontractor. Low cost of production is another benefit. Fourthly, the products or services offered are of high quality due to specialization. The contractor only needs to subcontract another firm for less charges hence lowering cost of production. Subcontracting has its drawbacks, which include failure to meet or live up to market/clients demands by the subcontractor. For instance, poor workmanship by the subcontractor may tarnish contracting firm’s reputation. Secondly, the contractor may not really have much control over the quality of work. Thirdly, contracting firms’ survival and success usually depends on the performance of the subcontractor. Outsourcing refers to the acquiring of products or services from other producers or suppliers usually from other firms within or from other countries instead of being the sole manufacturer of the products. Many American and European organizations are now outsourcing and this is mostly due to the positive impacts it has on organizational growth. The main benefit of outsourcing is reduced cost of production. These organizations mostly outsource from developing countries where labour cost is very cheap, therefore they are able to make massive profits. Like subcontracting, outsourcing leaves the contracting companies with core business of planning and strategizing on marketing and product development. Outsourcing has its drawbacks as well. One of drawbacks is loss of jobs especially in cases of offshore sourcing, where the organizations bring in cheap labour from other countries. Bad publicity is another drawback, as people who lose their jobs will depict the organization negatively. Thirdly, there is likely to be a problem of language barrier for instance, if products manufactures use different native languages, then manuals may be in a language that most clients cannot understand. This will cause miscommunications or need to translate. Last but no least, here is no guarantee on time of products since outsourcing delays may be inevitable. In this case, Nike Inc.’s reason to subcontract its production is mainly on the need to cut cost of production, gain high quality products and make most out of the invested capital as the main aim of any business. In particular, this leaves Nike Inc. with only the most crucial area of its business of advertising, product development and distribution. This saves Nike Inc. a lot of time, money and resources. The most probable ramifications for laying off 60,000 workers when Nike closed its last factory in U.S. were, increased profit margins since the company was able to do away with responsibilities of managing many of workers, paying workers salary and benefits, insuring the business and many more. Alternatively, it left 60,0
Introduction The United Arabs Emirates (UAE) is one of the world’s recognized oil-producing countries. However, the lack of qualified technical and management skills and expertise in the country forces the government to hire expatriate laborers. Moreover, many local Emirati citizens refuse to work in some of the manual and technical fields in the country (Meetha 24). These factors coupled with the need for qualified private management staff led to the high number of expatriates in the UAE. However, the influx of foreign workers has exposed the UAE to social, economic, demographic, and cultural threats even though the benefits are outstanding. This paper will highlight the threats that a large number of expatriate laborers pose to the UAE, particularly how they affect the national security, social, and Emirati cultural practices. Moreover, the paper will recommend the possible strategies that can be applied to control the effects posed by expatriate laborers. Background The presence of oil in the UAE has boosted the economic importance of the country (Davidson 191). Due to the rapid growth of the UAE, the demand for a workforce has increased, thus forcing the country to outsource foreign labor. The expatriates have fueled the general growth of the UAE as a country. Nevertheless, the presence of foreign laborers in the UAE has greatly influenced the cultural, political, demographic, and social modifications. Apparently, the expatriates are the majority in the country, thus making the natives the minority (Khondker 92). The threats and challenges posed by the increased number of foreign workers in the UAE with their possible remedies are discussed herein. National security For every developing country, national security is a critical aspect in protecting the country’s capabilities and opportunities. The security challenges posed in the UAE by the foreign workers’ influx include the occupational dominance of the Iranians in the Great Tunb, small Tunb, and Abu Musa locations (Malit and You 67). The Iranians create the danger of
Introduction The movie under consideration is called The Wedding Banquet directed by Ang Lee. First appeared in movie theatres in 1993 it surprised the audience with the shocking details of different facets of this life never openly discussed across the world. The movie is about a couple of young people who decide to get married to get a green card for the bride. However, the extraordinary essential thing about the plot of the film is that the main hero – Wai Tung – is gay. This is becoming the main problem of the movie because the parents of the guy desperately want him to get married to a nice girl. Brief Synopsis An innovative trait of the movie of the late 90s is that the director himself appears in his masterpiece. The famous director played a cameo to present a fine explanation of what was going on during the banquet. He makes it clear at once that all those Chinese people were making up for “5,000 years of sexual repression”. This is a great comedy with a perfect plot to laugh at. Moreover, the director’s insight is indeed much deeper than the simple hard drinking. Most of his movies are based on keeping some kind of secret, revealing of which would subsequently entail the death of the secret holders, not seriously, of course. The parents travel to New York to get acquainted with the girl who is going to become the wife of their son. They want to find out if she fits the role of a mother since they think it is time to have grandchildren. Hence, the fake couple is struggling to cope with all the problems appearing on their way after the parents’ invasion in their life. The only thing they are dreaming of now is this torture to end as soon as possible and return to their normal lives. Of course, this causes different misunderstandings and funny scenes for the viewers to have much fun when watching the comedy. Of course, Wai-tung goes through different kinds of soul torments when deceiving his parents. Wei Wei in her turn faces many troubles, too. Her inner world can be compared to the rollercoaster of emotions because she is so happy living through this farce and is so afraid to be left out by Wai-tung after this all ends. Meanwhile, the parents demand a more luxurious wedding rather than the one at the city hall. This is where the director’s utmost skills are unveiled. It has to be noticed that The Wedding Banquet was the director’s first attempt to put his voice into the story. He speaks on behalf of a casual storyteller who tends to explain everything that takes place in the movie. The Subject Idea The sexual repression made the director shoot great movies. Some of them shook the inside world of some of the viewers due to frank scenes that appeared in the history of cinema for the first time. Of course, this could have been considered a dirty attempt to spoil the entire movie, however, the number of awards gotten by the director for his works speak for themselves. The beautifully and professionally made film The Wedding Banquet , based on the theme of sexual repression never aroused a feeling of disgust. T
Introduction Art creation is an approach humanity uses to express themselves, share experiences, and capture events throughout the entire history. Poetry is the worldwide famous technique with which authors craft fascinating pieces via words and rhymes and makes readers react with strong emotions affecting their brains’ performance and creativity (Wassiliwizky et al., 2017). This paper aims to analyze an inspiring poem, create a similar art, and discuss the connection between them. Inspiration Piece Poetry is connecting and inspirational art because it provides a reader with the most precise understanding of the authors’ feelings and recalls empathy. The selected piece is “Sometimes with one I love” crafted by an American classical poet Walt Whitman (1867): “Sometimes with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I effuse unreturn’d love, But now I think there is no unreturn’d love, the pay is certain one way or another (I loved a certain person ardently and my love was not return’d, Yet out of that I have written these songs)”. The poem is a part of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass collection, where the writer shares feelings and observations about human nature, reactions, and emotions. “Sometimes with one I love” reveals the harsh consequences of non-reciprocal love, based on the poet’s life experiences. The poem describes the doubts that occupy a person’s mind after not receiving strong feelings in return. Whitman notes that love always pays off and mentions that it let the poems’ ideas appear. My Art Piece Whitman’s piece inspired me to reflect on the expectations individuals have towards love and how they seek an unconditional return. I expressed my thoughts in a free verse piece, the non-rhyme technic Whitman applied in his poetry. I called the creation “The greatest treasure” and wrote: “When someone is being close to you, No room for fearing left between. Give all, let yourself drown in love, Don’t underestimate the feelings’ stream. Among all treasures of the world, Ability to love Is the main worth”. I understand and the angry feeling that Whitman describes based on the experience with non-reciprocal love. However, my life’s occasions proved to me the necessity of giving everything to a loved one without expecting any returns. In my piece inspired by the classical poet’s work, I tried to highlight that loving as a process is a treasure, and having a person to express love is the actual value. Connection The thematic connection between Whitman’s and mine pieces is the way people perceive love. When people give, they seek to receive equal value in return, and the experience when the expectations do not match with the reality hurt their feelings. Whitman describes the wound that makes individuals doubt if they get what they deserve, while my poem reminds readers of the value of giving love. The pieces have a similar free verse style that helps express complicated feelings in a manner to be understood by a diverse audience. Although both poems highlight that expressing love is beneficial, Whitman describes particular outcomes such as new songs, while I mean the process of sharing fe
Persepolis Film Review Persepolis film revolves around the events that took place in Iran. The main actor, Marjane Satrapi, hails from a middle-class family, which is unhappy with the fundamentalist Islamic regime. Palmer (51) states that at the beginning of the film, the main Actor Marjane takes the viewers back to her childhood when she witnessed several injustices practiced on the society by Islamic fundamentalists. It is also at the beginning of the film that viewers get to know the middle-class position of Marjane’s family and their involvement in political rallies and protests. In the middle of the film, Marjane goes against the provisions of the Islamic rulers and is constantly in and out of trouble. The frequent rebellion and her troublesome character compel her parents to take Marjane to Austria. However, in Austria, the young Marjane is annoyed by the character of the nuns and is sent out of the home when she behaves in a manner contrary to the requirements of the Catholic religion. Towards the end of the film, Marjane returns home but continues demonstrating her western behavior, which disregards the norms and beliefs practiced in Iran. Since Marjane continued rebelling against the provisions of the state, a factor that would lead to her imprisonment, her mother insisted that she left the country. The film ends when Marjane is in a taxi and presents a demonstration of confidence from her concerning her place of origin. The themes that are evident in the film include freedom of worship, political stability, and gender parity. From the film, several events transpire because of the strong beliefs held by the Islamic leaders of the time. Palmer (51) elucidates that during her childhood, Marjane becomes a victim of the rules and provisions dictated to the society by the Islamic leaders. As such, the society has to abide by the rules or face severe punishments. It is practical in the film that the country does not permit freedom of worship and citizens should profess Islamic religion irrespective of their orientations. Consequently, the theme of political instability becomes clear from the several instances of violence that erupted after the election. After the election, a section of the society is unhappy with the results. Therefore, they engage in violent protests and initiate instances of war in the country. The theme of gender disparity is very clear from the various challenges that the young Marjane experiences during her time in Iran. As a young girl, Marjane witnesses the oppressive society compelling women to wear hijabs and dress in a manner that overrides their personal preferences. The challenges make her rebellious and eventually lead to her exit from the country. The film plays a very crucial role in presenting the challenges that societies living in Islamic states experience. From the film, viewers get to understand the oppressive nature of governance practiced by leaders who profess misguided Isla
Personal psychological liberatiosn is a state of cultural, socio-economic, and mental freedom that an individual enjoys through creatively obscuring and negating the unnecessary boundaries that society, through cultural, socio-economic, and psychological means, burdens an individual with ultimately. A personal psychological liberation mainly concerns the state of mind and heart, not the physical; therefore, one can experience psychological liberation even when physically confined in a place such as a jail/prison. In the movie “When Nietzsche Wept”, the two main characters, Joseph Breuer and Freidrich Nietzsche, experience psychological liberation. On the recommendation of Lou Salome, Joseph Breuer agrees to treat the philosopher Freidrich Nietzsche from his extreme migraine attacks (Spinelli 181). However, despite the fact that both these distinguished gentlemen have achieved and contributed a lot to the professional development of their respective careers (Joseph Breuer is a psychoanalyst who has recently developed a therapeutic form of treatment by talking to the patient – “talking cure”), they suffer from personal struggles with their past and present actions. Dr. Joseph Breuer is struggling with his attraction and obsession with one of his patients, while Nietzsche has never recovered from a supposed refusal of marriage by Lou Salome. Therefore, both of these individuals are not yet psychologically liberated. Dr. Joseph Breuer has been constrained by societal expectations and professional edicts. Because he is married, society expects him to honor his marriage and give the institution of marriage the respect it deserves. Therefore, to pursue a love affair with Anne O, one of his patients would be socially unacceptable. As a professional psychoanalyst, one of the most basic edicts states that, a psychoanalyst should always maintain a professional relationship with his/her patients; therefore, falling in love with a patient amounts to professional malpractice. As such, Dr. Joseph Breuer suffers emotional trauma due to the circumstance in which he finds himself. The socio-cultural boundaries surrounding him leave him in a psychological prison from which he cannot extricate himself. On the other hand, Freidrich Nietzsche has a problem overcoming the spurned love for Lou Salome. Having proposed marriage due to the love he had for her, her rejection hurts him so devastatingly. He suffers frequent migraines that Salome suspects originated from his rejection by her. He is also an emotional wreck and his behaviors, like his desperate attempt to prevent a horse from whipping by embracing it, border on insanity. He too is psychologically un-liberated and suffers psychological torment from past actions and events. Culturally, he is expected to marry and the fact that he proposes and his proposal
A country becomes exposed to multiple threats from other nations at times of war. As a result, the government takes any necessary measures that it perceives to be vital in promoting the national security of the nation, including subordination of the constitutional rights of certain individuals for the collective safety of the population. In the United States, one of the key functions of the government is to provide equal protection for the constitutional rights of all citizens. Issues are therefore, raised during a wartime, with regard to individual liberty and collective security (Daniels 12). Some questions were raised due to the temporary sacrifice of a particular group of people, the Japanese, with the intention of national survival. The issues raised were a result of the attack by Japanese aircraft against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. These questions were associated with two cases brought to the U.S. Supreme Court within the context of World War II: Hirabayashi v. United States and Korematsu v. United States (Okihiro 62). Background The American naval forces on Hawaii were devastated by the Japanese attack on pearl harbour. Some of the damage caused by the Japanese included the destruction of five American battleships and three cruisers, as well as the death of over 2,200 and injuries on over 1,100 military personnel. The then president was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who re-assured the public that the US would retaliate against the Japanese, which led to their entry in to the World War II (Robinson 29). The Japanese moved fast to occupy the territories previously in the hands of the US, and the more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry in the west coast raised issues for the president’s cabinet. As a result, general DeWitt wanted to relocate all of them to the interior of the country, where they could be kept from getting in touch with the enemy (Irons 22). The then U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle urged caution, since he believed that forcible relocation of the Japanese Americans would violate their due process rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. However, most of the Presidential advisers emphasized the importance of military necessity and national survival. As a result, “President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, providing authority for military commanders to establish special zones from which civilians might be excluded for reasons of national defence, On February 22, 1942” (Robinson 33). The President based his order on the Espionage Act of 1918 and statutes enacted by Congress in 1940 and 1941 to enhance the chief executive’s wartime powers (Robinson 33). On March 18, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9102 to establish the War Relocation Authority. This executive agency was empowered to relocate the people identified by military commanders under the provisions of the previously issued
The poor performance at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raised concerns among various stakeholders. There was need for the organization to change its manner of operations to achieve effective service delivery. The stakeholders in IRS transformation included the government, outside institutions, IRS employees and the public. The public, government and IRS employees were the most important stakeholders in this case. The main function of IRS is to collect money from various taxpayer segments. These include individuals, self-employed persons, small businesses, large businesses and partnerships (Amy & Frances, 2002). These segments comprise of members of the public. In this regard, the public forms a core component of IRS operations, as it is the greatest source of revenue. IRS plans its revenue collection operations based on various categories of taxpayers. It considers the revenue obtainable for each customer segment and devises means to ensure appropriate levels of contribution by these segments. The other important stakeholder in the IRS transformation is the organization’s employees. The implementation of various task force recommendations will largely be an undertaking of the employees. Employees play a significant role in determining the outcome of any organization’s change process. Without their involvement, it is considerably difficult for an organization to realize meaningful changes (Whitsett & Burling, 1996). Furthermore, employees have the greatest influence on customers. The employee-customer relationship determines an organization’s progress in various aspects. A healthy employee-customer relationship enhances customer loyalty and confidence with respect to a particular organization. Another important stakeholder in the IRS transformation is the government. IRS serves as a vital of the government concerning revenue collection. The government uses the money obtained through this organ to fund various projects that directly influence the coun