ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The disparities between the opportunities of simple citizens and the residents of the Capitol present the severe issue of social class differences in The Hunger Games. However, the worst thing that happens to people is that they are used for the entertainment of those from the upper class. Overall, Suzanne Collins highlights the social inequity between the residents of the twelve districts of Panem and the wealthier part of society in the Capitol, focusing on the cruelty of the so-called hunger games. To begin with, the story revolves around two characters, Peeta and Katniss, who live in the twelfth district of the Panem and suffer from the Capitol’s cruelty. To be more exact, their neighbors are starving and have to work hard to earn money just to provide for their families, “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety” (24). Katniss’s family is beyond poor, so she is forced to hunt in illegal territories to get food for her sister and mother. The girl’s family has no conveniences in their house, so they cannot even shower or properly clean their clothes. What is more, the twelve districts are forbidden to interact in any way, so people cannot travel outside of their areas or purchase food, clothes, and other necessities in the different parts of Panem. In contrast, the Capitol is thriving while the people of Panem work hard to survive. As a matter of fact, the upper class does not share any worries about them lacking food, designer clothes, or technology to live their best lives. On the contrary, almost every resident of the Capitol possesses a fancy car, estate, and everything that people from the twelve districts could not even imagine. The capital is full of mean and two-faced people; they value looks and clothes over personality, “They do surgery in the Capitol to make people appear younger and thinner” (124). Consequently, Collins highlights the primary goal of the Capitol, which is making the lives of Panem worse and making people suffer (38). The twelve districts do not even have an opportunity to obtain decent education because the Capitol cannot afford any rebellion from their side or people that may doubt their authority. However, the leading annual entertainment for the residents of the Capitol is hunger games, which include selecting two representatives from each of the twelve districts to fight for their lives. This game ends when only one person from the 24 participants manages to survive. Ironically, Catniss is forced to replace her sister, who is randomly chosen during the ceremony to participate in the hunger games. Catniss and her neighbor fight for their lives when the Capitol just watches their struggles on the TV, screaming, “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor” (78). The most disturbing thing is that the upper class thinks that it is an actual honor for the participants to be seen and, besides, provided with necessities during the games if they are sponsored.
Ever since Zack Snyder’s film 300 was released to the movie theaters in 2007, it almost immediately fell under bombardment of strongly negative movie-reviews. For example, in his review of 300 , Smith (2007) have gone as far as accusing director of being a Nazi: “It isn’t a stretch to imagine Adolf’s boys at a “300” screening, heil-fiving each other throughout and then lininig up to see it again” (New York Post). And, the only reason why particularly ‘progressive’ critics go berserk, every time the name of this particular Snyder’s movie is being mentioned, is because 300 glorifies certain existential virtues, which hawks of political correctness want people to refer to as ‘sexist’, ‘chauvinist’ and ‘racist’, such as courageousness, loyalty, freedom-loving and industriousness. Nevertheless, whatever the ironical it might sound – by having represented the battle of Thermopylae in the way he did, Snyder had simply proven his allegiance to the ideals of multiculturalism. After all, multiculturalism is about allowing people from different ethnic backgrounds to explore their cultural uniqueness. And, that includes White people as well. Film 300, is director’s own retelling of the famous story of how three hundred Spartans, headed by King Leonidas, had fought the hordes of barbarians from Asia, who wanted to enslave freedom-loving Sparta. And, given director’s highly personal stance in retelling this story, it comes as no surprise that it is namely the fact that film contains a variety of historical accuracies, which critics point out to as its main drawback. In her article, Elston (2009) states: “The film 300 has developed an almost-immediate cult following since its March 2007 release. Yet the movie’s success hinges upon the conflation of conservative nationalism with epic heroism, serving as an example of both distorted history and displaced mass identification” (58). Nevertheless, despite the fact that 300 , cannot be referred to as utterly accurate, in historical sense of this word, it portrays what had driven courageous Spartans to defy Persian ‘god-King’ Xerxes with utter exactness. Apparently, the cultural uniqueness, on the part of White people, does not solely refer to their talent in baby-making, as it is usually the case with people in Third World countries, but to their acute sense of freedom. It is namely because Whites have traditionally been endowed with such a sense, which allowed them to facilitate cultural, scientific and social progress, throughout the course of known history. And, as Snyder’s movie implies – one’s willingness to appreciate freedom is being genetically rather than socially predeterm
Introduction Rob and Pablo, the co-proprietors of SNOG (a chain of U.K. based yogurt shops), mention that the secret behind their success lies not only in the type of product they sell but rather in the way in which they make each transaction an “experience” for their customers. What these two entrepreneurs are referring to is the general ambiance and “feel” that permeates a particular store or shopping area. This paper will examine the origins of yogurt chain “Snog” and the various entrepreneurial activities and concepts that contributed to its success within the U.K. market. Case Overview The U.K. yogurt shop market reveals a high degree of market saturation with brands such as Frae, Itsu, Moosh, Snog, YUforia, Yog and Pinkberry all competing for a “slice” of the U.K. consumer market. Furthermore, each company has their own variation of yogurt with some shops such as Snog advocating the use of organic ingredients while others pursue an approach of having unique flavors and overall affordability (Birkett, 2009: 21). With so many different stores and product variations already present in the U.K. market today this makes market penetration and the creation of sufficient brand awareness of a new yogurt shop all the more difficult to implement. What is Snog? The increasing awareness of health problems within the U.K. (such as obesity and diabetes) has contributed to a popular trend in many modern food products to target customers who want to derive health benefits from the products they consume. It is based on this that the yogurt enterprise “SNOG “is dedicated to providing healthier yogurt than its competitors (
Introduction The overall purpose of performance appraisal is to provide an accurate and objective measure of how well a person is performing…. on the bases of this information, decisions will be made about the employee’s future with the organization… in addition, performance evaluations are often used to validate specific selection techniques” (Schultz & Schultz 2010, p. 107) The history of performance appraisal can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century. Its real use began in the United States during the 1950s by organizations after it was proven successful during World War II. As Derven says in his book of 1989, “… a basic human tendency to make judgments about that one is working with, as well as about oneself.” (Derven 1990) This makes appraisal to be inevitable and common among people. If there is a lack of a carefully and structured method of appraisal, human beings will have a tendency to judge the work performance of others, be they subordinates or informally. The tendency of people to judge others can cause serious motivational, moral, and at times legal problems in the office. In lack of a proper appraisal system, there is no way of making sure the judgments imposed are lawful, just, sound, and accurate. When performance appraisal was begun, it started as a way of justifying an employee’s income. This was to be used to make decisions on whether the amount of salary or wage awarded to workers was justified (Derven 1990, p.65). The process was rather simple; if an employee performed dismally, then his or her pay would be cut and vice versa. The problem with this system was that they were less concerned with the potential that lay with development in the appraisal. This made the traditional importance of using the only reward be rejected. Globally the potential that lay in using appraisal as a tool of motivating and developing workers was being adopted and implemented in the workplaces (Derven 1990, p.69). Discussion In the modern world, performance appraisal has come to be defined as a structured formal relationship between a subordinate and the supervisor. This takes place in the form of periodic interviews, which may be annually or semi-annually. It involves examination work performance of the subordinate as well as discussing ways of improving. It also involves the identification of subordinate weaknesses, strengths, and the opportunities that lie for improving and developing skills. According to Moorhead and Griffin, they describe it as “the process of evaluating work behaviors by measurement and comparison to previously established standards, recording the results, and communicating them back to the employee. It is an activity held between a manager and an employee.” (Moorhead & Griffin 1992, p.58). In most corporations and organizat
There are two kinds of terrorists: the homegrown and the foreigner. In the land of the free and the brave there are terror groups who abuse their liberty from government control and manipulations. They abuse their individual has the right to express himself and to pursue areas of interest without the need to consult the government as long as all activities are within the bounds of the law. This is because they express their frustration and anger through killing innocent civilians. The same thing can be said of terrorists who come from abroad and bringing with them their religious fanaticism will blow up a building or use themselves as suicide bombers. They have issues; they may be emotionally and psychologically distressed because of what was done to them. They may feel oppressed and marginalized but their acts of terror will never be justified. The Terrorists Before going any further it is important to turn the spotlight on the main actors by defining what it means to be a terrorist. According to the Patriot Act, “domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group of individuals based in the United States” (Addicott, 2004, p.3). The key idea here is that this type of terrorists operate are born and raised in the land of the brave and the free. In other words American citizens will be labeled as terrorist if they “use force and violence against persons or property and if they intimidate or coerce a government, a civilian to further political or social objectives” (Addicott, 2004, p.3). The
Introduction A curriculum guide is a document that is formulated by learning institutions and agencies; it details the attitudes, the goals, and the purpose of the education program. It also outlines the learning experiences, the resources available, and how learners will be assessed upon completion of the program as well as what the students are expected to have learned through the program. Additionally, it acts as a support for the teacher in his or her attempt to achieve these goals. Creating an effective curriculum guide requires a multi-step and ongoing process. The process begins with assessing the preexisting curriculum and finally formulating a new one as well as implementing it. This is then followed by evaluating the new program to see how well it is performing after its implementation. In articulating and developing a curriculum, there is a need to articulate a K-12 Program Philosophy, define K-12 Program, grade-level, and course goals. It also involves developing and Sequencing of Grade-Level as well as Course Objectives, identifying resource materials to assist with program implementation, and finally spotting the assessment items and instruments to measure student progress. This paper will look at The Sheltered Curriculum at The British International School (BIS) Ho Chi Minh City, and determine the educational purposes it represents, the emphasis on process and or product, how it represents subject matter to students, and apply various theoretical curricular perspectives regarding purpose and content to the resolution of a curricular problem. The educational purposes it represents The program is structured in a way to address some of the issues addressed or perceived to be a major cause of students performing dismally in their assessment test as well as addressing the social growth and development of the students. The issues it addresses include students learning EFL (English as a Foreign Language) which has largely been unstructured in the secondary school textbooks. It also tries to address how courses such as science, ICT, physical education, and music can be taught without any disruptions. Additionally, it tries to have students learn in a multi-cultural environment and have them join in the school activities. For the teacher, there is a detailed outline on how to get the students to do the
Introduction The coming of the internet has given rise to e-commerce. In electronic commerce, buyers and sellers do not meet physically as all transactions are done online. Today, customers can access various products online (Chaffey 15). But for them to purchase, customers need to have the right information. Customers expect to find all the necessary information within a central place with little effort and minimal time. This creates the need for a portal. A portal is an information entry which assists customers in searching and locating information while online (Turban and King 56). Some of the needs for portals in Electronic Commerce (EC) The success of e-commerce depends on customers’ capability to search for relevant information about an online product. To cater for this, a business should create a simple portal which customers can easily use (Reynolds 61). Portals play a significant role in promoting business and customer relationships. According to Turban and King (67), portals help customers in searching and navigating the website. Hence, a well-developed portal should help customers in efficiently searching for relevant information. Portals assist in integrating information from various quarters (Turban and King 89). A portal can go a long way in helping a business make optimal use of information. This can be achieved by making use of innovative techniques such as Unified Content Application Programming Interface (API), and using common programing languages such as Java or C++. Through such, businesses can pool together information from various sources and make it available at a central location easily accessible to the customer. Portals help in notification and customization (Schneider 84). Notification, also known as push technology, is a technique which allows users to auto
Introduction A brief overview of the case Daksh is an Indian independent service provider in business process outsourcing (BPO). The Company was later on acquired by another multi-international corporation, IBM in a buyout that shows the coming of age of the BPO industry in India (Farhoomand, 2007, p.1). Before the buyout, the global software business was going through a rapid transformation process which greatly impacted the way most Companies managed their economic activities. Relative to the unfolding events, IBM was out to strategize on ways of emerging tops in the business processes service provision including its acquisition of Daksh in July 2004 (Farhoomand, 2007, p.2). This case study offers an elaborate description of the operations of the two Companies in India especially in the post-buyout era. The case also gives the post-buyout activities in IBM including the changes in industry dynamics from practicing BPO to accommodation of the Business Transformation Outsourcing strategy (BTO) within the Corporation (Farhoomand, 2007, p.6). The study also gives the missing link between the two market strategies (that is) BPO and BTO. Finally, the paper documents the post-acquisition integration activities within IBM (Farhoomand, 2007, p.9). Aim The report aims at analyzing and evaluating the Company’s situation in addition to identifying various pertinent issues as discussed in the study. Scope The report entails the analysis and evaluation of Daksh IBM’s business situation both externally and internally. Additionally, the report covers the identification of various pertinent issues that need to be addressed by the management in addition to providing an action plan and a set of recommendations that can be employed in correcting the problems and also in the realization of the goals and opportunities identified. Analysis: Problems/Major Issues Identification IBM was regarded as one of the largest computing service provider in the world especially through its effective service divisions such as IBM’s Global Services division also known as IGS (Farhoomand, 2007, p.2). The Company was also well known for selling solutions rather than products through its on-demand concept. However, the Company was faced with two major shortcomings. These were; lack of existence in the high-end consulting services
The introduction: the fundamentals of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass While making rhetorical analysis of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, I would like to point out that his memoir is recognized to be one of greatest narratives of the nineteen century in the United States. The text is autobiographical, and its main idea is the abolitionist movement. Generally, I suppose that the author’s desire to end slavery is the key moment the readers are to draw their attention to. Narrative consists of eleven chapters. It appeared in 1845. Frederick Douglass starts his history telling about unknown date of his birth. It is obvious, that this fact makes him downcast. The author tells about horrible events he experienced. Thus, the first acts of slavery he describes in the chapters one-four. Frederick Douglass grew up alone, without his parent’s help and support. He wrote that his mother died when he was a little boy; however, the fact didn’t upset the author at all, as he didn’t remember the time his mother could spend with him. In other words, one can make a conclusion that the role of parents in the story is to be neglected, as Douglass had no family. One of the most interesting points I would like to tell you a few words about is the slaves’ songs or their singing. One is to keep in mind that this description is enormously important in Frederick’s production. The thesis statement In Narrative the author sees and describes himself as a representative man. However, in my opinion, he sets himself apart from other slaves. Of course, being the slave, the author sees no difference, but unconsciously, it is obvious that he is different. When analyzing his descriptions, comparisons, acts, words – the readers can understand why Douglass is not similar to other characters. The body: the key aspects of the text Generally, to my mind, the strongest parts of the story are the first ones. I was deeply impressed by everything the author detailed. Thus, the key point is the relations between slaves and their owners. The author discloses the cruelty of slave holders. The strongest part I re-read several times is the so-called aspect of the truth. For instance, Douglass described that when slaves said the truth , they were beaten by slave holders. Of course, the situation recurred numerous times. Every description of the owners’ cruelty makes the readers to think over the importance and meaning of the author’s autobiographical story. The chapter five is also rather important. Moreover, I suppose that this chapter determines the author’s further life. Thus, in this part the author wrote that he moved to the biggest city of Maryland (one of the states of the USA) and this act had totally changed his life. The author stated that if he had no opportunity to come to another state, he would have remained a person legally owned by another. In other words, Douglass couldn’t realize what freedom was. Another important point the readers are to dra
Introduction Today’s criminal activities have made the world a dangerous place, which makes people tread vigilantly for their own security. Since what affects one directly affects another indirectly, no one is free from crime. Therefore, crime affects not only the emotional, social, financial, physical and psychological status of people, but also business prospects, the economic stability and growth of the nations. Conversely, with the application of crime prevention strategies and penalties, he or she lives a fearful and restricted life just like the crime victims. The aim of crime prevention strategies is to create conditions that cut the chances and motivation for crime, transforming the capability of the criminal justice system to handle crimes (Schuck, 2005, p. 447). Therefore, the paper addresses how the application of crime prevention strategy to reduce fear and hopelessness, promotes human freedom and liberty that enhances people’s quality of life, their business prospects and a country’s economic growth. How CPS affects one’s quality of life Crime is a continuing hot topic in the mass media, politicians, and the public. As such, one moral panic follows another. Embellished impressions of crime waves take hold to the level of demonizing some groups of people (Wade, 2008, p. 240). The developments in technology have led to new applications of crime detection strategies in Australia. Accordingly, with the increasing democracy, using technologies in crime controls are increasingly accessible to most nations whose freedom might, otherwise, be full of the fear of crime. ‘‘Such technologies offer reassurance, independent of any objective risk’’ (Adam, 1998, p. 3). As such, some of the crime prevention innovations are free of problems. This limits the adverse consequences of crimes that would otherwise instill fear and anxiety, as well as the free movement of people. By ensuring entire awareness for the people, crime prevention strategy accomplishes the basic principles of human rights and freedoms, which are necessary for irreproachable quality life (Andrews, & Dowden, 2007, p. 439). Responsibility has also made parents track the movement of their children thereby creation some hope to the younger generation (Schuck, 2005, p. 450). In addition, portable crime control systems enable the user to contact a friend, relative, or security service when he or she is in need of assistance. Therefore, the world has embarked on creating a more effective and efficient program of preventing crime an effort that improves confidence and safer communities (Wade, 2008, p. 238). The enumeration of costs and benefits of crime prevention strategy helps policymakers to initiate a more informed decision, which improves the wellbeing of the society. The application of crime prevention strategy eliminates fear, depression and ensures