ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Religion in some form or the other has been with man for long. It is one of those few characteristics and activities of man which are independent of his animal nature. It has sprouted out of his mind, in response to his felt needs, external and internal. To trace its origin is impossible, and to define it is no less. It is evolutionary in character. Most of the definitions of religion oscillate round the concept of the super human; belief and practice; rituals and rites. Every society possesses some conceptions of a supernatural order of spirits, gods or impersonal forces. These forces are different from and in some sense superior to those forces conceived as covering ordinary “natural” events and their nature and activities somehow give meaning to the usual, the frustrating and the rationally impracticable aspects of experience. They are attributed in part at least to its agency, and the men devoted an important part of their time and resources for regulating their relations with this order as they conceive it. Analysis of Religion Religion seeks to interpret and control man’s relations with the forces of his physical and social environment. These forces are thought to be under the control of some supernatural power. The attempt to interpret man’s relations to these forces led to several forms of religions like superstition, animism, totemism, magic, ceremonialism and fetishism. Function of Religion Religion can serve certain functions in society including acting as the social cement that binds society together and suppresses conflict between social groups. It can be used as a form of social control. It is a source of legitimacy for society and its institutions. It is a source of identity. It provides a means for emotional expression and dealing with the difficulties of life. It also provides an explanation for the existence of the physical universe and how it functions. How has religion influenced politics? Religion and politics are dimensions of human experience engaged in a meaningful exercise of power. Both are patterns of power, dynamic processes of action and interaction, and systems of power relations that reinforce the general distribution of power within any society. One of the prominent scholars in the area of religion and politics asserts that, “Religion is concerned with the systemic ordering of different kinds of power, particularly those seen as significantly beneficial or dangerous.” In other words, religion is the way human being orient themselves to the multitude of powers that impinge upon their lives. Another author, Firth Raymond, agrees that, “Religions are basically concerned with problems of meaning and power,” (21) furthermore, religion alone is not sufficient as a single variable to explain [political] conflict in any given state. Hence, religion is an element in the conflict between ethnic language groups. Ronald L. Jo
From going over the book “Essential world History” by Duiker & Spielvogel (2008), I got fascinated by the dialectical movement that has informed changes in civilizations. Whether in Greece or Rome or in any other ancient city, developments came about as a result of a given form of dialectic. There would be a given issue or problem to which people would seek solutions. Some solutions were sought more consciously as in the case of Greek philosophizing on how best to govern or be governed. Solutions would be developed that would later prove not to be effective or efficient enough. Those would be discarded for better ones that would later still be discarded for more developed ones. Greece has a long wide legacy. A legacy is the treasured traditions or cultural attributes that have been passed on from generation to generation. It is the cultural inheritance of a people, something that makes a people culturally distinct that can be traced back to the past. The Greeks are well known for their philosophical and scientific inquiries. Alexander the Great’s reign over Greece began in 334BC (Roberts 20). By this time, Greece as a nation was a collection of warring states who only worked together due to their similar culture, religion, and language. One of the greatest legacies of Greek civilization is their contribution to the development of arts and sciences (Roberts 21). Methods and schemes of thought developed by Greeks are still in use today. The scientific method of inquiry is said to have had its roots in Greek civilization. Early philosophers like Socrates refused the common beliefs about the gods. Socrates devised the midwifery method of inquiry, which consists of a teacher asking guiding questions that help a learner to discover the truth for oneself. The hippocratic Oath is still in use in the medical field. Hippocrates refused to accept the idea that illness is caused by evil spirits. He thus chose and encouraged the search for causes and cures to illnesses in nature. Over time, different Greek scientists and philosophers refined and postulated what is now known as the scientific method (Roberts 24). The scientific method requires that in the face of problems, a searcher gathers all possible information about the problem forms a hypothesis, or gives a tentative answer then tests the hypothesis before arriving at a conclusion. In those early years, a Greek scientist Eratosthenes was able to measure the circumference of the earth. Archimedes, another Greek scientist, and mathematician established Pi and also developed the pulley. The geometry text was first put together by a Greek mathematician known as Euclid while philosophers established moral theories that have informed world considerations in moral matters. For example, stoicism and Epicureanism as approaches to moral decisions were developed by Zen and Epicurus respectively (Duicker & Jackson 92). Literature also developed a lot during the day
UK Unemployment Trends Most people have viewed unemployment as being an indicator of economy showing the number of individuals in a particular economy who have a will and ability to work but they have no jobs. If a person is found in this situation, then that person is unemployed. Individuals who lack the will of working for any reason are not categorized as being unemployment, but they are just economically inactive. Economists have concluded that in case the levels of unemployment are too high in an economy, then that particular economy is just struggling to maintain its population. Under this situation, then the economy is not utilizing its resources in the best way possible. From the graph of UK unemployment 1950-2001, in 1950s and 1960s, unemployment rates in UK were very low. According to Politics.co.uk par1 this amounts to about 3% on average. This was attributed to what is referred to as Post-war boom. During Second World War, those individuals who served as servicemen in military were promised to be given full employment after winning. At this time, there was no government that was ready to break this promise. It has been stated that, advancement in technology along with international trade that was stable and “the success of Keynesian economics and the stability of the Phillips Curve created a situation which did approach full employment – although of course, at that time the majority of women remained in the category of the economically inactive” (Politics.co.uk, par. 6). Moreover, in 1950s to late 1960s, the interest rates were very low; there were lots of incentives for those carrying out research and development as well as on general investment. As a result, there were many investments springing up month after month due to the above mentioned escalator mechanisms. Though this strategy worked in those times, in the current times the strategy is ineffective. This is because, in the current times, this strategy will make government budget to increase, the government has no additional sources of revenue. In case the government tries to increase tax, it will affect consumption as well as investments negatively. As a result, it will be very important for the government to raise PSBR with the aim of countering this problem. On the other hand, the current UK government can increase tax, and ensure that it’s spending also increases at the same rate. This balanced budget multiplier will helps the government to increase its national income in general. This is because not all extra money paid inform of tax will be spend. This extra tax will be as a result of increased investment and consumption. In 1970s, unemployment rates in UK started to increase. This has been attributed to the collapse of orthodox boom. This was caused by the energy crisis in 1973, and the ‘generated stagflation’ in 1979. These impacts resulted to high inflation rates as well as high unemployment rates in Europe. In 1972, unemployment rates topped a million for the first time in history. This is because; labours through unions were demanding more salary rates. In around 1979, there was a situation referred to as ‘winter of discontent’, where even grave diggers p
Subject Blacker, et al.’s study examines the effect of lens material on the development of myopia (Blacker et al. Para.1). Method and material used To achieve the purpose , the researchers selected 54 participants putting on low-Dk/t hydrogel contact lenses as daily wear and another 230 putting on silicone hydrogel contact lenses for a continuous duration of up to 30 nights (Blacke et al. Para.2). The study collected refractive error data from these participants within a duration of three years. The researchers carried out univariate and multivariate analysis with relevant control of variables. Discussion According to the study’s multivariate analysis, two factors were found to have a significant effect on refractive error changes: (a) subject age; and (b) by lens type- the hydrogel contact lenses wearers had -0.41 D while silicone hydrogel contact lens wearers had +02 (Blacker et al. Para.12). The researchers find consistency between their studies with past studies to the effect that a higher rate of myopia progression occurs with low Dk/t hydrogel lenses compared to silicone hydrogel contact lens use, through the degree of effect varies across the studies (Blacker et al. Para.22). The authors identified the limitations in the study to include the possibility of biases due to non-random selection of participants, instrumental errors and absence of measurements for ocular components. Conclusion The study establishes the existence of significant correlation between myopic progression on one hand and lens type as well as age on the other hand. Low oxygen contact lens wearers and younger participants exhibit more progression and vice versa (Blacker, et al. Para.4). Critique Opinion on the above Section This study is very comprehensive and the above summary in itself cannot be purported to be exhaustive; it merely captures the key elements of the paper. Strengths, Weaknesses and Elimination of Weaknesses The article has several strengths. First, the population is big enough to be representative. Second, it provides sufficient backgrounds to lend relevance to the study and reviews past studies to reveal research gaps. Third, it clearly sets out the study’s research design, processes and limitations to enable the readers to evaluate the validity and reliability of the study. Finally, it makes references and comparisons to peer-reviewed and empirical studies, which have academic reputations, thus boosting their validity and reliability. It however has a few weaknesses :(a) it does not specify the implications of its findings to future research and practice; (a) while highlighting numerous limitations, no mention is made on steps taken by the researchers to mitigate the limitations (which indeed are threats to validity). To eliminate the limitations of the study the researchers should state the implications of the stu
The history of immigration is important in understanding how the different ethnic groups in America relate. However, immigration has been a controversial topic throughout history. This controversy has resulted from the failure to control the number and type of immigration. Additionally, it is worth noting that America was a colony of Britain. Therefore, America received a significant number of immigrants during the colonial period. However, during this era, the immigration policy did not exist. Nonetheless, the largest wave of immigrants arrived in America in the 20 th century. This essay provides an insight into the History of immigration in America. The colonial period, in America, lasted from 1607 to 1776. During this period, majority of immigrants were Britons. In fact, by 1790, sixty percent of the population in Jamestown (Virginia) and Plymouth (Massachusetts) was from Britain. Most of these immigrants came to America for economic reasons. However, some arrived in search of religious freedom. The Germans, who began arriving in America around early to mid 1700s, were the second major group to arrive. However, they lived in rural areas and resisted assimilation by other cultures. Additionally, from the start of the colonial period until the abolition of slave trade, America received many immigrants from Africa. These were slaves meant to work in plantations. Therefore, they were involuntary immigrants. About eleven to twelve million African slaves were shipped to the Americas between the 16 th and 20 th Centuries. The first large-scale wave of immigrants occurred between 1820 and 1880. In this time, over ten million immigrants arrived in America. The most notable immigrants were the Irish. Three million people migrated from Ireland to the US supposedly to escape the potato famine. Furthermore, the second wave of immigrants took place between 1880 to1930. In this episode alone, America received 27.5 million immigrants. This group was from Southern and Eastern Europe. Moreover, they were Catholics and did not speak English. The Jewish also migrated to America during this time. However, they were more skilled than the earlier group. For that reason, it was easier for them to settle than the group from Eastern and Southern Europe. Additionally, the first wave of Asian immigrant was between 1840 and 1924. These were mainly Chinese and Japanese immigrants. The Japanese settled in the rural farms where they worked as agricultural contract workers. On the other hand, the Chinese worked on Hawaiian plantations, mines and railroads. The largest wave of immigrants came after 1965. A significant number of Mexicans entered America during this wave. Uncontrolled immigration caused a major crisis in the US. Consequently, there was a need to develop restrictive immigration policies. For that reason, a literacy test was developed in 1917. This was followed by the immigratio
One the most important concept in the world of business is globalisation. In a nutshell it means that the whole human race is interconnected to a great degree. It also means the successful breakdown of barriers such as language, culture, and traditions. This is because of the rapid development of technology that has made it possible for different ethnic groups to come together and interact in a level that was impossible to accomplish in the past. There is therefore a greater interconnectedness not only in human interactions but also when it comes to doing business in the international level. The success of the Toyota brand is the most powerful argument when it comes to the impact of globalisation. However, there is more than interconnectedness there is also an emerging phenomenon in the modern age – the rise of a business organization that can dominate the whole world in the same way that empires used to conquer and subdue nations. Before the emergence of sea vessels that can travel halfway around the world the idea that the West can control the East was absurd. There were Europe-based empires that were able to control the Middle-East and to some extent Africa but a European superpower that can boast of dominating China was just impossible. But after the West established colonies in the Far East and South-east Asia it was no longer a matter of debate. Nevertheless, the concept of globalisation was not yet in the minds of intellectuals, politicians, and business leaders. The West belongs to the Europeans and the East belongs to the Asians. It was not until Japanese carmakers began to demonstrate that they can compete with the big firms in America and Europe that the world took notice. People began to understand that there will come a time when Europe will no longer be considered the centre of the world. Background Sea vessels that came from Spain, Portugal, France, Holland, and the United Kingdom laid down the foundation of the present structure of international trade. This was enhanced even further when man invented aeroplanes. The rapid acceleration in technology when it comes to the field of transportation knew no bounds even after railway cars became the main reason why Europe and the United States achieved the status of a highly industrialised society. As a result it became relatively easy to travel around the world to move from one continent to the next. This capability was none existent even as early as 300 years ago. Four hundred years ago
Competitive Exclusion If two different species compete for a common resource that is limited, such as nutrients, light or space, then they are said to be competing and are competitors. Under these conditions will they be able to exist together or will one try to displace the other? If they exist together can they maintain the same population size when they were separate? To understand this paradigm two researchers, Lotka and Volterra, were independently researching on this and developed a mathematical model to study competing species. Based on their empirical studies, they came to a conclusion that only one species will survive and the other will be wiped out. The term competitive exclusion or the competitive exclusion principle was originally called Gause’s hypothesis . To put it succinctly, when all ecological conditions or factors are constant, then the chances of two species competing for the same resources cannot stably coexist . Gause (1934, p. 19) wrote “As a result of competition two similar species scarcely ever occupy similar niches, but displace each other in such a manner that each takes possession of certain peculiar kinds of food and modes of life in which it has an advantage over its competitor”. The word niche was defined by Elton (1927, p. 64) as follows: “The niche of an animal means its place in the biotic environment, its relations to food and enemies”. In 1944 the British Ecological Society arranged a symposium on the ecology of closely related species. The symposium centred on Gause’s principle and finally in their official journal, Journal of Animal Ecology there was a mention that two species with similar ecology cannot live together in the same place. As is usual, after this meeting researchers began to dig deep into the ecological literature and came across findings similar to Gause. It was realised that Monard, a French fresh water biologist had expressed the same idea in 1920 and so had Grinnell, another biologist from California, in 1904. It was also realised that Charles Darwin had the same idea in his mind but had not expressed clearly. Only then it was decided by the world scientific community to drop the name Gause’s principle or hypothesis or theory and refer to this idea as competitive exclusion principle . Needless to say there are antagonists and protagonists to this idea. Hutchinson and Deevey (1949) believed that it was central to the development of theoretical ecology but Cole (1960, p. 348) rubbishe
Introduction Historians undertake a task that is sometimes not easy to comprehend, and that is change. History unlike any other social science is not predictable. William A. Green puts it quite eloquently in his book, History, Historians and the Dynamics of Change, “What happens in history, happens once. Each historical event involves a vast array of human and physical factors that cannot be reproduced in the same combination a second time. No historian can account for the totality of forces that have influence past events, nor are historians able to test hypotheses in the way that physical scientists can endlessly re-run the same laboratory experiment under controlled conditions.” 1 With such strong and defining statement what can be understood is that even history that is being researched today and the thousands scholars writing books on different topics, is all subject to change and different interpretations. It seems like there is always something to add, revise, to change in our history. But yet, at the same time there is order. Change, revolutions, wars, reformations, occupations, whatever you want to call it is under one specific social equation and that is cause and effect. In history we can always trace cause and effect. China throughout the modern period constantly removed itself from the ever evolving western world. It kept resisting the new ideologies of social and economic reform that helped European nations to evolve into world powers. The Chinese throughout the decades had formed a xenophobic attitude towards the west; this “anti-foreignism” feeling began in the sixteenth century, and finally led, 1900, to an open rebellion against attempts of Europeans and Japanese to degrade the Chinese and their society. 2 It was completely clear what the nature of the Boxer Rebellion was by 1900. This was to destroy the Christian religion in China, murder foreign and Chinese Christians, and remove all foreign influence. 3 The uprising was China’s last effort to expel foreign influence in their country. However, their plans did not go accordingly. Once the foreign powers learned of the murders of their citizens, the European intervention was immediate and the Rebellion was put down. What began as an effort to expel foreign intervention for the last time from China turned out to be another reason for European nations to get involved in China’s social and economic affairs, here is a summary of the effect of the Boxer Protocol and the influence it had on china’s society. Influence on the Political Structure of China During the end of the conflict, China’s state social rights were more dishonored. The stipulations of the Protocol impeded with China’s interior administration. In addition, her state defense was defectively shaken. Approval to the strategy of impartiality of obvious head nationalist like Li Hung Chang and Chang Chih-tung, though, majority of the regions in China were not involved in the Boxer conflict or Allied offensive. By means of excuse that the Boxers were radicals out of the administration control, the dynasty might come back to rule. The Qing dynasty went ahead to preside over China. Wi