ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction With its ability to translate the external movement of a person into a digitized method of manipulation without the need for an additional medium in the form of a controller the XBOX 360 Kinect presents a plethora of possibilities that can be utilized for any manner of function ranging from the rehabilitation of people suffering from some form of physical disability to image manipulation and control (Bass, 2012). Market Positioning One way in which the flexibility of the Kinect can be utilized in a commercial application is by integrating it with 3d Max software. 3d Max is a software application that enables the development of a variety of 3d model as seen in a plethora of commercials, movies or in video game development. What must be understood is that while the software can help to create an effective 3d simulation of almost any desired object the fact remains that the use of a mouse and keyboard in order to move and shift the object as well as make subtle corrections actually adds to the tediousness of the process. By integrating the ability of the Kinect to translate external movements into operational commands developers will in effect be able to have a more “hands on” approach in image construction and development which should speed up the process of creating 3d model as well as allow the construction of better and more lifelike imagery (Porges, 2011) (Goth, 2011). Considering the nature of the product and the fact that it resolves a real need within the animation industry it can be expected that there will little to no problems in market penetration. Furthermore, research into the current methods of “hands-on” image manipulation currently in use by the animation industry today shows that the “glove type” motion controllers utilized lack the overall level of finesse and flexibility seen in the Kinect and such shows the viability of selling this particular type of software and hardware package to animation studios (Lian, 2011). Pricing The pricing for this particular application of the Kinect would range between $300 to $400 since this includes both the price of the Kinect as well as the software plug-in necessary to integrate the functions of the Kinect into the 3d Max Software application. There will be no subsequent price elasticity considerations nor will geography or special pricing tactics be utilized since this particular product focuse
Being a border state, Arizona has always battled with the immigration debate with the intention of curbing Mexicans from crossing over from their country and settling in the state. In the past, the limelight had been on Joe Arpio, the Maricopa county sheriff known for his tough stance on immigration in his county. Lately though, the signing of an immigration law that seems to curtail the freedom of the people by Governor Jan Brewer rattled some feathers not only in the state, but in the larger US and among the human right circles. Even Mexican president who had for the better part of the immigration row kept mum said that the new law “opens the door to intolerance, hate, discrimination and abuse in law enforcement” (MacAskill 2). So is the criticism by the UN right experts as reported by Eliane Engeler for the Associated Press justified? Well, according to the article, the UN experts claim that the Arizona Immigration Law is an affront to human right regulation set in the United States. Further, they claim that the law is against the US constitution, which protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the law enforcement officers. According to MacAskill, the law gives police in Arizona the powers to stop people they suspect to be illegal immigrants for questioning (3). It is feared that in the border state that a sizeable number of legal Latinos residing therein, the law will lead to victimization and unwarranted, unjustifiable searches, which will have racist connotations since they will target “suspicious looking and sounding” people. Among the issues raised by the UN experts is the fact that Arizona has an obligation to uphold the human rights of people living within its jurisdiction. With the discriminative law in place, it is hard to imagine that the Latinos, who will always be suspected of being aliens because of their skin color and their accents will have any rights in the state. The law Among the controversial provisions in the law is a requirement that obligates residents in Arizona to always carry their registration documents. The law also requires the police to question any person they suspect is an alien in the state. Additionally, the law states that any legal American who knowingly transports and hires illegal immigrants will be liable to legal action (Bash et al. 2). Why the law? Before taking sides against the criticism leveled at the law, however it is important to understand what motivated the passing of such a law. Writing for the Guardian Newspapers, Tran observes that Arizona has faced years of frustrations trying to curb illegal immigration from Mexico (7). To fate, the state remains the single largest entry-point of illegal immigrants into the United States. Apart from this, a sizeable number of the immigrants (approximately 460,000); reside in the state thus straining the State resources. Critics claim that though the immigrants use the state resources such as h
Bach cantata is a famous term named after a great German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. Approximately, only 200 cantatas of his greatest works can be found nowadays while the others are lost. A part of his duties included performing a church cantata on holidays and every Sunday. These compositions were based on the Lutheran Liturgy readings. Bach loved his work, and every week, he composed new pieces of work during his first stay in Leizpig. As part of the church service, he performed in the orchestra. The number of cantata cycles that have survived amounts to three. This is a great loss for people who honestly love his works. For wedding ceremonies, Bach composed sacred cantatas while for other occasions, such as anniversaries, he performed secular ones. Despite the popularization of the name cantata, Bach rarely used it when composing or performing his works (Dürr 2006). Structure of a Bach Cantata A traditional Bach Cantata has the following themes.   * Coro   * Aria   * Recitativo   * Chorale At the very beginning, there is a polyphonic chorus. The contrasting part of musical fragment is also presented by the orchestra first. Most arias use the A da capo which is the most common form that is adopted. After the arias, the part before the middle section is usually repeated. The homophone setting usually has a melody that is performed in the chorus finale. Bach never followed strictly any scheme. However, the way he expressed his words is the same way he composed. Cantatas, such as the BWV 76, is an example of a cantata that has a chorus with an opening that is purely instrumental. Due to the calmness and almost silence of the first, a solo movement commences in the BWV 120. Bach was known to use soloists in the final chorale especially when he was in Weimar. The compositions sounded like chamber music. The closing chorale is set in four parts. Obligatory instruments were used in the chorale final as accompaniments (Arnold 2003). Singers and instrumentation Some choirs were divided in four parts and utilized voices, such as bass and alto. Thus, especially for a traditional cantata composed by Bach, they were able to find singers for all the parts without any limitations. The composer preferred to use the various voices to dramatize some of the situations. For instance, he would use the sopranos to show innocence while the altos were used to show the feelings that should have been motherly touching. The instruments that are dominant in the orchestra are the string instruments. Baroque music uses the rule of a bass that is continuous. Whenever it is absent, then it has a reason behind it; such as the description of fragility (Kennedy 2006). Wind instruments are used to define single movements or characters specified in the cantata. Wind movements usually featured the bassoon. Festive occasions utilized many richer instruments. When Bach utilized some instruments, such as trumpet or some other, he usually used them to display a meaning that was symbolic and the audience was supposed to feel and understand its real meaning. In his earlier compositions, Bach preferred to use instruments that were old fashione
Theoretical reasons that explain immigration In the recent years, there has been a robust increase in the volume of international immigration. Countries, such as Australia, Canada and the United States of America have been known to receive a significant increase in the number of immigrants from various origins. Numerous studies that have been carried out to indicate that there is no single theory that explains the concept of international immigration. However, there are a number of fragmented theoretical factors that give reasons for international migration. Massey et. al argue that push and pull factors are the major causes of international migrations (433). Examples of push factors are low wages, deficiency of healthcare and high-level of unemployment in a country. On the other hand, the pull factors are low unemployment in a country and high wages in another region. These factors will motivate people to leave their countries. The Neoclassical Economics theorists state that the main cause of labor migration is wage differentials and labor market mechanisms (Massey et al. 437). Thus, an individual will first estimate the cost and benefits that will come with the migration. If migration yields positive returns to the individual, then this will be an incentive for them to migrate. Further, the New Economics of Migration argues that international migration does not stop once wage differential stops (Massey et al. 438). The group also states that families, rather than an individual, count when making migration decisions. The two theories state that the policies implemented can help reduce the size of migration. Such policies should be implemented in the country of origin and country of destination. The third model that explains the international migration is the Historical-Structural Theory. The theory states that international migration is instigated by uneven distribution of political and economic power. Fourth, the Worlds System Theory argues that infiltration of industrial economic relations into non-industrial creates a population that is itinerant. The mobile population can easily migrate. The final theory, Social Capital Theory, states that international migration will expand until the individuals who are willing to migrate do that with ease. The theory further mentions that controlling immigration based employment may not be successful. These five theories give the theoretical underpinnings of why people migrate. Besides, they suggest ways which governments of various countries can use to control immigration. Therefore, international migration cannot be explained wholly by one factor (Massey et al. 433). U.S Immigration policies In the early years, the United States had an open policy to immigration. Thus, immigrants from different origins were allowed in the country. Data shows that in the seventeenth century, over 75% of the population was made up of the foreign-born. The first immigration act was passed in 1790. This act allowed only immigrants from European and Caucasian descent. The second Act was ratified in 1882. It was aimed at prohibiting immigrants of Asian
This paper will be analyzing the matter of Anton (security officer) vs. Christine (the manager) and the termination of employment for Anton. The rights of the employee as well as the employer will be considered in deciding the legal outcome of the case. The Employment Rights Act 1996 outlines the rights of both employees and employers precisely identifying the procedure and the party responsible for the provision of the necessary documentation. It defines the standards of reasonable dismissal and sets out a procedure in relation to the court and the employment tribunal. The evidence will be considered to establish whether there was sufficient reason for the dismissal and if the employer took the necessary steps to warn or notify the employee of the policy violation. Also, an investigation will take place in relation to the actions of the employee and if the filing of the claim was reasonable or not. The Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 94 states that a person has a right not to be unreasonably terminated and section 95 gives an explanation of the conditions that would constitute reasonable or unreasonable termination. According to Section 230 of ERA, a person is considered an employee once they were hired and have worked under a contract. As stated in the case, Anton has worked in the company for the duration of three years and this is without a doubt considered an employee able to exercise full rights. When at the start of his shift Anton was met by Christine he was told that: “he is not suited for the job” and he should “leave his uniform and get out now.” This can be qualified as dismissal from work. Section 95 (1a) states that the termination itself could take place without any prior notice. The manager verbally communicated to the employee that their services are no longer required. The terminology that was used by Christine is clear and without any ambiguities and so it would be impossible to understand the meaning of her words in any other way except as a dismissal. Section 97 (1) (b) determines that the termination comes into effect on the day it was issued. If no prior notice was given then it is effective at the time of the verbal dismissal. Section 86 (1) of the ERA clearly outlines that an employee must be notified of his termination one week prior. As this was not done by the manager—Christine, the termination is, without doubt, unfair since the employee’s rights were violated. It is the manager’s responsibility to provide all the legal paperwork for the employee clearly stating the reasons for the termination, as well as providing evidence that led to the termination. Christine did not contact any witnesses or other staff members to gather evidence pertaining to the case and thus had no proper documentation to proceed with the dismissal. As mentioned above there are sometimes extraneous circumstances that allow no prior notice but considering the information available from the case, it is evident that there were no sufficient reasons to terminate without any notice. The
Individual Characteristics Motivation The members of this team were driven by different needs. The employees of ACBID, namely Ben, Bryce and Ben were motivated by the financial compensation that they could receive provided that the purchase of Mighty-tech was successful. Secondly, they were driven by the need for achieve career growth. In contrast, Bill and Beatrice, who were the employees of Ander Arthurson were willing to preserve their professional reputation and the reputation of their firm. They attached more importance to their job security. Scholars believe that the differences in motivation usually adversely affect the performance of teams (Asproni, 2004, p. 4). Attitudes The employees of ACBID were very concerned about time-efficiency of the project. They needed to finish the take-over of Mighty-tech as quickly as possible because the competitors of ACBID were also willing to purchase this company. In contrast, Ander Arthurson accountants, especially Beatrice paid more attention to the accuracy of Mighty-tech financial reporting. This difference in individual preferences endangered this project. Personality The case does not tell much about the personality of every team member. Nevertheless, one can still mention some traits of people who were involved in this project. For example, Beatrice is a person who is very risk-averse and afraid of making even the slightest mistakes. This is why she tried to verify every line of Mighty-tech financial reports. In contrast, Bruce could accept some degree of risk. The researchers believe that the members of the team should have a relatively similar attitude toward risk (Jeffcott et al, 2006). This problem was not addressed at the very beginning. Team Characteristics Power distribution Although, Bruce was supposed to be the leader of the team, one can say that the power of equally distributed. The thing is that each of the team members had to work on separate assignments. Furthermore, each of these people was an extremely skilled professional who could work independently. The problem is that the efforts of these professionals were not coordinated properly. Homogeneity The team cannot be called homogeneous. First, one should mention that it differed in terms of gender. Secondly, the participants represented two different organizations; one of them was an accounting firm, while the other was an investing bank. Thus, these people could have different perceptions of organizational goals or values. It should be noted that these differences were not reconciled before the start of the project. Bryce began to think about these issues only when specific problems emerged. Climate These people had to work in a very unfavorable climate. First of all, they had to meet very stringent deadlines that were se
Introduction This paper is aimed at determining which part of the world is, in any way, privileged in terms of news coverage. For this purpose, we intend to carry out a content analysis of several websites, which feature both local and international news. In particular, we are interested in such regions as the United States, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as some local areas like Miami, Paris, etc. This paper will also contain operational definitions of such terms as population, a unit of analysis, and convenience sampling because these notions bear direct relevance to this research and explain the research methodology. Research Methodology We are going to examine the websites of such international news agencies as BBC, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, and Miami Herald 1 . It is necessary to show how frequently they post articles about this or that part of the globe. It should be noted that we are going to focus only on the front page of each website, and this is one of the limitations of this study. If we are speaking about content analysis, the term population usually means a set of messages that is being studied (Kimberly, p 74). In our case, these are news reports, whereas the unit of analysis is a certain word, theme, or phrase, which should be scrutinized. As far as our research is concerned, we can say that its unit of analysis is a reference to a specific region, city, or local area. This is the key detail to which we should pay attention. This research is based mostly on convenience sampling, which means that we have selected those messages, which are readily available to us, and this also constitutes a significant drawback because convenience sampling is always regarded as unreliable (Golan & Zaidner, p 970). The given study should not be viewed as a historical analysis, as we do not compare the news coverage strategies throughout a certain period of time. More likely, we study the situation at a specific point in time. Major Findings The results of the study can be summarized in table format News Agency    The United States  The Middle East  Africa  Local Area               BBC            1                  2                0       London (3)               Al Jazeera     20                 30               3       Jerusalem 10 times       Le Monde       5                  4                3       Paris (7)                Miami Herald.  50                 0                0       Miami (50), Florida (22)  Judging from these results, we can argue that the most privileged region of the world in terms of news coverage is the Middle East. In the vast majority of cases, the articles about this part of the globe are associated with terrorism or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They are posted on the website of each international agency (BBC, Al Jazeera, Le Monde). Finally, Africa appears to be the most underrepresented in news reports, especially if our observations are based only on front pages. Perhaps, a more thorough investigation would produce different results. As regards, local areas we
Introduction With the advent of internet technologies, the human resource (HR) practitioners can implement the innovative methods for handling their recruiting functions. By using the World Wide Web, HR practitioners can adopt web-based recruitment procedures, referred to as e-recruitment to take the advantages of the technological innovations and enhance the effectiveness and efficacy of their recruiting practices. The adoption of e-recruitment has its advantages and disadvantages which require serious consideration of companies deciding on this approach. This paper will provide a definition of e-recruitment and its practices, a critical analysis of the main strengths and weaknesses of web-based recruiting practices and a brief analysis of the benefits of adopting e-recruitment by modern companies. Definition E-recruiting, also known as web-based or online recruiting can be defined as the process of recruiting the personnel via the Internet. As cited in Millar (2010, p. 19), Lee (2005, p. 58) defined e-recruitment as practices of utilizing electronic means for filling vacancies effectively and efficiently. According to Galanaki (2002, p. 245), the online activities in the scope of e-recruitment include adding recruiting pages to existing companies’ websites, using services of specialized recruiting websites and posting recruiting advertisements on media sites. Additionally, Galanaki (2002) defined the remote interviews and assessments using the Internet and interactive tools as practices of e-recruitment. E-recruiting is the process of attracting and identifying the potential employees by posting advertisements on corporate, specialized recruitment or media websites or combination of these methods and options of remote interviews and assessments through interactive tools. Critical analysis Taking into account the fact that human resources are one of the most important assets in a company, the ability of HR department to attract and retain capable employees can have a significant impact upon the organization success (Singh & Finn, 2003). By using the artificial intelligence in general and e-recruitment strategies in particular, organizations can improve the HR processes by streamlining the activities, saving the costs, time, assessing more candidates and targeting specific audience (Dickson & Nusair, 2010, p. 87). Therefore, e-recruitment allows organizations to handle their recruiting functions more efficiently and can be beneficial for overcoming the traditional challenges of processing resumes, selecting and assessing the applicants. The opportunities to save costs are one of the most influential factors affecting the companies’ decisions to use e-recruitment. According to Leftley (2007, p. 9),