ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Alice Notley is an American poet, a representative of the second-generation of the New York School of Poetry. She wrote “Sonnet” in 1976, and this poem is focused on two main characters, Gracie Allen and her husband George Burns, who was trying to cure her of an illness. The story of “Sonnet” is considered to be partly autobiographical, although the characters were real people who lived in the first part of the 20 th century. Structure of the Poem “Sonnet” consists of three verses. The first one presents the image of Gracie Allen and George Burns, this shining and optimistic couple. They seem to be so happy, light-hearted, and inspiring for the others. Then, we see how magic was the mood and atmosphere in their marriage, and it is not only because the characters were comedians, but because of their personalities, which made them “artful” and “bright.” Nevertheless, the ending of the second verse prepares the reader for the tragedy. Finally, Notley describes Allen’s death in a romantic way, with a gentle hand. The reader might feel the couple’s hope for the better, but the miracle does not happen. It is noteworthy that in “Sonnet” Notley actively uses enjambment lines. Almost every line runs over the following one without finishing the statement, without pause or break. This method is sometimes used in poetry in order to confuse the reader by putting contradictory ideas in the following line. For example: He’d give her a pill and they’d hold each other till the palpitation Stopped—just a few minutes, many times and pills. As magic fills…(12-13) The enjambment also gives the reader a sense of a fast pace of the poem. Therefore, every part of “Sonnet” can be read almost in one breath. Moreover, the enjambment reinforces the sense of the last lines of the poem, which gives a moment of hope for the happy end, but finally, the reader sees the sad and inevitable outcome: heart fluttered And hurt and stopped (14-15). In “Sonnet” Notley did not use any traditional rhyme. However, some prosody techniques were used. Accentual prosody can be observed throughout the poem, with different accents in every verse. For instance, in the first part, there is an obvious accentual verse in which the number of stressed syllables remains constant (comedienne, illogical, halo). Also, some slant rhyme can be found in last lines (fill, till, pill). Usually, these techniques are used by poets for multiple reasons, but in this case, Notley seems to use them for expressive purposes to accentuate certain points. Meaning Knowledge of the background is necessary to make the plot clear. Gracie Allen was a famous American comedian. She became a celebrity while performing in comedy shows together with her husband, George Burns, who was her “straight man.” Allen died in Hollywood from a heart stroke in 1964. “Sonnet” is based on their real story, and despite the fact that it sounds like a comedy, it is a true drama. This poem is sometimes called
Introduction Pop culture is a set of attitudes, imageries, concepts, notions, and viewpoints within a given social setting. The social influence of African Americans on popular culture is perhaps among one of the most widespread and enduring aspects in this area. Even in the face of a history of entrenched racism, black artists have had a massive impact on the popular culture of Americans in general (Williams & Zenger, 2007). The most referenced pop culture genres within the African American pivot, according to Justman (2005), include films, music, and spots that constitute the mainstream of pop culture. The film “ As Good as It Gets ” is, no doubt, one of the examples that fill the bill of pop culture in the African American context. Produced in 1997 by Laura Ziskin, “ As Good as It Gets ” is an American romantic comedy directed by James Brooks. The film stars Jack Nicholson (Melvin Udall) as a cynical, unorthodox, racist, and novelist. The film also depicts Helen Hunt as a single mother whose son chronically ill. Greg Kinnear is a gay artist and a very outgoing individual. Several themes permeate the film to explore psychological principles, disorders, and another phenomenon that falls within the study of pop culture and psychology. The influence of African culture on hip-hop music Hip-hop music started in the 1970s with the African America teenagers taking a greater proportion of the movement. Initially, this type of music had four elements, namely Rap music, Turntablism, B-boying, and graffiti arts. Hip-hop music has made tremendous progress since the introduction of the industrial revolution. Initially, hip-hop was only dominant in urban areas and later spread to suburban areas. In essence, the neglected Africans in America introduced this new form of music that involved raping and the use of arts during the play. Particularly, the Bronx was the home place of these African Americans that introduced hip-hop dancing. Records show that hip-hop was written by considering the cultural practices of African America (Justman, 2005). For instance, beginning from the way of dance and the type of music was a true replica of the African cultures. Clearly, many scholars have connected the raping style with the tradition of the West Africans. Africans had vocal skills and itinerant storytellers that contributed to the formation of the songs. In addition, African American culture embraced the use of the rhymed stanzas in open and private places. Since the beginning of the 21 st century, many other forms of music like R&B, Jazz, Rock, among others, have borrowed the hip-hop skills like poetry and writing skills (Williams & Zenger, 2007). Remarkably, the route of the hip-hop has been traced from the black churches in America. The report shows the preachers, an
Background information about COUSA The Confederation of Ontario University Staff Associations and Union (COUSA) is an umbrella union that was formed in 1974 by a group of unionized employees working at Ontario University in Canada. COUSA is made up of workers from clerical jobs, administrative, technical and professional occupations. There are different types of groups under the COUSA umbrella. They include employees from Ontario University- from independent, non-unionized groups, provincial groups and international unions- are members of COUSA. All member unions under COUSA shared a common aspiration: that all employees of Ontario University need a common platform to collect information and work together with the government. In addition, the umbrella organization does not rival other unionized organization; on the contrary, it is willing to collaborate with them to the benefit of workers (COUSA, 2011, p.1). There are many benefits one can get by joining COUSA. For example, members of the Confederation attend three seminars organized by the umbrella body every year to network and share valuable information about emerging issues in labor unions. COUSA offers avenues where non-academic employees at Ontario University can share knowledge and experience about trends or activities that touch on employment issues. In addition, COUSA organizes workshops where members discuss and share knowledge on crucial topics for example: pay equity; reforms on labor laws; lobbying approaches; negotiating skills; and benefits costing. The Confederation also lobbies and advocates on behalf of Ontario University staff to the public and government. It also offers a platform that enable member groups to collaborate on a short term basis (COUSA, 2011, p.3). Legal issues and obstacles facing COUSA There are a number of legislative reforms in Canada that are likely to impact on the way COUSA runs its affairs. For example, in 2004, the parliament enacted Labor Relations Bill 144 that altered a number of labor relations laws in Canada. COUSA has several trade unions that are registered under the Ontario Labor Relations Act. As a result, the introduction of Labor Relations Bill 144 is bound to have an effect on the activities of the trade unions under COUSA. In addition, the new regulation will have a negative impact on academic workers hired on a part-time basis by the Ontario University. For example, the Bill requires unionized organizations to submit the income disclosure requirements. This is one of the new changes introdu
Economic processes are versatile and provide many services in the corporate world. The main approaches promote several factors to be determined, namely: agreements concerning details of the affair including time, place, quality, and quantity of products or services. The synthesis of economic development with its standpoints and business involvement tends to form a unity of this complicated interrelation called transport industry. In the twenty-first century, there is no surprise that transport systems underwent and perpetually undergo some improvements in the aspects of the logistic approach. Systematized and vital for this branch of interests principles touch upon the following points: nomenclature of what should be delivered passengers or freight, final destination, consideration of time limits, and quantity factor. The varieties of types of transport presuppose the difference in prices, assets, and customer supply on the whole. (Boyer 45) This feature of transport systems props up against evaluation of supply and demands peculiarities in this sphere of economic science. There are many types of transportation used worldwide such as: by car, by rail, by air, by ship, by pipe, etc. This variety of transport ways assumes the fact of the complicated structure and facilities which are to be born in mind. That is why regulations of transport aspects in relationships between companies and customers are of great importance. Undoubtedly in this approach, one should presume regulations of both safety and economic factors. By the statistics of the United States, the general circulation of traffic is concentrated in different proportions as of the regions and transport supply. The fact that the epoch of fastened transportation development reached its apogee is a universal truth, especially in America. Facts are a stubborn thing. With regards to the credibility and reliability of transport systems in this country it is important to admit the following piece of information: A 2005 American study stated that there are seven root causes of congestion, and gives the following summary of their contributions: bottlenecks 40%, traffic incidents 25%, bad weather 15%, work zones 10%, poor signal timing 5%, and special events/other 5%. ( “Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Trends and Advanced Strategies for Congestion Mitigation”) Transport systems hugely contribute to the global economy and prevent slowdown of companies as well as countries elaboration in terms of great local and world competition. There are many examples of credibility and the ability to compete with companies in v
Given the fact that proponents of left-wing agenda in this country have been jamming the notions of political-correctness down the throats of ordinary citizens for quite a while, it comes as no surprise that many Americans now have grown increasingly suspicious, towards the classics of American literature, as being innately racist. Mark Twain is one of such authors. Despite his friendly attitude towards Blacks, expressed in many of his books, Liberal censors now accuse him of patronising African-Americans, by revealing them in his novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain”, as simply agricultural workers, not overburdened with intellect, as opposed to today’s Hollywood portrayal of Blacks as solemnly computer geniuses, FBI “tough men” and American Presidents. In their article “Racism and Real Life: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the Undergraduate Survey of American Literature”, Annemarie Hamlin and Constance Joyner suggest that “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” should simply be banned nationwide, simply because in it, Black Americans are not being praised to the sky as “intelligent and beautiful”, as it is the case with today’s many Hollywood movies: “Mister Twain has authored a novel that perpetuates the inexplicable, insidious, and heinous sense of entitlement that dominates an entire society, manifested in the seemingly innate characteristics and dialogues of the fictional, racist, child, Huck Finn” (Hamlin, Joyner. 2007). The self-appointed guardians of politically-correct morality, such as Hamlin and Joyner, also accuse Twain’s novel of being filled with racial slur – apparently, the word “nigger” is being used in it 48 times. In its turn, this makes Liberal whiners to think that the reading of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” may cause an emotional harm to representatives of racial minorities, even though that the word “nigger” is being used millions times by Black students in Canadian and American public schools, on daily basis, while referring
Introduction Academic writing requires students to have cute information on the various styles of writing based on the systems of writing advocated for by institutions of higher education. They need to follow and adhere to certain rules. Some of these procedures include, but not limited to, referencing or rather citation rules and the avoidance of committing academic crimes such as plagiarism. In fact, many of the literatures that describe the procedures of writing in whatsoever style do not fail to mention these two requirements of any academic essay. Kate Turabian’s Student’s Guide to Writing College Papers is perhaps one of the scholarly works entirely done with the intention of describing the writing procedures of academic works. Though I agree with what Turabian claims, Farber and Tucker point out how crucial it is, to incorporate the period within which her claims hold based on the evident changes that have taken place since the publishing of the fourth edition of Student’s Guide to Writing College Papers . This evident based on the various developments in writing contributed largely by the emergence of new technologies prompting new considerations in the writing styles. Introspection of Kate’s claims Any form of academic writing has some preset purpose. Consequently, in the evaluation process of the academic writings such as essays, one has to look at some preset rules to know whether the writers have followed them. With this in mind, Turabian’s suggestion that “Few students learn to write by memorizing formal rules before and after the writing-to talk hence need to learn about the written forms you expect them to produce, not as your personal quirky preference” (Turabian 5). Building on this line of view, the research process emerges as an experience dominated by loneliness. Many of the people who deploy their better time to research find themselves only having the various detractions of their computers or books as the only source of company. Turabian reckons, “everything we know about writing and thinking suggests that most of us work more slowly and less well when we work alone” (19). However, this claim is challengeable. In fact, various researchers especially the ones who often use the norms of the research process have the capacity of performing exemplarily when they accomplish their tasks alone. The word loneliness means the state of lack of company during the research time since in actual sense one cannot regard experienced researchers as lonely since, while writing, they engage with their targeted audience. Experienced writers can evaluate what their target audience may understand, as well as what they cannot understand. According to Turabian, “…There is nothing easy for new students” (20). In support of this claim, it sounds somewh
Executive Summary This report regards a local authority that is merging its education, library and social services, which will be done by relocating all of them into one facility. Purpose of this integration is to create synergies that would lead to greater efficiency and productivity in the council. Member of the public are expected to benefit from this move because they will receive three distinct services under one facility as opposed to the current situation; they have to move all over the locality for same service. The process of merging these departments is to be takes systematically and with greater levels of transparency. Background Information The need for relocation is being heightened by the current fragmentation of services in the county. Facilities for services that are closely related are currently located in far-flung areas, a situation that is causing serious operational deficiencies. Members of the public also get inconvenienced by the current operational structure. Departments of education, libraries and social services—all of which work closely with each other—are located far from each other. For instance, department of education is seven kilometers away from the library, which lead to serious inconveniences among employee and members of the public. Employees inconvenience comes from the fact that most historical documentation is stored in the library archives. As a result, employees have to drive several kilometers to collect just information. Having to travel to the library for those six kilometers several times a day has led to waste of council resources, and time that employees would have spent doing some other productive work. Member of the public get inconvenienced because they do not have a clear understanding of where materials they need would be located. For instance, some visit council libraries looking for information that is located in the social or educational services. It is common to see helpless council; residencies going to the wrong places. Unfortunately, even most of council employees in the three departments get confused on where certain information could be saved. As a result, the employees end up sending members of the public to wrong places, or even have themselves go look for non-existing documents at the wrong department. All this confusions have angered members of the public who have consistently pushed the council into adopting more effi
Figure 1. Hannover. The city was founded in the medieval period, and its name can be translated as “High bank”. But it is necessary to mention, that this fact is under doubts. The city was a small village of ferrymen and fishers, and became a relatively large town in the 13th century. Nowadays, it is divided into 13 districts, and the population composes approximately 500 thousand inhabitants. It can be considered as one of the cultural capitals of Germany, as there are about 40 theaters in Hanover. Hamburg and Bremen These are the city-states, which means, that these cities have the subordinate territories, and possess the municipal powers. One of the interesting facts of Hamburg is that there are lots of canals in Hamburg, which are crossed by over 2300 bridges — more than Amsterdam (1200) and Venice (400) together. Bremen is one of the largest port cities of Germany. Major part of the sights in Bremen could be found in the Altstadt (Old Town), an elliptical area encircled by the Weser River, on the southwest, and the Wallgraben , the medieval city walls, on the northeast. Figure 2. Hannover Figure 3. Hannover Opera in Hamburg was founded in the 2 January 1678 when the “Opern-Theatrum” was inducted with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile. It became the first public opera house in Germany established by the art-loving citizens of Hamburg, a flourishing member of the Hanseatic League. The zoo in Hamburg is well known all over the world as the first zoo in the history with the open-air “cages”, representing the natural conditions of life for various animals. It was founded in 1907. Figure 4. Zoo The Hanseatic League The League acted between the 13 th and the 17 th century, as the league of the entrepreneurs, in order to maintain the trading monopoly in Baltic Sea. The fall of the league happened in the middle of the 16 th century, but as it can be seen from the history, it continued acting for the following century up to the middle of the 17 th . The Lüneburger Heide The Lüneburg Heath is an area in Lower Saxony in Germany, and it includes the territory between the Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen. Northern Low Saxon language is still extensively used in the region. The region is plastered by a heathland landscape. The existing landscape appeared in
Since modern firms are often constrained financially, it is vital for them to seek external funds so as to expand innovative industries, thus making innovation as a very key and important part of future corporate success. Welch (2011) using micro data, illustrate that access to finance matters for entry of uprising and small firms helps expansion of new firms following successful initial investment. Welch stresses that modern firms most often faced tighter financial constraints. Grenadier and Malenko (2011) from their study found that for a larger percentage of United Kingdom firms, the financial difficulties they faced were essential for young firms and states that these firms “are more prone to facing asymmetric information problems”. When a measure of negative correlation between market power and bank distress was taken, it showed that banks that have higher shares of cross-border assets have a larger market power at home. Figure 1: Innovative investment processes that investment managers use to secure their investments. Grenadier & Malenko (2011) notes “there has been an increase in financial market sophistication leading to a constant change and increase in competition therefore Innovation and the development of new products is a core fac
A lot of assumptions and discussions surround the role of Muslim women. Sadly though, such assumptions and discussions have largely remained negative. The Muslim woman is perceived as oppressed by dictatorial fathers and husbands (Ahmed 18). Besides suffocating under the veil, Muslim women are also perceived to be forced into marriage. The essay is an attempt to examine the role of women in Islam.In addition, the essay shall also attempt to explore the kinds of variations from country to country regarding the role of women in Islam. Finally, the possibility of new developments to be expected regarding the issue at hand shall also be assessed. It is important to assess the role of women in Islam since the subject is riddled with a lot of misconceptions, especially by the non-Muslims. The Islamic religion has explicitly defined and outlined the role of women in Islam. Whereas the Islamic society relegates the role of a man to the public sphere, on the other hand, the role of a Muslim woman largely remains a private matter (Ahmed 32). Her primary responsibility is to be a dutiful wife to her husband, and also to ensure that her children are brought up in an upright manner. In Islam, women are regarded as a vital element of the family because they not only care for the children, but also because they ensure that the family remains united together. Islam encourages women to undertake all their duties with enthusiasm and devotion. The Quran holds women who take good care of their husbands’ property and young ones in high esteem (Baden 23). On the other hand, there are also other responsibilities of a Muslim woman beyond those of a wife and a mother. Islam allows women to take part in pilgrimage ( Hajj) . In addition, they are also allowed to engage in politics, exercise to vote, manage their own businesses, and also to partake in gainful employment (Baden 23). Nonetheless, a woman’s psychological and physiological make-up may hold her back from assuming leadership positions as head of state or in the army. There is also a lot of debate on the social and spiritual role of women in Islam. Furthermore, questions of family life, marriage, sexual morality, custody, divorce, as well as inheritance, still abounds. Notably, Muslim feminists have been instrumental in such debates (Baden 24). Reports indicate that the participation of Muslim women in the labor force is lower, in comparison with non-Muslim countries. Nonetheless, there is little evidence to suggest that Muslim women have been discriminated against in as far as their contribution in the workplace is concerned. If anything, the strong Islamic traditions regards a woman as a