ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Critical Thinking: What do we need to do to make sure our (global) society provides enough clean water to sustain life (now and in the future)? Taking into account the fact that most of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, it is difficult to imagine that it may not be enough. However, the seas and oceans contain only saltwater that is unsuitable for human use. To maintain life, humans and animals need clean water. The largest reserves of freshwater are concentrated in lakes and rivers, mountain glaciers, polar ice, and groundwater (Smith, Shaffer, and Young par. 1). At the same time, as the poles of the Earth are not suitable for the cultivation of agricultural plants, humans have a relatively small portion of drinkable water. Besides, several factors are polluting the water such as deforestation, industry, and its inappropriate use. In this connection, the paper aims at the identification of measures to provide enough clean water nowadays and in the future using economical terms. First, it is necessary to consider the impact of industry on the clean water. Water pollution is associated with the period of liberal economic reforms and the weakened control over the degree of pollution of natural waters as plenty of dangerous chemicals, industrial production, hydraulic engineering, and transport systems were created in the 50-70s of the last century, and most of them need renovation. Moreover, one might note that the current industry pollutes the drinkable water through various emissions from chemicals to agriculture (Figure 2). Figure 1. Water costs for industry. More to the point, for example, in China and several other Asian countries, there is an increasing development of the internal competition for water resources between agriculture and industry. At the same time, farmers prefer not to reduce the water consumption but to increase the value-added in products. This conflict between private initiatives and priorities of the region should be an object of public policy regulation: the only effective stimulus is ambitious benefits to farmers. Speaking of irrigation in agriculture, it is of great importance to point out the fact that it requires huge expenditures of water. In this connection, agricultural areas of the water supply system should have a large capacity, especially in arid conditions. From the reservoir, water is sent to the faced canals and then by branch distribution to irrigation channels to the farm. The majority of the reservoirs should be located above the irrigated land so that water can flow under gravity while farmers, who store up water, pump it from wells directly into ditches or storage ponds. The price of the drinkab
Introduction The whole concept of this proposition that race is like a bacteria and changes faster than academicians are defining it stems from the fact that despite bacteria being single celled, they remain very complex. They can live in extremely high temperatures and extremely low temperatures that do not guarantee survival. They also feed on almost everything. The definition of racism continues to evolve with time and when academicians think that they have fully defined racism and that they know what it encompasses, it presents itself in a different form. The implication is that race has been resistant to factors that are supposed to define it. It is redefined by other factors such as popular culture which give it a new meaning altogether (Acuna 1). In the American context, it was possible to define race some years ago but the situation is now different and defining race continues to become difficult. For instance, when W. Bush was campaigning for the presidency in U.S some people would have described him as being racist because he is white. However, it is difficult to rule out that he is racist because a majority of his supporters were black people. The implication is that if he was a racist, then the black population would not have backed him. In the 2004 elections, the Latinos were not able to recognize racism which confirms that the definition of racism is still elusive. Ten years before this election, the Latinos living in California had unanimously agreed to vote against proposition 187 because they said that it was a racist endeavor. This led to a shortage of votes for the republicans from the Latinos. Latinos currently constitute about 14% of the American population hence they cannot be ignored by the rest of Americans. The Black experience in America is characteristic of an endless struggle for human rights which dates back to more than 200 years ago. Among the Latino population, it is only the Mexic
Weapons varying from assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns are more common in households around the country as a form of protection. In society, there are several cases of criminal activities that have occurred involving the use of guns such as robbery and theft of properties. The stigma portrayed in today’s media is that firearms are the epitome of everything going wrong in the world. Incidents have placed a negative depiction of rifle use, which has tarnished the good side of owning weapons. Weapons handled correctly and used properly have saved numerous lives and will continue to do so despite the stigma associated with improper usage. Guns have existed for centuries and will continue to evolve long after our lifetime. They were primarily created as a form of defense from enemies in times of war. In today’s life, individuals use arms for purposes such as sports, protection, and hunting jobs (Carlson). Assault rifles are usually fully automatic or semi-automatic and have eight cycles of function to properly displace rounds. The first step is feeding, which takes a round from the magazine and places it into the chamber. Chambering is the next step which is the round successfully moving through the weapon’s chamber, followed by locking, the process of the chamber, and bolt assembly aligning for firing. Firing is the resulting action of the trigger squeeze. Unlocking is resetting the bolt assembly by releasing the locking lug. Extracting is when the cartridge leaves the rifle’s chamber using the extractor. Ejection is the release of the expended cartridge. Followed by cocking, the last cycle of the function is just aligning the trigger assembly for firing. The functioning cycle gives insight into how the process of firing a weapon works. In the past decades, the viewpoint around firearms has continuously changed. One point of view is that crimes committed by firearms are at an all-time high and are pushing for stricter laws on guns. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Oct 1st – 19th, 2021, the number of Americans who considered more stringent gun laws is down to its lowest since 2014 at 52 percent. Brenan states in the article that “Americans’ support for stricter laws typically rise in the aftermath of high profile mass shootings” (“Stricter Gun Laws Less Popular in the U.S.”). In recent history, there have been several mass murders throughout the country. According to the reports by the FBI, in the year 2015 to 2019 homicides conducted by firearm were an average of 10,251.6, with a slight spike in 2017 and a decline in 2015 (“Expanded Homicide Data Table 8”). The research shows how various arms fall into the wrong hands leading to deaths. Several adults in America either own a firearm or share a household with a gun owner, as determined by a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2017. These firearms have been identified, placed in a government system, and registered to a specific United States citizen (“The Demographics of Gun Ownership in the U.S.”). In the country, purchasing rifles and ammunition is not as simple due
Introduction The main aim of establishing the UN was to maintain world security, peace, and friendly relations among countries. However, rather than playing a significant role in the maintenance of global security, peace, and settling disputes between countries, the UN has been active in articulating less important issues. Though the issues expressed by the founding fathers of the organization are not the same as of the 21st world century, there is a need to reform the UN to have a realignment of its goals (Alli 50). The UN agenda continually contains the debate about the changes required to the UN Chatter. This article argues that the UN Chatter reforms are necessary to enhance the credibility of the organization, improve its transparency, and strengthen the organization’s efficacy as a multilateral organization. This essay discusses the several UN bodies in need of reforms such as the Security Council, General Assembly, and UN finance. UN Security Council Reforms The central focus of the reforms is on the Security Council, considering that this is the most powerful UN body that has the potential of bringing change to other UN agencies. Advanced investigations of the existing problems affecting the decision-making of the Security Council, however, reveal the complexity of implementation of any reforms. A liberal optimist view wouldn’t be taken be serious, hence revealing the difficulties that are there for any implementation of reforms. All the same, putting into consideration the fact that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are likely to slow down any reform that is against their interests, any reforms process to the Council and generally to the UN organization can only take place progressively. Despite the broadly supported Security Council reforms, this issue has brought differences among the members. The main apprehension is whether to raise the figures of permanent member states or limit the participation of non-permanent members to the affairs of the Security Council. The Security Council should be reformed to establish more effective Council working methods and geographical balance in the selection of permanent members. Finance reforms Superpowers such as the United States and Russia and dictators spend large percentages of their GDP on defense. Other countries such as Israel, Iran, and Syria have engaged in military conflicts and heightened military alert resulting in massive arms production. The United Nation should introduce taxation to all arms producers to increase its budget. However, the main issue with implementing such fundamental taxation would be finding approval. Implementation of the Global Recourses Dividend by the UN would help tackle the influx of world poverty while at the same time reducing economic inequality. Member’s unwillingness to pay their contributions has rendered the UN to be in a financial crisis; therefore the UN should implement new rules to avoid such situations. There ought to be ‘reserve funds’ to keep the budget of t
Maternal use of cocaine has numerous adverse effects on offspring. Due to its low molecular mass, it is able to penetrate the placenta, impacting a fetus during pregnancy. Thus, at the early development stage, it may lead to several issues, such as the abnormal formation of limbs, orofacial clefts, and congenital heart diseases, as well as other congenital abnormalities (Villa, n.d.). More importantly, cocaine is known to create neurodevelopmental issues that can contribute to long-term effects throughout the offspring’s childhood. The most common outcomes include behavioral disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), language development issues, and oppositional defiant disorder (Villa, n.d.). In addition, children of cocaine abusers can encounter difficulties with procedural learning, thus impairing early school performance, experience memory shortages, and are prone to deficiencies in perceptual reasoning. Finally, some of their executive functions can be disrupted. Cocaine addiction developed during fetus development can also lead to social issues in the long run. For instance, children of cocaine abusers are more likely to become substance abusers at an early age. The most common substances are tobacco and marijuana. While the exact causality mechanism behind the correlation is yet to be established, it is clear that maternal use of cocaine contributes to the issue. Finally, children of cocaine abusers experience a number of difficulties throughout their childhood. These difficulties include the inability to control emotions, weaker stress resilience, and a lower capacity for problem-solving (Villa, n.d.). A
Radiographic film processing involves a process where an exposed film is subjected to specific treatment to enable clear visualization of exposed parts to enable identification of abnormalities under scrutiny for an effective and conclusive diagnosis. It is the production of images on a radioactive sensitive material using non-destructive semiconductor failure technique of analysis. This method utilized the principle of difference in absorption capacity for various body parts, where more dense regions (bones) absorbs majority of exposed light as opposed to less dense regions (tissues and voids), the former will be clearly demarcated and thus abnormalities easily identified (National Research Council 135). These methods include; Rapid processing, extended processing, Dry processing (Thermographic processing and Photothermographic processing), and daylight processing among others. This paper attempts to evaluate the alternate processing methods for radiography, their pros and cons, as well as the way they work. Rapid processing method considers the time taken to produce a single image. This processing method takes only thirty minutes to produce a radiographic image without interfering with the quality of image. This is an improvement from the ninety minutes taken by the standard processing methods. This becomes a beneficial factor for some emergency cases like angiography, surgery and other special procedures that require fast production of radiographic images to be used by physicians in the diagnosis, and treatment of patients. However, the processing method is very expensive, and the radiation dose is very high compared to standard processing methods (Bushong 203). Extended processing radiography is particularly useful in mammography considering its extended processing, greater image contrast and lower radiation dose. However the processing method takes long to drop. Daylight processing has come to save radiology on the need to depend on the dark room for the process. In Daylight processing the film is automatically extracted from a cassette and is run into the process. These processors require very little space and can accommodate different sizes of films (Bushong 203). This processing method has an advantage of taking less time, usually 15 second to insert the cassette into the daylight loader and retrieve a fresh cassette. To add to this, quality of the film produced under the daylight processing is high. Dry processing method is a method which produces images without the use of wet chemistry. This processing method has several advantages which include; reduced chemical cost, less environmental harm and higher output among others. There are two major types of processing that fall under this method namely; Photothermographic processing and Thermographic processing. Thermographic process utilises heat source called print head to heat and produce a visible image. The electric energy in the print head is converted y the print head with the use of resistive elements. The processing method produces no latent image because organic silver salts are directly
A majority of business leaders assume that creativity and success can be achieved without any friction. However, this is usually not the case. All organizations experience some level of conflict. This is because conflict cannot be prevented when different people are working together. In organizations where there are wide arrays of disciplines and personalities, positive and productive conflict is experienced. In this regard, it is extremely important that company managers should learn how to handle all forms of conflict. Recently, there were battles between the operations and accounting departments at company Z. Consequently, this became a grave challenge since the customers were involved. Employees in the accounting department were not getting along well with each other. They reacted by ignoring their differences, which enabled them to unite against other workers (Heffernan, 2010). It is worth noting that supposed variations regarding variable group objectives and status plays a great role in aggravating the intergroup conflict. In most of the cases, this results in no communication or miscommunication. Consequently, there is negative functioning ability in the organization. Organization Z had several choices on how to respond to the conflict. This included solving or avoiding it, transforming some of the variables at the workplace, and adhering to a particular conflict resolution process. In critical situations, a facilitator helps in discussing the issues and concerns that form the basis of conflict. If the conflict is allowed to continue, the business suffers serious losses. Responses Running away from a conflict might eventually bring down an organization. Organization Z decided to face the problem and address it. This was impo
The article Jihad vs. McWorld, written by Benjamin R. Barber, explores the two possible political models that may emerge in the future. Both of them are non-democratic but promote slightly different values and approaches towards the distribution of power among the countries. They are called the McWorld model and the Jihad model. They may exist separately in different societies and, at the same time, coexist in one country. McWorld is empowered by the four imperatives: a market imperative, a resource imperative, an information-technology imperative, and an ecological imperative. These four constituents of the system will enable the countries to create a universal rational society but in a homogenized, depoliticized, commercialized, and bureaucratized manner. The Jihad model regards war not as a political instrument but as an emblem of identity and a way to express the community’s will. Though both systems have natural politics, each of them appears to have traits that are typical of antipolitics. McWorld prioritizes laissez-faire market principles as a guiding force for society. The Jihad model, however, appears to vote for the dictatorship, military government, or theocratic fundamentalism. Both models deny democracy and do not consider its guiding principles and forces appealing or beneficial for society. That is why neither of these two systems is beneficial for the democratic world of today, but there are slightly noticeable tendencies towards the transition to these models in some countries. However, if the democratic powers still have the opportunities to prevent such a dark future for the whole system and the world in general. It is possible because the desire for self-government, expression of participation, and representation exists even in the most traditionalized and hierarchical countries and societies. The article The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington deals with the phenomenon of possible global conflicts that may inflame in the future, not between the countries but between the whole civilizations. The author stresses that the conflict of civilization will be the latest phase of the evolution of conflicts that exist or existed in the world throughout the course of history. However, despite the fact that the majority of the conflicts in the modern world are characterized by ideological or economic reasons, the future conflict of civilizations will inflame due to culture-related ones. There exist several reasons for this supposition. They concern the religious, cultural,
Introduction For a long time now teenage pregnancy has been a situation of concern with some people referring to it as both public health and a social problem. The teenage pregnancy problem requires a change of culture so that a more holistic approach can be adapted to contain the teenager’s sexual health and recognize everyone’s contribution towards reducing cases of teenage pregnancy. In the past, there has been a shift of the public and policy concern over the marital status of the mothers to be to their age. This shift may have been caused by several reasons which include:   * the growing cohabitation among the middle classes (which has made childbearing a difficult behavior to condemn),   * the extension of adolescence,   * the subsequent dependence of young people on their families for economic support. This has rendered youthful parenthood an increasingly problematic event (Arai, 2009). Although teen pregnancy is a problem it can be reduced with good education, parental support and embracing of birth control methods and thus there is the need for more e convoluted transitions into education, employment, and family formation which has to be fuelled by the structural changes occurring in our economy (Arai, 2009). The goal of this research paper is to inform the general public of how teenage pregnancies can be reduced through good education, parental support and embracing birth control methods. Thesis Although teen pregnancy is an ongoing problem, it can be reduced with good education, parental support, and birth control Literature Review Over the last couple of years, the United States of America has woken up to the highest teenage pregnancy rates among the developed economies and thus, there is a need for we as parents to ensure that cases of teenage pregnancies are reduced. It is a fact that sex and relationships education needs to be more positive and often augmented by more open attitudes between parents, teachers, and young people. To make sex education more acceptable for all the stakeholders involved, school policy on sex and relationships education should ensure the inclusion within the school curriculum of a well-informed approach to preventing occurrences of teenage pregnancies. There have been arguments by teenagers that sex education comes rather when its already too late and the teenagers know it all, and thus many do not concentrate. Thus, there is a need to introduce sex education earlier before the teenagers have already practiced all there is about sex. Another way of making sex education work is to change the approach in that rather than basing sex education on the mechani