ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The present project aims at analysing literacy practices and develop the perception of literacy as a socially situated practice. Literacy may be defined as the individual’s ability to read and write. In the paper, the 3D model of literacy introduced by Green (2012) will be largely employed. Specific emphasis in developing literacy is made in relation to early education since teachers play a crucial role in promoting young learners’ reading and writing skills. In this respect, attention should be paid to social relationships. Social development of a child can be fostered not only in families but also in classrooms, where children communicate with peers (“Learning in personal and social capability,” n.d.). Hence, it is of utmost importance to pay thorough attention to the development of literacy skills at schools in different dimensions. The paper consists of three major parts: a description of a literacy event in which I participated, a detailed analysis of all the aspects of the event, implications for teaching, and a conclusion. The analysis of the literacy event will be based on Green’s (2012) 3D model involving operational, cultural, and critical dimensions. The analysis of the event will promote a clearer understanding of the approaches needed to apply in my teaching practice. Details of the Literacy Event The Description of the Event Observed The event that I am going to analyse is a conversation over dinner with several friends. This is an example of socially situated literacy practice since we were communicating in a friendly atmosphere, sharing our opinions on some issues, and speaking about misunderstandings that emerged during the conversation. The purpose of the event was exchanging thoughts on the current protests in Hong King that are focused on the government’s intention to implement the extradition bill. Last week, I invited three of my friends, one from Hong Kong (called B) and two from mainland China (called C and D) to have dinner together in a Korean restaurant. Together, there four participants of the social situation: three of my friends and me. There were different positions taken by the interlocutors, but this fact did not prevent us from having a polite talk. On the contrary, due to divergences in our views, we were able to have a lively discussion where each of us could express one’s point and argue why he or she considered it to be the best solution. The Analysis of the Event Green’s (2012) 3D model of literacy consists of three elements: operational, critical, and cultural. All of the three dimensions are equally significant, and each of them is interrelated with the other two (Scull, Nolan, & Raban, 2013).
Definition of the issue This paper is aimed at discussing the current scandal in which General Motors is involved. In particular, the company failed to recall more than a million of vehicles, even though the representatives of the company knew about the flaws in their design (Rushe, 2014). So, this controversial decision is the main issue that should be discussed in greater detail. It should be noted that this decision might have led to many traffic accidents and 13 deaths (Rushe, 2014). Overall, the discussion of this question can throw light on the decision-making in modern corporations and its impact on the lives of other people. Its basis Overall, the basis of this issue is the unwillingness of the management to consider the interests of the main stakeholders who can affect the performance of this corporation. In particular, one should first speak about customers who put their trust in the integrity and efficiency of General Motors. Secondly, one should keep in mind that the release of defective vehicles could endanger those people, who might not even be the clients of this corporation. To a great extent, this behavior can be described as the breach of trust (Destri, 2013, p. 13). One should keep in mind that General Motors is not the first car-manufacturer, involved in such a scandal. Nevertheless, such cases continue to attract the interest of many people. The main ground rule The main ground rule, which is applicable to this situation, is the responsibility of businesses. In particular, the managers of these organizations should be accountable for their decisions. In turn, these organizations should make sure that their policies do not pose any threat to other people. So, this is the main rule according to which the decisions of the managers should be evaluated. The cause of the problem It is possible to change that this issue was brought about by the absence of ethical safeguards that could prevent the release of defective vehicles. According to the investigation, carried out by governmental officials, the engineers and managers were aware of the defect in the ignition (Rushe, 2014). Nevertheless, the company did not decide to redesign the vehicles. In their opinion, this step could eventually undermine the economic efficiency of the project. It should be noted that this issue was revealed in the course of different governmental investigations that were caused by numerous complaints about the safety of vehicles produced by General Motors. Nevertheless, there was no internal audit that could reveal this problem. This is one of one of the aspects that can be identified. Ethical systems Much attention should be paid to the ethical systems that could shape the decisions of the main stakeholder. In particular, the senior managers followed a utilitarian ethics according to which a person should focus primarily on the consequences of an action (Mizzoni, 2009, p. 82). They attempted to weigh the positive and negative consequences of releasing a vehicle that could pose a threat to the lives of users. I
Introduction Proponents of the false memory theory assert that recovered memories are non-existent and that most claims are usually founded on psychotherapists’ beliefs or improper research lacking in empirical, clinical or scientific evidence (Whitfield et al., 2001). Most of them believe that the use of dreamwork, harmful visualization and suggestive techniques make recovered memories an unreliable psychotherapeutic method (Whitfield et al., 2001). Other individuals (Williams, 1995), (Colangelo, 2009), (Harvey and Herman, 1997) support the existence of recovered memories asserting that the impact of the trauma and the dissociation of the occurrence all have a tremendous effect on memory encoding. The paper argues that recovered memories are a real phenomenon and that summarily dismissing them is both inaccurate and unjustified. Whether false memories of sexual abuse are possible The first important fact guiding this argument is that memory is discontinuous. Williams (1995) found that 49 out of 129 participants in her survey could not remember any of the abuse they had undergone in their childhood or could just remember a part of it. Other studies on memory indicate that victims of sexual abuse at some point in their lives could not recall part or all of the events surrounding their abuse (Von der Kolk and Fisler, 1995). The latter research was an exploratory study of forty-six participants. It was found that forty-two percent of them went through total or si
The events of September 11 changed the American nation and forced millions of people to understand the real threat of terrorism and Jihad for the international community. Political leaders and philosophers, military leaders, and sociologists have developed conspiracy theories of 9/11 trying to explain the attacks, the involvement of the government, and its response to the attacks. Despite the facts and figures proposed by the conspiracy theories, all of them lack clear evidence and official documents which could prove the hypotheses. The majority of the conspiracy theories claim that the US government knew about the attacks but had ignored a threat. Critics explain that the US government had received numerous warnings and anonymous letters informing about terrorist attacks and the date of the attacks (Rothschild 67). Despite all attempts of the US government to protect its citizens against terrorist attacks, the government lost control over social security. Also, critics underline that President Bush and the state authorities did not inform the public about possible threats afraid of militarization of society and civil disobedience movements (Jasper 45). Another layer of theories states that the events of September 2001 were initiated by the US military and the government which tried to gain the confidence of the American people and inspires racial envy and militarization (Hari 34). This is one of the most controversial theories because there are no official documents and facts which could prove this hypothesis. Also, some researchers claim that the American military had been interested in the
We can briefly discuss the four important reasons for the importance of annual objectives for strategy implementation. First, they can be the basis for allotting resources; second, they can be a means for assessing managers; third, they can be a primary tool for checking progress toward attaining long-term goals; and lastly, they can create priorities for the different divisions of the organization (David, 2011). Annual objectives are like building blocks of an organization. They refer to a not-so-distant future that is significant to organizational success. Without these annual objectives, strategy implementation may not be effective. Organizations should devote much of their effort and many of their resources to guarantee that annual objectives are properly planned, coherent with long-term goals, and helpful of the planned strategies. The organization’s resources have to be distributed to the various departments and projects There are various ways in implementing annual objectives, and people who respond in formulating them should be creative and must take into consideration the various factors for which the founders formed the organization. Annual objectives are like rules that managers and employees have to follow. They can be a basis for the authenticity of organization activities and serve as a benchmark for organizational performance.
The authors of epic poems and heroic ballads have always drawn attention to arms and armor, using them for pictorial and symbolic means. Beowulf is not an exception, depicting a warring and savage heroic world. Beowulf uses all manner of tools to slay and protect himself from being slain, and the poet constantly compares the hero to the monsters he fights. Beowulf’s three great battles are the most prominent: the fight against Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. The author vividly describes these battles, not leaving out a detail. Every battle is more challenging than the previous one, and Beowulf’s arms and armor point that out. I believe that what Beowulf wears and carries is used to show his progression as a hero and inevitable aging as a human. In the poem’s first part, Beowulf comes to King Hrothgar’s aid and fearlessly brawls Grendel, a coarse and violent giant, naked. The hero is young and powerful and sees Grendel as equal in terms of strength, boasting of his ability to fight the giant ‘without edges.’ Grendel is not skillful in the art of war; thus, weapons and shields would give an apparent advantage against him. It seems, however, that the decision to fight barehanded is not made out of honor or chivalry. The battle is an ultimate show of Beowulf’s power and courage. While Beowulf and Grendel are grappling, Beowulf’s band tries to finish the giant off with their weapons but cannot do so because Grendel’s skin repels all steel. In the end, Beowulf rips Grendel’s arm, and the giant runs away mortally wounded. The remark that weapons do not harm Grendel makes the hero appear absurdly strong and hardy. Preceding the second battle, Beowulf tracks Grendel’s mother to the moors, where he prepares for the one-on-one fight. Interestingly, he wears some armor this time and uses a weapon, which indicates that Grendel’s mother is more fearsome than her son. Her sheer will to kill Beowulf out of vengeance gives her strength, and the moors are filled with lesser monsters as well. The hero wears a hand-woven breastplate and a chain helmet and carries a sword gifted by King’s retainer. Such preparations suggest that Beowulf is not as confident that he will survive and show that he is not reckless and can strategically assess the upcoming battle. True enough, the breastplate saves his life, although the blade that supposedly has not failed anyone till this time proves to be useless against Grendel’s mother. Again, Beowulf shows his power and cleverness by using a giant sword from the layer’s walls to kill the monster. The third battle occurs many years later when the dragon ravages Beowulf’s land. Beowulf prepares to slay the beast, ordering a wholly iron shield, dressing in a full chain-mail armor, and carrying a couple of swords and a dagger. Beowulf shows his tactical mind yet again as the dragon is the strongest foe he has ever fought. The shield will protect him from the beast’s fire, while several weapons will be necessary if any
Introduction From the olden days of human evolution, people have faced different challenges in the society. Nations encounter various challenges that directly or indirectly affect the economic standards of a country. These challenges vary from one individual to another and from one country to another. Vandiver (62) argues that some challenges faced by societies are natural while others are human created. These challenges may include outbreak of chronic diseases, poverty, increase in crimes and disabilities among others. These challenges strongly affect human life and their social relations in a given society. An individual with a chronic disease that is incurable has to learn on how to leave with it. Similarly, those with disabilities have to find a way to cope with the disability if the situation is beyond human control. According to Molloy (75), natural environment puts some people in some life threatening situations and people, societies and countries have to adapt to the situation in order to continue living. Different scholars have come up with several theories and perspectives that can help the society overcome and learn on how to cope with different life challenges. Some of these perspectives and theories include the Coping-succumbing framework, Insider-outsider distinction, and Adjustment to misfortune perspectives. This paper seeks explore the utility and applicability of coping-succumbing framework to misfortune perspective in comparison to the other two mentioned perspectives, in explaining adaptation process following a chronic disease and disability and delivery of services within a rehabilitation center. Comparison of adjustment to misfortune perspective with other
From the cross-cultural perspective, the ways of encouraging people’s professional growth and effectiveness at work may vary based on culture-specific traits. Being aware of culture-oriented approaches to motivation is extremely important since it increases leaders’ chances of success. This post discusses the use of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions ineffective and individualised employee motivation strategies to increase this awareness. Specialists having different cultural backgrounds tend to demonstrate drastically dissimilar perceptions of right and wrong in management, business, and employee motivation. Culturally competent approaches to motivation at the workplace should take these differences into account and be able to strike the right balance between the needs of diverse groups. According to the model proposed by Hofstede, there are five key dimensions helping to comprehensively characterise any country’s organisational culture (Zhao & Pan, 2017). They include the degree of individualism, the distribution of power or PDI, the avoidance of uncertainty, the representation of male and female traits, and orientation (long- or short-term) (Adler & Gundersen, 2008). All dimensions are believed to have implications for employee motivation. Using the model, one can improve motivational strategies based on the needs of particular groups of employees. For instance, in people from countries with high PDIs, measures implemented by their managers can be more effective compared to motivational drivers in employer-employee relationships (Zhao & Pan, 2017). More than that, depending on the avoidance of uncertainty, managers can choose between two types of motivators. The promises of financial stability can be extremely helpful for people from more rational cultures (Khan & Panarina, 2017; Oo, Sahaym, Juasrikul, & Lee, 2018). Also, employees that are not afraid of unpredictability can be motivated with the help of strategies based on changes and fast career progression Concerning the next cultural dimensions, being aware of these aspects of employees’ native cultures can be helpful in determining the right motivating factors. Thus, for subordinates with “high long-term orientation”, it can be beneficial to use strategies focused on “the personal career path”, whereas people from short-term oriented cultures appreciate the opportunity to get financial or other benefits instantly (Zhao & Pan, 2017, p. 216). Some culture’s score on the masculinity-femininity scale can also impact the choice of factors to rely on in motivation. To some extent, the scale represents the conflict of assertiveness versus empathy. It means that to motivate people from highly feminine cultures, it is effective to rely on flexibility in role distribution and a positive team spirit (Konya
Introduction Nowadays, everyone is obsessed with having a good body. Dieting, exercising and lots of stuff they do to achieve their goal. Gym memberships usually grow especially after the holidays when people eat so much. Then they go to the gym to burn the fat. Going to the gym is a commitment that people should make if they are serious in getting in shape. Benefits of Going to the Gym Many reasons to go to gym. Of course exercise is priority. The gym has plenty exercise machines that people can use to develop different muscle groups. Kulas (para. 1) in her article, “The Advantages of Going to the Gym Every Day”, says at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise should be done by adults five days in a week so going to the gym everyday will meet that goal. It will result in good physical and mental health. Aside from exercising, one can meet new friends like fitness instructors and others. It’s good to be with people with the same interests so that all can motivate each other to keep their fitness goals. When one exercises, the heart becomes stronger so it is efficient in pumping blood to the body so vital organs are kept healthy and in order. For example, blood pressure is maintained instead of spike high, cholesterol and triglyceride levels are kept low and heart disease is kept at bay. It means there is less chances of having a heart attack or stroke or any other diseases when one exercises regularly (Kulas, para. 3). Why Gym Is Important Combining aerobic exercise with other kinds of exercises like strength training with weights and stretching keeps muscles, ligaments, joints and tendons healthy, flexible and strong so when one becomes older, he is stronger and have less risk of being out of balance and falling causing fractures or other injuries. One also gets good posture when muscles are well-formed. That is why the person should select right exercises for each muscle group. If one does not like to work with exercise machines, but still likes to exercise, gyms also offer group exercises which includes boot camp exercises they do in teams, cycling sessions on stationary bicycles, martial arts exercises like body combat, boxing, etc. and plenty of dance routines like Zumba, HipHop, Ballroom Dancing, etc. It can be very fun and meet new people so social life becomes alive. One sleeps better also when the body gets good exercise. When one sleeps well, he wake up with more energy to face the day and go about his work better in high spirits. Mood becomes better too so he is not grouchy to others. As one loses weight from exercising regularly and having a good balanced diet, one looks more fit and attractive so good body deserves good clothes that fit well. On the other hand, some people go overboard in exercising thinking all the positive results will double or they lose weight faster to get a leaner body. Andersen, in her article “9 Reasons to Skip Your Workout.. Sometimes”, advises that rest days should be inserted in between exercise days especially if the workout is heavy. She says muscles need rest periods in order to grow to heal the tiny tears that exercising causes. When they are repaired, it makes them stron
Often, students opt to study abroad to escape from their parents or guardians. They fail to appreciate the challenges associated with transitioning from one country to another (Altbach 126). Studying in a distant country is attributed to numerous challenges that include language barrier, culture shock, adapting to a foreign diet, getting an apartment, and commuting from one’s residence to school. Everything that an individual knew seems to have been inverted. Some students are unable to withstand the challenges associated with studying overseas, prompting them to go back to their countries. In spite of the challenges associated with studying in a foreign country, the experience makes one independent (Smith and Khawaja 705). One requires creating a connection with the local students. It enables him/her not only to learn the local language but also to get an apartment in a secure neighborhood and commute with limited difficulties. One of the biggest challenges that international students face is the language barrier (GU, Schweisfurth, and Day 14). When I moved to the United States as an international scholar, I had challenges in interacting with students. The official teaching language was English. I had never studied English before. Therefore, I only had a basic knowledge of English. Before moving to the United States, my colleagues encouraged me to take English lessons. They claimed that it would help me to interact with students and understand the lecturers. I did not take them seriously since I thought that having a basic knowledge of English was sufficient. I was astounded to find that the Americans used jargons that were unfamiliar to me. Besides, words like balling, intense, radical, and many others had different meanings. It was hard to understand what the students were saying. I avoided speaking with classmates due to poor English. I endured the challenge of the language barrier for three months, which to me seemed like ten years. Communicating with taxi drivers was hard. Therefore, I stayed indoors during the free time since it was hard to tour the city. I could not socialize for three months. I only had two friends who understood my challenges and were ready to assist. I recalled the many friends that I had back in my country and resolved to go back. I talked to one of my friends about the decision to go back to my homeland, but he convinced me to stay. He said that it would not take long to overcome the challenges, which I was facing. My friend volunteered to help me learn English. He also helped me to look for a better apartment in a secure neighborhood. It eased my travel from home to school. International stude