ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Many researchers agree that there is no future as there are many futures. This viewpoint is difficult to refute as the history of humanity has a variety of examples that support this opinion. People’s vision of the future also depends on their present and, vice versa, people’s present is shaped by their forecasts (Burns & McGrail 2012). Analysis of a picture created in the middle of the twentieth century may also be exemplary (Jacques of trades 2011). The picture depicts a city of the future as seen in the middle of the 20 th century. The standpoint of a woman of the 20 th century I asked my mother’s friend, Mary, to comment upon the picture. Mary’s analysis of the picture can be regarded as an illustration of the first Dator’s law of the future, i.e. any “useful statement” concerning the future should seem “ridiculous” (Markley 2012, p. 6). Mary recalls that such a picture could be in a science fiction book in the middle of the twentieth century and it was rather ridiculous to suppose that such a future was possible. Though, now she agrees that that future is possible as she knows that such metros as New York or Tokyo resemble the image depicted in the picture. Mary has reconsidered her attitude towards the future and she can easily admit that the future that seemed “possible” is rather “plausible” (Voros 2003, p. 16). Mary has also changed her views on governance and possible ways to develop. Dator (2006) notes that prior to the nineteenth-century people could easily use patterns that had been developed earlier as there was little change in the society, but people of the twentieth century witnessed constant change and it was difficult to come up with proper ways for future generations. The standpoint of a representative of the 21 st century I (being a representative of the 21 st century) perceive the picture differently. I can say that for me, it is rather a preferable future which is quite easy to achieve in terms of technology, but quite difficult to have in terms of global trends (Voros 2003, p. 16). Slaughter (2004) claims that people of the 21 st century tend to see the future society as dystopian. The picture in question represents a metro of the present day, but it is difficult to foresee what can happen. Alford, Keenihan, and McGrail (2012) also state that people cannot rely on the past as a possible pattern to use to make decisions. I cannot predict the development of the future society and I cannot think of the future of society as I tend to think about probable and possible futures. I also support somewhat dystopian futures suggested by Maavak (2012). I think such futures are possible as the present is full of turmoil and uncertainty. Conclusion It is possible to note that different generations see the future differently. For
Hospitality and Tourism management represents a unique environment marked by rapid technological changes and innovations, new service requirements, and increasing customers expectations. It is expected that in 20 years, the hospitality and tourism industry will change greatly because of new service requirements and new economic paradigms. Eternal innovation seems the price of survival in contemporary economic competition, and this is especially true for high technology firms. For tourism and hospitality firms survival depends on a stream of innovative microelectronic products manufactured in high volume by frequently changing state-of-the-art technologies. Service revolution was marked by technological innovations and the invention of computer technologies and WWW. One of the key areas of competition in the 1980s and early 1990s was over access to distribution channels to ensure that services could be brought to end consumers (Bardi 2002). During the 1990s, tourism and hospitality service companies invested millions in building up their branch networks; companies vied for the rights to new channels or wavelengths. Power lay in the hands of those who could take a product and deliver it to a customer — hence the increasing strength of service providers over the last decade. Intermediaries — whether they take the form of people who sell on to consumers the products or services of others, or are simply a processing function— are becoming rapidly redundant (Bardi 2002). Customer trends, like strategic choice issues, require constant attention from companies. It means genuine closeness to customers. The 1990s have seen a revolution in service delivery when the networking of devices has enabled organizations to start to collect information at a much more detailed level, starting at the point where the transaction occurs. Electronic data input devices are used to collect information, which is then transmitted back to a central computer so that one’s actions can be monitored. “Cell phones and BlackBerrys gave staffs the ability to work on the move and spend more time out of the office” (Tapscott & Williams 2007, p. 247). It is possible to assume that in 10-15 years, technology will be the main driven force of the service industry. Following Hamel & Prahalad (1996): service companies will “need to bring together and harmonize widely disparate technologies, to manage
Introduction It would prove impossible to imagine the realities of living today if people in just about all social strata were not able to take practical advantage of such optical instruments (tools) as telescopes and microscopes. Such a state of affairs is fully explainable – it is not only that these tools represent much value, as useful and utilitarian assets, but they are also often referred to as symbols of humanity’s endeavor to remain on the path of expanding its intellectual horizons. Moreover, the invention and consequential development of optical instruments have also been mentioned in connection with what accounts for the workings of the so-called “Faustian” (Western) mentality, which makes the history of these instruments a legitimate subject for anthropological inquiry. In my paper, I will explore the validity of the latter suggestion at length, while specifying the highlights in the history of these tools’ development and elaborating on the discursive significance of how they came into being. History It is a well-established fact that high-quality magnifying lenses are not a relatively recent phenomenon, but began to be made as far back as ancient times. More than a century ago, during the excavation of the ruins of ancient Troy, Schliemann was able to find a large number of skillfully polished crystal lenses, easily used for the purpose of magnifying things visually. Moreover, there are also a number of eyewitness accounts (articulated by the historian Diocles) of how the ancient Greeks would deploy large magnifying glasses for military purposes, such as projecting and intensifying reflected sunlight onto enemy ships in the sea with the consequence of burning them. Aristotle, Euclid, and Ptolemy, on numerous occasions in their works, mentioned optical devices and optical laws. Unfortunately, we do not know what these ancient optical tools looked like. However, there is little doubt that such instruments did exist, back through the time of Greco-Roman antiquity, and even in earlier times. For about six hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D., Europe remained in a state of barbarianism, which is why there are no historical records of any optical instruments have been in use throughout the historical period in question. Nevertheless, as the socio-cultural progress in this part of the world continued to gain a powerful momentum, the idea of using lenses to create optical devices began to appeal to more and more intellectually advanced (when considered against the backdrop of their time) individuals. The most notable of them was Roger Bacon (1214-1294) – who, for the first time in history (at least, since ancient times), theorized that it should be possible to create a “spyglass” by means of inserting a few lense
Transnational crimes are the criminal activities that take place across borders as commonly used in law practice and educationally. It gives the implication of crimes that more than being international or cross border involve border exchange as the core of the crimes. They include human trafficking, smuggling of goods like armory and drugs, sex enslavement and terrorism. These crimes may be practiced by controlled crime groups that involve the organizing and execution of illegal trade activities by these groups or networks of persons working across borders. This type is referred to as transnational planned crime. These planned systems use systematized violent encounters and corruption to achieve their goals. These activities include money laundering, human smuggling, cyber crime, and trafficking of drugs, weaponry, in danger of extinction products, body parts or nuclear equipment. The negative impacts of these activities is that they weaken the economies and financial status of the countries involved, weaken democracy and reduce the peace and stability of countries worldwide as they may employ corruption, aggression and terror to achieve their objectives (Human Trafficking, 1993). International legal and policing cooperation is the situation where national police agencies and theorists work cooperatively across national borders through forming specialist areas of policing like criminality, captive negotiations, murder investigation, canine treatment, communication transport and patrol through basic recruit training of personnel (Deflem 2002a). The national borders are meant to separate the rule and jurisdiction of states. Often the borders are used by criminals as a way to avoid the consequences of offenses. This is because the rule of one nation does not extent beyond the borders thus making transnational crime more serious and prevalent. Transnational crime is further fueled by developments in transportation systems especially air, international tourism and business travel development. Other factors include Improvement of communication systems like satellite, fiber optic telephone and television transmission. (Anderson 1989) Another factor is the expansion of trade creating more intercontinental participation making interdependence a basic part of life. The increasing
The historical issues often are rather controversial. Any historical fact can give rise to doubts of the historians and become a subject for scientific debates. An autobiographical work Up from Slavery by Washington Booker describes the relationships between the black and white people in the United States before the Civil War from a new unexpected perspective of the actual participant of the events. Bookers’ memoirs do not contradict the descriptions of 1890s in The Awakening by Kate Chopin or The Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt but add new significant information to them. Instead of criticizing the opposition between the black and the white, Booker emphasizes the interpersonal relationships between the masters and their slaves, emphasizing the devotion of the latter to the white population. Anyone attempting to harm ‘young Mistress’ or ‘old Mistress’ during the night would have to cross the dead body of the slave to do so… there are few instances, either in slavery or freedom, in which a member of my race has been known to betray a specific trust (Washington 28). In this point Booker’s perspective is opposed to the widely spread bias concerning the hatred of Afro-Americans towards their odious masters. In a number of situations the relations were rather warm and some of the slaves got accustomed to their position and did not want to change their life style. Giving rise to readers’ doubts concerning the generally accepted view on the confrontation between Afro-Americans and white population, Booker motivates them to get rid of their stereotypes. Pointing at another shift in public consciousness of Americans in 1890s, Kate Chopin sheds light upon the first signs of feminism in the society, choosing a woman struggling for her rights as the main protagonist of her book The Awakening. “The years that are gone seem like dreams… Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life.” (Chopin 292). The idea of awakening is rather broad and can be used to define various changes in the country of the period under analysis. Up from Slavery by Washington Booker can be regarded as a part of the 1890s America explored by Roosevelt emphasizing the same ideas of universal values which preceded the decline of slavery. The outside world does not know the struggle that is constantly going on in the hearts of both the Southern white people and their former slaves to free themselves from racial prejudice; and while both races are thus struggling they should have the sympathy, the support, and the forbearance of the rest of the world (Washington 220). A similar idea is proclaimed by Roosevelt who points at the significance of ensuring equal rights for all the citizens for demonstrating the level of development of the state and entering the world community as a civilized country. “In the end the slave was freed, the Union restored, and the mighty American republic placed one more as a helmete
Developing a Consistent Compensation Plan A compensation plan is a vital component of all business organizations. The compensation plan may be written or unwritten, formal or informal. A compensation plan helps in attracting and motivating employees. Therefore, it is vital for an organization to have a consistent compensation plan. Developing a consistent compensation plan is a five-step process. It involves job analysis, job documentation, development of a job hierarchy, collection of market data on pay structures, and establishment of a pay package (Berger & Berger, 2008). Job analysis involves the collection and evaluation of relevant data on various jobs within the company. The data focuses on the type of work, level of work within the organization, level of skill or knowledge required to perform the job efficiently, and the responsibility necessary to perform the job effectively. Some methods of data collection for job analysis include interviews, questionnaires, and direct observation (Berger & Berger, 2008). The next step in the development of a compensation plan is job documentation. Job documentation is a formalized method of documenting the job content. A job description is the most common method of documenting the job content. Job documentation evaluates job content, classifies jobs according to content, and provides efficient criteria for making pay comparisons (Berger & Berger, 2008). Development of a job worth hierarchy is another important step in the development of a compensation plan. A job worth hierarchy helps in comparing the importance of various jobs to the organization. An organization may use qualitative or quantitative methods to do job comparisons. Some methods of job comparison include ranking, classification, and point factor (Berger & Berger, 2008). Companies do not operate in isolation. Therefore, they should compare the compensation plan of other companies in the industry before developing a compensation plan. However, before collecting data on the labor market, it is vital for a company to determine its relevant labor market. Collection of data on the labor market helps in determining the pay package of other organizations that compete for employees with the company. The specialty of a job determines the number of companies that compete for employees. For high-level employees, the company competes with virtually all companies in the market regardless of their industry (Berger & Berger, 2008). Finally, the organization should establish pay ranges or rates of its employees according to the job hierarchy. In setting the pay rates or ranges, an organization should determine whether it would like to offer pay ranges that are similar to the external market or whether it wants to pay its employees to pay packages that are higher than the pay package of the external market. Usually, companies that are market leaders in their respective industries offer their employees pay packages that are significantly higher than those of the external market. However, the pay package of the company should not contravene
One of the invariable realities in life is that we are every in a state of change. These changes may be positive or negative but regardless of their nature, they are a fundamental part of our lives and it is important that we brace ourselves for them. In my life, I have had many changes; some of which have been inconsequential and other which have literally marked a turning point in my life. In this paper, I shall narrate one of the significant changes in my life so as to highlight the fact that our perception of the change does at times determine whether the experience will be enjoyable or shall yield to discomfort and insecurity. The particularly significant change in my life came about as a result of the announcement by my parents that we would be moving from Texas to New Mexico. What made this change so significant to me was that we had been living in the same neighborhood for as long as I could remember and the moving process felt like literally been uprooted. As such, the change represented being taken away from what I was familiar with and loved to being placed in a foreign place which held a lot of uncertainty for me. My initial reaction was that of shock and distress at the prospect of what life in the new place would hold. While I did enjoy visiting new places, I had never pictured myself moving from my home town on a permanent basis. In a bid to resist the change, I tried to reason my parents out of their decision. This was a futile attempt mostly because I had no solid reasons as to my opposition to our moving. When it was finally clear to me that we were going to move regardless of my stance, I resigned myself to my fate and I recall wallowing in self pity as I expressed my predicament to my friends. However, one of my friends who happened to have come from New Mexico remarked that the place was actually enjoyable and held many a fascinating scenes for people. In addition, he commented on the lovely neighborhoods and the tight knit communities that were there. His statements opened my eyes to the possibilities that the change in my life presented. I had been too indulged in the uncertainty and discomfort that would arise from the move that I had failed to consider the numerous possibilities that the change presented. In my blindness, I had set out to avoid the change and failed to recognize the fascinating new possibilities. From this point on, I took up a more positive outlook and actually looked forward to the move. On getting to New Mexico, I discovered that while everything was not as picturesque as my friend had suggested, the place was actually enjoyable and the community was not that different from the one in my previous neighborhood. Due to the fact that I had braced myself for the change, I overlooked the negative aspects of my new home town and as a result of my optimism and high spirits, the change turned out to be one of the most memorable ones in my life. From my experience
Substance use disorders (SUD) and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are two health conditions that tend to co-occur among individuals. No single theory comprehensively explains the comorbidity of the two conditions. Self-medication theory is one of the models that have received lots of empirical support. The concept indicates that people who have PTSD are at higher risk of substance abuse and consequently substance disorders due to the tendency to consume alcohol and use drugs to deal with stress (Korte & Kileen, 2016). The individuals develop SUD due to PTSD because they engage in substance abuse to deal with stress and trauma, anxiety and depression, and chronic pain. Persons with PTSD engage in alcohol consumption and substance abuse as a way of avoiding their distressing PTSD symptoms. This tendency of numbing the body pain is referred to as self-medicating. Further, when trouble is looming, the first predisposition is to head for cover since the individual is looking for protection from what they feel is about to happen (Korte & Kileen, 2016). Substance use in such instances allows the individuals to avoid reality resulting in repeated use. Additionally, substance use and depression often occur together, and individuals use drugs to manage or relieve the symptoms (Korte & Kileen, 2016). Self-medication offers strong arguments since a number of substances, particularly depressants such as alcohol, may provide temporary relief from despair and apprehension. People can take alcohol to deal with social unease symptoms, while stimulants can cause heightened pleasure or energy. Other than mental pain, sometimes substance use is aimed at relieving physical pain. The model is founded on the idea that individuals who abuse substances and engage in addictive practices like gambling to compensate for underlying complications that are yet to be adequately treated. The basis of the concept makes it the best-suited theory to explain the co-occurrence of SUD and PTSD. Reference Korte, K., & Kileen, T. (2016). Concurrent Treatment of Substance Use and PTSD. Current Psychiatry Reports, 18 (8), 70-71. Web.
Dave Eggers named his astonishing and heartbreaking work What Is the What a novel so that the book does not claim to be serious historical research. The author illuminated the events of the Second Sudanese Civil War through the eyes of a small boy, Valentino Achak Deng, who is an elderly American citizen at the present moment. The real historical events as they reflected in Valentino’s memory were complemented by the writer’s artistic imagination and were transformed into this touching story, amazing fiction, based on facts, more or less historically accurate. In the preface to the book, Deng himself emphasizes: “It should be noted that all of the major events in the book are true. The book is historically accurate, and the world I have known is not different from the one depicted within these pages”(Eggers, 3). Valentino collaborated with Dave to present his story to as wide a public as it was possible, they aimed to make their contribution to the Sudanese salvation. The fact is that so many years passed since the events described in the novel that a lot of details were sure to escape Valentino’s memory. Some uncertainties may occur due to the necessity of substituting the missing episodes and the author’s desire to make the story more interesting and accessible to different categories of readers. Pursuing the same goal Eggers includ