ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction By the beginning of the 21st century, the vast majority of the planet’s population has moved from rural to urban areas around the globe. This gradual phenomenon is associated with the increased urbanization that is still expected to occur worldwide within the next several decades; namely, it is projected that at least two-thirds of the global population will relocate to live in cities in the next three decades, thus creating an inflow of urban population as large as two and a half billion people (Kammen and Sunter 922). The rapid growth of the urban population has produced a set of negative effects on the cities causing urban decay, the serious strain on infrastructure, and the overconsumption of resources. Moreover, due to the influx of population in urban areas, the adverse environmental outcomes of anthropogenic nature on the areas strengthened. In particular, the increased use of motor vehicles and activity of industries resulted in the production of more emissions of greenhouse gases aggravating the change of climate. As a result, cities began to require a new approach to development and planning based on a higher level of sustainability. This goal can be achieved through a series of initiatives aimed at the minimization of the negative effects of the growing population density and the maximization of the efficiency of resources and services in the areas. The purpose of this report is to discuss three urban sustainability strategies focusing on transportation means, built environment, and urban agriculture and identify their main challenges and opportunities, best policy instruments, as well as the issues of effectiveness and equity for city sustainability. Cycling The Best Policy Instruments and Infrastructure Investments for Sustainability In their report, Pucher and Buechler indicated that the surveys of the carbon footprints of the countries of Europe compared to those of the United States showed that the former states seemed to be more productive and successful in their attempts to cut carbon emissions released by motor vehicles (“Walking and Cycling for Healthy Cities” 6-8). However, the authors also specified that a more detailed review of the findings revealed that the major differences in the intensity of the carbon footprints of the two areas were based majorly on the sizes of their territories and the location and planning of urban regions (Pucher and Buechler, “Walking and Cycling for Healthy Cities” 6-7). In particular, it was noted that in larger territories where people had to travel several kilometers to various destinations, they were more likely to use cars instead of bicycles or walking. Due to the larger territory, the United States tends to have larger and more highly populated cities where people are to travel long distances to get from one location to another; accordingly, the US has more cars that are used more frequently. In that way, some of the best instruments for the popularization and promotion of cycling and walking is the sustainable planning where the most common destinations and resources are located closer to one an
The story picchi (madness) presents a dilemma that has engulfed a family. The protagonist in this story is Ramana and the antagonist is his mother Damayanti. Ramana’s father was not lucky because Damayanti, his second wife, had turned mad. The first wife had hanged herself. Misfortunes were following Ramana’s father closely but fortunately he was lucky enough to have had a son with the second wife before she turned mad. The story is narrated ten years after Damiyanti went mad; “Recover? I have no hopes that she will; she’s been mad these ten years” (Tharu and Lalita 359). This implies that by the time the story is being narrated, Ramana is ten years of age. It is worth noting that at this age he had not yet seen his mother even for once but he was pretty aware of the condition of his mum. Unfortunately or fortunately, at this age he had a rough picture of how his mum probably was, “He didn’t know what to think. She-his mother-that person-would probably have dirty, matted hair and would be wearing tattered clothes” (Tharu and Lalita 359); and this fact really scared him, “That madwoman, what is she to me? I have never even seen her all my life!” (Tharu and Lalita 359). It is evident that the ten years that Damayanti had been mad, the family suffered much. When Damayanti was accepted by the family as a daughter in law, she was popular among the family members: “she had been obedient and hardworking” (Tharu and Lalita 361). The family members were optimistic of her recovery even after all the ten years of madness: “she might get better if she sees the child; after all, she has to be cured somehow and brought home” (Tharu and Lalita 359). At the age of ten years, Ramana is subconsciously aware of the condition of his mum and the need for her to come home. At this age, it is also significant to point out that a child starts to be aware of his position in the society. The fact that the society is fully aware that Ramana’s mother was mad must have made Ramana uneasy. Probably Ramana had a hard time before his age mates. It was narrated in the story that one time some kids along with Ramana were laughing and jeering at a mad woman. He was embarrassed by this action. There was also this moment when Naraidu told the class about Ramana’s mother. By then Ramana was still new in school and it must have cost him a lot of psychological torture. It was clear that Ramana’s father could not go for another wife. The family was banking on the recovering of Damayanti so they could bring her back to the family. It is made clear in the story that Sundaramma did not always talk much in relation to Damayanti especially in the presence of Ramana. Nevertheless, Ramana was able to pick few fragments of information which he coined together to form some vague opinion about his mother. The reaction of the society does not come out explicitly but it is clear that Raman was affected and emba
Gender norms are present in every society throughout history and affect people’s behavior and expectations. Every society prescribes certain roles for both men and women, and they have to follow them or risk judgment and criticism. It is entirely natural that the theme of gender has a strong role not only in social relations, but also in culture and, specifically, literature. There are many different topics in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” and gender is one of them. The plot of the story follows the life and death of a Southern woman Emily Grierson, mostly in the period after the Civil War. The main event of the plot is her attempted relationship with Homer Barron, a Northern wage-worker, and his fate after his disappearance one day is the main mystery until the end of the story. In this paper, I will explore how Faulkner portrays the issues of gender in “A Rose for Emily. Social norms prescribed to women and men are a central theme in the story, and the close reading suggests that Emily violates some of these norms because she considers herself better than the others. From the very beginning, the story demonstrates that gender issues and gender roles will play a significant role in its progress. Many remarks point to things expected or required from either men or women in the small Southern town of Jefferson. For example, the author writes about different motivations for men and women to visit Emily’s house after she dies. According to Faulkner, men did what they did to her house because of “respectful affection for a fallen monument” (1). On the other hand, women came to Emily’s home “mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house” (Faulkner 1). In this passage, the author shows that it is obvious to the narrator that men and women have different motivations. In Curry’s words, “gender motivation splits between respect and curiosity” (1). Another example is that colonel Sartoris, a former mayor of Jefferson, was most famous for issuing an edict “that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron” (Faulkner 1). Gender is a theme in the story that constantly appears from the first lines. Emily Grierson is the main character in “A Rose for Emily,” and she is a single woman from a respectable Southern family. She is described as “a small, fat woman” with grey hair and aristocratic arrogance (Faulkner 2). When the narrator refers to Emily, the respect for her name and her family is usually obvious in the text. At one point, the story tells that Griersons was one of the “august names” (Faulkner 1) of Je
Over the course of recent months, the international community’s attention has been drawn to the ongoing dispute between Japan and China, concerned with both countries claiming the ownership of uninhabited islands of Senkaku (or Diaoyu, as Chinese refer to them) in the East China Sea. In September of 2012, the dispute-related tensions between both countries came to a particularly dangerous point. On September 13, China sent three of its naval ships to patrol the area, adjacent to the disputed islands (Harlan A7). Even though that, as of today, there is no immediate danger for Japan and China to become involved in the military confrontation, while defending what they refer to as their ‘historical sovereignty’ over the disputed islands, there can be few doubts as to the fact that, due to the earlier mentioned dispute, the relationship between both countries had sustained a major blow. In order for us to be able to gain an in-depth insight, as to what accounted for the objective preconditions for this territorial dispute between Japan and China to emerge, in the first place, and also as to what defines the essence of this dispute’s observable emanations, we may well refer to the reading of discursively relevant articles, contained in The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers. Given the fact that Senkaku islands represent very little value, as potentially habitable places (they are essentially rocky mountains that stick out of the seabed), it may appear that there is no much rationale for Japan and China to persist with claiming these islands a part of their national territories. This, however, is far from being the case, because during the course of recent decades, geologists confirmed that the seabed, around Senkaku islands, contains large deposits of oil and natural gas (Fackler A9). Because the proper functioning of both countries’ economies is being utterly dependent on the natural resources, exported from abroad, there is nothing particularly o
The basic Internet infrastructure between two countries Australia and Laos have different internet infrastructures. Australia has a commercial internet infrastructure which is served by several internet service providers. On the other hand, Laos has strict policies that regulate internet usage, and the government censors web content before citizens access it. As a result, the country has one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world (Banerjee, 2008, p. 67). Australia’s internet service providers use fiber optics to get bandwidth from different backbone service providers in the U.S. such as Verizon, AT & T, and Century Link. On the other hand, Laos mainly relies on satellite connectivity and the few licensed ISP’s purchase bandwidth from Verizon and AT&T backbone service providers. Laos’s internet infrastructure is poorly developed, and it is less commercialized compared to the U.S.’s internet infrastructure, which is highly commercialized. On the other hand, even though most users rely on telecommunication giant, Telstra to provide them with internet services, Australia’s internet infrastructure is well developed and satisfies most users’ needs. It is estimated that the number of internet users in Laos is about 10% of the population while in Australia close to 80% of the population has access to the internet (Beattie, 2013, p. 91). In the US, more than 85% of the population has access to the internet. The U.S. plays a major role in the global internet. There are many internet based firms in the U.S. which have large numbers of customers in different parts of the world. Summary Internet penetration rates in Laos are very low compared to Australia and other developed countries. These differences show that Laos’s economic, social, and political policies are restrictive, and they cannot attract foreign firms to invest in the country. However, Australia has high-speed broadband infrastructure because major ISP’s in the country use fiber optic networks to transport bandwidth from various backbone service providers. As a result, internet penetration rates the country has high internet penetration rates, which makes it one of the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment globally. The U.S. has been able to sustain high levels of economic prosperity through its open internet policies. The country has some of the highest internet penetration rates in the world, and this has made it the most innovative economy in the world. Since mass usage of internet technologies originated from the U.S., the country has managed to set positive trends which are emulated by other countries in the world. eCommerce across international borders Many companies across the world are using electronic commerce through the internet to improve their market performance and to increase their profits. As a result, the number of business firms which use e-commerce for both local and international transactions has gone up by a large margin in the last fifteen years. More firms are using the internet to ma
Executive Summary Suncoast Gold Macadamias Limited is the leading macadamia product processing company in Australia. In an effort to maximise profit, the firm has incorporated the concept of product diversification. As a result, it has managed to develop a strong product portfolio. On average, the company’s annual turnover amounts to AUD $ 30 million. Over the years, the firm has nurtured a strong base with regard to tangible and intangible resources. Suncoast Gold Macadamia Limited has also developed numerous unique capabilities and core competencies that have contributed to considerable improvement in the firm’s competitive advantage. In a bid to deal with the problem of climate change, it is critical for the firm to formulate programs that would minimise its weakness with regard to decline in nut production. As its target investment destination, Saudi Arabia presents numerous opportunities for the firm to exploit as illustrated by the country’s characteristics such as the wage rate, population size, economic growth, exchange rate, the political environment, and government policy on trade. The firm will be required to develop effective competitive strategies to deal with the prevailing competition in the market to penetrate the market successfully. Some of the modes of entry that the firm can consider include sole-ownership, joint ventures, and exporting. Of the three options, exporting is the most appropriate entry point into the Saudi Arabian market. In a bid to be successful in its market entry, the firm should conduct comprehensive market research to understand the market dynamics of Saudi Arabia. Upon entering the market successfully, the firm should consider adopting foreign direct investment. Introduction Suncoast Gold Macadamias (Aust) Limited is a public company that operates within the Australian macadamia industry. The company was founded in 1985 and it operates as a cooperative. Its core line of business entails production, processing, and supplying of high quality macadamias. Since its inception, the firm has been very successful due to incorporation of effective business and corporate level strategies ( Suncoast Gold Macadamias 2010). In an effort to attain its profit maximisation objective, the firm has adopted market expansion as one of its business level strategies. Suncoast Gold Macadamias Limited has successfully managed to establish itself in both the local and international market. Currently, the firm ranks as the global leader i
The underlying reasons for homelessness arise from numerous social and economic sources such as poverty caused by unemployment or poor paying jobs, a deficit of affordable housing and the lack of services for those who suffer from domestic violence, mental illness and substance abuse. It is these and other factors that contribute to homelessness, a condition that is seldom a choice for people who must live outside the comfort and security of a home environment. It is difficult to think that people would choose this lifestyle purposely, making it necessary to investigate why and what kind of people might become homeless. Thanks to recent public awareness campaigns by private and government agencies such as the National Coalition for the Homeless and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development respectively, long-standing societal stereotypes of the homeless are gradually evaporating. Images of creatively clothed white-bearded old men leaning against an alley wall clutching a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag have morphed into ideas of a family living in their car or a single mother and her children living in a shelter. More and more people are becoming homeless every day and it is primarily families or single mothers with young children who suffer the most. It is a misconception that most homeless persons actually prefer that horrific lifestyle after having adjusted to it. Most people without a home certainly would not choose to live this way another day if they had an alternative. Another common fallacy regarding the homeless is that they made poor decisions in their past and therefore deserve their homeless condition. In addition to the large percentage of children that are homeless and couldn’t possibly be held accountable for their situation, many others are victims of their circumstances as well. Some veterans suffer from mental and physical disabilities resulting from combat and cannot maintain a ‘normal’ existence. Others were abused as children or raised in homelessness and have no idea just how to break the cycle. Still others fell victims to the addiction of drugs and alcohol which decimated their working and family life. Some have become ‘unemployable’ for various reasons or can find only menial jobs after being laid-off from a high paying position. Finally, those who have lost their jobs due to downsizing and cannot find new jobs because of a glut on the market have no choice but are instead pushed into homelessness despite their best effo
Jean Piaget was born on August 9, 1896 in Neuchatel Switzerland, son of Arthur a professor of medieval literature Piaget and Rebecca Jackson an intelligent and energetic person. He married and had three children. The birth of his children prompted his interest on what happens in children’s early lives and their later development. His children were his subject for his experiments and which he came up with the cognitive development theory. His works and studies made him famous. He mainly dealt with intellectual growth of children. Piaget believed that a child’s thinking, like that of an adult, was adaptive to the dynamic characteristics, facilitated by operative intelligence, and static characteristics, facilitated by figurative intelligence, of life’s reality. As he advanced in his study, Piaget realized that assimilation and accommodation dominated interchangeably but that one process could not exist without the other. Piaget came up with a theory that described the developmental stages in children. The theory was very significant in different fields like sociology, psychology and education providing an essential part in the foundation for constructivist learning as lasting contribution to psychology. Piaget legacy has greatly influenced many other people like him in understanding the way children develop and his work is regarded with awe by psychologists all over the world. Although his theory has received a lot of criticism, his view of the mechanism with which the children’s minds work has gone a long way in helping people to understand the thought process of children development and why they cannot perform tasks for which they are not mature enough psychologically to undertake. He continues to inspire more people working in the fields of psychology, sociology, education, law and economics through his existing works up to this date. Today his works are being used in the field of artificial knowledge to expand on the present knowledge in this field. For instance there are robots which are being created that will be used to evidently show the cognitive abilities of children’s development in a similar pattern step by step as described by Piaget. ( Woodhead, 1998 53) Learning is a process that involves a change of behavior because of the experiences faced by a person in their lifetime. The way people learn is different from person to person. There are those who learn through their own experiences or from other people’s experiences but the most complex question is how an individual cautiously is aware of what is going on around him/her particularly at very young age. Children undergo informal learning which is accounted for by what they see people around them do. As a child’s grows up then it is able to be introduced to formal learning. The process of formal learning includes going to school hence its good to note that learning process is present both at school and fami