ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
I have seen many natural disasters on television but never have I witnessed any natural disaster, like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It is like I went to hell and back in the same day. On the morning of April 18 th 1906, I was staying with my friend Tom in San Francisco after a night-long celebration of my cousin’s graduation. Many friends and family came to wish my cousin a long and fruitful life, now that he had finished his university education. As soon as nightfall struck, everybody was preparing to leave for home but my cousin, Tom, and I decided to continue with the celebrations till the wee hours of the night. However, about midnight, my cousin left for home. Tom and I continued partying but not even the several bottles of tequila we took could prepare us for what we would witness that day. Early that morning, most of us were still asleep. The moon crept in and out of the room, like a late evening silhouette, but its lazy rays did little to signal us what we would expect for the rest of the day. Tucked in our beds, we snore like we had no worries at all. About 5:12am, there was a strong ground shake that almost sent us falling off our beds. I remember glancing at the alarm clock as soon as I heard the first shake. For a moment, I thought the alarm clock rang and I knocked it over accidentally as I tried to silence it. I was wrong. It was the movement of the bedroom floor that had tipped it over. Failing to comprehend what was going on; I was in time to prevent the lampshade from falling. Everything that was movable was shaking, and items hanged on the bedroom wall fell and shattered on the ground. Amazingly, Tom slept through the first seconds of the commotion. I rudely hit him on the abdomen to wake him up, and almost like a jolt, he jumped off the bed. I could almost see his heart racing because he looked like he was accosted by a ghost. I shouted “I think there is an earthquake!” No sooner had I finished this sentence, our bedroom floor started to shake violently. Frightened for our lives, we rushed downstairs to find the television leaping from its cabinet and falling four feet to the floor. Heavy objects which were scattered around the house also danced on the floor in unison. Soon, the staircase cracked and the lights went off. We started panicking and I could see a stream of sweat gliding down Tom’s forehead. For a moment, we stood in the middle of the living room hoping the shaking would stop but we stared at the ceiling a minute too long to realize that we hoped for a miracle. The house could not stop shaking. The ceiling started cracking and the last wall hanging fell into pieces under the might of the earthquake. We still stood in the middle of the living room unable to comprehend what was happening. Tom stared at the falling paintings in disbelief. He had convinced his parents to let him have the house for the night as we celebrated John’s graduation but he could not believe the same house
Introduction The issue of copyright infringement and piracy in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector is as old as the sector itself. In order to appreciate the impacts of piracy of the ICT sector, it is imperative to understand the evolution of the vice from a complementary service into a fully fledged competitor in the sector. At first piracy began as a means of spreading the new technology of computers in the mid 1970s when Ed Robertson’s company, the Micro Instrumentation Telemetry System (MITS), was reigning. The basic kit for running the system cost about $400 and was running on the BASIC programming language. Setting up the Altair 8800 computer that ran on the system was a challenging matter; hence, it took time for programming to be paired with the device. This length in setting up the computer resulted in enthusiasts looking for means to improve on the bugging of the code so as to provide the code faster to users. Thus, Dan Sokol became successful in copying the pattern of the punch card and was able to run the program; hence, there appeared the first pirated software application (Leinss 2011, p. 1-2). Piracy has taken a totally new direction from the early days where it improved the original product. Instead, over time software piracy has evolved into a practice motivated by financial gain with little regard to improving the quality of the softwar
To achieve the definite goal while communicating, it is important to manage the process of communication effectively. Interaction management is realized during all the stages of the communication process, and its effectiveness depends on the persons’ abilities to manage their specific interaction behaviours. Thus, interaction management is based on the people’s abilities to start a conversation effectively, to develop the topic, to terminate a conversation with references to the interests of the persons participating in it. From this point, an ability to orient to the needs of the other persons and an ability to feel the people’s interest in conversation are important to develop the effective communication resulting in certain positive outcomes. Interaction management in intercultural communication can be discussed as more complex because it is necessary to pay attention to the aspects of cultures and traditions in order to manage the process of communication according to the rules which are typical for the definite society. The abilities of people to manage their interactions can be different in relation to their skills in perceiving the information, interpreting it attentively, and responding to the facts adequately or appropriately to the concrete situation. If the communication process develops positively and results in outcomes which are satisfactory or advantageous for all the parties, it is possible to speak about the high level of interaction management. A person who is good in interaction management knows when to start the effective conversation, how to develop the topic with references to the interests of all the parties, and how to meet the needs of the participants. For instance, starting a conversation with an employee on the issue of the low performance, a manager assesses the emotional state of the employee and his readiness to perceive the message provided by the manager. Any changes in the behaviour of the employee should be perceived by the manager as a good communicator in order to be able to change the line of a conversation and achieve the primary goal of communication. In this case, interaction management is closely associated with the ability to predict the development of the conversation and to focus on the behaviour and needs of the other parties as the indicators of the communication’s effectiveness. However, many people focus only on their own needs and interests while communicating. They usually ignore the preferences of the parties and signals provided by them. Thus, those persons who have undeveloped abilities in relation to interaction management often start conversations with the people who are not interested in communicating at the moment, and they do not provide the party with the opportunity to present the personal point of view. For instance, during coffee breaks, persons can be involved in the conversation with their colleagues who have the intention to discuss their personal problems with
Introduction Diabetes type II was previously referred to as noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus as well as adult-onset diabetes . Diabetes type II is a metabolic disorder that influences the glucose metabolism process by the body. The body resisting the impact of insulin as well as producing less insulin to maintain normal glucose levels characterizes the condition (Goldstein and Mueller-Wieland 5). In other words, the metabolic disorder is exemplified by high blood glucose due to insulin resistance as well as comparative insulin deficit. Of all the cases of diabetes, diabetes type II accounts for 0.9 of the cases. Further, obesity in individuals that are genetically subjected to the condition is the main source of diabetes type II. The development of diabetes type II is also caused by anxiety and a poor diet characterized by excess consumption of sugar-sweetened foods. Individuals suffering from the condition often experience recurrent urination, increased thirst, polyphagia, and loss in weight. The conditional can result in cardiovascular diseases, limb amputations as well as kidney failure (Goldstein and Mueller-Wieland 33). Regular workouts and an appropriate diet are significant in the prevention of diabetes type II. Hormonal mechanism The reduced capability of the body cells to respond to the activities of insulin is regulated by intracellular and trans-membrane protein receptors. The types of receptors in the activities of insulin include ion channel-linked receptors including calcium ions and enzyme-linked receptors such as tyrosine kinase receptors. Alpha and beta subunits make up the insulin receptor. Disulfide bonds join the subunits of insulin receptors together. The former subunits are extracellular and house insulin-combining realms whereas the latter subunits infiltrate through the plasma membrane. The pancreas plays the role of producing insulin. Additionally, the pancreas moves the hormone from the bloodstream into the body cells to be utilized for energy. In diabetes type II, the resistance to insulin is a critical aspect. In essence, the glucose
Introduction Microeconomics can be defined as a subdivision of economics that deals with the routine, structure, and behavior of a national or regional economy. It puts more emphasis on the overall output of a nation and how the nation allocates its limited resources, i.e., land, labor, and capital, so as to maximize production and uphold trade and economic growth of that nation for future generations (Case & Fair 46-89). Additionally, macroeconomics tries to predict the economic conditions of a country/nation so as to assist consumers, firms, and governments make informed decisions. For instance, consumers may want to know the best time to find work, prices of goods and services in the market, and the cost of borrowing money; businesses will make a decision on the best time to expand production, and the government will use macroeconomics when budgeting, spending, creating taxes, deciding on interest rates and making policy decisions (Gordon & Solow 219-230). Macroeconomic pointers such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rates, and price indices are employed to appreciate how the economy of a nation works. Moreover, relationships between national income, production output, consumption, unemployment, inflation, savings, and international trade and finance dynamics are pointed out by macroeconomics functions. However, macroeconomics is a broad field and cannot be studied as a whole. Therefore, it is divided into two areas; one that tries to explain the causes and consequences of short-run variation in the national income (business cycle), and the other tries to explain the determinants of long-run economic growth, i.e., national income growth (Case & Fair 110-119). Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Macroeconomics has three major fundamentals, which include: National output (measured by the gross domestic product), unemployment, and inflation. National output/ Gross Domestic Product Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as a basis of macroeconomics, refers to the full amount of goods and services that a nation creates. Moreover, the GDP being the fundamental gauge of the economy’s fiscal routine, it can be defined as the market value of all the goods and services produced in a country within the country’s financial year (Case & Fair 120-145). GDP is equal to all expenses of all goods and services produced in a country, equal to the total of value-added during the production of the goods and services by all industries within a country plus taxes and minus subsidies on the products, and finally, GDP is equal to a total of all the income created by the production of the goods and services in a particular country within a specific span of time. Gross Domestic Product has three components which include: Consumption in the market and includes personal expenditure of the citizens of that particular country in their households (food, rent, medical, clothing) excluding the cost incurred when relocating to a new house; Investment which refers to the acquisition of new assets
Introduction Nigeria is a large country in West Africa that has been greatly influenced by the British colonial reign, as well as political and religious tensions. The country is located on the shore of the Gulf of Guinea and borders four other African Countries: Benin, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. The country has a total area of 923,768 sq km and a population of 190,632,261, with a population distributed primarily in urban clusters (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2018). The country has a high prevalence of Muslim and Christian people, as well as some people with Indigenous beliefs. The official language of Nigeria is English, although people also speak over 500 additional Indigenous languages (CIA, 2018). Nigeria is a federal presidential republic, divided into 36 states and one territory. Despite being the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria is ridden with poverty and instability. The Nigerian naira is the official currency in Nigeria, and it equals 0.0028 US dollars as of 31 October 2018. According to the CIA (2018), over half of the country’s population lives in extreme poverty. Some economic development has been achieved through the development of agriculture, telecommunications, and the service industry (CIA, 2018). Even though the country’s economy is reviving after the latest recession and that certain industry areas are experiencing rapid development, expanding an international business to Nigeria would be risky due to poverty and widespread corruption in the region. Country under Consideration Friendliness Toward International Businesses The political landscape of Nigeria is relatively stable, with presidential elections running every four years. There are six main political parties, and currently, the All Progressives Congress is the largest party (CIA, 2018). Religious tensions are evident in some parts of Nigeria, and there are two major active terrorist groups: Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa (CIA, 2018). There are no legal impediments to foreign ownership of businesses in Nigeria, which opens opportunities for investment. Nevertheless, scholars confirm that the issue of corruption in Nigeria is prominent. According to Mohammed (2013), corruption in Nigeria was initiated as a result of ethnic inequality but soon spread further, posing challenges to the sustainable development of businesses. This could affect companies with foreign ownership and create ethical concerns. For instance, if bribery is necessary to establish retail points in a desirable location, business owners will face the conflict of supporting corruption versus halting business development. Despite widespread poverty in Nigeria, its economic environment is favorable for new business ventures.
Food and the nutrients it provide are essential to the well-being and survival of all living creatures, including humans. Nutrients provide the energy that a person needs for breathing, maintaining the right body temperature, supporting a healthy immune system. From the very beginning of the Homo sapiens existence, human lifestyles and diets evolved alongside each other, tied in a complementary relationship. Throughout history, humans, while living in caves and simple homes, have hunted animals small and large and have foraged for fruits, leaves, and flowers. Their lifestyles changed at one point in history as they discovered agricultural tools, allowing them to settle in one place and have a guaranteed source of nutrients. In the more modern society, it is now possible to make food out of plants and chemicals without using the animal products that have been an integral part of the human diet for generations. Food Ethics Every day, humans make hundreds of choices, from snoozing an alarm in the morning for the third time to giving up a seat in the subway for an older man with a cane. Morality allows humans to coexist with other humans but, more generally, with flora and fauna around them (Morin, 2020). It might seem as only the second example is one of a moral decision, but in reality, they both are. Humans live in a society surrounded by millions of other animals and plants, meaning every single choice they face calls for a moral judgment. Furthermore, anything and everything a person does has consequences, which more often than not affects other livings things and the planet they are on. Therefore, it is only logical that something so essential to human life as a diet must pose various ethical questions about what humans eat and how they get it. Animal Welfare Recently, there has been a rise in the popularity of plant-based diets and lifestyles, such as vegetarianism and veganism. While sometimes based on health reasons only, these philosophies often center around the belief that animals should not suffer for the sake of the human diet. According to PETA (2020), 99% of animals that are eaten in the U.S. are raised in industrial ‘factory farms’ inside “filthy, windowless sheds.” Millions of animals are bred specifically for the sake of slaughter and further consumption after having lived a usually short and miserable life. There, they live in permanent terror, suffering through barely having enough space to move, being genetically manipulated, and fed with antibiotics (PETA, 2020). Some of these animals, genetically shaped into bigger sizes for the sake of getting more meat out of them, are unable to handle their weight and die of starvation or dehydration or break bones. Figure 1. shows a picture taken by a photojournalist Amy Jones (2020) depicting a cow at one of the ‘factory farms.’ When they have served their purpose as sources of milk or eggs, they are taken to the slaughterhouse, often without feeding them or keeping them war
Introduction Hip-Hop is perhaps the form of music that has attracted the most controversy. Many people have blamed hip-hop for a number of societal issues like violence, promiscuity, bad language, etc. Whether or not these people are right in blaming hip-hop for these societal problems is still a matter of heated debates among interested parties. Hip-hop refers to a form of music that is a part of popular music, and that is mainly comprised of deejaying and emceeing. It is associated with other aspects and forms of music that some people view as standalone aspects of popular culture, while others view them as integral aspects of hip-hop. These aspects are discussed in the “creations of hip-hop” section. This paper is a detailed description of hip-hop music that also gives a sociological analysis of the same. Creations of hip-hop The most important creation of hip-hop music is, perhaps, rap music. Rap music refers to a form of hip-hop music in which artists sing by talking poetically and rhythmically. It has become so common that some people view it as a popular culture genre by itself while in fact it is a creation of hip-hop music. Other creations of hip-hop are the components of the hip-hop lifestyle. These include the hip-hop lingo, the hip-hop dress code, graffiti, and breakdancing. The lingo has been the main source of public backlash at hip-hop. For instance, in the year 2007, Don Imus, a radio host, referred to a women’s basketball team as “some nappy headed hos” (Sanneh, 2007, p. 1). This not only led to him losing his job, but it also led to a spirited discussion of the inappropriateness of hip-hop language in public places. The genre of hip-hop has therefore earned an unmatched global reputation for promotion of crime, misdemeanors, and the promotion of the use of bad language. Among the misdemeanors is graffiti, which is illegal in many countries. History of hip-hop Hip-hop started in Bronx, a New York City borough, when a Jamaican DJ started the deejaying and rapping. The DJ’s name was Kool Herc. Rap is actually a product of the integration of different cultures, which got its popularity after the invention of the hip-hop art of deejaying. It is an integral part of the ancient culture and oral tradition of Africans (Adaso, 2012, p. 1). Kool’s deejaying style was composed of the reciting of rhymes over instrumentals. He was invited in house parties during which he would use in-house references while rapping with the microphone. Artists in Manhattan and Brooklyn copied this style of entertaining people in house parties, and eventually Herc and other DJs spread hip-hop messages in towns and won many followers. Hip-hop had humble beginnings. At first, as evidenced in the discussion above, hip-hop comprised of live raps accompanied by instrumentals. This implies that hip-hop artists were not recording songs at that time. However, with time, artists started recording songs, hip-hop became more popular, and its commercial potential was seen. The earliest ra
Introduction Thesis Statement Literature is an ever evolving field of art. Its respective fields are characterized by scholars who advance changes to ensure the evolution is sustained. In this essay, dynamism in poetry emerges as an integral aspect of the evolution premised. 1 The discussions in this paper revolve around E.E. Cummings and his contributions to the evolution of poetry through modernism. Three of his poems will be used for this purpose. They are “The Cambridge Ladies”, “La”, and “Dim”. The issue of whether Cummings is a minor modernist or a radical is reviewed in the essay. A critical analysis of Cummings’ works reveals that the techniques of modernism found in his poems are illustrations of the constant change in poetry. The ‘word tricks’ employed by this poet indicate a departure from traditional modernism. Visual Devices Modernism is one of the elements prevalent in Cummings’ poetry. A number of scholars have examined this writer for his prowess in poetry and in art at large. Cummings was both a painter and a poet. He exhibited tremendous skills in bringing about change and modernity in the two fields of art. 1 In this regard, modernism in his works is best illustrated through the eyes of an ‘artistic activist’. The role of this poet with regards to modernism and the dynamic nature of literature is dis