ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Background information Wilson’s 14 Points was a set of principles formulated by the former President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, in an attempt to end the First World War and promote perpetual global peace. President Wilson outlined the principles in his speech to the Congress in 1918. The principles were based on a report prepared by Edward M. House, who was the head of foreign policy, and it was based on the issues likely to arise in the anticipated Paris Peace Conference. The report by the head of public policy was then supplemented by the findings of the inquiry committee, comprised of geographers, historians, and political scientists, hired by Wilson to study the socio-economic and political issues facing the world at the time. The committee collected all the issues and prepared about 2,000 separate reports, which were then integrated to come up with the 14 issues. President Wilson then presented the issues to Congress claiming that the principles were meant to bring everlasting peace to the world. The European nations supported the principles owing to the view that they would produce the desired results of ending the ongoing conflict and prevent the recurrence of such wars in the future. However, the US main allies in the war, viz. France, UK, and Italy were skeptical of Wilson’s idealism. Introduction Wilson’s 14 points were a set of principles proposed by President Woodrow to end the First World War and to mitigate the recurrence of similar wars in the future (Hoff 48). The principles were presented to the world in the form of a speech delivered by President Wilson to Congress in 1918. The 14 points were based on problems facing the globe as researched by an inquiry team formed by the president. The 14 points would shape the deliberations for peace later in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference. The president was expected to personally present the points to the conference and initiate the peace talks. However, Wilson fell ill before the commencement of the conferences, which prompted him to delegate the duty to the French Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau (Thompson 190). President Wilson’s absence in the conference led to the alteration of the original set of principles with the leaders from the allied countries adopting only one proposal from the 14 points. This paper justifies Wilson’s commitment to restoring peace and his vision to mitigate the recurrence of similar conflicts in the future. To achieve the stated objective, the paper analyzes the influence that Wilson’s 14 points had on the peace talks held in Paris. Besides, the paper explores the six diplomatic provisions outlined in Wilson’s speech and the effect they would have on global peace if they were adopted. The 14 Wilson’s points and lasting global peace Initially, the US refrained from the war between the west and the central powers mainly due to the fear of igniting capitalism-communism conflict. However, after Germany declared u
The journal article by Jerry D. Marx, Fleur Hopper Faith-Based versus Fact-Based Social Policy: The Case of Teenage Pregnancy Prevention published in Social Work, Volume 50, 2005, is dedicated to the idea of teenage pregnancy in the United States. The authors develop the idea from the evaluation of former President Bush’s policy based on religious approach towards the problem of social legalization, for example, abortion, gay marriages, teenage pregnancy, particularly, calling him the best religious president among his predecessors who did not permit such immoral initiatives. The policy of a wider engagement of different religious foundations and organizations so that to lessen the rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States was provided by George Bush Jr. The historical cut of the USA foundation gives additional points as of support of the traditional intentions of Americans to prevent social drawbacks by means of a religious framework. It concerns the analysis since the puritans first having settled on the American continent until nowadays. Faith-based initiatives outlined by the authors in the article are faced to the time when “immorality was a reason for poverty” in the society, and every step of human beings was controlled by church-administered policy of “abstinence-only-until-marriage”. This old-fashioned type of solution seems to be effective because there is no reliable alternative for social programs aimed to touch upon teenagers’ souls and minds. Such an approach to the past is not surprising due to the official statistics. In accordance with it, the US is a major leader of teenage pregnancy rates among other well-developed countries, and the data show such numbers of correlation as of the frequency of such phenomenon in masses: in the year 1997, the rate of pregnancy among teenagers was 93.3 pregnancies per 1,000; the teenage birth rate for the same year was 52.3 per 1,000. (280+) In contrast, in the Netherlands, this indicator in the same year was only 8.2 per 1,000. Then the evaluation of social, economic, and personal expenditures within adolescents is taken into account so that to make stresses on the educational, financial, and personal social negative factors. In other words, teenagers are not able to behave as parents when being yet children. Moreover, the lack of high school completion is a point that prevents teenage mothers from developing their further work and carrier prospects. This results in low earnings of money. To prevent unwanted pregnancy and cases of abortion, as a result, the government of the United States provides and financially supports the “abstinence-only-until-marriage” education program for adolescents. Some of the social organizations, namely the National Campaign to Pre
The brand that will be under discussion in this report will be the Financial Times that was started in 1888 by James Sheridan and his brother. The Financial Times is a British newspaper that is published in London that primarily focuses on the financial market in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. In the global context, the Financial Times competes with newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal that is circulated in New York and the Economic Times that is the second daily financial newspaper in the world. The Financial Times mostly specialises in UK financial news as well as international business news (Pearson 2010). The Financial Times otherwise known as the FT is the only paper in the United Kingdom that provides daily reports of the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the European stock exchange market and other financial markets around the world (Busfield 2009). The Financial Times, which falls under the Financial Times PLC Group, has been divided into two sections which cover national news and international news. These two sections provide financial news as well as financial information on the current markets in the UK as well as the rest of the world. Other editorial papers that fall under the Financial Group include the FT magazine, the How to Spend It magazine which is a weekly publication of the group, FT weekend edition, The Economist and the Financial Advisor. Other brands that fall under the Financial Group include the FT knowledge which offers educational products and services to schools, colleges and financial institutions. The Financial Times has a newspaper circulation 432,944 in the international market while in the national market it has a circulation of 75,665 on a daily basis (FT.Com 2010). The current brand target for the newspaper is financial corporations and institutions in the UK as well as business and financial analysts, stakeholders, financial advisors and experts, investors, and shareholders. The paper also has a target audience with normal UK citizens who have invested in the stock market and who also have shares in most of the financial institutions within the country. Newspapers are usually classified according to their target audiences and the market segments that they are intended for. The five general types of newspapers according to O’Guinn et al (2009) that serve different target audiences include newspapers, ethnic newspapers, business or financial papers, gay or lesbian newspapers and the alternative press. These five types’ newspapers target audiences in both the United States and the UK. General population newspapers serve the local, regional or national communities and they report news that is usually of interest to the local population. Examples of general newspapers in the UK include the Star, the Sun, the Daily Mirror, the Observer and the Times. Busi
Introduction Just like other human beings, gay couples have their own rights that are supposed to be respected by all of us. In this case, we are arguing that gay couples should be accorded the same rights like other normal couples. Same sex marriages should not be discriminated in any way and this is as far as their rights are concerned. We can not live in denial as far as gay marriages are concerned because they are here with us. In this case, the whole society should appreciate that we have gay couples and marriages and thereby give them their rights for long term sustainability. Therefore, instead of living in denial, we should learn to live with them as part of our society. As far as this paper is concerned, gays and lesbians’ have every right to get married and this is a fact. They have every right to get married because they are normal human beings like others. The only difference is their sexuality and this should not be used to deny them their rights (Chauncey, 2004, p. 17). Whenever gay people decide to get married, they have taken it upon themselves to start a family. This means that they should be given an opportunity to exercise their rights as time goes by. Various people have come up with their own arguments in relation to why gays should not be given their full rights and this is not good. In this case, they argue that they should not be given their rights because they are going against the norms of the society. The general traditions and beliefs of our current society have changed drastically and this is a reality that the whole s
Introduction The works “Unguarded Gates” by Thomas Aldrich and “Courting a Monk” by Katherine Min are considered to be the real masterpieces of world literature embodying the themes of national priority and American position on the international level. The authors of the works managed to underline their perception and vision of American identity and race in the modern world. Comparative Analysis “Unguarded Gates” is a poem written by Thomas Aldrich disclosing the theme of protest. The author expresses his protest against America which becomes a kind of cesspool of Europe; this poem is considered to be the illustration of anti-immigration feelings. Aldrich’s work can be characterized by white supremacy and nationalism being symbolically represented. O Liberty, white Goddess! Is it well To leave the gates unguarded? (Aldrich, 72) These lines stress the author’s demonstration of white nationalism; he presents liberty as a “white goddess” who is to guard the freedom to provided protection against beastly invaders. It is important to note that the poem’s mood shows Aldrich’s little faith in the ability of liberty to enlighten the states. Men from the Volga and the Tartar steppes, Featureless figures of the Hoang-Ho, Malayan, Scythian, Teuton, Kelt, and Slav, Flying the Old World’s poverty and scorn . (Aldrich, 72) The author states that the poem was written under the influence of personal anger caused by his being robbed. The poem can be considered symbolic as it identifies the United States structure depicted through the iconic image of the national American Statue of Liberty. The author expresses his negative attitude to immigration in the USA in the period of the 19 th century disclosed through generalization devices. Wide-open and unguarded stand our gates, Named of the four winds, North, South, East, and West (Aldrich, 72) It is necessary to underline the fact that Aldrich perceived the American Statue as a kind of restriction warlike symbol and a certain guardian against invasion. The theme of the poem is strictly aimed at a protest against immigration and providing national existence in the atmosphere of complete freedom; the author stresses that the “hand of steel” is to prevent the unwelcome entry of “featureless figures” and “wild motley throng”. Considering the author’s vision of the American racial imaginary it is necessary to underline the fact that Aldrich expresses fear of democracy end because of immigration widening comparing it to the breakage of Greek and Roman empires. The introduction of “white goddess” is symbolically underlined not only as of the immigration as
Introduction Language is a major element in the development of every human being as it enables one to enhance communication effectively without any problem. The way a child will speak and pronounce certain words mostly depends on the environment he or she is exposed to, as he/she will learn how to communicate fluently from the background he is brought up in. Speaking is a skill that brings out the element of pronunciation; it is production of sound to convey a message. Learning a second language calls for personal commitment and practice to be able to be perfect in it. Most students and pupils tend to rely mostly on the teacher who is taking them through the process of acquiring a particular language. It takes more of personal practice unlike the two Chinese students, Ling and Feng who depended mostly on their teacher to learn English (Bowen & Marks 1992). Main body Considering their learning habits we find that attitude is a vital thing when learning something new, Ling had a positive attitude towards English language therefore he learned it easily. Contrary, Feng had a negative one and so it was a difficult learning process for her. Wen in his book insists that a number of avenues should be established in effecting this; apart from the teacher –student relationship, we should also have peer-peer and peer-school relationships. This, and also learning from colleagues, will help a student develop his/her pronunciation and speaking skills. Despite Ling and Feng studying at the same school, but they never thought of establishing an alliance to help one another. Perfect pronunciation is a key thing in learning to speak a given language because it helps one to speak English with more confidence, notice other people’s mistakes and learn to avoid doing the same, learn the answers to many questions, learn phonetic transcription and lastly speak more clearly and be understood by others. Every learner of English as a second language must bear in mind that the sounds which his or her vocal organs are capable of producing are the material through which language systems are actualized. Another important thing is the use of phonetic symbols in an ESL classroom. The learner must be able to learn how to produce and discriminate given sound symbols by having increased awareness of second language features, visualization of intangible entities such as sounds and increased autonomy when trying to check for pronunciation in the dictionary. The teacher taking the learners thro
Introduction Primo Levi’s book provides every reader with an opportunity to analyze his or her beliefs and assume how he or she would behave when placed in similar conditions. Besides, the text questions the notion of freedom. The purpose of this paper is to dwell upon the dynamics of humanization and dehumanization of people observed in the book by Levi and discuss the overall impressions of the story. Humanization and Dehumanization In general, the book raises concerns about the liberal understanding of freedom. The experience obtained in the lager refutes the traditional understanding of such definitions as good and evil, justice and injustice (Harrowitz 48). In particular, freedom should not be achieved as a result of resistance since this is an inalienable right of any person regardless of his or her background. Such an understanding of freedom does not evolve immediately. Initially, the author allows reflecting upon the processes of humanization and dehumanization. Levi writes that the camp is a well-established mechanism, which has been created to turn some groups of people into animals. For this reason, the prisoners should not become animals and should resist the force to remain humans. According to the book, a person can survive even in a place like a lager (Harrowitz 51). However, to live, a person needs to save his or her human image. The dynamics of dehumanization is different from that of the opposite process. It can be assumed that dehumanization is related to the perpetrators in the first place rather than to the victims who have to experience various sufferings. The camp guards were losing their human image in a gradual manner simultaneously with their intensifying perceptions of what could be considered subhuman and why. Therefore, the more the perpetrators were viewing Jews as animals and the worse they were treating them, the more dehumanized these people became (Harrowitz 49). It can be stated that committed violence is not a form of dehumanization. The actual dehumanization lies in the meaning attributed to harassing others since it reflects the internal intention to have more power over other people. The dynamics of humanization is pulsating, and it either grows faster or slows down due to the character of Levi’s narration. It is possible to observe how humanity shines through the darkness of cruelty. For instance, the writer stressed how happy and lucky he was to preserve Alberto’s companionship (Levi 60). Also, he makes multiple allusions to his friendship with Lorenzo, which enables concluding that human companionship has the potential to brighten up life even in the most terrible conditions. The reader can judge the efforts made by the afflicted humanity to resist systematic annihilation when reading descriptions of situations when the victims help each other out of their goodness. For example, Lorenzo wrote and sent postcards on Levi’s beh
Introduction The purpose of this essay is to describe the background of OfficeMax, Inc., financial statements, organizational structure, industry overview, and overall performance of this company. Company and Industry Description OfficeMax is a diversified company and the pioneer of retail office products industry, which serves the pubic and private sector for the office supplies, paper, print, document services, and technological solution with high integrity, accountability, and corporate social responsibility through 29,000 associates all over the USA; in addition, it establishes several subsidiaries with 1,000 stores in the US and Mexico (OMX, Inc. 1). The performance of the office-supply retail industry is very significant to the manufacturers as they directly linked with the quick unstable demand, while the sector generated profit of US$ 151.5 million with sales revenue US$ 7.6 billion in 2011, but the industry has been suffering from a declining profit from 2.6% to 2.0% during 2006 to 2011 (IBISWorld 4).   * History of firm OfficeMax started its journey in 1931 in the name of Boise Cascade Corporation; in 2003, it acquired OfficeMax, Inc. that provided the company to double its office products supply chain in the US market and the company bannered as OfficeMax; at the same time, it registered in NYSE and established headquarter in Naperville, Illinois (OMX, Inc. 1). In 2004, the company diversified its business from manufacturing to independent office products distribution channels for different technology based office supplies; in 2006, it brought remarkable changes at the management and shifted headquarters with strategic plan that rescued the company from the serious impact of global financial crisis and the company introduced five-year growth plan in 2010.   * Ownership and Stockholders of Company ZACKS (6) pointed out that OfficeMax Inc. has already listed company in the New York Stock Exchange, and it has aligned with 94% Institutional Ownership, 1 % Insider Ownership with US$ 696 million of market capitalization and 87 millions of outstanding shares while its Mexican outlets operated through 51% joint venture. The debt equity scenario of the company is as follows Figure 1: Equity and Debt Position of OMX Source: Modified from Morningstar, Inc. (1) The current equity owners of the company is as – Figure 2: Current Equity Owner Source: Modified from Morningstar, Inc. (1) Morningstar, Inc. (1) reported that the stockholders of the OfficeMax are Franklin Balance Sheet Investment Fund, Thornburg Value, CREF Stock, and Fidelity Value and so on while Countryman (1) pointed out that the share of the company is significantly undervalued and they think to break-up or realize their full investment, such threatening trend of investors have generated huge challenges.   * Financial Condition: Past, Present, Trends According to the Yahoo Finance (1), share price of OfficeMax experienced extreme growth in the stock market at the initial stage, and the share price of this company decreased in 2008 and it was below $2 at that time though the position dev
Dark tourism is a form of tourism where tourists visit sites that are only related to death and tragedy. For example, tourists may be willing to travel in Rwanda in order to witness what happened during the Rwanda genocide. In most cases, tourists who love dark tourism visit sites where violence, tragedy and deaths have occurred. However, the main reason why they travel to these sites is related to the historical value of the suffering of humanity. Although this is the case, dark tourism is known to affect the supply side and the demand side of the tourism industry. In the first place, it is believed that tourists who love dark tourism often get haunted with the happenings of such places. It is believed that such people get affected emotionally and psychologically because of these tragedies. For example, tourists who visited America after the 9/11 bombing and hurricane Katrina were emotionally disturbed with what had happened. This has received various outcries from different people who argue that the supply side benefit from the suffering of these tourists. Because of this, dark tourism is under criticism from various organizations and various critics (Lennon & Foley, 2000). In some cases, the tourists who visit dark tourist sites may be influenced by other reasons apart from tourism. For example, this form of tourism is associated with exploitation where entrepreneurs like the news media gain from the reports obtained from the dark tourists. In addition, some may go to such places just to make money through reporting other people’s sufferings instead of helping them. There are also other entrepreneurial activities that are known to be related to this form of tourism at the expense of the society that is suffering because of the loss of their loved ones. Therefore, it is not ethical when tourists go to visit dark sites in the name of tourism, but gain from a society that needs help. In most cases, such individuals rarely come back to help the needy after their visits. For the local community that has suffered from such happenings, it is believed that tourists only come to add to their grievances when such people should be comforted. It is argued that tourists who have these habits should be more concerned with helping the society with financial and moral support instead of going to disturb them during their trying times. The best example is when tourists visit countries that have just witnessed conflicts, which has left many dead. In such cases, tourists may get in the way of their effort to heal from the happening (Korstanje, 2011). However, there are other arguments stating that dark tourism can be helpful if it is well coordinated between the society and the tourists. A good example is slum tourism that is witnessed in Mumbai where coordinated efforts are known to help both the tourists and the locals. Profits gained from this tourism are used for the society gain where suffering is reduced. In addition to this, when dark tourism is for religious reason, the tourists