ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Hefner defines Playboy as a kind of a triumph of female sexuality. However, it is wrong to believe that the opinions of one group of people should influence the creation of other opinions. Each person has a unique understanding of an idea and should share it using personal experience, knowledge, and interests. Still, sexuality should not be confused with sex itself. In comparison to the latter, sexuality is something created by a person but dependent on a society and limited by means of certain norms. Playboy experience proves that sexuality may be of a double nature: egocentric and beneficial for the women, who are able to use their own ambitions, bodies, and talents to achieve their goals and become famous, or sacrificial and immoral for the women, who find it obligatory to follow the rules and make their bodies appropriate for the standards instead of using their opportunities to create the new ones. Sexuality is defined as the way of how people are able to experience themselves as sexual beings and show the others the things that can prove that the chosen experience is deserved to be called sexual. Anyway, sexuality has to correspond to a number of issues to be properly defined by a society and gain the necessary portion of power. In her book, Kathryn Leigh Scott admits that “you soon start to realize how great the power of a woman’s sexuality is – and how you’re using it” (110). It becomes clear that Playboy women are free to use their abilities in any possible ways just to achieve the desirable goal and attract someone’s attention. Unfortunately, Scott’s experience is not the only one to rely on. For example, people, who observe the life of Playboy girls from the inside and evidence how their sexuality is born, say that a number of challenges and sacrifices should be overcome to find out a true power of sexuality. Some girls cannot even understand how priceless their numerous concessions can be. They just accept what is given to them as a unique chance to become known and refuse the fact that they are the victims of their sexuality and the expectations of other people concerning their sexuality. In general, sexuality is a complex issue that cannot be provided with certain explanations. People have to know about its existence and its guile that come along with its power and unexplained influence on people. Works Cited Scott, Kathryn. The Bunny Years: The Surprising Inside Story of the Playboy Clubs: The Women who Worked as Bunnies, and where They Are Now , New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Print.
Introduction Literary studies entail presentation of poems, stories, songs, and drama among other forms of art to the community. Literature and related studies date back to the time when language was first used as a medium of communication. Literature has a variety of uses in the society including transforming cultural practices and reflecting the conditions prevailing in the society. It achieves its functions through influencing the thoughts of readers in various ways. Firstly, the stories or songs can influence the thoughts of an individual thereby enabling this individual to engage oneself in critical thinking about the facts presented in the story. The significance of literature in transforming cultural practices entails literary studies that enable individuals to compare their cultures and lifestyle with other individuals in other societies (Manzo & Perkins, 2006, p. 335). This essay seeks to highlight the significance of literature in reflecting the conditions prevailing in the community as presented in the story, ‘Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka. On the other hand, the essay analyzes the ‘Lesson’, which is a story written by Toni Cade Bambara with the aim of showing how individuals and societies affect each other in the context of literature. How does literature reflect the community? Most literary studies and forms of art provide a brilliant description of the economic, social, political, and familial factors in various societies. In this way, literature brings a reader to the context of the real life experiences in the community. The community reflected in the story is not necessarily the readers’ and in most cases, such stories present facts about other communities thereby enabling the reader to compare and contrast the conditions in the two communities. On the other hand, literature presents the conditions within the family, which reflect the practices in the whole societ
South Asia needs to tap into the water resource that is brought by the wet monsoon by laying a more comprehensive framework for rain water harvesting and development of dams and reservoirs. Governments and stakeholders need to engage the local populations in building more water pans and other facilities for water harvesting to guarantee year-round water access. Although governments play a critical role in preserving the environment, the task for cleaning up the rivers is embedded in the local communities. Corporations may chip in as part of the social responsibility initiatives, but it is the communities that contribute immensely to the pollution of rivers. Through education and awareness, the communities should be charged with the responsibility of preserving the rivers. The justification for this argument rests on the premise that it is the local communities that will benefit the most if the rivers are preserved. In my view, it is ethically correct to try and stop people from releasing their cremated relatives into the rivers. All what is needed is to educate them on the health hazards posed by such practices. Traditions take long to die, but awareness creation and empowerment of communities to take control of their resources can trigger a change in their belief systems. It is in order to limit people’s access to a basic human resource owing to scarcity. Limiting not only ensures orderliness, but also guarantees the preservation of the resource for future generations. Overpopulation and industrialization are directly correlated to the overuse of water resources. To guarantee the protection of water resources, stakeholders must ensure the correct infrastructure is put in place in overpopulated areas and factory zones. Such infrastructure will ensure sewer and industrial waste do not pollute the water resources.
The car detailing business at Northern Virginia has a vision and a mission statement that aims at satisfying their customer’s needs and achieving leadership in the car market. Therefore, the company should implement various strategies and tactics to fulfill its mission and vision. In implementing these marketing and information technology strategies and tactics, the company will aim at realizing its strategic objectives, measures, and targets. These strategies will include diversification, market development, market penetration, and the development of new products (Jennings, 2010). The company would implement diversification strategies. This would increase the volume of sales in new markets. The company’s diversification activities will involve the expansion into new market segments of the automobile industry. Also, diversification may involve investment in other business ventures outside the automobile industry. These business ventures may have a huge potential for growth in the future. The implementation of this strategy will require the company to acquire new skills, techniques, and facilities to ensure it is successful (Donnelly & Harrison, 2009). Moreover, the diversification strategies and tactics that the company will adopt will depend on the views and concerns of their customers. The strategies of product diversification will involve adding new products to the range of existing products through the expans
Central Theme The central theme in this book as portrayed by Friedman, is how globalization has changed some of the core economic areas. According to Friedman, the world has become flat through various transformations such as technological advancement and enhanced communication (Friedman, 2006). In an attempt to explain how the world has become flat, Friedman discusses major steps under which globalization has taken place; in fact he defines these ten steps as ‘world flatteners’ (Friedman, 2006). Friedman argues that around the year 2000, the world entered a new era; this is the era of globalization where accessibility of information has become easier which is what he describes as flattened world where there is equal playing field of economic achievements. It is during this time that people have found new ways through which they can collaborate; these ways are referred in the book as the “world flatteners” (Friedman, 2006). For instance, the fifth flattener also known as outsourcing Friedman explains that the advancement in technology has enabled companies to delegate jobs in remote countries which reduce costs by way of internet communication. Again due to occurrence of globalization, people are now able to connect and interact much faster through several communication channels more rapidly than before as stipulated in the steroids flattener that involves use of wireless sharing of information such as iPods and other personal devices. Indeed, the world now has equal opportunity for all people and therefore competition in the business sector has just taken a new twist. As such, Friedman compares the modern business trends which he describes to be similar to a river, because of the way they have streamlined sale of products (Friedman, 2006). With increased competition comes equal opportunities and equalized income which means that US is now under more pressure to remain competitive in many areas in order to remain relevant as a superpower since they will be facing a lot of challenges from other countries; notably, India and China which are becoming more advanced. Relevance The concept found in book, World is flat, is a series of transformation described as “world flatteners” which are said to have occurred in the economic and business sectors which have significantly contributed to equalization of the world in many aspects (Friedman, 2006). In comparison to the book, The American Dream by Jason DeParle, the book questions and investigates how America came to achieve so much dominance and power in the management in the world affairs. In the book, The American dream, US is described to have undergone through a lot of transformation to become the greatest economical and political power in the world today (DeParle, 2005). The book posits that this has not been an easy road to success and argues that there is so much that has contributed to America becoming successful. The solidarity that unites US for instance has contributed to the drive and energy that has facilitated innovations and creativity that has drive
Pharaoh Akhenaten was very instrumental in the development of monotheism in Egypt in the 1300s BC. His decisions were very influential in making the worship of Aten unrivaled. Many social, cultural, political, and global forces helped him exalt the worship of Aten to the highest position in its history. This paper looks at the political and cultural forces that aided the development of Akhenaten’s Worship. Which Political Forces Influenced the Development of Akhenaten’s Monotheism? When he ascended to power, he changed his name from Amenhotep to Akhenaten. This act signaled the beginning of the war against the worship of Amun, who was the most worshipped god at the time. He then went further to close down the temples of Amun and banned the worship of other gods. He abolished the use of the word “gods” and removed the title “Amun” from all inscriptions. He asked all the citizens of Egypt to use the word “god” when referring to Aten, the sun disk (“Akhenaten” par. 4). Akhenaten popularized the belief that Aten had created himself and later created the king as his only son. Therefore, no other person in the world understood this god except Akhenaten. Archaeologists later realized that the king had only fabricated this narrative. He made up his story to lie to the people about the power of Aten. He knew that such a story could help him force everybody to worship his god (“Akhenaten” par. 3). Akhenaten’s decision to build a special city and make it the center of his religion was also very influential in the growth of this religion. He chose a place in the desert, along the River Nile and called it Akhenaten. This name meant “the horizons of Aten” (Spence par. 4). He did not put roofs on the temples. So, the rays of the sun directly reached the worshippers. The rays symbolized their relationship with Aten. The king also transformed the existing Egyptian art to represent his new religion. Which Cultural Forces were Responsible for Strengthening Akhenaten’s Monotheism? The worship of Aten developed from the worship of Amen-Re, the sun god. Re was a state god, whose worship had grown extensively during Amenhotep III’s reign (Spence par. 3). He had made Thebes the home of the worship of Re. By that time, Aten was only one of the gods in the worship of Re. Akhenaten took over from Amenhotep as Amenhotep IV and immediately embarked on building special temples for Aten. He copied the belief that the sun god made himself from nothing before creating all the other gods. Therefore, the worship of the sun god, Re, formed the foundation for Akhenaten’s religion. The existence of royal art in Egypt and the use of animals in worship also formed a strong base for Akhenaten’s new religion. Most of the cults in Egypt used images with human bodies and animal heads to represent their gods. Before Akhenaten, worship involved many animal images, but when he ascended to power, he forced worshipers to use only one animal image. Royal art had existed in the Egyptian cu
Introduction Human beings are social in nature and, therefore, they tend to attract each other. Nonetheless, human beings are religiously and ethnically heterogeneous. There are numerous religions and ethnic groups globally. In America, for instance, there are many religious and ethnic groups with diverse believes and different worldviews. Each group is internally homogenous with member groups having common beliefs and ritual practices. As such, communitas is evident among religious groups with similar believes and practices. A major concern is that the variances in different religious and ethnic groups make the minority groups feel out of place. In some instances, the differences may create hostility, intolerance, and infringement of other people’s rights (Leigh and Hambler 4). This essay discusses the experiences of the religiously/ethnically others in America. The main text used in the essay is a memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen, Stealing Buddha’s Dinner . Bich Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, moved with her family into the US after the Vietnamese war. There are similarities between her ethnic group and other minority groups such as the Indian community in the book Lame Deer, Seeker of Vision ( LDSV). The term ‘religious/ethnic others’ is used in the essay to refer to the religious and ethnic minority groups. The essay supports the thesis that the ‘otherness’ in religion and ethnicity as a basis for stereotypes and intolerance and, therefore, the religiously and ethnically others face challenges when they practice their religious rituals and in their endeavors to realize the American dream. Body As mentioned earlier, the American citizenry is made up of different religious and ethnic groups with the majority being Christians. Some groups have many members while others have fewer. The groups with fewer members are oftentimes classified as religiously or ethnically others. Some of the religiously and ethnically others include the Buddhists and the Hindus. The lack of acceptance and appreciation Although some members of the majority groups accept the ethnical others in the society, some consider them strangers and odd. As Bich was growing up, for instance, there were campaigns for diversity inclusion and immigrants’ acceptance. However, other whites rejected the Vietnamese and tormented the immigrants asking them to leave America. Such experiences make the minority groups feel unaccepted (Nguyen 15). Knowing that people expect nothing good from you is very humiliating. Although some immigrants in the US are exceptionally gifted, they are hardly appreciated. In fact, foreigners are not expected to perform well even at school. Bich was an exceptionally gifted girl and performed well at school. For instance, she won a spelling bee beating kids from the majority of ethnic groups. She was, however, surprised to learn that her teacher did not expect a foreigner to be better than loc
Understanding of Trauma Through this course, I have developed a much clearer understanding of trauma and its psychological and behavioral manifestations, neurobiology and physiology, effects on survivors, PTSD diagnostic criteria, and treatment approaches. Traumatized clients present with various adaptive and pathological reactions based on their age or developmental stage, recurrent exposure, psychological functioning, culture, etc., (Mills & Hulbert-Williams, 2012). Moreover, direct exposure, re-experiences of trauma, and the nature of the stressor (e.g., parental abuse, accident) also affect trauma-related responses. It is now clear to me that traumatized individual exhibits either a gradual improvement intolerance or an exacerbation of symptoms. While some individuals display effective cognitive coping and resilience, others show pervasive adverse reactions, such as social dysfunction, attention deficit, and maladaptive behavior. After exposure to trauma, most survivors experience intrusion symptoms that manifest within days or persist until a later developmental stage due to delayed expression. Van der Kolk (2015) states that in most cases, the reliving and re-experiencing of the trauma affect the survivor’s emotional response and determines how well he or she copes with the symptoms. While in most trauma victims these repetitive intrusion symptoms increase tolerance, others show symptoms of hyperarousal and avoidance that are characteristic of PTSD (APA, 2013). In my understanding, the traumatic memory of these people is impaired; therefore, every memory replay serves to enhance sensitization and emotional stress. Exposure to trauma also involves dissociative reactions ascribed to limbic system alterations. Van der Kolk (2015) describes dissociation as an information organization process that results in compartmentalized experiences. In dissociative reactions, the integration of components related to the trauma into conscious memory does not occur. Thus, survivors may experience desensitization and depersonalization to minimize distressing beliefs and feelings. Through learning the neurobiology of trauma, most of the symptoms related to PTSD now make sense to me. The activation of the fight, flight, or freeze reaction and elevated cortisol and adrenaline concentration accounts for the DSM V criterion E symptoms of aggression, hypervigilance, reckless behavior, exaggerated startle response, loss of focus, and sleep disturbances (APA, 2013). If the flight response is not possible, the individual freezes – a form of dissociation or derealization meant to decrease sensitization and distress. Based on the understanding of these neurobiological and physiological processes, the focus of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is to develop individualized, needs to be based, and strengths have driven interventions that will ensure effective coping strategies. These strategies may include psychoeducation, relaxation training, affect modulation or expression (self-talk), etc. Rest of the Course Throughout the remainder of th
This essay is written to reflect on an interview conducted on Stephen King, a 68-year-old male patient. King had been a doctor in the Australian army for more than thirty years. Due to the high level of competency and brilliance that he exhibited on his work, he managed to go to several expeditions. This included peacekeeping missions in Africa and the Middle East. As a result, he managed to get a great deal of experience both for his career and life. An interview was conducted on King on the topic, what makes a person successful in life and the views and advice he had for the individuals of the younger generation. To gather all the required information for the exercise, a mix of communication skills were employed. This included verbal and non-verbal skills. These skills were essential as they established a serine communication channel between the interviewer and the respondent. This in turn leads to the development of a strong bond between the two individuals (Creswell, 2005). As a result, the level of understanding between the two individuals increases (Sherman, 2009). This thus increases the chances of the interviewer to collect the relevant data that was required for the exercise (Trochim, 2008). Analysis of Communication Skills In the course of this interview, several communication skills were used. The interview was conducted on the back yard of the home, where a small garden was present. This place was quiet, peaceful, had clean air, nice breeze and had beautiful plants that created a beautiful surrounding. Being a lover of nature, this environment made King to be relaxed and comfortable all through the interview. Due to the ill health of the respondent, it was therefore wise to look for a bench in the garden and conduct the interview while we were seated. The respondent and I sat at an angle with each other on the same bench. This gave us the chance to have direct contact with each other and at the same time, the interviewer could look around and reflect on issues so that he comes up with the correct response to the question that I had posed to him (Creswell, 2009). This sitting arrangement was also serine as it gave us the chance to take breaks during our conversation. These pauses were necessary especially for King who is an elderly person and requires time to reflect on what he is talking about in order to remain within the context of the interview (Blank and McCartney, 1989). In addition, i was keen on the gestures and facial expressions that were being made by the respondent. At times, I kept quiet and observed the respondent while he was talking. This gave him the opportunity for continuity and hence he fully expressed himself and the views on the topic of discussion. All these formed part of my non-verbal behaviours that I used in the study. All of these were successful apart from the idea of taking a walk in the garden. A major communication skill that i used in the course of the interview was attending behaviour. With this skill, the respondent fe