ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
This paper describes intriguing accounts of various encounters of people between the ninth and 17 th century. Ibn Fadlan, an Arab Chronicler, gives an account of his encounter with the Rus (One of the Swedish tribes) in the ninth century. Fadlan experienced a different culture from his Arabic. He described it as an alien and backward culture. Referring to the Rus, he says, “They are the filthiest of God’s creatures”. [1] Xavier, a Jesuit missionary, gave a historic account of his first encounter with the Japanese people in the 15 th century. He described the Japanese as the best people known among the heathens. [2] “Portuguese Views of Chinese” [3] is an account of the first impression the Portuguese had upon encountering the Chinese. Canton described the Chinese as foolish people without knowledge of war. He also described, He also described the Portuguese plan to invade and conquer China through a military warfare [4] . “Commentary on Foreigners from Ming official” is a description of the opinions of the Chinese about foreigners. According to the commentary, the foreigners invaded China at first without much effect. They were friendly in their engagements. However, their settlement and participation in Chinese trade had become intolerable because of their infiltration of Chinese culture with their foreign cultures. The Ming official described a plan of evicting foreigners from the Kingdom of Ming in the commentary [5] . In general, East Meets West is a description of various encounters of people between ninth and 17 th century. Each of the four encounters had a different reception by the involved parties. The Eastern and Western encounters formed a prelude to major trends in world history. Briefly, the four perspectives of encounters of different people in the past had similar reactions. St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary of the 15 th century, landed in Japan in 1552 on a missionary journey to spread Christianity. The warm reception he was given by the Japanese made him describe them as “courteous people”. [6] He described the Japanese as the best and most friendly people in the heathen world [7] . He described them as slow to anger and violence, despite their high regard for arms. Xavier also described the Japanese as people who had high regard for their arms and intolerance of contemptuous words and insults. He envisioned an easy missionary work of converting Japanese people to Christianity because of their high literacy and willingness to listen to foreign ideas. Besides many praises, Xavier also described the Japanese people as sinners because of their tolerance of some social evils such as the generational class system. Fadlan described the Rus as a backward people with primitive cultural practices. He described the fondness and love of Rus men for women. He noted in his encounter that each man had several slave girls for his sexual gratification
During the years, the trend of companies having call centres has developed rapidly. This has made communications with customers easier, faster and cost effective. In order to save more on the cost, companies from the developed countries such as the USA and UK have opened their call centres in the developing countries. But this has affected the quality of service being provided and moreover, “Moving call centres offshore may be an effective way to increase service productivity by lowering costs, yet recent research suggests that customers associate offshore call centres with lower service quality” (Walsh, Gouthier, Gremler, & Brach). It is understood that American and British customers prefer the customer service executive to be a native so that communication is easy. “The most important thing for a customer is that they are listened to and their ‘problem’ is dealt with quickly and efficiently” (Employwise). To overcome this challenge, companies have started giving training to their overseas employees to behave and speak as the Americans do. Even their official names have been changed. This might be a cause of concern regarding the self esteem of the employees because their individuality is lost amidst posing as an American. On the contrary, if the name is left aside, the American accent, behaviour, etiquettes, and the mannerism that an employee learns can definitely be of great use once the employee wants to hunt for a job in America itself. As has been discussed, American and British companies outsource their call centre requirements from India and other countries. It is also understood that the main expectation of such companies from their overseas employees is that they should be proficient in their accent. The employees need to be trained well in this field. So the companies arrange training sessions of a month or so, prior to putting them on calls. “The demand for globalized speech has led to the creation of specialized institutes for accent neutralization” (Nadeem). During the training, the employees are trained in the accent as well as manneris
Music Travels The variation of the world music through the various styles is enormous. The basic concept that affected the distinction might be considered the merging of many cultures through the process of formation. One of the major factors that played significant role in that formation is the travels. In this essay various music styles will be mentioned along with providing their possible origins. Main text Fado – Portuguese music, on basis of which lays folklore amorous lyric poetry or dramatic verses. Origin to Fado causes many disputes and divergences among its fans. One version considers that it became the result of the mutual influence of Brazilian and Portuguese cultures in the African colonies. Similar to the Blues, it shares the expression of melancholy and grief. In Portuguese «Fado » indicates fate. Fado music by many is obliged to the Portuguese concept of «Saudade», which indicates melancholy on what is forever left and the unachieved. The word Sangeet, in many Indian languages indicates music, literally it is transferred as «gathered together, expressed together or sung together». Music and dances of India are some of the oldest forms of classical art with traditions, which count several centuries. Indian music was developed in the process of complex interaction between the representatives of different races and cultures which was accompanied by the location of India through ages as a center of trade that passes through various nations. The Samba which could be considered as the Brazil’s national music style indeed is one of the most popular forms of music there. The history of Samba is the history of the confluence of the African dances, which arrived in Brazil with the slaves from the Congo and Angola, with the Spanish and Portuguese dances, brought from Europe by the conquerors of South America. In 16 century the Portuguese brought with themselves from Angola and Congo to Brazil many slaves, who brought from Africa such dances as Catarete, Embolada and Batuque. The Maghrib music is musical culture that includes the music of Algeria, Morocco, Tunis, Libya and Mauritania and Western Sahara. In the 2nd half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century in connection with the colonization of the countries Of Maghrib their music was highly affected by the European art (French – in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Italian – in Libya). The European system of musical formation was in particular introduced. With the end of 19th century this music drew the attention of many European musicians. Summary It could be noticed that the travels and colonization brought the diversity in music styles in wh
History of Mosaics in Later Greek Art Greek mosaic is known to have been an old practice. The practice of making floors through the placement of pebbles and cement plaster was common in early Greece. A unique principal characterized this form of art in Greece. For instance, all the decorated floors were usually confined to a unique principle whereby the dining room (the andron ) and the anteroom were considered. A good example is the Pella Palace characterized by hypothetical floors. Archeologists have indicated conclusively that pebbles were widely used by early Greeks to decorate floors during the Bronze Age. Incidentally, such flooring materials were embraced by other non-Greeks. For example, the use of pebbles as a unique flooring material was embraced in Anatolia from the eighth century BC. Greek mosaic is a practice that began towards the end of the 5 th century BC. Several centuries later, the design of the Greek mosaics changed drastically to include concentric bands, geometric patterns, and figured decorations. Such decorations focused on a specific figured scene or motif. From the third century BC, the nature of these mosaics changed significantly with the use of pebbles dominating the practice. Analysts have argued strongly that the Greek mosaics were specifically aimed at achieving specific given goals such as honor and aesthetics. Some scholars have argued that Greek mosaics were similar to fresco painting. This must have been the case because layers of course plasters were covered by a finer one. The pebbles were then set into this finer plaster. During the process, a complex figure could be drawn on the course plaster. This approach has been given the name of the light-on-dark principle. One unique attribute of these mosaics is that the artists never sorted the pebbles into different sizes. However, the stones were packed closely to hide the plaste
President Barack Obama of the United States has emerged as an exceptional leader in this era. Since he took office as the first black president of the United States, the first one hundred days in office have been characterized by transformation and stable leadership. According to Huffington, “the first one hundred days of Obama in office has had a lot of achievements and intangible transformational leadership”. Obama has been given credit by almost all the leaders of the world for his exceptional leadership. As it has been observed from his leadership, Obama has a great sense of ethical values, the ability to convince, and self-confidence. His speeches are characterized by personal charm, charisma and the ability to deliver speeches with fluency and knowledge. These attributes make President Obama an exceptional leader (Huffington, 20). Obama’s leadership has proven that being consistent and clear to your purposes can make one achieve his or her goals. Throughout his campaigns, he captured the minds of his followers by capitalizing on the need for change for the benefit of the future and repeated the same agenda in different styles (Northouse, 60). Comparing Obama’s approach to McCain, the policy on health care proposed by McCain was a great document but no one understood it. It, therefore, follows that a good leader must be consistent and stay focused on his agenda so as to achieve the desired goals. In his debates with McCain, Obama articulated several issues of health, education, community and national security with the knowledge of an expert. He achieved this goal by tirelessly seeking the counsel of experienced professionals in the respective disciplines. This is a vital approach to leadership which any aspiring candidate should aspire to embrace, that is seeking the knowledge of the experienced personalities and using them to shape your personal values, ideas and philosophy (House, 101). Obama is a democratic leader. In his recent visit to Kazakhstan, he tells the audience that the United States was still working on democracy and that his administration was making big steps in improving democracy in the United States. Obama has been at the forefront in demanding for equal opportunity to be accorded to people of all classes without looking at their economic status, race, sexuality or even religion. In his inaugural speech, Obama stated clearly that all people share similar aspirations; to live peacefully; to live in harmony with their families; and to acquire good education (Woolley, 77). Therefore, we should treat each other as equals and that we should not allow our identity to divide us. I am greatly inspired by Obama’s leadersh
Introduction The readings found in the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur’an are as a result of divinely inspired records of God’s revelation to the men who wrote them and are referred to as the Canon of scripture. The word canon “goes back to Latin in the Greek word kano, chiefly meaning a ‘reed’ or ‘rod’. It later obtained two secondary meanings: 1) a measuring-rod or standard and 2) a list or index” (Bruce 39). In the early third century A.D, Origen used the former to point out that the bible was the standard of faith. This was meant to be the index by which people were to judge their actions as recommended by their religion. A century later saw Athanasius use the latter of these meanings in referring to the contents of the Bible. “In the sense in which these books constitute the ‘list’ of writings which the Church reckons as the authoritative documents of divine revelation” (Bruce 78). Hebrew canon The Hebrew Bible recognizes twenty-four books that make up the bible. According to common knowledge, the thirty-nine books which make up the Old Testament are is the basis of the foundation of the beginning of Christianity although the Hebrew Bible counts the twelve ‘Minor’ Prophets as one book. It further counts the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles as one each; Ezra and Nehemiah are counted as one book. This brings out the differentiation in the Hebrew bible that has a total of twenty-four and the common bible which contains thirty-nine books. The structure or compilation of the Hebrew Bible is divided into three divisions: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. There is no reason to put forward this method of compilation as it neither follows a chronological order of how they were written nor subject matter. The law consists of the five books written by Moses; the Prophets consist of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings (the ‘Former Prophets’), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the ‘Minor’ Prophets (the ‘Latter Prophets’); the final part the Writings consist of three groups; firstly the Psalms, Proverbs, and Job; secondly a group of five books called the ‘Five Scrolls’, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther; and thirdly the books of Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles. The New Testament canon The authority of God in the New Testament cannot be exclusively attributed in the writing of the twenty-seven books that make up the New Testament as is the case with the Old Testament or Hebrew bible. The New Testament canon still acknowledges His authority and acceptance of it is as basic as that to the Old Testament. It is seen in the New Testament writings both directly and indirectly. “The Gospels are the written form of the witness borne to Christ by His apostles, whom He specially commissioned and to whom He promised that His Spirit would enable them to remember and understand His words” (Bruce 56). Every early Christian believed, as of today’s Christians that God revealed Himself supremely and finally in Jesus Christ and this forms the basis of the New Testament (Bruce 61). The order with which we are familiar in our English Bible is partly based on the subject matter; it is, for the most p
Victor Hugo, the eminent post napoleon era writer, puts forth a story of human instinct and the inner struggle which faces everyone “les miserables”. The characters offer a strong base for the story and are also fuelled by the political instability which ruled France for quite some time. The story is dominated by the character of Jean Valjean, who has been in prison for the last 19 yrs for stealing a loaf of bread and further on several attempts at a prison break. He is released only into a world of people who condemn his kind. The first night he finally gets shelter in a church where bishop Monseigneur offers him refuge. Valjean steals his silverware that night and flees only to be caught by the police again. When he is presented in front of the bishop, he claims that it was a gift and asks him to be freed as he has promised to mend his ways. This trust haunts him after he does his next theft and takes the right road. He changes his identity to M. Madeleine and sets up a factory in that town. At this moment another character is introduced, Fantine, a young girl with a child of an unknown father. She comes to the town of Montreuil to search for a job; on the way she leaves her daughter with the Thénardiers who are the innkeepers. She starts work with the factory and experiences reprieve, but is soon laid off and is forced to take up prostitution to pay the Thénardiers for her daughter. After an episode, she gets arrested but is freed on the demands of Madeleine. She starts losing health and gets bedridden. Death is inevitable. Madeleine promises her that he will get her daughter back. But Madeleine faces another serious issue of a person being arrested on the charge of being Valjean and is up for execution. At the set of the trial, he saves him and flees. Later is arrested at Fantine’s death bed. This shock kills the woman. Valjean manages to escape but is recaptured and deported to a military port. In an act of bravery, he saves a sailor from falling and pretends his death by drowning/ soon after he frees Cosette from the innkeepers and manages to escape to Paris. He lives with her in a house outside Paris and even with all the necessary steps to avoid attention the police track him down. He escapes the police and seeks refuge in a convent as an assistant gardener as the gardener is the person he saved earlier. Cosette is enrolled as a pupil and they spend several years there. Another major character in the story is Marius, who is 17 yrs of age and lives with his grandfather. In a family dispute Marius’s grandfather M. Gillenormand forces his son Georges Pontmercy to leave Marius with him or else he shall disown him. He also feeds Marius with stories of his hate towards his father and makes him numb towards him. Even at his death, he does not react. After an argument, Marius finds out how much his father loved him and the lies his grandfather told him. He leaves his house in anger. He joins a radical students group called the friends of the
The Fishbone Diagram   * A framework representing issues in organization.   * Main purpose:       + Unearth underlying factors affecting organization;       + Brainstorming these problems;       + Finding solutions;       + Decision making;       + Accurate problem examination. The fishbone diagram is a framework that allows the root cause analysis team to develop a graphical representation of the issues affecting an organization that has been associated with near misses, errors, adverse events or reduced patient satisfaction The purpose is usually to unearth the underlying factors that lead to system failures with a view to developing standardized solutions towards the same (Harel et al., 2016). In utilizing a fishbone, the RCA team has a chance to brainstorm the causes of the problems and the possible alternatives or solutions. The tool utilizes the cause-effect methodology to examine a problem but in a more accurate way where each condition that has been associated with poor outcomes is managed independently from the others (Abraham, Jones, Baker & Arpino, 2014). How Fishbone works   * Problem placed on the fish head.   * Divided into sub-problems and sub-solutions.   * Joining sub-solutions.   * Forming the ultimate solution. A problem, which is usually labeled at the head/mouth of the fish being divided into sub-problems from where the sub-solutions are sought out. These sub-solutions are then joined, and they form the ultimate solution with different elements but being accomplished in a concurrent approach. The best aspect of the fishbone tool is that the process of problem solving is not generalized. The problem is understood in its most abstract form, and the RCA team focuses on each part of the problem as a contributing factor (Harel et al., 2016).   * Used in the health sector to improve services offered to patients;   * The patients at the head;   * Contains sub-problems divided into:       + Staff and People;       + Policies and procedures;       + Environment;       + supplies. In the health care center, the Fishbone diagram works in a similar manner as the methods adopted by Kendall Regional Medical Center management in restoring patient satisfaction scores in the facility. The problem was divided into sub-problems into four categories and solutions tailored to each class were sought. At Kendall Regional Medical Center, one of the major issues that were being reported was the low levels of patient satisfaction both on matters affecting direct care delivery and the immediate environment that did not favor the holistic healing and wellness of the patient that the facility is supposed or expected to offer. Utilizing the Root Cause Analysis (RCA), patient satisfaction scores have significantly declined due to issues across four areas;   * Staff/people.   * Policies, and procedures.   * Environment.   * Supplies (Siddiqui, Wu, Kurbanova & Qayyum, 2014).  1. Patient satisfaction with the services and the new processes was at an all-time low.  2. Envir