ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Literature review Historical development According to Rangaraj, Supply chain management (SCM) is management of all business processes involved in production of goods and services (87). It involves the management of all the activities from production of the raw materials, processing, packaging and delivery to the consumers. The historical development in SCM involves four movements, which are the creation, the integration, the globalization and the specialization (Wang, Heng, and Chau 31). The creation era is characterized by the requirement for large changes, the re-engineering, the downsizing as well as the extensive attention to UAE management practice. As a result, this era requires that organizations restructure their structures by recruiting and retaining skilled personnel who are able to produce quality products that can compete in the global market. Moreover, the integration era involves reducing the cost of the products while increasing the value through amalgamation of technology and resource planning. This integration is in many oil industries like the Saudi Arabia Basic Corporation (SABIC) Company. For example, this company associates with other organizations that involve themselves in research like the Saudi Arabian University to form processes like polymerization that will lead to production of quality plastics products at a low cost. Furthermore, integration ensures that the market is constantly demanding the organization products. This is because customers usually prefer products of low cost provided they are of high quality and they satisfy their needs. Additionally, Globalization entail worldwide expansion of the supply chain via cost reduction so that businesses fit well in the competitive universal market (Gattorna 115). For instance, a local organization can team up with an international organization to enhance a smooth import and export process. Additionally, teaming up facilitates funding and sharing of relevant information about the business environment. For example, people can learn from each other the different ways of distributing products to the market at a lower cost or a new way of manufacturing products. Finally, according to Sundarakani, specialization deals with collaboration between the producers, the suppliers and the customers (26). This collaboration involves activities like manufacturing, designing, distributing and selling of the products and services that change depending on the region and its demand. For example, the market forces like the demand can interfere with distribution of products and services. Therefore, collaboration between the distributing industries and the selling industries can address this problem effectively. The activities and the functions The SCM function include the management of how the raw materials move into industries, the processing into refined goods as well as the movement of the refined goods within
Introduction In every professional field, one finds a specific set of moral values that are there to provide guidance for specialists and practitioners. Public administration is not an exception, as a robust ethical framework ensures authorities’ accountability for the community that they govern. First and foremost, ethical principles compel professionals in public administration to have the community’s interests at heart and heed their needs in making important decisions. Thus, only by fostering such qualities as responsibility and respect is it possible to start and maintain two-way communication and receive timely feedback. As for ethics and their implementation within a public administration organization, the managing board should set an example by following ethical guidelines and not only impose such policies onto their employees. The question arises as to what issues current trends in ethics management pose and how they should be tackled. The present paper reviews three recent articles on the topic and discusses their main arguments. Integrity at Stake Since the 1980s, researchers have been observing an undeniable shift towards a business-like approach in public administration. The managing style has become very similar to that of a private sector: prioritizing profitability and commercialization. Some people deem such methods unacceptable for organizations that are created by the people for the people. Others, on the other hand, claim that times change and the business-like approach is not only compatible with the practice in public administration but also presents particular benefits. I am convinced that such polarization is unnecessary, and it is more than possible to find the middle ground. One of the articles that supports my vision is a paper by Kolthoff, Huberts, and Heuvel (2007) in which seamless integration is discussed. The most convincing argument that proves that the new public management model (NPM) does not pose a direct threat to the integrity of organizations deals with corruption. However, it is apparent that even before more frequent liaisons with the private sector, corruption had been plaguing public administration. Thus, the problem of corruption will not be solved by rejecting NPM. The most important step is deciding how exactly NPM is introduced and how ethical values are fostered. Ethics Management To better understand how ethical issues might be addressed, one needs to overview the current tendencies of the public sector. First and foremost, it has become evident that throughout the past few decades, public administration management has turned from rules-oriented to result-oriented (Snellman, 2015). Admittedly, public institutions pursue efficiency; however, there is a risk that such an approach will mean that the result justifies the means. At the same time, by not concentrating on the process, the authorities might overlook violations of integrity at each stage leading up to finalizing a project. Snellman (2015) examined five solutions to the ethical issues in the public sector and established their correlation to the upholding of moral values. For instance, the pla
Introduction Mobile phones, which were invented a few decades ago, have become important communication devices utilized by society members of all ages. One age group that has made persistent use of mobile phones is teenagers. Teenagers’ overuse of phones has had a marked effect on their school lives. This paper will address the negative impacts that mobile phones are having on teenagers’ school life. Negative Impacts Mobile phones impose financial pressures on teenagers since these devices act as status symbol objects. Campbell (2005) confirms that most teenagers have the desire to upgrade their phones in order to fit in with their peers. Since most teenagers do not have a source of income, they have to rely on their families to buy them phones and pay the phone bills. This raises issues of financial disputes and some teenagers end up stealing money from their parents to spend on their phones. Teenagers use mobile phones to aid in cheating during exams. Students use their cell phones to communicate with each other during exams and therefore obtain answers to the test questions. Students can also cheat by getting answers from their phone memory or the internet. Campbell (2005) documents that while teenagers have always engaged in cheating; mobile phones have increased the level of sophistication in cheating and decreased the chances of the misconduct being detected by the teacher. Mobile phones are also problematic in school since they increase the level of disruption. Research indicates that teenagers are reluctant to switch off their phones while in class and this leads to learning activity being disrupted when the student receives a call or a text (Campbell, 2005). Even when the student does not access his/her mobile phone, the excitement of finding out what the message is about results in the student losing interest in the class leading to poor academic outcomes. Conclusion Mobile phones have significant negative impacts on teenagers’ school life. This paper has demonstrated that mobile phones cause financial difficulties, enhance cheating, and disrupt lessons. Parents and teachers should therefore forbid teenagers from having mobile phones in school. Reference Campbell, M A 2005, The impact of the mobile phone on young people’s social life , Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century Conference, QUT Carseldine, Brisbane.
Nowadays, the development of technologies and science takes one of the most significant positions. Scientists can present numerous innovations, which may considerably improve people’s lives, help to find out the solutions and even to make the right choice. Nowadays, numerous background checks and fingerprinting are improved by means of science, and people get more opportunities to find out more information about each other. Fingerprint identification is considered to be an accurate science, accepted by numerous state courts. Lots of civilians think that fingerprinting and background checks are all about invasion of privacy. I truly believe that such sciences like fingerprinting and background checks help to control society and establish justice, and in spite of the fact that people’s identification and investigation deprive lots of people of personal life, privacy, and secrets, the idea to live in disorder frightens me more. Fingerprinting and background checks help to control society and provide the necessary order . If there is no means to control a person or, at least, to give some hints, this person can take unpredictable steps against the law. The value of fingerprint
The depiction of family ties and their strong significance is the basic theme of the modern literary world; deepening into the history of mythology one should underline the fact that the illustration of this issue was considered to be centralized in epic cultures as well. The types of relationships disclosed in ancient works can be analyzed on the example of Sunjata being the hero of epic African society. The story of his life is followed by relationships with the mother influencing the character’s supernatural strength. The myth about Sunjata is aimed at the depiction of epic African society through the disclosure of mysterious family relationships being based on the character’s family ties. It is necessary to underline the fact that the institution of family is presented as the most important aspect of social life. Sunjata perceives his mother, Sogolon, as the main protector and teacher. The story shows that the hero gets his power through the mother’s influence proving strong ties between the children and their mothers. Sunjata’s adventures and life obstacles made the character put all his efforts order to protect his family and personal values. Sunjata always tried to protect his mother fighting for family honor and well-being; he felt his strong dependence and need on his mother’s moral support. (Suso & Duran, 1974) It is necessary to stress that the example of Sunjata’s story allows comparing family relationships with contemporary social values. Unfortunately, the relationships described are not so often presented in the modern life of the population; it is connected with the transformation of cultural and national values. Sunjata’s example of his attitude to the mother and his desire to support her and protect her is considered to be the model relationships for contemporary society. Honor and safety of parents should be the principal aim of the modern young generation in their relationships with their mother as it was illustrated in the mythology of Sunjata. The illustration of animals in epic literature works was usually associated with hunting and symbols of nature. Such epics as Sunjata and Popol Vuh disclosing the life and activities of ancient nations involve the readers into the world of wild creatures threatening the life of the characters and proving heroes’ skills of hunting at the same time. Sunjata demonstrates some episodes with the involvement of animals; for example, Mali King was shown as the skilled hunter of great animals such as elephants, buffalos, and hippotragues. He was able to carry killed animals throughout the villages to provide food for a wide region. The anima
This paper focuses on the quantitative analysis of an article that looks at low-income minorities, namely youth. The sample, its demographic properties, cause-and-effect issues of the experiment are discussed. The sexual behavior of this group is a critical and poorly studied issue. This article suggests, as one of the options for identifying the determinants and predictors of such behavior, using the information-motivation-behavior model or the IMB (Bazargan et al., 2010). This high-risk sexual behavior increases the risks of AIDS and HIV and requires intervention but remains a sensitive issue. In addition to this model, this study also uses structural equation modeling to prove or disprove certain relationships. Theoretical Underpinning Any research or experiment requires preliminary theoretical data processing. In this case, the IMB model applied to Hispanic and African American minorities had a proven effect of specific knowledge on sexual behavior – STIs, the consequences of teenage pregnancy – the less a person knew, the more motivated it was in such behavior (Bazargan et al., 2010). This article provides a more detailed study with age, gender, and ethnicity as variables and puts forward several hypotheses; for example, girls are more pessimistic about early pregnancy or that older youth are more involved in sexual behavior. Sample The sample of the experiment consisted of 380 teenagers from California. The division by sex was approximately equal; the age ranged from 11 to 17 years. Each student was required to provide their consent to participate and the consent of their parents or guardians. The experiment complied with all the necessary modern ethical standards while maintaining complete anonymity. The measurement methods themselves – the survey – were adapted from a similar study, with the definition of the necessary variables in the context of using the models. Indicators assessed were knowledge, risk behavior, ability to resist sexual behavior, consequences of unwanted pregnancy, and peer pressure (Bazargan et al., 2010). This data was processed and interpreted with the help of appropriate software. Results During the search for the main factors influencing sexual behavior, the adequacy of the model was also assessed using various statistical indicators. Only significant influences persisted between the variables. The results are indeed indicators that the older group was more likely to have intercourse, more than half of those did not have contraception (Bazargan et al., 2010). Consequently, 5% of the total sample already had a sexually transmitted disease (Bazargan et al., 2010). Knowledge about sexual activity and the ability to withdraw from it were crucial determinants. The rest of the factors identified, such as attitudes towards a particular ethnic group and the consequences of pregnancy, had minimal dependence on ri
Background Health care reform in the US dates back in the 1900s; however, recent events related to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 and the ongoing implementation of important provisions of the legislation have been critical in shaping American healthcare landscape (Alvidiez, 2015; Martin, 2015). ACA-led healthcare reform aims to “expand access to health insurance coverage, contain healthcare costs, establish and promote exchanges, widen uptake of health information technology, and enhance collaboration” (Bliss, 2013). This presentation reports on the findings of a literature review conducted to understand how the ACA-led health care reform is impacting the above components. Presentation also identifies some potential consequences of the health care reform and suggests some actionable points to fast track the reform process. Literature Review & Synthesis Expanding Access to Health Insurance Coverage Health care reform in the US should focus on expanding access to health insurance coverage with the view to improving the health of Americans and enhancing the global competitiveness of the country (Bliss, 2013). ACA-led health care reform seeks to move individuals out of the vulnerable ranks of the uninsured by expanding Medicaid to everyone below 138 percent of the federal poverty level and requiring the establishment of an insurance exchange where private insurance can be sold to people without Medicaid, Medicare, or employer-based insurance (Gaffney, 2014). Problem Noted: Although the health care reform has gained some ground in expanding access to health insurance coverage, it has nevertheless failed to eliminate uninsurance and underinsurance due to high levels of cost sharing, deductibles and coinsurance, leading to fears of how to sustain the reform process in the near future (Fried, Pintor, Gravern, & Blewett, 2014; Kingsley, 2014) Reducing Healthcare Costs According to Bliss (2013), the ACA-led healthcare reform is already reducing healthcare costs by:   * reducing administrative and peripheral costs   * focusing on disease prevention rather than treatment of sick patients and other people requiring healthcare interventions   * advocating for a payment approach that is based on quality of care or outcome determinants, rather than fee-for-service provided   * managing costs for all stakeholders in the healthcare industry The ongoing healthcare reform has also reinforced the concept of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), which has been instrumental in containing costs by “responding to changes in reimbursement, reducing fragmented care, and focusing on improving the quality of care for defined patient populations (Wexler, Hefner, Welker, & McAlearney, 2014, p. 298). Establishing & Promoting Insurance Exchanges The ACA-led healthcare reform is achieving the intended outcomes in terms of establishing and promoting insurance exchanges (Bliss, 2013). Insurance exchanges are not only assisting people who cannot afford group insurance to access quality healthcare, but also assisting to protect Americans from the devastating effects of illness-related financial burden while at the
Executive Summary The motorcycle industry has changed significantly within the past few decades. The industry has been targeting different consumers with specific preferences and expectations. From 1970, many companies began to embrace the power of research and development (R&D) in order to produce revolutionary motorcycles. New technological improvements emerged thus supporting the needs of many customers (Gavetti, 2002). Powerful advertising events and races were staged in order to increase the firm’s level of sales. The leading manufacturers were marketing their products in Europe, Japan, and Europe (Gavetti, 2002). However, some manufactures exited due to increased production costs and competition. During the period, the major competitors included Harley-Davidson, BMW, Honda, Triumph, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Suzuki. The changes encountered in the industry forced Ducati to focus on a new turnaround program (Gavetti, 2002). The purpose of the strategy was to produce the best results. The first approach was founded “on the company’s technical superiority” (Gavetti, 2002, p. 6). The company’s products performed positively in the racing segment. The inclusion of powerful engines made Ducati’s motorcycles successful. Unfortunately, Ducati’s decision to focus on other products affected its performance throughout the 1980s. The firm became troubled and unprofitable. It was “a single step from bankruptcy” (Gavetti, 2002, p. 7). Federico Minoli introduced new strategies aimed at transforming the company. To begin with, Minoli observed that Ducati’s product was reliable, effective, unique, and beautiful. The organization’s R&D department was also effective. He also observed that the presence of competent engineers could transform the company and make it successful. A crystallized strategy named “The World of Ducati” was framed in order to support the firm’s objectives. The company decided to “consider various issues such as advertising, racing options, events, and Ducati owners’ clubs” (Gavetti, 2002, p. 12). The company also embraced the power of online marketing in order to attract more customers. More people were ready to purchase Ducati’s products. By 2011, the firm had a market share of 7 percent. Ducati also embraced new approaches in order to increase its market share to 10 percent (Gavetti, 2002). The “new goal was to produce new motorcycles that could compete in Harley’s niche” (Gavetti, 2002, p. 14). According to the case study, Minoli was not sure if the decision to produce a powerful motorcycle could support the company’s sustainable growth. Recommendation The motorcycle industry has changed significantly within the past few years. That being the case, Ducati should monitor most of these changes in order to develop a sustainable business
Sex and gender are often confused while they mean different things. Sex is a set of biological and physiological characteristics. Gender refers to “an internal sense of being male, female or something else” (“Transgender Today” par. 1). In other words, gender is composed of behavior, social roles, expectations, and actions of the person. Some popular stereotypes of being masculine or feminine impact the person’s perception by others. For example, a typically feminine image involves social and communication skills, emotional support, and need in protection while a typical masculine role assumes independence, dominance, and resoluteness. It is considered that feminine representatives wear dresses and skirts while masculine ones should be dressed in a formal suit. At that, dress practices can help people to express their gender that sometimes can cause societal rejection. To understand the issue of gender, it is necessary to identify the term gender identity. This term can be referred to as an experience of the person of his or her gender. As a result, one can note the establishment of gender continuum that includes the extension of the gender spectrum outside the traditional binary system. For example, it is possible to point out transvestites wearing sex-opposite clothes or transsexuals who underwent sex-change surgery. At this point, it is important to note the phenomenon of transgender when the gender of the person does not coincide with their sex listed on a birth certificate. Many Americans are against transgender making them the nation’s most marginalized citizens (“Transgender Today” par. 9). Although there is a tendency towards the strengthening of rights of transgender people, they have to encounter resistance from the government that is expressed in inappropriate health care or even refusal to provide it or the ban of the Pentagon to join military service. I can state that my gender identity is also formed under the influence of a set of social norms, events, and tendencies. Considering gender identity in a way suggested by Lorber who states that it is “a social institution”, I understand the strong connection between my own gender identity and social standards (“Night to his day: The social construction of gender” 16). Gender construction begins with the sex identified by the birth certificate and can be developed throughout life. My initial gender identity was established in my childhood within the framework of family values and upbringing attitudes. Lorber believes that religion, language, and culture set certain standards that are based on gender differences (“A World Without Gender: Making the Revolution” 15). Thus, gender is determined not only by private processes such as interpersonal communication and interaction in the family but also by social relationships and is the cause of social stratification which causes the hierarchy in society. Both cultural and social factors affected my gender identity. For example, it is common and widespread to dress unisex clothing that blurs boundaries between females and males. As a result, I also tend to wear unisex clothing likewise the majority of my peers. In my opinion, wearing