ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment Tool This method of environmental assessment was designed to help local councils as well as various organizations to create a preliminary assessment and environmental screening of a proposed project or activity in order to determine whether it has a negative, neutral or positive environmental impact (Schianetz et al., 2007). Leopold Matrix Similar to the Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment Tool, the Leopold matrix is similarly utilized to measure the impact of a project on the environment (Safont et al., 2012). What differentiates the Leopold Matrix from other methods of environmental assessment is the way in which it utilizes measures of importance (i.e. from a measure of 1 to 10) to magnitude (i.e. from -10 to +10) in order to determine the overall impact of a particular activity (Safont et al., 2012). Fuzzy logic Often utilizing quantitative data as a means of assessment, Fuzzy logic can be considered a means of processing data so as to extend classical set theory to the extent that it can handle partial membership. In other words, fuzzy logic is used as a means of clarifying concepts related to “safety”, “health” and “acceptable” to the extent that it can be clearly understood based on quantitative analysis of data sets involving appropriate measures that deal with such abstract concepts (Ridgway, 2005). It should be noted though that due to the complications involved in fuzzy logic applications and methods of utilization, it is rarely utilized in risk assessment or environmental policy due to the presence of better tools of assessment (Ridgway, 2005). Flash Environmental Assessment Tool (FEAT) While not utilized on a daily basis, the Flash Environmental Assessment Tool is one the best methods of assessing any existing or potential environmental impact risks that can be considered as a “significant” risk to locals and the environment through the release of unnatural or exotic chemical compounds into the surrounding environment (Saeed et al., 2012). FEAT is normally seen in use when a tanker ship, a truck or other vehicle has accidentally let loose its shipment of chemicals. During such incidents, it is important to determine the level of danger involved so that proper cleanup procedures can be implemented (Saeed et al., 2012). Differences in Methodologies The Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment Tool utilizes 14 potential environmental factors in a checklist format as a means of assessing the impact of a particular project or activity (Chang et al., 2013). Utilizing a color code scheme, it is able to determine whether an activity would be positive for the environment or not. The Le
Introduction Effective military leadership demands that the leader should have basic leadership qualities so as to conquer and counter the strategies of the enemy. As a military leader, Sun Tzu’s leadership approach had a number of similarities and differences to the leadership strategies used by great military leaders throughout history (Gagliardi & Tzu, 2012). Leadership Strategies America’s defeat in Vietnam exposed a number of leadership strengths and weaknesses that many historical military leaders had. Tzu’s cunning ability is revealed in his ability to train and equip women and youths into powerful military forces. The cunning attribute is similar to leadership strategies employed by Hannibal Barca, Georgy Zhukov, Ghengis Khan, and Julius Caesar (Cawthorne, 2004; Harvey, 2008). These military leaders were cunning and often focused on understanding their enemies. As Gagliardi and Tzu (2012) reveal, Julius Caesar and Sun Tzu constantly maneuvered and showed respect to their enemies. This made their enemies expose their strengths and weaknesses easily. Unlike many aggressive military leaders who include Adolf Hitler and Hannibal Barca, Sun’s leadership approach entailed subduing the enemy. Sun avoided engaging in a physical war. He appointed and trained concubines and used them to prove that giving clear directives was an important military leadership approach. Sun’s military policy involved reminding himself that war was never an end in itself but rather a means to achieving a greater goal. Like Socrates, Sun, and many other great leaders encouraged leaders to be humble. Great leaders believed that high military numbers did not always transform into having an advantage over an enemy on the battlefield. The choice of soft targets in a war was a successful strategy that Sun and other successful leaders used. Having knowledge of the battlefield terrain, Sun’s military strategies proved that conceptualizing one’s military doctrine and being focused on the set goals was important. Unlike many leaders, Sun always focused on winning the trust and support of his followers (Gagliardi & Tzu, 2012). Avoidance of confrontational military attacks was a major military strategy. Most successful military leaders such as Julius Caesar and Sun Tzu used insurgent forces to disarm their enemies. Contrary to w
Muhammed Ibn Musa al Khwarizmi was a renowned mathematician, astronomer and geographer, who lived during the Abbasid Empire. He is known as the father of algebra. Some historians believe, he was born in Chorasmia in the year 780 AD (Moore & Mertens, 2011), and died in 850 AD. Others think that he was born in Qutrubbul, near Baghdad (Morony, 2006). He flourished as a great scholar in the ‘House of Wisdom’ in Bagdad, under the rule of Kalif al-Mamun. Bagdad brightened the world at that time with its brilliance, and the intellectual dominance of the Arab civilization influenced the Western Europe to a great extent (Riesler, 1995). Al Khwarizmi’s algebra reflected Arab’s superior civilization, and his new ideas and thoughts propelled Arab wisdom. His contributions to astronomy, geography, and mathematics were unparalleled, and they became the landmarks in human history. Al Khwarizmi’s arithmetic defined the Indian numeration, and acquainted Europe with the Arabic numbers. The Western Europe became aware of the Arab numbering system, decimal points and numbers from his books. Al Khwarizmi used the word “Kasra” to clarify the fractions. His arithmetic work, Algorimus, was a Latin version of his previous work, and the word algorithm was derived from it. Another book written by him on astronomy dealt with calendars, zodiac positions, sine tables and tangents and calculation of eclipses. The Zij al-Sindhind is also a great work by him on astronomy. Al-Khwarizmi’s book titled Surat al-Ard is based on Ptolemy’s geographical findings. He prepared a new world map, which became the milestone in geography at that time. In addition, he reconstructed the sundials, the shadow square and the alidade for making angular observations. Thus, he spread new ideas and knowledge in the world, which exemplified the Arab civilization. It is through him that the entire Europe and other countries came to know about the Indian numerals, Arabic algebra and mathematics, without which the present day civilization and science would not have accomplished progress. Reference List Moore, C., & Mertens, S. (2011). The Nature of Computation. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Morony, M. G. (2006). Iraq After the Muslim Conquest , NJ, USA: Gorgias Press. Riesler, J. C. (1955). La Civilization Arabe (Arab Civilization) . Paris, France: Payot.
Introduction The United States had a long and elaborate history of slavery before the federal government began to end it actively. During the mid-nineteenth century, the political tensions and divisions between the nation’s Southern and Northern societies were intensified by the discussions on slavery’s future. The Compromise of 1850 briefly resolved part of the divisive issues troubling the North and South but failed to prevent the Civil War, which followed a few years later (Peck 155). However, new controversies emerged the expanding activism of the abolitionists, including the formation of the slavery-combating Republican party. The arising matters made it difficult to maintain the Union because the ongoing debate on slavery hindered any meaningful attempt to pacify the tense Northern and the Southern populations. Federal Government Attempts to Resolve Slavery in 1850s In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States federal government made several attempts to resolve the particular issue of slavery. These efforts culminated in the Compromise of 1850, defined by Clay’s bills, which tried to solve subjugation in the US’s new territories during the Mexican-American war (Peck 155). Under this Compromise, California would be admitted as a free state while New Mexico and Utah residents would be let to allow or reject slavery. Moreover, Texas would be denied its massive claim to the greater New Mexico. However, it would be compensated for by having the federal government pay its pre-annexation debts (Shi and Tindall 32). At the same time, the Bill would retain servitude within the District of Columbia while prohibiting the sale of captives in the state’s capital. To further appeal to the Southern states’ desire for free in
Introduction Global crime is one of the most important problems facing the world and most governments have taken steps to deal with it. These form of crime results in enormous costs to the society and the economy. An understanding of the causes of global crime can be helpful in mitigating this detrimental practice. Criminologists have made use of many theories and approaches to explain crime and propose ways of reducing crime. One such approach, which can be used to provide a better understanding of global crime, is the Marxist approach. This approach emphasizes socio-political as well as economic factors in explaining crime. This paper will apply the Marxist view on crime to global crime and proceed to discuss what this reveals about power, deviance, and social control. Overview of Global Crime Global crimes occur across multiple national borders and organized criminal groups are the main participants in this transnational crime. Crimes that fall under the global crime category include drug trafficking, people smuggling, arms dealing, prostitution rings, and money laundering to name but a few. Global crime is economically driven and most participants seek to make the greatest amount of profit from their criminal activities. Marxists Approach to Global Crime The Marxist approach is derived from the theories of Karl Marx who is best known for his critique of the capitalist system. Marx asserted that the social institutions such as law, politics, and education, in a capitalist society “legitimize existing class
Abstract All families have a story to tell. These stories depict the values that are held dearly by members of that family. As time goes on, these stories are passed from one generation to the next and in the process they get mixed up and distorted. Slowly by slowly all the facts are lost and with them goes culture. One sure way of preserving these stories is documentation following a fair research. A family ethnography is usually a great way of documenting the facts. Introduction In an effort to preserve the stories of my family, I carried out a research using the following steps. These steps enabled me to carry out a fair research and come up with our family ethnography. The following steps were followed: Method Considering that the only people I could rely on to give me information about my kinship are all my family members, I decided to use informal interviews to do my research. It’s a bit unnerving trying to get formal with my relatives. Distance from the people I wanted to interview also played a major role in my decision to carry out an informal interview. Informants It’s hard to study or carry out a research on any family without considering both the mothers side and the father’s side. These two sides are equally important if a clear conclusion is to be drawn at the end of the interview. As I was settling for whom to interview, my parents came first in my mind which is very natural. Having both my mother and father as informants I was sure to get a clear view of the whole extended family. However I had a strong feeling that I needed more respondents, I settled on an uncle from my mother’s side and an aunt from my father’s side I felt that would offer more details and gender balance in each side of the family. On both cases I picked the siblings that are older than my parents. Finally I picked my only living grandfather from my Father’s side of the family and my grandmother on my mother’s side. With those six respondents I was sure to get a fair view of the whole family. Materials Since I had settled for an informal interview I did not have to gather so many materials. All I needed was writing materials to capture the data from my phone-conducted interviews. I however listed some areas of interest and curiosity that I wanted handled by each respondent from a diffe
Introduction Background The United States has one of the largest and most respected armies in the world. According to Harley and Teaster, not all those who join the American army spend the rest of their lives in the service (43). Some of them often prefer leaving the service after spending few years. Various reasons may force a person to quit the military service to become a civilian working as other citizens in the country. According to Byrd and Chaunda, it is estimated that the country has deployed over two million United States service members to Afghanistan and Iraq since the onset of war on terror following the September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attack (117). Some of them, estimated to be about 27% of the above estimates, have been redeployed to these volatile regions more than once. A good number have opted to leave the service soon after coming home because of the experiences they have had in these foreign countries. Others come back home with life-changing injuries. Others witnessed their friends and colleagues die in the battlefields. Others were forced to kill people to protect their own lives and American properties. When they come back home, they find it increasingly challenging to lead a normal life. The mental disorders and physical injuries sustained during their service to the country make it difficult for them to become breadwinners after leaving the military. The veterans, just as other citizens of this country, need to work to ensure that they can provide for their families. However, not all of them succeed in getting well-paying regular jobs that can sustain their families. The physical and mental disorders sustained during the years spent in their service makes it difficult for them to be fully back into the society. Some of them struggle to get decent jobs, and the lucky ones who do, maintaining those jobs become a great challenge. In a system where the employers are keen on getting the best service from their employees, any mistake from the employees or inability to meet the expectations is rarely tolerated. These employers rarely take time to understand the special needs of their employees and reasons why some of them behave in a given manner. Shilling says that it is increasingly becoming difficult for the veterans to get decent jobs in the American society (41). In many cases, people prefer praising them for their selfless service to the country. However, it rarely goes beyond the praise. Very few employers are always keen on embracing these veterans in their workplaces despite their challenges. In this paper, the researcher looks at the main barriers to employment and integration back to the society that
Abstract In this assignment, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is elucidated and explained. The assignment applies two situations involving Geletex Corporation and Jed Richardson the company’s compliance officer to determine if the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was violated. Introduction The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is legislation passed in 1977 to deter involvement in corruption by American companies in foreign countries. This law considers bribery of foreign government officials in order to get or maintain business as a violation of the United States law. The FCPA requires American companies to maintain detailed accounting records to allow reviews by auditors to determine whether it complies with the provisions of this act. Legal Explanation of Foreign Corruption Practices Act The FCPA law prohibits American companies in making payments to foreign government officials or corporations with the purpose of gaining or maintaining business. However, the Act precludes a gift or payment to a foreign corporation or a corporate officer. Moreover, gifts or payments made to officials who do not have control over a ward or maintenance of business do not amount to a violation of the law. The FCPA law gives United States businesses some degree of exceptions in circumstances where payments to foreign government officials do not contravene local laws, even if the gifts or payments leads to maintain or gain business (Zarin, 1995). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act allows companies to facilitate and expedite payments in foreign countries. The intention is to expedite or secure the performance of routine government functions. Payments acceptable include gifts aimed at speeding up the issuance of licenses or permits, and processing of paperwork. This particular exception to the general provisions of the act that deters bribery is provided despite the fact that technically grease payments are regarded as bribes. These bribes are less offensive compared to bribes used in the acquisition and maintenance of business. These inducements assist in facilitating performance of duties that American companies in foreign countries are already obligated to perform (Zarin, 1995). FCPA and Geletex’s Situation The FCPA applies to all American Corporations with business operations abroad. Geletex is a Corporation that has expanded its operations internationally. It has to comply with the full provisions of FCPA legislations as it engages in business activities abroad. Geletex’s US operations have code of ethics which complies with FCPA. However, the company’s international code of ethics is unclear as it expands its activities abroad. This is shown in situations met by Jed in his visits to the offices in Lima and Stockholm. In Lima, he discovered unusual high commission expenses which the office official justifies as normal. In Stockholm office, he met a situation where the branch employed relatives of top government officials. These situations seem to amount to payments made in an attempt to acquire and maintain business with government officials, thus a violation of the FCPA. FCPA and Jed’s Concerns J
Hunger is mainly related to poverty because when people are poor they will not be able to buy food. In many third world countries, there are no sufficient funds that can be used on agriculture even on the basic level thus agriculture is underdeveloped. Population growth also contributes to world hunger. Third world countries undergo exponential growth and with problems of food they are not able to feed them all. Countries that are powerful and with a lot of food do not contribute a lot in helping the poor countries solve this problem. In such countries, there is a constant waste of food that is thrown in the dust bin. Hunger results from global and societal inequality amid industrialized nations and developing nations. The existing trade procedures, international assistance, and inadequate development programs have led to rich countries misusing the poor counties rather than assist them. There is plenty of food that is available in the world that can be able to feed everyone. In the international market, all nations are meant to have an equal and just exchange of products and services among one another, but this is not what happens. Food is not supposed to be sold abroad from poor nations to the rich nations, but rather it should be vice versa since food is required in poor nations. In most developing nations exports have hit while so many people continue to die of hunger. Debts are another main cause of hunger in most developing countries. The developing nations are required to borrow funds from organizations like World Bank (WB) and from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and thus they are obligated to follow the structural modification guidelines. These guidelines create irrational and untenable restrictions on the living conditions of the people from these developing nations. The WB and the IMF are generally managed by rich nations like the Group of Eight (G8) who see that competition in the free market will help poor countries advance when things change. These rich nations offer only short-term marketable benefits that they will gain from. In this way, the poor nations have to export most of their food to pay these debts. In other cases, most industries that used to offer assistance to these poor nations also center on exports to other countries for them to disburse the government, who in this case have to pay the IMF and WB. This large exporting of food from poor countries has resulted in hunger issues. The effects of hunger include increased infant and mortality rates. Malnourished mothers are prone to sicknesses leading to problems with the children they give birth to. They may be smaller and in most cases, they die early causing high infant death rates. In areas where children an