ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Routine activities theory seeks to explain the various causes of crime in any given society. The theory brings out crime as being a normal occurrence that is determined by the existing opportunities at a certain time. It describes the various driving factors that cause an individual to commit a crime within a given environment (Felson, 1994). Elements of the theory The three main elements of the routine activities theory include an available target, motivational offender and the absence of a guardian who may prevent the crime from taking place. The available target in this case refers to what may drive a person into committing a crime or what may be the attraction. A motivational offender on the other hand is the person willing to commit a crime while the absence of a guardian refers to the lack of effective guardianship such that the crime is not likely to be stopped or prevented from occurring. According to this theory, the occurrence of any given crime requires that these three elements be present and that they function. The availability of a target can further be explained in terms of four aspects which include value, inertia, visibility as well as accessibility (VIVA). Value in this case depends on the particular individual willing to perform the crime and not on how worthy a particular item is. Inertia on the other hand refers to how big or small a particular object is while visibility refers to the potential criminal’s knowledge of whether or not a particular target exists. Accessibility is the ability of the willing criminal to get to the target object as well as be able to escape without being caught (Cohen and Felson, 1979). Why offenders engage in crime Routine activities theories can be used to explain why offenders engage in crime by identifying possible reasons why crime occurs. This is best done using the three elements that acts as the greatest contributors to the occurrence of crime. According to the theory, the occurrence of crime requires that time and space converges and that the three mentioned elements are present. The absence of any of these elements prevents a crime from taking place (Felson, 1994).in a situation where security cameras have been out up within a particular building for example, they act as controllers through which guardianship of the building is formed thus acting as a protective measure against the occurrence of any kind of crime that may include trespass, theft or burglary among others. Concealment of valued objects or accessories takes away the ‘suitable target’ and in turn prevents it from being stolen or destroyed. Victimization The concept of victimization according to the routine activity theory is best explained using the available target element such that one can only be a victim of crime if he or she is identified as a target or as someone in possession of a valuable object and whose defense mechani
Over the years, the selection metrics used by a potential adoptive family have significantly changed. Previously, children were selected based solely on their skin color and the religion of the adoptive family. Later, children from many other cultural backgrounds such as Asian Americans or African Americans or Native American heritage came to be adopted by families outside their cultural boundaries. What are the major issues with interracial adoptions? The trends in the selection of children for adoption have changed over time. The shift to interracial adoption probably stems from the Civil Rights movement in the US. This went on for some time before black people started thinking deeply on the issue. Problems arise when some blacks decided that they were against the adoption of their children into interracial adoptive families or families that were not black. They organized themselves to let the world know of the harm that could be done to their black heritage. There was the question of loss of self-esteem, loss of racial identity, fear of children losing confidence and not becoming attached to the adoptive parents, as they should. Soon activists began to discuss and speak about the issues. The legislation was instituted to control the adoptions and ensure that children were going into proper homes that did not harm their attitude or disturb their sense of identity and self-esteem. The Howard M. Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act was passed in 1994 and the Adoption and Safe Family’s Act of 1997 for the regularization of adoption. The latter law is aimed at reducing the instability and abuse accompanying interracial adoption. Same race adoption has been recommended by some researchers. Others have claimed that this unnecessary restriction has caused many children to be denied their right to adoptive care through interracial adoption at least. Six issues have been identified which prevent adoption based on if it is going to be a same-race adoption but promotes interracial adoption. Policies of adoption by foster parents, availability of same race families, sufficient children who need adoption, disparities in policies of child welfare services, incorrect numbers of black children in foster care and poverty have been discussed as problems surrounding same race adoption. The recent understanding of the interracial adoption has incorporated similar policies and views of various organizations committed to the social work of mixed adoptions (Adoption, 2009). The racial barrier is not a hindrance for adopting children in many families. A very important success factor is that the bond between the members of the family – including the newly adopted additions – needs to be well developed (Amy, 2003, para 3). Interracial families have problems that are inevitable in a community with diverse interests. The challenges that the parents encounter are enumerated (Interracial families, 2009, para 4). The family would face the same re
Background to the author Clive Lewis had an eventful upbringing that would gradually see him mold into the person that he became in his adult life. It was full of education as most scholars were at a time when there were many challenges that he faced. His articulate method of thinking got him to start evoking thoughts of categorizing love, thus, his wayward writing. Grappling at a time when most people were ignorant of their inner feelings, Clive Lewis managed to climb out of the pit of sunken feeling and bring out some of the most thought provoking, every day scenarios. The renowned author, Clive Staples Lewis, was sired in Ireland in the city of Belfast in the year 1898 on the 29 th day of November. His father, Albert James Lewis, who was born in the year 1863 and passed away in 1929, was a legal representative who had been born and raised in Ireland after his father repositioned himself from Wales in the midst of the prior century. Lewis’s maternal parent was the offspring of an Anglican Minster in the Irish Papacy. She was called Florence Augusta Lewis, née Hamilton and she lived between the years 1862 and 1908. Clive had an elder brother named Warren Hamilton Lewis. He changed his name at the age of four after an incident that involved the death of his favorite pet dog. He actually refused to answer to any other name apart from the one that had been bestowed upon his dog. Clive loved animals all his young life and he started writing at a tender age. He would replicate some of the stories that he read written by Beatrix Potter and would create his own versions and animals in his stories (Lewis Four loves 68). He managed to create the world of Boxen with his brother where the animals ruled the world that they lived in. He was in love with reading and would saunter into his father’s library and get hold of all the books that he could, and go through them thoroughly. This made him quite adept to reading and he would take to books like a duck to water. At one point, he stated that locating the right manuscript to read was as stress-free as finding a new vane of pasture in a meadow. Private tutors helped with his initial schooling at home. This was prior to his being shipped off to Hertfordshire in the region of Watford. Here, he attended Wynyard School in the year 1908. This was following the death of his mother. She passed away after suffering from cancer. Luckily, for him, his brother was already enrolled there and it was easy for him to settle in without problems. Unfortu
Introduction Buddhism was established in India by one man on a journey to find enlightenment. His name was Siddhartha Gautama (Huston, 40). He was brought up in a wealthy family. One day, he was exposed to poverty outside his home and his life changed. He then began to find a solution to pain and anguish. His teaching became popular, and he made disciples. Originally Buddhism commenced as a branch of Hinduism. However, the followers of this religion then turned their backs on the mother religion. The basis of Buddhism is found in the answers to two questions that Gautama attempted to answer. The answers were classified under in to the “Four Noble Truths” and the ‘Eightfold Path” (Huston, 40). This paper describes the fundamentals of Buddhism and how it later embraced other doctrines contrary to the original message. Buddhism had various beliefs. The first principle Gautama believed was that pain was not part of the plan. His thought was that selfishness was the source of pain and suffering (Huston, 49). He taught that the solution could be found by training the human mind, soul and body to do right. If human beings would stop being greedy, then there would be no anguish or pain. According to Buddha, understanding the cause of human pain was the first step to victory. This was followed by real intentions, right communication, selfless behavior, integrity, sincere efforts and focus (Huston, 52). These steps are described as the eightfold paths of Buddhism. Although the answers to the questions posed by Gautama were precise, the followers held different views over three questions. These questions related to human independence, the intention of the universe and the finest part of the human body (Huston, 58). This division birthed out two branches Theravada and Mahayana (Huston 60). Unity existed among the Theravada followers. On the other hand, Mahayana followers were once again divided amongst themselves. As a result, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism were established (Kärkkäinen, 103). Buddhism was spread to other parts of the world with different doctrines and beliefs. Initially, there was not mention of a deity. Nevertheless, as the religion grew many people began to look at Gautama as a god and started worshiping him. Others believe there is no deity or a supreme power. Consequently, they hold no worship service or believe in redemption. In essence, reflection and understanding the four truths and the eight fold path is their goal in life. This concept differs from Hinduism which believes in several gods concerning the different areas of their lives. Additionally, Hinduism supports the pursuit of objectives like wealth, happiness and Nirvana. In Buddhism, equality among all human beings is essential. However, the caste organization is forbidden. In contrast, Hinduism advocates
Introduction There are two opposing views on the question of abortion and these are the pro-life and the pro-choice. The pro-life argues that abortion is immoral and in fact constitutes murder because a fetus is already a human being from the time it is conceived. The pro-choice, on the other hand, advocates that a woman has the right to her own body and should decide what is best for her. Those who propose to legalize abortion argue that a fetus is a mere tissue that becomes a human person only when it comes out of the womb of the mother. My staunch on this issue is pro-life. I am going to defend that a fetus is a human being from the time of conception and thus deserves respect and should be provided help until it comes out of the womb of the mother to become a human person. I am going to present the arguments from the moral side and that the right of the unborn child supersedes the right of the mother to do what she wants with her body. Subject Matter The question of the morality of abortion lies on the moral status of the fetus. The question now is: is the fetus a person? There are arguments and counter-arguments to this question. I am going to present first the different sides or the opposing views of the subject matter according to some authors, and after that I am going to take my side and provide my own arguments for the pro-life side. There are terms we would like to clarify before going deeper in the discussion. The main topic is the morality and legality of abortion. Abortion is terminating the pregnancy by killing or removing the fetus from the womb of the mother. A fetus is also called the embryo, the single cell that has come out from the fertilization of the egg. A fetus is sixty days old from the time of conception. (Reiman 8) Hugh Lafollette There is a distinction between being human and being a person. A creature can be biologically human but sometimes cannot be considered a person, for example, someone who is terminally ill and in the vegetative stage. This creature is not anymore a person, according to an argument by pro-choicer. (LaFollette 60) Warren and Marquis argued that the question is not whether the fetus is human but whether it is a person. A fetus cannot be considered a person because it is not yet born just as a person who is in the vegetative stage is not anymore a person. This premise is based on the assumption that a creature can only be considered a person if he/she is whole and is not considered vegetable. Calling a person a human being is to state its biological status and not its moral status. (LaFollette 60) Taking from this point of view, the term ‘vegetable’ figuratively means ‘useless’ (inutile). A person in a vegetative stage is useless, just as an unborn child, a fetus, is useless. According to this reasoning, both are human beings but are not persons. The ant
Introduction It is of utmost importance to meet all important obligations either official or unofficial in time. In order to do this, time management, and organization is necessary to ensure that everything is done according to the timeline. Sometimes it becomes necessary to show commitment to given deadline and in such cases suspense dates are set. Whether suspense dates are legal or official obligation, it is important to meet them. This paper seeks to discuss the importance of meeting suspense dates. Suspense Date According to Smith and Gerstein“Suspense is a deadline that cannot be violated unless prior to the original suspense date”(Smith and Gerstein, 2007). In legal field suspense dates refer to a given time in which a provision to perform or renegotiate a certain task ceases to exist. For instancean army officer might be given a suspense date within which he is supposed to claim work benefits despite being out of service for various reasons. In the office set up suspense date may exist when an employee is given an ultimatum to overseecompletion of a given task within stipulated time. The main reason of meeting suspense date is to avoid corresponding penalties. Some suspense dates have fines attached to them to ensure that the intended respondent reacts to them in time and as such meeting such dates is important. Whenever possible, it is important torequest for deadline extension in case the time limit is not within your means. It is important to meet suspense dates issued by other companies in order to protect the integrity of your company or organization. This is because business partnersbuild trust and confidence depending on how you respond and meet their deadlines. Suspense dates are also issued by service providers such as public libraries. Meeting such suspense dates is important to enable such organizations to provide services such as books to other people as well. When suspense dates are associated with work flow, it becomes imperative to meet them in order to avoid work loading at one department. When suspense dates are met work flow becomes smooth and other departments do not have to stay idle waiting for others to complete their tasks hence improving efficiency. Meeting suspense dates way ahead of time is important in order to avoid last minute surprises. Due to uncertainties of life, something may happen during the last minute making it impossible to meet suspense dates. To avoid these inconveniences, suspense date obligations should be met way ahead of time or an extension requested when necessary. Finally, some suspense d
Introduction Moral virtue was defined by Aristotle as an individual’s disposition to make the right decisions as a mediating action targeted to balance excess and deficiencies, which were considered vices. People can learn moral virtue through establishing different habits as well as practicing reasonable actions. Thus, virtue can be described as a matter of establishing appropriate attitudes toward both pleasure and unpleasant moments. When discussing his theory of moral virtue, Aristotle made a point to suggest that the central goal is to achieve a balance between virtue and vice – a mean between extremes that exist in one’s actions, thoughts, behaviors. Within the moral virtue theory, Aristotle stated that people must do the right thing because it is considered right and not because there is a personal gain that can be achieved from it. Thus, moral virtue is something that people should understand intellectually and apply their knowledge to practice. Main body In contrast to virtue, vice is defined as a disposition to make wrong decisions as a means to respond to the outside factors; put simply, vice is the absence of virtue and therefore cannot allow an individual to become truly happy. While vices can be viewed from the perspective of being opposite to virtues, Aristotle made a different distinction. For each virtue, there are two vices, one of deficiency and one of excess, which aligns with the idea that virtue is needed to achieve balance. When discussing different spheres of action, a distinction between vices of excess and vices of deficiency can be made. For example, in the ‘wealth’ sphere of action, charity is considered a virtue while greed is a vice of excess and stinginess is a vice of deficiency. Notions of virtue and vice directly relate to Aristotle’s ideas of character education, which he considered to reference the solid foundation of the philosophy of life, especially when it comes to educating oneself in politics and ethics. It is evident that character education for Aristotle lied in the “cultivation of the mind” as a “major concern in education” (p. 70). Both virtue and vice build one’s character and therefore can contribute to the view of happiness. Happy people are those who managed to cultivate their character and mind to high degrees and maintain the acquisition of goods within limits that they can manage. Therefore, character education leads to happiness that is equal to the amount of wisdom and virtue. The latter can be divided into two kinds: intellectu
Great achievements in life rarely happen to lone persons or nations but to people working in unity. People have to put their minds together, and nations have to strive for objectives together, even if they are to achieve the simplest things. While unity is strength considering the multiple advantages that come along with it, it also comes at a heavy price – the problem of differences. Disagreements, and sometimes inequalities, are inevitable whenever nations and people decide to unite. In a unity pact, some states reap great benefits, while others reap only a smaller share of the fruits of unity. Nevertheless, after Latin American nations bury their resentments, grievances, and vindictiveness they stand a chance of attaining their objectives. This paper attempts to prove why Latin American unity is a brilliant idea. At least for some time now, there have been serious talks and growing awareness of the idea to unite the Latin American nations. For instance, in 2008 during the inauguration of the summit termed “Unity for Latin America and the Caribbean”, about thirty-three countries came together to consider working together as a people seriously, irrespective of their differences (Chomsky 2008). Felipe Calderon (the Mexican President) clearly reminded the regional States that they could not afford to stay disunited in the contemporary world. Differences would only hold the Latin American block enemies of peace. Felipe thus concluded by saying that they could only move forward by uniting based on things that they share together, without necessarily disregarding those that make them different, for their similarities far overshadow their dissimilarities ( Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration 2010, pp.1-4). The other well articulated speech was from the Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio. He claimed that the Latin American countries, from the largest to the smallest nation, were quickly waking up to the idea that as a united bloc they stand better chances to contribute in global politics. He also asserted that the more these countries contribute in the global wealth, the more chances they stand from keeping off the crises that are created by richer nations from hitting on those who did not create them ( Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration 2010, pp.1-4). Both of these speeches give an insight just into how much the Latin American people are thirsting for regional unity. Just to borrow from Abraham Lincoln, former U.S President, a house that is divided is
The data provided for Spalton PLC includes permanent working capital, sales for the first and second years, the EBITDA at the end of the second year, and the operating cash flow before deducting financial expenses and taxes. Usually, companies adjust their operating capital depending on the prevailing market condition. Permanent working capital is the minimum capital that the company has ever operated under in a financial year, and below which the company may not operate smoothly (Welc, 2017). Earnings before interest, rates, depreciation, and amortization are essential growth measures as they help determine where the company should make stringent financial changes. The data provided for this company cuts across two financial years and can be effectively used to project the company’s future growth. The difference in sales between the first and second financial years is vital in making marketing strategies, pricing strategies, and targeting new market ventures. If there is a drop in sales, the company is declining its grip on the competitive market. As a result, it should seek ways of regaining its market share by penetrating deeper and effectively into the target market. If the company records a significant increase in sales revenue, it will gain roots in the markets. In this case, the company should maximize on increasing sales while satisfying customer needs and wants. The EBITDA at the end of the second financial year can be used to determine whether the company has become profitable or if investors should keep on funding the business. EBITDA is used to determine when a company reaches its payback period. Reference: Welc, J. (2017). EBITDA vs. cash flows in bankruptcy prediction on the Polish capital market. European Financial and Accounting Journal , 12 (2), 91-103.