ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Abilene Paradox is a situation that often takes place in groups, and, if left unaddressed, can lead to highly adverse consequences both for the group as a whole and for its individual members. The current paper provides an overview of the Abilene Paradox. The crux of this paradox is described, as well as several methods of addressing a paradoxical situation that already takes place in a group, as proposed by Harvey (1988). After that, a number of features of the group dynamics which lead to the paradox are discussed, and some ways to prevent it from happening are named. The Crux of the Paradox Harvey (1988) describes the Abilene Paradox by presenting a group of relatives that takes a long trip to Abilene in hot weather. None of the relatives wanted to go, but assumed that others wanted to, which caused each of them to support the decision to take the trip, resulting in a paradoxical situation. Harvey (1988) describes the six symptoms of the paradox:  1. People privately agree with each other about the nature of the problem;  2. They privately agree on the steps to address the problem;  3. They do not tell each other what they actually want, and do the opposite;  4. Using the inaccurate information, the group takes actions contrary to what they want to do;  5. Consequently, people become frustrated and blame other subgroups in the group;  6. The whole group stays unaware of this process and repeats it, often with greater intensity. The researcher argues that this paradox can occur due to the lack of understanding how a paradoxical situation can occur. He develops the model of such occurrence by examining five landmarks:  1. Action anxiety. It takes place when a person becomes anxious after thinking about doing what they believe should be done;  2. Negative fantasies. Harvey (1988) writes that these cause the person to become anxious when they imagine possible negative outcomes of doing what they think ought to be done;  3. The real risk of the possible adverse outcomes of doing what one believes should be done;  4. The fear of separation from the group due to the person’s actions.  5. The psychological reversal of risk and certainty. It happens when a person is trying to cope with the paradox. The author offers to create models of this paradox and to identify the roles of the participants of such paradoxical situations. It is paramount to understand what the participants do, because this might enable one to identify the paradoxical situation and break the adver
Accounting professionals give information on the economic trends and operations of corporations or people. From a historical point of view, such pieces of information were necessary for insiders in organizations. Nevertheless, with the complex nature of the growing economy, several players required the information for different reasons. In providing information to stakeholders, accounting professionals have to abide by the regulations stipulated within their professional bodies. For instance, ethical practices and transparency facilitate mobilization of both domestic and international investments, as they promote confidence among investors (McPhail and Walters). Accountants must be ethical in their dealings to prevent negative economic development, as evident from the cases of Lehman Brothers and Enron’s collapse. Accounting helps in creating a sound investment environment, and, as a result, promoting financial stability. This essay discusses the accounting environment, its aspects, and contributions to economic development. Accounting environment collects, analyzes, and communicates information regarding economics to concerned groups in order to enable them make informed decisions on the issues at hand. For example, different groups in society require accounting information in deciding on how to allocate the scarce resources effectively. The practice of accounting by people for people makes it an art that requires societal inputs and collaborations to promote sustainable economic developme
The slave trade is a dramatic page in the world’s history, which has existed and developed over the centuries. Africans in this respect are often seen as victims of the brutality of European colonialists who needed labor. However, from the beginning of the establishment of the Atlantic Trade and throughout its existence, the Africans were the voluntary sellers of their people. Although Europeans mercilessly exploited slaves in America, black people initially did not resist the slave trade, which was highly beneficial to them. The Dominance of the Slave Trade The Atlantic slave trade from Africa to South and North America is the most extensive maritime trade in history. The first among European traders who began to exchange goods with Africans were the Portuguese. At the beginning of the development of relations, they exchanged with the continent’s inhabitants “pepper, ivory, cloth, and beads.” However, by the beginning of the sixteenth century, Europeans needed slaves for sugar plantations, which led to the opening of a separate slave market in 1516. However, it is important to note the exceptional and often central role of Africans and their interest in relations with European merchants, including slave traders. First of all, Africans expected to profit from the Atlantic trade and made efforts to develop it. The rulers of Congo and Benin played a central role in the early development of trade with Europeans, as both states sought to monopolize exchange. It was the ruler of Benin who first noticed the Europeans’ need for African slaves and opened a special market in the early 16th century for overseas visitors. While Benin had a wide range of valuable goods for Europe, Congo focused specifically on the African slave trade. Commercial relations were mutually beneficial for both parties since there was an exchange of goods between continents, and Europeans also paid some African rulers a tax for the right to trade in a certain territory. However, until the early eighteenth century, slave selling was not as widespread as in later periods. At the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century, the African gold trade began to develop. Even then, the Africans’ dominant position in the establishment of trade orders was noticeable, as conflicts occurred if the Europeans violated the conditions set by the inhabitants of the continent. Africans had little reason to fear European traders, which allowed them to set their rules on favorable terms. Thus, Europeans and Africans traded together, which is true for all goods, including slaves. At the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Atlantic trade between continents underwent significant changes. In a hundred years, from 1680 to 1780, the volume of goods exchanged increased approximately sixfold. Most importantly,
The Roma’s origins were for a long time both a mystery and an excuse for their marginalization and mistreatment. Today they are generally accepted to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, based on linguistic and genetic evidence 1 . The resulting history of their contact with Europeans is almost uniformly negative. In most communities today, the Roma survive in a persistent condition of poverty that resists many of the usual strategies for addressing social ills. This, at least to some degree, arises from the complex, confused, and often conflicting ways they are regarded and regard themselves. They have never been seen as full-fledged members of the communities in which they reside, despite having, in some cases, lived there for centuries. They have in many cases not regarded themselves as members of the communities where they reside, retaining their Roma identity as their primary identity 2 . Of these, none necessarily are congruent with the self-definition of identity of the Roma’s neighbors, who consider themselves “native” to a region or nation. The view that the “self-identified” natives hold of the Roma has been consistently pejorative over the millennium during which they have been in contact with Europeans. It is not difficult to understand why. Differences in language, religious traditions, skin color, and customs, and a nomadic way of life all contributed to the Roma’s appearance of ‘otherness’. Added to these disturbing features has been the threatening nature of the internal “code” attributed to the Roma. 3 Is it any wonder that the insular, superstitious, monolithically Catholic or Orthodox communities of Europe and Eastern Europe, eager to recapture the civil order and peace of the golden age of the Roman Empire 4 have unfortunately regarded the “the Roma as a kind of natural disaster from which they must protect themselves”? Their response was to exclude, marginalize, isolate, exploit, or attempt to annihilate the Roma. There seems to have been a brief remission in practical economic discrimination during the Soviet’s state-controlled universal employment. When this ended, the Roma were first fired, and ancient bigotries re-emerged. Today, measures from a de facto withholding of medical treatment from anyone without proper papers , to a literal wall, attempt to keep the Roma separate from non-Roma. While the non-Roma often can point to specific behaviors or characteristics that they attribute to the Roma which would make them undesirable neighbors, the response of the non-Roma is so powerful and pervasive that another set of reasons needs to be invoked to explain it. This may be the human aversion to the ‘Other’. In many human societies, there is a duality: us versus them, family versus non-family, people one marries versus people one fights with, tribe versus enemy, native versus foreign-born, and many other possible alternatives. In Bauman’s formulation, the “Other’ in the modern state is anyone that is ambiguous, or self-defining, or resisting the definition impos
Introduction Police processes and crime rates are critical in understanding the safety measures put in place by communities. On the same note, the collaboration of the public and the police have an impact on perceptions of safety, crime and policing processes. In the US, attitudes among the public on the policing processes are diverse. Interestingly, the perceptions also differ among people in the same community unit. Dooley and Rydberg (2014) explain that differences, at an individual level, have contributed to the different perceptions the communities have about policing systems. The essay looks into how people perceive the police based on their own individual experiences. The essay will take into account interviews done with two case studies on the same. The two case studies that were identified for the assignment were of a 52-year-old pastor and a 69-year-old widow from Acres Homes community. Biodata of the Two Interviewees A 52-year-old pastor in a local church in Acres Homes community is the first interviewee. The pastor, referred in this document as interviewee 1, was born and raised in the said community. The 52-year-old has three brothers and an equal number of sisters. Growing up, the family was poor, just like other black families in the area. The pastor’s father was a casual worker in the steel mill while the mother was a stay=at-home mom. Apart from ministering to the congregation, the pastor also served as an elementary and middle school teacher for 17 years. On the other hand, the second interviewee, a 69-year-old Caucasian widow, has lived in the community for the last half-century. The old lady, referenced in the essay as interviewee 2, relocated to the neighborhood with her family and later got married there. Unfortunately, 15 years ago, her husband of 20 years passed away due to lung cancer. She has been raising their six children as a single mother since the demise of her husband. While her husband was still alive, the couple bought a comfortable three-bedroom wood-frame house in which the widow presently lives alone as her chil
Modernity/Postmodernity Modernity can be referred to as the historical epoch that started from the 16 th century lasting to the mid 20 th century. This period is characterized with enlightenment and other changes that affected many systems including communication. The key changes that took place during the modernity era are technological developments that are associated with industrialization, changes in social sciences, changes in demographic patterns resulting to urbanization, rise of multinational corporations, and development of powerful media companies as well as growth of consumer capitalism. One aspect about modernism and post modernism is the rapid growth in technology. The improvement in technology has brought about the rapid impact to communication as more and more powerful communicating equipment have been invented. These include the telephones, mobile phones, internet among others. These have served to improve the communication in the world. Modernism has also seen the rise of powerful media corporations and the fall of boundaries of space and time. This has in turn improved communication by ensuring the rapid spread of information among the global citizens. Post modernism has seen the creation of creative, innovative and artistic expressions that are used to enhance the process of communication. Neo Liberalism Neo-liberalism can be defined as the reconstructing of the society so as to meet the demands of the ever changing global capitalism. According to neo-liberalism, individual’s skills and entrepreneurial capacities should be liberated as this would result to more advancement of these people. This has resulted to private property, increase in rights, free markets, free trade among other liberalization. Other people consider neo-liberalism as a way of policy changes towards deregulation and privatization. They argue that human beings are free to choose. Liberation greatly promotes communication as individuals are free to communicate. Structures preventing communication are rapidly being demolished as more and more individuals are free to express themselves. Conglomeration Conglomeration is the process of amalgamating different corporation together. Most recently conglomeration has affected the media houses as more and more stations are owned by one person or a company. In the modern world, media conglomerate comprise of large number of media institutions that are owned by one company. The use of conglomeration has both positive and negative impacts to communication. The development of large media houses gives them the capacity to obtain and distribute information to
Information technology (IT) today has become a cliché that even a toddler knows about it. In 1960’s and 1970’s the term information technology was recognized and associated with institutions such as hospitals, banks, and government offices. By then they referred to it as the processes that are involved in storage of information. Currently IT or information and communication technology (ICT) is diverse and concerns managing and dispensation of information (Limoncelli et al, 2007, p. 189). IT and ITC makes use of computers, software, servers, storage media and transmitting devices. At the beginning of the 21 st century in many parts of the world children were already aware on how to operate computers with the western world leading. The IT job in any organization is highly competitive and comes with a wide range of duties. Such duties could include overseeing the organization’s firms. They are bundled with the task of ensuring the technology system of the firm functions effectively. This includes the servers, email clients, software, databases and other elements used in the daily running of the firm are operating as required. Currently most organizations today are moving towards technological advancements hence without the IT specialist most of the organizations activities will run to a halt. The IT department is also charged with the responsibility of developing technological strategies for the firm’s technological strategies. They have to determine the best servers, email providers and software that best suits the organization. They have to protect the organizations servers and network from viruses and hackers especially with the increase in cases of internet fraud. The duties of IT personnel also include repairing of computers within the organization. Computers may break up or fail thereby making the organizations activities to come to a standstill. The IT department ensures that the computers are repaired or replaced and an inventory of all replacements of computer and other computer devices kept. The IT also manages the company’s computers by installing the required software for its running. The IT department may at times be needed to train its employees on how to use some of the software especially those that are customized for the organization. The field of IT or ICT is among one of the most demanding and highly marketable career. With the demand of the job it comes hand in hand with a hefty salary package. Although the salary scale differs among different countries and organization it may range from $100,000 to $400,000 per annum. The payment package may also exceed the $400,000 depending on the financial strength of the organization, qualifications of an individual and the duties. The job is also accompanied by attractive allowances and bonuses. A career in IT is wide and diverse. It entails IT management careers and other technical or support staff IT career. It is a wide career with plenty opportunities and room for growth and career growth. As a technical IT officer you are the lowe
The Navajo have been living in the Southwest of the USA for thousands of years. Nowadays, many of them still live in their sacred territory Diné Bikéyah, surrounded by six mountains (Sierra Blanca Peak, Mount Taylor, San Francisco Peaks, Mount Hesperus, Huerfano Peak, Gobernador Knob). To modern Navajos, ancient traditions still determine their attitude to life: they follow the “Way of life,” declaring harmony with the natural world. As Native Americans share common traits with their neighbors, they have peculiar features. Navajos were traders, raiders, and expert horsemen who lived in hogans used a powerful sinew-backed bow, created moccasins, weaved baskets, made clay pots, had domesticated dogs and cattle (Rickard and Bial 12). They call themselves Diné – a “complete human being” (Lee 1), while “Navajo” could be translated as “large planted fields” (Rickard and Bial 10). Nowadays, some of them maintain their customary lifestyle, while others adopted modern technology. Still, the Navajo’s “Way of life” guides every person’s spiritual life with a four-part principle of planning and learning (Lee 2-3). A Navajo has many relatives because every person in their clan is considered a brother, sister, and so on, even if they are not biologically tied (Lee 4). It is forbidden to marry people from the same or related clans (Lee 4). K’é principle teaches them how to treat other beings. For example, they say prayers before picking herbs and never take more than they need (Lee 4). The stated philosophy is usually implemented in overcoming conflicts and life’s contradictions. Some of the Navajo traditions are a thing of the past, like the naachid – a ceremonial assembly where leaders discussed issues like hunting and war. The language of Navajo, Diné bizaad, these days are rarely spoken by young people. Still, many Navajos live in traditional extended families, and their clan system is strong. Sticking to their traditions, despite colonization and assimilation, the Navajo are struggling to maintain their culture.
“Unbelievable News” Summary The phenomenon of fake news has grown out of proportion recently, with people believing false information almost instantly. According to a recent article addressing the issue, Facebook has been affected by the plague of fabricated information, and its numerous gullible users have been tricked into believing it (“Unbelievable News?”). While discerning the truth in the flood of ridiculously false information is rather simple at first, users soon succumb to the phenomenon known as the “illusory truth effect” (“Unbelievable News?”). As a result, they develop the tendency to believe the ideas that they would have discarded before exposure to a vast range of falsified information. In addition, the repetitive nature of the stories that people read on modern media affects the perception of information. After a certain number of reiterations, readers will eventually perceive a certain statement, no matter how questionable it might seem, as possible. The specified assumption has been verified in a study where participants were provided with repeated news, as well as the ones that were started only once. According to the article, the study showed that the participants were inclined to believe the repetitive information to a greater degree (“Unbelievable News?”). Proving false information wrong is unlikely to have any effects. Quite the contrary, the specified step is likely to anger people and convince them to believe the false source even more (“Unbelievable News?”). At present, there is no efficient solution to the problem. Sources To support their statement, the author of the article refers to the sources such as Buzzfeed and CNN. While the former serves as the example of falsified information, the latter supports the author’s argument regarding the efforts made to address the problem. By providing examples of both false and trustworthy media, the author makes their argument objective. “Fake News” Summary In hindsight, the rise in exposure to false news was easily predictable. President John Adams wrote that the influence of fabricated news stories would only increase in the future, and he was completely correct in his assumptions (Mansky). The very concept of the press and the news as media dates back to ancient times, which means that distorting the truth to champion a particular cause will always remain relevant. Therefore, to understand why the modern media is filled with falsified stories and downright absurd information, as well as to define the reasons why people believe it, one will have to consider the history of media. While studying the history of false news is critical to developing a better understanding of their current forms, it is also necessary to explore falsified stories that emerge in modern media. The taxonomy is built for distinguishing between different definitions of fabricated media based on their purpose and content. For instance, news satire can be seen as a self-conscious attempt at creating false news for humorous and deconstructive purposes. Parody news stories, in turn, also have a social function as the means of mocking a specific situation or confl