ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Soccer World Cup is a game that attracts masses of people from all over the world and has the largest number of fans who watch it amounting to billions of people. It is an event that is widely supported by the corporate world, and the hosting country goes through bidding before being accredited to host the tournament. Various benefits and disadvantages come with hosting the matches, which may be economical, social, and environmental. Various research designs can be employed while assessing the advantages and disadvantages of hosting such an event. In this research paper, a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches would be used to assess the advantages and disadvantages that would accrue to the US if it competed to host the soccer World Cup in one of the states. Economic Advantages and Disadvantages of Hosting FIFA World Cup To understand the economic impact of world cup soccer in the United States, it is important to look at a report by the AECOM that assessed the economic impact if US hosted the 2018 world cup. AECOM found out that there would be a conservative domestic economic impact of five billion dollars, but on average, about 65 000 to 100 000 jobs would be created in the cities during planning and execution of the tournament. According to Cohen as cited in (AECOM studies, 2009), hosting the world cup in the US would have a positive impact on the US economy and global profiles of the hosting cities and the whole nation. He supported his argument by arguing out that the hosting cities would be more than a dozen and the impact of the event would be on a scale of 12-18 superbowls. Holding such an event would lead to creation of more jobs in the state, and this would boost the economic sector. Considering that the US economy is still recovering from economic recession, this would be of great help to the many citizens who are jobless and need to make ends meet. This would even improve the living standards of the people and increase per capita income that would contribute to growth in the Gross National product. It would also attract foreign investors who would be willing to come and invest in the state and take advantage of the juicy opportunities that would arise as a result of hosting the World Cup. For example, there would be an increased demand for hotels and guest rooms to provide accommodation to the vast majority of visitors who would stream in, while public transport would be in high demand for the sake of moving people from one placer to another (Copper and Hall, 2008). Other industries that would grow or experience high season would be the construction industry since the engineers would be in high demand to carry out road and building renovations where necessary. Considering that grants would be obtained from FIFA to partly support the preparation, the revenue body in the state would benefit from such grant an
Introduction Organisations that are involved in international businesses encounter myriads of risks in their process of exploiting global markets. While establishing businesses in new markets, especially the emerging ones, the challenge of rejection of organisational cultures and policies, economic, and political risk emerges as a significant threat. In 1959, the government of Fidel Castro took control of Cuba. During its tenure, assets worth millions of US dollars together with several US-owned companies were expropriated (Clark 1997). While this situation led to immense losses, most of the organisations did not have strategies in place for recovering any of the lost money. Learning from the Cuban political risks, the affected organisations began to develop strategies for mitigating losses that accrued from political risks while engaging in international businesses elsewhere. Successful penetration and maintenance of international business depends on the capacity to mitigate the existing and the likely risks, particularly political risks. A company that seeks to expand its sales potential, and hence its dominance in the international markets as a measure of gaining competitive advantage, must mainly focus on establishing new business operations in the emerging markets. Such markets have most of their potential unexploited by competitors (Rogman 2004). While this move encompasses a major strategic decision to enhance both the short-term and long-term success for an international organisation, political risks form a major drawback in such markets (Rogman 2004). For instance, planning to operate in the Middle Eastern nations requires assessment in addition to deriving strategies of dealing with risks resulting from political conflicts such as instabilities in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and the Syrian conflict among others. This paper discusses how political risks can arise for international businesses. It critically evaluates different mechanisms for mitigating such risks. How Political Risks arise Political risks include the threats that nations in which organisations establish international operations make some decisions, which negatively reduce or severely influence its goals and/or profits. The risks may range from destruction of the business of an organisation due to revolution and wars because of policies that hinder capital movement and
Summary Digital Diplomacy: A New Era of Advancing Policy discusses how governments are beginning to adopt social media tools and new strategies related to them to accommodate the new digital age (Carnegie Endowment). Some of the major figures in international relations and communications participated in the panel, discussing the ways in which diplomacy has evolved over time, and how social media allows the government to broaden the array of ways it can be used to connect cultures, improve public awareness, and reach out to the people. It also discusses the inherently disruptive nature of the Internet towards the national, sovereign, and government power, citing examples such as Wikileaks scandals, as well as other challenges presented by social media. The video discussed at length how the digital media has not only provided governments with new tools, but has forced them to change and evolve their methods, and reassess the role of diplomats. Digital Diplomacy: Making Foreign Policy Less Foreign video continued the discussion of the topic of the transformative influences social media have on diplomacy and the State Department in particular, with the general question of the briefing is “How is social media changing the landscape of traditional diplomacy?” (U.S. Department of State). They continued the discussion of the power shift in communities, with the power moving away from institutions and into the hands of people, and how the former has to adapt to these changes. Fundraising efforts for the typhoon in the Philippines was mentioned as an example of savvy applications of social media to achieve positive diplomatic outcomes. Again they addressed the darker sides of social media and how social media challenged government control around the world. Comments These two videos clearly show the US government’s concern over the growing power of social media. While the benefits it can bring to augment diplomacy, improve awareness and connect people are brought up numerous times by the members of the panels, they also have mentioned just how much internet and the social media put the governments of the world under a magnifying glass. The various diplomats employing the social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are put into a difficult situation, since the most effective uses of social media are often the spontaneous ones, while at the same time something relatively small, like a poor wording of a tweet, for example, can lead to a severe backlash from the general public. Despite this, the State Department officials are adamant that if every government official’s twe
Learning has been defined as a process where new form of knowledge is acquired. The acquired knowledge has the ability to change the behavior of the organism as well as to influence the cognitive processes of an actor. Learning can either be influenced by innate stimuli or an introduced stimulus. Whatever the stimulus, the process of learning has been captured by various theorists who have explained the learning process through learning theories. This paper examines an informal learning experience that one may undergo and the experience may have long lasting consequences to the behavior of the person. This assignment examines how a particular food or smell of that food can make a person respond emotionally. All animals have a natural instinct of hunger that makes these animals to look for food when they are hungry. Hunger is a neutral stimulus since it only evokes the need for food. As noted by Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning cited in Illeris (2009), this neutral stimulant is called the unconditioned stimulus. It is referred to as unconditioned stimulus because it is stimulated through natural instincts. When the hungry person looks for food, the response is referred to as the unconditioned response, unconditioned because the act of looking for food to satisfy one’s hunger is an innate instinct in all animals. This therefore makes all animals to look for food once they are hungry to ensure that this hunger is satisfied. However, in some instances, this unconditioned stimulus can be paired with a non associative stimulus that makes one to, say for example, associate the sight of food with certain emotions. For instance, the smell of a certain food or the presence of this food can lead to certain emotions since this food has a special condition to the actor. For example, the favorite meal of a spouse or a girl/boyfriend can evoke emotions for love and passion to the involved subjects. Such associative responses have been defined by Pavlov in classical conditioning as the conditioned stimulus, the conditioned stimulus being the food that evokes the emotions in a person, while the emotions evoked by the sight or smell of the food being referred to as the conditioned response (Carpenter and Karen, 2010). This is because the occurrence of the responses is based on the associative conditions as opposed to the original stimulus. For the identified conditioning to occur, there must be pairing of stimulus which results to associative behavior. In the identified example of smell of food that evokes certain emotions, the pairing can occur in the following manner. Take an example of a bachelor whose girlfriend is fond of making certain food for him. Over time, the bachelor learns to associate the smell of foo
Introduction Within the sphere of public administration many factors particularly, political and the public pressure influence the decision-making processes. Therefore, it is critical to understand how the political process and the public pressure influence decisions in the management of public affairs. Such important knowledge can be achieved through the recognition of the required responsibilities of policy-making in the management of public affairs, the practical objectives that has to be attained, the communication protocol, the available opportunities as well as strengths of the public organizations. In fact, public administrators are torn between the prior management knowledge obtained through education and training as well as political processes that influence their daily operations. Successful public management involves steering clear of any public and political confrontations, extenuating potential risks and the capability of solving problems or coming out of difficult situations. Research and development in this area becomes critical component for the success in the public management. In addition, understanding the binding rules of public administration and political process becomes significant component in decision-making. The reason is that public organizations are political institutions where decisions and policies are made through opinionated process. In other words, public institutions, administration and political processes are intertwined and must work together as a complement. Thus, it is critical to come up with the requisite procedures and guiding principles to the widespread point of view on public management that will guarantee checks and balances in the level of political interference in the public management. This study will be exploring public management concentrating on the influence of politics as well as public pressure on the administration of public organizations. Opening statement Management of public institutions together with political and public processes is related closely such that many administrators and political players do not understand the influence they have on each other. Political processes and public demand often determine decision-making processes in government institutions. However, the extents in which these political processes and public demands influence decisions in the management of public affairs need more investigations. Therefore, this study will explore the extent to which public demands and political processes influence the management processes in the public institutions. Background of the study The study will be both empirical and t
In the order to become successful, an established manager and leader, I need to look at all elements encompassed in the roles of a leader. To begin with, I will concentrate on the communication skills I possess. As I have rated myself overtime, I have found out that, while listening to people, I do so without interrupting the speaker. As a leader, one needs to understand my means of communication, (my verbal communication, accent, and my body language). A leaders mind is not supposed to wander of when one talks to him/her, moreover a leader needs to send signals that he/she understands, and that is what am learning to nature (Elerts, 2006). In addition to this, I have come to learn that decision making should be effectual (Cameron, 2009). In relation to this, I regard myself as a reflector and a pragmatist. Therefore, all I decide on must always make sense and stand in the taste of time. Priority is mandatory when one is to make up a personal development plan (Mathews, 2000). Things that are not of urgency should come last and urgent matters should be prioritized (Stoner, 2010). This helps to maximize and make the most out of time. Over the years, the people I work with have received motivation from me. This attitude regardless of how small or big, makes one have the zeal of carrying on (Garner, 2001). In my plan motivating is essential as I have seen it work. Whichever status one acquires, he/she needs to report to those above or to relevant authorities (Lee, 2004). These things though small carry up so much weight in ones personal development plan. In order to perfect and become one successful entrepreneur, I have realized that there are things I can’t avoid. One of these is time management. I have realized the need to incorporate time management skills in my development plan. For successful leadership to occur, time should be spent sensibly (Brown, 2002). Time is not only a resource but is also very limited. Therefore, I have recognized the essence of ensuring I don’t misuse my time, all activities must be in writing and each allocated its own time (McVilly, 2009). In my plan, I noticed that, the aspect of technology is necessary. For success, I need to be aware and conversant to the changing technology (Masons, 2001). My plan outlines the exact technology I should put in place, and how I should achieve this and get it in to the system. This means that I need to learn more and more frequently on the changing trends of technology to be up to date. As a reflector, I have noticed the need for research as it is a key to success. Apart from researching, my development plan points out specifically what I need to do with the research without wasting time (Smiths, 2008). To be above or ahead of the
For most people, the term “machinery” is rather hard to locate, mostly because of the numerous types of equipment that it embraces. As a result, the success of such giants of machinery industry as the famous Caterpillar is hardly noticed by average citizens. However, over the past few year, the company has made an impressive breakthrough, which has resulted in it topping the lists of the most successful entrepreneurship of the year and leading to a worldwide recognition. Because of a careful and well thought out approach towards the creation of its financial statement, as well as maintaining a reasonable income statement and a well balanced financial condition, Caterpillar has joined the ranks of some of the most profitable companies of the XXI century, leaving a number of corporate giants behind. When it comes to defining the income statement of the company, one may notice that Caterpillar has improved its total revenue in 2013 compared to the results that the company delivered in 2011; however, the 2012 results still remain the highest that the Caterpillar has managed to reach over the past five years so far. It seems that the company should have spent more on research development, which clearly had a major impact on the annual income of the Cat Co. in 2012, with a total of $ 18,852,000 earned by the organization that year ( Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) para. 1). In addition, the company should obviously continue focusing on the general and administrative selling policies; as the existing data shows, the Caterpillar, Inc., the gross profit from Selling General and Administrative has increased considerably from $ 6,404,000 in 2012 to $ 6,528,000 in 2013 ( Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) para. 1). Speaking of its financial condition, the company defines the latter as “good” ( Contractor Thrives with CAT Equipment para. 2). However, according to the 2013 report on the company’s financial state, it was noted that the annual income could have been better – there has been a considerable decrease in the amount of sales and revenues ($ 55,656 billion compared to $ 65,875 in 2012, a total of 16%) ( Caterpillar Inc. General and Financial Information A-70). The change in the company’s annual revenues can be explained by the fact that some of the risks have not been taken into consideration by the company’s leader, such as the threat of entering into the realm of extremely high competition. As far as the company’s cash flow goes, the Caterpillar, Inc. can be identified as rather stable. Compared to the results delivered in 2010, Caterpillar’s net income has increased by 37%, with the 2010 results showing a total net income of $ 2.76 billion, whereas in 2013, the company has reached the mark of $ 38 billion. Though such a progress is admittedly impressive, the data on 2012 should be still brought up. According to the official statistics, the company was experiencing a remarkable upheaval that year, which resulted in
Introduction The issue of moral dilemmas is one of the most fundamental philosophical discussions that provide curious insights into a wide array of ethical questions. In general, moral dilemmas emerge when an individual faces highly complicated situations concerning ethics. One such notable example would be the “trolley case” when a certain person judges whether five people would die, or the individual might switch the lever sacrificing the life of only one person. Concerning this dilemma, various philosophical perspectives assume different courses of action. For instance, the utilitarian approach states that the individual must switch the lever due to the Greatest Happiness Principle (DeNicola 241). However, some people would not be satisfied with the specified details of the assignment and demand more information regarding the situation. This approach is titled particularism, and, in the current essay, I attempt to justify this principle in the context of moral dilemmas and demonstrate how this perspective expands the ethical understanding of the subject. Background of Particularism As mentioned briefly before, particularism generally refers to the moral principle that rejects abstraction and demands specific details before drawing the conclusion regarding the situation. There
Background Lebanon is known officially as the Lebanese Republic and it is located in the Region of Western Asia on the Eastern Shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is bordered to the south by Israel while to the north and the east by Syria. In the year 1942, Lebanon initiated a political system which had a unique outlook and this system was known as confessionalism which was strongly based on a mechanism of power-sharing on the community base. This system was a creation of the French ruling whose mandatory powers extended the borders of the preceding Mount Lebanon which was highly populated by the Maronite Catholics and the Druze. It is important to note that Lebanon is the ancient home of the Phoenicians which had greatly prospered as a maritime civilization for over three thousands years. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed after First World War, there were five provinces which were mandated to France and one of them was the present day Lebanon. After the country got its independence in the years 1943, three years later the troops from France withdrew in the year 1946. There was the Lebanese Civil War that went from the year 1975 to the year 1990 and before this period, the country was relatively successful and stable with an economy that was driven by banking, agriculture and tourism. Even today, the country is considered to be one of the banking hubs of the Western Asia region and this can be evidenced by the fact that during the periods before the civil war in 1975, the country was regarded as the Switzerland of the region. The tourism sector was also very thriving and this can also be evidenced by the fact that during the period before the civil war, Beirut, the Lebanese capital was regarded as the Paris of the region. Immediately after the civil war in the year 1990, the country undertook a rigorous effort restore the stability of the government as well as the revival of the economy and also the rebuilding of the infrastructure in the country. This period of reconstruction continued until the year 2006, when the efforts of reconstruction were hindered by the war between Hezbollah and Israel. It is important to note that the reconstruction had been very successful and the tourism industry was also starting to pick up when the war erupted and this resulted in the destruction of the country’s infrastructure as well as causing a significant amount of civilian deaths. This war lasted for a month but the effect will be felt for a number of years. However, the country has been able to stabilize politically as well as revive the economy. Introduction Media is a very integral part in any democracy and this is also true in post-communist countries like Lebanon and a contingent of other countries which had adopted the communist or other types of governance. Media ensures that the society has access to information