ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Most contracts are legally valid despite the fact that they are oral. However, a few types of contracts cannot be enforced unless they are put into writing. Laws requiring such contracts to be written originate from an English statute commonly referred to as the statute of frauds. It was established primarily to protect against fraudulent acts in business and other forms of contractual associations by requiring the complainant to produce a document that can legally prove that the claim existed. The statute of frauds provides that certain types of contracts be put into writing in order for them to be enforceable (Emanuel 267). There are five main types of contracts that fall under statutes of frauds and are therefore normally put into writing. A surety agreement, which is a promise to pay a legally enforceable debt of another, has to be put into writing in order for it to be enforceable in a court of law. In addition, marriage provision and land contract have to be supported by a written agreement in order for them to be enforced. Further, a contract which cannot be fully performed within one year of its making must also be put into writing as well as sale of goods which exceeds the price of five hundred dollars. In order for such contracts to satisfy the statute of frauds, there must be a signed document which can reasonably identify the subject of the contract, outline that a contract has been entered into by two or more parties, state with reasonable certainty the essential terms of the contract and should also be signed by actual or representatives of the parties involved (Emanuel 267). Through its provisions, the statute of frauds has played a significant role in enhancing business and contractual agreements in modern society. Scope of Statute of Frauds The statute of frauds was developed by the English government as an act that aimed at prevention of many fraudulent practices which were commonly perpetrated by parties involved in contracts (Browne 118). The statute aimed at providing a remedy certain abuses and mischief which often interfered with proper execution of justice in contract law. The statute of frauds contained twenty five sections and dealt with diverse subjects relating to contract law, real property, wills, and trusts, administration of deceased estates, creditors’ remedy and the law of succession (Williams 2). However, not all the twenty five sections related directly to the prevention of fraud and perjury. This function was however ensured by sections which prescribed writing and other adequate evidence as a must component in contract transactions. Contracts that require written evidence include contract for the sale of land and interest in land (Emerson 131). This category covers real estate contracts, leases and easements among other property attached more or less permanently to real estate. The statute of frauds p
The issue of ethics has been taken for granted for so many years. In the real sense of it, it is indeed paramount and significant for many reasons in the world’s organizations. This means that institutions have to make sure that they conform to the greatest degree of ethics in all their undertakings (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). Ethics is also of utmost importance when the issue of business research comes up. This paper will allude to a case where unethical business research practices were done by an institution known as Enron. The main elements of the Enron case will be to highlight the many important issues relative to the case. More importantly, in this Enron case, several ethical concerns have to be put into perspective. The issue of business research practices came under scrutiny when Enron, considered among the top ten biggest firms of the United States collapsed owing to a number of unethical accounting tactics (Shantal, 2011). The events that followed this unprecedented incidence saw many other large institutions in the US go down one after the other or seek some sort of bankruptcy cover. In fact, the more popular Mary Stewart was similarly censured for insider trading. These series of fraudulent actions done by large institutions sparked a spate of heightened public mistrust concerning business practices and values. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating some companies like Enron and WorldCom. Adelphia, Global Crossing, Kmart, Qwest Communications and Xerox have not escaped this too. All this institutions mentioned were once organizations that were honorable and respected. However they were charged with the devious and unethical practice of projecting increased profit levels to cheat stakeholders and gain more profit as well as creating higher revenue from costly stocks. WorldCom was insolvent by July 2002. This occurred as one of the worst bankruptcies ever witnessed in history. Enron and WorldCom greatly overstated their profit projections therefore committing a serious offence of manipulating the stakeholder’s views. For example, WorldCom dishonestly raised their profit values by at least seven billion dollars. This act caused many analysts, brokers, and accountants to scramble for the stocks. Enron was also a shame to the industry when its unethical accounting activities led to a serious financial crunch. The accounts for Enron show that the revenue in 2000 was set too high. The company was developing quickly and was even selected by Fortune Magazine as among those institutions whose stocks would be able to last the whole starting decade of the 21 st century (Shantal, 2011). The event that saw Enron go bankrupt moved the world by surprise. Enron was not only the largest failure in the US in a few years g
I feel that the history of the Andaman people is one of the most interesting stories of the people’s evolution. My view is that expeditions organized to study the people living in isolated tribes can provide a variety of the important information to solve the puzzles of the human development. However, I was shocked to learn about the problems that these people experience nowadays in order to survive (“First Out of Africa”). From my point of view, the disturbance of these people even with the goal of exploration and important discoveries cannot be fully justified. The thought that these people did not want to be disturbed influenced my perception of the story and actions of the Indian officials. I think that the Andaman people built their life according to their norms and principles to feel safe in their isolated world. As a result, any disturbances from researchers and the Indian officials can have the dramatic effects on them because of the fear of changes or risks of diseases. Still, such explorations of the societies and cultures can be discussed as important to understand the human evolution in detail. My view on the exploration of the Andaman people’s origin is based on the idea that the process of finding the answers to research questions or attempts to civilize the Andaman people can lead to destroying their lives. On the other hand, the evolution means the progress, and now, it can be a point in the time when the Andaman people can be civilized and become more like developing tribes rather than cultures the even did not use farming. From this point, I see this movie’s topic as rather ambiguous, and it made me think a lot. Works Cited First Out of Africa. 2013. Web.
Introduction The tendency toward analyzing music from the perspective of narratology began to develop actively in the 1970s, when musicologists started to interpret musical works as narratives. Therefore, it is important to define a literary narrative in order to understand what features of this form were considered by theorists as important to be applied to music (Maus 2005: 466). The question is how a music work can be treated as a narrative and how it can reflect its characteristics (Maus, 2005; Sternberg, 2010). Furthermore, the problem is that there is no single opinion among researchers and musicologists regarding music forms as narratives because not all elements of narratives can be found in musical pieces. On the one hand, instrumental music works represent the majority of attributes typical of literary narratives. On the other hand, music pieces lack some important characteristics of narratives, which does not allow for speaking about their relationship. Thus, “some treatments suggested that non-programmatic instrumental music can be a form of narrative representation. Other treatments explored analogies between instrumental music and discourses normally understood as narrative” (Maus, 2005: 466). The purpose of this paper is to present the analysis of music pieces as a kind of narrative discourse and focus on a variety of views regarding the relationship between music and a narrative with reference to the interpretation of researchers’ key ideas. Definition of a Narrative The concept of a narrative is usually defined with reference to verbal practices, but definitions are different depending on the theory and views in the field of narratology. It is possible to distinguish between the positions of such theorists as Gérard Genette, Roland Barthes, and Seymour Chatman among others. According to Nattiez (1990) and Kovač and Kovač (2018), the definition proposed by Chatman is most often discussed and analyzed when the narrative approach is applied to understanding musical pieces. Thus, according to Seymour, “stories only exist where both events and existents occur” (qtd. in Nattiez, 1990: 241). From this viewpoint, narratives can be defined as texts where there are a linear dimension to represent events from a time perspective, as well as the cause-and-effect relationship between specific events (Nattiez, 1990: 242). In addition, following Chatman, this causation “may be explicit or implicit” (qtd. in Nattiez 1990: 242). This definition and vision became viewed by other theorists as the grounds for understanding the concept of a narrativ
Culture is an essential intangible asset of any organization and can be one of the primary sources of competitive advantage. Overall, the term refers to “a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior” (University of Minnesota, n.d.a, para. 1). By affecting employees’ behaviors and job-related mindsets and attitudes, organizational culture influences the overall performance of a company. Considering this, the present paper will analyze the effectiveness of corporate culture at Google. It will aim to evaluate approaches that the firm used when creating the culture and assess its ability to generate competitive advantages in the long run. Culture Strength The strength of a culture is measured by the extent to which organizational members share corporate values (University of Minnesota, n.d.b). Considering this, it is possible to say that Google has a very strong culture. For example, its strength is manifested in the way the enterprise recruits new employees and carefully examines their compatibility with the corporate environment and the team. In this way, Google becomes able to find those talents who naturally can live up to the existing corporate values and easily adapt their behaviors if needed. Cultural strength is also manifested in the overall manner in which work processes and professional communication are organized. The company created systems (such as non-monetary benefits) that support desirable behaviors in workers and encourage them to excel. Noteworthily, strong cultures are more difficult to change than the weaker ones because employees may resist necessary changes in behaviors and ways of thinking (University of Minnesota, n.d.b). Thus, to make any changes in the current culture, Google may need to alter its organizing structures, such as HR practices and motivation systems, that align individual behaviors with the overall corporate goals and vision. Long-Term Effectiveness It is valid to presume that Google’s unique culture will be of tremendous help for the enterprise in the future not only because it helps attract and retain talents and but also because it suits the market in which the company operates. According to the University of Minnesota (n.d.a), “it is important to have a culture that fits with the demands of the company’s environment” (para. 2). It is apparent that the information technology industry is continuously advancing and, thus, innovativeness capabilities substantially define firms’ competitiveness. Therefore, while many successful enterprises do not like to take unnecessary risks when everything goes well, Goo
Efficacy of Cognitive Behavior Therapy Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) refers to a set of intervention strategies devised to cause behavioral changes among children with ADHD symptoms or other similar conditions. As opposed to medical interventions, which involve the administration of medicinal drugs, CBT revolves around eradicating the negative behaviors exhibited by children suffering from the condition. Even though skeptics maintain that CBT is a short-term intervention strategy, which is meant to cause short-term changes in behavior, research indicates that the coping skills imparted to individuals suffering from ADHD remain viable even after withdrawal of the interventions (Jarrett, 2013). CBT involves organizing sessions with the subjects in which coping strategies are trained to the beneficiaries. This paper seeks to support the hypothesis that CBT is an effective intervention strategy in the treatment of ADHD through a review of the literature available on the topic. The research question is the efficacy of Cognitive Behavior Therapy in children with ADHD. Components of CBT CBT can be performed in either an individual or a group setting depending on the characteristics of the clients. Ideally, an individualized CBT involves training each client separately and these sessions take shorter periods, usually 60 minutes (Cabiya et al., 2008). On the other hand, group therapies involve training the entire group simultaneously. Usually, these sessions last for longer periods, usually 90 minutes per session, to allow each client to comment on his or her personal experiences (Daley et al., 2015). In most cases, CBT is executed on both outpatient and inpatient basis. However, psychologists argue that the therapy produces better results when executed in an outpatient setting since it allows the counselor to understand the environment of the client. The interventions offered to clients vary from one individual to another depending on the intensity of the ADHD symptoms exhibited by that individual. Conversely, Ghafoori and Tracz (2001) recommend the following standardized interventions for all victims of ADHD  1. Functional analysis of the symptoms  2. Examining the patient’s cognitive processes  3. The identification and debriefing of past and future high-risk situations  4. Personalized training in coping with undesirable behaviors  5. Practicing skills during sessions  6. Encouraging and reviewing extra practice of skills between sessions The administration of CBT may vary from one group to the other depending on the severity of the symptoms and the anticipated end results from such interventions. However, a normal CBT involves daily 60 minutes sessions divided into three 20-minutes sub-sessions. Under the arrangement, each 20 minutes session centers on a special theme distinct from the themes of the subsequent sessions. The first 20-minutes session involves the identification of the patient’s negative behaviors and the practical difficulties experienced by the individual in implementing skills learned in the previous session. In th
Frampton (2007, p. 57) notes that numerous changes have taken place in the modern development of architecture. Indeed, the difference between modern and ancient architectural designs is clear. It should be noted that the transition into modernity has led to numerous impacts on architecture. Moreover, classified architecture has tremendously changed to a point that it can accommodate the various phases of modernity. According to Frampton (2007, p. 75), modernity has changed the entire course of architecture. This is evident in terms of technological, social, and cultural implications. According to Mallgrave (2005, p. 86), there are various stages that have been taken by architectural development. For instance, the tastes and preferences of persons with varied cultural orientations play a pivotal role in this issue. Modernity has long-lasting implications for theories of architecture. It is vivid that designs have significantly evolved. Different types of states of architectural products depict movement towards bringing peoples’ preferences into reality. Clients expect their designs to be modeled according to their unique modern specifications. A particular order is not easily achieved without considering the input of every individual. It is also not possible to evade the odd productions without realizing the demand factor of modern societies’ demand (Mallgrave 2005, p. 218). Incorporation of information and communication technology is an instrumental determining factor in terms of what needs to be added to boost the appeal of modern clients (Frampton 2007, p. 96). Culture and social aspects of life influence architectural developments. This is because practices in the modern architectural profession are in line with modern practices, thoughts, and character (Frampton 2007, p. 98). Rejection of realism ideas makes use of the flexibility of art. This has culminated in the emergence of designs that are characterized by modern appealing nature. Modernism waves are in line with both conventional and unconventional experiments that are geared towards the development of architectural designs. Research reveals that the adoption of modern designs renders traditional techniques obsolete. Besides, decorative processes have become influential across the world. It is evident that consumer culture influences every part of architectural creations (Frampton 2007, p. 30). It is equally impossible to create impressive architectural designs without considering factors that affect the choices, tastes, and preferences of clients who have already embraced modern architecture.
The challenges faced by Whirlpool Corporation. The drivers for change to the supply chain Following the acquisition of Maytag in 2006 and the financial crisis of 2008-2009, it became clear to the Whirlpool Corporation’s top-managers that both of these developments called for many readjustments to be applied to the Company’s logistical paradigm. The reason for this was that Whirlpool’s restructuring and the post-crisis economic realities in America resulted in affecting the Company’s competitive stance – hence, requiring Whirlpool to invest in increasing the effectiveness of its supply chain. Two of the main drivers for change, in this respect, were following. Transformation of purchasing behavior, on the part of the targeted consumers Whereas most of such consumers used to plan to buy home appliances well ahead of time, they now tend to choose in favor of acquiring a particular appliance while driven by the essentially impulsive considerations (the so-called ‘distressed buy’). As MacMillan noted, “Instead of mulling the purchase of say, a new washer, and dryer over a long period… a majority of customers had begun to act more quickly, buying new machines because the old ones broke down” (2008, para. 3). This is exactly the reason why, as of today, Whirlpool applies much effort into ensuring that just about every product delivery takes place within the time-frame of 48 hours. Strengthening of competitive pressures Since, unlike its main competitors, Whirlpool decided to retain most of its US-based production lines, the Company is not in the position to save on labor costs. This undermines Whirlpool’s competitive stance rather substantially and presupposes that one of the ways to address the situation, is ensuring that the Company’s currently deployed logistical strategy is maximally efficient – especially given the outcomes of internal audits, conducted before the organizational change in question. As Whirlpool’s Vice-President Brian Hancock pointed out, “The cash-flow was probably $200-$300 million out of whack from what we wanted it to be” (Staroxman, 2010, 00.01.17). As of today, it can be safely confirmed that the Company did succeed in reaching this particular objective. The benefits of change to the supply chain Among the main benefits, brought about by the undertaken change, can be named the following. Increased market-responsiveness By the year 2009, Whirlpool had closed down 100 out of its 184 facilities, with the remaining ones having been consolidated into 10 major regional distribution hubs. In its turn, this resulted in increasing the logistical soundness of Whirlpool
The advent of the internet and the rapid changes in the technological environment has led to the need to reconsider advertising strategy. Two major consideration advertisers have to contend with are the advertising cost versus reward, and the increased number of “customer touch points” occasioned by technology (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011, p. 409). In recent times, the cost of putting up advertisements in keeping with traditional media advertisements has soared making it expensive for companies to keep up. In addition, their effectiveness is diminishing because of all the media alternatives competing for attention. Secondly, the expansion in media outlets has diminished the space that TV and radio occupy such that relying on them alone leads to a very narrow message. For an effective marketing campaign, there is need for an integrated marketing campaign. An integrated marketing campaign for Kellogg’s breakfast cereals targeting children must take into account a few elements. The first element is that children do not actually buy anything. Anything that targets them must communicate indirectly to those who make buying decisions for them. This may mean designing the marketing campaign in such a way that it creates excitement in the children. This excitement will lead to the making of a mental note by their parents, who will in turn purchase the cereals. This process requires focus and consistency. Levinson et al. (2007) state, “Marketing is a painfully slow process by which you move people from their place in the sun to their place in your customer list, gently taking a grasp of the inside of their minds and never letting go” (p.12). The key considerations to make when planning to reach adults in this marketing campaign for breakfast cereals will rely on the understanding of what ways are available for reaching adults in the current marketing environment. Unlike the younger generation, older people, who make the buying decisions, are not very active users of the new technological platforms available in the current marketing environment. This however does not mean the new methods are useless. Armstrong and Kotler (2011) advice that “new marketing communications model will consist of a shifting mix of both traditional mass media and a wide array of ecxiting, new, more-targeted, more personalized media” (p. 407). The key differences in the two communication efforts in the Integrated Marketing Campaign elements will revolve around the choice of technological media to reach the two audiences. Depending on their age, children’s exposure to a marketing campaign depends on the media that their parents participate. Their online presence receives heavy mitigation while their use of cell phones, I-pads, and radio is nascent. This leaves TV and children magazines as