ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
A case study of hike in tax over cigarettes causing panic buying When policy makers decide to implement tax changes by increasing or reducing tax revenues on consumer products such as cigarette and alcohol, this is known as a monetary or fiscal policy. Fiscal policies are measures taken by policy makers when the economy of a country is having instabilities; a fiscal policy is active for a given period of time which may be one year or varied (Hall, 2010). The main objective of a fiscal policy is to act as an instrument of demand management which it regulates by increasing the product price and thereby hopefully reduce the demand of the specific product (Hall, 2010). The following is a case study of a fiscal policy by the federal government that increased tax of cigarette by 25% causing panic buying among consumers (Hall, 2010). In this case, the intention of the government was to drastically reduce the demand of cigarette and its usage among users and consequently promote good health by restricting the financial ability of smokers to afford cigarettes regularly. In addition to further restrict the number of persons smoking the government undertook further measures such as banning cigarette advertisements among others (Hall, 2010). It is estimated that majority of smokers who are poor, young and of low income are likely to reduce the consumption of cigarette significantly by “cutting total tobacco consumption by about 6 per cent and cut the number of smokers by 87,000” (Hall, 2010). The bottom line of this measure is expected to enable the government make savings on medical care of non-communicable diseases that are directly as a result of smoking and which are compounded by use of tobacco such as lung cancer and diabetes which at the moment costs the government billion of dollars to treat. According to Hansen, this kind of fiscal policy is intended to stem down cigarette smoking, promote health and enable the government save on healthcare related costs (2003). An economic move of this kind is an automatic fiscal change also known as contractionary fiscal policy because it is implemented through increasing tax revenues on some products which is expected to decrease government spending in some areas (Hansen, 2003). However, at times such measures are intended to reduce the demand of targeted products without necessarily having to benefit the government in any way. On the other hand, fiscal measure such as this most often causes panic buying by consumers in anticipation of the price hike just so that they can buy more stock at current rates before new rates become effective. Thus the sharp rise in tax on such product are known to cause queer consumer behaviors that involve stock hoarding and panic buying that ultimately impact on the dynamic of the market. These measures also encourages unfair trading practices such as trader stocking cigarettes as they await implementation of new prices so as to make huge profit margin. The main reason that motivates the government to hike taxes i
Among the various types of educational theories, behaviorism and constructivism are the most popular with teachers. Behaviorism supports the notion that learning is affected by variations in the environment. Constructivism, on the other hand, sees learning as a way of searching for a particular meaning. Whereas behaviorism encourages learning from experience, constructivism upholds that learning is a personal initiative. Nevertheless, in the application, the two theories have weaknesses. In view of that, they are appropriate for certain scenarios and cultures and not others. This means that a teacher must apply them carefully if he wants to succeed in teaching. This paper provides a brief analysis of behaviorism and constructivism educational theories. Skinner and Watson, when developing the behaviorism theory, sought to demonstrate that it is possible to control or predict a behavior (Weegar and Pacis, 2012). This school of thought portrays learning as a way of acquiring new conduct. Accordingly, the environment affects the learning process. A class based on this theory dwells on obtaining facts, concepts, and abilities. A reward system is also an important element of a behaviorist class. This system aims at motivating students who demonstrate positive learning behaviors. Weegar and Pacis (2012) reaffirm that educationists who use this theory occasionally employ a punishment regime to discourage negative learning behaviors. The two types of conditioning are the most important elements of this theory (Weegar and Pacis, 2012). When a natural reflex reacts to a stimulus, classic conditioning takes place. An operant conditioning takes place when a stimulus is strengthened. Rewarding a response to a stimulus is a typical example of an operant conditioning. The constructivism learning theory maintains that the acquisition of knowledge is marred with uncertainty (Jia, 2010). In this theory, students are the cornerstone of the learning process. In this regard, they learn on their own initiative. A teacher’s work is, thus, to motivate and guide the student in constructing knowledge. According to Jia (2010), people who coined the constructivism theory believed that knowledge is not the final solution to our problems. In fact, it is basically an explanation or an assumption. Therefore, knowledge cannot be directly used to unravel some of the problems affecting mankind. “Most issues have to be analyzed based on the prevailing practical conditions” (Jia, 2010, p.197). As a philosophy of learning, constructivism dwells on experiences. This means that we acquire k
It is important to note that the assessment form is of paramount importance in regard to case management. The given instrument is needed to properly evaluate and assess the social history of a client in order to identify the major issues and areas of his or her life, which requires attention (Summers, 2016). In addition, one should be aware of the fact that the assessment form needs to include information on a client’s desires and expectations (Summers, 2016). In other words, the key components of such an assessment form are evaluation, social history, key problems, areas of life requiring attention, expectation, desires, and strengths of a client. Developing Service Plan Prior to the preparation of a service plan, a case manager needs to be aware of the fact that he or she is not a direct service or treatment provider, which means that such a comprehension needs to be embedded in one’s understanding of his or her own role in the entire process. A case manager is primarily tasked with developing and setting the general objectives, which the provider agency is required to address (Summers, 2016). In other words, such a specialist only provides more precision and direction towards the healthcare service provision process, but, ultimately, it is in a provider agency’s responsibility to deliver a service. It should also be noted that a service plan development might include goals, such as service and treatment goals. The examples of the former are educational and occupational objectives, transportation, in-home care, or welfare assistance, whereas the examples of the latter are emotional issues, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, or mental illness (Summers, 2016). Therefore, a case manager identifies key problematic areas, which require the attention of a provider agency, and the provider focuses on an in-depth and in-detail assessment of a client. In addition, a case manager needs to attempt to involve both clients and their families, and if the case is centered around children, the involvement of parents is mandatory. In the case of identifying key resources and strengths of a client, a case manager should pay particular attention towards a client’s support group hobbies, family activities, special skills and abilities, interpersonal capabilities, cultural and religious background, and community support structures (Summers, 2016). Each service plan needs to be highly individualized, which requires a certain degree of self-awareness from a case manager since the clients might come from a wide range of demographic and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it is evident that the service plan development will involve some form of barriers, such as intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses, lack of resources, disabilities, cultural differences, and language barriers (Summers, 2016). All these challenges need to be taken into consideration when devising a service plan. Preparing for a Service Planning Conference It is important to point out that a case manager needs to be highly prepared for a service planning conference, where profession
Introduction The media plays a key role in today’s wars and conflicts. It can either take one of two basic roles in a war or conflict situation. The media can decide to become actively involved in a war – which can be of help especially when finding a resolution to the conflict, or it can lead to escalation of the conflict. The media can also decide to take the sidelines and let the conflicting parties battle it out until one of them emerges the winner, or a resolution is reached. The type of roles the media takes depend on a number of factors ranging from the association with actors in the war, to the amount of independence it has (Young, 1991). Whatever role the media takes in war or conflict situation has its impacts on the war and conflict. In this paper, examples will be drawn from the war in Darfur and its coverage in the news media, as case in study. Over one hundred thousand Sudanese lives have been lost in war and civil conflict and almost two million others displaced by the unrest (Handrahan, 2004). The survivors do not escape the plight either; most of them have to suffer rape, hunger and assault as the war rages. However, despite the severity the atrocities in Darfur particularly, there has been poor international response. Could the news coverage of the war in Darfur have had an effect on the world’s reaction? The role of the mass media in shaping our lives The news media shape what the world sees and hears about conflict. The views of the reporters of events frame the story being told. The journalist has his/her opinion, belief, and perspective (Gilboa, 2002, p.4). The media owners also have their own interests – be it economical or political, which also affect the framing of the stories they report. It also depends with the skill level of the journalist in collecting good and newsworthy information. Therefore, what people see or read on the news media is determined by several factors. Media owners and professionals decide what they think the public or some target audience wants to see and hear. A media house may choose to give a distorted perception of a conflict for its own interest (Young, 1991), because there are many factors at play during a war, especially national interest, and the need to capture the attention of the masses for commercial purposes. The role of media in shaping conflict The media performs several different roles in situations of conflict and war, which are going to be analyzed exhaustively in this research. The chief-most is to provide and interpret information. The media provides people with political, cultural, and social issues, news, and information that are beyond their physical realm and hence in times of war, it serves to pass information to the world. For example, in the war in Darfur, the media has not continued to expose to the rest of the world massive cases of killings and displacement of local citizens. This already has reduced international attention to the conflict and so the pressure for action – arbitration between the t
Introduction Written by Alex Haley, a journalist by profession, The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a description of Malcolm’s life in a country dominated with racial discrimination, poverty, abuse of drugs, and crime. Haley uses Malcolm as the persona to bring out the themes of racial discrimination, poverty, and crime in the story. When Malcolm turns eight years old, his father, a reverend, dies in cold blood murder. Therefore, in his entire life Malcolm is looking for a person befitting his father’s character for a role model. Unfortunately, Malcolm is black in a country where most of its population is white and therefore he faces the wrath of racism courtesy of his skin color. Biography Malcolm was born in 1925 as a son to a reverend father. He was an activist of human rights especially in criticizing the harassment and merciless killing of black people living in America. While in Michigan, he went to high school but due to frequent discrimination and harassments from teachers who favored the white students, he quit. At fifteen, he ventured into doing menial jobs although he dreamt of becoming a middle class lawyer. After sometime, Malcolm moved to Boston, where he worked in a drugstore; however, he experienced discrimination from well-off black men, which forced him out of the job. In the ghetto, Malcolm adapted a new life becoming a drug addict hence using hard drugs like marijuana and cocaine. Unluckily, after a short while, the long arm of law caught up with him and incarcerated him for ten years. His experience in prison and as a criminal motivated him to become a Muslim as a way of salvation. Unfortunately, in February 1965 just like his father, Malcolm became a victim to assassination at Audubon ballroom in New York. Summary Malcolm is a black young man from a humble background. After the murder of his father, he struggles to fit in a society full of racial discrimination from the whites on top of grappling with poverty, and crime. Malcolm attends school but due to mockery and humiliation from the school fraternity, he quits. He then decides to search for greener pastures, which influences him to relocate to Boston in search of employment. However, his involvement in drugs lands him in prison. He later changes to Muslim and becomes a political critique, an achievement that leads to his assassination. Analysis Critical analysis of the book fails to classify it as an autobiography but rather a biography. In the epilogue, the author clearly describes his partnership with Malcolm X in writing of the story. Although Haley’s aim is for the reader to hear Malcolm’s voice, his voice is also evident hence disapproving Malcolm as the persona or the speaker. For instance, Haley writes “I said, Mr. Malcolm could you tell me something about your mother?”(15).Therefore, the story comes out more of a narration than an autobiography hence its genre qualifies as a biography. The author vividly highlights the theme of oppression through description of Malcolm’s character and life experience. For instance, when in Mason Junior High School Mr. Ostrowski kills his dream of ever becoming a lawyer by sarcastically telling him the best thing he co
Background International business has grown exponentially since the 2008 global economic crunch (House of Commons 2010, p. 59). From this development, we note that international business is fast picking up and many organizations are quickly expanding their businesses into new borders and unchartered territories. In fact, the World Trade Organization (cited in Cattaneo 2010, p. 31) affirms that “….a faster than expected recovery in global trade flows so far in 2010 has caused WTO economists to revise their projection for world trade growth in 2010 upwards to 13.5 percent”. The United States is a good example of the extent to which international business is growing because the Bureau of Commerce (cited in Pride 2009, pp. 4-9) reports that at the end of 2010; there was an increased appetite for American foods and services which led to a 17.9% increase in US exports across the globe. Andidas (2006), also explains the increase in international business (from a global perspective) by affirming that: “One clear indication of the rapid growth of retail transnational companies is that, while in 1993 there were no retailers in the top 100 transnational companies, in 1999 there were four […] [and] by 2003, there were no less than 14 retailers (all but two were food and general merchandise retailers) each deriving over US$10bn of annual sales from international markets.”(p. 2). Collectively, the increase in global business activities has also increased the appetite of most business entrepreneurs to expand their business transactions into new countries (Diane 2010, p. 30). To a large extent, this defines international business in the first place. International business is normally undertaken by both private and public investors, although both have different objectives in doing so. Private investors are majorly driven by the goal of making more profit but public investors (such as government) are usually motivated to uphold the public good of the general population, or in some cases, accomplish their political goals. Comprehensively, international business encompasses the transaction of goods, services, resources (including capital, skills and people) and the likes, across international borders. Such inputs normally result in increased productivity for companies or countries (whichever the case may be) in terms of an increase in production of goods and services. Usually, multinational companies are the biggest partakers to international trade because of their widespread business activities across various nations. Such prominent brands in international business include the likes of Mc Donald, Yum Brands, GM motors, Ford, Toyota, Microsoft and the likes. In fact, some of the biggest global corporations in the world today derive their profits from international markets (Brady 2010, p. 76). However, the manner in which each country carries out its international business varies, depending on the company goals and the mechanisms or strategies thr
The first image is the work by Jeff Wall entitled “After ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison, the Prologue” created in 2001. The second image goes under the title “The Cave,” and it appeared in the book The Republic by Plato that dates as far back as 380 B.C. Both images have much in common as they are related to literary works, so they allude to certain characters, ideas, and philosophies. At that, these literary works are concerned with people’s search for truth. In Plato’s book, people are exposed to some artificial (manmade) source of light or truth and are confined to using it. Likewise, the man in the postmodern work is also using the artificial light of electric bulbs. The viewer is bound to think of the Invisible Man who tried to find truth in science, which is often in opposition to nature. The images under analysis also convey one major idea, which is people’s voluntary imprisonment. People in the cave feel comfortable when looking at the shadows shaped by the fire. They are unwilling to go out of the cage where they feel safe. The postmodern world is not marked by considerable changes in this respect. The individual creates his own prison, eagerly encaging himself with material things and technological advances. At the same time, the postmodern world is characterized by hundreds of ideas and approaches to the complexity of human life. The myriad of bulbs represents the plurality of concepts and philosophies while the people of the Ancient World had only a limited number of perspectives at hand. It is possible to create the allegory of the development of the human society that moved from several basic concepts to a plethora of ideas in the contemporary globalized world.
Diageo Plc. is a beverage alcohol company that is multinational. Its headquarters are in London, and it operates in more than 180 countries producing more than 140 sites around the globe (Diageo Plc., 2022). It sells most of the world’s recognizable alcoholic drink brands, including everything from wine to beer to hard liquor (Diageo Plc., 2022). It is also known for producing, brewing, distilling, packaging, bottling, and distributing. Its brand lineup includes Captain Morgan, Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, and Smirnoff (Diageo Plc., 2022). The company’s net worth as of July 2022 was $103.18 billion (Diageo Plc., 2022). The products are not the healthiest for consumers though people choose to have them. The organization does not also have a good record in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Accordingly, Diageo Plc.’s failure to channel 10% of its revenues to social projects like most other players in the sector implies CSR passivity. Every company, including Diageo, has some policies that limit their participation in society. For instance, shareholders own businesses, and the managers’ money spent on CSR is stolen from the property owners. Most of the objectives sought by conventional views about social responsibility are unclear. Though not all aspects of CSR are guilty of this, the argument states that any corporation should expect ordinary honesty, decency, and fairness. In many cases, the assumption is that through this activity, money is given away, which rightfully belongs to other people (Parast, 2021). The process helps in managing relationships with influential and political stakeholders who can affect their operating license. Thus, the CSR is all about attracting and retaining talented staff, building relationships with clients, assuring reputation, and managing risk. Many companies that report on their social responsibility are experiencing financial difficulties. The most effective leaders in businesses do not waste time with CSR. This does not prove that real men do not do CSR, though. Leading companies also carry out social responsibility and are equally successful. For instance, Motorola Company is strongly associated with the CSR movement and was ranked among the top companies in one of the ‘most respected Surveys’ (Saxena et al., 2021). Thus, its success is attributed to their good CSR record over time. Diageo’s inability to give part of its income to the community through donations to social projects, such as scholarships to bright but needy learners, makes the firm socially irresponsible. Averagely, about 99% of the U.K.’s firms operating in the alcoholic beverage sector give 10% of their annual income to the local communities in the form of donations for education and other social needs, such as health facilities’ development in remote areas (Hoe et al., 2022). Diego forgoes the other companies’ social responsibility efforts by mainly focusing on making more money, leading to the deliberate neglect of society’s needs. It is a big organization with a lot of resources at it