ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
More than a year has passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is learning how to live in times of lockdowns and strict health safety regulations. However, the novel pandemic brought multiple challenges on social and economic levels, and sometimes those challenges were mutually related. Home isolation intended to curb COVID-19 brought unexpected side effects, and domestic violence became one of the most prominent. Therefore, the search parameters for this assignment included sources, which reflected the global impact of and anti-pandemic measures on the domestic violence situation. The “stay safe, stay at home” mantra used by the governments and public health organizations was the opposite of safety for the victims of domestic violence. At the beginning of the pandemic, Anurudran et al. (2020) pointed to the risk of women’s exposure to domestic violence and urged to support those vulnerable to it. Their manuscript called for international organizations to come together and mobilize resources to address the problem. In that regard, the contradiction between staying at home and being in safety was highlighted in the beginning stage of the pandemic. Some researchers admitted the importance of early anti-COVID-19 measures for the protection of health systems. Nevertheless, they also admitted the unintended negative consequences, such as isolation, loneliness, and emotional stress. For instance, Bradbury-Jones and Isham (2020) noted that women, already disproportionally affected by domestic violence, suffer even more in times of pandemics. They supported that claim with data from Brazil, Cyprus, Spain, and the UK, which registered an alarming rise in calls to domestic violence helplines (Bradbury-Jones & Isham, 2020). Overall, staying at home was considered important, but not at the cost of neglecting potentially vulnerable groups such as women and children. The increase in domestic violence rates in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic became an international trend. In the case of the USA, Leslie and Wilson (2020) revealed a 7,5% increase in domestic violence service calls in the first 12 weeks of social distancing. Moreover, in the first 5 weeks after the introduction of the anti-COVID measures, the calls increased by almost 10% (Leslie & Wilson, 2020). It should also be stressed that the increase was registered in reported cases. During the strict lockdown, a potential abuser has a better ability to control the victim and prevent the report. Therefore, the actual surge of domestic violence and the scale of the problem could have been well underestimated. The spread of domestic violence took an especially significant place in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. According to World Health Organization (2021), the initial information from two countries in the region reported a 50-60% increase in women’s calls for help. The Eastern Mediterranean Region had a second-highest 37% prevalence of violence against women even before the pan
Background The 21 st century has been marked by major technological advancements due to improved technology. The education sector has not been left behind and has developed a major tool for learning commonly referred to as electronic learning (e-learning). According to Dublin (2003, p. 7), e-learning is a term not easily understood especially for those outside this industry and also within the diverse sectors where it has different meanings. E-learning has many benefits to the students using it. It produces improved performance in the coursework for higher education students in comparison with face-to-face courses (Means, 2009, para.4). It provides increased access in that knowledge can be shared across borders by many intellectuals thus allowing students to attend their courses without limitations of physical, economic, or political boundaries. It is also convenient and provides the learners with flexibility. This is because e-learning is available 24/7 thus learners can schedule themselves in the most convenient way. Finally, learners using this system of education are able to gain digital literacy skills that are important for their courses and professions. For the quality learning process, e-learning has been developed to use different approaches to ease the process of learning. The common approaches used include the following; Computer-Based Learning (CBL) which refers to the use of computers for teaching purposes, the second is Computer-Based Trainings (CBT) which are learning activities that are available through the use of computers or other handheld devices. The resources for learning are presented in a linear style. They are used just the same as reading an online book or journal. CBTs have more benefits than traditional classroom contexts since it incorporates visual aids in learning hence increasing understanding. The third approach to e-learning involves the use of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). This has greatly improved learning as modern ICT is applied and multiple users can be invited at the same time. Jordan has a population of six million and is one of the small countries in the Arab world. It has limited natural resources in comparison to the other neighboring countries. Education has for long been acknowledged as a tool for national development leading to its development at all levels. The Jordanian government undertook major reforms to boost economic development by maximimizing utilisation of human capital through educating its citizens (Dirani, & Yoon,2009, para 5). This has led to development of ODL in its universities to cater for the growing demand for tertiary education. E-learning is a novel idea in most of the Arab world and it has come with its benefits and challenges (Al-Jaghoub, 2009, p.2). Many universities in Jordan are situated in the metropolitan areas due to limita
The government is mandated to implement policies that bring a greater good to the public. Government policies are implemented by people who work in the public service. These are better known as the civil servants. Public administrators have a wide scope of roles that they are supposed to execute. However, their major objective is to ensure that the government is functioning properly. Therefore, most of the activities that the public administrators carry out are concerned with the management of governmental programs, making decisions on behalf of the government, as well as analysing government policies before they are implemented. Public administration faces a number of problems that affect proper functioning of the departments that public administrators head. In addressing the problems, it is important to first analyse the factors that cause these problems. This article is an assessment of the factors that are the main source of the problems of public administration in the “conflict of loyalties” case study. The paper describes the problems faced by A.J. Stewart as a public administrator in the Department of Defence. The paper ends by recommending how issues in public administration should be resolved. Case factors The author of this case mentions about A.J. Stewart who was employed as a public servant in the Department of Defence Production and the challenges he was facing in administering his duties. Stewart was working in the electronics branch. The Department of Supply and Services was later established within the larger department where Stewart worked. Stewart was the head of the Union in 1975. The department had up to 8,100 members. It is indicated that the Union did not have any certification to work as a bargaining agent on behalf of the Purchasing and Supply Group. Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) was the certified agent for the group. This Union was, however, a founding member of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which Stewart was a member, and the Civil Services Association of Canada. Stewart constantly complained about the state of affairs in the Department of Supply and Services. The management of the department did not consult with the Union to restore order. This led to further problems that greatly affected the performance of the department negatively. The efforts by Stewart to meet the President to resolve the problems were all in vain. He made efforts to reorganize the department, but nothing fruitful came out of his efforts. This made him frustrated, especially with the management that was supposed to attend to his concerns. From the case, it is observed that one of the major factors that lead to the problems in public administration is poor communication because communication is very important in any setup. It facilitates success and has a positive effect on job performance and execution of activities. The poor communication system in the department deterred any efforts by Stewart. He wrote letters to the concerned parties, but they were all ignored. It is difficult to solve any problem without dialogue. On the other hand, identification of problems that affect an organisation is always easier whe
Long-term business performance is significant for business survival as well as sustainability. Organizations always strive to adopt the best strategies to improve their management standards to enable them to achieve their core objectives better. Best practices and organizational diagnosis have often been used to maintain quality in organizations, and as an alternative to rigid legislated standards. Bogan and English (1994) describe the best practice as an approach which has consistently shown better results as compared to other means and is therefore used to perform self-assessment or as a benchmark. Organizational diagnosis is used for documenting and charting practices and procedures for organizations. Bogan and English (1994) state that a key strategic talent needed for adopting best practice/organizational diagnosis is the ability to balance the organization’s unique practices which it shares with others. There are numerous organizational diagnosis models as well as best practices such as United Way Management Indicators List, Drucker Five-Question Self-Assessment Tool, and Fieldstone’s Nonprofit Life-Stage Assessment, among others. However, Business-Self-Assessment (BSA) would be the most appropriate for companies operating in the financial services industry. BSA was developed to help businesses, including global businesses to determine what they need so as to advance their management systems. Thus, its main aim is to help organization leaders achieve the capability to perform Business Self-Assessments, which would enable them to improve their long-term business performance. Companies operating in the financial sector have numerous common qualities which are unique to the industry and shared standard practices which make BSA the most suitable organizational diagnosis for the industry. Ichikawa (2003) of Dow Chemical Company says that BSA processes can always be examined against business excellence criteria such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (
Introduction The current business environment is highly competitive, and thus companies have to come up with strategic plans on how to remain leaders in their industries. The failure or success of an organization depends on leadership and management styles adopted by key decision-makers. Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, has come out as a transformational leader, who questions the status quo and makes timely decisions to achieve the set objectives. Bezos uses the “Day 1 Philosophy”, which has propelled Amazon to become one of the leading companies in the contemporary times. This paper explores how Jeff Bezos’ uses the “Day 1 Philosophy” to handle the four functions of management and establish a strong organizational culture through managing and motivating employees. The Philosophy The principles of “Day 1 Philosophy” that Jeff Bezos employs are based on the belief that Amazon should never stop acting like a start-up. Therefore, Bezos believes that results matter more as compared to processes, decisions should be timely to exploit opportunities, new trends should be embraced as they emerge, status quo should be questioned and challenged, and a person’s intuition should be nurtured to become an important part of decision-making (Roemmele, 2017). According to this philosophy, systems restrain growth, and thus creative thinking should be used to change the conventional way of doing things. As such, habitual thinking is discouraged, as it leads to stasis. Bezos, thus, believes in agility for the company to remain competitive, innovative, and prepared for the future. Additionally, Bezos holds that decision-making should be fast by bypassing bureaucratic systems and lengthy persuasion tactics. Bezos applies the “disagree and commit” mantra whereby even if the involved parties do not agree on a certain issue, they have to commit to ensuring the success of the decisions made. Besides, Bezos abhors insular thinking, and he insists that trends should be spotted and embraced early by looking outside the company for future success. Bezos also does not accept the status quo, and thus he keeps on experimenting with novel ideas to ensure customer satisfaction. Finally, while Bezos respects the role of market surveys and research, he relies on his intuition, taste, and curiosity to make i
Case Facts This case involves breaching of a contract between Kly and the Pestinikas family (appellants) leading to conviction of the Mr. and Mrs. Pestinikas of murder. This couple had signed a contract to take care of elderly Kly (that is, to give him food suitable shelter, prescribed drugs, and care. Instead of doing as per the contract, they mistreated the deceased by making him go through hard conditions leading to his death. The two had agreed to take care of the deceased at a cost of $ 300 each month. However, contrary to this they starved, dehydrated him to death, and withdrew over $ 30,000 from his account, which was a criminal offense constitutionally. In addition, the two denied his family access to see him by lying that they never knew where the old man had gone. The district court found them guilty of negligence, hence convicting them of third degree murder. Later on (after two years), the superior court removed the charges from the Pestikanas, hence overturning the ruling considering that there was no rule that convicted contract caregivers to provide care to their patients. However, later on, on serious consideration, the same court restored the charges, hence convicting the two of third degree murder (Nissey, 2007, p. 1). Issues The case of Commonwealth v. Pestinikas primarily involved breach of contract between three individuals, where two were to act as caregivers as per the contract agreement. Referring to the statutes 18 Pa. C. S. and 301 (a) and B, which states that, firstly, individuals are guilty of a criminal offense if only their liability emanates from the fact that they can offer voluntary help or if they neglect to do acts that they have capability of doing. Secondly, omission if the law specifies the offense or imposes on an individual the duty to do specific omitted acts. In addition, subsection (b) provisions state that, unless the law states the omission, hence defining the offense, then the law imposes such liability on individuals. On the other hand, the duty to adhere to contractual terms emanates from a section of the civil law, although omission depended on many factors. This is because depending on provisions in the law, there are clear distinctions between moral and legal duty. Hence, following contractual terms, the contractual terms imposed on the Pestinikas a legal duty to act, hence because they failed to do the same they were guilty of criminal homicide. Decisions Following consideration of the above provisions of the law, the superior court at first removed the charges as passed by the district court, but on further and critical examination of the case, it reinstated the criminal offense, hence convicting the two of third degree murder. Reasoning The contractual terms placed a legal duty on the Pestinikas to take care of Kly, which they neglected. Although there were no clear provisions in law as concerns contract care giving, the law imposed the same on the two, which they neglected,; hence, accelerating his death. The two were guilty because, from the evidence from the crime scene, the appellants had failed provide Kly with necessities: medicine, food, and s
Culture is one of the widely used words which have numerous meanings. But to my simplest definition that I may use to define it fully is just by saying, it as the way of life and how things are done. Culture will therefore comprise a collection of beliefs, habits, and traditions that are shared by a group of individuals. This entails what we call the behavior of a community or a society. It is very hard to trace the origin of the culture of a given society due to the complexity of people’s in their originations and interactions between different persons of the world. (Dyer, 1989) The rise and development of culture at least can be traced by having a systemic interpretation of culture autonomous individual societies. General global technologies have to lead to great changes in the development of cultures and civilizations. The world culture system as well as the relationships of technology in civilization creates and offers more than a skeleton for analyzing cultural development and transformation that discloses the rise of culture in different societies. This enables the generation of the global technological civilization, whose impacts result in the development of discernible cultural production, social organization, and relationships. The systematic of cultures heritage safeguard certain immutable autonomy within the human system. This autonomy cannot be absorbed, but the world systems have to tolerate it. While cultural practices remain significant all over the world; it opens communicational spaces. Hence, cultures rouse the changes in ethics. They remain unique and constitutive elements of civilization. It is generally believed that the very rigorous and comprehensive changes since the 1870s have been taking place in New York. This is one of the oldest cultural sites, rooted in well-built traditions and of society which was founded many past centuries. (Dyer, 1989) It is noted that all spheres of life have been affected by the change. This has swept through politics, the economy, and culture. Different age groups have seen the emergence of several new cultural practices, which may be seen as a crisis of the national erosion of traditions and culture. However, this forms a good concept of measuring a state that is growing in the modernized way of culture. While many societies are searching for state and ethnic identity, the question of the New York cultural identity has also arisen. In the rapid transformation that is now taking place, an identity crisis is unavoidable. This raises great anxiety about whether the culture change will give rise to a new society or not. Considering the facts of cultural principles in most parts of the world, it is observed that there have been many struggles to preserves the old culture. For instance, the Central and Northern European countries are in transition to decentralization and market economy which raise the opportunities for change in the whole social structure. This may lead to some cultural practices being dissolved and hence societies will enter into a period of social and cultural uncertainty. The historic changes rais
Introduction Garcilaso de la Vega was the primary writer to compose the Italian Renaissance technique in Spain. Many scholars acknowledge Garcilaso as the founding father of the golden age of Spanish poetry. His sonnets, poems, and pastorals, portray beauty and love while assertively accommodating their transient. The traditional belief is that Isabel Freire inspired Garcilaso’s love poems. For an extended period, Isabel Freire was thought to be the motivation for many of Garcilaso’s love poems, but that observation is now largely rejected. This is because; there is a possibility, that between 1527 and 1529 Garcilaso had a love relationship with a woman named Elvira from Extremadura. This can be inferred from a will made by Garcilaso in 1529. In the Will, Garcilaso accepts Lorenzo as his illegitimate son, and he suggests the likelihood that Elvira may have had a baby by him. This paper will examine two schools of thought. The paper will start by examining the traditional school of thought who believes that Isabel was the inspiration to Garcilaso’s poetry. This means his poetry was sincere. Secondly, the paper will discard the idea of sincerity in Garcilaso’s poetry. For instance, the paper will look at the emphasis of voice to give the sincerity effect. That is the rhetoric of presence. Finally, the paper will end with a conclusion stating my thoughts on the discussion. Main Body The paper will start by arguing that Garcilaso’s poems are sincere. Garcilaso’s feelings were awakened by failure and reflection of many things. Apart from a lover’s disloyalty, the other problems were change, disappointment, time, loss of his lover, withdrawal of support by friend and destiny. The suggestion in eclogue I match with the case of Isabel Freyre, the nuptials to a person considered poor, the passing away of a child during birth ascertain that Garcilaso was thinking of Isabel. In Eclogue III, Isabel Freyre may, in some capacity have motivated the poem of the dead nymph of Nise tapestry whose name is taken away to the Lusitanian Sea. One can state with confidence that Garcilaso’s preference of pastoral is conscious. In his song V, he makes it evident that he does not aim to compose an epic. He laments that “If like an Orpheus he could control the world with his poetry, he would not sing of an angry mass dedicated to death his countenance sustained with powder, blood and sweat, but only the power of beauty. 1 In Elegy, I (lines 82-92); Garcilaso candidly expresses his displeasure in war: Which of now is not hurt by the excess of war? of danger and of banishment? Who is not weary of the endless process? who has not seen blood