ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Today, the financial systems of separate states and other aspects of the economy are improving and progressing in the context of globalization, the spread of IT technologies, and general computerization. In this regard, new financial institutions, tools, and forms of interaction between people emerged. Additionally, the analog of traditional payments – cryptocurrency and its most common digital cash, ‘bitcoin’ appeared. The existence of a large volume of cryptocurrencies and the rapid change of exchange rates require constant monitoring of their movement and identification of current trends in monetary systems in the world market. However, today there are many unresolved issues on methodological and legal issues in this area. Attempts to effectively regulate cryptocurrencies vividly illustrate the problems faced by government agencies around the world, not only when creating a legal platform for business, but also when trying to define decentralized systems. It is essential to find out what other reasons led to the emergence of a new payment method, what this phenomenon is, and how it is used, regulated, and taxed. Cryptocurrency: the Essence and How It Works The monetary system has shown extreme instability during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. At this time, confidence in the US dollar weakened, and the idea of creating new currencies, including regional ones, emerged in society. At that time, the peer-to-peer payment system Bitcoin,’ developed by Satoshi Nakamoto, began to take shape, and the term ‘cryptocurrency’ was used for the first time (Younus 2021, 8). Although it was a local cryptocurrency at the beginning of its development, used only by a limited number of people (its founders and their affiliates), it has become a world-class system in a few years. Electronic money is usually defined as financial obligations that are exchanged and settled with information technology. Summarizing the various positions and interpretations of the definition of cryptocurrency, several basic approaches can be distinguished. First of all, it can act as currency, an analog of fiat money, as at the moment, bitcoin can be used to pay for any goods. Cryptocurrency can also act as money surrogates, such as bills of exchange, checks, and other financial instruments. Given that it is generated online, it can also act as a commodity, property, or different asset with its value. In addition to being a method of payment, cryptocurrency can also serve as a means of accumulation and savings. For example, nowadays, in addition to exchanges, exchangers, and Internet resources, some stores and service centers also conduct bitcoin transactions. They are accepted for payment in many restaurants and hotels in some states. Several Asian countries are even used as an alternative to bank accounts and plastic cards because bankin
Introduction The examination of primary sources can be a very valuable research method because in this way, historians can gain better insights into the experiences of people who lived during a certain historical period. For instance, it is possible to study the book named Ardhakathānaka or Half a Tale written by the poet Banarasidas who portrayed various aspects of religious, social, and political life in the country. This text is considered to be the first autobiography ever written in the Indian language. This book can highlight the most common concerns of people living in India at the beginning of the seventeenth century. This paper is aimed at examining such topics as government as well as law and order. In particular, one should examine the role of political conflicts on everyday life of citizens. This issue can be better examined by looking at people’s response to the news about the death of Emperor Akbar. This detail is particularly important because it suggests that political conflicts such as wars of succession could be very disasterous; moreover, they could threaten the survival of many people because the preservation of law and order was not always possible during this political turmoil. These are the main questions that should be discussed more closely. The response to the death of the emperor The influence of political conflicts on the life of the community It should be noted that the Emperor Akbar died in1605 and his rule was associated with the strengthening of the Mughal Dynasty (Testa 5). In particular, one should speak about the economic growth and significant expansion of its territory. The response to his death seems to be rather surprising to modern people. The author describes people’s behavior in the following way, “The whole town was in a tremor. Everyone closed the doors of his house in panic; shop-keepers shut down their shops” (Banarasidas 38). To a great extent, this reaction can be explained by the fact that the residents of the town were afraid of the possible political turmoil that could follow the death of the emperor. More importantly, they believed that criminals could do almost anything with impunity because the law and order could not be maintained by the state. Therefore, the death of the monarch could be perceived as a great tragedy that could endanger people who did not even want to be involved in the possible conflict. This is one of the details that can be singled out because it is important for explaining the behavior of the town residents. The preservation of law and order At that time, many people tried to hide the signs of their wealth. The author describes their behavior in the following way, “Rich men took to wearing thick, rough clothes such as are worn by the poor, in order to conceal their status” (Banarasid
Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Literatures suggest two types of definitions for CSR: the traditional and modern approach. Traditional approach basically covers definitions before 1990 when most people viewed corporate social responsibility as a duty. The first definition of CSR expressed in 1953 demonstrates this fact. During that time, CSR was defined as a company’s responsibility to adopt those policies, and make resolutions to conduct business activities that are right with regard to the goals and standards of the society. The modern approach began during early 1990s when the idea of CSR transformed from a mandatory concept to a strategic instrument for assisting business promotion activities and to positively impact a corporation’s image and repute. This change is also expressed in the definitions provided by Mullerat (2010, p. 24). Here CSR is defined as a company’s action, intentional by nature that indicates its involvement in social and environmental issues while conducting business. According to Marrewijk (2003, p. 101), Corporate Social Responsibility is described as a business theory in which companies integrate social and environmental concerns into their operations. Generally, CSR is the approach through which business entities can balance their environmental, financial, and social responsibilities while concurrently addressing the prospects of the owners and investors. It is necessary to differentiate CSR, which is a strategic corporate management theory, and sponsorships, supports and patronage. Although these can as well help in reducing poverty, directly improve corporation’s reputation, and strengthen its product, the idea of CSR is much more than that. CSR can also be perceived as a kind of company self-regulation incorporated into business strategy (Smith 2010, p. 16). CSR policy operates as an integrated, self-regulatory instrument in which a company observes and safeguards its vibrant compliance to universal norms, rules of law, and ethics in the society. Every so often, a company’s application of CSR goes further than compliance and involves activities that seem to further social good. CSR is a practice which aims at embracing accountability for the firm’s actions and emboldens a positive effect through its undertakings on the communities, staff, customers, and the environment. This also includes its impacts to the owners and shareholders of the company (Blowfield & Murray 2008, p. 134). History of CSR-Origin and evolution Features and applications of corporate social responsibility have evolved over a long time. Although the concept of CSR is rather novel, the expression has been used broadly since 1960s. Again, while the monetary, legal, and moral expectations placed on corporations may be different, it is possibly right to state that all communities at any time had some extent of expectations that companies would conduct their business
The Sociological Imagination The differences the writer would have discerned among the visitors to the Mall would be in terms of their dresses, personal appearances, and conduct. It could also be seen in terms of the fact whether the visitors are seriously intended on the purchase or just to look around the place and spend time. People of different age groups, occupations, income groups, and social statuses have dissimilar reasons for visiting malls. Wealthy people come to buy luxury items, cosmetics, and expensive clothes; poorer people just come to do some window shopping or buy need-based articles, children come to play, have food and drinks. There are some groups of people who just come to loiter around, watch what other visitors are up to, and generally do nothing except observing the going-on in the Mall. Their age groups, nationalities, social outlooks, and purchasing capacities are significant aspects that determine how they dress and what they buy. According to C.W. Miles, because: “neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both”, we need to develop a way of understanding the interaction between individual lives and society. (Encyclopedia: Sociological imagination, 2003). Functional Analysis The manifest intentions of the Super Bowl are to determine the world football champions. The latent aims would be in terms of generating revenues, sponsorships, and gate money. The manifest intention of attending church is to reinforce faith in God and pray. It is also to gain inner strength to counter the challenges of daily living. It is also a kind of solidarity shown to the community members and the church organization. The latent aims of visiting churches are to seek communion with God and seek solace in spiritual thoughts. The manifest intentions of attending sociological classes are to prepare oneself for a career in this profession through acquiring knowledge and experience in this field. The latent objectives could be to understand the social aspects of human behavior and conduct and to pre-determine, with reasonable accuracy, how individuals/groups would behave under selected social settings. However, it is often seen, as suggested by Robert K. Merton, that a “middle-range theory.” needs to be applied in sociological situations. (Merton, 2003). Sociological Perspectives The fundamental paradigms of sociological perspectives vest on the following patterned behavior which most of us enjoin:  1. Perceiving the obvious in the specifics: We tend to form generalized, patterned behavior processes in terms of dress code, food preference, and professed code of conduct; this could also be in terms of matching people with stereotyped characteristics, behavior, etc,  2. Seeing the bizarre in the familiar: Often people are quick to castigate uncoded behavior patterns or sometimes focus on “how society guides our thoughts/actions often without our awareness.” (Seeing the strange in the familiar, n.d). It is often seen that individual patterns are seen in a social context. Persons are accountable for individual responsibilities undertaken by
Introduction Franchising is a popular business arrangement. It is where an organization grants another the right to use its brand or operational framework. The agreement lasts for a predetermined period. The franchiser is the entity allowing giving out its rights to another firm. A franchisee is a firm that seeks rights from the franchisor. Both parties derive benefits from the arrangement. The franchisor can infiltrate the market without having to invest in the construction and stocking of the chain stores (Bruckmann 23). In addition, the franchisor can sell large volumes of the products with the aid of the franchisee. The risk of having to invest in new markets is also avoided. Through the practice, franchisors can effectively market their products. They achieve this by encouraging franchisees to operate using their brand. In the current paper, a discussion of how different governments define and regulate franchises is provided. The research focuses on the United States federal law and California state legislation with regards to franchising (Bruckmann 23). The paper also seeks to analyze how franchising is regulated among European countries. In addition, a review of how a franchise turns into an agency is provided. How the Federal Law in the US Defines and Regulates Franchising In the US, laws are enforced at the federal and state levels (Bruckmann 23). As a result, there is a lack of uniformity in the control of franchising activities. Franchising practices in this country are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] (Bruckmann 22). The commission works together with regulators at the state level to ensure uniformity. The law was established to regulate the sale of franchises. It also standardizes the offer of franchises among enterprises operating in the country. According to FTC, a franchise exists as a commercial arrangement between a buyer and a seller. According to FTC, franchising has three major aspects. The elements should exist for the arrangement to be considered as a franchise. To begin with, the seller grants the buyer the right to operate using the firm’s trademark (Bruckmann 23). As such, the latter will operate using the logo and name of the former. In addition, the franchise may involve the provision of the right to distribute the products of the seller (Bruckmann 24). In most cases, franchising also involves the permission to brand products to resemble those provided by the seller. Secondly, a franchisee must involve the provision of assistance to the buyer (Bruckmann 23). In this case, the law requires the seller to guide the buyer in the implementation of the business models to be used as per the arrangement. The buyer must also receive trai
Introduction The worst hard times in America as described by Timothy Egan in his book of the Untold Stories of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl best describes the occurrences of the disaster that hit America in the 1930s and the recent Hurricane Katrina of 2005. The occurrences of these two disasters are highly attributed to the negligence of man rather than the natural catastrophe. The Dust Bowl and the Hurricane Katrina The Dust Bowl, for example, was caused by the poor farming methods that were used by the citizens of the Great Plains of America. The intensive agricultural activities were triggered by the increase in food demand after the First World War. However, men did not consider the possibilities of creating a disaster out of this great opportunity. The government on the other hand did not put the necessary measures to safeguard the ecological status of the land. The government’s concern on such productive land in the establishment of good agricultural practices such as irrigation and use of good soil erosion prevention methods like the use of mulches that the farmers burned leaving the land barely exposed could have helped save the disaster. As a result of practicing agriculture and exposing soils in the fields during the drought, the topsoil which was loose was carried away by the strong winds blowing to the eastwards and southwards of America leaving behind a large cloud of dust. 1 The federal government could have an influence in the activities carried out in the field but instead, they did not play their role. During the Dust Bowl, the government also failed to take care of the disaster, they did not have an adequate disaster management system which made several people leave their homes, several of whom were farmers. The migration was the largest in America whereby about 2.5 million people moved. The migration was a hit in the economy of the United States as several people moved to be homeless in California, New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas where they lived jobless raising the level of unemployment in the US. The economy was also suppressed because of the pressure put on resources especially the social amenities in the state of migration by the ”Okies” as they were referred to by the host residents since they were believed to have come from Oklahoma. Hurricane Katrina on the other hand is blamed to have caused so much damage and loss of human life due to the people’s negligence. 2 The Weather Forecast Department had predicted the possibilities of an occurrence of the Disaster but people did not respond to evacuations as expected. Although the government also failed to evacuate people in the wake of the Hurricane, the damage could not have been that much had the flood Levees constructed were standard to meet the public safety measures. The US Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the construction of the levees and they are blamed for not constructing them to cater to public safety during the hurricane. 3 The governme
Language contact only happens when two or more people speaking different languages come together, or spend time together. Contact linguistic is the study of language contact. When people speaking different languages stay together and interact freely, the different languages they speak influence each other resulting to neologism. Languages usually grow bit by bit and with time they become popular (Sun, 2006). Commonly, languages influence each other through the exchange of words. The influence increases leading to even an exchange of grammar structuring and formation of sentences. Other times, the contact of two languages can lead to a partial replacement of one language by the other. In other cases like in a situation where people without a common language interact, language contact can lead to the formation of new languages. As time goes by, the two languages develop to become one common language. The influence that impacts one language is usually as a result of the neighborhood one is in. This is because when one group is more populated than the other, people tend to get more used to one language than the other. In most cases, changes brought about by language contact affect one language more than the other. For example, Chinese has had a significant effect on Japanese and their word formation. On the other hand, Chinese remains free of Japanese influence even after playing a crucial role in formation of Japanese words. A great deal of Chinese Neologism is either from European missionaries or retrieved from the Japanese. The modern Chinese uses the word culture to represent culture . It is also widely used as a neologized term for the European borrowed word from Japanese (Stemmer & Whitaker, 2008). Chinese people in modern China cause neologism when they come to contact with people of different foreign cultures, and who speak different languages. Trade between the Chinese people and the Europeans has contributed to the occurrence of neologism. Chinese people sell their wares to people who speak other languages. When individuals from nations that do not have a common language come together for business purposes the necessity for a common language comes up for the transaction to take place. This has considerably contributed to the evolution of new words that probably never existed in either Chinese or European languages. The origin of Indo-European family of languages in china was as a result of migration. This is a combination of English and other European languages. The majority of people who use this language are believed to have been pastoralist, and when they came together they gradually formed a new language. Missionary activities also contributed to Neologism. This happened when they translated some European words to Chinese. The exposure of China to European philosophy and academic rules also contributed to neologism (Jung, 2002). It is notable that most morphemes from European language initially became popular in Japan, before they were introduced to C
The moral is the thing that distinguishes human beings from animals. With the development of society, people created new principles, whose main aim was to control the behavior of a person in society and coordinate his actions. That is why it is not surprising that the issue of morals has a great influence on the world of business. To understand the peculiarities of this influence better, it is possible to analyze three different ethical theories and their influence on the business world. The first theory is psychological egoism. It states that all actions of a human being are selfishly motivated (Fieser, & Moseley, 2012). People, resting on this principle, will run their business having the only aim to become rich and independent. Services provided will be aimed at guaranteeing a great income for the owner, not taking into account the needs and possibilities of the rest of the people. Moreover, the attitude to workers will be based on the same principle. They should just bring money, without being supplied with good conditions of work. The next theory is different from the previous one. It is called a virtue theory. According to it, to be a good person a man should develop his virtuous qualities. That is why it is possible to suggest that this approach to business will be based on principles of loyalty and tolerance. Attitude to workers and customers will be humane and aimed at creating a good image of the owner of a business. The last theory has something common with the previous one. It is called utilitarianism and it is based on the idea the things are good if they are made to bring happiness to other people (Fieser, & Moseley, 2012). That is why, it is even possible to suggest, that this theory could be combined with the previous one to create the most moral approach to running a business. Moreover, there is no use denying the fact, that this approach will be the most popular among people, both customers and workers, as it will take into account all their needs. However, some corporations may act unethically. In this case, some punishments are created to control the behavior of different business organizations ( Business ethics and corporate social responsibility , n.d.). The most common punishment is fine. It is imposed to prevent the further repetition of the same unethical action. Moreover, there is also the practice of corporate shaming. It means that a company should announce its wrongful actions in public, which can lead to a decrease in the level of trust in this company. There is also one more punishment, which is very serious and is applied in the most complicated cases. It is called the corporate death penalty. It means that a company or organization is forced to go out of business (Fieser & Moseley, 2012). Applying these and some other punishments, the government can regulate the activity of different organizations and guarantee their ethical behavior. However, there are also some threats connected with running an ethical corpor