ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
On November 20, 2010, I spoke with Ms. Clair Reeds, the human resources assistant in charge of employee relations at MeDa Inc. The purpose of our meeting was to gather information on job evaluation within their organization. Ms. Reeds began by explaining to me the purpose of carrying out a job evaluation. She stated that job evaluation is principally done for the purpose of clarifying roles and responsibilities attached to specific positions and defining the cross-cutting relations between various positions. Ms. Reeds also pointed out that job evaluation is performed to provide general guidelines in structuring the compensation scheme vis-à-vis the value attached to each job. She confirmed that the job evaluation method used in her organization is ranking. This method, she explained, was sufficient for their organization’s need, because of its simplicity in administration since their organization is medium in terms of the size of its workforce. Ranking as a method of job evaluation involves “ranking” positions according to their importance in relation to others. In speaking with Ms. Reed, I learned that MeDa Inc. has incorporated Moslaw’s needs hierarchy to inform the organization’s decision in evaluating the positions. By so doing, the most desired and worthy position within the organization is ranked highest while the least important lowest (Goble, 1970). MeDa Inc. uses a number of factors to determine the level of importance or worth of a job, Ms. Reeds enumerated them as follow:  1. responsibility attached to the position, which included but was not limited to, accountability, decision making authority and degree of supervision required  2. level of skills required to handle the job, which encompasses, knowledge and qualifications, and competency in handling complex tasks  3. Metal and physical effort required to undertake the duties of the job  4. the general working condition of the job  5. the degree of difficulty in performing the job Ms. Reeds also reported that in her organization ranking is carried out first within each department. The information gathered from each department is then collated and integrated to form the organization’s ranking. Even though this method has proved to be effective for MeDa Inc., Ms. Reeds intimated that it has its shortcomings. First, the biggest setback is the difficulty experienced when determining the correct rank whenever a new job position arises within the organization. Secondly, she pointed out that, majority of employees regarded this method as being too subjective. However, she was quick to explain that job evaluation was about position and not individual. Therefore, the employees complaining of this method being subjective was unfounded. When carrying out job evaluation organizations seek to achieve a number of things. MeDa Inc. according to Ms. Reeds performs Job evaluation to achieve the following:  1. determination of structure for remuneration and grading of employees  2. rationalization of the
The Moose and the Sparrow is like a mini-murder-mystery. It throws the reader right into the middle of a logging camp experience, with all sorts of special vocabulary that only lumbermen (and they are all men!) would know. It is also a tale of the effects of bullying on a bully, his victim, and those around them. The bully, Maddon, is described as a failed student, and filled with anger. Mr. Anderson, the narrator, tries to explain his behavior to the Sparrow by telling him that; men like Moose “are so twisted inside that they want to take it out on the world. They feel that most other men have had better breaks than they’ve had, and it rankles inside them. They try to get rid of this feeling by working it out on somebody who’s even weaker than they are. Once they pick on you there’s no way of stopping them short of getting out of their way or beating it out of their hide.” We hear all around us now that bullies are often people who have been bullied themselves. Some of them have been mistreated at home, perhaps even to the point where it could be called child abuse. They have pain, and have no strategies to deal with it, or get rid of it. Hurting others can be a distraction from this pain. To see this in action, watch a kid come home from a day of being bullied at school and beat up on or yell at a younger, vulnerable sibling! Moose may indeed feel jealous of Sparrow’s academic achievements and promise for his future, as Mr. Anderson suggests, and he may feel stupid, unloved, ungainly, or any of many other negative adjectives. Although anyone can be a bully, the ones we think of are the kids who are big and maybe were held back because of poor academic performance, and who are probably embarrassed about being the oldest kids in the class. Sparrow does not start out being characterized as violent or unbalanced. In fact, he is remarkably tolerant of the mistreatment, perhaps too tolerant! However, he is so outbalanced in strength and experience by Moose that his options are severely limited. Sparrow, once he is seriously injured by the burning saw trick, really believes that his physical survival is at risk. He may be right. Moose, after all, has shown himself to not be the brightest bulb. Moose’s effort to dunk Sparrow could have ended in tragedy if Sparrow had not been able to swim, or gotten caught under the water. There are all sorts of examples of deaths by hazing in the military, the fraternities, and even some sports teams. These activities are merely organized bullying. When young people and alcohol are involved, good sense is often absent, and the danger of a fatal accident is significant. Sparrow, in the face of what he believes to be the threat of maiming or death, is eventually pushed to engage in violence himself, or so we are asked to infer. This pattern is reminiscent of some of the student school shootings of the last decade. The news stories about some of these tragedies suggest that the kids definitely felt that they were mistreated. Perhaps the bullying was only
Introduction As the world continues to experience natural and artificial disasters of enormous scales rescue robots are increasingly becoming an essential part of search and rescue efforts. A case in point being the September 11 terrorist attack in New York where rescue robots were very instrumental in searching for survivors and victims (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, 2011, 1). In such complex rescue missions, rescue robots aid human rescuers through providing them with real-time intelligence on the situation as it is in places where it is impossible and potentially dangerous for the human rescuers to traverse (Scheiber, 2003, 12). The intelligence provided by the rescue robots is critical in devising and planning successful rescue efforts. Another benefit of rescue robots is that they reduce significantly the personnel needed to carry out a rescue mission and therefore reducing the overall cost of the exercise. Another benefit of rescue robots is that they enable human rescuers to avoid unnecessary work that will otherwise cause fatigue, which eventually slows down the rescue operation. Rescue missions that mostly necessitate the need for rescue robots are those that arise from mining accidents, urban disasters, explosions and hostage situations. Roboticists in the physical design of rescue robots ensure that the robots can traverse places that are physically unreachable to human rescuers and additionally equip them with a variety of distributed technology that enable them to gather the desired intelligence and transmit it to the rescue command station where the human rescuers and rescue efforts are coordinated. Discussion The head part of the rescue robot is designed to comprise a number of features, namely, two cameras, two motion sensors, two heat sensor, LED lights, and antenna. The two cameras are for providing real-time video footage of
What does Camillus promise to Queen Juno of Veii? Livy writes that Camillus promised to Queen Juno to dedicate a tenth part of his spoils Delphi as a way of honoring god Apollo (Livy 21, pg. 286). In his triumph, why was Camillus thought to have displayed irreverent behavior? When celebrating his victories Camillus rode into Roma on “a chariot drawn by white horses” (Livy 23, pg. 288). This behavior was considered to be irreverent by many Romans because in this way Camillus compared himself to the god Jupiter (Livi, 5 pg. 288). This is why many Romans were opposed to this behavior. How did Camillus propose to conquer the Faliscans when the children of the Faliscans were handed over as hostages? Camillus rejected the idea of using hostages as a means of forcing the Faliscans to surrender since in his opinion, such a strategy was ignoble (Livy 27, pg. 291). Instead, he advocated the use of military tactics and skills of Roman soldiers. According to Livy, the residents of the besieged city were impressed with this decision of the Roman commander and his sense of justice (Livy 27, pg. 292). Why was Camillus indicted and sent into exile? Camillus was expelled from Rome, because he was accused by his political adversaries of hiding the Etruscan spoils (Livy 32, pg. 295). His supporters offered him help, but Camillus chose to go into exile with his family. Moreover, he was indicted by the court in his absence (Livy 32, pg. 295). What prevented the Gauls from reaching and taking the Capitoline Hill in Rome? The Gauls did not take the Capitoline Hill for several reasons. First of all, they wanted to loot the city and rob people of their possessions while the take-over of the Capitoline Hill was not one of their goals (Livy 41, pg. 300). Secondly, they feared that Romans could entrap them and therefore they decided to stay near the Forum. When he arrived in Rome, how did Camillus tell his soldiers they would win their country back? When addressing the soldiers, Camillus emphasized the idea that after their victories, the Gauls had become careless, and that the discipline of their army had not been properly maintained. Therefore, Roman forces could ambush and massacre them without facing any resistance (Livy 44, pg. 302). Why does Camillus give for not abandoning Rome after its destruction by the Gauls? Camillus gave several arguments to persuade the citizens that Rome should not be abandoned. He said that too much effort had been taken to recover the city from the Gauls that it was senseless to leave it. Secondly, he pointed out that Rome was not completely desecrated by the Gauls, since they did not conquer and Capitol and Citadel (Livy 51, pg. 306). Finally, he noted that the victory could have been given to R
Amazon.com has merely invaded the market and reached every family in the globe. Its activity has a direct influence on the U.S. economy, impacting both investments and job opportunities. Currently, the enterprise is aiming to expand its presence and looks to open the second headquarters in one of the U.S. cities. The purpose of this research is to study the giant’s present situation, discuss the applied strategies, and make forecasts regarding its future. It is known that the corporation has the largest market value among all online stores and continues to invest in technologies that assist it with expanding business assets (Columbus). One can assume that in the upcoming years the company will merge with a part of small businesses creating even stronger completion to the rest of the market players. Amazon’s Current Situation At present, Amazon is a global e-commerce giant with the greatest market value in the world. Among all groups of products that the company has in stock, the highest revenues come from electronics. In 2017, the mentioned category of wares brought the corporation an estimated $8.5 billion in sales (Columbus). This year, the retailer announced a multi-year partnership with Best Buy, which involves the launch of HD Fire TV Edition model variations from Toshiba and Insignia (Columbus). Currently, the company operates in the three major dimensions: Amazon Prime, Amazon Marketplace, and Amazon Web Services. Amazon Prime represents the subdivision that is known to every consumer. It covers e-commerce activities, customer communication, product description, and after-sale services. Amazon Web Services introduces a specially designed computing platform for developers, while Amazon Marketplace offers web hosting for third-party sellers. Regarding the size of the company, the retailer employs an extended number of workers. By October 2018 the employee count has reached 575,000, which includes both part-time and full-time hires (Columbus). Hiring contractual workers helps the corporation to keep its expenses in constant check. Market researchers, however, admit that with the rapid growth the company demonstrates, Amazon seriously affects other retailers forcing them to cut back on wages and strictly limit workplaces (Columbus). Thus, regardless of how favorable the situation within the firm is, Amazon’s impact on the overall unemployment rate is not always positive. When discussing the company’s financial portfolio, one needs to operate with both income and investment statistics. At the end of 2017 Amazon’s annual returns showed $22.28 billion in cash equivalents (Columbus). The enterprise also had $737 million of equity investments in private and public organizations (Columbus). The given statistics relate to the fact that the corporation not only focuses on consumers’ satisfaction but pays attention to the importance of aiding smaller businesses. By allowing third-party sellers to list their products on the site, Amazon creates favorab
The use of fiber in data communication was initially invented in the late 1970s. It is also referred to as fiber optics. The development and acceptance of this method of data communication has been as a result of the speeds at which it transfers data. Its introduction helped reduce the costs incurred in establishing communication through other means (Israelsohn, 2003). Fiber optics refers to fine and lengthy threads made out of untainted glass. The average thickness of the fiber glass is the size of human hair. Data communication in fiber is, therefore, a mode of passing message signals to and from a particular destination via light pulsations by means of ocular filament. This is facilitated by the light mentioned above which makes electromagnetic waves that thus transfer the message. This type of innovation has contributed greatly to the industry of information and telecommunications. One of the leaps that can be noticed is the abolishment of the use of copper wire for transmission of information. This makes this type of communication more efficient than electric conveyance of information. Its adoption is largely felt in the developed nations. Since its invention, fiber optic communication has and continues to undergo transformation. This sort of communication adopts a rather simple yet proficient mode of operation. Initially, the visual sign is developed using a transmitter. The sign is then passed on through the fiber. This is a carefully thought out process that has to be handled meticulously in order to prevent any form of disturbance that would in turn deform or abate the signal. Upon reception, the strong signal is changed to an electric sign. Data communication via fiber is used in many areas. These include transmission of television, internet and telephone signals. It is faster and can go long distances due to the fact that it has lesser shrinkage capabilities and causes little obstruction. This makes it better than copper wire transmission. Moreover, it can produce data of up to several gigabits and has a high aptitude and a large bandwidth. For instance, fiber made from silica has a capacity of several thousand bytes of data. Since it has the capability to hold large volume data and pass it to longer distances, a lot of data can be augmented within the one fiber amplifier. Addition, if billed per individual bits, it is less expensive. The technology adopted by this means of communication is one that translates signals from electric form to visual and is digital in na
Introduction Several criteria have been used in an effort to classify a business as small or large. This has been an area of contention, but different individuals and organizations have classified businesses differently. Some classify a business according to the workforce it has, its management structure, and the worth, in terms of investment and assets, it may have. On the other hand, others have classified businesses according to the total sales and profits that are realized from the business. A smaller number of people or organizations, though, may classify a business by the physical attributes it may have, for example, its premises or the socioeconomic status of the place the business is located (Schaefer, 2000). What is the current small business start-up success and failure rate in the U.S. market? Irrespective of the size of a business, success is usually the main point of focus when starting a business. However, the types and magnitudes of advantages and drawbacks vary according to the business size. One advantage of a small business might be a major drawback to a large business. Research conducted by the Small Business Administration (SBA) indicates that “two-thirds of new employer establishments survive at least two years, and forty-four percent survive at least four years” (Schaefer, 2000). This is a bit encouraging because it has always been believed and estimated that less than 35% of businesses survive. It is therefore of utmost importance to not undertake any business venture without the correct preparation. The reasons why most businesses fail include the motivation behind starting, the know-how that the sole pr
Quite often, the terms justice and vengeance have been perceived to mean the same thing (Khadduri, 2000). Nevertheless, empirical research studies have proved that they are totally different both in their meaning as well as application. In this case, justice can be defined as the act of administering a deserved punishment or a reward to an individual in accordance with the law. On the other hand, vengeance implies affliction imposed on a person as a result of committing an offensive act. According to the events presented in Lee (1962), vengeance is more harmful and humiliating than justice bearing in mind that in most instances, it may cause both emotional and physical injuries to an individual. In as much as the concepts are different, we cannot ignore the fact that they have certain unique similarities. For example, the acts occur in response to an offense that has been committed (Khadduri, 2000). Additionally, in either case, people tend to gain satisfaction against their trespassers or, in other words, there is some level of satisfaction that is derived by the affected individual when an offender is taken through a rigorous process of justice. In my own perspective, I firmly believe that both justice and vengeance are largely triggered by the fact that society always intends to control its own belief system and how individual members generally behave towards the expected norms. Is there a universal difference? According to the film by Shakespeare (1992), it is apparent that the differences that exist between the two aforementioned concepts are quite universal. For instance, justice is administered to an individual through a lawful and well-prescribed proceeding, while vengeance occurs out of anger where an individual or society takes the law on their own hands (Marno, 2008). According to philosophical views, justice has been perceived to be quite complex. This is due to the fact that one has to have intellectual empathy upon the offended individual in order to take effective measures against his counterpart (Shakespeare, 1992). In this case, Justice aims at maximizing satisfaction but not to deter crime. Contrastingly, vengeance is administered with the aim of deterring crime, and thus there is no careful choice of punishments rendered. That’s notwithstanding, justice is meant for long term interests for the benefit of the individual and
To choose the right project the CEO should consider using the investment appraisal methods that allows the management team of the firm to evaluate a project based on the possible opportunity costs, returns, risks and payback period so as to determine the most suitable from a list of several such projects (Hacura, Hacura and Kocot, 2001). These appraisal tools include; Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Non-discounted payback period, discounted payback, Net Present Value (NPV) and the Profitability Index (PI) (Hacura, Hacura and Kocot, 2001). Such evaluation tools collectively indicate the relationship between the return and risk, payback period and return (taking inflation into account) (Maslinski and Kettle, 2010). For many years risk evaluation was an important hub for business providing powerful signs of possible outcomes; for instance, the CEO should accept the project because it has a positive NPV (Savvides, 1994), and the tax rate is 30% for the first two years and 28% in the remaining three years. Besides, even based on the IRR the project should be accepted because the IRR is more than the company’s cost of capital of 15%. The project is still acceptable if based on the non-discounted payback and discounted payback if the cut off period is 5 years. However, limitations at times influence investment decisions for example these tools of appraisal pose some shortcomings such as discounted payback appraisals can change uncontrollably while non-discounted payback does not consider “time value of money” (Maslinski and Kettle, 2010). Other limitations include perpetual rates of growth, too large discount rates, the fair value earned by the firm may be incorrect, and inaccurate cash flow estimates (Maslinski and Kettle, 2010). Leading to circumstances where small variations in inputs may lead to huge variations in the firm’s value (Maslinski and Kettle, 2010).