ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Found Objects is a short story by Jennifer Egan that gives an account of a young woman trying to find identity in an ever busy world. Sasha as the name of the young woman goes is in her mid-thirties and has serious issues that have pushed her to consult the services of a therapist. Sasha has adopted a habit of stealing anything that she can lay her hands on. This ranges from screwdrivers to wallets and a host of other things that she does not really need. The strangest part of the story is that she does not mix the things she steals with her private life. Instead, she keeps them on a separate table as though hoping “to return them one day.” This leads us to conclude that she steals these things for a higher purpose than to fulfill her needs. By looking at the story, it is hard to exactly pinpoint the motive for Sasha’s kleptomaniac behaviour. However, one thing that we can decipher from the story is that Sasha’s behaviour relates to her relationship with people. By stealing, Sasha seems to be passing across a message that she does not trust people and neither does she expect to be trusted. This comes out clearly at the Lassimo Hotel where she steals a wallet from a woman in the washrooms. When she goes to adjust her eye shadow, she notices a wallet sticking out of a bag belonging to a woman who is peeing in the next toilet stall. The “trust” that the owner of this bag has on New York residents provokes Sasha to steal the wallet. By doing this, she is sending across a message that people should not be too trusting. This clearly means that she does not trust anyone and neither does she expect to be trusted. Maybe, this is the reason why she gets so surprised when she sees her date Alex trying to help the woman recover her wallet. This leads her to conclude that both the woman and Alex must be residents of another town outside New York. To Sasha, stealing is simply a way of saying that people will do worse things to you if you give them the opportunity. By closely looking at the story, one does not fail to realize that all the problems bedeviling Sasha have their genesis from the broken relationship with her father. From the story, we gather that Sasha’s father left when she was six years old and he never came back to get her. Sasha must have loved her father since she blocks any discussion about her father. This shows that she must have loved her father so much and that his decision to abandon her hurt her so much. On his part, Sasha’s father does not appear to have loved her so much since he never came back even once to see how she was doing. This is perhaps one reason why Sasha has stopped trusting the people around her life. This is seen
Overview of the National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an investigative agency that was formed by the government of the US. According to Hersman (2013, p.92), the main mandate of this government agency is to investigate all civil transportation accidents that happen in America and other parts of the world. The national transportation safety board is also charged with the responsibility of reporting accidents and incidents happening in the aviation industry, crashes on national highways, accidents by ships and other marine equipment, and mishaps witnessed in railroads and pipelines. In some cases, the national transportation safety board also helps the military in investigations involving various types of accidents. Moreover, Fielding, Lob, and Yang (2011, p.18) reveal how the NTSB also takes part in the investigations in cases where there are hazardous materials emitted on the environment. Such spillage and release of harmful materials happen during transportation. The NTSB is headquartered at Washington, D.C. The agency also has nine regional offices, which are spread across the country. In a bid to ensure dissemination of safety information and professionalism in investigations, the agency trains safety and investigations at its training center situated at Ashburn in Virginia. History of the NTSB and its foundation The National transport safety board was created through the 1926 Air Commerce Act. Later, in 1967, the NTSB was made the principal bureau of command charged with the responsibility of inspecting catastrophes. Fielding, Lob, and Yang (2011, p.18) affirm that the government mandates the NTSB with the role of carrying out primary investigations on the highway, rail, aviation, pipeline, and marine accidents. During the formation, the NTSB comprised the majority of the Bureau of safety civil aeronautics board. The agency was also established with a very strong link with the department of transportation of the United States. However, the 1974 Independent Safety Board Act detached the two departments. Chapter 11 of the United States code gives the NTSB authority to carry out its mandate. The agency has investigated thousands of cases both in the United States and in foreign nations since its inception. Roles of NTSB in aviation The major role of the National Transportation Safety Board is to provide leadership in investigations that concern
Executive Summary Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC has successfully introduced and marketed the Dettol with Oud product as a localized soap with medical benefits to users. The company has used competitive advantage strategies such as high quality, customization, and a well-established reputation through endorsements medical professional bodies. Despite having been in the market for more than ten years, the company still faces stiff competition from Uniliver, Pz Cussons, Procter and Gamble, and other local brands. These companies have a similar catchment area. To survive the competition and penetrate the UAE market further, the company has concentrated its marketing strategies to capture all market segments since the product can be used by everyone daily. From the PESTEL analysis, the political, economic, technological, social, and legal factors are positively skewed to the advantage of the company. The SWOT analysis reveals the strengths of the company and the Dettol with Oud products such as customization, brand acceptance, unique market as a result of series of corporate social responsibility initiatives, which doubled up as self-marketing strategies. Since Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC intends to initiate a critical focus on the most reachable market and strategically increase ambiance without appearing as a copy cat of the main competitors, the recommendation of engaging other distribution networks through partnerships, improved product packaging, and localized advertisements are expected to facilitate market penetration into the rural regions in the UAE. To achieve this, the company may position its Dettol product as the first of its kind in the UAE market to use the Oud as one of the major ingredients. This will fit into the perception map of increasing sales and further market penetration. Introduction The Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC is a global company that retails several products in the hygiene, health, and home product segment. The company has its headquarters in Britain but has penetrated different markets such as the UAE. In the case of this assignment, the report will concentrate on the company’s Dettol with Oud product that has been customized to fit in the UAE market. This product was chosen because it is relatively new in the UAE market but has become an instant success. This marketing audit plan aims to carry out a comprehensive situational analysis of the Dettol with Oud products in the UAE market. The report will be based on secondary research that summarizes the performance of the product in the region. However, the findings in the report will be limited to reports and existing literature about the company and the product within the UAE. Context and Environment for the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC PESTLE Analysis Political Environment In the UAE, the government regulations, taxation strategies, directives, and norms of leadership are highly flexible for business. The UAE
Abstract Risk management failures are common in organizations that fail to plan effectively. Risk management is defined by several theorists as the assessment and quantification of the various risks that an organization runs and also the prescription of measures to reduce or avoid the risk in question (Alexander & Sheedy, 2005; Lam, 2003; Roehrig, 2006; (SAA, 2009). This paper looks at a scenario where an organization failed to manage its risks effectively leading to a huge loss. The case study seeks to link theories of risk management to actual field experience. Throughout the paper, I shall seek to identify the particular causes of the loss and the measures which the organization would have taken to mitigate the loss. Introduction Hubbard (2009) describes risk management as the “identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities.” Risk is defined as the result of an uncertainty in an organization which could be financial, legal, natural or a deliberate act of a competitor or adversary (Crockford 1986; Gorrod 2004). Many organizations that practice risk management are mostly concerned with those risks that are well within their control and those which can be quantified and assessed. The criterion in risk management is similar in all organizations due to the standardization of the process. The ISO standard requires that risk management is done in five steps (SAA 2009; Institute of Risk Management 2002). First, the risk manager identifies and characterizes the threats that the organization is faced with. Next, he or she assesses the vulnerability of the organization’s critical assets to the identified threats. The third step involves determining risk which involves establishing the expected consequences of a threat materializing. The next step involves identification of ways to reduce the risk established. Finally, the manager prioritizes strategically all risk reduction measures. The identification of risks plays an important role in risk management. Once the risk that is likely to cause problems is identified, the risk manager should work from the source of the problem or the problem itself (Alberts et al. 2008; Charles 2004). Therefore, there are two ways of analysis risk; source analysis and problem analysis. Source analysis involves investigation of the internal and external elements of the system that are vulnerable to risk such as employees, project stakeholders e.t.c that can be considered risk sources (Van Deventer et al. 2004). Problem analysis looks at identifiable threats e.g. threat of accidents, loss of money, stealing of private information e.t.c. These threats are extrinsi
Economic Challenges US Faced in the 1970s The economic situation in the US during the 1970s was connected with the Great Inflation that was observed from the middle of the 1960s till the beginning of the 1980s (Bordo & Orphanides, 2013). The inflation of that period was horrible due to high demand and low supply ratings on jobs, houses, etc. Banking systems were not stable, and creditors could not provide people with confidence and stability. The rise of inflation also caused the rise of the unemployment rate and led to stagnation. Unemployment was explained by the promotion of women workforce, the return of soldiers from the Vietnam War, and the increase of young baby boomers (Bordo & Orphanides, 2013). More than 8% of people were unemployed in the 1970s. Regarding those problems and the inabilities to reach good results in the oil industry (like Japan did), America was challenged economically. The economic growth of the country was weak, and people could not realize what could save them from the spread of the crisis. The slow productivity growth was another challenge of the US economy of the 1970s that was based on the energy crisis. As a result, the industries that were focused on pipeline development, oil extraction, and the production of electricity were under threat. People did not want to work and stayed unconfident in their future. A poor level of productivity and poor economic growth changed the income and promoted the development of income inequality, the gap between rich people and other people. Rich people could use their money and connections to continue earning, and the middle class could not earn a lot and started spending their reserves. Even the external balance was problematic in the USA during the 1970s because people could not gain control over their assets and had to spend more money without appropriate earnings. Unemployment Rate Evaluation According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016c), in March 2016, the unemployment rate became 5%, up 0.1% compared to February 2016, when it was 4.9%. The rate of unemployment was high (5.5% one year later in the same month). Duration of Unemployment The data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016) shows the rates of unemployment regarding different aspects such as the reasons or duration. It helps to comprehend if the country succeeds in the implementation of some new techniques and strategies to improve the situation. For example, in March 2016, 2,412,000 people were unemployed less than 5 weeks. Regarding the number of all unemployed people, that is 7,966,000, the percentage of the people that were unemployed less than five weeks is about 30.2%. Compared to the previous month’s data with the rate of 29.39%, it is possible to say that the last month was less productive than the previous month. As for the duration of unemployment for 27 or more weeks, the numbers differ considerably. In March 2016, 2,213,000 people were unemployed (it is 27.7%). In February 2016, 2,165,000 people were unemployed (it is 27.1%). These numbers prove that people try to find jobs and solve the unemployment problems in a short period of time. Evaluation
The state legislature merit program is an effective approach to allocating awards; this means that the terms of allocating the awards should be specific when outlining the criteria for those who qualify for the merit award program. Leaving this decision to the managers is likely to cause significant problems regarding the distribution of the merit increase. A better structuring of the program could be achieved by combining the merit increase awards with the 3 percent across-the-board raise for all the state employees. This eliminates potential problems associated with judgments on the distribution of the program (Kearney and Carnevale 56). The program should ensure that there is a uniform merit increase for all the employees basing on their performance. There are a number of issues raised by the merit pay system that require implementation. The first notable issue is adopting a merit pay system that is based on the principle of fairness to ensure that no particular group feels that it has been undermined. The second issue raised by the merit pay system is the methodology that can be used in assessment of the performance. The challenge is assessing the performance of senior wardens who have served for a long time, and recently hired guards who are yet to serve. It is important also acknowledge that one size does not fit all (Kearney and Carnevale 65). Developing a plan for the merit pay system requires taking into consideration both the viewpoints of the conflicting sides. This implies that the merit pay system should take into consideration both the concept of performance appraisal and the fact that all the guards are competent and need a merit award for their service. Basing on this, a performance evaluation system will be established prior to the implementation of the merit based systems. This means the distribution of the merit based pay awards will base on the outcomes of the performance evaluations. This guarantees fairness during distribution basing on their performance. The reaction of the union is mainly because it is of the opinion that its employees failed to undertake their duties that they are paid to accomplish. It is the role of the union to ensure that employees assume their responsibilities as stated under their pay requirements. Failure to do so raises questions; this could be the possible justification of the union’s action. In addition, the union action is justified because they were not informed that the students were doing the work that their employees are supposed to do. The termination of the bargaining unit members because of budget cuts was not of importance in this case. This implies that the municipal union should investigate the circumstances leading up to the action prior to the implementation of any action such as the laying off the workers (Kearney and Carnevale 63). The decisions undertaken by labor unions usually have an impact on the daily lives of the citizens; this is mainly because of their disruptive nature. For instance, unions impose strikes and boycotts, whi
Abstract There is poor information regarding communication patterns among individuals under various naturalistic observations. This could become a problematic issue in assessing and understanding the significance of intimate relationships among dyadic groups. A total of 470 participants were selected that comprised 75 male- male, 77 male –female and 83 female -female combinations as dyadic pairs. Groups other than pairs were excluded. The study was conducted at a Michigan Ave Food court, University campus and the participants were randomly chosen when they were informed about the investigation and told to converse naturally. It was observed that male to male dyad was furthest with a distance of 22.2213 inches, female to female dyad was intermediate with14.8883 inches and male to female was closest with a distance of 13.800 inches. It can be concluded that dyadic conversations between the members of the opposite sex have potential to influence intimate relationships compared to other dyadic pairs. This has good implications for enhancing the counseling interventions. Introduction Relationships among the individuals vary under special circumstances where distance and observation were considered as important components. Places or areas like malls, library, park or lounges tend to influence the interactions between individuals like male to male, male to female and female to female. Acquaintance or friendships get strengthened through these forms of interactions/ communications which are more particularly known as Dyads. Communication patterns are often governed by outside settings.It is not known fully whether such atmosphere is facilitating pleasant interactions when observed at different distances. There is a need of determining naturalistic observation between individuals keeping in view of available studies documented. (Robert et al., 1980) Robert et al (1980) previously described that interactions were mostly influenced by the members of the opposite sex when they were observed whil
Introduction In every society, poverty has an effect on racial and ethnic minorities. In developed countries such as the UK and the US, racism is the leading cause of poverty among the minority groups. As such, racism bars the minority groups from accessing equal opportunities as the majority group does (Kinney, 1985). During the slavery era, the minority groups were not allowed to have access to all opportunities as the whites did. For instance, only the Caucasians were allowed to own properties and accumulate wealth. The minorities served as the Caucasians servants. The possessions accrued by the current Caucasians have been passed down from generation to generation. These possessions have enabled the white’s children to have access to quality education and healthcare. With better education, these children have had better jobs. On the other hand, the minority groups such as the native Indians, Chinese Americans, and the African Americans have had little or no wealth to pass down from generation to generation (Lilly, 2004). This explains why the poverty levels among these populations are higher compared to that of the majority group. The above illustration indicates that there is a relationship between racism and poverty in every society. Racism destroys morals and ethics in a community. It prevents individuals from offering their best contributions to the society (Quadagno, 1994). Similarly, it blocks individuals from enjoying certain rights or opportunities because of their skin colour rather than on skills. This paper analyses two books in an attempt to identify how the authors understand the manner in which racism has affected the levels of poverty of the characters. The books are The Moths by Helena Viramontes and The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. In the two books, the authors use women as the main characters. Through this, they illustrate how women in the society have been suppressed by cultures, racism, and consequently poverty. In the books, both authors illustrate that it is probable to condemn and refuse aspects of Chinese American or Mexican American cultures in the USA and retain your individuality. Through the two books, the authors criticize racisms and any other form of discrimination waged against their communities, and emphasizes on how their communities have played a role in shaping the American dream. Background In The Woman Warrior, Kingston illustrates how racism has affected the levels of poverty of her major characters (Kingston, 1976). These characters were Maxine’s aunt, Maxine, and Maxine’s mother. Maxine is represented as a young Chinese girl in her teenage hood. The other character mentioned in the book is Maxine’s mother. Maxine’s mother tells a story about an aunt to her daughter. In the story, she claims that her parents hated and never acknowledged her aunt as their relative. Through the story, Maxine’s mother frightens her daughter with the aim of discouraging her from go
The invention of processed food significantly facilitated our lives, allowing us to spend much less time cooking. However, the technology did not stop and moved further, adding intense flavors to processed food to make it more appealing to the consumers’ taste. The flavor industry has become a real breakthrough in food production, and its influence on people’s minds cannot be underestimated. Nevertheless, it is not always clear what chemical constituents are hidden behind every product. It seems to be a moral duty of food companies to reveal the ingredients they use. Undoubtedly, people buying any product should know what they are going to consume. Without understanding what this product consists of, they rely solely on the manufacturer’s honesty. However, food companies do not always put the consumers’ welfare in the first place. According to Schlosser (216), the industry’s needs do not coincide with those of consumers. Therefore, if the technology of enhancing the taste cannot be eliminated, the customers should at least have the right to know what they pay for. Conscious consumption was available for people in earlier times when food was obtained mainly from the farms, and contemporary society should not be deprived of this opportunity. Delicious and elaborate taste of processed food causes overconsumption, today’s burning question. Schlosser (244) highlights that “wherever America’s fast food chains go, waistlines start expanding”. People get addicted to fast food products and tend to eat much more than they need. According to Schlosser, people who got used to eating fast food in their childhood are reluctant to switch to healthier food (Schlosser 243). They are not aware that their brand loyalty is caused not by the feeling of nostalgia but by a combination of volatile chemicals. Fast food chains use this concept of comfort foods to maintain the brand reputation (Schlosser, 129). That is why it is necessary for the consumers to realize what lure