ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Long before the Spanish expansion of America, there were tribes with highly developed cultures and politics. The Columbus arrival brought these peoples problems, complicated to the dissolution of their civilization. David Stannard devoted his book “American Holocaust” to the research of the question of Spanish interference into the Mayas’ and Aztecs’ life, and the war which led to the empires’ destruction. The point of this essay is to retrace the development of Mayas and Aztecs to their total extermination. Fifteen centuries before the Columbian discovery of America, it was settled by the powerful and developed empires of the Maya and Aztecs. The Maya tribes occupied the territories of southern Mexico and North Guatemala jungles. Their culture was on a high level. They invented the exact solar calendar and created an advanced hieroglyphic script, they prognosticate the exact time of the eclipse of the Sun and the Moon. In the first centuries AD, they achieved staggering perfection in architecture and art. At the beginning of Spanish expansion in the sixteenth century, Maya Indians occupied vast and rich space. Spaniards were interested in gold and silver, gaining great wealth. But resources of precious metals in Maya lands were poor. Moving further to Mexico and Peru, the conquerors subdued the Indians for slave work. “The master was free to do what he wished with his people – have them plant, have them work in the mines, have them do anything without limit or benefit of tenure” (Stannard, 73). In Guatemala, the native population was the Aztecs. There was the Union of three city-states with the center in Tenochtitlan. This town underwent destruction by conquistadors in 1519-1521. A great number of the population died from starvation and diseases. In 1494 Spaniards suffered from the epidemic. The disease was rapidly spread among the Aztecs. “If, as the Spanish physician and medical historian Francisco Guerra now contends, the epidemic that ravaged Hispaniola in 1494 was swine influenza, it would have been a pestilence of devastating proportions” (Stannard, 68). A new wave of aggression was directed to Indians, as they were accused of contagion and were killed as infection carriers. The Aztecs were exposed to the holocaust, and Tenoc
The U.S president addressed the nation concerning the New Plan for Mortgage Relief (Crum 1). The participants present during the address included the residents of Nevada, the president and CEO of Nevada Bankers Association, Bill Uffelman, the attorney of the Legal Aid Centre of Southern NV, Michael Joe, as well as, LA Times Reporter, Jim Puzzanghera. The president provided some of the details of the new plan for mortgage relief. According to this plan, homeowners with non-federally backed loans will be able to refinance to take advantage of lower interest rates. Initially, only loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). There has been debates concerning the issue whether the pan would work or not. The issue covered during the president’s address was the excess payments made on homes that were higher than the value of those homes. Nevada residents claimed that they wanted to retain their houses (Crum 1). The problem encountered includes unemployment rate in Nevada, hence increasing the fear of lack of security in owning homes. Politicians were encouraged to improve employment opportunities to enable the residents to have income sources that would be spent in job creation within the homes. Thus, the issue was to spend money on a home that an individual may not be able to own. Therefore, the New Plan for Mortgage Relief was to stimulate the economy and enhance job creation. This would ensure an increase in the benefits of owning a home, particularly to the southern Nevadans. In addition, it would make individuals invest in their land and stimulate the local economy. In Nevada, many houses are being foreclosed. Homeowners argued that home prices were at the levels of the past two or three decades. Thus, if the monthly payments are high, homeowners should decide to let go into foreclosure and live in their houses rent-free as long as they can. They can benefit by making savings because the returns obtained from renting out the houses would be less. A foreclosed house has many advantages, for instance, if it is later purchased by an investor or rented out. The current value of houses is much less than it was in the past decades. Thus, it is not easy to refinance the houses since there is a lack of equity to qualify. Some homes sold out still show that the owners and not the banks are responsible for ownership. This has contributed to the lack of proper maintenance in the homes. This condition is expecte
Merck operates as a global health service provider. Outside the United States and Canada, the firm is known as MSD. Merck has curved a niche for itself with regard to production of medicine, vaccines, biologic interventions, consumer and animal health products. Currently, the firm operates in 140 countries with its policies being tailored towards increasing accessibility of healthcare (Barrett 1998, p.40). Mission Merck’s mission is embedded in provision of innovative, distinct products and services that serve to save and improve life and satisfy customers’ aspirations. This is in line with the firm’s commitment towards improving the firm’s publicity by enabling the firm to be identified as a great place to work at and provide investors with robust rates of return. In addition, the firm’s mission and values are in tandem with the company’s corporate responsibility strategy which gives a clear guideline on how they perceive their responsibilities in respect to global and animal health, access to medicine, ethical and sustainable business undertakings, input into scientific innovation, good employee relations and returning value to consumers in terms of earning of dividends (Byrne 1987, p.83). Number and Types of Employees Merck Pharmaceutical and vaccine division has field based employees inclusive of those working at the firm’s headquarters. At Merck, employees are required to demonstrate high degree of integrity and ethics. They have to appreciate that their ability to excel is determined by integrity, knowledge and skills. Merck only recruits individuals who are highly skilled and qualified. Before an employee is allowed to serve in any position within Merck, their employment and education history have to be reviewed. In addition, the employees are not expected to have any criminal record (Cloud 2000, p.B7). Description of Stakeholders Merck engages itself in public and private sector partnerships to find solution to societal problems like lack of education, environmental challenges, and disease menace. This is attained from development of an insight that engaging in these activities alone may not create substantial impacts. Under this backdrop, Merck’s has partnered with different companies like Sanofi Pasteur, Schering Plough and other corporate bodies to ensure that they reach out to other potential markets (Eucklund 1984, p.114). Review of Merck’s Organizational Structure and its Effectiveness Merck is managed by a well organized board of directors whose membership is fifteen individuals. Directors take part in election of the chairman of the board who is the president and the chief executive officer. Merck has an executive committee that is chaired by its chief executive officer. The chief compliance officer consists of the president and his deputy. The deputy who is the execut
Introduction Economists and sociologists focus on such a trend as the suburbanisation of poverty. It means that the income level of American people living in suburbs has declined significantly during the last two decades. In fact, many of them are considerably beneath the poverty line. It is necessary to explore this topic because this issue has significant implications for various professionals. For instance, one can mention policy-makers who should work out the strategies that can be helpful for increasing the revenues of people living in such districts. Additionally, the knowledge of this topic is critical for launching short-term initiatives that can support families struggling with severe economic hardships. One can identify several concepts that are important for the discussion of this topic. At first, much attention should be paid to class or socioeconomic variations that are related to people’s income level and their political power (Giddens et al. 2013: 163). Additionally, one should refer to such a notion as status that can be described as the prestige or social honor that a certain group possesses (Giddens et al. 2013: 163). Moreover, it is important to remember that there are various markers of a social class. To some degree, these notions are important for describing poverty in American suburbs and explaining its origins. At first, it is necessary to provide quantitative data that can illustrate the modern landscape of poverty in the United States. Furthermore, one should examine a variety of factors that contribute to this trend. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the transformation of American economy and changing attitudes of people who previously wanted to settle in suburban areas. The changing landscape of poverty Overall, this phenomenon attracts much attention of many professionals because it implies that American society undergoes some profound changes. Traditionally, suburban areas have been associated with middle class or well-to-do individuals who achieved a certain degree of prosperity and financial independence. In the second half of the twentieth century, many Americans were willing to move away from cities that could be affected by such problems as crime, environmental pollution, or poor functioning of educational institutions. In turn, the life in suburban areas offered such benefits as safe streets, absence of drugs, good quality of air and so forth. More importantly, many people wanted to emphasise their social status. They wanted to demonstrate that they belonged to the prosperous classes of American society. In particular, they laid stress on the idea that they could purchase a house and a car. Furthermore, the development of transportation infrastructure enabled people to move between cities and suburbs relatively quickly. In this case, it is necessary to mention the Federal Aid Highway Act because this law considerably contributed to the development of suburbs located far away from large metropolitan areas (Crane 2014: 321). Long distances were no longer a problem for people who did not live in the cities. These tren
The story of the Holocaust can be traced back to World War I. The First World War was the end result of a series of miscalculations and wrong decisions. Germany was forced to fight Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States because it had an alliance with Austro-Hungary, Turkey and Italy. In the aftermath of the defeat Germany was humiliated through unreasonable demands by the victors such as the loss of lands that used to belong to the German people as well as restriction on their capability to build up a military force. German patriots were not happy with the armistice and many were bitter. One of those who harboured ill-feelings towards his enemies was Hitler. But in his mind it is not only the foreign powers that must be blamed for the misfortune of Germany. Hitler said that the root cause of the problems were the despicable Jews of Europe. His plan to eradicate them led to the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler was a young soldier during World War I. He could never forget the humiliating defeat. He developed a plan to strengthen the military capability of Germany and to restore the state to her former glory. However, he had a more sinister plan hidden from public view. With full support from the Nazi party, Hitler developed a plan to systematically eradicate all the Jews in Europe. At the end more than 6 million Jews were eliminated while others were displaced and had to seek asylum from foreign governments. The Holocaust Hitler believed in his heart that he was not dealing with a moral issue. He was convinced that the problem is political in nature and must be dealt with in a business-like manner. Hitler used the ideas that he gleaned from social Darwinism theory that provided justification to racial profiling. Hitler believed that Jews are part of a race that has distinct characteristics. Hitler also believed that these characteristics were inherited and the main reason why Jews behave and think in a certain way. Hitler despised the Jews and based on his reasoning he did not want their genetic makeup to be mixed with pure German blood. In his manifesto entitled Mein Kampf Hitler enumerated the reasons why he abhorred the Jews. Hitler said that he did not the way they look (Rash 37). He also said that he did not approve the way the Jews conduct their business (Rash 37). Finally, he said that overall they are an inferior people (Rash 37). Hitler concluded that the German people cannot intermarry with Jews because they will produce inferior children (Rash 37). Hitler devised a plan to segregate and isolate them. But in the en
Introduction Afghanistan has for many years been the convergence zone for the two neighbouring continents of Asia and Europe. These two civilizations were and are still divergent both in ideology and religious doctrines. These differences were evident as the two tried to take control of Afghanistan (Fiscus, 2004). It is due to its strategic position that Afghanistan drew such interest from the West and the Arab world in equal measure. It is in this country of many mountains, which these two cultures met and clashed to pave way for the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of one of the superpowers; the Soviet Union. Afghanistan has a long history with its people originating from different cultures, converging there before the emergent of Islamic religion and culture (Aspaturian, 1996). Before the 1 st Century Buddhism was the dominant religion and Islam was practiced by only a few native Afghans who lived in small enclaves and isolated. Many other people invaded Afghanistan ranging from Greeks, Aryans, Turks, British, and Russians; all wanting to take control of Afghanistan. It is believed that between the period 1800 to 800 BC, Afghanistan (then called the Land of Aryans) was home to the first practice and belief of Zoroastrianism (Cordesman, 2002). At one time even Alexander the Great tried in vain to conquer Afghanistan. It is the resilience of the people and harshness of the terrain that made it difficult to conquer the country that borders Pakistan to the South, Iran to the West, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan to the east (as was demarcated by the British colonialists to separate the country from British India in 1893) (Roy 1990). It was not until the 7 th Century that Muslim Arabs invaded the region and took possession of Western Afghanistan dislodging all other cultures like the Kushans who occupied the region. By 709 AD Muslim Arabs had conquered most of Afghanistan and administered Islamic Religion. Most of the local population slowly converted to Islam turning Afghanistan into one of the strongest Muslim countries (Aspaturian, 2006). It was during this period that the country was annexed into territories controlled and ruled by warlords who had the executive authority to govern the people. The warlords became effective agents of spreading and strengthening Islam. These territories were based on tribes and different clans. Afghanistan during this period extended into what is today Pakistan to northern India with its capital as Kabul. The territory went through so many wars as different groups fought for the occupation of the area. Before the Afghan-Soviet war of 1979, there was the Anglo-Afghan war of 1839-1842 and 1878-1880 as the British attempted to colonize the country (Bonosky, 1985). Afghan as it is known today, came into existence in 1747 during the reign of Pashtun Ahmad Shah who had changed his name to Durran (pearl of pearls), to establish Afghanistan as the Durrani Empire. The Durrani Empire ruled
Introduction Inbreeding is a term used to describe the reproduction of individuals that are closely related genetically to each other. This term has a separate characteristic in relation to people, implying a cultural and demographic problem. Joint reproduction of genetically close people entails mutations, congenital deformities and degeneration of the genus. The genetic medical consequences of inbreeding due to the similarity of germ cells are quite heterogeneous and represent a wide list. It includes facial symmetry, high infant and child mortality, and loss of immune system function. The effects of inbreeding that destroy the genetic code and lead to the subsequent degradation of the population can be observed in all organisms, from humans to animals and insects. At the same time, looking far into the historical past, it becomes noticeable that it is this almost universally condemned and resonant phenomenon that plays an important role in the development of mankind. By tracing the history of inbreeding more concentrated on American soil, one can identify the ambiguous and consistent influences of this practice on the formation of a historical picture of the current modernity. Historical Perspective Due to the fact that several thousand years ago, when humanity was in its infancy of civilization, representatives of the homo sapiens lived in rather small and cramped communities. The isolation of the ancient tribes from each other periodically led to a vicious cycle of incestuous relationships. The finds of the last decade indicate the existence of incestuous tribes throughout primitive history, dispersed over the vast surface of the globe in small numbers more than a million years ago. Historically, the influence of inbreeding has left an ambiguous effect in the past. On the one hand, it was this practice that provided an opportunity for a closed tribe to continue the race, on the other hand, the tribes waited to the extent that genetic deformities were in the vast majority. On the other hand, there is no exact confirmation that it was degeneration itself that caused the extinction of tribes. Most likely, the argument that small tribes cannot develop technologically and culturally with the same speed as large settlements works as an explanation. The impossibility of accumulating and improving knowledge in a low-popular society, characteristic of inbred tribes, most likely led to their disappearance. Various Approaches If one considers the full range of scientific perspectives on the phenomenon of inbreeding, some of the historical characteristics of its origins may become clear. Inbreeding is a rather controversial and uncomfortable topic, but at the same time scientifically attractive for the widest range of representatives of academic thought. It is noted that throughout the modern history of Western civilization, incest is perceived by the dominant of society as
Symptoms of withdrawal behaviors are not very visible at my workplace. However, I have observed some of the symptoms highlighted by Colquitt, et al, (2009) including burn-out and stress-related behavior. There are also occasions and complaints of job apathy and depersonalization among some workers, which might pass as withdrawal behaviors. Some of these behaviors can be looked at through the reflections on justice perceptions (Colquitt, et al, 2009). This has mainly been reflected through some of these workers’ attitudes, and demeanor which hints strongly at a possible existence of psychological distress. From what I have observed, I might guess that matters to do with remuneration and interpersonal justice are involved in the apparent withdrawal behaviors observed. My workplace has a functional human resource department and a separate welfare system that is charged with overseeing the comfort of employees. The structure of the operation is such that a private desk was established where sensitive matters that might affect the operation of workers are handled. The human resource and welfare work together to search and rescue cases of discomfort and withdrawal. Cascio, (2005) has argued that this is one way through which retention of the workforce might be guaranteed. Retention of the workforce he added lessens the organization’s hassle of hiring for replacement while at the same time promoting the growth of skill, excellence, and leadership. This is sometimes done through monthly questionnaires which require the workers to appraise the work environment. This appraisal process includes the evaluation of the management so that quick adjustments are done to guarantee comfort and performance. Routine bonding parties are also organized occasionally with the intention of promoting healthy interpersonal relationships within the organization. I feel that the withdrawal behaviors might benefit from diversity and generational differences. An environment of diversity has the psychological import of lowering mental congestion. This system of differences works by reducing monotony, which studies have blamed for the rise of mental tensions that result from stress, tension, and bur