ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The American mafia is an organised criminal society that originated from Sicily, Italy. This criminal society includes mostly the Italian-American families. In the United States of America, the mafia is also referred to as “the Mafia”, “Mob”, the American Mafia or the National Crime Syndicate, which encompasses all organised crime including the mafia. The mafia is involved in wide range of criminal activities, such as gambling, loan sharking, stock manipulation, murder, labour racketeering, corruption, drug trafficking, smuggling, vote buying, theft, bid rigging, kidnapping, extortion and many more activities. Origins of the mafia The American mafia or the Cosa Nostra group is considered to have its roots in Sicily, Italy. Most of the mafia groups originated from this area as the Sicilian mafia is one of the most well-organised crime groups. Like the Sicilian mafia, the American one has no formal name but exists as a secret society that conducts criminal activities. The American mafia groups were started by the Italian immigrants that arrived to the United States in the 19 th century. The abundance of the immigrant groups from Sicily promoted the growth of these crime groups in the United States. The mafia had control of most of the labour unions and also influenced most of the local and city politics. As well as in the past, nowadays, the mafia groups are active in big cities, such as New York, New Jersey, New England, Chicago and Detroit. There are other families, associates and crews in other cities. There are about 26 cities in the country where the Cosa Nostra family operates. In New York City, there are five families known to be associated with the mafia, these are Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno, and Colombo families. Currently, most of the mafia activities in the USA are concentrated in Chicago and north-eastern part of America. There are also upcoming groups of non-Italian origin and other splinter groups that divided from the main families. Mafia organisation composition and structure The American mafia groups are well-organised and have their own hierarchical structure. This structure resembles the one created by Maranzano in Sicily in 1931. Thus the administration of the group is comprised of the “Boss”, the “under-boss” and the “consigliere”. There are other positions that follow after these major ones. BOSS. This person is the head of the syndicate, the leader and the reigning dictator. Boss is referred to as the “Don” or the “God-Father” of the group. A person to fill this position is selected through voting as well as he may be self-proclaimed. The boss is entitled to a cut from every operation. The underboss . This person is ranked second in the family, while being appointed by the boss. He is the day-to-day manager of the family and oversees so that all the operations are successfully carried out. He gets a cut from the boss share. Consigliere . This individual is considered as boss’ “right hand man
In the nineteenth century, the life of the working class in America was not easy. The wages were low. The working conditions were hazardous and sometimes even dangerous. People had to work long hours just to be able to make ends meet. Even women and children were involved in the working process. However, despite all workers’ efforts, they had “little of the wealth which the growth of the nation had generated” (“The Struggle of Labor” par. 1). This period of American history is characterized by the mass discontent of the population and numerous labor strikes. What were the causes of those, how did they emerge, and how successful they were? The Background: Factors that Led to the Rise of the Labor Industrialization and Deskilling One of the primary reasons for labor unions to emerge was the technological development. It resulted in the situation when machines made the majority of goods and products, so highly skilled craftspeople were no longer needed (“Rise of Industrial America” par. 2). Instead of doing their works, those highly skilled craftspeople watched machines knitting socks and sewing dresses, “seeing a product through from beginning to end” (“Rise of Industrial America” par. 3). Factories at that time wanted only ordinary workers who were supposed to do one or two simple and routinely repetitive tasks. Additionally, the pace of work became faster and faster, and all of this resulted in workers doing too much of work for too long hours. Increased Number of Women and Children in the Work Force The process of deskilling, in its turn, lead to another problem – an increasing number of women and children among factory workers. Since they were able to do simple work, which demanded practically no skills, and could be paid with lower wages than men usually had, factories willingly recruited them. Because of the high level of poverty, women and children simply had not any other option than to take that offer. After 1880, the women’s employment almost doubled in comparison with previous years, and by the end of the nineteenth century, they made up more than one-fifth of all manufacturing workers (“Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Economic Trends” par. 10). The number of work
Introduction There is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of the rights of the homeless people. There are scores of homeless people all over the world. They either live on the streets, in temporary shelters, or spend the nights in parks. They have no shelter and are therefore exposed to rain, cold, and attacks from hate criminals. Children who are homeless mostly do not attend school. Discussion There are several stakeholders in the issue of homelessness. These include the law enforcers, the human rights activists, and the members of the public. These groups have varying opinions about the issue of the homeless. The laws in the society do not accommodate the homeless as they see being homeless as illegal. Homelessness has been criminalized and there are laws forbidding the homeless from loitering, begging for food or money or sitting and sleeping in public places. Herz, Haglar and National Law Centre on Homelessness and Poverty (14) explore various laws that are against the homeless people in the United States. They say these laws should be condemned because they infringe on the rights of the homeless, who are rightful citizens of that country. There are ordinances forbidding people from sleeping and loitering in all public places and against them being fed by sympathetic members of the public. This is extremely inhuman. The law enforcers ensure that the homeless are flushed out of the streets and parks. In Florida and Las Vegas the members of the public are not allowed to feed the homeless people in the parks. The law enforcers see the homeless as destroying the public image. In Seattle, there are laws forbidding the homeless from use of sidewalks and resting in public places as they consider those acts as trespassing. However, some cities like Maryland have enforced strict penalties for people who perpetrate hate crimes against the homeless. The rights of homeless people are not listed in any constitution. Governments illegalize the existence of homeless people on the streets as they say that they disrupt normal business. Sometimes their temporary homes are destroyed with bulldozers in order to force them out of the streets. The book titled International Perspectives on Homelessness focuses on how different governments around the world view the issue of homelessness. Most of the countries discriminate against these people. The book also gives the numbers and demographic information about the homeless. The factors that lead to homelessness include domestic violence, lack of proper heath care, mental instability, and drug abuse among others. Governments need to come up with proper housing policies in order to cater for the needs of the rising number of homeless people. Forcing them to leave the streets will not solve the problem since these people have no homes to go back to. The authorities have the responsibility of
Federici as a Feminist The ideas presented by Silvia Federici in “Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation” are feminist in nature, but the views of the author are presented in a much more detailed way with the analysis of historical events and changes in philosophy over centuries. Federici shows the fall of female ability for autonomy and the rise of patriarchal societies as a result of an emerging emphasis on global trade and the perceived notion that the wealth of the country is directly tied to its capability to create new members of the workforce. Her main argument lies in the destruction of female ability to produce capital due to the extreme focus of the government on reproduction. Aside from the removal of women from certain positions in the workforce, the traditional role of the midwife was also replaced by doctors as a way of preventing infanticide. Federici is a feminist in not only her focus on female rights of autonomy but also in her examination of the reasons behind the dramatic difference in gender roles in capitalist societies in comparison to medieval or non-capitalist political systems. Her argument is very convincing due to the detailed references she provides, such as the records of witch trials and how they were used to enforce a patriarchal society. Gendered Bodies One of the most interesting elements of Federici’s argument is the effect that the introduction of capitalism had on the female body. Her description of the tactics that governments used to boost population numbers presented a grotesque picture of a woman being used almost as a human farm. Children can then be seen as products and tools that are used for the profit of the country. I was aware of this process, but its origins in the early capitalist policy were unknown to me. The dehumanizing and degrading view of women, which is reflected by such policies, rings true even today. While the strict control of pregnancies and abortions is not practiced by the majority of countries, the increased emphasis on birth rates and family units by modern governments seems to serve a similar purpose. Primitive Accumulation The idea of primitive accumulation is central to Federici’s argument. It describes a process of transformation of pre-capitalist modes of production into the capitalist one. While Marx saw it as a brutal but overall progressive change for society, Federici’s argument shows that primitive accumulation is a damaging and regressive process due to the consequences it brought not only to women but also countries that were subject to colonization by capitalist countries. Her main points concern the fact that the role of women regressed under capitalist regimes, natives of colonized countries were exploited and degraded, and overall it is difficult to call this process progressive when it caused a regression for so many people. Conclusion Federici’s Caliban is a powerful exploration of the nature of capitalism and the roots of gender inequality in the modern world. The picture of primitive accumulation consequences that she presents is terrifying and should be researched further. The prevalence of inequ
Introduction Our organization aims at delivering the services of the most exceptional quality to its end customers. The company produces and sells cameras to a wide range of customers in several regions, including Asia, Europe, and America. Even though the firm has been experiencing a steep rise in its performance over the past few years, due to the avoidance of a low-cost strategy as the means of retaining customers, DGo-Bro has witnessed a particular drop in its popularity and profit margins recently. Therefore, a reconsideration of the existing approach to pricing, as well as other aspects of the firm’s functioning, including communication, production (mainly, waste management), and other issues, will have to be considered. Rebranding the product to make it appealing to a broader range of customers should also be viewed as an essential step toward making the organization more successful and encouraging consistent growth. The identified solution will lead to a steep rise in the company’s profit margins due to an array of opportunities that will open in front of it. Observations DGo-Bro has entered a range of markets in different states quite successfully and has been operating in them with a fairly impressive result. The company’s operating reports indicate that DGo-Bro has been experiencing rather steady progress up until the organization exhausted its financial resources, at which point the lack of a low-cost approach in managing its pricing issues became evident (Exhibit 1). The current state of DGo-Bro’s performance, thus, leaves much to be desired due to the lack of a coherent approach toward managing t
Introduction People’s beliefs shape the myriads of ways in which they design structures. Consequently, architects think, act, and write about the discipline by deploying certain beliefs collectively referred to as architectural theories. Ideally, the architectural theory is didactic with its theorists tending to remain close or rather working from specific schools of thought. Since antiquity, the architectural theory had existed though it gained more attention when publishing became common in the history of humankind. In particular, in the 20th century numerous journals, books, and magazines among other sorts of publications have been ideally dedicated to addressing the contribution of architectural theory in fostering the development of cities or urbanism. In the 21st century, the worldwide embracement of the internet is anticipated to make movements, results, and styles of architecture dissolve more quickly in comparison to earlier architectural history enduring modes. Throughout the history of architecture, the discipline has changed in a myriad of ways from public buildings, public housing, urban planning, public spaces, and even cities design. A more modern focus of architecture is on real estate’s design. Akin to all these developments is the contribution of the architectural history insights to shaping the way modern architects make their designs. With this in mind, this paper focuses on evaluating the contemporary approaches to urbanism as displayed by both James Stirling’s “Roma Interrotta” and OMA’s “Grand Axe Le Defense” about the use of history or its rejection, and how this relates to formulating new theories for the city centers. Additionally, the paper analyses and evaluates the development and changes of different methods theories, and approaches to architecture and its pasts coupled with differentiation and comparative analysis of past approaches to the design of buildings and present conditions. Architectural history background M
Introduction The Chinese civilization since antiquity was ruled by a succession of dynasties and warring states until the rise of the Imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BCE that unified China under one Emperor. The early Chinese imperial period from the Qin dynasty to the end of the Tang dynasty in 907 CE was interspersed with several dynasties as also smaller states that caused great upheaval in the lives of the Chinese people. Yet, despite strife, China’s historical experience in the early imperial period covering around 1000 years from the Qin dynasty to the Tang dynasty was a continuum inhomogeneity and consistency amidst diversity and change. This paper focuses on the above thesis with special reference to culture, politics, and economics. Culture Culture informs and defines a group of people and is often the start point for all forms of organized behavior in a nation or a state. Since ancient times, Chinese culture has centered on the concept of respect for elders and ancestors predating the teachings of Confucius to the records of the Shang Dynasty (12 th century BCE). The Oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang period describe inscriptions as to how the Shang kings used to consult the oracle on dreaming about their ancestors and carried out sacrifices to pacify them (Mair, Steinhardt, and Goldin 10). Ancestor worship was further developed during the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE), where worship of ancestors and seeking their blessings coalesced into the concept of ‘Mandate of Heaven’ (De Bary and Bloom 28), which was construed as a divine right to rule. Culture thus gave rise to a comprehensive political philosophy that over 1000 years slowly transformed into a political system. When the Zhou dynasty disintegrated into a period of warring states, Confucius (551-479 BCE) arrived on the stage with his rendition of the ‘Zhou way’ giving rise to a rational religion, a way of life and a complete system which the Chinese people could follow. By the time the Qin dynasty (221 BCE – 206 BCE) was established, Confucianism was the dominant philosophy ingrained in Chinese culture. Despite, the dominance of Confucianism, Chinese intellectuals did not rest their spirit of inquiry and along with the rational religion of Confucianism emerged Daoism (Taoism). The eminent Daoist texts of L
Saudi Arabia is considered to be one of the best places in the world for doing business. It is a big free market that has low energy prices and is rather stable, as no crucial changes were seen in its exchange rates for the last several decades. Mutual agreements are likely to be made within its territory, as the inflation rates are low, and investments are promoted. Moreover, the country improves its investment environment and develops new laws that allow foreign investors to benefit and be sure that the operations will be conducted with regard to the accepted rules. A range of financial programs is in the free access for the foreign investors, which makes them more willing to enter the market. Thus, it is not surprising that there are lots of investment companies in Saudi Arabia. Generally, an investment company is considered to be “a company (corporation, business trust, partnership, or limited liability company) that issues securities and is primarily engaged in the business of investing in securities” (“Investment Companies” par. 1). The amount of money that different investors provide is gathered by the investment company. These people can gain and lose funds in proportion to their interest in the organization. Today, there are three main types of investment companies:   * “open-end companies – they are also known as mutual funds (a fund that gathers money to purchase securities);   * closed-end companies – also referred to as closed-end funds (a particular number of shares that are not redeemable is used);   * unit investment trusts – usually mentioned as UITs (a mutual fund that has limited life)” (“Investment Companies” par. 3). The most popular companies in Saudi Arabia refer to mutual funds (MF). A MF is “a collection of investments, such as stocks, bonds and other funds owned by a group of investors and managed by a professional money manager” (“Mutual Funds and Segregated Funds” par. 2). The investment can be made in different ways, for example, in the stocks of a particular country and a number of various investments at the same time. The individuals who become engaged in MFs, pool their funds along with those that belong to other people. To become an investor one should buy units or shares of the MF. It means that their number increases with the number of investors. The operations are conducted not by the investors, but by a manager who deals with day-to-day work and defines what to do with the investments referring to the objectives of the MF. Thus, the manager is the person who makes the majority of the decisions. There are seven main types of MFs:   * Money market funds: the safest kind of investment that is not long-term and has particular income securities. The
Introduction This essay discusses the key issues and challenge that expatriate from Australia head office might face in France where he is assigned duties in France. Tenore Presentium Solutions (TPS) is a multinational company based in Sydney. It provides engineering solutions and services to large infrastructure projects. Head office planned to send head office manager to France due to manage a development project in Paris. It is 3 years assignment, the appointed manager has wife who is professional accountant and three children aged 18 months, 6 years and 14 years old. There are three main issues arise in this case which are cross-cultural management which is pre departure plan, performance management while manager is in France and repatriation management when the assignment is finished. The discussion starts with cross-cultural issues: language barrier, religion and family requirements followed by training plans before departure. Training will be not only for the manager but also for the wife, it is very important for her to enjoy herself and children in France while her husband will be busy working. In this part, discuss about the school for children who are 6 and 14 years old. Secondly, how CEO should implement while the manager is in France. For instance, monitor his performances, use sufficient strategies that will help him to be comfortable in different environment. The techniques how manager communicate with line managers and co-workers including the communication method from France to Australia to be effective and easy to access. Thirdly, when manager comes back after 3 years how TPS will arrange for repatriation. To manage re-entry stress because he was away from home country for 3 years and need to adjust to fit in to home country society. Human resource department should plan for repatriation program which is necessary to welcome the manager back. It is crucial whether the manger will be assigned to next expatriation or be promoted to senior level in the head office. Each part is accompanied by recommendations to make the program easy and explore with different ideas. Cross-cultural issue and the implication over the expatriate and his family Nowadays, a lot of expatriates who live overseas experience culture shock , due to relocating to a new environment which is stressful for the expatriate and/or his family. Armitage and Powel (1997) define culture shock as a “gap between the familiar, which has been left behind, and the new being perceived for the first time, and has been applied to the processes of gradual adjustment to foreign ways” (p. 9). There are more chances to experience “culture shock” when the host country has a really different culture, religion and legislation. The effects on expatriate can be: losing self-confidence and not knowing how they conduct themselves. Caligiuri and Lazarova (2001) identify four stages in the process of acculturation: first stage-honeymoon (it lasts not more than two months and the expatriate is excited about the new experience), second stage-culture shock (la