ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The competition within the health care industry and pharmaceutical market is a complex process, and it is important to analyze pricing strategies used by employers and managers for distributing prescription drugs. According to Jones, the basic pricing strategies for prescription drugs are based on Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC), Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC), Average Wholesale Price (AWP), and Rebates principles; moreover, traditional strategies such as utilization management, targeted disease intervention, generic sampling program, and managed formulary are also used in the industry (Jones, 2003). As a result, it is difficult for pharmacy benefit managers to make the right choice and to focus on the effective pricing strategy because of the intense competition between the generic drugs and brand-name drugs. Thus, finding the right price to change in health care is more difficult than in other industries because of the complex decision-making process based on the significant competition within the industry, necessity to state the strong competitive position, possible opportunities for price lining, the necessity to state goals clearly for pricing decisions, focus on the high patient outcomes, focus on reducing costs, and focus on the sponsors’ advantages. Pricing Strategies Used Regarding the Prescription Drugs Referring to the pharmacy, Jones determines several specific pricing strategies based on WAC, MAC, AWP, and Rebates principles (Jones, 2003). All these strategies can be used to charge employers for prescription drugs, and these strategic approaches are more effective within the highly competitive environment in comparison with the traditional ones. The WAC approach is one of the most popular and debatable strategies when the effectiveness of the AWP strategy depends on many years of its use in the industry. These strategies are effective inaccessibility and administrative simplicity
Introduction In this case example we are presented with Dave Valdon, a local of Maple Ridge within British Columbia, who is planning to set up his own painting business to service the local neighborhood of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam. Dave has a considerable amount of experience in the home painting industry due to his previous job as a part time painter during his summers while attending college at the same time. However, Dave has to contend with 100 local painting companies that also service the areas he is attempting to penetrate and at the present, he is uncertain regarding the competitor ratio per area, and the actual amount of homes that are going to request his services. As such, this case study report will attempt to analyze perceived issues with the business that Dave is attempting to set up. This will encompass issues related to market saturation, estimated yearly income, and the possible amount of consumers per area. It will also include an analysis of target markets and finally the development of recommendations in order for Dave to meet and exceed his target goals. Through this paper a better understanding of the issues of the case will be developed resulting in a proper evaluation of the problems and issues related to the establishment and development of Dave’s painting business. Analysis – Identify Issues and Discuss Current Saturation of Competitors within the Service Area One main issue that has been identified by this report is the current level of saturation of rival painting companies within the same area that Dave wants to operate in. Based on the case estimate of 1/3rd of local residents initiating painting projects within a given year, this results in the following case estimate regarding the number of customers per area within a given year: Maple Ridge: 6621 Pitt Meadows: 1165 Port Coquitlam: 9044 Coquitlam: 5276 The total number of customers within a given year is thus estimated at 22,106. Taking into consideration the number of estimated painting companies within the area (100) as well as Dave’s own company (1) this results in an allocation of 218 homes per company within the neighborhoods that have been stated with the case. Since Dave estimates the average cost of a painting job is $1,700 per home, this results in an allocated amount of $370,600 per company within a given year. Other Issues While such an amount is considerably above Dave’s 1 year cost estimate for his business, the following factors need to be taken into account as well: Consumer patronage of existing painting companies within the area – As seen in the study of Blankertz (1951), consumer patronage of existing brands and services needs to be taken into consideration when attempting to penetrate new markets (Blankertz, 1951). Pandit & Chari (201
Choosing what to eat is soon becoming a tough one, with people torn between eating what they produce on their farms while growing naturally or enhancing the growth of the products using fertilizers and pesticides. The food choice goes on to the livestock debate where farmers inject their farm animals, including poultry, with certain drugs to enhance their growth and make them bigger while fastening their growth process. Despite all the arising debates on the type of food to be eaten, genetically modified organisms and agricultural additives are slowly gaining weight in the current world. However, farmers need to know that as much as there is a push for Americans to adopt sustainable agriculture, the drive is more beneficial to farmers than any other stakeholder in the agriculture sector. Farmers should adopt sustainable agriculture because it helps maintain the environment, increase food security, has economic benefits, and has health benefits to the consumers. The benefits of sustainable agriculture are derived from its meaning which is to use agriculture in a way that is beneficial to the environment. The benefits are in addition to good public health of the community and providing the farmer with good returns on investment. Sustainable agriculture should therefore be carrying the current food security burden while avoiding a compromise for future generations. By not using pesticides and fertilizers, different forms of pollution could contribute to climate change, thereby reducing the prospects for achieving food security. Fertilizers and pesticides have been found to cause contamination of groundwater, leading to contamination of the major sources of water the streams of groundwater flow to (Prasad, 2020). Instead of using chemical fertilizers, farmers can use nano fertilizers with abiotic tolerance (Zulfiqar et al., 2019). Therefore, nutrients will be released at a controlled rate, increasing the nutrient efficiency of the soil and preventing nutrient depletion. The world is when climate change is threatening to derail the effects of sustainable development goals. Climate summit delegates had to go overtime and debate over the weekends to reach a consensus in the contemporary world. They felt that food security is slowly becoming a concern; only sustainable agriculture can achieve this. Agroforestry helps maintain the environment, while biodiversity in farming helps achieve sustainable levels of food security (Garibaldi et al., 2017). Take the example of a ranch where animals are reared and at the same time corn and vegetable are farms are kept simultaneously. They have diversified to produce food that ensures self-sustenance such that the only thing they can source outside is veterinary services. With this mentality, farmers can help produce enough food to feed a majority of the American population and ensure they do not go hungry. Sustainable agriculture is also beneficial to public health as it is free from synthetic food, which is d
Cultural expressions are main identifiers of any ethnic group for they give communities their real identities as concerns specific communities’ fears, values and strengths. In addition, these cultural expressions determine how communities perceive other communities with differing cultures hence, forming the foundation of a group’s understanding of other communities motives and dealings. It is important o note here that, primarily these forms of expressions are main inhibitors or accelerators of ethnic conflicts because all communities are in a struggle to receive recognition from any community they get in contact with (Ross, 2007, pp. 3-5). Currently globally, the human race faces many threats due to many differences that are arising in most societies. Most of these differences are political, social or cultural driven. Depending on an individuals background many factors arise for example ethnocentrism, religious extremism, doubt and prejudice, hence leading to escalation of war among different communities. In addition, currently the main contributor of the rapidly increasing rate of war between communities is lack of proper mechanisms of forecasting, managing, and dealing with any conflicts that are likely to arise between communities. It is important to also note that ethnic conflicts not only pose dangers to national security, but also they pose great threats to global security, a factor compounded by ideological differences among different global communities (Saha, 2006 , pp.172-174). A good example is the Sunni and Shiite war that has caused a great deal of havoc not only among the Muslim community but also to the global peace. This is because these two communities have differing ideological views, hence the struggle for cultural identity and recognition. In addition, in many ways many other international communities have greatly contributed to this ethnic conflict, because of the divided nature of support they accord these two communities (Horowitz, 2000,
Mental Illness Intellectually upright human beings are able to think rationally and seek solutions to their life problems; however there are times that people suffer from incapability from making sound and rational decisions because of their state of mind. Mental illness or mental disorder is a combination of behavioral, affective, cognitive and perceptual components that hinder an individual from making sound decision. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), there are approximately 400 mental disorders in the world; however there have been disagreements among mental health care workers /professional on the line between mental illness and neurological disorders. According to human rights and fundamental freedom chapter of the United States, people suffering from mental illness or disorder are considered not competent to make valid contracts. In some instances, the people cannot be held accountable of their criminal and civil misconducts; the challenge facing the criminal justice administration is to determine which conditions should be held accountable of criminal and civil misconducts and what extent (Macks & Reeve, 2007). This paper discusses effective methods of mental health administration in the United States. Mental health administration The United States had been suffering from an increasing number of mental illnesses; the conditions were medical and some had resulted from some “social activities” like substance abuse. With the increased number of cases, the government opted to have a policy that would see the proper administration of the condition; this lead to the formation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 1992. SAMHSA was established with the aim of looking for ways, using already concluded research on the topic, to improve the Americans mental health as a matter of clinical concerns and criminal justice systems. With the organisation, the government seeks to address issues and factors that results to mental health challenges from medical and drug and substance angle. The mission of the organisation is to reduce the impact, and the spread of mental health illness among the Americans. When addressing the issue of mental health, it is crucial to understand that the condition may result as a medical issue and in some instances as social factor and in some instances drug abuse. To reduce the spread, the most important element is to address the issues from their root causes and not address the symptoms without looking into the underlying parameters. Despite the spread of mental illness in the American economy, hope is that prevention is possible (prevention works), effective treatment on those conditions that can be rectified exists and people can fully recover from
In “The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Job Satisfaction, Earnings and Turnover Among Female Lawyers” by David Laband and Bernard Lentz (1998), the authors analyzed the results of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 1990 National Survey of Career Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction for evidence of whether women were still experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace and how this was affecting their careers. The study begins with a hypothesis that, despite legislation to reduce incidents, sexual harassment within the workplace was an ongoing problem experienced by many professional women. More than simply determining whether or not sexual harassment was still a factor within today’s legal institutions, though, this study was designed to identify the various ways in which sexual harassment might affect the long-term career tracks of women even when they remain within their chosen profession. Therefore, the objectives of the study were expanded to determine whether women’s job satisfaction overall was lowered as a result of sexual harassment, whether their earnings potential was weakened by such conditions and whether sexual harassment actually does increase a woman’s determination to leave her firm in search of a less hostile workplace. As part of this investigation, the authors included a consideration of the general characteristics and gender distribution within the respondent’s organizations as a means of determining whether any correlation could be made between those environments that either tended to contribute to or decrease the likelihood of reports of sexual harassment in the workplace. To more completely understand the study, its conclusions and its ramifications, it is necessary to assess its viability based upon the methods and materials used, the results reported and the conclusions that are drawn from this. The study is recognized as being quite limited from its opening lines as it becomes clear that it is limited to female lawyers within the American Bar Association in the year 1990. It does not address concerns of how or why this particularly small demographic would be universally applicable to the experiences of women in general within the greater workforce. Neither does it address concerns that this demographic might not be particularly representative given the highly educated, professional nature of their work. It can be argued, for instance, that most women are employed in less professional positions that may place them in more vulnerable positions in which sexual harassment may occur. This idea is supported by the fact that many women indicate being reluctant to report incidents of sexual harassment out of concern that they will lose their jobs or otherwise damage their careers (Fitzgerald, Swan & Fischer, 1995: 117). While these concerns are easily within the realm of the white-colour profession of the American female lawyer, it is argued that those women who have traditionally earned much less than the lawyers are more dependent upon their jobs than women with greater education, access to professional assistance and greater flexibility in terms of supporting themselves and family. However, it is also recognized that every
Introduction: Immanuel Kant as a Proponent of ‘Reasonable’ Philosophy The work provides an overview of the philosophical doctrine that was expressed by one of the most prominent thinkers of all time, Immanuel Kant. Specifically, the philosopher’s idea of metaphysics is described through the review of the scientist’s work, The Critique of Pure Reason . The philosophical doctrine is meaningful for contemporary science since it serves as the first logical rebuttal of analytical reasoning. Moreover, Kant dwelled on the conception of a priori knowledge as well as offered the first consistent doctrine of elements. The payoffs of the philosopher’s theory are still influencing the conceptions of modern science. Thus, it is claimed that the idea of autonomy concern that was made in the frames of the study is currently applicable to the concepts of teleology (Weber and Varela 98). “The Critiques of Pure Reason” as a Representation of Metaphysics Analysis The Critiques of Pure Reason summarized the findings of Kant’s metaphysics investigation. It dwelled on the use of reason in multiple natural sciences (Kant and Pluhar 15). The work was followed by two subsequent books, which was a consequence of the changes views of the philosopher. Thus, initially, Immanuel Kant intended to express his opinion of the concepts of space and time as the forms of human nature. Later, he expected to move from the notion of reason, as a subject for his investigation, to the ideas of morality and taste justification. However, the author’s plans were altered with the controversies of his ‘nature and method’ theory (Kant, Guyer, and Matthews 18). The philosophical doctrine represents a theory of human cognitive abilities. Mainly, Kant reflects on the stable categories of rationality that may be applied in diverse scientific dimensions. The philosopher addresses particular sciences such as, for instance, mathematics, and strives to outline the priorities of natural judgment with respect to the subject (Friedman 26). The analysis is framed into the investigation of two fundamental distinctions, which are a priori in contrast to a posteriori as well as synthetic versus analytical. Thus, Kant analyzes the positioning of human experience and reason in the context of the reviewed dimensions. Due to the outcomes of his study, Kant pointed out that the human mind perceives a priori synthetic knowledge, which proves that the category of pure reason transmits the specific information. Finally, the article reflects Kant’s contemplations on the categories of time, motion, and space, as well as their meanings for metaphysics. Thus, the philosopher acknowledges that space creates an absolute a priori category that is critical for human ideas to find their reflection in multiple practices and activities. Therefore, he concludes that metaphysics relies on a priori
Introduction Customer satisfaction is a goal that every organization strives to realize. The success of an organization depends on how well it satisfies its customers. All the practices set by the company that helps to ensure that the organization fully meets the needs of the customers are referred to as total quality management or TQM. According to the American Society for Quality (1), total quality management entails continuous measurement and improvement of the extent to which the organization fulfills the requirements of the customers. TQM employs strategies and effective communication within the organization to incorporate the quality principles into the culture and activities of the organization to ensure that all the activities are geared towards satisfying the customers. Total quality management is a long-term success strategy that a company seeks to achieve through customer satisfaction. In successful total quality management, all members of the organization work together to improve the quality of products, services, and the culture within the organization to achieve total customer satisfaction (O’Donovan 39). All members of the organization need to be taught on the ways of ensuring total quality management within the organization. The objective of this report is to present the concept of total quality management as it is portrayed within Dubai Autism Center, a nonprofit making organization in UAE that seeks to help children suffering from autism spectrum disorders and to teach people on how to understand the infected and help them. The culture within the Dubai Autism Center The culture of Dubai Autism Center (DAC) is to get all members involved in offering accredited programs that will offer the necessary support to the children that are living under the oppression of Autism. DAC trains its professionals to make them competent in dealing with those children with Autism and to understand the needs of such children. All members must work to make DAC an internationally recognized center that offers consultancy about Autism within the United Arab Emirates region. The organization seeks to create awareness about Autism and tries to get all the infected i
Introduction Even though accounting is devoted to describing business and finance, it is still is a kind of service or business that has to be responding to the changes in the modern environment (Atrill & McLaney 2012; Atrill & McLaney 2013a; Wadee 2010). The process of change maybe not easy, and errors can be made in the process; the recent accounting fraud scandals can be regarded as a kind of such mistake. Still, as accounting accumulates theoretical knowledge and practical experience concerning its aims, customers, and the changing environment, it is bound to change and accommodate appropriately. The User Groups and Information The information that accounting and financial management can provide includes the available forms of finance and the advantages and disadvantages of using this or that form (that incorporates costs, benefits, and risks) along with the possibilities and advantages or disadvantages of a particular kind of investment (Atrill & McLaney 2012). An example of accounting activity is the measurement of the financial position of an object that is used to provide information concerning its financing and fund allocation and gives ground for the assessment of its performance and value (Atrill and McLaney, 2012b) The major groups of accounting users include government and community representatives, customers, competitors, and employees, investors, suppliers, and lenders, as well as managers, and owners (Atrill & McLaney 2013a, p. 3). The group of users that request accounting information defines the type of information that is going to be presented (Atrill & McLaney 2012). The same object that is being analyzed (for example, a company) would be regarded from different aspects to satisfy the needs of a particular user group. For example, the government would be interested in taxes that the company has to pay and does or does not pay, investors would want to know about the risks and benefits of investing in the company, suppliers would require information concerning the company’s ability to pay, and so on. In case the accounting information satisfies the needs of the user and allows him or her to make the decision, it is relevant. Apart from that, it is obvious that the information has to be complete and correct (Atrill & McLaney 2013a). Distorting the information, especially with the intent to do so, is unacceptable. Financial Scandals Still, accounting scandals do take place, for example, because of the pressure that a company experiences concerning its performance. In this case, a company is tempted to conceal its difficulties and misinform the stakeholders; this is performed through accounting frauds. An example of such fraud is the bankruptcy of Enron, the company that used to conceal its en