ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
In the list of ten strategic actions directed at the strengthening of the research universities in the United States, there are two that I would like to discuss in this report. Firstly, the action that recommends increasing the cost-effectiveness and productivity of the research facilities is one of the vital measures that could enhance the performance of the affiliations throughout the country (The National Academies par. 8). This action is tightly connected to the leadership of the educational facilities that has been one of the frequently discussed issues in the field of operations management. The researchers agree that the productivity in higher education can be increased significantly using rearrangement of the leadership strategies applied there; in other words, transformational and situational leadership is to be integrated with the fixed and inflexible structure of the educational institutions with strict top-down management hierarchy (Bryman 2; Parke and Pehlke 1; Shah 10). Since this strategy targets people as the key factor of the progress facilitation, job satisfaction, and motivation among the employees are to be maintained at a high level. That is why this action can be initiated by the gradual restructuration of institutions for the purpose to decentralize their leadership and provide more flexibility to the departments and individuals from the lower levels of management. Due to this, the institutions will begin to function with more autonomy, and that will increase the motivation of the employees. However, putting this strategy into practice might be rather difficult because the organizational culture of the educational institutions has been based on the centralized leadership model for generations (Parke & Pehlke, 2015). The second action for discussion is the investment in the infrastructure of institutions, and especially in their equipment (The National Academies par. 8). Modern education begins to rely on modern technologies more and more. Providing researchers and educators with free access to the latest technologies, the government ensures the successful functioning and rapid development of research and higher education. Moreover, the cyber-infrastructure of the educational institutions includes its operations management systems and software responsible for the optimization of the processes held within the organizations. That way, the two discussed actions are interrelated as the improvement of the cyber-infrastructure of the institutions will facilitate and stimulate their productivity and cost-effectiveness. Taking into consideration the modern composition of the national and global workforce that demonstrates a steady tendency towards the domination of the Millennials (people aged 15 to 35) as the main demographic segment, the improvement of technological reliance of the research and educational facilities is highly
Introduction The Internet is a global network that has greatly transformed business operations in the contemporary world. While there are negative aspects associated with the Internet, organizations can use it to improve efficiency, fight competition, and delight customers. This paper provides a discussion on the use of the Internet at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital. The hospital was established in 1941 by the University of Texas and is recognized as one of the most outstanding cancer centers in the world. Internet Advertising at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital MD Anderson Cancer Hospital uses the Internet to convey information to existing as well as potential clients. Through its website, the hospital provides the public with useful information about its products and services. It is thus possible for anyone to learn so much about the organization from its website. Among other things, the website presents guests with information about its history, existing care centers and clinics, cancer and cancer related issues, as well as planned events (MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2014). Apart from retaining existing clients, the hospital is able uses the Internet to attract potential customers. Using the Internet to Communicate with Employees, Customers, and Partners As explained in the previous section, the hospital’s website provides access to a lot of information about its services and activities. Customers can therefore get updates on any new services or developments that may be beneficial to them. The information on the website is also accessible to partners and employees. Besides using the website to relay information about the company to interested parties, the hospital administration uses an email system to communicate with employees, customers, and partners on specific matters. Using the Internet for Marketing Research With the help of the Internet, an organization can easily learn how to improve efficiency and serve customers with dignity. The Internet at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital provides a useful means for gaining access to critical information about the industry. Services available via the Internet enable the hospital to understand the prevailing market conditions in order to package its products appropriately. With a perfect knowledge of the market situation, MD Anderson Cancer Hospital is also able to figure out the best way to utilize the four P’s model of marketing to excel and successfully deal with competition. Using the Internet for Value Adding Services The Internet presents a number of services that can add great value to the operations of MD Anderson Cancer Hospital. These include social media networks, communication, and e-commerce to name but a few (Bidgoli, 2004). Using these services, the hospital will be able to cut down its operating expenses, collaborate better with partners, differentiate itself from competitors, and extend its market reach. Supply chain solutio
It is surprising to note that in the United States, there are still many people who do not have health insurance. According to statistics, this figure amounts to 44 million. Taking care of them is one of the major problems faced by the healthcare industry today. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed because a large number of uninsured people adversely affect the well-being not just those who are uninsured, but also the rest of the country (Hadley & Holahan, 2004). Who are the Uninsured? Less than 15% of the uninsured are children. Majority of the uninsured come from working families who cannot afford to pay for health insurance. These include households with full-time and part-time workers, the elderly, the African Americans and the Hispanics. Extent of the problem As mentioned earlier, 44 million Americans are currently uninsured and 60 million are uninsured for either all or part of the year. This number is still increasing. This has serious consequences for them in terms of health and finances. Those who are uninsured are usually unable to pay their hospital bills. In many cases this leads to bankruptcy (Hadley & Holahan, 2004). The greater the number of the uninsured, the more the concerned nation suffers. This is because much of the healthcare provided to the uninsured is not fully paid for. About one third of all the expenditure incurred on the uninsured is of this nature. Annual expenditure on the uninsured was calculated to be $125 billion according to Hadley & Holahan in the article “The Cost of Care for the Uninsured: What Do We Spend, Who Pays, and What Would Full Coverage Add to Medical Spending?”. Older people are more likely to be uninsured than younger people. The former have higher medical bills and hence prove to be a financial burden on society. Impact of the problem Those who are not insured incur medical bills that they cannot afford to pay for. Most of the time, the hospitals have to pay for such patients, unless they are state owned hospitals in which case the government pays for them. This worsens the financial challenges already faced by hospitals and their management. It reduces liquidity and money left for reinvestment to improve services. When the government is required to pay for the uninsured, it can only do so to a certain extent because it has a limit to the subsidy it can allot to healthcare expenditures (Hadley & Holahan, 2004). Even with all the compensation received from the government and hospitals, the uninsured only get just above half of the benefits enjoyed by those who have full insurance. Therefore not having healthcare insurance is detrimental to the uninsured too. Research has shown that those having medical insurance are healthier and live longer due to easy access to medical and healthcare than those not having insurance (Hadley & Holahan, 2004). Those who are not insured delay treatment and hence by the time they approach help, it is usually too late. Hence they have shorter lives and worse health conditions (Johnson, 2009). There are many organizations that pay for those who are uninsured or living on Medicaid. Such organizations include emergenc
The Han can be discussed as a completely Confucian state where the philosophy of Confucianism was proclaimed as the state ideology. Confucianism not only provided the basic principles for regulating the daily life of the Chinese people during the rule of the Han dynasty, but this philosophy also contributed to presenting the main rules for governing and administering all the spheres of life in China. The significant power of the Han rulers was proclaimed according to the main ideas of Confucianism. Thus, Dong Zhongshu, the famous philosopher of that period, claimed: “Who else but a king could take the central place among Heaven, earth, and man and connect them all?” (Heaven, Earth, and Man 58). From this point, Confucianism served effectively to demonstrate the significance of the king in the society. All the candidates for the official positions were selected according to such basic a principle of Confucianism as the focus on the filial piety. From this perspective, “filial piety is the root of virtue and the source of civilization” (The Classic of Filial Piety 64). As a result, the leaders working during the rule of the Han dynasty were oriented to demonstrating their paternal care for the Chinese people to address their interests. Rulers tried to follow the ideals of Confucianism strictly, and they were “learning lessons” of the past to predict the weaknesses in the future (Hansen 123). Such an approach contributed to consolidating control over the wide Chinese territories. Therefore, it is possible to state that the Han was a Confucian state where the power of the king was associated with an even dependent on the rules and norms of Confucianism. The Role of Confucianism in the Han Confucianism is the philosophy that brought prosperity to China during the rule of the Han dynasty. The Chinese civilization became “advanced” and “diverse” during the discussed period because Confucianism was based on the idea of attracting people of talents to the highest positions in the state (Hansen 128). The period is associated with the era of the effective expansion for the Chinese state; the era of efficient political decisions; and the era of the social progress.
Hurricane strike on the U.S. southeastern and Gulf Coast states have increased in recent years. The 2005 storm period was the busiest and most expensive in U.S. record. Though increased rainstorm activity has been the main cause for the increased damage costs from hurricanes, other issues also have contributed. Population growth in the southeastern U.S. coastal areas has improved quickly in recent decades bringing many more inhabitants to areas frequented by storms. Coastal housing costs have been bigger as well. AIR Worldwide (2005) guess that property values in U.S. coastal areas have doubled in the past decade. The eight southeastern coastal states have over $3.3 trillion of coastal property exposure. In coastal areas of Florida, where 80% of the State’s cover assets are located, the assured worth of property was $1.9 trillion in 2004 (AIR Worldwide, 2005). The mixture of increased hurricane strikes, coastal populations, and assets values has led to radically higher indemnity payouts. Insured sufferers for the 2005 hurricane season were $60.2 billion, which makes it the most pricey hurricane period in history (III, 2008). Reacting to higher payouts, insurance businesses have increased payments and even withdrawn from some markets, which have produced a protest from many coastal peoples. Though, higher indemnity payments are only an indication of the larger problem that many coastal groups of people face. Condition of property insurance Coastal populaces that are exposed to the dangers of hurricanes have to turn out to be increasingly worried about coastal property insurance charges and accessibility. In regions where hurricanes are expected to hit, property possessors usually feel obliged to assure against wind and water damage, although lately owing to high cost some property owners have dropped their coverage preferring to self-insure instead. In coastal regions, property owners have to buy a separate insurance plan against wind and frozen rain damage, and an additional policy that offers protection against rising water from hurricane storm rush. The central government is the main supplier of flood insurance, but both private firms and state administrations provide wind insurance. Government guidelines have the main impact on coastal insurance markets and the number of properties bare to coastal storms. There are thousands of private property insurance companies in the United States (III, 2008). In an aggressive market, a private insurance firm would set a risk-based payment that would be high if the threat of damages is high, such as is the case for hazard-prone coastal areas. If a firm set a cost too high, rivals who offered lower prices would be satisfied with increased clientele and proceeds. Insurers direct their coverage to disastrous risk by holding additional capital and using reinsurance and other monetary instruments to extend the threat. Although insurance companies function in q
Introduction Research done on organizational culture shows that culture is evident in most organizations. Various factors influence or affect culture of construction project organizations. These will include elements of organizational, operational, professional, and individualistic sub-cultures within the CPO. Researchers have made several hypotheses that try to explain how these factors influence organizational culture. The research carried in the article sought to test the validity of these hypotheses using data from construction projects in the UK (Ankrah, Proverbs, & Debrah, 2008). Discussion To carry out the research, a mixed approach was used which consisted of both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The first stage of research involved using semi-structured interviews on experienced practitioners in the industry. NVivo NUDIST software was employed for coding, organizing, linking, and exploring the transcripts for themes and sub-themes in line with the analysis guide. The second phase referred to as a quantitative stage involved a survey research design based on the findings from the literature and interviews. The questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample drawn from a database of contractors listed in the UK Kompass register. In the pilot survey, 551 questionnaires were mailed out to participants for completion (Ankrah, Proverbs, & Debrah, 2008). The research showed that there was an association between contextual factors and cultural outcomes. It was seen that as projects continued growing, there was a tendency of organizations to become more performance oriented. Therefore, as a study goes further, there is a need for greater care to ensure that things do not go wrong, and accountability is not compromised. Factors that affect the objectives of a CPO include time, cost, and quality. These factors become more stringent as the project becomes complex (Ankrah, Proverbs, & Debrah, 2008). The complexity of a project affects the identification of goals and objectives. It is, therefore, important that CPOs focus their energies on getting closer to the client. Arguments have been made on how problems of coordination, communication and control could be solved. The best solution offered in the research was that people had to work together. It was found that factors advocated for by the Office of Government Commerce were not implemented, and that made it hard for CPOs. Clients become more influential as a workforce orientation increases. However, clients are capable of making workforce orientation hard (Ankrah, Proverbs, & Debrah, 2008). When the main contractor becomes influential in the study, the project orientation decreases. This leads to increased subcontracting, decreased identification with the project and reduced waste elimination. To avoid problems, the main contractor has to exert greater control over the activities of subcontractors.
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893) 1 QB 256 The case of Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893) deals with the law of contract. In order for a contract to be enforceable, some basic conditions need to be fulfilled. There has to be an agreement that has the approval of all parties to the contract, it should be supported by some consideration and be legally binding. This case deals extensively with the issue of offer and acceptance and covers most of the conditions that need to be present for a contract to be binding. The following diagram depicts the components of a simple contract. Facts The defendants issued an advertisement and they offered to pay 100 pounds to any person who contacted influenza after following some specific instructions. The plaintiff saw the advertisement and on faith of it bought the balls and followed the instructions given but still contracted influenza (UK Law). Held It was held that the contract between the defendant and the plaintiff was binding and therefore the defendants were to pay the plaintiff the 100pounds that had been promised. The full decision of the case The UK law states that according to Lord Justice Lindsey, L.J, the defendants were guilty as charged. This is because, from the advertisement relating to this case, it was clear that the defendants had every intention to create a binding agreement. The sincerity of the defendant is depicted by the message communicated by the advertisement concerning the acceptance of the offer. The offer could only have been binding if it was accepted. The offer was deemed to be binding because some money had been deposited into the bank and therefore the defendant’s claims could not hold. According to UK Law Online, the case of Williams v. Carwardine has set precedence in most of the other cases that include advertisements. There was also the issue that acceptance needs to be communicated. The judge ruled that this was a continuing offer and was never revoked before acceptance and therefore it was binding. The other issue was regarding consideration. It was ruled that the buying of the smoke balls constituted enough consideration by the plaintiff and the contract was therefore binding. The sale benefited the defendants and therefore was considered as consideration. Business Structures A company has different characteristics: it is a separate legal entity with its own rights and obligations can sue and be sued in its own name, must have a certificate of registration (ASIC website). The ASIC also stipulates that it is owned by shareholders and represented by directors and other officers, its ownership and management are separate and it can exist in perpetuity until it is deregistered. Companies vary in size, nature of enterprise, capitalization, structure, numbers of people involved, and other factors (Tomasic, R). The owners who happen to be the shareholders are responsible for their debts through the managers and directors owe a duty of care to the shareholders and are therefore to ensure that the debt
The integration of new technologies into a school setting can be seen as an inevitable process. In that regard, the educational institutions that start to integrate technologies, not only to gain a competitive advantage in the education market, they also allow increasing the efficiency of the learning process, and reduce costs. Computer networks and electronic resources are among the necessary technological assets that attract new students, and allow schools to reduce paper costs. Other advantages can be seen through the possibility to integrate multimedia resources into the curriculum. Qatar Independence School has set on the path of integrating Information Technology (IT) into the school context. Having already fully equipped computer labs, the school intends to expand and integrate the labs into a unified system connected to the internet, with a digital attendance record, and touch screen test system. In addition to computers in the labs in the proposed system, wireless access will be provided through WIFI hotspot zones. With security aspects being the main focus of such a system, the present project documents the process of designing and implementing security control through fingerprint facilities in the computer network in Qatar Independence Schools. Requirements and Technologies Primary Research In order to identify the requirements for the project, a qualitative research was conducted, in which a series of unstructured interviews with various IT analysts and representatives of computer security field were held in order to identify feasible requirements for the proposed system. The basic outline of the interviews can be seen in Appendix D. Accordingly, eight interviews were conducted during the span of 10 days, during qualitative data were collected from the main participants of the study. The result of the interviews mainly outlined several common themes and patterns in terms of the design of the proposed security system. These themes and patterns can be seen through the following:   * Most respondent s agreed that third party separate solutions will be a cheaper and more feasible acquisition.   * The