ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Abstract The focus of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the implications of privatising public utilities with regard to accountability issues. In addition to the provision of supporting evidence, the paper assesses how privatisation of public utilities affects accountability. Privatisation of public utilities has two main effects on accountability. Efforts to privatise public utilities lead to demotivation on the part of the government. The responsibility of the government is to investigate and respond to the demands of the public. When public utilities are privatised, the private sector takes up the role of providing the various services needed by members of the public. In addition to the government, efforts to privatise public utilities demotivate the entire public. The public sector lacks the resources and the mandate to mobilise resources and rouse for quality services. The private sector ends up holding the public at ransom, inflating the costs charged on the government and, in extension, the public. In the process of legislating, some politicians may be biased and favour the issue of privatising public utilities. In most cases, they are the ones who benefit as most of the private companies that end up taking up the role of providing public services belong to them. By privatising public utilities, the government reduces the role of members of the public in ensuring that the services provided are of high quality. The development has various effects as far as accountability is concerned. At the end of the day, the consumers pay more for the same services. Introduction Privatisation initiatives are mechanisms and components that fall under the broader liberalisation strategies and policies adopted by governments around the world. The main objective of privatisation initiatives is the formulation and implementation of policies aimed at restructuring the economy. The major aim of such restructurings is to control the economy, especially if it has become inefficient and inebriated with corruption and other economic problems. The driving force behind the government’s decision to undertake such a policy is, in most cases, its ‘heavy’ involvement in the public sector. Resource privatisation, as a policy, is not an ancient phenomenon. It is one of the most recent and most revolutionary innovations in economic policies. While this idea seems restricted to majority of the developed nations, a significant number of developing countries in the world find the initiative more applicable to their economies compared to other policies. All over the world, nations and governments regard the idea as a financial desire and a growth strategy. However, while the idea continues to gain more ground and acceptability in most nations, some policy makers look at it from an accountability perspective. Most of the issues raised by these policy makers with regard to the honesty of the idea revolve
Entities that are accountable to the public are required to prepare the general purpose financial statements as demanded by IFRS. For an entity especially a small and medium enterprises to be publicly accountable, two conditions must be satisfied. The first condition requires that the company’s equity or debt instruments must be traded public in the stock exchange whether over the counter or foreign stock exchange (Deegan 2010). An entity that is also in the process of trading its equity or debt in a public exchange is also required to make full disclosure by adhering to the IFRS. The second condition relates to entities that are in possession of assets in fiduciary to a large number of individuals or groups e.g. insurance companies, banks and even stock brokerage firms (Deegan 2010). Seimagaz Pty Ltd is thus not an entity that must conform to the full disclosure requirements because the stocks are not traded in the stock market neither does it hold assets in fiduciary to a large group of individuals. This comes at a time that reforms have been introduced by the AASB. General purpose financial statements are described as statements that have been prepared by the application of the accounting standards and are available for the public to view or are prepared in consideration to the legal requirement for disclosure (Deegan 2010). GPFSs must be intended to satisfy the requirements of the diverse users of the statements as it may be difficult to prepare different statements for all envisaged users. Entities that make such financial reports are thus mandated to avail their financial reports for public scrutiny or for the interested parties to view. Special purpose financial statements are those prepared without adhering to full IFRS or adopts the RDR as accepted by the differential reporting standards (Deegan 2010). According to the AASB, privatively owned profit entities that do not require full disclosure of their information and the not for profit organization need not to use the full IFRS. This therefore led to the suggestion of introducing the reduced disclosure requirements for such entities. It must however be noted that the use of reduced disclosure requirement does not mean there should be a conflict with the IFRS in ma
Introduction After the World War II, the US disagreed with the Soviet Union over various issues. Especially, they did not like the Soviet’s control of the Eastern Europe, their control over atomic weapons, and their blocking of the Berlin. In addition, the people’s republic of China had established a communist government in 1949 contrary to the US desires. North Korea invasion of South Korea in 1950 augmented the Cold War into a full blown world war did not go well with the US. Thus, the US decided to confront communism in Iran, Guatemala, Lebanon, and in every other country that practiced it. Cuban missiles The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to a near nuclear confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union, who were the main superpower. Both countries adopted different political viewpoints that impeded resolution bargains. The setting of the ballistic missiles in Cuba heightened between the superpowers even further. John F. Kennedy, the president of the US of those times, claimed that his country was behind the Soviet Union in terms of nuclear technology, while the Soviet’s premier, Nikita Khrushchev, claimed otherwise. By 1962, the Russian premier maintained the same uncertainty on the nuclear potential of the US, who were a prime threat to the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, he was anxious that this position might provoke the US into launching an atomic missile into their territory. Fidel Castro had his own different concern, about the intent of the US to have him deposed. The country’s intelligence unit had uncovered the US plan to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro, thereby, supporting this allegations. These prompted Castro to accept the installations of missiles in Cuba in agreement to Khrushchev’s proposal and contractions of the nuclear base was established by July 1962. In August, there were rapid shipment of the same, which the US detected. Kennedy was advised by John McCone, the CIA director, that the Soviet had planned to install medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. However, the president was advised that the installations were purely defensive. Kennedy was made aware of the situation, and he quickly formed a group of twelve men to advice him on the issue, although he preferred to keep a low profile of his team of advisers. He hoped to conceal this move to the soviet. On August 17, another U-2 revealed that there was intermediate range ballistic missile that was capable of striking almost any target in the US. On August 18, 1962, Kennedy held a meeting with Andrei Gromyko in which Gromyko denied the existence of the missiles. On
The book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas are both stories by John Boyne about Bruno, a nine-year-old boy narrating his experience in World War II before moving from Berlin. The texts show various similarities, including Bruno relocating from Berlin to Out-With and differences such as Bruno’s experiences when he explores, and the inclusion of more details about Shmuel in the film than the book. The book and the film are similar in many ways. First, the two mediums clearly describe the main character in the same way. In other words, they both capture Bruno’s shifting from Berlin to an unknown location. The film and movie also describe his later experiences as Bruno loses interest and decides to explore. He identifies a fenced field while wandering. He meets a boy called Shmuel in the barricaded area, and they establish a unique connection quickly, much as in the book. Bruno’s big sister, Gretel, owns many toys, and when she becomes obsessed with Adolf Hitler, she disposes of the toys in both the movie and the book. Another way the two mediums are similar is that the storyline occurs in the same historical context. Fink’s brief narrative, “The Tenth Man,” provides a certain focus to the Nazi Holocaust, an incident that occurred after World War II. In comparison, it was an incident that directly targeted Jewish people. This is seen for the first time in “The Tenth Man” at the emergence of Chaim. The film and movie are also similar in their illustration of the story setting. The movie illustrates the old clothes and cars clearly illustrate the period; the 1940s. The book also describes the story’s setting; Berlin at the beginning and later the camp. The time is in the 1940s, during the WWI, a time of disastrous events during the Holocaust. The description is evident as the primary narrative emphasis is on the interaction between Bruno, the main character and Shmuel who is imprisoned at the camp Auschwitz. The reader can clearly understand the circumstances surrounding Shmuel. While there are several similarities between the movie and the book, there are also various distinctions between them in the main theme. For instance, when Bruno first explores Out-With, he sees the men with striped pajamas and his parents prevent him from staring at th
Introduction In May 2008, a destructive earthquake hit Sichuan Province in China causing an apocalyptic damage. The mountaintops were reduced to valleys, several buildings collapsed throughout the cities, and more than 80,000 people lost their lives. This incident confirms that natural disasters still influence how people live. Natural disasters are causing countries to lose millions of dollars in destructions as well as thousands of citizens who lose their lives yearly. Undoubtedly, natural disasters directly disrupt the economy either on the long-term basis or just shortly. This disruption may be positive or negative depending on how the relevant authorities handle the issue and subsequent disasters. The nature of a disaster that a country witnesses also plays a significant role in determining how it affects the nation; for instance, geographical tragedies often have more negative impact than climatic tragedies. Countries have no control over the aftermath of a disaster, but if they have good disaster preparation mechanisms, they can manage the impact. This paper will discuss how natural affect the economy through macroeconomic variables. Natural disasters on macroeconomic variables Natural tragedies affect different economic elements that assist in defining how the disasters have affected the economy. These variables include natural resources, physical and human capita accrual, as well as technology. All these variables normally have varied impact on an economy, which implies that the impact of natural tragedies in the end can either be positive or negative (Skidmore and Toya 664-687). Natural disasters and natural resources The occurrence of natural disasters has a direct impact on a nation’s natural resources. Tornados among other storms can damage a massive stretch of forest. In 2003, “North Carolina lost $550 million worth of timber following the devastating effects of Hurricane Isabel” (Popp 65). yclones cause soil erosion that result to soil infertility after topsoil has been removed, which consequently has a detrimental effect on agricultural yields (Benson and Clay 1-34). Though artificial fertilizers can be used in place of the eroded soil, this means an additional expense to the farmer. The damage of crops as well as loss of livestock after a tragedy can temporarily reduce agricultural yields, hence affecting the supply of primary products and basic commodities in a country. Moreover, tourism that relies on natural features and wonders is likely to be affected. In 2005, The Tropical Storm Delta shattered Tenerife’s main tourist attraction site, a rock popularly referred to as El Dedo de Dios, and since then, Tenerife had struggled with reduced income in the tourism sector (Kim 11-49). However, natural resources are not always damaged because of natural catastrophes; at times nature gains from disastrous events. For instance, floods bring sediments to flood plains, which increase soil fertility, and thus escalate agricultural yiel
Stroke is a health problem that occurs from blockade of blood flow to a specific area of the brain. The National Stroke Association [NSA] (2011), asserts that stroke develops when a “clot of blood barricades an artery or a when an artery ruptures, thereby impeding blood flow to an area of the brain served by that vessel.” This situation leads to brain cells’ necrosis and subsequent damage to the brain. Necrosis of the brain cells caused by stroke results in loss of the body functions associated by the part(s) of the brain involved. Such abilities involve memory, motion, and speech. The impact of stroke is proportional to the region of the brain affected and the magnitude of the damage. The subsequent paragraph describes some conditions that can arise due to stroke, including their interventions. Spasticity and orthotic intervention Spasticity refers to an increased barrier to the reflex movement of a joint due to hypertonus (high muscle tone). There are various interventions to this condition, including orthotic intervention. Tone reducing orthotics is useful to enhance gait patterns and alleviate reflexive muscle stimulation in patients with spasticity. In addition, the practitioner can use adjustable orthosis to manage muscle impairment of the left hand. This method is comparable to casting since it facilitates prolonged stretching of an elbow flexion contracture. The technique is easy to adjust and can be removed for short time intervals on daily basis. Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO) Ankle-foot orthosis is essentially designed to compensate for drop-foot (weakness of dorsiflexor). In absence of AFO, drop foot causes gait alterations leading to increased energy use from compensatory movements including excessive hip and knee flexion or hip hiking to enable foot clearance during swing stage. Spastic plantar flexors typically necessitate a strong AFO designed to sustain a 90-degree position of ankle dorsiflexion. Nevertheless, without spasticity, a spring-aided dorsiflexion is commonly used. “Spring-aided dorsiflexor can be integrated into double metal upright AFO and Plastic designs to enable partial ankle movement –from perpendicular to complete ankle dorsiflexion” (DeLisa, Gans & Walsh, 2005, p.165). The ankle in an AFO is unable to plantar-flex past the 90-degrees, thereby maintaining the GRF line behind the knee, causing a knee flexion instant from first contact through midstance. Nevertheless, from midstance through terminal stance, a rigid AFO does not enable the tibia to articulate progressively forward through dorsiflexion, facilitating rather early heel ascent from knee flexion. Importantly, sustaining foot capacity th
Hamlet, the fabled Prince of Denmark, is arguably the most enigmatic character in all of William Shakespeare’s plays. One of his trademark characteristics is his belief that women are vastly inferior to men in society – an attitude that existed during the Elizabethan era in which Shakespeare lived. Hamlet’s overall attitude towards women can be described in 3 parts. Firstly, Hamlet hates women. The person totally responsible for spawning such feelings of hatred in him is his mother, Queen Gertrude. The event that gives birth to his hatred is Gertrude’s marriage to her brother-in-law Claudius very soon after the untimely death of her husband, King Hamlet. To Hamlet, who loved his father very much, this act is near sacrilege. His devastation is exacerbated when his father’s ghost reveals to him the truth behind his murder at the hands of the man who is now his mother’s new husband. Hamlet reveals his attitude to Gertrude by enacting The Mousetrap show in Act III, Scene ii where the king is murdered by poison poured in his ear, and his murderer goes on to seduce the queen who capitulates to his charm – an exact replica of the real-life events surrounding the death of Hamlet’s father. When his mother summons him to her room after the play, Hamlet makes up his mind to be brutally frank with her while at the same time not relinquishing his self-control (“I will speak daggers to her, but use none”. Hamlet reveals his attitude to Ophelia by harshly telling her that while he once loved her, those feelings have now vanished. When Hamlet meets her early in Act III (while Claudius and Polonius eavesdrop behind a tapestry), he flies into a rage, bitterly denouncing women in general for misleading men by applying makeup to look prettier than they actually are, adding that women are liars who do not deserve to be allowed by marrying. The stunned girl can only numbly conclude that her lover has become insane (‘O what a noble mind is here overthrown. Hamlet’s second attitude is that he has a very low opinion of women. He is convinced that women are morally corrupt and therefore not trustworthy. He reveals this attitude to Gertrude in Act III, Scene 4, when she scolds him for offending Claudius by enacting The Mousetrap. Hamlet turns on her furiously, saying it is she who has offended his father by getting married to Claudius, and vows to make her totally aware of the enormity of her sinful action (“You go not till I set you up a glass/ Where you may see the inmost part of you”. In the same scene when Hamlet kills the hidden Polonius, Gertrude denounces it as a “rash and bloody” act. This causes her son to sarcastically retort that his act was just as horrendous as what happened to his father (“A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother/ As kill a king and marry with his brother” . When his shocked mother cries out in horror, “As kill a king,” he stoically retorts that she heard him rightly. He goes on to lavishly praise hi
Organizational structures, both formal and informal, significantly affect the ways in which employees work, make decisions, and share information with each other. By describing and analyzing the structure of a particular setting, one can understand which of its aspects are beneficial to workers and which problems need to be addressed. The discussed organization is a hospital with a formal structure that possesses characteristics of a bureaucratic and matrix types. The chosen unit, medical non-intensive unit, has a similar framework. The combination of these structures results in centralized decision making, focusing the attention of the staff on the influence of formal leadership, leading to informal leaders feeling undervalued as a result. Organizational Structure Both the hospital and the unit operate using the line structure with some modifications. For example, the staff possesses a certain amount of authority due to their field of work (nursing) being an occupation with many responsibilities. However, this system implies that a formal structure of information sharing in enforced at all times, creating a single line of communication between all levels of employees (Marquis & Huston, 2017). For example, nurses must report to their supervisors, who then can deliver the information to the next level of management. This chain interaction between workers has its benefits and disadvantages. The speed of innovation suffers because new ideas and concerns reach persons with authority slowly, being passed from one member on the chain to another. Thus, the hospital and the unit often fail to implement changes in time, negatively impacting the quality of care as an outcome. To mitigate this problem, the department started to employ some ideal of the matrix structure, allowing nursing leaders to interact with other nurses and present their ideas to the management. According to Wagner et al. (2014), a more horizontal structure contributes to better outcomes for the quality of care, empowering nurses and giving them autonomy. Therefore, the shift to the matrix
The world population is growing at a rapid rate. Pundits estimate the world population as over six billion people (Livi-Bacci 8). With such a growth trend, a variety of impacts on resources is evidenced. An uncontrolled growth in human population significantly develops constraints on natural resources and food production (Miller and Scott 5). There is also a tendency of a large human population exploiting resources and causing an environmental damage. The same negative impact can also be traced in the increased demand on energy. Therefore, exploitation of energy resources causes an energy crisis. A growing population impact on natural resources focuses on resources such as water, forests and mineral reserves. It is natural that a growing population causes an increased demand on fresh water resources. This has sometimes led to water ownership conflicts. People, communities and countries have engaged on conflicts based on water ownership. This signifies that demand for fresh water is critical to human survival. The increased demand for water, leads to shortage of water in lakes, dams, wells and rivers. The same impact on natural resources can be traced on deforestation. Demand for land to cultivate, and timber for construction increases with population growth. The use and economic value of minerals increases as the demand from the increasing and available market grows with time. This has seen a lot of mineral reserves depleted by human population over the years. The survival of humanity has been dependent on energy availability for many years. Industrial civilization has significantly seen increased demand of energy. Although human race has been creative in maintaining the levels and variety of energy resources constant to ensure steady energy supply, there remains a threat of energy availability in the future. Availability of energy sources like petroleum is not certain in the future considering that oil reserves may soon get depleted. However, the demand for energy has already sparked a need to use non-depleted energy sources like geothermal and wind energy. The current growing population is supported by electricity as an artificial energy source. A large human population offers enough labor to produce enough food. However, there still remains a large population that cannot afford to feed on a balanced diet. With a large population, poverty becomes a critical issue that contributes to world hunger. The increasing world population has prompted the creation of food production mechanisms such as the genetically modified food products. Again, distribution of food among the world’s population is dependent on a population’s food demand, economic status and available food production resources. Overpopulation in a region with less food production resources leads to a hunger crisis. It also becomes difficult to distribute food among the people. An increasing human population puts pressure on the environment. In most cases, negative impacts on the environment are associated with an increasing human population (Livi-Bacci 23). The consump