ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Although the issue of violence in families has always been prevalent in society, it was not until 1995 that domestic abusers were brought to federal justice and criminalization of their actions. Thus, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1995 implies criminal responsibility for assaulting one’s partner physically and mentally in case the victim comes forward to the local or federal authorities (U.S. Department of Justice, 2021). The goal of this essay is to dwell on the existing procedure of domestic violence investigation in order to identify its relevance and areas for improvement. Criminal Procedure for an Alleged Domestic Violence Assault The first stage of the criminal procedure is reporting an act of physical harm. Currently, the victims of domestic abuse can contact either 911 or a state hotline for domestic violence prevention. After reporting a crime, the victim waits for the local police department to arrive at the location of the assault and arrest the alleged abuser until further details are revealed. Although the grounds for arrest differ by state, the common procedure is a preliminary evaluation of the victim’s physical and mental condition in order to justify or deny the probable cause for an arrest (American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, 2018). Once the probable cause is estimated, the alleged abuser is arrested and taken away from the victim to prevent further harm. At this point, the victim is eligible to demand a no-contact order to ensure the defendant has no legal right to contact the victim in any way. After the preliminary arrest, the investigation proper takes place to estimate the magnitude of the harm caused to the victim. The defendant is taken to a pre-trial hearing, where they have the chance to plead guilty or not guilty. If they claim guilty, the case is proceeded to the hearing to estimate the sentencing based on the defendant’s criminal record and the scope of assault. Under the VAWA, domestic abusers can be convicted to five years to life sentencing (U.S. Department of Justice, 2021). If no consensus is reached between the accusation and defense, the defendant and the prosecution collect evidence and defense for the trial. Ruled by a jury or a judge, the trial estimates whether the defendant is guilty based on the presented evidence and testified witnesses. In case the defendant is found guilty yet released from the penitentiary on probation, the victim is eligible for receiving a restraining order from the local police department. The Assessment of the Process The procedure of domestic abuse prosecution is an extremely challenging endeavor due to the nature of accusations that the defense can easily justify. According to the statistics, more than 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have
Introduction It is the expectations of every human being that the world will be a peaceful place where one would be able to live without fear of being attacked by anybody. Many people in the world expect to that they will live with each other as brothers and sisters without hatred and the idea of having to engage in battles and loosing lives in the process. Unfortunately, that has never been the case and at one time all the other people have found themselves in situations where they have to engage in war rather than protect themselves or otherwise. The world has never been as peaceful as people would have wanted it to be and war has manifested itself as part of the human life. Various religions have argued that at a certain point war is justified and have tried to give it a moral perspective while they also put it that war is not permitted in their teachings which are meant to spread the message of peace. Morality of Warfare War leads to destruction of property, eviction of people from their homes, rape, body injuries among other effects and above all it leads to loss of lives. In religion loss of life is extensively talked about and it is seen as a sin therefore, war should not be permitted on this grounds (Wainwright 2005). However, it is important to note that there are situations where war becomes the only option of searching for peace or else more people will die. In this regard warfare has gained a moral perspective with people arguing that it will be utmost immorality if a government would let its citizens die from invasion by another country (Kelsay 2009). A country is therefore justified to protect its boundaries and prevent any aggression by any enemy into its territory. However, the way that the war is conducted will determine whether the war can be justified morally or not. Islam and Warfare From the onset it is paramount to state that Islam as a religion condemns warfare at its utmost definition. In line with this Islam teaches peace and according to their Quran people should be welcoming to one another and help their neighbors when they need help. Islam requires that human beings should try and solve their differences through dialogue and ensure that peace prevails always as this will be the spreading of Allah’s love to mankind. Additionally, it is the teachings of the Islam religion that people should trade fairly with those who seek to make peace and not war and coexist in harmony with them (Wainwright 2005). In this line, Islamic religion prohibits aggression or invasion of other people’s territories because of greed for power and other unholy reasons. Nevertheless, Islam also allows people to protect their territory from any enemy who may either attack them or be planning to attack. Additionally, Muslims are required to protect their faith from any form of abuse by any person because that
Language discrimination is a widespread phenomenon in a multicultural society. When people cannot speak standard English and use its variations, native speakers treat them with a certain degree of contempt. Even though English is an international language, some cultures adapt it to themselves, forming non-standard English (Lippi-Green, 1994). The non-standard form also includes one’s accent, elements of their native language, and other cultural peculiarities. Those who are discriminated against for performing “broken” English tend to experience anger and frustration, and in some cases, leads to violent and dangerous situations (Lippi-Green, 1994). Therefore, it is vital to investigate the circumstances of Kina and Li to identify why their language skills resulted in unpleasant consequences. Robyn Kina was an Aboriginal woman who spoke Aboriginal English and was hardly educated. In the case of Kina, her inability to express what happened at the crime scene presumed refutation of justice. According to Eades (1996), “she did not give evidence, and no witnesses were called to give evidence to support her case” (p. 216). Her poor language skills led her to incarceration because she could not simply defend herself. During the interview with the law enforcement representatives, Kina’s behavior failed because she could not explain herself and kept silent (Thomas, 2006). These actions made the police officers misrepresent her evidence against the person who subjected Kina to physical and sexual abuse (Eades, 1996). At the more profound level, such discrimination derives from the cultural context where the whites were dominant over the blacks. Hence, racial prejudice became a basis for language derogation among the Aborigines. Like Robin Kina, Daisy Li steered clear of society because she also spoke a non-standard English complemented by her specific accent. Yet, Li did not face imprisonment or physical violence; she encountered daily exclusion from society (Tan, 1990). Although he could read Forbes , talk to her stockbroker, and listen to Wall Street Week, she was never active in daily communication due to her Chinese accent. In addition, she had troubles related to the language barrier during her conversation about a tumor with the doctor. Not knowing perfect English prevented her from accessing any services or receiving a typical attitude. As a result, unlike Kina who suffered violence, abuse, and incarceration, Li experienced emotional and social isolation. Moreover, while Kina preferred to be silent in front of lawyers and solicitors, Daisy Li could speak up on the matter even with her “broken” English. Despite her speech imperfections, she could shout at her stockbroker: “What he wants, I come to New York tell him front of his boss, you cheating me?” (Tan, 1990, p. 318). Even though there is no racial discrimination in Li’s case, there are still cultural implications that did not allow other people to perceive what Li was saying. This was the main reason Li avoided talking to anyone, especially face to face. In conclusion, it seems reasonable to state that language discrimination is a se
Technology All European MacDonald restaurants are embracing new technology at the market. This will see their revenue grow to higher levels. This will majorly occur due to increased rate of serving customers, increased expediency and comfort. The increased rate of serving customers will result from the replacement of current cashiers with touch screen computers (Peng & Meyer 2011, p. 64). The touch screen computers will strategically be placed at terminals where clients will be able to order various meals, such as hamburgers. Customers will then be able to pay for the meals using credit cards. Over two thousand fast food franchises in Estonia will be fitted with touch screen computers. The management team projects that the new technology will help the MacDonald attain more convenience, as well as increased accommodation. Steve Easterbrook, who is the current president of all MacDonald based branches in Europe, indicated that the transaction will now improve in relation to the past modes of operations. In particular, the president mentioned that the transaction will be two to three times faster. Therefore, the MacDonald’s efficiency and effectiveness is expected to increase in the near future (Brandet & Rawski 2008, p. 73). All the touch screen computers will be purchased from Japan, a nation that Easterbrook had gone for a trip and luckily came across the touch screen technology. However, it is threatening that the new terminals are likely to phase out cash as the mode of payment. The MacDonald is anticipating that this approach is prone to reducing certain profits that come from customers who frequently use cash. Conversely, the management team and other researchers argue that Estonia is growing at a fast pace and most customers will be using debit and credit cards in making various payments in the next one year. This is due to the fact that most residents of Estonia are educated, as well as having the high level of income (Morrison 2009, p. 78). The new machines will only accept credit cards and debit cards. The MacDonald will utilize this technology to increase its efficiency. Corporate and work culture The work culture of the MacDonald is highly dependent on the specific line of management. Most managers use their positions power to execute certain activities. In many cases, employees at various managerial positions assume leadership to direct young and inexperienced employees in performing a range of duties (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington 2008, p. 47). In certain occasions, especially during peak periods, managers operate in the same way as machines. In some incidences managers are seen operating in a relaxed manner and sometimes it becomes even difficult to distinguish managers from their junior employees. Sometimes managers work at selling points, which mean that the entire management team is always ready to work at any level. Unlike other fast food restaurants, managers at the MacDonald do not simply give orders but also participate in activities that are chiefly carried out by
Introduction The era is known for fast developing consumerism patterns. As the consumption grows, so does the use of resources. Consumption of energy, the all-important resource for production of goods and services, is therefore on the rise. Oil forms a key energy source and it is because of the fast-growing consumerist society that despite a consistent increase in the oil prices over the years, its use has not decreased. Instead the use of oil has kept growing over the years. In fact, if we take a look at the state of oil prices 20 years back in late nineties, we find a totally different picture. At that time analysts were echoing the dismal state of the economies of the countries whose mainstay was oil exports. The Economist (1998) in a report stated, “The fall in the oil price has stopped for the moment. But these days, oil shocks hurt producers more than consumers”. Can we repeat the same statement now? In fact, now the situation is in sharp contrast; today we are ruing to the fact that crude oil prices are headed to the roof. The oil dependent countries are happy and OPEC appears to have become much more relevant now. BBC (2008) in its recent report state that, “Oil prices have touched fresh highs as traders bet that violence in key producing nations will hurt supply.” This statement in a nutshell summarizes the reasons behind the upward march of the crude oil prices. Price of any commodity in general is determined by the law of demand and supply. As per this law, ‘all other factors remaining constant, the higher the price of a product, the smaller number of people will demand it. Or in other words, the higher the price, the lower the quantity demanded.’ But if we look at the historical perspective, it is found that oil, the source of energy has also defied this law. The demand for oil continued to increase even when the prices kept increasing. With majority of the share going in favor of Middle-East nations, the oil is not only the source of energy, but in today’s glob
Financial reporting reveals the data about the company’s performance. These data are often falsified in order to conceal certain profits, especially when reporting the stock options. Footnote disclosure in accounting for stock options and reporting stock directly in the financial statements differ in the truthfulness of the reported data; however, different processes for preventing financial frauds may easily detect the falsified information. To begin with, footnote disclosure in accounting for stock options is a rather unclear and indefinite form of financial reporting. The information disclosed in the footnotes can often be misleading; some of the statements in footnotes may be too general because the “managers have rather broad freedom of choice regarding how frank to be and how to express what they put in footnotes” (Tracy, 2004, p. 106). Thus, for instance, eBay uses footnote disclosure for its financial reporting this is why “the extensive use of stock options at eBay is reflected in the footnote disclosures as large pro forma losses rather than the large profits reported by eBay” (Bradshow, 2004, p. 3). This has a considerable impact on the reported earnings, which is beneficial for the company but not for the investors. This is the main reason why the companies choose namely this method of financial reporting. In contrast, reporting stock directly in the financial statements gives more accurate information of the current state of the company’s stock. This type of financial reporting “precludes directly including non-financial information in the financial statements of an organization” (Holsapple, 2003, p. 256). In other words, the body of the financial statement of a company which reports its stock directly contains the description of the activities which led to changing the value of the stock. This results in transparency of the company’s stock options; this trend has been initiated by Winn Dixie and Boeing in 2002 and then supported by AMB Property Corp. Within several years, “a growing number of companies joined AMB in its switch to expensing employee stock options, including Coca-Cola, Washington Post Co., Procter & Gamble, Wachovia, General Electric, Marathon Oil, and General Motors” (Bradshow, 2004, p. 3). Unlike footnote disclosure, reporting stock directly affects the financial ratio of profitability because the firm exhibits its full control of expenses, which shows that its rate of return is acceptable. In case with footnote disclosure, the expenses are concealed and no ratios are affected. Therefore, reporting stock directly is fairer than footnote disclosure but, despite this, some companies still choose it as an appropriate one. When the company chooses to report about its performance unfairly, fraudulent financial reporting often takes place. Some processes used for preventing fraudulent reporting in accounting for stock options are maintaining ethical values within the company (this is the task of the manager who is expected to ensure ethical business conduct of each employee), carrying out internal audit (analysis of business processes and procedures, working out solutions for improvement, checking rel
Despite multiple attempts to improve second language education in Canada and consider the existing diversity of the population, there are still problems in the given sphere. These difficulties include the lack of ELL-focused teacher education and administrative control in schools. Moreover, the majority of suggested incentives focused on the provision of LNC programs for adults face multiple barriers because of regional peculiarities and existing inequities in available training, quality of education, and teachers’ readiness to provide learners with needed knowledge. Additionally, there are issues with migrant learners who fail to graduate from schools and acquire the demanded skills that will help to integrate with society in the future. The existence of these problems deteriorates the outcomes of the int
Gender roles refer to the behavior and attitude that a given society expects from its’ male or female members. Gender roles are quite distinctive in nature, and this draws a boundary between males and females of a given society (Connell 10). Gender roles are based on a collection of social and behavioral norms that are defined within a particular culture or society that are viewed to be appropriate concerning a particular gender group. Gender roles vary according to cultural orientations, religious principles and values, and the overall set up of a society. Different cultures inflict diverse expectations towards men and women in that cultural background of a given society. An individual’s gender role is primarily determined by the use of elements such as clothing, the preference of work one engages in and personal factors (Duggan et al 53). These elements are dynamic and are subject to change in relation to time and the ideologies of individuals towards gender roles, for instance, the women’s trousers. On the traditional setting, gender roles were primarily based on feminine and masculine approach. However, as time goes by, new acceptable male and female roles have come into sight. An individual can affiliate to a specific subculture or a social group, which ultimately results to him/her processing different gender role (Connell 13). The United States has undergone gender role transformation over the last century. These shifts in the gender roles significantly affected the American households, the schools, the work environment and the general American population. Such gender roles transformation can be attributed to the fusion of the traditional distinctive male and female roles into an integrated set of universally acceptable norms within some ethnic background and nationalities. Gender roles in the United States have experienced a significant transformation over the time of its history. Ever since America came into being up to the mid 20th century, the idea of men having more dominance with respect to women was viewed as an ideology that could not be challenged. The gender role transformations in the United States were fuelled by certain historical occurrences such as the great depression, which put a strain on the many American families. This created a gender identity to some level. Feminism was an ideology of the 20th century and the earlier years in the United States history. The onset of World War II presented an opportunity for gender roles transformation with respect towards feminism (Connell 56). It presented the need for female labor as majority of the males had gone to war; the realm of feminine and masculine divisions came to the open. The solution to the lack of masculine labor force compelled the govern
Introduction This article introduces some of the pearls of wisdom found in the studies made about the traditions of some of the religions of the world. The article touches on Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, and other prime religions all over the world. An attempt in discussing their applications in man’s daily lives is necessary in order to make the teachings applicable in everyday life. In doing this, the work discusses some of the ways in which these religious traditions manifest themselves in such places as man’s workplaces and even through our personalities. Hinduism One of the greatest physicists of all time, Albert Einstein, had a Hindu pearl of wisdom as one of his many wise sayings. Sources quote him saying that the Bhagavad-Gita gave him a new outlook on the universe. He says that reflecting on its readings makes everything around him become “so superfluous” (Ross, 2006). The objective here is for humanity to realize that there is more to life than making discoveries and inventions. Humankind, no matter the person’s religion, has to realize the deity of God, respect it and appreciate it in every aspect of life. The Hindu religion teaches respect and honor towards elders and those in authority. This has had an impact on the family level, whereby, due to respect, a younger brother can only refer to the older one as “the older brother”, and not through his proper name. This might be the possible reason why in the workplace, the people in authority are commonly called, not according to their proper names, but through formal names, this gesture portrays exceptionally high levels of honor to the person in authority. This means that submission in the Hindu culture is paramount. Buddhism The renowned teacher and leader in the Buddhism religion the “Dalai Lama” quotes one Buddhist pearl of wisdom speaking about compassion (Gee, 2005). He asserts that if a person would want other people to be happy in this present life, he should be compassionate towards others. In the same way, if a person wants to be happy, he should also practice compassion. Dalai Lama expresses a need that is superior to one religion. This need is for humankind to act, not out of selfish ambition, but out of commitment to one another. The pearl of wisdom discredits selfishness, mentioning that it leads to sadness in life. This quote is indicative of the Buddhist culture and is one of the five pillars of Buddhism. The Dhamma is a fully matured Buddhist, who through this proper training, attains discipline, and lives in peace with his neighbors. In essence, it is necessary, like the Dhamma, for every person to strive towards living in harmony with others through acts of kindness. Taoism A famous Tao talks about treating other pe