ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
With the advancements in cotton production, growing waves of white migrants went to Southern states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama), seeing an opportunity for profit (Franklin & Higginbotham, 2010). Consequently, the demand for slaves also increased. Slaves were sourced both through domestic trade and interstate trade from Atlantic seaboard states (Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina). The latter became increasingly profitable after the prohibition of importing slaves from Africa. Slave traders were everywhere, actively persuading to sell and buy. Prices varied between the states and increased over time. For instance, in Charleston, in 1800, an unskilled young man’s cost was about $500, but, by 1860, it reached $1,200. Along with the expansion of slavery, slave codes were introduced. They varied from state to state, but the essence was that slaves were not people but protected property. Slaves had no legal rights and could not leave their master’s plantation without being authorized. To ensure compliance with these codes, slave patrols were introduced. Their purpose was to track and catch runaway slaves and return them to their masters. They also observed assemblances of slaves and searched their quarters for weapons ensuring their obedience. The work of slaves was primarily agricultural. The working regime on large plantations was incredibly intense, especially during harvest season, with slaves having no time to cultivate their own gardens. They worked in fields under the supervision of masters or overseers. The work did not require skills but a lot of time and effort. Aside from cultivating the crop, slaves were used for breaking soil, carrying water, and mending fences. However, slaves still found time to communicate, gather during holidays, or other special events. While certain religious freedom was allowed, as the abolitionist movement grew, many masters become suspicious of slaves churches fearing slaves doubting the inequality notions of proslavery preachers. Still, almost all plantations had slave preachers – slaves gathered in woods to worship freely. As for slave families, some had an opportunity to work and live together, but many families were divided by the slave trade. Childbearing was often difficult due to the lack of appropriate medical care. Contrary to popular notions, many slaves were not obedient or docile. They committed various acts of resistance by stealing food and clothing, faking illnesses, sabotaging plantation work by breaking tools, and employing tricks to manipulate the selling process in their favor. Some slaves committed suicides or acts of self-mutilation; others found opportunities to escape. There were also cases of masters being poisoned or brutally murdered. Many slaves expressed their anger in revolts. More than a hundred uprisings occurred in Louisiana in 1811. The major slave rebellions include Gabriel Prosser’s conspiracy, Denmark Vesey’s conspiracy, and the Black Seminole rebellion.
Introduction Leadership is a process by which a person gains the support or assistance of another person or other people through social influence with an aim of attaining a common goal. A leader of a group that is pursuing a subject must therefore be part of the subject matter and have the responsibility of influencing the group towards the achievement of such goals that brings the group together. The nature of such leadership will therefore determine the level of influence and as a result, the level of success in the objective being sought by such a group to which leadership is offered. This paper seeks to review the topic of leadership. The paper will research into the elements of leadership and the manner in which such leadership elements affect the level of influence that is attained from the leadership. The paper will then carry out a review of the findings with respect to elements of leadership. Materials and Methods used Leadership is a topic that has existed in the public domain for a long period of time. Quiet a number of researches have been done into its aspects and elements and how it can be improved. This review paper sought to conduct a supplementary research on the topic of leadership. The research used available secondary sources of information that details elements of leadership. Such sources as used in this research included books and published resources that were obtained from reliable publishers and institutions as availed in the internet. The research then applied analysis and review approach to arrive at its conclusions. The methods used in the review process were based on a collective understanding of the available information on the topic of leadership. Results The diversity of the topic of leadership has in itself over time led to approaches and views that are attributed to leadership. Different topics under leadership have for this reason been given a wide approach in terms of definitions and even concepts. According to Ford Jeffrey (n.d.), elements of leadership are mainly based on three features. In his view as a professional in management, Ford argued that the key elements of leadership are “commitment, courage, and conversation” (Ford, n.d., p. 1). He further explained that leadership comes with a person’s willingness to express him or herself together with the ability to offer one’s self to the consequences of such expressions. It is for such expressions that an individual can have influence over people and then influence them to the attainment of a given objective. Commitment refers to a person’s obligation that must be undertaken. One will be said to have committed to a particular activity if there exist to some extent, obligation that a person, in his or her opinion, must perform. In Ford’s opinion, commitment is the foundation of leadership. To have a desire to guide a group of people to vicinity that they have not identified, a place that they have never comprehended relays the platform of leadership. Leadership goes beyond being the head of a team to enlist provision of guidance and giving to the led population what th
Challenging aspects of the receptionist role: Front office is the management part of a hotel that deals with the clients. The term role by definition is a function that one has in an organization. Handling of guests; the receptionist deals with reservations, checking in and out of the guests. The guests expect the receptionist to be able to deal with all complaints and also act as their informer about the surroundings even though it not in her area of jurisdiction. Service delivery and guest expectations; The receptionist is charged with the responsibility of instilling a sense of well being in clients who are unable to appreciate what they have been offered: this can be seen in the case of the lady who was offered a room but was not contented with it and wanted to move to another one with a mountain view despite the fact that she had no prior reservations. Dealing with basic enquiries; the questions can be time consuming and out of area of duty. The receptionist should be able to handle questions about the hotel but not about geographical features, the history and the happenings of certain events. These should be well provided for by the tour guides or the websites. The hotel can also provide booklets to help the clients with these information. The hotel should ease out on this by clearly indicating directions to various areas of the hotel and provide telephone numbers for other areas of the hotel like the kitchen, coffee house, bar ; in case the guests want to order food, drinks or beverages without necessarily having to go through the reception. Advertiser: the receptionist acts as the sole informer of all the hotel services available. Prioritizing competing demands should not arise as the services should sell equally. Also, informing the customers of other competing brands should not arise. Challenges of a hotel receptionist job: Guests’ satisfaction; the hotel industry is very delicate because its survival largely relies on good handling of the customers. Therefore, the receptionist must ensure all the guests’ queries are properly handled. Customers handled well are likely to come back or tell their friends and families aspiring to visit that area about their encounter and this helps in advertisement. (Mouth to mouth advertisement) Acting as the link between the guests and the other departments in the hotel; the front office is supposed to act as the center of all other departments. The way a receptionist handles the guests creates or demolishes their expectations and eagerness towards other services to be rendered. Record transactions; juggling between tasks can prove to be very challenging especially where you have to handle guests and at the same time be able to keep up with the records especially in billing as cust
Introduction One logistics problem that many organisations face in today’s competitive environment is the dilemma in choosing the mode of transportation of their goods. In most international logistics operations and some domestic ones, the only practical modes of transport are by using the sea (maritime) or air. This paper attempts to compare and contrast the two modes with reference to the following criteria. They are product characteristics, speed of delivery, accessibility on the mode, cost, capacity, and intermodal capability. The salient common and contrasting factors will be discussed first and then we applied to the criteria mentioned above. Common factors For intercontinental (as opposed to international) the only choice available is either maritime freight or air freight facilities. “But shippers usually have only two choices for intercontinental freight: air and maritime.” ( World Air Cargo Forecast 2008-2009: World Air Traffic and Maritime Traffic . 2008). Another common factor is that both are engaged in the export of goods and commodities. Both these modes are also integral part of international logistics. In essence, both these are modes of transport. Barring a few exceptions, both modes of transport carry the same commodities. Contrasting factors The two most contrasting features among the two mode of transport are speed and cost (economy). The most common argument in favour of airfreight is the speed that it offers. When the goods are perishable in nature or when they are to be sent in a hurry, the only practical mode is sending them by air. But when speed is not of essence, shipping is more favoured. The economies of the transport are also another factor that tilts the balance in favor of shipping. If cost is an important factor in the saleability of goods, shipping will be the cheaper alternative. Product characteristics The nature of the product will also feature in the way it is transported. Some products are too big to be handled by air and hence the only option is sea transport. An example would be engineering goods, pre-stressed concrete construction parts. The wing of the Airbus A380 was transported by ship. Bulk is another factor. Commodities like oil which needs to be moved in bulk use tankers as modes of transport. For air cargo, the factor is the high value-to-weight ratio. Luxury watches, precious stones, and jewelry for example are goods that are usually transported by air. “By contrast, coal, grain, ores, and gravel are low value per unit of weight and typically travel by slow, cheap transportation such as rail and water.” (O’Connor 2001, p.156). This includes petroleum also Speed of delivery: Usually perishable items like food, fruits, and flowers are transported by air. But maritime freight is gaining a market in this segment in the recent past. Wit
Easterby-Smith and Prieto (2008), in their article, note that dynamic capabilities are regularly placed as an extension of the resource-based view. This view claims that an organization has a different composition of tangible and intangible resources that result to the variations in organizations’ competitiveness and their performance. The resource-based view has been criticized. It is static and cannot evolve together with the changing resources and capabilities that appear to an organization over time (Shipton 2006). On the other hand, dynamic capabilities come in handy for firms in turbulent environmental conditions because a firm has to be able to create, maintain and remake its sources of competitive advantage. This view of dynamic capabilities concentrates on the current assets of a firm, its organizational processes and its history. The view assumes learning is a process by which repetition and experimentation increase the efficacy of performing tasks. This makes it dependent of the social networks within the firm and its environment. The current view of dynamic capability outlined above has not been fully tested empirically. In addition, it fails to hold under extreme volatile environmental conditions. The uniqueness or similarity of dynamic capabilities of firms is yet to be determined. Moreover, the extent of the reflection of dynamic capabilities, on the individuality of firms such as their idiosyncrasies and specific path dependencies is not clear. Firms have different bases for pursuing different competitive advantage paths because of their distinctiveness. In this regard, we note that the dynamic capabilities of a firm are important; however, the context of their deployment has a significant influence on the success of the deployment itself. Contra
Introduction A correctional system is meant to be a holding place for antisocial elements so that law and order is maintained in a society. The term ‘jail’ and ‘prison’ are interchangeably used however; there are significant differences in its usage and operative principles. This essay outlines the main differences between jails and prisons and the connected related components of the correctional system in the United States. Discussion Hall states that a “Jail is a place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention; Prison is a place where persons convicted are confined” (2009). In the United States, Jails are short term holding facilities where first time offenders and those committing minor offenses are held. They are also used as temporary facilities for transferring those convicted of more serious offences on their way to the prison. Jails are facilities created and used by cities or counties while prisons are facilities created and used by state or federal authorities. There is a time restriction on jail time which extends from a few hours to a maximum of about one and a half years. Prison time however can extend up to life imprisonment and even the death row. Consequently, Jail inmates have a higher turnover while those in prisons are usually long term offenders. The environment inside a jail and a prison are markedly different. Since jails have small time offenders and the ‘rookies’ they are less organized and less violent than prisons. Prisons usually hold the ‘hard core’ or the serious crime offenders, are prone to violence and have organized prison gangs operating from within the walls of the prison. Because of the nature of the crimes, Jails have large transient populations while prisons have a smaller clientele. The disturbing fact in the United States is that today, the American ‘Correctional’ system has the largest population of prisoners in the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice sta
Introduction Orange is a leading French telecommunication company, which operates in 29 countries and it has more than 263 million customers (“Orange – 2017 Consolidated Financial Statements”). It offers mobile telecommunication services to individuals and businesses, fixed telephone services, and communication application development, integration, and management services. Stock Price Information The company’s stock symbol is ORA, and it is listed on Euronext Paris. It has issued 2,660 million shares (“Orange – 2017 Consolidated Financial Statements”), and its current market capitalization is €36.935 billion. The selected period for analyzing its stock performance starts from 1 January 2017 till 31 December 2017. It could be noted that the opening stock price was €14.57 and the closing stock price was €14.475, which indicated a capital loss of 0.65% (“Orange”). It affected the value of equity invested in the company’s stocks. The investors should not panic as the change was small, and the management undertook various business decisions that would contribute positively to the growth of its business in the coming periods. It was reported by Mayeri that Orange’s business services segment achieved more than 200,000 customers in December 2017, which was a positive sign for the growing business of Orange (Mayeri). The stock price trend is analyzed based on Orange’s announcements during this period and the assessment of risks associated with its business. The stock price trend could be observed from Fig. 1 given below. Fig. 1. Stock price trend (“Orange”). It could be noted from Fig. 1 that the company’s stock price peaked it’s 52-week highest on 29 May 2017 (i.e., €15.735) and its lowest on 25 October 2017 (i.e., €13.565) (“Orange”). Moreover, the fluctuations in the stock price were low, and its beta value is 0.76, which means that the changes in the stock price were less than those observed in the index value (“Orange”). Assessment of Risks Orange faced tough competition from other mobile operators in different markets. The competition in the market-implied a tradeoff between low pricing for customers and investment for business
Innovative classrooms provide numerous opportunities for making the process of learning more effective. Their primary benefits are the focus on a learner and the fact that the environment motivates them to become involved in the process thus improving their performance and achievement. In the innovative classroom, the emphasis is made on attracting the learner’s attention to the subject under consideration. This goal can be achieved by a variety of ways. For example, using interactive whiteboards and document cameras can be beneficial for making the learning process more attractive from the perspective of a learner. The main reason for making this statement is the fact that they invoke interest because of offering visualization (Horn & Staker, 2015). Because the key facts are shown on the whiteboard, learners remember more information. In addition to it, the possibility of representing the facts by demonstrating related pictures stimulates positive emotions (Schwartz, 2013). It makes the innovative learning process even more appealing because learners are willing to attend classes and motivated to consume more knowledge (Center for Educational Research and Innovation, 2010). Another significant advantage of the innovative classroom is that they offer motivation. The emphasis is made on achieving better results of learning. This objective can be reached by implementing learning management systems, which offer different functions from administering the learning process to delivering materials and assessment (Kats, 2013). The foundation of motivation is invoking participation in the process of learning and transparency of the systems since all results and performance are visible to everyone in the classroom. It stimulates self-motivation and the desire to leave others behind. Finally, the most significant advantage of the innovative classrooms is the fact that they enhance learners’ digital expertise. For example, if every student is provided with a tablet and wireless connection in the classroom as well as the access to online chat, it would be beneficial for strengthening the ties between learners and teachers (Hampson, Patton, & Shanks, n.d.). Supporting this initiative is crucial because it improves learning outcomes since every time learners need instructor’s help, they are free to use the online chat and get the answer right away. The same can be said about implementing cloud services and providing access to learning materials without regard to being present at school. This step is vital for the integration of learning process and making it more productive and attractive because learners do not miss important information (Covili & Provenzano, 2015). Designing innovative classroom and implementing the model is impossible without applying the principles of the systems thinking. In the systems thinking, nodes and links are of the highest priority. It means that interactions are valuable. In the case of designing the proposed innovative classroom, the learning environment and the classroom itself
Introduction Speed, just as alcohol is one of the most significant contributors to road accidents all over the world. Law enforcers have for a long time been ensuring that motorist adheres to speed limits and other traffic regulations by even requiring speed limiters be installed in some classes of vehicles. However, a lot needs to be done to eradicate deaths due to speeding on roads. This makes it ironical to oppose the implementation of these vital traffic regulations. Speeding has been said to help save fuel as well as time lost in slow speeding. However, my opinion is that it will not save anything worth the lives that could be lost in accidents. Instead, speed limits should be more vigorously enforced and publicized to ensure compliance. Discussion According to a World Health Organization report, speeding remains a significant problem in the roads, and if nothing is done to reduce it, the casualty rates could go up by 65% by the time we get to 2020. These rates can triple if traffic officers relaxed in ensuring that speeding is curbed in our roads. Roads are engineered in a way to ensure that motorists can drive safely up to maximum speed under average conditions of weather. Surpassing this maximum speed not only endangers the victim, the passengers and pedestrians, but other motorists using the road at the time. Therefore, law enforcers should be vigilant to deal with these cases. Speed limits can also be restructured in some roads to make them more reasonable by reducing the maximum speed as well as raising the minimum speed. More sophisticated gadgets such as the automated speed cameras that have quick number plate readers have proved to be more helpful when it comes to dealing with speeding. These accompanied by the normal speed limit signs help in consistently ensuring traffic moves hence reducing collisions. Instead of letting motorists justify their speeding, law enforcers need to instill the culture of adhering to speed limits among the communities. Awareness should be created on the benefits of adhering to the speed limits so that motorists realize that they are also doing it for the communities around. Vehicle emissions, noise, and vibrations are some of the problems to the society brought about by the ignorance of the speed limits. If the speeding behavior could be discouraged among the people, we would have drivers that are more responsible in our roads which can stick within the speed limits. However, it is not that easy for a community that is used to speeding without considering the ill effects to change. Members in such a community do not even notice the speed limit signs; hence speeding is always justified for them. Such communities need a lot of awareness and education on road accident documented facts to make the change their culture. Pedestrians also need to be made aware of the traffic laws and the risks involved in crossing roads. They can also help in reporting cases where traffic laws are broken. These speed limits need to be