ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
In considering the core values of Alpha Kappa Psi, I am struck by how simple and practical they are. They are written to provide guidance and inspiration, while avoiding preaching at members. If the pledge class pays attention to and abides by these principles, our experience in college and beyond is likely to be a positive one. The first Alpha Kappa Psi value is BROTHERHOOD. This is clearly not simply the sibling relationship that many of us are familiar with from our own homes. We are not called on merely to avoid hurting each other, or to take turns, or to share nicely, as we are expected to do with our biological siblings. This is meant to be a different sort of relationship, representing the best way we treat our blood brothers and sisters, plus something more, something not necessarily found in a family. After all, we cannot choose our siblings, but we have, ourselves, chosen, and been chosen, reciprocally, to affiliate with this Alpha Kappa Psi brotherhood. This means that we should appreciate and value each other, no matter whether we think we are likely to become buddies or close friends, rather than merely accepting each other’s right to exist grudgingly. The words “duty” and “respect” appear in the PEP manual, and these are important. If we treat each other respectfully, as a welcome duty, the “fondness” will probably follow. We should be prepared to support each other and work for each other’s success in all things associated with our college life, and afterwards as well. We should be able to depend on each other, in the same way that blood brothers and sisters can, under the best of circumstances. The exercise of behaving in a respectful and caring way towards another person, just because they are in the same organization, is a very useful one. I expect that it will help me immensely when I am working in any corporate setting. I will need to cooperate productively with a variety of other people, even if I might not have selected them out of a crowd to share a beer or a pizza. The PEP manual also mentions stewardship; this means taking care of something that may benefit others whom we may not even know. In pledging Alpha Kappa Psi, we are becoming part of something that has been around for decades, and goes beyond just the members of the chapter where we pledged, or the brothers and sisters we hang out with. We have the same responsibility to take care of members from other years, and other chapters of the fraternity as we do to our own pledge class. I look forward to depending, myself, on this national network of people who will be more likely than strangers would be to take my phone call or respond to a request for help or information. A second value is KNOWLEDGE, and the goal of “lifelong learning”. This is a really appealing goal, and sounds like it will be fairly easy to honor. We are asked to invest effort in learning as much as we can now, when
Rationale behind the Supreme Court’s decision The Supreme Court case that is going to be discussed in this paper is 2011 Brown, Governor of California v. Plata (No. 09–1233). This case ended with the Supreme Court affirming the appropriateness of the legal ruling (passed by the District Court for the Eastern and Northern Districts of California) that the State of California was to reduce prison-population to account for no higher than 137.5% of the correctional facilities’ combined holding capacity. The Court’s decision, in this respect, reflected the willingness of the majority of Judges to confirm that the provisions of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution do apply to prisoners in California, as much as they apply to the rest of the citizens. As Rogan noted: “In Plata the Supreme Court held, by a majority of 5:4, that the population limit mandated by the three-judge court was necessary to remedy the violation of the constitutional rights of prisoners under the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments” (223). The actual logic (voiced by Judge Kennedy), as to why the Supreme Court decided to rule against the State in the Brown v. Plata case, had to do with the following case-related consideration: It has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that whereas, as of 2011, the maximal holding capacity of State prisons accounted for 80.000, California’s population of prison-inmates in that year has reached 160.000. This, in turn, resulted in overcrowding – hence, making it increasingly impossible for the inmates to lead more or less dignified lifestyles. According to how the majority of Judges saw it: “Overcrowding… creat
Introduction The religion of Judaism, which plays a prevalent part in the culture and art of the Jewish peoples, is known for its tradition of Aniconism. The holy texts of the Old Testament specifically prohibit the drawing of God. It goes as follows: “Do not make yourselves false gods. Do not raise up a stone idol or a sacred pillar for yourselves. Do not place a kneeling stone in your land so that you can prostrate yourselves on it. I am God your Lord.” Because of this, religious art in Judaism is rare, and art is not used as a means of connecting with God. At the same time, this raises the question of whether it is possible to engage the mind without engaging the senses or not. Main body To answer the question, one must first understand how the mind works. For a person to be considered conscious and self-aware, one must possess a mind’s eye. It helps create an artificial landscape inside one’s imagination. If a person is deaf and blind, they can still imagine sounds and visuals, proving that the mind does not need to practice the senses in order to remain engaged. However, creating art is impossible without engaging at least one of the senses. All art, whether music, poetry, or painting, engages at least one of the human’s senses. The connection between art and the divine is present in many religions, as some consider art an act of worshipping God. The book titled My Name is Asher Lev deals with the issue of self-expression. The main character, who is bestowed with an artistic gift, worships God in the best way he knows – through drawing symbolic art with heavy religious motives, which is seen as blasphemy by his people. This brings the discussion back to the question of engaging the mind without engaging the senses. Even the strictest aniconic religions, such as Judaism, have produced art either dedicated to their God or depicting scenes from the holy texts. In Orthodox Christianity, there are icons of Saints, which are said to be capable of bringing about miracles. In Judaism, the prime examples of religious art are the Dura Europos Synagogue and the Beth Alpha Synagogue in Israel, both of which feature numerous depictions of people and events of the Abrahamic religion. Conclusion The conclusion connects these historical artifacts with the central idea of My Name is Asher Lev. While it is possible for
Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, just like other leadership theories, focuses on leadership from a leader’s perspective, such as the style and trait approaches, and from a point of view of the subject and the context. However, the LMX theory has taken a step further to explain leadership as an act that mainly focuses on the interactions between a leader and his subjects. This paper will analyze the LMX theory based on its development, how it works, its weaknesses and strengths. Development of LMX Theory The LMX theory was first developed as the vertical linkage (VDL) theory. In the VDL theory, leadership is viewed as vertical linkages that leaders establish between them and their followers. The relationship that exists between leaders and their followers is merely a series of vertical dyads that keep the two together. In the VDL theory, two kinds of relationships exist between the leaders and their followers. They include the out-group, which is based on a formal recruitment, and in-group that describes the expanded and negotiated roles that the leaders assign their followers. A follower in an organizational setup that can belong to either the in-group or the out-group and this depends on how well, he or she associates with the leader. The followers, who work well with the leaders, normally have the highest chance of falling in the in-group. The LMX theory was developed by modifying the VDL theory. In the LMX theory, the relationship between the leader and the follower is established in two stages. The first stage, the acquaintance phase, involves the leader coming close to the follower with an aim of enhancing career-development social exchanges, which entail sharing information and resources at work. The second stage, mature partnership, is characterized by leader-member exchanges that are of high quality. In the second stage, the leaders and the followers have at this point assessed their relationship and found out that they can benefit from each other. How LMX Theory Works The LMX theory works based on two principles; the first principle entails leadership description. In leadership description, LMX outlines the way followers in the in-group and out-group operate. The followers in in-group are closer to the leaders and for that reason, are entitled to more benefits at the workplace. The followers in this category, through the guidance of their leaders, are willing and capable of doing more than what is stated in their job description in order to help the company achieve its goals. Unlike the in-group members, the followers in the out-group category do not go beyond what is prescribed in the job contract. The out-group members do not perform any work that falls out of their job description. The leaders give fair treatment to the out-group members as provided for in the formal contract. Since these members do not employ any extra effort in their operations, they are only entitled to benefits that are listed in their formal contract. The second principle, the leadership prescription, e
Introduction Organizational growth is one of the key indicators of good leadership. Leadership refers to a process of social influence by an individual who aids others to achieve a collective goal. Organizational leadership entails a process of organizing a social unit that consolidates its efforts to accomplish a universal objective (Baack, 2011). Good organizational leadership entails application of effective operational strategies, organizational structure, and promotion of an organization’s corporate culture. Organizational leaders also have an ethical obligation to ensure that employees are provided with the best working conditions, which allow them to give their best output towards achieving organizational goals. Ethical leadership is the driving force of businesses. It plays a crucial role of ensuring that an organization remains highly competitive. Leaders should promote ethical values in their organizations through an inclusive decision-making process, strategic human resource management, and strict adherence to organizational culture (Baack, 2011). Organizational leaders endure a lot of criticism for their styles and methods of leadership. It is very important for organizational leaders to know the source of their power and influence when leading an organization. This helps them to avoid negative criticism and failure. Leaders can source for power and influence from their reputation, title, job position, verbal persuasion, or through the powers vested in their offices. One organizational leader who has been heavily criticized for his leadership style is Robert Nardelli. Robert Nardelli was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Home Depot for seven years (Brenner, 2007). This essay will analyze the concept of organizational leadership in business ethics by analyzing the leadership style of Robert Nardelli. Discussion Robert Nardelli became the Chairman and CEO of Home Depot in 2000, after working at GE for almost three decades. However, he resigned from his position at Home Depot in 2007 due to mounting pressure for him to change his leadership style. Robert succeeded Bernie Marcus as the chairperson and CEO of Home Depot. Bernie Marcus was using a laid-back style of leadership compared to what Robert introduced at the largest retail store for home improve
Introduction Liz Claiborne, Inc. is a company that is involved in designing and marketing retail based apparels for both men and women all over the world. The company is also involved in offering other fashion accessories like jewelry. Most of the company’s activities are located in the United States. There are a number of premium brands that the companies offer in the market. These include Lucky Brand, Kate Spade, Couture and Mexx. Its head quarters are located in New York. The firm’s workforce is composed of 11, 500 people. The company offers a variety of branded products. External Analysis Customer analysis Liz Claiborne has customers located in different places of the world. Since the company sells both men and women wear all of which come with various brands, it has a wide variety of customers. Its customers are located in all parts of the world. However, most of its customers are in the domestic market. The number of international customers is expanding. One of the major ways through which the company has managed to increase its customer base is by acquisition of the already existing brands. This tactic has enabled the company to win more customers in the new market networks. Competitor analysis In the clothing industry, the fashion trends and the personal income are the main drivers of demand. The level of competitiveness of individual company is largely determined by its ability to have an effective merchandising. It is also largely determined by the ability of an organisation to market itself successfully. In the industry, most large companies have the advantage to offer a wider variety of products. These companies also have purchasing as well as distribution advantages. The level of competitiveness for Liz Claiborne is higher compared with most of its competitors. The company is usually engaged in bulk purchases and production. Therefore, it is able to minimize its expenses by enjoying bulk discounts. It is also able to minimize its distribution expenses. There are three main competitors in the global market that offers competition to Liz Claiborne. These include Ann, Inc., Bernard, Chaus, Inc., and Calvin, Klein, Inc. These companies offer very similar products in the same market. Therefore, Liz Claiborne is usually forced to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction and strong marketing exercises in order to retain its customers. As already noted, Liz Claiborne has a strong brand in its market. However, the company suffers from the fact that it has several competitors. The companies offer similar products in the market. This threatens the performance of the company. Due to the compe
Rudolf Carnap is among philosophers whose ideas and theories have stimulated an endless debate among scholars and other philosophers. His propositions have attracted both critics and supporters who have examined the philosopher’s theories extensively. In his work, Carnap asserted that explanation and prediction were closely related especially when used to explain universal laws. Specifically, he stated that laws are applied in scientific and everyday situations for purposes of explaining the known facts and predicting the unknown facts. In his opinion, scientific explanations are either deductive or probabilistic (Carnap, 1966). Prediction on the other hand is presented as a means of testing laws based on constant and careful observations. More specifically, prediction is presented as a mode of seeking accuracy or less falsehoods through the application of a causal hypothesis. In both prediction and explanation, it is evident that Carnap suggests that one can ascertain the truth through methods that establish regularities using scientific observations. Such observations should then be tested against perceptions that one holds about a subject, in order to determine if indeed the proposition that one holds is right or false (Ruccio & Amariglio, 2003). Much of the philosophical advances proposed by Carnap depend on prediction and confirming or disconfirming laws based on constant observations. Reading his propositions, one gets the impression that he firmly believed that there were facts that led to the buildup of scientific knowledge. Specifically, Carnap implies that factuality is the quintessence truth, and even goes further to suggest that observations and facts determine the ‘cause’ of things. He further suggests that facts are different from laws; facts are “statements of singular occurrence,” while laws are “statements of universality that emerge from the comparison and perception of regularity in observations dispersed over time and space” (Ruccio & Amariglio, 2003, p. 17). Through his writings, Carnap suggests that facts and laws have an undeniable link when used in explanations. This is evident in his statement that “[F]act explanations are really law explanations in disguise” (Carnap, 1966, p. 331) Carnap’s take on Universal Laws According to Carnap, the systematic, regular, and repetitive observations that people make either scientifically or in their everyday life make up universal laws (Carnap, 1966). He explains that the laws as identified by scientists are nothing more than the regularities “observed at all times and all places, without exception” (p. 229). To qualify as a universal law, Carnap proposes that an observation must be systematic and regular whenever and wherever it occurs. As such, an observation only qualifies as a universal law only if it does not change depending on circumstances or time. Carnap makes a distinction between universal and statistical laws by explaining that the latter hap
At the dawn of the 21st century, however, it has become impossible to ignore the fact that people everywhere on this planet are inextricably linked to each other through the air they breathe, the climate they depend upon, the food they eat, and the water they drink. In spite of this obvious lesson of interdependence, our planet’s ecosystems are subjected to continuous human assault in order to secure wasteful lifestyles. Given the complexity of global cultural flows, one would actually expect to see uneven and contradictory effects. In certain contexts, these flows might change traditional manifestations of national identity in the direction of a popular culture characterized by sameness; in others they might foster new expressions of cultural particularism; in still others they might encourage forms of consumerism. According
Introduction Taking into account the conducted studies, the null hypothesis is that the high weight of the pig at birth correlates positively with a large number of primary and secondary developed muscle fibers. Alternative Hypothesis On the contrary, it can be assumed that the high weight of the pig at birth does not affect the development of type I and types II muscle fibers. Results The central question guiding this study was the attempt to establish the nature of the mutual connection between the development of both types of muscle fibers and the weight of the pig at birth. The experiment was preceded by the division of the general sample into three groups depending on weight and nutrition type. This included a low birth weight (LBW) piglet fed on a PUFA diet (no. = 3), a normal weight (NBW) and a PUFA diet (no. = 6), and a control group with normal weight and not subjected to a diet (no. = 5). For each animal, the carcass mass was determined, the percentage of different muscle fiber types, and the mechanical and physical characteristics of the samples were identified. The values obtained were arithmetically averaged and then searched for a statistical standard error of the mean (SEM). Table 1 presents numerical data on descriptive characteristics for pigs fed on a diet and without it. As can be seen from the second line of the table, the average weight of animals classified as LBW was 38.43 kg, while the NBW average weight was 40.77 kg. In parentheses, for each of the numbers, the standard error values of the mean are given. Results illustr
The leadership and moral guidance across the world have been influenced by both politics and religion. While the close interaction between the two has yielded positive results in some countries, there are significant setbacks that have been experienced as well. This essay offers a literature review on religion and politics by accentuating the interdependence of the notions and the effects of religion on politics. It has been quite challenging for religion to operate harmoniously with politics. However, Aronoff (42) is quite categorical that many political structures and notions are based on religious ideals. As a matter of fact, there seem to be closer ties between the roles played by both religion and politics especially in most western states. It has also been a common practice among individual politicians who seek support from various religious affiliations. Nonetheless, some of these politicians are known to use these religious blocs as their major means of ascending to power (Bernardin et al 36) At some point, it may be cumbersome to separate these two institutions especially on the basis of their practices. For instance, it is worth to mention that political integrity is a requirement for those vying for political offices, especially in most developed countries. On the same note, religion demands integrity on all forms of engagement (Hoelzl and Ward 74) The main demerit of religious engagements with politics is that religious principles are meant to be fixed and cannot be compromised at all. Nonetheless, political affiliations and principles are usually flexible. This stark contrast explains why religious differences between Islam and Christianity have been in place since time immemorial (Kelly and Messina 19). In any case, the tension that exists between Islam and Christianity in some countries has largely been worsened by political intrigues and sentiments when religious leaders politicize the fundamental beliefs of their religions. This scenario explains why the interaction between religion and politics is complicated (Mews 27). According to Norris and Inglehart (88), religious beliefs and traditions are significant components that tend to significantly influence people’s identity. On the same note, political affiliations and fanaticism are also built on these frameworks. Moreover, the concept of the secularization of religion is indeed real bearing in mind that most religious platforms cannot do well in world politics is such religions are not secularized. In such a case, it implies that contemporary politics have remarkably secularized rel