ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The article of Wasserman titled The Robber Barons is highly insightful from the point of view of the growth of the US nation. Starting the analysis from the roots of the Civil War, Wasserman proves that the military actions were not only grief but a source of profit and wealth for those who were to become the ruling barons of the future United States. He states that the beginning of US history is based on theft and crime and not on the courage and openness of pioneers. “For the millions who fought or who watched the two war machines wreck their farms, towns, and lives, the Civil War meant unimaginable horror, four years of unmitigated slaughter and devastation. Five hundred thousand people died, and the romantic spirit of the thirties and forties was consumed into a mangled, bloody mess” (Wasserman 2). Wasserman emphasizes the role of Jay Cooke, J.P. Morgan, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller in the establishment of the US industrial sector, oil refining, and railroad construction. However, he does not consider it a contribution but sees a simple theft in the process of the US development $86 million were stolen by the barons during the construction), they were engaged in armed wars for power and influence, sacrificing the human lives and arranging crises that helped them succeed and multiply their money. On the example of the 1873 crash organized by Cooke, the most powerful banker of the US at that moment, Wasserman showed how the barons made their success out of the people’s grief and struggle for existence (Wasserman 7). In 20 years of turbulent political and economic changes, the power was concentrated in the hands of three main barons – Morgan, Rockefeller, and Carnegie. Each of them was influential in his field, and the war between them was sharpened or marked by temporary truces, depending on the situation. On agreeing with Carnegie Morgan finally became the winner in the triple contest, offering the US Steel Corporation in 1901 into public consumption and marking the new industrial era (Wasserman 7). However, trusts and monopolies continued to produce negative impact on the development of the US, people suffered at the hands of the inhuman industrial machine, politics were bought and the whole country seemed to be an entire corporation: “American industry was paid for in the broken backs and dead eyes of men, women, and children who were valued only as fuel” (Wasserman 11). Only with the introduction of anti-trust and commerce legislation at the end of the 19 th century, the situation became more or less controlled publicly and the country went on the path of democracy and progress. Nonetheless, one can hardly object to the fact that the “flexible tyranny” of the Four Hundred that existed more than a century ago still has its power in the USA. Due to the heavy impact of commerce and commercialization of the governmental policies wealth does matter, as it used to at the dawn of the country’s creation. The way that the US passed from the ungoverned colony to the mature, independent state surely c
Introduction China falls in the category of the fastest emerging economies in the world. The country’s economic growth from 1949 rested on the government’s commitment to formulate and implement economic development policies (Bramall 2008). During the period ranging from 1953 to 1978, China’s rate of economic growth was 4 per cent (Thomas 2006, p.3). However, from 1978 to present, the government started implementing policies aimed at transforming the domestic economy towards market-oriented (Chow 2004, p.127). As a result, the country’s annual economic growth rate increased by a margin ranging between 8 per cent and 10 per cent. The growth hinged on the adoption of post-Mao economic reforms. In an effort to transform the economy, the Chinese government focused on a number of aspects one of them being undertaking institutional reforms. According to Tisdell (2009, p.271), China has undertaken extraordinary institutional reforms since 1978. These reforms have proved to be highly effective in stimulating the country’s economic growth. However, China faces an enormous task of maintaining the country’s rate of economic growth and development in the future. This paper aims at providing clear evidence that institutional reforms (the transition from a central planning to a market economy) provide sufficient explanation for China’s fast rate of economic growth over the past three decades. The paper also evaluates some of the issues that China has to do in order to maintain the country’s future economic growth and development. Institutional reforms undertaken by China From 1978, China initiated institutional reforms on a number of issues. Some of the main components of reform that the government focused on included agriculture, state-owned enterprises, international investment, the country’s price system, development of non-state sectors, the banking and financial sector, economic and social infrastructure, and social welfare (Tisdell 2009, p.276). Reform on the agriculture sector The Chinese government decided to initiate the institutional reforms by focusing on agriculture. This decision rested on the fact that agriculture was then the foundation of the Chinese economy (Tisdell 2009, p. 276). In implementing agricultural reforms, more emphasis was paid on resource ownership, decentralisation, and the rule of law. The government introduced a system of farming known as the ‘household responsibility system’ to promote agricultural output. The system was a shift from the previous collective farming. Through this system, each household owned land and was required to deliver a fixed amount of output to the government through the national procurement agencies. In
The book Lies My Teacher Told Me written by James Lowen presents a comprehensive critical analysis of 12 American history textbooks. This paper presents a summary of the first three chapters of the book and a brief review of the book. The topic of hero creation in chapter 1 deals with controversial issues related to President Woodrow Wilson or Helen Keller. President Wilson became a hero through the history books while the fact was that he was racial in his outlook and encouraged racial violence among African Americans. This has been exemplified through various events like the Russian civil war and administrative policies of Wilson limited the civil rights of the black community in America. Helen Keller became a hero through these discourses and was hailed as a figure of courage. However, the truth often concealed was the radical socialist inclinations of Keller. Therefore, history textbooks had been used to make mythic heroes for the next generation Americans. The second chapter demonstrates the deliberate misrepresentation of the 15 th century invasion of the Americas and the picture of the Europeans. The creation of myth about the 15 th century right from the expedition of Columbus has been criticized in the chapter. Loewen first points out those explorers before Columbus are never mentioned and other important incidents and facts like the Arawaks, African and Phoenician predecessors, Las Casas, etc. The half-truths glorify the oppressors like Columbus and of 15 th century European world domination. Therefore, the history of the 15 th century does not portray the social and political changes rather present unconnected incidents. Chapter 3 shows the mythification of the concept of Thanksgiving and the origin of the nation in 1620. The history books start the settlement story of America with the Pilgrims and leave out the Natives and the Spanish. Further, the chapter shows that the idea the history books portray is that the Natives were isolated groups of primitives. Rather Loewen shows that they run interconnected settlements. American history has suppressed all that is awkward. American history was equally violent or oppressive as any other history of the world. However, American history avoids the bad tales and brings forth only the good stories to the students. The book is an eye-opener to various aspects of American historical mythologies. The point of departure from truth in history textbooks is capable of creating a falsified impression of the facts and this distorts the basic ideas of generations of Americans. The book by Loewen brings out the ideas and beliefs of the past that the government intends to create through discourses of textbooks. The book is essentially a critique of the historical details presented in the textbooks of American schools. The textbooks glorify
Introduction In the United States of America, the Accreditation of CCRC is done by the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC) which is sponsored by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. This body is the only one charged with the responsibilities of accrediting CCRCs. Accreditation of these communities ensures that quality, integrity, and customer satisfaction are maintained at all times. The process of accreditation is normally voluntary and is thorough and involves wide self-evaluation by the staff, residents, and board of directors. The commission’s mission is very clear as explained by Gillespie is “to inspire excellence and advance innovation and improvement in organizations dedicated to serving older adults in the continuum of care” (Assisted living success, 2002). Government regulation is done by the state’s government and mostly by the departments of insurance. Most states do this through the departments of health, and others such as consumer protection and aging departments. According to a report by the US department of health and human services (2007), which quoted Conover and Sloan (1995,) stated that “Government involvement may take the form of measures designed to improve the ability of prospective residents to make informed decisions (e.g. consumer disclosure requirements), entry regulation (e.g. certification as a prerequisite for selling CCRC contracts), and measures to mitigate the adverse financial consequences to residents when bankruptcies occur” (p.445). CCAC Regulation and Accreditation The CCAC in the past years developed and adopted some standards to regulate fundamental areas touching on CCRC operations. The process starts with self-evaluations with focuses on these aspects after which the CCAC carries another inspection. Every five years, the CCAC carries out inspections after which the CCRC is certified to continue with the provision of its services. In addition to this, the CCRCs must also submit annual financial reports/statements. The standards that are used by CCAC have threefold purposes: assisting CCRC in creating, understanding, improving, and evaluating all aspects of their operations; provid
It is extremely difficult to circumscribe modern drama as a tragedy or a comedy. A drama can be in either of the two senses. Its roadmap for life can be tragic and the method that is exploited to bring it before the eyes of the public can also be tragic. The atmosphere in which the drama breathes appears to be tragic but there are certain elements owing to which the tragic sense does not absolutely dominate the ambiance of the play. Resultantly the tragedy comes on out on the stage as comedy. Critics who name it comedy have focused mostly on the humorous touches with which certain characters are endowed. As a matter of illustration, we can quote here Lopakhin’s mooing like a cow, Trofimov’s falling from the stairs, Lopakhin getting a bash mistakenly. Those who entitle it a tragedy are looking at the consequence of time passing and leaving a devastating generation in its train. “Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard has been played both as a comedy poking fun at class, age, and intellectualism and as a tragedy revealing the pain of change and loss that accompanies the passing of time”. (Ariana Mufson, The Cherry Orchard). This appears to be a simplified method of tacking the play. To me, it is not any of them. Chekhov’s characters seem tragic but the tragedy is regarded as the destiny of humanity. That is to stress that it is not put under the limelight on the stage. In a tragedy, the characters on the stage and the audience also develop rapport with the central character on the stage, or at least they seem to be. It serves to magnify the tragic encounter. This mark is not present as it is carefully avoided in the given drama. The characters are having a queer attitudinal pattern for each other. They do not look at each others’ tragic positions. Seen from this perspective, the emotional experience is detached from the audience. As a result, the unhappiness and gloom imbibed by the characters in the play do not realize the tragic magnitude. They remain absolutely private. Chekhov’s comic touches have the purpose of embodying the play above the tear-jerking emotional content and the audience is not deprived of objectivity. It appears to be very easy and plain to get the voices of the past, present, and future in the play as identified with a conventional order, fresh order, and the present as well. “That Chekhov saw it as a comedy is understandable- the actions of Ranevskaya and Gayev are proud and stupid – they fiddle whilst Rome burns. The boorish Lopahkin and the meek Varya, with their tortuous romance, are also figures of fun. Anya and her love interest, the eternal student Trofimov, are funny in their earnestness and the love triangle that develops between the uppity servant Yasha, the simple maid Dunyasha and her long-suffering clerk boyfriend, the bumbling Yepihidov is worthy of a chuckle. Finally, the very aged servant Firs has some genuinely funny moments as he dithers around the house” (Trevor Darge, The Cherry Orchard at a Glance). However, it is
Introduction The world has throughout history experienced various leaders who have been and continue to hold different views and opinions as to how the States and governments are to be led. Political leaders are seen to be the drivers of governments and States; however, it is important to note here that society is not lead by only political leaders but rather leaders with different ideologies including social, economic, cultural, religious, geographical orientation. United States of America politics has changed the hands of many conservatives, democrats, and republicans and is now in the hands of the newly elected president Barrack Osama. However, it is important to note at this juncture that all has not been smooth and it is important to appreciate the country’s heroes both dead and alive for the far they have brought this country and at the same time acknowledge that there will be more change in the future as power continues to change hands in days and years to come. Discussion America’s third president Thomas Jefferson is among many others leaders that left a legacy in American history especially in constitution writing. Despite being far from the country at the time of constitution writing, Jefferson influenced political affairs while in France as the US minister for finance. He was involved in the development of the federal government through correspondence. His main concern with the establishment of federal governments was a federal government with limited powers. As with this ally John Locke, he believed that leaders should not overstep their boundaries. Even before he became the third president of the United States of America his contributions to the formation of the government including the definition of the power of the Constitution was considerable. He was responsible for writing the Declaration of Independence which saw the freeing of all American States from their colonizer; Britain thought he admitted that that contained no original ideas but was rather a statement shared by supporters of the American Revolution. He was also responsible for writing a preamble of the Constitution of Virginia and George Mason’s draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Through the help of sources from documents that had been written in 1776, Jefferson was able to get ideas and phrases from two documents and wrote the Declaration of Independence. When Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, it at the same time chose Jefferson, his predecessor John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin to design a great seal of the newborn country Franklin came up with the phrase “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God, this phrase was highly appreciated by Jefferson who despite its rejection by Congress he continued using it as “E Pluribus Unum and it ultimately became the country’s motto. His conviction that liberty had to be fought for made him welcome the Shay’s Rebellion in Massachusetts saying that liberty must be refreshed from tim
Introduction Sexism is one of the challenges that most societies in the contemporary world have struggled to address without any meaningful progress. It refers to discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of the opposite sex. Although anybody is vulnerable to sexism, it is majorly documented as a problem faced by women and girls. According to psychologists, the challenge of sexism is necessitated by factors such as gender roles and stereotypes across various societies (Dawson, 2018). Over the years, various human rights groups have made an effort to create awareness about sexism and the probable dangers the victims might be exposed to if effective management strategies are not put in place. Research has established that in societies where sexism is highly rooted, victims are often vulnerable to rape and sexual harassment (Brewington, 2013). Cases of sexism against women are very common in the workplace. Women are very vulnerable to sexual harassment in the workplace as their male colleagues and bosses often ask for sexual favors in exchange for promotions and salary reviews (Tulshyan, 2016). Women also argue that they are often overlooked in leadership positions because men are considered to have a better chance of succeeding. Sexism is a deep-rooted societal vice that ought to be eliminated in order to promote the value of humanity. Discussion Since the turn of the century, people are more vocal with regard to the danger of sexism. Social networking sites are one of the platforms that people have used to highlight the challenges faced by victims of sexism and offer solutions to the problem. In 2012, the infamous Everyday Sexism project was launched with an aim to expose the numerous acts of sexism across the United Kingdom. The project quickly got the attention of the world as people gave shocking reactions to the degree to which the vice was rampant, especially in the streets (Brewington, 2013). According to research, social media, as well as print and electronic media, have contributed greatly to the advancement of sexism regardless of the fact that they are also being used to fight the vice. For example, the contemporary hip-hop music industry in the United States has been accused of promoting sexism through their music videos. The genre has led to women being viewed more from a sexual angle because of the way they appear in the music videos. These videos are aired across major television channels and readily available for consumption by the global audience through YouTube. Fashion magazines have also contributed to the growing challenge of sexism, especially towards wo
Introduction Accounting has become very challenging especially with the world constantly changing, increased developments as well as innovations. It has always been used for decision making, allocation of resources and operational control. Cost volume profit analysis is one of the elements of accounting. It is used to determine the volume of costs that should be used and the volume of costs that will ensure that profits are generated (Gupta and Gunasekaran, 2005). The 21 st century organizations have been adopting several modern techniques and methods in accounting. The notion of value costing has been an issue of debate whether or not it should be adopted by the 21 st century organizations. Main Body I agree that 21 st century organizations should adopt the notion of value costing. This is because many accounting functions nowadays tend to eliminate activities which have no value and try to promote activities which add value to the organization. The costing process should, therefore, add value to the whole accounting process and also to the organization so as to reduce production costs and increase profitability. Therefore, to remain relevant and create value
Hard Rock’s management decision to modify its menu from its traditional American burgers and chicken wings delicacies that were popular in its outlets was to incorporate higher end meals in its menu. This was aimed to make the restaurant’s menu competitive in the saturated market. The decision to standardize its retail outlets and make them more customer-friendly and attractive was intended to ensure that this facet of the restaurant grows the revenue streams for the chain. Currently, the facet contributes closely to 48% of Hard Rock’s revenue (Heizer & Render, 2005). Hard Rock’s management also decided to schedule their employees in a fifteen minutes interval with the intention of reducing the boredom and monotony that emanates in doing one task for a long period of time. The scheduling has also ensured that the employees have the chance to evolve and adapt to the seasonal and the daily demand changes that happen in the industry. This decision also came with the regular surveys conducted in all Hard Rock restaurants. These surveys are conducted on a one to seven scale and their major objective is to discern the quality of food and services that are offered at the restaurants. A score of less than seven is deemed as a flop either in the food served or in the service quality delivery and therefore, some improvement should be made (Heizer & Render, 2005). The management has also redesigned its restaurants so that they can accommodate the changes in tastes and preferences of their customers. In addition to this the management has opted to maintain a company website that can be used for various purposes. This website has played a crucial role in placing the restaurant in the limelight as one of the major holders of the annual rock festivals by promoting and emphasizing on live music performance from artists, thus making Hard Rock the leading collector of rock and roll memorabilia (Hard Rock Cafe International, 2011). Effective running of a restaurant is a major challenge for many restaurant managers. This necessitates the adoption of good techniques that are expected to measure and subsequently improve the productivity of its employees. Therefore, this shows that Hard Rock restaurant management’s need to measure the productivity of its kitchen and the reception staff. This task is only achievable if the following productivity techniques are applied. First, Hard Rock has to create ways that are expected to monitor the performance of the employees output over a specified period of time. However, it should be noted that better results from this initiative can only be achieved if the management makes the employees fully aware of the measuring project. According to Zigon (2009), if the employees are made aware that their performance is being measured their motivation towards work is not hampered. Collaboration from the employees over the long run leads to the increase in the employee’s productivity. The inclusive participation of the employees in the productivity evaluation initiative gives them a sense of ownership in the (Walker, 2007). Secondly, Hard Rock restaurant should come up with a criterion that is exp