ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Saudi Women movement is a feminist revolution in an extremely patriarchal society. The movement gives a platform for women to advocate for their rights, which the society has failed to offer them for a long time. Women have taken it upon themselves to pressure the authorities to recognize their efforts and roles in the society to free them from the oppressive social constructs. The ‘Mahram Law’, which entrusts every woman’s basic decisions to a male guardian, is among the major things that these women regard as gender-based oppression. With the continuing need for women to engage in work that will make them independent, Saudi women have realized that it is the high time they broke loose from the laws and social decrees that make this desire work a mirage. “Work is an extremely influential platform on which equal citizenship is built” ((Bartlet & Rhode, 2010, p.649). The social media such as Facebook and twitter has played a significant role when it comes to mobilizing the Saudi women, as well as giving them the platform to air their grievances. Women have lived under oppressive conditions for a long period in Saudi Arabia. It is surprising that some of the things, which people refer to as taboos to these women, are anywhere in the available. For instance, there is no law in Saudi Arabia that prohibits women against driving. However, the there is a ban that the government has imposed where women found driving end up under the arms of police. If a woman has to run some private errands, she first has to seek the permission of her legal guardian who is a man. Therefore, she has to hire a man to drive her. This venture is oppressive in that the woman has no privacy whatsoever. Above all, she has no access to the basic right of making the right decisions (Danson, 1978, p.42). The society has imposed these bans on women based on uniformed assumptions that, for a woman to make the right decision, it has to be under the influence of a man. Other numerous things make it impossible for the Saudi woman to pursue a working career. Greatest among these is the “Mahram law”. The Saudi woman has to consult before making any decision, be it going to school or travelling. A woman cannot travel, appear in court, marry, divorce, open a bank account or even enquire about her children’s school performance without the consent of the legal guardian. According to the feminist theory, the woman is only a puppet that cannot operate on her own. For years, people have viewed the Saudi Woman as a second-class citizen of the kingdom. A number of questions arise regarding the timing of this movement. Some people even wonder why they have all over sudden decided to rebel against the things that for a long period were normal to them. The desire to work and active
BP’s handling of the Situation BP’s immediate response to the disaster was a rather frantic attempt to coordinate emergency response to curb the oil spill (Macalister 2). This happened in the eve of April 20 th (The Guardian 8). Many measures were applied to contain the oil leak but quite a number were unsuccessful in the initial stages. For example, the company tried to pump thousands of barrels of oil into the well to stop the leak but nothing much came out of it (The Guardian 8). The mitigation efforts were poorly coordinated and rather clumsy, with many of the company’s shareholders expressing fear that the company was going to significantly incur a lot of financial damages in the cleanup exercise (The Guardian 8). This caused BP’s shares to plunge by more than 2% (The Guardian 5). However, the shares of the company hit an all-time low after it was estimated that the cleanup costs and litigation expenses were costing the company in excess of $2.35 billion (The Guardian 8). Nonetheless, after subsequent consultations with the company engineers, the oil leak was contained and sealed to this date. On 3 rd June, the company embarked on efforts to carry out major advertising campaigns to boost the company’s image among the American public (The Guardian 5). This was undertaken through television commercials that were aired throughout the country. Soon afterwards, the company embarked on rewarding its shareholders with dividends; a move which was politically criticized because the crisis obviously implied increased financial burden for the company in cleanup costs (The Guardian). Considering there were a number of fatalities in the disaster, the company decided to pay $20 billion as compensation to the families (The Guardian 5). This translated to 13.5 billion Euros (The Guardian 5). The above responses implied a number of advantages and disadvantages to the company. Though containing the leak was the first response procedure the company undertook, its lack of coordination showed the company’s weakness in dealing with disasters. However, since it undertook efforts to curb the disaster (as a prompt strategic response) the company was perceived to take responsibility for its own misdeeds. This was a swift strategy the company undertook. Another commendable response that the company undertook was to compensate the families of those who lost their members in the disaster. This was a positive strategy in portraying the company as having a human touch to its undertakings. In other words, the company was easily perceived as caring for its employees, as opposed to solely being driven by the aim of making profits. The television commercials and advertisements developed by the company to improve its image was also a good strategy in minimizing the negative publicity the company got as a result of the disaster. However, the effectiven
Introduction Tesco is one of the leading UK retailers that started its international expansion in the 1990s. The company’s focus on internationalization was a successful strategy that led to remarkable growth in many regions and considerable profits that reached $3.8 billion in 2011 (Wrigley, Lowe, & Cudworth, 2013). However, success in some regions was accompanied by major failures in other areas, which led to significant losses, both financial and reputational. This paper includes a brief analysis of the company’s strategy, as well as challenges the company faces and new strategic directions to adapt to address these challenges. Analysis of the Existing Strategy The focus on international expansion was determined by the growing regulatory and competitive pressures Tesco had to handle in the domestic market. The first areas of expansion were countries of Central Europe that were undergoing major transformations in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Regulations in those countries were minimal, and competitors were also quite a few, which enabled the company to earn a significant share of the market (up to 27%) in 2011 (Wrigley et al., 2013). At that, Tesco experienced the most unprecedented growth in Asia, specifically in South Korea. The company is now the second-largest retailer in the country, with revenues of over £5 billion (Butler & Neville, 2013). The company is successfully penetrating the markets of India and China. Nevertheless, the expansion into the US market that started in 2007 proved to be a failure as the company announced that all the stores would be closed and sold in the near future (Ruddick, 2013). It is noteworthy that Philip Clarke, the company’s CEO, understood the complexity of operating in the USA as the market was saturated, and the competition was rather fierce. However, the decision was to enter the American market with a focus on fresh food (which was quite expensive). The internationalization of Tesco has a number of peculiarities. First, the company made some partnerships. One of the most successful partnerships was implemented in South Korea (Wrigley et al., 2013). Tesco and Samsung collaboration was successful as Tesco managed to address various issues associated with operating in new markets. First, the retailer managed to learn the peculiarities of the country’s legislation and regulatory policies. Customers’ needs and characteristic features were also acknowledged. Tesco also managed to establish a retail chain that seemed fully domestic. Another peculiarity of Tesco’s expansion was the focus on its private labels rather than manufacturers’ products. The company also tried to be customer-oriented. However, in many regions, Tesco failed to achieve this goal, which led to failures and losses (Yoder, Visich, & Rustambekov, 2016). The company did not meet the needs of customers in the USA, Japan, and other regions. Costs and Benefits of the Strategy It is necessary to note that internationalization is often an effective strategy used when the competition in the domest
Introduction Abortion has become one of the most noxious, controversial, and disturbing issues that many societies continue to grapple with. Most of the groups involved in this debate present scientific, legal, ethical, and moral arguments to either oppose or support the practice. Due to the nature of this debate, many people have presented meaningful insights that will dictate its future. This essay discusses and explains why all debates about abortion do not always boil down to the fetus’ moral status. Thesis statement All arguments about abortion do not come down to the question of what is the moral status of the fetus since there are other aspects involved, including the health conditions of the mother, the fetus’s ability to survive outside the womb, ethical issues, father’s rights, and infanticide. Abortion Arguments Abortion has remained a legal practice in the United States since the year 1973. Although existing laws outline specific situations whereby the process is permissible, the topic has remained controversial. Although most of the arguments revolve around the moral status of the fetus, there are others that are informed by various concerns or issues. Questions founded on this aspect seek to describe whether people should treat fetuses as human beings with moral liberties, statuses, and responsibilities or not (Smyth and Lane 117). Those who support abortion acknowledge that unborn babies lack such rights despite the fact they are biologically human. Those opposed to it indicate that people should not ignore the moral statuses of fetuses. Conservatives propose that all embryos have identifiable or unique genetic codes. According to Frederico et al., all attempts aimed at placing the beginning of humanity at any given stage after conception are inappropriate since such developments must be allowed to take place (334). This means that the ethical or moral positions of all unborn babies should be supported. The abortion debate goes further to focus on other critical aspects that are different from the fetus’ moral status. Firstly, many people will cite the health of the would-be-mother whenever supporting this practice (Marecek et al. 9). They will argue that abortion is essential when the woman’s life is endangered by her pregnancy. Terminating it through abortion can protect such a person from premature death or medical complications. The second aspect is the rights of the father. Any decision to support or oppose this practice should be guided by the father’s position. This debate will be inconclusive without considerin
The shift of the economic power is undeniable. For several years already we observe the growth of China and India’s economics, which proves that East replaced West in this sphere. These countries produce better educational output in the comparison to the United States. For instance, about 60,000 students who studied engineering graduate in America every year while this number is more than eight times larger in China and India (Agarwal 512). Still, the scientific output of America is considered to be the highest one. The countries pay a lot of attention to the researches in various fields. More than 130 billion dollars were spent by China in 2007 to enhance research and development (Bhattacharya par. 4). Thus, the specialists have an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and often become even more skillful than their co-workers from the United States. They innovate in their spheres and deal with new software tools and other technologies proficiently. The labor costs in America are much higher than in these countries that is why their employment rate increased. Many multinational organizations occur in the West and search for the employees from the East. Thus, with the course of time they can displace American workers. Moreover, companies in the United States prefer to gain more than to hire new personnel; they use digital technologies to deal with the routine work. China and India are thought to change the global economy of the 21 st century. Due to their economic growth, the countries are even compared to the United States of the 19 th century. At that time, they gained the world’s leadership with the workforce of the younger generations in agriculture, technologies, and other spheres. A similar situation is now seen in China and India. Their youth gains high savings and a range of thing they are to do to proceed enhancing economics (Cravens and Piercy 497). The understanding that the countries can become the world’s leaders in few years motivates the younger generations and makes them try harder and work as much as possible to achieve success in various spheres. China and India are going to continue working together to fill the gaps they have and enhance their perspectives (Sidhu and Yuan 171). For several years already were growing at about 7% and continues doing this now. Today industrialized nations benefit on the basis of international trade, but soon they will become competitors. The countries of the West are likely to get dissatisfied with the China and India’s opportunity to excel them. Thus, this development will put their attitude to global and open trade to a test. Even though China and India achieved huge educational success, they have a lot of issues to overcome as they prevent further development. The countries are also expected to maintain a particular percent of growth every year; as it is not achieved, the process slows. For now the increased population helps to enhance the workforce as it reduces the unemployment rate. However, it is likely to deteriorate environmenta
Summaries of the readings and relevant examples In his article, Jean-Francois Lyotard examines the peculiarities of knowledge in the age of post-modernism. In particular, this author discusses the decline of the so-called grand narrative or a method of interpreting the experiences of individuals and groups. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about social sciences such as economics. There have been several grand narratives that have been used by explain various questions, for instance, one can mention such an ideology as Marxism which is now often criticized. Moreover, the author speaks about Ludwig Wittgenstein’s theory according to which universal understanding is impossible because of linguistic differences. Overall, Lyotard’s idea of grand narrative can be illustrated if one looks at the way in which different historians try to discuss civil rights movement. Some of them try to focus on the efforts of political activists who wanted to bring social change. In turn, other researchers attach importance to the intentions of political leaders who did not want to face violent protests. In turn, Arlene Stein and Ken Plummer discuss the peculiarities of the queer theory and the connections of this framework with post-modernism. These authors argue that the notion of sexuality is artificially constructed. The scholars refer to the ideas of Michel Foucault who believes that heterosexuality was merely imposed as a norm. It is possible to provide several examples which illustrate the validity of the queer theory. For instance, one can examine the way in which the very notion of homosexuality has evolved in the course of the twentieth century. Approximately, seventy years ago, it could be called a disease or a form of abnormality. However, nowadays, it is treated as one of the norms. This is one of the aspects that can be distinguished. Finally, in his essay, Jeffrey Alexander focuses on various aspects of democratic communication. The author examines the complex discourse that regulates the functioning of a complex society. The scholar says that this discourse is supposed to explain how universal ideas be institutionalized. Moreover, Jeffrey Alexander examines the way in which Ludwig Wittgenstein’s theory can be applied to the functioning of civil society. In this case, one should speak about the rhetoric that has been developed during the age of Enlightenment. Overall, it is possible to refer to such concepts as reason and right since they are often used by democratic leaders. The ideas expressed by the author are relevant to the functioning of the legal system. For instance, it is important to speak about various interpretations of the text of the U.S. Constitution or existing laws in order to protect the interests of various groups. Connections between sources Overall, there are several important connections between these sources. First of all, in each case, these authors pay attention to the methods of interpreting information. One of the ideas, which are present in each of these readings, is that the conceptions of truth can be artificially constructed. However, nowadays, these conceptions can be questioned. Fu
Big box stores are large retail establishments. They are also known as chain stores, superstores, supercenters or megastores. A big box store is “a stand-alone building typically significantly larger in size than traditional stores and often uniform in appearance” (Big Box Stores 3). Thus, one can find similar big box stores in different locations. Generally, big box stores are categorized into two- general merchandise for example Wal-Mart and specialty stores that deal with specific goods like electronics for example Tesco. The establishment of big box stores in the community raises a debate and people have contrary opinions about these chain stores. Some favor them while others oppose their establishment. Big box stores have both merits and demerits to the economy. Big box stores are large and some of them are chains. This factor enables them to negotiate favorable prices with their suppliers hence they are able to sell their wares at very low prices. The stores benefit from the large volumes of goods they sell thus can afford to set low prices. The large stores that use technology for example optical scanners have a low cost in restocking hence they can pass this benefit to consumers. This is an advantage to the consumers because they can get goods at cheap prices (Villarreal 1). Consumers are also able to get all the goods they require under one roof hence convenience in shopping. This saves consumers time they would have used hopping from one store to another. The consumers not only enjoy this convenience but inexpensive products. The big box stores lead to increased sales volumes, which translates to big sale taxes to the local governments. The tax is used to fund local services hence improve the economy (Villarreal 1). Critics of big box stores say that they have a negative impact on the economy. This is because most of the big box stores lead to lower wages. A study done by Marlon Boarnet and Russell Crane on the impact of big box stores in California show that they will lead to lowering of the industrial wage and benefits (Big Box Stores 5). Furthermore, the study found out that the big box stores give less cover on health insurance and thus reduce health coverage for its employees. This means that the employees cannot enjoy the full benefits of health cover and can only receive low quality care. Big box stores undermine smaller businesses and often drive them out of business, as they are not able to compete with the stores’ extremely low prices. When such small businesses are pushed out of the market, people lose jobs and the local governments lose revenue. The stores destroy many jobs than they create and pay less thus “does less to stimulate the local economy” (Big Box Stores 5). Moreover, the big box stores such as Wal-Mart receive large tax subsidies and are able to skirt taxes due to tax loopholes (Mitchell xi). The stores are able to offer low prices and give low salaries to their employers giving them an undue advantage over small business. Lieber sums this point clearly,” where one of these giants is competing against a small business that is responsible to its workers and to the community, the giant wil
Professional Responsibilities The test developer should formulate a test that gives valid and reliable representations of test-takers’ knowledge, skills, and mental status. The intended purpose of the test should be clarified as well as interpretive guidance for accurate interpretation. The test administrator ought to provide a conducive testing environment for test-takers to demonstrate their knowledge and skills competently and guarantee the confidentiality of the outcomes. The test subjects should provide honest information during the evaluation. Testing Individuals Representing Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Cultural background affects test results due to enhanced sensitivity to cultural variables. Specific factors include language and tones, perceptions about life and death, positions on education and mental wellbeing, family responsibilities, problem-solving tactics, attitudes toward education and mental health, and phases of acculturation (Gregory, 2014). Therefore, a cautious interpretation of test outcomes is recommended. Reliability Sources of measurement error include the inability to probe indefinite verbal responses, overgenerosity in awarding points, and insensitivity to physical disability. Physical disabilities include impaired speech, hearing, motor control, and vision, which can cause poor performance and wrong diagnoses. Measurement errors can affect reliability by increasing or reducing the test scores significantly. Validity Types of validity. Extra validity Concerns Extra validity refers to the side-effects and unintentional outcomes of testing. Examples include demotivation of identified children due to the perception that they are dumb, name-calling by other children, and reduced attention from teachers. Testing can also cause discrimination of children based on race or social class. Factor Analysis and Validation of Instrument Constructs A construct should be clearly defined based on clusters of personality traits and mannerisms that typify it (Mathieu, Hare, Jones, Babiak, & Neumann, 2013). The environmental setting should be considered to determine the relationship between a construct and clinical phenomena (Fergus, 2013). The totals of subsets of items for a measure that fits well in varied and independent samples indicate the generalizability of the construct being quantified (Kosson et al., 2013). Clinical Versus Statistical Prediction Clinical prediction involves the direct use of data from psychometric tests, observations, and interviews to foretell the occurrence of a given condition (Grove & Lloyd, 2006). Conversely, statistical prediction codes the prediction data and uses mathematical models to foretell a mental health decision. Statistical predictions of mental health decisions are more accurate than clinical predictions (Ægisdóttir et al., 2006; Grove & Lloyd, 2006). Besides, clinical prediction models are often simpler and more straightforward than statistical prediction. Application One: An Ethica