ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Inside Man (2006) directed by Spike Lee depicts the perfect bank robbery skillfully planned by a criminal Dalton Russell (Clive Owen). The robbery with hostages turns into a game of cat-and-mouse between Russell, an experienced detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington), and a power broker with a hidden agenda Madeleine White (Jodie Foster). Apart from the obvious fight between the good and the evil that the film presents there are some less apparently observed topics covered. In the current paper I will speak of two of them: the call for actions of the US government concerning the video games and the way the US government reacts to emergency situations. Main body Prohibition to sell and rent excessively violent and sexually explicit video games to children under 18 has always been a disputable question that US governors try to solve (Blagojevich). The reality of modern life is such that an American teenager can go into a store and buy or rent there any game no matter how violent and sexually explicit it might be. No law prevents him/her from doing this. In the film under consideration we witness a scene when the robbers’ leader lets the African-American boy keep on playing a video game whereas other hostages are ordered to hand over all phones and electronic devices. Owen’s character asks the kid about the game he is playing. For not more than thirty seconds we realize that the game is one of those that teach the players that there is nothing extraordinary in killing and robbing people. The dialogue between the robber and the boy proves it: Robber: “What’s the point of this game?” Boy: “Rob people. Kill people.” Robber: “And you like this?” Boy: “Sure. Just like my man Fitty says, ‘Get rich, or die tryin’. That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?” (The Inside Man) A bit later the robber confiscates the game saying that he wants to talk to the boy’s father about allowing him to play it. I believe that this scene wherein a complete stranger cares of what the boy plays is intended to symbolize American parents’ pleads to the US government to regulate selling of video games and the governors’ unwillingness to consider the issue. My point is that the problem of violent and sexually expli
Introduction Every country that intends to improve the welfare of its populace must have an effective healthcare system. This is because the healthcare sector provides services that not only save thousands of lives, but also prevent illnesses that might adversely affect the public. Despite its importance, the healthcare sector in most countries is ineffective due to wastages, poor management, and lack of resources. In response to these weaknesses, most countries are adopting lean management principles to improve the efficiency of their healthcare systems. The main objectives of lean principles are to maximize value and to reduce waste. The process of introducing lean principles must be led by the top management so that lean thinking can be adopted in the entire organization. A lean culture helps in implementing the changes associated with lean thinking. This paper focuses on the application of lean principles in the healthcare sector. The thesis that it will support states that lean principles are the optimum solution to the impending healthcare management issues. The paper will begin with a definition of lean principles. This will be followed by a discussion of the effectiveness of lean principles. Finally, the changes that should be made in the healthcare system will be discussed. Definition of Lean Principles Lean principles are a set of strategies or steps that aim at maximizing customer value and reducing wastes simultaneously. Generally, using these principles involves “creating more value for customers with fewer resources”. A lean healthcare system must recognize customer value and channel its resources towards improving it. The objective of the system should be to provide perfect value to patients and other stakeholders through a process that eliminates wastes. This objective can be achieved through lean thinking that enables leaders in the healthcare sector to optimize the flow of services through value streams. Healthcare organizations such as hospitals can develop processes that require less human effort, time, space, and capital by reducing wastes along their value streams. In this regard, managers should focus on three aspects of creating value namely, people, process, and purpose. Purpose refers to the patients’ needs that must be satisfied. People refer to the individuals who are responsible for serving the patients. Process refers to the methodology of delivering customer value. Effectiveness of Lean Principles Lean principles can improve the performance of the healthcare system through the following ways. First, it enables organizations to focus on customers and their needs. In the healthcare sector, patients are the main customers whose needs must be satisfied. In a lean healthcare system, managers, doctors, and nurses must define value from the patient’s perspective. Concisely, all procedures and strategies that facilitate treatment of patients should be considered as value-adding processes. Thus, processes that do not contribute to the treatment of patients are wastes that shoul
Guy de Maupassant is a major French novelist and master of short stories, who succeeded in popularizing the genre. The writer lived and worked in the second half of the 19th century, and during the nine years, published at least twenty collections of short prose, very often associated with naturalism. The researchers note that the author is a successor to the critical realism tradition, who opposed the bourgeois values and orders of that time (Perez 349). Maupassant explored many of the social as well as philosophical problems in his writings. The author himself had a saturated life full of both significant achievements and tragic events, which were reflected in numerous plots and events of his narrations. This raises the question of the writer’s self-centeredness, which can be considered as narcissism. The paper focuses on whether Maupassant was a narcissist and discusses this issue through an examination of the author’s life and work. Biography of the Novelist Guy de Maupassant was born to a noble French family in 1850. The mother of the future writer was a childhood friend of Gustave Flaubert, who began to actively engage in the life of Maupassant when he entered the school in Rouen (de Maupassant 14). Over time, Flaubert became the young man’s mentor, who significantly influenced the aesthetics, literary interests, and writing style of the novelist. It should be noted that Flaubert was initially a close person to the Maupassant family, and the future writer did not have to conquer his attention with achievements and talents. Communication with such a significant figure for European art could have greatly influenced the young man’s self-esteem, but this factor was not the only one. Maupassant was compelled to become an official in the Ministry of the Navy because of the ruin of his family, where he worked for about a decade (de Maupassant 14). However, this work was distasteful to him because Maupassant was attracted to social adventures and literature. A favorite hobby of athletically composed Maupassant was boating on the Seine and admiring the picturesque surroundings to the west of Paris (de Maupassant 14). Also, the young man was engaged in a promiscuous and extremely intensive romantic lifestyle, which was the inspiration for many stories and female characters (de Maupassant 14; Meskin and Galay 105). This has certainly affected the writer’s self-image and literary vision, although one can only judge the bond between his love affairs and narcissism only in connection with the author’s writ
Introduction Because of the need to incorporate the experience acquired in the past into the current framework of business decisions, passed the Right to Be Forgotten in 2006 (Bennett, 2012). According to the principal postulates of the regulation, the fraudulent actions committed by companies as well as physical persons should not be mentioned after the guilty party pays its debt to the society (Dredge, 2014). The debate that the law has sparked is beyond impressive. Because the online environment exposes entrepreneurship to unique factors and creates prerequisites for discussing issues broadly, the fairness of keeping a consistent focus on the blunders made by companies might seem unreasonable. Businesses The Right to Be Forgotten is bound to have a positive effect on a range of companies that compromised themselves in the past yet are willing to turn over a new leaf. It could be argued, though, that the introduction of the Right to Be Forgotten as the foundation for a fair evaluation of organizations and their current ethical and business practices might become premises for certain companies to continue their dishonest approach without being suspected. Users The Right to Be Forgotten may also affect physical persons along with the legal ones. However, the changes that the legislation will promote in the business world are quite different from the way, in which physical persons will be affected. Presumably, the Right to Be Forgotten will allow for a soothing effect on the relentless memory of the global network. Consequently, the threat of bullying on the Internet can be prevented rather efficiently, and the possibility for people to redeem themselves after an online disgrace will emerge. Seeing that online bullying has recently become a major issue in the global community, the promotion of the Right to Be Forgotten can be viewed as a crucial addition to the current set of regulations applied to the online environment. For specific users, the incorporation of the above tool in the general set of online regulations may become essential to facilitating their security and safety in the e
Company information The firm under analysis is Starbucks Corporation. Its headquarters is in the United States but has branches in fifty-eight countries around the world. The company specializes in the sale of coffee. These may come in a variety of mixes and flavors such as cappuccinos and lattes. Starbucks also sells smoothies and other cold drinks. Customers also visit Starbucks to enjoy baked items such as sandwiches and pastries. The organization also offers ice cream in some stores and has a book and film subsidiary. One can find Starbucks stores in the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, China, France, Britain, Australia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and many other countries. Starbucks is categorized as a provider of services (in the form of coffee) and goods (as mentioned above). The company has approximately one hundred and forty-nine thousand employees working around the world. Its net come in 2011 amounted to $945.6 million while its total assets were $6.38 billion. Its total revenue was 10.71 billion while its operating income was $ 1.42 billion. The firm registered an increase in net income, operative income, and total assets from the previous year. Consequently, this company appears to be doing well.
Introduction The Drug Enforcement Agency is an agency commonly known as DEA which was set up to monitor the consumption and distribution of drugs in the United States. The agency makes sure that all the drugs that circulate in the country are not misused and abused. It also monitors the illegal trafficking of such drugs. DEA monitors every prescription for narcotics, their use, and stores all the information in a central database. It is therefore a must for each practitioner and physician in the US to be registered with DEA. They are also required to have an active DEA number of registration which must be included on each prescription (Clifford 2006). There are times when unethical and illegal practices are detected by the DEA. Cases such as giving a patient the wrong type of drugs or giving the patient an overdose of a drug. This can lead to the death of the patient or even the patient developing other complications that may put his health in more danger. The Agency takes prompt actions and disciplinary measures taken against the hospital. In most cases, the DEA registration is suspended for some time until the case is fully investigated. Investigations may take some time to be completed and if found guilty a heavy fine is paid depending on the damage caused. The final action that is taken is by DEA is to revoke the license until the owners of the hospital proved to be legible to have the license. Mission The main mission of the DEA is to enforce the law on drug and substance abuse. This includes the role of making sure that drug cartels are eliminated and that their leaders are put behind bars. The other missions include investigating and filing cases in court for those who violate the laws. DEA has done a great job in recent times where it captured some of the most wanted drug Lords who have been charged in a court of law. It also manages the National intelligence drug program in corporation with local and foreign officials. Their main agenda is to analyze, collect, and strategize operations to capture the drug dealers. They come out with plans to eradicate drug trafficking. Other activities of the DEA include seizing of assets of the captured illegal drug dealers. Many vehicles, motorbikes, and firearms have been seized thus crippling the activities of the drug traffickers. In most cases, the assets are destroyed so that they will never get hold of the assets again (Doyle 2005). They also cooperate with the state and local agencies to ensure that drugs are not easily available to the drug users’.This is done through crop eradication and providing alternative crops for farmers who deal with Marijuana farming. Responsibility is their other mission. They have the mandate to corporate with US a
“Paul’s Case” published in 1905 by Willa Cather is a short story that is often cited as Cather’s representative gay fiction and one that signifies Cather’s personal and artistic growth. It is the story of a depressed young man whose feelings of superiority and desire for the finer things in life make him a misfit in his world. Thesis: Paul’s Case deals with various themes such as illusion and reality, poverty and richness, art and boredom, father and son, homosexuality and alienation; – all of these themes are explored within the framework of Paul’s rebellion in a manner strongly suggesting that reality is relative to each individual. The character of Paul is the main anchor of the story. Paul is a sensitive teenage boy longing to find meaning in his life through romance and art to escape the drab reality of his daily life. Paul prefers to live in a dream world of art, music, and beauty – rather than in the real world. Unaccustomed to receiving attention Paul finds it very much unnerving to accept the attention of his teachers at school. When his English teacher attempts to guide his hand while writing on the chalkboard. Paul withdraws in a shock, pulling away from his hands to his back. This incident gives a glimpse into the deep sense of alienation and vulnerability that Paul feels. Cather describes Paul in three ways: in terms of how other people perceive him; in terms of his feelings and in terms of what he loves. The reader is first introduced to Paul in the high school principal’s office, and he is shown through the eyes of his teachers. Paul is, in his teacher’s opinion, a little odd. When he comes with his dad to the Principal’s office after being suspended, his attire and attitude seem little ostentatious, with “something of the dandy about him”; he wears a carnation in his lapel and an oval stud in his tie, and his unusually large eyes are also unusually brilliant and dilated, somewhat reminiscent of someone on drugs. In the context of feelings, we find that Paul dreads the idea of living in Cordelia Street. “ Paul never went up Cordelia Street without a shudder of loathing…. He approached it tonight with the nerveless sense of defeat, the hopeless feeling of sinking back forever into ugliness and commonness ” (117) After school, Paul works at the local performing arts theater, and here he is completely at home: “It was very much as though this were a great reception and Paul were the host.” He hands out programs “as though it were his greatest pleasure in life.” Of the three ways in which Paul is portrayed, the greatest emphasis is on what he loves, because Paul is a boy in love with many things. After running away from home and arri
Key Points   * Responding to dynamic business challenges – strategically and operationally . Facing a rigorous competition, Chinese subsidiaries of Wall-Mart had to resort strategies that would increase their competitive edge and provide more perspectives for development and high profitability.   * Values-based leadership and the strategic focus on people . The new strategic management intervention has made a shift to new priorities. Specifically, health people and health food have become a priority.   * Creativity, innovation & dynamic change : more emphasis is placed on administrative, judiciary, and legal norms to introduce a fair and sound competition and increase sales through implementation of innovative approaches. Particular attention should be paid to the analysis of cultural diversity and its role in creating multinational corporations. Analysis Setting Goals . Because former executives of Wall-Mart failed to achieve growth in China due to fraudulent activities, including price deception and dates prolongation, the management changeover was necessary to re-evaluating the situations and understanding the reasons why the department store undertook critical situation. In this regard, the interim CEO managers decided to pay close attention to political and administrative measures of controlling food safety. They have realized that the previous managers had underestimated the importance of mom-and-pop shops in china that significantly influenced price policy in global chains. Presenting Action P lans. In order response to the critical situation, the new management team has established alternative concepts to follow. First of all, the Chinese department should be more oriented on global sales standards. Due to the fact that Wal-Mart operations in China are relatively small, the accent on developing this sector should be significant. Only 2 % of global sales allowed the department to be the first largest retailer in the world after Sun Art Retail. Next strategy implemented involves local adaptation of Wal-Mart department to the Chinese market. Reference should be made to changing the concept of “freshness” that differs significant from the American style of wrapping and delivering products. Third, retail store in China should be expanded to attract middle class target buyers. Reviewing the Progress . Despite the presented problems, the recent annual report on Wal-Mart sales has presented significant growth due to the departments located in China, Mexico, and Brazil. In addition, the government has also been involved into the problem and has introduced strict measures for consumer-goods makers. The government has also established new standards and bans for food production to prevent the introduction of unhealthy food. Appraising Performance . Judging from the above-interventions and action plans, the implemented changes to management have been crucial for eliminating the existing crisis in growth. Management changeover, therefore, can contribute to the development of new, global-oriented polices. Conclusion The article under analysis presents a number of problems that can relate to the retail departmen
Introduction Medical marijuana is used to refer to the use of marijuana as a physician-recommended form of medication in its natural or synthetic form. The use of this naturally occurring substance as a herbal remedy dates back to several millennia, and up to date, it is still used to treat various diseases including arthritis, asthma, epilepsy, leukemia, sickle cell disease, and so on. However, its use has come under strong criticism and as this essay will point out, its use should be banned in Canada and alternative medications should be used. Mental Disorders Studies have consistently shown that persons who use marijuana frequently are at a higher risk of developing mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder than those who have not smoked at all. These side effects arise from the fact that marijuana contains compounds that can catalyze latent mental illnesses. Consequently, patients, especially those suffering from mild or severe mental conditions should not use medicinal marijuana. In addition, older patients who have not used marijuana before have reported disturbing psychological effects including unpleasant feelings and disorientation after being treated with medicinal marijuana. The cannabinoids found in marijuana can aggravate symptoms among persons with movement disorders or nausea and hence its use should be banned in Canada. Marijuana may increase the risk of cancer The use of medicinal marijuana may increase the risk of having cancer, particularly if it is smoked (Jones and Carnegie, 2001). Marijuana smoking causes abnormalities in cells lining the respiratory tract, increasing the risk of a person having respiratory cancer and other respiratory diseases. Besides, similar to tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke can result in a higher probability of lung damage and pregnancy complications. Although some studies suggest that marijuana can be used as a remedy for cancer-related anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and mood disorders, the researchers do not provide real prevalence estimates to back up such conclusions (Furler et al., 2004). An Institute of Medicine report opined that marijuana smoking introduces toxic chemicals into the body and for this reason, the plant cannot be projected to provide a clearly defined health benefit (Joffe & Yancy, 2004). Marijuana causes diminished psychomotor performance The use of marijuana in any form and for any purpose, whether medicinal or as a form of recreation, results in reduced psychomotor performance. This implies that persons who use medicinal marijuana are not advised to operate any vehicle, machinery, or any other potentially dangerous equipment while they are still under the influence of marijuana. Moreover, the short-term immunosuppressive effects of medicinal marijuana have not been well documented, and, even if they existed, cannot warrant the use of the substance since alternative medications with similar or comparable effects but