ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Human beings are social creatures who perceive others and themselves through their social environment. Social environment is an immediate environment that acts as a mirror for the people to perceive themselves relative to others. The dominant factor in the social environment that significantly affects our perception is the social class that has set virtual boundaries for the people to socialize within certain limits. Dominant social classes provide benchmarks for others to tirelessly struggle to achieve perceived social status. In the essay ‘No Cats in America’, a student perceives that America is the land of bliss and without any problem. Moreover, ‘Masks’ is an essay that depicts beautiful girl with a wonderful family that leaves other students admiring her social stature at school. The essays depict how social classes of these students influence their perception of others and themselves at the school and in the society. Hughes and Zanden argue that, “the essence of the sociological imagination is the ability to see our private experiences and personal difficulties as entwined with the structural arrangements of our society and the times in which we live,” (2). Social class is a social construct that classify and fit people into their respective social levels depending on the dominant perceptions of varied social environments. Therefore, how does social class influence our perception of others and ourselves in the society? ‘No Cats in America’ In this essay, after a student watched a movie ‘there are not cats in America’ and having learned about the American dream, the student realized that America is the land of happiness and free from any life’s problems. Seeing that many Russians have gone to America in search of better life, the student who is a Philippine began longing to be in the land of happiness and equality according to the American dream. Fortunately, his father gets a job in California and he realizes his wish of being in America. Shifting to America, he is utterly surprised to note that his cultural and racial identity puts him at disadvantaged social position because at school, students mock and ridicule him. On the first day at school, other students laughed at him when he introduces himself. The students laughed at him because his English accent differs with American accent yet he is proficient in English for he had learned in Philippines
Introduction All primary and secondary stakeholders of Big Pharma are mainly motivated by the enormous profits in this industry. Primary stakeholders in Big Pharma include investors, companies’ boards of directors, and shareholders. The scope of these stakeholders stretches to include other major industries such as oil companies, agri-chem giants, and governments. The money that is invested in Big Pharma comes from the global financial industry that is also at the helm of Fortune 500 companies. Secondary stakeholders in Big Pharma include lobbyists and politicians (Greider 34). Most of the major drug companies spend a substantial amount of money in a bid to influence government policies. Doctors and other medical practitioners are also secondary stakeholders in Big Pharma. Main body Pharmaceutical companies’ main economic responsibility is to their owners and financiers. At the end of the day, these companies are expected to turn a profit margin, and this is what determines their survival (Hirsch 607). On the other hand, Big Pharma is legally obligated to conform to a set of guidelines that are mostly influenced by lawmakers and lobbyists. These rules are mainly laid out in the constitution and policed by bodies such as the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). The companies’ main ethical responsibility is to the drug users, who can potentially be harmed by the drugs. These videos address various ethical issues but most of these fall under advertising. First, advertising influences potential drug consumers in a biased manner. For example, most pharmaceutical adverts suggest that only doctors should suggest drugs to users after they have already influenced the customer’s mentality (Rod, Ashill, and Carruthers 175). Another ethical issue that is covered in the videos involves how companies develop ‘copies’ of existing drugs and then market them as if they are new. This practice creates unnecessary competition in the industry whereby the consumer ends up being the loser. It would be prudent for relevant authorities to find out the advantages of new drugs over existing ones before they are introduced to the market. Companies use various marketing tactics to edge out their competition, some of which are subtle, while others are direct. First, drug companies have focused their attention on doctors and medical students by offering them branded gifts and other tangible concessions. Another tactic involves associating new drugs with prior brands in a bind to influence custo
Introduction Born in the USA: How A Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed To Put Women and Children First , is a book that was authored by Dr. Marsden Wagner. The book underscores the error in thinking that the obstetrics and gynecology sector in the US has reached a level that can be considered safe for expectant women, the unborn children, laboring women, and newly born babies. Wagner highlights the mistakes that have been rampant in the birth industry and which have put the lives of expectant women, fetuses, and children at a high risk. He points out to the high number of caesarian deliveries and the growing number of infant fatalities to corroborate his claims that rather than creating a safer environment in the ob-gyn sector, the current trends are in fact becoming worse, resulting in an increase in maternal, fetal, and infant mortality. Dr. Wagner, he himself being an ob-gyn and former director of Women’s and Children’s Health at the World Health Organization, points out that the numerous deaths are not coincidences, but are as a result of the use of wrong interventions. He puts forward several recommendations that can help reduce the health risks for pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. Women should not opt for a c-section simply for convenience or for other non-emergency factors. He also asserts that a woman’s body is much more strong and resistant that present ob-gyn medical practitioners have made us to believe, particularly when it pertains to vaginal birth. …the total number of pregnancies in which powerful and dangerous drugs are used is 60 percent, or nearly two-thirds of all births. It is ridiculous to think that two-thirds of America
Analysis of critical issues or management in a foreign business environment The expansion of businesses in the international environment has emerged as one of the competitive strategies that are used by firms. Most of the challenges that are witnessed by firms in the international business environment revolve around the issue of managing in a new business environment, which denotes variations in business culture (Arunjo, 2007). The new Chief Executive Officer, Mia Foster, has the challenge of ensuring that the company establishes itself in a totally new market. The new market has different business conditions and a totally new culture of management. However, Foster has fear that the company events are run by Chen. She fears dissolving the local culture of the company as depicted in the business dimension that was taken by Chen (Rentfrow, 2010). One reason why the company sought to expand into the international market was the shrinking domestic market, which implied a reduction in productivity (Bartlett & Han, 2011). As an expansion and a competitive strategy, the entry and operation of the company in China as a new business destination was meant to help the company in regaining its competitive scale by quelling the impacts of the shrunken operations in the mother country. China had proved to be an attractive market for a number of United States’ firms that operate in the restaurant sector. During her early years of tenure as the new CEO of Levedary Café, Mia Foster was interested in monitoring and standardizing the operations of the company in China, which were being spearheaded by Chen. Foster sought for a means of ensuring that the standardization of the reporting models was done. Adopting a standard model of financial and business reporting as that used by Levendary in the mother country of operation proved to be difficult for the operations of the company in China (Bartlett & Han, 2011). This is one area of challenge in international business management. It denotes the difference in business culture between the mother country and the foreign location. The entry model for any business in the international market is quite critical and determines the rate at which the company harmonizes the operations in the subsidiaries in relation to the operations in the mother firm as a way of ensuring that the conflict of management does not arise. Two issues come out in the case, which must be addressed in order for the operations of the company in China to be enhanced. The variation in business culture between the United States, which is the mother country of Levendary Café, and China which is the foreign business environment for the company comes out in two main things. These are legitimacy and conformity (Ferreira, Li & Jang, 2007). According to Ferreira, Li and Jang (2007), the two things have to be considered as they are critical to the successful operation of a company in a foreign market. The issues form part of the hybrid model of entry and operation of a firm in the foreign business environment. There is, therefore, need for Foster to allow the company operations in China to follow a model of financia
What is the significance of immediate news media delivery on culture? The media has enough information concerning historical events and practices. The stories portrayed by various media deliveries have a very significant impact on culture. One story easily leads to more discoveries or reveals about artefacts, which relate to current undertakings in the modernized world. Various cultures have evolved and the advancement can only be visible via the impressive comparisons created through the media. Immediate news deliveries present unique and new experiences on culture from different sovereign states. In most cases, in its raw form this information makes little or no sense. The vibrant multi-media effect accompanied by narrations brings in reason for appreciating and celebrating the richness of culture and other forms of traditions. What are the social responsibilities of news media ? The media has a unique social responsibility of presenting information. News has to be in an ethical and responsible format that cannot cause chaos or harm anyone. News media has to consider what is harmful to children, adults or the environment. The main responsibility of the media is to prevent unethical behaviours before they occur or trigger justifiable and legal actions over any notable irresponsible behaviourists in the society. What are important ethical and legal considerations in the online world? The internet took over the monopoly of traditional transmission of current affairs. Although there is need to respect freedom of the media, lack of proper security mechanisms on the internet could be dangerous since it is a compromise to convenient way of conveying information. One of the key legal and ethical considerations in online transaction is compliance with security rules and regulations. Ability to virtually convey or publish any form of mass information or news calls for people in the media to have some level of responsibility. It is very difficult for the reader, listener or viewer to decipher credible sources from misrepresentations. Online transmission makes it easy to alter information and have scrupulous accuracies such as speech or picture alteration. Describe the importance of ethical and legal compliance in online interactions. Cyber crime grows at the same rate as cyberspace. The global networks, multilingual aspects and multicultural environments call for laws to govern ethical and cultural regulation. Internet has un-standardized format of presenting information that may lack accuracy, required content, justifiable diversification and unprecedented timeliness. Internet is rich in ideas but inadequacies falls upon abuse of international and national regulations or control. Lack of compliance to the laws makes online inter
Introduction Amazon is the leading online retail store in the United States of America. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, this firm has experienced massive growth over the years to become one of the largest retail outlets in the global market. Its success in the local market has seen it expand its operations beyond the borders of the United States. The firm is now operating in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil, Spain, Japan, Mexico, China, and India (Filson, 2004). It has used its unique marketing strategy that is successful in the United States to achieve success in the global market. The online market has remained unique in the international market. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores that heavily rely on beautiful displays to attract customers, online stores has to rely on the strength of their brands and trust they have developed in the market to attract their clients. This is more complex than when handling products in the physical stores because it will take time to strengthen an online brand and create loyalty with the customers. In this paper, the researcher will analyze Amazon’s external environment based on Porter’s Five Competitive Forces. Major Parts of the Model Selected The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, developed a unique business model in 1994 that had never been witnessed before in the United States (Maxfield, 2008). He started an online retail store at a time when most Americans knew that the only way to shop was to visit the brick-and-mortar stores. He realized that internet was increasingly becoming popular among the American citizen. According to him, a time would come when most Americans would make all their shopping in an online market (Ding, 2008). His dream came true in 2015 when Amazon surpassed the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, as the United States’ most valuable retailer. It is necessary to analyze external forces that acted in favor of this firm leading to such a massive success. Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model will be used at this stage. The Five Forces model is shown in the figure below. Figure 1: Porters Five Forces Model. Source (Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006) Bargaining power of suppliers According to Blank (2015), the bargaining power of suppliers is one of the forces that may affect competitiveness of a firm. When the suppliers have a strong bargaining power, they can easily dictate terms of trade that are not favourable to the firm. Amazon has been keen on selecting its suppliers. In most of the cases, it has been treating its suppliers as b
Introduction Huge income disparities continue to bedevil Latin America several years after its independence. Inequality among citizens of Latin America affects key socioeconomic variables such as income, education, resources, and availability of basic services, among others (Barro 2). Inequality is highly pervasive and persistent in Latin America making it one of the most unequal places in the world. Inequality, particularly in income distribution and land ownership, affects the well-being of citizens of developing nations. From the 1980s to the late 1990s, countries in Latin America experienced a sharp rise in economic inequality. However, beginning in 2000, economic inequality in most Latin American nations, such as Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, begun to decline largely due to improved resource allocation and labor market growth (Barro 4). Before then, the 1990s economic reforms and the 1980s financial crises led to high levels of income inequality in the region. The inefficient macroeconomic policies and structures failed to cushion the lower and middle class from the effects of inflation, widening the gap between them and the rich. This led to a fall in income, which expanded the earnings gap between the rich and the poor and exacerbated the inequality levels. In addition, unequal access to land, basic services, and educational opportunities had an ‘unequalizing’ impact on the citizens. This paper will analyze income inequality trends in two modern Latin American economies of Brazil and Argentina. It will also examine possible explanatory factors and theories behind the recorded economic inequality trends in these nations. Income Distribution African and Latin American nations are among the most unequal economies in the world in terms of income distribution. According to Barro, of the 15 most unequal nations, ten are from Latin American (8). The ‘Gini’ index, an indicator of income distribution in an economy, for this region stands at 0.525, which is close to the average value for most African nations (Barro 4). The Gini index ranges between zero and one with unequal economies scoring a value close to 1 or 100 percent. The mean Gini value for Latin American countries exceeds that of developed and Asian nations by 20 and 17 points respectively (Barro 6). Graph 1: Gini Index for Latin America compared to other regions (Barro 7) With regard to expenditure, the Latin American region also scores lowly on the Gini scale, making it among the most unequal places globally (Ferreira,
The high middle ages are generally recognized as comprising a period from approximately 1000 AD until approximately 1350 AD. During this period of time, most of Europe and the British Isles experienced a period of dynamic growth and recovery from incessant warfare. The purpose of this paper is to understand what led to this period of vibrant growth in civilization, what characterized it, what eventually brought about its decline, and whether there are any lessons that can be learned from these events applicable to the present day. By 1000 AD, most of the barbarian warriors of the north had finally found places to settle down and raise families or had managed to found small, peaceful kingdoms of their own on their old homelands. The absence of war brought about a time of prosperity when societies were able to grow in population even as the population was able to focus on things other than war and protection. As a result, these societies coalesced into more organized units, comprised of city-states and nation-states, further broken down into highly organized feudal groups in which definite social roles were assigned. During this period in time with its increased organization and decreased focus on war, individuals and groups were given more time to contemplate the world around them in a variety of ways. The church grew strong and educated its adherents within the monastic orders as a means of dispensing the word of God. Sciences and the arts flourished and schools were founded while trade and travel between nations increased, providing each population with even greater understandings and increasing the general knowledge base of all humanity. This period of prosperity was brought to a rather sudden halt with a series of calamities that decimated entire populations and plunged the world into dark superstitions. The Great Famine of 1315-1317 caused innumerable deaths and was followed almost immediately by the Black Death, a plague brought about by death and decay. Together, these two events reduced the population of the continent by approximately half of its previous numbers. This misfortune led to a great deal of civil unrest, plunging the nations once again into some form of the warfare state and the Roman Catholic Church fell from within by a division of ideological viewpoints. There are a number of things that can be learned from this series of events in our ancient history. The first of these is that, despite our high levels of learning and knowledge, scientifically and otherwise, there is always the possibility that something unforeseen might occur. Although populations were growing and that was a good thing, no one had considered the need to keep these numbers fed into the future, leading to the Great Famine. As the modern world continues to urbanize all of the available countrysides, reducing available farmland, this again becomes a concerning issue. As individuals and nations fought for
The article posted in the Washington Post, titled “Most Thieves are Actually Bad at What They Do,” addresses physical theft crimes based on their frequency and economic impact. According to the report, less than 5% of individuals continue practicing thievery as a trade, whereas the majority of theft crimes could be classified as petty theft (Swanson, 2015). It does not involve any particular skill or drive. It is motivated by targets of opportunity. These findings are hard to explain through the use of Sutherland’s differential association theory, which states that criminal behavior is learned from other individuals and that the thief becomes progressively better and more predisposed towards the action with each successful crime that avoids punishment (Cullen, 2011). One of the weaknesses of Sutherland’s theory is that it only addresses the mechanisms of learned behavior without considering the overarching reasons for criminal behavior. While the immediate motivations of petty thieves may include temporary gratification, the overarching racial and socioeconomic reasons for continued behavior are not explored (Laub, 2006). Cullen’s general theory of crime provides better insights on the issue, some of which are considered with personality traits, poor parental upbringing, and education. Sutherland’s theory does not offer a framework for public intervention against theft, as it is nearly impossible to regulate learned behaviors. It is one of the major points of criticism of differential association theory. However, it is possible to use Cullen’s general theory of crime in order to compose a school-based intervention, which could teach children self-control, respect for the law, and understanding that theft is not a long-term solution (Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox, 2017). Additional focus should be made on poor families, single-parent families, and children from racially disadvantaged backgrounds.