ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Nowadays, we are living in an age of technology, development, and international connectivity. With the ability to quickly deliver and receive information, the possibilities for people to get to know the world around them has become almost limitless. This trend however, does present a significant problem for distinguishing truth from reality. With a variety of sources available to support all kinds of viewpoints, it becomes increasingly difficult for the everyday people to distinguish truth from reality. The changes in the way people come across knowledge become dangerous not only for individuals, but entire populations when the misinformation concerns issues of vaccination and healthcare. Recently, we have seen a rise in the anti-vaxx movement, fueled by a mix of anxieties, misconceptions, and conspiracies. An article discussing anti-vaccination trends of the recent years called “Anti-vaxxers are taking populism to a new, deadly level”. The author relates that skepticism about vaccinations has led to direct violence and loss in some parts of the world, prompting shootings and killings from extremist groups (Hinsliff). In the same vein, west is noted to have been suffering from the emerging anti-vaccination trend resulting in the reduction of herd immunity and the re-emergence of commonly eradicated diseases. With far-right and extremist conspiracies promoting skepticism towards authority, more and more parents are doubting the expertise of healthcare professionals. Feeding on the distrust of authorities many people harbor, destructive and unsubstantiated beliefs spread among the population. My perspective on the article is wholly positive, as I agree with the messages and concerns put forth by the author. Personally, I think that the popularity of the anti-vaxx movement is very concerning, as it endangers the health and wellbeing of large number of people. With the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the need to adhere to specific regulations is more important than ever, as the virus can easily spread to unprotected people. To safeguard those that do not have the ability to protect themselves, it is crucial for all members of the community to come together in keeping with the medical regulations and standards set forth. As someone that has vulnerable individuals as part of their family, I am used to taking safety considerations with utmost caution and consideration. This effort, however, becomes much harder when a significant number of the population is convinced of the vaccination’s danger or ineffectiveness. It is personall
Book Review: Sunday school that really works Steve Par is the author of the above named book. He is well conversant with how Sunday school functions. While reading through the book, it is evident that the author utilizes a lot of figures. Additionally, he has conducted adequate research to back up his statistics. This is a clear indication of the thoroughness he had in his research. Furthermore, he does not come up with his own generalizations or “education platitudes” to support his comments. On the contrary, he makes use of tangible facts. He perfectly addresses the claim that “Sunday schools does not work.” According to his arguments, the community can only be reached by the church using Sunday schools as a strategy to reach this people. He writes that the Sunday schools that are non-evangelistic major challenge is not in their program but their failure in utilizing the program as tool for evangelizing 1 . A question on why there is expansion in some Sunday schools while others remain stagnant has also been examined by Steve. As a matter of fact, it is assumed by various people that there exists no distinction between Sunday schools. Thus if they were alike, then the outcomes would be the same. From the research conducted by Steve, he came up with ten attributes that were common amongst Sunday schools that were growing. Among the ten attributes, only eight of them were being practiced by these Sunday schools. The attributes were such as supporting of pastors, training, class and leaders organization high standards, enrollment of new Christians, training individuals on how to become successful evangelizers, carrying out of weekly outreach, developing of new units, space and prospect list. He concludes the book by saying the following words, “I fear that some leaders have abandoned Sunday school, not because it does work but because of the work involved in making it grow” 2 . Book Strength The significant strength about the book is that it rejuvenates Sunday school as it has been for ages considered a neglected ministry. The churches are encouraged by the author of the book to strengthen their Sunday schools. This is through intentionally making it evangelistic. Furthermore, the churches can use strategies and methods that are proven and are being put into use in numerous churches that are growing. He gives vital direction to churches in order to help them analyze their current programs and move forward to fulfill their mission. Additionally, the book enhances individual skills and knowledge in terms of managing the ministry dealing with Sunday school and leaders training. This is evidenced from the questions at the end of each chapter. The questions indulge the leaders in discussion and interaction as well as applying what they have learned from the content of the book. The book enables the leaders to have a clue on what they really want from their congregation. Therefo
Introduction There are various reasons for the success or failure of companies. Companies operating in the same line of business may perform differently due to their varying circumstances in business. Marketing strategies, management strategies, and innovation are some of the aspects of business that have been examined by this article. Johnson& Johnson And Pfizer Johnson & Johnson is an American company with its headquarters in Delaware, and deals with various consumer commodities. The company is known for its pharmaceutical products, which sell around the world. Moreover, the company is known for the scholarships it offers for students (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2004). While the company primarily deals with pharmaceutical products, it has endeavored to diversify its products to include sanitation products and toiletries. The company initially started its business by manufacturing wound dressings in the nineteenth century, but continued to expand into production of other pharmaceutical commodities. Pfizer Inc. is an American pharmaceutical company founded in the middle of the nineteenth the century. This company has centered its marketing efforts on research (Rodengen, 1999). This means that innovation has been the company’s main marketing tool (Kotler, & Armstrong, 2012). Moreover, the company has experienced several mergers leading to its expansion. The research projects at Pfizer have helped the company forecast future market trends (Zikmund, 2010). A research project in cooperation with the Massachusetts institute of technology has helped the company move more into the field of research. This field is important to the company since it deals with pharmaceutical products (Rodengen, 1999). Both Johnson & Jonson and Pfizer are pharmaceutical companies. In addition, they are public companies with large capital base. In recent years, both companies have faced scandal allegations after some people died after taking pharmaceutical products from both of the companies. Some products from Johnson & Johnson were found to be laced with cyanide while defective hearts valves from Pfizer inc. caused many deaths in the United States. On the other hand, the two companies have some differences in the products they offer to their customers. While Pfizer has succeeded in business throug
Introduction Ethical subjectivism believes that various sentences do express certain opinions. These views, shaped from different human behavior form judgments and moral ways of thinking. Ethical subjectivism is of the view that these judgments are limited to perceptions. This means that they are subjective. In essence, there aren’t any allowed or prohibited ways of thinking or expressing oneself under subjectivism. There is only true or false n its evaluation (Rachels & Rachels, 2010). Certain cultural or individual feelings do vary and are the main feeder for moral views of that particular time. An example is a study carried out on the view of employers towards men who wear dreadlocks to work. In some companies and various geographical locations, dreadlocks were seen not to be decent, way back in the early ninety’s. However, the same study in the same companies and locations ten years later reveals the perception of dreadlocks as indecent, has gradually gone down. The main expression is that there is a need for tolerance since what society views as truth at a certain time is shaped by feelings that are subject to change (Feinberg & Shafer-Landau, 2008). Simple subjectivism and emotivism The simple form of subjectivism highlights the heavy reliance of judging a certain object, on a person’s emotional attitude. For example, is like; Martin loves dogs, but Mary doesn’t. Under these views, there is absolutely nothing left for argument’s sake. The rule here is for one to respect the perceptions of another person and vice versa. Emotivism is of the view that statements can be used to alter and control the attitude of other human beings (Feinberg & Shafer-Landau, 2008). It conveys that statements are simply not just that but an expression of attitude. For example, I think global warming is natural but my friend thinks it’s a result of environmental degradation. The difference between the two views is a belief thing. Emotivism doesn’t believe in right or wrong it looks at an argument based on the driving emotion behind the statement. Emotivism improvement on simple subjectivism Emotivism does remove the total disregard as wrong, or labeling completely right a simple subjectivism statement. It broadens the use of statements from a personal expression to using them to influence others. It does highlight the difference between expressing and reporting an attitude. Say, for example; I lov
The scope of responsibilities for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) has increased in the past years. One key task that constitutes an APRN responsibility is advocacy. APRNs serve as advocates for patients by availing them with adequate information to enable them make decisions that promote their health. They also conduct patient consultations thereby improving patient satisfaction and acting as a bridge between doctors and the sick (Schmerge, 2016). These healthcare professionals promote community health by spreading awareness on the prevention of diseases. In the past, advocacy was not considered a responsibility of advanced practice registered nurses. Although they provide care to patients by examining, diagnosing, and treating them, this was not defined as advocacy. However, they are now considered advocates because they are primary care providers (Schmerge, 2016). Additionally, APRNs have a responsibility not just to their patients but also to the public. For instance, advocacy currently involves political and legislative actions such as petitioning to policymakers to improve health infrastructure for the public. APRNs also advocate for their profession by fighting the legal barriers to their practice. One of the major issues in APRN practice is the regulatory framework that governs the profession. For instance, in some states, the law requires APRNs to be supervised by physicians. This restriction curtails advocacy because it prevents APRNs from performing to the full extent of their education and competence (Schmerge, 2016). A trend that can be observed in APRN advocacy is the increased blurring of roles between them and other medical professionals. Since advanced practice registered nurses act as advocates, they share this role with other healthcare providers such as physicians. Consequently, patients enjoy a high quality of care provided by the team-based approach adopted by these professionals. Reference Schmerge, M. (2016). Promoting Patient-Centered Team-Based Care: An Advocacy Toolkit . Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses, 1075. Web.
Introduction Every person faces situations of loss and grief at some time in his or her life. A person passes all stages of grief from denial to acceptance to cope with grief and return to life. I was 36 when I experienced the first serious loss in my life. Certainly, there were other ones before this event, but they did not influence me strongly. Thus, my grandmother died two years ago. She lived in the United States and died in her home. She was diagnosed with lung cancer half a year before her death, and despite the treatment she took and the first successes, she did not manage to fight the disease. We were very emotionally close as a grandmother and a granddaughter. I wish I had the same relationships with my grandchildren if I have any. We could share secrets, ask for advice, and talk about everything in the world. Main body I believe I experienced some impacts that should be mentioned about this loss. The first immediate impact was psychological. I was stressed by the event and could not behave as usual. Although I knew that this outcome was inevitable, it was difficult to acknowledge that I would not talk to her over the cup of tea in her kitchen again. Despite my family and friends who were very supportive, I felt lonely and was getting depressed. Another immediate impact was physical. I remember I lost appetite and had some sleep problems during the first days, but later I managed to cope with that condition and returned to normal life. Finally, the impact that came to power overtime was a spiritual one. At first, I was questioning my spiritual beliefs. However, I suppose I came to a conscious need of religion and strengthened my spiritual beliefs after my grandmother passed away. I cannot say I became passionately religious, but a short silent prayer before I went to bed was calming. Although I was an adult woman and realized the inevitability of a lethal outcome, the death of my grandmother was a great loss for me. I knew I had to do something to deal with it and live my usual life. First of all, I remembered that she would not have been happy if I cried. My grandmother was an optimistic person and could make other people smile. So I spend some evenings with my mother looking at grandmother’s photos and remembering some warm and funny moments of our life together. It was useful for coping with the loss both for me and my mother. Also, I took my grandmother’s do
In the present time, healthcare faces a lot of problems and challenges. Constant increases in the rates of chronic diseases and growing demands of patients lead to the need for certain innovations. In a search for solutions, modern healthcare employees are supposed to imply new methods. Sometimes the right answers to the difficult questions of modern medical services can be found in the fields that have no connection with medicine. The technique of benchmarking, mostly used in business and marketing, presents a great value for the continuous improvement of work quality in medical institutions. Benchmarking is a process of defining, understanding and adaptation of the existing examples of effective functioning of the unit, in order to improve your own work. It includes two main processes, valuing and comparison. Though primarily used only in business, benchmarking has gained much popularity among numerous fields of work due to its effectiveness. It can “highlight innovative ideas and initiate collaborative networks” (Jaegar, 1998, p. 271). Benchmarking can contribute a lot to the effective work of nurse managers. Their job is mostly connected with creating and supporting a healthy environment for employees and ensuring patients’ satisfaction. Using proper benchmarking, nurse managers can fulfill all the requirements of their job easily. The process should begin with measuring the current performance against the one in the past. The specialist should carefully collect the data about local facilities with similar sizes and numbers of patients. Following the instructions of effective benchmarking, a nurse manager should also study the data about other departments’ budget rates, the success of educational activities and results of work. Besides key performance indicators, patients’ opinions and employees’ references should be considered. An experienced manager should look beyond the numbers, for a better understanding of the specifics of the work process. It will help to see a possible way of upgrading the nurse department according to the desired level of productivity. It will also lead to reducing costs and organizing proper educational activities in the particular facility. Shared governance causes the similarity of conditions and regulations. That is why the comparison of different departments of the same medical institution based on the principles of benchmarking appears to be very effective. Proper benchmarking stimulates team performance and creates a competitive mood. Workers compare their achievements with their colleagues and have better motivation for self-improvement. A healthy competition result in better collaboration between workers develops a team spirit and helps to establish connections with peer facilities. Comparison of different approaches is a necessary part of constructing a plan for action. The development of my plan of action can become much easier with the usage of benchmarking. It includes the analysis of the knowledge gained by the colleagues and the most successful experience in establishin
Social Benefits The high turnover of expatriates is a problem for our company, and I as HR manager can propose a strategy to reduce these rates, for example, to try to give these workers some social benefits and guarantees. Many foreign workers leave their countries for better terms of payment and life; therefore, specific measures can help the turnover indicators to decrease. For instance, I propose to review the policy of medical insurance for employees and provide them with free access to medical services. Many workers complain that they cannot count on full-fledged medical care and are forced to solve their problems on their own because of their foreign citizenship. It is likely that more favorable insurance conditions will make expatriates reconsider their views on the workflow in our company. Also, a possible solution for correcting the current situation is the provision of social housing for all who need it. International business strategies work in such a way that companies are worried about how their employees work but are not interested in how and where they live. If foreign workers know that they can count on even modest housing, it is possible that it will be an additional motivation for them to stay in our company. Unlike ordinary emigrants who retain the right to citizenship, expatriates find it difficult to rent a decent place to live. These people will undoubtedly be happy to work for the benefit of the enterprise if they know that the leadership remembers and cares about them. Therefore, social benefits may be quite a favorable way to reduce the turnover of expatriates and can help correct the current situation with our personnel policy. Opportunities for Professional Growth The need for human resources implies that the policy on expatriates should be revised because of the high turnover of such personnel. One of the possible solutions to correct the situation is to provide the employees of this social group with additional opportunities for career growth and professional development. For example, courses for improving qualifications in a particular field may become an extra motivation for them to work in our company. Also, policies aimed at improving the training of employees will have a positive impact on the corporation itself. Productivity will grow, and the enterprise will get more profit if all employees are sufficiently motivated and active. Moreover, workers are unlikely to leave the company if they realize that they have quite evident opportunities to achieve particular successes and have career prospects in the future. Another possible option to increase the motivation of expatriates is professional courses and training that can help employees to adapt to the team and get used to a new job. One of the frequent reasons for the dismissal of such employees is some communication barriers that prevent them from concentrating on serious work. Accordingly, if the company helps people who left their cou
Introduction The world is suffering from effects of environmental damage; as people exploit natural resources, the environment is damaged. Other than overexploiting or misusing natural environment, individuals and companies are disposing their wastes in appropriately resulting to further damage to the environment. Environment conservers have advocated for different methods of protecting the environment and restoring its natural form; the approach used include use of conventions and protocols that recommend and commit countries to abide to the recommendations. The effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were noted in early 20 th century, the realization resulted to the signing of Kyoto Protocol by 37 industrialized countries and the European community. One method that has been advocated for to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, is carbon sequestration (Baker, 2006). This paper discuses carbon sequestration in relation to its environmental impact and its potential to resolve environmental problems. Carbon sequestration According to Wilson and Gerard in their book called “Carbon Capture and Sequestration,” carbon sequestration refers to geo-engineering process through which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and deposited into a reservoir. In lay-man’s language it is the process through which carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed to clean up the air then used for other economic activities. Other than removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the carbon sequestration engages in capturing, storage and enhancing natural biogeochemical cycling of carbon. In whichever the approach taken, carbon sequestration aims at cleaning the atmosphere that the right amount of carbon remain (Ernesto & Zedillo, 2008). When carbon has been controlled, the world atmospheric challenges from global warming or climatic changes are controlled; carbon sequestration has been crowned as the best method through which nations and the world in general can slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases , which are released by burning fossil fuels . The processes of carbon sequestration can be divided into three main ways through which they take place as chemical process, biological, and physical sequestration (Faust, 2008).   * Biological carbon sequestration When adopting bio-sequestration, the process involves having natural products that can use carbon dioxide in the air or ones that can store the gas; the process involves the storage of carbon in forests, soils, bogs, in ocean ecosystems, among other natural users of carbon dioxide. The move approaches reduction of carbon dioxide in two main approaches; restoring the natural form of the environment and adopting production mechanisms that does not harm the environment. Human beings have been blamed of damaging the eco-system, through processes like degrading soils, cutting down forests, polluting and acidifying the ocean, when the ecosystem has been damaged, the effect is a wor