ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction “Drug trafficking, blackmail, fraud, counterfeiting, forgery, illegal arms sales, embezzlement, bribery, theft, smuggling, prostitution, graft, illegal insider trading, computer fraud, and tax evasion” (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 6) are just a few of the crimes that are supported by money laundering activities. Money laundering is a carefully orchestrated attempt by criminals to hide the source of their “criminal” money. The sole intent of money laundering is to conceal the sources of illegal money and legalize it through legal financial activities (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 6). This way, it becomes difficult for authorities to trace “legal” money to specific crimes. From the growth of the multibillion-dollar drug trade and the expansion of global terror networks, the extent of money laundering has deepened. Ordinarily, it would be incomprehensible to understand how criminals would move large amounts of money without the help of financial institutions, like banks. In most financial systems, the existence of money laundering activities, question the integrity of financial institutions and banking systems (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 6). Indeed, recent years have seen an increase in the penetration of criminal activities in banking systems and the consequent proliferation of money laundering activities in financial institutions (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 6). The growth of this phenomenon has caused many local and international lawmakers to rethink their strategies of curbing this crime (Cordesman 127). In respect to the attempt to combat money laundering, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (7) revised its anti-money laundering rules to prevent, detect, and control money-laundering activities within the kingdom. Conversely, these rules have forced Saudi banks to integrate new regulations with their internal banking procedures (Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 7). The introduction of new rules for curbing money laundering is just one measure among a raft of other measures that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (7) (SAMA) has adopted to curb money-laundering activities. This paper digs deeper into the activities of SAMA by exploring how it strives to prevent money-laundering activities within the kingdom. This paper uses the Saudi British Bank (SABB) as a case study to understand how SAMA and commercial banks in Saudi Arabia work to prevent money laundering. Relatively, through the initiatives of SAMA, this paper posits that SAMA has strived to prevent money-laundering activities at SABB (and other commerci
Background Bhopal gas tragedy is an industrial accident happened in India in December of 1984. The significant release of such a hazardous gas as methyl isocyanate at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant in Bhopal led to deaths of about 3,000 people during the first week after the accident. The water entered the tank with the chemicals, and the chemical reaction led to the release of toxic gases. The amounts of released gases caused the environmental disaster and affected the health of thousands of people. The Main Causes of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Discussing the key causes of Bhopal gas tragedy, it is possible to focus on two theories. The proponents of the first theory support the idea that the main causes of the disaster are directly associated with the weaknesses in governance at the plant. The lack of investment, focus on undertrained employees, bad equipment, bad maintenance associated with storing hazardous chemicals in inappropriate tanks, and poor safety systems caused the risky situation. The supporters of the other theory state that the main cause of the accident is the sabotage associated with employees’ actions. In this case, the problem of governance is also important because the inappropriate management could lead to creating the dangerous situation at the plant. Furthermore, the safety system was not developed and supported by the government to address the possible risky situation. From this point, both the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and the Government of India were responsible for the accident. The Impact and Magnitude of the Industrial Accident The industrial accident associated with the release of toxic gases led to the deaths of about 8,000 people during the first two weeks after the accident. Having analyzed the details of the accident, it is possible to state that the lack of the effective safety measures led to the disaster causing the environmental, social, and economic catastrophe. About 500,000 people were injured because released chemicals caused blindness, asthma, the central nervous system’s problems, anemia, and diseases in children as a result of the air, water, and soil pollution. The foods grown at the territories round the plant were inappropriate for eating. Thousands of people had to migrate from the polluted lands. Evaluation of Response Measures The UCC’s immediate response to the disaster was effective from the point of minimization of the possible gas leaks and safety precautions, but response measures associated with the aspect of morality and responsibility were ineffective because the UCC rejected their responsibility for the accident. However, the responsibility was admitted by the UCC later, and the corporation focused on providing required settlements. In this case, the Indian government’s actions were rather effective to gain the compensation, because the government reacted to t
Introduction Oil spills are not a strange phenomenon, and they have occurred at high costs to the environment. The Exxon Valdez spill was a disaster that occurred in Alaska and resulted in over fifty-three million gallons of crude oil spilled into the ocean (History.com editors, 2018). It was an indication of how human activities can wreak havoc on the environment. The spill destroyed marine life; for instance, thousands of sea birds and seals died. The Problem The issue was the spill caused by the tanker at Prince William Sound. It resulted in immense destruction of the environment in a manner it has not recovered up to date (Lydon, 2019). Additionally, the efforts to clean up the spill were criticized by stakeholders for being ineffective. For instance, there was a high level of incompetence among Exxon’s cleanup crew. Also, the crew was often overworked and experienced high levels of fatigue. What Happened The incident occurred after a tanker named Exxon Valdez left Alaska for California. It was transporting fifty-three million gallons of crude oil from Prudhoe Bay. Just before midnight, the tanker hit a blight reef which was a common navigation danger (Duginski, Lin, & Fry, 2021). The impact from the collision ended up tearing the tanker. Consequently, the crude oil in the tanker was spilled into the ocean. Corporate Response Exxon’s corporate response to the spill involved different strategies. Firstly, Exxon instructed some of its employees to collaborate with the federal government and local communities in the cleanup efforts. Secondly, the company paid for the cost of the cleanup effort, which totaled 2 billion dollars (History.com editors, 2018). Thirdly, Exxon allocated an additional 1.8 billion dollars to aid in habitat restoration. The strategies aimed to show that Exxon was a socially responsible company that cared for the environment. Conclusion In summary, the Exxon Valdez spill showed how some human activities could destroy the environment. Prince William Sound was a stunning wilderness before the spill. However, the spill destroyed the wildlife in the area and made it uninhabitable. There is a need for more legislation to ensure transportation of crude oil does not destroy the environment. In addition to that, companies such as Exxon should only hire captains who have a proven record of being responsible.
Introduction Written by William Cronon, Changes of Lives regards the topic of the ecological history of the New England landscape during the colonist period. The author concentrates on the ecological history of this region and presents the opinion that the New England landscape was predominantly formed in the 17-18 th centuries (Cronon 2003). He highlights that while exploring the changes of the ground, it is possible to reveal some details about the human activity (Cronon 2003). Despite a widely-spread point of view that people and their activity has a significant influence on the land formation and surrounding environment, William Cronon promotes a new position (Cronon 2003). The author claims that comparing to the consequences of people’s lifestyle, non-human nature has no less considerable impact on general human activity. The Impact of Natural Conditions on Routine First of all, it is essential to mark that during the colonist period, when Europeans arrived in New England, they understood that the land in this region is full of different profits. In hopes of becoming richer and more prosperous, more Europeans were motivated to move to this area. The land of New England was full of various commodities, and it was diverse in the context of its biological content. In addition, it should be mentioned that it was abundant and fertile (Cronon 2003). A wide range of animal species resided there, as well as rich forests, which were a part of its environment (Cronon 2003). Therefore, people had excellent conditions for successful hunting and agriculture. In addition, all the commodities given by nature contributed to the development of trade and economics during the colonial period. However, the general climate was different from the European one. Previously, many thousand years before the arrival of Europeans, this area was referred to as the glacial tundra. By the time when the colonists appeared, the climate had become significantly milder, though winters were still colder than in Europe. The contrast between summer and winter was more considerable, and the guests were not prepared for this fact (Cronon 2003). For this reason, a great number of colonists starved due to their unawareness of the climate differences (Cronon 2003). They had to change their habitual routine in order to get used to these specialties, which were uncommon in Europe. As for native residents, they had to adjust to the weather conditions too. All their activity was influenced by the cycle of seasons and the specialties of the climate zone. They had to be active and mobile due to the necessity to change the locations of their villages regularly (Cronon 2003). The choice of location was reasoned by the time of the year. Furthermore, they stuck to different activities in accordance with a particular season. For instance, northern native communities adhered to fishing in
Steep Analysis Social Analysis Australian society is experiencing major changes in the sociological trends regarding book and literature reading. The ever increasing literacy rate and people’s love for book reading are increasing the demand for the production of quality literature and reading material. But this does not mean that the industry’s environment is publisher friendly. This is due to the entrance of e-publishing in the industry and the online availability of pirated books over the internet. People now prefer to read books online, as it is more facilitating and less costly for them (Scardino 2010). To save the endangered book industry in Australia, the Australian government has set up a fund of USD 1.5 billion (Steger 2010). Technological Analysis The arrival of digital reading has had an impact on publishers’ interest around the globe. Giants, like Apple, has launched applications with their iPad that facilitate consumers’ digital reading experience. Due to these applications, consumers’ demand for digital reading is on boost. Economic Analysis The book publishing industry is contributing approximately USD 1.8 billion to the Australian economy. The expected growth rate for the industry is predicted to be 2.8% by the end of 2012, which makes the contribution of this industry about USD 2.2 billion. Revenues have also grown at 3.3% per year (Baker 2007). Environmental Analysis The book publishing industry does not perform any activities that prove to be harmful to the environment. Besides, the overall image of Pearson in particular, and the industry as a whole, is environment friendly. Political Analysis The government of Australia is eager to assist and develop the book publishing industry, as we have already discussed, that it is going to provide a fund or USD 1.5 billion to support this industry as it currently faces greater threats from the rapid increase in online readership. Porter’s Five Forces Model Analysis Inter Rivalry Competitors Till the end of 2007, the competition in the Australian publishing industry was not favorable for Pearson Australia, as its market share was only 11% as compared to the industry’s leader Sensis’ 31%. To reduce this gap, Pearson has to adopt a business strategy that differentiates them from Sensis and the second-ranked Reed Elsevier Australia (Baker 2007). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Due to its diversified business strategies and a strong network of subsidiaries around the globe, suppliers find it difficult to conduct business with Pearson Australia, on their terms. Pearson is a prestigious name in the world of book publishing, and due to this prestige, suppliers accept whatever Pearson offers to them. Bargaining Power of Buyers Due to the arrival of digital publishing and the availability of books over the internet, buyers have gained the power to bargain with book publishers. Buyers know that they have better alt
The Tornado incident that occurred in Southern Ontario in 2009 is described as a sequence of various rigorous thunderstorms that led to a chain of many tornadoes leading to the South West regions of Ontario, the Greater part of Toronto and also Central Ontario. August 20 Th of 2009 led to the devastation of Ontario as it was the biggest tornado to ever last a single day. The tornado is also considered as the biggest to have ever hit Ontario in the history of Canadian tornados. There was a total touchdown of 19 tornadoes which accounts for much more than what the region would typically experience in a period of a year. Four of such tornadoes would typically result in at least an F2 damage range (Vaughan Weather). The total number of rainstorms linked to this particular period is far more than the tornado that occurred in August of 2006. In addition to this, the hurricane caused the greatest harm that cost the province more than it had in the past. The effects of this tornado comprised one death. This situation is claimed to be a rare occurrence out of the many mild tornadoes that have occurred in the recent past (Vaughan Weather). At one particular point, a total of more than 10 million inhabitants of Ontario were forcefully put either under warnings or tornado alerts. This included inhabitants of the city of Toronto who had to be warned of the storms that were rolling through the city. Consequently, the storm resulted in a need to review the warning systems and also the responses of tornadoes within Toronto and Ontario. Weather conditions that may have led to the tornado According to environment based societies in Canada, it was established that a tornado of magnitude F2 occurred, accompanied with winds of speeds ranging between 181 to 253 kilometres an hour strong. Moreover, it was observed that there was an average pathway that had the width of between 50 and one hundred metres bearing a track length almost 3.8 kilometres long (Vaughan Weather). Diagram 1: Development of the Ontario tornado Storm Timeline The afternoon of the occurrence of the tornado was marked by big spell of thunderstorms that developed above the Southeast region of Michigan towards the Southwest region of Ontario. At about 3pm, the rainstorm swiftly became stronger and an intense film formed around the southern region of Lake Huron initiating a storm that found its way into Ontario. Later on, the storm found its way into parts of Huron and the Grey County before proceeding to the Durham region. Damages At the first touchdown of the tornado at 14 kilometres down southwest of the urban settlement the rainstorm proceeded to grow to an intensity of F2 in grade. The tornado weakened and moved towards rural regions before striking the town of Markdale. In this town, fifty homes were damaged in addition to a number of trees. In total, the tornado covered a path that was 36 km long.
Introduction This assignment is an article review and analyses the article based on facts about leadership and innovation in the business or organisational context. The article being reviewed is titled ‘Charismatic leadership, change and innovation in an R&D organization’. The authors of the article are Neil Paulsen of the University of Queensland Business School; Diana Maldonado of the Sugar Research and Development Corporation, Brisbane, Australia and Victor J. Callan and Oluremi Ayoko of the University of Queensland Business School. In the article, the authors focus on the relationship between the charismatic element of transformative leadership, team work and innovativeness in research and development (R&D) organizations. Article Analysis As per the article, leadership can be defined as the ability of a person to influence other people to do things which they would not have done without the influence. People with this ability are referred to as leaders and can be found in different settings and contexts ranging from the family, school, government and organization; formal and non-formal, as well as profit and non-profit organizations. In an organisational setting, leaders are responsible for showing others “the way”. The leaders may have or may not have executive powers in the organisation and they may be or, may not be managers (Northouse, 2009). In the context of the article, leading in an organisational setting entails the leader consolidating the efforts and resources of the organisation and focusing on the future by setting up a vision for the organization; which it intends to achieve in a given period of time using the consolidated efforts and resources. According to Russel Consulting, leading entails some distinct elements which include building and sustaining teamwork, strategic thinking, managing conflicts, coaching, inspiring a shared vision, problem solving, performance management and accountability, decision making, delegation, systems thinking, leading change, dealing with ambiguities, developing trust, employee development, customer service, innovation and creativity, emotional intelligence, servant leadership, quality and productivity improvement (Russell Consulting, 2011). According to the authors of the article, transformative leadership involves various aspects, one of them being charisma, which involves among other things developing motivation, morale and performance of teams through variety of mechanisms. The charismatic leader connects to the follower’s sense of identity, challenges the team to take greater ownership for their work and understanding the strengths and weakness of the team so that he or she can align it with tasks that it can perform well. Transformative leadership, through the charismatic aspect helps in realising positive change. This is because charismatic leaders are energetic, enthusiastic, inspiring, motivational and passionate about their organisational success and development. In this sense, the leaders are concerned, involved and also focused on helping every m
Introduction Self-healing materials are materials that can repair broken molecular bonds within their structure leading to full or partial restoration of their mechanical properties. “Spontaneously self-healing polymers have a built-in tendency to reform certain types of broken molecular bonds without any outside prodding” (Templeton 1). Such materials are best suited for unsupervised applications like construction. In other cases, the process of healing requires some catalyst, which makes the material capable of healing in general conditions. Such materials are not regarded as self-healing in a strict sense, despite the fact that they have innumerable industrial applications. Unlike their spontaneously healing counterparts, catalytic healing materials are best suited for closely monitored applications like industrial applications. Both spontaneously self-healing materials and their catalytic self-healing counterparts have many applications that can potentially revolutionize the industrial world. This paper is an in-depth analysis of the latest advances in self-healing materials as well as their applications in contemporary industries. Advances in self-healing materials Recent research into self-healing materials has led to the creation of a spontaneous self-healing polymer that is capable of recovering its strength with ninety-seven percent accuracy after it is broken at room temperature. The only precondition for this polymer to reform its bonds and recover its strength is that the broken pieces of the polymer must be adjacent to each other in order for them to self-heal (Templeton). Scientists made elastomers that are capable of healing themselves using a common polymer and an inexpensive and simple method. Such plastics have been widely used as the basic materials in developing a large number of products. This, therefore, implies that this technology can prove to be quite useful if these inventions get practical industrial applications. Roads, bridges, and other concrete structures have been threatened by the development of cracks that weaken them leading to deterioration. Recent advances in self-healing materials have led to the development of self-healing concrete that could solve this problem for good. The material that forms the concrete’s coating has in-built microcapsules that contain a sealant agent, which aids healing. The aforementioned sealant starts to heal cracks after it is exposed when the material cracks. Sunlight also plays an important role by solidifying the healed material. The technology is inexpensive, catalyst-free, pragmatic, and environmentally friendly (Chandler). In addition to self-healing concrete, some metals known as stress-induced healers that have a self-healing property are being studied. These materials are strengthened by external pressure that could ordinarily pull them apart, or threaten to do so at the very least (Templeton). Another self-healing material has been developed as a remedy to the cracks that occur in spacecraft. The material is composed of four main components, which include a catalyst known as Grubbs’ cata