ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
There is a number of not-for-profit organizations operating in the United States, and it is important to review their financial statements in order to get an idea of financial accounting in such organizations. The particular organization that has been chosen for the assignment is the American Red Cross that is known all over the world due to its initiatives and programs aimed at mitigating the negative consequences of natural disasters, providing blood services, and promoting health in regions where citizens’ quality of life is low. The American Red Cross does its best in order to maintain a good reputation in the global community; therefore, the organization singles out transparency as one of the key values. When it comes to non-profit organizations, their financial statements must align with a series of rules identified in guidelines prepared by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 1993). As it follows from the information presented in the document created more than twenty years ago, financial statements of the not-for-profit organizations must include information related to their liabilities, assets, and net assets. More than that, organizations are required to include the data on net assets, paying increased attention to the role of various financial operations and transactions in their formation. Also, it is obligatory to provide a full list of operations with financial resources such as outflows and inflows. Apart from the sums of money, the type of each operation should be defined. Importantly, the document states that it is not appropriate to present inflows and outflows of financial resources separately; in addition to the general tables, it is necessary to demonstrate the relations between these two types of financial operations. In their financial reports, non-profit organizations operating on the territory of the United States are obliged to include information on liquidity and the way that a company receives and spends money in hand. Financial statements provided by non-profit organizations in the United States should include information for a particular period. Thus, lists of activities, current financial position, and accompanying notes should be presented. Having reviewed the report of the organization, indicating financial results in 2016, it is possible to conclude that the discussed guidelines were followed. According to the notes presenting information on investments, there is a range of funds used by the organization. When it comes to money market funds, it remains one of the fund categories that is the most widely used by ARC – the investments in these funds have significantly increased since the end of the previous financial period (The American National Red Cross, 2016). Such funds act as a good tool for organizations as they provide fixed incomes. Another fund category used by ARC is presented by hedge funds and other types of private funds. The advantages of the use of such funds for the organization are obvious as hedge funds are expected to maximize profit-making capa
Introduction In order to understand the HIV epidemic in Enrique’s native country, it critical to carry out intrinsic background research, establishing current dynamics, and designing the right remedy policy. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly explore on the HIV epidemic on children in Enrique’s native country in prescribing relevant remedial polices for the government. Besides, the paper offers researched based policies and relevant recommendations to reverse the series HIV epidemic threatening to permanently distract the growth and development of children. In addition, this treatise tackles one of the initiatives that can be undertaken so as to bring change to the way of life of the children in this country. It will focus on HIV epidemic response and restoration policies aimed at protecting the affected children in Enrique’s native country. HIV Epidemic in Enrique’s Native Country Child development depends on several factors. These factors include love, caring, provision of basic needs, and security. Reflectively, HIV infection on a parent or guardian is likely to put children at a glaring risk of total behavioral, emotional, mental, and social development of child physical and psychological aspects of growth when the parent demises. Enrique asserts, “You think that filling our bellies is the same thing as love,” (Sonia 2007, p. 89). More often, these children are exposed to physical violence and they lack protection from their parents which expose then to trauma. In the book ‘ Enrique’s Journey’ by Sonia, children are affected HIV infection at tender age are likely to become victims of sexual abuse and may be obliged to coping strategies such as fear, lack of confidence, and trauma that have negative effects on their growth as they lack the basic protection associated with parent care (Sonia, 2007). Moreover, most of these children are vulnerable to depression, eating disorders, and even unending anxiety that is associated with “advanced opposition defiant disorder (ODD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)” (Fielding & Briss, 2006, p.977) which is associated with poor physical and psychological development of children. A challenging task in community development is to make a community a better place to live and grow. Sonia asserts, “In the still air, the room turns hot, nearly suffocating; perspiration trickles down the migrants’ faces and soaks their shirts… spoons of stew touch lips before bottoms hit the seats”(Sonia 2007, p. 57). Various community initiatives can be undertaken to make this society a better place to live for the children who are losing their parents to HIV related deaths. For instance, it can target an age group, household, area, and income among others. Children face a number of problems in this society as a result of HIV epidemic. These problems are widespread ranging from drugs abuse, sex, alcoholism, theft, among others due to lack of emotional, financial, and psychological support. These children need t
Introduction When we speak of humans having “behaviours” it means that humans have certain dispositional tendencies that, when activated, give rise to behavioural experience. Thus people have a dispositional tendency for the behaviour of “excitement, ” but the behavioural experience of excitement has to be aroused if it is to be meaningful in people’s lives. Hence there are behaviours as latent dispositions to have certain types of experience and behaviours as the experiences themselves that affect people’s behaviour. Behaviours as dispositional tendencies are part of a person’s makeup, while behaviours as experiences are apt to be short-lived. In this book we are not concerned so much with behaviours as dispositions; we focus on behaviours as experiences. Whenever consumers are encouraged to have high expectations about a product, they are concerned when such expectations are not fulfilled hence the anger accompanying disappointment. If the anger is unexpressed, resentment can fester. A mental state can be pleasant (e.g., joy) or unpleasant (e.g., fear). These alternative states are the hedonic tone of behaviour. On the other hand, behavioural bodily processes are states of arousal, from calm to excite. If we are to really understand the consumer’s behaviour, the object of the behaviour needs to be identified and analyzed to establish what attribute, characteristic, or property of the object is responsible for the arousal of behaviour. Consumer behaviour arises from highly negative or positive appraisals. We generally think of appraisals as highly cognitive, that is, as being thought generated and based on beliefs and wants. But there is a preconscious processing of inputs to the mind that screens for what interests and concerns us. If there is something that concerns us, there is an immediate nonconscious appraisal that gives rise to a “reflex” behaviour. The process is perception behavioural experience, with no conscious cognition in between. If nothing in the processing of inputs concerns us, that is, does not relate in any way to what we value, there is nothing to activate the behaviours. Behaviours are associated with autonomic physiological activity experienced (if at all) as feelings. It is typically assumed that having highly unpleasant or pleasant feelings involve high arousal. This need not be so, in that boredom, for example, can be very unpleasant when arousal is low. It may be, however, that for a behaviour to be motivating there must be high arousal accompanied by high pleasantness or unpleasantness. Although we talk of feeling happy, angry, guilty, embarrassed, frightened, or sad, we can have feelings of pain, nausea, and so on without these things being in any way connected to the behaviours. “Feelings” include bodily feelings, like feelings of stress, and “feelings toward, ” like the warm feelings toward the object of love. Literature Review The output of a highly positive or negative appraisal always gives rise to “feelings toward” the object of concern. A co
“The Red Convertible” is a story about a man that is mentally damaged by the events of the war, and also how it affects his whole family. Henry was a happy, loving, and sane man before being drafted, but when he came back he was a completely different person. The war affected Henry in a way that many of our soldiers were affected and it went a lot deeper than medicine can go. The red in “The Red Convertible” is directly related to the blood, violence, and despair that caused Henry to take his own life. Henry had many obstacles that he never seemed able to overcome. The transition from army life back into household life was very hard. It seemed as if Henry forgot how to be himself and was transformed into someone else during the war. (Chavkin, 77-80) The only things that Henry could accomplish were watching TV and working on the convertible. Even watching TV got dangerous, “Once I was in the room watching TV with Henry and I heard his teeth click at something. I looked over, and he’d bitten through his lip.” Henry was very tense ever since returning home from the war. The memories of the war were stuck in his head. Henry can not get out of the war even when returning home. His illness is mental and there isn’t a drug to cure it. Henry’s battles against his mind are the real cause of his death. Suicide allowed Henry to become himself again and overcome his obstacles. Before Henry was drafted into the war his life was carefree. Henry and Lyman just toured around the globe in their red convertible. When asked to drive to Alaska by a hitchhiker Henry’s answer was, “Okay.” Henry represents everything free and innocent before being drafted. When Henry was drafted his morals changed and are illustrated by his actions. The way that he isn’t even able to talk to his brother tells the reader that whatever happened in the war touched Henry deeply and hard. The literature separates the innocents of normal life and the ferociousness of war. (Brenda, 119-22) Henry’s story is that of a man stripped of his innocence and freedom only to have his mind destroyed by the war. The red convertible was a symbol of Henry’s freedom and that is why it died with Henry. The obstacles that were presented as a result of the war were too much for Henry to handle; therefore Henry was forced to take his life. The war isn’t always over when the fighting stops, it takes longer for the mind to heal than the body. Henry’s mind was damaged which left him unable to continue his life in society. “The Red Convertible” is an accurate accou
It was for a reason that I chose the First Baptist Church of Tempe and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for attendance and interview. Doing some preliminary research on religious group meetings in Tempe I looked for communities of differing convictions to opt for maximum diversity. The two groups, although they offshoot from the Judeo-Christian branch, are direct opposites of each other in terms of the interpretation of the scriptures. The research on these two groups also provided a line of guidance on what to expect and how to behave. First Baptist Church of Tempe The sermon “What Did Jesus Say About Legalism” was led by Rev. Mark Ward at the First Baptist worship center. The Pastor operated the concepts of law as a necessary component of a believer’s relationship with god. From the Pastor’s words, the notion of legalism referred to salvation through the good works, abiding with Christ and following the rule of God, which is, as the Pastor quoted from David, pure and perfect. The interpretation became clearer after I interviewed one of the members of the group. A woman of approximately 25 years of age, Terry (which is not her real name) agreed for a short interview after I explained the purpose of it as studying the current and the future place of religion in the formation of our country’s future. I asked her what she personally believed, how she came to her faith and how she found herself in the First Baptist, whether she perceived women were valued in this group, whether there were many representatives of ethnic minorities, and what she thought the future of religion in America would be. From my preliminary research on the beliefs of the First Baptist I learned the church regarded the Scriptures as the supreme authority on religious matters. Thus, I expected that the believers would be quite literal in their perception of the scriptures. Terry confirmed my anticipations by saying she believed in one Lord in three persons, in the perfection of Christ, his redemption, and his glorious return. She was of the opinion that every believer had direct responsibilities before god and was supposed to worship according to what their conscience told them. Terry said her family attended the First Baptist, which is why she came to be the member of the community (by upbringing and partially – rational choice). All persons were respected there, regardless of their ethnicity, age, or gender. As for the future of her community and religion in general, she maintained the First Baptist would c
The selected methods to be used in researching militia groups and other interest groups include observation, experimental research, interviews, and surveys. Surveys in this research will be used to collect data from the respondents, who will in this case be the militia and interest groups. Individuals will be free to express personal ideas as their identity will be anonymous. Surveys will be useful in establishing the respondent’s feelings and thoughts. In this case, a sample population of 20 respondents from both the city militia and the opposing group will be chosen to represent the entire population of both groups. Both open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires will be used. An open-ended questionnaire may, for example, ask how the respective groups plan to hold their protests, what activities they intend to have during the protests, and how they have previously held their protests. The multiple-choice questions will bear yes or no answers. More information will be obtained from the open-ended qualitative questions which will allow the respondents to give a variety of detailed information on socio-economic and political issues (Gray & Guppy, 2007). Interviews will be administered to respondents who will be free to choose the way they respond. Clarifications and additional questions will be posted, and answers sought as the conversation progresses. Questions like, how the respondent from both groups intend to articulate grievances during the protests, and the mode of delivery will be posted. Participant observations will be carried out by joining groups in some of their routine activities before the day of protests to observe them within that context. It will bring out an aspect of their social life and provide a first-hand glimpse of the groups’ institution, trend, and behavior. As a researcher, I will try and b
Background This essay illustrates my leadership skills through a discussion about my abilities, experiences, motivations, and their relation to known theories on effective leadership. I define leadership as the ability to provide guidance to self and others by maintaining communication, having and demonstrating skills necessary for performing tasks, and motivating people to pursue a goal that is higher than their self-interests. My background is humble and stable. I see it as a foundation of my leadership abilities. I come from an extended family that has the characteristics of leadership across many areas. I can relate to leadership examples in sports, education, work, and family affairs. Experience I have garnered enough experience to know my strengths and weaknesses when working with people. This provides the motivation for working on self-improvement. I have worked for long hours on summer jobs and have been under supervision in some cases. I also worked under short deadlines and was able to maintain a high discipline record at school and the workplace. The foundations of discipline come from home, where my parents were strict in raising my siblings and me according to the morals of society. I also worked as part of a team in the sporting department. This experienced opened me to the understanding of personal differences and their impact on successful execution of tasks. Motivation Science has been a serious part of my life, as I am naturally inquisitive. As I keep on studying, I realize I am more attracted to the analysis aspect of science and its extension to ordinary relations among humans. My interest in social sciences was sparked by the need to understand the motivating factors for people’s actions. At the same time, I feel that I want to have additional skills to influence people, which has been a factor that I recently adopted into my mission for life. Mission statement The most important part of my life is family and friends. I also regard colleagues highly because I cannot accomplish my goals at work without them. Influence plays a key role in shaping my view of the world. That is why I am careful with my associations and guard them tightly. I also understand that I am someone who can do a few things at a time. Therefore, I try to focus my energies on a few projects at a time. I readily abandon others when I feel they are no longer in agreement with my personal mission statement. I value hard, smart work, and discipline. Therefore, at all times, I seek to display a char
Self and identity though closely related feature some significant differences, not only in their meaning but also in their applications. Self refers to how an individual perceives himself/herself in relations to other variables for instance people or characteristics that form part of the existence of human being. On the other hand, identity refers to the attributes that people form or see in a person that distinguishes him/her from other people (Leary and Tangney 467). Therefore, it suffices to declare identity as no more than how one views another in relation to others while self is an intrinsic judgment that originates from an individual. There stands a close relationship between self, self-concept, self-awareness and self-esteem. For instance, self-concept refers to a person’s perception of self in relation to other characteristics or variables like gender, race, and religion among others. Self-awareness constitutes the individual level of his or her own self while self-esteem is an overall or an evaluation of the level of someone’s self-concept. Therefore, the word “self” seems closely linked with these three concepts as all refer to the way an individual views himself. However, one can ask, ‘How does self come about?’ Self is formed based on how an individual assesses himself/herself with regard to his or her own personality relating to skills, knowledge, abilities, hobbies occupations, physical characters and many others. A person can only tell his/her other self after a careful assessing of those areas or things that he or she believes as part of him/her or what he/she gets gratification and satisfaction from (Joan 78). For instance, an individual may say, “I am hard working”, an example of a self-assessment that transmits to self-concept of an individual. On the other hand, if a person says, “I am tired, or happy”, it does not amount to self-concept because the statement stands out as not objective and is temporary since tiredness implies something that does not occur always and is not permanent. Therefore, it lasts just for some few minutes then the feeling will vanish. Being hard working implies an assessment and it can be exhibited in most parts of an individual’s life for a long time. However, contrary to this, it holds true to declare the self-concept of a person as dynamic, changing with time based on how he/she re-assesses himself/herself. Such like changes may lead to identity crises as people will find it difficult to identify or know the clear stand or behavior of such an individual and therefore they would not record a common view concerning a person. According to Locke, personal identity is something that depends on consciousness implying that people remain the same in their past and future actions and thoughts as well as their present ones. Identity therefore, comes after some time and therefore the thoughts and actions of a person become part of his/her identity or rather part of him/her after a certain period. Furthermore, they might function as “impetus to the future behavior of an individual apart from providing this interpretative and evaluative context of the current thinking or view of the self” (Rodriguez 23).
Towards the end of my eighth year of teaching, I was eager to work in an environment that conformed to my spiritual beliefs. During this time, I was promoted to the position of the vice principle in the school that I had worked for a very long time. Accepting the position was a challenge to me because I had to choose between committing myself to serving the school or my family. My youngest daughter was only one and half years old. Additionally, I had one daughter in high school and another one in middle school. Thus, making a commitment to serve the school as a vice principle was not the best decision. “What matters to you is not necessarily what you say or believe, but what your action and reaction reveal as important and serious to you”(Tolle, 2003, p. 41).In this regard, I politely declined the position because I was interested in staying close to my kids and following their education. This is Montessori’s great attainment, the “discovery of the child. This, in the realm of the human spirit can be set against the discovery of those terrible energies latent at the atom, just as they can be used to create the good armament of peace” (Standing, 1998, p. 370). I was not only interested in teaching at the school, but also supporting my children. Thus, I do not regret my decision to turn down the school’s offer to me because it enabled me to balance between effective teaching and managing my family. I was lucky to join a Catholic school in the neighborhood. I also transferred my second daughter to the middle school in the Catholic institution. I was offered an attractive remuneration package. This was important because it would enable me to care of my family with ease. The school was affiliated to the National Curriculum for Educators, as well as, a religious organization referred to as the Legion of Christ. I was glad to learn that the school followed Christian values, which are very important to me. Sta