ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Narrative What factors seem to be inhibiting individual and collective learning? The primary inhibiting factors are weak team cohesion and an inappropriate communication pattern. It is possible to say that they are both rooted in the leadership style practiced by the previous principal. The authoritarian leadership may be efficient in maintaining discipline and order, yet it is detrimental to all innovation and learning efforts. The main reason for this is the downward communication pattern associated with it. At the same time, as stated by Örtenblad (2001), in organizations with favorable environments for learning, managers act as coaches rather than as directors. Contrary to the horizontal model of communication, the downward communication usually does not give subordinates/teachers opportunities to be creative, share personal opinions with managers and employees of all levels, seek their feedback, and make a contribution to positive organizational changes. In such an excessively formalized and conservative culture, new teachers are at a loss. As a result of poor communication and knowledge management in the school, they are uncertain about their professional roles, and it may adversely impact their performance. It seems that a well-structured communication and improved interpersonal relationships among staff members will help to decrease the excess uncertainty levels and will allow developing the understanding of organizational goals, the school’s mission, vision, and values among all teachers. Thus, the enhanced culture of professional communication may foster innovation and consequently result in better productive and instructional outcomes. Which of Senge’s 5 disciplines would you focus on to move the school towards becoming a learning organization? Based on the identified inhibiting factors, it seems right to focus on two of Senge’s disciplines: Building Shared Vision, Mental Models, and Team Learning. According to Senge (1990), Mental Models are “deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures and images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action” (p. 8). First of all, the concept refers to personal mental constructs, values, and perceptions. However, it is also directly related to the discipline of Building Shared Vision which implies the development of the organizational culture − a complex of shared, collective values, behaviors, and norms. Team Learning is closely linked to the two mentioned above. It aims to foster collaboration and communication among employees and stimulate them to act together. Although the three disciplines are deeply interrelated and the differences between them are very subtle, it can be recommended to start the process of change with Team Learning (i.e., establishing the dialogue) and Building Shared Vision (i.e., communicating organizational values, objectives, and mission among teachers). At the in
Microeconomics is the study of individual firms, consumers, and their market behaviors. As such, competition is one of the central aspects in a study of firms and their market choices. The leader of the international ice-cream market, Baskin-Robbins is faced with numerous challenges. Depending on firms’ marketing capabilities, rivalry can be a serious barrier to achieving their strategic objectives or the source of unique market opportunities. The ice-cream market is run by few large firms, with millions of consumers purchasing ice-cream products on a daily basis. Apparently, Baskin-Robbins operates in conditions of oligopolistic competition, when “the market is dominated by a few firms, each of which recognizes that its own actions will produce a response from its rivals and those responses will affect it” (Rittenberg & Tregarthen, 2009). Really, interdependence is the distinguishing feature of oligopolistic competition. Companies similar to Baskin-Robbins closely monitor the actions and decisions of their competitors. Moreover, in the ice-cream industry, which is worth unprecedented $20 billion in the U.S., increased gains from one ice-cream manufacturer are necessarily scooped from another one (Anonymous, n.d.). Therefore, each and every ice-cream producer, especially in the premium ice-cream sector, is willing to retain and expand its market share, to make sure that other rivals do not outperform them. It goes without saying that Baskin-Robbins faces fierce competition in the U.S. and internationally. At the international level, Ben & Jerry, Wall, and Haagen-Dazs are its main rivals. The premium ice-cream sector is growing, too: in the United States alone, dozens of ice-cream producers are trying to beat Baskin-Robbins and win a better place under the competitive sun. Haagen-Dazs, Carvel, Cold Stone, Dippin’ Dots, Dairy Queen, and Oberweis Dairy are fighting to become the next leader in the super-premium market niche. It should be noted, that Baskin Robbins faces three different types of competition. First, direct competition is that which occurs among manufacturers of one and the same or similar products (Kurtz, McKenzie & Snow, 2009). Simply put, this type of competition normally occurs between Baskin-Robbins and its closest rivals, including Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry. Second, Baskin-Robbins is bound to fight with indirect competition, which comes from products-substitutes (Kurtz et al, 2009). For example, some people may prefer candy to ice-cream, and even the long history of ice-cream traditions in the United States will not secure Baskin-Robbins from these competitive risks. Eventually, Baskin Robbins constantly competes for consumers’ purchases (Kurtz et al, 2009). More specifically, the firm competes for limited funds consumers are willing to spend on ice-cream (Kurtz et al, 2009). Given the tough economic conditions in the U.S. and the rest of the wor
Adolescent romantic relationships represent a rather peculiar phenomenon. As a rule, they are mostly considered for granted and are rarely taken seriously by those around them. At the same time, being formative experiences in the lives of young people, adolescent romantic relationships gain particularly strong importance. Implying the development of skills and perceptions needed for an individual to enter adulthood and function in the adult world, adolescent romantic relationships are a vital stage of personal development. Building adolescent romantic relationships also allows one to pass a vital stage of personal and psychological development. For instance, Connolly and McIsaac (2014) explain that adolescent romantic relationships serve to minimize the threat of mental health issues developing. Being influenced by peers and family, adolescent romantic relationships become the landmark stage in personal development and a critical maturity stage. Similarly, the promotion of adolescent romantic relationships is believed to contribute to developing the attachment state of mind and, as a result, the opportunity to acquire a more effective conflict management strategy based on a different attitude and perspective, particularly, more peaceful ones (Tan et al., 2016). Overall, adolescent romantic relationships should be seen as a critical stage of personal development that must be encouraged actively. Representing an opportunity for young people to acquire essential communicational and social skills needed to operate in the world of adults, adolescent romantic relationships represent the training and the opportunity that must be appreciated and encouraged. Therefore, adolescent romantic relationships should be seen as a vital stage of a young person’s development O. Although adolescent romantic relationships rarely lead to meaningful relationships that are sustained throughout the lives of those involved, they represent the attempt at being adults and living in the adult world. Thus, adolescent romantic relationships should be regarded as a chance for young people to mature emotionally and explore the nuances of interpersonal relationships.
Introduction The National Collegiate Academic Association was established approximately one hundred years ago with the principal objective of monitoring and regulating athletic sports practices at the collegiate level and universities. The main purpose of the organization is to ensure fairness, safety, equitability and sportsmanlike conduct in intercollegiate athletics (NCAA, 2011). NCCA also aims at ensuring the integration of intercollegiate athletics into higher education in order to ensure that the educational experience of the student-athlete is supreme. This implies that the policies adopted by the body embraces both academics and athletics excellence. In the light of this view, there is need for institutional control, which broadly refers to efforts adopted by the institutions to comply with the NCCA rules and look into violations that may take place (NCAA, 2011). Intercollegiate athletics in the present day is characterized by a number of complex legislations, administrative processes and laws. Effective implementation of these needs comprehensive knowledge and feasible advice in order to foster compliance in an area that is often characterized by extreme public scrutiny (Bill, 2011). In addition, effective implementation within the context of higher education needs a cost-effective implementation of the resources in a manner that is consistent with the educational goals of NCCA. The current state of collegiate sports is characterized with cases of increasing scandals, improper benefits, violations by the sports agents and those in charge of recruitment poses the need to investigate the effectiveness of the NCAA to foster compliance and monitoring of the collegiate institutions and their respective sports practices (Taylor, 2011). The real problem is within the organizational structure of the collegiate sports. Cases of malpractices within the collegiate sports are on the increase. For instance, during 2010, the National Collegiate Athletic Association summoned the University of Southern California after finding out cases of improper benefits. According to reports by Yahoo Sports, millions of dollars had been given to at least seventy Hurricanes Football players in a period of at least 8 years. The real scandal cannot be attributed to the improper benefits and malpractice by the agents and recruiter, rath
One of the ethical issues raised by Carrier, Banayan, Boley, and Karnik (2017) was the query of whether research on child medication should be conducted on minors or decisional adults. According to the article, the law suggests that it is essential to include only adult individuals in such studies whenever possible. Nevertheless, various concerns arise regarding this critical issue. For instance, one of the daunting questions is whether it is, in fact, reasonable and rational from both the scientific and ethical points of view to prescribe medication to children that were tested on the adult population (Tansey, 2014). The authors of the article state that “it appears unethical to develop or market psychotropic drugs for children that are not tested on children at any point in the process” (Carrier et al., 2017, p. 65). Therefore, the fundamental controversy lies in the fact that this kind of research is needed to prescribe medication correctly; however, it is unethical to test this type of drugs on an underage individual who cannot make health-related decisions him or herself but requires consent from the side of the third party (Cohen, 2013). Another concern is related to the financial aspect. In particular, guardian consent is needed when a study requires the participation of an underage person, which implies additional financial expenses (Mulberg, Murphy, Dunne, & Mathis, 2013). In terms of regulatory and legal issues, formal consent is not always enough to carry out a profound study because the research value might not be fully comprehended by a child (Bonk, 2014). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that a child cannot make an independent and informed decision in such settings, and this form of consent will be involuntary, which is inappropriate from the legal point of view (Rosier, Martens, & Thomas, 2014). Thus, it can be assumed that despite the urgent need for child researches on psychotropic drugs and their potential benefit for society, it is impossible to conduct them without the emergence of legal, ethical, financial, and other concerns, which also complicates their further prescription.
Introduction Domestic abuse, otherwise known as spousal abuse, battering, or even domestic violence, includes expressions of certain patterns of behaviors that are abusive towards one’s partner in a relationship involving marriage, cohabitation, dating, or a familial affair. Domestic violence is acerbated in a number of ways including assaults, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, economic deprivation, domineering, and intimidation among other forms of personal oppression. However, it is also crucial to note that domestic violence is not constrained to actions entailing physical and emotional abuse. It also implies criminal coercion, unlawful imprisonment, and kidnapping. The main reason why domestic violence is acerbated towards a person is principally to acquire a total control of the person. To achieve this goal, abusers deploy tactics of instilling fear, shame, and guilt coupled with intimidation to wear down their targets physically and emotionally. One of the fundamental characteristics of domestic violence is that it does not discriminate various people in the society. It occurs among heterosexual partners, homosexual partners, and among people of varying ages, economic status, and even across all ethnic backgrounds. While women in majority of the situations are found to be the major victims of domestic violence, men also are abused domestically especially emotionally and verbally while not negating physically in some instances. Nevertheless, whatever the source of domestic violence, be it from a woman, a teenager, or a man, the behavior is very unacceptable within a society. Unfortunately, domestic violence is still prevalent among various societies. From this perspective, from a broad approach, the paper finds out if the economical status of families may be connected to domestic violence. It also seeks to investigate why, and if one’s, childhood may be linked to domestic violence. On the other hand, from an operational approach, the paper scrutinizes how, and if, poverty plays a role in domestic abuse. Economic Status of Families and Domestic abuse Among the many forms of domestic abuse, economic abuse is one of the ways of enabling one person to domineer against another person. It takes p
The semantic meanings of the adjectives normal and abnormal seem to be too generalized; for this reason, one is to keep in mind the areas the terms are to be applied to. For instance, according to the psychological field of study, one can define the adjectives in the following way: Normal psychological state means a person’s reasonable and realistic approach towards a certain situation, problem, thing, etc. Normal state is characterized by a number of signs, which most important involve an efficient perception of reality, affectionate relationships with others, feeling comfortably, an ability to control behavior without any efforts, and an ability to maintain productivity. When classifying abnormality or abnormal psychological state, a wide range of social and cultural variables should be taken into account. Generally, abnormal state can be characterized by learning disabilities, depression, phobic disorders, etc. Simply speaking, if a person feels bad or depressed a considerable period of time without any reason, his or her emotional state is considered to be abnormal. When applying the terms to grief, one is to distinguish between normal grief and abnormal grief. Thus, it seems to be evident that normal grieving is associated with a kind of loss. For instance, a death, a divorce, a dismissal are all recognized to be the notions, which form the category “a loss”. These causes of a person’s grief are normal. Alarm, numbness, searching, depression and recovery are the stages normal grieving is based on. Normal grief involves a variety of emotional responses, which most common are considered to be anger or irritability, loneliness, anxiety, shock, the feeling of helplessness, cynicism, sadness and guilt. The most widespread physical reactio
Introduction Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the new social networking standards among the young adults and teenagers. The use of social media subjects youths to the dangers of cyberbullying. Indeed, cases of cyberbullying are on the rise in the United States. Scholars hold that children who are victims of cyberbullying are likely to suffer from depression, poor sleep, anxiety, and unhappiness among other psychological challenges. As more youths continue to use social media, there is a need for enactment of federal laws to curb cyberbullying and prosecute offenders. This report will discuss the impacts of cyberbullying on youths today. Impacts of Cyberbullying According to Craig et al., the victims and architects of cyberbullying exhibit numerous psychological signs, which include feeling nervous, agitation, helplessness, and loneliness (607). They claim that the victims of cyberbullying are always fearful and experience social difficulties. A study carried out on children in Norway confirmed that victims of cyberbullying have low self-esteem. Craig et al. claim that the youths remain with the challenge of low self-esteem for a long time. The challenge might persist even when they become adults. According to Craig et al. Youths who encounter different forms of cyberbullying are likely to engage in behaviors that might be self-harming. For instance, some victims suffer from eating disorders and self-mutilation. The girls who are victims of cyberbullying are at a high risk of experiencing eating disorders. The victims of cyberbullying also suffer from physical signs like stomachache, dizziness, backache, and headache. Craig et al. posit, “The more frequent the bullying, the more the young person is likely to experience symptoms of ill health, whether physical, emotional or mental” (608). Craig et al. allege that youths who are victims of cyberbullying suffer from paranoia and phobic anxiety. “The stress associated with the bullying can also lead to the teenage suffering from stress-related conditions such as skin diseases and stomach ulcers” (Craig et al. 609). Some teenagers also suffer from binge eating and variations in sleep patterns. Craig et al. maintain that cyberbullying leads to the victims suffering from apnea or insomnia. The youths experience horrifying nightmares that disturb their sleep. Moreover, they exhibit psychosomatic signs like sleeplessness and abdominal pain. On the other hand, the young people who perpetrate cyberbullying suffer from a severe headache. Donegan claims that cyberbullying subjects teenagers to stress and strain. In return, it leads to the young people exhibiting deviant behaviors. According to Donegan, many adolescents engage in criminal activities due to exposure to cyberbullying (35). Victims of cyberbullying go through a vicious cycle that compels them to participate in criminal activities as a defensive mechanism. As the youths look for ways to vent their frustration, they engage in antisocial behaviors. Many youths who fall victims of cyberbullying are convicted of crimes. In most cases, the coping mechanisms that victims of cyberbullying adopt do not bear fruits.
In the early years of the 17th century, Virginia had very few Africans. Some of the Africans were already enslaved while others were free men. The main reason for their few numbers was because they had not been brought into the colony. Most servants that worked in the fields included both Europeans and Africans. There was no discrimination based on race (Davidson 45). However, the labor system began to take a different form as white laborers left the fields to occupy the available land in the Americas. European servants were better positioned to save money and purchase farms elsewhere than African servants. Politically, white farmers were not supposed to permanently work in the fields. It was therefore dangerous for land owners to keep white servants longer than expected. In effect, land owners experienced a deficit of laborers. They were forced to look for workers elsewhere. The only available option at that moment was to try and convince Native Americans to work in the farms. However, Native Americans died in large numbers as a result of European diseases. Land owners could not bank on Native Americans to work on their farms because they were weak. The final alternative which they had to turn to was to use enslaved Africans. By 1670, the population of Africans in the southern colonies began to expand drastically. By the mid 17th century, the population of Africans in Virginia and other southern states was less than 500. But by the mid 18th century, enslaved Africans were more than 200000 in America. Eighty-five percent of the slaves were located in the southern states. The impact of this rapid expansion enabled the growth of plantation farming within the southern colonies. The image above shows enslaved Africans working in plantations. Due to a large number of enslaved Africans in the south, a sense of community developed among them. They used to work in groups which were supervised by white overseers. The land owners used the services of overseers to ensure every slave performs their duty effectively. The Africans maintained their original culture from their homeland. They still identified with the culture of their roots. Their traditional stories, dances, and m
The explosive population growth of recent years has brought with it numerous challenges to the existence of the humankind. Ranging from diseases, scarce resources, to the effect that globalization has had on individuals; it is now more necessary than ever that community development workers do their best to help improve the living conditions of the communities in which they live in. There have been problems associated with population growth, environmental degradation, and the depletion of natural resources. One of the most outstanding challenges facing societies in this century has been food security due to the increasing populations, and the reliance on traditional farming methods. As well, inequitable distribution of wealth and resources, corruption, and bad politics in many countries has pushed many residents into living in deplorable conditions (Kenny 2011, p.4). This paper discusses the challenges facing society in the 21 st century and offers ways in which community development workers can address these challenges. There has been disturbing pictures on the media of children stricken by hunger all over the world. Droughts have been the order of the day in many areas of the world and especially in Africa, because of climate change, heightened water scarcity, and inadequate farming methods. Other factors causing food insecurity are the degradation of agricultural land, urbanization, and the high growth in populations (Korten 1996, p11). The US government estimates that, as at 2012, almost one billion people were “food insecure” spread over 77 developing countries. According to the UN, the world population will hit a 9 billion mark by 2050, majority of the people living in developing countries. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that some countries in Africa might face a 50% drop in yields due to changes in climate. While still on the topic of food security, it is important to discuss the issue of food safety particularly in the developing nations; where there are, many diseases caused by food contamination and lack of clean food production techniques. Community development workers must educate communities on measures that boost food production and promote hygienic handling of food. Among other measures, the community development workers should solicit for aid to e