ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Western conception of Africa has always been shaped largely by the novelists and travel writers who have journeyed there. Not until relatively recently have any novels been published by native peoples who understood the more intricate natures of the societies that have called the continent home for centuries and adapted to its cycles. Until Dr. David Livingstone and Sir Henry Morton Stanley in the mid-1800s, no white man had ever reached the interior of Africa, making it very apt for the adoption of its label as an unknown entity. Although these explorations did little to further Western understanding of the people or the land, they did instigate plenty of speculation and conjecture, which became the stuff upon which misunderstandings to last centuries were founded. As a result of this almost exclusively one-sided depiction, Africa has traditionally gained a reputation as being a land of possibility for Western enrichment through the exploitation of its resources – agriculture, gold, even people. The West’s understanding of African people holds that they are mostly child-like in their primitive understandings, only slightly more than bestial in their natural environment and as naturally benefiting from any attention more civilized societies might care to bestow upon them. The black woman is regarded, when she is considered at all, as barely above feral, weak and beaten by the life she must live. In these portrayals, it becomes clear which culture and people are considered the more advanced, the white men full of their Christian faith, the ones telling the story. It took several more years before native writers, such as Chinua Achebe were able to bring some light into the darkness of Africa’s story as c
Case # 1 Binding Policy Maker’s Hand Topic: Problem with the imposed plan of WTO Summary Since the advent of WTO, the economic scenario of the world has changed drastically. WTO has imposed certain restrictions on tariffs and trade. The core purpose of WTO is to manage trade effectively and efficiently and to guarantee the free flow of trade. Countries are experiencing two types of tariffs these are bound tariffs and applied tariffs. Applied tariffs are the tariff rates on imports that are applied by the country. Similarly, bound tariffs are the rates that are applied by the policymakers of the WTO. WTO sets a limit that the tariffs can’t go beyond that limit. When two or more countries decide to set tariffs then the tariff rates are bound rates rather than applied rates. This issue is not present to that extent in industrial countries and both the tariff rates usually correspond closely especially in manufactured goods. However, in certain developing countries the bound rates are well above the applied rates. Similarly, in certain countries the tariff rates remain unbound. Statistics show that the United States and Uruguay have bound 100 % of their tariffs. The same is the case with Sri Lanka as its bound tariffs on 9.2 percent of its import and 1.4 percent are bounded above-applied rates. There are two reasons why bound rates exceed applied rates. Policymakers due to political pressures can’t manage the tariffs and that’s why bound rates exceed applied rates. Similarly, the negotiations of the policymakers of WTO take usually take more time and in the meanwhile applied rates go above the bounded rates. Statement of the problem The main problem in this scenario is that when countries are bounded by the law of WTO then the main issue was of tariffs. All the members of the WTO are agreed on the point that they would reduce the tariffs but the rates under and after the negotiation were the bound tariff rates of the country rather than applied tariff rates. Solution The members of the WTO should abide by and must confirm the fact that they should reduce tariffs on all the imports. Policymakers should strictly deal with members of countries that didn’t follow the rules. The applied tariff rates must be lower than the bound rates. Countries must not enjoy the negotiating time and they must ensure that applied rates must not exceed the desired limit of the WTO (Narlikar, 2005). All the member countries must ensure that as they are the members of WTO therefore they have to abide by the rules and for that reason they must follow the bounded rates of the WTO. Training and development must be provided by the individuals of the WTO to the policymakers of those countries that aren’t following the regulations of the WTO. Learning Objectives This case study gives us a glimpse of the issues t
Introduction The nineteenth century witnessed the existence of some of the most revolutionary minds in sociology. During this era, Karl Marx and Max Weber stand out as the most instrumental conflict sociological theorists. These two sociologists attempt to elucidate social change and its impact on society. Another great sociological theorist, who took a structural functionalist approach, is Talcott Parsons. Though differing in many aspects, their understanding of society has some similarities. This paper takes a look at the contributions of these three sociologists to society and sociological discourse. Conflict Perspective: Comparing Max Weber and Karl Marx Weber’s work seems to be in response to Marx’s views of society. He maintains that Marx’s approach is narrow and limiting, and depends too much on economic variables in explaining societal change. Responding to this apparent lack of depth, Weber chooses to model his sociological explanation of change around macro-sociological occurrences [1] . He feels that there are more than just economic perspectives to understanding human societies and change. Marx’s assessment of change is not founded on the conflict of opinions. Instead, he focuses on class conflict that emanates from unequal distribution of the means of production. In his view, history is made up of different periods marking different systems in modes of production such as primal communism, slavery, feudalism, and capitalism. In his postulation, the ideal state of affairs exists in a socialist classless community. Weber disputes Marx’s economically centered approach citing oversimplification. He asserts that, besides economic explanations, there are other causes of progression and change. In addition, Weber establishes a connection between the capitalist system and protestant principles concerning labor. As an example, he uses the beliefs of Calvinism where, to get into heaven, one has to do the utmost good for the highest number of people. In such a community, work is not just for personal development, but for religious fulfillment. Unlike Weber, Marx is more interested in the social struct
Abstract Most research studies on the effects of downsizing in an organization have focused on various levels and organizational aspects. Downsizing is defined as a move geared at improving productivity, competitiveness, and efficiency via the reduction of the labor force. Despite that this strategy is geared at enhancing effectiveness and competitiveness, many organizations implementing this strategy face the risk of a reduction in the innovation ability coupled with other consequences on the organization’s reputation. This paper illustrates the impacts of downsizing at the organizational, group, and individual level. The purpose of this research is to provide a clear illustration of the impacts of downsizing on the three levels of an organization. Existing theories have been used to demonstrate the impacts of downsizing at these three levels. In particular, the paper focuses more on the impact of downsizing on the level of creativity and innovation in an organization. This is because organizational development is measured by the implicated level of innovation and creativity, which has an impact on the reputation of the organization. In this regard, the paper illustrates the impact of downsizing on the individual creativity, the organization’s knowledge capacity, and the group’s knowledge creativity. The implicated reputation of the organization with regard to the state of these three aspects equally will be examined. Previous studies equally have indicated the role of these three components in shaping innovation alongside various other components in an organization. Introduction Faced with increased competition, many organizations are adopting strategies to earn a competitive advantage and at the same time improve efficiency. Initially, organizations would adopt strategies that would result into adaptive changes with minimal consequences. At the moment, most of the available strategies are characterized by negative consequences for the organization and the implicated individuals. Downsizing is apparently a preferred strategy for restructuring organizations. This strategy is radical and at the same time of significant impact on the individual, group, and entire organization. The shift toward the use of this strategy is shown to have increased in the nineties where it featured among blue-collar employees. At the moment, many organizations are using this strategy when dealing with their workforce at various skill levels (West 113). This strategy can be achieved via the use of different forms geared at reducing the number of employees. With the current eco
This essay would seek to analyze and evaluate an essay by Barbara Ehrenreich ” A step back to the warehouse” which has thought to provide the rationale behind having a welfare system for those women who cannot afford to provide for themselves. The essay entails a number of examples of women who have had to resort to living on the welfare payments in order to survive. Through these examples; the author seeks to provide the understanding of the sort of circumstances which force such a choice upon the women. The author has tried to shed light on the actual issue; the external circumstances which make the situation so that these women are unable to seek employment and the wages for the sort of employment sought by majority would not be sufficient to aid their living expenses. The author has outlined the various reasons as to why the solution in the form of workfare cannot be an optimal solution for these women. As what is required is focus on services such as child care, job training and counseling as workfare cannot become the source of sustenance. The author vehemently opposes the idea of workfare as it does not result in the productive labor force which would be ideally sought and falls below the required financial assistance. The notion of dependency that the essay sought to discuss is criticized by the author. As it is shown that welfare payments are not creating “lazy, dissolute” workers but in fact is providing a cushion for those who are suffering from poverty. The feminist alternative to welfare; workfare cannot succeed on the simple ground that it is simply a mere drop in the ocean. The author has also outlined of the financial costs to the system of introducing a workfare system in the form of the child care provisions. Till now the essay sought to provide a summary outlook of the arguments presented by Barbara and the rest of the paper would seek to provide an analysis. The author does focus on the main issues which force these women to rely on the welfare payments but the pros and cons of the system would need to be examined in further detail. The circumstances might be such that the women might need to rely on these payments but at the same time what has to be realized is the fact that there are cases where women are making no efforts to improve their situation. Hence, what needs to be done is not a complete eradication but rather a modification of the process as through the modification, it would be identified that whether the welfare case is worth the cause, extent of previous payments and the current domestic situation. However, since in most of the cases the payments are being paid to women who have no alternatives this programme’s success can be gauged from that fact. Added to that is the idea that instead of trying to do way with the proposal, the cause of the issue should be identifi
Administrator Educational Qualifications   * Degree in nursing (Bachelor, Master, etc.);   * Financial and organizational skills (budgeting, planning, etc.). Scope of Practice   * Managing the nursing staff;   * Distributing roles and responsibilities to nurses;   * Drawing workplace schedules;   * Managing interactions between staff members. Credentialing and Licensure Requirements   * Providing personal and professional information for licensing as a registered nurse (RN) ;   * Submitting data to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) (DeNisco & Braker, 2015). Importance of the Role The role of a Nurse Administrator is crucial to the functioning of a facility since an administrator addresses organizational issues. Legal Aspects of the HRM Role An HR manager must define the scope of a Nurse Administrator’s role and the range of legal responsibilities thereof. Physician Educational Qualifications To get the position at the hospital, a physician must meet the following standards:   * Undergraduate degree as the foundation for further learning;   * Participation in and graduation from a medical program in education;   * Continuing education to acquire new skills and provide high-quality services. The identified characteristics imply that the physician possesses the amount of knowledge required for high-quality services and further professional growth. Therefore, participation in graduate and undergraduate programs is a crucial part of a physician’s experience. Scope of Practice Although treating patients is typically viewed as the primary area of physicians’ activities, the scope of the target population’s services has been expanded significantly over the past few years. For instance, a physician may also focus on the tasks associated with the increase in patients’ satisfaction rates, the introduction of the tools that allow making the services more cost-efficient, etc. Furthermore, creating the environment for the informed patient care and the active promotion of patient education should be deemed as priorities for a physician (“LIP initial application quick start guide,” 2015). Credentialing and Licensure Requirements As a rule, the credentialing process for physicians implies that the following issues must be addressed:   * Providing personal details and any supplementary information required;   * Specifying the NPI and the Taxonomy Code;   * Providing information about professional education and training;
Executive Summary The report entails analysis of the purposes which motivate firms to incorporate the concept of performance management system in their operation. This is achieved through analysis of NMX supermarket which is a small and medium enterprise based in London, UK. The two main purposes considered in the report relate to organizational development and improvement of the decision making process. The two purposes are aimed at improving the organization’s performance. In order to achieve this, the report evaluates the core components of a performance management system. The core components considered relate to performance standards, performance measures, reporting progress, quality improvement process and compensation and reward. The significance of these components in performance management system is illustrated. In addition, the report also includes a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between motivation and performance. As a result, the report illustrates the importance of motivation in improving employee performance. Considering the fact that rewards are important in motivating employees, the report analyzes the concept of total reward system. The components considered relate to the relational and transactional rewards. Examples of transactional rewards considered include pay and benefits. On the other hand, relational components include work experience and work environment. Finally, a conclusion and recommendations are given. Introduction Background to the study Currently, the concept of performance management system is increasingly being integrated as a new concept in management practices. According to Armstrong (2007, p.37), performance management entails a well developed process which enhances effectiveness and efficiency in managing individuals and teams within an organization. As a result, the organization is able to attain a high level of performance. It entails a wide range of systematic approaches which are aimed at propelling the firm towards its desired level of performance. An example of performance management practice is employee appraisal which is conducted to evaluate the employees’ performance. The appraisal is designed in such a way to reflect the organization’s goals, values, objectives, responsibilities and core competencies. In order for organizational performance management to be effective, various resources are necessary in the designing and implementation of the core processes and systems which are fundamental in optimizing performance. Some of these resources include personnel skil
Four Skills I Have Learnt   * Communicating in the diverse world;   * Communicating negative messages;   * Creating presentations;   * Composing résumés. Communicating in the World of Diversity   * Learning more about people of other cultures and ignoring stereotypes.   * Composing written messages and holding meetings. These skills will help get ready for meetings and will help effectively communicate with business partners. It is important to speak the same language and be able to understand business partners’ needs. Understanding other cultures will help avoid misunderstanding. Without understanding of cultural peculiarities, it is easy to unintentionally offend or insult business partners. This will make communication ineffective or even impossible. These skills are of paramount importance as they enable an employee to:   * Develop proper relations with colleagues;   * Develop necessary skills for becoming an effective leader in a diverse business environment;   * Develop proper relations with business partners of different cultural backgrounds;   * Work out effective agreements with business partners of different cultural backgrounds. Composing Negative Messages   * Choosing the writing style;   * Communicating the negative message;   * Ending the message in a positive way. Communicating negative messages is inevitable in business communication. It is important to compose such messages properly as it will help handle quite difficult situations. Firing people and bringing bad news should be conducted properly so that there are no negative consequences for the company, e.g. extra compensations, scandals, etc. It is important to sustain proper business relations between people within any company. Composing Presentations   * Composing written presentations.   * Composing presentations for delivering speeches during meetings. Composing proper presentations is essential for employees of any level. The presentation is an effective way to present ideas. Presentations also help in trying to persuade others to share certain opinions. Effective presentations presuppose clarity and precision. It is also important to remember that while composing presentations, one should know the audience to communicate the message in the most effective way, i.e. speaking the language of the audience. Understanding the purpose and the audience’s needs and expectations makes the presentation as well as business communication effective. Composing résumés   * Effective research.   * Composing résumés. A résumé is often the first business message as it results in employment and the start of a career in a certain company. Résumés should be precise and clear. Every detail given should reveal something which is potentially of interest to an employer. Composing effective résumés presupposes research as it is important to understand what is each prospective employer looking for in employees. It is also crucial to provide meaningful details which can make the employers interested and which will result in an interview. Written Communication Such skills as communicating negative messages, creating presentations, composing rés
Management of natural resources is central to quality of governance in a country. An endowment of mineral resources such as diamond, gold or oil should foster economic development. However, there are areas in Africa where such resources have caused serious conflicts (Levy 36). Sierra Leone’s diamond has fueled a long and bloody military campaign ever witnessed in the history of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone experienced an eleven-year civil war from 1990’s to 2002 between the Government of Sierra Leone and Revolutionary United Front (RUF).The civil war in Sierra Leone was officially declared over in January 2002. However, over 70,000 people had been killed, 10,000 maimed, and more than half of the population fled the country or were internally displaced (Keen 15). ‘Blood diamond’ or ‘conflict diamonds’ are gems mined in war zones and are smuggled into the legitimate industry through illegal means. According to Levy (3), diamonds mined in Sierra are smuggled to other countries through Ivory Coast (Lincoln 36). Civil wars that are a result of resource conflicts have been manifested in a number of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries where resource endowment has resulted in civil wars. For example, Angola, South-Sudan, Liberia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Sierra Leone are amongst those countries that are endowed with mineral resources but still have high prevalence of poverty, social inequality, and conflict (Omeje 2008 in Lincoln 39). From the above examples, it can be deduced that armed conflict is a major manifestation in resource exploitation. Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) countries that are endowed with alluvial deposits of minerals such as diamond, colt, and gold. However, they are faced with the problem of illegal mining and smuggling. The rise in diamond smuggling during the Stevens and Momoh eras is explained by rent seeking instincts of the political elite. This was furthered by the peculiar organization of the international diamond industry (TRCV in Sierra Leone 17). Illegal exportation of diamond has taken place since the 1950s, with most being channeled through Ivory Coast, endowed with smaller number of diamond deposits (Lincoln 38). Although most observers have viewed the causes of these conflicts as complex, reflecting a combination of political and socio economic factors have increasingly focused on the connection between contested natural resources and political conflict (Levy 3). It argued that diamond played a vital role in fuelling the conflict as various parties funded war efforts through mining activities. These diamonds have been labeled ‘blood diamon