ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Issue Definition Organized crime Organized crime is becoming a major issue not only in the United States but also in many other countries around the world. Abadinsky (2016) defines organized crime as “a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals who intend to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for money and profit” (56). These enterprises are often run in syndicated manner, using brutal force against anyone or any authority that they perceive to be a threat to their operations. Balkans’ organized crime The Balkans includes countries in central Europe running to the Mediterranean Sea (Benedek, 2010). They include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. Balkans organized crimes are highly centralized illegal business enterprises run locally, nationally, or internationally by criminals whose primary interest is to make quick economic gains using unlawful means (Arsovska, 2015). Balkan’s organized crime can be classified into different categories. The following are the major categories of Balkan’s organized crime that affect many countries, including the United States. Drug trafficking Drug trafficking remains one of the major Balkans’ organized crime. According to Arsovska (2015), these syndicated groups often traffic drugs from South America, Central Europe and parts of Africa to North America and Western Europe. The efficiency and level of coordination used in running the drug business has made it difficult for these businesses to be tracked down and destroyed by multi-governmental agencies, making the country vulnerable. These drug traffickers have infiltrated the security fabric of many nations around the world, making it almost impossible to track their activities. Abadinsky (2016) says that these traffickers have their agents in the top security agencies in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. They know when they are being tracked and know how to escape the dragnets put in place by government agencies. In the United States, the government is still trying to find effective ways of dealing with this problem. Human trafficking Human trafficking is becoming a major problem in many countries around the world. Women from Asia, South America, and less developed European countries are often kidnapped and trafficked to the United States and Western Europe where they become sex slaves. Most of them are often lured into this form of slavery by being promised lucrative employment opportunities only to realize when it is too late that they have been sent to slavery. Fighting this form of crime has been a problem because the victims are often not aware that they are being sent to slavery. Trade in contraband goods Trade in contraband goods is also a form of Balkans’ crime that the government of the United States is trying to deal with in the recent past. These criminals t
Introduction Though an entirely new approach towards marketing allowed the Mekanism Company to attract new client, some of its aspects have been considered questionable. Jason Harris, the president of the Mekanism firm, embarked on a new form of marketing to incline the company’s ability in luring additional clients to its portfolio. The digital social-media firm achieved profound growth within a limited period, something that it least expected during the implementation process of the viral marketing strategy. However, the efficiency of the firm’s online strategy and the following economic growth allowed addressing various problems and consequently spurred numerous questions within the society (Teixeira and Caverly 1). The unresolved questions and criticism in the viral marketing case implementation presuppose that the firm might face a downfall if it decides to intensify its marketing prospects by including the television network and print approaches. Questions Arising from the Case The case has spurred a variety of questions concerning the viability of the company’s marketing strategy. Particularly, the context of the viral ads should be mentioned as the key concern. The specified approach enables the reader to locate and evaluate the underlying strategies, which have stimulated viral ads to its status. The questions provoke the thought of viral ads fitness for family viewing. The above-mentioned approach idealizes to the company that there should exist a scale to evaluate the extent, to which clients accrue satisfaction from the developed ads. To be more specific, it is essential to check whether the company should resolve to become an agency. The main point is that Mekanism is obviously aimed at conjuring a change strategy without caring for its flexibility; hence, the company displays its inability to choose whether to maintain its viral marketing practices or engage into its development plans to become an advertisement agency. Furthermore, the company should be able to tailor its approach to the needs of the customers, which will require further alterations in its policy.. Solutions to the Problems When it comes to the choice of a marketing approach, the organization should definitely choose modern technology in general and e-marketing in particular as its key strategy. The company knows that some of its viral marketing campaigns draw large populations of viewers compared to others. The main point is that through the chart representation of the sample campaigns, which it conducted on numerous multinational corporations between 2007 and 2010, the company realized the importance of targeting to ensure evenness in the development of the video adverts. The chart analyses a list of brands ranging from the DKNY to Microsoft. With the list containing eleven globally renowned brands, the Olympics drew a population of over 4.05 million viewers while the DNKY lagged wit
Topic The selected author is William Shakespeare. The proposed topic is a discussion and comparison between the plays Hamlet and Macbeth. “Finding the Balance of Tragic Flaws is Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth.” Explanation Shakespeare was chosen as the playwright for this research due to his iconic status in Western literature which continues to define theater, the English language, and many grand themes to modern day. His plays, particularly the renowned and inherently complex Hamlet and Macbeth, hold significant value and extensive potential for analysis from a wide variety of perspectives such as psychological, philosophical, political, and religious. The plays have elements of allegory, symbolism, and allusion among other highly masterful literary devices which contribute to driving forward the primary themes that hold numerous ideas. The biggest point of exploration among these two plays are the tragic flaws in the two protagonists. The two heroes encounter supernatural elements early in the play which either predict or guide their actions, later on, it becomes central to the play. Macbeth is someone who is overconfident and filled with vaulting ambition. Meanwhile, Hamlet is much more indecisive and overthinking the morality of each decision even when facing someone who is inherently evil. Despite this disparity, the tragic flaw in each character leads the honorable men to their demise. It is also interesting as to how both Hamlet and Macbeth are intrigued by death and Shakespeare builds the suspense by foreshadowing through dialogue and philosophical monologues (Bradley 129). There are also numerous parallels between the plays in terms of non-primary character development as there are strong female figures, supernatural beings, and a leading antagonist in both plays that follow inherently similar patterns of behavior. More about Hamlet Which excerpt from act 5 of Hamlet best provides evidence of t
Though religion in general and Christianity in particular is traditionally viewed as the realm of spirituality and a complete isolation from the materialistic realities of the mundane world, it can be viewed from the perspective of materialism, as McDannell explains (McDaniel 1). As the author claims, the connection between pop culture and Christianity is, in fact, far deeper and stronger than one might expect it to be. According to McDannell, the study of the material culture has always been aligned with the study of religion (McDaniel 1). The link between the two can be attributed to the fact that the former allows “paying attention to the form, distribution, function and changing character of the objects and their environment” (McDannell 2), as it allows for a detailed analysis of the visual and the built environment, which constitutes a significant part of religious customs and traditions. Orsi, in his turn, offered a slightly different perspective on the subject by stating that the connection between popular culture and religion occurs at a slightly different level; to be more specific, the scholar invited the opportunity of viewing the key tenets of the Christian religion through empiricist approaches: “The shared methodology [in this approach] is radically or phenomenologically empiricist, concerned with what people do with their religious practice” (Vasquez 253). Thus, the idea of material Christianity does not necessarily reduce the theological concepts to the insights of the lowest common denominator of the U.S. population, but, instead, helps analyze the ways, in which Christianity transforms everyday reality, including the processes of social interaction and the individual vision of the world. The approach in question, being clearly original and rather bold, incorporates a range of supposedly positive outcomes, yet also presupposes addressing a range of controversial issues and, therefore, may trigger rather undesirable effects within the Christian society. As far as the obvious benefits are concerned, the approach suggested by Orsi and McDannell allows one to avoid interpreting the subject matter from the perspective of the traditional dichotomy of the sacred and the profane; as a result, the “model of secularization” (McDannell 4) is no longer applicable to the study of Christianity from the perspective of the cultural tendencies of the modern culture. Therefore, the breakthrough, which the concept of material Christianity presupposes, and the opportunities that it invites, is truly worth appreciating. A new and unique perspective on the popular culture, as well as the rediscovery of the role of Christianity in the everyday life of the U.S. citizens can be defined as another important benefit of the material Christianity approach: “The image cannot stand alone; it must be a part of a human world of meaning in order to come alive” (McDannell 16). As it has been stressed above, there used to be a very thick line between the secular life and the spiritual journey of an individual. The approach suggested by Orsi and McDannell, in its turn, helped redefine the role of
Josquin Desprez Music Overview Josquin Desprez is also known as Josquin was gospel and a secular music writer. During his time he wrote much music and had a unique talent that was appraised by many. In the 16th century, Josquin was recognized as the best writer of those times and received many awards and praises to that effect. He was a social man who was also dedicated to his career. He was able to succeed in his career because he was deeply in love with it and all his efforts were direct to it. Josquin was a franco-flemish and was well recognized with the Franco-Flemish school which he helped in its establishment. He was a European composer who operated in the areas of Guillaume and Palestina. His fame rose in the 16th century where he was part of the Renaissance. His success was attributed to the fact that he had mastered his music techniques in such a way that left many people in amazement. He was admired by many and many people wanted to emulate his character and intelligence. Other writers commented about his art of writing and wrote books of praise. Martin Luther and Baldassare Castiglione were among the writers that wrote books of Josquin reflecting his success and mastery of techniques. Theologies were not left behind, they observed Josquin’s success in music and recognized them as the best composer of his time. According to Lowinsky Edward, Blackburn Bonnie, American Musicological Society, International Musicological Society, Renaissance Society of America (p.90), he was a perfectionist. Josquin Early life There is not much information about the exact year that he was born, but many authors think that he was born between 1450 and 1455. He was born in a village called Dukes of Burgundy which there is no clear information whether it was in current Belgium or at the border of Belgium and France. His parents are not mentioned in the books but a lot of credit is accorded to his uncle and aunt who named him as the heir of their products in their will. This was perhaps 1466, around the same time it is believed that his father died. The names of the uncle and aunt were Gilles Lebloitte Desprez and Jacque Banestonne. It was in the will that he acquired his surname as Deloitte. Although he preferred to use his nickname as “des Prez” he conducted himself in the French way. In 1483, Josquin returned to his uncle’s resident to claim his inheritance after the death of his uncle and aunt. They died in May 1478 after being murdered by the army of Franchinus Gaffurius
Introduction The rapid development of technology has provided a new dimension in how people accomplish their daily activities. Social networks, a technology, which is prevalent in modern society, have simplified interaction between peoples of all ages in the society. A social network is designated as a social system which is composed of individuals or organizations which are connected together by explicit brand of interdependency (Tatnall and Jones, 2009). The interdependency can be in terms of affinity, friendship, common interests, dislikes, common beliefs, knowledge or financial exchange among other interests. Major social networks embraced include; MySpace, Orkut, Bebo, Facebook and Cyworld, although others such as Wikis, Blogs and Really Simple Syndication, RSS has gained prominent in the institution of higher learning. Social networks provide simple accessibility due to the fact that they have been built on Web.20 platform (Schepp and Schepp, 2009). In universities, social network technologies have presented a great potential in their capacity to transform learning. Perhaps is due to its nature of interactivity, prompt and holding of ubiquitous abilities. This means they can be used to provide avenues for student and instructor’s participation, create pressure for new institutional arrangements, and result in practices and frameworks that will establish collaborative participation in the learning process (Cox et al, 2003). University Learning Processes Extensive discussions and opinions have emerged in the field of e-learning, with special attention tied to the role of social networks to determine the administrative and educational approach of universities. According to Bartome (2008), the effectiveness of social networks has been noticed in administrative processes such as; student admission, fees payment, registration among other important university services (Ana and Wartman, 2009). The use of social networks in university learning process is increasing at a tremendous rate; the internet experience is daily surging lecturers, students, administrative personnel to familiarize with different social networks tools which are available on the internet to tailor learning process. Schepp and Schepp (2009) illustrates that the emergence of web 2.0 has revolutionized learning process from the conventional top down approach traditionally embraced by lectures to network knowledge approach where lectures have altered their roles from being instructors and facilitators of the learning process. Perhaps, it is evident that the mainstream instructional approaches do not exist in attaining the needs of preparing students to operate successfully and satisfactorily in modern labor market (Bartome, 2008). Further, Bartome (2008) elaborates that the use of social networks in the university learning process is regularly reinvented to adapt to new and innovative applications of information technology. These efforts in the learning proc
Market and Industry Analysis Introduction of Identified Markets Ralph Lauren is a fashion company that is involved in the design, marketing, and distribution of a wide variety of lifestyle apparel. The products of Ralph Lauren include clothing for men, women, and children. It also offers a whole range of accessories: hats, belts, bags, watches, jewelry, eyewear, etc. However, offerings are not limited to outfits. The company successfully implements a diversification strategy and has market segments in wholesale, retail, and licensing. It extends to home products, among which: furniture, wallpapers, paints, lighting, products for bath, textiles, etc. Approximately 48% of the revenue is attributed to wholesale, 50% – to retail, and around 2% – to licensing segment of the market. More than 35% of the revenues are received from North American, European, and Asian markets. The markets occupied by the company are highly competitive. Core companies dominating the markets include specialty boutiques, department stores, and internet shops (Kapferer 233). Size of Market/Industry Since Ralph Lauren is an international company, it is a part of the global apparel market, which is now estimated at around $3 trillion (2% of the world’s GDP). Ralph Lauren is included in the fashion industry sector not specializing in clothing that has a target audience of a specific gender or age. The major demographic group the industry addresses are the audience consisting of individuals from 20 up to 65 years old of any gender. Besides, there are sub-industries that specialize in products designed for kids, luxury goods, and sportswear. Women’s apparel accounts for more than 60% of the industry, men’s apparel – app. 30% whereas children’s clothes have only around 8% of the market (Mattern and Lauren 13). PEST Analysis In order to perform successfully in the market, companies must be aware of the macro environment, in which they have to operate. PEST analysis (which highlights political, social, economic, and technology aspects) allows the company to choose the most effective strategy to stay afloat (Mullins 52). For Ralph Lauren, the analysis gives the following results (Plunkett 128): Political aspect In general terms, policies of a country limit the scope of the company’s operations and shape the market where it is going to perform. In the present-day business world promoting globalization, practically all the governments have already allowed foreign organizations to enter their markets and enjoy a lot of opportunities (Robbins, et al. 91). Since the protective economic strategies are no longer commonly applicable, Ralph Laure
The term micro-credit can be defined as small loans directed towards the very poor or marginalized who need money for self-employment projects in order to generate income or for urgent family needs such as health issues and basic education. It is designed to lend small amounts of money for a short tenor. Hence the money which is lent is in small proportions and the borrower is supposed to repay within a short time frame, usually with a year at most. Microloans thorough micro-credit programs help reduce dependency among the poor, alleviate poverty, empower women and create long-lasting benefits for future generations. There are however critics to the system which raise concerns regarding the micro-credits ability to address the deep-rooted cause of poverty. There are concerns regarding micro-credits sustainability from the economic perspective as it fails to address or attempt to improve the economic indicators, income levels to rise or poverty to reduce significantly. ‘Nevertheless, microcredit has proved to be an effective and popular measure in helping to alleviate poverty, enabling those without any collateral to borrow at bank rates from various financial institutions and start small businesses. While it is relatively easy to obtain credit in developed or western countries, through large commercial banks and financial institutions, in the developing world where people lack the necessary collateral or strong credit history, access to credit although one of the most desirable financial tools for the poor, is also the most difficult to secure. Credit leverages the human capital with the physical capital and serves as a means to increase income among the poor, but due to the problems arising from moral hazard and adverse selection the lender needs to trust the borrower before enhancing any loan, thus hinders the poor people from accessing credit (Hollis, 1999). Microfinance, in many ways, has tried to overcome these difficulties in obtaining loans. Generally defined as an extension of small loans or microloans to the poor entrepreneurs, the unemployed, and others in poverty and who are considered nonbankable since they are unable to meet even the minimal requirements for a loan extension, like stable employment, basic collateral, and certifiable credit history. Microfinance is a broad field that basically involves the extension of different types of financial assistance, thus one of the branches of microfinance is known as microcredit which extends small loans to the low-income households (Krieger, 2004). The origin of micro lending Although the term microcredit or micro-lending got its boost recently, its origin can be traced out in all parts of the world even back to the 17th century (Hollis, 1999). These saving clubs have been operating from one region to another a