ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Background Adequate, affordable and reliable supplies of energy are essential for social-economic development of any nation. Global energy demand has been rising consistently. High demand for energy in the recent past has led to general increase in global oil prices. Frequent energy crises in the recent decades have motivated innovation in energy sector. Most recent research studies in energy are oriented towards developing alternative source of energy to supplement or replace fossil fuel. National and international consumption of fossil fuels are anticipated to rise over nest several years. The increase in consumption is however expected to be slower that in the recent years. Projected increase in fossil fuel consumption in the U.S is, among other factors, as result of anticipated increases growth domestic unconventional gas supplies (Haines, 2006, par 7). According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2009, there is high anticipation of increase production of oil, coal and natural gas in the country (Ziff, 2009, par 2). Increased production of shale gas is expected to bring high impact in energy mix not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world. The report addresses effect of increasing production and consumption of Share gas in the country. It focuses on technological impact, commercial consideration, and implication of use of Shale gas to conventional gas. Unconventional natural gas is at the top in national energy discussion. The increasing importance of unconventional natural gas on national energy has led to significant impact on the country’s energy. The significance of unconventional natural gas is not felt only in the U.S but also in other parts of the world such as Australia, Canada, China and some countries in Europe (Fortson, 2009, par 15). Debate on conventional natural gas is relatively new. In 2000, unconventional natural gas contributed less than 1% of the countries gas consumption. The impact of the unconventional natural gas was not felt until about 2007-2008, but reached its peak in the second half of 2009. Currently, unconventional natural gas is considered as one of the important innovations in energy sector and one that has high potential energy supply in the future. Shale gas leads as the unconventional natural gas that has significant impact on national and global energy (New Standard Energy, 20
Law of Diminishing Returns The law of diminishing returns states that “an increase in one input without making adjustment to other inputs results in a reduction in the total output” (Talent, 2010). In the case of studying late in the night, time is the only input being increased. Concentration may diminish as a student extends study time without balancing other inputs. The situation is similar to that of occupying an office space, a desk, or student cubicle. With additional people using the unadjusted space, the working environment becomes congested for the student, or worker. Productivity is the average output per worker. Productivity may be lower but total output still increases because of the number of workers. First, the average output per worker declines (after the 5 th worker), and then it reaches a point when an additional worker does not increase total output. Lastly, the total output starts to decline for any additional worker using the same space after the 11 th & 12 th worker (Talent, 2010). In the working space situation, the only input being increased is the number of workers. The solution to a high level of productivity would be to balance all the inputs used by the workers. These include “working space, equipment, tools, and other resources” (Talent, 2010). In the workers’ case, other resources may include support, and motivation. We must be concerned about the right ratio of inputs to maximize productivity. Market equilibration process Market equilibrium is a condition in which consumer demand equals the quantity supplied. The point of intersection of the supply and demand curves is the market price. A shortage or a surplus may exist when the market is not in equilibrium (Talent, 2010). Market forces will adjust demand and supply quantities through the price to bring the market back to equilibrium. This is the natural process that is likely to take place unless an external influence interferes with the balancing process (Talent, 2010). A shortage of oranges results in orange farmers demanding a higher price. Producers include the additional cost in the final output. The consumer buys the orange at a higher price. In this case, a higher demand than supply results in higher prices. Higher prices adjust the demand to a new lower level (Talent, 2010). New findings about the benefits of orange juice increase consumer preference for the product. Demand increases because consumers want
Introduction The concept of corporate governance is critical for organisations that want to achieve their potential and meet the demands of their stakeholders. It focuses on the structure and process through which leaders control companies while at the same time remaining accountable for their actions. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the leadership and managerial actions. Burberry undertakes and establishes whether it complies with the established UK Corporate Governance Code (2018) or not. The main sections of the code described in this report include leadership, effectiveness, accountability and remuneration. The analysis will examine how this company conforms to such requirements and presents evidence-based recommendations for transforming its corporate governance model. Company Background Burberry Group PLC is a successful British fashion house that distributes and markets trench coats, sunglasses, fragrances, fashion accessories, outerwear and cosmetics. The company has its headquarters in London, England. Thomas Burberry established this corporation in 1856 by developing and designing outdoor attire for different customers (Kitson 18). It delivers unique trench coats, pattern-based scarves and other branded accessories. Before 1955, Burberry was a small firm that was controlled by Burberry’s parents. In 2016, Burberry Group had a total of 498 locations or houses across the world (Kitson 121). Its revenues for 2018 stood at around 2.7 billion pounds, while the recorded net income during the same period was 293.6 million pounds sterling (Burberry 19). With its operations in 51 countries, Burberry is an FTSE 350 company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Corporate Governance: Burberry The ultimate objective of corporate governance is to support and maintain the most appropriate relationship between a company’s top management and its stakeholders. This concept creates the best opportunity for aligning organisational decisions with the outlined aims (Mallin 49). This discussion examines how Burberry fulfils the requirements of the UK Code of Corporate Governance. Leadership The Leadership section of the UK code has five principles that encourage boards to promote and determine the culture of their companies and engage different stakeholders. Burberry has implemented a superior business model whereby workforce activities and policies are in accordance with the established values. Employees are allowed to present their grievances to their seniors or supervisors. Burberry’s Board is currently responsible for the operations and initiatives the company undertakes and has eight members (Mallin 21). These include the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Executive President, Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and five non-executive directors. The current Chairman is John Peace, while the CEO is Marco Gobbetti (Mallin 22). The CEO and the Chairman of this Board undertake different roles that are aimed at maximising performance and meeting
Introduction Sources of information about music have generally been the mass media: broadcast — the easily accessible radio and television programs. However, a print publication for several decades also enjoyed the role of authority on information about music; as broadcast introduces the theme, the print provided the necessary information that includes musician, the musical piece, and even the persons involved in a musical work, such as the musicians, production and technical staff, performers, directors, amongst others. This is easily said about music starting from the mass production of recorded music in the late 1950s until the advent of MTV. Before mass-produced vinyl, however, there has been a long history of musical developments worldwide in different cultures and ethnicities, which cannot be overlooked. Today, this is highlighted on Youtube, where music video dominates viewer internet user uploads. Various forms of music, however minority a group is, can be easily searched and viewed on Youtube, which has started to give rise to inter-racial and ethnology interest, specifically in music. This paper will try to provide light on the music information sources focusing on Western and Indian musicology. Discussion Indian music has been considered “elusive” due to its improvised and un-notated reconstruction making it problematic (Ramnarine, 1996). European travel literature, however, greatly aided interest in placing Indian music in its rightful historical place as cultural documentation detail musical information (Wade, 1998). Even denial by musicologists to refer to such materials due to contradictory and non-straightforward narration does not rob its usefulness (Ramnarine, 1996). On the one hand, accounts usually examine music and the musicians in the context of people movements or migration from rural to urban centers (Turino, 1993), such as African music in the United States that provided the basis for Indian music. For instance, the International Centre for Comparative Musicology interviewed more than 150 organizations for the Klangbider der Welt, providing an overview of the “range of approaches and histories of formation, activity, and stylistic choice” (Slobin, 1993, p 66) with regards to intercultural networks in Berlin. One Western source about musicology, interestingly, has been Max Weber, who analyzed and provided the parallel of Western rise to power and popularity to the Roman Catholic Church, which “led to the standardization of music notation, standardized music instrument construction, and standardized performance that produced a unique vision of the West,” (Turley, 2001, p 634). This was proposed in Weber’s 1921 book Economy and Society (Turley, 2001). This analysis also complements Theodor Adorno’s (1962) reciprocal model of society, which influences music and music and controls society. Who wrote, “a musical sociology should take its bearings from the social structures that leave their imprint on music and musical life” (p 43). However, as mentioned earlier, India has been richly described in British colonial writings (J
Executive Summary Property markets are important pillars of any economy. The trends displayed in these markets determine how an industry performs. There is the need for appropriate research before an organisation can commit any finance into any property market. Some of the considerations that must be made include the performance of the regional local and international economies in the involved sector. The use of appropriate data must also be applied to substantiate the decisions made on the investments (Saggi 2013). Rushcliffe Asset Managers is the UK operation of an international firm of fund managers, with £25bn of assets under management. The firm intends to spend £5bn in direct property market. The research department is crucial in the provision of data to advice on the investment decision. The decision will be based on future weightings in three areas, namely the City, West End, and Docklands office markets in London; the Puxi and Pudong office markets in Shanghai’ and the downtown, midtown, and midtown south office markets in New York. The data obtained in the study of the above office market was used in the preparation of this report, which contains the prospects for these markets over the next three years, the current trends, the threats, and opportunities within these markets. The approach for the report involved a study of secondary material such as market reports, professional and academic journals, newspapers, government reports, and statistics. The report contains both qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the decisions taken in the respective markets. Quantitative evidence provided for these markets include local, regional and national economic data, rents and yields, vacancy rates, and development activity. Some of the qualitative material provided will include the pattern of land and property use, the quality and form of buildings and locations, planning policy, regeneration schemes, and any other factors that are considered relevant. Shanghai Office Markets Current Market Conditions Shanghai is a modern city in China with experiences in development as witnessed in the mainland China (Zheng 2011). The city has experienced development over the last few years in keeping with the growth of the Chinese economy. Shanghai continues to be one of the strongest performers of the mainland cities of China. The GDP fo
The film ‘Crash’ is symbolic of the perils of a multi-cultural society and the resultant evils of racism attached to it. It is a very strong film, depicting a series of events of the entwined lives of diverse individuals including the Whites, the Blacks, the Asians, the Iranians and the Latinos of New York city. The film is a classic prophetic portrayal of the racism between the characters, whether the rich or poor, the cops or villains. The film progresses classically, trying to get a glimpse of the severity of the future of multi-cultural societies of the future world. The film, written and directed by Paul Haggis, is a series of chance accidents occurring in the lives of the individuals of diverse races. The film is cast in the city of New York and highlights the issues of prejudice while living in such diverse societies. The director uses co-incidence and disaster to merge the lives of the numerous characters, highlighting the fact that prejudices are likely to plague the human mind at some point of time or other. The movie attempts to scrutinize these racist feelings and the likely consequences resulting from them. It highlights the stark reality of the result of prejudices which very often prevents humans from seeing the real nature of their fellow humans. For instance, in the incidents between the racist cop and Newton, the cop manhandles her during routine traffic stop. Later in the film, when the cop tries to rescue her from a traffic accident, she resists his approach, prejudiced by the earlier incident that he may be trying to physically assault her again. This is a classic example of how the prejudiced assumptions of people can prevent them from visioning the true person. In another incident, Sandra Bullock is portrayed voicing racist anti-Hispanic comments in the company of Pena’s locksmith. In an ironic scene, later in the film, she falls down the stairs with no one but her Hispanic maid to help her. Thus, the movie is an effective portrayal of the racial prejudices and pre-conceived notions deeply embedded in us, which re-surface time and again. By way of the ironical turn of events, the movie aims to bring forth the racial fears in humans, and efficiently signals to the casting away of those fears, so that humans are accepted in the true light, not as stereotypes of Latinos, Asians, Hispanics, Blacks or Whites. The movie conveys a silent message that people must be viewed and believed to be what they are, rather than
The story revolves around the extent to which a group can bear responsibility over individual’s welfare and well-being. It also raises ethical questions relating to an individual and the ethics of an organization. The case study is a narration of Bowen McCoy story on an expedition to hike the highest mountain in the world, The Himalayas. McCoy spends substantial amount of time hiking the mountain that cross cuts the plains of Nepal. As the journey continued to be challenging, he meets an Indian cleric considered holy by the citizenry. His name is Sadhu. The holy many had insufficient clothing to cover him from the whims of extreme cold and he was struggling to survive. Noticing the needs of Sadhu, McCoy and his fellow hikers provides him with clothing to keep him from the adverse effect of the cold. They also give him food and some warm drinks to gain the lost warmth (Ciulla, 2003). Filled with empathy, members of the group volunteered to take the holy man down the mountain to a nearby village. Nonetheless, they leave him and continue with their expedition up the mountain. They rationalized their action by saying that the man would distract their focus and objective of ascending to the peak of the mountain. McCoy admits that he did not know what had happened to Sadhu raising the moral question of how individuals should act in dilemma typical of genuine ethical issue (Ciulla, 2003). As such, the case study responds to the questions about addressing ethical dilemmas and crises. He recognizes that if the group had gone down the slopes, they could have shifted their focus from the organizational objectives. Can an individual therefore act in a way that contravenes the objectives of an organization when responding to ethical dilemma? Should individual ethics reflect the ethics held by an organization? Ciulla (2003) asserts that the parable of Sadhu provides insights on how to deal with ethical dilemmas when caught between organizational and personal morals. Power is the ability to influence others to increase the chances of achievement of specific goals. Besides, power reflects control and access to resources and gives those who wield power an upper hand over the rest of the population. It is therefore imperative to notice that nature of power is in itself an indication of self-interests. Humans use power as a means to attain their self-goals and objectives. As indicated by Machiavelli, human beings are in endless competition to fulfill their urge for power, as a means to their ends. Since human beings struggle for power, many ethical issues emerge regarding the use of power and means through which people acquire power. While we consider that power
There are several similarities between Dixie Chicks and the Weavers. In both cases, the groups were denied the opportunity to sign contracts with recording companies or sponsors. Secondly, they were shunned from many radio stations. So, these bands found it difficult to reach the audience. Nevertheless, there are important differences. The Weavers were falsely accused of supporting the communists. In fact, they did not even wish their songs to be associated with any ideology. In turn, Natalie Mains, lead vocalist of Dixie Chicks, openly criticized the decision to start the war in Iraq. Moreover, the difficulties faced by the Weavers can mostly be explained by the pressure of the government that urged recording companies and radio stations to shun them. Yet, the challenges faced by Dixie Chicks can be attributed to the influence of many community members who disagreed with Natalie Mains’ criticism of George Bush. In my opinion, the political opinions of musicians are not relevant in appreciating their talent, especially if they do not impose their opinions on others. I think that performers should be assessed according to such criteria as originality or aesthetic impression produced by their songs or compositions.
Introduction The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a small enterprise as an actively trading business with less than 20 employees. Small businesses are important to the economy as estimations show that they account for about half of the employment opportunities in the trade business and contribute more than a third of the industry’s value added. Statistics show that, as at 2006, 31.5 percent of small business operators were female while 68.5 percent were male (Clark et al. 2011). This is an indicator that there are very few female small business owners; this is a grave concern for the sector, and efforts are being made to determine the reasons behind this trend. Recently, there has been increased interest in understanding women-owned enterprises and their experiences in a male-dominated area. Economists acknowledge that policymakers tend to assume that all small businesses face similar issues irrespective of whether they are owned by females or males. However, there is evidence that they face different challenges as it has been deduced that the structures and processes used to obtain resources to establish and expand businesses differed between both genders, which affected the success of female-owned businesses. This paper is a discussion of the available literature on female business owners in Australia, a summary of the views of one female entrepreneur, and recommendations that can be adapted to encourage more women to start establishments and succeed. Women in Small Business Studies have profiled women in small establishments on a number of factors such as demography, the amount of capital investment, and nature of business. Australian-based research has found that women are likely to run a service-providing company because of the flexibility of these ventures allowing them to work from home or combine them with family responsibilities, previous work exposure as employees, their customer service orientation, and the more general educational background of females (Stanger 2004). Research shows that women are likely to invest in education, recreational services, dining business, accommodation, and health and community services. Some experts have also profiled businesswomen by demographics such as age, education, marital status, nationality, among other factors. An earlier study established that, in the early 1990s, female business operators were aged between 30 and 50, married, Australian born and had a tertiary education. In addition, they worked in the family business during their childhood, had a self-employed father and an employed mother, and were either a first born or only child (Conway & Sheridan 2005). In contrast, a later investigation deduced that the average self-employed female is aged over 35 years, has excellent schooling, Australian born, worked full-time i
Introduction Joy Kogawa, in her novel Obasan , has narrated the struggle for identity and self-identification. The novel captures the struggle of the Japanese Canadian community from the hostility that the community had face due to rising hatred against the Asian community after the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. Canadians perpetrated the hostilities in different forms –continuous racial prejudice, wartime internment, exile and double dispersal – on Canadian citizens of Japanese origin. History always shows the struggle between two bipolar worlds for power and eventually the strong and the triumphant crushes the minority voice. Therefore, it is important to recount the point of view of the “other” in order to “deconstruct the totalizing” (Shoenut 478). In this semi-autobiographical work, Kogawa has tried to demonstrate the struggle and trauma the Japanese Canadian community had to go through during and after World War II. These events form a background to demonstrate the process of identity development of the later generations of the group through the protagonist Naomi and her brother Stephen. They demonstrates the deep-rooted distrust and contradictions that developed with many and their dual struggle to forget the trauma and search for the truth. Obasan thus narrates the tale of exploration of truth and suffering of the Japanese Canadians after World War II. Kogawa paints the journey of Naomi, as described by Rufus Cook, in