ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 1978 (EFTA) The EFTA was ratified by the US Congress in 1978 and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter. The main purpose of the law is to “provide a basic framework establishing the rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of participants in electronic fund transfer systems” (IT Law, N. D.). The EFTA provides consumers with a means for challenging unlawful dealings in their accounts and having their money refunded in case an error occurs from any activities related to electronic funds transfer. Among other things EFTA does is to limit customer’s responsibility in electronic transfer activities that they do not consent to. If the consumer finds out about the loss or theft of cards used to make electronic fund transfers and informs their bank or any other financial service provider within two working days, then their liability is reduced by at most 50 dollars or the amount that was transferred from their account before the notice was given, whichever is lower (IT Law, N. D.). The Electronic Fund Transfer Act was signed into law due to the emergence of electronic fund transfer system that had been in development for many years. Although the technology gained popularity in the 1920s, it was not to be adopted by mainstream financial institutions until the 1960s with an increasing demand for the service by consumers, banks and other financial institutions. However, the system had to be developed further due to the security risks associated with its use in the financial sector. Consequently, a body known as the Transportation Data Coordinating Committee (TDCC) was created to oversee further development and adoption of EFT. By 1973, the TDCC had started working on reducing the negative aspects of electronic transfer of funds. After a few years of trials, the system was adopted by mainstream financial institutions. However, the system still had some security loops. The electronic funds transfer system provided several advantages such as remov
The connections between the article and relevant area of theory in GMC This article can be related to a very important theoretical question that remains relevant for people who study and practice global marketing communications (GMC). Both advertisers and manufacturers try to determine whether it is necessary to standardize their marketing message or adapt to the needs of a particular language and culture when they attempt to popularize their products in foreign countries. Overall, this choice depends upon the goal that the company intends to achieve. If the main objective is to attract the customers’ attention to a specific product and convince them that it is worth buying, one should adjust marketing strategies to a specific region to overcome linguistic or cultural barriers. However, if the company intends to increase awareness about the brand, the management can prefer standardization since it relies more on the use of visual aids. This question is equally important for market researchers and for business administrators, who need to find ways of reducing the expenses related to advertising. The trends identified in this article show that standardization is becoming more popular among advertisers, especially if we are speaking about in-game advertising and product placement. These communication methods are not determined by language, socio-economic conditions, or culture. They rely on visual rather than verbal messages and can be noticed and understood by customers, irrespective of their language. Advertisers believe that these commercials will have the same impact on customers from different countries and cultures. By using these communication methods, the companies will be able to appeal to global customers on the one hand and reduce the marketing expenses, on the other. These are the major benefits of this approach. According to this article, in-game advertising and product placement will eventually become an inseparable part of marketing strategies, used b
Target Corporation is seeking additional capital to fulfill its business requirements. At present the company is faced with two propositions which would allow it to generate sufficient capital as required. This memo is being drafted to provide information that would help alternate fund providers to make a suitable decision regarding their interest in the company. Company Profile Target Corporation based in Minnesota is a retailing company which incepted in 1908 as then the company was called Dayton Dry Goods Company. In 1962 the company opened its first Target store and later in 2000 the company’s name was changed from Dayton Dry Goods Company to Target in 2000. Investor’s Perspective Company #1 is considering investing in the company through issue of new stocks by Target. This would allow part ownership in the company and it is only possible if Target issues new stocks at an agreed priced between both parties. The following information is gathered and presented for Company#1 to assess Target’s financial position: Table 1: Key Performance Indicators – Investor’s Perspective                                          2008               2007            Change % P/E                                      16.40 (11 Dec 09)  14.83           -4.25%   EPS                                      $2.86              $3.37           -14.84%  Dividend Payout Ratio                    21.6%              16.0%           35.48%   Book Value per Share                     57.25              52.70           8.63%    Stock Price                              46.93 (11 Dec 09)  50.00 (31 Dec)  -18.52%  Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities  4,430              4,125           7.39%    Profit for the Year                      2,214              2,849           -22.29%  Shareholders’ Equity                     63                 68              -7.35%   Additional Paid-in- Capital              2,762              2,656           3.99%    Retained Earnings                        11,443             12,761          -10.33%   Table 1 provides key highlights of the financial position of the company from shareholders perspective and also the performance of its stock listed on NYSE. The P/E has shown gain over the year and higher P/E multiplier suggests that the company is expected to have higher earnings in the coming periods. The EPS showed a decline however remains healthy despite of the crunch in the retailing sector. This decline is also reflected in the decline in the profit by 22.29%. The company’s stock is still trading at a lower value compared to its book value that implies possible increase in its value and thus a good buying opportunity. Cash flow from operating activities increased by 7.39% over two years period which was mainly due to the increase in bad debt provision as the company expected more custom
Introduction Identifying and using primary sources in a market research needs careful consideration, and some experience and expertise. Unlike the other sources of information, such primary sources come from a direct witness. A primary source is reliable, and researchers consider it as the best source because it contains the original information and is free from errors or bias. Some of the sources of primary data include interviews, questionnaires, and observations among others. This paper discusses Emily a new researcher asked to conduct a telephone survey by her supervisor. It provides an analysis of the value conflict, the prescriptive course of action, and the script. Analysis of the values conflict In her case, Emily must encounter several challenges. As aforementioned, identifying and using primary sources in a market research requires careful thought and some experience or knowledge. Emily is new in this field, and she is prone to many challenges in the communication process. The article provides an example to show her naivety. For instance, she introduced herself as a researcher for a market research firm, instead of disguising herself as a student, in order to get the information she required. The firms from which she was researching would not give out their information to other competing firms. Their core competencies cannot be released to their competitors. The components of the values confli
The reasoning and ideas of Parmenides have been of great significance in the modern world as far as teaching and the quest for knowledge are concerned. This assertion is based on the fact that social problems and other related issues have become common among individuals nowadays. Most people share the behavior of avoiding social problems instead of looking for solutions. This is contrary to the traditional approach to difficult situations. Concerning the ideas of Parmenides, it is important to analyze situations for deeper understanding and knowledge. This is evident from his approach where he rejects what he terms as the “beliefs of mortals”, whose basis is the sensory experience as he considers such reasoning to bear “no true trust”. According to him, individuals need to be judgmental concerning the reasoning behind any given claim to differentiate “what can be” from “what cannot”. Such reasoning has been used in education and teaching nowadays where it has become important to provide the reasoning behind any claim. Also, Parmenides provides further grounds on the quest for knowledge by alluding that genuine things are based on the thinking that what is, must be: “whole, complete, unchanging, and one”. Such thoughts bring the need for different things that can undergo qualitative change, from that which can become, or can come to pass. As such, Parmenides’ thoughts and ideas on knowledge bring out the need to base an understanding of knowledge based on features of wholeness, completeness, oneness, and the ability to remain unchanged. The evolutionary works of Parmenides are brought about in the form of metaphors as he tries to defend metaphysics. His argument for essential homogeneity, as well as the changelessness of being, is presented through a metaphor of the trip to the goddess in search of enlightenment. Such an approach can be considered to have some similarities with the Greek approach of invoking the muse. In this metaphorical approach, Parmenides illustrates the process of building knowledge through a description of the views of reality, where he explains “the way of truth” and “the way of opinion”. The metaphor of the trip to the goddess provides readers with the illustration of changelessness and homogeneity by explaining aspects of appearances and how sensory faculties can result in false and deceitful conceptions. His use of the goddess
Lifespan is a subject that recently attracts an essential amount of human attention. It is not surprising as people are curious about the factors influencing their life duration and life quality. A substantial amount of research was made investigating and calculating the major issues prolonging or shortening peoples’ lives. In this assignment, one of the newspaper articles about lifespan research will be estimated from the terms of its content and study characteristics. In the article from Times Magazine, the authors report about the research made by investigators from New York University School of Medicine highlighted various factors impacting life duration (Ducharme & Wolfson, 2019). The authors of the study estimated 500 U.S. cities with a population of at least 66.000 people and took data from City Health Dashboard as the basement for the research. The major focus of the study was to identify the cities with the shortest rate of life duration. During the investigation, researchers identified 56 cities where humans could expect to live 20 years less than in other locations (Ducharme & Wolfson, 2019). Apart from that, among factors influencing life duration zip code, air pollution, access to healthy products, nature, medical aid, level of income, city of permanent stay, race and ethnicity, obesity, and smoking were underlined (Ducharme & Wolfson, 2019). Researchers also identified national and ethnic disparities in cities to be one of the influencing factors on life-expectancy gaps. According to Ducharme and Wolfson (2019), the cities with the largest gaps were Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York. The researchers used the observational research method and qualitative research design as they gathered the data from an online resource, the City Health Dashboard, that uses multiple sources and allows to compare data according to the aims of the search. The hypothesis of the research was to prove that city-level health disparities depend on various modified and non-modified factors and to calculate such differences. Reliability and validity concerns involve the data gathering from online resources depending on the access to them and their measures may be changing within time. Moreover, the data refreshment in the City Health Dashboard and any other online platform might be rare, and some measures from small-sized territories can be not very precise. The latter can lead to inaccuracies in calculations due to secondary data estimation. The advantage of using online data is in its availability, scale, and quick access to analyses. However, secondary data does not provide the full picture of the issue and might lead to inaccuracies in estimations as they are based on other assessments. The future findings question mostly focuses on the possible solutions to the life-expectancy gaps shortage
Introduction General Financial analysis is a rather complicated matter to deal with because it involves the knowledge of different aspects of such sciences as economics, mathematics, etc., and presupposes the presence of the analytical way of thinking from the side of the person that deals with the analysis. Finance itself is a very interesting thing to write about as people who willingly deal with finance or are made to deal with it always get to know a lot of new things while exploring the topic. Financial problems So, that is why this very analysis will deal with a rather difficult but, at the same time very interesting topic of the financial analysis. The analysis aims to examine the financial problems that were experienced by different firms and companies at certain stages of their development and to analyze how these problems influenced the financial side of the company’s work. The activities that will be carried out in this analysis are connected with the average assessments of the companies’ costs of capital, calculating the possible prices for the stocks of companies, defining the approximate prices for the companies’ shares, determining the rate of the companies’ growth, etc. Background of the problem Basic Notions The current financial analysis will deal with different economic problems using specific examples from existing companies that still operate in the market. The keywords and notions of the analysis are exchange rate, price of the stock, expected return of the financial system, the rate of growth of a company. These notions will be explained in the analysis in order to avoid any possible cases of ambiguity that might occur in another case. Specific Examples The problems that are going to be considered in the analysis are examined using specific examples, such as the following:   * calculation of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of the firm Hilliard Corp.;   * assessment the prices of common stocks of such companies as J. Ross and Sons Inc.;   * detection of the return rate of the stock of the company Grant Corporation; Methods The analysis of the financial systems and data will involve a set of different methods that can help the research in their own way. The method of mathematical calculation proved to be a reliable one while dealing with problems of such kind. All the formulae that are used in the analysis also helped much in the work. Besides, such methods as a case study, survey making, and others make it easier for people to gather and systematize the knowledge got from the work in order to carry out the successful calculations and the following analysis. So, now let us proceed to the next stage of this analysis which is called “Calculations”. Calculations Hilliard Corp. This very company e
Appearing in the guise of submission guidelines for Elly May Moody Golden Poetry Award, Charles Bukowski’s poem, ‘Poetry Contest’ is a precise but very loyal criticism of the murky practices found in the publishing industry. Through this poem, the author shows the readers, how some of the magazines which purport to be the heavenly figures of literature are actually exploiting the aspiring writers by their unethical practices. The guidelines for the poetry award call for submissions of poetry limited to ten lines which can be on any subject or in any style. The only indication of the magazine’s specific requirement is that they prefer ‘poems of affirmation’ which is not a clear manner of explaining one’s taste. Any writer can submit poems for the competition but the number of submissions should be limited to ten and each poem entails a ten-dollar payment. Thus a writer who wishes to send the maximum number of poems will have to pay the magazine an amount to the tune of $100. The first prize is a mere $75 which gives us a clear idea of how much money the magazine stands to earn from this contest. The author, through his use of irony and other literary devices, shocks the audience with the saddening realities that exist in the publishing industry and how it exploits upcoming writers. The language and style that the author uses in revealing the theme are simple but appropriate to the main idea in the poetry. Most of the poem comes off as the specific guidelines, which are written in the standard language are usually found in the media. However, the points at which the lines are broken do give the poem a refreshing rhythm and perfection of diction. The line break at the beginning where the author breaks the line at ‘only’ and keeps it as a single word in the second line is a good example of this. So far irony is concerned the poem is littered with several instances of highly sarcastic connotations. A magazine is supposed to exist for promoting literature, to help young and budding writers, grooming them and making them experienced writers who can then give something to improve the quality of the literature by their efforts. However, what we encounter here, is a mean editor who thinks of a poetry contest that will help him make money and also work as a platform for projecting his self-image and promoting his work. Sarcasm is also evident in the poem where the name of the editor is repeated five or six times in a small space but the guidelines hardly give any idea about the nature of the magazines or what it actually stands for. The false pride of the editor is skillfully exposed by the statement that the winner will receive $75 along with “a scroll signed by Elly May Moody” – as if it matters a lot to all writers. The final line also, where it states that the winners will also receive a copy of the editor’s poetry collection, is a significant indicator of the use of irony in this poem. Overall, the poem ‘Poetry Contest’ by Charles Bukowski can be seen as an exemplary work that uses the literary devices of irony, style and d
Stocks and bonds are critical financial instruments, which aim to have an influence on the company’s situation in the market. Nonetheless, stock implies the ownership of a particular part of the organization while having rights for a share of the corporate earnings (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2014). Meanwhile, bonds are economic tools aimed at supporting the activities financially while promising the return of the full payment to the purchaser with the inclusion of the interest rate within the set timeframe (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2014). In this case, Apple’s stocks and bonds were evaluated, and the stocks tended to start with $30 per share in 1981 and increased to $108 while experiencing insignificant fluctuations in value ( Investing.com , 2016). Meanwhile, Apple also utilized bonds to assure the payments to the shareholders, and the value of this financial instrument was declining for an extended period ( Investing.com , 2016; Fernandes, 2014). The changes in Apple’s stocks are reasonable, as the stocks have a tendency to rise due to the presence of the intensified competition and the escalating stock values of the primary adversaries (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2014). Alternatively, the rising popularity of the company and a rapidly increasing share of the market also could be viewed as the potential driver for the escalation of price. As for the bonds, this security’s dissimilar nature determine the decline in the potential value. While playing the role of the possible source of the current cash flow, the prices were set at a lower range than the competitors’ ones to assure the possibility of the quick increase of the revenues (Fernandes, 2014). In this case, the income from the recently sold bonds has a high interdependence with the stocks, as they are used to proceed with the payment of the interest to the company’s shareholders. Based on the information above, the optimal resolution has to be aimed at the optimization of the current value of the corporation while maximizing its cash flows and implying the increase in the revenues (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2014). In this case, Apple has to monitor the stock values of the competitors and rapidly modify it to the changes to ensure the maximal profitability for the stock exchange (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2014). Additionally, the company can try the role of the market leader like the current intensity of the competition contributes to the rise of stocks. Speaking of bonds, the organization has to set reasonable prices for these securities and interest rates to assure its profitability in the future and select a suitable pe