ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Perhaps the key prerequisite of economic development of a country is the hopefulness of a country to access to the technological advancement and innovations that seek to adapt this technological knowledge to the needs of marketplace for economic gains. Most of the economically developed economies mostly are technology influenced; thus, the role of technology in economic development of a nation cannot be ignored. Technology is an intangible body of knowledge by which humans modify nature for the purpose of production process for an economic development. Technological advancement of a country minimizes cost, increases production efficiency, and creates the capacity for better living standards for its people (Technically Speaking, 2010, Para. 1). Economic development can be defined as an increase in the per capita income of a country where the spending of its per capita income is on consumer durables and products related to leisure activities as opposed to much spending on basic needs such as food. Hence, a country with high per capita income and spends more on basic needs cannot be described as an economically developed county. A major component of economic development is the citizen’s involvement in economic development process to revolutionize the basic structure of the economy of their country. However, foreign investment is in general unavoidable, for the increase in the real per capita income to be said as an economic development, the citizens of that country must play a part in the production process itself other than just enjoying the economic benefits because of increased per capita income. Source: Ministry of internal Affairs and communications Japan being one of the developed economies, with a per capita income of above $10,000 in the year 1985, it is important to discuss the role technology has played in its economic development. Although other sectors have also such as Agriculture and other service activities have played a key role as it can be shown in the figure below which shows the economic contribution of each economic activity in the year 2008. Technology has enhanced more product production through increased technological efficiency, capital formation, research and development, intellectual property rights and good organizational techniques. Source: Ministry of internal Affairs and communications Technological efficiency Technology has played a key role in revolutionalizing Japan’s production efficiency in both mining and manufacturing sectors. Japan Production process is carried out with the help of machines to produce more of it products, but with the advanced technological efficient production of more and more of its products for both domestic and export has been realised , resulting to the increase in its Gross Nominal Product. It’s continuous increase in efficient methods of producing new products in the market, thus raising its national income , has resulted to its sustained economic development. The growth in productivity has come from changing methods of production and increase in efficient use of its resources. This is one of distinguishing important factor for Japan economic turnround during the ind
Introduction Business organizations thrive in the challenging markets using different business strategies. The environment in which a business operates often contributes to the strategies that a business organization adopts. This analysis is a case of the Axel Springer, a longtime German multimedia corporation that used various strategies and operational techniques to survive moments of high dilemmas entailing corporate responsibility. Using the case of the Axel Springer, this essay analyses the issues of corporate directional strategy, generic business strategy, and elements of functional strategy, while also providing recommendations on its business environment. The paper will use two business models: the Abella business framework and the VRIO model. Description of the Business Nature of the Axel Springer Abella’s business framework for corporate development and corporate management identifies a business through its corporate directional strategy, its generic business strategy, and its functional strategy. A directional strategy is a form of an investment strategy where a company designs strategies for net short or net long market position plans. Based on the historical development and continued progress of the Axel Company, the directional business strategy for Axel seems to be the market neutral strategies that involve balancing present business situations with certain business changes, since it balanced paper-based media with digital media. The Porter’s generic strategies contain four major dimensions that a business organization can incorporate to ensure a continued survival in a challenging environment. In terms of its generic business strategy, Axel utilized the differentiation strategic plan that involved creating various digital media communication systems that boosted easy access to news and easy access to knowledge sharing digital utilities. Functional strategy involves selecting specific decision rules that suit specific functional area of an operating business. For the Axel Company, the dominant functional strategies of the firm depended on financial stability, proper marketing of its digital migration plans, and proper scheming of the management. SWOT and the Competitive Strategy To understand the success of the Axel Springer, it is important to consider an assessment of its business environment using the SWOT business model, which entails an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses , Opportunities , and Threats of the firm. The Strengths- the notable strengths that contributed to the survival of the Springer Company in Europe include its longtime market reputation, its effective marketing techniques of the paper and digital media, and its powerful management system that effected innovative business strategies. A positive reputation made enhanced trust among its consumers, who willingly shifted from the paper-based media to the digital media due to the established trust and reputation. In terms of Weaknesses, the comp
As a rule, any style of painting as a culture phenomenon has its roots hidden in a separate individuals’ techniques, their vision of how the picture should be composed, painted and perceived. Individuals with common vision and ideas are associated with one painting style. However, a problem with such distribution may occur when, in spite of the general similarity of style, the painters use different techniques and follow different aims in their art. Thus, Post-Impressionism emerged while impressionists were still creating their most famous works, which made it hard to distinguish these two styles clearly. However, there are some changes in the style which caused a shift from Impressionism to Post-Impressionism. These changes will be analyzed in this paper using the comparison of two works: Camille Pissarro, The Goose Girl at Montfoucault, White Frost , 1875 and Vincent van Gogh, The Rocks , 1888. Both of the chosen paintings represent individual styles of their authors, as well as the major tendencies of Impressionism and Post-impressionism, correspondingly. Indeed, vague forms and mild effect of Pissarro’s painting can give a clear picture of Impressionistic vision, while Van Gogh’s work represents the out-and-outer style of Post-Impressionism with its sharp forms, contrasts and dazzling colors. The major detail that allows detecting different techniques in the two paintings is the technique of using a brush. Pissarro uses paint with a paste consistency to place dots and clouds on the canvas, which, in combination with each other, create certain forms. The surface of the painting seems smooth, or at least of one level. The artist applied mostly thin brushstrokes. A peculiar detail is that the direction of the brushstrokes does not depen
Introduction The research question for this study is as follows: to what extent Western pop culture influences the street fashion of Japanese youth in the 21st century? Pop culture has a huge influence on the masses. With the emergence and development of telecommunications, the flows of information have sped up immensely, which made cultural trends possible to cross the borders of countries. The rise of the Internet and mobile technologies in the 21st century substantially increased the capacity of cultural notions to penetrate other countries’ societies. Not only do such artifacts become known in other nations, but they also become natural and even dominant. Sometimes large countries that produce lots of media content willingly or unwillingly apply pressure on other countries’ national traditions, trends, tastes, and many more things. Many discoveries can be made about those issues through clothes and style. Especially it is true about the youth, as they seem to be on the verge of many new tendencies that are soon revealed through clothing. Japan itself has been the major producer and exporter of national peculiarities to the Western youth through items of pop culture such as anime. Across Europe and the US, there is quite a lot of merchandise that feature t-shirts, dresses, footwear, and headwear with heroes of popular anime series and films. Given that fact, it becomes even more interesting to discover how much Western culture influences Japanese teenagers’ fashion in the 21st century and where that influence originates. Research The Key Concepts The research of the topic needs to be preceded by the explanation of the key subjects and notions used in the current paper. Among such issues are Western pop culture and street fashion. Also, “youth” as a broad term should be specified. Pop culture is short for popular culture. It includes all the cultural aspects that surround preferences, tastes, fashion, music, food, and many other things. If approached broadly, culture is everything created by humans in the course of their lives and lives of their predecessors and everything that will be created by their successors. Popularity, in this case, is what attracts mass attention and invokes acceptance. As juxtaposed to exclusive culture, it encompasses everything that concerns the highly educated or otherwise privileged public (Malinowska and Lebek 32). Pop culture should also be distinguished from the culture created by different social strata and movements like hippies, punks, goths, hipsters, and other sub-cultures. All these movements produce their own information field, create for themselves and consume what they create. The defining characteristic of pop or non-pop culture would, therefore, be the number of people that associate themselves with certain beliefs, values, or items of culture. Various movements and sub-cultures form a unique imprint that is soaked up by a popular culture that in its turn creates a general image of the representatives of such social phenomena. In the modern world, mass media often defines and transmits popular culture. Again, the word “mass” implies the quantitative princ
Introduction “A textile restorer must have good knowledge of textile history and a future textile restorer must have a good knowledge of and be partially skilled in the machine and traditional Slovak textile techniques.” Well said by Eva Cisárová-Mináriková, Textile visual artist and lecturer, in her interview. (ULUV.sk.com; About ‘textile, memory, and celebration of creation,) Textiles are regarded as an identity unique to a community and it reflects the lifestyle of the villagers with their superstitions, traditions, religion, and culture, as well as their relationship with their environment and locale. The styles, the weaving techniques, patterns, colors and materials used also
Introduction Boubacar Boris Diop wrote “Murambi, the Book of Bones”. This novel is important for humanity since the reading reveals the concept of genocide in a unique way. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the book by Diop and reflect on the aspects of this writing. Plot The book exposes the audience to the horrors and sadness of the genocide that took place in Rwanda. The plot builds around the events of 1994, and the central character is Cornelius Uvimana. He is a history teacher who lives in Djibouti at the time of oppression (Diop 37). He decides to come back to the country to investigate the reasons for the death of his family. The story is told in a polyvocal style to allow the reader to comprehend the complexity of the setting and the core of oppressive experience faced by different people. Fragmentary Narratives The novel is a series of fragments. They are not linked narratively; nevertheless, they are interconnected to allow the reader to recollect the events of that period. Notably, the fragments encompass all the phases of the genocide, which are planning and political propaganda, the butchery, and the aftermath of the oppression leading to fragmented communities. The text is divided into four distinct sections. The second and the fourth parts revolve around Cornelius and his attempts to comprehend his personal tragedy and trauma as well as that of his community (Diop 38). The first and third sections are also split into smaller parts. They reveal the stories of other heroes. Interestingly, all the narrations are not connected to each other, and they provide the reader with few details on the lives of characters. The author has decided to structure the book in such a specific way to exhibit the destructive nature of oppression and personal distress. It also helps to emphasize that mental and physical sufferings are not restricted to language and imagery. The multiple perspectives on the genocide reveal its devastating effects and complexity. Despite the fact that the novel allows each hero to tell the reader his or her individual story, the fragmentation opens up the true nature of trauma. The psychology of severe distress that leads to a split in the human spirit is reflected in the structure of the novel to produce the necessary effect and atmosphere. Notably, two sections are devoted to Cornelius’ narration. The audience encounters the horrid truth of the genocide through his descriptions. With the help of this character, the reader tries to “fathom intuitively the secret relationship between the trees standing still on the side of the road and the barbarous scenes that had stupefied the entire world during the genocide” (Diop 37). Together with this hero, readers find themselves in the middle of the genocide
Introduction Heroin is an addictive substance synthesized from a compound known as morphine. It is classified as an addictive drug or opioid. Heroin addiction is a serious health problem that should be addressed using evidence-based measures. Those who are affected by the drug suffer from withdraw symptoms and dependence. This discussion analyzes this addiction and evaluates it using the sociological etiology model. Analysis Heroin addiction is a health status that is characterized by the dependence of this opioid. The condition develops when a given user cannot live without taking the drug. This is also caused by the prolonged abuse of the substance. There are unique signs and symptoms observed in individuals who use heroin. The common ones include disorientation, droopy appearance, dry mouth, shortness of breath, and constricted pupils (Pokrajac, Nolimal, & Leskovsek, 2016). Those who are addicted by the substance will exhibit symptoms such as rapid weight loss, needle marks, loss of menses (a condition known as amenorrhea), insomnia, crying, fever, diarrhea, and bruises. Heroin use and addiction is a health issue that can be studied using cultural interpretations. Although the drug is considered illegal, different cultural groups would have their diverse uses of heroin. For many years, addictive substances have been abused in different societies. The emergence of modern laws has resulted in a situation whereby some substances such as heroin have been identified as “illegal” (Pokrajac et al., 2016). When it comes to treatment, every cultural group has its inimitable methods of counseling or supporting those who are addicted to this substance (Malliarakis, 2015). Others utilize traditional medicines as a way of treatment. Whenever focusing on the needs of a given heroin addict, different communities use diverse approaches to support his or her health needs. Statistics indicate that around 13.5 million individuals across the world take addictive substances. The number of those who use heroin is 9.2 million. Singh and Gupta (2017) indicate that 93 percent of this addictive substance is obtained from Afghanistan. The amount of total exports is around 4 billion US dollars (Gupta, 2017). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicates that around 24 percent of
Outsourcing refers to an act of transferring an organization’s business activities carried out locally to an external source. The need to improve on efficiency and reduce the operation costs has forced many organizations to specialize in specific businesses. As a result, many organizations have been able to outsource some of their activities previously carried out locally (Miller 1). Currently, the increasing prevalence of outsourcing among local and international companies has attracted attention from business stakeholders and academia. According to some business experts, outsourcing is one of the oldest business ideas. Since the 1950s, outsourcing has improved over time from peripheral business activities to more critical business activities (Miller 1). More often, outsourcing has forced companies to dismantle their traditional structures of organizations. Employees have been transferred to external suppliers leading to change of their terms and conditions (Miller 1). Through these initiatives, outsourcing has not only become very useful, but also developed into a complex issue among several organizations. In numerous organizations, outsourcing has opened new platforms for innovation changing on how tasks are done. For example, cloud computing is changing the manner in which developers test new applications (Fan 6). In the past, the process could take several weeks. Currently, the process takes a few minutes. This paper seeks to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing to business organizations and government institutions. In developed countries such as the US, UK, and Germany, organizations and government institutions have increasingly outsourced their service related activities to the developing countries (Fan 4). As a result, outsourcing has attracted contrasting reactions from numerous organizations, business leaders, politicians, employees, and unions (Miller 1). For instance, business stakeholders consider outsourcing as a great tool to improve on business efficiency. On the contrary, unions consider outsourcing as a threat to employees’ terms and conditions. Advantages of outsourcing Business analysts argue that if outsourcing is managed and evaluated appropriately, it will equally benefit the providers and clients. As such, outsourcing has enabled companies to focus on core functions, save on costs, improve on their quality services, and increase their flexibility (Fan 4). Based on transaction theory, every organization seeks to economize on its transaction costs. In this regard, outsourcing reduces transaction costs, in turn, reducing the size of the firm making it more productive. According to the economic advantage theory, outsourcing enables its providers, regardless of their geographical locations, to function more productively than their client firms do. Through this, the client firm will focus on what they do better than their competitors and their provider firm. Most of the outsourcing organizations have created networks of products and service providers specializing in their own distinct area of expertise. As a result, organizations have greater chances to improve th
Introduction A business idea is a thought or a collection of thoughts that entrepreneurs generate in mind for commercial purposes. If developed in a time when the demand of products or services is high, business ideas can be useful to a profitable business. There are various characteristics of a business idea. It satisfies customers with needs or service. In addition, it is innovative, unique, clear focused, and profitable in the long run. In this context, there are ten business ideas with suggestions on their locations, descriptions and the reasons which have been proposed for their likelihood to survive in the proposed regions. First idea: Abmilan Italian Restaurant Starting a restaurant that offers a high quality Italian food at Abha in Saudi Arabia is a good business idea. This thought is innovative because there is no competition since there are no Italian Restaurants in this city. This location is a tourist attraction for many people in the Arab Gulf Countries. Moreover, the business will succeed because the Italian cuisine is regarded as the best food. Second idea: Southern North HRS The human resource solution offers headhunting office, manpower plan, HR strategic and consultations. There are no professional HRS offices in Saudi Arabia. Most of the companies get this service out of Saudi Arabia. Thus, it is costly for these companies to get the service. Starting at HRS in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, is a wise business idea that will lead to making huge profits within a very short time. The business idea is on the creative plane, and there is no doubt that the business will do well in the region. Third idea: Middle Eastern Buffet Locating a restaurant that offers buffet in Halifax, NS, Canada is a wise business thought. The restaurant will offer many Middle Eastern foods such as appetizers, main meals, dessert and coffee. In Halifax, the Arabic language is the most common after English. This is a clear indication that the restaurant will succeed because of the high population of Middle Eastern people in Halifax. There is no Middle Eastern restaurant offering buffet in Halifax. This increases the chances of the business to be successful. Fourth idea: Malumaat ITS Company In Arabic, the word Malumaat means information. Malamute ITS Company offers software solutions, computer technology consultancy, and technology services. This is offered to companies or government departments that need to create and build system. Starting a Malumaat ITS Company in Baghdad, Iraq is the best business idea for investors. Notably, the city presents a great future in this industry because the war affected the information technology. Fifth idea: Fast Exchange Money Fast Exchange Money offers money exchange for any country. Starting this business in Saudi Arabia airport and major hotels are a good business idea. The business will be successful because no hotel has this service in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, people in Saudi Arabia use cash more than plastic money because there are few of stores that serve as debit machine. Sixth idea: F & T Fashion Style Online Store