ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Abstract Food products involve stiff competition due to existence of well-established as well as upcoming domestic markets. There is rise of direct foreign investments due to competition. Lack of barrier to entry is one of the root causes of the current cutthroat competition. Different retailers have diverse ways of increasing investment and participation in the food industry due to the lucrative nature of the food-retailing sectors. Introduction The supermarket industry is among the largest economic sectors in the U.S. with regard to retailing of food and other non-food products. There has been a persistent growth in the supermarket industry concerning customer base. This has resulted in an increased need for firms to undertake effective promotional strategies by disregarding the recent past restrains on global economic developments. The 2007 financial crisis resulted in a change in consumer trends due to a lack of customer confidence. Consumers have been demanding lower price for the products and there has been a shift in consumption patterns among households. End users are also spending more on food items than non-food products. This is due to a reduction in the level of consumers’ disposable incomes, which has affected the financial performance of the firms in the supermarket industry. This research forms a critical analysis of Wal-Mart reaction to the marketing crisis in relation to some of the Pink’s ‘Right Brain Attributes,’ they have implemented. What are some of the modern and unique factors that maintain the firm’s growth and competitive edge? Integration of the Story Attribute by Wal-Mart Wal-Mart has been able to incorporate story as an import strategy to enhance performance. According to Pink (2005), the attribute requires a marketing firm to have strong chronicle of the products and strategies to deliver quality services that the consumer is able to associate with on an emotional level. Furthermore, consumers are concerned about the safety and nutritional value of food products. Good narrative on the subject of products and services captures the consumers’ trust. 2007 crisis was an evident loss of trust, resulting to increase in regulation within the industry by government and non-governmental organizations. Such regulations in the supermarket industries include refrigerant policies, which require educating the firm on various environmental issues relevant to the industry (Edwards and Day, 2007). In order to enhance relationship with clients, Wal-Mart chain-link stores have set regulations and internal policies that assist to capture emotional need of clients. Wal-Mart has therefore managed to improve its financial performance. During 2007, there was a general reduction in the number of shop visits by consumers in various stores, but contrary a slight increase in Wal-Mart’s chain links sales due to change of story strategy (Slack and Lewis, 2008). Generally, depreciation of consumer demands resulted to a minimal reduction of the firm’s financial performance. Need for company change For a company
Executive Summary Presence of foreign firms within an economy is always healthy as it brings different methods of conducting business in the economy. A firm such as Wal-Mat has the potential of changing a given country’s retail sector for the better. It has the financial capacity to do this, and it has embraced technology that would make this possible. However, the entry of this firm in a country’s retail industry is not recommended if the government is keen to develop economically. It would be an option that any country would try to avoid. Introduction Wal-Mart store is a large US retail company that was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton. According to a report by Forbes Global 2000, the company is ranked 18 th in the world’s largest public companies survey 1 . It is the largest retail store in the world operating in 50 states in United States and 15 other countries across the world. It has over 8500 stores operating under different names. With an employee base of about two million, Wal-Mat is the largest employer in the world. 2 This company has successfully penetrated markets outside its parent country. Its entry into the markets of United Kingdom was successful. China, with its large customer base, was another successful story of this firm in its quest for new markets outside United States. It is worth noting however that the firm capitalized on the local markets before setting out for foreign markets. This helped the firm develop a strong base, both materially and in the market mastery before setting forth to acquire external markets. In the external markets, Wal-Mat operates under different brand names. In the United Kingdom, it operates under the name Asda, in Mexico it is known as Walmex, Best Price in India and Seiyu in Japan 3 . With all these potential, the company has not been keen to assert its presence in developing countries. Wal-Mart: The Giant Beneficial Corporation A report by Ernst Young 4 has shown that Wal-Mat has had a consistent growth since its inception in 1962. The local American market has been faced with several challenges, top of which was the recent economic recession that ended in late 2009. The company however was one of the few American firms that recorded positivity against such storms. Its branches in other countries around the world have also been witnessing growth. The firm is the world’s largest employer, estimated to have employed over two million. There are hosts of others who are employed by this firm indirectly. United States of America, as well as other countries that this firm operates in, has had a number of benefits from this firm. Because of its size, this firm absorbs a large volume of American workforce. Its presence in any country would mean an increased rate of employment to the locals. In America alone, this firm employs over one million individuals in its various units. The firm also employs a good number of Britons, Chinese, Japanese, and other nationals from different coun
Introduction Terrorism is currently a global problem. The United States and United Kingdom, among other nations, declared war on terror in 2001. This was immediately after the 2001 US bombing linked to al Qaeda. Most governments are on high alert when it comes to terrorism. However, are the governments focusing their efforts on the correct stronghold of terrorism operations? This is the question that many scholars in the field continue to ask. Extremists continue to evolve as the world evolves, especially technology wise. Terrorists hijack important areas of organizational and government operations. This is the knowledge base and communication strongholds. By laying their hands on these crucially-placed aspects of government and social set up, they gain advantage as noted by Kegley (2002). The media also plays a part in the spread of terrorism. Scholars and observers have not been able to quantify its role. However, there is discussion as to what role it plays. When there is a terrorist action, the final decision to air the goings-on is in the hands of a media house. Most governments exercise media freedom. Therefore, investigation journalists have a right to report whatever information they gather: whether it compromises investigations by state bodies or it aids enemy operations. This way it helps in their operations. This paper critically analyzes the communication strategy that terrorists have adopted to conduct their operations. While governments’ shifts all their energies on nuclear annihilation, terrorists are taking advantage of the information they can hinder and information they already have at their disposal according to Combs (2010). Global Security versus Insecurity Global security has tremendously increased in the ad
Pest Analysis of Online Wikipedia Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that constitutes varied information from different parts of the world. The information added in Wikipedia can be edited by anyone from any part of the world making it free from being bias in terms of language or location. The wide coverage which attracts different opinion from different parts of the world makes Wikipedia to be an encyclopedia as it incorporates all these ideas into one. This makes Wikipedia a place to meet and share knowledge on various areas of education from different parts of the world and thus enhancing knowledge development (Andler, 2012). Wikipedia has also been integrated with a wide variety of languages from all parts of the world (Gondek, 2011). This provides an opportunity for a person to post his information in the language that he prefers and which in turn can be understood by a certain ethnic group of people. It also makes Wikipedia to cross-cut across so many cultures and thus attracting a wide community to add or edit information (Kubiak & Benbow, 2009). It also covers many other different topics focusing on different aspects of research that could not be found easily in ordinary websites and databases. Wikipedia foundation developed the Mediawiki software that stores all the information contained within the Wikipedia website. The software can also track down all the editing that are done to the documents thus researchers can access previous edited information. It has extensions to other Wikipedia sites since it can store large amount
The Summary In a very imaginative paper, Alastair Norcross defends his view that buying and consuming factory-farmed meat is unethical. He morally compares it to tormenting puppies for gustatory pleasure. He asserts that people who love meat should understand that buying factory-farmed meat is wrong. The author urges them to become vegetarians. If not, they should stop buying meat of animals bred in factories. The author gives several reasons that those people who love factory-farmed meat attempt to use to distinguish the morality of actions of Fred from the practice of purchasing meat produced in factories. The reasons include the fact that many consumers of factory meat never torment or kill, many consumers do not know how animals in factories are handled, and becoming a vegetarian cannot stop animal torture. The reason is that one person cannot causally affect this agribusiness since the misery of factory-farmed animals is not an intentional way of getting gustatory pleasure. Fred mutilates puppies intentionally to pleasure himself. The paper states that someone who eats meat of animals bred in factories is causally ignorant. Fred is not causally ignorant and he could have stopped the torture of the puppies. Since agribusiness has been a large industry for decades, the act of ignoring factory-farmed meat may not affect improve the situation. The action of one person to surrender factory-farmed meat could potentially have no effect. Essentially, the conclusion of the author implies that if it should be considered morally incorrect to torture puppies for human pleasure, then lovers of meat from animals that are held in confinement should consider the act of eating this meat morally incorrect as well. Critical analysis The author raises many important moral issues. However, his argument that we should consider Fred’s act of mutilating puppies for his gustatory pleasure and the act of purchasing meat of animals from factories as morally incorrect is false. The author needs to note that Fred’s actions are stimulated by his personal love for chocolate. Not everyone in the world loves chocolate. Every human being has a passion for something in life. However, there are some animals that are considered food and their consumption should not be considered unethical. Animals such as chickens, pigs, cows, goats, and sheep have been accepted as food. If one was to be found eating a dog, then it would be considered morally wrong. It is not surprising that dog is food in certain countries such as South Korea. My contention depends on what culture considers morally right or wrong. If the meat of certain animals is acceptable as food to the general society, then eating them is morally justified. The fact that a certain society would openly disagree with Fred’s actions suggests that Fred’s behavior is unethical. To justify his argument above, the author n
Introduction Intangible assets are recognized as a particular class of assets by the International Accounting Standard Board. IASB defines assets as “a resource controlled by the entity as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity” (Kocak 2008, p. 1). To extend this definition, IAS (International Accounting Standards) 38 defines intangible assets as assets that do not exist in physical substance and are non-monetary but identifiable within the business. An item to be recognized as an intangible asset, it must be capable of being recognized and described by the definition of intangible assets. According to Bhattacharyya (2007), “an intangible asset is an identifiable non-monetary asset, without physical substance, held for use in the production, or supply of goods or services or for rental to others or administrative purposes” (263). The objective of this paper is to examine the treatment of intangible assets of all types of Crown Melbourne. Consideration is made if the treatment conforms to the relevant accounting standards. The accounting standards used in this case is the Australian Accounting Standards. The reference point will be AASB 138 which deals with intangible assets. The provisions made in these standards are in keeping with those maintained in IAS 38 on intangible assets. Understanding AASB 138 on intangible assets According to Australian Accounting Standards (2007), for an asset to be treated as an intangible asset, it must have the following elements: “Identifiability (i.e. separable from the entity, or arises from contractual or legal rights), control over a resource by the entity, and the existence of future economic benefits” (p. 1). They are recognized if they are likely to bring future economic benefits and that their cost can be ascertained reliably (Anson, 2007). They should initially be measured at cost according to the standard. If intangible assets are separately acquired, the cost of acquisition, and any other cost incurred in making the asset useful is taken into consideration. If it is acquired in a business combination, the standard required that a fair value at the time of acquisition be used in the measurement. If the asset is acquired free of charge, the fair value also applied in the measurement. Other intangible assets are internally generated in the company. In this case, they are measured at cost computed as the sum of expenditures at the time of measurement and with no regard to past expenses. If the acquisition of assets involves exchange for non-monetary assets, they are measured at fair value. Types of intangible assets for The Crown Melbourne The Crown Melbourne has some intangible assets that are recognized in the books of account. For instance, there are licenses, Goodwill, and other intangible assets that include those
The art of the Peking Opera is a specific phenomenon in the Chinese culture which combines several different arts as one whole. This traditional theatre which was founded in the 18 th century is based on dancing, singing, fighting, and the creative music performance. Thus, the performers who develop various mythical and usual everyday plots are the main figures in this theatre in comparison with the role of writers and directors in creating the performance (Wichmann, 1990). In spite of the fact the history of China is full of different dramatic events which changed the social and cultural life of the Chinese people greatly, the main aspects of the Peking Opera remained unchanged, and this unique cultural phenomenon survived in the context of the significant revolutionary changes. The history of the Peking Opera is a vivid background for the development of the plot of the Chinese drama movie Farewell My Concubine which was directed by Chen Kaige and presented in 1993. The main characters of the movie are the Peking Opera’s stars, and all the events are presented in the context of the Opera. Thus, the peculiarities of the Peking Opera are discussed not only as the part of the Chinese cultural life but also as the reflection of the definite life ideology according to which all the people are the actors and the life is a greatly performed drama. In his Farewell My Concubine, Chen Kaige concentrates on several topics and ideas. However, to understand the complexity of the director’s vision of the movie as a piece of art, it is necessary to focus on the role of the Peking Opera for the development of the main idea in the movie and on the interdependence of the main characters’ living their life with their acting. Dieyi and Xiaolou are the performers of the Peking Opera troupe who spend all their life studying and acting in the Opera. Thus, the performances in the Opera are the ordinary part of their everyday life because they do not know the other way of living. In spite of the fact Chen Kaige presents a wide retrospective of the Chinese history during the period between 1925 and 1977 years, and the characters become the witnesses of such great events as the Japanese invasion of China, World War II, the Chinese civil war, the Communist regime, and the Cultural Revolution, the main accent is made on the Peking Opera as the arena of the major events in the movie and as the symbolical representation of the image of the Dieyi and Xiaolou’s life ( Farewell My Concubine, 1993). However, why does the director pay so much attention to the Peking Opera with depicting it as one more significant element of th
A social class is a set of people within a society, who have the same level of socioeconomic. It is a group of people with the same prestigious standards of life. The life statuses of such people have proofed to have some influences on religious issues. In most nations, especially United States, several religions are categorized depending on the social status of people. For instance, the Protestants churches are mostly for people of high status (Johnstone, 2007). Depending on the history, those people with high status in the society have strong biases and are likely to get religious support. At times, this is seen as a form of discrimination and favors, but this is not always the case. The high-status people have a certain attitude and some values associated with their levels within the society. The social places that such people gather, including churches they look forward to be accorded the treatment with regard to their status. In United States of America, racial integration in churches is not a common practice. The whites belong to high social classes and have their churches, while the Negroes belong to lower classes. Religion is believed to be a crucial aspect of social lives, and the social way of life is as well significant to the religion. The human societies, especially the people who understand the concepts of religion, have great influence on religious issues to their fellows (McCloud & Mirola, 2009). Religious beliefs are known to be very powerful, and capable of imposing some influences also to the society. Social status of people in America is categorized by the wealth that is owned by individuals. The most powerful people, who have a lot of money, are the ones that belong to the high class. These people have the capability to influence the rest in terms of ideas and decision-making. Such people who are believers have a great influence to rest, as they act as examples. If they decide to follow and support the church, they can influence so many people in doing the same. Financially, they have the capability to offer assistance to any pending church activities. Through the support offered by such wealth people, the church can accomplish its mission of attracting as many people as possible to join its congregation (Johnstone, 2007). The high social class of most people is associated with much wealthy and high level of education. These two aspects influence the evangelicals in United States’ culture as well as in political issues. They have a high purchasing power of Christianity books, videos and films on Christian issues. These people with social status are always the first ones to offer charitable contributions to aid for mission agencies and other church personnel. Their financial efforts are sometimes directed internationally to expand the churches, and ensure widespread of the gospel (Johnstone, 2007). Across the country, the church has managed to put up several permanent buildings for some Christians through the financial support of high social status individ
Advertising is the primary method of attracting additional customers, expanding market share, and creating a strong brand name (Bovee & Thill, 2014). The tactics implemented to attract customer attention, inspire interest, create desires, and inspire action have evolved from simple billboards with company names on them to interactive videos that invite the viewer to become part of the advertising experience. During the last decade, the general trend in advertising moved towards shortening of sales pitches and inspiring messages, out of respect for customer’s time, expenses on longer adverts, and the overall cost-efficiency of the venture. The first 5 – 10 seconds of the advertisement are supposed to get the customer’s attention, and the next 20 are expected to form their desire to explore and take action (Bonvillain, 2019). Understanding the elements that construct a successful advertisement is crucial for business communication. The purpose of this paper is to analyze an advert by Berlitz utilizing the AIDA framework. Short Summary of the Advert The advertisement is about 40 seconds long and begins with a senior coast guard introducing a newbie recruit to his new workplace (Carlson-Smith, 2005). The two conversate in German, with the trainee being left on post after being patted on the back. Shortly afterward, a Mayday distress signal is being relayed by the radio, prompting the guard to respond (Carlson-Smith, 2005). The individual on the other side of the radio feed informs the guard that “they are sinking” (Carlson-Smith, 2005, 00:00:28) The guard’s English is poor, so he misunderstands the message and wants to know “what they are singing about” (Carlson-Smith, 2005, 00:00:31). The advertisement ends with Berlitz’s logo being displayed on the screen, with a call to viewers to improve their English. Overall First Impressions Overall first impressions on my part as a viewer were mixed. For the first half of the advertisement, I had no idea what was going on. Due to the name of the video and the uniform, I managed to decipher the two individuals present on the screen to be coastal guards. I also managed to figure out the overall scene setup, with the individual being new to the job. However, it was hard to understand what they were talking about. The joke became apparent only during the second half of the video, and the fact this was an advertisement became clear only during the final few seconds of it. While I understood the idea behind the effort, my interest in the advert was primarily generated by the fact that I had to write a paper on it rather than the quality of production or the ingenuousness of the plot. Visual Memories Visual memories stand for bits and pieces of imagery that leave a lasting impression on the viewer (Bovee & Thill, 2014). The video provides very little in the ways of visual memories. All of the action happens in the coastal guard radio room. The faces of the actors and their characters are not memorable, as we do not even get to know their names. The most striking visual image in the entire advert is the company