ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The airline industry is one of the first industries to have gone global. It is also one of the most heavily regulated sectors on the market worldwide. In this short report, we will try to analyze the situation of Qantas, the major domestic airline of Australia. The company is also an important global market player since it became a member of the ‘One World’ alliance, one of the two biggest alliances in the airline industry worldwide. In order to evaluate adequately the company, we have to first assess the primary drivers for revenue and profit and the KPI’s (key performance indicators) that support these drivers in the airline industry. KPI’s are the ‘tools’ that are used to measure profitability in the airline industry. There are two types of basic services that drive revenue for airline companies: passenger air transportation and air freights. Like many other services, passenger air transportation is a function of price and volume (or number). There are many financial KPIs in support of the services mentioned above such as passenger traffic and capacity, but there exist many other non-financial KPI’s also. Customer satisfaction and positive brand name recognition are among the most important of them. They have a direct impact on the sales and marketing and customer loyalty business processes of the company. Sales and marketing have the duty to attract customers to the company in order to guarantee a continuing revenue opportunity. Instead, the customer loyalty process allows it to keep a certain level of revenue from existing customers. Both relate to a certain level of cash flow that the company needs to have for its operations. Customer satisfaction and positive brand recognition directly affect, first, customer loyalty and then create a negative impact on the public by damaging sales and marketing. This way the flow of cash needed for the daily operations of the company would be negatively influenced. The solution for many airlines has been merging or the formation of worldwide alliances. One-World alliance Globalism has led many business companies and corporations to believe that the way of gaining more from it is to collaborate with each other instead of ‘fiercely’ competing with each other (Gomez-Mejia et al., 4). In our case, the ‘One-World’ alliance between the various well-known airline companies aims to make them benefit more from this globalized market than they would do if continue to compete with each other. There are various benefits for all of them. In our case, Qantas airlines would be able to enter markets it previously did not serve in an easier way. This way it will be able to gain even more customers and thus, increase its sales. The increase in sales has a direct impact on the company’s revenues and profits. Also, another important factor to be mentioned here is the cutting of costs. By being a member of the ‘One World’ alliance Qantas will have the opportunity to use the routes and services of other companies, which are members of this alliance, instead of
Modern morality values have firmly entered the life of western society many decades ago. However, eastern cultures’ values are affected but not overthrown. What can be said about modernity and Indian society? Did it refashion its values or just affected them in a way? In The Guide novel by R. K. Narayan this question is actively discussed. The novel’s characters represent different lifestyles and beliefs. Marco is a symbol of western modernity whereas Raju’s mother represents traditional Indian mentality. The following paper has its purpose to discuss the characters contrast of Raju’s mother and Marco from various angles. First of all I would like to draw your attention to some basic points concerning R. K. Narayan’s novel. The events which the author described took place in a fictitious town in South India – Malgudi. The basic idea of the novel is the protagonist’s transformation. The characters of his mother and his lover’s husband Marco make their contribution to this transformation. They also reveal two different ways of thinking: western modern one and Indian conservative values. Marco’s and Raju’s mother’s characters are to be considered further in order to research the differences in western modernity and Indian traditional values. In the following paragraphs their values, believes and role in the novel will be discussed. Marco’s character Speaking about Marco it should be first of all stated that he is an anthropologist and scholar by occupation and is much more
Gentrification happens when the old buildings and districts are demolished for a purpose to build new and better areas more suitable for a wealthier population such as the middle class and elite. During the Gentrification, the native dwellers of the reconstructed districts are displaced. The new areas are more expensive in terms of prices for houses and rent. Besides, this process has significant social effects that I would like to discuss further. First of all, gentrification is viewed as the result of the attraction of the creative groups of the population to the older and poorer districts. The arrival of artists, journalists, and many other types of visionaries gives a push to the development of the deteriorating parts of the city. Their activities attract businesses, elites, reduce crime rates, and facilitate culture and education. These tendencies sound like a positive effect, but one should not forget that such negative aspects of city life as poverty and crime cannot be fixed by the cultural development and reconstruction. Instead, they are simply moved to some other parts of the city and continue to affect many people. Another cause of gentrification is the decision of the government. This is the case when it comes to gentrification in China. This process is put into practice as an intentional urbanization and due to a large population of the country, always involves millions of citizens. In China, gentrification is implemented through policies and reforms directed at the creation of higher density in the urban population which leads to the increase in rent and housing prices and to the displacement of the low-income groups of the population to the rural areas. However, such areas may also be exposed to redevelopment. For instance, many villages were demolished for the construction of new infrastructure and readjustment of land for profit. In most cases, the displaced populations are compensated for such actions of the government, but the compensations are unfairly small and the new houses – worse than the previous ones. When gentrification is implemented for a purpose to get rid of the low-income population and create better opportunities for the upper and middle classes, this process results in the increase of income gaps between the rich and the poor and the growing dissatisfaction of the latter. The social tension increases with the government’s privatization of the rural lands. In China, where the population is huge, the process of gentrification that simply masks the disadvantaged groups of people moving them away from developing areas is not a clever way towards the improvement of social wellbeing. The groups of depowered people grow in their sizes and require a smarter solution to the residential and economic problems. To sum up, the gentrification initiated by the Chinese government is a very superficial way of improving the country’s economy. It is based on the replacement of poorer districts with business-oriented buildings and infrastructures. These actions are effective in terms of attraction of investments and businesses, but they also create a higher rate of poverty and social dissatisfaction due
Outline Thesis statement: Physical appearance has been proved to influence an individual’s chances of being employed in the organization. This article reviews journal articles that talk about the relationship between physical appearance and securing employment. Introduction Both previous and recent studies confirm that there is a relationship between physical appearance, such as dressing and body physique, and chances of being employed in a company or in the organization. Employers associate certain individuals with particular features such as fat individuals are linked to laziness. Labeling therefore becomes a problem in seeking employment. In the United States for instance, laws have been crafted that eliminate discrimination against physical appearance. Literature shows that the most beautiful women and handsome men have a better chance of landing a job as opposed to individuals without admirable qualities. It then follows that employment is an independent variable whereas physical traits such as body size, color, height and shape are dependent variables. Without employment as a variable, physical traits could not be relevant within the context of work. Other factors influence an individual’s chances of being employed in the organization but this paper will specifically focus on physical traits. The paper uses some journal articles to evaluate what other scholars have done in relation to the topic. Dressing code that is identified with particular cultures or religion affects an individual’s chances of being employed. Due to subjective reasons, employers may have a dislike to a potential employee because of appearance and presentation. Religion Yaghoob Foroutan examined the relationship between culture and the chances of employment for women in organizations. He set out his research because there was a growing debate over gender and cultural disparity in society. Female Job seekers from Muslim culture had problems s
A victim of crime A victim of a crime is a person who has undergone physical or emotional injury because of a crime (Jackson, 2003). The different categories of crimes a victim may experience include violent attacks, sexual assaults, or robbery. Louisiana’s crime victim rights are drawn in recognition of civic and moral duty of the victims of crime to be involved fully and voluntarily in the prosecution of crimes that affect them. The main idea of the statute is to foster the cooperation of the citizens affected by crimes to enhance the effectiveness of the justice system in Louisiana (National Crime Victim Law Institute, n.d.). The following paper summarizes Louisiana’s victim rights law by describing the rights, process, and benefits. Rights Constitutional protection for victims of crime is a fundamental right in both the federal and states governments in U.S. Louisiana ratified the rights for crime victims in 1998. The rights are enshrined in article 1, section 25. It states that a victim of crime should be accorded fair treatment, respect, and dignity (National Crime Victim Law Institute, n.d.). The law provides that the victim of a crime should be given reasonable notice and has the right to be present during the critical stages of court proceedings. In addition, the victim has the right to be notified upon the release of the offender or escape. It also confers the right to refuse to be interviewed by the person accused of committing the offense or a person representing the accused. Furthermore, the victim has the right to seek prompt execution of the case. In case the victim of the crime is a minor, the parent or the guardian has the right to request the notification. Similarly, for incapacitated or deceased victims, family members or guardians have the right to request the notifications. Process There is a formal process of exercising the right as conferred by Louisiana’s crime victim rights. To exercise the right and receive notices as outlined in the law, the victim or the family member representing the victim must complete Louisiana Victim Notice and Registration Form (Louisiana District Attorneys As
Summaries of Scholarly Articles In their article, Gustavsen, Nayga, and Wu (2016) use the results of the Add Health survey to study potential links between the experience of parental divorce and the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors. The results of their analysis suggest that teenagers aged 12-18 become more likely to practice health-threatening behaviors if they have experienced parents’ divorce. Among such behaviors are smoking tobacco and marijuana, drinking alcohol, and taking highly addictive drugs. The adverse effects of divorce are more pronounced when it comes to both types of smoking, and they are roughly the same in male and female teenagers. The article by Haimi and Lerner (2016) reviews credible academic studies devoted to the way that divorce affects children’s health and behaviors. In one study by Hetherington, the adolescent daughters of divorced parents were at least three times more likely to develop psychological problems requiring professional assistance than their peers from full families. The difference was a bit lower in males; thus, boys from divorced families experienced such problems in 26% of cases, and the children of married parents needed professional help in 10% of cases. The review article also cites multiple sources that present parental divorce as a risk factor for propensity to crime (in male participants), depression, and behavioral abnormalities. Interviews with College Students For this assignment, three college students (A – male, 20; B – female, 19; C – female, 20) were interviewed about the way that parental divorce had impacted them. The interviewees had experienced divorce when they were between 13 and 17 years old, and each of them reported links between that event and the degree of their well-being. As for the most important trends, all students regarded parental divorce as an extremely harmful event and claimed that it had affected their mental health and caused a lot of stress. When asked to provide specific examples of how parental divorce impacted their well-being, students A and B mentioned developing pernicious habits, such as smoking cigarettes on a regular basis. The response given by student C was focused on changes to her behavior and social skills as she mentioned becoming more avoidant and distracted at school right after her parents’ separation. The question about changes in the mood and the emergence of any alarming mental health symptoms also revealed some interesting trends. Students A and C reported negative changes in self-esteem and experiencing bad mood more frequently than before, whereas student B mentioned increased aggression towards peers. Interview Findings in the Context of Scholarly Research There are many common trends between the findings summarized above and the results reported by Gustavsen et al. (2016) and Haimi and Lerner (2016). To begin with, two out of three students mentioned developing an addiction to tobacco products as the consequence of stress caused by parental divorce. Int
Morrow and Brown Case Study Summary In their work, Morrow and Brown discussed the expectations that professionals have regarding the development of improved transmission systems that can address the associated energetic and economic issues. The authors also focused on challenges that can be faced by the developers of the new transmission system in the United States. Morrow and Brown start their discussion by noting that even though the U.S. transmission systems were reorganized in large systems to realize the complex energy transactions, new approaches to planning are necessary. In the future, the role of the power producers and power purchasers’ location will decrease, and the new system should be complex and broad (Morrow and Brown 296). The need for a specific and well-planned transmission grid is also explained with references to the fact that the current transmission infrastructure is outdated, and it needs to be improved to become more efficient. After accentuating the necessity of the new transmission system and the associated planning, the authors focused on the benefits of transmission systems in general. Thus, effective transmission guarantees lowering the electricity costs; organizing efficient power markets; providing them access to alternative resources of energy, as well as to renewable energy; decreasing the dependence on changes in fuel prices; improving operational flexibility. However, Morrow and Brown emphasize the aging of the infrastructure and system one more time while stating that the existing transmission lines and power transformers are old, and they can guarantee only the limited transmission capacity. Therefore, the investment into new lines is necessary to plan and develop a more efficient transmission system. Much attention is paid to the discussion of planning, technical, and infrastructure development challenges associated with the organization of the new transmission system nationally. Planning challenges include issues before and after the open access that involve questions of creating the coordinating committees and removing the barriers to the market for producers and purchasers. The authors also focus on the planning referring to the role of regional transmission operators (RTOs) who become responsible for organizing the effective regional planning process (Morrow and Brown 298). In this context, the challenges are associated with determining who must decide which projects should be built and who must approve these projects. Technical challenges include the issues of reliability, congestion, and application of new technologies. In this case, reliability means how the transmission system can respond to possible faults and contingencies. If the challenge is addressed, the response of the system does not interrupt the overall load. The associated problems include equipment failures, difficulties with planning wide-area systems, and planning for congestion. Finally, the app
Abstract In the current business environment, success cannot be realized without strategic thinking. As a result, strategic management dominates the business world today. Numerous strategic management theories have been provided. Most of these theories and models focus on organizational objectives and the logic of achieving those objectives. The most dominant theories of strategic management are Resource based theory and dynamic capability theory. The two theories focus on strategies that can give companies a competitive edge in the industry. This paper will explore different strategic management theories and principles. The paper will also analyze the benefits and pitfalls of strategic management through a case study analysis. Introduction The term ‘strategy’ is very common in the business world today (Hubbard & Beamish, 2011, p. 3). However, the word ‘strategy’ has been broadly used that it has lost a clear meaning (Mintzberg, 1987, p. 3). Despite the significance of strategy, there is astoundingly little consensus on what it really means (Mintzberg, 1987, p. 66). Nonetheless, success cannot be achieved without a strategy (Huiru, 2011, p. 3). According to Kalpic (2002, p. 6), strategy is an ambiguous term that is normally linked to long-term planning, prearranged goals and preferred system of creating a balance between the organizational resources and externalities. The contemporary schools of thought in strategic management strongly suggest that strategy should be viewed as the creation of the organization’s objectives (Hubbard & Beamish, 2011, p. 3), which is realized through joint effort, regarded as a constant process and distinctive in nature (Gibbs, 1993, p. 53). Strategic vision and core values are terms that are often used in strategic management. Strategic vision basically refers to the executive views of the company’s long-term direction (Baetz & Bart, 1996, p. 30). On the other hand, core values are the principles and norms that help in developing strategic vision (David, 2011, p. 12). Basically, strategic management refers to the steps taken by organizations to develop and maintain competitive advantage (Mintzberg, 1988, p. 14). Strategic management incorporates two fundamental aspects: analysis of strategic objectives and the reasons why some organizations out do others (Thompson, Strickland & Gamble, 2013, p. 3). According to Porter (1980, p. 12), strategic management entails achieving competitive advantage by off
Due to the recurring recession and the poor economic conditions all over the world, it has become pertinent for all the supermarkets and hypermarkets to be competitive. The loyalty cards present a platform for the supermarkets to be competitive in the market. Loyalty cards are cards which are similar to the credit card in shape, size and aspect ( Pride and Kapoor 2011, p. 52). They also contain a bar code, which is scanned to give the owners information. The holder of the card accumulates points, which can be redeemed in the long run for discounts and also give the holder unlimited access to partake in raffles and competition. All the information contained in these cards is private and confidential. Loyalty cards are now being used in countries all over the world by supermarkets and hypermarkets (Manfred & Murali 2010, n.d). However, a loyalty card requires both the card design and management. Design mainly incorporates three perspectives, which are the participation rules of engagement, point structure, and the outcome gains or benefits. There has been research by different scholars in the past, which has given rise to a different outcomes depending on the researcher (Mullins and Walker 2010, p.33). A study by Fairfield (1999) concluded that loyalty marketing could be defined as relationship marketing, frequency marketing, and one-to-one marketing and as a customer centric marketing (p.21). Another study conducted by in the year 2007 found that the loyalty cards were rather effective in enhancing customer’s loyalty but as it was discovered, other factors were more likely to increase customer’s loyalty (Donnellan 2007, p.123). Therefore, it was concluded that loyalty cards alone were not a sufficient tool to retain customers since frequent users of loyalty cards were highly likely to use loyalty card from other supermarkets. Participation constitutes both the convenience and cost of participation. A research conducted by Lacey discovered that the loyalty programs differed in terms of how convenient it was for consumers to participate (Lacey 2009, p.56). The aspect of point structure involves how reward points are issued, and the point thresholds are redeeming rewards (Lacey 2009, p.57). In 2007 Ergin and Ozsacman found out that although threshold was equal, the way the points were issued over each purchase affected consumers’ choices (Ergin and Ozsacman, p77). Lacey suggested a reward ratio, variety of reward redemption options, and value of rewards as important considerations (Lacey 2009, p.58). A research conducted by Lars Meyer-Waarden should provide a higher level of usefulness, but it may not reach such levels if the customers do not entirely devote a large sum of their earnings to this purpose (Meyer-Waarden 2007, p.224). In another research conducted by both Natalie T.M Demoulin and Pietro Zidda, it was concluded that loyalty cards were only effective if the customers highly valued the rewards a