ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Unless one is considering an interest free loan, there are costs that are associated with taking a loan. This fact is, however, often overlooked when one is compelled by circumstances to take a loan from an interest charging institution such as a bank. What most financial institutions will not tell their customers is that there are hidden costs that they should be aware of. For this and other reasons, it is advisable for a borrower to take his or her time to seek input from a financial expert before agreeing to any loan contract. According to Coronato and Coronato (2008), it is vital for every good lender to issue the borrower with a good-faith estimate once a loan application is received. Good-faith estimate refers to details about the loan that are communicated to the borrower by the lender through a commitment letter. Among other things, it contains the loan terms and anticipated costs. What Loan Really Costs to Customers There are a number of factors that go into figuring out the full cost of a loan. One of the obvious factors to be considered is the interest rate to be paid by a customer. To protect consumers from any form of exploitation, Congress passed the Consumer Credit Protection Act in 1968 (Ehrhardt & Brigham (2014). The Truth in Lending provisions in the Act require banks as well as other lenders to disclose important information about loans such as the annual percentage rate (APR) being charged. Other costs that a consumer must be made aware of include lender fees, attorney fees, and state fees (Coronato & Coronato, 2008). It is also possible that specific lenders may have additional charges that must be clearly understood by the borrower. Adjustable-Rate Mortgages and Borrowing Practices Drawing from a study by Galaty, Allaway, and Kyle (2001), adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is usually originated at one rate of interest. The rate then fluctuates up or down during the loan term based on the prevailing market indicators. As a result of changes in interest rate, the mortgagers repayments may also change. ARM is known to feature a lower rate of interest during the early days of a loan and this may benefit borrowers to a certain extent. In some cases, borrowers are also likely to benefit whenever interest rates fall. In addition, it offers borrowers a cheaper option to purchase a home and still be able to save. Despite these advantages, there is a very high level of uncertainty associated with ARM. In a worst-case scenario, the interest rate may increase sign
Hugo Boss is a company that deals with men’s and women’s wear. It initially started selling men’s wear, but later sold women’s clothes and shoes. Its goods have been sold all over the world, with Europe being the leading consumer, while America, Asia, and others follow. A group of managers and designers designed their fashionable wears, and their products were at the competitive edge because they produced them according to customer needs (Raman, Dehoratius, & Kanji, 2009). Hugo and Boss are brands with many products that have a brand name Boss, which includes Boss Black, Orange, Green and Selection. In 2006, body wear had the highest percent of sales followed by hosiery, swimming costume, terry wear, and relax wear. Body wear and hosiery were never out of stock, this was to discourage customers from getting alternative items from competitors such as Tommy Hilfiger. These products changed after three years. Some of the items, such as swimwear changed seasonally, and were categorized as fashion products because they were out of stock after some time. Ruth and Moros thought of how efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain could improve on the company’s productivity. Moros concern was about the Never Out of Stock (NOS) items. He thought that retail customers would replace the company’s items, especially in months like December when the products were in high demand. He also observed that when NOS were out of stock, it led to low profitability and that is why he decided to Consult Ruth about the issue (Raman, Dehoratius, & Kanji, 2009). Ruth and Moros focused on how to improve the supply chain to increase revenue. This means that they had to assess the cost of inventory and accessibility of products to the customers while reducing the operating costs which includes transportation of goods, stock maintenance and production. Their main challenges were on manufacturing cycles, inventories, and demand estimate. In manufacturing cycles, Wood (2009) recommends that it is important to assess the rate of production of goods after a certain period. This will help in determining the time taken by each machine to produce goods and the workforce involved in the production per hour or per day, for example, time taken to cut and sew a garment. This will enable the managing team to identify the number of devices that are required to complete a production and the time it takes to produce a unit of production. The team’s aim is to reduce the production time and keep the company at a competitive edge, and at the same time, ensuring that the goods produced reaches the market at the best time possible. This will increase revenue because of the time saved. Managing of inventory was another major concern because stock expenses were going up for inventory items, which were classified as never out of stock. The management should come up with a balance of inventories because if there is more, its expenses increases and if it is less, it will not meet customer’s
Introduction This paper aims to analyze two academic articles from a critical point of view. The first work is “Terminally Haunted: Aviation Ghosts, Hybrid Buddhist Practices, and Disaster Aversion Strategies Amongst Airport Workers in Myanmar and Thailand” by Ferguson. The other article is “Aw Boon Haw, the Tiger from Nanyang: Social Entrepreneurship, Transregional Journalism, and Public Culture” by Theng and Volland. Each of the works has different themes and approaches to reflect the facts presented. The critical evaluation of the content based on the research of arguments, presuppositions, pieces of evidence, and significance may help to obtain comprehensive data on the reliability of both articles. Personal Evaluation of the Articles The article by Ferguson examines the principles of the work of employees at Asian airports, in particular, Thailand and Myanmar, aimed at exploring ghostly creatures that are believed to inhabit these places. The religious interpretation of this neighborhood is also considered in detail. As beliefs, Buddhist concepts are applied, and the author notes that the views of the advocates of these practices imply a close connection between technology and the ghostly world (Ferguson 48). The article provides the detailed descriptions of the rituals followed by airports staff and religious shrines where sacred worships take place. Ferguson notes that many of the practices of contact with ghosts used have much in common with those in India (53). Also, the justifications for the actions of the workers of runways are cited, and special signs and customs are listed. The article by Theng and Volland describes the entrepreneurial practices and approaches of Aw Boon Haw, a prominent representative of the business market. According to the authors, the object of their analysis has always “kept exploring new ways to intervene in popular and public culture” (Theng and Volland 122). At the same time, all his principles of work cannot be called identical, and the search for the new ways of developing and entering the market is the businessman’s typical feature. The article presents the detailed analysis of Aw Boon Haw’s practices and cites many facts in order to draw comprehensive conclusions and hypotheses regarding the success of the entrepreneur. Critical Analysis of the Articles According to the theory presented by Ferguson, traditional theological practices in Thailand and Myanmar provide for a close relationship between the spirit world and the technical field, in particular, aircraft (48). This statement is supported by facts from Buddhi
The term “epic” has been infused so strongly into modern culture that it has become a nearly pointless concept. However, in the literary tradition, epic still remains in its due place. When seeking examples of epic, one must consider Homer’s “Iliad” as the most accurate one since it meets the definition precisely. Namely, since epic suggests a confrontation between people and gods, the conflict lying at the core of the “Iliad” can be considered a marker of an epic. Indeed, upon considering the poem, one will realize that not only people but also gods participate in the Trojan war (Homer, Iliad, Book III, Line 190; Whissell, 2019). Specifically, gods such as Zeus and goddesses such as Hera and Athena actively participated in the initiation and fate of the Trojan war (Homer, Iliad, Line 200). For instance, Hera attempts to deceive Zeus into turning against the Trojans (Homer, Iliad, Book XIV, Line 190). Remarkably, the main antagonist of the poem is represented by a mortal, namely, Paris Alexandros (Homer, Iliad, Book III, Line 19; Whissell, 2019). The overall scale of the conflict and the involvement of gods are the key characteristics making the “Iliad” an epic in its traditional sense. However, it would be wrong to believe that the concept of epic as a literary genre no longer exists in the modern world. Arguably, traditional heroes and the epic telling about their adventures have been replaced with the superhero narrative, such as in the movie “Wonder Woman.” Indeed, the similarities are quite striking since it also centers around a hero who is expected to astound the audience with his deeds (Sanchez, 2020). Granted that the Ancient Greek understanding of a hero did not necessarily include a moral dimension, which has been regarded as essential for the present-day hero narrative, the movie in question also features the juxtaposition of gods and mortals while being set in the context of a global conflict, namely, WWI. Therefore, having been elevated to the status of stories that adults can enjoy watching, comic book epic narratives have replaced the traditional literary concept of an epic.
Restrain is a policy taken by a government to inhibit or deter from through influence. Isolationism is a government’s policy of not being related to another country either economically or politically. The government can take up any of the above policies on different countries, regarding the matter which is being tabled by the government 1 . Restrain policy can also be termed as offshore balancing. It is seen by experts as a multi-polar and not uni-polar strategy and is more apt in adapting to the rising of new powers and at the same time devolving Eurasia’s formidable powers the crucial responsibility of their own defense arrangements. Experts believe that America having wasted a lot of years in the cold war, should adapt new strategies which should encompass conceiving America’s security interests in a narrow mode, stingy use of military power and quietly pursuing its enemies persistently. They also feel that America should share its responsibilities and its costs equitably and patiently watch and also wait before taking any action. They feel that if the government could do that for the same years it had wasted on the cold war, the results would be far more desirable. The experts also believe that this strategy will receive salience in the domestic politics. Isolationism stipulates that the most America’s important agenda is the security of its citizens. This can be further defined as the most important agenda for America is national defense. This can then be furthered to mean securing property and liberty and the extended homeland security. This means that America should do away with all other issues of world order maintenance and the promotion of world wide democracy. This American stand on world order and democracy on a world wide basis has been blamed for the generation of American enemies throughout the world and the reason why the security of the country is at time compromised by threats of terrorism and actual terrorism like the 9/11 incident 2 . Comparison between restraint and selective engagement strategies There is another strategy known as the selective engagement strategy. This is a hybrid strategy rooted to the goals of realist, security and prosperity and a contingent of other liberal goals like human rights, free markets and openness in the international level. Those for this strategy posit that in order to prevent materializing threats to the country is much preferable than to employ the off-shore balancing strategy 3 . The selective engagement is much better considered to the restraint because the ultimate goal of the government of the United States is to defend the country against international attack, thus enhancing its citizens’ security. The best way to avoid any international attack is to be as friendly to all the nations as possible and the best strategy for this is the selective engagement strategy. In the near past, there has been a rising and steady animosity that has been directed to United States by various groups as well as countries in the world. If the country could have tried
Introduction Yosemite National Park is located in central California and occupies an approximate 1,931 square kilometres. According to Schoch (1996), the park has a wide variety of wildlife species, which makes it very attractive to tourists. Even without the wildlife, Yosemite is a place of legendary beauty, something that makes the park very appealing to nature tourists. Initially, Schoch (1996) notes that the Park Service engaged in relentless marketing campaigns in order to position the park as the preferred tourism site for most Americans. To enhance the image of the park further, the Park Service even eliminated animals that posed a danger to visitors (Schoch 1996). As a result of the marketing efforts and the activities that Park Service took to make Yosemite a safer place to tour, Schoch (1996) notes that tourists have over the years been flocking to the park. The high tourist numbers are advantageous for business owners in and around the park, but have also caused considerable damage to the park’s habitat. This paper aims at providing a critical analysis of some of the intervention measures taken by the Park Service in Yosemite. The paper is inspired by the knowledge that the Park Service needs to balance visitor’s interest in the park with the need to preserve the pristine state of the park for future generations. The paper has a discussion section that includes an analysis of the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural effects of high tourist numbers in the park. The paper’s conclusion section restates the different effects that high visitor numbers have in the park. The environmental impact of high visitors num
The Union Army was initially relatively small. The primary reason for this is the caution of the Founding Fathers who viewed the large military force as a threat to democracy. As a result, at the beginning of the Civil War the Union had a rather small army of 26 to 27 thousand men, who were decentralized (Richter, 2009). This was obviously far from enough, so at the initial stage, Abraham Lincoln announced the need for 75000 volunteers. The volunteering process required an influential local figure, who had a rank of captain, to persuade citizens to join his company and thus form a military unit. In this way, it was hoped to assure the popular support of the army, which was consistent with the decentralized nature of the country of the time. However, it soon became clear that besides creating the opportunity for the political patronage, the system was unable to provide the required number of soldiers. First, a formidable part of the officer corps were reluctant to fight for Union, and instead joined the Confederate forces. Second, the volunteers did not come in sufficient amounts, primarily for the lack of motivation. As a result, the government has issued a military draft to make up for shortages of forces. For the soldiers, this had several adverse outcomes. First, the ranks of volunteers, who were all motivated and conscious fighters, was now flooded with conscripts. Some of the volunteers perceived that the soldiers who were drafted against their will were not good enough on a battlefield, which was not totally unreasonable. As a result, the tension arose among soldiers. Second, conscription gave way to bounty jumping – a practice of accepting payment for serving as a substitute, then deserting and repeating the process in the other regiment for as long as it
Introduction The banking industry is just part of the much larger financial services market. Like all large retail banks, ANLG has had the task of improving the performance of its operational processes which are responsible for generating and providing the bank’s services. This has had to be achieved while at the same time keeping some factors constant; the service delivery to the banking clientele remaining top notch and the costs incurred in the process kept to a minimal. In looking at this particular case of ANLG, the entire operational process yields both inputs and outputs which are based on the various activities involved in the process. The operational process is basically a link between inputs, outputs and resources and how the various activities involved transform the inputs into outputs. The subject of managing processes and projects basically looks into a system which is made up of various processes. In each process, inputs are transformed into outputs and all this involves planning and designing the production, the actual production of the item in question, delivery and all support variables, all which translate into the success of the objectives being met. The core functions are the development of the services and products that will be the outputs of the operational processes, the operations involved in the entire process as well as the marketing function which is somehow a subsidiary factor in the entire operation process. Support functions include the accounting and finance aspect, the technical factor, human resources function which looks at personnel or staff, and the function that relates to acquiring any relevant information to the given process. These are just a few examples which will vary with each operational process. Operational Processes The Call Centre Department This is a department run by the Call Centre Manager and its main operations are cantered on dealing with customer service enquiries which are basically requests for information on products or services that they need clarification on. The calls received by the Call Centre Agents many times overwhelm them during the day and this is mainly because these are the operational hours for the banks. At night, not many people will think of making enquiries. The customers will want information on loans, their debit cards, various accounts operated by the bank and any services the bank may be providing (Ackoff). Fig. 1: Showing the operational processes in the Call Centre Department Facilities and staff are the major resources that are classified as inputs. In this case we have the call centre manager who manages and plans for the centre, the call centre agents who operate the calls, and equipment used to handle the calls such as the telephones and computers. The operator receives the call from the customer and first captures the caller’s details which may include, but are not limited to the customer’s name, customer’s account number if they have an acco
Friedman argues in favor of numerous symbolism aspects shown in the novel To the Lighthouse. This symbolism is a reflection of Woolf’s certainty when it comes to the preeminence of an individual’s inner life over external reality. He argues that the integration of perspectives into what he refers to as a ‘double vision’ constitutes a dialectical procedure that creates the vital thematic structure of the book. In such a case, it shows that Friedman perceives the imagery of water as a part of change according to which one surrenders to the process of accomplishing the ‘double vision’. The idea of “surrender” is remarkable because it is the concept of a changed perceptive. Friedman believes that Woolf uses ‘stream of consciousness narration’ which is different from ‘traditional linear narration’ because it records thoughts and views that appear in someone’s mind in the order they take place without conveying them in a coherent framework. The novel also centers on imagery and plot of the story. This kind of narration makes the narrative difficult to understand or follow (Cowley 44). Given that, the book is structured around a sequence of images that aid in making the whole story acquire consistency though a strong narrative is still absent. These images can be viewed as motifs, recurring constituents, which help a reader understand the story. If these motifs are combined with certain meanings and associations, they turn into symbols. Consequently, such objects can become symbols for one’s own emotions because they appear to be a way of assessing an individual’s emotions. Friedman explains that To the Lighthouse has many symbols that have been understood and interpreted in several dissimilar ways by various reviewers. Several of these versions deal with the focal image of the story, To the Lighthouse. It is believed to signify a ‘religious symbol’ by several critics and a ‘ phallic symbol ‘ by the other researchers. Friedman connects it with Mr. Ramsay and Mrs. Ramsay just as James states in the story “For nothing was simply one thing” (Woolf To the Lighthouse 152). The symbols in the story can have numerous different meanings. They have been very important in Virginia Woolf’s works of fiction. She understands how an image can develop into a symbolic perspective to carry the meaning of her story forward; she is also responsive to the way poetic meanings are built up to define several intonations on which her story is based. Friedman believes that Woolf spent a lot of her time and efforts to establish the symbols’ nature and scope. In her journal as well as her major essays, she came up with a theory concerning the use of symbols. One major element she put her emphasis on in “On Not Knowing Greek” is that a symbol ought to have some resemblance to the things represented or symbolized, which it must make extraordinary (Woolf n.pag.). There ought to be some connection between the symbolized thing and its connotation; however, if there is not, it cannot be viewed as a symbol but simply a blank imagination. In the essay, Friedman shows that the use of