ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The lecture covered the concept of hotel management in a comprehensive manner to bring out various perspectives. These include vacation ownership that encompasses the timeshare system. Studies into the history of hotel management have shown that timeshare as a concept preceded Vacation ownership. Initially, timeshare system was characterized by cases of security breaches and inconsistent sale patterns. However, the entry of major companies into the hotel industry led to the transformation of timeshare system into Vacation ownership. The notion was created by industry players in order to include other changes in the environment. In timeshare, a client can buy a unit for one week whereby they have a right to declare the same in a will. The property under this arrangement wholly belongs to the unit owners and is managed through contractors. In addition, associations created by the home owners are mandated with the election of the board of directors. In time sharing, hotel management caters to other details of ownership. For instance, in a timeshare consisting of a 100 units, the 51 weeks per unit is sold to an equal number of owners. Moreover owners can join forces with the aim of owning a particular property. Timeshares contribute positively to the process of hotel management in various ways. For example, they aid in marketing and sales when combined with other hotel management initiatives as guests that frequent hotels are an easy target. Additionally, they help in minimizing costs and improving profitability through increased sales volumes (Braunlich 4). Further, management plans that take in timeshares are viewed as more reliable. It is also clear that timeshares do not constitute an investment. This is due to the fact that half of the costs involved in their establishment are considered as part of marketing while a quarter of the cost goes to construction. The timeshare units are also not expected to appreciate in value despite being assets. Thus the timeshare is not liable for sale as an investment. Units offered under the timeshare system have various advantages over hotel rooms. These include the right to facilities that are limited or unavailable to hotel room users. For instance, the units are more elaborate in areas of space, entertainment, and comfort as well as the fact that the user has a right to wholly own the estate. However, the timeshare units are limited in terms of facilities such as dining and room service to the customers that are further expected to stay for a week. The units also restrict the owners in that they are forced to include the vacations in their future plans and make use of the facilities yearly. The timeshare unit also maintains a constant value with a restriction on the number of check-ins. The cost for the units is determined by various factors that include facilities, location and season as well as size. For instance, in times of the year
A recession is a concept in macroeconomics, indicating abrupt slump of the rate of production over a long period (half a year or more). The process is characterized by zero or negative dynamics of the GDP (gross domestic product). Recession leads to a decline in business activity and the slowdown in economic development. Reduction of GDP means the decrease in production volumes and consumption. Recession inevitably follows the rise (manufacturing boom), due to the cyclical nature of any economic system. In general, this cycle consists of four phases – the growth (rise), stagnation (stabilization, the absence of any dynamics), recession (slump) and the crisis (depression). The main impact of the recession in the economy includes the decline in production, the collapse of the financial markets, decrease in lending activity, the increase in interest rates on credits, growing unemployment, decline in real income of the population, the fall in GDP. The most powerful and critical consequence of the recession is the crisis of the economy. Fiscal policy is one of the main methods of government intervention in the economy to reduce fluctuations in the business cycles and provide a stable economic system in a short term. Fiscal policy today is a tool that defines the main directions of state’s financial expenditures, financing methods and the primary sources of replenishment of the budget. The main instruments of fiscal policy are the revenues and expenses of the state budget, taxes, transfers, etc. Fiscal policy in the country is held by the government. As a tool of public administration, it has several objectives. The first goal is the stabilization of gross domestic product and thus, of aggregate demand. Fiscal policy is an instrument used exclusively in the period of instability and manifestations of the crisis symptoms in the economy. Since the Great Depression, fiscal policy is very often used by the US government and other countries to save the economy. The effect of such policy is often minimal over the long term. The mortgage crisis, which was followed by the financial crisis of the US economy in the second half of 2007, created a situation of growing uncertainty not only in the medium and long term, but even in short-term forecasting system of Federal Finance, and the American economy as a whole (Hetzel, 2012). This circumstance has created the effect of the shock to the top political leadership of the USA, which continued to evaluate the status of the main parameters of the Federal budget, mainly based on pre-crisis mechanisms of budget deficits, at which the peak value in one particular financial year presupposed their sequential decline over subsequent years. Before the Great Recession, fiscal policy has not been considered as effective anti-crisis measures, its instruments were regarded as remnants of the Keynesian model. The Great Recession, however, revived the Keynesian approach in the US and almost all other countries (Lavo
The meaning of life is one of the questions that have attracted the attention of many philosophers as well as writers. Two different views on this issue are expressed by Richard Taylor and Susan Wolf. According to Richard Taylor, a person can subjectively determine whether his/her life is meaningful. In this case, perceived enjoyment and satisfaction can be the main criteria that an individual should consider. In contrast, Susan Wolf disagrees with this statement and calls for a more objective interpretation of meaningfulness. So, it is necessary to compare and evaluate these approaches. Richard Taylor believes that a certain activity can be called meaningful if a person finds it satisfying or engaging. Additionally, an individual should focus on his/her subjective experiences in order to evaluate the quality of his/her life. In order to illustrate this argument, the author refers to the famous myth of Sisyphus, who perpetually rolls a stone up the hill. To a great extent, this myth symbolizes meaningless and endless labor, which does not bring any results. However, this interpretation can change dramatically if one assumes that Sisyphus finds this activity satisfying or desirable in any way (Taylor 323). Additionally, the author urges the readers to remember that in many cases, people’s lives can be compared to the labor of Sisyphus. For example, one can speak about people who designed and constructed ancient temples or palaces that eventually turned into ruins (Taylor 332). It is rather difficult to suppose that they perceived their lives as something meaningless. More likely, they assumed that they created paragons of beauty, and the meaningfulness of their actions could hardly be questioned. In this way, the author wants to show that the source of meaning lies within the individual perception of a person. These are the main details that can be distinguished. In turn, Susan Wolf adopts a different approach to this question. According to her, a person’s life can be called meaningful if he/she actively and successfully engages in projects that promote “positive values” (Wolf 8). In this context, the word “project” can be described as any goal-directed behavior (Wolf 8). In turn, the word “positive” implies that a certain value is recognized and accepted by other people (Wolf 10). In other words, the activities of a person should bring certain benefits to other people. Therefore, unlike Richard Taylor, Susan Wolf believes that one should look for a more objective evaluation of a person’s life. Additionally, according to her interpretation, meaningfulness does not necessarily imply that an individual is happy. Moreover, in many cases, his/her actions can be questioned from an ethical viewpoint. These are the main elements of her approach. Overall, I tend to support Richard Taylor’s views on this issue. In my opinion, the meaningfulness of a person’s life should be based on subjective interpretation. At first, it is import
Introduction As an attitude or intellectual attitude that began in England and Germany and spawned over in Europe and America in the 19th century, Romanticism (1800-1850) can be viewed “as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular”. Also, romanticism is considered “to some extent a reaction against the Enlightenment and 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism in general”. As “it emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental”, the Romanticism period inspired many artists in the field of literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism, and historiography by rooting artistic vision in spontaneity and endorsing a concept of creativity based on the supremacy of human freedom (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2007). A common view of the world Despite variations, romantics shared similar beliefs and a common view of the world. Among the first romantics were the English poets William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), whose collaborative Lyrical Ballads (1798) exemplified the iconoclastic romantic idea that poetry was the result of “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”, rather than a formal and highly disciplined intellectual exercise. Romantics, in general, rebelled against the confinement of classical forms and refused to accept the supremacy of reason over emotions. As the common attitude in Romanticism was supremacy over emotions and supremacy over human freedom, every artistic venture was valued in a new way as a genius through whose insight and intuition great art was created. Intuition, as opposed to scientific learning, was endorsed as a valid means of knowing. Building on the work of the eighteenth-century philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), romanticism embraced subjective knowledge. Inspiration and intuition took the place of reason and science in the values of Romantic artists. Beauty and freedom In literature, many poets and writers emerged where different writers sought beauty and freedom from the shackles of industrialization and even nationalism. Writers and poets delved on issues that promote the creative perception of meaning in the world. Wellek (1963) pointed out that if we examine the characteristics of the actual literature which called were “romantic”, all of the writings during those times has “the same conceptions of poetry and the workings and nature of poetic imagination, the same conception of nature and its relation to man; and the same poetic style, with a use of imagery, symbolism, and myth which is distinct from that of eighteenth-century neoclassicism”. According to Wellek (1963), these Romantic poets and writer “all see the implication of imagination, symbol, myth, and organic nature, and see it as part of the great endeavor to overcome the split between subject and object, the self and the world, the conscious and the unconscious. This is the central creed of the great romantic poets in England,
Proposed Title of the Research Study The efficacy of use of work groups in reducing the rate of smoking among HIV positive cases. Summary of the Proposed Study In summary this project intends to investigate the efficacy that group work among HIV positive smokers has in reducing their rate of smoking behavior and thereby inform on design of effective health programs that will achieve the same. To determine if use of group work among HIV positive smokers will be an effective strategy in reducing smoking habit among the target cases, then it is essential that this study establish if use of group work will be effective in reducing smoking behavior. Thus, this project will also find out if there is a correlation between group work and reduced rate of smoking among HIV positive cases. Purpose of the proposed study The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact that work groups have among HIV positive smokers as far as their smoking behaviors is concerned. Hypothesis H A : Work group is an effective strategy of reducing smoking behavior among HIV positive cases who are smokers. Research Questions 1. Is use of work groups among HIV positive smokers an effective strategy that can be reliably used in reducing rate of smoking behavior among these cases? 2. Does use of work groups among HIV positive smokers has any health benefits to them? Literature Review Since HIV Aids became a health issue in the early 1980s, there have been 60 million cases that are approximated to have been infected with the disease while another 25 million are estimated to have died because of the disease (UNAIDS, 2010; UNESCAP, 2010). Among these cases more than 67% of all HIV infections occur in Africa which sadly accounts for more than 90% of all new HIV infections that occur among children (Kent, 2010). In addition, majority of HIV cases are comprised of young people for whom we know the smoking prevalence to be exceptionally high. Cigarette smoking among HIV positive cases has adverse health implications for several reasons; one, because HIV among pregnant women occurs at already very high rates, then smoking among HIV positive pregnant women becomes critical as it worsens the health condition of both the mother and the newborn (Thebody.org, 2010). Secondly, cigarette smoking a
Abstract Pricing is one of the most fundamental issues that entrepreneurs have to consider while marketing their products. This case study examines the issues that relate to the price that Schwinn bicycles charges their customers. The study will answer questions that relate to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the enterprise in relation to the pricing strategy that has been adopted by the firm. Strengths and weaknesses of Schwinn Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that determine the success of a business enterprise 1 (p. 122). The strengths of the enterprise are evident from the durability nature of the company’s brands. As a result, the enterprise used to be a leading distributor of bikes. Owing to the quality of the brand, the enterprise was the best seller of bicycles and it edged out all its competitors in the market. Some of the weaknesses of the enterprise are bankruptcywhich the firm witnessed in 1992. As a result, the company was unable to pay the suppliers and lenders. Unfortunately, the company was sold to Chilmark investment fund for an amount of forty three million dollars. The reorganization of the firm led to the reduction in workforce from three hundred employees to one hundred and eighty employees. Opportunities and threats Opportunities and threats are factors outside the business enterprise that determine the success of the business 1 (p. 123). One of the opportunities that Schwinn has is relocating to the west. This is a move which will attract a young workforce which is very preferable in the bike industry. Focus on product design is yet another opportunity that the firm has. The firm has developed a new brand of mountain bikes that sells at considerably high prices than the previous brands. Although the prices are higher than they were before the company was sold, a lot of people are purchasing the bikes. Threats being faced by the company emanate from the fact that cyclistsprefer trendier mountain bikes with upright handlebars, additional gears for climbing, padded seats and fat tires. As a result, the company faces challenges of image making cyclists to go for brands from other manufacturers. Bikes manufactured by the company are considered to be old fashioned. Importance of making mountain bikes in America Mountain biking is a sport in the United States of America. Thus it is important to manufacture the bikes in America so as the specifications are in accordance to the requirements of the cyclists. There is a huge market for mountain bikes made in the United States than for those which are made
The world is variable. It is impossible to find two absolutely identical persons with the similar characters. Even twins are different from this point of view. The human’s character determines their tastes and points of views. There are no people with absolutely similar opinions, outlooks and preferences. Our task is to analyze the David Hume’s work “Of the Standard of Taste”. The author states that, “beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them” (Wartenberg Hume 2006). He gives his arguments that there are lots of opinions about this or that work of art and only one is correct, but it is difficult to decide which one is true. The other his argument is contrary, that all opinions are right, “because no sentiment represents what is really in the object” (Wartenberg Hume 2006). The beauty is an abstract notion and every person perceives is in different way. There are some features in the works of art which are preferable to all people, and we come out from this fact, when talk about standards of taste. Hume identified the true standards of a beauty, which are “strong sense, united to delicate sentiment, improved by practice, perfected by comparison, and cleared of all prejudice” (Wartenberg Hume 2006). These components are rather necessary, as the critic, who could use them in his judgments “will be agreed in by all mankind” (Wartenberg Hume 2006). The person who wants to fit the standards of taste and beauty should give very strong arguments to his/her opinion, be free of prejudices and be acknowledged in the discussed sphere. The person should be released from the time and geographical location to give good arguments about the beauty of this or that work of art. The author states that person with his or her emotions will “reduce every kind of taste or sentiment to its standard” (Wartenberg Hume 2006). Emotions influence the personal opinion about the subject greatly. Emotions direct and rule our lives and behavior in a very significant way. All our actions and tastes are distinguished by our feelings and emotions. The combination of opinion and feelings author calls the “delicacy of taste”. People can just feel the beauty of art without any ability to explain it, it is just his feelings about
The Importance of Maintaining Accurate and Objective Employment Records Employment record keeping is one of the most significant functions of human resource managers. Here, it is critical to point to the fact that records should be accurate and objective. To understand their importance, it is advisable to review the consequences of inaccurate recording as well as the lack of adequate employment record process. For instance, such gaps may lead to employee lawsuits. It can be explained by the fact that, without records, it is impossible to prove that an employer acted in a legally appropriate and acceptable manner. The case is specifically critical when it comes to compromising employees’ sensitive and personal information and failing to protect it. Moreover, the lack of record keeping is associated with the inability to assess productivity levels of currently employed people as well as estimate their performance (Taylor & Emir, 2015). All in all, failing to keep employment records is disadvantageous for companies because it means that senior management is unaware of employees they work with, which may potentially result in ineffective decisions regarding workplace organization. Examples of Formal and Informal Documentation Formal documentation in employee files is that commonly required by law or standards of organization’s operation. Speaking of employment record keeping, the majority of details are formal. In particular, the examples of formal documentation are personal information, such as name, address, and work experience as well as health and payroll records. These details may be used in case of reviewing employee lawsuits and may directly affect legal outcomes. In general, formal documentation is helpful for guaranteeing adequate wage level, promotion, necessary sick leaves, and pay raises. Without formal information, it is impossible to regulate this area of employee relations. Speaking of informal documentation, it stands for details that are not requested by legal provisions and both internal and external standards of operation. Informal documentation usually includes productivity and performance statistics, varying employee activities, and progress rep
Background NetFlix provides streaming services to its customers in various countries including the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Sweden among others (Bell & Koren, 2007). Customers have issues that need attention from the service providers through support services. In light of setting up the support services, they have to consider the needs of customers in order to ensure that the support services are focused on customers. Secondly, they have to evaluate the support services offered by their competitors to make sure that they earn competitive advantage. Needs of Customers Online Chat Regarding NetFlix support systems, the service providers should have various services. Currently, they have provided solutions to the commonly asked questions and problems. For other problems, they allow their customers to make direct phone calls to the customer care center. It is understandable that calls are very expensive, especially for the foreigners hindering the customers from using their services and opting for other service providers (Bell, Koren & Volinsky, 2010). As a result, NetFlix should incorporate online chatting system in their support services. The chatting systems are more efficient than making the calls. The introduction of the online chat support services will help retain the customers who are already attached to NetFlix and attract new ones. Previous research, which was reported by Forbes magazine, showed that a company loses a lot of customers due to lack of online chats (Luo, 2008). This is due to the increasing demand for online chats in support services. In fact, it states that online chats have become a popular way of communicating and cannot be ignored. The magazine suggests that it cannot be ignored because it has become a way of life. Physical Helpdesk A physical helpdesk is a must-have for this service in order to serve the people who need physical attention. Such customers might be returning some DVDs or seeking some other help. This desk will help the business to attract such customers and retain them in their business. Although the introduction of online chat and helpdesk is essential for NetFlix, it is important to evaluate the competitors. Support Services offered by Competitors In this light, I shall consider Redbox as one of the robust competitors that NetFlix has in the market. Redbox has an online chatting system that allows its customers to chat with the service providers. This implies that they are ahead of NetFlix by enabling their customers to have more avenues for communication than their counterparts. Customers might prefer Redbox to NetFlix based on the efficiency of this communication between the customers and the support staff. In addition, they have a toll free helpline for customers. The introduction of a toll free call line is a great idea by Redbox. This reduces the cost of contacting the servic