ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Metaphors In my Project Management class, we work as a group to accomplish tasks. In a group, different dynamics play out where personalities, motivation levels, and willingness to cooperate may affect group performance. In this particular group, we have a member who is simply not cooperative. He rarely comes to meetings on time and shows no interest in the group’s work. Through the use of metaphors below, I will demonstrate to the group members the importance of working in a group. Ants are quite industrious. Comparisons are drawn to ants’ industrious nature when encouraging people to work hard. However, ants rarely work together until circumstances force them. There are species of ants that live along with water bodies such as oceans. They have an instinct of predicting storms and massive waves, which can kill. To avoid this annihilation by nature, they group themselves and form a pattern that allows them to float on massive waves like a floating fishing net. This enables them to survive, which would be impossible without coming together. Bees are quite ferocious. However, they are responsible for the production of honey. Honey has many medicinal and health benefits and is popular the world over. However, the honey-making process requires a lot of teamwork from the bees. They suckle on plants for nectar and take this to a beehive where some form of hierarchy exists. The queen and king bee are the leaders. Bees do not take it kindly when a person approaches their territory and can fight even a human being to death. All this happens through collaboration. The wildebeests that live in Kenya and Tanzania normally migrate from and to these two nations in search of green pastures. They do this every year. Guinness World Book of Records documented this event as the seventh wonder of the world recently. Wildebeests travel these dangerous and risky areas in millions for security and bonding according to scientists. Alone, a wildebeest may not complete this journey, which includes crossing huge rivers and traversing carnivore-infested areas. The last metaphor involves a lizard that was at the risk of dying amidst a storm that had swept away a seacoast. He saw two birds flying away to safety and loudly begged them to help him. The birds asked how they were going to help and the lizard suggested they bite a stick on either end and they fly as he (the lizard) bites the middle of the stick. He said this way they would all fly to safety: so they did. On their way, they met an eagle that marveled at the creativity and asked ‘who’s the idea was that one’. The lizard could not allow a moment of self-praise pass and was about to proclaim loudly that it was his idea when he fell to dangerous waters underneath and drowned. I will use these metaphors to help solve the problem in my project management group. Additionally, I will highlight the importance of creativity and the need to allow team credit to remain as team credit. It is not advisable to heap praise on self in a group effort. Analysis In practicing thi
The 1990s in the gaming genre in general can be characterized by the introduction of several home consoles, which gradually transferred games from sprite-based to polygon –based graphics. In the racing genre it can be stated that the major hits in this decade, with a few exception were ports from the arcades. A few notes can be stated regarding the racing games in this decade. Many of the genre-changing games were introduced simultaneously in one year, while there are years that lacked exceptional titles. Thus, the list will not be on a game per year basis, rather than notable games in general in the period from 1990 to 1999. Stunts (also known as 4D Sports Driving) – 1991 Fig 1 Stunts (Leadbetter, 1994) Usually referred to as Stunts, this game was published by Brøderbund/Mindscape and was first released on personal computers in 1990. The game was rereleased on other platforms such as NEC and Amiga. As the title implies, Stunts is a racing games that focuses on performing stunts. Being an unusual aspect for the racing genre, it nevertheless was not its main characteristic. The game was characterized by polygon graphics, great controls, a variety of customization options, and what is most important a map editor that allowed players to make their own tracks (“4D Sports Stunt Driving Review,” 2010). Virtua Racing (1992) Fig 2 Virtua Racing (“SEGA F1 Virtua Racing arcade game,” 2009) Virtua Racing by Sega can be seen as an important turning point for the racing genre, specifically in terms of 3 dimensional graphical concepts. The game was first released on arcade machines, and it took almost 3 years for the title to be transferred on home consoles. The game was a formula 1 racing game, and was fully polygonal at the time. The game was introduced as a simulator of driving experience, which also brought a multiplayer experience, allowing players to compete within the location in which the machines were placed. Ridge Racer (1993-1994) Fig 3 Ridge Racer (Car Games Reviews, 2010) Ridge Racer by Namco was a racing game which was famous for its arcade controls, rather than realistic driving experience. The twin date in the title refers to the date the game was introduced to arcade machines as well as the date it was transferred to consoles which popularized the game (IGN Staff, 1995). In addition to arcade car behavior, the game was also famous for its beautiful graphics at the time, with each game in the series being a launch title showing the capabilities of the console. It should be noted that promoting the graphical excellence of the game the arcade version is implied. Generally, the main aspect of the game is its focus on enjoying driving cars, rather than transferring realistic driving experience. The Need for Speed (1994) Fig 4 The Need for Speed (Varner, 2996) The significance of a game can be seen when it is a pilot of a long lasting series. The Need for Speed (the article was removed in subsequent titles) is an exemplary case in that matter. The game was developed by Electronic Arts Canada, and was first introduced on the console 3DO, although the popularity came when the game was released on personal comp
Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on Environmental, Social, Governance Performance and Market value The importance of the article is that it will give insight into the effect of acquisitions and mergers on the performance of the environment, society, and governance. It dictates that investors should pay attention to the ESG performance because the higher the ESG performance increases the market value of the ESG. To enhance corporate values, ESG performance can be improved by firms when the M&As strategy is used. The empirical analysis shows that the performance of the ESG mainly increases in the post-merger stage. However, the article explains that the value of a post-merger market of the acquirer increases in case of an increase in the performance of a post-merger. In recent years, there has been an increase in the evolution of the SRI market, thereby increasing the need to develop metrics that many investors widely accept. In RSI, the metrics are important because they help in measuring performance sustainability. Research shows that many investors value a firm according to its ESG report, resulting in more returns in the stock market. Therefore, companies that publish ESG reports have higher stock returns than those that do not. The Effect of Market Valuation on Mergers This article will summarize and evaluate whether market valuation affects mergers. The data in the report portrays that a union has a relationship with how the market is valued. Almost all the firms have a market value that is higher or lower than the actual value of the respective firm. The private information of the target or bidders’ firm can tell them whether a market is over or undervalued but cannot find the reason for the under or over valuation. However, sometimes the target may use all the information they have to evaluate the market value correctly to spot all the misevaluations. Merger waves, therefore, occur when high synergies are accessed by the target, especially when the market is misevaluated. From the statistics, it’s evident that there is an increase in merger activities when the market is overvalued. For example, between the years one thousand nine hundred and sixty-three and the years one thousand nine hundred and sixty-four, there was an increase in merger activity because the market was overvalued during this period. There is a big difference between mergers involving securities and cash takeovers because of the valuation problem in mergers. Sometimes, the valuation process becomes problematic till the court is used as a mediator to ensure that only the highest bid is accepted. However, this problem can be approached differently because all the parties involved have private information on the other party and slight details on the market structure and condition. When overvalued, a target expects that the cause of the overvaluation is partly because of the market structure and the firm itself. Reasons why Firms Merge then Divest The article pays close attention to why firms merge
Today’s USA is a very attractive land for many people throughout the world. It is a modern, progressive, and highly developed country. However, a better part of people does not even realize what it took before all these good things of life were achieved. This country came through such challenging processes as conquest of the New World, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Western expansion. Professors Winthrop D. Jordan and Charles Johnson, in their works, provide their research about the processes of development of the back then the USA and touch upon such problematic issues as the establishment of slavery, the Civil War and present a closer look at Western Expansion, its art, and ideology. The authors concentrate on problems and challenging situations that immigrants faced in the New World. The conquest of America had unpredictable aftermaths, such as the mass death of people caused by many diseases. After Europeans settled on the territory of America, they brought with them bacteria and viruses, which the immune system of Indians could not fight. An overwhelming number of Indians died. Mass deaths caused ictus of cholera and smallpox. Immigrants were searching for a place with clean air and freshwater. This was one of the reasons for westward expansion. Many things lead to the western expansion, for instance, US government politics of free land division (Johnson 278). The fertile west was attractive for the newcomers; however, they had to work hard on this land. People moved to the west to gain prosperity, wealth, and personal piece of land. The idea of western expansion was critically received by the Native Americans. The tribes which were peaceful at first later became violent and savage against new settlers because their rights were roughly neglected. Indians, who dominated in this region before the conquest, were mostly depopulated. The western expansion is characterized by people’s uncertainty, doubts, and turmoil. Westward expansion was an embodiment of the American Dream. People imposed huge hopes on this process; however the vision of the light future was lost, when the Government failed to realize into reality equality for all people. It is common knowledge, that the Government passed the law according to which slavery was prohibited and all enslaved people of color were granted freedom. Nothing changed (Jordan 72-73). The black population of America was drastically limited in its rights, could not vote and take high job positions, in addition, black Americans had to live in segregated neighborhoods. They also were economically weak and had no options, but again to work for white Americans. All in all works by professors Winthrop D. Jordan and Charles Johnson present an exhaustive stance on historical processes which took place in the back than the unpredictable USA. While reading these research papers reader comes to know about the comprehensive presentation of how the country was developed, what mistakes could be avoide
“Much Lighter: Talking to Andrew McAfee” features an interview of McAfee on his optimistic outlook on the troubles of the global economy, ecology, and the importance of technology in reducing material consumption. In the interview, McAfee mentions two interesting concepts of ‘sustainable dematerialization’ and ‘Four Horsemen of the Optimism’ and uses them as arguments for his positive perception of ongoing issues with ecology. This essay will focus on addressing the concepts introduced by McAfee and analyze how he uses them to prove his point. To illustrate the concept behind emerging sustainable dematerialization, McAfee used the beer cans as an example of continuous progress and improvements that the capitalist puts into the economy. He expresses that previously used tin cans were replaced by aluminum, and nowadays, the manufacturers try to use a smaller amount of aluminum as they recognize that the customers do not care for the packaging. Further in the discussion, McAfee describes smartphones as a perfect example of dematerialization, a “world champion” (qtd. in Fitch). McAfee states that his smartphone is his favorite example of dematerialization as smartphones are used in multiple ways and replaced a variety of devices that required significantly more energy. Additionally to the idea of dematerialization, in the interview, McAfee also introduces the idea of “Four Horsemen of the Optimism.” The concept of “Four Horsemen of the Optimism” includes four different points – capitalism, technological progress, public awareness, and responsive government (Fitch). McAfee points that the capitalism aspect of the concept requires vicious competition that leads the competitors to save money and reduce the consumption of resources (Fitch). McAfee describes that he does not see a future without ‘a whole lot of new technology,’ but he realizes that the technology is at risk of getting attached to capitalism and its’ “selfish economic” (qtd. in Fitch). Thus, although McAfee lists capitalism as a point and a horseman of optimism, he acknowledges the effect of bad-quality capitalism on the economy and ecological footprint. In conclusion, the interesting concepts mentioned by McAfee in his interview on his optimistic outlook on material consumption relate directly to the theme and prove his point. McAfee draws several examples in support of the concepts but also acknowledges their imperfection; in particular, he states that capitalism is the worst possible system apart from all the previous ones. However, he still acknowledges the benefit of competition that capitalism provides, required for the motivation to produce more goods with reduced resource consumption. Reference Fitch, Andy. “Much Lighter: Talking to Andrew McAfee”. Blog of Los Angeles Review of Books , 2019
Crime rates in Ireland have been on the increase since the early 1960s and by the late 1970s, these rates had reached a soaring scale, notably at a time when society had begun to industrialize and modernize. Rates of homicide have been especially on the increase in Ireland, although statistics indicate that levels of violent crime stand at half rates in the USA, a third of average rates in the EU, and a third of crime rates in England and Denmark. Most people are therefore hostile to allegations that the rate of crime especially in Irish cities should warrant any cause of alarm. Many Irish people think that the rising levels of violent crime should be the main cause of concern (Tovey & Share: 300, 302). Although there was a decrease in the number of robberies, hijacking, and extortion at a rate of 6.7% between 2007 and 2008, the total number of such offenses was 2,307 in the year 2008, reflecting an increase of 6.2% from the recorded number in 2007. In 2008, the number of burglary cases recorded also increased with 1,058 with 72 of them being an increase in recorded aggravated burglary incidents. Vehicle and shop thefts also increased between 2007 and 2008, reflecting a 5.2% and 7.6 % increase respectively. This is an indication that gang-related crimes are nowhere being eradicated in Irish cities (CSO 2008). In February 2009, in probably one of the biggest bank robberies in Ireland, some 7.6 m Euros was stolen from a Dublin bank in the Kilteel area of Co Kildare through what the media has described as a tiger kidnapping. This was a very elaborate crime committed by a team of organized criminals. The gang used the services of Shane Travers, a bank employee, to withdraw the money from the bank after taking hostage his partner, her mother, and the partner’s nephew in their Bagers Hill house in Kilteel. The gang forced their way into the house as the two women arrived home where Travers is said to have been alone watching television. Members of the gang made every effort to conceal their identity by wearing black clothing, balaclavas, and gloves although they are said to have spoken in Dublin accents. At least three of the gang men held handguns although the use of a shotgun in the robbery could not be ruled out. One of the women was also struck with a vase, injuring her on the head. After almost what can be described as a whole night’s hostage, the two women and child were then driven to the Rath Co Meath. Mr. Travers then drove to the bank of Ireland branch at College Green at around 6.58 am and left within 15 min with four laundry bags. He drove to Clontarf where a man took possession of Traver’s car at the Dart Station. Mr. Traver immediately reported the crime at the Clontarf Garda station and hours later, the car was found burnt down in Glasnevin (Cao
Introduction The damaging effect of terrorism on modern society was brought to the world’s attention following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001. This acts by the Al-Qaeda terror network demonstrated that international terrorism has the power to disrupt social life even in the world’s super power. Since then, a wide-ranging debate has developed about the level of threat that international terrorism poses to the global community. While some people regard international terrorism as a marginal threat, others see it as an existential threat to society. This paper will argue that international terrorism is the main challenge facing the world in the context of international security and therefore, measures should be taken to address this issue and safeguard global security. International Terrorism as a Global Challenge International terrorism has become the greatest danger to world security, overtaking the threats of military confrontations from rival great powers. Stewart (2006) observes that the international security threat posed by military confrontations between rival great powers has reduced dramatically since the Second World War. Most Western nations have formed alliances such as NATO, which makes it almost impossible for them to engage in aggressive military confrontation against each other. The possession of nuclear weapons by the major powers such as Russia and China acts as a deterrence from any major confrontation (Lutz & Brenda 2004). Nations are therefore more likely to resort to diplomacy instead of risk military confrontation with each other. However, international terrorists attack nations without fear of retaliation since they do not have a well established base or economic resources that they hope to protect. The activities of international terrorist organization have made the world unsafe. Terror activities have not been limited to US targets and the rest of the world has suffered from the actions of terrorists. The international terror or
How We Will Act Responsibly As an airline company, we have the responsibility to act in a manner that will reduce the degradation of environment by ensuring that our operations have the minimum negative effects to the environment. The first thing that the company must ensure is that all its fleet uses the latest technology in the aviation industry such that carbon emission from the fleet of airlines is reduced. This way, the company will have offered its contributions to the greenhouse effects management menace. Carbon Footprint Response As noted by Urip (2010) all companies that deal with transportation have a responsibility to reduce the amount of carbon released to the atmosphere. Qantas airline has invested on the technological path to reduce carbon emissions. The airline seeks to use aircrafts whose engines are of the latest technology to reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The second strategy utilized by the organization is the use of fuel efficient aircrafts. When an aircraft burns less fuel for specified miles, it means that its contribution to the effects to the atmosphere are limited which makes the aircraft to be environmentally friendly. Qantas airline on its part has embarked on an elaborate effort to ensure that all of its fleets are fuel efficient to ensure that it does not contribute too much carbon to the atmosphere. Another strategy that has been employed by Qantas in its bid to manage its carbon foot print is the use of carbon offsetting programs (Qantas Airline 2010). These are programs that are designed to allow individual responsibility of business and persons who use their services. Carbon offsetting services that are put forth by the airline allow it to charge a premium amount to customers who are willing to reduce their carbon footprints. This extra charge, however, is voluntary in nature. However, the system has contributed heavily towards making the firm proves its ethical responsibility to the society where by the extra charges charged to the clients who accept the carbon offsetting offer is toped up with some contributions from the airline and later donated to organizations that manage the control of carbon menace. Through carbon offsetting programs and use of environmentally friendly aircrafts, Qantas airline hopes to protect the Australian environment for sustainability. The group also has adopted another environmentally friendly approach whereby it plants forests and takes care of them till their maturity. This way, the company is sure that all the carbon produced in its course of running business is taken care of by the forests. These measures are vital approaches that shall guarantee that the firm heavily contributes to the elimination of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Qantas Airline, 2010). In the airline industry, there