ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction   * With the increase in human population, the availability of many resources is becoming scarce as the days go by.   * Individuals have the increased need to acquire basic needs, own property and live a luxurious life.   * Due to this fact, there has been an increase in the demand for goods and services over the years (Heizer and Render, 2011).   * Owning a home is among the main dreams of every adult in the world.   * This has however proven to be difficult due to the rise in the cost of factors of production.   * This includes factors such as land, raw materials and labor.   * As a result, building houses has become an expensive activity (LCH, 2011). Interlocking Bricks   * However, there has been an advancement on the process of building and construction.   * The use of interlocking bricks has tremendously reduced the cost of building.   * It is cheap to buy or manufacture these bricks as compared to buying stones for construction.   * In addition, they require the use of minimal amount of cement.   * This in turn reduces the cost of construction.   * Other advantages of using interlocking bricks for construction include:       + They produces relatively strong buildings as compared to other modes of construction.       + The buildings that are constructed using this technology are more attractive as compared to buildings constructed using other methods.       + The technology is environment friendly.       + It is not labor intensive.       + Construction of building takes a shorter time.   * This new technology commenced to be used in the mid 1990`s (Ndirangu, 2009).   * However, its mass production commenced in the 21 century.   * Many buildings in both rural and urban centers have been constructed using the technology.   * Constructors and developers have discovered the benefits of this new technology hence its massive application.   * These bricks are manufactured with the use of special machines.   * These machines mix and compress sand and cement together in appropriate ratios.   * The mixture is then dried under intense heat, producing bricks that are hard and strong.   * These bricks are manufactured in different shapes and designs depending on the taste and preference of the client.   * In construction, the bricks are arranged in such a way that they interlock with each other, producing a strong wall.   * Several organizations and building and construction companies have adopted this new method of construction.   * They include:       + Low Cost Housing International.       + Hydraform PVT Limited (India).       + UN Habitat.   * These companies enjoy the following benefits:       + Reduced competition since their market is not flooded.       + Lower costs of production.       + Availability of cheap labor (it requires mostly unskilled labor).       + Readily available market.       + High levels of profitability. A house constructed using interlocking bricks.
Introduction The problem of the way customers evaluate products has interested scholars for many years. The clarification of what are the main features consumers pay attention to may lead to the revolution in the marketing sphere. The country-of-origin effect is an interesting phenomenon that is worthwhile investigating. In the following report, two papers representing the same issue are going to be analyzed. The academic paper introduces significant research of the country-of-origin effect while the news article exemplifies the findings in practice. An overview of the academic paper The academic paper under consideration entitled “Country-of-origin Effects on Product Evaluation” was written by Warren J. Bilkey and Erik Ness. The authors provide readers with information about the effect of country of origin on product evaluation. “Made in…” — that is the line that indicates the country. Customers pay attention to this fact. The choice of outputs is often predetermined by stereotypes one has towards the country of origin. Countries of origin may be of two types: more developed countries (MDC) and less developed countries (LDC). For instance, the USA, Germany, Sweden, Japan, and Finland belong to the MDC group. In the following part, the authors go into detail, introducing the fact that people do not equally evaluate products made in MDC. A simple example can be a situation in which a resident of the US will assess US products higher than those made in European MDC. When buyers compare MDC and LDC products, a preference is given to MDC. However, this regularity may be violated in some cases. The proper illustration is freeze-dried coffee made in Brazil. The country belongs to the less developed countries. An average buyer knows this information and avoids buying Brazilian products, but freeze-dried coffee is an exception in these circumstances. Brazil has a reputation as a country that is famous for its coffee. That is why the customer makes a decision and purchases freeze-dried coffee made in Brazil. Nevertheless, Bilkey and Ness point out that there are the so-called “methodological limitations”, which impede the proper conducting of the research. First of all, all respondents made their judgments only according to the country of origin. Second, during the research, respondents heard verbal descriptions of the products. Their choice could be different in real situations. The third limitation deals with reliability and validity problems. An overview of the news article and causes The news article running under the title “China Shaking off Stereotype Perception of Poor Quality” presents information about the ways China is getting rid of negative stereotypes. China ranks number nine in “Made In” research carried out by the FutureBrand. As it has been reported, the country of origin information is of great significance for customers. A lot of buyers consider the country of or
Introduction Published in 1991 and written by Art Spiegelman, the MAUS is a book that provides the account of the author’s effort of knowing his Jewish parents’ experience, following the Holocaust as well as their survival in U.S. It gives a picture of the difficult affiliation between the author and his parents where he stands as a survivor of this as well. This tale is presented in the form of a conversation between the author and Vladek – his father. In a humorous manner, Spiegelman employs animals to represent characters. For instance, dogs represent the Americans while reindeers represent Swedes, among others. The setting of this interview is a large area ranging from New York through Germany to Sweden, a style that enables the writer to give a broad picture of the mass destruction during the World War II while at the same time he shows the nature of relationships in his family prior and after the war. The author uses characters like Vladek Spiegelman-Art’s father, Anja-Vladek’s wife, Art- Vladek’s son, among others, all of whom are survivors of the holocaust, either direct or indirect. The concept of ambivalence stands out clearly in the book through the various relationships provided. For instance, Vladek’s ambivalence towards his son, Art, is clear as explained in the following paragraph. Ambivalence Ambivalence is no more than the disagreement of ones feelings towards another person or a thing. This person may simultaneously portray both the positive and negative views towards another. The novel is rich in this concept. For example, Vladek is the father to Art. He loves him but he is unable to show it off. This case is seen when Art, who has been playing with his friends accidentally falls. Art cries of pain and rushes towards his father for assistance.“…until he has spent five days locked in a room with a group of people and no food, he cannot know the meaning of the word friends” (Spiegelman, 1991). These are the father’s comments to his son. Vladek ought to act like a loving parent by soothing his son to stop crying as well as nursing his pain. From the response, it is not clear whether he loves his son or not. Whether he said this to make his son laugh rather than cry or whether he said this out of ignorance is not determined. Moreover, he is willing to converse with his son. In fact he narrates to him about his origin as well as that of their family. But the way he addresses some questions is wanting. When Art enquires about the dairies, Vladek does not hesitate in giving his weird answers. “I looked in, but I don’t remember” (Spiegelman, 1991). These answers fail to classify Vladek’s feeling towards Art. He has a diverse feeling towards his son and this is no more than ambivalence. Art’s feelings towards his father are also strained and uncertain too. Art portrays an all-round relationship with his father. This is apparent because he entirely relies on him for the account of his own story. He freque
Jordan’s Service Experience Positive service marketing experience encountered was at Jordan’s restaurant in Murrumbeena. Jordan’s Restaurant displayed the best customer service ever to be experienced. The restaurant is located on a quiet shopping strip with a railway station nearby. As we walked in together with my friend, we had minimal expectations. However, we were greeted very kindly and offered to sit anywhere we liked. Usually, this kind of service is not an option with many restaurants. The waiter greeted us warmly and offered us menus and asked whether we’d like to start with some drinks. The food was delicious and served in detail as reflected within their menu. As we were eating, the restaurant had some jazz music playing in the background which was very soothing and made the experience all the more enjoyable. During the meals, the waiter came around to inquire whether we needed some assistance of any kind. The payment process was not stressful since there were two cashiers within the restaurant (Baron and Harris). The level of cleanliness within the restaurant, warm greetings the choice and preference of where to seat made the whole experience lively. This treatment in comparison to other restaurants was second to none. The issues of offering menus and something to drink is a standard procedure amongst most restaurants. The true test of their service was where the menus arrived with a wide selection of meals followed by a detailed description of available dishes. Finally, it was topped off with the delicious taste and excellent service. This revealed positive disconfirmation leading to enhanced satisfaction. The provision of better customer services However, the restaurant should expand their packing space to avoid the congestion of vehicles as we experienced. Poor level of communication and the expectation in the other two experiences did not match the level of service provided and should be improved. In these two cases what was portrayed as the gap between the quality of services offered and the responses towards customer treatment. The expectations were different from the performance at a glance (Baron and Harris). Characteristics of people who provide excellent customer service Recognition of customer’s needs is one important aspect which contributes towards employees awareness of the level of service required. This reduces role conflict and ambiguity in the process of delivering appropriate services since each need is attended to at different points. It also ensures employee job fit and respect accorded to customers. A positive attitude leads towards teamwork, and this helps in avoiding role conflict and allow the prevalence of harmony within the workplace, it ensures a high level of understanding hence good communication network amongst employees and also between them and customers (Baron and Harris). Diplo
Introduction The US is a country that has successfully adopted the concept of federalism in its management structure. This has led to the incorporation of two different court systems. These are the federal and state court systems. These two systems have to work together for them to function effectively as per the powers granted to each faction by the constitution. The goal of this essay is to analyze the relationship between the federal and state courts in relation to the political arena, in which they operate, and to evaluate, compare and contrast the parties and factors that make these two courts different. Federal and state courts The federal courts comprises of two court systems. Namely the Article III courts, and the courts that have been established by congress. The article III courts use the judicial power granted by the country in the court system. Congress, on the other hand, uses its power to establish several courts all with the aim of exercising the judicial rights of the citizens. The state courts exercise the power given to them by the constitution and state laws. Several courts systems that have been established based on a hierarchy have been set up to deal with any issues pertaining to the law. The state supreme court is the highest court in this level. Depending on a particular state some have intermediate court of appeals. There are also the state trial courts, of which some are known as circuit or district courts. There are specific
Product Description The proposed product is a special MP3 player for aged people with poor eyesight and deafness. The idea is to create a MP3 player device with big screen and special signals which help old people with poor eyesight and deafness to listen to music and use it in emergency situations (Bearden et al 2004). Rational for Product Development Elderly adults represent a separate age segment. Older people comprise a substantial proportion of the population, including the most affluent people. With the attrition in their life space because of retirement, death of their spouses, and cohort members, older adults rely on mass media for information to a greater extent than do their younger counterparts (Bearden et al 2004). Marketing Strategies – In general, marketing strategy deals with pricing, selling, and distributing a product. Using a mar­ket development strategy for a MP3 player for aged people, the company will capture a larger share of an existing market for current products through market saturation and market pene­tration or develop new markets for current products. It is “the combination of choices you make about which tactics you use” (Kotler and Armstrong 2006). Product differentiation will be the main strategy followed by the company. Differentiation will be achieved by unique product image and features, low price and support services proposed fro all customers. The company will follow penetration pricing strategy. Penetration pricing refers to the establishment of price levels low enough to penetrate markets deeply, and to discourage potential competitors from entry. Although prices are set relatively low, expanding markets arc recognized. Pursuit of this policy slows down the recouping of investments and expenses. Which policy to use depends on the total marketing plan and an assessment of cost-revenue market factors (Boone and Kurtz 2002). The product will be distributed in the US only. The price for each MP3 player will be $130. Segmentation Segmentation for a MP3 player for aged people will be used to understand individual customers in the sports market place and to group them together to form distinct segments which are identifiable, accessible and substantial. In markets, segmentation is often used to make selling more cost effective by prioritizing the companies that require regular face-to-face salespeople and that can be served better by telesales and direct distribution. Market segmentation involves finding out the key drivers that distinguish one group of customers from another (Boone and Kurtz 2002). Ge
The public sphere as a concept always has to take into account the freedom enjoyed by a people such that they can share their ideas or thoughts and learn or access other views (Gastil 2007, 18). This process necessarily also consists of or results in the formation of public opinion (Dahlgren 2005, 148). According to Dahlgren (2005, 148) the public sphere consists of and is guaranteed by three dimensions i.e. “structure, representation and interaction”. The impact of the net on the public sphere is a given reality and can not be the question. Dahlgren (2005, 149) asserts that with the coming of the Net, “the sprawling character of the public sphere becomes all the more accentuated”. One of the challenges or problems identified with the traditional media is the shift from serious deliberation on political matters to more focus on entertainment and life style issues. This trend is commonly known as Tabloidization. Tabloidization and other problems associated with traditional media are as a result of cutting edge competition amongst media houses. According to Harsin (2006, 89), “corporate mergers have increased the pressure towards speed and expanding viewer – and readership, and the demand for ever increasing profit”. As competition between media houses increased, another shift towards combining serious information with entertainment happened. For example, a given serious message that needs public attention is programmed to run as an interlude between episodes in a popular soap. Due to the strong control many governments and elites had over traditional media, the media was largely a propaganda tool. Propaganda was possible because access and interaction between consumers was not possible. For example in the Arab world, due to state control over traditional media, Rinnawi (2002, 2) states that “there are hardly any opportunities for the participation of the media consumers, the public or for any deviation from the mainstream ideas or opinions held by the ruling elite”. The United States of America is the beacon of democracy in the world; however, its traditional media does not escape from being used as a propaganda tool. Harsin (2002, 2) states, “The strategic use and (sometimes) careless circulation of rumor characterizes the current climate of American news media and politics”. The manipulation or distortion
Suffering is usually perceived as a negative experience since it is commonly believed that it is a punishment for the sinner. Yet, I believe that suffering is a much broader notion. Even if a person is virtuous and there is no real ground for him/her to be punished, there is no guarantee that he/she will avoid suffering. If we address the Old Testament for the answer, we will see that not only those who deserved suffering suffered. In some cases, this experience was aimed to test a person in his/her faith and devotion to God. For instance, Job could not be blamed for any sins; yet, he had to suffer a lot to prove that his commitment to God is unquestionable. Although this position seems Christian and deserves respect and even admiration, I believe that Henri Nouwen’s understanding of suffering was much more deep-rooted and grounded. The point is that he does not perceive suffering as a punishment or even an obstacle to joy. On the contrary, suffering is a kind of means to it. It is important to understand that suffering is both gladness and sadness since any disaster should be perceived as a way to joy. Moreover, even the most negative experience is a part of the realization of our humanity. 1 It is still unclear why people must suffer. According to the Bible, this is the major way to repent for our sins. Yet, there are many cases when people suffer even though they do not deserve it. Thus, there arises a question where sufferings come from. On the one hand, we may answer as Nowen does: It comes from the necessity to realize what joy is (as according to Asian painters, beauty cannot be fully understood without ugliness). On the other hand, we may find more profound reasons for humanity to suffer. “Why suffering?” is a question that cannot be answered objectively. If we resort to James Baldwin’s contemplations on the topic, we will see that there is more than punishment for sins in it. Baldwin teaches us that any pains of our lives (even if they seem unbearable to us) are intimately connected with the pains of Jesus Christ; therefore, we must be proud that our sorrows contribute to the general hope of humanity. Alice Walker goes even further, claiming that the sense of suffering is collective. Thus, it means that the reason for our sufferings is not only our failures, injustices, and errors. We may suffer from injustices committed to our family, community, nation, race, and even the whole of humanity. Thus, we can conclude that our response to suffering may come not only from our failures or unpleasant experiences. The notions are much broader: we may
When philosophers rejected religion in the twentieth century, they continued to locate the social and political in abstractions but found less of an audience in a culture still attuned to religion. Even in the political evaluations of those philosophers later guided by German organicism the St Louis Hegelians, Josiah Royce, John Dewey, Herbert Marcuse, and Richard Rorty the priorities of speculative reason were substantial, although this group had claims to be considered as political theorists and not political philosophers. More than most analysts, Rorty was interested in the history of philosophy and, even more, in philosophy’s diminished role in post-war culture. Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature learnedly situated analytic philosophy in what Rorty called the epistemological project that had engaged philosophers since Kant. For Rorty the thrust of analysis had been to ground knowledge, usually to justify the labors of science and distinguish it from other endeavors that were less rational, more subjective. Rorty in his book, Achieving Our Country, supports expediency in the political activism. Rorty advises American intellectuals (Left) to take the fight for social justice out of the academia and back into the streets. For making meaningful political contributions, the Left should “kick its philosophy habit”. Rorty thinks that more important, analytic philosophy had failed in its mission. Looking at the main positions, which we have just explored, Rorty seemed to adopt the view of a layperson who might ridicule philosophical experts unable to agree on how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. Rorty’s effort was much criticized, and he later apologized for his ‘amateurish’ ignorance. His loosely written exhortations contrasted with the careful reasoning of his earlier essays and with Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. The didactic and simplistic account of the politics of the twentieth century bore little resemblance to what knowledgeable scholars believed, reflecting more his early memories and nostalgia, which he incorporated into the text of Achieving Our Country, than a grasp of American politics or history. Like Chomsky, Rorty was idiosyncratic as an American philosopher in being self-consciously on the left, but more conventional in his failure in the political realm. His expository style had had a long career in American pragmatism, disappointing only to those who wished philosophers to have something to say about the world. Richard Rorty is right in saying that the left is the party of hope. Without it there is no reasonable hope for justice here and now or ever or even for a decent society. But it also seems like there is no hope for the left and so, unless we can play religious tricks on ourselves. Over the past century or so, cul