ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Starbucks Corporation is a major American coffeehouse chain and coffee company with 28218 operational unit branches worldwide. The given company positions itself as “second wave coffee” providers due to the unique coffee qualities and taste. Starbucks is highly automated with numerous coffee machines, which produce the drink safely and efficiently. The company is heavily focused on being customer-oriented and making changes in operational procedures. Although it is a large corporation with a significant number of stores, Starbucks is adaptable in creating the best customer experience. It offers a wide variety of product choices to fully satisfy customer’s preferences. The company illustrates the importance of providing a variety of alternatives and adjusting for societal changes (Berger, 2018). Retailers can learn a valuable lesson from Starbucks, such recognizing recent shifts in customer trend and targeting the correct market segment. Starbucks is an appealing brand for a specific set of people, who are mainly representatives of the younger generation. However, recent marketing approaches of Starbucks using TV advertisement shows that the company is attempting to widen its segment (Berman & Evans, 2013). The television marketing methods are more attractive for older generations, who lack a strong desire for coffee consumption (Berger, 2018). Nevertheless, it can cause a significant increase in numbers of market segments obtained by Starbucks. Applying the concept of the consumer decision process to Starbucks benefits the company’s goal. Firstly, the large proportion of coffee consumers are highly
Introduction The painting, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with a Dead Bittern (see fig. 1) of Rembrandt van Rijn during the 17 th century presents the modern or hybrid painting of the traditional paintings. Most of Rembrandt’s paintings show the idea of the modern romantic artworks. Rembrandt captured his brilliance as an artist using three aspects of creativity, which were drawing, oil painting, and etching. He aimed to portray most fascinating aspects of life and to meet certain demands of artworks in the market. Rembrandt painted many people close him, who included members of his family. He also had over 100 paintings of himself. Therefore, we can understand the private life of Rembrandt by using his artworks. Many artists tried self-portraits, but none of them succeeded like Rembrandt. Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with a Dead Bittern of 1639 is a hybrid painting that got little attention among scholars of artworks. The painting presents Rembrandt as holding a dead bittern. Rembrandt expresses self-satisfaction and a sense of pride because of his magnificent catch. However, we do not have any means of proving that Rembrandt was a hunter during his lifetime. On the other hand, we cannot presume that he did not take part in hunting during his career as a painter. Based on such views, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with a Dead Bittern has raised many questions on the real intentions of Rembrandt with a dead bittern. In order to understand this painting, we have to review the significance of hunting and self-portrait to painters in the Dutch society during the 17 th century. The historiography Hunting was a highly regarded sport in Netherlands during 1600s. In fact, past records indicate that there were laws governing hunting sport and falconry in the 16 th century. These ordinances remained in effect to the next century. These works show that there were many restrictions on hunting during the time. In this sense, hunting was only a game of the noble class and senior officers of the state. In this respect, Rembrandt was not a member of the nobility and was not anywhere close to them. Therefore, hunting as a sport was not within his class. Some scholars have argued that Rembrandt propagated the idea of individualism during his time by using his self-portraits. They claimed that Rembrandt wanted to portray the greatness of his paintings in history. At the same time, Rembrandt also used self-portrait to elevate his social status in society. People relied on three ways in order to achieve high social status in the Dutch society, which included wealth, fame, and honour. Painting provided all these options to Rembrandt. Studies show that the demand for self-portraits encouraged the growth of the art in the mid 17 th century. This essay shall focus on the Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with a Dead Bittern by analysing historical and social contexts of the time, as well as theoretical concepts that guided painters of the time with rega
Introduction Is it possible to construct an objective definition of terrorism? “Terror” is coined from a Latin word, ‘terrere’ that translates as ‘to frighten’. Defining terrorism seems to be a controversial issue. A range of official systems and government agencies define terrorism differently in their general legislation. In addition, terrorism is yet to be given an officially binding definition by the International community, which is slow in formulating a universally acceptable one. This a bit difficult to accomplish because terrorism is usually charged with emotions and politics. The above divergences pose a major obstacle to the United Nations as it seeks to construct a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, by defining terrorism as a distinct, all-inclusive officially binding crime. This paper will seek to establish if terrorism is definable and how effectively it can be done. Discussion Terrorism is as ancient as recordable history but still tough to define. Terrorism is described variously as an approach and a strategy; a criminal offense and a sacred obligation; an acceptable response to unfair domination and an intolerable atrocity. Clearly, as one tries to define terrorism, a lot is dependent on whose point of sight he is trying to bring out. Terrorism is an efficient strategy for the most likely too loose side in a conflict. As an imbalanced type of conflict, terrorism advocates for forceful power with various advantages of armed forces force at a part of the cost. Terrorism groups are secretive and characterized by small sizes. This way, the opponent is often unaware of a plot against them hence have no idea whom they are up against. Terrorism is mostly a means to execute and launch divergence without the antagonist knowing the character of the danger, confusing terrorism for criminal aggression. Due of its characteristic uniqueness, terrorism has grown to be progressively more common amongst those after extremist goals all over the world. Nevertheless, regardless of its fame, terrorism can be a imprecise model. Even inside the U.S. Government, official bodies in charge of diverse duties in the constant struggle against terrorism, define it differently. The United States Department of Defense describes terrorism as calculated application of unlawful brutality or threat of illegal bloodshed to instill fear; with the intentions to compel or to scare regimes or society in the quest of political, ideological or spiritual goals. Encompassed in this definition, are three important elements—aggression, fright, and coercion—and every element strikes terror in the affected victims. The FBI defines terrorism as the unauthorized use of force and aggression against people or their property to frighten or pressurize a regime, the resident population, or any division within, in the effort to further a biased political or societal objective. To the U.S. Department of State, “terrorism” is to premeditate politically motivated aggression to be committed against opponent targets by sub-nationalized insurgents or secret agents, typically intended to sway the targeted group. Three perspecti
The present company analysis focuses on the shift that Harold Stringer made in the Sony Company as soon as he became its CEO in 2005. The issue gains importance in the context of the state of affairs that were evident in the company’s policy before the shift – Stringer emphasized the problem of the incoherence of Sony’s subdivisions, namely electronics and entertainment units (Bremmer, 2005). Thus, his chief goal became bringing the Japanese company to harmonious and multifaceted unification of its spheres of activity and achieving a more stable and intelligible course of action without controversy and ambiguity. Sales and profits speak for themselves and indicate the success of Stringer’s strategy – all markets in which Sony exists and sells its products are continuously expanded, with increasing influence and share of Sony. The task of the present analysis is to bridge the company’s strategy starting from1990s, the 2000s and finishing with the latest stage of the company’s development it is going through under Stringer’s governance with the core competence theory worked out by C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel who claim Sony to be one of its main adopters. The theory is based on a set of premises that help a company achieve continued competitiveness due to innovation and strategic advantage. But to proceed to the analysis of Sony’s strategy as to being core competencies oriented or not it is necessary to identify the position in which Sir Harold Stringer found himself as soon as he became Sony’s CEO. By 2005 Sony reached a substantial decrease in sales and profits (see Table 1) that were shrinking in all segments but financial services (see Table 2). The major segment of target markets was occupied by the United States of America where sales figures prevailed the Japanese ones (see Table 3). Judging from this situation, it became evident that the forces of the company have to be more focused on a selected set of core products and not on everything the company could potentially handle. Harold Stringer entered the company at the very beginning of its “accelerated growth” and “creation of a new management structure” (Annual Report 2005: 7). It was clear that the company that had been operating for more than 60 years by that time needed a change to retain its competitiveness and leadership in target markets. With this purpose, Stringer announced that his effort will be targeted at binding and enhancing “technological hardware and content development” (Annual Report 2005: 7). As one can see from the 2005 annual report, the set of Sony products did not change with the flow of time and remains the same, so it is not necessary to consider the shift of the company’s profile – the range of activities of Stringer became focused on
Thesis statement Christology is part of theology, which mainly deals with the person and works of Jesus Christ. Christianity depicts Jesus as an incarnation of God in a human body, hence resulting in a being that is a God-in-man. Such incarnation helps in explaining the works of Christ that appear supernatural in comparison to the person of the man that biblical teachings describe. Over the years, different scholars have divided the study of the person and works of Christ into literature suited to specific regions to make Christianity relatable to people living in such regions. For instance, African Christology is a branch of Christology specific to African nations and their perceptions of the works and person of Christ and Christianity in general. Debates exist as to whether African Christology is plausible considering how most nations made their acquaintance with Christianity and their perceptions of the concept in association with traditions indigenous to various regions. This paper presents the thesis; although African Christology has diminished in significance over the years, the concept still exists, and it remains relevant in the region. The paper utilizes arguments from different scholars on the subject to prove the plausibility of the thesis. Development of African Christology In most African states, the introduction to Christianity came about as a direct result of the colonization process that took place mostly between the 1920s and the late 1990s. In most of these cases, Christianity was a means of attracting support and encouraging assimilation of foreigners into African territories, which later made it easier to rule most colonies. The majority of indigenous African population at the time was skeptical of the teachings that missionaries and colonial rulers proposed while spreading the gospel due to the already existent traditions at the time including worshiping other gods, social hierarchy, gender roles, economic, and political backgrounds (Stinton 32). For instance, explaining the incarnation of God into human form resulting in a God-made-human baffled most people as it went against the perception of any god as a supernatural being devoid of any vulnerability. Also, the explanation of the miraculous works that Jesus performed during his existence such as walking on water and calming a storm, in a context that an African would understand, was difficult due to the insinuation that a human could perform functions that defy logic. Therefore, most teachers had to elaborate on the person and works of Christ in ways that made sense such as Christ’s ability to solve problems that most other people would not understand (Antonio 15). These factors are some of the essential ones that led most preachers at the time to call for the development of teachings that the African community would easily relate with, especially about the works and person of Christ. Some of the major classifications of teachings that preachers adopted at the time that still apply to date as part of African Christology are concepts of Chri
Introduction Culture of a given market represents the way different people in such a market behave and carry out their daily endeavours. In a black box perspective, culture is a representation of a population’s way of life. Markedly, cultures vary from state to state and community to community. The Whites, Blacks, Arabs, Hispanics, and other divisive groups exhibit different cultures. Values, norms, traditions, customs, and beliefs represent some of the elements exhibiting cultural differences. Businesses require utmost care in developing adequate understanding of the impacts of culture on consumer behaviours. Developing an intricate understanding of the different types of cultures that exist across the globe enables business franchises to create ample marketing systems that improve the rate of sales. In understanding the cultural setup in a market, businesses require analysis of key elements that inform cultural practices within a given market. Developing products and services becomes irrelevant without proper marketing strategies. Therefore, implementing these strategies in the global market require putting into consideration consumer differences in terms of values, beliefs, thought processes, and traditions (Cateora and Graham 2007, p. 35). Equally, different cultures appreciate different languages, religions, and symbols. Understanding all these facets within the confines of a marketing strategy enables business entities to win the hearts of many consumers, thereby improving the chances of higher profit margins. This paper seeks to explore the different elements in culture that inform marketing strategy in local and international business franchise. Similarly, the paper seeks to understand the role of consumer culture in marketing and effects of culture on advertisement. Dimensions of Culture As Czinkota and Ronkainen (2007, p. 128) demote, many scholars argue that individuals develop cultures from interaction with different characters within a society. Characters, behaviours, traits, and customs within which an individual duels create a systematic and predicable way of life congruent to the interactive elements. From the development and conformity into a given culture, different individuals begin to develop tastes and preferences for different products and services (Byrd and Megginson 2013, p. 44). Most cultural groups stick to their behaviours and customs since developing a contrary way of life creates animosity within the society. For this reason, several cultures remain reluctant in embracing foreign ways of life, hence creating serious hurdles for international business franchises seeking penetration in a new market. According to Hofsede (2001, p. 73), for business franchise to develop an adequate understanding of the cultural structures for successful market penetration, understanding the different cultural dimensions within such markets becomes compulsory. I
Introduction This research paper critically analyses the life of Hitler as the president of Germany and the extent he went to conquer the whole world which he sought to do. It considers step by step on his rise to power and how he started war, how he advanced and his defeat. It also touches on his ideas and how he advocated for Jew’s free society that is in Germany. His successes and failures which made him to loose the war has also been covered. Early Life of Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was born on 20 th April 1889 in Austria near the German boarder. He was a German politician and also the leader of National Socialist German Workers. He did well in school and this made his parents to see a bright future before him. His leadership qualities in school made him popular to his classmates. His consideration to become a monk was as a result of his religious beliefs which he acquired from his childhood. He liked to dominate over other pupils and giving orders and this made him to loose his popularity. His dream for becoming an artist was the centre of his conflict with his father who wanted Hitler to become a civil servant (Bischof 1993). He attended Catholic school. His father died when he was young and he survived by orphan’s pension and his mothers support, that was in Vienna. By pursuing his Fine arts in Vienna he was rejected because of his inability to paint and they directed him to the field of architecture. But this to him appeared impossible because for one to join the Architecture school one had to have attended the building school and also a high school degree was required. After his mother’s demise in December 21 st 1907, His life was in struggle to an extent of being a painter in Vienna for survival. Later he ran out of money and the academy of Arts rejected him to pursue artistic work. Chancellor Hitler Hitler became legally the Chancellor of Germany after being appointed by president Pawl Von Hindenburg in 1933. He headed the coalition government but later made the Hindenburg figurehead and consequently doing away with his non-Nazi partners. The Nazi regime was able to make Germany to prosper again and reduced mass unemployment. Still there was more spending which was directed to military and all labor unions and strikes were suppressed. This prosperity made Nazi more popular and no opposition was evident or no one dared to challenge Nazi rule. All liberal socialist and communists were put into exile by deployed police who were sent by the government of the time. Hitler as a chancellor made sure that the government powers were centralized to him self and the state governments were demolished and Reich governors was put into place. Reich governors appointed city and towns representatives and in this exercise of appointing mayors Hitler had to approve. All civil organizations and branches of the government were controlled by the party except the protestant and catholic churches. Hitler was so popular to an extent of being idolized by Nazi state and they ca
Self-development is a complex and long-lasting process that takes place individually and is tailored by its creator. All people in the world are obsessed with becoming a better person than they used to be, or are at the present moment – this is the key to evolution and improvement. Humankind can never remain in one place, as this stagnation may finally make people lose their sense of life and degrade. It would be highly undesirable to happen, so great thinkers, outstanding scholars in the questions of human motivation, development, improvement, and evolution have been occupied with considerations on the true nature of improvement and self-development. The main issues that have been occupying the human minds for many centuries pertain to the main instigators of self-development, varied ways through which a person may pass his or her way of self-development. What is even more important is to justify the crucial necessity of self-development, thus making people understand why they should pursue this complicated and challenging way. Another issue that acquires greater importance is defining the negative factors and pitfalls of human cognition that may slow down self-development or even stop it – it is essential to understand all positive and negative factors that influence the process in order to design it in the best possible way and succeed on this path. The present paper aims at analyzing the concept of work in self-development and at justifying the necess
Introduction Immigration policy is one of the greatest issues that have raised debates in Brazilian society. According to Giralda, Brazil is one of the emerging economic giants in Latin America. The large population of the country and its political stability has resulted in massive economic growth over the past few decades. The economic prosperity and the perceived employment opportunities have seen people from the neighboring countries and other regions across the world come to Brazil in search of employment. Some of these immigrants come to the country illegally, but others find their way into the country illegally. The problem of illegal immigration raised a hot debate as the government struggled to find the best way of addressing it. In 2009, the government came up with an amnesty for the illegal immigrants that allowed them to present themselves to the immigration offices within the country to be registered as legal immigrants in the country. While a section of the society considered this a positive move towards addressing the problem, others have vehemently rejected this policy, claiming that it will motivate more people to immigrate to this country illegally. In this essay, the researcher seeks to prove that the policy was ill-informed and may have a serious negative impact on the issue of illegal immigration into the country. Discussion The immigration policy in Brazil has experienced changes over the years due to several factors. According to Una, Brazil developed a policy in the 1950s that encouraged immigration as a way of increasing its population. During this time, the government was concerned about the dwindling population in the country due to its low birthrate. This policy resulted in the mass flow of people from all over the world, making the country one of the most diversified places on earth. In 1999, the government redefined the policy, introducing some requirements as a way of controlling immigration. The immigration policy was tightened in 2007, specifically stating stringent requirements for one to immigrate into the country. This did not eliminate immigration into the country. Many people, especially from neighboring countries such as Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia have been streaming into the country illegally through the porous borders. According to Hing, it is estimated that about 1,500 illegal immigrants get through the borders into the country illegally. The scholar says that in Sao Paulo alone, there are over 200,000 undocumented Bolivian workers. The increasing human development index in Brazil has seen people immigrate into the country from as far as China. The government became concerned about the increasing number of illegal immigrants into the country. According to Lloyd, the issue of illegal immigration had caused public concern because of several reasons. Some of th