ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Abstract Days have vanished when television sets, radios, and print materials were the conventional forms of media consumption. This kind of consumption has been replaced by social media platforms and the internet. This discussion, therefore, examines the main sources of media information during the 1960s and 1970s when the targeted interviewee was a youngster. The paper compares such information sources with the current use of social media platforms. The outlined differences show conclusively that the internet has transfigured how human beings exchange information and ideas. Comparative Analysis of Traditional Sources of Information and Social Media Introduction The creation and consumption of information have changed significantly within the past century. The invention of the telephone by Alexander Bell in the late 19 th century revolutionized human communication forever (Vivian, 2014). Within the past ten years, the internet has transformed how people get information (Baruah, 2012). Past generations have been characterized by different forms of communication. The present-day generation has mastered the art of using various social media platforms to share and exchange ideas. It is also agreeable that the older generations had the privilege to consume information relayed to them through newspapers, radios, and television screens. This discussion gives a comparative analysis of my personal use of social media and the media consumption of my uncle. Comparative Analysis To complete this discussion, I decided to interview my favorite uncle named Johnson. Born in 1961 in the United States, Johnson witnessed some of the events of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). During the interview, Johnson was pleased to reflect and analyze how media consumption had changed within the last five decades. My uncle indicated that he grew up at a time when TV sets and radios were the major sources of information (Baruah, 2012). During this time, only a small number of households could afford the
In the article “Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?” Linda Christensen raised questions about why children are taught language in one particular way and not the other. During standard English courses at schools and colleges, students are often confronted by large lists of new words, grammar and punctuation rules, irregular verbs, and so on. However, it is important to question why language is taught through rules as well as why students are forced to believe that they will be valued in the society because of their correct pronunciation and the use of “cash language.” Therefore, the most significant problem that the author found in teaching students English language was that they rarely knew where they could find help in their learning while teachers had no idea how to adequately correct mistakes. It was interesting to read the article because the author had a unique approach towards language. When reflecting on her personal experiences with language teaching, Linda Christensen mentioned Fred, a student who was extremely scared of taking risks in his learning and only followed strict grammar rules that he had memorized. The author wrote: “the biggest problem with Fred’s writing was that he didn’t make mistakes” (Christensen, 1990, p. 37). This meant that the student felt extreme discomfort when using a new language and experimenting with it; he would write with a purpose of avoiding mistakes instead of genuinely expressing his thoughts and opinions in a paper. Therefore, Christensen underlined the problem of valuing the way something in said instead of what is said in language teaching. It became evident that the author did not hold a view that students had to be limited in their own opinions and thoughts for the purpose of getting to learn a language based on strict rules. When learners are frowned upon for experimenting with language and are ridiculed for making mistakes, they usually lose interest and confidence in learning, which are huge barriers to education. The issue of alienation played a significant role in the author’s discussion because educational facilities tend to make students feel alone in their learning. Thus, it is the role of teachers to encourage students not to be afraid of making mistakes and sharing their thoughts, especially in language learning. Because the primary purpose of languages is to express opinions for communication, teachers should not put an emphasis on grammatical rules since they may often restrict communication. To make language learning a creative and liberating process, Christensen offered such strategies as writing stories, poems, letters, and essays to share them during lessons. In this way, learning becomes an interactive process where every student has opportunities to share his or her writing and be heard by others. In such a welcoming environment where students are equal in their language learning, the problem of alienation fades away as it is replaced by creativity and the freedom to express one’s thoughts. To c
Post on marketing strategies The hospitality, tourism, and leisure industry provides services to customers, and therefore its marketing strategies and initiatives must be uniquely different from that of marketing a regular/industrial product. Many services provided in this industry are generally consumed during the time they are produced, and therefore marketers and practitioners must provide added value in forms (such as convenience, comfort, great taste, or health) that are fundamentally intangible. This is unlike the marketing of regular/industrial products, where no value addition is necessary. Additionally, unlike in the marketing of goods where production is separate from consumption, customers actively participate in the production of services within the hospitality, tourism, and leisure industry, and therefore any marketing effort in this domain should incorporate customer satisfaction and service quality initiatives because of simultaneous production and consumption. Lastly, the perishability dimension in the services provided in the hospitality, tourism, and leisure industry calls for the adoption of a unique marketing strategy that emboldens service quality and customer loyalty since services cannot be returned, resold, or stored. A regular/industrial product comes with sufficient shelf-life, thus its marketing strategy is different from that of a service. Comment 1 The post is not only informative but insightful too as it brings into the limelight the various concepts involved in the marketing of products in the service setting, including ‘word of mouth’, customer value and satisfaction, exchanges and long-term relationships, as well as customer loyalty and customer service. However, the writer could have shed some light on service characteristics instead of merely mentioning them. Comment 2 Although the post does not illuminate the unique differences as regards the marketing of an industrial product, it sheds light on the marketing of a product or service within the hospitality, tourism, and leisure context. Some of the service marketing characteristics that stand out in the post include:  1. Identification of customer needs  2. Serving the customer over and over again  3. Consistency in quality of service. Comment 3 The post is spot on in illuminating some of the factors that differentiate the marketing of service from the marketing of an industrial product. Among the factors mentioned, it is clear that marketing service should be guided by customer needs and wants, not mentioning that management should strive to create an environment where the exchange of value with the customers is enhanced. Additionally, the quality of service and staff attitudes, are also key in the marketing of services. Services include all Econo.
Introduction Work situations in organizations often approximate to chaotic situations due to the frequent propensity to manage fluctuations in the market and of material resources. There arise stable circumstances of great predictability as well as situations of little predictability within organizations. Employees tend to be routinely accustomed to daily patterns of execution of tasks and duties. In the event of a distortion leading to a crisis, often there needs to be a readiness and flexibility among employees to navigate through to prevent loss or sustain adequate profitability in the short run while not compromising long-term prospects. Workers are the implementers of daily chores and tasks in organizations other than solid assets or machines. Unfortunately, theories advanced in organizational management often assume a mechanistic treatment of them as items. Individual workers ought to reserve adequate individuality, self identity and independence to attain necessary aggregation in work teams. Leadership hence has the task of incorporating the workers as humans other than mechanistic. Individual sensations, emotions and needs are to be cared for in the Maslowian-hierarchy outlook (Arnold, 1998). The rising levels of awareness among employees of welfare standards attributable to the campaign and advocacy by non-governmental organizations coupled to stiffening legislation impose upon organizations the new codes. Work practices as instituting problem-solving teams, improved communication with workers, les rigid job assignments, job security, propensity to more incentive pay, training for multiple jobs and adoption of technology and statistical process controls. In the civil service, elected legislatures, often traditionally a preserve of minimal public scrutiny is currently grappling with reforms to institute efficient service delivery, compete
Any abundant biological species have significant effects on the planet by consuming natural resources. Being rather popular as pets, dogs and cats are often explored with attention to their psychological impacts on humans, but their negative environmental influences require consideration as well. The essay aims to summarize these animals’ key environmental impacts with an emphasis on food consumption, infectious disease, species’ survival, and global warming. As domesticated animals, cats and dogs fit into the environment in peculiar ways. Animals living with pet owners in urban areas constitute a new category of consumers that require alimentary products in diverse price categories, animal toys, grooming products, and other pet products (Ferguson, 2020). With no need to hunt for smaller animals to survive, domestic dogs and cats that can go outside still need their predatory impulses to be satisfied (Ferguson, 2020). One option is that it results in the purposeless killings of small birds and rodents, and the abandoned prey can attract dangerous disease-transmitting animals, such as city-dwelling rats. The situation might be different for stray cats and dogs as they are urged to eat from garbage bins and protect their territory, which involves the spread of infection and aggression towards animals and humans. Even domestic and healthy dogs’ feces contain viruses and parasites that can enter water supply systems, thus causing harm to humans and water life (Ferguson, 2020). Therefore, dogs’ and cats’ presence cannot be unnoticed when it comes to the global environment. Dogs’ and cats’ influence on the ecosystem as a whole is rather negative. Firstly, free-ranging domestic pets’ presence is widely acknowledged as a mechanism of “human disturbance to native animal populations” (Morin et al., 2018, p. 2). Domestic cats actively engage in hunting and can even contribute to rare species’ extinction (Ferguson, 2020). If quantified, the hunting-related damage from cats is seven times larger than from do
Introduction Elephants, leopards, bears, monkeys, and many other animals are nowadays being trained and compelled to ride bicycles, jump through circles of fire, remain, and play in cages for a long time. They do not engage in such activities voluntarily but do so out of torture and beating behind the curtains. Critics of circuses affirm that animals are not there for positive reinforcement but for great extents of torment and punishment. Trainers use painful weapons such as whips, electrical shock, and muzzles to coerce the animals to undertake such pointless and physically involving practices (Doss 142). However, the supporters argue that animals in circuses are not subjected to any form of stress during training, demonstrations, and transportation. They assert that
How can Massey’s current approach to its ethical and social responsibility be described? A company’s social responsibility refers to its obligations towards the community and environment in which it operates. Massey Company’s current approach to its ethical and social responsibility is contrary to what is expected. It can be described as an obstructionist approach (Williams, 2013). Its manager behaves unethically and illegally. All rules governing the code of ethics in the firm have not been followed. First, the utilitarian rule in which decision made in an organisation should create the greatest good for the highest number of people has not been considered (Williams 2013). Massey does not provide the miners with updated maps and tracking equipment. This decision does not consider the impact the equipment will have on the miners. Then, the manager does not protect the rights of employees, making him break the moral right rule that states that any decision made should guarantee workers’ rights and privileges (Williams 2013). Also, the management’s decision to insist that the company is committed to keeping safety is worrying because several people have lost their lives. According to Williams (2013), this decision is contrary to the justice rule of ethics in a business because it continues to do more harm than good to the people (Williams 2013). Finally, the mining boss does not play his social responsibility role. This is because he does not care about the big number of people who are losing their lives due to mines collapsing. Moreover, there is evidence of emission of poisonous gases, for example, methane. The establishment has violated safety, and regulatory rules and the manager is acting illegally and unethically. Which approach to social responsibility can be recommended that Massey take in the future? I would recommend Massey’s director to apply a proactive approach. This is because it encourages managers to use socially accepted ways of operating their businesses. Using this approach, the director would aim at learning (Cooper & Urbina 2010). He or she would also learn the importance of taking into consideration every stakeholders concern and utilise the firm’s resources to promote the interests of all stakeholders. This approach would help him or her in understanding and respecting its employees’ rights and privileges (Urbina & Becker 2010). If the company applies the method, it will lead other companies in following the legal procedures instead of violating them. It is imperative to indicate that administrators who use thi
The book by Ngaire Woods is about the IMF, the World Bank and their relationship with international political powers, economists, and borrowing governments working with them. The IMF and the World Bank are so-called globalizers, created to help balance growth in the global economy and trade. However, they provoked several crises in the developing countries and had to constantly change the strategy to become more efficient. The book fully describes how the IMF and the World Bank operate and gives an insight into their successes, failures, and objectives. To begin with, Woods provided readers with a detailed research of the methods of operating of the IMF and the World Bank. Woods suggests that by working together with these organizations, governments will achieve their development objectives. Although Woods does not state that it is the USA and other major shareholders who determine the policy of the IMF and the World Bank, she admits that the boundaries of their work are set by those shareholders. At the same time, in her book, Woods states that the main goal of the cooperation between these actors was to increase the amount of foreign investments and get rid of limitations in trade. In this regard, the most efficient strategies elaborated by professional economists were implemented by other countries and became the part of their policies. Thus, some critics are not sure in the efficiency of these approaches calling economists who created these “third-rank students from first-rate universities” (Woods, 2006, p. 2); however, Wood does not doubt it. Furthermore, Woods presents a constructive analysis of the roles of the IMF and the World Bank and evaluates their performance. She highlights three ma
Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility addresses why it is hard for white people to discuss the topic of racism. DiAngelo expresses the need for white people to understand and talk about racism by demonstrating how individuals are significant contributors to maintaining discrimination as the basis of American society. According to the author, the concept of white fragility implies intense feelings, assertions, and defensive opinions that white people face, express, and utilize when experiencing an issue about racism. For instance, fragility manifests when a white individual insists that affirmative action has led to the segregation of white people. DiAngelo also cites examples at the national level, such as the Black Lives Matter, which the whites group into “All Lives Matter” (DiAngelo, 2018). The author discusses how the anti-immigration regulation by President Donald Trump’s administration which outlaws travel from numerous Muslim states, exhibits white fragility. The author, therefore, manages to use these various examples to illustrate the most recent situations and interactions facing many Americans in their daily lives. The volume traverses the audience through the main elements of white fragility, in which the author gives a historical background of racism dating back to colonialism. She reveals the colonizer’s need to approve the way they handled indigenous people of color with inequality hence leading to discrimination and the notion of white supremacy (DiAngelo, 2018). DiAngelo uses most of her work discussing the colonial past to show the readers the social constructivism of race rather than a biological trait. The writer, as such, debates the core reason of the whites’ challenges in speaking about racism twofold as a bad or good feature. The meaning of racism has dramatically changed after the dreadful experience of white Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. People started to perceive the issue as evil and malicious people who used violence in the process. The outlook of racism as an evil act indicates why white Americans handle their labeling as racist in a personal context (DiAngelo, 2018). The author asserts that the outlook of racism is the basis of white fragility and the resultant white supremacy and prejudice. The author’s inference is that the white individuals are party to racial bias and shape racism. I strongly believe that DiAngelo’s suggestion
Issues with Ethical Decision Making Businesses are primarily profit driven and, as such, seek to maximise profits and reduce costs in any way that they can. It is within this context that the concept of ingrained corporate ethics, especially when it comes to managerial activities, is brought into question since, at the end of the day, managers and corporate executives have the responsibility of ensuring the continued survival of the company. Studies such as those by De Cremer, Dick, Tenbrunsel, Pillutla & Murnighan (2011) help to emphasise this point by stating that since businesses are primarily profit driven entities which is seen in the case of Carroll’s pyramid wherein economic responsibilities form the base of the pyramid are the primary focus of all businesses today. Thus, when it comes to the importance businesses place on the concept of corporate ethics, it can be seen that in the business decision matrix they consider it to be less than the need to be profitable. This is not to say that corporate ethics do not exist, far from it, ethical decisions are made by corporations all the time as seen in the case of Market Basket’s former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas who focused more on providing better salaries, benefits and profit sharing opportunities to employees rather than focus entirely on shareholder payouts. However, it should be noted that such actions are not a constant aspect of business decision making as seen in the case of GE’s former CEO Jeffrey Immelt wherein despite being given significant tax breaks for the compan
Introduction Some of the questions that have dominated the popular media and debates worldwide concern the situation in Syria and the question of the United States’ involvement in the ongoing events in Syria. The humanitarian situation in Syria has worsened in the past few months due to increase in the scale of violence resulting from calculated attacks on civilians. This paper presents views on the right moral decision by the United States concerning the use of chemical weapons to attack civilians in Syria. Chemical weapons attack in Syria and the US response There have been a lot of claims and arguments concerning the situation in Syria due to continued months of violence in the country. The violence has resulted in a lot of deaths and displacements. One main thing that has invigorated the debate and triggered the response from the White House is the claim that the Syrian regime, under the leadership of its incumbent President Bashar al-Assad, utilized chemical weapons to attack civilians in opposition zones. This has made President Obama stage a bill and enhance the campaign to seek support of the Congress to allow US intervention in Syria through the use of minimum violence (Frumin para. 1-2). The aim of the minimum attacks plan is to help liberate Syrians from what the United States terms as a brutal and rogue regime. However, lots of questions are posed, with most commentators questioning the moral basis on which the US wants to use minimum violence to oust the regime of Bashar al-Assad. What should be questioned is the ability of the US to carry out attacks without causing more harm to innocent civilians in Syria. This concern comes from the fact that the Syrian forces have attracted a lot of players, like Russia and Iran, who have promised to support the Syrian regime to counter the attacks if the United States stages a military intervention in Syria. Moral issues concerning the US response plan The statement that was released by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, denoted the focus of the United States on a plan to free the citizens of Syria from the atrocities being committed by the Syrian government. Kerry said that the nature of killing innocent people that is taking place in Syria depicts a high level of moral obscenity (The New York Times para. 2). According to the New York Times (para. 3), the United States government views the attack as an incidence that goes beyond the conflict and violence in Syria. Instead, use of chemical weapons is a rogue action since the weapons are barred. The most critical moral question here concerns the perspective of the United States on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The United States sees this as a provocative act by the Syrian regime, thus the response by the US government. There is the need to take a rational stance and eliminate the politics of dominance from the matter, regardless of how much this may be considered to be a provocative act. Use of chemical weapons by any country needs to be condemned using the strongest terms possible. However, there is not much to think regarding what is best for the people if any set of interventions are likely to bring more h