ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The history of price comparison sites in the United Kingdom and other countries in the world such as the United States of America can be traced back to the late 1990s. It came with the internet boom during this period in these countries. The emergence of the internet and the wide spread use of the same made operation of price comparison sites a profitable venture for investors (Tanweer 2009). Tanweer (2009) is of the view that a price comparison service can also be referred to by many names. These include shopping comparison site and price engine among others. Whichever name is used to refer to it, the site is used by potential consumers to view a listing of different prices for certain products that the consumer is interested in. all the consumer have to do is type the name of the product that they are looking for, and a list of the stores that sell the product, together with the prices, is listed. The aim of the consumer when using the search is to look for the cheapest retailer for the item, and this is what the price engine does; listing the best deals available for the consumer. It is important to note that price comparison sites are not restricted to tangibles such as books or electronics. Even service providers use the sites to list the cost for the services. For example, financial institutions offering services such as mortgages and credit cards also do list their merchandise on these sites. It is also pertinent to note that most of these price comparison sites are not themselves manufacturers or retailers of the products. All they do, at least majority of them, is to list the prices of items that are sold by other retailers in the market. According to Kelli (2008), these price comparison sites obtain the prices from retailers from whom the consumers can get the goods or services from. In the United Kingdom, price comparison sites are emerging to be big businesses. In the year 2005, according to Kelli (2008), these businesses in this country made revenues of between 120 million pounds and 140 million pounds. This represented an annual growth rate of between thirty and fifty percent. As far as evolution is concerned, price comparison sites have come a long way. At the beginning, these sites were provided as client side add-ins to other internet services. For example, they were add-ins to Netscape and Internet explorer browsers (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, Pinsonneult and Donovan 2006). This meant that the consumer who wished to use the services had to download extra software and install it in their system. It is only much later that the services moved to the server, meaning that any person with a browser can access the services (Haag et al 2006). Today, the internet price comparison service is offered by companies that are specialised and dedicated to the endeavour, and they do this through websites and major portals through which the consumers can access the services. In the late 1990s, the price
The United Arab Emirates Country Overview The country is a federation comprising of seven States namely, Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Dubai, Ras al Khaimah, Umm al Qaiwain and Sharjah. It gained independence from Britain in 1971. Each of the States has some degree of autonomy but the country is governed by a supreme council of rulers called emirs. It is these emirs who appoint the Prime Minister as well as the cabinet. At independence, the country was literally poor but within a very short time, it became an economic hub in the Middle East especially due to its oil exports. The oil industry attracts huge numbers of foreigners as well as expatriates. However, as from 2000, the UAE has tried to diversify its economy into other sectors such as retail business, tourism and construction (BBC news, 2013). Dubai in particular has emerged to be a front runner in economy diversification to become a cosmopolitan canter for retail business, construction sector, tourism and land reclamation. Examples of such projects include the Burj Khalifa building, the current tallest in the world and the palm islands (Neuliep, 2006). Geographical Setting Geographical setting forms an important aspect of cultural analysis in marketing. Particular geographical elements such as climate, topography, and location are very essential in road pavement industry. These elements may provide the opportunity to enter the UAE region or act as barriers of entry to the market (Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2010). Location The UAE is located in the Southwest of the Asian continent. The region borders two major gulfs within the continent which include the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The other important information for the pavement industry with regards to location is that the region lies in a longitude range of 56 to 25 degrees north and in a latitude range of 22 to 50 degrees east. UAE covers a total land space area of 83,600 kilometres. It is however, important to note that the exact area of the region has not been accurately determined due to border disputes with Qatar (BBC news, 2013). Climate The UAE region has a unique climate due its geographical location. Generally, the region is hot and dry and receives very low rainfall of about 110mm a year. However, heavy rains are common in the mountainous areas of the region. Temperatures are favourably cool in most parts of the region but humid winds along the coastal regions sometimes interfere with business activities. The problem of dust storms is also common in the area and affects visibility especially during the day (BBC news, 2013). Topography Topography is an important aspect of climate that must be considered in the analysis. Road pavement industry requires a good topography for the development of the business. A bad topography in a region automatically becomes an entry barrier for an organization. The region is dominated by sandy desert lands. The desert starts from Sebkha to the Hajar Mou
It is now over 20 years ago after a professor by the name Linton started observing rituals of the Nacirema. It was after this that many other anthropologists started observing the rituals of the Nacirema (Miner 2005). The Nacirema are a group of people that live in North America. Their origin has not been established yet. However, the Nacirema believe that they came into existence as a result of their hero. Their hero was named Notgnihsaw. He had special powers that would enable him to throw a piece of Wampum across a river. He also had the power to chop down a Cherry tree. Like many other communities, the Nacirema have various rituals that they practice. Each ritual serves a purpose and it is important. However, some rituals are considered important than others. Some of the rituals practiced by the Nacirema include, the “holy mouth men” and the “latipso”. Both are considered very important rituals among the Nacirema (Spradley & McCurdy 2012). Among the Nacirema, medicine men are usually found in the temples referred to as the Latipso. The very sick patients in the community are taken to the Latipso where they are expected to receive treatment from the most famous medicine men. This ceremony has been described by anthropologists as being very harsh. This is due to the fact that most patients succumb to their sickness during these ceremonies (Nanda & Warms 2011). This has made people fear involving young children in these ceremonies. This ceremony is reserved for the well to do in the community. The medicine men cannot attend to an individual who they believe would not be able to present an expensive gift to the custodian of the temple. Even in emergency cases, the medicine men will first look at the ability of the person to present the custodian of the temple with an expensive gift. It is believed that even after healing, the patient would not be allowed to leave the temple without presenting a gift to the custodian of the temple. After entering the temple the patient will be stripped of all his or her clothes according to the demands of the ritual. The patient is to avoid all natural functions of his body while in the temple. Bathing and excretory acts are on
Based on the presented Nike’s Cheap Labor article by Tim Glenn, several ethical issues stand out. Among them is the failure of Nike Shoe Company to uphold the values of what is right and wrong in the society. It was unethical for Nike to allow various unethical practices to be carried out by its subcontractors. Since the products of all its subcontractors bear its name, Nike should have clearly spelt out its ethical code of conducts to its contractors. According to Berle and Means (1932, p.1), ethics go beyond what the government can control to behavior regulation. The contract awarded to Earnest and Young to ensure inspection of ethical code of conduct in its contracting companies seems to have failed. Various unethical practices were evident in its subcontractor firms. Nike was at fault for unethical labor practices. The first evidence of this fault is that Nike closed and shifted its factories in the United States to Asian countries where there is cheap labor. Although the company does not involve itself in direct production, it is aware of the unethical undertakings by its subcontractors. Secondly, since the products of these subcontractors belong to Nike and that they bear its name, it should have eliminated these unethical practices. Ignoring such unethical practices on employees who make its brands will amount to employees’ enslavement (Kingsolver, 2008). The media has a duty to educate masses (workers for this case) about their rights. According to Chomsky (1989), one of the roles of media is to educate the employees on business ethics. In this case, the media in Asia and other places where Nike has its factories should enlighten workers. Workers should know that they have the right to good working conditions, work at will, not to be sexually harassed, good housing and food, and even a good pay. Media should air employee education programs. The second role that the media can play is exposing unethical acts of such companies as Nike. Since most of the companies will do everything to ensure that their image is not soiled, Nike would act quickly to restore employees’ ethics. Media should publicize unethical acts such as firing of employees advocating for better terms by force, sexual harassment, poor housing, poor pay, and forced overtime. This airing will expose the other side of the source of the famous Nike’s products. Chomsky (1989) asserts that airing of unethical acts of a company enlightens the public and employees. The major consequence of the mistreatment of workers by contractors and subcontractor of Nike in Asia is the development of a bad image. Although Nike spends a lot of money in endorsing celebrities to make up its image, this brand will gradually be soiled. If the company can afford to pay about $250 to athletes in endorsement, it should spend more in creating a good image. Brand means everything to a company since it creates a feeling of either attachment or lack of attachment to a company. It makes employees, investors, financiers, customers, and communities desire and or detest being associated with the company. When media exposes the variety of u
Florida enacted a policy to regulate indoor tobacco smoking in July 2003. The aim of this policy was to outlaw smoking in some specific enclosures except in private residences and other selected areas. The state spends about $ 60 million yearly in controlling tobacco and its related diseases. There is room to reduce this amount substantially if the state puts in place an effective smoking ban policy. This paper looks at policy options and suggests the best. Of the 17.5% of the Florida’s population who are tobacco smokers, 18.5% are male while 16.4% are female. The state has an annual mortality of about 28,600 people because of tobacco related ailments. It also incurs an expense of up to 25% of its revenue from excise taxes to control tobacco. The majority of smokers in Florida agree that smoking bans are justified. The current policy came into effect after some amendments of a policy on smoking ban. The quest to come up with such a policy started in 1985. This current policy only affects workplaces and restaurants. Its major aim is to protect people from the effects of secondhand smoke. The policy, however, leaves out other players in the game, the supplier and the retailer. Three policy options exist from which the administration can choose. These are the Total Ban Policy, the Partial Ban policy and the Liberated Smoking policy. The total ban policy entails abolishing smoking in all public places and increasing sales tax on cigarettes. As much as this policy is authoritarian, it aims at protecting the interests of the public whose majority are non-smokers. The policy is in work on about 48% of the American population (Taub, 2006). The rationale of this policy is that since tobacco smoking causes killer lung diseases, it is important to protect the people from such smoke and allow only those who intentionally expose themselves to the effects of the smoke. The policy is authoritarian and ignores the interests of the smokers. It also suggests increase in taxes, which is likely to lower the profits of tobacco companies and hence make them to oppose the policy. The partial Ban policy suggests an exemption in smoking ban by licensing some areas or establishments. It also proposes an increase in sales tax and the exemption of some public smoking zones by the municipal authorities. The proponents of this policy suggest that proper ventilation can mitigate the effects of second hand smoke. The rationale of this policy is that people choose to smoke for various reasons, some of which are justifiable medically. The Liberated Ban policy suggests a partial ban to all public areas and establishments, an increase of the sales tax to $ 1 per pack, registration of all establishments allowing smoking and these should provide well-ventilated smoking zones. The rationale of this policy is that people smoke voluntarily and therefore the state should not interfere with their freedom. The only thing the state can do is to restrict the extent to which
Title The title of the article under analysis, “Evidence of English Language Proficiency and Academic Achievement of non-English-Speaking Background Students”, contains enough clear information for the reader to get an idea of the project. First, it specifies the main focus, non-English-speaking background students (NESB), and the necessity to investigate their academic achievements that lead to English language proficiency. Regarding the fact that the article aims at examining the appropriateness of the ELP requirements and their possibilities to ensure students’ academic progress (Oliver, Vandergford & Grote, 2012), it is possible to say that the title is specific and concise. It conveys the main aspects of the study and provides the reader with a clear indication of the project. Still, there is one little remark that could be given. In the title, no specifications on the country are given. It is hard to guess if the study touches upon the achievements of all NESB students in general or focuse
Obedience is a kind of social influence. This influence makes an individual to yield to orders given by another person. The person giving an order is usually in authority and the authority makes the person given an order to obey. Zimbardo and Milgram conducted experiments that revealed interesting aspects of human individuals. People obey regardless of possible injuries to others or deviating from their own value systems and cultural and individual characteristics affect relationships to authority. Milgram’s did an experiment involving forty participants. The teachers had to punish learners who made mistakes. The learners were tied to an electric chair in which they would receive electric shocks and the volt level would be increased with every mistake made. The highest level of volts was 450 and 65 percent of the participants gave punishment to this level (Borge 1). The possible explanation for the participants obeying to carry out the punishment regardless of the danger it posed to the learners could have been that they felt they had an obligation to complete the task. This is because they had volunteered and thus felt that all the participants were ready to handle all the consequences of the experiment. Similarly, people will obey because they feel it is their obligation. People also obey those in authority just as the teachers obeyed the experimenters. The teachers hurt the learners despite the screams and thus put their individual values aside to obey authority. This means that people will disregard their individual moral values and become destructive or involve in harmful behaviour just because they are unable to defy authority (Milgram 1). This is because obedience in the society is a requirement for authority and it is ingrained in people such that they disregard characteristics such as sympathy or their moral and ethical systems. This obedience to authority may be the explanation for torturing of prisoners or suspects to confess. Zimbardo did an experiment of a mock prison some people had the role of prison guards and others acted as prisoners. The prison guards took their role seriously and mistreated the prisoners for example sexual humiliation, stripped them naked, forced them to wash toilets without protective gear on their hands and denied then mattresses and so forth (O’Toole 1). This experiment shows that some people will obey authority blindly because of the situation. Thus, the culture can influe
Red Dust by Ma Jian Red Dust presents the author’s (Ma Jian) experiences in China while it was under the communist rule in the 1980s. The book falls under the genre of a travelogue as it essentially gives details of the author’s three-year travels across China in a quest for self-discovery and spiritual fulfilment. The author’s style is very descriptive, thus giving the reader a sense of presence, as though he or she were present during the described events. The novel is set at a turbulent period in Jian’s life and in the lives of Chinese citizens as a whole, during the culture revolution era (Baum 1997). In 1983, a countrywide “anti-spiritual pollution campaign” puts his career at risk as it cracks down on a specific type of artistry that results to a ban on his work including paintings and literature and a brief period of detention after which he is released. His wife denounces him as a political criminal and bars him from seeing their daughter, his only child (Jian 2002). These events fuel Jian’s decision to leave mainland China, Beijing to be specific, with nothing more than a little money and essentials like water, a change of clothes, and a book to keep him busy (Jian 2002). The book gives the reader a chance to have a view of China from an ordinary citizen’s perspective during the tyrant Communist regime in place at the time. Jian’s description of events gives a sad picture of the country, by mostly depicting squalor and great hardships. In the book, Jian seeks a utopian society, which is different from the one he leaves behind in Beijing. In most places that he visits, things appear the same, except for the people in leadership. One of the most evident themes in the novel is chaos, which is evident in the state that people live in throughout the country and the dictatorial leadership with which people put up. Jian paints a picture in which people work not to make a living, but to survive. He gives an illustration of an angler and his son who work hard yet gain so little, all in a bid to cater for their basic needs and ultimately get the son a wife. In a different scene, he describes the disgusting state of a washroom that he visits in the city where there is filth all over. Looking through a crack in a window, he sees shacks crowded with people sweating under the heat of the sun. To this experience, he remarks, “I feel a longing for the empty grasslands and the cruel deserts. At least the air was clean there” (Jian 2002, p.115). The jobs that people do to survive include selling rats and brides, which is an indication of how poor the economy is at the time. Another prominent theme in the novel is that of tyranny. Jian describes the leadership as dictatorial as it takes over the lives of people without giving them a chance to input their opinion. One of the examples is the institution of the anti-spiritual campaign, as well as the detention of Jian for questioning concerning his work. The author quotes an officer who escorts him to the gate of the Western District Security Bureau after his release fr
Introduction Subsidies are deployed as a means of boosting production, by giving financial grants from one party to another in order to increase production beyond the market equilibrium. From an economist’s perspective, funding has been adopted in different contexts to give varying implications and significance. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines subsidies as “measures that keep prices for consumers below market levels, or measures that keep prices for producers above market levels” (OECD 2006, p.3). Many economists argue that the term subsidy can be applied to mean all forms of payments made directly by a government to various producers. In light of these explanations, this paper considers subsides as including direct means of regulating the equilibrium between consumption and supply of products and services in the market, among them being cash grants coupled with provisions of interest-free loans from the government. Low-interests loans, tax wavering write-offs of depreciation charged on assets, rent rebates and insurance are also considered among the alternative forms of subsidy. The main purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between the US and the EU agricultural subsidies. The basis for this research is founded in existing literature that relate to economic theories on taxes and subsidies. In addition, to expand on the discussion involving the similarities and differences in agriculture subsidies within the US and EU, as well as their implications on economy, a literature review of economics of subsidies and taxes will be considered first. The paper further presents the differences between the US and the EU agricultural policies, concerning the legislation on agricultural subsidies and the critical reception towards these policies. This section is followed by a discussion on the similarities between the US and the EU’s agricultural policies in the context of benefits to farmers and influences on income. Lastly, the effects of agricultural subsidies on famers, from the dimension of family budgets and taxes are given substantial attention. Economic Theory on Subsidies and Taxes To understand the economic theory on subsidies and taxes, one needs to be aware of the function of subsidy and tax accords within the area of global trade pact. One will get to understand why the government upholds such accords as well as identifying the most preferred way of handling the subsidies within the global trading schemes. Therefore, studies pertaining to the economic impact of subsidies have provoked mixed reactions from economists. For instance, Krishna and Panagariya (2009) argue that, “subsidies are a form of protectionism or trade barrier by making domestic goods and services artificially competitive against imports” (OECD, 2006, p.236). Such protectionism impairs the ability of consumers to consider and select imported goods and services, in their pursuit of alternative goods that are produced outside a nation’s boundaries through unethical or illegal channe