ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Is the forecast of the e-retail market too realistic and Main barrier in developing home delivery channel? The e-retailing industry has experienced tremendous growth rates over the years. The e-retail market constitutes of business to customer (B2C) where business sell their products and services via online web services. The e-retailing business is viewed to have great benefits as compared to having physical retail outlets. The advantages of e-retailing for businesses are low operation costs and savings on storage and human capital. The prices and buy deals offered to customers online are more attractive as businesses tend to save on this offerings because of the factors mentioned previously. Certain disadvantages from the customer-side could include accessibility to internet, payment issues and most important trust which they invest in such online businesses. The e-retailing is expected to grow despite of its considered disadvantages and 1990s internet market crash (Harris and Dennis 2002). Some e-retail business lines including grocery, sex related items, books and clothing have outperformed store retailing. However, it is commented by Verdict (2000) that ‘the proliferation of female-oriented sites…have failed to motivate women to shop significantly more’. This is mainly due to lack of interest and customers prefer to purchase from e-sites operated by high street retailers. For business there are issues of developing customer loyalty as the switching costs for customer is negligible and it is not possible to limit customers from buying similar products from somewhere else. Also there are certain products which customers want to see and touch before buying that undermines the scope of products to some extent. The convenience associated with internet buying is overcome in some situations due to delays in delivery (Johnston, 2000). A projection by Price Waterhouse Coopers suggests in 2007 that by 2011 virtually everyone under age of 55 will have used online purchasing and 70% of UK citizens will be using online services. The market is expected to grow to £35 billion that is 3 times its current value (Herrod 2007). The expectations seem debatable as the economic crisis which is yet to take its toll on consumer spending however prices on online services being attractive may lead to their further expansion. It is therefore concluded that forecasts related to e-retailing may seem unrealistic to some but it cannot be completed rejected at the same time. The factor of convenient buying is important from customers’ perspectives however businesses offering online services are faced with certain barriers which undermine their working. Transportation is crucial as customers are put off by high postage charges and insurances they have to buy which is often included in the price. Further delays in transport may affect the reputation of the business however this varies for different products as for media download there are no issues of transport (Sinha and Rabinovich 2004 ). 3PLs is a combination of
Introduction Racism is still prevalent in contemporary American society despite major efforts to address this problem. Initially, this social vice was characterized by segregation in different social aspects including marriage, schools, and workplaces. Unfortunately, the decline in racist incidents based on these aspects has created a mask under which this social ill can still be perpetrated in modern times. This illusion explains why post-racial American society still has numerous cases of prejudice based on one’s race or skin color. From this understanding, Claudia Rankine wrote a chef-d’oeuvre book, Citizen: An American Lyric, to address the ‘micro-aggressions that she feels are paving the way for the perpetuation of ‘microaggressions, which largely involve blatant racial acts such as hate crimes. This paper purports the argument that everyday racism is normally overlooked, and this phenomenon creates a more conducive environment for major racial incidences such as hate crimes. The issues raised throughout the paper are based on Rankine’s book, Citizen: An American Lyric. Everyday Racism The narrative of the book, Citizen: An American Lyric, is mainly developed around everyday occurrences that, in most cases, have racial overtones and gestures. These incidents are presented by the author as racial micro-aggressions and often come from friends, workmates, or even strangers. For instance, Rankine says, “The man at the cash register wants to know if you think your card will work. If this is his routine, he didn’t use it on the friend who went before you” (54). This scenario highlights underlying racial insinuations because persons of color are being asked whether their cards will work, yet their white counterparts do not receive the same questioning. Unfortunately, these cases are common in contemporary American society. Yet people are not talking about it. The very people that are supposed to be raising concerns about racism do not speak up against it. The majority of Americans are not racist, and they have learned to live in harmony with people of different races. Nevertheless, in most cases, such people do not speak up against racism whenever they encounter it. Similarly, the people being subjected to this form of abuse do not complain either. To summarize these assertions, Rankine posits, As she picks up her bag, she looks to see what you will say. She says nothing. You want her to say something – both as a witness and as a friend. She is not you; her silence says so. Because you are watching all this take place even as you participate in it, you say nothing as well (54). In this case, the man at the cash register is not aggressive or vulgar. However, he singles out the card user for no justifiable reason and asks an insidious question that was not asked by the previous white client. Nevertheless, nothing is said about the incident, and thus it can pass unnoticed. The events surrounding the above s
Texas Women University was formed with broad objective of appreciating faculty input towards attaining preset university goals. The university also ensures that members from all faculties are treated equally throughout the university especially on the basis of tenure and rank. However, all of them are expected to meet set standards of the university largely due to the fact that these standards are used as benchmarks under which tenure and promotions are determined (Karran, 2009). The academic freedom and tenure provided by the university enables creation, discovery and dissemination of knowledge to society. In the process, rights of all members are put into consideration. However, before one is given any promotion or extension of tenure, academic qualifications are put into consideration ( Russell , 1993). In addition there are different tenure and standards for appointment of members in different positions. Furthermore, the university requires that every faculty member should meet certain requirements set up by the institution before being considered eligible for tenure. The faculty has also put in place criteria for tenure evaluation which includes a careful review of records, academic qualifications, future potentials as well as the current and posterior needs of the university as a whole. Annual reviews of these tenures are supported by available documentation on members’ achievement. The same should be supported with evaluations from staff and students in addition to existing accounts of scholarly materials, creativity and professional development (Metzger, 1955). The annual reviews further comprise of annual statements which indicate whether a given faculty member can be considered for future appointments based on achievements record. Tenured faculty members enjoy myriad of rights, responsibilities and privileges. Unlike their untenured counterparts, tenured faculty members have the right to decide on who should teach or not teach at all. In addition, they also play key role in designing the syllabus and the learning outcomes of a given course ( Cary , 2010). The rights and privileges that faculty members further enjoy include equitable compensation and fringe benefits, getting involved in academic mission and goals of the university, continued employment as either full professor or associate professors until resignation or retirement. These members also enjoy continuous university support on scholarship and teaching opportunities. Furthermore, the tenure offers faculty members th
Introduction Stress is one of the impeding factors in learning among middle school students. It comes at a time when this group of learners is experiencing a myriad of changes in their lives ranging from physical to psychological. In most cases, learners at this stage get stressed up from the immediate factors surrounding them like family members, peer groups, and dynamic lifestyles. It is therefore important to consider how these factors can affect learning and therefore devise ways and means of averting them. How learning is affected by stress Several changes are prevalent among students during their middle school age. This is at a time when they are approaching puberty and some of them are already adolescents. The social and physical factors can all contribute to stress at different levels (Gurian, p. 174). For instance, as they undergo the real physical changes, it actually interferes with their concentration in class because the developmental changes themselves slowly graduate into stress. This is inevitable owing to the fact they are not used to such changes. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the main change is usually brought about by the graduating of these students to the middle school level whereby the amount of academic work to be done increases substantially. When the workload is overwhelming, students in middle school again find it challenging to merge the rapid change from piecemeal academic assignments they were used to while in the junior classes. Such rapid academic demands contribute to another level of stress. As a result, some students may withdraw from active class participation in the learning process due to academic difficulty (Gurian, p. 221). It is also imperative to consider how familial factors can contribute to stress and therefore impede learning. In cases where the family unit is torn apart due to divorce or separation of parents, a vacuum is created in which some instrumental parental role will not be met due to the absence of one of the parents. Research studies have indicated that children who are brought up in single-parent families have a higher probability of encountering additional stress-related difficulties as they grow up. Family disintegrations account for a significant percentage of stress among middle school students today. Usually, when these learners can no longer cope due to the absence of parental support, they easily resort to drug and substance abuse. This is a critical part of stress deve
The better way of the Catholic Church to survive The Catholic Church is arguably the largest Christian organization in the world. In this regard, the management of the church across the world is conducted through immense challenges and constraints every year. The church spends billions of dollars on matters related to training of seminarians as well as administration of schools, technical centers, and programs on religious education for its various adherents (Clarke, Frohnen & Lyons, 2005). Many followers of the Catholic Church include, but are not limited to priests, Brothers, Sisters, bishops, cardinals, and archbishops. In order to take proper care of all the mentioned functions, the church has adopted some business activities that can act as supplementary financial resources. Importance of the approach Just like all other organizations, churches need financial resources to survive and to manage their vast activities in society. In this regard, it is obvious for churches to venture in various business practices that will be useful to them as far as this goal is concerned. Even though there are many ways through which churches can raise money that is needed to run their activities, the best way is through business practices that are acceptable in society (Booth, 2007). These business practices are used to manage all aspects of the church organizations, and therefore, they tend to make churches strong. For example, the money attained from the businesses is used to support the church through such things as sacramental provision, pastoral support, and fulfillment of church objectives through educational facilities. In this respect, the Catholic business model helps to fulfill the mission of the church to God and the faithful across the world. Business and product that is better for the church There are many business opportunities that churches can engage in. Not all these businesses would, however, be better for the Catholic Church owing to a number of factors. For example, the church readings and traditions emphasize ethically acceptable business practices, and not many businesses are consistent with this requirement. In other words, the Catholic Church conducts business in a manner which is ethical or socially responsible (Steinfels, 2013). As Pope Francis once observed, the core purpose of church business is to produce goods and services that are truly good and ones that would improve the broader well-being of all those who are targeted. In this regard, the best business investments for the church will include such things as educational facilities, libraries, and bookshops among other types of businesses which respect human dignity. Some of the common services and products that are likely to be realized from these businesses include quality education, library services, books, and stationery materials. All these are things that are necessary for the common good of society. Outcome and benefits These types of businesses will have a big impact on both the church and society (Crane & Matten, 2007). For example, businesses form part of the most promising investment opportunities
Introduction As a psychologist, an individual should be fully conversant with the way that people develop various behaviors, emotions, and thinking processes. This aspect is necessary for only then will a psychologist work on programs that can help in shaping of certain negative behaviors among his or her clients. Since people are diverse in many respects due to differing personalities coupled with behavioral and cognitive developments, this paper proposes a personal theory of approaching people’s psychological problems in a multidimensional perspective point of view. The paper argues that, the outward behaviors of an individual are akin to the personality of that person. The major task in presentation of this personal theory is seeking to identify the relationship between personality, outward behavior of people, and their psychological development processes. In this quest, three main psychological theories are worth focusing on: behavioral theories, cognitive theories, and personality theories. From the perspectives of the personality theories, this paper argues that, psychologists should consider the patterns of people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that construct the uniqueness of an individual. On the other hand, cognitive theories focus “on internal states, such as motivation, problem solving, decision-making, thinking, and attention” (McAlister, Perry & Parcel, 2008, p.168). From the contexts of behavioral theory, the paper finds its incorporation in the personal multidimensional theory necessary, since people acquire certain behaviors that determine their personality through conditioning. Additionally, crucial for consideration in the entire equation of the personal theory for resolution of people’s psychological challenges is the embracement of roles of motivation in shaping people’s cognitions and behaviors. The purpose of incorporation of the three theories, in the multidimensional personal theory proposed in this paper, is pegged on the idea that, human thought motivation may amount to development of certain behaviors to differing people in different extents. Personality structures of people In an attempt to propose a personal theory to explain people’s behaviors from the contexts of personality structures, the meaning of the term personality should be pin pointed with regard to the proposed theory. For purposes of explanation in this section, the term “personality” will be taken to refer to differences among people or to underscore what makes people unique. Essentially, personality traits entangle individual differences. For psychologists to deliver utmost good to their clients, it is significant that they cutely understand the elements that constitute the personality of t
Natural killer (NK) cells NK cells were first discovered in 1975 as lymphocytes of the innate immune system that can kill leukemia cells in vitro without previous sensitization:  1. Since then, NK cells have been revealed to play an important role in the early defense against certain viruses, microbial infections and can­cer  2. Recently, NK cells have been impli­cated in the regulation of adaptive immune responses following an inflamma­tory response through the elimination of specific antigen-activated T cells  3. In contrast to T and B cells, NK cells do not express rearranged antigen-specific receptors. This is because an alternative NK effector function is tightly controlled by the combination of signals received through germ-line-encoded receptors with inhibitory  4. Activating functions that can recognize ligands on their cellular targets. Inhibitory receptors, such as the inhibitory Ly49, killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptors (LILRs) and CD94-NKG2A receptors, bind to self-MHC class I, or MHC class-I like molecules and signal through immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs) in their cytoplasmic tail. Some of the transformed and virus-infected cells tend to down-regulate normal expression of MHC class-I in order to avoid recognition by CD8+cytotoxic T lymphocytes and that makes them super susceptible to NK cell-mediated killing. Activating NK receptors, such as NKG2D, KIR2DS2 and CD94-NKG2C are structurally related to inhibitory receptors but lack ITIMs. They also associate with signaling molecules such as DAP12, CD3ζ, or FcRγ, which signal through immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activating motifs (ITAMs), located in its cytoplasmic tail (5). Additionally, NK cells also express the low-affinity Fc receptor (CD16), thus enabling them to detect antibody-coated target cells and exert antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) (6). NK cells kill their target cells by either of two mechanisms that require direct cell-cell contact. In the first pathway, cytoplasmic granule toxins are known as perforin (pore-forming protein) and granzymes (serine proteases) are secreted by exocytosis and together they induce apoptosis of the target cell. The second pathway, apoptosis via Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) interactions involves the engagement and aggregation of Fas-expressing target cells by its cognate ligand, FasL, which is expressed on NK cells’ cell membrane, resulting in apoptosis of the target cell (7). Furthermore, upon stimulation, NK cells can secrete potent levels of cytokines especially interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-10, IL-3, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and chemokines such as CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3), CCL4 and CCL5 (8). Studies have also demonstrated a critical role of several cytokines in the induction of NK-cell cytotoxicity. These include interleukin-12 (IL-12), IL-18, IL-15, and type I interferons (9). Studies have shown that IL-12 release by mature DCs leads to the production of IFN-g by NK cells, which increases the surface expression of MHC
With the advancement of the information technology and business, organizations have an opportunity to use the advanced approaches to improve their competitiveness and meet the company’s demands. In the process of using advanced strategies, the EA frameworks come into play. EA helps to develop information systems and business aspects of the enterprise that assist in fulfilling its mission (Rouhani, Mahrin, Nikpay, & Nikfard, 2013). This research paper compares two of such frameworks: DoDAF and TOGAF. “TOGAF is an enterprise architecture framework that provides a comprehensive approach to designing, planning, implementing, and governing an enterprise information architectures” (Architecture Framework, 2015b, para. 1). DoDAF can also be applied to commercial systems even though it “defines how to organize the specification of enterprise architectures for U.S. Department of Defense applications” (Architecture Framework, 2015a, para. 2). Similarities, differences, and areas of implementation of the two frameworks will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Similarities of DoDAF and TOGAF According to Zwickl (2017), both DoDAF and TOGAF are similar at the very basic level as they support the same set of elements, e.g., goals, inputs, and outcomes, and address essential EA framework requirements of principles, artifacts, and processes. They also address the same enterprise architecture issues, i.e., evolution and system interoperability and architecture planning. Furthermore, they have the same long-term goals: the support of strategic architecture planning and the use of an architecture knowledge base that supports and maintains the architecture evolution (Tao, Luo, Chen, Wang, & Ni, 2015). Overall, both frameworks can be used in various enterprise contexts and may define multiple viewpoints, e.g., computational, engineering, etc. (Architecture Framework, 2015b; Architecture Framework, 2015b). High functionality of the systems, as well as their ability to be used in conjunction with other frameworks, ensures their capability to adapt to various environments and remain continuously competitive. The key element of TOGAF is its Architecture Development Method (ADM) which determines what process will be used for the development of the enterprise architecture (Tao et al., 2015). This methodology implies the process of the architecture development, and it describes the procedures for the artifact creation for both general or fundamental architectures and the more specialized ones. Using Enterprise Continuum as the knowledge base, TOGAF ADM may support the architecture evolution (Zwickl, 2017). It means that the process of a particular EA development, e.g., for MedAManage, can be regarded as a transition from a general architecture to the specialized one. TOGAF ADM represents the process of such a transition. Despite the fact that activities in the each phase of ADM framework are defined, it still provides architects with the flexibility in its implementation so that they can determine what is needed for the system considering the defined set of possible outcomes (Tao et al., 2015). A