ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The internet is a very complex communication platform. The current form of the internet is the product of multiple innovations from various people. The internet still has many technological gaps despite its current complex form. Therefore, the number of business applications as well as the tools and protocols that guide the operations of the internet will keep on increasing. In the context of communication protocols, technology falls within two broad classes. The two classes are Push Technology and Pull Technology. This paper examines the background, current uses, and future applications of these two technologies. Definitions The term “Pull Technology” refers to the communication model where end users initiate requests for data. Usually, the data sits in remote servers. On the other hand, “Push Technology” refers to the communication model where servers initiate the transfer of data to end users. In this case, the user is a passive recipient of information sent from the servers. The servers use filters to distinguish between different pools of information relevant to specific users. Push Technology Background to the Technology Push Technology applications avail the information in remote facilities to users. A remote server uses filters to distinguish between the kinds of information sent to each user. This model is similar to the operations of television and radio broadcast systems. The main difference between traditional applications of Push Technology and the internet is that internet Push Technology can allow for two-way communication between a server and a receiver. For instance, a receiver can make further inquiries based on the information received passively from a server. This is not possible with radio and television. Current Uses of Push Technology Some examples of current applications of Push Technology include online advertisements, chat, email system, and RSS feeds. Internet search companies such as Yahoo and G
Introduction In this era of globalization where the standard of living of the people has improved a lot, the banks have become the inevitable part of the daily life of the human beings. The number of people who have not gone to a Bank to avail of any banking service would be very negligible. The banks provide real assistance in matters of financial requirements like borrowing money, depositing cash, withdrawing money.etc. Ethical issues in tying bank loans to other services Let us take the case of an individual approaching a bank for availing a bank loan. Some banks while willing to advance the loan may put forth a condition that if they were to provide the loan the customer has to necessarily buy some other products of the same bank, say credit cards, or the products or services of some other organization with which the bank may have a tie ups. Tying up is “a situation where one benefit is tied to the person or entity doing something else.” (Guard, & Guru, 2003) This raises a question of ethical issue that is, whether banks could rightly practice this policy or not. This is discussed below with the help of SWOT analysis. Strengths The banks can argue that, if they are tying up the loan allotment to other service it can help the customers to know about and get other services of the bank with ease. For example if a customer needs a bank loan, the bank may put forth a condition that the customer must have to buy the credit cards of the bank. But from customers’ point of view this cannot be treated as advantageous to the customers. That is, the customers will become the holder of a credit card if he is taking the loan. From the banks point of view the tying is advantageous to banks as they can sell their other products easily. Sometimes the customers may not have any other option but buy the product or service thus forced on him by the bank along with the product that is actually required by them. Weakness The customers are not idiots to agree and buy whatever products the bank sells. They will use their thinking power and discretion to analyze a situation like this and take apt decision whether to continue with the bank or not. “Banks often force corporate customers to buy investment-banking services in exchange for loans.” ( Finance execs report illegal bank tying , 2009) From ethical point of view this tying is unethical. Because one cannot say that if a person wants to buy a product he must have to buy some other product or products also. The customer may opt for some other banks if such banks can fulfill the requirements of the custo
Introduction Supply chain refers to the interconnected network of business activities that are involved in the process of delivering goods or services to the final consumer. Supply chain activities start from the extraction or acquisition of raw materials up to the delivery of the final goods and services including transportation as well as storage of the raw materials. The supply chain management is the management of all the activities involved when goods and/or services are being produced. [1] Operations management on the other hand involves planning, overseeing and monitoring of the operation activities of a business. The roles of operations management involve ensuring that the activities involved in operating processes of the business are efficiently carried out at minimum input levels and a corresponding maximized output capacities. This paper seeks to discuss the relationship between the supply chain and the operations management with respect to the roles of the supply chain in operations management practices and performance. The paper will look into the roles of supply chain in an organization and its effects on the operations management of an organization. Roles of a Supply Chain Supply chain is involved in all types of businesses and organizations. The service delivery organizations, for example, acquire and store materials and equipments that they use to deliver services to their customer while every organization dealing with goods at one level or the other meets the tasks acquisition, handling, storing and delivery to the final consumers. These activities, however, occur at different levels of the supply chain. The main aim of the supply chain management involves the provision of customer satisfaction by “measuring, planning and managing all the links in the chain” (Basu and Wright, 2007, p. 4). The activities in supply chain management may differ from one form of organization to another but the principles and the roles remains fairly the same. A general overview of the supply chain reveals activities such as the “conversion of raw materials and information into finished products and services, consuming the products and services and disposing of the products and services” (Basu and Wright, 2007, p. 4). One of the major roles of the supply chain is the analysis of the movement of inventory into the system and out of the system of an organization. The analysis of inventory which could be meant for use in an organization or transfer to the next level of the supply chain is supposed to aid the supply chain in ensuring that the quantity of goods produced is actually the quantity that the consumers demand for during a particular period of time. The supply chain management, in this case, moves to ensure that wastages are minimized by the production of a quantity of goods that will be demanded by
Last week I was having a conversation with my friend about the environment and we expressed our shared concerns about the ever-increasing rate of global warming – a problem compounded by political correctness. We were overly concerned that governments around the world are not doing enough to address this problem and my friend was quick to highlight some statistics. He said, “Did you know that over 2 million premature deaths occur in China annually due to air pollution?” Before I could respond that I was not aware of such data he added, “This problem costs the country’s economy over 40 billion US dollars.” I became curious and decided to do some research on this issue with specific interest in China, but what I uncovered is different from my friend’s (and most people) perception. It is true that air pollution is a major problem in China – one that threatens the very existence of its people. However, the government is doing an exemplary job to address this problem and significant strides have been made with tangible results. In 2013, China introduced punitive anti-pollution measures under the “National Action Plan on Air Pollution” initiative. Under this program, a cap on the nationwide usage of coal was introduced to ensure that different provinces reduced coal consumption to acceptable levels within set timelines. For instance, Beijing was required to cut its coal usage by 50 percent between 2013 and 2018 (Parker). Additionally, the initiative prohibited new coal-burning capacity, which means only existing plants were allowed to carry out such activities. These efforts have paid off and provinces, such as Beijing are experiencing cleaner air for the first time in many years. A 2018 study by Greenpeace East Asia showed that the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) 2.5, which is the smallest and one of the most harmful polluting particles, were 54 percent lower in the last quarter of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016, specifically in Beijing (Parker). Additionally, according to Parker, it was established that PM 2.5 concentrations in 26 cities in northern China had dropped by over 33 percent. These statistics underscore the genuine efforts by the Chinese government to address air pollution, but such news is not common in the mainstream media. I wanted to understand more about the government’s quest to deal with air pollution and thus I visited another friend – an environmental enthusiast who has been critical about China’s contribution to global warming. I did not expect my friend to say anything positive about the Chinese government and the fight against air pollution. However, I was surprised when he said, “China’s efforts to clean up its air pollution have borne faster and better results as compared to the post-industrial United Kingdom.” I learned that the government is encouraging its citizens to stop using coal stoves and furnaces and opt for natural gas as a cleaner energy source alternative. For instance, in September 2018, 300 residents of Tangzitou village wer
Introduction Biscuits are some of the common snacks found within Australian market. The products mostly target the young people but can be consumed by any anybody regardless of age or gender. The consumers of biscuits are therefore varied. However, there are concerns about the biscuits on health; it is medically proven that too much consumption of snacks like biscuits have the potential of causing toothache, and since they contain sugar they can increase sugar level in the body. This is one of the main factors determining the amount of consumption of biscuits as snacks. This report examines the biscuit industry within Australia (Tiezzi, 2006). Market Background The biscuit market in Australia has undergone lots of transformation since the first time biscuits were manufactured in Australia. The first biscuits to be introduced in Australia appeared in the 17 th and 18 th centuries; they were hard and were referred to as ‘sea biscuits’ because they were mostly used by sailor at sea. Since then, the biscuit products have evolved to become one of the easiest snacks to eat within the Australian market and beyond. Since the introduction of biscuits in Australia, so many market players have entered the industry and the competition has been increasing tremendously. Currently, the leading biscuit manufacturing company in Australia; it has over forty years of experience in biscuit production and supply. Nonetheless, the whole biscuit market within Australia has been characterized with lots of acquisitions and mergers within the past decade. This has been due to the fact that producers seek to increase their market share and increase their base with commercial synergies. The market industry has three major competitors which are the Arnotts Biscuits Holdings Pty Limited, Goodman Fielder Limited and Kraft Foods (Australia) Limit. Their market shares are as follows: Looking at the pie chart, it is clear that Arnotts Biscuits Holdings is leading with 65% of the mark
Introduction The crusades refer to the chain of religious wars, fought in the Levant and Asia Minor between the years 1095 and 1291. During the wars, Western European nations engaged the locals, in response to propaganda related to religious expansion. 1 The first crusade was ordered by Pope Urban II, who was acting as an agent of the Roman Catholic. The aim of the crusade was to restore Christian control of the holy lands at Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. 2 The cause for the crusades could be traced to the times of the Siljug-Byzantine and Arab-Byzantine wars, which ended in the conclusive defeat of Byzantine forces in 1701. After the decisive defeat, the Emperor, Alexios I appealed to Christian nations to fight the common enemy (Muslims), thus requested for their participation in the armed conflict. As a result, Pope Urban II agreed to the request, and committed western leaders to the course of reclaiming the Holy lands. 3 The crusaders’ forces were made up of Catholic armies that had come in from Western Europe. However, the forces were never under the same unit of command; the different teams were commanded by different leaders. 4 The first crusades were successful. However, those that followed thereafter failed, leading to the defeat of the crusaders. After the defeat, the Crusaders were forced to return to their countries. Most of the soldiers were French. Thus, they were referred as Franks. This was the name used by the Muslim fighters during the duration of the war. On the other hand, the Europeans commonly referred to the people of the Holy Lands as Saracens. The name was used in a negative manner and was used throughout the crusades and after, including the 20th century. 5 The crusades were characterized by alliances, including that between Christians and Sultanate of Rum, during the time of the fifth crusade. The crusades had major economic, political and social effects on Western Europe, including the considerable weakening of the Christian-Byzantine kingdom, which was later conquered by Muslim Turks. 6 The factors that led to the failure of the Crusades The failure of the crusades resulted from a number of factors, including the weakening of the rule of the leaders of the war at their home countries. 7 They came to the realization that their continued stay at Middle East undermined the rule and the peace at their home countries: the authority and the powers of the leaders of the crusades were threatened at their countries. 8 One of such cases was that of Richard I of England, who realized that the brother that he had left in charge of the throne at England was no longer willing to allow him, take the throne upon his return. 9 As a result, the threat to the rule of the leaders of the crusaders forces resulted in their departure from the Middle East, so that they could regain their previous rule and the control of their nations. As a consequence, the forces of the Crusaders continued to weaken, which resulted in their inability to handle the fighting capacity of the Muslim forces. 10 Further, the divided attention of the crusaders between focusing their attention on t
Why can the words of the Bible be considered as the Word of God? This question was discussed by a lot of scholars in different periods of history. Thus, there are some main religious principles on which this discussion and possible considerations of the Bible as the Word of God can be based. Theologians are inclined to determine such significant aspects as the question of the authority of Scripture, the problem of inspiration and inerrancy and their relationship. The question of the authority of the Bible is one of the most controversial issues for Christians. Their faith is based on their trust in the words written in the Bible as the source of God’s will. The evidences of the fact that the Bible is the authoritative source of the Word of God are given in the biblical text itself. It is written here that all the words of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit. That is why this text is not only the representation of God’s will but also the Word of God itself. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16 ESV). As it was stated, the words of the Bible were inspired by God. However, what can be considered as the inspiration in the Bible? The inspiration of the Bible has the divine origin and realizes according to God’s will through His Word in the Bible. According to Peter, “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (Pet. 1:21 ESV). Moreover, “long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets” (Hebr. 1:1 ESV). Elwell states in his dictionary that “the Bible is from God and his character is behind it, it must be inerrant and infallible” (Elwell 2001, 158). Thus, the question of the biblical inspiration is closely connected with the problem of the biblical inerrancy. The Bible is inerrant because it is the Word of God which is written by the inspired prophets. That is why the biblical inerrancy can be discussed along with the infallibility. All the words in the Bible should be considered as the truth according to this principle. “The sum of your word is truth , and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160 ESV). Elwell discusses four arguments for inerrancy of the Bible. The biblical and historical arguments can be considered as the most significant. According to these arguments, “the Bible teaches its own inspiration, and this requires inerrancy” and moreover, the Bible’s “authority can only be justified by or grounded in inerrancy” (Elwell 2001, 157). It is impossible to speak about the biblical inspiration without references to the biblical inerrancy. Thus, “in each period of the church’s history one can cite clear examples of those who affirm inerrancy” (Elwell 2001, 158). Inerrancy of the B
How the World Was Sung by Hann and Hun There was a time when the sky was just space, a dark, silent and hollow space with nothing in it. Then, there came the gods. Hann and Hùn were their names, strong and powerful the former, delicate and contemplative the latter. Hann was the masculine force, Hùn was the feminine creative power. Why and when they entered the sky, it is not known, but it is told that even the nothing in it shivered with expectation when they came. Then, very simply, they started to sing and beautiful, celestial harmony spread. No words, just music to give forms to the pictures they were imagining. As the music flowed, the forms became the universe as we know it. First, they create the sun, the moon, and the stars, then, the Earth and the other planets. The sky was no longer empty, but full of life, with light and dark following each other in the eternal game of day and night. Planets and the other celestial bodies began to rotate and move according to the complex trajectories created by the music of Hann and Hùn. One day, they rested on Earth, and new music flowed from their voices, a different, less majestic melody, but richer in tones and nuances. On that day, they shaped Earth, creating mountains, forests, plains, and seas; they sang the fishes, and the oceans were flooded with swimming creatures; they sang the animals, and the land was swarming with life. Finally, they sang the man and the woman, and the world was complete. However, the last effort was so intense that Hann lost his sight. Hùn, then, invented the words to describe the creation to Hann, putting words in music and music in words. Since then, they wandered across the whole earth, contemplating and singing the creation, even if mankind cannot see them. However, an attentive, inspired ear and a crystalline soul can eventually catch a glimpse of the divine, if they manage to feel the vibrations of the Music of Creation. Background for the Music of Creation Myth Every civilization, at some point in its history, proposed a myth of creation. Cosmogony, Theogony, and anthropogony mirrored the differences in culture and geographical environment. For example, the river Nile influenced the creation beliefs in ancient Egypt, while ballgames, popular among the Maya population, had a strong influence their mythology. In composing my narrative, I drew inspiration from the Celtic and the Nordic mythologies. Many religions, especially those originated in the Mediterranean milieu, stressed on the importance of the word, including the Christianity: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1–14). However, other traditions and philosophies gave music, rather than words, a predominant role in their pantheon of divinities, suggesting a general harmonic law underpinning the universe. In the Irish mythology, the Dagda Mor, the God with the Harp, was the most important deity of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the main divinities of ancient Érin (Monagham, 113). In relatively more recent times and within the same geographical area