ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Modern Materials Inc. (MMI) is a company that manufactures materials used as raw materials by other manufacturing and construction companies. It was established in 1927 and known by a different name until 1991, when it became known as MMI. It has experienced constant growth through mergers and acquisitions of other companies. It has since then employed many people, making yearly sales of more than $3 billion. The company has since then suffered from overcapacity, foreign competition and depressed manufacturing economy issues that have affected its profit margins in the recent past. This led to a study into the occurrences. This study is an analysis of the activities that resulted in the organization’s current status. Challenges Experienced The company faced a lot of challenges; stiff competition, high staff turnover, inadequate information system, incompetent supply chain management and reduced capital base amongst others. This was followed by a series of activities to wade off competition. In 1995, MMI hired a staff from its competitor, Harvey Woodson, as the executive vice president for quality. Harvey Woodson, in 1996, proposed a re-engineering of the company’s supply chain so as to give weight to customer service. A massive downsizing followed in 1998, and left the remaining staff stretched and overworked. MMI also lacked an integrated information system that could be used to handle all its operations. Since the merger and acquisition of other companies to form MMI, the systems that were in use were the once inherited from these companies. It did not integrate the systems into one, but operated on a stand-alone basis. This was because as the companies were being merged, each was translated into a department and thus moved along with the information systems they were using in their previous environments. These systems, however, could not adapt easily to the new environment, and lacked coherence and hence the supporting information systems became inadequate. As a result, the exceptional computer controls used to automate the processe
Chinese director Zhang Wamou’s mise-en-scene, ‘Raise the Red Lanterns,’ applies many detailed cinematic techniques to describe the distorted tale of young Songlian. The filmmaker manipulates the setting, costumes, and lighting to describe in detail the difficult journey of a woman who is forced to refuse her personal freedom and right to choose. At the beginning of the film, the woman was the fulfillment of determination and confidence, as manifested by carrying her suitcase (Raise the Red Lantern). This took place in a closed hallway of buildings, symbolizing that rules would always surround Songlian. At the opening of the story and toward its end, artistic techniques are applied to emphasize loneliness, mysterious anguish, and experience in a mental house. Moreover, the flawed relationships between people living under the same roof are highlighted through specific methods. For example, the first wife’s room was smoky and semi-dark, signifying that she was trying to separate from life in the harem and find peace. In contrast, the second wife’s apartment was spacious and bright. At the same time, she was active and friendly at first sight. This appeared as a symbol of her dishonesty (Raise the Red Lantern). However, the main accents are the focus on the fourth wife, her special image in various scenes, the slow introduction to the central storyline, and the weight of the red lights. For example, at first, the woman does not wish for light during intimacy with the Master and does not recognize the significance of the lanterns, but later she daydreams of the red color. Songlian’s loneliness is constantly in the spotlight, especially at the beginning of the film, when she has married. The director skillfully manages a clear focus on the problem of Songlian’s isolation in the way that the camera is almost always brought to the protagonist. This concept is present even in the beginning, where Songlian talks to someone whose face is not visible. The scene where she sits on the bed in the room can be considered the initial illustration of the problem of loneliness. It is essential to remark that the heroine’s face is motionless throughout the film, her emotions constrained. However, she is forced to do undesired things that she cannot contradict in marriage. That said, all the scenes are also imbued with a sad and quiet aura (Raise the Red Lantern). During the meeting of the younger Master and the fourth wife, the sounds of the flute are present, which emphasizes the good-naturedness of the conversations. At the same time, the music becomes dynamic and pitiful through the farewell, and their faces show sadness. Furthermore, throughout the film, the significance of the red lights is emphasized, as they are the leading element and setting of the storyline. The producer constantly focuses on them directly through the camera and the characters’ reactions and feelings toward them (Raise the Red Lantern). The basic rule or c
Introduction Getting to college is an exciting dream for most youths all over the world and many look forward to it with fervor. Planning for it is another exciting affair but sometimes can be very stressful since numerous things take place before moving to college. The exact time when this process starts largely depends on the individual student but it is advisable to start it early. Application for admission in college starts during this time and concludes by April of the senior year of high school. This is when the all-important news comes of whether one has been accepted or rejected by the college of their choice. What it takes It is important to know that there are numerous colleges and universities in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, and throughout the world and they have different admission strategies and requirements. It is therefore important for a student to identify his or her abilities to be able to identify the most appropriate college for him or her to apply to. If one is suited to the requirements that a particular college is asking for and likes the college and what it offers, then he or she should go ahead and apply. One of the most important steps in making sure one gets admission to a college is planning a rigorous high school schedule and performance. A student should realize that keeping one’s grades up is the easiest way of confirming your chance and position in college. One thing that colleges look for is high school results that have sciences, languages, social studies, math, and other areas of study. The colleges look for good transcripts and preferably with many honors in the above areas of study. Good grades are a guarantee to not only going to college but a good one at that. Having a wide range of areas of study is another strength that colleges look for in their applicants. Someone ready to take risks is also ready to take challenges and also rise to the occasion and meet them. Getting relatively good grades in many subjects may be a thing for consideration by the colleges. A college may prefer a student who has taken many subjects and scored good grades than the one who has exemplary grades in two or three subjects. Colleges also scrutinize a student’s performance and they like to see grades on an upward trend rather than plummeting ones. Another key factor to confirming a place in the college is by following one’s passion. Colleges prefer students who have a passion for something and show it. It is also of paramount importance for a student to identify what he or she is good at and likes too. Having something one likes and is good at is an ideal combination for someone who has an intention of going to college. This should not be
Summary of the Book Rob Ryan’s book ‘Smartups’ answers some basic questions like ‘Why the people or customers need the product or services offered by entrepreneurs?’. Along with this question, Ryan’s book explains the understanding of importance of competitors’ presentation of the products for an entrepreneur as it may help in planning for success. Hence, the book details the way the entrepreneurs deal with their products or services. It further explains the strategies necessary to build a niche for them. Ryan’s strategies explain the ways and means to make the products or services that can be offered to the customers unique in the market. His strategies are regarding financial aspects while dealing with venture capital issues. He emphasizes that it is important for an entrepreneur to have budget allocations so that the money would not run out before the company builds up a product or is able to offer a service successfully. The next point, the book stresses is the good team necessary for a company to bring out the product successfully and market it. The extent of perfection in planning decides the advantages or disadvantages that are derived from a business strategy. While discussing financial options; getting sufficient investment in right time has been emphasized in the book. After that discussion; good team, products or services that are different from others and have more utility value for the customers were discussed. Ryan’s book also concentrates on cost saving on the products or services of a company. The book calls attention to the facts
Studies have shown that of all luxury markets, beauty products industry is among the fastest growing markets in the world. Retailers and other industry players, such as designers have reported a booming demand for luxury beauty. United Kingdom is one of the countries with a well established luxury beauty products industry. Beauty products market segmentation in the UK includes, use of pictures, detailed company information, special offers, customer ratings and reviews. There are many types of brands in UK beauty industry depending on the products attributes, benefits and symbolic dimensions. The consumers make decisions both rationally and emotionally, hence for retailers to achieve proper branding they have to combine both the rational and emotional components. Two common types of brands used in beauty industry are: functional and symbolic. The functional brands focus on the visible benefit of the product. For example, Nivea products are functional, in that they are meant to care for the skin. Symbolic brands are emotionally dimensional because the customers consider the effect of the product in the future or on their health, For example, a mother will be very keen when buying cosmetics for her child. Globalization of brands has been attained because of the fast growing communication links, transportation and easy flow of money. This has enabled greater access to larger markets, but there are also specialized brands for specific locations that are not global (L’Oreal International 2010). The beauty market offers various categories of products, which include; First category, skin products, these are; body oils, creams and lotions. These products are used to make the skin smooth and cure skin conditions like stretch marks, cellulite, acne and spots. Facial creams e.g. cleansers, lotions and toners are used to make the face smooth give a uniform color and texture. Hair care products like; relaxers, hair oils, lotions and sprays are used to make the hair more strong, beautiful and natural. Men’s products like shaving creams, toners and after shaves are also available in the market. This is new in the industry and has received positive regard from the men. There are also products for oral care like gels, pastes and mouthwash. They are used to strengthen the teeth, improve mouth breath and also some of them make them whiter. Bath and shower products; body wash, cr
The world and society around us are continually changing – old traditions and foundations are being destroyed, transformations are taking place in politics, public relations, and other areas. Such events can be the beginning of social dissatisfaction and, as a result, will turn into protest. That means a protest is a reaction of citizens and expression of their opinion to a particular event and can be held in its support or more often against it. Protests are most common in response to social problems, such as inequality, and to political – in order to change the course of the government or even its representatives. These two types are closely related since social protest can quickly become political. Even though protests seem to be an ineffective means of expressing public opinion, their main strength and influence can be gradually manifested. History knew many protests, for example, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom headed by Martin Luther King, and previously they were more effective. The reason for this is that in the modern world, ideas as trends spread rapidly and are also quickly losing relevance. Thanks to technology, citizens widely share views and can convene a protest in a few days, unlike, for example, the last century, when it could take several years to spread ideas and attract people. This difference reduces the value of contemporary demonstrations, not allowing them to be impressive and quite useful in the short term. The difference can be noted in ideas – successful protests are more accurate, have a more emotional response, and specific requirements. For example, the recent Black Lives Matter was a reaction to a severe and outrageous event. The authorities could not deny or hide what happened – the murder in Minnesota caused fear and undermined police reputatio
Nike as a Company that Succeeded with Social Media Use for Brand Management The modern business environment is characterized by the high level or rivalry. Multiple companies struggle to hold leading positions in the market and attract new customers by demonstrating their goods and promoting their outstanding quality. Moreover, with the introduction, development, and mass use of technologies, diverse corporations use innovative tools to attain better results (Charlene & Bernoff, 2011). Social media is one of the approaches that might guarantee a stable level of interest because of its growing popularity and impact on users. Nike is one of the companies that correctly realize the potency of this tool and many opportunities that become available for brands utilizing social networks to attract customers and users attention. At the moment, the brand has a powerful advertising campaign that is focused on Facebook users (Speier, n.d.). The choice of this social network is preconditioned by the fact that at the moment it is the most popular platform that is used by millions of users globally to share their feelings, emotions, and attitude towards particular things (Schaefer, 2014). For this reason, Nike company cultivated its Facebook presence to overcome its competitors such as Adidas, or Under Armour, and enhance its customer base. The company Facebook page does not annoy viewers with multiple appeals to buy their products. Instead, they provide a detailed description o their products, science, multiple initiatives, and sports events related to their brand (Speier, n.d.). The given design helps to achieve several goals. First, Facebook users understand that the brands products are the result of numerous engineering and scientific experiments to find the most comfortable and ergonomic shape for buyers to enjoy it (Speier, n.d.). Second, the absence of obtrusive advertisement and appeals to order some shoes demonstrate that the brand recognizes its superiority and ability to overcome rivals by making good products and offering them to those people who will be able to appreciate them. It is a powerful strategy that helps to achieve particular goals. Another important aspect of Nikes presence at Facebook is the wise use of this social networks potential and tools. For instance, the brand has created separate pages for every new line of their products for customers to remain informed about their peculiarities and to simplify the search for the desired pair of shoes or equipment (Speier, n.d.). Additionally, the given differentiation helps to enhance working with ta
The Huaxian disaster was recognized to be Chinas deadliest one. In January 1556 the M8¼ earthquake occurs in Shaanxi resulted in eight provinces 97 counties devastation in China, extending the 520 miles area (“Shaanxi earthquake,” n.d.). The average death rate in several counties reached about 60% of the total population (“Shaanxi earthquake,” n.d.). Historical records claim that approximately 830 thousand people lost lives due to the Loess cave dwellings and poorly constructed houses. Tectonically, this area is located on the east of the Weihle basin, southern Orthos block which is part of the North China platform. The Weihle sub-seismic belt is characterized by active tectonics and is well developed there. Hence, similar earthquakes are expected to take place again in about 5,000 years. The main reason for the terrible earthquakes consequences was in the absence of a plan for the emergency case. Therefore, the population was unprepared for the catastrophic situation. Those times, there were no tools for estimates but it is obvious that the cost of the damage would cost millions of dollars in modern terms. The practical applicability of loss estimated should have been focused on functionality discussion, the vulnerability of lifelines and buildings, damage consequences on people and systems. The only right action rising from this accident was done by the survivors. In the next few months after the disaster, they started looking for ways to replace stone buildings with bamboo – one of the available earthquake-resistant materials of those times (Demunno, 2018). Otherwise, both people and the government were completely not ready to respond adequately to mitigate the earthquakes consequences. Moreover, the foreign reaction is also noteworthy: for instance, Gaspar da Cruz, the Portuguese Dominican friar, made a significant note in his book “A Treatise of China” published in 1569. After visiting China later in 1556, he wrote that the given disaster was likely to be either the punishment for the nations sins or the sign of the Antichrists’ birth (Gold Boarder, 2011). Additionally, nobody took care of people suffering from the aftereffect of the earthquake, although children and adults subjected to emotional neglect or physical abuse after such occasions require more mental support.
There are all indications to show that China is poised to become the world’s largest economy in the next few years. All this withstanding, the country is under threat to continue with this economic success because of various reasons. Resistance to reforms and the recent resurgence are some of the reasons that are bringing up an anxious state. Emotions are running high in the country on the perceived authoritarianism that has been gaining prominence as time goes by (The Economist 5). This was well captured by the prime minster who argued that socialism enhances decision making thereby making it possible for resources to accomplish big undertakings that touch on every citizen’s life. As much as the global power is shifting considerably in China’s favor, it has not done well at home as far as the mood of the minorities is concerned. The country has become an object of worry because of various reasons and these are aspects that need to be looked at. Chinese diplomats have been treating their counterparts with a lot of condescension and this is because of the perceived dominance of the communist party. The party should approve everything and these are some of the issues that have led to an anxious state though a rising power. The country’s leaders are always nervous and this can be explained from their increased spending on domestic security (The Economist 6). It should be known that the police have been launching assaults while increasing surveillance in neighborhoods in recent months. China risks entering into a middle income trap because of its population and this might bring problems because supply of labor in the countryside has been reducing as time goes by. State owned businesses have a lot of clout and this is worrying because of their political and economic influence. China is a rising power and this is undeniable based on its economic success and growth. As much as this is enviable, the country needs to open up to political and social reforms. There is no doubt that its model has been effective based on what the prime minter terms as effective decision making but people should be given space to express themselves. The government has been increasing its spending on domestic security and this confirms their fears. In this case, the middle income group is anxious of this issues and that is why the party is worried that things might go wrong based on uprisings that have been witnessed in the Arab world (The Economist 9). For instance, lawyers, activists and bloggers have been assaulted by the police to discourage any dissent. As much as these leaders might manage to silence the minority, the system is ultimately vulnerable. The country has disappointed those people who thought that its economic success and prowess will also come with political reforms and enhanced democratic space. Greater political freedom should be encouraged in the country to give it a new sense of direction and relief as much as it is successful economically. There is no d
The rehabilitation of a patient has much more chances to be successful if a patient is ready for it. In this context, readiness does not mean an individual’s capacity to go through a rehabilitation process and complete it, but their willingness to do it and the interest in doing so (Cohen, Anthony, & Farkas, 1997). To assess the readiness for rehabilitation, five factors have to be addressed. Those are the need and commitment to change, self- and environmental awareness of a patient, and personal closeness with a professional who wants to help. In view of these variables, the paper assesses the readiness of Dan Dunne, the main character in Boden and Fleck’s (2006) movie, called Half Nelson . Dan Dunne is a history teacher and a basketball team coach in the middle school of Brooklyn who is addicted to cocaine. Need for Change – Highly ready The need for change is determined by both internal and external factors (Moxley & Finch, 2006, p. 150). Internal factor is an individual’s dissatisfaction with his or her own life. Dan is dissatisfied. He understands the need for change. Many times during the movie, he says something that proves that: “I’m supposed to do something”, “It can’t be black and white, it can’t be right and wrong. It has to be one or the other”, etc. (Boden & Fleck, 2006). External pressure comes from Dan’s surroundings: his family wants him to change; his ex-girlfriend probably wanted the same; the director of the school is dissatisfied, even though she does not know about Dan’s addiction for sure. Commitment to Change – Not ready Commitment to change refers to an individual’s desire to change (Moxley & Finch, 2006, p. 151). Dan is dissatisfied and understands the need for change, but he is willing to stay unhappy instead of changing his life. He says that t