ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Executive Summary PepsiCo’s strategic approach, mission, and vision statements are effectively presented on the company’s website. The provided mission and vision statements are formulated appropriately and address the criteria set for these elements of the strategy. Additionally, the company’s goals are also provided in connection with the vision statement. However, it is necessary to pay more attention to formulating the company’s values as they are not stated clearly, and visitors refer to the company’s mission and vision statements, as well as information provided on other pages of the website, to find out potential values. Therefore, the formulation of values needs to be improved, and the mission statement can be edited to become more effective. Furthermore, the alignment between mission and vision statements, values, and goals, and stakeholders’ interests is evident as their needs are mentioned directly. Introduction PepsiCo is one of the international leaders in producing beverages, snacks, and other products. The company was established in 1898, and now it operates worldwide. To keep its leading position in the market, the company needs to adjust its strategy to modern trends (PepsiCo, 2020). Therefore, it is important to evaluate PepsiCo’s mission statement, vision statement, values, and goals as the basic elements of its strategy to understand how they address stakeholders’ interests. The purpose of this report is to conduct a strategic analysis of PepsiCo’s mission statement, vision sta
Corporate governance comprises a series of laws and legal approaches that are employed in directing and controlling corporations. It focuses on the external and internal components of a corporate entity and is intended to achieve the objectives of supervising the activities of managers and directors for the purpose of minimizing or eliminating risks. Country governance refers to the exercise of political and administrative authority aimed at managing the resources and affairs of a country. It allows citizens to air their interests, enjoy their legal rights. Corporate government is defined by elements such as the rule of law. The rules and regulations form the required codes of ethics in a country. Human rights should be implemented fairly as failure leads to costly mismatch among institutions and the different levels of management. Transparency should also be embraced in an institution as far as information flow is concerned. This boosts openness and makes members to readily accept and respect government decisions. Culture should be involved in maintaining codes of ethics to standard, ensuring the institution is not affected by internal rivalry, openly sharing important ideas and welcoming other peoples’ ideas. Cultural awareness weaknesses should be addressed using ways such as implementation of better controlling techniques, re-engineering of the systems of incentives, offering appropriate training to employees on cultural practices as well as provision of proper coaching either at individua
The novel ‘The Day Dreaming Boy’ by Micheline Aharonian Marcom is a fictional short novel in which the author introduces a character Vahe who is a boy living in Beirut, Lebanon. As the novel unfolds, the boy was stricken by grief when his parents were taken away from him. Vache’s father was killed during the American genocide whereas his mother was taken to a place unknown to him. The boy’s story introduces us to various moments and recollections from life in Beirut of the 60s by mesmerizing Vahe’s daydreams. Throughout the novel, it is also possible to pursue the moments of his slowly frustrating marriage to Juliana and inexorable memories of his severe youth at the Mediterranean Sea. In this regard, various experimental devices have been developed by the author, in which the novel revolves around them thus explaining and interpreting the context and the main idea of the novel. The first experimental device applied by the author is borrowing of the biblical motives to render the historical events which serve as the basis of the novel. This can be brightly illustrated by the first lines of the order: “We are naked like Adam and the blue wideband now becomes what it is, the long sea rises before us, the notfish become what they too are…” (Marcom 3). As it can be seen from the phrase, the novel refers to the historical and biblical narration about Eden. However, the author appeals to the moment right after the Fall when Adam recognizes his nakedness. At this point, the transient innocence of the scene is immediately dispersed when referring to children as to “djinn”, which means demons. Marcom later reminds of this particular comparison while describing children in the orphanage as “Adams in the wasteland, eating the bread made from the sweat of their brow” (87). The comparison of the shores of the Mediterranean Sea with Heaven is closely associated with solace and bliss. On whole, the implementation of Biblical comparison has largely contributed to the interpretation of the past thus referring the event to real historical facts. The next important device impregnated in the novel is a detailed description of the seashores of the Mediterranean. Throughout the novel, the author repeatedly appeals to the first scene of the novel that serves as the emblem of the past, of something that had been lost forever. From time to time, the characters of the novel occasionally recollect the sea thus binding their dreams and expectations to it when looking out of their windows. In particular, Vahe’s attitude to the sea is also enigmatic and peculiar; he suggests that “the sea has always been a solace, his haven, and she is sadder than you know and dangerous; beautiful” (Marcom 72). The personification of the sea is also an important device that emphasizes its historical and symbol
Identifying a specific situation based on the context in which it occurs is an important part of helping the audience develop an understanding of the message that needs to be conveyed. Pragmatics, as the area of linguistics that allows exploring different contexts in which people can communicate a specific message allows embracing the wide variety of the ways in which a message can be shaped, conveyed, and perceived (Chovanec 18). Therefore, by using pragmatics, the participants of a conversation are able to build the common ground for communication by using specific denotation tools to indicate the crucial information. Herein lies the significance of deixis, which can be defined as the use of the vocabulary that requires a specific context to be fully understood. The following sentence can be viewed as an example of deixis: “They agreed that they would meet there.” In the case in point, two deictic elements, i.e., the plural personal pronoun (“they”) and the adverb of place (“there”) require that a specific context should be provided; otherwise, the meaning of the sentence will be obscure. The deictic use of language suggests that the commonplace pronouns such as “we,” “this,” “there,” etc., should be used to identify the elements of the context that is familiar to the participants of the conversation. In other words, the people that are not familiar with the context in which the specified words are used will not be able to understand the message. For instance, the following sentence requires that the participants of the conversation should be aware of the context in which it is used because of the vagueness embedded in the demonstrative pronoun “this”: “Does this place look familiar to anyone?” Non-deictic use of language, in its turn, suggests that the provided data should be easily understood and interpreted correctly without the need to be placed in a particular context (Chovanec 27). The following sentence can be considered an example of a non-deictic speech: “You must read the instruction before turning on the washing machine” since the pronoun “you” is not used to address a particular person and, therefore, does not affect the meaning of the message. Similarly, by saying, “Jim embellished the facts here and there,” one creates a non-deictic message since the phrase “here and there” is not supposed to denote a place and, thus, does not serve as a deictic center. The concept of a deictic center is crucial to the understanding of deixis. A deictic center can be defined as the point of reference for a particular phrase or word to be interpreted correctly by the participants of the conversation. In other words, the change of the deictic center may alter the entire meaning of the message. For instance, a message as simple as “Don’t go there” can be interpreted in a countless number of ways depending on who the speaker is and what the participants of the conversation are discussing. In this case,
The film Of Mice and Men based on novel of John Steinbeck depicts the story of two migrant workers Lennie Small and George Milton. Describing the period of Great Depression, the author wants to show the striving of men to find their place in California, to find a job and to improve their life of outsiders. However, the main idea of this film consists not in the description of the social problems; it is a story about the way how people build the relationships, about friendship. The novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville describes a life of a young sailor who works aboard warship during the 18 th century in England. In spite of Of Mice and Men, Billy Budd is focused more on the ideas of justice, morality, religion and other social issues. This story can be considered as an allegory with a complex use of symbols. Although, at the first glance, two stories seem different, one can find the similarities between the characters of Lennie Small and Billy Budd, as both men are workers who demonstrate the courage, strong temper and will to improve their life and to change the world they live in. Of Mice and Men is a story about the American Dream, where characters who are aspired by the will to improve their live try to use the fortune and luck. On the other hand, the audience can be a witness how the will to get money can destroy the relationships between friends. Two friends have to move from their city because one of them is accused of rape of young women. In fact, this accusation is groundless. However, the heroes suppose that it is better to escape from the city than try to apologize and to justify this action. Lennie and George have to find the place where to live and work and they find it on Tyler Ranch ( Of Mice and Men 2003). Lennie and George lose their companionship due to the ambitions and indefatigable striving to get the capital and become more independent and self-sufficient. The taglines of this film are: “We have a dream. Someday, we’ll have a little house and a couple of acres. A place to call home” (“Of Mice and Men”). Perhaps, such desire can be understandable, as the workers have a poor life, although they work hard. However, they forget what the real value of this life is. It is not money. Obviously, such way of behavior and priorities may lead to success; however, in case of the heroes of Of Mice and Men , this idea crushes. Billy Budd , the novel written by Herman Melville in 19 th century, describes story of young sailor who works abroad the warship. This story has a spirit of the French Revolution with a will of the justice, freedom and human rights. “Handsome sailor” (Melville 928) works aboard the merchant vessel; however, he dreams about the work aboard the warship Indomitable . Billy is a typical good character who is respected by the crew. Perhaps, he has a good heart because he is an orphaned and knows how difficult and complicated the life can be. Obviously, the story should have both good and bad sides. The antagonist of a good and kind Billy is the Master-at-arms of the ship Jo
Isaak Babel once said about Tolstoy: “if the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy.” Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Lev Nikolayevich was a Russian author, essayist, dramatist, and philosopher as well as a pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer. Count Leo Tolstoy was baptized Orthodox into the family of privileged and wealthy in the Czarist Russia in the year 1828. Born on 28th August 1828, into a long line of Russian nobility, he was the fourth amongst the five children of his parents. Tolstoy’s mother Countess Maria Volkonsky died while giving birth to his sister Mariya in 1830. His father was Count Nicolay Ilyich Tolstoy. Leo was the most influential member of his family. (Tolstoy, 2000-2008). His Works In the words of Virginia Wolf, “Tolstoy is the greatest of all novelists.” Tolstoy is regarded as the greatest novelist of all fiction writers particularly so for his masterpieces, War and Peace and Anna Karenina . The two books stand at the peak of realistic fiction for their scope, breadth, and closeness to reality in the depiction of 19th century Russia and the life which he lived therein. Tolstoy was a moral philosopher and more so notable for his ideas on nonviolent resistance through his works like The Kingdom of God is Within You , which later influenced many world leaders. Mathew Arnold commented on Tolstoy’s works and called them not a work of art but a piece of life. At about 50, Tolstoy experienced a spiritual crisis. It was at this point that he was so agonized about discovering life’s meaning that he seriously contemplated ending his life. He relates the story of his spiritual crisis in his work, A Confession . Tolstoy’s Childhood Excerpt from Childhood “Do in the afterlife the freshness and life heartedness, the craving for love and strength of faith, ever return which we experience in our childhood’s years? What better time is there in our lives than when the two best of virtues – innocent gaiety and boundless yearning for affection – are our sole objects of pursuit?” From this excerpt, one can visualize how deeply Tolstoy would have understood and explained childhood. It is a known fact that Tolstoy had a grief-filled childhood and so this would have been an emotional book to its readers because firstly everyone could have identified with the book and they could also sympathize with the sorrow of the writer. Childhood, Tolstoy’s first work, published in 1852, was perhaps the most acclaimed first book by any author. This short novel was mostly noted for its narrative voice of the child protagonist, and its originality. Tolstoy himself has remarked about it. “When I wrote ‘childhood’, it seemed that no one before me had so felt and depicted all the charm and poetry of childhood.” (Simmons). The book was published when Tolstoy was twenty-three. It caught the immediate attention of noted Russian writers and heralded the young Tolstoy as a major figure in Russian letters. ‘Childhood’ is an expressionist exploration of
Introduction In “Forgiveness Story” (2007), Callwood argues that, although forgiveness is hard and sometimes seems impossible, one should forgive one’s insulters for one’s own sake. Callwood (2007) explores various aspects of forgiveness, such as the futility of apologies, the influence of forgiveness on health, and various strategies for forgiving one’s enemies. Callwood (2007) suggests that people should accept the insult, distract their attention from it to suppress wrath, and then, either forgive or forget. The author stresses the importance of forgiveness by arguing that it brings peace to one’s mind and allows one to move forward. Although the article does not provide any information about the writer’s experience regarding forgiveness, Callwood makes herself sound credible by citing multiple anecdotes and providing evidence of thorough research into the question. Callwood’s audience is people who hesitate or struggle to forgive their offenders, and her purpose is to persuade these people to take the path of forgiveness. I agree with Callwood’s argument that holding grudges decreases people’s well-being; however, I think that the author could have made her point more persuasive by changing some supporting evidence. Main body In order to persuade her audience, Callwood uses an appropriate organizational mode by structuring her article according to the cause and effect pattern. Her main argument is stated in the last paragraph of the article. She writes that although forgiveness is challenging, “The reward for giving up scalding thoughts of reprisal is peace of mind. It is worth the candle” (Callwood, 2007, para. 18). To support this argument, Callwood builds a cause and effect chain. The initial cause is specific harm done to one’s body or soul. This harm results in two possible options: an insulted person can either hold grudges or forgive his or her offender. The first option leads people to feel “emotionally crippled by anger and grief” (Callwood, 2007, para. 14). If they fail to cope with their negative emotions, their “personal growth stops cold” (Callwood, 2007, para. 15). The second option makes people find peace, and this is the option that Callwood wants her readers to choose. By using this organizational pattern, Callwood allows the audience to explore the existing alternatives and make sure that her argument is feasible. Callwood further persuades readers by effectively using two types of appeal: ethos and pathos. In the beginning, the author captures readers’ attention by narrating two anecdotes that find a strong emotional response in the audience. The first story is about a boy whose father beat him to wounds, and the second story is about a woman i
Political and social unrest has recently plagued several North African and Middle Eastern countries. While countries like Iraq are recovering from decades of dictatorship, North African countries like Sudan are suffering the effects of terrorist invasion. Although data on countries such as these demonstrate the effects of corrupt regimes, it does not explain why recent political unrest has erupted in some countries while leaving others at rest. After viewing data on various North African and Middle Eastern countries, one can come to the conclusion that government corruption has rippling effects on economies and societies. Transparency International ranked the countries of Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia relatively low on its Corruption Perceptions Index in 2010. With ten being a sign of no government corruption and one signifying high corruption, Sudan and Iraq scored well below the 2.0 mark, and Algeria and Syria below 3.0. While Saudi Arabia and Tunisia ranked in the 4.0 category, these countries were viewed as severely corrupt when matched against the United States and New Zealand. When rating countries, Transparency International analyzes the lucidity and accountability of governments. In accordance with such analysis, it can be concluded that the six countries found at or near the bottom either had dictatorship governments or executed political agendas without public awareness or approval. Such government practices have inevitably led to rising unemployment rates and social unrest. According to the Freedom House Country Report, Sudan experienced political unrest in 2000 when major opposition parties chose to boycott national elections. In addition, the United States invasion and governmental overthrow of former Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein has created complete social instability in the country. Not surprisingly, both Sudan and Iraq have the highest unemployment rates among the six countries with Sudan having 18.70% unemployed, and Iraq having 15.30% out of work. Although these countries have experienced social disorder, they have not experienced it on a scale like that of Egypt and Lebanon. While Egypt has a lower ranking than Algeria and Syria in government corruption, citizens chose to march in opposition to their leader. In fact, Egyptians went to the extremity of refusing to return to a state of peace until their leader resigned. If one were simply relying on statistics, it would seem logical that Algeria and Syria also h
In Mesopotamia and Egypt, the first kings similarly worked alongside priests and depended on their support. However, Egyptian kings, specifically called pharaohs, were considered kings of the whole region and clearly stood above priests, while Mesopotamian kings worked closely with them (Brooks, 2019). Another important difference is the origin of the state’s rulers, as Mesopotamian kings were also warriors who led their people in battles with their neighbors, while Egyptian pharaohs were thought to be god-kings (Brooks, 2019). Egypt was a centralized unit, unlike Mesopotamia, which presented itself as several separate states. Furthermore, differences in religious outlooks arose from alternate views on why the gods created humans. Mesopotamians considered gods to be cruel and believed that humans were not to enjoy life and could risk offending the gods (Brooks, 2019). Unlike the Egyptians, they did not believe in the afterlife, possibly because of the god’s attitude towards people. In Egypt, a religious, ethical code approved by gods guided each citizen (Kreis, 2006). This is why the afterlife was such an essential part of their beliefs – it was a process that evaluated their goodness throughout life. The religious and agricultural development inevitably led to the intellectual and cultural progress of the countries. The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is famous for its papyrus use, along with ink and cosmetics (Brooks, 2019). Mummification was an essential process related to their general religious beliefs. On the contrary, the warfare and trade typical for Mesopotamia explain their creation of the wheel and significant improvement of architecture and the sciences (Brooks, 2019). It can be suggested that religion played a major role in the groundbreaking inventions of Egypt (Kreis, 2006). Generally, the key differences between the regions arose from contrasting religious and political systems.
McChesney- ‘Rich Media, Poor Democracy’ McChesney wrote ‘Rich Media, Poor Democracy’ to show the democratic problems in United States and other countries in the world and how corporate media downplays the requirements of attaining an effective democratic system. The author also addressed the concentration of ownership in the media industry and how this has transformed the sector. He further analyzes how public broadcast stations have gradually fallen due to policies that are deliberately formulated to protect corporate media. His study also evaluates the media industry and corporate ownership between 1970s and 1990s (McCheseney, 2000, p. 15-18). According to author, increase in the number of channels in U.S., is a major cause of corporate concentration in media industry. He argues that technological advancements in cable, television, digital media and satellite have resulted to changes in media ownership. He also argues that corporate concentration comes in as a response to the rapid changes in the industry. He asserts that for a media firm to make profits in such an industry, it has to invest in international distributors, stations, frequencies, operations of the channels and also in cable channels. The author of ‘Rich Media, Poor Democracy’ says that most of corporate concentration in the 1970s up to 1990s seemed to have conglomeration kind of media ownership. In such an ownership, a certain major media becomes a key shareholder in two or more sectors in the media industry. These sectors may be in recorded music, publishing sector and a broadcast sector. With such ownership, the operations of these media outlets’ can be interfered with by the advertisers who in most cases form the major corporate owners. With such influences, citizens are limited in making informed decisions. This is because ownership threatens their democratic rights. Stories are also written in favor of the owners or else media practitioners risk losing their jobs. McChesney also argues that “the United States media system is an integral part of the capitalist political economy and that the relation it has important and troubling implications for democracy” (McCheseney, 2000, p.