ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Heart of Darkness, a novel par excellence, was written by Joseph Conrad in 1902. It is a voyage through the murky essence of mankind. The story begins aboard a boat wedged on the river Thames due to an inundation, and is based on Charles Marlow’s (the main character) brief narration of his childhood and his stint as a river-boat captain in Africa. “Now when I was a little chap I had as passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration…” said Marlow about his childhood. There were four other men on the boat but none was named by Conrad. As they waited for the tide to subside, the change in the skyline from bright to gloomy corresponds the storyline. Basically, Heart of Darkness explores the murky Congo wasteland, the brutal conduct of the Belgians towards the natives of Africa and the obscurity of human beings. According to the story, Marlow was employed by a company to transport ivory and to stealthily sneak out Kurtz, another ivory trader. Kurtz, by virtue of his management tactics, was able to earn a reputation and had collected huge quantities of ivory. During his stay in Africa, Kurtz gradually got inclined towards corruption and made himself a demigod. The boss of the company felt threatened by Kurtz’s existence and wanted to collapse his reputation. So Marlow was entrusted the job of bringing back Kurtz. Marlow was not happy with his fellow white workers because they considered him as being trivial and deceitful. In the course of his assignment, Marlow reached the Central Trading Station that was managed by a manager who has been depicted as nasty and malevolent. Marlow’s suspicion on the manager was augmented when one day he found that his ship had sunk. He was sure that the manager had something to do with it. Poor Marlow had to toil and wait for a couple of months to get his ship repaired. It seems Kurtz was ill and this was one of the reasons for the delay because Marlow had to take him along. This was the period when Marlow came to understand that the manager was deadly against Kurtz and wanted to get rid of him. But the show must go on. That’s what Marlow thought and he set out on a tedious voyage along with the manager, some white negotiators and a crew of black cannibal tribesmen. “Going up that river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings…” While on their way up river, they fell into a trap. For the need of fire wood, they stopped to collect some that was laid on the river bank with a note, “When deciphered it said: ‘Wood for you. Hurry up. Approach cautiously’”. As soon as they resumed sail, the ship was surrounded by a thick fog and was trounced by a gang of concealed inhabitants, who shot arrows from the forest. Marlow was saddened by the death of one of the crew members (black) in the encounter. By now, he was sure that the same inhabitants might have killed Kurtz and his people as well. But his assumption was pro
Introduction National security is a significant issue for the United States, and the government does its best to deal with possible terrorist plots. It equally refers to managing the consequences of terrorist attacks that have already occurred and preventing such scenarios from happening. In the second case, numerous intelligence collection systems or disciplines (INTs) play an essential role. It is so because they allow intelligence officers to collect useful information that can disclose potential threats. Various examples prove that these systems are effective, and the aborted plan to bomb the subway in New York City in 2009 is among them. SIGINT was used to prevent that dangerous situation from happening. However, this paper is going to comment on three other INTs, including HUMINT, IMINT, and OSINT, that would also have been significant in identifying this terrorist threat against the US. Three Types of INTs To begin with, one should explain what HUMINT, OSINT, and IMINT are. Firstly, HUMINT stands for human intelligence and implies information that is collected from people with the help of numerous conversational techniques (Stark, 2018). Intelligence officers usually work with spies, foreign agents, some civilians, and refugees. Stark (2018) explains that these individuals are useful sources to receive secret or classified information that can reveal terrorist plans. Secondly, IMINT denotes imagery intelligence that implies the collection of images. According to the US Naval War College (n.d.), a picture is worth hundreds of words since it can show, for example, that terrorists are preparing for an attack or have dangerous weapons in their possession. This method was popular during World Wars I and II, while modern satellites and unscrewed aerial vehicles provide intelligence officers with such images (US Naval War College, n.d.). Thirdly, OSINT introduces open-source intelligence that deals with the information that is available to the general public. According to the US Naval War College (n.d.), this INT type analyzes mass media, official reports, conference proceedings, and others to identify signals of potential threats. It is reasonable to explain how all these INTs could have been used in preventing the planned New York subway bombing case in 2009. With the help of HUMINT, intelligence officers could have interrogated foreign agents or even civilians to identify suspicious individuals in New York. In turn, IMINT could have presented evidence that these people received or bought explosives. Finally, OSINT could have been useful to identify that terrorists grew in intensity, which is a warning sign for the whole national security system. Simultaneously, one should comment on the limitations of
Introduction FLQ group has existed in Canada for several years. In October, FLQ was linked in kidnapping Mr. James Cross, a British trade minister for Canada in his Westmount home, some days later; they abducted Mr. Pierre Laporte, the Quebec minister for labor. Prior to these kidnaps, the law enforcers in Quebec had collected secret information on the group’s unaccomplished activities in the region. The law enforcer’s reveals that the group was in the middle of executing a kidnap mission on Israel and American diplomatic missions in Montreal (Pike). These criminal actions associated with FLQ group suggest that if left unchecked, Quebec is likely to plunge into a lawlessness region in the country. The Prime Minister is alarmed by these criminal activities of the group. Hence, as a member of his cabinet, he has informed me to give suggestions whether the cabinet can implement War Measures Act and send troops to Quebec to thwart the organization’s criminal activities. In this memo, I outline several reasons why the Prime Minister should implement the War Measures Act so that the FLQ criminal activities can be prevented. I believe that once implemented, the Act will help restore calm, renew Canadians confidence and prevent future occurrences of similar criminal activities, not only in Quebec but also in the rest of the country. Why War Measures Act and sending troops to Quebec is justified I believe the Prime Minister should implement the War Measures Act to help restore calm and return the rule of law in Quebec province. The act is critical because it will allow the Federal government to renew the confidence of the Canadian people (Fisher). The Act, besides dealing directly with the FLQ group, it will also help repress other criminal groups in the province that are involved in lawlessness activities. Similarly, Jenish indicates that the Act will confer powers to the police and the army to search, detain and arrest individuals (leaders) commanding the terror group (Jenish). This will eventually weaken the group’s participation in terror activities and restore peace and stability in Quebec. Also, by implementing the War Measures Act, the law will prevent repeat of similar crisis in the future. Jenish claims that kidnapping diplomatic and government officials are acts of treason; it tarnishes the integrity of the host country. Besides, the criminals may utilize the gaps available in the law to commit more c
Ghana, or the Republic of Ghana, is a presidential democracy situated in West Africa (“Ghana”). It spreads along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean (“Ghana”). The country borders the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Togo (“Ghana”). The population of Ghana is 25,99,609 people (“Ghana”). It is not homogenous as there multiple linguistic and religious groups inhabiting the state and contributing to the increased cultural diversity. The bigger part of citizens are Christians (67,2%), 23,6% are Muslim, while the rest of the population adhere to multiple religions (“Ghana Country Profile”). Being a presidential democracy, it has the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Parliament consisting of 275 members and playing a significant role in the evolution of the state (“Ghana Country Profile”). The country remains an agricultural state as 12,8% of its GDP comes from this very sector; however, it shows the high speed of industrialization (The World Bank). The most important products that are used for export are cocoa, timber, and electricity. Therefore, the majority of the processes that occur in the state today could be explained by its colonial past as for a significant period, Ghana had been part of European overseas territories (“Ghana Country Profile”). It was used as a raw material base with the primary aim to provide needed amounts of products such as cocoa and timber. Having acquired its independence, the state engaged in a change process trying to eliminate the remnants of the past, poverty, hunger, create a new economy, and improve the quality of life in the state. Nevertheless, at the moment, the economy of Ghana demonstrates positive tendencies to a certain degree, preconditioned by the increased production of cocoa and its critical role in the development of the state. The country is the third-largest producer and second-largest exporter of this product (“Ghana Country Profile”). The importance of the given sector is also evidenced by the fact that about 30% of the population either works or depends on it (“Ghana”). The country continues to cultivate this sector, trying to attain a significant increase in its production. By the statistics, cocoa production grew by 16% (“Ghana Country Profile”). Additionally, considering the long production cycle, a further increase is expected. At the same time, along with the rapid rise of Ghana’s cocoa production, the increase in its GDP could also be admitted (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Ghana GDP (The World Bank). As one can see, in the 2000s, the country entered the phase of its rapid evolution and development characterized by the 8.7% GDP growth (“Ghana”). There are several factors that preconditioned these processes. First, the hybrid nature of its economy, along with the tendency towards the use of digital devices and natural resources, precondition the high speed of the development of different sectors. Ghana is the 7th greatest producer of gold which
Introduction An earthquake is a dangerous tremor that is caused by sudden release of energy in the crust of the earth leading to seismic waves that cause movements of the ground thus causing deaths and damages. These movements only last for a few minutes during which many deaths and a lot of damage is caused. This damaging process begins with violent shaking of the earth after which the ground ruptures leading to permanent displacement along the earth’s fault lines. Earthquakes have also been known to cause landslides and even damaging volcanic activity. While earthquakes can come as naturally occurring events, they are also triggered by man’s activities. Some of the human activities that can cause earthquakes include mine blasts and nuclear tests. The naturally occurring earthquakes are the most common (US Geological Survey para 2). Seismometers are the instruments used for measuring earthquakes. Earthquakes are measured using a local magnitude scale called the Richter scale or the moment magnitude where the latter is more common in reporting earthquakes that measure higher than 5 in magnitude. The earthquakes that are below magnitude 4.5 are considered as minor earthquakes. Those that fall below the magnitude of 3 do not cause much damage and may even not be suspected in some areas. However, those that measure magnitude 7 and above have been known to be catastrophic depending on their depth. The recent largest earthquake in the world is the one that occurred in Japan on March 2011. This particular earthquake measured magnitude 9.0. The effect an earthquake has depends on the location where it occurs and its strength and the shallow it gets. The earthquakes that are known to be shallower lead to more damage as they destroy even the structures that are designed to handle such catastrophes. On the other hand, an earthquake of a certain magnitude will have less impact on an area where the ground that underlies it is a solid rock than if the same earthquake occurred in an area with sediment as the underlying ground. However, the surface waves which are both shallow and of high magnitude cause great damage irrespective of where they occur. This is because they cause the ground to shake in the region that they occur and any rapid ground shaking leads to damaging of structures and buildings. The shakes caused by these waves often buckle roads and even rail tracks (Scientific American 230). Basically, ground shaking is often viewed as the major and most common earthquake damage where it results to deaths and a lot of damage. The other damages that an earthquake can cause but not always are landslides and avalanches. These too can be equally damaging, like the one that occurred in Peru in 1970 killing about 80,000
John Howard became the Australian Prime Minister in 1996. During his time in office, he accomplished many things. His first accomplishment was the introduction of a program that reformed the country’s economy. This was achieved through reduced costs in the provision of public services. In addition, his decision to privatize Telstra cut unnecessary costs. The second accomplishment associated with Howard was the implementation of industrial relations reforms and the adoption of new tax systems. Changes in international affairs that he introduced were driven by regional crises that affected other countries. For instance, the terrorist attacks that hit the US in 2001 and the war against terrorism that followed changed Australian politics. His third accomplishment was the restructuring of taxation systems in Australia. In terms of leadership style, Howard was described by many people as a reformer. During Fraser’s third term in office, Howard disagreed with the cabinet after it rejected his attempt to introduce policies that were aimed at deregulating the economy. In a bid to adjust his policies, he adopted a conservative style of leadership that went against simple labels or descriptions. He differentiated himself from his predecessors by advocating for policy changes. This earned him support from the public, although it was difficult to convince the opposition to support his reforms. Howard used his deep knowledge of the conservative style of leadership to exercise great caution during his first term in office, something that disappointed his close supporters. He advocated for economic reforms and took advantage of the fact that the electorate was afraid of change. After the US was attacked by terrorists in 2001, Howard got an opportunity to establish strong leadership strategies that facilitated his leadership style. In addition, he applied a reassuring style of leadership that succeeded because most of his closest supporters were not in politics by the time he ascended to power (Grattan, 2010)
Continental Airlines Scan the key segments of the general, industry, and competitor levels of Continental’s external environment and identify two key trends in each segment that may present challenges to the firm in the future. Indicate whether each trend is an opportunity or a threat to Continental and briefly explain your reasoning. The two main trends in the general external environment of Continental Airlines include the rising oil prices and economic recession in the US. In the last two years, the prices of crude oil have more than tripled from $40 per barrel. This has a direct impact on airlines’ bottom-line since the cost of fuel is one of the major costs of any airline. Although in the last few days the prices have fallen to below $100 per barrel, it is still more than double what it was two years. The oil prices are unlikely to fall back to what they were two years ago. This is a major challenge for the airlines’ industry all over the world and could be a major threat to the growth of Continental Airlines. The US economic recession is also another major threat to Continental Airlines as people are now less willing to pay a premium price for travel. At the industry level, the two key trends are that rising fuel costs mean that low-cost carriers are no longer expanding at the pace at which they were expanding a few years ago. This could prove to be a great opportunity for a legacy carrier like Continental Airlines. While maintaining their standards, Continental Airlines could further expand their services to smaller airports where low-cost carriers rule at present. The other industry trend is that in view of the rising fuel cost and low seat occupancy, profits are plummeting. However, this could prove to be an opportunity for Continental since they are known as the high-cost airline and as such, they can continue to ask for a premium price for their tickets. At the competitor level, the trend is for the premium passengers to use business jets instead of regular airlines (Karp, 2008). This could potentially hurt Continental since historically the airlines gas been catering to premium and business class passengers. On the other hand, the low-cost carriers are facing a squeeze in their margins due to the increased fuel price. This could potentially benefit Continental since as the low-cost carriers begin increasing their prices, the price difference between Continental and its low-cost carriers will decrease and people may switch to the better services offered by Continental for a slightly higher cost. Define Continental’s most important resources, capabilities, and core competencies. Continental’s most important resource is their big route network. Their core competency is in being able to demand higher prices for the fixed number of seats. Identify the key types of competitors in the airline industry and assess the intensity of rivalry. Briefly explain the basis of competition in the industry. There are three main types of competitors in the airline industry. They are low-cost carriers, legacy carriers, and business jets. Low-cost carriers cater to leisure travelers and those looking for bargain deals. Legacy carriers cater to busin
The article “Marketing and sustainable development” focuses on the relationship between the two concepts and their comprehensive application in business practice. Initially, the idea of sustainable development was focused mainly on reducing the environmental footprint of business activity. However, within a few years, sustainable development became a much broader term encompassing environmental, social, and economic aspects (Jovic & Novčić, 2016). This means that to achieve sustainable development, companies or governments have to avoid inflicting environmental damage and facilitating social inequality while also using natural resources and technologies in optimal ways to contribute to economic growth. A concept that links marketing and sustainable development is sustainable marketing. This term refers to marketing-related processes aimed at consumers and companies that take sustainability seriously, as well as at products and services promoting sustainability (Jovic & Novčić, 2016). Sustainable marketing focuses not just on profits but also on the long-term environmental, social, and economic consequences. According to the authors, the concept is particularly relevant to the modern business environment. It may help companies increase demand for products, build customer relationships, and promote a great business image. Overall, the article is useful because it explains the concepts of sustainable development and marketing in detail. However, the text lacks practical information about strategies or tools used in sustainable marketing. This means that it can be used by managers and researchers as an introduction to the topic, but further literature search is required to support the implementation and practice of sustainable marketing.
Introduction The new millennium has brought about vast changes in lifestyles due to the evolution of information, communication and technology. Innovations in technology have made it possible for more and more people to have access to gadgets which are more affordable and user-friendly. Almost everyone owns a cellular phone. This gadget makes them accessible to anyone no matter where they are. Cell phone function is not limited to making phone calls or texting messages. Now, it has become an indispensable instrument to link people to other people and to available information. Everything becomes accessible at the tip of one’s fingers. Since cell phones offer so many services to consumers, many people have become addicted to the device, often springing it out of their pocket several times in an hour. Uses of the device include texting, making calls, browsing the internet, being online at social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, and using numerous applications installed in the unit. It has become so useful in multi-tasking that people become dependent on it for the slightest need – from dispelling boredom by listening to music or playing games to keeping friends and family updated with one’s whereabouts, activities or thoughts, to researching for pertinent information online. Body It is because of this utility that some people regard their cell phones as essential to their existence. Personally, I feel the same way towards my cell phone. I cannot give up using it for all sorts of things because it has become an important part of my lifestyle. However, I do not consider myself a cell phone addict because I am aware of my limits. I get to enjoy activities other than just being engaged in cell phone use such as having lunch with my friends or going to the theater. Cell phone addicts do not care for other activities as long as they are using their phones. Sometimes, they even miss their meals or dates with important people because of their cell phone addiction (Mokey, 2010). I may sometimes over spend on my cell phone bill, and even forego some necessities because I need to pay it, but I know I could not go over $75.00. Excessive cell phone users may pay as much as $500.00 to $5,000.00 on their cell phone bill alone (Nauert, 2007: para 17). For me, that is the height of cell phone addiction. Cell phone addicts allow their devices to consume them. They become obsessed with it and emotionally attached to it reasoning it holds a big part of their lives due to the contact list and important data it stores. If it gets damaged or lost, they become inconsolable, as if they have lost a friend (Mokey, 2010). I can be sad and regret its