Thursday, January 30, 2020

Hopeless Free

Hopeless Free Will Essay The question of what it means to be human has been asked by not only famous philosophers of old, but by anyone who struggles to define what it means. Ishiguro conveys this very same question in his novel Never Let Me Go. Ishiguro demonstrates that in spite of the shared physical qualities of humans, the students undeniably have lives unprotected of human virtues like free will and a hope for change. Regardless of their forfeited human virtues and the questions of morality surrounding their existence, the students are designed for a specific purpose, to be organ donors. To be human, most would suggest one must possess a mind, heart and will. The mind of humans allow for rational thoughts, not instincts like animals. The heart allows a human to feel the consciousness of the human experience, unlike a robot or other forms of artificial intelligence. The will endows a human to make decisions or choices that have either constructive or adverse consequences. In this capacity for action, one can select â€Å"this† over â€Å"that† and â€Å"those† instead of â€Å"these†. Unfortunately, the students have no free will to choose â€Å"this† over â€Å"that† and â€Å"those† over â€Å"these† in regards to their lives and how to live it, despite possessing the human characteristics of a mind, heart and will. Their destinies were chosen for them long before air filled their human lungs. It is a life well-ordered with a specific purpose independent of their will or wishes. The inherent freedom of choice most humans have was never fully given to the students, except to choose a sex partner. Their willingness to accept, without question, the rules surrounding their lives starts at Hailsham and continues throughout the novel. For example, while at Hailsham they are told by the guardians not to leave school grounds and to stay healthy, they do not know why and never questions anyone as to why. Leona Toker and Daniel Chertoff write, â€Å"Indeed, they appear to be incapable of thinking outside of the system in general; they do not ask the basic eschatological questions typical of adolescents† (166). Ishiguro clearly demonstrates how fate is the dominant force in the lives of the students, and a life void of free will is their destiny when Miss Emily states, â€Å"your life must now run the course that’s been set for it† (Ishiguro 266). To be human means one is capable to hope and dream, to adjust and change, to love and learn. Hope promotes the belief in a good outcome related to events and circumstances in ones life. The students have the abilities to do these things but without any benefit or reward. Their sense of hope comes from falsehoods and misbeliefs. This misguided hope encourages Ruth to seek out information about Madame in hopes that Kathy and Tommy would receive a deferral. The illusive hope of the make-believe deferral program is what drives Tommy to begin drawing again, and motivates Kathy and Tommy to visit Madame. In spite of the unrewarding efforts of the students, their ability to hope is a fundamental response genetically programmed in humans. Tail Sharot writes, â€Å"A growing body of scientific evidence points to the conclusion that optimism (hope) may be hardwired by evolution into the human brain† (1). The students like all humans hope for change in their lives. Regrettably, their hopes would never get an opportunity to become reality, because the overseers of their lives never consider them human. Miss Emily emphasizes this point with the declaration, â€Å"So for a long time you were kept in the shadows, and people did their best not to think about you. And if they did, they tried to convince themselves you weren’t really like us. That you were less than human† (Ishiguro 263). Beyond the dystopian story of Never Let Me Go, a fundamental theme is apparent: free will and the certainties of hopes are absent in lives of the students. As humans our decisions are independent of nature and nurture than any animals; we are aware of our ability to think, to choose and to hope and dream. The students possesses all attributes that makes one humans except for the confidence of having a choice or hope for a future free of being considered â€Å"poor creatures†. Works Cited Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go. New York: Vintage Books, 2005. Print. Leona Toker, Daniel Chertoff. Reader Respone and the Recycling of Topoi in Kazua Ishiguros Never Let Me Go. Partial Answers: Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas 6. 1 (2008): 163-180. Sharot, Tali. The Optimisim Bias. Time 28 May 2011: 28. Print.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Society and Family Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberr

Society and Family Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry      Ã‚  Ã‚   Within the context of any given moment in history, the passage of time allows reflection on the attitudes and emotions of people. The political atmosphere, commercial fads, social trends or religious fervor of the time we observe, all lend spice to the attitudes that we will find there. Some aspects of our human nature are as timeless as eating or sleeping, such as the bonds of a family or the conflicts which tear them apart. In Lorraine Hansberry's work "A Raisin in the Sun" we can see clearly not only the drama each of us lives through in the ties of family and love, but it gives us an immortal slice of history of the times in which it was written.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Much of the political action that occurred during the time described within this play is specific to the era which it portrays. In Chicago and elsewhere, the economic affliction of minority families was ... ... Carlisle, David K. 1998. Black Combat Units In Korean War Action. [Online] Available:   http://members.aol.com/warlib/dkc2.htm [2000, June 12]. Hansberry, Lorraine. "A Raisin in the Sun". Beatty, J., Hunter, J. P. (Eds.)(1998) Norton Introduction to Literature (7th Ed.). New York: Norton (pp.   1381-1485). MSN Microsoft Network. Encarta. W.E.B. DuBois. [Online] Available: http://encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex/2E/02E91000.htm?z=1&pg=2&br=1 [2000, June 11].   

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Easycar Swot Essay

EasyCar is one of the companies under the easyGroup brand name created by Stelios Haji-Ioannou. It is the fastest growing car rental company in Europe because it offers value for money. This is achieved by simplifying the car, and passing on the benefits to the customer in the form of a lower price. This low cost car rental idea is not for every consumer. Since the market is segmented into business and leisure travelers easyCar tries to focus all of its efforts to the price sensitive leisure segment. It has taken them two years for easyCar to break even, and Stelios intends to quadruple its sales in the next two years. Swot Analysis: Strengths: Leverage on established brand reputation of easyJet (by easyGroup): EasyCar is a member of the easyGroup brand which first developed the easyJet air carrier. The other companies under the easyGroup umbrella mimic the low cost, no frills business strategy. This business model has been quite successful in the rental car industry, has a presence in the internet cafà © industry, and easyCinema is expected to be launched soon. Competency of Stellos: Stelios Haji-Ioannou is an entrepreneur who founded easyJet, and has been expanding the easyGroup brand. Stelios is described as a flamboyant entrepreneur who has been aggressive in expanding his brand into many different industries that fit his low cost, no frills business model. Stellos’ excellence is a direct reason of how easyJet broke even after two years of operations. No agent (disintermediation): EasyCar has been able to maximize the amount of revenue they receive because they deal with the majority of the bookings themselves. For other rental car companies ninety percent of their bookings are made by agents (intermediaries), and these agents require a portion of their sales. EasyCar manages 100% of its rentals so it is able to gain the maximum amount of revenue. 90% utilization of assets: There are three main strategies that easyCar utilizes to gain the highest utilization rate out of the major car rental companies. Firstly, their information system evaluates projected demand, and expected utilization quite accurately, and adjusts price accordingly. Secondly, they only offer one car type on each lot. The customers know that and they will automatically be matched to any car in the fleet. This removes the risk of decreased utilization as a result of customer picking certain cars over others. Finally, they offer demand based pricing. This ensures that for any given demand the maximum number of cars are rented out. Weaknesses: Only one type of car: Having one type of car can also be seen as a negative to customers because it offers them no choice. If customers value selection and quality over price then they will not rent from easyCar. Process of car picking up is time consuming for customers, given the low staffing levels: When a customer wants to pick up a car they usually have to wait between a half hour and an hour at the lot to finally pick up their car. This inhibits the company’s ability to sell more in a day, and the customers become dissatisfied from waiting. Public relations issues regarding its policies: The Office of Fair Trading has passed legislation stating that easyCar has to grant customers seven days form the time they made a booking to cancel it and receive a full refund. The company is scared that this process will inhibit their plans for a 2004 IPO. They have also received bad press from their clean car policy. The company requires the car to be fully cleaned when returned, and it’s very strict regarding this policy. They have received some bad press, but 85% of their fleet are returned with an acceptable amount of cleanliness. Finally, there are many additional charges that are explained in the fine print. When easyCar first opened they received a lot of bad press because they didn’t explain their costs clearly. Recently they have been trying to make their charges more transparent to the customer. Opportunities: Expand into other European markets: Experts of the car rental industry feel that Europe is â€Å"ripe for consolidation.† This is significant since it will allow easyCar to work together in different countries across Europe and further strengthen its brand. Broaden the fleet size to offer customers more choices: To further expand easyCars market share they could offer more selection. Customers value choice, but this is only realistically possible if the prices remain low. Further develop the one hour car rental service provider: To compete with local transportation like buses and cabs they can target citizens of each city who only want to rent a car for an hour or a short amount of time to complete less time consuming tasks. Threats: Legal Challenges: If the company is unable to amend the seven day full refund law than there could be serious consequences. The utilization rate would be expected to fall from 90% to 65%, and it could also delay their expected 2004 IPO. There is also legal criticism with the posting of peoples faces on the website who have overdue cars. Competition: There are several internationally recognized car rental companies, and domestic companies that easyCar competes with. For example, domestic or national companies usually account for 50% of their country’s sales. New low cost companies are going to be popping up since they have seen the success of easyCar, thus easyCar needs to widen its gap between its competitors.

Monday, January 6, 2020

What Type of Climate Does Mongolia Have

Mongolia is high, cold, and dry. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most precipitation falls. The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the center of a region of high atmospheric pressure. Precipitation is highest in the north, which averages 20 to 35 centimeters per year, and lowest in the south, which receives 10 to 20 centimeters (see fig. 5). The extreme south is the Gobi, some regions of which receive no precipitation at all in most years. The name Gobi is a Mongol meaning desert, depression, salt marsh, or steppe, but which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support marmots but with enough to support camels. Mongols distinguish gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape. Gobi rangelands are fragile and are easily destroyed by overgrazing, which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even Bactrian camels can survive.br/>Average temperatures over most of the country are below freezing from November through March and are about freezing in April and October. January and February averages of -20Â ° C are common, with winter nights of -40Â ° C occurring most years. Summer extremes reach as high as 38Â ° C in the southern Gobi region and 33Â ° C in Ulaanbaatar. More than half the country is covered by permafrost, which makes construction, road building, and mining difficult. All rivers and freshwater lakes freeze over in the winter, and smaller streams commonly freeze to the bottom. Ulaanbaatar lies at 1,351 meters above sea level in the valley of the Tuul Gol, a river. Located in the relatively well-watered north, it receives an annual average of 31 centimeters of precipitation, almost all of which falls in July and in August. Ulaanbaatar has an average annual temperature of -2.9Â °C and a frost-free period extending on t he average from mid-June to late August.Mongolias weather is characterized by extreme variability and short-term unpredictability in the summer, and the multiyear averages conceal wide variations in precipitation, dates of frosts, and occurrences of blizzards and spring dust storms. Such weather poses severe challenges to human and livestock survival. Official statistics list less than 1 percent of the country as arable, 8 to 10 percent as forest, and the rest as pasture or desert. Grain, mostly wheat, is grown in the valleys of the Selenge River system in the north, but yields fluctuate widely and unpredictably as a result of the amount and the timing of rain and the dates of killing frosts. Although winters are generally cold and clear, there are occasional blizzards that do not deposit much snow but cover the grasses with enough snow and ice to make grazing impossible, killing off tens of thousands of sheep or cattle. Such losses of livestock, which are an inevitable and, in a se nse, normal consequence of the climate, have made it difficult for planned increases in livestock numbers to be achieved. Source USSR, Council of Ministers, Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography, Mongolskaia Narodnaia Respublika, spravochnaia karta (Mongolian Peoples Republic, Reference Map), Moscow, 1975.