ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The short story Mellow Yellow by Barry Callaghan can be well referred to as the account of the deteriorating relationship between the characters of Marie-Claire and Conrad Zingg. In this respect, the metaphor of traffic lights, plays an important role, within the context of how it emphasizes the plot’s plausibility. This simply could not be otherwise, as the earlier mentioned metaphor does point out to the fact that both of the mentioned characters were psychologically incompatible. In its turn, this justifies Marie-Claire’s decision to break up with Conrad at the end. Let us explore the validity of this suggestion at length. At the story’s beginning, we learn that Conrad worked as a traffic consultant – that is, he used to design computer software that controls traffic lights. The software’s actual functioning was concerned with allowing drivers to know when to stop and when to go, “Marie-Claire’s father: ‘You’re in charge of the stop and go?’ Conrad: ‘Right’” (Callaghan, p. 37). However, as the story’s plot develops, readers get to realize that being in the control of the ‘stop and go’ did not solely allow Conrad to make a living. This particular job was reflecting the concerned character’s inner predisposition to remain in the full control of his feelings while imposing his dominance upon others – including Marie-Claire. As Conrad pointed out, “Red and green, in themselves they don’t mean anything… It’s like right and wrong. Red and green. Life’s that simple, and that hard” (p. 39). It is understood, of course, that in the eyes of Marie-Claire, this made Conrad ill-suited for the role of a lover/husband. After all, it is a well-known fact that, while pursuing a romantic relationship with men, women never cease striving to seek confirmation to the fact that they are indeed being loved. In this respect, Conrad’s emotional coldness, reflected by his pride of possessing the knowledge of when to stop/to go, did not serve him very well. The reason for this is apparent – as she continued to date Conrad, Marie-Claire was becoming increasingly aware of what accounted for Conrad’s actual motivation to spend time with her. This motivation, on the concerned person’s part, had to do with his understanding that, for him to be able to attain a social prominence; he needed to establish himself as a respectable married man. This is exactly the reason why Conrad did not only make it clear to Marie-Claire that he intended to marry her, but he also set a fixed date for her to let to come up with either positive or negative decision, in this respect, “He had told her that she had to make up her mind about their future and he had given her until his birthday to decide” (p. 42). While understanding perfectly well that it would be foolish, on her part, to marry a man who tended to perceive the surrounding reality solely through the lenses of red or green, Marie-Claire came with a hint, “I like yellow” (p. 39). This, however, did not have any effect on Conrad. Moreover, as time went on, Marie-Claire started to realize that, contrary to how
Following the problems that Gillette faces in the Australian market, the company ought to consider carrying out the following solutions: launching a new version of SensorExcel, establishing a R&D division in Australia and reducing the price premium for the Mach3 in Australia. Gillette should launch a new version of SensorExcel because the current situation illustrates that the market was not ready for the development of a three blade razor. The Australian market poorly adopted the Mach3 product yet the product was aimed at achieving the upgrade objective for Gillette. Instead of this, a newer version of SensorExcel would have retained the market that had been captured by the older version that was already successful in the market. Gillette should have built on this prosperity and upgraded that product. Moving to the Mach3 should have come when the SensorExcel product was nearing the decline stage of the product life cycle. This strategy would also ensure that customers are not forced to purchase a product that they do not want. They would be able to stick to their preferences whether it means sticking to the newer version of SensorExcel or upgrading to Mach3 after its release. The disadvantage of this strategy is that Mach3 was part of Gillette’s global upgrade strategy. Developing a newer version of an older product would not have the same impact as a brand new product. Some Australian consumers would also feel alienated by this move since they would wonder why Mach3 is not being marketed in Australia as in other developed countries. Producing the newer version of SensorExcel would also add unplanned expenses on Gillette. Alternatively, Gillette can reduce the price premium for the Mach3 in the Australian market. This would be in response to the stagnation in the sales f the product in the region. The price reduction would act as a promotional strategy since it would attract many consumers. Price reduction should be done in the manner of a promotion so that Australian consumers realize what they are saving when they buy the Mach3. This strategy would be effective in the Australian market given that the 20% price premium is too high for a simple upgrade of three blades up from two. Australian consumers did not buy the idea that Mach3 provided a faster and less irritable shaving effect and so it warrants a higher price. In any case, they already thought they spent excess in their expenditures on razors. Conversely, lowering the price premium would reduce the profitability of the company. Lowering the prices would also create the notion that the new Mach3 were of lower quality than the previous expensive version. The best solution however wo
Introduction Small and Medium Scale Enterprises abbreviated as SME’s face a vast number of problems in all the aspects of the economy such as social, technological, legal, political, environmental, and ethical aspects. In a growing economy, this sub-sector contributes a lot to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This implies that sufficient solutions proposed raise the countries’ GDP. In all dimensions of development, the Small and Medium-Sized enterprises play a major role in economic development generally and in particular the industrial development in both developed and developing countries. It falls under the private sector and research shows that it contributes to 90% of the enterprises in the world and creates 50-60% job opportunities (Hobohm, 2010). This paper covers a brief history, status, and the significance of SMEs in developing countries by citing examples from different countries. The first section provides a general overview of the problems facing the sector before giving details of the three main problems. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Developing Countries In almost all the developed and developing countries, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises rely on local skills and technology and contribute to the establishment and maintenance of entrepreneurship. They also promote innovativeness, invention, and the growth and development of industrial linkages. They are relatively higher labor-intensive. The main economic importance of SMEs is the fact that they act as a source of new business innovation and creation and a platform for employment opportunities. Small and medium scale enterprises fall into three main classifications based on their specific capabilities and success in solving the challenges they face. The first category is of the SMEs that have the ability to compete on the international front and can benefit from the regionalization. The second category is of the SMEs that are vulnerable to globalization. Such SMEs have lower chances of surviving through sufficient conformance to international standards, training, and employing the skilled personnel to compete internationally. The last category encompasses SMEs that are protected by the governmental policies and structures from the effects of globalization (Muhammad, 2010). Despite the immense contribution of the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises to the country’s economy, this sector faces many problems. In this paper, the writer assumes the problems facing Malaysian SMEs in the global business environment are also affecting all the other developing countries. The challenges commonly faced include lack of support from the state governments, global sourcing effects, effects of economic downturn, poor relationship between the Multi-National Corporations and the SMEs, unprotected intellectual property and bankruptcy, unsupportive legal frameworks and policies, poor decision-making processes, and the lack of branding of their products in the global market (M
Today’s business requires social responsibility and excellent performance of companies. Ethical responsibility is the integrative element of social responsibility that is destined to satisfy costumers’ demands. In this context, there appear ethical problems of company’s business that can lower an ethical rating of a company and reduce its popularity among people (potential customers). Even multinational world companies have low ratings, and that is why are vulnerable to be blamed in unethical behavior. It seems to be necessary to examine ethics of one of the multinational world companies to understand its ethical criteria and rate them. Nestlé’s company can be one of the examples to be illustrated: “in 1977, Nestle got embroiled in a controversy, when it was criticized for using unethical marketing practices endangering consumer health to promote its infant formula in developing nation”. [1] Since that time, this company was constantly criticized for unethical behavior and violation of costumers’ rights. The research in the sphere of Nestlé’s ethics shows that the company has lots of low-rated ethical criteria to be accused of. Genetically modified (GM) food would not be an asset for many costumers. According to Lawrence’s on-line article, this company has overcharged prices that can not be accessible for the low-income group of people in the world. For example, the cost of the produced “Pure Life”, bottled water, is outrageously high for the Asian people for whom potable water is extremely necessary. [2] Moreover, in the article, unfair labor practices were illustrated with examples. Coffee beans and cocoa in Nestlé’s company are the result of hard work of those who get them on African plantations. The author says that unfavorable working conditions and people’s exploitation with a child’s labor worsen the image of the company and proves its unethical attitude towards workers. [3] Ethical standards exist in each world organizations and nonconformity may affect badly on company’s reputation. Nestlé’s experience has proved that the company is lack of respecting of human rights a
The Stolen Drug In Europe, A woman was near death from a rare kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that druggists in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him. He paid $200 for the radium and Charged $2,000for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together $1,000, which was half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell cheaper, or let him pay later. But the druggist said, “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” Heinz became desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. When confronted with the moral dilemma of either letting his wife die or stealing the drug, Heinz stole the drug. Case Question: Was Heinz right or wrong? Heinz Reasoning: Should I steal? Argument For Modern society adheres to humanistic ideas and considers the life of any individual the greatest value. It means that the existence of any human being should be protected by various social institutions including law. However, numerous ethical concerns are resulting from the given statement. The fact is that many ambiguous situations challenge the traditional value system because of the unique set of circumstances. The above-mentioned case is of this sort. One realizes the fact that Heinzs motifs are clear and honest. He steals not to earn some money or obtain some other benefit; however, he tries to save his wifes life which is the greatest value for him. Yet, his actions contradict the accepted behavioral pattern as society condemns law-breakers and provides certain punishment for them. In these regards, a certain controversy appears. Committing the crime Heinz acts unethically. At the same time, consideration of his motifs promotes a better understanding of the whole case. The end justifies the means. Heinz’s desire to save his wife and guarantee her recovery should be accepted and respected. The action of this kind requires great courage and determination. Furthermore, there are no other ways to obtain the needed treatment or gather the needed sum of money. That is why Heinzs actions could be considered appropriate especially in terms of the given context. As stated above, human life is the greatest value that could not be measured by various sums. Having no choice, Heinz accepted the only right decision which helped to protect his family and guarantee his wife recovery. Argument Against Nevertheless, the ambiguity of the situation is conditioned by the ethical side of the given problem. It is obviou
The fundamentals of the play While discussing Tennessee Williams’s play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, I would like to highlight some fundamentals of the author’s work. First of all, I would like to point out that at the first time the play seems to be easy to read; however, it is only the first impression. Generally, there are a lot of complicated themes the author discloses in the play. In my opinion, all the works written by Tennessee Williams reflect some biographical data. For instance, everybody knows that the playwright’s father was an adventurous and an alcoholic, and his mother was a submissive, but hysterical woman. So, how these facts can be interpreted? First of all, I have to admit that these data have direct relation to the plot of the play. While reading Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, it becomes obvious that one of the main characters, Brick was an alcoholic. When speaking about the author’s relations with his mother, one can make a conclusion that feminist aspects must be considered in depth. Of course, nobody will deny the fact that the play is based on the author’s personal experience. The author reflected his inner world and the feelings he experienced when being a child. The thesis statement The major themes the author discloses in his plays are related to sexual violence, family and financial constraints. When speaking about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, one is to keep in mind that the key aspects Tennessee Williams highlights are associated with “undertones of emotional, sexual, and spiritual need that are apparent in his character Maggie the Cat ” (Fellows 1). The basic points of an analysis According to the plot of the play, Brick doesn’t support any relations with his wife; this point gives us an opportunity to suppose that lack of desire by husband and Maggie’s social standing can be explained by the time period in which Tennessee Williams’s play was written. To my mind, one of the key themes of the play is considered to be absence of mutual respect and support. “It is obvious throughout the script of the play that everyone has their own agenda in the family, and no one is really there to support each other as a normal family should be” (“Cat On a Hot Tin Roof: Plot and Theme” par. 3). The first family, which includes Brick and Margaret, is not rich; moreover, Brick aggravates financial situation in his family. The second family, which includes Gooper and Mae, is selfish. The most interesting fact, however, is that nobody wants to become a real family. Nobody understands what the term unity means and how important this word for both families. On the other hand, it seems that the author added some elements of humor in his play. Thus, it is really funny to observe how hostile all characters are. Although, it seems that Tennessee Williams’s humor was
Abstract This paper deals with Ayn Rand’s ideas on altruism and objectivism. Altruism is a utopian concept as it is against human nature. Clearly, the author provides an effective option for the contemporary world as objectivism helps people help each other without trying to violate the laws of nature and society. Introduction Ayn Rand provides helpful insights into issues associated with altruism, objectivism, and egoism. The author emphasizes that altruism is a utopian concept as it is impossible in the real world (Rand, 2013). The author notes that altruism is seen as the ability to sacrifice everything for the sake of a total stranger, as helping close ones is regarded as something different from altruism. Rand advocates objectivism as she believes that helping close ones and prioritizing values may help people create an effective system that will lead to a better society. Ghate (2009) argues that Rand’s objectivism is the only option in the modern environment, especially when it comes to the economy. Clearly, there can be certain weaknesses in the approach, but it is the most efficient in the contemporary world. The Core of Altruism It is necessary to note that the author refers to extreme cases of altruism and to the roots of the concept. Thus, the case with the husband who has to help other women instead of his beloved wife to be a true altruist is very conspicuous. Opponents of Rand’s ideas may argue that people do not often face the choice, and altruists may do good things without making such difficult choices. However, Rand (2013) unveils the essence of altruism and selflessness since there is a distinct dichotomy. A true altruist has to help others irrespective of his/her own needs and longings. Of course, there can be no place for close ones among those whom the altruist helps. People Are Created to Be Social Considering this, it becomes clear that altruism is impossible in human society. People’s instinct of self-preservation is what may be called selfishness in society. People are created selfish as this has been the basis of their existence and survival. People often have to take care of their offspring to make sure their kind will survive. Some may argue that these are laws of the world of animals, and human society is grounded on other principles, for instance, empathy, assistance to other people. However, objectivism is also based on these principles as people tend to support, empathize, and help people they care about. Admittedly, this is selfish, but this is effective. If each pe
Abstract Media has been referred to be the most powerful influence in the lives of people. Media includes the newspapers, TV, the news channels, emails and the gossip groups that are flourishing online. In addition to this the most important role is being played by the social networking websites. Introduction McChesney, (2008) says that the growth of an information age has been the reason of one of the strongest and the most intensified changes that are occurring in the social lives of the people. In this case there are many thoughts that have been given in relation to the relationship of the changing times and the changing social lives of all the people in this world but still the one main fact that needs to be seen is that these are the changes which are rather strong in all aspects. Kendall, (2008) discusses that the period in which the people of the modern age are residing is known as the period of extreme insecurity and this is the insecurity that has been seen to increase as the time is passing by. It has been said by many researchers that an important factor that has been seen to be important in increasing this insecurity is an increase in the intrusion of privacy of the people. This is the one main point that has been discussed by Kenneth Starr’ as an interrogation by him has been carried out on the life of President Clinton. Kelsey, and St. Amant, (2008) say that in addition to this it has been seen that on a personal level, people are feeling helpless and this is the characteristic that has been found to be the most common among generations, older as well as the younger people. Moreover there are many external factors that have been taken into account and these include the changing global situation including changes in the global economy as these are the departments in the global face that are not in control and these are the ones that have been playing important roles in the lives of the people. Baxter, and Braithwaite, (2008) have added that the changes are not only being seen by the economy on the global level but also by the health maintenance organizations and the most important part being the internet and the web related services. Dovey, Lister, Giddings, Grant, and Kelly, (2009) have added that there is one important principle in relation to this current situation and it has been said that the other rules are to be considered having much less importance as compared to the one main rule, phronesis. This has been given by the classical Greeks. This is the term that means practical reason. This is the practical reason that has been seen to make changes in the social lives of the people in such a way that it reduces any kind of harms that might occur in a person’s social life but at the same time it has been said that phronesis has been seen to increase the positivity that is associated with the social life of a person. Hepp, (2008) says that thus the practical reason has been known to increase the good and decrease any harm in the social life of a person. In this case phronesis has been seen to take into account all the aspects of a social life of a person. In this case the fact that has to be considered is t