Sex and Gender Essay Example for Free

Sex and Gender Essay The concepts of sex and gender have traditionally been used interchangeably to demarcate between the identity of the male and the female. However, there are significant differences between the two concepts. Sex as a concept is based based on the perceived material or physiological difference between the male and female bodies, particularly on the anatomy and functions related to the reproductive organs. (Frayser Whitby, 1995, p. 173) Meanwhile, gender refers to the social construct of femininity and masculinity ascribed to the ascribed to the reproductive roles which is reinforced through social norms and expectations. (Ibid. ) Arguably, the notions of sex and gender play an important role in the formation of sexual behavior and gender identity particularly in Western societies. Judith Butler, a known feminist, argues that â€Å"sexual difference is often invoked as an issue of material difference,† (p. 235) which becomes the basis for the social construction of the concept of gender and gender roles in terms of the social, political, and economic functions of the male and female. The role of sex and gender constructs is evident in the child-rearing practices of most Western societies wherein children are socialized into their gender roles based on their sexual identity as being male or female. At an early age, children learn about appropriate sexual behavior through their parents and other adults, who teach them the prevailing gender norms and social expectations Children and adults who do not conform to what is expected of them in terms of their sexual and gender identity, are socially stigmatized through various labels of deviance. As adults, men and women are expected to take on different forms of employment or to engage in differing sexual behavior. Since men are thought to be physically stronger and more intellectually adept, they are often encouraged to be more involved in the social and political spheres. Meanwhile, the perception that women are weaker and more emotional, along with their child-bearing responsibilities, has relegated them into domestic affairs or employment that is related with their supposedly feminine nature such as teaching or nursing. Thus, sex and gender roles influence the way that an individual constructs his or her identity and perceives his or her function in society. By identifying in either the male or female role, the individual develops and internalizes his or her gender roles based on socially accepted norms and standards of behavior. Works Cited: Butler, Judith (1999). Bodies that Matter. In Janet Price Margrit Shildrick (Eds. ), Feminist Theory and the Body: A Reader (pp. 235-245). U. S. A: Taylor and Francis. Frayser, Suzanne G. Thomas J. Whitby (1995). Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide. U. S. A: Libraries Unlimited.

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton :: Cry, The Beloved Country Essays

Cry The Beloved Country The quote â€Å"But there is only one thing that has power completely, and that is love. Because when a man loves he seeks no power, therefore he has power,† as stated in the book in the book Cry the Beloved Country is not a true statement. No man has absolute power over any one thing. Although people seek power in many different places, there is only one true power, and that is God. There are many different levels of power in the world, but no level has complete power over anything else. Love is a power that God has given to man, but it cannot be controlled. Man doesn’t have power over love. He can search for it in many different places, but the power he is searching for remains in God. A human has no control over their likes and dislikes. People cannot make something better or worse than it is. Love is the same. One cannot help it if they love something. People or things can touch a person’s life, and they naturally grow to or learn to love it. There are different definitions of love, but the true definition lies with God. People can spend their entire lives searching for more power. The thing that they must realize is that no amount of power will mean anything to God when it comes time for judgment. People base their lives too much on what material things they have, rather than what they have spiritually. They search for happiness in things like money and fame, but they are never fulfilled. It is impossible to find happiness in things like money and fame. No one can obtain happiness in a place where happiness cannot be found. When people start living their lives for the Lord, they will be the ones who hold the power in heaven. God has power over all things, because he created them all. People have the option of turning the power in the direction that best suits them, but God controls what will happen when one does turn the power. No man can control sickness, death, or natural disasters. The only thing that matters in man’s life is what he does for the glory of God. The most important power that man has is the power of choice. Man has the choice to follow God.

Boeing’s Strategy

The Capital Assets Price Model (CAPM), is a model for pricing an individual security or a portfolio. Its basic function is to describe the relationship between risk and expected return, which is often used to estimate a cost of equity (Wikipedia, 2009). It serves as a model for determining the discount rate which is used in calculating net present value. The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio equals the rate on a risk-free security plus a risk premium. The formula is: R = Rf + *(E(Rm)-Rf) Rf = Risk free rate of return, usually U. S. treasury bonds ( ) ? = Beta for a company E(Rm) = Expected return of the market (commercial airlines market) E(Rm)-Rf = Sometimes referred to as the risk premium The beta and risk-free rate should be selected as required according to the Boeing 7E7 case study. For the CAPM the risk free rate of return for a given period is taken to be the return on government bonds over the period. The risk free rate of return at the time of this case was 4. 56% (Bruner, p. 239, 2007). At the time of the case, four main estimatesof equity market risk premiums (EMRP) were: 6. 4% = Geometric mean over T-bills 4. 7% = Geometric mean over T-bonds 8. 4% = Arithmetic mean over T-bills . 4% = Arithmetic mean over T-bonds For the purpose of analysis we will use 6. 4% EMRP, thus (E(Rm)-Rf) = 6. 4 %. () The cost of equity is determined by the company’s levered Beta (). This is calculated according to the ‘Hamada equation’: ? l = ? u (1+(1-T)(D/E)) ?l = company’s levered Beta ?u = company’s unlevered beta (It is a beta assuming the firm is completely equity financed, which reflects pure business risk) T = effective marginal tax rate D/E = market-value debt/equity ratios Exhibit 10 provided seven different betas that can be used for the capital assets price model and discount rate calculation. The project of building airplanes is a long-term venture with the life span more than five years. Boeing created a sales and cash flow forecast for the next 30 years, based on Exhibit 8. This is why for the calculation we use the Beta calculated over the longer period of time. Out of the three Betas calculated for the period of time 5 years, (1. 05, 0. 80, 1. 00), we take 0. 80, the figure calculated against the S&P 500 index. It uses the weighted market value, which can actually reflect the importance of company’s securities in the market shares and the boarder market changes (Wikipedia, 2009). 0. 8 = ? u (1+(1-0. 5)*0. 525) Beta Asset = 0. 6 (overall risk of airplane industry) Total beta for Boeing equals to weighted beta from commercial business plus weighted beta for defense business. Beta = (%commercial)* Beta Commercial + (%defense )* Beta Defense. The average unlevered Beta for defense business among Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon is 0. 28 = (0. 28+0. 24 +0. 31)/3. () Exhibit 1 shows commercial business generated $28,387 million in revenue and the defense systems segment generated $24,957 in revenue in 2002. Thus the weight of commercial business is 53% and the weight of defense systems business is 47%. In addition, commercial business generated $9,726 million in identifiable assets and the defense systems segment generated $12,753 in identifiable assets in 2002. Thus the weight of commercial business is 43% and the weight of defense systems business is 57%. 0. 6 = 53%*Beta Commercial +47%*0. 28 Beta Commercial = 0. 88 0. 6 = 43%*Beta Commercial +57%*0. 28 Beta Commercial = 1. 02 There are two betas (0. 88, 1. 02) calculated for the risk of this industry, we choose the larger figure 1. 02. This indicates the larger discount rate for the project evaluation thus it could provide the more pessimistic scenario. The larger the discount rate from the CAPM, the more inflation we assume in our projection. Calculation of CAMP: R = 4. 56 +6. 4*1. 02=11. 08% The appropriate required rate of the return for evaluation the 7E7 project is 11. 08%. In EHHIBIT 10, it shows market-value debt/equity ratios, so it assumes that this ratio reflects the Boeing’s capital structure and using only debt and equity as finance the 7E7 commercial aircraft project in this case. There are two formulas to calculate the weight of debt and equity as show below: Debt/Equity=0. 525 (D/E=0. 525) Debt+Equity=1 (D+E=1); D=1-E Using the second formula substituting back into the first equation and the result is 1-E/E=0. 525, so through calculating this equation, it can indicate that E is 0. 656 and D is 1-0. 656=0. 344. The Boeing’s capital structure is that the weight of debt is 34. 4% and the weight of equity is 65. 6%. From this case, it gives a well-known formula how to finance Boeing’s weighted-average cost of capital (WACC), it shows below: WACC= (percent Debt) (Pretax cost of debt capital) (1- Marginal effective corporate tax rate) + (percent Equity) (Cost of equity capital) In previous calculation, it already know the percent Debt is 34. %, percent Equity is 65. 6%, Cost of equity capital is 11. 088% and in this case gives Marginal effective corporate tax rate is 35%. So it only just to calculate cost of Debt. The cost debt is the interest rate or yield that a firm must pay on its bonds. In this case, it uses weighted average yield to maturity to calculate cost of debt. Through the for m of EXHIBIT 11 and using two column debt amount and yield to maturity to finance cost of debt is 5. 286%, however, the appropriate cost of debt is the after-tax cost of debt, so the final cost of debt is 5. 86%*(1-35%)=3. 436%. All of variables is known, so it can calculate WACC=34. 4%*3. 436+65. 6%*11. 088%=8. 46%. The IRR which is consistent with ‘base case’ assumption was 15. 7% in the EXHIBIT 9 of case study. In this case, it shows that IRR (15. 7) is greater than WACC (8. 46%), so the 7E7 commercial aircraft project is quite attractive for Boeing. In the ENHIBIT 9, it indicates that the unit volume for the first 20 years will only be 1500 with 0% price premium above expected minimum price, under this worse circumstance, IRR still have 10. % which is still greater than WACC (8. 46%). Obviously, developing of the 7E7 commercial aircraft project is acceptable. The IRR is expected to be 15. 7%, while WACC is estimated to be 8. 46%, leaving a difference of 7. 24%. This excess will add value to Boeing’s stock and the company will believe that developing of the 7E7 commercial aircraft project is a worthy investment. In the EXHIBIT 9, there is another factor development costs which influence on the IRR of the 7E7 commercial aircraft project. Developmental cost could make or break the IRR of the aircraft. Boeing company could consider how to control the cost of development, if the company cannot control the developmental costs, the result is that the delivery delays and the company will give discounts to consumers, this will lead to IRR goes down. The Boeing use of composite material could change the manufacturing process, the machinery and the labor skills, so Boeing should recognize that the 7E7 project maybe have the potential for product cost and price inaccuracies and Boeing’s managers should concern how to reduce the development costs. Under the worst condition, from the form of EXHIBIT 9, it shows that development costs is $10,000,000,000 with cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales is 84%, that is IRR is 8. 6% still higher than WACC (8. 46%). Therefore, developing the 7E7 commercial aircraft project is an attractive project. From WACC this perspective to consider whether the 7E7 project is economically attractive or not, the WACC calculates an overall return that a corporate exist assets and business in order to increase or maintain the current value of current stock. In this case, it knows that Boeing’s stock price closed at $36. 41 and from the definition of WACC, it can understand that the Boeing must earn at least 8. 46% return from this 7E7 project in order to maintain this stock price. It also indicate that discount rate for this company is 11. 088%, compare with WACC 8. 46%, it means that the company under the safety circumstance to calculate net present value. In the previous calculation, cost of equity is 11. 088% and it can compute NPV is $2546. 74. The NPV is greater than zero, so the 7E7 commercial aircraft project is a profitable investment.

Interview with Teenagers Essay

Interviewing teenagers turned out to be rather interesting. It’s very relevant the difference in my time of growing up a teen, to now. Teens these days have way more issues to worry about being that drugs, sex, and pregnancy are more tangible then the past. With media using tv, radio, magazines and music to tell teens how they â€Å"need† to be, it’s not hard to believe all the increase in teen violence, depression, and suicide. During the course of this paper I will be discussing the interview that I gave too four teen girls. Each of them came from different backgrounds and had very different, but yet the same answers to being a teen in today’s society. Jasmine Small, Ashley Leivas, Shavon McCorvey, and Emily Morales were the four teens that I chose to interview. Each of these girls comes from different backgrounds. Jasmine grew up without a father, Ashley grew up in foster care, Shavon had both parents present in her household, and Emily was taken from her mother as a child and was raised by her aunt. Just off of me knowing their background it was prevalent that the answers were going to be different and interesting in the same. In the beginning I made sure to discuss the purpose of this interview and notified them that they could stop me at any time for questions, or if the interview becomes too personal. After having done that all of the girls seemed to be relieved, and at that moment my interview began. What do you like about being a teenager was the first question asked all the girls. All of the girls agreed that having friends and having fun, and hanging out were the highlights of their youth. They all had their group of friends and all liked to go to the mall, movies, and â€Å"kick-backs† (parties). When I asked if school was significant to them they all laughed and said that they like school but it wasn’t too important to them. When asked about their dislikes they all had different answers. Jasmine answered that her dislike was going to school. She felt as if she didn’t learn anything, as if school was useless. Ashley disliked the fact that there is a lot of drama as far as people gossiping inside of school. She explained how many people perceived her as a person that likes to fight, and is promiscuous, when she is the exact opposite. She has issues that she’s dealing with and doesn’t seem to get along with other girl which is why she finds herself in a lot of altercations. Shavon’s dislike was growing up in Lancaster, she was born and raised in Los Angeles and was recently brought out here two years ago. She just wished that she had control over where she lived. Emily didn’t have an answer to this question she was having a difficult time with trying to determine what was a huge dislike. She couldn’t think of any so we moved on. Who is the most important thing in your life right now was an interesting question that I couldn’t wait to ask. Each answer was unique and heartwarming. Jasmines was her mother, she was very happy about having such a good mother who did all she could for children. She had not one bad thing to say about her mother. Ashley’s was her brother; her brother was the only biological family member that she had. She had seven other family members but all were split up in foster care in different states. Shavon’s was her sister; she was very close to her sister and shared everything with her. Emily’s was her cousin, whom she considered as a sister, she was close with her, and like Shavon, shared everything with her. They all had their individual stories on how close they were with their important person, and how they couldn’t imagine life without them. Of all the questions I believe that the question, if you could change one thing about your life what would it be and why, was the most important question. It showed that the girls all seemed to have some issues with growing up whether it be peer pressure or living without certain family members. Jasmine said that she would have her father in her life. She felt as if she had her father she would be a different person. She really wanted to have a relationship with her father. Ashley main thing she would change is to have a mother that cared and wasn’t on drugs. She said that she is very appreciative of her foster mother, but she would love to have known her real mother. Shavon’s change would be for her to move back to Los Angeles. She said that since she has moved to Lancaster everything has changed and that she is being mistreated at school. She began to explain that she left behind a lot of friends and didn’t seem to fit in. Emily, like Ashley, wanted her biological mother back. Unlike Ashley, Emily lived with her mother god enough to remember her before she was taken out her home. She remembered her mother for the good things that she did and not the drugs, like everyone else portrayed her mother as. During this interview it was very evident the issues that teens these days face. Later on in the interview we talked about peer pressure and if it affected them. They all stressed that peer pressure is hard not to fall into and that do have plenty of friends who are weak minded and whom have become pregnant or is having unprotected sex. They all are very smart and know how to say no when peer pressure arises. Being that I’m not that far in age many other the issues that they face, I did to growing up. There aren’t many differences except that everything is more prevalent as far as sex and pregnancy.

Broken essays

Broken essays What made my life different from the parable is that both of my parents did have claims. And in order to remain whole, I needed both of them, but that seemed not to be an option. Something inside me was not just depressed but dividing, cracking, splintering, pulling me back and forth between my two parents, and occasionally I wished I could walk through a picture window and have the sharp, broken shards slash me to ribbons so I could finally look like I felt (Wurtzel 75). What made Elizabeths life so miserable is that her depression did not end their. She had an obsessive compulsive disorder to be perfect and the chemicals in her head were imbalanced. Which one was to blame? Elizabeths parents contributed to her depression, but both in different ways. Her mother was just as crazy as she was. Some mothers are capable of handling their childrens problems, but Elizabeths mom was clearly not one of them. She was just as likely to have a panic attack as her daughter, but she did love her with all her heart. The father on the other hand just up and left, abandonment. Since he decided to leave, he left Elizabeths mom to all the responsibilities of; raising, feeding, shelter, food, love, comfort and acceptance. The few times Elizabeth actually saw her father, when she was younger, he slept through the whole visit. He somehow was able to connect with her but more as a curiosity. I could see that he might have understood me better than my mom did, but he really didnt love me as devotedly (Wurtzel 73). From her story her parents are only the half of it, the outside part. She had something else going on inside her head and that was something very serious. It came from within her; she couldnt accept who she was. She wanted so much to impress everyone around her that she forgot who she was inside, and that was a good child. ...

Order, Search, and Sort MySQL Data

Order, Search, and Sort MySQL Data When you query a MySQL database, you can sort the results by any field in an ascending or descending order just by adding ORDER BY at the end of your query. You use ORDER BY field_name ASC for an ascending sort (which is the default) or ORDER BY field_name DESC for a descending sort. You can use an ORDER BY clause in a SELECT statement, SELECT LIMIT or DELETE LIMIT statement. For example: SELECT * FROM addressORDER BY name ASC; The code above retrieves data from an address book and sorts the results by the persons name in an ascending fashion. SELECT email FROM addressORDER BY email DESC; This code selects only the email addresses  and lists them in descending order. Note: If you dont use an ASC or DESC modifier in the ORDER BY clause, the data is sorted by expression in ascending order, which is the same as specifying ORDER BY expression ASC.

How would you describe the protagonist of The Snows of Kilimanjaro Essay

How would you describe the protagonist of The Snows of Kilimanjaro Name three of his most important characteristics and supp - Essay Example While Henry waits for the approach of the inevitable hour, the plot of the story moves ahead through the recollection of his thoughts of spectacular experience of the poor and â€Å"interesting lot†. The story is also captivated with the remorse and repentance of Henry during his final hours as he estimates the time he has wasted in his decadent life instead of writing down his wonderful experiences. A thorough understanding and deep delineation of the story would launch the readers into three most pertinent characteristics of Henry’s personality. The first obvious trait in his personality is his impatient nature. Henry is seen to be impatient and pessimist throughout the story. He is in a continuous quest and his thought process is also observed moving faster. He is hopeless and he is sure that no aid can be given to him except a peaceful death which according to him he is denied at the camp as well, â€Å"Don't be silly. I'm dying now. Ask those bastards. He looked o ver to where the huge, filthy birds sat, their naked heads sunk in the hunched feathers. A fourth planed down to run quick-legged and then waddle slowly toward the others†. (Hemingway, 1998). Henry is seen blaming others for his failure which is an indication of a very nagging behaviour.