Social constructions of gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Social constructions of gender - Essay Example To some extent I think the major issue bringing about all these arguments is the fact that there is no proper definition of the term gender that each of the opposing groups can use as the base for their arguments in order to come up with the middle ground in the alignment of the contentious issues underlying the whole matter. Depending on the line of argument that has been taken by any of the opposing sides, the gender matter can be defined in two distinct lines of thought which of course tend to oppose each other bringing about the two antagonistic sides in the whole argument over the subject matter. On one side, some people define gender based on their biological origins and structure thereby categorizing them as either male or female, though another category of gender has recently come into play and is rapidly claiming recognition as far as the classification of gender is concerned. This third gender is the transgender which is mainly common in America and is a fusion of the two b iological definitions. A proper classification of the third gender as far as its biological orientation is concerned has not yet been devised, but it still cut across the two main ones (Dube, 2001). On the other hand the term gender has been defined on the social basis depending on the roles carried out by the two biologically defined gender categories. It is good to note here that the social definition fuses both the biological orientation of the two gender lines with the social roles assigned to each biological gender in the society.

Current Event issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current Event issue - Research Paper Example tries such as Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, China etc whereas Britain has many disputes with Argentina like Latin American countries. China has problems with India, Taiwan, Tibet etc. In short, interstate problems exist everywhere in this world and global governance is the only solution for these interstate problems according to Karns and Mingst. Karns and Mingst have defined global governance as follows: â€Å"Global governance is not global government; it is not a single world order; it is not a top-down, hierarchical structure of authority. It is the collection of governance-related activities, rules, and mechanisms, formal and informal, existing at a variety of levels in the world today†(Karns and Mingst, 2004, p.4). The concept of global governance put forward by Karns and Mingst seems to be good on papers and in practice it is not so. Since different types of governances are prevailing in this world, how we can expect that the collection of governance-related activities under the label of global governance may solve international problems or interstate problems. Moreover, different people may have contrasting beliefs, ideologies and customs and how we can use these things together for ensuring global peace and harmony. It should be noted that United Nations was founded immediately after WW2 to avoid or solve future interstate problems. However, we know that interstate problems are still going on at different parts of the world and UN seems to be ineffective in solving many of the interstate problems. Many people believe that in a unipolar world dominated by America, even UN like global agencies may fail to act neutrally. The on-going war on terror, Israel-Palestine crisis, the tensions between America and Iran are examples to prove the failure of UN. Under such circumstances how we can assume that the concept of global governance may ensure peace and harmony in this world. Even though the idea of global governance put forward by Karns and

Timberland’s Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Timberland’s Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Timberland’s exercise of its corporate power in society is very much so positive. The have contributed many great things to the world around them as they see fit. Jeffrey Swartz, the grandson of the founder and the last member of the family to serve as CEO said, â€Å"At Timberland, doing well and doing good are not separate efforts. Every day, everywhere, we compete in the global economy. At the center of our efforts is the premise of service†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lawrence Anne T. ) Timberland only went further to prove this statement by Swartz. The social responsibly contributed by the New Hampshire Company is apparent and influentially responsible. Large companies can and are very influential to other companies because they set the pace. Not only with profit, but also with social responsibility, smaller companies follow after the actions of larger companies. Timberland is aware of this â€Å"big brother† image and is handling itself very well. Timberland has made both economical and social contribution to the United States and its neighboring countries. They have mastered the balance of public help. In September 2011, Timberland celebrated its centennial birthday with a service event called â€Å"Serv-a-Polooza† (Lawrence Anne T.). The event was held at its corporate headquarters in New Hampshire. Volunteers worked with Habitat for Humanity and framed houses in its corporate parking lot to be shipped for final assembly in Missouri to assist the suffering families in tornado- devastated Joplin, Missouri. They also created a new outdoor community gathering and performance space, built an outdoor classroom at a local elementary school, and improved the high school athletic facilities in Newmarket, New Hampshire. Lastly, volunteers worked on â€Å"greening† a community for a local nonprofit organization, transforming the meeting space for local disabled veterans, and knitting blankets for families affected by the Missouri tornadoes. (The Timberland Company ) Timberland and its volunteers have made substantial social contributions. Helping the state of Missouri shows the optimistic side of larger  corporations, which can often be misconstrued as negative entities. Timberland is making a great difference. Timberland has also prepared economical influences. Over the past years, Timberland has focused more on its effective sustainability. By the end of 2010, they had installed LED lighting in its stores in the United States and directed its European stores to purchase renewable energy, which in return reduced its carbon emissions by thirty-eight percent. Shortly after that accomplishment, Timberland set new sustainability goals for the following year. The company unveiled the plan to reduce its carbon emissions by fifty percent of total energy consumption. Timberland established a baseline for its supply chain emissions and challenged all of its suppliers to meet level two of the Global Social Compliance Program standards (Lawrence Anne T.). The programs that Timberland have pursued are not in lieu of self-interest. The standards and changes that the company has set fourth simultaneously benefit the company and its surroundings. Both the economical and social changes and contributions not only benefitted the company as a whole but also the people that the programs were initially for. The emissions sustainability efforts were economically beneficial because it supports health standards for the surrounding community where the Timberland factories are located as well as their suppliers. The programs that Timberland set effectively on their centennial birthday, in Missouri, were put in place in lieu of the Missouri residents and their families. The social responsibility initiatives of Timberland are focused on the appropriate problems but can focus on a different aspect. The programs set fourth in Missouri were great but Timberland can aim to assist other states besides their native state. Many programs went into play in Missouri because tats where Timberland’s â€Å"home† is. These efforts are great but are narrowed in on one place. Timberland’s efforts should be widespread around the United States. Timberland is off to a great start but shouldn’t be settled only in their place of comfort. Widespread efforts will go along way and open the doors for other volunteers, financial and non-financial support. VF Corporation should continue to support the initiatives of Timberland because they are headed in the right direction. Timberland’s efforts are creditable and honest. They have set a standard for other companies to follow. Being a larger and well know company is crucial because you’re always in the limelight. This limelight is the reporting mark that smaller and upcoming companies seek direction from. If Timberland continues with its practically good efforts, corporate entities would have a more positive perception. Timberland has set fourth great efforts with their economic and social contributions. They have properly set initiatives that are both beneficial to their surrounding communities as well as the company itself. Timberland’s exercise of its corporate power in society is very much so positive. The have contributed many great things to the world around them as they see fit. Bibliography Lawrence, Anne T., and James Weber. Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy. Fourteenth ed. Print The Timberland Company . Corporate Social Responsibility Report. 2001. .

Longfellows Unique American Hero in Evangeline :: Longfellow Evangeline Essays

Longfellow's Unique American hero in Evangeline      Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract: Longfellow's portrayal of the American Adam is set apart in that he does not praise this character as a role model for others. The concept of the American Adam is seen in a different light through the depiction of Basil in the narrative poem Evangeline.    R.W.B. Lewis explores the quest of the writers of the American Renaissance to create a literature that is uniquely American in his 1955 text, The American Adam: Innocence, Tragedy, and Tradition in the Nineteenth Century. This is accomplished through the image of "the authentic American as a figure of heroic innocence and vast potentialities, poised at the start of a new history" (Lewis 1). David S. Reynolds explains that these writers are working under the influence of "classic themes and devices" and producing "truly American texts" (5). Lewis convincingly argues "that the new hero" is "most easily identified with Adam before the Fall" (5). Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and the works of several others of the period are tied to the creation of this new Adam, but the contribution of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is largely neglected. Longfellow's portrayal of the American Adam is set apart in that he does not praise this character as a role model for others. The concept of the American Adam is seen in a different light through the depiction of Basil in the narrative poem Evangeline.    Evangeline is the tale of an Acadian woman's journey to find her lost lover after her people are exiled from their native Nova Scotia. Longfellow describes the state of the Acadians after this exile early in the second part of the poem:       Far asunder, on separate coasts, the Acadians landed;    Scattered were they, like flakes of snow, when the wind from the northeast    Strikes aslant though the fogs that darken the Banks of Newfoundland.    Friendless, homeless, hopeless, they wandered from city to city [. . .].    (38-39)    These lines reveal that the Acadians represent a people forced to start their lives anew in a land that is completely foreign to them.

Custom Written Essays: Rating Hamlet -- The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

Rating Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Is this Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet at the top of the rating chart, or is it just near the top? This essay intends to examine various aspects of this subject, along with critical opinion.    Could the enduring reputation of Hamlet   be attributed to the â€Å"ultimate form† in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas? Robert B. Heilman says so in â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare†:    It is the way of venerable texts whose authenticity has impressed itself on the human imagination: he has said many things in what seems an ultimate form, and he is a fountainhead of quotation and universal center of allusion. â€Å"A rose by any other name† comes to the mouth as readily as â€Å"Pride goeth before a fall,† and seems no less wise. [. . .] The Ophelia-Laertes relationship is strongly felt near the end of Goethe’s Faust, Part I, and the Hamlet-Gertrude-Claudius triangle echoes throughout Chekhov’s Sea Gull (24-25).    This play is ranked by many as the very greatest ever written. Cumberland Clark in â€Å"The Supernatural in Hamlet† gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics of today:    At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Night’s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. (99)    There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay â€Å"Superposed Plays† maintains that no other English tragedy has generated the literary comment which this play has produced: â€Å"Hamlet is one of the great tragedies. It has generated more comment than any other written document in English literatu... ...iversity Press, 1965. Lanham, Richard A. â€Å"Superposed Plays.† Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Rpt. from The Motives of Eloquence: Literary Rhetoric in the Renaissance. N.p.: Yale University Press, 1976. Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos. Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.

Pan Europa Essay

Background Pan Europa Foods is company, located in Brussels, Belgium, producing high-quality ice cream, yogurts, bottled water and fruit juices. Its products are sold throughout Scandinavia, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, western Germany and northern France. In January 1993, the senior-management committee of Pan-Europa Foods must decide which major projects to fund for that year. The available funds for implementation is set as 80 million euros. However various managers, have proposed projects totalling 208 million euro. Capital rationing has been identified as the main problem that the management of the company has to deal with. The management has to identify projects that would best achieve benefits of strategic importance. Problem statement According to case there is no evidence that projects would be proposed with some alignment to any strategy, mission or vision. There are only few criteria defined that projects should apply to, like Minimum Payback period, expected IRR, etc. There is no strictly defined project selection methodology in place. The project selection is based on the discussions and voting by the seven managing directors. The financial tests were the payback period and internal rate of return, which meant that the time value of money was ignored. Analysis The current funding for Pan Europa is mainly rooted in debt financing – debt-to-equity ratio is 125%, that is more higher than most of they peers have. After price war is over, Pan Europa bankers strongly recommended to reduce debt level significantly. Therefore company should pay attention on actions how to decrease capital spending. There might be several finance based methods for project evaluation in place, like NPV, Annuity (due to project characteristics), IRR, etc. And the results for evaluation might differ significantly. Like, if we are looking for long term activities, then, using annuity calculation we will find that preferred project would be the Strategic Acquisition. Projects sorted by this figure would be: Strategic Acquisition Eastward Expansion Snack Foods Southward Expansion Inventory Control System Artificial Sweeteners New Plant Expanded Plant Automation Conveyor System Expand Truck Fleet Effluent Treatment Program (which has no NPV) While the Effluent Treatment Program has no formal NPV it can be considered an investment of 4M now to save a cost of 10M in 4 years. In fact, there are many aspects that could invalidate the simple NPV analysis of the projects. They include Risk Political considerations Regulatory issues including health, safety and environmental Incompatibility with corporate strategy Resource availability Strictly speaking there are no ‘must to do’ projects on the desk. Water treatment project (Effluent Treatment) is upcoming in nearest future. But right now there is no evidence that this project has to be started right now. The new regulation might come in 4 years, but might be postponed as well. Of course this project shouldn’t be forgotten. All existing project might be split in a following sections: Increase efficiency Extension (either new plant building or new market capturing) R&D Regarding risk assessment, Projects that involve small technology changes like expanding the truck fleet would have low risk. Increasing levels of technological sophistication such as automation or introducing artificial sweeteners into products would also increase implementation risks. From financial perspective as the risk area we should consider that any producer in a capitalist environment is attempting to increase markets with new products in new areas. The prospective customers may simply choose to not buy the product. There are many risks regarding project implementation itself, like project size, complexity and length of the period of return, etc. Meanwhile tangible risks, there are several aspects, like correlation between several projects. For instance market expansions will come together with necessity to increase ability to deliver goods to consumers location (most probably truck fleet upgrade will be required). All projects mentioned in case are evaluated against financial figures, but besides  financial aspects, there are several non-quantitative points included. Projects that impact the company’s regulator compliance such as effluent treatment (environment) and warehouse automation safety. Several of the projects could impact the company’s image. For example, the focus on low fat products (artificial sweetener project) might increase companies reputation. Prospective Project evaluation should be done based on several factors. One of the most important points is financial benefits evaluation. There might be following characteristics taken in account for evaluation: Does the project fits in corporate strategy? Expected cost level, does it exceeds Tolerable Cost Value. Maximum payback period analysis. IRR evaluation, does the project meet minimum IRR? Risk analysis – does the project incur high risk? Financial characteristics were chosen due to significant information presence in case. Besides financial aspects several other might be taken in consideration, for instance – social factors (staff treatment), then company would focusses more on projects improving environment for labor force. Applying screens and criteria mentioned above and strictly following companies internal rules, the following projects would be eliminated outright: Truck Fleet upgrade because it does not meet the minimum IRR and exceeds the maximum payback period dictated by company policy. New Plant, Plant Expansion, Artificial Sweetener and Plant Automation all because they exceed the maximum payback period dictated by company policy. Strategic Acquisition would be eliminated due to excessive risk.

Free Essays on Truth In The Scarlet Letter

There are many images of truth shown in Hawthorne’s novel, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† These images give the reader a look into the minds of the characters and a different perspective on the situations at hand. Many of these images show a turning point in the novel, as well. Dimmesdale, Pearl and Hester show the different instances where truth was brought out in society. In the beginning of the novel, there is a scene in which Hester was forced to stand on the scaffold and have everyone scorn her. She shows the scarlet A on her chest for all to see, and braves their criticism. Although Hester is one with a great sin, according to the Puritan society she lives in, she also shows the truth these situation because she is letting the people recognize her sin and acknowledge it. She chooses not to hide the truth from them, unlike reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. At one point during the novel, Dimmesdale is so fixed on his sin that it has caused his downfall and worn him away. In this scene, he goes to the scaffold after his election day sermon and asks Hester and Pearl to join him because he is so weak that he can barely support himself. In this instance, the reader sees that truth is finally exposed to Dimmesdale’s followers in the book, and this is a highly significant scene. Dimmesdale tells his followers that he deceived him and about how he has done so. He has felt guilt for so long and finally he passes away with no secrets to hide from anyone; a burden has been lifted off his mind and he dies peacefully. He knew that he was so worn out from the entire situation that it would be too late to be saved anyway. This scene is also important to the chraracterization of Hester because it is the first time that she is not in complete control of her emotions. The most significant reason for Dimmesdale’s breakdown is evident throughout the course of the plot. It is the fact that he has kept his sin a secret. Because of his... Free Essays on Truth In The Scarlet Letter Free Essays on Truth In The Scarlet Letter There are many images of truth shown in Hawthorne’s novel, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† These images give the reader a look into the minds of the characters and a different perspective on the situations at hand. Many of these images show a turning point in the novel, as well. Dimmesdale, Pearl and Hester show the different instances where truth was brought out in society. In the beginning of the novel, there is a scene in which Hester was forced to stand on the scaffold and have everyone scorn her. She shows the scarlet A on her chest for all to see, and braves their criticism. Although Hester is one with a great sin, according to the Puritan society she lives in, she also shows the truth these situation because she is letting the people recognize her sin and acknowledge it. She chooses not to hide the truth from them, unlike reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. At one point during the novel, Dimmesdale is so fixed on his sin that it has caused his downfall and worn him away. In this scene, he goes to the scaffold after his election day sermon and asks Hester and Pearl to join him because he is so weak that he can barely support himself. In this instance, the reader sees that truth is finally exposed to Dimmesdale’s followers in the book, and this is a highly significant scene. Dimmesdale tells his followers that he deceived him and about how he has done so. He has felt guilt for so long and finally he passes away with no secrets to hide from anyone; a burden has been lifted off his mind and he dies peacefully. He knew that he was so worn out from the entire situation that it would be too late to be saved anyway. This scene is also important to the chraracterization of Hester because it is the first time that she is not in complete control of her emotions. The most significant reason for Dimmesdale’s breakdown is evident throughout the course of the plot. It is the fact that he has kept his sin a secret. Because of his...