Sociology: Privilege :: Sociology Essays

1. (a) Privilege is defined as a favor or right granted to some people, but not to everyone. (b) Power is defined as strength, ability, or a driving force. (c) Difference is defined as the way in which two things are not the same. (d) According to MacIntosh there are two types of privileges. The first is based on what she calls â€Å"unearned entitlements,† which are things that all people should have. Some examples are feeling safe in a public place or working in a place where they feel that they belong and are valued for what they can contribute. The other type of privilege is what MacIntosh calls â€Å"unearned advantage,† and occurs when â€Å"unearned entitlements† are restricted to certain groups. An example would be a white person feeling out of place at a downtown nightclub. (e) The paradox in privilege is that individuals are the one’s who experience privilege or the lack of it, but individuals are not what are actually privileged. Instead, privilege is defined in relation to a group or a social category. For example, race privilege is mo re about white people than it is about white people. Privileges are only granted in society when people identify the individual as belonging to a specific category, race, gender, or cultural background. By saying that oppression is the flip side of privilege the author means that for every social category that is privileged, one or more other categories are oppressed in relation to it. Oppression points toward the social forces that â€Å"press† upon people and hold them back, thus blocking their pursuit of a good life. 2. (a) Capitalism is defined as an economic system based on ownership of resources by individuals or companies and not by the state. Capitalism as it relates to sociology has to do with the fact that it not only produces enormous amounts of wealth, but that it creates extreme levels of inequality among social classes and societies. Capitalism also has made the rich richer and the poor poorer and has opened the gap in the U.S. class system. The matrix of domination says that each particular form of privilege, whether based on race, gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, or ethnicity, exists only as a much larger system of privilege. It works by simplifying and clarifying the gray areas that we encounter in privilege. It allows us to see that each form of privilege exists only in relation to all the rest and keeps us from trying to figure out which is the worst or most oppressive.

Optimal Capital Structure Essay

The optimal capital structure for a company should be the mix of equity, debt and hybrid instruments that minimizes the overall cost of funding, i.e. it should minimize the company’s weighted average cost of capital. In practice, however, it is not possible to specify this optimal capital structure exactly, for any individual company. It clearly makes sense to obtain funds at the lowest possible cost. In the long run, debt is cheaper than equity. However, when a company’s financial leverage increases as it takes on more debt capital, there is an increasing risk for stockholders. The cost of equity therefore will rise, perhaps offsetting the benefits of raising cheap debt capital. Although management cannot be specific about the optimal capital structure for their company, they should at least be aware of †¢how banks and the capital markets might respond to an increase in the company’s leverage level if it were to borrow new funds, and †¢Whether the company is sufficiently low geared to make new debt capital an attractive option, compared to a new issue of equity as a fund-raising measure. There are two approaches to managing a company’s capital structure: a reactive and a proactive approach. The reactive approach is to take funding decisions when a requirement for more—or less—funding becomes apparent, and to raise or reduce capital by the method that seems best at the time. The proactive approach that is found in companies with large and well-organized treasury functions is to †¢forecast future funding requirements or funding surpluses as much as possible †¢establish targets for capital structure, in particular a target leverage level (a target range) and a target maturity profile for debt capital †¢If appropriate, raise funds early when new funding requirements are anticipated, in order to take advantage of favorable conditions in the capital markets or low bank lending rates. This approach calls for accurate and flexible forecasting skills, and good treasury management systems. A proactive approach also can be taken to reducing funds, whenever a company considers its current funding to be in excess of requirements for the foreseeable, long-term future. By having a target leverage level and a target debt maturity profile, management can decide which method of removing surplus capital might be more appropriate, i.e. †¢reducing equity, by raising dividends or buying back and canceling stocks, or †¢Redeeming loans early. Company’s capital structure is never static and will change over time. Retained earnings that should be earned continually add to equity and reduce leverage levels. It is not unusual, therefore, for companies to experience funding cycles of high leverage, as new loans are obtained to fund capital expansion, and decreasing leverage, as retained earnings are earned. The cash flows generated from profits could be used to redeem loans and thereby replace debt capital with equity in the company’s capital structure.

How Man Is Changing the Environment and Biomes

How is man changing environment or biomes? Man is drastically changing the environment with all the needs he has. Humans cut down entire forests in the course of a month. Then we build buildings in its place making it impossible for anything to grow there. Those trees were a crucial part to the ecosystem and environment, which are now changed forever. We also drive cars, which emit exhaust, which in turn hurts our ozone layer and heats up the Earth. Once the ozone layer is damaged the ice caps melt a little and now the entire environment is changed, all thanks to man.Not to mention that biomes are changed as well due to global warming; the ice caps melt a little and the world gets hotter, thus the biomes near the sea are changed because the water level rises and the weather there is hotter. Another way man is changing biomes and the environment around the world is by building cities. Humans build new buildings every day and those buildings take up space, space that was once a tree, a bit of grassland, or maybe a little pond.The cities we build are all around the world and some of the places where those cities are used to be entire ecosystems. For example the Thames and the area surrounding it in London, England; they were once their own environment and we built over the land surrounding the river and dumped a bunch of garbage into the Thames. The same goes for Denver; it lies on a mountain, the area it lies on used to have creeks and trees, but now it just has buildings and roads. Another part of the environment changed forever due to us humans.

Execute and Run Applications and Files From Delphi Code

Execute and Run Applications and Files From Delphi Code The Delphi programming language provides a quick way to write, compile, package, and deploy applications cross-platform. Although Delphi creates a graphical user interface, there are bound to be times you want to execute a program from your Delphi code. Lets say you have a database application that uses an external backup utility. The backup utility takes parameters from the  application and archives the data, while your program waits until the backup finishes. Maybe you want to open documents presented in a file list box  just by double-clicking on them  without opening the associated program first. Imagine a link label in your program that takes the user to your home page. What do you say about sending an email directly from your Delphi application through the default Windows email client program? ShellExecute To launch an application or execute a file in a Win32 environment, use the ShellExecute Windows API function. Check out the help on ShellExecute for a  full description of parameters and error codes returned. You can open any document without knowing which program is associated with it- the link is defined in the Windows Registry. Here are some shell examples.   Run Notepad uses ShellApi;...ShellExecute(Handle, open,c:\Windows\notepad.exe, nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Open SomeText.txt With Notepad ShellExecute(Handle,open,c:\windows\notepad.exe,c:\SomeText.txt, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Display the Contents of the "DelphiDownload" Folder ShellExecute(Handle,open, c:\DelphiDownload, nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Execute a File According to Its Extension ShellExecute(Handle, open, c:\MyDocuments\Letter.doc,nil,nil,SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Heres how to find an application associated with an extension. Open a Website or a *.htm File With the Default Web Explorer ShellExecute(Handle, open,http://delphi.about.com,nil,nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ; Send an Email With the Subject and the Message Body var em_subject, em_body, em_mail : string;begin em_subject : This is the subject line; em_body : Message body text goes here; em_mail : mailto:delphiaboutguide.com?subject em_subject body em_body ; ShellExecute(Handle,open, PChar(em_mail), nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL) ;end; Heres how to send an email with the attachment. Execute a Program and Wait Until It Finishes The following example uses the ShellExecuteEx API function. // Execute the Windows Calculator and pop up// a message when the Calc is terminated.uses ShellApi;...var SEInfo: TShellExecuteInfo; ExitCode: DWORD; ExecuteFile, ParamString, StartInString: string;begin ExecuteFile:c:\Windows\Calc.exe; FillChar(SEInfo, SizeOf(SEInfo), 0) ; SEInfo.cbSize : SizeOf(TShellExecuteInfo) ; with SEInfo do begin fMask : SEE_MASK_NOCLOSEPROCESS; Wnd : Application.Handle; lpFile : PChar(ExecuteFile) ;{ParamString can contain theapplication parameters.}// lpParameters : PChar(ParamString) ;{StartInString specifies thename of the working directory.If ommited, the current directory is used.}// lpDirectory : PChar(StartInString) ; nShow : SW_SHOWNORMAL; end; if ShellExecuteEx(SEInfo) then begin repeat Application.ProcessMessages; GetExitCodeProcess(SEInfo.hProcess, ExitCode) ; until (ExitCode STILL_ACTIVE) or Application.Terminated; ShowMessage(Calculator terminated) ; end else ShowMessage(Error starting Calc!) ;end;

Harun Al-Rashid Abbasid Caliph Profile

Harun Al-Rashid Abbasid Caliph Profile Harun Al-Rashid Was Also Known As Haroun ar-Rashid, Harun al-Raschid or Haroon al Rasheed Harun Al-Rashid Was Known For Creating a fabulous court at Baghdad that would be immortalized in The Thousand and One Nights. Harun al-Rashid was the fifth Abbasid caliph. Occupations Caliph Places of Residence and Influence Asia: Arabia Important Dates Became caliph: Sept. 14, 786 Died: March 24, 809 About Harun al-Rashid Born to the caliph al-Mahdi and the former slave-girl al-Khayzuran, Harun was raised at court and received the bulk of his education from Yahya the Barmakid, who was a loyal supporter of Haruns mother. Before he was out of his teens, Harun was made the nominal leader of several expeditions against the Eastern Roman Empire; his success (or, more accurately, the success of his generals) resulted in his earning the title al-Rashid, which means the one following the right path or upright or just. He was also appointed governor of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, which Yahya administered for him, and named second in line to the throne (after his older brother, al-Hadi). Al-Mahdi died in 785 and al-Hadi died mysteriously in 786 (it was rumored that al-Khayzuran arranged his death), and Harun became caliph in September of that year. He appointed as his vizier Yahya, who installed a cadre of Barmakids as administrators. Al-Khayzuran had considerable influence over her son until her death in 803, and the Barmakids effectively ran the empire for Harun. Regional dynasties were given semi-autonomous status in return for considerable annual payments, which enriched Harun financially but weakened the power of the caliphs. He also divided his empire between his sons al-Amin and al-Mamun, who would go to war after Haruns death. Harun was a great patron of art and learning, and is best known for the unsurpassed splendor of his court and lifestyle. Some of the stories, perhaps the earliest, of The Thousand and One Nights were inspired by the glittering Baghdad court, and King Shahryar (whose wife, Scheherazade, tells the tales) may have been based on Harun himself. More Harun al-Rashid Resources Iraq: Historical Setting Encyclopedia article on Abbasids Harun al-Rashid on the Web Harun al-RashidInformative collection of data at NNDB. Harun al-Rashid (786-809)Brief overview of Haruns life at the Jewish Virtual Library. Harun ar-RashidConcise bio at Infoplease. Harun al-Rashid in Print The links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the books page at one of the online merchants. Harun Al-Rashid and the World of a Thousand and One Nightsby Andre Clot Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate(Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)by Tayeb El-Hibri

Protecting Personal Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Protecting Personal Information - Essay Example But there are many concerns which consumers must consider if they want to enter into protected and secure transactions with the seller companies without any security risks involved. They must watch what PII they are going to share with the companies online. Companies might ask them to give their PII like name, address, phone number, e-mail address, spouse’s name, name of parents and children, social insurance number, bank account number or credit card number. Consumers should make sure that the seller companies have a privacy policy mentioned on their websites and that the security of their credit cards or any other mode of payment is also guaranteed. If the credit card number has been given, then the statement must be checked regularly so as to make sure that there are no unknown charges that are not in the consumer’s knowledge. It is also a sensible idea to keep a copy of all agreements, transactions, and communications that have been carried out with the online vendo rs so that a proof is always there in case of complaints- minor or severe.Two of the many laws regarding identity theft are discussed below:Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)CFAA was designed in 1984 and deals with penalties for the intruders who gain access to sensitive information stored in a computer without authorized access. Computers have to be protected when the consumers carry out commercial activities, engage in cross-border e-commerce, and make online business transactions and email communications with online traders.... It is also a sensible idea to keep a copy of all agreements, transactions and communications that have been carried out with the online vendors so that a proof is always there in case of complaints- minor or severe. Laws and Legislation Two of the many laws2 regarding identity theft are discussed below: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) CFAA was designed in 1984 and deals with penalties for the intruders who gain access to sensitive information stored in a computer without authorized access. Computers have to be protected when the consumers carry out commercial activities, engage in cross-border e-commerce, and make online business transactions and email communications with online traders. The Act applies penalties upon the identity thieves starting from 10 years to 20 years of imprisonment. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) This law was passed in order to eliminate the menace of identity theft. The need for secure online networks initially arose when issu es like computer viruses and internet fraud posed a threat to the security and privacy of data stored on online servers and health records. HIPAA was passed by U.S. Congress on August 21, 1996. It deals with the privacy issue of the consumer’s data and presents Privacy Rule which ensures fines and punishments for fraud and violation of the rule. Ethical, Moral and Social Issues It is important to educate the users of internet and computer systems about â€Å"intellectual property rights issues, privacy/ surveillance issues, access to data issues and issues of human-computer interaction† (Stahl, Carroll-Mayer and Norris, 2006, p.298). They should know that

Job resume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job resume - Essay Example Excellent communication skills, good negotiation skills, passion in travelling, fluency in English and the ability to undertake difficult responsibilities are some of the plus points which made me suitable for this profession. Apart from marketing skills, in my opinion, a marketing professional needs management skills and the ability to work in a team. My diverse experiences in Bobby Brown Cosmetic Shop, Samsung life insurance and Oriental Spoon Restaurant have added more value to my leadership, marketing and management skills. It is difficult to market a product using the same marketing strategy all over the world. Each market has its own identity and characteristics because of the cultural, social, political and economical differences. In other words, custom made marketing strategies are necessary for each market. Korea is one of the rapidly developing economies in the world even amidst tensions with the neighboring countries like North Korea. In United States, FedEx has succeeded in monopolizing the logistics market whereas in Korea same thing cannot be said about FedEx. I have studied many of the marketing strategies of the FedEx in America and I think I can implement those strategies in Korea with a little bit of fine tuning. Currently, FedEx failed to deliver even in-state deliveries on the same day of shipping in Korea (Max). But in United States the case is different. In fact same day delivery of goods made FedEx the number one logistics company in United States. In my opinion, FedEx should try to deliver as much as goods on the same day of shipping in Korea also in order to become the market leader there. I have an extensive 150 days marketing plan for my Korea operations if succeeded in getting a marketing profession in FedEx. If FedEx provides me an opportunity to work in Korea, I will use the initial 30 days for studying the market. Market study is