Judith Lorbers The Social Construction of Gender Essay -- Socializati

Judith Lorber is able to convey many of her ideals about our contemporary conceptions of gender in her essay, ?The Social Construction of Gender.? Not only does she clearly express her opinions on the roles of physiological differences of the male and female bodies, but she also elaborates on the roles of the mass media and professional sports among other things. It rapidly becomes clear that there are many legitimate arguments that support this movement for near or complete equality in genders and the roles that they perform. Clearly, society has been created around two separate classes or genders: men and women. Lorber argues that much of what we consider to be gender has no place in the natural order of the things. She is able to begin her argument by citing that gender has often been a literal creation of man in many cases such as those of hermaphrodites. Should a baby be born with characteristics that do not fully represent the male or the female gender, a doctor will judge the baby based on the size and shape of its gentiles, and then transform him/her into one or the other. Though there are more advanced techniques employed in this process today, this does illustrate the arbitrary meanings of gender. Lorber holds many of the same views as the average feminist and more. She agrees with the view that genders are nothing more than a ?cultural overlay? and is oppressive to females. Though she does not dispute the fact that there are many differences in physical, intellectual, and emotional characteristics between men and women, Lorber claims that these differences are socially meaningless until social practices transform them into social facts.? (Lorber, Page 40) These include most activities from professio... ...ation of people by their behavioral patterns and their physical or mental aptitudes and shortcomings rather than gender alone. Though this hardly seems like a feasible solution with the state of contemporary society, it appears to solve some of the most deep-rooted problems of gender inequality. Larry Gross is able to offer some insight into resistance of this culture by suggesting the support and growth of media that both produced by and aimed at specific genders and sexual minorities. Though such changes are already beginning to take place in the media today, it will surely by quite some time before these goals are realized in magnitude sought after by Gross. Though both of these authors present possible advancements for their ideals, they are truly up against powerful opposition and are not likely to see their desired changes any time in the near future.

Carnival Competition and Swot

COMPETITION Carnival Corporation is part of different industries and sectors: on one hand we have the cruise industry, which is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry. Carnival is the largest cruise operator in the world, so it’s the most important player of the cruise industry. On the other hand the company is also part of a bigger sector: Hotels, Resorts and Cruise Lines, in which the competition list grows, having hotels and motels and the largest segment with 92. 4% share of the sector’s value. As a company Carnival has 11 brands distributed among the segments of the cruise ship industry.These segments are based on class, average price and number of passengers per ship. The mass-market segment also known as contemporary consists of 45 ships, an average of 2,400 passengers and a price of $114. 87. As company Carnival has the largest share of this segment with two different brands, Carnival Cruise Lines and Costa Cruises with 21 and 2 ships respectively, a share of 52%. Royal Caribbean, has 9 ships and a total of 21% of share in this segment, the company has a total of 40 ships that are operated under five different brands.Norwegian Cruise Line takes third place in the segment with a share of 18% and a total of nine ships, it is jointly owned by Star Cruises, the dominating company in the Asia-Pacific Market. Norwegian is known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, with little requirements. MSC Cruises is fourth with four out of a total of 12 ships, and a share of 9%, it sails throughout the Mediterranean and offers a wide range of itineraries in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, South America, among others.Carnival also plays an important role in the also known as premium segment, consists of 54 ships, an average of 2,390 passengers and a price of $167. 50; with four brands and a share of 54%, a total of 28 ships. Princess Cruises, holds 26%; Costa Cruises, 18%; Holland America Line, 8%, and Carnival Cruise Lines, only o ne ship and a share of 2%. Second places goes to Royal Caribbean and three of its brands, Celebrity Cruises, 18%; Royal Caribbean International, 14% and Pullmantur with 3% and two ships.MSC Cruises is third with only 6 cruises and 11% of share. As part of the Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines sector, Carnival’s competition increases. The rivalry level is high thanks to the dependence of intense characteristics of the sector capital, management, marketing, personnel, energy, maintenance, and technology, affect the final result. Worldwide the sector reached a value of $623. 2 billion in 2011 with a growth of 8. 2%. Hotels and motels is the largest segment of the sector, it accounts for 92. % of the total value, followed by cruise lines with 4. 7%, and resorts with 2. 9%. Even though Carnival Corporation is part of a smaller segment, it still is the leading player in the sector, generating 2. 5% share of the total value. Competing with Marriot International who holds 2%, a diversif ied hospitality company with a broad portfolio of hotels, lodging facilities, corporate housing properties and timeshare properties under various brand names.Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriot, Renaissance Hotels, The Ritz Carlton, among others, are part of the portfolio that recorded revenues of $12,317 million during the financial year ended December 2011. Accor comes in third place with a share of 1. 4%, French hotel group, which operates in over 91 countries with 4,426 hotels ranging from economy to luxury, some of its brands includes, Motel 6 and Sofitel Hotels and Resorts. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide holds 0. 9%, with 1,103 properties in nearly 100 countries.Westin Hotels, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts and W Hotels, are among the diverse portfolio that recorded revenues of $5,624 million. Carnival Corporation & plc is one of the largest cruise and vacation companies in the world, operating through four segments: North America, Europe, Australia and Asia cruise brands. The company is the most important player in both the Cruise Industry and in the Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines sector, in a market where buyers and consumers are price sensitive and willing to switch to a new player if a better offer is presented. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths:Carnival has the largest fleet and passenger capacity in the cruise industry, being the largest operator in the world operating 99 cruise ships, 2. 4 the number of ships of its closest competitor Royal Caribbean. Being the worlds largest cruise operator enhances the company’s bargaining power with suppliers, which results in large economies of scale and significant cost advantage over competitors. The large portfolio of widely recognizes brands, which cater to different lifestyles and budgets, also targeted to different cultures and demographic groups addressing people’s diverse entertainment and preferences.The company has a solid marketing strategy that communicates the value proposition of each bra nd to the target audience intended. Having as the main theme ‘Fun Ships’. Investing heavily in print and television media, to project itself as the ultimate entertainment destination. In addition to advertising, Carnival uses different methods to encourage new customers and travel agents with discounts and commissions, this aggressive marketing and promotion techniques highlights the different brands in a highly competitive industry and sector.Weaknesses: Even though Carnival is the leading provider of cruise vacations in the majority of the largest markets, it shows and overdependence on the North America region because it’s the originator of most of the company’s revenues. Creating vulnerability to the economic situations and uncertainties of the American economy. Opportunities: As an industry there is an opportunity to further penetrate into the European cruise market.Although the cruise industry has grown significantly over the past decades it still oc cupies a very small proportion of the global vacation market, 4. 7%. With more opportunity to further penetrate the European cruise market, especially in Western European countries where the trend is moving in favor of cruise vacations. In addition a changed in demographics has been seen, with a growth in population of over 65. Marking the importance of the general trend where the majority of cruising passengers ranged from 45 to 65 years. Threats:New tax regulations announced by the United States, as a measure to address offshore tax avoidance, Carnival Corporation would be affected because it is incorporated in Panama and Carnival plc in the UK, so its exempt from taxation earnings because they come from operations of a ship documented under the laws of a foreign country. As cruise line company it also pays minimal corporation tax because it holds overseas status. Around 48% of the company’s revenues are generated from non-US regions and are reported in US Dollars, as a res ult there is a large dependence on the fluctuations of the dollar against all other major currencies.

Average GRE Scores for Top Private Universities

Most graduate schools have done away with publishing the average GRE scores for their incoming graduate students online and in promotional literature. They dont want hopeful attendees to get the wrong idea that if their scores arent the same as what other students have achieved, then they should not even bother to apply. However, some graduate schools are willing to post average  ranges  of scores for incoming grad students, although most of those scores are arranged by intended major rather than by the schools statistics as a whole. Keep reading to see the average GRE scores as listed for top private universities for a couple of very popular majors (engineering and education) as published by the U.S. News and World Report.   GRE Scores Information If you are perplexed as you run through these scores because you expected to see numbers in the 700s, then you are probably still using the old GRE score system which ended in 2011. As of August 2011, average GRE scores can run anywhere between 130 - 170 in 1-point increments. The old system more people are familiar with, assessed students on a scale from 200 - 800 in 10-point increments. If you took the GRE using the old system and are curious about what your approximate GRE score would be with the new scale, then check out the two concordance tables listed below. Please note, however, that GRE scores are only valid for five years, so July 2016 was the last time students with GRE scores in the prior format were able to use them for admissions into graduate school.   GRE Verbal Concordance TableGRE Quantitative Concordance Table    Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Engineering:   Quantitative: 167 Stanford University Engineering:   Quantitative: 167 Education Quantitative: 162Verbal: 164 Harvard University Engineering:   Quantitative: 167 Education Quantitative: 161Verbal: 165 California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Engineering:   Quantitative: 168 Duke University Engineering:   Quantitative: 164 University of Chicago Engineering:   Quantitative: NA Northwestern University Engineering:   Quantitative: NA Education Quantitative: 158Verbal: 163 University of Pennsylvania Engineering:   Quantitative: NA Education Quantitative: 159Verbal: 161 Johns Hopkins University Engineering:   Quantitative: 164 Education Quantitative: 161Verbal: 163 Rice University Engineering:   Quantitative: 166 New York University Engineering:   Quantitative: NA Education Quantitative: 154Verbal: 159 University of Notre Dame Engineering:   Quantitative: 160 Vanderbilt University Engineering:   Quantitative: 167 Education Quantitative: 159Verbal: 164 Are My GRE Scores Going To Get Me In? There are quite a few factors that go into your acceptance into one of these top private universities, so dont stress out just yet. Although your GRE scores  are  important, they are not the only things considered by admissions counselors, as Im sure youve heard before. Make sure your application essay is top-notch and that you have secured great recommendations from those professors who knew you best in undergrad. And if you havent worked on bumping up your GPA already, then now is the time to ensure youre getting the best grades you possibly can in case your GRE score isnt exactly what you wanted it to be.