Film Trailers essays

Film Trailers essays How do the Film Trailers for Mission Impossible 2 and X-Men Persuade an Audience to View the film? These two films are now Box Office Hits- but why? Somehow the film companies have persuaded an audience to pay 4.00 of their hard-earned cash to go into a cinema and see the film. The film companies have created a trailer for the two films, which encapsulates the essence of the film without giving too much away. Is this hard to do and how did the film companies do this? When a film company makes a movie just like any other business venture they are trying to make money. Everyone likes cash in their hand to do whatever they want. The difference is we are talking about an international venture costing millions and millions of pounds with a lot at stake. This causes the film companies to pull out all the stops, to try and put in the big names, lots of action and everything that pleases the audience. This is exactly what Mission Impossible 2 and X-Men have done. Mission Impossible. When these two words are spoken we immediately say: Your Mission, If you choose to accept it... and This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds... This is what the film company tries to get across. It still keeps the original ideas of the hit sixties T.V. show while modernising it and keeping up with the times and adapting to the needs and requirements of todays audience. The Universal Selling Points (USPs) are numerous; its a sequel to a successful film, Tom Cruise, Martial Arts and John Woo. In the trailer they use music very effectively, they hire in the worlds most popular (and arguably worst) band, Limp Bizkit to play their hit song Take a look around, but dont let the title mislead you, it has been specially created for use on the Mission Impossible film. Another leading band Metallica appear in the movie with the song I Disappear but this s...

What Everyone Should Know About the Vietnam War

What Everyone Should Know About the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American publics support for the war. Since the end of the war, the Vietnam War has become a benchmark for what not to do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts. Dates of the Vietnam War: 1959 April 30, 1975 Also Known As: American War in Vietnam, the Vietnam Conflict, Second Indochina War, War Against the Americans to Save the Nation Ho Chi Minh Comes Home There had been fighting in Vietnam for decades before the Vietnam War began. The Vietnamese had suffered under French colonial rule for nearly six decades when Japan invaded portions of Vietnam in 1940. It was in 1941 when Vietnam had two foreign powers occupying them, that communist Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh arrived back in Vietnam after spending 30 years traveling the world. Once Ho was back in Vietnam, he established a headquarters in a cave in northern Vietnam and established the Viet Minh, whose goal was to rid Vietnam of the French and Japanese occupiers. Having gained support for their cause in northern Vietnam, the Viet Minh announced the establishment of an independent Vietnam with a new government called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. The French, however, were not willing to give up their colony so easily and fought back. For years, Ho had tried to court the United States to support him against the French, including supplying the U.S. with military intelligence about the Japanese during World War II. Despite this aid, the United States was fully dedicated to their Cold War foreign policy of containment, which meant preventing the spread of communism. This fear of the spread of communism was heightened by the U.S. domino theory, which stated that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to communism then surrounding countries would also soon fall. To help prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist country, the U.S. decided to help France defeat Ho and his revolutionaries by sending the French military aid in 1950. Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion at Dien Bien Phu in north-west Vietnam, the site of a major battle between the French and the Vietminh in 1954. Ernst Haas/Getty Images France Steps Out, U.S. Steps In In 1954, after suffering a decisive defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the French decided to pull out of Vietnam. At the Geneva Conference of 1954, a number of nations met to determine how the French could peacefully withdraw. The agreement that came out of the conference (called the Geneva Accords) stipulated a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of French forces and the temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel (which split the country into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam). In addition, a general democratic election was to be held in 1956 that would reunite the country under one government. The United States refused to agree to the election, fearing the communists might win. With help from the United States, South Vietnam carried out the election only in South Vietnam rather than countrywide. After eliminating most of his rivals, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected. His leadership, however, proved so horrible that he was killed in 1963 during a coup supported by the United States. Since Diem had alienated many South Vietnamese during his tenure, communist sympathizers in South Vietnam established the National Liberation Front (NLF), also known as the Viet Cong, in 1960 to use guerrilla warfare against the South Vietnamese. First U.S. Ground Troops Sent to Vietnam As the fighting between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese continued, the U.S. continued to send additional advisers to South Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese fired directly upon two U.S. ships in international waters on August 2 and 4, 1964 (known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident), Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution gave the president the authority to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson used that authority to order the first U.S. ground troops to Vietnam in March 1965. President Johnson Announces Retaliation for Gulf of Tonkin Incident.   Historical/Getty Images Johnsons Plan for Success President Johnsons goal for U.S. involvement in Vietnam was not for the U.S. to win the war, but for U.S. troops to bolster South Vietnams defenses until South Vietnam could take over. By entering the Vietnam War without a goal to win, Johnson set the stage for future public and troop disappointment when the U.S. found themselves in a stalemate with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. From 1965 to 1969, the U.S. was involved in a limited war in Vietnam. Although there were aerial bombings of the North, President Johnson wanted the fighting to be limited to South Vietnam. By limiting the fighting parameters, the U.S. forces would not conduct a serious ground assault into the North to attack the communists directly nor would there be any strong effort to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Viet Congs supply path that ran through Laos and Cambodia). Life in the Jungle U.S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong. The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels. For U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult. Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs, which cleared an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away. In every village, U.S. troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong. U.S. soldiers commonly became frustrated with the fighting conditions in Vietnam. Many suffered from low morale, became angry, and some used drugs. Troops Fighting during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. Bettmann/Getty Images Surprise Attack - The Tet Offensive On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese surprised both the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese by orchestrating a coordinated assault with the Viet Cong to attack about a hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. Although the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army were able to repel the assault known as the  Tet Offensive, this attack proved to Americans that the enemy was stronger and better organized than they had been led to believe. The  Tet Offensive  was a turning point in the war because President Johnson, faced now with an unhappy American public and bad news from his military leaders in Vietnam, decided to no longer escalate the war. Nixons Plan for Peace With Honor In 1969,  Richard Nixon  became the new U.S. president and he had his own plan to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam.   President Nixon  outlined a plan called Vietnamization, which was a process to remove U.S. troops from Vietnam while handing back the fighting to the South Vietnamese. The withdrawal of U.S. troops began in July 1969. To bring a faster end to hostilities, President Nixon also expanded the war into other countries, such as Laos and Cambodia- a move that created thousands of protests, especially on college campuses, back in America. To work toward peace, new peace talks began in Paris on January 25, 1969. When the U.S. had withdrawn most of its troops from Vietnam, the North Vietnamese staged another massive assault, called the  Easter Offensive  (also called the Spring Offensive), on March 30, 1972. North Vietnamese troops crossed over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel and invaded South Vietnam. The remaining U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army fought back. Representatives from the four factions of the Vietnam War meet in Paris to sign a peace agreement. Bettmann/Getty Images The Paris Peace Accords On January 27, 1973, the peace talks in Paris finally succeeded in producing a cease-fire agreement. The last U.S. troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, knowing they were leaving a weak South Vietnam who would not be able to withstand another major communist North Vietnam attack. Reunification of Vietnam After the U.S. had withdrawn all its troops, the fighting continued in Vietnam. In early 1975, North Vietnam made another big push south which toppled the South Vietnamese government. South Vietnam officially surrendered to communist North Vietnam on April 30, 1975. On July 2, 1976, Vietnam was reunited as a  communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

What Everyone Should Know About the Vietnam War

What Everyone Should Know About the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American publics support for the war. Since the end of the war, the Vietnam War has become a benchmark for what not to do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts. Dates of the Vietnam War: 1959 April 30, 1975 Also Known As: American War in Vietnam, the Vietnam Conflict, Second Indochina War, War Against the Americans to Save the Nation Ho Chi Minh Comes Home There had been fighting in Vietnam for decades before the Vietnam War began. The Vietnamese had suffered under French colonial rule for nearly six decades when Japan invaded portions of Vietnam in 1940. It was in 1941 when Vietnam had two foreign powers occupying them, that communist Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh arrived back in Vietnam after spending 30 years traveling the world. Once Ho was back in Vietnam, he established a headquarters in a cave in northern Vietnam and established the Viet Minh, whose goal was to rid Vietnam of the French and Japanese occupiers. Having gained support for their cause in northern Vietnam, the Viet Minh announced the establishment of an independent Vietnam with a new government called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. The French, however, were not willing to give up their colony so easily and fought back. For years, Ho had tried to court the United States to support him against the French, including supplying the U.S. with military intelligence about the Japanese during World War II. Despite this aid, the United States was fully dedicated to their Cold War foreign policy of containment, which meant preventing the spread of communism. This fear of the spread of communism was heightened by the U.S. domino theory, which stated that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to communism then surrounding countries would also soon fall. To help prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist country, the U.S. decided to help France defeat Ho and his revolutionaries by sending the French military aid in 1950. Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion at Dien Bien Phu in north-west Vietnam, the site of a major battle between the French and the Vietminh in 1954. Ernst Haas/Getty Images France Steps Out, U.S. Steps In In 1954, after suffering a decisive defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the French decided to pull out of Vietnam. At the Geneva Conference of 1954, a number of nations met to determine how the French could peacefully withdraw. The agreement that came out of the conference (called the Geneva Accords) stipulated a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of French forces and the temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel (which split the country into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam). In addition, a general democratic election was to be held in 1956 that would reunite the country under one government. The United States refused to agree to the election, fearing the communists might win. With help from the United States, South Vietnam carried out the election only in South Vietnam rather than countrywide. After eliminating most of his rivals, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected. His leadership, however, proved so horrible that he was killed in 1963 during a coup supported by the United States. Since Diem had alienated many South Vietnamese during his tenure, communist sympathizers in South Vietnam established the National Liberation Front (NLF), also known as the Viet Cong, in 1960 to use guerrilla warfare against the South Vietnamese. First U.S. Ground Troops Sent to Vietnam As the fighting between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese continued, the U.S. continued to send additional advisers to South Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese fired directly upon two U.S. ships in international waters on August 2 and 4, 1964 (known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident), Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution gave the president the authority to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson used that authority to order the first U.S. ground troops to Vietnam in March 1965. President Johnson Announces Retaliation for Gulf of Tonkin Incident.   Historical/Getty Images Johnsons Plan for Success President Johnsons goal for U.S. involvement in Vietnam was not for the U.S. to win the war, but for U.S. troops to bolster South Vietnams defenses until South Vietnam could take over. By entering the Vietnam War without a goal to win, Johnson set the stage for future public and troop disappointment when the U.S. found themselves in a stalemate with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. From 1965 to 1969, the U.S. was involved in a limited war in Vietnam. Although there were aerial bombings of the North, President Johnson wanted the fighting to be limited to South Vietnam. By limiting the fighting parameters, the U.S. forces would not conduct a serious ground assault into the North to attack the communists directly nor would there be any strong effort to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Viet Congs supply path that ran through Laos and Cambodia). Life in the Jungle U.S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong. The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels. For U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult. Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs, which cleared an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away. In every village, U.S. troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong. U.S. soldiers commonly became frustrated with the fighting conditions in Vietnam. Many suffered from low morale, became angry, and some used drugs. Troops Fighting during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. Bettmann/Getty Images Surprise Attack - The Tet Offensive On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese surprised both the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese by orchestrating a coordinated assault with the Viet Cong to attack about a hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. Although the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army were able to repel the assault known as the  Tet Offensive, this attack proved to Americans that the enemy was stronger and better organized than they had been led to believe. The  Tet Offensive  was a turning point in the war because President Johnson, faced now with an unhappy American public and bad news from his military leaders in Vietnam, decided to no longer escalate the war. Nixons Plan for Peace With Honor In 1969,  Richard Nixon  became the new U.S. president and he had his own plan to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam.   President Nixon  outlined a plan called Vietnamization, which was a process to remove U.S. troops from Vietnam while handing back the fighting to the South Vietnamese. The withdrawal of U.S. troops began in July 1969. To bring a faster end to hostilities, President Nixon also expanded the war into other countries, such as Laos and Cambodia- a move that created thousands of protests, especially on college campuses, back in America. To work toward peace, new peace talks began in Paris on January 25, 1969. When the U.S. had withdrawn most of its troops from Vietnam, the North Vietnamese staged another massive assault, called the  Easter Offensive  (also called the Spring Offensive), on March 30, 1972. North Vietnamese troops crossed over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel and invaded South Vietnam. The remaining U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army fought back. Representatives from the four factions of the Vietnam War meet in Paris to sign a peace agreement. Bettmann/Getty Images The Paris Peace Accords On January 27, 1973, the peace talks in Paris finally succeeded in producing a cease-fire agreement. The last U.S. troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, knowing they were leaving a weak South Vietnam who would not be able to withstand another major communist North Vietnam attack. Reunification of Vietnam After the U.S. had withdrawn all its troops, the fighting continued in Vietnam. In early 1975, North Vietnam made another big push south which toppled the South Vietnamese government. South Vietnam officially surrendered to communist North Vietnam on April 30, 1975. On July 2, 1976, Vietnam was reunited as a  communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Infectious disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Infectious disease - Research Paper Example Dr. Kai Kliiman has also been an efficient manager for the National Tuberculosis Program. The authors have a biased interest as they tend to incline their article to their point of view. Though there is also some vested interest which is obvious through the biased interest, the article does not tend to show any prejudices. Since the article talks about established facts and has less to do with assumptions, this article shows the biased interest of the authors than the vested interest. This is a peer reviewed article and this can be confirmed by the article itself. The article does attribute the critical revision, provision on study materials, collection and assembly of data and other important aspects of the article just to both the authors and no other source of cross check involved and hence it is obvious that this is a peer reviewed article. The article â€Å"Predictors of extensively drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis† is about the study conducted on several patients in Estonia suffering from culture confirmed pulmonary-tuberculosis. The article educates the readers about the brief study conducted on patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis and the efforts to identify the their causes. ... s and continents in which it is prevailing and is spreading, and also speaks about the number of deaths that are reported every year owing to this infectious disease. The article speaks much about the studies conducted on patients of Estonia, which had the highest number of cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Initially the reader gets exposed to the details of the spread of the disease in spite of the measures that had been taken and also the effect of NTP (National Tuberculosis Control Program). This in association of HIV virus is spoken about and their combined effect is also talked about. â€Å"In certain African countries and many parts of Southeast Asia, HIV is becoming more and more endemic. Where tuberculosis is also endemic among the population, a weakened immune system will increase the risk of getting tuberculosis. This is an extremely worrying situation and the WHO and the IUATLD are doing all they can to prevent the disease from spreading† (Dr.Pallisgaard, 21). The adoption of several sophisticated methods for this study is also mentioned in the article. The study has taken into consideration factors like sex, age, place of birth, economic status and other factors like drinking habits, marital status and employment and studied their effects too. These tests were conducted dividing the patients into three separate groups, namely the extensively drug resistance tuberculosis, multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis and non- multi drug but non-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis. All the data pertaining to the patients has been collected and stored in a database. Tests have been conducted in highly equipped labs and highly qualified people as per the directions of WHO. In each case susceptibility has been gauged separately and

Logistics and Supply Chain Management Case Study

Logistics and Supply Chain Management - Case Study Example Examples like Wal-Mart and Benetton are in front of us where logistics transformed the form of core competence which is strategically positioned for bringing market success for the organization (Drew & Smith 1995). This, on one hand, gives a competitive advantage to one organization, on the other hand, it is achieved at the cost of exploiting the other. Such exploitation in market terms can be labeled as 'weapon' that once used against the competitor provides benefit at the cost of bringing loss to the competitor. This can be illustrated by the fact that an organization can increase or decrease the goods supply to the market or can purchase the services of major supply chain companies irrespective of the fact he uses them or not, but to choke other companies particularly competitors from getting supply chain services for their goods supply. Unless the competitor is efficient enough to detect what is going on behind the curtain, he is unable to rectify the cold war being played agains t him by his rivals. However, Drew & Smith (1995, pp. 24-33) points out that excessive exploitation can produce dangerous results if the organization adopts a rigid behavior. Similarly, this 'explosive weapon' can result in fatal blind spots if used in a single direction without considering other factors. For instance, supply chain integration once stops at the factory door may annoy large organizations to exploit more but since logistic firms are aimed to improve their performances, such exploitation will probably not work. Traditional supply chain delivers limited value to companies for which there is a political competition going on among competitors. In contemporary fast-paced supply chains, managers or CEOs lack insight into the ripple effects of their decision (Boyson et al 2004, p. 99). Logistical challenges are confronted by the firms who not only assume a static environment but look at each problem individually. For instance, a company when switches from long-term contracts to short-term buys it suffers temporarily for the decision will influence the logistic options available to the organization including short-term variability, the price of the product and supplies.   With the lengthening of supply chains, logistics executives are increasingly taking the onus on their shoulders for anticipating and eliminating a greater number of risks. Though contemporary stakes are high that what they were five years ago resulting in an average profitability loss of 107% (Logistics 2009). But at the same time CEOs are struggling to prioritize the overwhelming number of risks that indirectly leads to unfocused plans and poorly coordinated responses (ibid). Competing with others become critical for the logistic firms when there is a concern to reduce costs while continuing to guarantee the quality of products. This requires ensuring efficient execution of outsourced activities in a complex trading and production scenario which is a difficult phenomenon in a compet itive environment. In this context, it is indispensable to identify, evaluate and extenuate potential disruptions in SCM in a systemic manner so as to control or minimize the risk of product recalls (Gomer 2009).

Study Guide Essay Example for Free

Study Guide Essay What is the amount of the firms operating cash flow if the tax rate is 35 percent? a. $46,605 b. $52,030 c. $71,700 D. $134,630 e. $105,720 BLOOMS TAXONOMY QUESTION TYPE: APPLICATION LEARNING OBJECTIVE NUMBER: 4 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE Ross Chapter 002 #83 SECTION: 2. 4 TOPIC: OPERATING CASH FLOW TYPE: PROBLEMS 3. Which one of the following statements is correct? A. The NYSE has the most stringent listing requirements. b. The trading floor for NASDAQ is located in Chicago. c. The majority of the publicly traded firms in the U. S. are listed on the NYSE. d. NASDAQ is an auction market. e. The NYSE is a dealer market. SECTION: 1. 2 TOPIC: CAPITAL BUDGETING TYPE: DEFINITIONS 47. Baldwin, Inc. paid $18,500 in dividends and $44,600 in interest over the past year while net working capital increased from $10,200 to $28,200. The company purchased $30,000 in net new fixed assets and had depreciation expenses of $15,700. During the year, the firm issued $45,000 in net new equity and paid off $16,000 in long-term debt. What is the amount of Baldwins cash flow from assets? a. $48,000 b. $3,700 c. $30,200 D. $34,100 e. $18,000 BLOOMS TAXONOMY QUESTION TYPE: APPLICATION LEARNING OBJECTIVE NUMBER: 4 LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE Ross Chapter 002 #82

Great Gatsby Essay -- essays research papers

The novel The Great Gatsby is a story that takes place in the 1920’s. The story tells about Nick Carraway moving to New York and the actions that take place during his time in New York. The two main characters of the story are Nick Carraway who moved to New York and the other main character is Jay Gatsby who is Nicks new neboir and a very rich man who always has parties. The main conflict in the story is Gatsby’s long lost love who is Nick’s cousin, Daisy, reunite and her husband finds out about the affair .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story starts out with Nick moving to New York and then going to dinner at his Cousins he meets Jordan Baker who he begins a relationship with. At the dinner party they make planes to go to Tom’s, Nick’s cousin’s husband, run down apartment he uses for his affair. Myrtle the girl Tom is having a affair with taunts him about his wife and Tom brakes her nose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the summer continues Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s parties. When he gets there he sees Jordan they talk and then meet Gatsby for the first time he is surprisingly young he talks to Jordan privately about Daisy Gatsby becomes in love with Daisy again. He tells Nick to have a dinner party and invite him and Daisy but not tell Daisy about him being their. This works and Gatsby and Daisy start to see each other again. Tom figures out that his wife is cheating on him with Gatsby. He is very mad even though he himself is involved in an affair. Tom conf...

Avon’s Dividend Policy Essay

A firm’s decisions about dividends are often mixed up with other financing and investment decisions. Some firms pay low dividends because management is optimistic about the firm’s future and wishes to retain earnings for expansion. Other firms might finance capital expenditures largely by borrowing. All the above are examples of dividend policies which can be defined more precisely as the trade-off between retaining earnings on the one hand and paying out cash and issuing new shares on the other. In order to understand the dividend policy we must understand that this phrase means different things to different people (R.A. Brealey & S.C. Myers, 2003). Avon Products, Inc. announced both a change in its business focus and a reduction of its dividend in June 1988. To offset the likely stock price effect of the dividend reduction, Avon announced at the same time an unusual exchange offer under which it would take up to 25% of its common stock. The case traces the history of Avon from 1979-88. We will evaluate Avon’s efforts at diversification in the early 1980s, and will relate that effort to the company’s dividend history. Moreover we will evaluate Avon’s operating and financial strategies from 1979 to 1988 and the company’s financial condition in mid-1988. PERFORMANCE OF AVON’S STOCK FROM 1978-1988Based on Exhibit 4, Avon’s stock price has declined from $50.75 in 1978 to $24.125 in 1988 (decline equal to 52.5%). At the same time, S&P 500 has increased from $96.11 in 1978 to $266.69 in 1988 (increase equal to 177.5%). This rather poor performance of Avon stock contradicts with the performance of the overall market. Moreover, based on Exhibit 1, ROE decreased from 31% in 1978 to 21% in 1988. This is due to the following factors: Avon in the early 1980 made the major strategic decision to diversify its business by entering the health care field. In order to support its diversification strategy it invested heavily in subsequent acquisitions of Health care companies. It acquired Mallinkdroft in 1982, Foster Medical in 1984, Retirement Inns in 1985 and  Mediplex in 1986. Even though its health care division showed increasing net sales from 1982 till 1984, the situation changed during 1985, with a sudden drop of more than 50% in net sales. The inability of the health care sector to grow at attractive rates worsened in the years to come (largely because of the change in Medicare in 1986) and proved that it was a strategic mistake to go for diversification. Not only did not the market appreciate this decision, but also the firm found itself highly leveraged with a long term dept of $816.4 million in 1987, because of subsequent acquisitions. The heavy borrowing of the Avon obliged it to announce a dividend cut from $3.00 to $2.50 in 1982, and to $2.00 from 1983 till 1987. This dividend cutting policy, which was already expected and negatively perceived by the market from the early 1981 severely influenced Avon stock price (a decline in the share price from $30 to $20.375 immediately after the announcement of the following dividend policy) and contributed largely to its poor performance. This poor performance was also partly due to the disappointing financial results of the Beauty care sector from 1982 till 1985 (Exhibit 2). It was only in 1986 that the Beauty care sector showed again positive signs of improving prospects. The wrong commitment of Avon to its Health care sector together with the demographic shifts of the 1980’s, that decreased both its sales force and customer base are the main reasons for the Beauty Care sector’s disappointing results. EVALUATION OF AVON’ S FINANCIAL CONDITION IN MID-1988Avon in mid-1988 divested its healthcare business and acquired fragrance companies. In that way, Avon has demonstrated renewed commitment to beauty business and continued investment in that business. While its long term debt was only $4.1million in 1979 and its net earnings amounted to $250.7 million, Avon found itself heavily burdened with total long term debt of $816.4 million in 1988 decreasing net earnings of $159 million and just before divesting two of its health care businesses probably at considerable book losses. The decision of the company to finance its acquisitions with debt, starting from 1982, resulted to high interest expense payments every year (Exhibit 1). These high interest expense payments, combined with the decreasing net earnings made it very difficult for Avon to meet successfully its generous dividend payment policy. So the company had to reduce its yearly dividend  payments starting from 1982 and onwards. Under its financial condition in 1988 Avon has no other choice but to go for further reductions in dividends. That way the company will be able to meet its heavy debt obligations and at the same time finance the â€Å"come back† to its core beauty products business. PURPOSE OF THE EXCHANGE OFFERThe purpose of the exchange offer was to avoid having a dividend reduction drive down the stock price and find the â€Å"golden mean† between its own interests and the interests of its 25 large Institutional shareholders. Those shareholders owned 46.5 % of total Avon’s outstanding shares (Exhibit 5) and expected high dividends from them. Some investors, as it is mentioned in the case, have stated that they held Avon stock because it paid high dividends. Hence, a reduction of dividends would most likely have caused investors to sell their stocks and evoke share price delay. Therefore, Morgan Stanley, the financial adviser of Avon offered to exchange one share of a new $2.00 PERCS for each of up to $18 million of Avon’s 7.17 million outstanding common shares. PERCS are mandatory convertibles that work as equity-linked hybrid securities and automatically convert to common stock on a pre-specified date (Yan, A. et al, 2003). The PERCS assured the same dividends ($2.00 a year) until September 1991. The company would also have an option of redeeming the preferred shares for either cash or common shares after that date. In addition, the exchange offer was made in order to support the following four key elements that Avon should have taken into consideration (Ross, S.A., et al 2008):†¢Select Additional capital budgeting projects. Through the capital savings Avon will be able to finance additional projects with positive NPV. †¢Available funds for further acquisitions. To avoid the payment of dividends Avon might use excess cash to acquire another company. With this method the company will be able to support more efficiently its turnaround strategy towards the beauty business. †¢Repurchase shares. Avon will be able to support its market price which has reached the lowest level of approximately $24 by repurchasing shares. At the same time shareholders benefit from the fact that when selling shares they pay lower taxes than when they receive dividends. †¢Personal taxes. Money earned from dividends is considered as personal income so it is taxed. EVALUATION OF THE TRADE-OFFEach decision to go for either the new preferred stock or to keep the common stock has pros and cons. The new PERCS should be appealing to the majority of its institutional investors, since they guarantee to them a stable and relatively high enough quarterly dividend of 50 cents, which is always paid before any other common dividend payment. In this way its large institutional investors can feel certain that they will have a secured return on their investment, without incurring any transaction costs when selling off shares for current consumption. The holders of the new PERCS can also share the benefits of a stock price increase up to $31.5 but also the losses in case of a stock price drop. The great opportunity that the holders of the new PERCS are loosing is in case Avon stock price goes beyond $31.5. Its stock is currently undervalued to approximately $24 and there is a high probability that within the predetermined 3 years its stock price will increase beyond the price of $31.5, as Avon is undergoing a restructuring towards its core beauty care business and the market is expected to react positively to that news. If that will be the case, then they will loose any excess gains incurred beyond the $31.5 stock price. Being a common shareholder, an institutional investor experiences losses in revenues because of the dividend reduction. What is extremely important though is that this implies a policy of retaining earnings to help finance the business, which is currently being restructured. So having a long term perspective an institutional investor can select common stocks and bet on a stock price increase far beyond $31.5. If that will be the case then he will certainly outperform any losses he has experienced so far because of the dividend reduction. In addition, based on Exhibit 5 we can distinguish four types of institutional investors depending on their preferences:†¢Yield. In this case the institutional investors have as a primary objective, the amount of dividends they will receive divided by the purchase price. This is not an accurate measure of total return, since it does not factor in capital gains. (http://www.investorwords.com/5362/yield.html)†¢Turnaround. A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. (http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/turnaround)†¢Mixed. An investor with a combination of yield and turnaround incentives. †¢Index. Investors trading index options are essentially betting on the overall movement of the stock market as represented by a basket of stocks. These investors are considered to care a lot about acquiring stocks that help them diversify the risk of their overall portfolio (http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Index+Option). Concluding we assume that according to investors’ preferences we would have a different selection. The yield investor will probably prefer the PERCS, the turnaround investor would keep its common stocks, the mixed would consider both options and finally the index investor will first look at its entire portfolio and decide to keep the stock or not irrespective of the benefits that PERCS or common stock offer as he mainly cares for risk diversification. REFERENCES †¢Ross, S.A., Westerfield, R.W., Jaffe, J., Jordan, B.D. â€Å"Modern Financial Management†. McGraw-Hill, Eighth Edition, (2008)†¢R.A. Brealey and S.C. Myers, â€Å"Principles of Corporate Finance†, McGraw-Hill, Seventh Edition, (2003). †¢Yan, A., Nandy, D., and Chemmanur, T. â€Å"Why issue mandatory convertibles? Theory and empirical evidence, February (2003) Retrieved on 18.3.2008 (http://ideas.repec.org/p/ecm/nawm04/456.html)†¢http://www.investorwords.com/5362/yield.html. 18/3/2008. †¢http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/turnaround 18/3/2008. †¢http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Index+Option 18/3/2008.

Government control Essay

There are many challenges that have to be faced by humanity in the twenty first century. Some of these challenges are major that have to be addressed immediately while there are some challenges that do not require immediate action. The stronger nations are somehow able to tackle some issues but still there are some issues that are difficult to handle. However, the smaller and the weaker countries that lack finances find it difficult to come up with solutions to these 21st century problems. Diversity and unity Diversity is one of the major issues that need attention as people are moving from their native countries to other countries where they find better opportunities. Diversity means differences in cultures, beliefs and habits that create a mixture of cultures. Here, the issue is to maintain harmony amongst the people belonging to different cultures and so it is essential to ensure that harmony does not collapse. Besides diversity, unity is also one major challenges that have to be worked upon and since one country has many different cultures residing in it, maintaining unity is indeed something difficult to achieve. Today, there is an influx of people who have become selfish and they have opted for individualistic approach that has further spoilt the society. Other problems that can be seen are communalism, regionalism and the increase in the rate of violence that is directly and indirectly affecting the value system of the world. Technological advancements Technological advancements have greatly affected the world and are serving as a major challenge. Since these advancements are taking place at a very fast pace, all the nations are trying hard to keep pace with this and for the weaker nations, this serves as a Herculean task to achieve the goals. The first and the foremost thing that has to be done to cure this is to spread literacy and to make everyone educated. It should not be the aim to get degrees and diplomas but the real essence of education should be understood as this will further lead the people to expand their knowledge, wisdom and to develop positive attitudes. However, it is not just important to educate the people but it is also essential to provide with opportunities to the people so that they can use their talents but this is also serving as a major challenge as many people remain unemployed despite of being educated. Industrialization As progress is taking place, industrialization is increasing rapidly and the natural resources are being consumed at a very high rate. Moreover, increase in pollution is also evident and this can bring adverse affects on the people and the environment especially if no action is taken to cure this problem. There are many other strategic challenges that will be faced in the 21st century and most them are caused due to the changes in styles of businesses that have now introduced. Previously, the marketers used to sell one product to the entire market but today, the customers have become more intelligent and savvy and they seek for customer value and since all the companies are battling against each other to grab the share of their piece of cake, it is hard to achieve targets easily as it was done previously. Market volatility has increased and rate at which organizational change is taking place is high and all these changes have a dramatic affect on the business strategies that are made and implemented. When the business needs are changing, it is also a must that there are changes occurring in the requirement of human input too. Employing the right workforce One of the strategic challenges being faced by the companies is the employment of the human resources. The management has to ensure that it employs the workforce that is not only efficient but effective too. However, there are some factors that affect the global instability and there is a huge global impact and people are entering in high numbers in the market that makes it hard for the social arrangement to sustain. Other than this, there is a very vast pool of human resources that are being wasted and this means that the human beings who are being employed are not able to work at their full potential as they not employed in a productive manner. Moreover, more and more people are added to the entire human workforce each year because of which there is a high pressure on the institutions and on the resources. Wastage of resources The non-human resources that are available to the human beings are being wasted at a very high rate. Both the renewable and non-renewable resources are not being fully utilized and are exploited and if this continues, the people will not be left with anything in the future. The environment is having a very negative impact on it because of the human activities that are taking place. The technological explosions are one of the most dangerous as well as costly damage to the society. Other disruptions that are serving as 21st century challenges are air pollution, soil pollution as well as depletion and desertification. Besides this, deforestation and misuse of water are two other factors that are serving as great challenges and if they will not be controlled, this can lead to major problems in the future. Biospheric disruption is another major challenge that needs attention. Despite of the fact that these are unavoidable, we can at least lessen the destruction that can be caused by the natural disasters that includes the climatic, geological, meteorological and space-oriented disasters. Global warming and ozone loss are climatic, earthquakes and eruptions are geological, floods, storms and droughts are meteorological while asteroids are space-oriented. Human insecurity Human insecurity is also a major challenge and this also leading to global unrest due to the violence that is persisting in the world and inter-human combat is occurring due to the ethnic and religious differences. Moreover, hazardous frustration has to be reduced and since the weapons are being created, they are being used as well and since there is an increase in unemployment, terrorism is increasing in the society. People have to fulfill their basic needs without which survival is more than impossible because of which they are doing crime. Due to this, the crime rate is increasing and is leading to unrest in the society and also affecting world peace. The numbers of extremists are increasing day by day and drug dealers have also outnumbered because of which the youngsters are getting immune to drug usage and are doing crime. Medical challenges Countering the medical challenges also needs immediate action and there are two main trends that are causing increase in health concerns. Firstly, both the people and the things are moving and this has caused transfer of various kinds of diseases that the other people are getting from the humans and from the animals. Even the animals that have some kind of disease are a major threat of spreading diseases. Moreover, the animals that are consumed by the human beings are getting diseases such as bird fly and mad cow disease and if any animal suffering from any such disease is consumed by the human being, it will create serious problems for that individual. Secondly, people are using antibiotics at a very high rate and this has produced more resistant mutations. For this, tighter preventives and control measures are required to ensure human security. Rules and laws A global rule is lacking in the world and so it is serving as a challenge to the society as the world is lacking universal rules and these should be created so that global standards are formed. Today, the world has become a global village and for this it is essential for it to have some universal laws and regulations that must be followed by all the countries. However, the international law must keep pace with interdependence as well. Therefore, global rights must be developed and should also be accepted and implemented by the society. It is argued by some governments that human rights are based on the cultures but universally there should be one common ground or code on the basis of which a norm should be developed. Migration Compared to the previous years, the rate of migration has greatly increased and people are looking for more opportunities outside their home country. It has indeed become difficult to handle all these immigrations and to provide jobs to the people who are moving to the other countries such as United States, UK, Canada and Australia. There are refugees too, who are forced to move out of their own countries and these people have to be settled in other countries where they move. These people create problems when they move to other countries and this is resulting in increase in the global issues that have to be dealt on a global level only. Financial money transfers and trade It has also become difficult to maintain global financial checks and since the number of financial transfers is increasing day by day, the role the government plays and the government control is reduced. Moreover, it also threatens the stability of the currencies and so it is suggested to apply certain percentage of taxes on such transfers. International trade is also growing but it is creating new problems for which negotiation has to be done between the trading countries. Moreover, regulation and adjustment is also needed to keep things smooth. The World Trade Organization ensures that it deals with the rapidly growing trade in a proper manner; however there are still some challenges that have to be met. Trade of services is also growing and the world has to face chronic problems with agricultures and other issues such as problems related to international investment. Corruption has also increased at a major rate and this has also become a major challenge to the world trade. There are many economic agreements that are treated globally and they are becoming more and more complex with the increase in trade. Taxing of international trade has become an issue as well and negotiations have to be made to come up to a common stand. Conclusion Due to all the problems that are being faced by the human beings, the rate of global distress is accelerating day by day and this is leading to serious problems. People become frustrated and hopeless due to the current situation. Income divergence is also increasing between nations and this challenge must be addressed immediately. All the 21st century problems that have been talked about above are sociological, philosophical, economic, historical, and geological and they relate to the human activities in some or the other way. The goal of the human beings should always be to minimize the threat that they get from these challenges if they cannot fully be removed. Moreover, the people should be educated about these disasters and challenges and they should be told about the ways they can adopt to reduce any negative impact created by the human activities. Besides this, backup plans should be made to ensure that the destruction is dealt properly and results in least problems. Work Cited Ciulla, Joanne. B. The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work. 1st Edn. Crown Business / Times Books, 2000. Colwin, Laurie. Goodbye Without Leaving. Harper Perennial, 2000. Hochschild, Arlie. R. The Commercialization of Intimate Life: Notes from Home and Work. University of California Press, 2003. IMF. (2006). Meeting the Challenges of 21st Century Globalization: The Medium-Term Strategy of the IMF. June 4th, 2010. Retrieved from:

Different Styles of Painting

Different Styles of Painting Painting can be defined as the practice of applying paint, pigment, use of color, or any other medium to a support surface (Raczka 1). Artist and designers use the term painting to refer to both the act of and the result of painting. Support surfaces where painting can be made include such surfaces such as glass, walls, paper, canvas, and clay or concrete. Furthermore, paintings can be improved by using gold leaf, and other materials such as clay, sand, and pieces of paper variety. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Different Styles of Painting specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In actual sense, paintings are used for expression purposes and hence there are as many forms and styles as there are artists spanning from the ancient times to the modern era where technology is transforming every aspect of life in the society. This essay seeks to briefly describe the different and major styles of painting, and to compare and co ntrast three different paintings provided. It is proper to acknowledge that painting as a field has undergone significant transformation over time. In the current century, painting has been greatly influenced by technological advancement and has led to numerous variety of painting styles to select from. The transformational journey started mainly from the later years of the 19th century through the 20th century facilitated by the discovery of metal paint tube and photography and the ever changing events world wide. The range of art styles vary from those that are most realistic to the ones that are most abstract (Raczka 4). Realistic painting relies on the tactical use of paint, color, and tone to create a convincing illusion of reality where the paint resembles the actual object or phenomenon in a real life situation. Another art style is the painterly which closely resembles the realism one only that it uses paint as it is without trying to make smooth the texture to achieve reali sm. This can easily be noticed through brushwork. Impressionism, the third style of art emerged in the 19th century but is still admired to date despite the initial criticism it faced in France. It mainly looks like an incomplete paint work creating an impact of light on the surface. Expressionism and fauvism styles are less concerned with creation of reality by the use of perspective. They aim at creating an impact on emotions without sensitivity to color or tone. The last art style is the abstract one and the paintings are far from resembling the reality. This work is intentionally not meant to be representational (Raczka 26). To illustrate the above styles of painting, we shall compare and contrast the three paintings provided on the slides by using block method. The first painting is by a great American artist by the name Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900). The â€Å"Heart of the Andes,† is a landscape painting and was done in 1859. From a keen observation of the paintin g, we realize that the style used is that of realism. Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Church effectively strives to create a real life impression of the tropical scene. The work depicts a river that is bordered by dense vegetation, upland plains, and the rugged, towering, and snowcapped mountains. Church’s work creates a real impression of wilderness since there is no sign of human life. The second landscape painting was done by Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900), an American just like Church. Cropsey produced the paint in 1865. This work uses the realism art style to depict the fiery autumn scenery where there are mountains, valleys, and forests. The presence of human beings can be seen as well as their encroachment which is depicted by the presence of a railroad. The train’s smoke echoes the clouds above hence creating a peaceful coexistence between man and nature. Lastly, we have the third painting by an American, Charles Sheeler (1883-1963). Sheeler painted it in the 20th century (1931). He used the â€Å"precisionism† art style to depict this large architectural impression of a factory. Sheeler used clear light with an amalgamation of both realism and abstraction art styles. In a nutshell, this work depicts; a hard, exact, flat, huge, and industrial product. There is nothing living or organic in this particular painting which illustrates clearly the influence that the difference in context and culture can have on the artists’ work. This essay has described the various major styles of painting. It has also analyzed the three paintings with an aim of drawing a comparison as well as contrast among them. We can conclude from the analysis that art and design is a product of its context and is greatly influenced by culture and time frame. The first two paintings have the same theme, landscape, while the third depicts an industrial age of the 20th century. Church’s and Cropsey’s work have the most similarities both in style and theme while Sheeler combines both the realism and abstract styles of painting. Work Cited Raczka, B. Name That Style: all about isms in Art. Millbrook Press, 2008, Pp. 1-30.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Different Styles of Painting specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

Correcting Run-On Sentences Proofreading Practice

Correcting Run-On Sentences Proofreading Practice This exercise will give you practice in identifying and correcting run-on sentences. Before attempting the exercise, you may find it helpful to review how to  correct a run-on sentence with a period or semicolon  and  correcting run-ons through coordination and subordination. The following paragraph contains three run-on sentences (fused sentences and/or comma splices). Read the paragraph aloud and mark any run-on sentences that you find. Then correct each run-on according to the method you think is most effective. When you have completed the exercise, compare your corrections with the following paragraph below it. Run-On Sentence Exercise Why I Had to Get Rid of the Monster Although I am a dog-lover by nature, I recently had to give away my three-month-old retriever, Plato. I had several good reasons for doing so. A few months ago I picked up the dog at the Humane Society as a Christmas gift for my girlfriend. Alas, she dumped me on Christmas Eve I was left to console myself by caring for the dog. Thats when my true misery began. For one thing, Plato was not housebroken. Throughout the apartment he left little mementos, staining rugs and furniture and fouling the air, he would burrow under any newspapers I laid down for him. To make matters worse, his untamed potty habits were supported by an insatiable appetite. Not content with a sack of Kibbles n Bits every day, he would also gnaw at the couch and shred clothes, sheets, and blankets, one night he chewed up a friends new pair of clogs. Finally, Plato simply wasnt happy being cooped up by himself in a small apartment. Whenever I left, he would begin whimpering, and that soon turned into furious barking . As a result, my neighbors were threatening to murder both me and the monster, as they took to calling him. So, after six weeks of life with Plato, I gave him away to my uncle in Baxley. Fortunately, Uncle Jerry is quite accustomed to animal feed, waste, noise, and destruction. Corrected Version of Run-On Sentence Paragraph Below is the corrected version of the paragraph used in the exercise above. Why I Had to Get Rid of the Monster Although I am a dog-lover by nature, I recently had to give away my three-month-old retriever, Plato. I had several good reasons for doing so. A few months ago I picked up the dog at the Humane Society as a Christmas gift for my girlfriend.  Alas, when she dumped me on Christmas Eve, I was left to console myself by caring for the dog.  Thats when my true misery began. For one thing, Plato was not housebroken.  Throughout the apartment he left little mementos, staining rugs and furniture and fouling the air. He would burrow under any newspapers I laid down for him.  To make matters worse, his untamed potty habits were supported by an insatiable appetite.  Not content with a sack of Kibbles n Bits every day, he would also gnaw at the couch and shred clothes, sheets, and blankets. One night he chewed up a friends new pair of clogs.  Finally, Plato simply wasnt happy being cooped up by himself in a small apartment. Whenever I left, he would begin whimpering, and that soon tur ned into furious barking. As a result, my neighbors were threatening to murder both me and the monster, as they took to calling him. So, after six weeks of life with Plato, I gave him away to my uncle in Baxley. Fortunately, Uncle Jerry is quite accustomed to animal feed, waste, noise, and destruction.

Second part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Second part - Essay Example Currently, a number of studies indicate that many employers still have this notion, and this makes them discriminate against these people when recruiting new employees. Exterior appearance is usually significant for those positions where an employee directly associates with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. Therefore, an employer can decide not to hire a person with a tattoo for such positions with a notion that most stakeholders will consider them as members of criminal and other outlawed gangs. Therefore, this paper primarily focuses on discussing why employers should discriminate against people with tattoos at workplace. In different societies, tattoos symbolize certain cultures or events. For example, in certain cultures, tattoos portray a person’s status. This is mostly common in the western world. For instance, a person wearing a tattoo of his or her mother or father may indicate his or her love for the family. Moreover, it may also symbolize that a person belongs to a certain clan or community (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). In the 19th Century, tattoos were common phenomena among criminal and outlawed gangs, which differentiated them as anti-social members of the society who only complied with their own rules and beliefs. For example, bikers wore tattoos to indicate that they were against their society’s values and norms. In some circumstances, tattoos also affiliated a person to a given political party or religion. For example, the Catholics may wear a tattoo of a cross to signify their religious affiliation (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). Current studies, on the discrimination of people with tattoos at the workplace, have established that 40 percent of people aged between 19 to 30 years at least have a tattoo (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). These studies further indicate that 40 percent and 18 percent of people with a tattoo have more than two or more and six or more tattoos respectively (Bredeson & Goree, 2012). Therefore, this data calls for an