Lowes Case Study free essay sample

Lowe’s Company has been in business for over 60 years. The company is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world and employs more than 215,000 employees. The company’s home base is Mooresville, North Carolina. Standard Poor ranks Lowe’s as #48 . Presently, Lowe’s stock, which is identified on the New York Stock Exchange as LOW, is selling for right under $20 a share. This price has been consistent and is comparable to their biggest competitor Home Depot, Inc whose stock has remained steady at $23. Lowe’s, and other home improvement businesses, serve three types of customers; the Do-It-Yourself customer that is the individual who completes their own projects and installations. The Do-It-For-Me customer, who purchase supplies then hire third parties to complete the installation or project. Finally, there are the professional customers who are the remodeler, general contractor, repairman, small business owner and tradesmen. The slowdown of the market has affected all types if customers in the home improvement markets. We will write a custom essay sample on Lowes Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The home improvement market takes in approximately $755 billion annually. However, with the softening of the housing market, unseasonable drought and flooding, and last year’s variable mortgage interest rate hikes the industry has taken some hits. Although mortgage rates are decreasing, high gas prices has caused a recession and overall sales has decreased. California and Florida, which bring in a large portion of sales, experienced the biggest declines in home prices and the most pronounced slowdown in housing turnover. With that said, Lowe’s company was still able to report $48. 3 billion in net sales. An analysis of the financial statements and financial prospects of Lowe’s Company was performed on the last two years (2007 and 2008). Financial statements which include the balance, income and cash flow statements for Lowe’s Company and Home Depot, Inc. were obtained to perform the financial analysis to see if Lowe’s is a worthy investment. When comparing Lowe’s against Home Depot, their most closely matched competitor, Lowe’s comes ahead in long term debt to equity ratio with 34. 6% whereas Home Depot has a negative outlook on long term debt with debt accounting for 64. % of total liabilities. This and other factors are defined more closely in the financial statement analysis. According to Fortune 500, Lowe’s is still closing the gap with competitor Home Depot, whose dissatisfied customers were defecting. A Company subsidiary, Lowe’s HIW, Inc. , is a defendant in a lawsuit, for allegedly failing to pay overtime wages pursuant to the requirements of the California Labor Code. Though this lawsuit has been filed since 2001, and is in the early stages of class action proceedings, the Company has not estimated the range of loss that may arise from this claim. II. Industry Summary Lowe’s Company is identified under the Standard Industrial Classification code 5211. SIC 5211 is Lumber and other Building Material industry. This industry is engaged in selling lumber and building materials. Hardware is one of the most important items sold. Lumber and building companies that do not sell to the public are classified as Wholesale Trade, Industry Group 503. Lowe’s closest competitor is Home Depot, Inc. Home Depot is the worlds largest home improvement retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States (U. S. ), based on Net Sales for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2008. Home Depot is ranked #22 by the SP. Their home base is in Atlanta Georgia. Home Depot had 2,234 stores at the end of 2007 with plans to open 87 new stores in 2008. Home Depot has over 284 stores overseas to include 165 stores in Canada and 12 stores in China. In 2007 Home Depot sold HD Supply, the company received net proceeds of $8. 3 billion and recognized a loss of $4 million Home Depot also signed a $1. 0 billion guaranteed senior secured loan of HD Supply. Also, in connection with the sale, they purchased a 12. % equity interest in the newly formed HD Supply for $325 million . HD Supply serves customers in the Infrastructure Energy market which includes services in building and maintaining water systems, oil refineries and petrochemical plants, and for the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power. Home Depot identified HD on their Consolidated Statement of Earning for discontinued operations. In 2007, Home Depot showed $431 million in profits from HD Supply. Since the selling of HD Supply the Company acquired Ohio Water Waste Supply, Inc. and Geosynthetics, Inc. These acquisitions operated were under HD Supply and were included in the disposition. The aggregate purchase price for acquisitions in fiscal 2007, 2006 and 2005 was $25 million, $4. 5 billion and $2. 6 billion, respectively, including $3. 5 billion for Hughes Supply in fiscal 2006. The home improvement retailer was hit with a double whammy last year: a housing market downturn and customer service problems that have plagued the company for years. Also on the companys to-do list: preventing patrons from fleeing to competitor Lowes, which has been chipping away at HDs lead. In-store makeovers were a start, and the company also has been seeking skilled workers to replace inexperienced part-timers whod previously been hired to help cut costs. As stated earlier, the home improvement industry takes in $755 billion annually. However, due to the softening of the housing market and declining home sales, companies in this industry has had to change their focus to continue to entice customers. A busy real estate market and rising house values encourage buyers, sellers and existing homeowners to invest more in their home. This has prompted advertisements and promotions by both Lowe’s and Home Depot to get their customers to concentrate on improving the home they have. Lowe’s Company shows a family getting keys made, with the slogan, â€Å"At heart we’re still a neighborhood store,† this is their attempt to concentrate on the big and small offerings. Home Depot’s approach to getting customers in the store has been its newest paint line. Both stores has launched aggressive campaigns on do-it-yourself projects, and selling of patio furniture in an attempt to turn backyards into an extension of the home. This has been a major change for the two competitors, since 2000, both have doubled the number of stores they have. However, with existing home sales falling 2. 2% from November to December, and sales were down 23. 4% from the year before. With the problems from Fannie and Freddie Mac and the scandals in the banking industries the housing market will continue to remain soft. This may play into the favor of home industries market. SP is still optimistic about a mild, but long, recession. Their web site stated the housing market started showing signs of life in June. Some improvements to the economy were due to the stimulus checks being received earlier than expected and spent more quickly than expected. This also boosted the economy. In the first quarter of 2008, Lowe’s sales were down -1. 3% from the same time last year, however net sales were $12 billion dollars . This indicates Lowe’s in on track to have a successful year, with the current home mortgage markets. Home Depot did not fare as well with sales reported for the first quarter at $17. 9 billion but were down 3. 4%. Home Depot also had to take steps back and reevaluate their rationale to ontinue opening up new stores. According to the CEO, Frank Blake, stores not expected to meet targeted returns were taken out of the pipeline. And, ‘By not building them, well free up approximately $1 billion in cash over the next three years to invest in maintenance, merchandising resets and other areas within our existing stores. On a comparable level and based from Lowe’s and Home Depot’s 2007 financial report Table 11 illustrates the bulk of the products sold by both stores. Lowe’s has an advantage in sales in Plumbing, electrical, kitchen, hardware and seasonal items. Home Depot has the advantage in sales in building materials, lumber, millwork, paint and flooring. Both companies’ give back to the community. Lowe’s recently gave the lake Norman Student Athlete Association a secured $25,000 grant to improve fields for the youth recreation leagues . Home Depot just closed the second quarter of their Housing Impact grant program. The Housing Impact Grants is designed to assist nonprofit organizations whose project involves affordable housing built responsibly in a timely manner. III. Financial Statement Analysis Table 1, is Lowe’s Company’s Consolidated Balance Statement. Cash and cash equivalents decreased for 2007 by . 4%. Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, demand deposits and short-term investments with three months or less maturity. Payments from financial institutions for payment by credit card and debit card transactions process within two business days and are classified as cash and cash equivalents. This is significant because $1. 7 billion were received in credit/debit payments in 2007. Home Depot’s accounts receivable was $1. 2 billion for 2007 . Property increased . 9% in 2007; this was due to the 153 stores that were opened and the equipment to go along with it. In June 2007, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Amended Facility) which modified the previous loan agreement and extending the maturity date to June 2012. This provided up to $1. 75 billion that could be borrowed at 5. 41%. As of February1, 2008, there was $1. 0 billion outstanding under the commercial paper program. In September 2007, the Company issued $1. 3 billion of unsecured senior notes which breaks down into $550 million maturing in September 2012, $250 million maturing in September 2017 and $500 million maturing in September 2037. During 2007, the Company repurchased 76. 4 million shares at a total cost of $2. 3 billion (of which $1. 9 billion was recorded as a reduction in retained earnings , after capital in excess of par value was depleted). As of February 1, 2008, the total remaining authorization under the share repurchase program was $2. 2 billion. Table 2, illustrates the Consolidated Statement of Earnings for Lowe’s Company. Overall, sales increased 2. 9% to $48. 3 billion in 2007 . There were minor variances to net sales for overall percentage between 2007 and 2007. There was just a -0. 8% decrease in Net earnings than in 2006. Areas that showed the biggest variance in percentages were selling, general and administrative expenses at 1% increase in 2007 and store opening cost which just increased by . 3%. Pretax earnings were the most significant with 1. 4% decrease in 2007. Opening the 153 stores in 2007 accounted for most of the increase in sales. There was an overall decline in store sales by 5. 1%. The categories that performed above our average comparable store sales change included rough plumbing, lawn landscape products, hardware, paint, lighting, nursery, fashion plumbing and appliances . For 2007, the gross margin was 34. 4% represented a 12-basis-point increase over 2006. This leverage was partially offset by de-leverage of13 basis points in transportation costs primarily attributable to rising fuel costs. Store opening costs included payroll and supply costs prior to store opening as well as grand opening advertising costs that totaled $141 million in 2007, which was less than the $146 million in 2006. Table 3, identifies the Company’s cash flow statement for the last two years. Throughout the cash flow statements there are variances. Accounts payable has the largest individual variance with an 11. % decrease. However, the annual report states the company entered into a customer managed service agreement which will provide an accounts payable tracking system. This gives the suppliers the ability to finance payment obligations from the Company with designated third-party financial institutions. The Company’s goal with this endeavor is to enter into ‘arrangement is to capture overall supply chain savings, in the form of pricing, payment terms or vendor funding, created by facilitating suppliers’ ability to finance payment obligations at more favorable discount rates, while providing them ith greater working capital flexibility. . As of February 1, 2008, the Company had placed $77 million of payment obligations on the accounts payable tracking system, and participating suppliers had financed $48 million of those payment obligations to participating financial institutions. During 2007, the Company repurchased 76. 4 million shares at a total cost of $2. 3 billion (of which $1. 9 billion was recorded as a reduction in retained earnings, after capital in excess of par value was depleted) . As a result there was a 537% increase in repurchase of common stock between 2006 and 2007. IV. Cost of Capital Table 6 has the formula that was used to come up with the Weighted Average Cost of Capital for 2006. Cost of Debt: According to Lowe’s annual report, their income tax rate for 2007 was 37. 7% and 37. 9% in 2006 . The decrease in the effective tax rate was due to increased federal tax credits associated with Welfare to Work and Work Opportunity Tax Credit programs. Lowe’s long term debt totaled $5. 5 billion in 2007 and $4. 3 billion in 2006. The overall cost of debt for Lowe’s in 2006 was 14. 4%. Cost of preferred stock: The Company has 5. 0 million ($5 par value) authorized shares of preferred stock, none of which have been issued. Cost of common stock: Authorized shares of common stock were 5. 6 billion ($. 50 par value) at February 1, 2008 and February 2, 2007. Dividend per shares for 2006 were $. 18 and total market value was $29. 97 per Lowe’s Company 2007 annual report page 48 under dollars per share (Weighted average shares, assuming dilutions). Common stock for 2006 was . 6%. Weighted Average cost of capital for 2006 was 7. 5%. This answer came from dividing the cost of debt and cost of stock by 2 to calculate the WACC since preferred stock was not issued. Table 7 illustrates the New cost of Capital. Weighted Average cost of capital for 2007 was calculated using the same references mentioned for computing the WACC of 2006. The Cost of Debt for 2007 was computed by using 38% tax and $5. 5B for long term debt. The cost of debt for 2007 was 11. 3. The cost of common stock was computed by taking DPS and dividing it by 31. 98 which was the market value for 2007. It computed to . %. The weighted average cost of capital for 2007 was 6. 1%. V. Capital Structure and Dividend Policy For Fiscal Year 2007, Lowe’s capital structure was made up of 47. 9% debt and 52. 1% common stock. Table 1 show the breakdown based on the information provided by the Company’s annual report. This is actually a 4. 5% increase in liabilities since the previous year. The Company has not issued its 5. 0 million shares of preferred stock. During February 2, 2007 and February 1, 2008, 5. 6 billion shares of common stock were authorized ($. 50 par value). The board of directors has authorized up to $2 and $3 billion in share repurchases for the next two years. Shares purchased under the share repurchase program are retired and returned to authorized and unissued status. During 2007, the Company repurchased 76. 4 million shares at a total cost of $2. 3 billion (of which $1. 9 billion was recorded as a reduction in retained earnings, after capital in excess of par value was depleted).. This is reflected on Table 1 with a -6. 3% variation. On May 30, of this year Lowes provided notice through The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. , as trustee, to the holders of its outstanding convertible notes issued in February 2001 and its outstanding senior convertible notes issued in October 2001, of its election to redeem all outstanding convertible notes and senior convertible notes. Lowes has approximately $579 million aggregate principal amount of senior convertible notes outstanding and approximately $20 million aggregate principal amount of convertible notes outstanding. Lowe’s planned to redeem all senior convertible notes issued in October 2001 outstanding on June 30, 2008 at $875. 3 per note. VI. Stock Recommendations Compared to stock prices in June of 2007, which were an average price of $33. 03, stocks have taken a major dive by 60%. Reuters and yahoo finance recommends to hold on to your stock. The recommendation is the same for Home Depot who has experienced almost the exact fall in the stock. Table 14, which is provided by yahoo. finance illustrates the last 6 months of 2008. On the graph it is obvious that the company’s reaction to the stock market is exactly the same for this industry. If you do not have Lowe’s stock, I suggest monitoring it. Reuters has already projected the recession to worsen. Once the price drops lower I suggest buying it. I don’t recommend buying Home Depot stock at this time however. Their total liability is 60% in debt . If the recession takes a turn for the worst, Home Depot may experience problems with meeting their long term debt obligations. And, they may have problems receiving payments due to their high rate of account receivables. Lowe’s is a stock to watch and a Company that will be around.

Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease Essays

Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease Essays Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease Essay Obesity and Coronary Heart Disease Essay 2002 ) . The survey shows that fleshiness is the possible forecast towards CHD ( 10 ) . Corpulent people tend to devour a high saturated fat of diet. As a consequence, the degree of cholesterin will be higher in blood. Excess of fat in the organic structure will overpower the ability of the enzyme lipase to breakdown lipid, therefore, taking to fat deposition on the blood vass and do the vass to be narrowed. The blood now needs a higher force per unit area than the normal force per unit area to go through through the narrowed arteria and this will do high blood pressure. Corpulent people tend to hold a high degree of glucose as good due to the damage of the insulin mark tissues that become less sensitive to insulin. Glucose will non be converted to animal starchs and they will go diabetic. A higher degree of glucose in the blood is called hyperglycemia and it triggers the changes at the cellular degree of vascular tissue. This will rush up the atherosclerotic procedure. Cholesterol will unite with lipoproteins to go around in the organic structure because it can non merely fade out in blood. Low-Density Lipoproteins: Bad ( LDL ) will transport cholesterin to the blood stream while High-Density Lipoproteins: good ( HDL ) will transport cholesterin back to the liver. Cholesterol is needed to supply protective coating to the arterias and its surrounding walls. However, excessively much cholesterin peculiarly in LDL signifier can take to atherosclerosis. Peoples that are corpulent will hold a higher degree of LDL and a lower degree of HDL. It means that there is a greater opportunity for cholesterin to be deposited and triggers the formation of plaques in the wall of coronary arteria. The plaque is an accretion of lipid, macrophages, and smooth musculus cells that will do the arterias narrowed and can decelerate or barricade the blood flow. Mechanical shear emphasiss like morbid high blood pressure ; and biochemical abnormalcies for case elevated and modified LDL and diabetes mellitus ; will take to redness of endothelial or disfunction. It causes oxidised lipoproteins to be more permeable and accumulate at the endothelial to organize lipid-laden froth cells. Cytokines will be released by monocytes, macrophage, or the damaged endothelium whilst collagen will be produced in a significant sum by the smooth musculus. They will be accumulated together in the endothelium ( 11 ) . Myocardial ischemia occurs when there is a deficiency of O supply and myocardial foods to the bosom. This status arises due to the obstructed coronary arteria. With sudden occlusion of a major arteria by an embolus ( plaque ) , the part of myocardium supplied by the occluded vas becomes infarcted and undergoes mortification. This part will represent a myocardial infarction. It is a slow advancement of Coronary Heart Disease ( 12 ) . Prevention and Treatment We need to hold a healthy life style particularly in our diet and organic structure fittingness. Smoking and small physical activity will increase the hazard of developing CHD. A balance diet should be practiced and nutrients with high-fat cholesterin should be reduced particularly fast nutrients ( 14 ) . CHD can non be cured but it can be managed efficaciously to better the operation of the bosom. Medicine can be one of the alternate ways to pull off bosom disease. For case decoagulants ( Coumadin ) , beta blockers with angiotensin-converting enzyme ( ACE ) inhibitors, cardiac glycosides ( Lanoxin ) , nitrates, lipid-lowering medicines, low-dose acetylsalicylic acid, and clot-busting ( 15 ) . If the blood vass are really narrow, surgical processs can be performed to unblock the arterias. Amongst the present surgical processs are coronary angioplasty, coronary arteria beltway, bosom graft, and optical maser surgery ( 15 ) . Decision As a decision, it is clearly shown that fleshiness is a major hazard factor for Coronary Heart Disease. Apart from that, fleshiness is a strong independent hazard factor for other diseases as good. There is an association between the addition in BMI ( fleshiness ) and CHD. Even though fleshiness is merely portion of the hazard factor of CHD but it still plays a major function in developing CHD. Furthermore, research and development are still ongoing to develop a new intervention to handle bosom disease in the hereafter. Mentions: WLR Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSC RD, Childhood Obesity, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.weightlossresources.co.uk/children/childhood_obesity.htm, 04 November 2009. World Health Organisation ( WHO ) , BMI Classification, hypertext transfer protocol: //apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp? introPage=intro_3.html, 04 November 2009. Anne Collins, Waist Circumference, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.annecollins.com/lose_weight/waist-circumference.htm, 31 October 2009. Anne Collins, Health Risks of Obesity, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.annecollins.com/obesity/risks-of-obesity.htm, 01 November 2009. BMJ Publishing Group, 2009, High Lipids, Low Libido [ Review: J Sex Med 2009 ; 6:1696-1703 ] . Student BMJ, ( 17 ) , 380, 04 November 2009. Caroline Wilbert: WebMD Health News, 31 October 2008, Obesity Linked to Erectile Dysfunction ( ED ) : Survey Shows Obesity-Related Conditionss Like Hypertension Are a Cause of ED [ Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD ] , hypertext transfer protocol: //www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/news/20081031/obesity-linked-to-erectile-dysfunction, 28 November 2009. Department of Health, Coronary Heart Disease, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Coronaryheartdisease/index.htm, 02 November 2009 Mark C.Houston, 2009, CHD: Hazard Factors [ Review ] [ 281 refs ] . Handbook of Hypertension, ( 1 ) , 227, 03 November2009. Gareth Williams ; Gema Fruhbeck, 2009, Obesity and Coronary Artery Disease [ Review ] [ 216 refs ] . Fleshiness: Science to Practice, ( 1 ) , 300, 03 November2009. Parveen Kumar ; Michael Clark, 2005, The procedure of coronary coronary artery disease. Kumar A ; Clark Clinical Medicine, ( 6 ) , 798, 03 November 2009. Keith L. Moore ; Arthur F. Dalley ; Anne M. R. Agur, 2006, Coronary Artery Disease or Coronary Heart DIsease. Clinically Oriented Anatomy, ( 6 ) , 155-156, 04 November 2009. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index, What is Atherosclerosis? hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Atherosclerosis/Atherosclerosis_WhatIs.html,03 November 2009. National Healthcare Service ( NHS ) , Avoiding Coronary Heart Disease, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nhs.uk/pathways/coronaryheartdisease/Pages/Avoiding.aspx? WT.srch=1 A ; gclid=CKSuirHvrp4CFQ6Z2AodBWLYlQ, 28 November 2009. National Healthcare Service ( NHS ) , Treating Heart Disease, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coronary-heart-disease/Pages/Treatment.aspx, 28 November 2009

Synthetic Higher Learning with Three Branches Research Paper

Synthetic Higher Learning with Three Branches - Research Paper Example It was the only one offering graduate training in public administration, urban planning, and architecture among others. In addition, special health schools such as pharmacy, dental, physical therapy were also located on this campus. Its management process has experienced a lot of issues. To begin with, managing university budget had been a great area of contention between the involved bodies. Tension began growing between Owens, the university system and the higher education commission on this effect and consequently, the Board of Regents increased tuition fees by 28%. On the other hand, the state cut its appropriations. While Owens believed in independent university governance, he made a serious campaign for Referendum C that led to the suspension of Tabor restrictions and later, a state legislation that restricted any tuition increases to not more than 2.8 percent. However, more recommendations were made to other sectors of the university system whereby propositions ensured that se gments such as the transport system and healthcare got more appropriations. This left an implication of a collaborative approach to budget management (Dale, 2008). Arrival on financial management decisions on the board has not been spontaneous but rather evolving. For instance, TABOR, amended in 2000 and followed by a veto in 2003 made it difficult for the system to manage its own funds and thus budget. There was the imposition of expenditure limits, abilities to expand and any appropriate tax refunds when there was a necessity for such arising from financial surplus. However, the twenty-third amendment in 2003 under bill SB 264, the university system was exempted from TABOR and thus brought about greater flexibility in the financial management process. While discussing these issues, it is important to incorporate each of them into the appropriate discussion as done below. Planning Policy drawing within the institution is one of the most complex processes since it entails creating a foundation for the management process and thus a good ground for planning. Policies have largely been delegated as a duty to the Board of Regents, the president, and the state legislature. While the mandate of the president and the state legislation are limited to observation of implementation of policies, a direct influence from these two can have an equal impact on the creation of new policies. This is evident when Owens drew a policy that accentuated on efficiency and productivity within the institution. Thus the structure of planning is divided into layers. Implementation of these policies is executed within the institution. In this regard, the president, who is an internal element to the institution, becomes solely responsible for implementation of policies drawn by the Board of Regents (Daft, 2010). However, policies by the Board are limited in some aspects. For instance, the board can not have a sole authority to handle cases of financial uproars. In one scenario, happening in 2001, the Board of Regents had to be backed up by the joint budget committee, a state body, and the university system in order to raise influential concern on several issues such as continual increases of tuition fees, the rigidity of the system and state appropriations to higher education.

Civilian Conservation Corps Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Civilian Conservation Corps - Research Paper Example With the value of stocks plummeting, numerous Americans faced the possibility of living in poverty. Furthermore, a huge number of employees were laid off (Otis 3). Facing harsh difficulties like diseases, poverty, and hunger, numerous Americans became more and more hopeless and anxious in the 1930’s. Various suggestions for beating the depression were given. However, President Herbert Hoover, who strongly embraced the principle of laissez-faire, chose to forgo government intervention. Hence, millions of Americans were already jobless by 1932 (Pasquill 28). It was immediately before the forthcoming election that the dynamic and vigorous Franklin Delano Roosevelt completely took part in politics and lifted up the hopes of the American people. He was a remarkable orator and activist and most of all, an honorable and dependable man that the American people had faith in. Numerous conservation projects were initiated throughout the Great Depression, to generate jobs for the jobless. President Franklin Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933 as a component of the New Deal plan. The CCC recruited jobless young males for public conservation tasks and offered training and jobs. This research paper discusses the purpose and outcome of the Civilian Conservation Corps. ... rk, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the preservation or soil erosion, flood control and similar projects† (Otis 6). The president believed that paid employment was more desired than dole out. He could also help jobless people get out of harmful environments and enhance their physical and spiritual wellbeing: â€Å"We can eliminate to some extent at least the threat that enforced idleness brings to spiritual and moral stability. It is not a panacea for all unemployed but it is an essential step in this emergency† (Pasquill 1). Moreover, the project was a specific answer to the worries of officials about the risks of inactive, unemployed youths. These officials claimed that if they make these young males occupied with tasks, it would discourage these young males from getting involved in criminal activities. It seems successful, as several authorities attribute the lowering of crime rates to the CCC (Pasquill 1-3). Recruitment and o rganization were easy. Eligible CCC aspirants have to be unmarried men between ages 18 and 25. Past that, they simply had to be healthy and unable to get by without a job. Roughly 250,000 CCC workers were organized in camps (Otis 10). Unfortunately, keeping these recruits became more difficult. The young males were maintained on a volunteer status. If they felt that the job was not suited for them, they would simply run off (Otis 13). Desertion was a major difficulty. The U.S. Army was tasked to construct and supervise the camps that accommodated the CCC workers. Life in the camps was highly organized. The CCC workers are roused by trumpet calls every morning, and the workers had to form a line and be on the dot for meals. The CCC started providing education courses in these camps by 1932 (Sanders 38).

Designers and performers Essay Example for Free

Designers and performers Essay After deciding that we was going to focus on the musical genre in the 1920s America period, we wrote down a list of films, musicals and music that could linked to our oncoming performance. For example, Chicago, Bugsy Malone and Christina Aguileras new album. We chose the films/musicals Chicago and Bugsy Malone because they were set at the same time period as our performance and we chose Christina Aguileras new album as she has sung all her songs in the style of the 1920-30s jazz era and thought it easily fitted into the style we were trying to create. I have seen the musical Chicago on stage and on film, and even though they are both based on the same storyline, contain the same characters, music etc, they are both different with the fact one is performed on stage and the other was filmed on a set. They have both influenced us, especially the stage version where limited space is used compared to the film as they use different locations, whereas a stage is very limited where the same space has to be used to create different locations. This helped us how to use the space effectively and use to our full advantage and still make the performance effective. The music within the musical Chicago gave us ideas of what sort of music and themes to focus on and research, as we didnt want to use the exact same music as Chicago because the music is fairly popular and we didnt want the audience to compare our performance to Chicago, which is why we included a major twist within our story, so people wouldnt compare both performances. We decided to use Chicago as a source to gather information within that time period, which meant costumes, characters, setting, lighting, colours for setting and lighting and music used within the performance. Even though we werent going to use their music we needed to get an idea of what style of music to look for and include. We were able to watch what the time period back in the 1920s was really like, rather than researching on the internet and reading about it in books, even though we did get help from these sources we found by watching the film more reliable and enjoyable. We could actually see what colours were popular for costumes and lighting used. For costumes we used a lot of bright colours, a part from the male characters who just wore a black and white suit, as this went with the time period. For the woman, black and red costumes were worn as this is worn a lot in Chicago and it looked and worked with the lighting colours we wanted to include as well. We found that black and red was really popular so we decided to use this for our lighting, as well as blackouts, spot light effects and using red lighting to show what scenes are serious or for the performance scene which is quite flirtatious. These colours worked well within our performance and worked well with every scene that we included this in. We took these ideas from Chicago and linked them into our own performance. The film Bugsy Malone also gave us ideas towards our performance. The character of Bugsy helped me develop my character as Jack Murray in our performance. Bugsy Malone is set in the same time period we were setting our piece and when thinking about how to play and portray my character as Jack Murray I automatically thought of Bugsy. He influenced me by the way he acted as the character of Bugsy seemed to always be up to something behind your back and you never quite knew if he was coming or going type of character. He influenced my character in that way as Jack Murray was up to something but the audience didnt quite know what. The character of Busy also seemed to be a bit of the jack the lad sort of person and I feel that this defiantly influenced me for my character and is shown well when playing Jack Murray. The characters of Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey were influenced by the two real lives of Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. We researched information about them both and found out that Ma Rainey use to be violent and bossy towards Bessie Smith and we created the characters from there. We found Christina Aguileras new album very relevant for our performance. Her music was inspired by the 1920-1930s style of music. We felt by using some of her music for our performance we are still including music relevant to the time period and at the same time people will recognise her music and still making our performance relevant to today. Instead of only focusing the music within our performance on Christinas music we also researched actual artists from the 1920s. We found music from famous artists such as Billy Holiday, Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong and we actually included one of his songs for one of our performance pieces but actually sung by one of the actors instead of it being a voice over like we had done so far for our singing performances. We thought this looked better in our piece as only one verse was being sung without any music, compared to the previous performance scene where most of the song we performed we thought it looked better if the two actors didnt actually sing the song. Music can influence a scene massively and an example of this is the detective scene. As the detective is trying to find out who really murdered Bessie Smith, we included flash backs about who could of murdered her. For the first flash back we decided to include Charleston themed music as people are really familiar with this tune and by using this music it became quite comical and thought this was brilliant as the next flash back would be the complete opposite. We found it very different difficult to find music for the next flash back because even though this didnt actually happen, at this point during the story the audience are meant to think Starlet did murder Ma Rainey and the music heavily influences that. When listening to music from Chicago we found the beginning of one song that fitted into the mood we was trying to create. We only wanted to use the beginning so we repeated this tune over and over again for this certain flash back and it gave the impression that Starlet really did murder Ma Rainey because compared to the previous flash back this one was much more serious and this is what we wanted to create. A lot of multi-rolling was used in our performance and we was influenced by John Godbers work. I was influenced by his playwrights, Teechers, Bouncers and Shakers where multi-rolling is used throughout these pieces. They was so effective and cleverly done and performed, for the use of multi-rolling within our play we looked at these plays and looked at how he made it look effective. Costume is one of the main concerns when multi-rolling, if you didnt change your costume the audience would think you were still playing the character you were playing when they last saw you on stage. We made sure an obvious change was made when changing characters, if it was as simple as a coat, walking stick or a wig. An obvious change had to be done and made noticeable to the audience. Godber also made sure there was a change in voice as this would also help show the audience that the actor is now playing a different character. Multi-rolling is shown effectively throughout our piece as we used this through most of our play. Example, when I change into my character as Jack Murray I deepen my voice slightly to show I am playing a man, and the read all about it scene where everybody is involved, we change into different characters buying a newspaper in a busy street, we put on a simple piece of costume each such as a hat, coat, scarf as well as changing our voices to show we are playing different characters. All the films/ musicians/ singers/ practitioners influenced our piece in many ways that I have already discussed. The musicians and singers helped us decide what style of music to include that would make our piece a success and would link in well with our story. The films influenced the development of some of our characters such as Jack Murray, and they also influenced our costumes, in what styles to go for and colours as well. The practitioner, John Godber helped us make multi-rolling really work within our performance by reading and looking at his other work and how to make multi-rolling a success within your performance, which I think made our piece really successful. We tried to make our performance very different to ones people would had seen before so we tried not to get too heavily influenced by other playwrights, directors, films and musicals. Especially with the storyline as this is what seemed too happened at first when deciding on a storyline. Instead we were only really looking for ideas to help us on the design side of the performance, and when researching characters and music for our performance.

“The Martyrdom of St. Matthew” - Painting Analysis Essays -- Art

I chose â€Å"The Martyrdom of St. Matthew† as the painting that best illustrates the baroque period. The reasons surrounding my decision are clear in Caravaggio’s painting. Here Caravaggio uses the entire canvas to illustrate complexity, flow, and chiaroscuro. The painting depicts the source of lighting to be coming from the left side of the plane. The brightest light focuses directly on Matthew’s executioner who intends to strike Matthew with an old balcanic hand weapon. Caravaggio masterfully illustrates the use of lighting by casting believable shadows. As an example, the shadow of the handle on balcanic hand weapon reflects on the executioner’s left thigh and knee. Another shadow appears on the executioner’s right inner thigh. The lighting source to the left of the executioner, the executioner, St. Matthews, the boy, the 2 observer’s bottom, right, and the fainter lighting upper left of the canvas illustrates the technique of vis ual movement. The lighting is placed strategically, causing visual movement within the piece. For example, the illumination of the executioner’s forearm directs my attention to the angel who appears to be handing St. Matthew a palm leaf. As a result, my eyes then focuses on the body of St. Matthew, lying on the bottom of the altar, then my eyes shifts up toward the Angle’s arm. The lighting on the angel's arm contrasted with the darkness of the palm leaf forces the viewer to look at the hand to see what St. Matthew is reaching for. The boy fleeing the scene further draws in the viewer. The two adult observers at the bottom right of the painting are illuminated but not as bright as the two main characters. Next, my attention is drawn to the man lying on the bottom steps, left side of the canv... ...ic landscapes. The baroque marked the time in which painters considered using subjects other than scenes from the Bible and from classical traditions. The baroque period also was the period in which artists painted portraits, and everyday life scenes. Baroque artist broke away from trying to make the calm balance known to the renaissance artists. Artists from the baroque era were interested in no longer tried in the extreme. They wanted to paint subjects possessing strong emotions; they wanted to capture those emotions and feelings in their work. Instead of just extremes of feeling sometimes, these strong emotions were personal. More often artists tried to portray intense religious emotions. Baroque art attempted to explain how and why their subjects fit as strongly as they did by representing their emotional states as vividly and analytically as possible.

Online Library Management System Essay

1. Introduction: Detailed design starts after the system phase and system has been certified through the review. The goal of this phase is to develop internal logic of each of the modules identified during system design In the system design, the focus is an identifying the modules, whereas during the detailed design the focus is on designing the logic for the modules. In other words in system design attention is on what components are needed, while in the detailed design how the component can be implemented in the software is the issue. The design process for software system has two events. At the first level focus is on deciding which modules are needed for the system, the specification of these modules and how the modules should be interconnected. This is called system design or top level design. In the specification of the module can be satisfied is decided. This design level is often called detailed design or logic design, because the detailed design is extension of system design, system design controls the major structural characteristics of the system. The system design has a major impact testability and modifiability of a system and impacts its efficiency much of the design efforts for the designing software are spent creating the system design. 2. Applicable documents: The detailed design refers the system documents hence the first application documents here is system design, also we are referring the data structure. Hence second application document here is database design 3. Structure of software package: The software package consists of following functional components. * Functional component 1: Registration. * Functional component 2: Book issue. * Functional component 3: Book return. * Functional component 4: Search/view book details. * Functional component 5: Update book details. * Functional component 6: Payment (Fine). 3.1 Structure charts: It is graphics representation of the control logic of processing function or module representation of the system. It is one of the most common methods used for system design. In a structure charts each program module is represented by a rectangle box, modules at the top level of the structure charts call the modules at the lower level. The connection between modular are represented by lines between the rectangular boxes. The connection describes the data flows between the called and calling modules. 4. Module Decomposition: 4.1 Student details: In this form the users have to enter the details about the student like name, regno, course†¦etc. If the proper details are not entered at the same time error message will be displayed and record will not be stored†¦And if the entered register number is already exist then the details can’t be stored and error message will be displayed. 4.2 Delete student details: In this case admin can delete individual student details by entering his register number .If the Register no is not entered at same time message will be displayed and record will not be stored†¦And if the entered number is already deleted then it will be giving the message. 4.3 Book issue: In this form the Liberian can issue the books to the student. If the books are already distributed to students then Liberian can’t issue those particular books. 4.4 Book return: Here the user must return the book on given date†¦ Otherwise fine will be calculated†¦ 4.5 Calculate fine: In this case we can maintain the late fine of library member who return the issued book after the due date†¦