Villa San Girolamo Essay Example

Villa San Girolamo Paper The Role of the Villa San Giordano Symbolism adds layers of meaning to novels. It can either have a significant, insignificant or negative Impact on the progression of the novel. In Michael Nonnatives The English Patient, the lives of four Individuals are scarred due to the destructiveness of the war. Four Individuals gather at one common area in Tuscany, Italy known as Villa San Giordano (hereafter cited as the Villa). Annotated represents the Villa in many ways. As a representation of a Sanctuary, the Villa protects the lives f the characters, act as a holy place and as a place of refuge. As well, the Villa represents a place where the theme of death and rebirth is present and helps them move past their war wounds. Lastly, the Villa provides a sense of belonging among the characters since they have all been affected by the war In a similar fashion. In the English Patient, Annotated uses the Villa to symbolize a healing aid to the following characters: Kip, Hanna, Aggravating and the English Patient (hereafter cited as Almasys) as it proves to be of greater use than Just a place of rest. We will write a custom essay sample on Villa San Girolamo specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Villa San Girolamo specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Villa San Girolamo specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Villa is a representation off Sanctuary that portrays itself as a safe haven, a holy place and a place for refuge. Kip, Hanna, Alms and Aggravating meet in the Walla. Hanna and Almasys room In what used to be a small nunnery before being invaded by German soldiers. As Hanna and Almasys begin their lives together In the Villa, the war Maniacs 2 has yet to conclude. Although not being its primary function, the Villa is providing protection for Hanna and Almasys from the outside world of war and violence. Annotated provides the readers a sense of the conditions in which they were living, From outside, the place seemed devastated. An outdoor staircase disappeared In midair, Its rallying hanging off. [Hanna and Almasys] life was a foraging and tentative safety [Hanna and Almasys] were protected by the simple fact that the villa seemed a ruin. But [Hanna] felt safe here (Annotated,The English Patient, 14). Deeper into the novel the description continues: The Villa San Giordano Had the look of a besieged fortress, the limbs of most of the statues blown off during the first days of shelling. There seemed little demarcation between house and landscape, between damaged building and the burned and the shelled remnants of the earth In spite of the burned earth, In pity of the lack of water. Someday there would be a bower of limes, rooms of green light. (Annotated 43) With Nonnatives descriptions, the environment in which they are living appears harsh, unstable and uninhabitable. This provides protection as it would be unworthy for invasion. This allows Hanna to fully concentrate on Alms healing of the burns on his body rather than protecting themselves from war enemies. This also helps KIP to focus on disarming the bombs around the Villa. Secondly, ten Via Is valley as a only place Decease It NAS a strong resume the garden of Eden. In the biblical garden, Adam and Eve were given Maniacs 3 lance to much more than they needed. They had plentiful food and all the necessities for survival. In the villa, the inhabitants Had enough vegetation planted in the bombed out orchard above the house for them to survive Some beans, some meats (Annotated 7). Hanna spends most of her day in the garden gathering anything she c an from the plants and tries to maintain whatever life the plants have. When the Germans retreated, the Villa was used as a war hospital treating patients of their injuries and later became vacant. The Villa has plenty of first aid material making it easy for Hanna to tend to Alms injuries. Throughout the course of the novel, the characters in the Villa are not faced with destruction despite the many hidden, UN- detonated bombs. This can be Gods watchful eye over the recovering characters. With the given necessities, the characters in Villa have all the essentials needed to aid in their healing. Lastly, the Villa is also seen as a place of refuge where the characters are safe and in a place of shelter from danger. The obvious danger in the novel is the passing war but a second danger in this novel is the former life of these characters. Hanna is desperately trying to remove the memory of the loss of her husband and unborn hill. Kip is trying to remove himself from his Indian heritage and become Westernizes. Aggravating is trying to remove the memory of captivity by the Germans as he was attempting to steal information. As well, Alms is trying to carry on his life with severe burns to his body. None of these fragile characters is whole in either body or soul; each is a casualty of this desperate age (Williams, Canadian Literature. N. Page), Williams describes how the lives of these characters are at a breaking point. The fragility of these characters explains why they need a new beginning; a way to start anew. The Maniacs 4 sat life of these characters has been devastating an d very tragic making them difficult to heal. They come together at the Villa, depicted as a vacation place from their past lives. The Villa helps begin a new chapter in their lives. As a safe haven, the Villa provides protection and shelter from the passing war. As a representation of the garden of Eden, the Villa is viewed as a holy place. Lastly as a place of refuge, the characters are able to come together and help rid themselves of terrible memories. The Villa, presents these three qualities of a sanctuary that allows the characters to progressively heal over the course of the novel. The theme of death and rebirth is apparent in The English Patient. Rebirth is a term commonly used to describe a new beginning and is present in various ways in the novel. The characters in the novel experience a death and rebirth scenario that forces them to take on a new life. Prior to his accident, Alms was a highly trained general in the army. As he is in flight with an old war plane, the plane is leaking oil and later ignites. The flames engulf Alms and he Jumpers out of the plane to try and save himself: [Alms] dug down towards the tarpaulin, and Madams old plane gradually emerged The plane came out of the sand He looks down and sees oil pouring onto Nils Knees en plots up an a ten 011 sees all over ten seat .. I nerve was a spark from a short, and the twigs at her knee catches fire Pivots upside down breaking free of glass, wind flinging his body back And he is in air, bright not knowing why he is bright until he realizes hes on fire. (Annotated 174-175) Maniacs 5 Although not physically experiencing death, this crash and burn is a figurative death of an old life, the life off soldier of war. Having sever burns, he is saved by a tribe named the Bedouin and is taken under the care of Hanna who believes he is too fragile to move. Instead of leaving the Villa with the army, she decides not to move Alms, She would remain with the one burned man the call The English patient, who, it is now clear to her, should never be moved because of the fragility of his limbs (Annotated 51). Alms begins his new life in the Villa under Hennas care. Alms plane crash figuratively signifies his death and his rebirth brings him to the Villa. With the injuries sustained, he is no longer able to fight in the war. The rest allows his body to heal from his severe physical injuries. Learning of her fathers passing from the war, Hanna experiences pain not many an relate to, The way Hanna broke in Santa Chair Hospital when an official walked down the space between a hundred beds and gave her a letter that told her of the death of her father (Annotated 41). When the opportunity arises to care for this fragile patient, she Jumps at the chance. She views Alms as a way to fill a void in her life by personally assigning the role to herself. With the role off full time nurse, she recognizes that she must to do everything in her power to care for the dying patient. She has nursed him for months and she knows the body well (Annotated 1). At this point, Hanna experiences a death and rebirth. Hennas father passes away and she is given no choice but to abort her baby. As she takes on the role of being the nurse of Alms, this is the start of her new life that begins at the Villa. Helping Alms with his Maniacs 6 injuries allows her to forget the loss of her father and child by taking her mind off of them, allowing her to heal mentally. Aggravating, a friend of Hennas father, is on a mission to steal some information from the German army that later captures him. Before escaping, they sever his thumbs as a way of punishment. After being in the hospital in bandages for four months, he goes in search of Hanna when he learns from the doctors that she is living in the Villa. Hanna is delighted to see Aggravating once again but fears there will not be enough food available for the three of them: We need some chickens. [Hanna] is looking at Aggravating, knowing his skills from the past, not quite saying it. l lost my nerve, [Aggravating] says. Ill come with you, then, Hanna offers. Well do it together. You can teach me how to steal, show me what to do. You dont understand. I lost my nerve. l was caught. They nearly chopped off my bucking hands. (Annotated 33-34) Without the use of his thumbs, Aggravating believes he is useless and inadequate. Tater Telling Hanna, en access to remain In ten Via. In tens case, ten Tie AT a war soldier dies after the severing of his thumbs, since he would be of no use to the army. The life without the use of his th umbs begins at the Villa. Beginning his new life here helps him forget his injury and progressively heal mentally by not feeling useless anymore. Finally, Kip, a British sapper who does not fear death at all, makes his way to Maniacs 7 the Villa. A sapper is a name given to those skilled in diffusing bombs. One night, during a party in Alms room, there is an explosion outside. Kip does not think much of it until he examines the damage. He finds his friend Hardy, another sapper dead, He had found the location of the death and what was left there and they had buried his second in-command, Hardy (Annotated. 113). At this point, Kip comes to the realization of how dangerous his Job really is. This realization brings forward a new side of Kip, from being fearless of death to being fearful. This realization heals him mentally by making him see the danger in his Job placement which helps inhibit IM from taking risks. The characters in the novel all experience diverse deaths and rebirth as they congregate at the Villa to help represent the healing that occurs at the Villa. Furthermore, the Villa itself experiences a death and rebirth scenario. Ata point in time during the war, the Villa was the home of German soldiers. As the Germans were forced to retreat, the Villa became a war hospital and later became vacant. After the destruction of the war subsides, nature fills this area with new life. The characters presently living in the Villa are forced to learn how to live again after the extraction of the war. In Learn Gileitiss paper she writes the inhabitants of the villa are all displaced because they are exiles who have found new identities in a place other than their homeland (Glittle Identity Crisis in Michael Nonnatives The English Patient. N. Page). In other words, the characters in the Villa begin a new life and find new identities for themselves allowing them to live a new life. A town that is scarred by war debris is now a new home. Its a formation off new community. With the four characters involved, they too must learn how to adapt to the changes to their odd. The Maniacs 8 Villa, therefore, proves to be the starting point of new life by allowing the theme of death and rebirth to appear in The English Patient and for the characters to heal individually. Whether it is physical or mental damage, the characters are living through some kind of pain. The fact that the characters are living together under one roof provides a sense of belonging amongst them as a community. With the traumatic injuries they experience, an individual may feel despair, but they are able to feel a part of a group. They each find their new life despite the wounds they carry. All four characters are able to relate to one another since they have all suffered from the war: For the four inhabitants of the Villa San Giordano the only way out of their own suffering is through each other (Historian In Near Ruins n. Page). Isolated from the war ravished world, the characters in the Villa can connect and support each other to be able to live their transforming lives. The Villa allows the inhabitants to recognize that they are not alone in their suffering and many others share their wounds. It is through these wounds that new friendships and relationships are created, The residents of en Via as Allspice Monolinguals Tar away Trot tenet melanoma nave unreal physical and psychological wounds They try to heal themselves through their friendship while their old identities have dissolved (Guillotine n. Page). Hanna loves Alms and Alms grows fond of Kip and Aggravating since all three played a part in the war. Also, a sexual partnership between Hanna and Kip is formed. These relationships creates a more comfortable setting in the Villa aiding in recovery time for the characters. Maniacs 9 Annotated is able to portray the Villa as a community of diverse individuals that encourages their sense of nationality. After the news of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kip realizes who he truly is, an Indian. Kip, who does not believe in Western aggression, discovers that it is still present through the bombings, Never trust the Europeans, [Kips brother] said When you start bombing the brown races of the world, youre an Englishman They would never have dropped such a bomb on a white nation A new war. The death of a civilization (Annotated 284-286). Kips brother is very anti-European, he is a man who always stuck to his roots, unlike Kip. This shows that no matter how hard you try to remove yourself from your roots, they will always be apparent. Furthermore, Annotated reveals Alms identity as Hungarian spy and desert explorer who helps the Germans navigate through the deserts. By trying to not remember who he is, his identity was not known until the latter stages of the novel. The last person I expected to find here in the shelled nunnery was [Alms] (Annotated 252) said by Aggravating. Annotated also uses the villa to reveal more information about the characters living in it. Hanna is constantly trying to erase the memory of war and hide from her adulthood. To erase the memory of the war, Hanna lives in the Villa and takes Alms under her care, viewing him as a defenseless child. She re-lives her childhood by p laying hopscotch on her free time in the dark hall: She drops the chalk into the pocket of her dress. She stands and pulls up the looseness of her skirt and ties it around her waist. She pulls from another pocket a piece of metal and flings it out in front of her so it falls Just beyond the farthest square. (Annotated 15) Maniacs 10 Hanna is constantly re-living her childhood by doing activities typically done by children because of the shell shock she experienced during the war. Lastly, Aggravating is trying to forget the memories of the torture he endures as a captive. The community-like atmosphere around the Villa provides a sense of belonging amongst them. Along with this, the Villa allows the characters to become more comfortable with their fellow Villa- mates. It also provides a representation of a house of nations. The Villa is able to connect four individuals that share a common thread by their involvement in the war. These characters come together despite having different nationalities but the Villa is able to prove that no matter the race or nationality, people get along, as a family unit. The villa is a place, once again, A symbol of their friendship as they seem to disregard their national and racial origins Here nations, races anything artificial that divides human beings is meaningless (Guillotine n. Page). An example is the celebration of Hennas 21st birthday In Alms room. Nonnatives Is addle to relate ten lives AT Tour snatchers tongue a small Villa that aided in their healing process. Victoria Acidosis explains in her critical summary that, In the Villa San Giordano in Italy, four shattered survivors cope with the physica l and emotional suffering the war has brought about. They come from different parts of Europe UT they share similar kinds of pain (Acidosis The English Patient n. Page). The Villa proves to be a major symbol in The English Patient. The story line of the novel is set in the Villa. In many ways, Annotated is able to use the Villa as a way of healing the injured. The Villa is able to heal the characters as a representation of a sanctuary by providing all the necessary items such as first aid materials as well as protecting them from any danger. The Villa Maniacs 11 also allows the theme of death and rebirth to occur by being the starting point of heir new life.

Trademarked Words

Trademarked Words Trademarked Words Trademarked Words By Maeve Maddox In a recent post, Dont Do Due Diligence, I used the word Realtor as if it were a generic word for real estate agent: Not so very long ago, the only people I heard talk about â€Å"due diligence† were realtors. I should have caught myself on that. Realtor–with a capital–is the legally recognized trademark of the National Association of Realtors. The correct use of the word is to refer to members of the Association and not to real estate agents in general. As tends to happen with clever commercial coinages, Realtor is being pulled toward generic use because it strikes speakers as an apt and concise substitute for the longer term, real estate agent. I have a feeling that general usage will eventually claim Realtor as it has so many similar inventions, but as a professional writer, I can be expected to observe the conventions. Apologies for my lapse, therefore, are due the NAR. Here is a list of other trademarked words that many English speakers use generically. Each term is followed by a suggested alternative and the name of the trademarks owner. The list is by no means exhaustive. AstroTurf (artificial turf) Monsanto Band-Aid (adhesive bandage) Johnson Johnson Bubble Wrap (inflated cushioning for packaging) Sealed Air ChapStick (lip balm) Wyeth Consumer Healthcare Clorox (bleach) Clorox Company Coke (soft drink) Coca-Cola Company Crayola (crayon) Binney Smith Company Crescent Wrench (adjustable wrench) Crescent Tool Company Crock-Pot (slow cooker) Sunbeam Products Cuisinart (food processor) Conair Dumpster (front loader waste container) Dempster Brothers, Inc. Fiberglas (glass wool) Owens Corning Formica (wood or plastic laminate) Formica Corporation/Fletcher Building Freon (refrigerant) Dupont Frisbee (flying disk) Wham-O Google (Web search engine) Google Inc. Jacuzzi (hot tub/whirlpool bath) Jacuzzi Jeep (compact sport utility vehicle) Chrysler Kitty Litter (litter box filler) Ralston Purina Kleenex (facial tissue) Kimberly-Clark Memory Stick (flash memory storage device) Sony Ping Pong (table tennis) Parker Brothers Popsicle (flavored ice treat) Good Humor-Breyers Post-it (sticky note) 3M Q-Tips (cotton swabs) Unilever Scotch tape (clear adhesive tape) 3M Sharpie (permanent marker) Newell Rubbermaid Styrofoam (extruded polystyrene foam) Dow Chemical Company Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate adhesive) Super Glue Corporation Tarmack (asphalt road surface) Tarmac Taser (stun gun) Taser International Teflon (non-stick coating) Dupont The purpose in trademarking a name is to prevent it from being used to describe a similar product made by another manufacturer. If a permanent marker is a Sharpie, call it that; otherwise, call it a permanent marker. And when you use any of these terms, be sure to capitalize them and use hyphens or camel case as appropriate. Note: Camel case is the practice of writing compound words or phrases in a combination of capital and lowercase letters. For example: AstroTurf, ChapStick, iPhone, PowerPoint. Related post: Factoid and Tabloid Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers50 Diminutive Suffixes (and a Cute Little Prefix)What Is the Meaning of "Hack?"

Llama Facts

Llama Facts The llama (Lama glama) is a large, furry mammal that was domesticated in South America thousands of years ago for meat, fur, and as pack animal. Although related to camels, llamas dont have humps. Llamas are close relatives of alpacas, vicuà ±as, and guanacos. Although they are all different species, a group of llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicuà ±as may be called lamoids or simply llamas. Fast Facts: Llama Scientific Name: Lama glamaCommon Name: LlamaBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 5 feet 7 inches - 5 feet 11 inchesWeight: 290-440 poundsLifespan: 15-25 yearsDiet: HerbivoreHabitat: From the Andes Mountains of South AmericaPopulation: MillionsConservation Status: Not evaluated (domestic animal) Description Llamas and other lamoids have cloven feet, short tails, and long necks. A llama has long banana-shaped ears and a cleft upper lip. Mature llamas have modified canine and incisor teeth called fighting teeth or fangs. Generally, these teeth are removed from intact males, as they can injure other males during fights for dominance. Llamas occur in many colors, including white, black, brown, tan, gray, and piebald. The fur may be short-coated (Ccara) or medium-coated (Curaca). Adults range from 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 11 inches in height and weigh between 290 and 440 pounds. Habitat and Distribution Llamas were domesticated in Peru around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago from wild guanacos. However, the animals actually came from North America and moved to South America following the Ice Age. Today, llamas are raised all over the world. Several million live in the Americas, Europe, and Australia. Llamas and alpacas resulted from domestication of guanacos and vicunas in the Andes. Diet Llamas are herbivores that graze on a wide variety of plants. They typically eat corn, alfalfa, and grass. Although llamas regurgitate and re-chew food like sheep and cattle, they have a three-compartment stomach and are not ruminants. The llama has a very long large intestine that allows it to digest cellulose-rich plants and also survive on much less water than most mammals. Behavior Llamas are herd animals. Except for dominance disputes, they dont usually bite. They spit, wrestle, and kick to establish social rank and fight off predators. Llamas are intelligent and easily halter-trained. They can carry between 25% and 30% of their weight for a distance of 5 to 8 miles. Reproduction and Offspring Unlike most large animals, llamas are induced ovulators. That is, they ovulate as a result of mating rather than going into estrus or heat. Llamas mate lying down. Gestation lasts 350 days (11.5 months) and results in a single newborn, which is called a cria. Crias stand, walk, and nurse within an hour after birth. Llama tongues dont reach far enough outside their mouths for the mother to lick her young dry, so llamas have evolved to give birth in warm daylight hours. Female llamas become sexually mature at one year of age. Males mature later, around three years of age. Llamas usually live 15 to 25 years, but some live 30 years. A male dromedary camel and female llama can produce a hybrid known as a cama. Due to the size difference between camels and llamas, camas only result from artificial insemination. A llama and her cria. Jonne Seijdel, Getty Images Conservation Status Because they are domesticated animals, llamas do not have a conservation status. The wild ancestor of the llama, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), is classified as least concern by the IUCN. There are over a million guanacos and their population size is increasing. Llamas and Humans In the pre-Incan and Incan cultures, llamas were used as pack animals, for meat, and for fiber. Their fur is soft, warm, and lanolin-free. Llama dung was an important fertilizer. In modern society, llamas are still raised for all of these reasons, plus they are valuable guard animals for sheep and goats. Llamas bond with livestock and help protect lambs from coyotes, feral dogs, and other predators. How to Tell Llamas and Alpacas Apart While both llamas and alpacas may be grouped as llamas, they are separate camelid species. Llamas are larger than alpacas and occur in more colors. A llamas face is more elongated and its ears are larger and banana-shaped. Alpacas have flatter faces and smaller, straight ears. Sources Birutta, Gale. A Guide to Raising Llamas. 1997. ISBN 0-88266-954-0.Kurtà ©n, Bjà ¶rn and Elaine Anderson. Pleistocene Mammals of North America. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 307, 1980. ISBN 0231037333.Perry, Roger. Wonders of Llamas. Dodd, Mead Company. p. 7, 1977. ISBN 0-396-07460-X.Walker, Cameron. Guard Llamas Keep Sheep Safe From Coyotes. National Geographic. June 10, 2003.Wheeler, Dr Jane; Miranda Kadwell; Matilde Fernandez; Helen F. Stanley; Ricardo Baldi; Raul Rosadio; Michael W. Bruford. Genetic analysis reveals the wild ancestors of the llama and the alpaca. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 268 (1485): 2575–2584, 2001. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1774

Empirical research Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Empirical research - Coursework Example The brands of pizza hut, KFC, Mexican food restaurant of Taco Bell and Long John Silver outlets are among the few brands that have been acquired by all these restaurants owners. Over the past years, Yum has been involved in many mergers and acquisitions and this raised a concern of wanting to know more and therefore will express it in an ‘expounding’ study in form of exploration to tackle the causes and effects of Mergers & Acquisition in franchising. It is clear that, in as much as many companies have a variety of reasons for joining with mergers and acquisitions not all mergers get to succeed. Research show that, those who get lucky to succeed, do not get rates greater than fifty percent, from the two different methods used to evaluate on the success of acquisition or a merger. Among the chosen methods, the commonest one used is quantitative where; the performance rate in the share of the companies merging is taken and compared with that of the results of associate companies that want to merges with it. The other method is qualitative, and is usually evident when particular representatives of the companies are interviewed to see whether the merger can be proved successful. Businesses that join the scheme of mergers and acquisitions normally target the economic benefits, which are taken to be a way to grow benefits in synergy and a decrease in costs and form a grounds or room for mergers and acquirers to make a number of decisions. This is one drive that keeps the urge for companies to get involved in acquisition or merger. It refers to an event the combined company makes a lot of profit than the total of the two separate companies. When a merger or acquisition has a positive acquisition value (NAV), it is supposed to be economically. The NAV is defined as Mclean (2003), If this is positive, then the merged

Aspects of Practical Crime Scene Investigation Essay

Aspects of Practical Crime Scene Investigation - Essay Example Further, there is no first hand information on how deep the charred carpet, coat or rug were. Such a description could have provided much more information in determining the likely causes of the fire. Further, the notes do not contain any information on the type of material that was used to build the walls or the building in general. a regular house is meant to contain articles of plastic or metal along the path described within the house. As such, in the case of any fire such as in the current instance, objects made of such materials tend to get distorted. There is no mention of any such occurrence which leads one to doubt whether such an angle was even investigated. However, the investigator has chosen to proceed in a specific manner detailing the items described in the notes as they were encountered. Thus the order of the items collected could prove useful in the investigation. There is no mention of any structural damage to the building or the extent of damage to the ceiling, which would have helped establish the extent of the fire. The primary aspect of investigating suspected cases of arson is to identify the location where the fire started. As such, the location of the rug (which might have been used to start the fire) and the bottle containing the suspicious liquid (possibly as a speeding agent) could help establish such a notion. Additionally, it is also necessary to find if there are any other potential causes of the fire that could have occurred in house. In this case, the notes do not provide any information whether there were any inflammable materials in the area or whether any flames such as candles or stoves were being used in the vicinity. As such, all such noticeable and suspicious things can be retrieved for examination. The exhibit JLS-2 contains the piece of rug that survived the fire and is suspected to be the material used to start the fire. Due to the lack of any noticeable

An Inside Look at Shark Finning Essay -- detrimental practices, environ

Every summer, when parents take off work and kids are out of school, families plan a summer vacation. 42% of those vacations take place on sandy beaches underneath the summer sun. Americans splash in the waves, sip refreshing drinks under their oversized umbrellas, build sandcastles, and revel in a beach tan that will hopefully last them all summer. While eating seafood and enjoying the beach can be viewed as the ultimate summer vacation, humans impact our oceans more than we think, and it’s much more catastrophic than spending our summer vacations at our favorite beaches. There are currently over 440 species of sharks in our Earth’s oceans, but despite roaming our ocean’s waters for millions of years, sharks are constantly at risk of extinction. It is estimated that one hundred million sharks are killed by humans each year. To put it into perspective, that’s 11,417 sharks killed every hour. Meanwhile, only 12 humans were killed worldwide by sharks in 2011. The culprit behind the extremely high rate of shark deaths is the practice of shark finning. â€Å"Shark finning is the practice of slicing off the shark’s fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean where it can take days to die, which must be an agonizing death.† The shark fins are used in an Asian delicacy known as â€Å"shark fin soup.† In many Asian countries, it is a sign of wealth and prosperity and is often served and banquets and weddings to impress the guests. Just one bowl of shark fin soup can cost u p to $100. Because of the high demand for shark fin soup, fishermen and middlemen alike have been finning sharks any chance they get. Although the shark fins are used in shark fin soup, they are also sold frozen, canned or dried. The... ...cean Bycatch Campaign. N.p., 31 Oct. 2002. Web. 10 May 2014. "Mercury Contamination in Fish : Mercury and Its Effects." NRDC. Natural Resource Defense Council, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. Mosbergen, Dominique. "How Many Sharks Are Killed Per Hour? This Graphic Will Shock You (INFOGRAPHIC)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Orchant, Rebecca. "Threatened Species Used In Shark Fin Soup Across U.S." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. "Sea Shepherd Conservation Society." Sea Shepherd. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . "Stop Killing Our Sharks!" Shark Angels. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. . "What You Need to Know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish." US EPA. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 18 June 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.

Mercury Athletic Footwear: Valuing the Opportunity Essay

Team 10 / Mergers and Acquisitions West Coast Fashions, Inc (WCF) was a large business, which dealt with men’s and women’s apparel. One of their segments was Mercury Athletic Footwear. WCF wanted to dispose off this segment. They just wanted to divest because they wanted to focus more on their core business and move it up to the elite class. John Liedtke was the Business Development Head at that time in Active Gear Inc. He had a clear idea that acquiring Mercury will shoot up AGI’s revenues for sure. It would also ensure an expansion of the key business. In order to get a clearer picture on the acquisition, he needed to compare and analyze the company’s financials well. By this he could gauge the pros and cons of this acquisition. Are the strategic reasons behind the Merger good enough? Explain As a team, we had different views on this question. Some reasons make us think that it may be beneficial for AGI to grab the opportunity but some make us think that it might not be as promising as it seems. Let us see why we feel it is a good idea for AGI to acquire Mercury. Active Gear Inc. Mercury Athletic Footwear Revenue $470,285mn $431,121mn % Revenue Product wise 42% Athletic 58% Casual 79% Athletic 21% Casual Operating Income $60.4mn $42,299mn Revenue growth 2% to 6% 12.5% Active Gear was one of the most successful firms in terms of profitability, in the footwear industry. Mercury looked like a good opportunity for an  attractive investment because they almost have the same revenues, while being smaller in size, in the market. The Percent revenue in the casual footwear in AGI compensates for the gap in Mercury. It’s a perfect balance. When we looked at the industrial average of revenue growth is 10% and AGI is below the standard, however Mercury is above by 2.55%. It is a good sign to move ahead for this acquisition, as it will enable AGI to remain at the top in the market. Both companies are in the same industry and have same products. Both Mercury and AGI does its manufacturing in China. AGI sourced its resources to the contract manufacturers in China. Mercury can leverage with these manufacturers as China just experienced a wave of consolidation favorable for these kinds of manufacturers. This, in turn, can enable AGI to have the opportunity to expand with its top retailers and distributors. Mercury’s cost of manufacturing is low and could help to sync the lower profit margins of AGI, which it had been facing from its suppliers, distributors and consumers. (Refer Case Page 5 and 3). Mercury had always been an autonomous body, which maintained its own financials, data management, resource management and distribution. This would pave a smooth way for AGI to take over. This smoothness could not have been expected had Mercury been totally under WCF. Now let us look at why some of the members of the team thought that the acquisition is not an appropriate decision: There would be strategic clashes because AGI focuses on Classic and elite products with long life, on the other hand, Mercury focused on flexibility and changed its pr oducts based on demand and trend. (Refer Case study Page 2 and 4). There is a huge difference in days Inventory between the two companies. It means that there must be a strategy of keeping their products on shelf. We also come to know that Liedtke believed that Mercury can adopt the Inventory Management of AGI and a bit incremental cost and then it might reduce the levels of DSI of Mercury. Mercury also concentrated on a different geographic section than AGI. We also think that this Acquisition might just entail a complete take-over of the Women’s line of Mercury. However, it might me a loss making business for AGI later (Refer case study Page 6). Review the projections by Liedtke. Are they appropriate? How would you recommend modifying them? We put the Exhibit 7 for reference: As a team we analyzed each segment’s projection: Men’s Athletic This segment indicated a 8,72% average growth rate from 2007-2011. According to the information in the case, Men’s Athletic revenue grew more 40% over the prior year and the average compound rate from 2004-2006 was of 29%, therefore the forecasted item should be based on this assumption from the case of CAGR of 29%. This projection seems conservative and it can be modified towards the expected 29% growth. Men’s Casual Women’s Athletic This segmented shows a growth rate of 2,50% from 2007-2011. According to the information provided in the case, the sales of this business line should be declining at 6,25% per year not increasing. Therefore its sales should decrease in this percentage not increase as projected per Liedtke. Liedtke projected for this business segment, an average growth rate 7,98% (2007-2001). The case indicates a growth from 2004-2005 of 13,5% per year . Therefore this can be somewhat a conservative growth projection. Since this has been solid growth, this could be increased to maintain the 13, 5% sales growth in the upcoming years Women’s Casual Lietdke’s projection assumed that this business line was going to disappear by the end of 2007 this is aligned with was its expected from Mercury management according to the facts stated in the case (page 6). Given this information we can conclude that the Women’s Casual as part of Mercury revenue generator would disappear, therefore this projection seems reasonable if Mercury does not merge. If merger happens this business line can be enhance by the synergies of both companies and it might be a positive approach to keep the brand alive. Estimated Capital Expenditures This projected expenditure was based on 5, 67% average growth rate from 2007 until 2011. The information in the case indicates that Mercury’s capital spending its little since they focus its resources in market research and product designs. Estimated Depreciation This item maintains an average growth rate of 5,67% for the years of 2007-2011. Because there is no more evidence of changes in depreciation this seems reasonable for Mercury’s operations. Cash Used in Operations From the Historical balance of exhibit 4, in 2006 Cash & Equivalents closed with a balance of $10,676. Liedtke projected a 61% decline for 2007 reducing the Cash line item to $4,161. This reduction might be since the historical Balance Sheet (2004-2006) was taking into account Cash & Cash Equivalents â€Å"† where the projected Balance Sheet (2007-2011) it’s only taking into account â€Å"Cash used in operations†. In addition, it might also be affected by the fact of â€Å"Men’s casual footwear† and â€Å"Women’s Casual Footwear† revenue are declining and not generating enough sales. Accounts Receivable The accounts receivable of Mercury, maintained flat growth with a 6% average growth rate from 2006-2011. Probably they have credit terms with retailers and shops, although there is not enough information in the case about this, therefore it seems an appropriate projection. Inventory According to Liedtke projections inventory also maintain an average growth of 6% until 2011. An inventory increase it’s necessary for this type of business, since Mercury needs to supply large retailers with their Footwear. In addition, this increase might be justified with the fact that, Mercury its receiving pressure from suppliers in China who need larger orders to operate at full capacity, therefore Mercury might be forced to make larger orders in the future to maintain its current relationship with the Asian suppliers. However, if Mercury it’s considering Women’s Casual as dead brand this can make the growth to be somewhat conservative. Prepaid Expenses According to Liedtke’s projection these expenses increased from$ 10,172 to  $14,747 in 2007 represented 42% increased. After 2007 Liedtke’s projected an average growth rate of 6% will maintain an average growth rate. Prepaid expenses might be rent of related to their operations however there is not enough information to assume that prepaid expenses can change aggressively over the projected years. Property Plant and Equipments This line item seems to maintain a flat and conservative growth since there is no indications of major changes in this area in the future of Mercury fixed assets. Trademarks &Other Intangibles The amount in trademarks and other intangible should not change since the company already owns the brands of the different segment. If in the future the merger happens then this might decrease Accounts Payable This was projected with a 5% average growth rate per year since 2007. For this type of business model seems reasonable that mercury maintains a conservative growth rate for the future years. The company already has established relationship with retailers and probably their credit terms will remain the same for the upcoming years. Accrued Expenses Accrued expenses which might be related to workers’ wages, increased from 16,981 to 22,778 in 2007 (21% increase). This increase seems somewhat aggressive since the company it’s probably expects to have less staff from the business lines, which are declining. Deferred Taxes Taxes might not suffer any changes, since this the taxes the company will have to pay for the upcoming years. Pension Obligation Projections of pensions seems reasonable and with no changes for upcoming  years. Nevertheless, if we assume that organizational changes will occur in the future such as lay-offs this line could be reduced. Value the target company, first by the DCF approach, and second, by multiples, using Liedtke’s baseline case. Explain all the assumptions that you make in this process We look at the valuation done by Joel L. Heilprin for Mercury when the WACC is 11.06% and the long run growth rate is projected at 2.78%: However, our DCF uses a WACC of 8.73% and a long-term growth rate of 3%. We do understand that there is a significant difference from Heilprin’s calculations; however, it is to reflect upon the probable different values of the treasury securities that we chose. Here is our DCF, but please refer to the excel file (attached through â€Å"Turn it In’) for all the formulas and values we used to give us an idea and to help us reach the solution. In one of our calculations we took Termination Value in 2007 based on the M&A. And in the other one, we took the Termination Value from 2011 because the FCF is growing slowly. (Please refer to the calculations in the Excel) Do you regard the value you obtained as conservative or aggressive? Why? Three calculations give different results because we took assumptions. The DCF method based on case assumption gives higher value than the P/E method. Based on the calculation we get two different market value of the company. The evident one is $236,988. This approach can be considered as aggressive. Moreover the target company has the steady financial statement with a low debt proportion, while the bidder has higher debt in portfolio. We combine the company by â€Å"Pooling Interest† method. This situation considers that the bidder, which tries to target the company with higher price, is considered to be aggressive. From our Lower WACC calculations we drop the Cost of Capital, which can inversely raise the enterprise value. With our high enterprise value we have a higher proposal value to the buyer, higher than Heilprin’s. What kind of synergies or other sources of value not included in Lietdke’s projections? How would you take them into account? The additional opportunities that the company has to improve the results are: Maintain line of Women casual revenues. AGI has the opportunity to add this line of products. AGI can use the infrastructure of Mercury without new investments. Additionally, AGI could change the Women casual brand of Mercury to their own brand, so changing the products style to the concept of lifestyle for women. The company could consider as minimum an EBIT of $0.5M similar to the 2004. Improvement in DSI, DSO, DPO. Mercury has fewer DSI, more DSO, and more DPO. If we analyze the next table, we can consider that AGI have the opportunity to match the DSI of Mercury with the ones of AGI. Additionally, the company has the opportunity of increase the PDO of Mercury with AGI, negotiating days of payment with the providers in China. These opportunities improve the Working capital in $17M for AP, and $22M for inventory. The total improvement for WC is $39M. Increase volume for their providers. AGI reduced the number of providers to allow them achieve more scale and put AGI in a better negotiating position. In that way, AGI could benefit from the bigger scale and continuing consolidation of their providers. Notice that the Gross margin of Mercury is 44%, while it is 50% for AGI. Therefore, with better negotiations for the Mercury products there is an opportunity for reducing COGS in $25M. Elimination of duplicated costs in China. Eliminate the surplus of people the company have in China. AGI manage their providers in China with 85 employees, and Mercury manages 73 professional. The merged company can eliminate at least the 73 professionals of Mercury. The value of 73 employees is $1.7M per year (assuming an average monthly payroll and related of $20k per employee).