The Beginning Of World War II Essays (2279 words) -

The Beginning of World War II At dawn on the main day of September, 1939, the inhabitants of Poland stirred to grave news. A juggernaut power of tanks, firearms, what's more, endless dark clad warriors from close by Germany had torn over the open country and were making an all out intrusion of the Pole's countries. Germany's activities on that portentous morning lighted a struggle that would spread out of control, immersing the whole globe in an incredible universal war. This situation is numerous individuals' origination of how World War II came to fruition. Actually, the entire story is undeniably more point by point and complex. The starting points of war can be followed as far back as the finish of the principal World War in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles put duty regarding that horrendous war solidly on Germany. A long time later, in the Far East, Japanese aspiration for region drove the country to attack Manchuria and different pieces of close by China, causing threats toward flare in the Pacific Rim. Extraordinary Britain, the United States, and numerous different countries of the world would all be brought into fight in the years to come, and every country had it's own purpose behind helping out in the battle. Despite the fact that Germany was the significant player in World War II, the seeds of war had just been planted in the Far East years prior strife in Europe. On September 18, 1931, the incredible Japanese military powers started an intrusion of the locale known as Manchuria, an zone having a place with terrain China. This activity broke non-animosity bargains that had been marked before. It additionally was done by Japanese commanders without the assent of the Japanese government. In hate of this, nobody was ever rebuffed for the activities. Before long the attack on China, the Japanese government chose it had no way out be that as it may, to help the control of Manchuria. By the following year the district had been totally cut off from China (Ienaga 60-64). Since of the Japanese hostile in China, the League of Nations held a vote in October to compel Japan out of the caught region. The vote was passed, 13 to 1, yet Japan stayed in charge of Manchuria. A second vote, taken in February, 1933, a proper dissatisfaction with the Japanese occupation, was passed 42 to 1. Rather than ousting Japan from the zone of Manchuria, it made the country officially pull back it's participation in the League of Nations the following month (Ienaga 66). Presently over the top by the proposals of the League of Countries, Japan proceeded with it's interruption onto Chinese soil. By 1937 Japan had moved military powers into Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing, just as different areas of China. By 1940, Japanese seizure of domain had spread to somewhere inside Southeast Asia and even pieces of Australia (Sutel et al). Additionally in 1940, the Triparte Pact was agreed upon, associating Japan, Germany, and Italy into an incredible power that extended most of the way around the planet. The relationship with Hitler and Germany brought together the war in the Pacific and the war in Europe. Japan was presently completely engaged with what came to be known as World War II. As fighting seethed in the Pacific Rim, a chain of situations was developing that would produce calamitous outcomes. The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 held Germany completely responsible for the awfulness of World War I. The country was deprived of huge regions of land, it's weapons, just as it's respect. Also, the reparations that should have been paid to the partnered countries essentially annihilated the economy of Germany. The disdain of the bargain consumed in the hearts and psyches of Germans for a long time thereafter. In 1933, a man by the name of Adolf Hitler was chosen Chancellor of Germany subsequent to stirring his way up the stepping stool of government. By denouncing the Treaty of Versailles and making guarantees of a superior life to the German individuals, Hitler picked up the backing of his individual kinsmen, and he effectively won the political race. Very quickly after Hitler took office he started making sure about his position in power. Hitler found a way to wipe out all resistance, counting ideological groups and any other individual who revolted against him. The demise of President Hindenburg in 1934 secured

Prometheus - Profile of the Greek Titan

Prometheus - Profile of the Greek Titan Prometheus DetailsPrometheus Profile Who Is Prometheus?: Prometheus is one of the Titans from Greek folklore. He made (and afterward become friends with) humanity. He gave people the endowment of fire despite the fact that he realized Zeus would not affirm. Because of this blessing, Prometheus was rebuffed as just an undying could be. Group of Origin: Iapetus the Titan was the dad of Prometheus and Clymene the Oceanid was his mom. The Titans Roman Equivalent: Prometheus was likewise called Prometheus by the Romans. Characteristics: Prometheus is frequently indicated affixed, with a hawk culling out his liver or his heart. This was the discipline he endured because of opposing Zeus. Since Prometheus was godlike, his liver developed back each day, so the hawk could have devoured it every day forever. Forces: Prometheus had the intensity of thinking ahead. His sibling, Epimetheus, had the endowment of bit of hindsight. Prometheus made man from water and earth. He took abilities and fire from the divine beings to provide for man. Sources: Antiquated hotspots for Prometheus include: Aeschylus, Apollodorus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Hesiod, Hyginus, Nonnius, Plato, and Strabo.

A Simple Trick for Creative College Essay Topics Exposed

<h1>A Simple Trick for Creative College Essay Topics Exposed </h1> <p>Should you conclude you should talk around one of the prosaism article themes referenced beforehand, an awesome way to deal with recount to an increasingly predominant story is to focus on one explicit second and work starting there. At the point when you're expounding on yourself, be sure you incorporate words that clarify the feelings you're feeling at a few segments of the story. The following activity is to experience your recommendations and figure out which one is going to bring about the most grounded article. The significant thought can turn into your title too. </p> <p>Let's experience the pivotal activities which will assist you with transforming an exceptional subject into a significant paper. Bridget's article is very solid, however there keep on being a couple seemingly insignificant details that could be improved. Stephen's article is very viable. </p> <p>When composing expositions, it's easy to float away from the subject and go unconventional. To do this, you have to build up what explicitly you're concentrating on and the manner in which you'll structure your article. Hence, papers have come to be an indivisible part of scholastics. To find out about articles, it's imperative to perceive any reason why papers are such a significant part of scholastics. </p> <p>There's a run of the mill school paper composing design you should follow. You may consider the way the straightforward APA prerequisites are fulfilled in APA Essay test. Thus, it's vital that you take a gander at the simple school paper arranging rules, which are given beneath. Article design doesn't have anything to do with the genuine substance of the exposition, it is the manner in which you arrange and present it. </p> <h2> How to Get Started with Creative College Essay Topics?</h2> <p>Don't disregard to investigate the entran ce to assets the subjects that you consider. You could likewise request that our specialists give you a hand. Thusly, such master will promptly adapt to whatever you may require. Our specialists want to help you. </p> <p>The point is very critical recorded as a hard copy school application expositions, you can likewise find out about composing a prosperous school application article to discover more. In case you're applying to a school that doesn't acknowledge the Common App, you should respond to their exact paper questions. On the off chance that you are scanning for school article models, here's an extraordinary one below.</p> <p>Write plainly and show universities how you think and precisely what you will add to the grounds. School exposition propose you've just assembled all the necessary archives and arranged to make it into school among the most successive application paper subjects. It is a scholarly spot so attempt to persuade the board that you are the opportune individual for them.</p> <h2>Lies You've Been Told About Creative College Essay Topics </h2> <p>Instead, focus on endeavoring to incorporate every one of the subtleties you can envision about your point, which will make it less hard to pick what you should incorporate when you alter. Maybe you are hesitant to discover help since you were once conned by methods for a trick on-line help. All things considered, the arrangement isn't excessively evident here. </p> <p>For experimental writing papers, you need to discover something more than simply an enormous enthusiasm for your point. One of indisputably the most inconvenient things recorded as a hard copy articles is brainstorming a fabulous title. Keep perusing for additional tips on the most ideal approach to create an incredible school paper, in any event, when you don't feel you have anything fascinating to expound on. Remember you may cause interesting contentious articles in the event that you to do a couple of things. </p> <h2> The Fight Against Creative College Essay Topics</h2> <p>An amazing school paper can occur on an excellent stage. be that as it may, it can similarly as successfully happen in regular day to day existence. Reveal to us a subject which you've changed your head on over the most recent three decades. On the off chance that quality work is all you need, you should consider allowing us a chance to tail you and offer you with school paper assist that with willing give you esteem for every penny you pay. You have the absolute best understanding or accomplishment in your life before at tending a university. </p>

Redefining moments - Emphasis

Rethinking minutes Rethinking minutes Numerous experts may need to utilize innovative or sidelong intuition in their work, yet heres an opposition that welcomes anybody to do only that for singular words. This is the alleged Washington Post Mensa Invitational for which neither one of the organizations appears to be set up to guarantee credit. The test: to amusingly reclassify either a typical word, or one that has been unpretentiously changed by a letter or two (or, to place it in well known political stating, that has experienced redaction*.) While the opposition itself might be something of a urban legend, passages obviously fill the paper yearly. Unsolicited** or not, here are a few features from the 2009 clump (in addition to our very own couple, beneath). Clear elective definitions Espresso n. The individual upon whom one hacks. Surprised adj. Shocked by finding how much weight one has picked up. Babble n. A quickly retreating hairline. Bypass n. An opening in the front of fighter shorts worn by Jewish men. Quietly changed re-imagined words Giraffiti n. Vandalism shower painted extremely, high. Sarchasm n. The bay between the creator of wry mind and the individual who doesnt get it. Decafalon n. The tiresome occasion of traversing the day expending just things that are beneficial for you. Pointless^? Maybe. In any case, you may never take a gander at another word an incredible same way again. On the off chance that you have any recommendations for, or assessments on, these Semantex ^^ trickeries, leave them here. *Redaction n. Socialist daily agenda. **Unsolicited adj. Ready to stroll past a shady area of town unchecked. ^Pointless adj. [colloquial Birmingham] Left out of a bar round. ^^Semantex n. The act of changing the implications of words with hazardous results.

Creative Research Essay Topics - Outlining Your Essay Topics

Creative Research Essay Topics - Outlining Your Essay TopicsAre you looking for ways to enhance your creative research essay topics? If so, then you are not alone. Most high school and college students have this problem; they do not know what to write about in their research papers. How can you find your topic?If you need to know how to select your research paper topic, then I want to share with you a simple technique that can take you much further in your research project. It can help you uncover many hidden gems and help you get creative research essays. I will tell you why this technique works, and how you can apply it on your next project. If you follow this guide, you can have something special and unique to write about.The first thing you need to do is to write about the major aspects of your topic; you need to consider what they mean and how they are related to your school history. This article is an example of this technique. You need to look at your school's history to under stand the major things that happened. The first thing to consider is your school's growth and development. It is very important to think about this when writing about your topic.In this case, you are going to ask yourself 'how did the school history evolve?' How did students respond to the rise of its popularity? What kind of changes were made to help your school maintain its growth? These are all questions that you need to ask yourself when writing your essay.This will help you when you are writing about future economic times that you are discussing in your essay. This is extremely important to think about. Are there major changes that can impact your topic?Once you know the major things that happened to your school, you need to write about the changes that happened to the students. This is also a great way to think about your topic. How did the student body respond to this? What changes were made?These are the two most common questions that you need to answer before writing your r esearch paper. Once you have written the general outline of your topic, you can use the skills that you learned above. Use these techniques to make your next essay extra creative.Now that you know what to write about, you are ready to take your essay to the next level. You can enhance your creativity by learning to use research essay topics as a tool.

A Perfect Society Vs. A Corrupt Society - Literature Essay Samples

Three dollars and fifty-eight cents. To use the money now to buy dinner or wait and let the hunger pass. To sleep on the park bench or try to find availability at the chaotic homeless shelter. To stand outside under the searing sun in hopes of obtaining a few more dollars or to sit under the shady tree and skip another meal. These are the possible decisions that the impoverished might encounter daily. In society today and especially in 16th Century England, these decisions were prevalent among the substantial amount of people suffering in destitution. As Thomas More recognized this problem, he further realized the absurdities and wrongs within his society as the rich lived in ease and the poor suffered through daily turmoil. More’s Utopia criticized the inequities of English society as the novel presents an ideal land where England’s societal problems have been resolved and are nonexistent. Utopia displays a simplistic lifestyle and presents social and economic equality among all the citizens; contrary to England, where there were social classes and an unjust distribution of wealth that made up the basis of English society. More depicted Utopia as the antithesis of English society to enlighten the educated and upper class Englishmen of the wrongs within their society and prompt them to revise their mistakes and aid in the betterment of England. Within the country of Utopia, the primary focus is agriculture. Everyone is â€Å"instructed in it from their childhood,† ensuring that the citizens are knowledgeable of the necessary labors that is the foundation of their civilization (107). The participation in cultivation equalizes the community, as everyone habitually engages in farming and experiences the strenuous work associated with it. More presents the agricultural civilization within Utopia to express the lack of commendation towards farmers within his own society and to critique the egotistical attitude of the privileged. The elites within England were able to indulge themselves in an hour, with the food that had taken farmers months of laborious farming to produce. They ignored the tribulations that farmers underwent in order to acquire a successful harvest and chose to believe that they are above the arduous work. More presents the supercilious and selfish nature of high-class English people as they lived with no worries towards the stability of their homes and lifestyle and had no regards to anyone else that were not classed the same. While farmers relied solely on their unstable harvest as their source of their income, with the harvest possibly being the deciding factor in whether they would have food and a home or not. Making agriculture the basic foundation of Utopian civilization instills a sense of fairness and unity among the community that—due to the narcissism of the elites—England did not have. Material items such as extravagant clothing and luxurious accessories are deemed ludicrous in Utopia. People on the island do not find opulent items as a necessary aspect to their survival, and therefore find no use for them. All the citizens wear similar, basic clothing with the only distinction being between gender and marriageability. Even the idolization of gold and silver is laughable to the Utopians as they use them as playthings for children, household materials such as â€Å"chamber-pots and close-stools†, and also â€Å"chains and fetters for their slaves† (137). More presents the Utopians’ distaste to express the absurdity of English people, specifically high-class English people, and their emphasis on sybaritic objects that held no significant contribution to their survival. The upper class was obsessed with having expensive and lavish clothes and jewelry merely to boast to one another. They spent excess amount of money on indulgent objects, while the majority of England barely had enough to sustain themselves. More employs Utopia’s treatment of luxury items for what they are—nonessential and excessive—to show how the elites’ admiration of those objects was simply to appeal to their superiority complex. Rather than utilizing their surplus wealth to aid in the survival of those who are less fortunate within their community, the rich spent money on items with high monetary worth, but in reality, were worthless. Personal property and possession of items are nonexistent within Utopian civilization as there is â€Å"no property among them† and everything â€Å"belong[s] to the whole town† (101). Making everyone have the same amount of belongings—basically nothing—further equalizes the citizens of Utopia. More shows that â€Å"where no man has any property, all men zealously pursue the good of the public† and therefore focus on contributing to the furtherance of their community, rather than selfishly improving oneself at the expense of others (248). Utopia’s lack of ownership depicts a contrast to England as the privileged class thrived on an immoderate amount of possessions. Possessions defined England’s high society as their social power derived through the number of items that they owned. More presents the strong emphasis his society had on possessions, as their belongings influenced the perception of what other elites thought of them and impa cted the life they would live. Property of land and possession of extravagant items determined the person they would marry, the success in their occupation, and their power within government. He shows how vapid the upper echelon of England was as they relied on the quantity of one’s belongings and wealth, rather than the quality of one’s character to determine how â€Å"well-off† they would be. More made life in Utopia based off of quality of life and minimalistic living for happiness to present to upper class England that possessions does not bring happiness and should not play such a significant role in influencing one’s life. The justice system within Utopia is quite basic with minimal laws and straightforward processes and consequences for crimes; thus dismissing the ability for any exploitations of the law. When a crime is committed, the offender defends himself or herself as lawyers are thought to â€Å"disguise matters and to wrest the laws† (190). The ability for the accused person to defend oneself to a judge allows for a quicker and more effective process as the argument for innocence comes straight from the accused party and has no â€Å"artifices which lawyers are apt to suggest† (190). More formed the Utopian legal system as the converse to England’s legal system to illustrate how the privileged manipulated the system and distorted the definition of justice. England’s legal system favored the elites as those that were affluent and held titles impacted the creation and the interpretation of laws that could benefit them. The high society utilized their wealth to corrupt the system by swaying judges and witnesses in their favor. The use of lawyers further shows how justice can be corrupted within English society as the possibility for a one to be found innocent heavily relied on the proficiency of one’s lawyer. The rich were able to afford more adept lawyers that could effectively influence the courtroom, while the poor could barely afford—or not afford at all—substandard representation. Utopian civilization is built on humanism, as there is no restriction on the necessities and supplies that families can acquire. Fathers are able to â€Å"[take] whatsoever he or his family stand in need of, without either paying for it or leaving anything in exchange† (121). No one in Utopia lives in constant worry about whether or not they will be able to economically provide for their family as there is â€Å"plenty of everything among them† (121). More presents a lenient control on the distribution of materials to depict England’s unjust acquirement of necessities. England’s lower class was unable to afford the food and materials that were necessary to their survival; however, the upper class was easily able to afford a surplus amount of food and furthermore, a surplus amount of luxuries. More depicts Utopians lack of desire to obtain more materials than needed, as â€Å"they are sure they shall always be supplied† to show how it is fear of not knowing whether one will be able to obtain imperative items that leads to greed and selfishness (121). The attainment of food and materials in England was based on the exchange of currency; therefore, society had an underlying unease from the possibility that they may not be able to afford their essentials. More shows that this underlying unease is what causes the rapacity within the privileged class and consequently, the destitution among the lower class. Through Utopia, More reveals the un-altruistic and materialistic behavior of the upper class. The equal and united community of Utopia exposes the wrongs within English society as the rich carelessly spent their fortunes on lavish items and the poor struggled to make ends meet. The elites fed their egotistical nature through duplicitous actions derived from their hunger for power and greed; consequently, leaving the impoverished to attempt to survive on what little was remaining. Through the description of the ideal land of Utopia, More presents possible solutions to Englishmen on how their society could have be improved. Members of the upper class had the ability to break free from the narcissistic norms of their class and contribute to the advancement of their society through simply offering a fraction of their wealth—which would have barely made a dent within assets—that would have greatly assisted those living in poverty. Therefore, if you see ever someone that is l ess fortunate, think: can you afford losing a few dollars? Can your spare change be the difference in someone’s ability to purchase a meal? Will you be that person that takes a step towards the melioration of the world or will you stand by claiming ignorance of the wrongs occurring around you?

Dividend Policy With Reference To British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2922 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? Dividends and the implication of dividend choices have been the subject of much debate, particularly in the recent economic crisis where investors and other stakeholders are becoming increasingly nervous about the financial standing of companies in which they have an interest. On a basic level, dividends also provide a regular income to investors and, as such, the choice of how much dividend to pay out is seen as a critical signal from the management team. Investors will often select certain companies, based on the possibility that they are likely to receive a regular dividend and any changes in the underlying policies can have a very detrimental impact on the perceptions of both current and prospective investors. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Dividend Policy With Reference To British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc" essay for you Create order Although some investors will invest in a company for capital growth, the dividend level is still seen as a strong signal; therefore, regular analysis of dividend policies and payout rates are likely to be undertaken. In this report, Sky (British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.L)) will be looked at, in terms of the way in which it has approached dividend payout in the last five years. Theory relating to dividend policy and the approaches taken will then be considered in order to determine whether Sky has complied with general theories, or whether it has deviated from what would be expected based on theory. Empirical data is contained in the appendices. Background to Sky Before going on to consider the dividend policies and how these have been applied by Sky, it is helpful to put the matter in context and to determine the way in which the company has been performing, in recent years, so that this can be correlated with any changes in dividend policy. The company was formed in its current standing, back in 1990, when there was a merger of British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television. This was an equal merger and created the company that we see today, Sky. Prior to the merger, both companies were sustaining heavy financial losses and it was found that by undertaking the merger, it was possible to gain economies of scale. It was also possible for the two companies to draw on each others strengths, for example, British Satellite Broadcasting had a range of solid advertisers, whereas Sky Television was renowned for having a wider range of channels. By pooling these two resources, it was possible for the company to go from strength to strength and it would be expected that this will be reflected in the financial performance of the company, from this point onwards. At the point of the merger, Sam Chisholm was the Chief Executive Officer and he remained in place, until 1997. He then handed over to Mark Booth; and, in 1999, Tony Ball went on to lead Sky during the period within which Sky Television was introduced. It was during this period that the company returned to profit and subscriber members rose at a substantial rate. As is the case with many large companies, Sky was not without its difficulties within the boardroom, particularly when James Murdoch was appointed, in 2003, as there were allegations of internal dealings from the shareholders and a general feeling of discontent, during this period. These difficulties rumbled on and in 2007 Rupert Murdoch, the father of James Murdoch, stepped down from his role as non-executive chairman, but was then replaced by his son who stepped down from the position of CEO, being replaced by Jeremy Darroch. During 2010, a takeover bid was made by News Corp where it attempted to gain control of the 61% of shares that it did not own, but were owned by other shareholders. The price offered was 700 pence per share; the shareholders rejected this offer, stating that they believed an offer of in excess of 800 pence per share would be necessary to make the deal appropriately valuable for the shareholders. It should be noted that, were this takeover to continue, it would be necessary to gain permission from both the European Commission and the Office of Fair Trading, due to anti-competitive dangers of having such a large player in one industry. Over the last 10 years, the profit within Sky has gone up and down with a particularly bad period being experienced during 2000 to 2002. Sky suffered a further drop in profit, in 2008, although this was largely attributed to the general financial crisis and individual inability to pay for what was perceived to be a luxury product. These difficulties and corporate movements are likely to have a direct impact on the perceptions of investors and are therefore relevant to the way in which management boards deal with dividend payouts. Maintaining confidence in the company is critically important and when there are period of difficulties, such as those experienced in 2008, the decisions relating to issues such as dividend become even more critical for the management board, which is likely to pay particular attention to the messages that it is sending out through its dividend decisions. Based on this, when the dividend payments are being considered and the policies looked at, it is important to bear in mind that there are underlying commercial issues that could have a direct bearing on the choices being made and the impact that these choices have on the company. Sky Dividend Approach Despite the variable performance of Sky (BSkyB, 2010), it has maintained a growth policy when it comes to dividends. This is indicated by the fact that, when looking at the discussion on dividends, during the last five years reports, there is an emphasis placed on management confidence and the decision to offer strong dividends, even when the profit levels are weak. Appendix 1 contains the earnings per share calculations, as well as the dividend per share calculations. Earnings per share reflect the amount of profit that can be attributed to each share. For example, in 2010, the calculation reflected profits before tax of 878 million divided by 1743 million shares, resulting in earnings per share of 50.4 pence. This earnings per share figure is the highest seen, in the last five years, with a figure in 2006 being 30.2 pence, dropping to a negative figure in 2008, before recovering, in 2009. Despite this dramatic fluctuation in the earnings per share, the company has maintained a consistent dividend policy because it had confidence in the strength of its position in the market. This consistent growth and confidence can be seen when looking at the dividend per share which is a reflection of the amount of equity dividends paid out per share. As would be expected, this is the highest in 2010; however, even in 2008, where the profit levels were negative, the dividend per share still increased on the 2007 figure. In fact, in every year of the last five y ears, the dividend per share figure has grown from the original figure of 12.2 pence per share, in 2006 to the current 19.4 pence per share. Essentially, these dividend per share figures show that the company has smoothed the negative impact of the downturn, in 2008. Appendix 2 shows the dividend cover and dividend yield within the company, in the last five years. Dividend cover effectively shows how many times the profit could have paid the dividends actually paid. This is a measure of the companys ability to pay its dividends and is a reflection of how realistic the dividend payments are. Interestingly, the coverage rate in 2010 is very similar to that in 2006, at 2.6 times and 2.5 times, respectively. This suggests that the financial health of the company, in terms of the dividend promised, has remained relatively consistent, over the five years. However, as indicated earlier, there was a substantial drop in 2008 and this is reflected in the fact that the coverage ratio shows that the profits did not cover the dividend payments, during this period. Although it recovered slightly, in 2009, with the coverage of 1.2 times, it was not until 2010 that recovery was seen on the ratio returned to 2.6. Again, this would be expected, given the fact that the dividend payment increased year-on-year, despite a substantial dip in profits, during 2008. It has, however, shown by the confidence displayed by the management team, in 2008, that recovery was imminent and this confidence was correctly placed with those investors that have stayed with the company for the previous five year s being rewarded by a higher dividend payment and higher share prices that they can now obtain for their shares. Finally, we shall now look at the dividend yield, i.e. the return an investor obtains on the capital, which involves taking the dividend per share and dividing it by the share price. Many investors see this as the key figure as it indicates the financial return that they are receiving on each share and this can be used in comparison with alternative investment that may be available to the investor, for example bank accounts. In this case, the dividend yield has fluctuated, in the last five years, reaching a high point in 2009, before dropping in 2010. It is not entirely unexpected, given the fact that, in 2009, the share prices were reasonably low after the poor performance of 2008 and the lack of general investor confidence and desirability of the shares. Despite this low share price that was in existence, in 2009, the dividends remained relatively high and therefore the return was naturally higher. As confidence increased in the shares, the share price would naturally rise, as there was a greater demand for shares in Sky and this will have the impact of reducing the dividend yield, as the dividends do not increase at the same rate. It should be noted, however, that the dividend yield is based on the share price in that given year and it is possible that investors who had purchased the shares, at an earlier date, when the prices were either higher or lower will find that there individual return is diffe rent. This supports the notion that those investors that have stayed with the company for the difficult period of 2008 and 2009 or alternatively those that chose to purchase shares during the troubled period will be gaining an increasing dividend yield, now the company is recovering. The approach taken by Sky will be considered in the context of wider dividend policy theories, in the following section. Dividend Policy Underlying Theories Given the importance of dividends to the investors in the companies, it is unsurprising that there is a range of different theories underlying the ways in which companies deal with the dividend policy. From the previous analysis, it can be seen that Sky has opted to maintain a policy of dividend growth, regardless of underlying profit levels, in order to maintain confidence in the company and, in this case, confidence has been well-placed due to the fact that there was a substantial recovery, in 2010, despite the weak performance, in 2008. However, alternative theories exist that could have been used in order to determine the appropriate dividend policy for Sky, during the previous five-year period. One theory which is often subscribed to is that of the residual policy. In accordance with this theory, a company will only pay dividends when it has residual earnings in place, for example, where it has taken advantage of all possible internal investment approaches. The argument in favour of this type of approach is that the shareholders will feel that the company is undertaking all possible action, in order to promote its long-term growth. By paying dividends when the company simply does not have the residual earnings to do so, there is an argument that the company is not putting itself in a good position for long-term growth. A secondary benefit from following this type of approach is that it refocuses the management team on ensuring that investment is undertaken and dividend policy becomes almost secondary. Furthermore, it reduces the chances of having to raise further equity by issuing new shares because any investment has been funded from the internal earnings; this can also ha ve a benefit to shareholders, as their own shareholding will not be diluted. This is not an approach that has been taken by Sky as, had it followed this type of approach, no dividend would have been paid, in 2008. Instead, the company prioritised a dividend growth theory and did not make investments a priority (Gordon, 1963). Another theory which has been developed by Modigliani and Miller (MM), back in the 1960s, is that which argued that dividend policy was irrelevant when all factors were pulled together (Baker, 2009). They argued that the way in which a firm divides its earnings pot between paying out to shareholders and retaining the funds, internally is, in essence, irrelevant in the long term. When developing the theory, MM relied on a range of assumptions including the notion that the way in which the company invests in growth is independent of its dividend decisions, and also that the company operates within a perfect capital market. For example, there are no transaction costs and no taxes and all investors have exactly the same information, at the same time. In theory, they argue that investors will act in a way that produces the correct level of dividend by either buying or selling shares, depending on how the company is performing. For example, if the company is not producing the level of divi dend that an investor requires, then it will simply purchase more shares to get more dividends and vice versa. This suggests that the dividend policy of Skys management team would be largely irrelevant, as investors would simply shift, in order to obtain the returns that suit their own needs. John Lintner (1962) also developed a dividend theory, namely the bird in the hand theory. The theory suggested that investors generally prefer to receive regular dividend payments, rather than reinvesting capital growth, in the future. This suggests that investors, on the whole, are risk-averse and prefer to receive dividend, in the current year, rather than potential growth in 5 to 10 years time. To a certain extent, Sky has followed this approach, because it recognises that providing a return to investors, on a year by year basis, is seen as preferable to promising long-term investment. Clearly, however, this type of theory will vary, depending on the needs of the individual investor. Some investors will be investing in shares with the view to long-term growth and therefore are less likely to pay attention to the dividend returns, on a year by year basis, (Frankfurter and Wood, 2002). Finally, and arguably the most influential theory, when it comes to the approach taken by Sky is that of the dividend signalling theory. It is argued that, contrary to the dividend irrelevant theory, the dividend value actually does have a dramatic impact on the share price, due to the fact that the choice of dividend policy gives a signalling effect as to how well the management team thinks the company will perform, in the future (Brittain, 1966). A change in the dividend payment, either upwards or downwards, has been argued to offer a signal to shareholders and investors, in terms of what the likely future earnings will be. For example, if the management team is positive about the future of the company as a whole and that they may maintain a high dividend. When dividend payment is reduced, this can often negative signal to the market and is therefore something that a company will often avoid, even where profit levels are low, as was seen in the case of Sky, in 2008. Summary and Conclusion By analysing the background commercial position of Sky, in the last five years, its financial performance in relation to dividends and also wider dividend policy theories, it is clear to see that Sky is following a dividend signalling approach, as well as the dividend growth theory, by increasing its dividend, year-on-year, regardless of the underlying position of the company. There are several concerns associated with this approach. Firstly, where dividends are being paid out at a high level in years where the income is simply not there to sustain this level, it is possible that the company is missing out on investment opportunities and therefore long-term growth may not be as rapid as it could be. Clearly, this depends on the underlying ethos of the company and whether or not investment is essential to sustain growth or whether it prefers to follow the bird in hand theory, which suggests that shareholders prefer to have immediate returns. Furthermore, paying out high levels of divi dend, even when there is no profit at all, is only sustainable for a certain period of time. Whilst, in this case, Sky returned to profit rapidly in 2009 and 2010 and therefore paying dividends in 2008 did not produce long-term financial difficulties for the company, had this not occurred, it is possible that the company would, ultimately, have suffered and run out of money to pay dividends. This may have required it to take out additional long-term loans, or to issue equity, which would eventually have had the impact of increasing costs and making the position within the company even more difficult to return to profit. In this case, however, the management team at Sky correctly assessed that the company was in a strong position and likely to grow, in the coming years and signalled as much to the shareholders through maintaining a high level of dividend. This, in turn, meant that the share prices increased and this has been reflected in the dividend yield dropping slightly, in 2010. Overall, Sky has followed a growth and signalling theory, which has resulted in positive trends of the company, but nonetheless, caution should be used when applying this type of approach, as it relies on recovery, in order to be sustainable.