Saturday, December 28, 2019

Analysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World - 1287 Words

The constant development of society is faulted with the advancement of technology. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World presents a controlled society which creates a faulty idea of perfection to be obtained. The theme of technology being used to control society is faulted. The attainment of perfection is faulted through symbolism with the assembly line producing children, the taking of the drug soma, and the changing of one s individual appearance to have all people look alike. The assembly of children takes away the individual process of birth. Escaping one’s harsh, cruel reality by taking soma gives the user a false sense of happiness.The changing of one’s appearance so that most of the people all look alike takes away individuality. For†¦show more content†¦Children are no longer needed to be developed with a mother. The parental unit of a child is no longer needed since children are now being hatched from eggs. It takes away the purpose of two people who love each other, joining together to create a new generation of children for the future. Most of the children hatched from eggs look identical to each other. Since they are all mostly clones, there are no individual differences between them. No differences mean no unique individualities. The people are all alike which makes the society feel dull. The Director tells his students that, â€Å" He let out the amazing truth. For a very long period before the time of Our Ford, and even for some generations afterwards, erotic play between children had been regarded as abnormal †¦ and not only abnormal, actually immoral : and had therefore been rigorously suppresses† ( Huxley 31). This Brave New World’s society is different from what modern society’s morale are. The Director talks about how in the past, society was completely different that what it was originally before the World State. He tells his students about the past which is already abnormal. People of the World State do not dwell on the past and move on with their lives. The â€Å"erotic play† between children is highly accepted in the World State. While in modern society, it is no approved of. Abnormal means undesirable or different. The World State takes what is valued in modern society like having children, a long- lasting

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Embarrassment Of The Family Name - 902 Words

embarrassment to the family name. Akhmatova seems to have a struggle though. She complains that her and her husband, Nikolay, cannot have a normal life due to their careers, and she longs for a normal family life. This is something that is commonly seen today, where working mothers must struggle between making money and having a career and devoting time to their families. Nikolay blames Akhmatova’s career on their abnormal family life, and she complains that he does not give her enough affection. He openly admits that he cheats on her and claims that his affairs are part of her muse. Later, it is also revealed that she has written a poem praising Stalin in order to save her career. She has conflict in both her personal life and her art. She appears to be somewhat unreliable and unsure of what she wants. She cannot decide if she wants a family or a writing career, and she gives up her independence as a writer to please Stalin. Stalin eve apparently refers to her as his â€Å"w horish nun,† clearly showing no respect for her as a person or an artist. Akhmatova is placed in many unfair circumstances, but it is hard to admire her when she changes positions and complains about choices she has made. Ludo is Alexei’s current wife in the 1930’s play, and she appears to be a superficial character who submits to her husband in most situations. She praises her husbands works greatly, and mainly cares about his works to ensure that they will maintain their wealth. Ludo claims to have noShow MoreRelatedShame, By Dick Gregory847 Words   |  4 Pageszoom lens on a camera. When we are feeling shame, the camera is zoomed in tight and all we see is our flawed selves, alone and struggling. (Goodread)† The author of Shame, Dick Gregory, experienced some aspects of shame through family, school, and society. Dick Gregory’s family experienced financial struggle, especially with no father figure in his life. The only income he received was from shining shoes and selling papers. He lacked attention at home because of the competition from six siblings. WhenRead MoreHow I Am A New World1489 Words   |  6 PagesHowever, I am struggling with the moral values I have. As Martin Luther King, Jr puts it, â€Å"Any law that degrades human personality is unjust† (228). With this in mind, I am having a war in myself in my own bedroom. If I don’t go, I would dishonor my family and wouldn’t be able to face them nor my friends and even let down the country that I’m born and raised in. The people in school might mock me, the next-door neighbor would look me in the eyes disdainfully, and even the teachers in high school thatRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde884 Words   |  4 Pagesfact, is able to accurately describe Mr. Hyde’s appearance, Mr. Enfield noted, he must be deformed somewhere. He gives a strong feeling of deformity, though I couldn t specify the point. He s an extraordinary-looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No, sir...I can t describe him (Stevenson 34). In the novel of The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson mentioned several different characters that are well respected from others. For example, Mr. Utterson isRead MoreA Person s Social Status Essay888 Words   |  4 Pageszoom lens on a camera. When we are feeling shame, the camera is zoomed in tight and all we see is our flawed selves, alone and struggling. (Goodread)† The author of Shame, Dick Gregory, experienced some aspects of shame through family, school, and society. Dick Gregory’s family experienced financial struggle, especially with no father figure in his life. The only income he received was from shining shoes and selling papers. He lacked attention at home because of the competition from six siblings. WhenRead MoreThe Old Man Isnt There Any More by Kellie Schmitt664 Words   |  3 PagesEveryone has had an embarrassing moment in their life at one point or another; slipping on ice in public or forgetting a coworkers name at the company picnic. Making a fool of yourself is bound to happen, especially in a setting outside of what you are accustomed to. Some people do not like reliving these moments while others have a gift for turning their embarrassment into a great story. Kellie Schmitt’s essay â€Å"The Old Man Isn’t There Anymore† is a perfect example of laughing at oneself. ThroughoutRead Moreâ€Å"A Raisin in the Sun†700 Words   |  3 Pagestouching realist drama, is the home of the Youngers, an ove rcrowded run-down apartment. Hansberry used this private scenery to enhance the many feelings the Youngers, and other African-Americans, fought to conquer and to embrace in the name of happiness. As with families of any ethnic group, the Youngers ultimate goal was to be happy. Unfortunately, being African-American meant there were certain disadvantages they must face due to prejudices. Hansberry used the aging cracks of the apartment wallsRead MoreThe Absolutely True Diary Of A Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie977 Words   |  4 Pagessame dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world† (31). At this point in the fiction, Junior is at a loss. He feels as though his â€Å"hopes and dreams floated up into a mushroom cloud† (31). Albeit Junior’s family was extremely disappointed in him, Mr. P arrived at his house a week later. Junior didn’t know it yet, but Mr. P had advice that could change the Spokane Indian’s life forever. Mr. P, trying to redeem himself of past guilt, claimed, â€Å"You can’t giveRead MoreThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka1077 Words   |  5 PagesSamsa, but also to his fami ly, and interpret Kafka’s social criticism in this novel. The narrator’s voice is omniscient - all knowing third person. Omniscient narrator uses adjectives that let us know about the main character’s feelings. Gregor s feelings are shame, embarrassment, guilt, concern, and amusement. Shame and embarrassment shows when he can t support his family. He feels guilty for his appearance. Concern occurs when he always thinks about his family. And amusement when heRead MoreThe Destruction Of A Culture1277 Words   |  6 Pagesregion of the world. However, any culture with the value of the traditions and beliefs can be greatly weakened when introduced to a new and overpowering culture. It happens quite frequently to families that move to a new city or country with different lifestyles. As a result, the children of these families grow up to not care as much about their original culture s traditions as the older generations do. As we know, Native Americans, who are indigenous peoples of the United States, account for less Read MoreEveryday Use Story by Alice Walker Essay1442 Words   |  6 Pagescontinues the tone moves from worrisome to mystery and embarrassment. The mystery was shown by the want to know why the change in Dee and who this man was with her. The embarrassment, in my opinion was a underlining tone, because it was solely shown through actions like Maggie’s want to dash away when she noticed her sister arriving in the vehicle, and the ashamed statement Dee wrote once before her arrival. This statement was that â€Å"no matter where we family â€Å"choose† to live, she will manage to come see us

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Westpac An Analysis

Question: Discuss about the Analysis for Westpac. Answer: Introduction Headquartered in Westpac Place, Sydney Westpac is an Australian bank which is also engaged in the provision of financial services. Founded in the year 1982 the organization has come a long way to become one of the four largest banks in Australia. The organization commands a base of more than 13 million customers and operates with over 1429 branches and 3850 ATMs across the globe and is the second largest bank in New Zealand. The primary objective of this report is to analyze the performance of the organization over a period of five years while analyzing the performance of the share of the concern. Banking Industry The overall picture of the Australian banking system is not pretty. The banks in Australia and few of the other parts of the world are struggling considering the downturn in the economy. Specifically in Australia where the banks had primarily lend or forwarded loans to the steel and coal industry are struggling as these industries have not done well for quite some time now. Recently the earnings were missed by Westpac, one of the largest banks in the world as of 1st of May 2016. The profits reported for the 6 months ending March were approximately $0.125 lower than the expected amount (StreetAuthority, 2016). The bank in addition to the same reported its biggest impairment loss in the previous six years. As a consequence of the same the price of the share of the organization went down from $23.59 to $22.71 on Monday. This does not look very good for the organization and the overall industry as the results of the other banks were yet to be reported. It is understood that the others ar e in the same boat as Westpac and that more bad news awaits the investors and the shareholders. In addition to the same four of the largest banks of the continent posted bad debt charges in excess of $3.8 billion. However, in spite these figures the banks in Australia are performing much better than the banks in USA, England, France and other parts of the world and the situation in expected to even out in the next few years (Keating et al., 2008). The fall in the profits of the coal and steel organizations is primarily due to the fall in the demand levels of China which is the worlds largest consumer of these materials. However the biggest plus or the motivating factor is that the Australian economy has not been impacted by recession for the last 24 years and the same will provide a steady environment for the banks to operate. Share price movement In the last one year the share of the organization has not performed well. The same has gone down by approximately 7%. It is not just Westpac which has felt the heat but the share prices of other banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Australian and New Zealand Banking Group have also gone down by approximately 8% and 11% respectively (Mickleboro, 2016). Westpac has been paying healthy dividends over the years and in the last year the organization paid dividends yielding around 6% fully franked. In addition to the same the organization also has a payout ratio of approximately 73% which is quite healthy. This is supposed to create a buying pressure in the market and stop the fall of the shares further. Hence from the investor point of view the same should provide a good opportunity and should be a good buy. Even though the cash earnings of the organization have increased with an increase in the revenue the return on equity has not particularly been that good which one of the primary reasons is for the fall in the share price of the organization (Canavan, 2016). As is evident from the ratios in the appendices the organizations ROE has fallen from 15.91% in the year 2014 to 15.77 in the year 2015. As compared to the year 2011 the performance of the organization has dipped. In the year its return on equity was 17.47 while in 2015 it is 15.77 which is almost a fall of roughly 2%. This has adversely impacted the price of the share of the organization. The table below indicates the price of the share of the organization over a period of 2 years. Since February 2015 the price of the share of the organization has fallen by over $10 which is quite astounding (Davidson and Salsbury, 2005). Date Close Date Close Date Close 01-06-2016 28.8 03-08-2015 30.8897 01-10-2014 34.5448 02-05-2016 30.7 01-07-2015 34.6243 01-09-2014 31.9227 01-04-2016 31.05 01-06-2015 31.9326 01-08-2014 34.8031 01-03-2016 30.35 01-05-2015 33.3331 01-07-2014 34.376 01-02-2016 28.75 01-04-2015 36.2135 02-06-2014 33.6509 01-01-2016 30.85 02-03-2015 39.1137 01-05-2014 34.1872 01-12-2015 33.56 02-02-2015 37.743 01-04-2014 34.8825 02-11-2015 32.15 01-01-2015 34.227 03-03-2014 34.3263 01-10-2015 31.38 01-12-2014 32.9358 03-02-2014 33.2437 01-09-2015 29.4992 03-11-2014 32.3299 01-01-2014 30.6613 The graph above indicates the fact that price of the share of the organization has moved upwards and downwards. Since 2015 the price of the organizations share has shown a drastic fall as has been mentioned previously. Analysis of the income statement An analysis of the income statement of the organization over a period of 5 years indicates the fact that the Interest income of the organization has reduced over a period of five years. The same has reduced from $38098 million to $32307 million. Even though the income of the organization has fallen the organization has also been able to bring about a reduction in the interest expenses (Berk and DeMarzo, 2007). The interest expense of the organization has reduced from $26102 million in the year 2011 to $18028 in the year 2015. The same is evident from the table below which indicates the reduction in the expenses and income but an overall increase in the net revenue as compared to the year 2011. Interest income 2011-09 2012-09 2013-09 2014-09 2015-09 Loans and Leases 34530 33238 29781 29104 29307 Deposits with banks 83 123 23 243 12 Securities 789 1116 1386 2666 Trading assets 2356 2091 1665 1407 Other assets 340 305 1550 119 322 Total interest income 38098 36873 33019 32259 32307 Interest expense Deposits 14682 14602 12555 11499 10669 Short-term borrowing 5738 454 529 490 535 Long-term debt 4578 4388 4008 3813 3908 Other expense 1104 4927 3052 2904 2916 Total interest expense 26102 24371 20144 18706 18028 Net interest income 11996 12502 12875 13553 14279 The basic earnings of the organization have also increased from $2.31 in the year 2011 to $2.55 in the year 2015. The same is the case with the diluted earnings of the organization which has increased from $2.22 in the year 2011 to $2.48 in the year 2015. Even though the income of the organization has increased in absolute terms the same is lower in terms of percentage and has fallen as compared to the previous year (Broadbent and Cullen, 2003). The recent scandal The recent scandal discovered could be a big blow to the organization. It was found that millions of dollars in loans were approved on basis of Chinese documents which were fraud. These documents were prepared by phony mortgage brokers. Considering the same the banks policy and levels of internal control are a big question as a proper internal control should have prevented the same. In addition to the same a few other incidents have surfaced indicating wrong overdraft credit limits being sanctioned to people (La Berge, n.d.). This definitely indicates the concern over the use of technology and system in place. According to the AFRs report approximately $1 Billion of the loans of the bank might have affected by the scandal and might have to write them off as bad which will drastically reduce the profits if the bank was to restate the income statement (Fund, 2012). Fixing Swap Rate Accusation The bank has recently been accused of fixing the swap rate illegally. It has been alleged that the bank was involved in fixing the swap rates between April 6 2010 and June 6 2012. In a statement the ASIC claimed that Westpac intended to create an artificial price for the bank bills. It also claimed that Westpac had a large number of products which were priced or valued off BBSW and that it traded in the bank bill market with the intention of moving the BBSW higher or lower. If the same goes against the bank it can prove to be very costly and humiliating. The bank might be fined billions of dollars and might even be barred from trading on Australian Stock Exchange for a while (Shanahan, 2016). Financial Ratios This segment of the report analyzes the performance of the bank with the help of the tool of ratio analysis. The tool of ratio analysis enables the users of the financial statements to analyze the performance of the organization in a short while without having to refer to the entire set of annual reports of the organization. As a consequence the tool of ratio analysis is easy to employ and can be understood with easy as the user of the same does not need to a master in accounts or finance. The various ratios of the organization have been explained below: Net profit: The net profit ratio of the organization is used to analyze the overall performance of the concern. This is an overall measure as the same takes into consideration the overall incomes and expenses of the concern unlike the gross profit ratio and the operating margin ratios which do not consider all the incomes and expenses of the organization and hence do not present the picture of the overall performance of the concern (Financial performance, 2011). The net profit ratio or net profit margin of Westpac has reduced over a period of 5 years starting from 2011. The ratio has reduced from 41.34% in the year 2011 to 36.99% in the year 2015. The net profit percentage decrease can be primarily because of the fact that the rise in the expenses of the organization was more than the rise in the revenue of the concern (Fridson and Alvarez, 2002). This has primarily been the case with the organization whose revenue has not shown or indicated a great deal of improvement. Considering t he same the organization should consider reducing the operational and other costs associated with the organization as the same is bringing down the performance of the organization. The operating margin of the organization has also declined from 57.1% in the year 2014 to 52.7% in the year 2015 though over a period of five years the operating margin of the concern has improved from 50.3% in the year 2011 to 52.7% (Lee, 2005). Return on asset: This ratio indicates the return earned by the organization by employing the overall assets or the average assets of the corporation. The higher the ratio the better it is for the organization as the same indicates the increased efficiency of the concern (Mattern, 2002). The return on assets for Westpac has depleted over the years as the same has come down from 1.09% in the year 2011 to 1.01% in the year 2015. As a consequence of the same the share price of the organization has also taken a hit and the same has gone down by approximately by $10 over a period of 2 years (McKeown, 2012). Debt to Equity: The debt to equity ratio as the name suggest indicates the proportion of the organizations debt to its equity (Pratt and Grabowski, 2008). Though a higher debt implies that the organization has a higher leveraged earning the same can be bad during the times of recessionary pressure. However considering the fact that the Australian economy has not been hit by recession for a period of 24 years the same can be considered to be safe (Westpac, 2016). The debt to equity ratio of the organization has increased over a period of 10 years but the same has reduced over a period of 5 years wherein the same has come down from 3.96 in 2011 to 3.48 in the year 2015 (Shim and Siegel, 2000). P/E Ratio: This ratio indicates the price of the share in regards to the earnings made. The price earnings ratio of the organization has fallen over a period of 5 years. Specifically over the last three years the same has come down from $12.64 to $11.80 as of 2015 (Temte, 2004). This indicates a fall in both the price and earnings per share of the organization over this period. Profitability 2011-09 2012-09 2013-09 2014-09 2015-09 Tax Rate % 17.09 31.89 30.16 29 29.33 Net Margin % 41.34 33.2 36.57 37.92 36.99 Asset Turnover (Average) 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 Return on Assets % 1.09 0.89 0.99 1.03 1.01 Financial Leverage (Average) 16.02 15.25 14.94 15.91 15.3 Return on Equity % 17.47 13.87 15 15.91 15.77 Even though the same is easy to use the same does not take into consideration the impact of qualitative information and other basic concepts of finance such as inflation and time value of money (Worthington, 2006). Hence an informed decision can only be taken in the light of the quantitative and qualitative information in the light of the current environment surrounding the organization. According the constant dividend growth rate model the price of the share is as follows: P= D/K-G Where, P= Price of the share D=Dividend paid by the organization K= Return expected by the equity holders G= Rate of growth Applying the above formula the theoretical share price of the organization is as follows: =1.76/9%-4% =1.76/5% =$35.2 The current market price of the share is $28.8 as of 1st of June 2016 which is lower than the theoretical price of the share. Considering the same the share should be bought by the investors. Recommendation It is evident from the analysis above that over the last five years the organization has not performed really well and the profitability and other key aspects of the financial performance and financial position have taken a hit. The net profit of the organization has reduced in addition to the increase in the debt level of the concern. The share price of the concern has also taken a hit in the light of the reduced earnings and return on assets of the organization. However considering the fact that the Australian banking sector has been performing well when compared with the banking sectors in the other parts of the world the same is expected to improve over the course of time. As has been previously mentioned the Australian economy has not been impacted by recession for quite some time now indicates the sound financial and economic environment which should provide a steady base to the banks in the nation. In light of the same the investors should purchase the share of the organizatio n. References Berk, J DeMarzo, P 2007,Corporate finance, Boston: Pearson Addison Wesley. Broadbent, M Cullen, J 2003,Managing financial resources, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Canavan, G 2016,Why the Westpac Bank Share Price Dropped Today The Daily Reckoning Australia, viewed on 29 June 2016, https://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/why-the-westpac-bank-share-price-dropped-today-asxu/2016/05/02/. Davidson, L Salsbury, S 2005,Australia's first bank, Sydney, NSW: UNSW Press. Financial performance, 2011, London: BPP Learning Media Ltd. Fridson, M Alvarez, F 2002,Financial statement analysis, New York: John Wiley Sons. Fund, I 2012,Australia, Washington: International Monetary Fund. Keating, B, Quazi, A, Kriz, A Coltman, T 2008, In pursuit of a sustainable supply chain: insights from Westpac Banking Corporation.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 13(3), pp.175-179. La Berge, L (n.d.), Scandals and abstraction. Lee, C 2005,Advances in quantitative analysis of finance and accounting, Singapore: World Scientific. Mattern, C 2002,Handbook of investment research, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. McKeown, W. 2012.Financial planning. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd. Mickleboro, J 2016, Is now a good time to buyWestpac Banking Corpshares?, viewed on 29 June 2016, https://www.fool.com.au/2016/01/18/is-now-a-good-time-to-buy-westpac-banking-corp-shares/ . Pratt, S. and Grabowski, R. 2008.Cost of capital. Hob Add Free Sample oken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Shanahan, L 2016,Westpac accused of fixing market. Viewed on 29 June 2016, https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/westpac-accused-by-asic-of-fixing-bank-bill-swap-rate/news-story/3b832d0e86f76c8b97821bc8db0328bc. Shim, J Siegel, J 2000,Financial management, Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's. Shim, J, Siegel, J Shim, A 2012,Budgeting basics and beyond, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. StreetAuthority, 2016,Is Australia's Banking Industry Going Under?, viewed on 29 June 2016, https://www.nasdaq.com/article/is-australias-banking-industry-going-under-cm616312. Temte, A 2004, Financial statement analysis, La Cross, WI: Schweser Study Program. Westpac, 2016,Annual reports 2014, viewed on 29 June 2016, https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/investor-centre/financial-information/annual-reports/. Worthington, S 2006,Equity, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Section 6 Juliet is alone on stage Essay Example

Section 6: Juliet is alone on stage Essay Juliet is petrified of the potential dangers she may encounter while imprisoned in the vault. She thinks she could be stifled, as there is no healthsome air to breath and she might die strangled before Romeo arrives.Juliet considers two possible scenarios she may face while in the tomb. She thinks that she can either suffocate, or will be scared to death as a result of the terror of the place. She is also aware that her ancient and buried ancestors will be present in the vault and that the vault will be packd. She knows that she will be trapped and crammed into a very small space. This creates a dark image of restriction and isolation. Shakespeare uses vocabulary such as strangled, horrible, terror and packd to build a sinister and dark image of the tomb. This in turn creates more tension and produces sympathy from the audience for Juliet.Juliet also reiterates the phrase where frequently (where refers to the tomb). Shakespeare uses it to emphasise the tomb and secure the image in th e audiences minds. An image of death and horror is built up and thus creates a lot of drama and tension. She is frightened that Romeo will arrive before she awakens. She remembers that bloody Tybalt will be present in the tomb and that he had only been placed in the tomb recently.The usage of the word bloody depicts a very deathly location. Juliet knows that Tybalts body will be rotting, smelling and festering in his shroud. As well as this, his body will be in full view, as it is not fully buried, merely covered in a shroud. Another factor that alarms Juliet is the stories, which Juliet has heard about. She has heard that there are spirits which reside in the tomb that apparently come out at some hours in the night. This frightens her considerably.Juliet expects that if she wakes too soon, the loathsome smells will make Juliet shriek like mandrakes. (Mandrakes were plants which when pulled out of the earth, screamed and it was thought that if a human heard these screams, they would lose their senses). This section of the play is very sensory, as there are numerous references to sight, smell and now, sound. Shakespeare does this to appeal to the audiences senses.Shakespeare wants to draw out emotions and for the audience to sympathise with Juliet in her dire situation. This reinforces the fact that the plan is a desperate one and that Juliet is prepared to go through a lot for Romeo. Juliet declares that she will be distraught if she wakes up to early. She will be feeling stressed, depressed and in a bad state of mind. Unfortunate that it could never work out because their physic like premonition says that a least one of them will die, if not both.