Culture Weston Smith And The Ceo Of The Healthsouth...

Culture Weston Smith (2013), former CFO of HealthSouth, states â€Å"the tone of the company may be memorialized through policies and procedures, both written and spoken, but nothing sets the tone more than the everyday actions of the leadership.† At the top of the HealthSouth organization sat Richard Scrushy. As founder and CEO of the company who instilled fear in employees that did not carry out his orders. This set the tone from the top. Do as you’re told or suffer the consequences. When financial results did not meet market expectations, managers were told to fix it. And they did by creating false journal entries and false documentation to back up those entries. There were no checks and balances in place and the accounting system was not linked to the enterprise resource planning software. There was no oversight of managers by a board of directors or an audit committee. The audit committee was not well trained, did not have enough staff, and was not independent of management. Scrushy had complete control of the company and he was obsessed with increasing his earnings trends. He reinforced the idea of top management being family and therefore more loyal to each other than to the unknown public (Lupica, 2014). Impact on Company Management Due to the scandal, 15 HealthSouth executives plead guilty to criminal charges. Due to sentencing by various judges, the standards employed in sentencing were not consistent. Some of the executives served jail time, some were

Accounting Concept and Principles Financial BHP Bilton

Question: Discuss about the Accounting Concept and Principles for Financial BHP Bilton. Answer: Introduction: The overall study mainly helps in evaluating the financials report of BHP Billiton for identifying the measures taken by the company to support AASB laid conceptual rules. In addition, the novice effectively evaluates the remuneration report provided by BHP Billiton in their financial report. Moreover, the study also helps in discussing the overall corporate social responsibility of BHP Billiton, which mainly reduces the unethical measures conducted to hamper environment and business ethics. BHP Billiton: BHP Billiton being one the largest corporation in Australia mainly deals in producing iron ore, coal, uranium, oil and gas. The company effectively operates in different major countries by outsources essential resource to its consumers. The company effectively owns manages and operates different large mines from which the overall remuneration is generated. In addition, the company has reported around 61.2 Billion in revenues in 2015 and a profit of around 1.91 billion (Bhpbilliton.com 2016). However, the declined profits in 2015 mainly hindered its overall sustainable approach. Evaluation of the financial report: Figure 1: Showing the expense report for BHP Billiton 2015 (Source: Bhpbilliton.com 2016) With the help of figure 1, the overall expense report of BHP Billiton for 2015 could be effectively evaluated. In addition, the figure effectively depicts the overall valuation change in expenses of the company from 2014 to 2015. This change in expenses mainly indicates the overall polices change of the company. During 2015 the company mainly reported profits of $2,878 compared to previous fiscal year $15,224 (Bhpbilliton.com 2016). This rapid decline in profits mainly indicates loss in revues and group income of BHP Billiton. However, from the above figure it could be seen that the total expenses of the company increased in 2015 irrespective of the decline in it profits. Furthermore, in 2015 an additional impairment in plant and property rose from $366 in 2014 to $3449 in 2015 (Bhpbilliton.com 2016). This rapid increase in expenses mainly reduced ability of the company to support its cash balance. Healy and Palepu (2012) stated that financial report mainly projects growth and transa ction conducted by the company during and current fiscal year. In addition, the overall retained profits in balance sheet statement mainly declined due to the lower profits generated by the company during the fiscal year. Konchitchki and Patatoukas (2013) argued misstatements are mainly identified if external auditors uses laid down rule of AASB for auditing and identify irregularities in the financial statements. Furthermore, the regulation of Corporation Act and material misstatement Act enforced by AASB mainly help in reducing the misstatements conducted by companies in their overall financial report. Dictionary (2014) mentioned that with the help of external auditor report investors are able to authenticate the overall financial statement of the company. On the contrary, Solomon (2016) criticises that due to the identified loopholes and unethical measures used by external auditors the companies are able to inflate their overall balance sheet and attract potential investors. In addition, BHO Billiton has given higher dividends in 2015 compared to previous two fiscal years, while attaining lower profits. This boost in dividend payments might only indicate the steps taken by the company to ensure interest of investors irrespective of its massive decline in profits. Evaluation of the Directors report: Figure 2: Showing the directors report for BHP Billiton 2015 (Source: Bhpbilliton.com 2016) Figure 2 mainly helps in depicting the directors report of BHP Billiton for 2015. In addition, the report mainly states the viability and authenticity of the financial report presented for 2015. Moreover, the director stated that finial report is in accordance with the rules laid down by Australian Corporation Act and UK Companies Act. However, the report does not comply with the NYSE corporate governance requirements. The directors report does not include any kind of requirements of 303A section, which is needed by NYSE. The other components of the directors report are effectively complied with the rules laid down by Australian government. The report contains relative declaration of all the documents declared in the financial report of BHP Billiton in 2015. Furthermore, as stated by the AASB rule of ethical consideration the report declared by the company should have ethical consideration. In addition, any kind of misstatements or manipulation identified in the report might have a n egative impact on directors image and AASB could effectively implement fines. Emmerig and Legg (2016) mentioned that after the 2000 scandal of HIH Insurance and On Tel Australian government has mandate the ethical directors authenticity report. On the contrary, Aldamen and Duncan (2012) criticises that due to low monitoring implemented by AASB, companies are still able to manipulate their balance sheet and inflate their financial position. Furthermore, the director also authenticates the strategic report provided in the financial statement. This authenticity mainly indicates the director is accepting that projected future results depicted in the financial report. In addition, wrong valuation and projected profits might endanger viability of directors report and reduce trust of investors. Denis and Xu (2013) mentioned that after the implementation of insider trading during relevant new release has decreased the unethical transactions conducted by companies directors. Evaluation of the remuneration report of BHP Billiton: Figure 3: Showing the remuneration report for BHP Billiton 2015 (Source: Bhpbilliton.com 2016) Figure 3 mainly helps in depicting the remuneration report of BHO Billiton from 205. This report mainly helps in identifying the change in remuneration provided to non-executive directors of the company. In addition, from the above figure it could be seen that majority of the non-executives has significantly received higher remuneration in 2015 compared to 2014. However, the overall decline in profitability in 2015 did not affect the remunerations of non-executive directors of BHP Billiton. Furthermore, after the declaration of Australian Corporation Act 2001, companies cannot issues shares to non-executive as remuneration payment. Chapple and Hubner (2013) argued that companies us the remuneration report to declare its overall expenses conducted on non-executive directors. However, Gregory and Main (2013) stated that Australian Corporation Act effectively mentions the methods, which might be conducted in the remuneration report of the company. Theses remuneration report mainly helps in reducing the free float of companys shares in the market during any bad news. Figure 4: Showing the non-executive fees report for BHP Billiton 2015 (Source: Bhpbilliton.com 2016) Furthermore, figure 4 mainly helps in identifying the chairpersons fee in the remuneration report provided by BHP Billiton during 2015. Furthermore, the decline in remuneration of the chairperson could be seen in 2015 fiscal year (Bhpbilliton.com 2016). However, the decline in remuneration of the chairperson is not adequate as it could be seen in profits of the company. . Evaluating the Corporate Social Responsibility adopted by BHP Billiton: Figure 5: Showing the corporate governance disclosure of BHP Billiton 2015 (Source: Bhpbilliton.com 2016) The corporate social responsibility of the company mainly is aligned with the regulation of UK and Australia. However, it does not comply with the NYSE corporate governance structure. In addition, overall NYSE corporate governance structure mainly allows the audit committee to assign external auditors of the company, which might help in authenticating its books. Section 303A is mainly the rules, which states that the external auditing committee is to be appointed by the appropriate audit authorities (Bhpbilliton.com 2016). However, if the shareholders are voting for the auditing committee members this rule does not apply. BHP Billiton does not comply with this rule of NYSE so the corporate governance could be changed to help improve authenticity of the financial report. Tricker (2015) mentioned that corporate governance rule mainly help to reduce the unethical practises conducted by the company to inflate their overall balance sheet. On the other hand, Denis (2016) criticises that du e to the complexity of inherent risk companies are able to increase their intangible assets, which in turn reduced the overall solvency ratio below 1. In addition, the defined rule of corporate governance in Australian Corporation Act and UK Companies Act mainly depicts the reduction in manipulation that might be conducted by companies to inflate their balance sheet. Due to the companies like HIH Insurance and ABC Learning, the corporate governance and auditing procedures are enforced on companies. Furthermore, theses methods mainly help in reducing the manipulations and enforcing punishments for unlawful measures taken by auditors of the company. McCahery, Sautner and Starks (2016) cited that due to the strict punishment and penalty, unethical practises in companies have significantly reduced after 2008 economic crisis. Discussing about Prudence and its impact of reporting: Prudence has been considered as the desirable attribute, which is needed to prepare the financial report of companies. However, prudent meaning is misread and manipulated by companies to support their own personal gain. Prudence mainly means the reduction in unethical valuation of companys assets and liabilities. However, companies took advantage of the loopholes and inflated their liabilities or assets project a more financially stable report. Nobes (2014) criticises that IASB after effective valuation discarded Prudence in financial accounting, which reduced manipulation conducted by companies. Figure 6: Showing the new definition of prudence (Source: Ifrs.org 2016) Figure 6, mainly helps in depicting the significance of prudent in the financial reporting process of different companies. Furthermore, the changing meaning of prudence has mainly helped in reducing the unethical process conducted by companies. Furthermore, use of prudence in drafting the financial report of the company manly helps in authenticating its financial position. Barth, Nobes and Tarca (2015) mentioned that prudence mainly helped companies to provide more reliability on the financial stability of the company. Figure 7: Showing the conceptual framework of financial reporting (Source: Ifrs.org 2016) The loopholes in prudence mainly violate the financial conceptual framework depicted in figure 7. However, Barth, Nobes and Tarca (2015) argued that due to the loopholes in the definition of prudence, investors were cheated from their dividends and investment capital. Moreover, the main difference in prudence from 1989 and 2010 in 2015 is its definitive approach to provide authenticity to provide accurate financial report. However, from past decade it could be seen that companies have mainly used prudence as the getaway concept reduce their financial liabilities. Thus, it could be concluded that prudence in the current era without restrictive binding cannot be implied in the conceptual framework of financial reporting. Conclusion: The study provides an overall valuation of BHP Billiton financial report for 2015. In addition, the assignment also helps in detecting the any kind of irregularities conducted by BHP Billiton in preparing their financial report. Furthermore, the study effectively depicts the overall significance and drawback of Prudence in the financial reporting. In addition, with the help of evaluation of remuneration report any unethical measures or issues could be identified. Lastly, the novice effectively depicts the significance of prudent in preparing the financial report of the company. In addition, the study also helps in evaluating the impact of prudent on financial statement prepared by companies. Reference: Aldamen, H. and Duncan, K., 2012. Does adopting good corporate governance impact the cost of intermediated and nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ intermediated debt?.Accounting Finance,52(s1), pp.49-76. Barth, M.E., Nobes, C. and Tarca, A., 2015. Conceptual framework for financial reporting: an introduction to the special issue by the guest editors.Accounting and Business Research,45(5), pp.543-544. Bhpbilliton.com. (2016).BHP Billiton | Working with integrity. Available from: https://www.bhpbilliton.com/society/operatingwithintegrity/working-with-integrity [Accessed on 2 Sep. 2016]. Chapple, L.J. and Hubner, T., 2013. The'two strikes' rule on the remuneration report: threats and opportunities for boards.Australian Journal of Corporate Law,28(2), pp.166-180. Denis, D.J. and Xu, J., 2013. Insider trading restrictions and top executive compensation.Journal of Accounting and Economics,56(1), pp.91-112. Denis, D.K., 2016. Corporate Governance and the Goal of the Firm: In Defense of Shareholder Wealth Maximization.Forthcoming in the Financial Review. Dictionary, C., 2014. The purpose of Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory is to contribute to improving the practice and theory of auditing. The term auditingis to be interpreted broadly and encompasses internal and external auditing as well as other attestation activities (phenomena). Papers reporting results of original research that embody improvements in auditing.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory. Emmerig, J. and Legg, M., 2016. Corporate law: Indirect causation accepted in shareholder claim of misleading conduct: Ramifications for shareholder class actions.Governance Directions,68(8), p.490. Gregory-Smith, I. and Main, B.G., 2013. Binding votes on executive remuneration. Healy, P.M. and Palepu, K.G., 2012.Business Analysis Valuation: Using Financial Statements. Cengage Learning. Ifrs.org. (2016).IFRS - Conceptual Framework. Available from: https://www.ifrs.org/current-projects/iasb-projects/conceptual-framework/Pages/Conceptual-Framework-Summary.aspx [Accessed on 2 Sep. 2016]. Konchitchki, Y. and Patatoukas, P.N., 2013. Taking the pulse of the real economy using financial statement analysis: Implications for macro forecasting and stock valuation.The Accounting Review,89(2), pp.669-694. McCahery, J.A., Sautner, Z. and Starks, L.T., 2016. Behind the scenes: The corporate governance preferences of institutional investors.The Journal of Finance. Nobes, C., 2014.International Classification of Financial Reporting 3e. Routledge. Solomon, K., 2016.Factors affecting quality of External Auditing: The case of Ethiopian Commercial Banks(Doctoral dissertation, AAU). Tricker, B., 2015.Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA.

The play Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

The play Romeo and Juliet Essay The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is the most famous version. Many others which were written previously have not endured in the same way. This is because Shakespeare use of language had a huge effect on the audience. The use between mixtures of dramatic irony, personification, metaphor and many more were quite new to the audience. The main themes of the play are the love, fate and fortune, light and darkness, and the family feud. It is in grappling with huge obstacles Juliet is made into a brave, independent and mature person as her love attempts to battle with fate. The audience already have a great admiration for Juliet as they already know that she is going to die because of love, but this awe increases as she becomes more mature in the play. At the start Shakespeare portrays Juliet as a very obedient, helpless and innocent young girl. She is restricted in her house without power over anything. The Nurse has been Juliets life companion. Although she is clearly devoted to Juliet, the Nurse provides a stark contrast to Juliet who is young, beautiful and dignified in her language. She was so faithful and submissive to her family, she obeys her mothers wishes to marry County Paris in a dutiful and docile manner Ill look to like it, if looking liking move; but no more deep will I endart mine eyes than your consent gives strength to make it fly. We will write a custom essay sample on The play Romeo and Juliet specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The play Romeo and Juliet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The play Romeo and Juliet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She seems happy following her mothers orders but later becomes disloyal and lies to her family. Shakespeare shows that Juliet is a beautiful girl and pure thou knowest my daughter of a pretty age. This image of her is then enhanced when she meets Romeo at the ball when he saw her O she doth teach the torches to burn bright saw true beauty till this night (lines 43- 52 Act 1 Scene 5) Their first words to each other are full of religious overtones. This is part of fate because the reason why Romeo went to the ball was because a Capulet servant was illiterate and before leaving, Romeo says he feels his future is hanging in the stars. Shakespeare wants the audience to feel sorry for Juliet as her life is constantly controlled by fate and that she is destined to die and suffer a tragic death which is made clear in the Prologue. Romeo and Juliet are described as star crossed lovers Juliet is portrayed as even more beautiful and holy when Romeo interacts with her If I profane with my unworthiest hand touch with tender kiss (lines 92-95 Act 1 Scene 5) His lips is compared to a pilgrim which is a metaphor. It is play on words pilgrim and palm of hand palm to plam is holy palmers kiss Romeo portrays Juliet as kissing something so holy like her, his sin will be purged Thus my lips, by thine, my sin is purgd He describes his act as going to the shrines and getting cleansed. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony when Juliet wanted to find out R omeos name if he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed. After knowing his name, we now know that the family feud is the reason that Romeo and Juliets love and passion for each other is a forbidden love. Juliet finds herself in a dilemma as Romeo is a Montague which is the sworn enemy of the Capulet family My only love sprung from my only hate! This is part of fate therefore the audience feels sympathy for Juliet as she is faced with a huge obstacle at such a young age. At the balcony scene, images of light and brightness appear again with the connection of love, life and hope. Romeo describes her as being like the sun and brighter than the light of a torch or the stars the brightness of her cheek would shame those starsit were not night (lines 19-22 Act 2 Scene 2) Romeo also describe her as an angel which is in reference to religion O speak again, bright angel This makes the audience feel as if Juliet is unobtainable and so precious. Romeos love for Juliet is natural and holy Would through the airy region stream so bright Romeo even wishes he was a glove so he can touch her cheek O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek! She is under a lot of pressure from her parents demands with her arrange marriage with Paris, so after meeting Romeo, Juliet becomes independent and courageous. She wants to make her own decisions and almost rebellious to her parents eyes after having a romantic date with him and Ill no longer be a Capulet She is more mature in contrast to Romeo and tells him off by only following his emotions and swearing by the moon do not swear at all; or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is god of my idolatry, and Ill believe thee Light and dark are used as symbols in many parts of the play. In this scene, the sun is seen as good and the moon bad, Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon Romeo is using the sun as a symbol of Juliet, saying she is bright and beautiful. She showed a lot of courage and decided to marry Romeo even though she knows about the family feud. She knew that her parents wanted her to marry Paris but disobeyed them and allowed her love and emotion to lead her w ay. Soon after getting married, Romeo acts hastily and kills Tybalt, Juliets cousin. This was fate trying to break the love between Romeo and Juliet. Even though she was very upset of her cousins death, she protects Romeo when the Nurse says Shame come to Romeo She now act with less thought and follow her love for Romeo fully Blisterd be thy tongue Shakespeare uses alliteration with explosive consonant to add a dramatic effect. She shows maturity when she protected his husband Shall speak ill of him and my mother, Nurse? (Lines 97-127 Act 3 Scene 2) Shakespeare wanted the audience to feel sympathy for Juliet as her biggest obstacle, fate, gives her another dilemma. Juliet has a recurring image of death which makes the audience feel more sorry and respect for her as she follows her heart Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Either my eye sight fails, or thou lookst pale. Lady Capulet pressurised Juliet to marry County Paris however, she became a new Juliet after meeting Romeo. So she stood up for what she believed in and refused to marry him now by Saint Peters Church These are news indeed!'(Lines 116-123 Act 3 Scene 5) This shows a lot of bravery coming from Juliet, as she has always been loyal and passive towards her family. Her mother then becomes angry at Juliets rebellious act and thinks of her as a curse but now I see this one is too much, and that we have a curse in having her. This is irony as soon she will regret having these feelings. Due to this, the audience feels sympathy for Juliet because at the start, she is a treasure to her family and priceless. In most situations Juliet relied on the nurse to guide her and make decisions which shows that she is still young and innocent. However when the nurse started forcing and pressurising her to marry Paris, she started thinking for herself and acting based by her emotions Romeos dishclout to hi m This love and her passion for Romeo is so powerful she was prepared to do anything and her doubts and fears were all overcome by her love I will do it without fear or doubt to live an unstaind wife to my sweet love. She is willing to do anything so she becomes desperate and asks for Friar Lawrence help come weep with me, past hope, past help! The audience feels so much pity for her and Shakespeare use of language enhanced this by using repetition. The audience feel sad for her because she thinks that love can triumph over everything but the audience knows that shes going to die because of love and fate. The audience feels the strength of Juliets bravery and how she did not even think about her family or the nurse when Friar Lawrence told her of the potion Give me, give me! another example of the use of repetition. She becomes very disloyally to her family when she just for the sake of her love. This shows the power of her love towards Romeo is at an extraordinary level. The lies she told her parents are almost unimaginable for her to do before she met Romeo henceforward I am ever ruld by you The Nurse deserted her therefore she was just alone when she was taking the potion. She had no one and is isolated by herself Nurse! what should she do here? My dismal scene I needs must act alone. She had no one else to turn up to but the vial Come, vial the audience feels her bravery and daring act even when she is alone and isolated. They feel a lot of empathy for her because the Nurse always helped her make decisions since she was a young age and relied on her. However she left and now she relies by her emotions to lead her and guide her choices in order to get back with Romeo even if it means lying to her family or taking a potion which may be a poison to kill her. She becomes frightened and scared when she was about to take the vial What if be a poison which Friar subtly hath ministerd. She thinks this because the Friar married Romeo and Juliet secretly when he shouldnt have done. She also had fears about waking up early without Romeos company and going mad. Due to the horrific smells and grotesque images madly play with my forefathers joints. Shakespeare made Juliet use desperate language to show the audience how distressed and frightened she was. Shakespeare used very horrific, grotesque and certainly disturbing imagery for Juliet to overcome. However these fears did not stop her. Just thinking of Romeo with her is good enough for her to conquer all her doubts and fears Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Heres drink- I drink to thee. This portrays Juliet as a daring, gutsy young woman and shows that for Juliet, love triumphs over everything. When the Nurse and Lady Capulet found out of Juliets death, they were shocked O me, o me, my child, my only life! Revive, look up, or I will with thee Shakespeare wants the audience to know how important Juliet is to the Capulet family and how she was respected Upon the sweetest flower of all the field It shows Juliets beauty and vulnerability. In this scene Shakespeare uses a lot of repetition O day, o day, o day and shes dead, shes dead, shes dead! this have a dramatic effect and just shows how tragic Juliets death really is. Shakespeare also makes the characters use very dramatic statements Accursd, unhappy, wretched, hateful day! and Despisd, distressed, hated, martyrd, killd! All of these lines are very dramatic and shows hat Juliet is the most important person in their life. Shakespeare wants the audience to know that the Capulet familys life and joy depend on Juliet and with me my child my joys are buried. Her death shows darkness and sorrow Death is my son in law, Death is m y heir. It is full of blackness imagery never was seen so black a day as this Shakespeare wanted Lord Capulet to give a speech full of contrast to Juliets death Our wedding cheers to sad burial feast Romeo was in a good cheerful mood in Act 5 which is ironic because seconds later he finds out about Juliets death my dreams presage some joyful news at hand He was saying he had a dream about Juliet finding him dead which is a prophetic irony because the audience knows they will die I dreamt my lady came and found me dead and breathed such life with kisses in my lips. This is a part of fate because Friar John was stayed by accident. The audience feels that anything that Juliet do in her power, fate just crushes it. This is exactly what Shakespeare want the audience to feel pity for Juliet. When Romeo saw Juliet lying dead, he still appreciates her beauty thou art not conquerd beautys ensign yet Romeo says that Juliets beauty makes the darkness light and his love for Juliet is so powerful that even in death, he wont give up just to be with her. A dateless bargain to engrossing death! The audience feel so much pity for Juliet as they know that they will not be together alive as they are a victim of a cruel fate. A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents Shakespeare wanted fate to defeat their love and have the audience feel empathy for Juliet. Juliet soon wakes up and found Romeo dead. She shows act of heroism and courage when she stayed with Romeo even when she was advised by Friar Lawrence. This shows how she has developed as an independent young woman and making her own decisions because at the start, she would submissively do anything she is told to do go get thee hence, for I will not away She shows true commitment to Romeo as she wanted to die with him O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop This is an oxymoron which Shakespeare uses so the audience feel sadness and empathy for Juliet. Even when Friar begged Juliet to come away from the tomb, and accept Romeos death was the work of heaven She without hesitation, took Romeos dagger and stabbed herself O happy dagger, this is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die the oxymoron happy dagger refers to the fact that it was fortunate that the dagger was placed there so she can stab herself. Shakespeare wanted this part of fate to happen to portray how a young child, can grow into an independent, daring, and courageous young woman by the power of love. The image of lightness as the play ends shows personification and is in a way makes us think about Juliet and how she is always portrayed as light, bright angel and the sun a glooming peace this morning with it brings, the sun for sorrow will not show his head. The hatred that is set up is in direct contrast to the love of Romeo and Juliet, and in the end they are victims of it, as the Prince points out at the end of the play see what a scourge is laid upon your hate! That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love Shakespeare used these powerful words to show that Juliet become a victim of hatred and fate which the audience feels grief and sorrow. Juliet is a complex character who is difficult to understand fully. She started as a compliant and docile child. As the play progresses, she becomes more mature and independent. She lives in a family in a family where her father can only express his love and care by making difficult decisions for Juliet that he thinks is best for her. Juliets mother is too distant and therefore could not understand how Juliets emotions work. Lord and Lady Capulet was only thinking of love as a financial transaction to do with securing and retaining wealth. The Nurse understood Juliet however not her emotions. She did not understand the power of Juliets love and affection for Romeo as the Nurse think of love from a physical, bawdy point of view. She is portrayed as a divine, holy and goddess figure young girl, which refers to religion. The intensity of her love, her innocence and her constant reckless acting on emotion rather than her intelligence brought her downfall. Countless of times in the play, Juliet shows acts of being independent and heroism. Juliet took a potion that made her seem dead for two day with little hesitation just to stay married with Romeo. She was even uncertain if she would even wake up. This shows a lot of guts coming from Juliet who was only thirteen years of age at the time. She did wake up however just seconds too late to stop Romeo drink the poison. And without thinking twice, her emotions led her to suicide so she could be with Romeo. This just shows how powerful her love meant to Romeo Juliet matures into a daring young woman, because she had to tackle a great deal of obstacle in just three days. This including lying to her parents, making adult decision and choosing to end her life. Her biggest obstacle was however fate which her love could not overcome. It was a very tragic and horr ible death which in a way, showed her bravery, courageousness and heroism because she even ended her own life just to be with her husband Romeo. She transformed dramatically from an obedient, honest and submissive child, to a defiant, courageous and independent young woman which fate sadly, led to her demise.

Foundations of Behavior Essays

Foundations of Behavior Essays Foundations of Behavior Essay Foundations of Behavior Essay Foundations of Behavior Name: Course: Lecturer: : Instructor: Date: Foundations of Behavior Positive and negative reinforcement The concept of reinforcement involves strengthening certain dimensions of behavior, for example, magnitude and rate. Positive reinforcement is a behavioral method where positive behavior is encouraged and nurtured through using positive reinforcements such as rewards. It involves the addition of an encouraging stimulus to increase a definite behavior in an individual. In terms of efficiency, positive reinforcement is better than using punishment to change the behavior of an individual. Praise is an example of positive reinforcement. When a teacher uses praise correctly, they can provide students with positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is similar to positive reinforcement with the difference being that it maintains or even amplifies the undesirable behavior. When a mother nags her son to take out the trash everyday and one day he does so, he is surprised that the nagging stops (Taylor et al, 2010). This illustrates the impact of negative reinforcement that will make the b oy take out the trash every week. Positive and negative punishment Positive punishment involves the attempt to decrease undesirable behavior through punishing an individual. This punishment presents an unfortunate result that follows undesirable behavior. An example is a reprimand by the teacher when a student forgets to turn off the phone in class. Positive punishment is normally initiated by another individual but it can also occur naturally. An example of this is involves one touching a hot object and it then becomes a positive punishment (Hockenbury, 2011). Negative punishment involves withdrawing a desirable object or condition in order to change the behavior of a person. It involves punishment through removal, for example, taking away a toy that made a child fight with another. In the classroom setting, some children may require more attention than others may. They get this attention by behaving badly or throwing tantrums in class. When the teacher turns their attention on the student to reprimand them, it may seem a punishment as the child is being told off. However, the child’s behavior is merely being reinforced as the next time he or she may want attention, all they have to do is cause trouble. Such behavior can be controlled by ignoring the child and punishing them in private. If such behavior is not controlled, the child will end up disrupting the learning process and the attention span of other children (Gershoff, 2002). References Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: a meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 4, 539-79. Hockenbury, D. H., Hockenbury, S. E. (2011). Discovering psychology. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Taylor, C. A., Manganello, J. A., Lee, S. J., Rice, J. C. (2010). Mothers’ spanking of 3-year-old children and subsequent risk of children’s aggressive behavior. Pediatrics, 125, 5. Behaviorism approach Behaviorism is a learning theory that is based on the supposition that all things that human beings do are categorized as behaviors. Behaviorism works on the principle that individuals respond to different environmental stimuli in different ways. By studying the reactions of man to these stimuli, behaviorists can understand the human being in a comprehensive way. According to this theory, behaviors can be studied in a scientific manner while disregarding internal states, for example, emotions and cognitions that may prove difficult to measure due to their subjectivity. Rote memorization is an example of behaviorism where children commit to memory the addition and multiplication tables (Smith, 2012). Humanistic psychology Humanistic approach or humanism concentrates on the study of the whole individual. Humanistic psychologists study the behavior of the human being through observation and experience. Humanism grew because of the dissatisfaction of the behaviorism and psychodynamic approaches. The approach deals with offering a new way of understanding human nature as well as providing a diverse array of solutions for psychotherapy. The person-centered therapy technique in counseling is an example of the application of the humanistic theory. Cognitive theory Cognitive theory emphasizes the development processes of children’s thought system. Proposed by Jean Piaget, the cognitive theory addresses how the thought processes manipulate the way in which individuals interact with others and the world. According to Piaget, there were several concepts that distinguished the thought processes of children from that of adults. Piaget uses schemas, assimilation, accommodation and other concepts in trying to explain the child development process (Jago et al, 2012). The three approaches have a similarity in that they all provide valuable answers to some of the challenges in developing efficient teaching methods for children. All the three approaches are also focused on the human being as the subject of study. The humanistic and behaviorism approaches share man’s behavior as the main area of study while the cognitive theory focuses on children’s development. The behaviorism approach has been applied extensively in the studying of behavior self-modification. The humanistic approach has been used in counseling centers through client-centered therapy while the cognitive theory is useful in the education where environment where it is used in developing memory among children (Gutkin, 2002). References Gutkin, T. B. (2002). Special issue - Evidence-based interventions in school psychology: The state of the art and future directions. School Psychology Quarterly, 17, 4. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/spq/17/4/339/ Jago, R., Page, A. S., Cooper, A. R. (2012). Friends and physical activity during the transition from primary to secondary school. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 44, 1, 111-7. Retrieved from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21697746 Smith, S. F. (2012). A multifaceted view of complex trauma: From Freud to neuroscience, with a little behaviorism as well. Psyccritiques, 57, 27.

Assignment on human growth and development

Assignment on human growth and development This essay uses theoretical perspectives of social sciences relevant to human growth and development by demonstrating the socialisation process and the impact of family structures on the normal development of Gerry. It uses the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explore the effects of poverty on Gerry’s infancy and it will use Balter, Catherin & Tamis-Lemonda to support Maslow’s philosophy needs. Furthermore it will go on to use Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis to show the effects of attachment during Gerry’s infancy. More still with the use of Erikson’s stages of identity versus role confusion to discuss Gerry’s adolescence, the theory of generativity versus stagnation to explore his adulthood developmental task of his contributing and stagnation to society and finally the psychological crisis of ego integrity verses despair to explain the effects and causes during his development in middle adulthood. However, other psychologists theories will be used to support Erikson’s theories or critic them. During his infancy, 0-2 years by Piaget (1936) (cited in Crawford and Walker 2009 p 22), Gerry and his family experienced poverty because his father had been made redundant. This means that Gerry’s family could not afford to meet his basic needs. According to Maslow’s pyramedical model (1970) ( cited Steers 1998: p21 ) lower -level needs such as food, clothing and shelter have to be fulfilled to a reasonable degree before the more advanced need levels such as self actualisation, esteem, love/ belonging ,and safety are met. It can be argued that the failure of Gerry’s family to meet his basic needs had a profound effect on his development. This argument is supported by Balter, Catherin & Tamis- Lemonda. They argue that â€Å"children growing up in poverty develop developmental delays in intellectual development. Social, emotional and behavioural problems† (Balter, Catherin & Tamis- Lemonda 2003: p.391) (cited Chafel, 1993 and Garbarino, 1993). Poverty goes hand in hand with gross inequality, unemployment and adverse consequences for poor people and society as a whole. Deprivation experienced by poor families affects their quality of life, their health and life expectancy and the education outcomes of their children. Poverty brings despair and fear† Rebach and Bruhn (2001: p. 369). This argument is supported by Spode and Saracho, (2006) (cited in Duncan and Brook-Gunn, 1997), who say that â€Å"children growing up in poverty develop more emotional and behavioural problems than children who live in above the poverty line. This is because early cognitive and behavioural outcomes show to predict later school success†. Another challenge that Gerry encountered was maternal deprivation. This occurred when his mother was in hospital during the birth of Lily and as a result, Gerry had to be looked after by his grandmother. According to Bowlby’s (19 53, 1969) (cited in Smith, Cowe and Blades 2004 p106) maternal deprivation hypothesis, â€Å"children should not be deprived of contact with the mother during a critical period when the primary attachment relationship is being formed†. He also believed that both mother and baby were predisposed biologically to stay in contact and only this relationship would allow normal development. However, critiques of Bowlby like (Oakley 1981) (cited in Holmes 1993: p. 45) argue that to generalise that any separation of mother from child in the first three years of life is likely to be damaging is unwarranted. Oakley further argued that there is no harm in entrusting the infant to the care of a responsible grandmother or baby-minder.

Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Abortion - Essay Example This topic lies within the â€Å"gray areas† of human rights and impedes on religious moralities. Abortion was practiced way back in Ancient times. It was always considered as an option when the child would endanger the life of the mother. It was only in 1869 that the Catholic church considered abortion as† a sin punishable by excommunication† ( Trupin, 2009). Other than this law, abortion was not considered illegal until the 19th century, not because of its moral implications but because there were no laws that existed contradicting abortion. It was then normal for a woman to seek even medical help whenever she wanted to terminate her pregnancy. There were no abortion laws before the 19th century. In 1829, laws restricting abortions began to spread across the United States. In 1965, there were over 250 deaths caused by women who tried to abort their babies Illegally ( civilliberty,about.com) .In the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, bans on abortion were deemed as unconstitutional and were lifted. The lift on bans brought negative tension towards the government. However, things changed drastically after the 1973 US Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion. In addition to this the highly controversial case, the Supreme Court decision on Roe vs. Wade left a deep imprint in the legal history of abortion in the United States. Nevertheless, the incidence of abortion has declined as reported by the study made by Sedgh ( 2007 )which revealed that the† incidence of abortion in the United States decreased by 8% from 1996 to 2003†. Such decline can be attributed to greater access to contraceptives ( pills, condoms) and better orientation on family planning even to grade-school children. There are two types of abortion; surgical and medical. The different forms of abortion differentiate, reliant on the amount of time that has passed since

Describe how water quality is determined Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Describe how water quality is determined - Essay Example Keywords: Water quality, guidelines, standards, contamination, pollutants, permissible limits, microbiological. Water Quality Standards Water is essential to life on this planet and its quality impacts both human beings and aquatic marine life (Anon., edugreen, n.d.). Pure water, fit for human consumption and other applications, is odorless, colorless and tasteless but these qualities are lost when contamination takes place. World Health Organization (WHO) has been the nodal agency for developing water quality parameters and recommending them for adoption by the different nations with appropriate modifications, through respective national agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US. WHO guidelines are only recommendatory in nature, and factors like socio-economic conditions, traditional usage practices, need to conserve water as a resource etc. play important role in the quality standards of water in each country ((Fewtrell and Bartram, 2001). To study the quali ty and lay down relevant parameters, water is broadly divided under three different usages for developing standards for each category - drinking water, wastewater for reuse and recreational water (Fewtrell and Bartram, 2001. pp.17-20). Contamination itself is caused by chemical, physical and microbiological factors. Hence quality standards are based on the matrix of water usage and the relevant contaminants. For example, permissible contamination in agricultural or recreational use water is significantly higher/different than that for human consumption. Thus, the pollutants and permissible limits for different water usages have been developed. Chemical contaminants are very many and include chlorine (as disinfectant), pesticides/herbicides (used in agriculture), toxic organic/inorganic chemicals from industry, soaps and other cleaning agents in domestic wastewater running into sewers, canals and river streams etc. (Excel, n.d.). WHO guidelines indicate the tolerable daily intake (TD I) limits for presence of different chemicals in water, beyond which it is considered unfit for consumption. In respect of genotoxic carcinogens, TDI is nil. For other chemicals, standards of maximum permissible concentration levels are developed for each end-product. While developing the guidelines and standards, verification by relatively easy chemical analysis methods either on spot or in laboratories was kept in mind for practical reasons. Physical contamination consists of suspended particles like sand, soil, clay, decaying vegetative matter, precipitated salts etc. apart from metals, dissolved salts and minerals. These contaminants give color, taste and odor to water, impacting quality of the end-products. Dissolved salts and minerals also discolor clothes when such water is used for washing. Multilayer filtration, water softening and demineralization processes help to reduce physical contamination of water. US-EPA recommends a limit of 500mg per liter or 500ppm for total diss olved salts (TDS) (Excel, n.d.). Individual permissible limits have also been laid down by EPA for heavy metals (toxic) like arsenic, mercury, cadmium, lead and silver. Microbiological contamination is the presence of pathogenic microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helminthes, and is usually caused by fecal matter ingress. WHO guidelines identified Escherichia coli (E.coli) for sampling and recommend a zero presence in a 100 ml sample and a presence in