Expository Writing Writing, Expository, Persuasive,...

You ever hear someone say they have swagger? A lot of times people’s swagger is determined from their style. For example, everyone has a specific style of fashion. If you put on some cargo shorts with a tank top and slides you’re probably not going to a job interview. Just like anything else, writing has different expressions. Writing is a form of communication; the person is writing to inform, persuade, describe, or tell a story. There are four main types of writing styles, expository, persuasive, descriptive, and narrative. We then choose what we want to read according to our interest in each category. Let’s look at expository writing. Expository writing is usually developed around one topic and is used to describe or inform you†¦show more content†¦Its name might as well give it away. Think of a closing argument in a court case being presented to a jury. Each party’s counsel is presenting a persuasive writing in the form of a speech. In this type of writing the writer uses choice words in a cohesive manner in order to â€Å"sway† or persuade the reader. You will most commonly come across this type of writing in advertisement. With that being said, persuasive writing is all around us. This type of communication may consist of the writer’s opinions, but the best form also includes facts to back up his or her statements. With attempts to get consumers to purchase specific products, we see persuasive writings all around us in today’s world. â€Å"The battlefield had a cold malevolent air to it, the wind howling past you in every which way, as if trying to express its own confusion at the sudden seize-fire. I, myself, was confused. One minute the bullets were raining holy hell down on us in a never-ending bombardment, and the next, nothing.† An anonymous soldier gives detailed picture of a battlefield scene. Descriptive writing, often used to portray a vivid, detailed experience, person, place, or thing, is third of the writing styles. This style of writing requires strong observation skills to convey the writer’s point of view. In personal stories, you tend to see a lot of descriptive writing because it’s the writer’s story. He or she was there and can give several small

Audio Assets Definition - 1490 Words

What are Assets? â€Å"Assets are sometimes defined as resources or things of value that are owned by a company.† †¢ (1) Audio Audio is sound that is within the acoustic range which is available to humans. An Audio Frequency (AF) is an electrical alternating current within the 20 to 20,000 hertz (cycles per second) range which can be used to produce acoustic sound. In computers, audio is the sound system that comes with or can be added to a computer. An audio card contains a special built-in processor and memory for processing audio files and sending them to speakers in the computer. Audio files are records of sound that has been captured and can be played back. Sound is a succession of naturally analog signals which are converted to digital†¦show more content†¦There is also no compression involved. The digital recording is a close-to-exact representation of the analog sound. PCM is most commonly used in CD’s and DVD’s. It has a subtype called Linear Pulse-Code Modulation, where samples are taken at linear intervals. LCPM is the most common form of PCM, which is why the two terms are almost interchangeable. †¢ WAV WAV is also known as Waveform Audio File Format. It was developed by Microsoft and IBM back in 1991. Lots of people seem to assume that WAV files are uncompressed audio files, but that’s not always true. WAV is actually just a Windows container for audio formats. This means that a WAV file can contain compressed audio, but it’s not usually used for that. A lot of WAV files contain uncompressed audio in PCM format. The WAV file is just a â€Å"wrapper† for the PCM encoding, which therefore makes it a lot more suitable for use on Windows systems. However, Mac systems can usually open WAV files without any issues. †¢ AIFF AIFF stands for Audio Interchange File Format. Alike Microsoft and IBM developed WAV for Windows; AIFF is a format that was developed by Apple specifically for Mac systems back in 1988. Also similar to WAV files, AIFF files can also contain multiple kinds of audio. For example, there is a compressed version called AIFF-C and another version called Apple Loops which is used byShow MoreRelatedApplication Of Multimedia Data Mining1282 Words   |  6 Pagesand then summarizing tall the audio, video or audiovisual information that is captured from a particular area such as battlefields, retail stores, theaters, malls, shopping complex, parking lots, workshops, offices, homes etc. Usually Surveillance is associated with intelligence, security and law enforcement whose major use is in the military, police and also a few private companies that provide security services. Surveillance mainly helps protect a company’s assets by monitoring their employeesRead MoreSony Case Study - Resour ces, Capabilities and Core Competencies1544 Words   |  7 Pages2007). Sony’s numerous tangible and intangible resources help to determine its distinctive competency, thus leading to maintaining a competitive advantage. When identifying Sony’s resources, both its tangible and intangible assets are included. â€Å"Tangible resources include assets that are financial in nature, or have physical properties† (Hill et al, 2007). In 2007, Sony recorded a sales and operating cash flow of $70,303 million, an increase of 10.5 percent from 2006 (Sony United, 2007), as part ofRead MoreThe Ethical Dilemmas of Collecting Data and the Consequential Revision of Commodities, Culture and the Politics of Representations Definitions 1751 Words   |  7 Pagesamounts of data collected through various forms into large data systems. Ed Dumbill (2012) claims the input data is collected through systems such as â€Å"chatter from social networks, web server logs, traffic flow sensors, satellite imagery, broadcast audio streams, banking transactions, MP3s of rock music, the content of web pages, scans of government documents, GPS trails, telemetry from automobiles, financial market data, the list goes on†. The data is then stored within large data systems that areRead MoreWhy I Think Some Six Topics Are Most Important For Supertraining It1651 Words   |  7 Pagesbe on top of their game in regards to emerging technologies. Emerging technologies like cloud computing ,utility computing ,visualization , software as a service and also mobile computing have been used by different companies to expand technology assets simply and easily ( Module 2 ,Notes) Further to the task companies are now using big data to analyze trends, reveal patterns in regards to human behaviors. Use of big data can be awfully useful to a company like SuperTraining IT because that willRead MoreThe Banking Sector1658 Words   |  7 Pagestables and a bank DEFINITION Desedese definition of a bank varies. Under English common law (English common section), bank on the business of a person who is a banker (banker), which is specified as follows: [4] Conducting current accounts for his customers Paying checks drawn on him, and Collecting checks for his customers money. Banker individuals, the congregation / group, which may not be the banker is a corporation, it is the business of banking . Although this definition seems circular, butRead MoreExplain Different Types of Business Information, Their Sources and Purposes1711 Words   |  7 Pagesalways possible for Drayton Manor to meet in person because with the constraints of time and budgets in business. Written information Writing is the use of physical symbols to represent words. Words are the sounds that make up speech. This definition can be broadened to include other forms of physical representation, such as diagrams, graphs and charts. Written communication is when sending documents, such as email or business letter to an individual. The advantage of using written informationRead MoreInformation Technology : One Of The Information System In Bangladesh999 Words   |  4 PagesDVD containing books, videos and audios in its database (Library I North South University n.d.). To make the library fully automated, RFID system is a must. By using RFID system, the user can issue and return books using self-check and book-drop. The authority of the company can track books and other inventories by using RFID. The report will focus on the use of RFID technology in NSU Library and its impact on the library management. 2.0 RFID Technology Definition 1. Radio Frequency IdentificationRead MoreOrganizational And Hr Management: Best Buy Case Study Essay1406 Words   |  6 PagesDick Schulze, Founder and Chairman, Brad Anderson, Vice Chairman and CEO, Al Lenzmeier, President and COO, and Darren Jackson, Executive Vice President of Finance and CFO. Chairman Dick Schulze founded Best Buy in 1966 with the Sound of Music, an audio component systems store in St. Paul, Minn. In 1973, Vice Chairman and CEO Brad Anderson joined Sound of Music as a salesperson. The company quickly expanded into video products and computers, was renamed Best Buy in 1983, and became a public companyRead MoreWhat Is Intellectual Property?1338 Words   |  5 Pagessymbols, artwork, writings, and other creations. It also refers to digital media, such as audio and video clips that can be accessible and downloaded online. (Funston A, 2014) Protecting and managing the IP assets is critical when establishing a product or service in the market and is often the difference between a successful or failing business. The following list identifies IP and other intangible assets that may be associated with a business: †¢ Patents and trade marks †¢ Domain names †¢ CopyrightRead MoreThe Evolution Of Information Management Systems1147 Words   |  5 Pagesscience. Traditionally any information management system has been defined as the collection and management of information from one or more sources and information dissemination to relevant stakeholders. However, the message that is missing in this definition is that ‘the quality of information system determines the outcome of the information even before data collection’. A poor information system would drive employees to take decisions and form opinions based on assumptions rather than substance. There

Childhood Studies Child Development

Question: Discuss about the Childhood Studiesfor Child Development. Answer: Introduction Archives are materials found in libraries or preserved content talking about different themes in the ancient times. There are different archives talking about the theme of childhood and the society that can significantly be used to compare with the childhood and society in the current age. The contemporary images of children that have been on advertisements and in televisions and films have been on the concepts of childhood in ways suggesting the specific relationships in the past. This paper highlights on two archives that reflect on the theme of Childhood and Society, reflecting upon the same theme in the current day. Understanding Childhood: an Introduction to Some Key Themes and Issues According to the article, Major historical studies have been a good source of the concepts regarding kids and childhood in the ancient times and in the current age. Most of the cases regarding the contemporary research on childhood are associated historical perspectives that has been elucidating and informing the present (Andersen, Taylor Logio, 2014). There issues of the western anxieties regarding kids in the current media time that can be explored by the resource history. The historical techniques from the archives are a reflection that childhood was re-conceptualized in the in the periods between the 19th century and the in the start of the WW1 (Mayne Howitt, 2015). Children are always a sign of innocence, purity and natural goodness that needs that is usually corrupted following the contact with the outside world. In another view, children are placed close to God following their spirituality that also places them closer to nature and all good things. Studies have been proclaim ing the need to protect children and their purity respected so they can be able to express themselves freely and creatively (Alsaud, 2015). The ideas about the children in England by the William Wordsworth have been to the notion that the child is the source of man. Major historical researchers have also been out suggesting that the childhood provides different sites for thinking about the self and locating the selfhood which is a means of developing and nurturing human inner parts (Murphy, 2013). Is Modern Society Ruining Childhood? According to the article, if a carefree childhood is considered a goal, then the western will be considered a failure and many people have suggested that the media is not assisting. The article notes that according to a trio of surveys, kids are more worried about the modern issues and they fear things that were never in any contextual youngsters vocabularies many years ago (Robert, 2009). The many incidences that children go through in the harsh reality of life shape their lives in ways that might interfere with their potential successful adulthood. Children have been exposed to various cruelties of the world including the early work and hardship, dangerous scenes of shooting on the streets and the cruelty of other natures. However, there have been various initiatives that have been dedicated to take the lives of the children from the streets and from the cruel realities of the world, nurture these youngsters and give them better adulthood. Various children centers and childrens hom es have been established to salvage the kids from the deadly exposures of the world and from the cruel scenarios on the streets (Hartas, 2011). The article mentions that the well-being of the children should be of top concern of a society and a god measure is in the question how safe do children feel and how happy and fulfilled do they feel? The article mentions that it is a surprise that many children in the current world are worried about their parents divorcing, a thing that was never in the past childhood. The latter has been considered to display the fact that the children today are the most affected victims in the difficulties in marriages today (Gutman, 2008). Link Between the Articles Both articles bring up the picture demonstrating the concerns with poor living and ill health that has been producing critical transitions in the financial and sentimental value of the kids (Desai, 2010). Within a short period, the position of the stable children has shifted from the one that supplements the wages of the families to that of the relatively passive member of the family in the economic terms that needed to be secured from the adult world suppressed by work and hardship (Bukatko Daehler, 2012). According to a contemporary US-based study elaborating the latter theme, it indicates that the contribution of the children to the families in the western contexts has been rendered economically worthless and also seen as emotionally priceless. A study by Zeliterz (1985) suggested that the value of children is hosted ion the abilities to construct meaning and fulfilling the life of their parents. According to the archives, bringing the nature of specialty in the context of children comes along with the need for cultural products and practices that have been setting apart from the adults. However, the literature on children has been rendered an unreliable source of the understanding of childhood. The literature on children has been creating a version of childhood that can be defined and fought over (Tomlinson, 2013). Most of the earliest books for the children were meant for the middle class and carried strong dyadic purposes that gave children the moral and religious education. In the recent ages, the writers on various articles on children have been supportive of the children creating alliances with children against the adults. The potency of the literature regarding the lies in the residual image of the childhood left behind, the decent world presumed to be safe and a wonderful world of actions (Herna?ndez-Campoy Conde-Silvestre, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the contemporary images of children that have been on advertisements and in televisions and films have been on the concepts of childhood in ways suggesting the specific relationships in the past. It is never too late give assist and to salvage the youngsters the opportunity of a better childhood and brighter future. It agreeable with the studies proclaiming the need to protect children and their purity respected so they can be able to express themselves freely and creatively. Many studies have also proven the fact that many agencies have been established to secure better adulthoods for children. References Andersen, M. L., Taylor, H. F., Logio, K. A. (2014). Sociology: The essentials. Austria: wadsworth Alsaud, FF 2015, 'Children's Rights: Syrian Refugee Camps...Childhood Underfire [article]', Journal Of Politics And Law, 3, p. 228, HeinOnline, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2017. Bukatko, D., Daehler, M. W. (2012). Child development: A thematic approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Desai, M 2010, A Rights-Based Preventative Approach For Psychosocial Well-Being In Childhood, Dordrecht: Springer, Discovery eBooks, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2017. Gutman, M. (2008). Designing modern childhoods: History, space, and the material culture of children. New Brunswick, N.J. [u.a.: Rutgers Univ. Press. Herna?ndez-Campoy, J. M., Conde-Silvestre, J. C. (2012). The Handbook of Historical Sociolinguistics. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons. Hartas, D 2011, The Right To Childhoods : Critical Perspectives On Rights, Difference And Knowledge In A Transient World, New York, New York: Continuum, Discovery eBooks, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2017. Murphy, A. J. (2013). Kids and kingdom: The precarious presence of children in the Synoptic Gospels. Mayne, F, Howitt, C 2015, 'How far have we come in respecting young children in our research? A meta-analysis of reported early childhood research practice from 2009 to 2012', Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, 4, p. 30, Academic OneFile, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2017. Tomlinson, P, Welch, S, Jones, P, Moss, D 2013, Childhood : Services And Provision For Children, London: Routledge, Discovery eBooks, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2017.

Auditing and Assurance Flame Ltd

Question: Discuss about the Auditing and Assurance for Flame Ltd. Answer: Introduction As being a senior Auditor in EA partners, the firm is going forward to take a new client, Flames Ltd which is supermarket in Australia for compiling a risk assessment report as portion of initial stage for the preparation and auditing plan. The Auditor will be analyzing inherent risk of the new company. For assessment of the assessment will be done by looking to the information which will be released by the media through newspaper, news, and industry magazine as well as academic information. Further, the appropriate standard needs to need to be applied for the reference. After the assessment of the risk, a suitable control has to be suggested which will be mitigating the impact of that risk on the firm. Overview of the Company The company selected for explaining the inherent risk of the company is Flames Ltd. Flames limited is renowned retail groceries Supermarket of Australia, with headquartered in New Jercy. Flames Ltd. is basically dealing in Selling packaged foods, vegetables, fruit, meat, etc. But moving forward for the expansion DVDs, Magazines, Stationery hotel services as well as petrol sectors. Currently, it is running its store to more than 200 stores all over the Australia. Some of the Supermarkets are trading as Safeway' Shop in Victoria, which is including- 3 stores in Suburbs 4 area in the rural area. Flame is providing a opportunity to many of the people in the New Jercy. Customers of the Flames are giving a very good response to the shop. Flame is also moving forward for supplying the merchandise products in the budget of the customer. Further Flames is planning to expand its business all over the Australia and meeting to the High of success. Flame is one of the fastest growing retail compa ny in the field of the retail supermarket. Risk Assessment For doing the risk assessment of the company specifically, inherent risk needs to be considered. Therefore there will be evaluation of risk through material misstatement on the financial statements, which will be given by the client. A very important factor which will be increasing the inherent risk is the external factor and environment. By the annual report with ending June 2015 and half yearly report ending January 2016, here are some inherent risk which is recognized: Sale Revenue The Australian economy is growing at an increasing rate which is surely affecting the sale of the retail stores. The competitors in the market are too affecting the position of Flames Ltd. Due to this reason, there is some inherent risk in which some of the special audit consideration is required. The company also got 700 m $ from the sale of assets and property which is another source of income for the company. The revenues have increased by 2.03% as compared to the previous. It is because of the time during the festive season when the demand for food, beverages, and liquors are high (Hsu,2013). Inventory Further looking to the factor of the inventory flames Ltd has huge inventories. From the report, it is seen that the inventories are increasing form previous to the current year (van Kruidhof, 2013). The comparison is made with the inventories of the last two years which are showing increase in the inventory turnover ratio with 13.56 in the 2016 and 12.33 in 2015. Accounts Receivables looking to the receivable it is seen that with the increase in the sales revenue there is decrease in the accounts receivables. This is depicting the efficiency in the process of collecting the debt also due to some other reason. In the report released by the Moody's Investor services at 26 August 2015 (CRC 2015) has rated Flames Ltd in the Standards Poor which has increased from BB+ to A. So there was special consideration made to the accounts receivables people (Li,2014). Borrowings Looking to the factor of the borrowing it is observed the all the borrowing have been capitalized. Moreover, the (Australian Accounting Standards) AAS 34 says that it is necessary to capitalize the cost of borrowing only when if the acquisition are attributable directly, production and construction of assets which are qualifying. The borrowing cost is identified as cost during the period in which it is occurring. There has been increase in the borrowing form 1645 $ million to 2000 $ million in 2016. The company has increased the amount of debt with 17% in the current year which shows that risk of the business has increased. There huge chance of risk of the Flame Ltd. which may capitalize the borrowing expense which will have recorded as expense. The company will be getting to exposure of the high-interest risk because it is going to borrow at variable and fixed interest rates (Covello Merkhoher,2013) Liquidity risk Looking towards the current ratio and quick ratio, it shows a huge variation and changes. The current ratio has decreased, and there is increase in the quick ratio. This shows that company can meet the cash require of the company in some of the point. The company has sufficient amount of cash to meets the operation of the company. The company id more looking forward to delivering cash requirement for the bank. Effects of change in the foreign currency Flames Ltd is delivering its operation not only domestically but also internationally. So there is involvement of the foreign currency. Effect of it has been shown in the income statement of the company. But due to the inflation company is suffering from the huge loss in doing the transaction globally (Shariff Zaini,2013). Other Financial Liability The other financial liability of the company has increased for the current year. As well as in respect of paying other liabilities financial liabilities it has increased by 93% from the earlier year. There has been increase in 5.45% current liability which is not showing a positive signal to the companys position (Simunic et al., 2016). Conclusion After doing the complete analysis of the company's position in respect of the inherent risk, it can be concluded that most of the risk of the company lies in the current ratio, other financial liability, and risk in the investment of the foreign exchange. The inherent risk of that factor cannot be changed, so to minimize the risk, there need to be taken care for some of the factors. With a view to minimizing the risk, there have to be some steps taken, and this can be done while doing the process of audit some factors needs to be kept in mind: There sale revenue should be recorded correctly, after doing a proper verification of the vouchers, specially the invoices of the peak and festive season. This will help in maintaining the proper store of the account. In the case of the inventory, a proper security should be maintained, so that there are no chances of the inventory getting stoles or any employee doing fraud. The receivable of the Fame should be checked time to time and collection period of the receivable should be increased so that, there is no such due present in the collection of the debtors. Similarly, in the case of the borrowing, a proper checking needs to be done whether the classification of the borrowing has been placed in the correct group while maintaining the balance sheet of the company, as this is the ultimate place where the position of the company is reflected. Finally, come the point of the liquidity risk and investment form then foreign currency. So company can take step of adopting the process of hedging to minimize the risk which will be occurring from the difference in the value of currency. Further, the liquidity risk should be taken into consideration with increasing in the assets. Reference List Covello, V. T., Merkhoher, M. W. (2013).Risk assessment methods: approaches for assessing health and environmental risks. Springer Science Business Media. Hsu, H. C. (2013). Using MSN Money To Perform Financial Ratio Analysis.Journal of College Teaching Learning (TLC),7(9). Li, W. (2014).Risk assessment of power systems: models, methods, and applications. John Wiley Sons. Shariff, A. M., Zaini, D. (2013). Inherent risk assessment methodology in preliminary design stage: a case study for toxic release.Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries,26(4), 605-613. Simunic,D. A., Ye, M., Zhang, P. (2016). The joint effects of multiple legal system characteristics on auditing standards and auditor behavior.Contemporary Accounting Research. van den End, J. W., Kruidhof, M. (2013). Modelling the liquidity ratio as macroprudential instrument.Journal of Banking Regulation,14(2), 91-106.

Why They Impeached Andrew Johnson an Example by

Why They Impeached Andrew Johnson What pressing problems were facing the nation in 1865? In 1865 the civil war was going strong during this year, and the government was attempting to enforce laws it passed on slavery, while the South was resisting through armed conflict and the stated desire to leave the union. The loss of Lincoln made the possibility of the North losing very real and it was Johnsons responsibility to continue the policies of the party which elected him, even though he did have some sympathy for the Souths point of view, and had close relationships with important Southern leaders. Need essay sample on "Why They Impeached Andrew Johnson" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Why was Andrew Johnson placed on the ticket with Abraham Lincoln? Although he was a slave holder, Johnson remained loyal to the Union and refused to resign as the U.S. Senator from Tennessee when the state seceded at the outbreak of the Civil War. Lincoln selected Johnson for the Vice President slot in 1864 on the "Union Party." to have a Southern man who owned slaves but supported the union. This was expected to strengthen the South states willingness to cooperate with the Union and reluctantly accept federal jurisdiction. His representation of the Souths interests was expected to get more votes for the Union party in the South since people would feel they had true representation at the federal level. How much do I have to pay someone to write my assignment online? Specialists recommend: Entrust Your Essay Paper To Us And Get A+ What was Andrew Johnson greatest weakness? Johnsons close ties with and support for the South was also his greatest weakness. After the war, a series of bitter political quarrels between President Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction policy in the South eventually led to his impeachment. How did he antagonize the northern leaders? Who were they? Radical Republicans wanted to enact a sweeping transformation of southern social and economic life, permanently ending the old planter class system, and favored granting freed slaves full-fledged citizenship including voting rights. The Radicals included such notable figures as Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. Most Radicals came to believe whites in an unrepentant South were seeking to somehow preserve the old slavery system under a new guise. New southern state governments were full of ex-Confederates passing repressive labor laws and punitive Black Codes targeting freed slaves. Representatives sent from the South for the 1865 Congress included the former vice president of the Confederacy and numerous lesser known Rebels, but were denied seats in Congress. In 1866, this Congress enacted a Civil Rights Act in response to southern Black Codes. President Johnson vetoed the Act claiming it was an invasion of states' rights and would cause "discord among the races." Congress overrode the veto by a single vote. This support of states rights over federal law, marked the beginning of an escalating power struggle between the President and Congress that would eventually lead to impeachment. In June of 1866, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing civil liberties for both native-born and naturalized Americans and prohibiting any state from depriving citizens of life, liberty, or property, without due process. Johnson opposed the Amendment on the grounds it did not apply to southerners who were without any representation in Congress angering the Radicals. Radicals swept the elections of November 1866, resulting in a two-thirds anti-Johnson majority in both the House and Senate. With this majority, three consecutive vetoes by Johnson were overridden by Congress in 1867, thus passing the Military Reconstruction Act, Command of the Army Act, and Tenure of Office Act against his wishes. The Tenure of Office Act directly led to impeachment proceedings for Johnson since it required the consent of the Senate for the President to remove an officeholder whose appointment had been originally confirmed by the Senate. Johnson sought to oust Radical sympathizer, Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton in violation of the Act and named General Ulysses S. Grant to replace him. However, the Senate refused to confirm Johnson's action. On February 21, 1868, challenging the constitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act, Johnson continued his defiance of Congress and named General Lorenzo Thomas as the new Secretary of War and also ordered the military governors to report directly to him. Define: Impeachment. Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to remove a government official without that official's agreement. It is only the legal statement of charges, parallelling an indictment in criminal law. An official who is impeached faces a second legislative vote (whether by the same body or another), which determines conviction, or failure to convict, on the charges embodied by the impeachment. List the charges against Andrew Johnson. The House of Representatives voted impeachment on a party-line vote of 126 to 47 on the vague grounds of "high crimes and misdemeanors," with the specific charges to be drafted by a special committee. The special committee drafted eleven articles of impeachment which were approved a week later. Articles 1-8 charged President Johnson with illegally removing Stanton from office. Article 9 accused Johnson of violating the Command of the Army Act. The last two charged Johnson with libeling Congress through "inflammatory and scandalous harangues." Discuss the outcome of the trial and why he was not removed. The trial in the Senate began on March 5, 1868, with Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding. The prosecution was conducted by seven managers from the House. On March 16, a crucial vote occurred on Article 11 concerning Johnson's overall behavior toward Congress which was one vote shy of the necessary two thirds (36 votes out of a total of 54 Senators) needed for conviction. A young Radical Republican named Edmund G. Ross voted "not guilty," effectively ending the impeachment trial. On May 26, two more ballots produced the same 35-19 result. Thus Johnson's impeachment was not upheld by a single vote and he remained in office. In your opinion, should Andrew Johnson have been impeached? Why? Johnson did violate the law of the land at the time, by suspending and appointing two different replacements for the position of war secretary without congresss approval. The Tenure of Office Law was probably unconstitutional since the war secretary position is a presidential appointee in the first place, and not an elected post. While the Congress has the right to approve of disapprove of the appointment it does not have the right to appoint anyone to that office. Thus their insistence on keeping Stanton was de facto a kind of appointment by them, thus illegal. Johnsons mistake was not to go to the Supreme court to challenge Congress. Instead he chose to fight it out himself, opening up an opportunity for the impeachment proceedings to begin. This distracted him from other things which he could have done as President during that period, and the fact impeachment was not upheld probably led to much hard feelings and gridlock for the remainder of his tenure. References Castel, Albert. The Presidency of Andrew Johnson. Lawrence, Kan.: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1979. Ralph W. Haskins, LeRoy P. Graf, and Paul H. Bergeron et al, eds. The Papers of Andrew Johnson 16 volumes; University of Tennessee Press, (1967-2000).

By the way vs. As a matter of fact

By the way vs. As a matter of fact By the way vs. As a matter of fact By the way vs. As a matter of fact By Maeve Maddox A reader from Brazil asks for clarification on the expressions â€Å"by the way† and â€Å"as a matter of fact,† having heard that they are interchangeable expressions to be used when a person wants to change the subject of a conversation. by the way As one of its earliest meanings, the expression â€Å"by the way† had the literal meaning of â€Å"along the way† in the sense of something happening in passing on a journey. For example, â€Å"I lost my money by the way.† The use of â€Å"by the way† in conversation is figurative. A person thinks of something else while in the process of talking: We went to the Crystal Theater over the weekend to see Titanic. By the way, while we were there, we bumped into Leroy and his new girlfriend. The expression does introduce a new subject, but not as a deliberate ploy to change the subject. The new subject has been suggested by something already being talked about. as a matter of fact This expression means, â€Å"in fact, really, actually.† Its strongest use is to correct a falsehood or misunderstanding, as in this example: Most people probably believe that the actress Judy Holliday, who acted the part of a dumb blonde in Born Yesterday, was really of low intelligence. As a matter of fact, she had an IQ of 172. In its weakened use, â€Å"as a matter of fact† still means, â€Å"in fact† or â€Å"actually,† but not in the sense of correcting a falsehood. It seems to be used as one might say indeed for emphasis or contrast. Here are some examples from the Web: I asked my sister if she drank diet soda. She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment. At 12 years old, I wasn’t a fat kid. As a matter of fact, I was pretty skinny. The weight isnt going to instantly fly off in the first week. As a matter of fact, I gained weight before I started losing. I am doing so well in my health. As a matter of fact I have dodged several colds that my husband has come down with. Yes, you have to deal with co-workers. As a matter of fact, you have to interact with them daily. It is possible that someone uncomfortable with the turn a conversation has taken might use one of these expressions to introduce an entirely new topic, but that is not their general function. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:How to Pronounce Mobile48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids

Ecology - tasks (1-2-3-4) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ecology - tasks (1-2-3-4) - Assignment Example The local economy grows because of buying from the local farmers, and this still keeps them into the business. Buying local food means that food is not travelling long distances by trucks, ships, planes and trains, which all use energy and thus spew pollution the results to global warming and unhealthy quality of fair. Such pollutions have effects on our health that reflected in high rates of asthma besides other respiratory symptoms. In addition, consuming local foods gives the benefit the chefs call better and fresher tasting food on your table. Moreover, food miles represent that distance your food travels from to the point where it is eaten. According the World Watch Institute, the transportation of food has been a fast-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions e.g. carbon dioxide thus leading to climatic change. The result of this is that, a basic diet of imported products uses four times the energy and then produces four times the emissions of an equivalent domestic diet. II. Eat locally made foods. The local foodstuffs reduce the amount of emissions into the air due to shipping and other modes of transportation. Eating local foods maximizes on the security and freshness and finally supports the local economy. V. Buy products that are organic and local. Produce having undergone treatment of pesticides are good for the environment and ones-self. The local foodstuffs use less gas to get from the farm to your plate, and since the distance travelled is shorter, they reach your plate while still fresh. 1. The government reviews the existing information and the habitats in the area of the proposed project. There is comprehensive involvement of appropriate agencies at the inception of the project in its planning stages so that they can identify the potentially sensitive ecological resources that could be present in the vicinity of the project. 2. The relevant authorities are engaged into the conduction of pre-disturbance surveys so that they

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace Research Paper

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace - Research Paper Example Many employees stealing from companies send the purloined data to their personal e-mail account held at home or on the web. 21 percent burned the information onto CDs.† Due to these technological security issues, employers feel the need and have the capability to monitor their employees. E-mails, voicemails, the Internet, telephones, computers, etc. can be used for unregulated monitoring. Employees say this is an invasion of their privacy. Companies say this is a protection of their assets. The law is not clear on whether companies are invading employees’ privacy rights regarding information technology so policies must be set and employees must be informed on what is considered to be an invasion of company confidentiality or employee privacy rights. In cases of lawsuits and investigations of regulations, instant messages and e-mail messages are used as the main source of evidence. However, according to the 2004 Workplace E-mail and Instant Messaging Survey, â€Å"employers remain largely ill-prepared to manage e-mail and instant messaging risks.† It is still not common for businesses to have policies set regarding information technology. Studies have found that 35 percent of companies have any policies set in place and a mere six percent of businesses save electronic business records. However, among those businesses that do â€Å"The failure to properly retain e-mail and IM reflects employers’ failure to educate employees about e-mail and IM risks, rules, and policies. The fact that 37% of respondents either do not know or are unsure about the difference between an electronic business record that must be retained, versus an insignificant message that may be deleted, suggests that employers are dropping the ball when it comes to effectively manage e-mail and IM use.† Company data is not the only thing that is at risk when policies are not in place and implemented.

Environment Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environment - Lab Report Example Nonetheless, the soil experiment in this essay aimed at analyzing or testing two different types of soils based on the characteristics including texture, color, and levels of pH or the acidity, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen as well as Potassium. Two different soil samples were to be obtained from different sites including soil sample collected from flat land covered by grass (Sample ID: NAltarki-2) and soil sample collect away from any environmental barrier (Sample ID: NAltarki-1). The collected data are to be subjected to the same soil testing with the sample parameters including texture, color, and levels of pH, Phosphorus, Nitrogen, and Potassium. Difference in quantities of these parameters will be a clear indication that soil samples obtained from different environmental setting usually have different physical and chemical properties. Two different soil samples from different environmental settings were collected for the experiment. From the data provided in tables above (1 and 2), there are clear indication that these two soil samples have different physical and chemical properties. For the physical properties, these samples have different textures; thus, they are identified as different soil types. For perfect comparisons, the two data tables can be merged into one. From the table 3 below, sample one test to be Silky Clay loam while sample two was sandy loam in texture. For the color sample one showed 4 and 2 while sample two indicated 3 and 2 on the soil color value and soil color Chroma respectively. From the soil color sheet, both sample indicated they were within the same year range of 10 years. The chemical properties of these samples are related to the amounts of pH, Phosphorus, Nitrogen, and potassium. Notably, with the same chemical properties, both samples had the same pH, Nitrogen, and Potassium values that were at 7, L, and H respectively. However, these samples had different phosphorus contents with sample one recording L levels while

The Merger Of Bp And Amoco

The Merger Of Bp And Amoco British Petroleum and Amoco announced their merger on August 11th of 1998 as the largest industrial merger in history worldwide. Initially the plan was to convert all the BP service stations in the United States into Amoco, whereas overseas all the Amoco service stations were supposed to be converted into BPs. However, in 2001 BP announced that all Amoco service stations would be renamed into BP while some others would be closed or disposed of, leading to an entire rebranding of Amoco Fuels. During 2008, almost all Amoco Fuels service stations had been restored by BP Gasoline with Invigorate and just a few of them remained operations under the original Amoco brands name. On April 2010, Chevron purchased some of the remaining Amoco Fuel service stations, mostly in Mississippi and converted them into Texaco service stations. After the spill in the Gulf of Mexico from Deepwater Horizon, BP considered to rebrand their US based operations back into Amoco Fuels as the company suffered a decline in sales on account of the negative publicity associated with the incident. Companys background: In 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was incorporated as a subsidiary of Burmah Oil Company to exploit a concession to search for oil in Iran. By 1935, it became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), but after the assassination of the pro-western Prime Minister Ali Razmara, the oil industry in Iran was nationalized and National Iranian Oil Company was formed displacing the AIOC. By the time, the British government owned the AIOC and contested the nationalization at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, but its complaint was dismissed. However, in 1953, National Iranian Oil Company became an international consortium, and AIOC resumed operations in Iran as a member of it. The AIOC became the British Petroleum Company in 1954 and the British government was controlling it again. In 1959 the company expanded beyond the Middle East to Alaska and by 1978 it acquired a controlling interest in Standard Oil of Ohio. Nevertheless, British Petroleum Company continued operating from Iran until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, when the new regime confiscated all of the companys assets within the country without compensation, bringing the end of the British 70 years presence in Iran. Between 1979 and 1987, the British governments entire holding on the company was sold to several private investors and in 1987, British Petroleum negotiated the acquisition of Britoil. Moreover, Standard Oil of California and Gulf Oil had merged in 1984, it what would be known as the largest merger in history at that time; however the antitrust regulation relented many of its operating subsidiaries in the Gulf and sold some stations and a refinery in the eastern United States, allowing British Petroleum to acquire most of them. Finally, John Browne, who had been on the board as managing director since 1991, was appointed group chief executive in 1995. Browne is considered the responsible for BPs three major acquisitions; Amoco, ARCO and Burmah Castrol. Development of the merger: In 1997 BP and Amoco net income was US$ 4.6 billion and US$ 2.7 billion respectively. Combined revenues were US$ 108 billion and capital employed US$ 57 billion. The combined market capitalization was calculated around US$ 110 billion, a figure which would place the newly formed corporation among the top three oil companies in the world. The deal was expected to deliver synergies from cost savings that would add at least US$ 2 billion pre-tax a year by the end of 2000 to the earnings already separately targeted by the 2 companies. Finally, when British Petroleum merged with Amoco in December 1998 the company also acquired Burmah Castrol plc. and Arco (Atlantic Richfield Co.) closing the deal in early 2000. BP continued selling Amoco branded petrol even in service stations with the BP identity since Amoco had been rated as the best petroleum brand by consumers for 16 consecutive years comparable only to Chevron and Shell. In 2008, the high grade available petrol from BP (BP Gasoline with Invigorate) was still called Amoco Ultimate and BP decided to move it as most of its petrochemical businesses into a separate entity called Innovene within the BP Group. Terms agreed for the merger: The pre-merger negotiations conducted between the two companies were relatively fast compared to other transactions in the same scale. The benefits expected both companies were easily identified and agreements were developed in a friendly manner. The terms were disclosed immediately and were summarized as following: Value of the merger: US$ 53 billion Merger deal instrument: share swap (exchange of stock) Exchange Ratio agreed: Amoco shareholders were offered 3.97 BP shares for each share of Amoco common stock Amoco shareholders premium above BPs current market value: 25% Increase in number of shares after the merger: 15% Shareholders structure after merger: 60% BP shareholders 40% Amoco shareholders Headquarters of the new company after merger: BP Amoco plc. headquarters remained in London and Amocos head office became the headquarters for the companys North American operations Trading market for the companies: BP and Amoco shares would remain listed on the London Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange Companys management structure after merger: BPs CEO Sir John Brown would continue leading the company co-chaired by BPs chairman Peter Sutherland and Amocos chairman Larry Fuller Staff cuts after merger: BP Amoco plc. confirmed cost reductions from a cut-off in personnel; the two groups had 99,450 employees together, with BP employing 56,450 and Amoco the rest. The reduction in first stage would represent 11% to 13% of the total Combined reserves: 14.8 billion barrels. Serving 17,900 BP service stations around the world and 9,300 Amoco service stations all in the US Options pegged to the merger: Amoco granted BP an option to purchase 189,783,270 shares of Amoco common stock at a price of US$ 41 per share. This represented approximately 19.9 % of the outstanding Amocos common stock Dividend payout after the merger: Both companies would continue to pay quarterly dividends in the ordinary course prior to the implementation of the merger, then its dividend policy was to continue paying 4 dividends a year and with a payout of approximately 50 % of through cycle earnings The Merger Agreement would also provide termination fees to be paid by one party to the other under certain circumstances. The circumstances in which either party is able to terminate the Merger Agreement include: If either Amoco or BP shareholders do not approve the merger and related transactions If the other party enters into negotiations with any other person in relation to an acquisition offer for that party If the board of the other party withdraws or adversely modifies its approval related to the merger Market conditions leading to the merger: In order to get a better understanding about why the BP-Amoco merger is considered as one of the most successful mergers in history and which factors contributed to given success, it is important to deem about the different aspects from the oil industry market that either the management and the shareholders from both companies took into account to be convinced that the transaction would only add value and the risks would be covered: Oil prices worldwide were depressed and had fallen to their lowest levels in over a decade The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil had decreased to US$11.8 in real terms; the lowest price in 25 years No oil company of any significant size was immune to a takeover threat during the early 1990s; their stock prices were depressed. It was cheaper to buy oil reserves on Wall Street than by exploration and development outlays. These pressures caused the major oil companies to engage in a wide range of restructuring activities and costs reductions Restructuring efforts and improvements in technologies had lowered costs to US$16 to US$18 per barrel. Oil prices declined to US$9 per barrel in late 1998. Thus, the overriding objective for the mergers beginning in 1998 was to further increase efficiencies to lower breakeven levels toward the US$11 to US$12 per barrel range Amoco had reported the month before a fall of more than 50% in second quarter earnings Amoco, being the fourth largest US oil producer, was hurt by its lack of international refining Combining the chemicals operations of BP and Amoco would create a business with revenues of US$ 13 billion that together with the strengths of BP in Europe and Amoco in the US would provide a powerful platform for expansion in Asia where both companies already had significant investments The new chemicals business would be one of the worlds largest petrochemicals companies, with leading positions in 7 core products: acetic acid, acrylonitrile, aromatics, purified terephthalic acid (PTA), alpha-olefins, purified isophthalic acid (PIA) and polypropylene. A diversified portfolio of key proprietary technologies Best practices in acquisitions issues indicated that the successful mergers carried out in previous years tended to be those in which the goods or services offered by the companies involved in the transaction were highly similar, contrasting mergers between companies seeking to combine different markets and diversify its business. The latter were considerably more risky and the probability of failure was higher Features of BP-Amoco merger versus Daimler-Chrysler merger: In contrasting the BP and Amoco merger to Daimler and Chrysler, it is important to outline the main differences both in the pre-merger requisite as well as the merger implementation. Particularly, with regard to each companys ability to adapt to the changes after the merger and the manner in which the target markets would accept the new company. The acquisition of Chrysler marked the first time one of the Detroit Big Three automakers would be in the hands of a private equity firm. There are those who say the merger, which faced significant cultural differences, was doomed from the start. Originally, the plan was for Chrysler to use Daimler parts, components and even vehicle architecture to sharply reduce the cost to produce future vehicles. But problems surfaced when Daimlers Mercedes-Benz luxury division, whose components Chrysler would use, was averse to contribute to Chrysler. Further, the immediate perception of the market was that the new company would produce vehicles with lower quality standards Both automakers wanted to enter markets overseas that they had never explored before, and that consumers would be unwilling to accept such change. In the contrary to the car industry, the oil industry had been, arguably more than any other industry, forced to adjust to the massive change forces of globalization and entrepreneurial innovations. It stands out from most other industries in many ways, one being the existence of a truly global market in which 53% of the total volume is traded internationally. Oil itself accounts for about 10% of total world trade, more than any other commodity. Furthermore, there are some other key factors that contributed specifically to BP-Amoco merger success compared to Daimler-Chrysler such as: Amoco and BP believed that the bigger companies among the industry would win the best opportunities Amoco and BPs merger was cataloged by the oil industrys experts as one superb alliance of equals with complementary strategic and geographical strengths which effectively creates a new super-major that can better serve millions of customers worldwide It was known that within the oil industry, the best investment opportunities would go increasingly to companies that had the size and financial strength to take on those large-scale projects that offer a truly distinctive return There were accounting reasons in both companies why the merger would be more appropriate and would create value Amoco had a lack of international refining. Nonetheless, it also had important findings from research and development technologies to offer (a deal with an oil major was only a matter of time) Both, BP and Amoco had significant investments in solar energy and share strong records and reputations for sound operating practices, environmental and social responsibility. It was easy to predict that they were able to share the same practices and therefore the same markets Quite the opposite, Daimler-Chrysler never considered that their businesses were focused on different markets in terms of geographies, type of vehicles and prices. In addition to that, with regard to Chrysler, markets for passenger cars and commercial vehicles were deteriorated at the time of the merger (low growth expectations) In addition, the adaptation of automotive companies after the merger would be much slower than that of oil companies given the production practices of each of the parties. In other words, the extraction of oil was very similar whereas car production had significant differences Conclusions: According to Berkovitch and Narayanan2) there are three major types of motivations for mergers: synergy, hubris, and agency problems. BP-Amoco merger met the three of them: Synergy: efficiency objectives were promised and achieved; costs were reduced by adoptions of best practices from both companies, particularly in combining advanced technologies. The market cap of the company after the merger resulted 12.5% higher than the sum of both companies market cap. Hubris: this motivation may be reflected in overpaying for the target; in this case, Amocos shareholders premium outcome was around 25%, higher than any other merger premium negotiated within the industry. Agency problems: Since the Return on Equity (ROE) and the Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) increased after the merger, it can be assume that the management and shareholders targets were well aligned and therefore agency problems were not implied. Moreover, divergent from Daimler-Chrysler merger; the reasons, the structure, and the implementation of the BP-Amoco transaction reflected the characteristics provided by the oil and gas industry to ensure the success of the merger: There are no significant differences between the product from different brands (petrol is pretty much the same, no matter who extracts it). The industry increasingly utilizes advanced technology in exploration, production, refining, and in the logistics of its operations (it is evident the cost reduction since all the companies require the same expenditures) According to the market conditions related to the oil industry mentioned before, the BP-Amoco merger was convenient and almost needed to push the barriers surrounding the industry as the fall in crude prices and the high costs regarding exploration and development that were required to further increase its production. Concerning to Daimler-Chrysler, many factors were not considered before the merger and limited the achievement of outcomes expected, mainly on issues of marketing, synergies in production and work culture. http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/A/ARCO_Key_facts_and_operating_statistics.pdf Mergers and Acquisitions ARCO. 2008 Berkovitch, Elazar and M. P. Narayanan, 1993, Motives for Takeovers: An Empirical Investigation, Journal of Financial Quantitative Analysis, 28 (No. 3, September), 347-362. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080230b.htm. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 5 Jun. 2010 Copeland, Tom, Tim Koller, and Jack Murrin, 2000, Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Values of Companies, 3rd ed., New York, NY, John Wiley Sons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP ANNEXES BP Recent financial data in millions of US$ Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Sales 180,186 236,045 294,849 249,465 265,906 284,365 361,341 EBITDA 22,941 28,200 37,825 41,453 44,835 Net results 6,845 10,267 15,961 22,341 22,000 20,845 21,157 Net debt 20,273 20,193 21,607 16,202 16,202

Discuss the way in which Sheila changes throughout the play Essay

Discuss the way in which Sheila changes throughout the play The Birlings are a middle Edwardian class family. The play is set in 1912, in the house of the Birling family in the North Midlands. At that time a woman's role was considered inferior to the men's as it was always presumed that the man was the head of the house. Women were also not thought of as being able to take part in serious conversations, and that they needed to be protected. At the beginning of the play, Sheila is described as young, attractive, girly and naà ¯ve. Also she has just become engaged. This is made known through the stage directions and how she reacts to certain situations. At the start of the play, Sheila shows her character by being very girly in her contributions to the conversation. As the stage directions say 'Sheila is still admiring her ring' and not listening to her father's speech. This shows that she is self-centred and is enjoying the attention that the engagement is bringing her. Also she refers to her parents as "Mummy" and "Daddy" at the beginning of the play, emphasizing her dependency on her family. The arrival of the Inspector seems to be the beginning of the change in Sheila. When Sheila says 'except for all last summer, when you never came near me'. She does not question Gerald further on the subject though she knew where he was. She does not question him further about it because the earlier, girly side of Sheila's character would not be able to cope with the truth. Though she knows that he has not been 'awfully busy at the works', where he said he has been, but having an affair. When Sheila first finds out about the girl's suicide she is genuinely upset and shows her sensitive side in her reaction, 'I... ...nd of the play she is unable to accept her parents attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they haven't learned anything from the events of the evening as she sarcastically says 'So nothing really happened. So there's nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we did.' By this she means that she does not really understand how she could have learnt more in a few hours than her parents have in their lifetime. In the play, Priestley is trying to show that there is a change in the younger generation. He portrays this by the characters of Sheila and Eric taking responsibility for their part in the death of Eva Smith and the fact that her parents haven't learned anything from the events of that night. He is trying to show that people should take responsibility and care for each other, as in the idea of a big community.

British Restoration Era English Literature

London in the age of Goldsmith was entirely different from the London as we know today. Great social, political and economical changes were in the air when Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer was enacted. These changes created a turning point of fortune of many families there by making some impoverished and many others prosper to become one among the middle class families of England. As a result, marriages and love affairs, instead of being the union of two people, the man and woman, both physically and mentally, it became union of money, land and titles.Hence the decreasing of wealth in the rural, old and titled families and an increase in the wealth in newly affluent commercial urban areas brought about various marriages of children from titled families, with those of untitled, cash-rich but land-poor commercial families. This balance is what Goldsmith tries to drive home in his famous play She Stoops to Conquer. Moreover, â€Å"the play also offers three types of marriage. O ne possibility: a loveless, parentally-enforced marriage, as that arranged by Mrs. Hardcastle between Tony and Constance.Another option: marriage for love, but against parental wishes, as seen in Hastings’s plans for eloping with Constance. Finally, the best solution, compromise between parent and child, as in Kate’s marriage with Marlow — a marriage based on affection but also sanctioned by paternal authority. † Schmidt, http://www. answers. com/topic/she-stoops-to-conquer-play-7) Passionate love existed definitely, but it was not directly linked to marriage. Love in those times is well explicated by Goldsmith through his varied characters as represented in the play.To start with, we have Mr. Hardcastle who loves everything that is â€Å"old†, including his wife. He is a loving husband who loves his wife most intensely in spite of the fact that there is a lot of difference in their natures. He is a very home loving person as we see his wife complai ning every now and then that they are not frequenting London to polish up their manners and acquire knowledge of the latest fashions. It is truly because of him that their life goes on uneventfully. He represents the gentle man of the society at that time.His good nature and generosity alone bring the two love stories to a happy end and the mistakes of the night are crowned with merry-making in the morning. Mrs. Hardcastle, greedy, self-centered, with no regard for the feeling, likes and dislikes of others, sees love and marriage only in terms of monetary wealth. She truly represents the attitude of love and money of those times in the so-called aristocratic families. To retain her orphan niece’s (Constance Neville) fortune in the form of jewellery in the family, she tries to get her married with her son, Tony Lumpkin, who is a person who cannot be spoiled more.She does not consider at all, that he is unworthy of his cousin and that he himself dislikes her and wants to marry another woman. Blinded by her greed and her infatuation for her son, she courts Constance on behalf of her son and tries her best to unite them in holy wedlock. The result is that she loses both, the jewellery and her niece. Her portrayal makes explicit the fact that women of her age in those days tended to be cruel mothers who never paid any respect to either the romantic or the ordinary feelings of their children if they did not have a monetary significance.Marlowe represents the well-to-do families of the day who thinks that in order to prove his worth he has to travel long and wide and thus understand more about manhood. He is the kind of man whom ladies in those ages are after. ‘Manhood’ is just in his thoughts not deeds as we see him shy and moody in the company of ladies of higher rank and status. In keeping with the age, for him too marriage is more related to social positions and monetary affairs than love.That is why he rejects Kate when he is still mistaking her for a simple barmaid instead of a lady: â€Å"But to be plain with you, the difference of our birth, fortune and education makes an honourable connection impossible; and I can never harbour a thought of seducing simplicity that trusted in my honour, or bringing ruin upon one whose only fault was being too lovely. † (p. 42). Whatever be his shortcomings, Kate falls in love with him as he satisfies all the demands that women of that age sought in a man. Hence his drawbacks are easily forgotten and even if there is any left, Kate resolves to cure him of that.His character develops in due course of the play and becomes worthy of Kate who has discerned his potential capacity to become a genuine love. No doubt, he represents the typical middle class man who gives equal regard to money, love and good manners. As a foil to him, we have Hastings, a well-dressed young man of considerable physical charms. He is presented as the most romantic and the most impractical man who has led an easy comfortable life like Marlow, but is not at all have a dual character like him. His love for Constance is true, deep and sincere.He loves her only for herself, and no mercenary conditions weigh with him. He presses her to elope with him leaving behind her fortune for his love is not tainted by monetary things. Their love affair can be said as the most straight forward one but we see that too as being conditioned by money. As Mrs. Hardcastle is the keeper of Neville’s jewels, to get back her wealth, Constance should marry the person whom she pleases, unless the person refuses. It is to keep the money in the family itself that she forces her son to marry Constance. But Constance and Hastings proclaim their love several times disregarding the money.During a conversation that both hold, Miss Neville states she would rather marry him once she owns all her jewels so that they can secure their future: â€Å"The instant they (jewels) are put into my possession you shall find me ready to make them and myself yours†. But Hastings exclaims: â€Å"Perish the baubles! Your person is all I desire† (p. 19). Even when the young lady assures that â€Å"in the moment of passion, fortune may be despised, but it ever produces a lasting repentance† Hastings insists on letting their feelings flow: â€Å"Perish fortune.Love and contempt will increase what we possess beyond a monarch’s revenue. Let me prevail† (p. 56). Kate Hardcastle is a lover who rises to the occasion whenever such a situation arises. She is presented as vivacious, young and very inventive. Instead of waiting meekly to make her lover change to a bold person, she takes things into her hands. If she remains inactive, she will lose Marlow. Hence she throws all her false modesty to the wind and decides to win a husband even at the cost of some maidenly modesty and delicacy.She chases and courts instead of being chased and courted. As her foil is presented Constance Nev ille, who is straight forward, sensible and determined. In her pretence of love to Tony to satisfy her aunt, her stooping is moral and not merely social as that of Kate. â€Å"She Stoops to Conquer is a beautifully constructed play where love conquers all, despite the combined efforts of a greedy woman, her inept son and an unfortunate case of ‘pedestalisation of women' in the young male lead! †( Henderson, http://www. cops.org. uk/reviews/she_stoops. htm). Hence in the play we see people loving and marrying for several reasons; for love, for money or just to follow patterns of the existing society. Works Cited: Henderson, Catherine, http://www. cops. org. uk/reviews/she_stoops. htm. Schmidt, Arnold http://www. answers. com/topic/she-stoops-to-conquer-play-7. Jeffares, Harman A. , Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops to Conquer’, Macmillan Co. Ltd, Great Britain, 1966. Wood R. J. , ‘She Stoops to Conquer’, Coles Publishing Company, Canada, 1968.

Developing practitioner The WritePass Journal

Developing practitioner Introduction Developing practitioner IntroductionReflection in nursingConclusion ReferencesRelated Introduction Reflection has increasingly become an essential element of nursing professionalism. However, the term ‘reflection’ is not clearly defined in the literature and most definitions could be described as complex or vague (Atkins and Murphy 1993). Williams and Lowes (2001) define reflection as; ‘.a way of exploring and evaluating previous experiences and appreciating their value on personal practice and self.’ (pg. 1) Reflection is important to student nurses as it enables us to look at ourselves and our practice objectively. However, Mackintosh (1998), as well as other authors, are dubious that reflection can do all that it claims to do. What is agreed by nursing writers is that we can grow and mature as both a professional and a person by integrating our theory and knowledge into practice. The process of reflection can help move us from a student, to a nurse, and later to a competent and expert practitioner (Benner 1984). As nurses we should have the competencies to identify and respond to issues and make decisions that are informed and based on knowledge. All healthcare professionals make daily decisions that have ethical implications. Ethics for student nurses can be challenging as many of these decisions are emotive and students find these feelings hard to dismiss and difficult to rationalise (Clarke 2003). In their study, Ellis and Hartley (2001) found that student nurses expressed concerns over ethical problems and their ability to deal effectively with them. With the focus on a legal and ethical issue which I encountered whilst on clinical placement, I will reflect upon and critically analyse the issues raised in the incident using a recognised model of reflection. The model which I have chosen for this purpose is Borton’s Reflective Framework (1970, in Jasper 2003) which is increasingly being used by healthcare professionals as an approach for reflection. Jasper (2003) describes Borton’s model as simple and pragmatic, which meets the needs of practitioners to describe, make sense of and respond to situations. Howev er, the model has been criticised and Rolfe et al (2001) suggest it does not include the finer details of reflection and offers no prompts as to how reflection is to be conducted within each stage of the process. Even so, Rolfe et al (2001) do state that in comparison to Gibbs’s (1988, in Jasper 2003) and Johns (1998, in Johns 2005) models of reflection, it can be seen that the activity of reflection leads to action being taken in Borton’s framework, rather than just proposed, therefore moving from the realms of ‘maybe’ back into the reality of practice. The simplicity of the model and the proposal of action being taken in future situations prompted me to consider this model for this assignment purpose. Also, when reviewing the literature around reflective models, I found evidence by Burrows (1995) to suggest that nursing students under the age of 25 do not have the cognitive abilities and experience to reflect and alter their practice. Bulman and Schutz ( 2004) reiterate this perspective by implying that less mature students are more inclined to use more descriptive models such as Gibbs rather than more advanced, as these may not be of any use to them. As I would consider myself a mature student and want to develop my knowledge beyond that of a novice practitioner, taking into account the simple structure of the model as discussed, I feel that Borton’s Reflective Framework (1970) is an appropriate choice to use as a guide to my reflective account. The incident I have identified to reflect upon involves the refusal of further treatment by a patient who is terminally ill. With a view to gaining new knowledge, insights and to further develop as a nurse practitioner, I will reflect upon the ethical and legal issues that arose from this encounter. These include autonomy, beneficence, capacity and informed consent, as well as my own feelings and preconceptions. I will maintain confidentiality throughout this assignment by changing the names of those persons involved incompliance with the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) ‘Code’ (2008). Reflection in nursing Reflection is not just about adding to our knowledge; it is about challenging the concepts and theories as we try to make sense of that knowledge (Burton 2000). Kim (1999) argues that constructing knowledge from clinical practice is not enough and that nurses must also reflect on how that knowledge can lead to intentions to act. Several authors distinguish a gap between theory and practice in nursing (Conway 1994; Lauder 1994) and suggest that reflective practice may be the process with which to alleviate this. However, these authors do not support their claims with any evidence and are only offering opinion. The question still remains as to whether reflective practice produces better patient care as intended as there is very little research evidence on the benefits of reflective practice in nursing (Hargreaves 1997). Burton (2000) further reiterates this point by recognising that reflection relies entirely on information from patients and claims to be to their benefit, but is resear ched solely in the terms of the effects on practitioners. Reflective practice is also a fundamental concept of nurse education, with students encouraged to challenge their clinical practice and widen their knowledge base. However, Mackintosh (1998) stated that; ‘The implementation of reflection for students is as uncertain as its definition, with no guidelines or uniform method of application available.’(pg. 7) This criticism is evident in more recent literature, with Ireland (2008) and Hong and Chew (2008) both recognising that there are no definite guidelines on how to structure reflective practice in education. Writing reflective journals is one way reflective practice is encouraged in education as it allows students privacy and also to look back at previous entries to see how they have developed as nurse practitioners. However, Hargreaves (1997) suggests that reflective journals can be repetitive and time consuming, leading to boredom for the student. Hargreaves (1997) also proposes that when students are required to reflect in groups, this can lead to low self esteem as there is a lack of privacy. Also, when reflecting-on-action for assessment purposes, students may feel anxious about writing open and honest accounts in case of bad marks, leading to them writing what they think others want to hear and not the truth (Teekman 2000). When reflecting-on-action for this assignment purpose, I have been aware of these issues and this has encouraged me to reflect a true account of the incident, regardless of how difficult I may have found it to expose myself in such a way. Ethical issues relating to confidentiality also arise when reflecting, both for the person writing them and for the patient, as writing ‘stories’ about them without their consent can been seen as bad practice. However, Hargreaves (1997) argues that nurses have always ‘used’ patients and it is these experiences with patients that shape practice and it can be proposed that if a patient’s case is discussed but she has no knowledge then it can cause no harm and may actually benefit the patient directly or indirectly (Hargreaves 1997). Despite these criticisms, as opposed to giving care uncritically, reflection allows nurses to examine, question and learn from their experience and Andrews et al. (1998) recognise a danger of nursing care becoming ritualistic if it is not challenged. Using the three basic starting points in Borton’s Reflective Framework (1970) as a guide to the structure of my account, I am now going to reflect on the ethical and legal issue which I encountered recently whilst on clinical placement. What? It is important to recognise before recounting the incident, that as well as students being inclined to alter the scenario when reflecting-on-action as acknowledged, hindsight bias (Jones 1995) is also a concept by which a person’s recollection of events is influenced once they know the final outcome of the situation. Factors involved in hindsight bias are the desire to appear correct, maintain self esteem and to enhance feelings of competence (Jones 1995). Also stressful situations can affect attention and Saylor (1990) concluded in his study on recall, that for novice nurses and students in difficult interpersonal situations, such as topics on death, these are likely to cause stress resulting in less important issues being remembered. I had been involved in Mrs Jones’s care for a number of weeks and I was aware that she had returned from theatre the day before where she was to have had a secondary tumour removed. I was also aware, as was she, that she was terminally ill. I was in the room with Mrs Jones and her husband and we were chatting as I did her clinical observations. She was telling me that she was not afraid of dying and that she had been very lucky and had had a wonderful life. I felt very saddened by this and can clearly remember thinking to myself that I must remember what they told us in University about communicating with the dying patient, as I didn’t know what I was going to say once she finished speaking. In the end I decided that it was best if I say nothing rather than saying something inappropriate. This made me feel guilty at my own incompetence. The consultant then entered the room with my mentor and I asked my mentor if I should leave, but Mrs Jones insisted that I stay. The consultant then told Mrs Jones that they had been unable to remove the tumour. Mrs Jones nodded at this and said that she thought that would be the case. I suddenly felt out of my depth and wished I could just leave the room. The consultant continued by saying that he could offer Mrs Jones radiotherapy to try and shrink the tumour and prolong her life. He told her the side effects of the treatment, the frequency and also that it would not cure her, only ‘give her more time’. Mrs Jones stated that she did not want any more radiotherapy and just wanted to be pain free. I felt quite upset at this point and was trying not to make eye contact with anyone else in the room as I knew I would probably cry. The consultant continued by saying that although radiotherapy had side effects, it could add months to her life, and that there were options avai lable to help counter the side effects and that it might be worth considering. I remember thinking that Mrs Jones will probably decide on the radiotherapy if the doctor says it is the best thing to do, I couldn’t make sense of why she wouldn’t. Mrs Jones stated again that she did not want any further treatment, that she had discussed it with her family and that all she wanted was for her kids to see that she was happy, pain free and peaceful. Mrs Jones’ husband was crying at this point but told the consultant that they had talked about it and that he respected his wife’s decision and they would now like some time alone. At that the consultant, myself and my mentor left the room. The incident played on my mind immediately afterwards and although I wanted to talk with someone about it, I knew if I opened my mouth to speak I would cry so I busied myself with other things. So What? I had nursed Mrs Jones for a number of weeks and felt personally affected by her prognosis and her refusal of treatment to prolong her life. Mrs Jones was the same age as my own mother and had similar family dynamics to myself. I felt guilty that I could not offer some sort of comforting response when talking with her and during her interaction with the consultant. The feeling of guilt elevated as I felt inadequate to respond in what I felt was an appropriate manner. A study carried out by Kelly (1991) found that feelings of guilt are evident in students and appear more frequently as students gain experience. These findings are similar to those of Smith (1998) who concludes that guilt feelings in students are associated with a perceived inadequacy of personal responses and ethical dilemmas. The more experience gained, the more students felt fearful and guilty as they worry about what will be expected of them. I can relate to this evidence having worked in the health care setting for a number of years prior to starting my nurse training and now being in my second year, I have high expectations of myself and my practice. I feel that if I don’t match up to these expectations, and what I believe other people expect from me, I am letting myself and others down. Smith (1998) recognises that students develop coping mechanisms such as detachment and adopt these when they are in situations that are difficult for them. I tried to detach myself from the situation by not making eye contact or speaking as I felt out of my depth within the situation. Although detachment can be seen as a threat to the nurse-patient relationship, Smith (1998) concluded that some degree of detachment is necessary for students to maintain the ability to function and prevent breakdown. I adopted this coping mechanism to prevent myself from crying and upsetting the situation further, which appears to support the findings proposed by Smith. However in a study carried out by Kralik et al (1997) on patient’s experiences in hospital, the participants stated that, when cared for by nurses who appeared detached, it was a negative experience and they felt vulnerable and insecure. I am aware that if I allow detachment to become embedded within my future practice it may aff ect my ability to offer compassionate care to patients. Although I was aware of the knowledge around communication with the terminally ill, I was unable to reflect-in-action and apply this knowledge to practice. Schon (1983) describes reflection-in-action as the way that nurses think and theorise about practice whilst they are doing it. This is seen as an automatic activity that occurs subconsciously in practice. According to Street (1992), students experience difficulty connecting theory with the realities of practice. However, Street does suggest that there are indications that students are able to integrate theory gained in the classroom with practice, but at first it is deliberate and conscious. This evidence suggests that reflection-in-action is developed through experience. I felt upset that Mrs Jones did not want any further treatment and I kept thinking that if it was my own mother I would want her to stay alive as long as possible. I may have felt like this as I did not want to experience the grief that comes with death, which appears now to be a selfish act. The refusal of treatment with a view to end of life can sometimes be associated with voluntary euthanasia. This term involves the deliberate intervention or omission with the intent of ending an individual’s life at their request (Saunders and Chaloner 2007). Despite a Bill passing before parliament on assisted dying or assisted suicide, existing laws remain unchanged and euthanasia of any sort is illegal in the UK. However a person’s right to refuse treatment is legal in the UK and is supported in the NMC ‘Code’ (2008) which states; ‘You must respect and support peoples rights to accept or decline treatment and care’. Although the consultant was persistent in his offer of further treatment, he did not at any time disregard Mrs Jones’s decision to refuse treatment. UK law goes to great lengths to protect a person of full age and capacity from interference with personal liberty. In the case of Sidaway v Bethlem Royal Hospital (1985) it wa s stated that; ‘a capable adult has an absolute right to refuse to consent to medical treatment for any reason, rational or irrational, or for no reason at all, even where that decision may lead to their own death.’ (Lord Scarman 1985 pg. 3) This absolute right has been upheld in more recent cases such as Re T (adult: refusal of medical treatment) (1997) and Re B (adult: refusal of medical treatment) (2002). The courts also recognise that in law there is a distinction between letting die (refusal of treatment) and killing a person (euthanasia), even though this is not accepted by some philosophers (Dimond 2005). Saunders and Chaloner (2007) question whether there is a moral distinction between withholding life sustaining treatment at the patients request and actively taking steps to end the patient’s life at their request. However, a concept that is shared amongst UK law, literature and philosophers is the respect for a person’s autonomy. This makes me consider whether the consultant, despite his persistence, did not disregard Mrs Jones’s decision as he was respecting her right to be autonomous. Buka (2008) proposes that to be autonomous means to be able to choose for oneself and involves individuals being able to formulate and determine the course of their own life. Autonomy consists of values and beliefs that are unique to the individual and that change with circumstances, so what Mrs Jones considered to be of value to her prior to her illness could well have changed at the time of the incident. Also what Mrs Jones believed to be of value to her could very well be different to what I would consider to be of importance. Begley (2008) acknowledges that dying well involves living well until the end of life and living well throughout the dying process depends on the responses of each unique person to the conditions in which they find themselves. Mrs Jones spoke about wanting her kids to see she was happy, pain free and peaceful, which appeared to me to be her main priority. Mrs Jones also spoke about how she was not afraid to die and that she had had a wonderful life. In their study of patients with incurable cancer, Voogt et al. (2005) found that while approximately a third of the participants strove for length of life, a third wanted quality of life. Mrs Jones’s values and beliefs may have been intertwined with an autonomous decision to die with dignity. Radley and Payne (2009) suggest that when people refuse treatment later on they want to spend quality time with their family without the side effects of treatment. Tingle and Cribb (2007) also recognise that although medicine can now provide the means of staving off death, the cost to the individual may be too high. Some may not want to spend their last days or weeks attached to tubes and drips. Tingle and Cribb further reiterate their point by proposing that it needs to be recognised that even if the pain of those who are terminally ill can be controlled, what they may fear the most is the technology that potentially leads to a loss of self-respect and self esteem. The concept of dying with dig nity is supported in UK law, and Article 3 of the Human Rights Act (1998) states that ‘no-one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’, an article which can be used to support cases of withdrawal of treatment. An autonomous person is also defined by Beauchamp and Childress (2001) as an individual who has the capacity to make decisions for themselves, as well as being competent to evaluate and deliberate information in order to reflect their own life plan. Capacity in the law is defined as the ability to understand information and make a balanced decision (Griffith 2007). Capacity is a fundamental component of autonomy and the Mental Capacity Act’s (2005) starting point is the presumption that a person has the capacity to make decisions for themselves unless it can be shown that they are incapable. Mrs Jones had been involved in decisions to do with her care throughout her treatment and the consultant knew her well. However, Tingle and Cribb (2007) suggest that patients are not very good at saying when they don’t understand and Pellegrino (2004, in Harrison et al. 2008) found in his study that patients suffering from cancer are on a negative spiral of events which may diminish their clinical competence and result in feelings of ‘powerlessness’. This evidence could suggest that Mrs Jones may have felt that she did not have the power to not only make a competent decision, but to tell the consultant that she did not understand what he was saying. The decision of whether a person has capacity is to be made at the time of the decision making (MCA 2005) and Larcher (2005) acknowledges that clinical competence may fluctuate, depending on the circumstances and compounding factors such as pain. Mrs Jones had regular analgesia to control her pain and did not before, during or after the encounter make any complaints of discomfort. She had support from her husband and was familiar with her surroundings as well as the staff present in the room. All these factors indicate to me now that Mrs Jones had the capacity to evaluate and deliberate the information given to her and make a decision that reflected her own life plan. The main principle of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) stresses that a person’s right to autonomy must be respected and can be further supported by requiring steps to be taken to maximise decision making capacity. One of these steps is informed consent. The Mental Capacity Act (2005) states that information given must include the nature of the decision, the purpose for which it is needed and the likely effects of any decision made. The need to weigh the information as part of the process of making the decision has been described by the courts as; ‘The ability to weigh all relevant information in the balance as part of the process of making a decision and then use that information to arrive at a decision.’ (Re MB Caesarean section 1997, in Griffith 2007). The consultant gave Mrs Jones information about her prognosis and treatment in compliance with the Mental Capacity Act (2005) as well as other health care policies (DOH 2007; 2008). He disclosed the factual details such as the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment and the potential side effects of undertaking further radiotherapy. However questions still arise as to how much information needs to be disclosed to the patient before consent can truly be said to be informed. As a moral matter it has been suggested that you should disclose whatever information a reasonable person would want to know plus whatever further information the actual individual wants to know (Radley and Payne 2009). However, research carried out by Clarke (2003) does suggest that patients demonstrate poor levels of knowledge and comprehension, particularly where bad news has been given. When the consultant told Mrs Jones that they hadn’t been able to remove the tumour she had replied that she had t hought that might have been the case. This indicates to me that Mrs Jones had already taken the time to consider her options and the possibility that the tumour may not be removed, prior to the encounter with the consultant. Seymour (2001) proposes that the informed decision to refuse treatment may be about regaining control in a situation where there may be few desirable options. Radley and Payne (2009) suggest that the decision to refuse treatment, is not a rejection of medicine but a rejection of false hope or an acceptance of another sort of hope in which quality of life is preferred over quantity of life. Mrs Jones had undergone intensive treatment in the months leading up to this final prognosis and I now consider that the finality of this diagnosis may have given her not the opportunity to ‘give up’ but to spend quality time with her family without the side effects of a treatment which was not going to cure her. Therefore Mrs Jones was taking positive steps to safeguard the death she wanted. After Mrs Jones initially refused the treatment the consultant went on again to say that ‘it could add months to her life’. I thought at the time that Mrs Jones may take time to consider this again given that the consultant was to me the ‘expert’. From a medical viewpoint, death is seen as a failure, rather than as an important part of life (Smith 2000), so there may be a conflict when a patient chooses to make a decision that is likely to end in death. Physicians who are unable to keep patients alive may struggle to avoid experiencing an inevitable sense of failure (Clarke 2003) as it is widely accepted that medicine’s primary goal is to restore a person’s health (Heaney et al. 2007). By offering Mrs Jones a treatment to delay the inevitable the consultant was acting in a beneficent manner and tension can arise when beneficence and autonomy are in conflict. With advanced medicines today life can be sustained for longer periods, however Van Kle ffens et al (2004) found in their study that for the patients who refused the treatment, their decision was not based on the pros and cons of treatment from a medical perspective but a ‘circumstantial basis’. In a further study by Van Kleffens in 2005, the patients who decided not to accept further treatment said it was based on their own experiences, values and meanings in life. Voogt et al (2005) also proposed that physicians do not engage sufficiently with the world of the patient that extends outside of medicine. So although the consultant knew Mrs Jones well and had been involved in her care for many months, he had only been associated with her in the medical concept. Contemporary opinion suggests that where there is tension between autonomy and beneficence, autonomy should take precedence (Dimond 2005). Now What? Mrs Jones passed away how she wished, in hospital surrounded by her family. Consideration of the ethical and legal principles discussed required a depth of knowledge that I as a student did not hold for this particular situation which was to me personal, complex and difficult to define. From reflection on this incident I recognise now that I have gaps in interpreting theory into practice. Benner’s (1984) work proposes that nurses move from novice to expert as a result of both experiences and training. By analysing the situation with reference to theories and concepts, I have come to realise that only through experience, greater knowledge and confidence will these gaps begin to close. I now know that no one solution was correct nor was it incorrect. Nurses have a legal and moral duty to act in a beneficent way which at times may conflict with the autonomy of the patient. However, providing the patient is of age and has the capabilities to make informed and balanced decisions, in cases of conflict the law will favour autonomy over beneficence. I have come to appreciate that the patient is the only one who can decide what matters to them and what is good based on the information given and as a nurse I am in a position to recognise when patient autonomy is at risk of not being respected and help to restore it. This would then result in the principles of autonomy and beneficence working in partnership rather than in conflict, with the act of beneficence being the action that increases the autonomy of the patient. The process of reflection can bring up painful emotions again but if followed properly and supported appropriately, it can help the reflector to come to terms with their emotions and move on. I now know that the feelings I expressed were natural for a novice like me. Should this particular situation arise again I know I would be able to take this new knowledge with me but am unsure as to whether it would diminish my feelings of sadness, I am however confident that I could now put them to one side. Conclusion Reflection is an important aspect of nurse education and can assist student nurses in linking theory and practice and in developing self-awareness skills. Borton’s (1970 in Jasper 2003) reflective framework has assisted me in both reflecting on what was to me a difficult and personal experience and being able to structure an academic assignment based on it. Even though critics claim that Borton does not include the finer details of reflection or any guide as to how reflection is to be conducted within each stage of the process, I found that these omissions allowed me a wider scope and more freedom to analyse and challenge the situation and my own feelings. Had I used a model such as Gibbs (1988 in Jasper 2003), which consists of prompt questions, it may have restricted my reflection as I tried to answer the specific questions. I am aware of the negative elements of reflection but feel that by acknowledging these within my assignment I was able to conduct a reflection that was an honest and true account. The ethical and legal issues that arose in the incident were autonomy, beneficence, capacity and informed consent. All these issues are interlinked and have an impact on each other and I now understand that each must be considered both as individual components and together in order to gain an accurate perception of a situation and provide patient centred care. My professional knowledge and understanding of these issues and the importance of reflection in nursing has increased considerably by completing this reflective assignment. I understand that by reflecting on situations that occur within clinical practice I will gain new insights, knowledge and understanding therefore empowering me in my practice. 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