Autism in Children :: essays research papers

Lemon juice Pepper spray Handcuffs Blindfolds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These are terms that should never enter a parents mind when they send Their children off to school. Especially, if their child is autistic, or has some other kind of learning disability. These terms are known as aversives, and are used to reduce behaviors in children mainly with autism. They cause pain and are a form of punishment for a behavior no matter how large or small i.e. Biting, kicking, punching, not blowing your nose, or not sitting when told to do so. If a command was not followed by a student, the teachers’ immediate reaction is to use one of the many aversives. This is something that has to be stopped and should not be allowed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This type of behavior modification is used all through out the United States and there are even two known programs that use aversives in New Jersey, Eden Institute and Bancroft Neurohealth. I was personally at Eden and witnessed this going on right in front of me, and I knew of a student that unfortunately past away in one of these places. (will not name which) these techniques are dangerous, torturous, over used, and should not be allowed. There are millions of different things that can be done to achieve the same success rate of reducing behaviors. They may not be as quick, but they can and will work. How about positive reinforcement? A technique used in schools also to reduce behaviors. That means you speak to the child is a positive manner or use a reward system like verbal praise, or a piece of cookie, or a sip of a favorite drink to reduce a behavior. If a child does not listen or does not like to follow directions, you can say â€Å"Mike if you sit quietly then I will give you a piece of cookie† and most of the time the child will listen because he/she really wants that cookie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now some may say that’s fine and dandy but what about more aggressive behavior? Like biting or pulling hair. I would say if a child is biting try to find out why the child is biting. Is it because he is upset, can’t verbalize what he/she wants or maybe his/her teeth are bothering them. There are a lot of things that can be done. For starters develop a behavior plan, using the ABC method. This means Antecedent Behavior Consequence.

Failure of Spanish Armada

In May 1588, the Spanish Armada left the Portuguese port of Lisbon, headed for England with more than 130 ships. Since their discovery of the New World almost 100 years before, the Spanish had built one of the wealthiest and most powerful empires on earth. King Philip II of Spain wanted to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England for both political and religious reasons. Elizabeth had assisted the Protestant rebels in the Netherlands to overthrow Spanish rule in the region. She also had been allowing English pirates called privateers to attack Spanish treasure ships returning from the New World. What only added fuel to the fire were the religious disputes between a Catholic Spain and a Protestant England, whose national church had split from the Catholic Church after the excommunication of Henry VIII in 1535. Outnumbered and outgunned, the English defeated the Spanish Armada in a series of unforgettable naval encounters. The serendipitous event of the English victory over the Armada changed the balance of world power. It would have never been possible without happenstance occurrences like, death, weather, and new naval designs and strategies. Just months before Phillip’s Armada was launched, Don Alvaro de Bazen, Marquise of Santa Cruz, died of typhus in January. Santa Cruz had been a veteran leader and a naval captain unequalled in confidence and skill at the time. He was a narcissistic, avaricious, and cruel man; these qualities made him the ideal naval commander. It was said that only four people attended his burial, â€Å"and his death was regretted by no one†. (Martin 146) If he had not passed, Santa Cruz would’ve been the ideal admiral for the mission because he was so widely respected and was willing to die for his country without a second thought. One who knew Santa Cruz said he was â€Å"a grizzled veteran of Lepanto, offered to take on the whole English Navy at the word of the King†. The English would never have had a chance at victory over the Spanish Armada led by such a solid and able soldier. The replacement for Santa Cruz was chosen by King Philip II himself. He chose Don Alonso Perez de Guzman, the Duke of Medina Sidonia. Medina Sidonia’s qualifications to lead the Armada were lackluster. While the Duke had a vast knowledge of naval technique, he lacked combat experience. However he was the head of one of Spain’s most ancient and aristocratic families, and King Philip II therefore saw Medina Sidonia as the seemingly perfect leader for his Armada because he was the head of such a respectable family. (Martin 147) Yet no victories bolstered his pedigree. When the Duke received the letter from the King asking him to lead the Armada, it wasn’t a surprise however. Since the very early stages of planning for the Armada, Medina Sidonia had been there and was already well briefed. As if portending his failure, he wrote a series of letters to King Philip II stating that he didn’t want the job. One of his reasons included in the letter was â€Å"for I know by the small experience I have had afloat that I soon become seasick†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Martin 149) Acknowledging that he was not fit for the job and that his qualifications did not add up to those necessary for the Armada to succeed, Medina Sidonia conceded that â€Å"furthermore this force is so great and the undertaking so important, that it would not be right for a person like myself, possessing no experience of seafaring or war, to take charge of it. I have no doubt that his Majesty will do the favor which I humbly beg, and will not entrust me to do a task of which certainly, I shall not give a good account; for I do not understand it, know nothing about it, have no health for the sea and have no money to spend upon it†. (Martin 147) The king merely overlooked the Duke’s explanation as improper humility. What the King was oblivious to was that Medina Sidonia had written a second letter two days later, where he claimed that the whole endeavor â€Å"was ill-conceived and doomed almost too inevitable failure†. Martin 148) The king never heard this argument because the second letter had been intercepted by two councilors of state. In response they wrote â€Å"do not impress us with fears for the fate of the Armada, because in such a cause God will make sure it succeeds†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Martin 148) They also threatened the Duke, saying that if he didn’t follow through with leading the Armada they would show t he world the letter and he would have been charged with treason. Against his will and only because of moral pressure, special persuasion, and blackmail did Medina Sidonia accept the title captain – general of the ocean sea. It wasn’t enough that Medina Sidonia was the completely wrong person to lead the Spanish Armada, he didn’t even believe that the invasion had any chance of being successful and thought of it as a complete waste of time. His defeatist thinking combined with poor leadership and lack of sea experience created a deadly concoction of laziness and lost hope. The launch of the Armada was no surprise to England because the Spanish had not meant to keep it a secret in hopes that Elizabeth would surrender even before the fleet was launched. With plenty of warning, England did its best to gather a large enough naval force, but it was never enough. At first glance the Armada dwarfed the English Navy in both size of ships and numbers. With this in mind English commanders believed they would have to win the war with their long-range guns; they would attempt to sink the Spanish ships one at a time from a safe distance. The Armada, which carried a large number of tough and well-trained soldiers armed with swords and muskets, planned to use their advantage on any English ships that got too close and â€Å"the Spanish commanders intended to pull it alongside with grappling hooks and send the soldiers on board capture it. (Anderson 24) As is very common in battle, the plans going into battle are often changed based on the unpredictable circumstances that can unfold. Both sides’ predictions on tactics that would help them win, were wrong. The English belief that they would sink the Spanish ships from a safe distance was faulty because the guns at the time were tough to aim and too unpredictable to do any real harm. (Martin 53) Nonetheless most of the English privateer boats could fire off shots three times faster than Spanish ones. They also could carry more cannons because they didn’t have to waste much space carrying food and other resources since the battles happened just miles off their home coast. While the Spanish intended to pull alongside with grappling hooks and send soldiers on board to capture the ship, English ships were too nimble to be caught in this way by the large Spanish galleons, with wide hulls and heavy cargoes. (Anderson 24) After suffering small losses in the battle that unfolded in the English Channel the Armada moved on with the plan. The Armada was to sail to the Netherlands on the coast near Dunkirk. At the time the Netherlands was under Spanish control, and the vast majority of Spain’s most trained soldiers were stationed there. Spanish troops in the Netherlands were under the command of the Duke of Parma, a well-known and respected military leader but also the nephew of King Philip II himself. In the next stage of the king’s plan, the Armada was to pick up Parma’s Army from the beaches near Dunkirk, and escort them across the channel to England. Anderson 26) This stage had a problem; Spanish ships were not made for shallow water. They were heavy and deep in the water. The Armada could not get close to the beaches because the waters around the coast were so shallow. In addition, the Dutch rebels aided by Elizabeth controlled the shallow waters off the coast of the Netherlands. This ruined the possibility of Parma’s troops being able to sail out and join the Armada without severe casu alties. Realizing this, the English took advantage of the wind, and sent eight small burning ships directly at the Armada in hope of causing chaos. The Spanish mistaking these for â€Å"hellburners†, vessels loaded with gunpowder and other explosives that could kill thousands, broke formation, cut their anchors, and sailed away without picking up Parma’s troops. (Anderson 27) These two occurrences during battles helped lead to English victory, but both occurrences could’ve gone either way if simple things like nimble and smaller ships were used by the Spanish or if Parma’s Army was picked up at a different location. The outcome of the entire invasion could have been different. After Phillip’s Armada failed, he said â€Å"I sent my Armada against men, not God’s winds and waves†. It wasn’t privateer long-range cannons that sunk most of the Armada’s ships, or those eight hell burners sent by Charles Howard, leader of the English fleet. It was a combination of bad decisions, strong winds, and the unforgiving coast of Ireland. By August 21, 3,000 men were sick and the Armada was too badly damaged to return to the channel and fight the English fleet. (Anderson 32) The leaders made up their mind and decided instead to make an attempt to sale home to Spain and save as many ships as they could. The route they chose was to go West around the northern coast of Scotland and Ireland. Detailed directions were given to each vessel, and each was warned â€Å"take great heed lest you fall upon the island of Ireland, for fear of the harm that may happen on to you upon that coast†. (Anderson 32) This last desperate attempt was the worst decision of the entire voyage. Both the vessels and the sailors had come equipped with instruments for a coastal voyage through the English Channel, not an open ocean journey into dangerous and unfamiliar waters. In the end, two thirds of the men in the Spanish fleet lost their lives, 25 or more Spanish ships lay splintered on the coast of Ireland. (Anderson 32) If equipped with the proper instruments and blessed with better weather, the Spanish may have made it back to their homeland with minimal casualties. When word of the disaster reached Spain, it crushed the King’s hope and temporarily shook his faith that God was on his side. He ordered that prayers for the Armada’s success be canceled. He also sent letters to bishops asking for churches to thank God that not everything had been destroyed. Only months earlier when planning the invasion, Philip had wondered whether the Armada should be launched in the winter. Although the risk was high, he had the up most trust that God would provide good weather, and he even went as far as to say â€Å"since it is all for His cause, God will send good weather†. (â€Å"Spanish Armada†) Philip had sent his fleet in the name of God, but instead sheer chance had prevailed, and left the weather-tossed Armada splintered and trashed on the rocky coast of Ireland. King Philip II was one of the most powerful people in the world, and the loss of his Armada wasn’t just a military defeat. It drained all of Spain’s funds and soldiers and set the stage for the loss of Spain’s world power. It also served as a constant reminder of how the Catholic Church was slowly losing influence and power throughout Europe and the world. The serendipitous event of the English victory over the Armada changed the balance of world power. It would have never been possible without happenstance occurrences like, death, weather, and new naval designs and strategies.

Essay on “Accounting Analysis”

Essay on â€Å"Accounting Analysis† The liquidity of any firm is its capability to meet all of its short term obligations as and when they become due. In general, it is the firms overall solvency and the financial standing that allows it to pay the bills as they are due. Since, the most common reason for financial distress of any firm stems from a poor liquidity position, firms must pay utmost attention to their own liquidity. This is also because; these ratios provide a quick overview regarding the overall position of their cash-flows and even the impending failure of their business. Working Capital Management As an investor, one should pay careful attention to the liquidity position of the business. The working capital ratio has been relatively poor at a negative figure of 0.08 for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. This indicates that the firm has an increasing number of creditors than stocks and debtors, which mean they also, face an increased risk of facing bad debts resulting from these creditors. The position has improved slightly in the years 2010 and 2011 at -0.07. Although the figure is still negative, but they seem to have recovered some of the owed amount from the creditors. Under working capital we also have the debtor days, which is the number of days within which the Wm Morrison Supermarket repays their debts which stood at only 4.41 days in 2007. This had increase to 5.6 and 6.16 days in 2008 and 2009 respectively, but had fallen to 4.76 in 2010. Again in 2011 the ratio had increased to 5.94. The most disturbing part is that the creditor’s days are at an alarmingly higher rate since the last 5 years; throughout 2007 to 2011. The creditor’s day’s ratio is a useful tool that is used to evaluate the account receivable collection policy of any business organization. In this case, Wm Morrison Supermarket seems to lack a proper policy since, the creditor’s day stood at 43.97 days in 2007 compared to debtor’s day of a mere 4.41 days in 2007. In 2011, the creditor’s days stood at 42.39 days in contrast to debtor’s days of 5.94 days. The situation did not improve much and the decrease in the debtors days in almost negligible. The high level of collection days may indicate extremely poor performance of the collection department of the supermarket. However, in some cases businesses may intentionally increase the credit collection time to fend off competition in the marketplace. The stock inventory days measures the amount of time it takes to convert existing stocks into sales which stood at 11.24 days. The stock inventory days differ from one industry to another, and generally a higher inventory day for a supermarket is not uncommon. So investors should not be concerned much about this. The primary concern for the potential investors in the high level of creditors and also the creditor’s days; which may indicate that the supermarket is failing to collect its due amount diligently. Liquidity and efficiency ratios Maintaining a healthy level of liquidity is extremely crucial for any business. The first ratio used for measuring the liquidity of Wm Morrison Supermarket is the current ratio. The current ratio measure the firm’s relatively amount of current assets and current liabilities. As a general rule the current ratio of 2 is deemed to be more acceptable, however, Wm Morrison supermarket had a current ratio of just 0.41 in 2007. The current ratio had increased slightly in the years 2008 and 2009 at 0.49 and 0.53 percent respectively. However, it fell to 0.51 in 2010 and then increased by a small amount in 2011 at 0.55. Although, in 2011 it has the highest current ration over the past 5 years, it is still underperforming compared to industry standards. The current liability, especially creditors has stayed at an increasingly high rate for the last five years. This high level of creditors is possibly restricting the increase of the current ratio. The quick or acid test ratio shows the liquidity of the firm excluding the stocks. In this case, the standard quick ratio is around 1, but again the quick ratio of the Wm Morrison supermarket is quite low. In the year 2007, the quick ratio of the company stood at around 0.21 only and in 2008 and 2009 it had increased to 0.25 and 0.29 respectively. But in the years 2010 and 2011 is had stayed constant at 0.24. This means that the company is not making significant investments in stocks at well but the number of creditors is increasing constantly over the past 5 years. Investors must be cautious while analyzing the liquidity position. A company that fails to recover its debts in 5 years is exposed to an increased risk of making bad debts which may propel the company into a major liquidity crisis. The company should take immediate steps to recover their debts if they want to avoid a liquidity disaster, which will also fend off good investors. Both the working capital and liquidity and efficiency ratios are vital to scrutinize before making an investment. In the case of Wm Morrison supermarket, the working capital and the liquidity positions are both quite volatile. Both the quick ratio and the current ratios are significantly lower than the acceptable standards. Therefore, investing in Wm Morrison supermarket will be extremely risky for any investor. However, the asset turnover ratio of the company stood at around 1.89 in the year 2007. The asset turnover ratio shows the amount of sales generated by 1 dollar of asset. This ratio has increased steadily over the last five years which is a positive sign. Every dollar worth of asset has generated 2.06 of sales. Apart from this the gross profit and the net profit margin of the company is also increasing. Therefore, the investors may face a tough choice in deciding whether to invest or not. Overall the ratios provided, show poor performance of the Wm Morrison supermarket and investing in their company seems quite risky, but the profit ratios seem to be increasing over the last couple of years.