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Introduction
The word theory is a common term used in different fields and at different occasions to mean almost the same thing. Though different words may be used to help conceptualize what constitutes a theory, the central idea is that a theory is a tool that helps deduce why things are the way they are. I this paper, I will discuss the general definition of a theory, and then the nature and the different basic types of theory, the various views of what constitutes a theory and lastly, what distinguishes a theory from related concepts such as hypothesis, paradigm, model, and concept.

Nature and types of theory
Nature of Theory
As said earlier, theories are tools that aid human understanding about a particular subject matter. As such, a theory, though may not be scientifically verifiable is relied upon to produce logicality about a phenomenon of interest no matter how complex it may be or seem. Here we deduce that a theory abstract rather than perfectly realistic in nature.

A theory is syntactic in nature. That implies that it only becomes meaningful when given a semantic component or when applied to some content. Besides, theories are mainly expressed in some natural language though are mostly constructed in such a way that they can be modified to fit in explaining a variety of phenomena. Theories can also be expressed mathematically or symbolically as long as they follow the principles of logic and rational thought (Stam, 2009).

Apparently, a theory is majorly constructed by a set of sentences consisting of ‘true’ statements though the truth of any one of these statements is always about the whole theory. Therefore, the same statement may be true with respect to one theory, and not true with respect to another. For instance, a literary theory like “He is a good person” can only be proven to be true by first seeking the truth about the ‘He’ character. Two theories are said to have the same explanatory power if they can make same predictions. Such a pair of theories is called indistinguishable or observationally equivalent theories (Zima, 2012).

Types of theory
There are many kinds of theories. However, they all can be classified into two main categories namely scientific and philosophical.

Philosophical Theories
This class consists of theories whose subject and conclusions are not founded on empirical data, but rather on a person’s ideas. That implies that many elementary philosophical theories are just perceptive statements whose truthfulness cannot be scientifically tested. Examples of relevant philosophical theories include the following:

Meta-theory
Meta-theory is a type of philosophical theory whose subject matter is another theory. In other words, meta-theory is a theory about a theory (Stam, 2009).

Political theories
This theory is another type of philosophical theory political theory which tries to explain how the law and government are. Many times, “political theory” points to a general view, or political belief and attitudes about politics (Gelso, 2006).

Scientific Theories
Unlike philosophical theories, scientific theories attempt to explain the why of natural phenomena and processes by the use of well-substantiated evidence. As such, a scientific theory explains an aspect of the natural world using scientific theories such as repeated tests and experimentation. A mathematical theory such as the Newton’s Theory of Gravity is an example of a scientific theory. Among other examples of scientific theories include Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Mendeleev’s theory of the Periodic Table (Zima, 2012).

What constitutes a theory?
According to Gelso, (2006), a theory can be speculative of scientific. As such, it can be used to inform hard facts or general facts about a phenomenon of interest. Corvellec (2013), says that a theory can be mathematical or literary. It can be used to explain how some mathematical formulas came into being or why some people behave the way they do.

Key characteristics of a whistleblower
The verb whistle-blowing refers to revealing the hidden actions of another individual or groups of people (mostly executives) of a company for wrong actions they perpetrate in the dark. A whistleblower is thus any person who exposes any information regarding illegal activity dishonesty, or correct activities within an organization. In many cases, whistleblowers are employees or ex-employee of a company (Green, 2004).. Among the essential characteristics of whistleblowers is that they are altruistically motivated. They do their actions to expose the truth so that a person suffering unfairly may get saved. Secondly, they are utilitarian. They serve to be useful rather than attractive. Thirdly, they are not interested in altering their behavior. They do what they do because they believe it’s the appropriate course. They, therefore, allow their attitudes and beliefs to drive them. In many cases, whistleblowers are well educated as only people with such wisdom can manage what they do. They are also aware that what they do is prone to danger and severe retaliation (Green, 2004).

Instance of whistleblowing
On the 11th of March 2016, two former students of Bard College revealed that the college officials were violating the False Claims Act that regards the federal grants and that which stipulates the use of Title IV student aid funds. These two whistleblowers had researched and found that Bard has for long received funds through the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program though they the college has not yet complied with the conditions of such grant. Bard was also allegedly reported to be awarding, disbursing and receiving Title IV student loan funds at campus locations though such were not yet recognized. They also did so without providing notice of the locations to the Department of Education. Such actions showed an infringement of applicable regulations and agreement with the Department of Education. The case is still not solved and until the Court decides the fate of the culprits, the effect of the whistle-blowing to the whistleblower and the institution’s heads may not be determined. However, the prospective effects might be the jailing or fining of the Bard College heads. More so, the court might decide to demote them. The whistleblower might face threats from those persons that they exposed (Newman 2016).

Justification of the whistleblowers’ reporting

In any case, the actions of the whistleblowers were justified. Any publically traded company or any government institution represents is there to serve the people rather than inflict pain or take the public’s money without their consent. The government takes a lot of taxes from the public which it uses to pay for the services of workers of public institutions. It is thus wrong for these few individuals to grab or siphon the money once more from the public funds. As a matter of facts, it’s only the whistleblowers who might find out such actions as perpetrators do it hidden. Their actions were thus justified as they saved the public from continued fraudulence (Green, 2004).

Extent to which the whistleblower would be protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was developed and passed by the U.S. Congress to guard shareholders as well as the general public from such things like accounting errors and fraudulent practices. It was also aimed at improving the accuracy of commercial disclosures (Green, 2004). Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act would protect the whistleblowers against harm by the Bard’s heads for providing information about financial fraud. However, the two had to show that an actual violation occurred. It would then protect them against retaliatory actions such as threats or discrimination.