Saturday, August 31, 2019

What Does Fitzgerald Establish in the Opening of the Great Gatsby?

What does Fitzgerald establish in this opening? In the opening of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald establishes to readers that the book will be narrated by a man who supposedly ‘reserve[s] all judgments’.Through Nick, Fitzgerald establishes the hypocrisy and possible unreliability of the narrator – he makes judgments despite claiming that he ‘reserves’ them (saying ‘the intimate revelations of young men’ are ‘plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions’); the ambivalence of the narrator (and consequently the reader) towards life in the East, for which he has both an ‘unaffected scorn’ and fascination; and ultimately how the ‘foul dust’ that surrounded Gatsby, and indeed the American dream has diminished the ‘infinite hope’ of humanity to come to nothing.Fitzgerald immediately establishes that Nick is a privileged person, who has had ‘advantages’ that other people did not. He was educated at Yale, and as such he has connections to some ‘enormously rich’ people, among them being Tom and Daisy Buchanan. At the same time, however, readers are made aware that Nick chooses to ‘reserve all judgments’, which he claims has made him ‘privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men’.There are times when Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom share confidences in him, which consequently allows Nick to see both the hollowness of Daisy’s (and indirectly humanity’s) ‘sophisticat[ion]’, as well as the ‘extraordinary gift of hope’ that Gatsby possesses. This also makes readers aware of these different characteristics, and through Nick, readers can form their own judgments of the different characters. Although Nick claims to ‘reserve’ judgments, Nick makes or encourages judgments throughout the opening (‘the intimate revelations of young men†¦ are usually plagiaristic and marred by ob vious suppressions’).He boasts of his tolerance, and then immediately asserts that it has a ‘limit’, encouraging readers to question just how true his statements and claims really are. Fitzgerald establishes hypocrisy in Nick, the narrator, and forces readers to consider just how reliable he is in terms of telling his story. Throughout the book, Nick continues to make judgments about people (for example, referring to Gatsby’s partygoers as a ‘rotten crowd’), and readers must constantly ask themselves just how reliable what they read is. The theme of hope, of believing in something better, is established when Nick refers to reserving judgments. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope’ illustrates the optimism that Nick hopes he can have, that by reserving judgments he hopes someone can better themselves. Perhaps it is this ‘infinite optimism’ that keeps Nick fascinated by Gatsby, and subsequently life in the East. N ick is at first ambivalent regarding these wealthy individuals, having an ‘unaffected scorn’ for everything that Gatsby represents, but also a borderline obsession (which he untruthfully claims as ‘casual’) for the lifestyle and people.He is disgusted by the moral decay of the East, but enjoys the fast-paced lifestyle; this is accurately described by how Nick was ‘flattered to go to places with [Jordan Baker] because†¦ everyone knew her name. ’ Despite this, Nick’s optimism and hope is reflected in Gatsby, who is ‘gorgeous’ and possesses a ‘gift for hope’. This hope however ultimately comes to nothing, as Nick realizes the hollowness and immorality of life in East, and wanted the world ‘to be at a sort of moral attention forever’.This letdown links closely to Gatsby’s dream of Daisy that has gone ‘beyond everything’; Gatsby had built an ‘illusion’ that had a â⠂¬Ëœcolossal vitality’, of which Daisy had no hope of satisfying (‘no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart’). Nick states that ‘Gatsby turned out all right in the end’, yet Gatsby dies. This hints at the cynicism that Nick develops towards humanity after he sees the ‘foul dust’ that ‘floated in the wake of [Gatsby’s] dreams’ – the hollowness, the materialism, the moral decay.Daisy is eventually shown to be materialistic, and she chooses the ‘revolting’ Tom over Gatsby in a matter of minutes, causing Gatsby’s dream to fall apart irreparably. Gatsby had ‘added to his fantasies’, had poured so much into his single goal of winning Daisy, that when it was destroyed, he had nothing left to live for. Fitzgerald finishes the opening by hinting at how the people around Gatsby (the ‘foul dust’) and their actions led Nick to lo se faith in humanity and to ‘temporarily close out’ his interest in the ‘shortwinded elations of men’.In his opening, Fitzgerald establishes the questionable nature of the information transmitted to readers through Nick’s ironic statements, while also foreshadowing what is to come. The ‘intimate revelations’ and ‘scorn’ of Nick towards life in the East is overlapped with fascination, and it is ultimately established that despite his ‘tolerance’, the hollowness and immorality of the ‘foul dust’ that ‘preyed on’ Gatsby and the ‘last and greatest of human dreams’ made Nick lose faith in humanity.

Friday, August 30, 2019

China: The Advantages And Disadvantages of International Trade Essay

International trade has always been an attractive idea for merchants and businessman since time immemorial. There is always an opportunity to sell more, make more profits, increase the market share, remove seasonality fluctuations of demand and supply, increase in productivity, and of course a business or even a country learns a lot on the product development technologies and strategies from doing business with other countries or regions. Trade also leads to higher GDP, better and more choices of products for consumers, increase in competition in domestic market leads to competitive prices which is good for consumers, competition also leads to better quality in goods and services, and reduces unemployment and poverty. Thus, this leads to growth and maturing of a countries economy as a whole and also the businesses involved. Trade also leads to some problems that are not that obvious at the onset of trade. Even though trade tends to increase employment in one nation it may lead to job cuts in another. As businesses shift manufacturing for instance from richer nations to third world or developing nations, they take advantage of the cheap labor, weaker labor policies, weaker environmental policies, and support of the governments in these countries. They are able to recruit more and thus produce more for less. But this leads to job cuts in the parent rich nations. Trade also leads to job cuts in the developing and third world countries due to competition with multinationals from developed nations and also due to exposure to automation and modernization. Many businesses cannot put up with high productivity and competitive pricing of stronger businesses from richer nations and thus finally may lead to closing down of weaker businesses and unemployment in the face of competition. But we also have to realize that employment also increases through the new businesses from the richer nations. Overall there is a potential increase in employment. There is a problem of increasing income inequalities in China. As the business houses tend to take advantage of weaker policies in labor and environment, there will be environmental pollution leading to health and environmental complications; further labor discrimination leading to weaker social well-being. Businesses particularly also need to realize that protection of Intellectual property rights may not be recognized or understood or at least weak in some of the nations thus, leading to piracy, copyright violations, patents violations, product copies etc. This may well erode the competitive advantage, and the brand image of businesses. The above comments on international trade can be closely associated with the international trade involving China. China has become the manufacturing hub of the world. Substantial part of the economy of China depends on international trade. The advantages it gives for other countries to setup manufacturing plants in China is its strong government support for FDIs, Infrastructure development, cheap labor, weak environment and labor laws, new strong market reach which includes China, India, Japan, Russia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia etc, access to cheap Chinese supplier base, thus larger sales and profits, seasonality of product supply and demand can be managed (one can always sell the product in China and the markets close to it if the demand is lower in North America or Europe). US has profited considerably through trade with China. Sales of products from US have grown in popularity in China boosting US multinationals (Expanded trade with China has, in fact, been a b lessing for large U.S. multinationals like Boeing, Caterpillar, and Cargill, which had trumpeted the prospect of a massive Chinese market for American products and services. China is the world’s fastest growing market for commercial aviation, and needs billions of dollars worth of airplanes from Boeing. Its growing infrastructure has been a boon for companies like Caterpillar, which produces tractors and other heavy equipment. And it is importing billions of dollars worth of farm products, a boon to companies like Cargill. Last year, China bought $2.9 billion worth of soybeans — the top U.S. export crop to China. China also has proven to be a growing market for U.S.-made fertilizer and chemicals.). China’s benefits were as follows: its economy has been growing at a very rapid rate (for instance, China’s economy grew at an average rate of 10% per year during the period 1990-2004, the highest growth rate in the world.), the resulting increase in business activity drastically reduced poverty (China has been credited for greatly lowering the percentage of East Asian population living in poverty in a recent World Bank report â€⠀œ from 80% to 18% in a span of 20 years), created employment (Foreign investment remains a strong element in China’s rapid expansion in world trade and has been an important factor in the growth of urban jobs.), saw a large growth in cities (population: 30% urban in 1950, estimated 60% urban in 2030, 19 mega-cities > 10 million, 22 cities with 5 with 10 million, 370 cities with 1 to 5 million, 440 cities with 0.5 to 1 million), increased the technology and business exposure of domestic firms and the countries technological expertise (China has acquired some highly sophisticated production facilities through trade and also has built a number of advanced engineering plants capable of manufacturing an increasing range of sophisticated equipment, including nuclear weapons and satellites.); Making the firms and the country more competitive, increased the variety of products available to the consumers, domestic manufacturers matured and increased competition in local market (e.g. Shanghai motors), prices became competitive, Chinese suppliers matured enough to support the big multinationals (e.g. Toyota, GM) in Japan and China, trade has helped Chinese government earn huge revenues due to trade that helps to increase investment in public welfare and social infrastructure, thus increasing the overall well being of China, China is also exporting and importing to and from many countries respectively thus, it is able to manage seasonality in the supply and demand of the products involved by diverting exports (Cheap Chinese goods export to South Asian, and South East Asian markets) and switching sources of imports (Crude oil from African (e.g. Chad and Darfur), South America (e.g. Venezuela) and Middle-east (e.g. Iran) countries) as and when required, in the process China is a lso able to reduce dependence on any single country. Chinese exports is around $1216 billion (2007) to countries as US 21.0%, EU 18.1%, Hong Kong 17.0%, Japan 12.4%, ASEAN 7.2%, South Korea 4.7% (2004) while its imports is around $953.9 billion (2007) from Japan 16.8%, EU 12.4%, ASEAN 11.2%, South Korea 11.1%, US 7.9%, Russia 2.2% (2004). However, in spite of the many positives of international trade there have been less obvious problems in the form of labor discrimination (86 percent said discrimination exists in China’s employment market; 51 percent see the discrimination as serious. ; China’s employee market is woefully inefficient and small foreign companies are very well positioned to take advantage of this., even multinationals like Reebok have been found guilty of labor discrimination and of taking unfair advantage of weak labor policies. Even local firms are taking such advantages), environmental problems (State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced that 130 foreign companies did not comply with current environmental laws. In fact, many multinationals see weak environmental laws as a means for cost reduction and therefore maintain different environmental standards in China than in their home countries. Multinationals can pollute more in China mainly because of an incomplete regulation system and loose supervision with few penalties that lead to a low incentive for keeping to the environmental law.), and legal problems for firms in the areas of protection of Intellectual Property Rights in China (There is little awareness that infringement is a crime in China. Growth of new businesses has outpaced the government’s ability to regulate them). Trade has fired competition which in turn has pushed many of the multinationals and domestic firms to take advantage of limited media rights, weak labor policies and implementation, and weak environmental policies and implementation (90 multinationals that have been found by the environmental protection authorities to have violated water pollution regulations since 2004, Forbes reports. General Motors, Samsung, Unilever, Pepsi and Yum Brands chains Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut are just a few of the companies on the list, according to the article.). Both the US and China has suffered job cuts. China is losing millions of manufacturing jobs due to automation and the adoption of new business systems and production techniques, according to The Conference Board in New York. Between 1995 and 2002, 15 million manufacturing jobs were lost in China, or about 15 percent of the total manufacturing workforce, The Conference Board found after working with China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Manufacturing employment in China fell from 98 million in 1995 to 83 million in 2002. By comparison, the United States now has 14.5 million workers in the manufacturing sector, about 3 million less than in 1999. Trade does have enormous benefits but not without some corrections required and some inevitable losses in the form of job cuts. The job cuts can be corrected though with appropriate training of the unemployed to take up jobs requiring higher skills. Countries belonging to the OECD have attempted methods and policies to reduce the unemployment created through the effect of trade. Denmark for instance cut its unemployment from about 10 percent in the early 1990s to less than 5 percent now. The main ingredient for the Danish success is a system called â€Å"flexicurity,† a set of liberal policies for hiring and firing, allowing relatively frictionless adjustment to shocks caused by international trade. A generous system of carefully monitored unemployment benefits and funding for retraining displaced workers complement Denmark’s labor-market flexibility. Governments have a range of policies to expand trade while minimizing the loss of jobs. However, a complete solution to the losses from trade is inconclusive and like always not fully repairable.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

A middle class family named The Birlings Essay Example for Free

A middle class family named The Birlings Essay ? An Inspector Calls, written by J. B. Priestley, is about a middle class family named The Birlings. The Birlings lived in an up and growing industrial town in the north midlands. Set in 1912, the Birlings were happily celebrating their daughter Sheila’s engagement to a respectable businessman, Gerald Croft. However, the modest celebration turned out to be more than eventful when an unexpected inspector arrives enquiring the suicide and death of a young girl names Eva Smith. Whilst doing so, the inspector unlocks a chain of family secrets along the way. The play, in its time, proved to be very popular, and still does so today. In this play, I think that J. B. Priestley chose the characters very well. I think that what made the play so appealing is the way in which he gave each character such a strong personality. Each member of the Birling family has a unique personality and throughout the play some of the Birling family change. I do think however, that the Birlings as a whole family are quite stereotypical. The Birlings come across as a family that have wealth and seem to be quite a respected family of a high class. At the beginning of the play, the Birling family seem to be quite a closely bonded family but throughout the play this bond seems to drift apart as they recognise their differences. The family consists of four very unique and exciting individuals: Arthur Birling- A very self-obsessed, wealthy business man, also very self-opinionated. The perfect example of an old snob. Obviously very proud of his achievements in life, but with his heart set on a knighthood which would be his ultimate achievement. Sybil Birling- Considers herself high in regard to social standings, largely on the back of her husbands’ success and wealth. Possibly a ‘Hyacinth Bucket’ of her time. A very unlikeable woman who sees lots of people as being beneath her. Sheila Birling- comes across as a very polite and obedient woman, looking forward to her engagement to Gerald Croft. However, as the play goes on, Sheila begins to realise the truth about herself and the Birling family, and begins to stand up against them. Eric Birling-Quite an enclosed person. Eric’s personality is hard to detect. He seems to be the outcast of the family, and the family do not discover until later on in the play that Eric is in fact a heavy drinker and was to father a illegitimate child. A typical wealthy young man of the day. A middle class family named The Birlings. (2017, Nov 07).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

How did the industrial revolution that happend after the civil war in Essay

How did the industrial revolution that happend after the civil war in america changed the social,political, economic and philosophical system in the country - Essay Example The consecutive growth periods increased standard of living and led to urbanization and mechanization across USA. The nation emerged as a technologically advanced country with sound economy on strong grounds. Subsequently, USA was able to reestablish its military power and emerged as a super power in the international community having considerable influence on world politics and decision-making. Indeed, the social shift became evident because African – Americans migrated from rural areas to urban neighborhoods and formed new colonies. They received more power and basic rights after constitutional amendments and abolishment of certain slavery laws. Indeed, the people poor minority group provided education and greater participation in US politics. (Martin et al) and (Mokyr,

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Rhetoric and Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rhetoric and Stereotypes - Essay Example Starting with politicians, it should be mentioned that in the book Critical Thinking (8th edition) by B. N. Moore and R. Parker, all the interesting and humorous political references were Republicans or conservatives. Stereotypes associated with politicians are frequent cheating and lying. Politicians often use proverbs in their rhetoric to illustrate the positive qualities of their ideas and to lend authority and expressiveness to speeches and writing (Mieder, 1997). For instance, Adolf Hitler used proverbs in his infamous treatise Mein Kampf. Hitler outlined the goals of National Socialism through proverbs and especially used proverbial expressions when he spoke out against Jews and Communists, picking up phrases from the Bible and religious traditions to illustrate complete hate and anger against many social groups. Winston Churchill read Mein Kampf in translation and saw through Hitler’s use of proverbs into the heart of evil. Churchill turned the tables on Hitler’s rhetoric and used proverbs himself to raise emotions among the Allies. In many of his famous speeches, Churchill used proverbs to sway his listeners to action (Mieder, 1997, pp. 5-6). Politicians learn early in their careers to use the powers of rhetoric to convince people emotionally and spiritually so they can get their ideas implemented. The next group this essay surveys is tattooed persons. At first it should be mentioned that the tattooing is an art and as such – a language by itself. So the tattooed person’s rhetoric is one extra step removed from spoken language and the tattoos are often hidden. Tattooed persons are rather talked about, not talking themselves (except through the language of art). One of the most frequent questions that a tattooed person hears, right after â€Å"Did that hurt?† is the question â€Å"Why did you do it?† This is a question that has as many answers as there are tattoos

Monday, August 26, 2019

Statical Data in a Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statical Data in a Business - Essay Example A central depot is set up, where all the detergent that is manufactured by the two plants is sent and mixed together. Following a careful investigation, the production manager established that 10% of the detergent manufactured in Florida and 5% of the detergent manufactured in Texas is faulty and hence cannot be used. It is also known that when the company sells faulty products, its goodwill is tainted and the cost of replacing the faulty product is high. The production manager finds it prudent to allocate these costs reasonably between the two production facilities. This allocation requires knowledge of the probability that a particular production line will produce faulty detergent. In particular, the production manager should seek answers to the following questions: To find the solution to this problem, a probability function is constructed, whereby, F stands for the event that a unit of detergent is faulty. In other words, the production manager is aware of the following? It is by now known that 40% of the detergent is produced by Florida plant and 60% from Texas. As such, P (Florida) = 0.40 and P (Texas) = 0.6. Using Bayes’ Theorem, the following probability from each production line is presented: These probabilities imply that 57.14% of the faulty cost should be assigned to the Florida plant and 42.86% assigned to the Texas plant. It is notable that P (F) represents the probability of the faulty detergent. This probability can be represented as follows: The production manager has applied Bayes’ theorem to craft a fair method of allocation cost that is associated with production of defective products between the two production facilities (Peebles, 1993). Although the production manager was not certain of the exact cost that comes from each plant, the probabilities have been formed devoid of bias. Therefore, the company will be more decisive when allocating these costs between

Gender Socialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender Socialization - Essay Example According to Shedko (n.d.), gender roles are defined as a set of behavioral norms which are associated with males and females in a given society (p. 82). To understand gender roles, we must evaluate the three types of societies that are found in the current world which include the traditional society, modern society and the cross-cultural society. Gender roles involves a complex process that involves a sequence of norms, social rules and other values that are attached with that gender. Deviation from the same has serious consequences especially in the traditionally set societies. The models of gender role that have been developed to help understand the topic include the total role segregation model and the model of total integration of roles. Gender socialization, on the other hand, involves the gradual process of learning the behavior and attitudes that are considered appropriate for a given sex. However, it is important to note that the behaviors and attitudes are not fixed and they may be varying from one society to the other. The expectations that are tied to the given behaviors keep on changing. Considering the research that has been done on the topic, the people interviewed express their view that the two genders should have different gender roles. On top of that, they feel that the two should be treated differently. This is a common experience in many societies where the boys and the girls will even have different rooms that are equipped differently and the boys are accorded different duties and responsibilities compared to the ones that are given to the girls. Gender stereotypes are created in this manner.  

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Understanding developments 2- international relation Essay

Understanding developments 2- international relation - Essay Example This means that these countries are poor countries which need either the microfinance or the social protection policies to better their lives. This paper is going to compare, with evidence, ways in which microfinance and social protection policies have achieved poverty alleviation and secured more livelihoods. Furthermore, this paper is going to aptly decide which of the two methods is efficient in its attempt at poverty alleviation and creation of secured livelihoods. Microfinance has done a lot to reduce poverty in the global south since it has reached even the poorest of them all. This is because microfinance, unlike streamline banks do not see peasants as not worthy for credit and has put rules that do not favor the poor thus microfinance comes in. an example is in Bangladesh where poverty was rife until one of their own called Muhammad yunus developed the classical grameen model, what is today called the microfinance in the 1970. He decided to give small loans to a group of five people and it grew and become a significant poverty reduction tool in the world. As per now south and east Asia have the most striking poverty reductions in the world (Wood, Malik, & Sagheer, 2006, 14). Secondly, microfinance has enabled the global south population to become self employed since jobs are scarce. By doing this they in turn create employment for other people and this better eradicates poverty. An example is India whose about 70% of its population is poor and depend on farming. These farmers have all along been excluded from loans that would help them involved in large scale farming. Now with the help of microfinance, India has seen a striking reduction rate in poverty since peasant farmers can now access loans, better manage themselves and build assets. Thirdly, in the global south women have a lower percentage of education and are thus not empowered especially in the Middle East. In fact according to World Bank, Middle East as a

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Collapse of Lehman Brothers Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Collapse of Lehman Brothers - Term Paper Example The company was experiencing a mass exit by clients, dramatic fall in stock value and asset devaluation. Their bid for bankruptcy protection was the largest in the world history. Corporate Malfeasance Corporate malfeasance is a legal concept that denotes the art of falsely manipulating accounts such that the financial position of a company appears stable and progressive. Following their collapse, top executives of former corporate giants, such as WorldCom, Enron and AIG, faced civil suits and criminal charges with allegations of corporate malfeasance. Corporate malfeasance was one of the leading causes for the collapse of Lehman in light of the financial crisis of the late 2000. James Cramer calls the Lehman’s malfeasance case ‘financial engineering’ (Cramer 2). He believes that with the knowledge of top officials, CFOs and CEO Dick Fuld, the accounting department manipulated the financial records in a bid to make the company appear more venerable to attract inves tors and retain clients. Lehman’s financial engineering had gone on for a few years amid growing worries among top officials that the company was over-leveraged. The advice of chief financial officers and other top officials spearheaded the ‘financial engineering’ gimmick through counterfeit records to hide Lehman’s vulnerability to collapse (Taibbi 98). Sources retrieved from the Wall Street Journal indicate that CEO Fuld was aware of the imminent collapse. He was manipulated by a clique of shadowy bankers and top investors who wanted to be overnight billionaires by urging him to make money-losing decisions. Corporate malfeasance did not go far. The truth eventually emerged and Lehman’s estimated $619 billion debt was exposed. This was after the audit report of a court-appointed financial examiner was released. Fuld had admitted in writing that he had commissioned the financial engineering gimmick as a systematic ploy of buying the company more tim e. This was by creating â€Å"a materially misleading picture of the firm’s financial condition in late 2007 to 2008† (Cramer 2). Lehman’s accounting gimmick dubbed ‘repo 105’ allowed the sale of company securities through a signed obligation to re-purchase them after a while so that they can do so at a lower price. This would temporarily remove such asset securities from the balance sheet. Likewise, the untimely sale of securities allowed the influx of liquid cash into the bank thus effectively lowering financial coverage ratios. These subtle and corrupt financial gimmicks were done behind closed doors keeping investors and other stakeholders in the oblivion (Sorkin 8). The US Housing/ Subprime Mortgage Crisis Economic experts link Lehman’s predicament to the bursting the housing or real estate market bubble in the U.S in the summer of 2008. The untimely subprime mortgage crisis was another leading cause for the collapse of Lehman Brothers I nc. In 2007, the real estate market in the U.S had registered a remarkable progress amid the housing bubble. Housing prices soared, reached the elastic limit and Wall Street began to experience a huge increase in home foreclosure rates and equally high subprime mortgage delinquencies. Subsequently, securities backed by mortgages declined significantly. The steep decline made re-financing very difficult.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Artificial Heart, History and Function Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Artificial Heart, History and Function - Essay Example Artificial Heart, History and Function This prompted Dayton of Ohio to develop a polymer that would be accepted by the body of a human being. July 3, 1952, a successful heart surgery was done by use of the mechanical heart acting as a substitute during the operations. That was at the Harper University Hospital, Wayne State University in Michigan, USA. A machine called Dodrill-GMR was used during the operation’s success. The doctor’s in operation, Dr. Forest Dewey Dodrill and Dr. Matthew Dudley noted that this was the first operation that an artificial machine had fully replaced the functions of the heart during an operation. This discovery did set the pace for other inventions and experiments in the same field. In 1949, Yale school doctors, William Glenn and William Sewell made a pre cursor to this artificial heart-pump that was seen to bypass the heart of a dog for more than one hour. Many other inventions have followed since these discoveries were made. This created discoveries both in the USA and in other places all over the world leading to the now fully functional artificial heart. Patients eligible for receiving these hearts are those whose hearts are on the verge of collapsing due to a collection of problems associated with heart failures. The main disadvantage of these hearts is that they do not operate like the natural hearts where they have to be powered making the user to lack ability to continue with active life.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Liberal Reforms Essay Example for Free

Liberal Reforms Essay By the early twentieth century the Liberal Government was worried that Britain’s military capability and general military power was not as strong and it once was. Therefore, the Government’s concern over national security definitely influenced the decision for the reforms. However, there are three main factors that also need to be taken into account when deciding if concern over national security was the real reason for the reforms: the Social reasons, concerns for Britain’s Empire and the Political motive. The Social reasons played a large part in persuading the Liberals to reform. The detailed reports of Booth and Rowntree, and the evidence which was brought to light, highlighted that nearly a 1/3 of Britain’s population lived in poverty. This needed to be addressed by the Government. In addition, criticisms of the Poor Law effectively put pressure on the Liberals. The Boer War shone light on the ineffective and malnourished British Army. Britain’s embarrassing performance and recruitment in the War raised concerns over Britain’s overall military capability and the general health of Britain’s populace. In addition to this, the Liberal Government was concerned that Britain was losing its status as a major industrial power. Political motives for reform include the changing attitudes within the party, New Liberalism, the fear of the ever increasing popularity of the Labour Party and the party advantage which the Liberals would have received from introducing reform. In 1899, Britain became involved in a war, known as the Boer War, in South Africa, which was part of the British Empire at that time. As a result of Britain having a relatively small army, volunteer recruits were needed to increase the army size. However, the British Government became alarmed when almost 25% of the volunteers were rejected because there were physically unfit to serve in the armed forces. This figure was even higher among volunteers from the industrial cities. Politicians and the public alike began to ask if Britain could survive a war, or protect its empire against a far stronger enemy than the South African Boers, if the nation’s fighting stock of young men were so unhealthy. The national reforms introduced a variety of bills which would hopefully solve this problem. The 1906 Bill was passed, allowing local authorities to provide school meals to children. In 1914 this was extended to becoming compulsory to offer school meals. This bill meant that poorer children, who previously could not afford a proper nutritious meal, were now receiving regular, healthy food. This would hopefully improve the health of Britain’s army as in the long term, the children who would eventually make up Britain’s army, would be nourished, fit and able to serve their country. The 1907 Bill made the medical inspection of schools compulsory. Doctors had to the Board of Education on their findings which resulted in the introduction of the 1912 bill which saw to the establishment of school clinics. The improved lifestyle and eating habits of Britain’s youngsters, combined with the introduction of medial inspections for them were the result of the Liberal reforms. Therefore, the Liberals concern over national security played a major role in achieving reform which would effectively benefit the country as a whole. However, there are still other reasons which influenced the Government’s choice to reform. Through the Poor Law of 1845 (1834 in England), local rate-payers provided â€Å"poor relief† for destitute people. This help was often provided in a poorhouse. Conditions in these poorhouses were designed to be very harsh indeed. Conditions in poorhouses were extremely harsh because it was to deter people who were just lazy and thought of the poorhouses as the â€Å"easy option†. Glasgow had three poorhouses: One in the city centre, Barhill in Springburn and Govan. The percentage of the public relying on the Poor Law relief, by 1900, was 2. 5%. This may seem very little but this figure does not represent the number of people in Britain who were in poverty. Destitute people who accepted help from the Poor Law became â€Å"paupers† and automatically lost many civil rights such as the right to vote. By 1900 many critics of the Poor Law believed that it failed to deal with poverty adequately. In addition to criticism of the Poor Law, the evidence discovered from both Booth and Rowntree’s studies concluded that there was a large percentage of Britain’s population living in poverty. Charles Booth, a London businessman who doubted the claims of socialist that a quarter of the population lived in extreme poverty. Working with a team of researchers from 1886-1903, Booth’s work was based on hard, statistical facts, and not opinion. His book, â€Å"The Life and Labour of the people of London†, consisting of 17 volumes, showed that 25% of London’s population lived in extreme poverty. Much more than the socialists claimed. The second investigation into poverty was carried out by Seebohm Rowntree, in the city of York. After two years of research, he published a book in 1901 which showed that almost 30% of York’s population lived in extreme poverty. If York had such poverty problems as a â€Å"typical English city† then as did other cities in Britain. The reports of Booth and Rowntree produced solid evidence to suggest that sections of society-regardless of hard work- would never pull themselves out of poverty. The reports showed poverty to have causes and the cities were beyond the individual efforts of the poor. The concept of â€Å"deserving poor†, an ideal created by Rowntree, was important and took root, becoming an important theme of the Liberal Reforms. Finally, evidence which suggested that the scale of poverty in Britain was much larger than the figure of 2. 5% suggested by Poor Law Records, indicated to politicians that the Poor Law was not working. When the Liberals came to power they had a majority of 400. In the elections in 1910 this majority dropped to 2. The Labour Party threatened the Liberals hold onto power. Labour promised pensions, action against unemployment and other welfare reforms. Following voting reform from 1980 the majority of voters were working class. Liberals worried that Labour would win working class support and threaten the position of the Liberals. In 1900, the Labour Party formed with 2 seats in parliament, by the 1905 election, Labour had increased this to 29 sears. It was becoming more increasingly aware that the Labour Party was a direct threat to the Liberals. In 1907 the Liberals lost 2 ‘safe’ seats in Jarrow and Colne Valley to Labour. David Lloyd George recognised the need for welfare reforms for political survival and to maintain working class support. In addition to the fear of the Labour Party, the Liberals also faced the problem of trade unionism and radical socialism. Radical Socialism called for the destruction of capitalism. From 1910-14, there was a wave of miners’ and dockers’ strikes. Liberals realised welfare reforms could prevent political unrest. Historians argue that the sudden increase in the Labour Party’s popularity and the problems the Liberals faced regarding trade unionism and radical socialism persuaded the Liberals to introduce pensions the next year, and furthermore, encourage the Liberals to reform. Before 1905, many Liberals believed in ‘Lassiez-faire’. However, new groups in the party believed that it was the duty of the Government to take action to help Britain’s poorer citizens. This group was called â€Å"new liberals†. It included David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. Churchill aimed â€Å"to draw a line below which we will not allow people to live and labour. † The Liberals, wanted to help the deserving poor out of social conscience but they recognised the political advantages it could bring too. The Labour Party was offering such reforms that would bring them political success. This could be soon through their increased popularity. Therefore it is likely that the Liberals reformed due to the pressure put on them by the ideal of New Liberalism. In conclusion, the Liberal reforms came about as the result of many influences from both different areas of the Government and the public. On one hand, the embarrassing performance by the British army in South Africa and the lack of able volunteers to increase Britain’s army’s capability was definitely a main influence why the Liberals introduced the reforms when they did. On the other hand however, the evidence brought to light by Rowntree and Booth cannot be disregarded as not being an influence to the introduction of these reforms. In addition, other factors such as the Liberal’s fear of losing votes to the new Labour Party and the political readiness to pass reforms influenced by new ideas about New Liberalism made the reforms a more pressing necessity. Overall, it cannot be seen that concern over national security was the only reason for the Liberal reforms, as there were other influences which encouraged the Governments decision.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Simplifying Expressions Essay Example for Free

Simplifying Expressions Essay Include in this paper I have demonstrated the following solutions for the three problems listed below. Using th given vocabulary words I have broken down each problem using the proper steps in solving the algebraic expressions. Also shown will be what is important about real numbers and in what way they are useful in using real numbers in solving algebraic expressions. By breaking down the equation you can simplify the equation down to lowest terms. Gathering the like terms in the equation is a step in breaking down the expression correctly. Take the coefficient and multiply it by the variable. The distributive property in the expression is the letters in the expression. When solving a algebraic expression you always remove the parenthesis first. A. )2a(-5 + a) + 4(a + -5) Simplify the terms (-5 * 2a + a * 2a) + 4(a + -5) (-10a + 2a2) + 4(a + -5) -10a + 2a2 + 4(-5 + a)Reorder the terms -10a + 2a2 + (-5 * 4 + a * 4) -10a + 2a2 + (-20 + 4a) -10a + 4a = -6a -20 + -6a + 2a2 Combine the like terms : -20 + -6a + 2a2 a = 5This is the simplified answer  a = {-2, 5} B. ) 2w – 3 + 3(w – 4) – 5(w – 6)The given expression -3 + -12 + 30 + 2w + 3w + -5w The distributive property removes the parentheses. -15 + 30 + 2w + 3w + -5w Combine the like terms 15 + 2w + 3w + -5w = 0Combine the like terms 2w + 3w = 5wCombine like terms again 15 + 5w + -5w 5w + -5w 15 + 0 15 = 0The final answer C. ) 0. 05(0. 3m + 35n) + -0. 8(-0. 09n + -22m) (0. 3m * 0. 05 + 35n * 0. 05) + -0. 8(-0. 09n + -22m) (0. 015m + 1. 75n) + -0. 8(-0. 09n + -22m) 0. 015m + 1. 75n + -0. 8(-22m + -0.09n) Reorder the terms 0. 015m + 1. 75n + (-22m * -0. 8 + -0. 09n * -0. 8) 0. 015m + 1. 75n + (17. 6m + 0. 072n) 0. 015m + 17. 60. 1034345728n m + 1. 75n + 0. 072n The distributive property removes the parentheses 0. 015m + 17. 6m = 17. 615mCombine the like terms 17. 615m + 1. 75n + 0. 072n 1. 75n + 0. 072n = 1. 822nCombine the like terms 17. 615m + 1. 822n 17. 615m + 1. 822n Solving Move all terms containing m to the left, all other terms to the right. Add -1. 822n to each side of the equation. 17.615m + 1. 822n + -1. 822n = 0 + -1. 822n Combine like terms: 1. 822n + -1. 822n = 0. 000 17. 615m + 0. 000 = 0 + -1. 822n 17. 615m = 0 + -1. 822n Remove the zero: 17. 615m = -1. 822n Divide each side by 17. 615. m = -0. 1034345728n Simplifying m = -0. 1034345728n How are the real numbers useful in solving algebraic expressions? The real number line is a graph that is used to represent the set of real numbers. Using real numbers is useful by charting them on the graph helps to solve the algebraic expression.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Performance Appraisal System

Performance Appraisal System Procedural justice and Interactional justice: Assessing employees perception of fairness of performance appraisal; an empirical study of a small manufacturing company. ABSTRACT This research identifies procedural justice and interactional justice influences on perceived fairness of performance appraisal at a small private manufacturing company located in Newcastle, UK. Distributive justice refers to the perceived fairness of procedures used to determine the appraisal ratings. Interactional justice refers to the perceived fairness of the raters interpersonal treatment of the ratee during the appraisal process. A qualitative and quantitative case study method was used to obtain an understanding of employee perceptions of the fairness of their performance appraisal. Data from both interviews with nine employees was collected along with questionnaires completed by these participants. Two hypotheses were developed. Both hypotheses were supported by research data. 1.1 Aim of the researcher The researcher will assess the relationship between perceived fairness of justice among employees of the performance appraisal system. The aim of this research is to prove through this study that level of employees satisfaction with the appraisal system is influenced by the employees perceived fairness of procedural and interactional justice of the performance appraisal session. 1.2 Introduction Performance appraisal is a process designed to evaluate, manage and ultimately improve employee performance. It should allow the employer and employee to openly discuss the expectations of the organisation and the achievements of the employee. That is, the primary emphasis is on future development of the employee within the objectives of the organisation. There is no universally accepted model of performance appraisal. However, more often than not this process is designed around the following elements: setting performance goals and objectives; measurement of performance against those goals and objectives; feedback of results; amendments to goals and objectives. Performance appraisal systems can provide organisations with valuable information to assist in the developments of organisational strategies and planning. The information gained from this process can assist: in identifying and developing future management potential; in increasing performance and overall productivity; it works towards identifying strengths and managing weaknesses; in providing clarity to employees about an organisations expectations regarding performance levels; in providing an opportunity to audit and evaluate current human resources and identify areas for future development. Managers may conduct appraisals primarily to affect employee input through the feedback process, or justify some sort of human resource action (termination, transfer, promotion etc). Jawroski and Kohli (1991) identify other benefits that can be obtained from performance appraisals. Among these benefits are increase in role clarity, performance, and job satisfaction. Given the positive returns obtained from performance appraisals, one could reasonably expect that organisations would devote considerable resource to the appraisal process. Correspondingly, it may be anticipated that managers try to make certain that the dimensions of the appraisal process are known, understood, and supported by the participants. Theres probably no management process that has been the subject of more research than the performance appraisal. At the best managed companies, the performance appraisal is no joke it is a serious business that powers the success of the organization. (Montague, 2007) It has been suggested that to enhance satisfaction, managers should consider expanding the evaluation criteria to include those criteria which are important to the employee, perhaps creating a participatory performance appraisal system. (Thomas and Bertz 1994) In fact, employee input into the process has been described as having an impact on the perceived fairness of the evaluation (Latham at el. 1993). It has been stated that the opinions of employees, as they pertain to the appraisal system, may be greater determinant of the systems effectiveness than the validity or reliability of the system itself (Wanguri 1995). As stated by Thomas and Bretz (1994) without a sense of ownership, both managers and employees may view the process with fear and loathing. Thus, they contend that a major concern in the evaluation process is an acceptance of the system by those employees being evaluated. To this end, if employees believe they are evaluated based upon inappropriate criteria, it would fol low that their commitment to and satisfaction with the organisation supporting this particular evaluation system would be correspondingly reduced. Academic background 2.1 The social context of performance appraisal Levy Williams (2002) argue that identifying, measuring, and defining the organizational context in which appraisal takes place is integral to truly understanding and developing effective performance appraisals. Further, it is believed that this has been the framework driving the performance appraisal research since about the 1990 and into the beginning of the 21st century. Whether it is discussed as the social-psychological process of performance appraisal (Murphy Cleveland, 1991), the social context of performance appraisal (Ferris, Judge, Rowland, Fitzgibbons, 1994) the social milieu of performance appraisal (Ilgen at al. 1993), performance appraisal from the organisational side (Levy Steelman, 1997) the games that rates and rates play (Kozlowski, Chao Morrison, 1998), or the dues process approach to performance appraisal (Folger, Konovsky Cropanzao, 1998) it is argued along with other scholars that performance appraisal takes place in a social contact and the context plays a major role in the effectiveness of the appraisal process and how participants react to the process (Farr Levy, 2004). It has been suggested elsewhere that research over the last 10 years has moved noticeable away from a limited psychometric scope and toward an emphasis on variables that compose the social context (Fletcher, 2001). Distal factors Levy Williams (2002) definition of distal variables is generally consistent with Murphy and Cleveland (1995). Specifically, distal variables are broadly construed as contextual factors that affect many human resource systems, including performance appraisal. In other words, distal variables are not necessarily related to performance appraisal, but they may have unique effects on the performance appraisal process that are useful to understand and consider. Distal factors include but are not limited to organisational climate and culture, organisational goals, human resource strategies, external factors, technological advances, and workforce composition. Levy Williams (2002) believe these factors have an effect on rater and rate behaviour, although not directly. For instance, an organisation that espouses a continuous learning culture may structure and implement a very different type of performance appraisal system than an organisation without such a culture. A review of the performance appraisal literature over the last 7-10 years reveals little systematic empirical work on the distal variables other than some studies on culture, climate and technology issues (see, e.g. Hebert Vorauer, 2003). While this is at some levels disappointing, it is rather understandable. First, there is little theory specific to performance appraisal to methodically guide this level of research. Second, the breadth of the constructs Levy Williams (2002) construe as distal make it difficult to measure and implement within the research setting. Third, given the distal nature of these factors, their direct effects on performance appraisal behaviour may be small. Perhaps closer examination of the relationships between distal and proximal relationships would prove more fruitful. Even with the difficulties regarding this type of research, however, it is believed it will be important to continue examining these factors to fully understand the social context in which performance appraisal operates. (Levy Williams, 2002) Process proximal variables The next two section of the paper will underscore those proximal variables (both process and structural) receiving attention in the recent appraisal literature. Some researchers chose to categorize the proximal variables as either process (i.e. having a direct impact on how the appraisal process is conducted including things such as accountability or supervisor subordinate relationships), or structural (i.e. dealing with the configuration or makeup of the appraisal itself and including areas such as appraisal dimensions or frequency of appraisal). Rater issue Rater affect is one of the most studied rater variables. Although the literature has not been consistent regarding a formal definition of affect in performance appraisal (Lefkowitz, 2000), a good general definition linked to most of this research involves liking or positive regard for ones subordinate. The Affect Infusion Model (Forgas Georges, 2001) suggests that affective states impact on judgements and behaviours and, in particular, affect or mood plays a large role when tasks require a degree of constructive processing. For instance, in performance appraisal, raters in good moods tend to recall more positive information from memory and appraise performance positively. Consistent with the Affect Infusion Model, a few recent studies have examined the role of mood or affect in performance appraisal. Lefkowitz (2000) reported that affective regard is related frequently to higher appraisal ratings, less inclination to punish subordinates, better supervisor subordinate relationships, greater halo effect, and less accuracy. A couple of recent studies have looked at the role of similarity in personality and similarity in affects levels between raters and rates, finding similarity is related to appraisal ratings. Antonioni and Park (2001) found that affect was more strongly related to rating leniency in upward and peer ratings than it was in traditional top-down ratings and the this effect was stronger when raters had observational time with their subordinates. They concluded from this that raters pay so much attention to their positive regard for subordinates that increased observations result in noticing more specific behaviours that fit their affect-driven schema. It was also found that although affect is positively related to appraisal ratings; it is more strongly related to more subjective trait-like ratings, then to ostensibly more objective task-based ratings. Further, keeping performance diaries tended to increase the strength of that relationship between affect and performance ratings leading the authors to conclude that perhaps affect follows from subordinate performance level rather than the other way around. A second broad area related to raters that has received considerable research attention has to do with the motivation of the raters. Traditionally, research seemed to assume that raters were motivated to rate accurately. More recently, however, researchers have begun to question whether all or even most raters are truly motivated to rate accurately. One line of research related to raters motivation has focused on the role of individual differences and rating purpose on rating leniency. Most practitioners report overwhelming leniency on the part of their raters and this rating elevation has been found in empirical papers as well as surveys of organisations (Murphy Cleveland, 1995). The role of attributions in the performance appraisal process has also attracted some recent research attention. In some of these studies investigators have examined how the attributions that raters make for ratees behaviours affect their motivation to rate or their actual rating. For instance, using a traditional social psychological framework, researchers found that whether individuals opted for consoling, reprimanding, transferring, demoting, or firing a hypothetical employee depended in large part on the extent to which rater believed that the exhibited behaviour was due to ability or effort. It was found that both liking and attributions mediated relationships between reputation and reward decisions. More specifically, raters consider ratees behaviour and their reputations when drawing attributional inferences and deciding on appropriate rewards. The implications of this line of research are clear: attributional processing is an important element of the rating process and these attributions, in part, determine raters reactions and ratings. (Murphy Cleveland, 1995) A second line of research related to rater motivation has to do with rater accountability, which is the perceived potential to be evaluated by someone and being held responsible for ones decisions or behaviours (Frink Ferris, 1998) With respect to performance appraisal, accountability is typically thought of as the extent to which a rater is held answerable to someone else for his or her ratings of another employee. They concluded that accountability can result in distortions of performance ratings. It is demonstrated that raters told that ratees had been rated too low in the past responded by inflating ratings while others told that they would have to defend their ratings in writing provided more accurate ratings. In a follow up to this study it was hypothesized that the accountability pressure on raters to justify ratings may operate through an increased motivation to better prepare themselves for their rating task. This was manifested in raters paying more attention to performanc e and recording better performance-related notes. A related study looking at accountability forces in performance appraisal found that raters inflated ratings when they were motivated to avoid a negative confrontation with poor performers, but did not adjust ratings downward when good performers rated themselves unfavourably (Levy Williams 1998). Ratee issues A second major of focus of performance appraisal research consist of research centred on the performance appraisal ratee. Two areas were covered, in particular, the links between performance ratings and rewards; those elements of the performance appraisal process which increases ratees motivation such as participation. Related article argues the while pay is an important motivator along with recognition, work enjoyment , and self-motivation, very few organisations actually link the performance appraisal system to pay or compensation in a clear, tangible way (Mani, 2002). Both traditional academic research (Roberts Reed, 1996) and more practitioner-focused research (Shah Murphy, 1995) have identified the significance of participation in the appraisal process as an antecedent of ratees work motivation. It suggests that participation is simply essential to any fair and ethical appraisal system. It was identified that participation and perception of fairness as integral to employees pe rceptions of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Roberts Reed (1996) take somewhat similar track in proposing that participation, goals, and feedback impact on appraisal acceptance which affects appraisal satisfaction and finally employee motivation and productivity. Performance appraisals are no longer just about accuracy, but are about much more including development, ownership, input, perceptions of being valued, and being a part of an organisational team. Focus on reactions to the appraisal process Cardy and Dobbins (1994) arguing that perhaps the best criterion to use in evaluating performance appraisal systems was the reactions of ratees. The claim was that even the most-psychometrically-sound appraisal system would be ineffective if ratees (and raters) did not see it as fair, useful, valid, accurate, etc. Good psychometrics cannot make up for negative perceptions on the part of those involved in the system. Folger et al. (1992) define three elements that must be present to achieve higher perceptions of fairness: adequate notice, fair hearing, and judgement based on evidence. Although they identified specific interventions that should be implemented to increase due process, they cautioned that â€Å"due process mechanisms must be implemented in terms of guiding principles (i.e. designed with process goals in mind) rather than in a legalistic, mechanical, rote fashion. In general studies have found that both ratees and raters respond more favourably to fair performance appraisal systems (e.g. less emotional exhaustion, more acceptances of the feedback, more favourable reactions toward the supervisor, more favourable reactions toward the organisation, and more satisfaction with the appraisal system and the job on the part of both rater and rate) (Taylor et al. 1995, 1998). Trust issue Researchers have posited that trust is the key element in managing the supervisor employee relationship. According to Mayer and Davis (1999) trust is made up of three components: ability, benevolence, and integrity. In other words, if an employee believes a supervisor has the skills to properly appraise, has the interests of the employee at the heart, and believes the supervisor upholds standards and values, the employee is likely to trust that supervisor. Interest in understanding the processes related to trust are the result of research that support both direct and indirect effects of trust on important organisational and individual outcomes. For instance it is supported by research the relationship between trust and outcomes such as employee attitudes, cooperation, communication, and organizational citizenship behaviours. As with appraisal perceptions and reactions it is also believed that trust issues can limit the effectiveness of performance appraisal. If ratees have low level s of trust for their supervisor, they may be less satisfied with the appraisal and may not as readily accept feedback from the source. More to come 2.2 Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) performance appraisal Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) are a relatively new approach to performance evaluation. They are in effect a combination of the graphic rating scales and the critical incident method. An actual description of important job behaviour is developed and â€Å"anchored† alongside the scale. The evaluator is then asked to select the description of behaviour which best matches actual employee behaviour for the rating period. In a controlled field study, Silverman and Wexley (1984) used BARS to test the effect of rate participation on the appraisal process. BARS were developed for each of the following job classifications: clerical, non-clerical staff, technical and professional, nursing, management/supervisory. Those employees who participated in creating, and were evaluated by, the behaviourally-based scales, had a more positive reaction to the entire performance appraisal process. Specifically, they felt that the performance appraisal interviews were more useful, that their supervisors were more supportive, and that the process produced more motivation to improve job performance. BARS address many of the problems often found in traditional evaluation approaches such as the halo effect, leniency, and the central tendency error. In addition, research suggests that many employees prefer this evaluation method (Rarick Baxter, 1986) BARS are however not a panacea for management and do possess both advantages and disadvantages. According to Rarick and Baxter (1986) advantages of BARS are: clearer standards both subordinate and superior have a clearer idea of what constitutes good job performance. Ambiguity concerning expectations is reduced; more accurate measurement because individuals involved with the particular job develop the BARS instrument they have a good understanding of the requirements for good performance; better performance feedback since the BARS is based on specific behaviour it provides a guideline for improving future work performance; better consistency BARS have been shown to be more consistent in terms of reliability than more traditional e valuation methods. In other words, when more than one supervisor rates the same employee, the results are more similar when BARS is the evaluation method. Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales are, however, not without drawbacks. Disadvantages of BARS are: more costly more time and effort, and eventually more expense is involved in the construction and implementation of BARS; possible activity trap since BARS are more activity oriented, they may cause both supervisor and subordinate to become more concerned with activity performance rather than accomplishing actual results; not exhaustive behaviour scale even if the rator posses lengthy listing of behaviour examples he/she may not be able to match the observed behaviour with the stipulated anchor. As Rarick and Baxter (1986) note Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales have the potential to increase both the accuracy of employee appraisal and ultimately the effectiveness of the organization. BARS are equally useful as a judgemental instrument and as an employee developmental device. They are designed to make performance appraisal more accurate by minimising ambiguity and focusing on specific behaviour. BARS move employee performance appraisal away from the subjective opinions of the evaluator and closer towards on objective measure of true performance. 2.3 Limitations in performance appraisal The advantages and disadvantages of using performance assessment in making employment decisions are well documented (e.g. Murphy Cleveland, 1995). The limitations of performance assessment, such as inflated ratings, lack of consistency, and the politics of assessment (Tziner, Latham, Price Haccoun, 1996), often lead to their abandonment. Managers responsible for delivering performance reviews who are uncomfortable with the performance rating system may give uniformly high ratings that do not discriminate between rates. Poor ratings detract from organisational uses and increase employee mistrust in the performance appraisal system (Tziner Murphy, 1999). Employees on the receiving end of the appraisal often express dissatisfaction with both the decisions made as a result of performance assessment and the process of performance assessment (Milliman, Nason, Zhu De Cieri, 2002), which may have longitudinal effects on overall job satisfaction (Blau, 1999) and commitment (Cawley, Keepin g Levy, 1998). The extensive research on performance appraisal (Arvey Murphy, 1998: Fletcher, 2001: Fletcher Perry, 2001, Murphy Cleveland 1995) has not addressed the fundamental problems of the performance appraisal process the performance appraisal is influenced by a variety of relevant, non-performance factors such as cultural context (Latham Mann, 2006), that it does not provide either valid performance data or useful feedback to individuals (Fletcher, 2001) , or that performance appraisal instruments often measure the â€Å"wrong things† (Latham Mann, 2006). Murphy and Cleveland (1995) state that â€Å"a system that did nothing more than allow the making of correct promotion decisions would be a good system, even if the indices used to measure performance were inaccurate or measure the wrong set of constructs.† No assessment system, however, would meet with success if it did not have the support of those it assessed. In developing a new performance appraisal system it is important to use past research on performance appraisals that identified a number of factors that lead to greater acceptance of appraisals by employees. Firstly, legally sound performance appraisals should be objective and based on a job analysis, they should also be based on behaviours that relate to specific functions that are controllable by the rate, and the results of the appraisal should be communicated to the employee (Malos, 1998). Secondly, the appraisals must be perceived as fair. Procedural fairness is improved when employees participate in all aspects of the process, when there is consistency in all processes, when the assessments are free of supervisor bias, and when there is a formal channel for the employees to challenge or rebut their evaluations (Gilliland Langdon, 1998). In addition to perceptions of fairness, participation by employees in the appraisal process is related to motivation to improve job performance, satisfaction with the appraisal process, increased organisational commitment and the utility or value that the employees place on that appraisal (Cawley et al. 1998). 2.4 Blended approach Competencies To overcome the problem of job-specific performance dimensions, the performance assessment system was based on behaviourally defined core competencies (Dubois 1993; Klein 1996). The core competencies had been previously identified through an extensive process as being common to all positions; these competencies were to become the basis for training new recruits and for the continuous development of existing members (Himelfarb, 1996). Fletcher Perry (2001) stated the â€Å"the elements constituting what we normally think of as performance appraisal will increasingly be properly integrated into the human resources policies of the organisation using the same competency framework for all HR processes, linking individual objectives with team and business unit objectives framing the input of appraisal to promotion assessment in an appropriate manner, and so on† making it â€Å"more effective mechanism and less of annual ritual that appears to exist in a vacuum.† Along the s ame lines, Smither (1998) went on to note that the same competency model should guide â€Å"numerous human resource initiatives†. The competency development process used for this study followed the suggestions of Fletcher Perry (2001) and Smither (1998) and included a review of functional job analysis data for general police constables that covered a majority of the different job positions. In this sense, the competencies were blended by incorporating the values and specific attributes (Schippmann et al., 2000). A blended approach is one that couples and organisations strategy in the derivation of the broad competencies with the methodological rigor of task analysis. As Lievens, Sanchez, and De Corte (2004) note, blended approach is likely to improve the accuracy and quality of inferences made from the resulting competency model because a blended approach capitalizes on the strength of each method. Strategy is used as a frame of reference to guide subject matter experts to identify those worker attributes or competencies that are aligned with the organisations strategy and the to use the task statements to pro vide more concrete referents for the associated job behaviours (Lievens et al., 2004) 2.5 Justice of fairness The study of justice of fairness has been a topic of philosophical interest that extends back at least as far as Plato and Socrates (Ryan, 1993). In research in the organizational sciences, justice is considered to be socially constructed. That is, an act is defined as just if most individuals perceive it to be on the basis of empirical research (Cropanzao Greenberg 1997). Each approach propose a different way of conceptualizing justice, from the provision of process control (Thibaut Walker, 1975) to a focus on consistency control (Leventhal et al. 1980) and an examination of interpersonal treatment (Bies Moag, 1986). Performance appraisal systems are among the most important human resource systems in organizations insofar as the yield decisions integral to various human resource actions and outcomes (Murphy and Cleveland 1995). Reactions to appraisal and the appraisal process are believed to significantly influence the effectiveness and the overall viability of appraisal systems (Bernardin and Beatty 1984; Cardy and Dobbins 1994; Carroll and Schneier 1982, Lewer 1994), For instance. Murphy and Cleveland (1995:314) contended that â€Å"reaction criteria are almost always relevant and an unfavourable reaction may doom the most carefully constructed appraisal system†. Perceptions of fairness are important to all human resource processes, e.g., selection, performance appraisal, and compensation, and particularly so, to the performance appraisal process. Indeed, a decade ago, Cardy and Dobbins (1994:54) asserted that â€Å"with dissatisfaction and feelings of unfairness in process and inequity in evaluations, any appraisal system will be doomed to failure.† Other researchers have also acknowledged the importance of fairness to the success or failure of appraisal system (Taylor et al. 1995). 2.6 Procedural justice Procedural justice refers to the perceived fairness of the procedures used to determine appraisal outcomes (Greenberg 1986a), independent of favourability or fairness of the performance rating or its administrative consequences (Skarlicki, Ellard and Kelln 1998). Folger et. al (1992) have developed a procedural justice model for performance appraisal, rooted in the due process of law, and possessing three basic factors: adequate notice, a fair hearing and judgment based on evidence. Adequate notice involves giving employees knowledge of appraisal system and how it affects them well ahead of any formal appraisal. More specifically, it entails developing performance standards and objectives before the appraisal period commences. These standards and objectives must be well documented, clearly explained, fully understood and preferable set by mutual agreement, with employees only held accountable for standards and objectives properly communicated to them. Adequate notice also involves hi gh appraisal frequency and giving employees constant feedback on timely basis throughout the performance evaluation period, so that employees can rectify any performance deficiencies before the appraisal is conducted (Folger et al. 1992). Studies show that adequate notice is important to employee perceptions of procedural fairness. Williams and Levys (2000) study of 128 employees from three US banks revealed that system knowledge significantly predicts appraisal satisfaction and procedural fairness, controlling for the much smaller effect on organizational level. The second factor that affects employee perceptions of procedural fairness is a fair hearing. A fair hearing means several things in a performance appraisal context. These include: an opportunity to influence the evaluation decision through evidence and argument, access to the evaluation decision, and an opportunity to challenge the evaluation decision (Folger et al. 1992). Fundamentally, a fair hearing entails two-way comm unication, with employee input or voice in all aspects of the appraisal decision-making process. Several researchers have consistently found the ‘voice effects procedural justice in a variety of work contexts (Greenberg, 1986; Korsgaard and Robertson, 1995). In a study of 128 food service employees and their 23 supervisor at a large, US university, Dulebohn and Ferris (1991) found that the informal voice provided by influence tactics affected employee perceptions of fairness in the appraisal process. Two types of influence tactics were differentiated: the first on the supervisor and the second on the job. Influence of the supervisor focused on, for example, efforts at ingratiation. Influence on the job focused on, for example, manipulating performance data. Uses of supervisor-focused, influence tactics were positively associated with employees perceptions of procedural justice, but uses of job-focused influence tactics were negatively associated. The authors argue that this negative association may result from reverse causation: perception of unjust appraisal procedures ma y encourage employees to adopt job-focused influence tactics. The third procedural justice factor is the judgment based on evidence. This means convincing employees that ratings do accurately reflect per

Monday, August 19, 2019

How to Be A Good Student Essay -- Teaching Public Schools

How to Be A Good Student To become a success in life, we all need to learn to become a good student in every aspect of life. Becoming a good student takes much work and self-discipline. There are many ways that a student can stand out from the rest of the class. These good students are distinguished by their attitude, intellectual skills, consciousness, and achievement. Attitude is primarily a genuine desire to learn and the will to do hard academic work to achieve understanding. It is also shown by how well you apply yourself even to subjects in which you have little interest and how much you can achieve even when a teacher’s style is not what you are used to. Also attitude can change the way you percieveperceive things and make you want to either quit or do better. Havin...

Health: A Social Phenomenon Essay -- Health Care

Introduction With movements made by the governments and medical professionals of developed countries in the interests of giving patients more choice, the definition of â€Å"healthy,† especially in contemporary society, has become subjective (Freemantle and Hill 2002, Armstrong 1995, Bury 2008, Van Krieken et al. 2006: 379-380). Variations in interpretation appear between groups divided along socio-political, demographical lines, or even between individuals themselves (Freemantle and Hill 2002: 864, Heath 2005: 954, Blaxter 2000:44, Van Krieken et al. 2006). This ambiguity has underscored debates and conflicts in recent years between patients, academics, politicians, and medical practitioners on issues of medical authority, the extent of involvement in the decision making process over personal health as well as the health of others related to them through social structures and institutions (Van Krieken et al. 2006, Blaxter 2000, Bury 2008, White 2002). This essay will attempt to illustrate how â€Å"health† is a social phenomenon through the examination of power and inequality. It will focus on the social causes and effects of medicalisation and how the attitudes and positions people occupy in society influence their medical needs. This essay will also highlight some of the challenges faced by the societies around the world in addressing medical inequality. Medical dominance and medicalisation According to Foucault and Illich (in Van Krieken et al. 2006: 351-352), doctors and the medical profession have traditionally been empowered by their knowledge as the authority that society defers to with regards to the definition of disease and health. With improvements in medical technology as well as the advent of the hospital, an evolution... ...London: SAGE. Broom, D.H. and Woodward, R.V. (1996) ‘Medicalisation reconsidered: toward a collaborative approach to care’ in Sociology of Health and Illness, 18, 3: 357-378. Freemantle, N. and Hill, S. (2002) ‘Medicalisation, limits to medicine, or never enough money to go around?’ in British Medical Journal, 324: 864-865. Foucault, M. (2003) The Birth of the Clinic, London: Routledge. Heath, I. (2005), ‘Who needs health care- the well or the sick?’ in British Medical Journal, 330: 954-956. Moynihan, R. and Smith, R (2002) ‘Too much medicine?’ in British Medical Journal, 324: 859-860. Van Kreiken, R. Habbis, D. Smith, P. Hutchins, B. Haralambos, M. Holborn, M. (2006), Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (3rd ed), French Forest: Pearson Longman. White, K. (2002) ‘Race, Ethnicity and Health’ in An introduction to the sociology of health and illness, London: SAGE.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Sheyann Webb :: essays research papers

On August,13 1860, Pheobe Ann Moses was born to Jacob and Susan Moses in their one room cabin in Patterson, Ohio. When Annie was around 6, her father contracted pnemonia while traveling the 18 miles home from town in a blizzard, and died in the spring of 1866. Afterward, Susan had trouble supporting the six childen. After the three older children married and left, Mrs.Moses was forced to send the three younger children to neighbors' houses. One day while dusting the funiture, Annie decided to take down her father's gun and clean it. A few days later, she saw a squirrel running in the field. Excitedly, she took down the gun and loaded it. She hastily aimed and fired. To her suprise, the squirrel was cleanly shot though the head, even though she was only 8 years old! Annie's mom liked having the meat for dinner, but the family's Quaker religion opposed violence. Annie had to promise never to use the gun on someone. Annie was well known in Cincinnati for her cleanly shot birds. People who ate the birds did not have to worry about chipping a tooth on scattered bird shot. A restaraunt owner set up a shooting match with the well known sharpshooter, Frank Butler. Annie shot all 25 birds while Frank shot only 24. Later, Frank would say that he lost two things to Annie that day: the match and his heart. Annie and Frank went on the road as a team. Annie wanted a fancy name, so she settled on Oakley, a suburb outside of Cincinnati.Annie loved showbiz. She liked to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. When the Butler and Oakley team joined the Sell's Brother Circus, Frank stopped shooting and became Annie's manager and assistant, managing the money and the schedule, throwing up targets for Annie to shoot at, and loading Annie's gun for her. In 1885, Annie joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Annie was injured twice while performing with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, once from a bug bite, and once from a train crash. In 1913, Annie and Frank retired to Cambridge, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Literature Review on Internal Audit

Survey finds internal audit risk assessments inconsistent Year: August, 2007 The report suggests that internal auditing needs to identify areas of high and moderate risk that are part of the internal audit plan but have been deferred or cancelled because of the organization's focus on Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404. It recommends that chief audit executives (CAEs) revisit the budgets, skills, and capabilities needed to achieve a comprehensive, balanced, and risk-based approach to auditing, as well as develop a process to advise the audit committee and senior management about emerging risks. In other findings, internal audit leaders say their greatest challenge is finding enough qualified talent to address the growing and increasingly complex needs of their stakeholders. To help address this problem, rotational staffing has become a key source of talent for more than 80 percent of respondents from Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, the report notes that audit departments are using report ratings, such as satisfaction or number scales, with mixed results. Although many CAEs say ratings allow them to communicate the potential level of exposure and risk associated with audit findings, 56 percent say ratings often create friction at their organizations and slow down the audit process. Finally, 43 percent of respondents use some form of continuous auditing or monitoring in their audit operations. The PwC report is available from the company's Web site, www. pwc. com/internalaudit. Reference: http://findarticles. om/p/articles/mi_m4153/is_4_64/ai_n27348378/ PwC Study: Internal Audits Lack Strategy for Risk Assessment Year: May 21, 2007 There continues to be a lack of consistency around the assessment of risk by internal auditors, according to the third annual study of current issues for the internal audit profession conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. A number of divergent and conflicting trends related to risk assessment are a concern among internal audit executives. Although there is growing interest in enterprise risk management (more than 80 percent of respondents reported they conduct an annual enterprise-wide risk assessment), only a handful of those surveyed said they update the internal audit risk assessment continuously, while 64 percent may be doing little or nothing between annual assessments. At one-third of the companies surveyed, multiple enterprise-wide risk assessments are being conducted across the organization. Of this group, only 20 percent consider these assessments â€Å"well† aligned, while 50 percent said they are â€Å"somewhat† aligned and 30 percent said they are â€Å"not well† aligned, with little or no coordination among the parties making the assessments. PwC said six imperatives should be considered when strengthening the internal audit risk assessment process, as suggested by the study: Adopt a process approach to risk assessment and planning. Supplement annual risk assessments with quarterly or more frequent updates. Leverage your prior assessment results. Align and leverage risk assessments. Seek out the specialized talent you need. Coordinate effectively with other risk management groups. â€Å"Today, there is a growing awareness among chief audit executives of the importance of linking risk assessments and effective audit coverage,† said Richard Chambers, managing director with internal audit services at PwC. To help strengthen risk management within their companies, audit groups must focus on assessing risk on an ongoing basis and continue to monitor and update their enterprise-wide risk assessments. † In the areas of finance, compliance, and operations — sectors that might be characterized as traditional areas of focus for internal audit — respondents expressed fairly high degrees of confidence (64, 49, and 43 percent respectively) in their audit coverage of these types of risks. However, they were significantly less confident with their audit coverage when dealing with risks in the areas of technology, fraud, and strategic or business risks. The 2007 study also found that internal audit groups reporting to the CFO organization devote more time to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance than groups that report directly to the audit committee or the CEO. According to the study, only 31 percent of internal audit functions reporting directly to the audit committee or the CEO devote more than 50 percent of their time to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. By contrast, 46 percent of those who report directly to the CFO indicated that they dedicated more than 50 percent of their time to the Act during 2006. The study found that when internal audit reports to a level below the CFO in the finance organization, such as to the controller or treasurer, the time commitment to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance increases dramatically, with 69 percent of these internal audit functions reporting spending more than 50 percent of their time addressing compliance with the Act. Given the disparity of time dedicated to compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley depending on reporting relationships, these survey results naturally beg the question as to who is actually directing the focus and deployment of corporate audit resources,† added Anderson. Reference: http://www. accountingnet. com/x57724. xml Study: Impact of Economy on Internal Audit Profession *By: (SmartPros*) Year: June 15, 2009 The results of a new IIA survey have revealed perspectives on the cause and effects of the financial meltdown, as well as the views of internal auditors regarding how they are responding to the new economic and business environment. Speaking to a gathering of more than 2,000 internal auditors from around the world at The Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA’s) international conference held in mid-May in Johannesburg, South Africa, IIA President Richard Chambers, CIA, shared key results from the survey which reflected responses from 1,665 internal auditors in 57 countries. â€Å"This survey data gives us a global snapshot of how internal auditors view what has happened and how they are dealing with it,† said Chambers. â€Å"It also tells The IIA what we should look at closer for more in-depth analysis and development of new guidance. Three major areas of realization emerged from the survey results. Internal auditors’ views are split on whether risk management could have played a mitigating role in the financial crisis, and a majority felt there were more things internal audit activities could have done soften its impact. Organizations are redirecting their internal audit resources to cover recession-related risks. And within organizations receiving stimulus or rescue funds, more than a third of internal audit activities have not addressed risks related to the funding. The recession has had a trickle-down effect that has impacted the resources of internal audit functions. The European literature review on internal auditing: *How the internal audit function is changing in response to the shifts in global business practices*? Year: 2006 Purpose – By conducting the 2006 global Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) study, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) attempts to better understand the expanding scope of internal auditing practice throughout the world. The purpose of this review of recent internal auditing literature in Europe is to document how the internal audit function is changing in response to the shifts in global business practices. Design/methodology/approach – The literature in Europe is reviewed with a focus on developments that have implications for the expanded scope of internal auditing and the changing skill sets of internal auditors and their role in enhancing good corporate governance. This focus has implications for CBOK 2006. Findings – The literature indicates changes in the activities performed by internal auditors. The increasing complexity of business transactions, a more dynamic regulatory environment in Europe, and significant advances in information technology have resulted in opportunities and challenges for internal auditors. Although in 2004, The IIA responded to the changing organizational environment by updating the professional practices framework, more work needs to be done to prepare internal auditors for the expanded set of skills and knowledge required to perform audits of the future. Originality/value – By presenting an overview of past literature in Europe and discussing the shifting demands on internal audit services, the researchers hope to motivate further research in the field. PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2010 Global Internal Audit Study: Internal Auditors Should Serve as Strategic Advisors on Risk Assessment and Management *Year: April 1 ,*2010 NEW YORK, April 1 /PRNewswire/ — PricewaterhouseCoopers' sixth annual Global State of the Internal Audit Profession survey found that with global ndustries, economies and regulatory environments forever altered by the recent financial crisis, strategic risk management has become a key issue for business leaders. According to the 2010 survey of more than 2,000 executives from more than 50 territories, internal audit professionals have the companywide visibility and mandate to lead their organizations in enhancing this capability. This year's survey also demonstrated that, to remain relevant and meet stakehol der demands, internal audit must evolve to an enhanced â€Å"Internal Audit 2. 0†³ state that provides business leaders with actionable business risk intelligence. The financial crisis caused a heightened scrutiny of companies' risk management practices, as many have blamed the crisis on poor risk management,† said Brian Brown, principal and Internal Audit Advisory Services leader at PwC. Brown added that, â€Å"CEOs across all industries are looking to upgrade their enterprise-wide risk management capability to better prepare for success in what is expected to continue to be a very challenging business environment. Needs and expectations for internal audit have never been higher, so the key question is whether internal audit is delivering. There is also a challenge in building consensus for an expanded and more strategic role for internal audit,† said Brown. The 2010 State of the Internal Audit Profession study identifies three critical focus areas for internal audit departments: †¢ Critical risks and issues; †¢ Aligning internal audit's value position with its stakeholder's expectations; and †¢ Matching the staffing model with that value proposition However, these are also the three areas where internal audit leaders believe they have the most room to improve. What senior executives should take away from this survey is that, for an internal audit team to assume the role of strategic partner, members must employ highly experienced and skilled professionals who can pinpoint trouble spots, synthesize a lot of data, better utilize technology and help the organization be more successful in a very challenging business environment,† Brown said. With these new challenges in mind, PwC believes intern al audit must take a more radical approach to change than it has in the past, and rethink and redefine the way it works. The survey outlines several important steps that should be taken: †¢ Start with a plan Rethink risk assessment practices †¢ Fill the skills and capabilities gap †¢ Align with other assurance functions †¢ Focus on obtaining ROI from technology â€Å"In this year's survey, we introduced the concept of ‘Internal Audit 2. 0' to start organizations thinking about dramatic change,† said Brown. â€Å"As internal audit confronts new and continually changing needs and expectations, it must take the initiative to redefine its role. That means expanding its skill sets and preparing to take a leadership role as a more powerful resource for senior leadership, directors and boards in aligning strategy and risk identification, control and mitigation. â€Å"

Friday, August 16, 2019

African American Oral Tradition Essay

Modern African American Literature was formed under a stressful time for Africans, slavery. The only way the stories of the indigenous people of Africa were passed down was through oral recollections, or stories of the events. In America this was especially difficult for the slaves because of laws preventing them from learning English. By not being allowed to learn English, the slaves had to learn English solely on auditory purposes. This essentially made the slaves illiterate. When the slaves transferred the language that they heard to paper, a new style of language was formed which was referred to as dialect. Dialect is what the slaves thought they heard and the correct spelling of those words, not standard English. Dunbar, who wrote fluently in both standard English and dialect was praised by white critics only for his dialect poems, and not praised for his poems in standard English. His literacy works are still alive today, however the dialect works were attached with a stigma. Usually whites despised the African’s dialect. Therefore, the slaves would not try to publish any type of work with dialect because the slaves did not want to be associated with the stigma. In all, by creating a unique dialect gave the slaves a bilingual type of style. By not being able to write, slaves also made Genres such as, spiritual, folk songs and gospels. Songs such as these were ways of passing down stories to the next generation. These songs also contained secret messages. These messages may have contained information about escape routes or even the underground- railroad. However most of the songs were spiritual in nature. The songs also progressed through the years. The originals slave folk songs, spirituals, and gospels are now prevalent in modern day jazz and the blues. Martin even gives the example of Hayden, who mixes his song ideas with the ideas of Bessie Smith. Even though African are allowed to read and write, this is a form how their culture is still expressed today. Martin made the emphasis that the oral tradition is part of the African Americans distinct culture.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Aphasiology: Disorders and clinical practice Essay

Acquired Aphasia Introduction Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The paper describes aphasia in details and also the challenges that are faced by the individuals who suffer from aphasia. The paper also describes about the executive functioning and what it entail including the relationship between productivity outcomes and executive functions. The paper also highlights the challenges that aphasia patients face in their day to day lives. For instance, how these individuals handle their daily tasks. The paper shows that these patients face a lot of challenges including discrimination since they are misunderstood by many people. Also this paper shows how these patients can undergo therapy treatment as a way of improving their language and also to be educated on how to cope and interact with other people who do not have aphasia. Finally the paper describes the implications of this therapy treatment on aphasia patients.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aphasia refers to comprehension impairment and language production which is usually led by damage in language constituent brain hemisphere. Aphasia is a family of disorders involving varying impairment degrees in four fundamental areas: Spoken language comprehension Spoken language expression Reading comprehension, and Written expression   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An individual who have aphasia usually have comparatively nonlinguistic cognitive skills which is intact like executive and memory function skills even though these and other cognitive discrepancies may co-occur together with aphasia. Sensory deficits like visual and auditory agnosia and visual field deficits may also be present (Bhagal et al, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The result of aphasia is challenging to predict due to the wide symptoms variability. Aphasia result varies extensively from individual to individual depending on the brain insult severity and the lesion location. The indicator of the long- term recovery which is easily predictable is initial aphasia severity together with lesion size and site. Other factors which are usually considered concerning prognosis consist of the individual’s education level, gender, age among other comorbidities (Retrieved from http://www.aphasia.com/about-aphasia/who-gets-aphasia). When scrutinized properly, however, these factors appear to be weak predictors of the degree of recovery. Assessment of aphasia is goal-oriented, organized appraisal of the variety of pragmatic, linguistic and cognitive components of language. Executive function refers to the abilities and skills which enables individuals to achieve activities which are goal-directed. Prior to a head injury or traumatic brain, these abilities can be adversely affected (Simmons et al, 2010). Executive Functioning and completing a task Completing a task involves some steps as follows: Planning: planning and/ or knowing the steps for a specific activity Initiation: initiating an activity Doing the task: Executing the plans and at the same time self regulating and self monitoring. Evaluating- checking the outcomes of your work. Changing and improving- checking ways of simplifying the task next time and keeping away from any errors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The above executive functions are used for all types of everyday tasks like shopping, laundry and cooking. In order to complete a task an individual must initiate each step, put in order, follow through and as this continues adjusting and monitoring of actions should be done. Most individuals do these activities without planning or any thought. However, for a person who is suffering from a brain injury he or she may face a challenge while initiating the task in the initial place. Such individuals may not have a thought of going food shopping and doing the washing even if their fridge is empty or there is a pile of laundry which is dirty, these clear cues may not initiate the thought process which makes them start a plan of action (Dickey et al, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People with acquired aphasia may start an activity however not have thought it through therefore they make errors. A simple illustration would be going for shopping however forgets carrying a shopping list or wallet. Although this can also happen to any individual however it occurs more frequently if an individual have a brain injury. Individuals with acquired aphasia may not learn from past errors and they end up repeating similar mistakes over and over again while they try accomplishing a task (Mesulam, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An individual with aphasia usually lack insight into their own capabilities to execute tasks, even in a case where individuals make suggestions which are positive. Treatment and rehabilitation usually involves executing systems and strategies to assist individuals with executive functioning difficulties: Daily organizers and planners Home information centre which includes calendars, notice boards etc. Reserve time each day purposed for planning Use a Dictaphone and timers for reminders Using step by step checklists Executive functions and regulating thinking and behavior   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another purpose of executive functions is that they assist individuals to control their behavior to respond and act properly. Problems with self regulation can result to verbalizations and impulsive behavior and may happen in numerous ways: Uttering inappropriate statements or remarks Dominating the conversation Being rude Being unable to stay on topic Continuously talking about a particular subject   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With an aid of a duly qualified language and speech therapist some people with aphasia can be trained on picking up on a listener’s facial expressions or reactions thus realizing when they are making error in their communication. Recovery from aphasia may imply re-learning what facial expressions and social conventions signify, however it may imply just re-learning how to react appropriately to particular facial expression for instance, if a certain person say something and his or her communication partner seems to be shocked this may imply that the person have spoken a wrong thing (Hurkmans et al, 2012). Functional communication and executive function in aphasia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Functional communication refers to the capability of receiving and conveying a message, in spite of the mode, to converse successfully and independently in a particular environment. Broca and wernicke perceived language to be different from cognition where they argued that patients who have aphasia are cognitively integral however they deficits in their language. On the other hand, recent studies shows that cognitive impairments like attention, working memory and sequencing are possessed by individuals who have aphasia. Outcomes illustrates that diminished executive function capability may be linked to declined functional communication capability in individuals with aphasia. The executive function usually depends in communication success (Cherney et al, 2011).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Davis et al (2004) functional communication and executive function ability are associated closely in individuals with aphasia. Language impairment may not correlate always with real like communication capability. Thus, executive function may be an ideal functional communication ability indicator (Davis, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a case where there is impairment of Executive function in aphasia patients, this may be due to the fact that functional communication capability is more impaired than what is indicated by severity of language impairments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Relationship between executive functions and productivity outcomes following stroke, disability and rehabilitation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This study shows the need of assessing executive functions thoroughly in order to direct cognitive rehabilitation interventions as a result of a stroke. This is different from carrying out a cognitive screening incorporating merely one or two elements of executive functions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Additionally, the findings show that more comprehensive evaluation of executive functions may be acceptable for younger people that have suffered from stroke. The evaluation will establish their ability to return to productive tasks which include tailor rehabilitation and employment to provide aid to needs consequently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Future research is suggested in order to study efficacy of approaches which evaluate the interactive and separate influence of fundamental executive functions and cognitive processes. In addition, methodical assessment of rehabilitation practices to help management of individuals of executive dysfunction in everyday’s life is recommended.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Relations between semantic processing, short-term memory deficits and executive function   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Allen et al (2012) shows that semantic processing capabilities, semantic short-term memory deficits are highly related to general or specific executive function deficits. A research was conducted involving a total of 20 patients with STM deficits and aphasia were evaluated on basis of semantic processing, short -term retention and both simple and rigid executive function activities. The study found no evidence that semantic STM deficits result due to deficits in executive function (Brady et al, 2012).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Executive function tasks performance was found to relate with some semantic processing tasks performance proposed that a relational combination function may bring about performance on both sorts of tasks. Correlation between some executive function activities and phonological STM was realized where phonological rehearsal and storage play great role in executive function activities with verbal element (Engelter et al, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Clinical repercussions for the elucidation of the executive function role in language-processing activities and the achievable contributions of executive function deficits and STM in treatment regimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Executive function capabilities depend on fundamental cognitive resources. Relational integration- role in discourse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   EF role in treatment of language deficits depends on aspect of language which is being treated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Found no relation between performance and semantic STM on complex and simple executive function activities (Pedersenet al, 1995). Instead they realized that executive function tasks and phonological STM were related in activities that had a verbal element recommends that performance in several executive function activities depends on rehearsing or maintaining phonological codes. Although semantic STM was unrelated to executive function capability, semantic processing tasks performance was connected to the executive function (Moxley, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the completion assessment stage, a plan for treatment is obtained from the outcomes of the assessments. Clinician must assess the form of treatment approach they will utilize. It has been investigated that early intervention is more ideal compared to late intervention. The basic goal in aphasia treatment is to improve functional communication so as to participate in tasks of daily living. The main goal of the patient is to recuperate enough language to carry on with their life normally as possible (Faroqui-Shah et al, 2010). Treatment of executive function and language   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Impairment based Approach:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This approach uses cognitive processing to find out the processes and components which have been fractioned as a result of brain damage. The approach also uses normal cognitive processing models to come up with the processes and components, which are damaged. Treatment is determined on basis of these outcomes. The approach argues that brain has ability of reorganizing and that reorganization is shaped directly by the environment. There is a perception that language and executive function will return as a successful treatment product (Teasell et al, 2011). Consequence Approach   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also known as social, functional, psychological, life participation approach. This approach targets the outcomes of life participation impairment and creates treatment goals on basis of these impairments. A therapist who uses consequence approach should comprehend fully the limitations aphasia has on the life of an individual. The consequences approach influences values and principles which are separate it from impairment based approach (Hier et al, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is growing support for the notion that executive/attention function skills in people with aphasia are remediable. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between functional communication and executive/attention function in individuals with aphasia. The outcomes recommend that treatment of executive/attention function in aphasia may lead to measurable variations in these skills and in the conversation communication success. References Bhogal, S. K., Teasell, R., & Speechley, M. (2003). Intensity of aphasia therapy, impact on recovery. Stroke, 34, 987-993. Brady, M. C., Kelly, H., Godwin, J, & Enderby, P. (2012). Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5, CD000425. Cherney, L., Patterson, J., & Raymer, A. (2011). Intensity of aphasia therapy: Evidence and efficacy. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 11, 560-569. Cherney, L., Patterson, J., Raymer, A., Frymark, T., & Schooling, T. (2010). Updated evidence-based systematic review: Effects of intensity of treatment and constraint-induced language therapy for individuals with stroke-induced aphasia. ASHA’s National Center for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders. Rockville, MD: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Civil Rights Act of 1964  § 7, 42 U.S.C.  § 2000e et seq (1964). Davis, G. A. (2007). Aphasiology: Disorders and clinical practice (2nd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Dickey, L., Kagan, A., Lindsay, M. P., Fang, J., Rowland, A., & Black, S. (2010). Incidence and profile of inpatient stroke-induced aphasia in Ontario, Canada. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 91, 196-202. Engelter, S. T., Gostynski, M., Papa, S., Maya, F., Claudia, B., Vladeta, A.G., †¦ Phillipe, A. L. (2006). Epidemiology of aphasia attributable to first ischemic stroke: Incidence, severity, fluency, etiology, and thrombolysis. Stroke, 37, 1379-1384 Faroqui-Shah, Y., Frymark, T., Mullen, R., & Wang, B. (2010). Effect of treatment for bilingual individuals with aphasia: A systematic review of the evidence. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 23(4), 319-341. Framework for Outcome Measurement (FROM). Aphasia Institute. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. OR Kagan, A., Simmons-Mackie, N., Rowland, A., Huijbregts, M., Shumway, E., McEwen, S., †¦ & Sharp, S. (2008). Counting what counts: A framework for capturing real-life outcomes of aphasia intervention. Aphasiaology, 22(3), 259-280. Hier, D. B., Yoon, W. B., Mohr, J. P. & Price, T. R. (1994). Gender and aphasia in the stroke bank. Brain and Language, 47 , 155-167. Hurkmans, J., de Bruijn, M., Boonstra, A., Jonkers, R., Bastiaanse, R., Arendzen, H., & Reinders-Messelink, H. (2012). Music in the treatment of neurological language and speech disorders: A systematic review. Aphasiology, 26, 1-19. Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party. (2008). National clinical guidelines for stroke (3rd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Royal College of Physicians. Limited English Proficiency – A Federal Interagency Website (2013). Available from www.lep.govLingraphica (n.d.). Who gets aphasia? Retrieved from http://www.aphasia.com/about-aphasia/who-gets-aphasiaMoxley, A. (2002, November 05). Make your grant count: Igniting change through research. The ASHA Leader. Murray, L. L., & Chapey, R. (2001). Assessment of language disorders in adults. In R. Chapey (Ed.), Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic communication disorders (pp. 55-126). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Mesulam, M. (2001). Primary progressive aphasia. Annals of Neurology, 49, 425-432. National Aphasia Association (2011). www.aphasia.orgNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (n.d.). NINDS aphasia information page. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/aphasia/aphasia.htmNational Stroke Association. (2008). http://www.stroke.orgNational Stroke Foundation (2010). Clinical guidelines for acute stroke management 2010. Melbourne, Australia: Author. Stroke Foundation of New Zealand and New Zealand Guidelines Group (2010). New Zealand Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management 2010.Wellington, New Zealand: Stroke Foundation of New Zealand. Pedersen, P. M., Jorgensen, H. S., Raaschou, H. O., & Olsen, T. S. (1995). Aphasia in acute stroke: Incidence, determinants, and recovery. Annals of Neurology, 38, 659-666. Plowman, E., Hentz, B., & Ellis, C. (2012). Post-stroke aphasia prognosis: A review of patient-related and stroke-related factors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 18, 689-694. Rogers, M. (2004). Aphasia, primary progressive. In R. D. Kent (Ed.), The MIT encyclopedia of communication disorders (pp. 245-249). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Taylor-Goh, S. (Ed.) (2005). Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Clinical Guidelines: 5.12 Aphasia. Bicester, United Kingdom: Speechmark. Simmons-Mackie, N., & Kagan, A. (2007). Application of the ICF in aphasia. Seminars in Speech and Language, 28, 244-253. Simmons-Mackie, N., Raymer, A., Armstrong, E., Holland, A., & Cherney, L. R. (2010). Communication partner training in aphasia: A systematic review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 91, 1814-1837. Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research (2007). Stroke: Clinical practice guideline (2nd ed.). Barcelona, Spain: Author. Teasell, R. W., Foley, N. C., & Salter, K. (2011). Evidence-based review of stroke rehabilitation (14th ed.). Retrieved from www.ebrsr.comManagement of Stroke Rehabilitation Working Group (2010). VA/DOD clinical practice guideline for the management of stroke rehabilitation. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 47(9), 1-43. World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health. Geneva, Switzerland: Author. Bhogal, S. K., Teasell, R., & Speechley, M. (2003). Intensity of aphasia therapy, impact on recovery. Stroke, 34, 987-993. The book reveals the significance of therapy. Intense therapy over a short time frame can improve outcomes of language and speech therapy for stroke patients suffering with aphasia. Brady, M. C., Kelly, H., Godwin, J, & Enderby, P. (2012). Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5, CD000425. The book shows the evidence of appropriateness of SLT speech and language therapy to patients suffering from aphasia due to stroke in regard to improvement functional communication, expressive and receptive language. Cherney, L., Patterson, J., & Raymer, A. (2011). Intensity of aphasia therapy: Evidence and efficacy. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 11, 560-569. The book emphasizes the need of determining the intensity of treatment for any treatment program for aphasia. The intensity may vary depending on the specific stimuli, type of intervention and response needed by the patient. Cherney, L., Patterson, J., Raymer, A., Frymark, T., & Schooling, T. (2010). Updated evidence-based systematic review: Effects of intensity of treatment and constraint-induced language therapy for individuals with stroke-induced aphasia. ASHA’s National Center for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders. Rockville, MD: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The book explains the impact of intensity and constraint-induced language treatment to patients with aphasia induced by stroke. Civil Rights Act of 1964  § 7, 42 U.S.C.  § 2000e et seq (1964). The act outlines how people with disorders should not be discriminated against. The law prevents applicants and employees from discrimination in all terms, privileges and conditions of employment. Davis, G. A. (2007). Aphasiology: Disorders and clinical practice (2nd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. The book outlines the fundamental principles and approaches for assessment of six neurologically based disorders. Every disorder reveals different order of revealing signs of communicative behaviors. The book emphasizes the need of placing the needs according to hierarchy in order to prescribe the appropriate treatment. Dickey, L., Kagan, A., Lindsay, M. P., Fang, J., Rowland, A., & Black, S. (2010). Incidence and profile of inpatient stroke-induced aphasia in Ontario, Canada. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 91, 196-202. The book explains the factors that determine the incidents of stroke-induced aphasia. The book also highlights the clinical and demographic features for stroke patients with or without this disorder. Engelter, S. T., Gostynski, M., Papa, S., Maya, F., Claudia, B., Vladeta, A.G., †¦ Phillipe, A. L. (2006). Epidemiology of aphasia attributable to first ischemic stroke: Incidence, severity, fluency, etiology, and thrombolysis. Stroke, 37, 1379-1384 The book explains the relationship between aphasia and first ischemic stroke. Cardioembolism and advanced age showed a positive relationship, where they have a great risk for this condition. Fluency and severity of aphasia were not influenced by demographic variable. Faroqui-Shah, Y., Frymark, T., Mullen, R., & Wang, B. (2010). Effect of treatment for bilingual individuals with aphasia: A systematic review of the evidence. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 23(4), 319-341. The book is about managing of stroke induced aphasia in a cultural diverse world. There is an increased likelihood of bilingual patients due to the cultural diversity. Framework for Outcome Measurement (FROM). Aphasia Institute. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. OR Kagan, A., Simmons-Mackie, N., Rowland, A., Huijbregts, M., Shumway, E., McEwen, S., †¦ & Sharp, S. (2008). Counting what counts: A framework for capturing real-life outcomes of aphasia intervention. Aphasiaology, 22(3), 259-280. The book reveals the incidents of distinguishing of stroke-induced aphasia. The book explains how stroke patients are more susceptible to this disorder. Hier, D. B., Yoon, W. B., Mohr, J. P. & Price, T. R. (1994). Gender and aphasia in the stroke bank. The book is about the relationship between gender and stroke-induced aphasia. Aphasia incidence is high in females than in males especially to women with infarcts. Brain and Language, 47 , 155-167. The book explains the coordination between brain and language. The book reveals how organization of brain is vital for language. Hurkmans, J., de Bruijn, M., Boonstra, A., Jonkers, R., Bastiaanse, R., Arendzen, H., & Reinders-Messelink, H. (2012). Music in the treatment of neurological language and speech disorders: A systematic review. Aphasiology, 26, 1-19. The book explains the significance of music therapy in rehabilitation of speech disorders. Music is a common treatment of apraxia and aphasia of speech. Music usually stimulate brain functions associated to speech. Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party. (2008). National clinical guidelines for stroke (3rd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Royal College of Physicians. The book highlights the guidelines which clearly provide the necessary management skills for stroke patients. The guide contains the recommendations for language and speech therapy. Limited English Proficiency – A Federal Interagency Website (2013). Available from www.lep.govLEP. gov encourages a cooperative and positive understanding of the significance of language access to federally assisted and federal conducted programs. Lingraphica (n.d.). Who gets aphasia? Retrieved from http://www.aphasia.com/about-aphasia/who-gets-aphasiaThis site explains the factors that make people more prevalent to aphasia. The most common cause is stroke while other symptoms include some neurological conditions, brain tumors, and head injuries. However, the disorder can occur to people of all age brackets, nationalities, races and genders. Moxley, A. (2002, November 05). Make your grant count: Igniting change through research. The ASHA Leader. The article is about the report from an examination carried out between Spanish Latinos and English speakers. The English examination was administered to test their fluency. Murray, L. L., & Chapey, R. (2001). Assessment of language disorders in adults. In R. Chapey (Ed.), Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic communication disorders (pp. 55-126). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. The book reveals that there is a relationship between stroke-induced aphasia and ageing. Old people suffering from stroke are more susceptible to the condition. Mesulam, M. (2001). Primary progressive aphasia. Annals of Neurology, 49, 425-432. The book define primary progressive as a focal disorder characterized by gradual and isolated disbanding of language function. The condition starts with anomia, proceeds to impair of grammatical structure finally difficulty in semantics. National Aphasia Association (2011). www.aphasia.orgIts is a non-profit organization that praises research, public education, support and rehabilitation services to aphasia patient and their families. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (n.d.). NINDS aphasia information page. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/aphasia/aphasia.htmClearly explains the causal effects of this disorder, the symptoms as well as the relationship between stroke and aphasia. National Stroke Association. (2008). http://www.stroke.orgIt is a non-profit organization that helps with research, education and services to the aphasia patients as well as their families. National Stroke Foundation (2010). Clinical guidelines for acute stroke management 2010. Melbourne, Australia: Author. These guidelines explain the appropriate therapy for language and speech. They are guidelines to the clinicians for easy identification of the aphasia stage in order to prescribe appropriate treatment. Stroke Foundation of New Zealand and New Zealand Guidelines Group (2010). New Zealand Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management 2010.Wellington, New Zealand: Stroke Foundation of New Zealand. The network aims at enhancing the implementation of appropriate treatment in stoke care all over New Zealand by improving the expertise of stroke physicians as well as maximizing their effectiveness. Pedersen, P. M., Jorgensen, H. S., Raaschou, H. O., & Olsen, T. S. (1995). Aphasia in acute stroke: Incidence, determinants, and recovery. Annals of Neurology, 38, 659-666. The book explains the causes, determining factors and recovery methods of aphasia. Stroke is the major contributing factor. Plowman, E., Hentz, B., & Ellis, C. (2012). Post-stroke aphasia prognosis: A review of patient-related and stroke-related factors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 18, 689-694. The book recommends the recovery procedure for people suffering from post-stroke aphasia. Predictive factors are challenging due to their constant variability making prognosis of aphasia recuperation troublesome. Rogers, M. (2004). Aphasia, primary progressive. In R. D. Kent (Ed.), The MIT encyclopedia of communication disorders (pp. 245-249). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. The book highlights the progressive stages starting with initial to the aphasia stage. It clearly explains aphasia as a communication disorder. Taylor-Goh, S. (Ed.) (2005). Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Clinical Guidelines: 5.12 Aphasia. Bicester, United Kingdom: Speechmark. These guidelines provide the recommendation for the appropriate care attention to the aphasia patients. The guide explains suitable therapy for speech and language. Simmons-Mackie, N., & Kagan, A. (2007). Application of the ICF in aphasia. Seminars in Speech and Language, 28, 244-253. This approach is used as a rehabilitation method to the people suffering from aphasia. It explains its effectiveness and how to understand the patient response after application of this method. Simmons-Mackie, N., Raymer, A., Armstrong, E., Holland, A., & Cherney, L. R. (2010). Communication partner training in aphasia: A systematic review. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 91, 1814-1837. The book clearly outline different approaches towards aphasia recovery and treatment. The clinicians should be well endowed with expertise to treat this disorder. Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research (2007). Stroke: Clinical practice guideline (2nd ed.). Barcelona, Spain: Author. These guidelines provide the recommendation for appropriate treatment for aphasia. The guide also provide the necessary therapy for speech and language. Teasell, R. W., Foley, N. C., & Salter, K. (2011). Evidence-based review of stroke rehabilitation (14th ed.). Retrieved from www.ebrsr.comHighlights different methods of dealing with this disorder. It poses difficult to prescribe appropriate treatment due to variability of this condition, thus doctors are required to understand different methods of treatment. Management of Stroke Rehabilitation Working Group (2010). VA/DOD clinical practice guideline for the management of stroke rehabilitation. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 47(9), 1-43. There should be good management of people suffering from aphasia. Cultural diversity is one of the challenges. People should not be discriminated against due to condition, race, religion or any other factor. World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health. Geneva, Switzerland: Author. This is a non-profit organization that fights for the rights of people with disabilities. It not only provide support in terms of funding, but also in educating and advising affected people. Source document