Hemingway App Hemingway Editor for Writing Improvement [Review]

Hemingway App Hemingway Editor for Writing Improvement [Review] Hemingway App: Hemingway Editor for Writing Improvement [Review] Writing without editing is like building a house without walls.If you don’t think so, then you’re probably not someone who’s serious about writing and writing well.Not only does editing your own writing help you improve as a writer, but it’s also necessary to turn your very first thoughts of the story or book into something that actually represents how it looks inside your mind.You know how it is.Sometimes your writing just doesn’t do the story or book in your head justice.Using the Hemingway App editor is a perfect way to get as close as possible to bringing your true vision to life.In this Hemingway Editor review, well cover:What is the Hemingway app editor?Is the Hemingway editor right for you?How the Hemingway app worksHemingway app benefitsHemingway App editor reviewWhy are adverbs bad in the Hemingway editor?Next steps for using the Hemingway app editorWhat is the Hemingway App Editor?The Hemingway App is an editor that highlights and correct s grammar, fluency, and sentence structure in order to help your writing read and look better.If you’re new to the world of writing software, you may not be aware of what’s available for you.The Hemingway App is just one of many resources out there designed to not only improve your writing as you have it but also teach you how to write better and produce tighter, neater prose in your books.NOTE: If you want to know how to improve your writing with or without the use of a software like the Hemingway App Editor, we cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing process in our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereIs the Hemingway App Editor Right for You?When it comes to choosing a writing software thats best for you, theres a lot to consider.We make it easier for you. This quiz will tell you which writing software is best for your needs. Who knows, maybe the Hemingway App is your perfect match!Want to find th e best writing software for you in just MINUTES? Take this quiz and well tell you exactly which one will help your writing process the most.Click Here to Take the QuizHow Does the Hemingway App Editor Work?Before we get into the Hemingway editor benefits, lets first touch on how the editor works and what you can expect. How to Use the Hemingway Editor:STEP #1 When you visit the Hemingway Editor website, you have the option to paste your writing directly onto the website, or you can download the desktop version to use anytime.NOTE: If you want to be able to download and save what the Hemingway editor is correcting (or what you correct within the editor) download the Hemingway App for your desktop in order to do so.STEP #2 Paste your writing into the app editor directly from the writing software youre using to complete your manuscript, like in the example from my own work below.STEP #3 Determine whether or not to take the advice highlighted in the various colors.This can be the har dest part of using the Hemingway editor. You cant take every suggestion because then you may lose your own writing voice.Knowing what each color means in the editor will help you decide what advice to take, and what to leave for stylistic purposes.Heres what each color represents in the Hemingway app editor:Light Blue Light blue highlights in the Hemingway editor represent weak words (typically adverbs) that this app believes could be made stronger.Green Green highlights in the Hemingway Editor indicate passive voice- which is not as strong as active voice.Purple When the Hemingway Editor highlights something in purple, its telling you that whats written is a little too complex and it would be easier to read if you altered it or shortened the word.Yellow Yellow highlights are indicative of complex sentences or common writing errors. This means you are better off shortening or splitting up this sentence in order to make it easier to read.Red If your text gets highlighted in red, i t means this text is very difficult to read. Think of red as the more severe version of a yellow highlight- its usually best not to ignore this suggestion entirely. The key with using the Hemingway editor is to understand that these are only suggestions. Its up to you to determine what advice you want to take in order to make your writing stronger.Remember, this is just an automated app- it cannot replicate your voice or style.Hemingway App BenefitsBefore we get into the real review, let’s touch on the benefits of the Hemingway App in order to help you understand exactly what this writing program has to offer.#1 It’s very simple to useThe Hemingway editor is not a difficult editing tool to use. In fact, it’s as easy as copying and pasting because that’s literally all you have to do.Just copy the writing you have and drop it into the editor. Then, BOOM, your work has been edited. Technically, your work has been commented on, and it’s up to you to make the necessary edits suggested by the editor.As far as ease of use, the Hemingway app is perfect.#2 It creates better-sounding writingA lot of what makes the Hemingway app unique is that its purpose is to help your writing read more fluidly.One of the main issues with many people’s writing is that it often sounds choppy. The smoothness of writing is a coveted skill not many possess naturally and therefore, the Hemingway app editor makes it easy to see where your flow is falling short.Once you know what to watch out for and what habits you tend to fall into, you can correct them going forward and have smoother, easier-to-read prose.#3 Anyone can use itIf you have the ability to write, copy, and paste, you can use the Hemingway app editor.Because this editor works by giving you suggestions within your writing, you’ll have to be able to read and decipher what each piece of advice means as well.But as long as you can copy and paste your work as well as understand the tips the app is giving you, you can use this.#4 It’s cheap or freeAlthough you can purchase a desktop version of the Hemingway app editor, it’s also completely free to use on their website.You can just go to Hemingwayapp.com and paste your writing in the space where their writing is. The results and editing tips immediately populate all for free.#5 You get better the more you use itAs I’ve mentioned above, this is a great app to use whenever you want to check your writing for major grammatical and spelling errors, but you can also use this as a learning tool.Whenever you input copy for the app to edit, make note of results that pop up time and time again. This will show you where your weakest points are and it also allows you to gauge how much you’re improving whenever you use it. Hemingway App Editor ReviewLet’s get into the real stuff whether or not the Hemingway App is really worth all the hype.Take a look at the video below to understand h ow it works and your different options when it comes to using the Hemingway editor.Ease of use: 5/5This editing app is the easiest I’ve seen to use. It’s literally as simple as copy and pasting, as I mentioned above.The best part about this editor, though, is that its simplicity allows you to use it often and quickly. Even if you want to just check over an urgent email before sending it, you can do so within a minute.Functionality: 4/5The Hemingway app functions just as you’d expect. As far as whether or not the editor does as advertised, it does but only to a certain extent, which Ill touch on in the next point.The app does actually highlight and pinpoint the different areas you can improve on, as well as telling you what reading level your writing is at and how many words it is, as seen below.Reliability: 3/5Its easy to want to listen to every little thing an editor like this says. After all, its factual and that means my writing will be better because of it, right?Thats not always the case.One of the downsides of this editing software is that it doesn’t take style and writer voice into account when editing.This app basically works to correct the most basic common writing problems. However, if you have a very distinct style or a writing voice that strays from â€Å"normal† writing guidelines, this editor won’t be able to detect that and edit accordingly.Therefore, it’s not as reliable for fiction writers because the voices used in writing tend to differ.Overall: 4/5Overall, the Hemingway App editor is a great way to make your writing stronger very quickly. However, keep in mind that this should not be used as an editor for every piece of writing you do.If you’re someone who wants to use it in order to see which areas you need help with, that’s great.But you will still need to hire an editor even after using this if you want the best quality writing.Why are adverbs bad in the Hemingway App?Adverb s are considered bad in writing because they’re weak and can often be replaced with a stronger, more accurate word to reflect the same idea.I’m sure you’ve heard the famous quote by Stephen King about adverbs.â€Å"The path to hell is paved with adverbs.†If you want your writing to be impactful, you have to use strong verbs instead of adverbs in order to get the point across. She ran quickly to grab her backpack before leaving for school.She sprinted to grab her backpack before leaving for school.These two sentences say the same thing, but the second is stronger due using a better, more fitting verb instead of an adverb.How does this involve the Hemingway App editor?The editor is designed to find little mistakes like this in order to help you write with more clarity and intrigue. You won’t have to worry about missing these mistakes when self-editing because the app will point them out for you.Your Next Steps If You’re ReadyAt this point, yo u have to make a decision.Either take action to write your book, or allow yourself to wait, take your time, and probably not get your book done at all.It might sound hard, but facts don’t lie. The longer you wait, the bigger the chance that you’ll never do your book idea justice.And even if you think you’re prepared and ready by using the Hemingway App editor, you’re far from it.In fact, it hardly ever does.

50 Slang Terms for Money

50 Slang Terms for Money 50 Slang Terms for Money 50 Slang Terms for Money By Mark Nichol I find very little about money to be interesting, other than counting my own, but I’ve noted that there’s a rich fund of slang terms for money that can help enliven both casual and more serious content about currency and finance. Here’s a roster of slang synonyms in plural form for words for US currency in particular, many of which are useful for playful references to money or as options for evoking a historical period in fiction by using contemporary idiom: 1. Bank: money 2. Benjamins: a one-hundred-dollar bill (in reference to the portrait of Benjamin Franklin that distinguishes it) 3. Big ones: multiples of one thousand dollars 4. Bills: multiples of one hundred dollars 5. Bones: dollars (origin unknown) 6. Bread: money in general (on the analogy of it being a staple of life) 7. Bucks: dollars (perhaps from a reference to buckskins, or deerskins, which were once used as currency) 8. Cabbage: paper money (from its color) 9. Cheddar (or chedda): money (origin unknown, but perhaps from the concept of cheese distributed by the government to welfare recipients) 10. Clams: dollars (perhaps from the onetime use of seashells as currency) 11. Coin: money, either paper or coinage 12-13. Cs (or C-notes): multiples of one hundred dollars (from the Roman symbol for â€Å"one hundred†) 14. Dead presidents: paper money (from the portraits of various former US presidents that usually distinguish bills of various denominations) 15. Dime: ten dollars (by multiplication of the value of the ten-cent coin) 16. Dough: money in general (akin to the usage of bread) 17-18. Doubles (or dubs): twenty-dollar bills 19. Ducats: money (from the Italian coin) 20. Fins: five-dollar bills (perhaps from the shared initial sound with fives) 21. Five-spots: five-dollar bills 22. Fivers: five-dollar bills 23. Folding stuff: paper money 24. Greenbacks: paper money (from the color of the ink) 25. Gs: thousand-dollar bills (an abbreviation for grand) 26. Grand: one thousand dollars (as in â€Å"three grand† for â€Å"three thousand dollars†) 27. Large: thousand-dollar bills 28. Lettuce: paper money (from its color) 29. Long green: paper money (from its shape and color) 30. Loot: money (originally denoted goods obtained illicitly or as the spoils of war) 31. Lucre: money or profit (from the biblical expression â€Å"filthy lucre,† meaning â€Å"ill-gained money†) 32. Moola (or moolah): money (origin unknown) 33. Nickel: five dollars (by multiplication of the value of the five-cent coin) 34. Ones: dollars (also, fives for â€Å"five-dollar bills,† tens for â€Å"ten-dollar bills,† and so on) 35. Quarter: twenty-five dollars (by multiplication of the value of the twenty-five-cent coin) 36. Sawbucks: ten-dollar bills (from the resemblance of X, the Roman symbol for ten, to a sawbuck, or sawhorse) 37. Scratch: money (perhaps from the idea that one has to struggle as if scratching the ground to obtain it) 38. Shekels: dollars (from the biblical currency) 39. Simoleons: dollars (perhaps from a combination of simon, slang for the British sixpence and later the American dollar, and napoleon, a form of French currency) 40. Singles: one-dollar bills 41. Skrilla: money (origin unknown) 42. Smackers: dollars (origin unknown) 43. Spondulix: money (either from spondylus, a Greek word for a shell once used as currency, or from the prefix spondylo-, which means â€Å"spine† or â€Å"vertebra†; these have a common etymology) 44. Stacks: multiples of a thousand dollars 45. Tenners: ten-dollar bills 46. Ten-spots: ten-dollar bills 47. Two bits: twenty-five cents (a reference to pieces of eight, divisible sections of a Mexican real, or dollar) 48. Wad: a bundle of paper money 49. Wampum: money (from the Native American term wampumpeag, referring to native currency) 50. Yards: one hundred dollars There are, of course, many other terms, dated or current, including borrowings of foreign terms like dinero. What did I miss (or omit)? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"What's a Male Mistress?Threw and Through

Quiz on Philosophy and Psychology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quiz on Philosophy and Psychology - Assignment Example 2. Ancient Greek society witnessed the emergence of two of the most prominent thinkers the world has known today, namely, Plato and Aristotle. They each have contributed a great deal to philosophy and political science and have formed the basis for most of the subjects in the field of social science that people have tried to understand and take forward. Plato mainly wrote Socratic dialogues that have been used to understand his views on the mind, self and society. According to him, it is important for a man to have a stable thought process. He laid down theories like the Allegory of the Cave in order to depict the kind of limited knowledge that a man might have about the world around him and talked about society on the same lines. Aristotle on the other hand has been regarded as the father of political science and he said that society is made of people who need to live with accordance to the state that has been created by man as well. According to him, the mind is a tumultuous region within every man’s mind and should be understood by a man himself before being comprehended by another party so that a man does not conform to societal needs and wishes and is able to think for himself with respect to society. 3. Medieval philosophy is highly related to religion and theology and several doctrines were laid down during this period by renowned scholars and philosophers like Avicenna and Averroes. They argued about the differences between faith and reason, one of the highly debated topics of this period. They spoke along the lines of ancient Greek philosophers however, they tried to defend arguments directly related to faith and reason and at the same time, during this very period, religion came up in such a strong manner that it did not allow a large number of philosophical investigations to go beyond the existence and very authority of God. Their views on the mind, self and society were also related to faith, reason and in some cases, religion. 4. Psychology is the study of human behaviour; it aims to understand the science of mankind and how a man responds to and undertakes certain actions during the course of his lifetime. The Scientific Revolution stemmed the need to study this very subject because it instilled in people the love for reason and that is why people began to question the science behind acts undertaken by man. The 17th century has been regarded by most people as the age of enlightenment and two prominent thinkers of the very period were Galileo Galilei and Rene Descartes. They both argued under the roots of science however Galilei’s arguments concerned the more scientific aspects of the world in the matters of physics and astronomy whereas Descartes was famous for his various discourses on methods and philosophy concerning the existence of the mind and society that a man lives in. 5. An outside reality refers to a world outside a person’s imagination; it helps a man to understand that every physical entity in the universe has its own existence, outside a man’s mind. In the 18th century, philosophers like Voltaire and Montesquieu contributed the works of their intellectual capacities to

Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Leadership and Management - Essay Example Therefore, Management entails provision of stability to an organization. This is because managing involves planning in details on the issues that subordinates will work on. This will ensure that the objectives of the organizations are geared towards improving the performance of an organization. Management involves strategizing and creating policies that will empower individuals and teams to enhance smooth operations. Proper strategizing reduces intrinsic risks as well as generating success. This is why; management is focused towards producing results (Bush, 2010). Leadership on other hand has different characteristic activities. Leadership facilitates decision making by making sure that people are given a chance to provide ideologies towards achieving the set goals. Leaders are focused towards solving the already existing problems as well as devising measures to deal with them. Leadership entails risk-taking which is crucial in enhancing individuals’ values. Achieving the right long-term goals is one of the main aspects related to leadership. While short-term achievements are crucial to management, leaders ensure that an organization’s culture is intact and that followers have the right work environment (Bush, 2010). In conclusion, the discussed activities are focused towards enhancing the success of organizations. Leadership and management are two crucial elements that will enhance individual values towards achieving the success of an

Developing An Inclusive Education System Education Essay

Developing An Inclusive Education System Education Essay For the last few decades, there has been an increase in the number of countries which aimed at making their education systems more inclusive. This aim has been in the agenda of both developed and developing countries with variations in their definitions of inclusion, policy making strategies and school practices. In addition, experiences of these countries in their effort to develop inclusive education systems have faced particular challenges (Ainscow, 2005), with the case being more severe for developing countries where it has been unlikely to observe a significant achievement in their trial to develop inclusive education (Eleweke and Rodda 2002; Mittler 2000). Turkey, as a developing country, has committed to developing inclusion in schools for almost two decades (Eleweke and Rodda 2002; UNESCO 1994). Since then, however, transformation of The Turkish Education System to an inclusive one has been experiencing serious challenges although there have been several positive steps taken towards improving inclusive policy and practice. This review is concerned with the process of Turkey in developing inclusive education while aiming to contribute to the limited literature which critically reviews Turkeys position in this process. After the conduct of search is discussed, the process towards inclusive education will be reviewed under three broad terms: Definition of inclusion as reflected on policy and practice, the transition process from education in special schools to inclusion, and the current barriers against inclusive education. Conduct of Search This literature review is broadly concerned with the field of inclusive education and specifically explores Turkeys position in developing inclusive education. Therefore, the search for this review was started with the scholarship of leading people in the field of inclusive education and was limited to literature about Turkey. The criterion for using the literature was convenience with the purpose of review. In planning this piece of literature review, several types of documents were searched for through some key terms and in some databases and websites. Appendix 1 presents a detailed table of the search terms used, websites and databases searched, the number of documents reached in any year and the number of documents used. Definition of Inclusion Recently, an inclusive education system has been a common goal in the agenda of many countries. However, there have been variations in the way inclusion was defined by these countries (Ainscow et al. 2006a). In many of the definitions, a frequently varying aspect has been the target population identified as subject to inclusion which brought about the question of who is inclusion for? Based on this question, it has been possible to trace policies and practices which have focused on students from the most vulnerable groups to all potential learners (Ainscow et al. 2006a). In 1994, ninety two governments from different parts of the world endorsed that schools would act in a framework which would fully include every learner, no matter what characteristics the student possessed (UNESCO, 1994). These characteristics could be diverse physical, intellectual, social, emotional and linguistic properties. Despite this framework, however, it has been difficult to trace a common understanding and unified practices based on the statement (Ferguson, 2008). For example, while the trend in developed countries, such as the UK and the USA is towards an understanding of inclusion for all learners, many developing countries have based their policies and practices on inclusion of disabled students (Gaad 2010; Slee 2010; Ferguson 2008). Turkey, like many other developing countries, has identified disabled students as the most vulnerable groups in education and adopted an understanding of inclusion which places disabled students in mainstream schools (Gaad 2010; Rakap and Kaczmarek 2009; Turkish Prime Ministry 2008). As the first typology of conceptualization of inclusion by Ainscow et al. (2006b) illustrates, Turkeys definition of inclusion is similar with governments and schools which have based their policies and practices on the inclusion of disabled children. In 1997, the Special Education Regulation (No. 573) which was considered as the first regulation towards inclusive education was enacted. Since then, all regulations and laws in Turkey have referred to inclusion of disabled children into mainstream schools. As for the disability categories identified, the groups subject to inclusion were defined as visual, hearing and health impairments, physical, mental, speech and language, learning and emotional and behavioural disabilities (Turkish Prime Ministry, 2008). In the Special Education Regulation of 1997, as well as other regulations such as The Special Education Services Regulation in 2006, several definitions were made by the ministry which founded the basis for the inclusion of disabled children (Melekoglu et al. 2009). One of the most revolutionary statements was the consideration of special education as part of the regular education. With this in mind, regular education classes were defined as least restrictive environments where education of disabled children should be encouraged. As a result of this, referral of disabled children as well as assignment of special education teachers to regular education schools accelerated in the last ten years (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). Another point emphasized by the regulations was the obligation assigned to mainstream schools to plan and provide educational and support services to disabled children (Melekoglu et al. 2009). Each school was required to prepare and implement an individualized education plan for each child. However, this section which emphasized uniqueness of students was followed by another part in the regulation, which defined special education services to be provided for separate categories of disabled students, rather than emphasizing students with individual and unique needs. This nature of the regulation, therefore, has created education plans which overlooked individual needs and included standard objectives and services for particular disability groups. As a conclusion, analysis of policies in Turkey reveals the reality that inclusion only refers to the placement of disabled children in mainstream schools (Gaad 2010; Turkish Ministry of National Education 2010; Turkish Prime Ministry 2008). Slee (2010) claims that considering inclusion as the integration of only disabled children weakens the inclusive schooling progress in the broader sense. However, although it seems to be a limitation to overlook the need to include other children from vulnerable groups (e.g. learners not necessarily diagnosed with a disability), the process can still be perceived as a step taken to make schools more inclusive by leaving behind the idea of categorizing and placing disabled children in special schools where they were previously seen as others (Gaad, 2010). In addition, the developmental level of the educational systems and the reality of disabled students as one of the most segregated groups in poor and developing countries might lead countries to focus more on inclusive practices for disabled students. In this context, there is a need for more policies, resources and improvement of powerful support systems to go beyond the point of including only the disabled requires. In addition, this process might require more time in countries where inclusive education is still immature (Gaad, 2010). Transition from Education in Special Schools to Inclusion The field of education, in the twentieth century, underwent a substantive trial to legitimize the rationale for special education (Armstrong, 2010) until new legislations and practices started to take an issue with previous special educational theories and practices (Thomas and Loxley 2001). For the last few decades, there has been a cessation in the expansion of special education schools not only in wealthy but also in poor and developing countries as many administrators have started to address inclusion in government policies and school practices (Ainscow et al. 2006a). Turkey, as a developing country, has been in the process of the transition from education in special schools to inclusion since its endorsement of the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994). Until a few years ago, the dominant trend towards education of disabled children was based on segregating them in special schools according to a classification based on their disabilities and providing them with special educational services. However, the Ministry of National Education has started to emphasize and support the education of disabled children with their peers in regular schools. For a decade, the emphasis and support for inclusion has constantly been told to schools and parents in order to include them into a system where the inclusive education and its fundamental principles are adopted and supported (Melekoglu et al. 2009). In Turkey, reflections of the changing attitude towards inclusive education have been observable on the policy of the Ministry of National Education. For example, the 37th article of The Special Education Services Regulation (2006, p.3) states that The Ministry of National Education is responsible for opening special schools for disabled students. However, the priority should be given to the mainstream education of disabled students together with their normally developing peers in regular schools. This statement obviously underlines the changing attitude of the government favouring inclusion on policy documents. There were two other signs of the changing perspective of the Ministry towards a more inclusive system. First, The Special Education Services Regulation (2006) included a part which explained the inclusion process to schools in detail. The other sign was the book published by the Ministry and gave detailed information about inclusion to attract attention of the stakeholders; namely parents, teachers and administrators (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2010). Official statistics by the Ministry show that the number of disabled students in mainstream schools has significantly increased for the last ten years (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). This increase in quantity is significant compared to the number a few years ago (see Figure 1). Despite this, almost half of the disabled children are still placed in either special education schools or special education classrooms within mainstream schools (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). Furthermore, the first alternative for placement of students with some type of disabilities, such as visual and hearing impairments, is the special education school, usually due to the lack of related staff in inclusive schools. Such a situation creates an unconscious preference for the inclusion of some type of disabilities, such as mental retardation, and ignorance of other disability groups. Figure 1. Number of disabled students in mainstream classrooms between the years 2000-2012 (Source: Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). Another point worth inquiry is the level in which inclusion of disabled students is taking place. In Turkey, there are three levels for inclusion among which there is a dramatic difference in terms of the number of disabled students (see Table 1). According to recent statistics by the Ministry (2011), increase at primary level is promising whereas inclusion of disabled students at preschool and high school levels is still not satisfactory with respect to quantity. One of the reasons for this situation was the compulsory educational period which was 8 years and did not include the preschool and high school periods. However, the most recent legislation by The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (2012) increased the compulsory education period in a way that it will include the preschool (3 to 5.5 years of age) and high school. This is expected to decrease the dropout rate of the disabled students and increase the number of disabled students in pre and high schools. Educational Level Number of Classrooms Number of Students Preschool (3 to six 6 years age) 288 588 Primary (Grades 1 to 8) 40810 84637 High School (Grades 9 to 12) 4573 7775 Total 45671 93000 Table 1. Number of disabled students in mainstream classrooms according to educational levels in 2011 (Source: Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2011). To conclude, reflections of the transition to inclusive education in Turkey have been somewhat observable on the policy level. However, promising advances at the policy level have rarely been accompanied by satisfactory implementation (Rakap and Kaczmarek 2010) in schools. Research findings have been consistently showing that there have been problems experienced in areas such as service provision, curriculum, inclusive school community and staff quantity and competency. These problems are discussed in the following chapter. Barriers against Inclusion in Turkey The reality of inclusive education has been dominating the world, with many countries aiming to develop their systems to a more inclusive structure and implement more inclusive practices in schools (Lindsay, 2007). However, this reality is not without its challenges and responsibilities both for developed and developing countries (Ainscow, 2005) with the problems being more serious for the latter (Mittler, 2000). In Turkey, like many other developing countries, challenges and responsibilities have been constantly experienced during the trial to foster inclusion in schools. In this trial, three barriers have been identified and discussed in this chapter. These are negative attitudes towards inclusive education, problems experienced in planning and providing support services and lack of human resources (Kuyumcu 2011; Polat 2010; Rakap and Kaczmarek 2010). Negative Attitudes For a few decades, research findings have shown that inclusive education produces positive results not only for disabled students who are placed in inclusive settings but also for their peers without disabilities (Lindsay 2007; Balderrama 1997; Staub and Peck 1994). However, a considerable amount of this research also underlines that it is unlikely for educational systems to improve their inclusiveness unless there are positive attitudes in professionals in schools (Polat 2010; Antonak and Larrivee 1995). Because professionals assume a crucial role in providing educational services both for disabled and non-disabled students. In a school, a welcoming inclusive climate in which professionals have positive attitudes towards diversity and inclusion is necessary (Booth and Ainscow 2002). In Turkish schools, findings of research have shown that school professionals do not have sufficiently positive attitudes towards inclusion of disables students. For example, Rakap and Kaczmarek (2010) investigated attitudes of general education teachers who work in public elementary schools in Turkey and found significant negative attitudes held by them. Similarly, school counsellors in Turkey, according to Polat (2010), have not still had stable positive attitudes towards the inclusion of disabled students. Such research findings show that the current stance of Turkish schools in terms of positive inclusive attitudes has not created a satisfactory impression. Insufficient Support Services and Non-Inclusive Curriculum The literature on inclusive education in Turkey displays the difficulties experienced by students, teachers, parents and administrators. According to the Educational Reform Initiative in Turkey (2011), a basic problem underlying these difficulties is the lack of inclusive curricula and support services for disabled students. In an environment where the number of disabled students entering inclusive settings is constantly increasing, schools have rarely been able to accommodate this increase in terms of their existing curricula. It is expected from a school to arrange a curriculum in which individual needs of disabled students are represented and met. However, the strictly centralized and standard nature of the curriculum in Turkey has made it difficult to represent the needs of disabled students within the content of the curriculum (Sucuoglu and Kargin 2008). In the Turkish Education System, the policy expects that an individual education plan (IEP) must be planned and implemented for each disabled child who is placed in a mainstream school (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 1997). In addition, support services (e.g. counselling, speech therapy etc.) should direct student needs. However, studies show a contrary situation with these expectations. For example, a recent study has shown that the process of service planning was carried out in only 37 % percent of the inclusive primary schools and only five per cent of the schools had an IEP team (Kuyumcu, 2011). In another study conducted by the Educational Reform Initiative (2011), 23 percent of the teachers reported that they did not prepare an IEP for the disabled students in their classes whereas only 44 percent of the parents stated that an IEP was implemented for their disabled children. As a result, it is likely to observe students and parents who perceive education as obsolete an d to find disabled students who dropout mainstream schools after a while. Lack of Human Resources Among the success factors of inclusive practice, sufficient human resource in terms of quantity and quality is an important element. According to a recent study (Educational Reform Initiative, 2011); the progress made by Turkish Educational System in terms of human resources in inclusive education is not satisfactory. To improve progress, it is inevitable to employ more professionals, such as general education teachers, special education teachers and school counsellors, who can contribute to the implementation of inclusive practice in schools (Sucuoglu and Kargin 2008). For example, it can be seen that the average numbers of students in primary and high schools served by a counsellor are 1225 and 554, respectively (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). As far as such statistics are taken into account, lack of professional staff might be considered as an important problem. Teachers play a key role in inclusion because they are the organisers of individual needs and providers of educational and support services. Therefore, difficulties experienced by teachers within classrooms exacerbate the success of inclusive practices (Sucuoglu, 2004). For example, a problem reported by teachers is the difficulty in classroom management. In Turkish mainstream schools, only one general education teacher serves all students within one classroom and it might get more difficult to manage when disabled students are placed in this class because it is reported that (Educational Reform Initiative, 2011) student teachers at university do not receive appropriate training to such conditions. In an inclusive education system in which all students are full members of a school, each student is assessed with respect to his or her individual performance. However, teachers in Turkish schools have reported that they have difficulties in measuring and evaluating success of disabled students in their classrooms (Sucuoglu, 2004). As far as unrealistic objective writing and performance determination are taken into account, it might get more difficult for teachers to assess performance against unrealistic criteria. Conclusion Inclusive education is a process which includes several variables and stakeholders (Idol, 2006) which constantly influence the inclusive education process because each of them carries out a critical role in shaping the success of inclusion. Therefore, decreasing the gap between the inclusive policy and its implementation, as well as enhancing the progress made by schools in their inclusive practice, requires a holistic perspective towards inclusion and its elements (Educational Reform Initiative, 2011). Especially in developing countries which are at the beginning of their inclusion journey, setting inclusive systems is possible by focusing on each element of the system and their interrelations. As an important element of an education system, attitudes of school staff towards inclusion are of crucial importance for creating an inclusive environment at school. It is known that these attitudes towards inclusive education and inclusion of disabled children might positively change when stakeholders receive training at any level of their professional life (Sucuoglu, 2004) because professionals who feel incompetent about their skills in terms of working in an inclusive setting might be reluctant in working with disabled students (Aydin and Sahin 2002). Finally, the need for a variation in the provision of support services and an inclusive curriculum in mainstream schools of Turkey is high because more students with diverse backgrounds are entering mainstream schools with individual needs and diverse backgrounds. Both in the classroom and outside, students require support, specific to their individual needs. In providing this support, cooperation with families and consultation with colleagues and other professionals is known to contribute to the development of more inclusive schools (Booth and Ainscow 2002). As for the curriculum, the progress made on the policy level might be extended to the development of more inclusive curricula by The Ministry which develops centralized curricula and has schools follow them. Reflections Carrying out this literature review has made me face two realities. The first one was the range of necessary skills which must be recruited during the process. Acquiring these skills entails advanced academic training as well as engagement in permanent reading and writing which are challenging. The second reality was the influence of the review process on my assumptions and learning. As it requires permanent reading, some of the assumptions which I had before starting, needed either revision or complete change. As a result of this, I encountered new knowledge, new authors, new books and new styles of writing. Combined with the tips I gained during the course training, the process contributed to my confidence in critically analyzing a piece of writing and developing an argument about it. Word count excluding the figure and table: 3296

Human Resources function Essay

In this assignment we were instructed to select a business in which to analyze its Human Resources function. After a long deliberation I chose to discuss Tesco. There are several factors that influenced my choice one of these factors was accessibility of information on Tesco. I feel that in order to produce a vivid and constructive assignment, accessibility of background information is essential. Another factor that influenced my choice of business was familiarity, and the fact that I am a regular customer of Tesco’s and have friends and relatives that work for the company presently or have done in the past makes producing an in depth assignment on Tesco’s Human Resource function, much more straight forward than if I had no awareness of the company at all. Tesco is a nationwide food retailer and has stores all across England as well as some parts of Europe it specializes in the sale of food and other household goods and necessities. Tesco is today’s leading food retailer in the country, however without good employees the company would have never reached its current status and this is the case of most of the nations leading stores and companies. It is a well known fact that human resources is the most significant resource to any large scale business or company overweighing capital, buildings, land, equipment and materials or any other resource. The purposes of human resources are to attract and keep good, hard working, high quality staff. And the other purpose of the human resource sector is to dismiss low quality, lazy unhelpful workers who are known as liabilities to the company. This is important to a company like Tesco for high quality staff is hard to come by so it is important that the functional area under which the human resources is in does its best to retain good, hard working internal customers for as I previously mentioned the staff is considered to be the company’s most significant resource. Another purpose of the human resources section in Tesco is to train and develop all their employees to enable them to reach their full potential and do the work in which they have been employed to do to the best of their ability. By Tesco training and developing their staff even the members of staff who are not the best at their jobs develop into sufficient high – quality workers and this benefits Tesco for they could possibly save money, for instead of employing 10 workers to do one particular job for instance they can use 4/5 of the employees that they have been trained for the employees would be highly sufficient and would probably do the work quicker and of a higher quality than 10 new employees and in addition save Tesco money. Another purpose of the human resources sector is to ensure that Tesco’s avoids unlawful or unfair discrimination. This purpose is important for the company for if discrimination was not unavoidable by the human resource sector many workers would find Tesco an unpleasant working environment and when they come to work would put limited effort into their job hence developing a bad name for the organization. The last purpose of the human resource sector, which I am going to put into perspective, is to ensure that Tesco operates within the law in relation to employment and health and safety. This purpose is very significant for it provides employees with information about laws which apply to health and safety and employment therefore they wont violate these laws unknowledgeable. Like most functional areas in Tesco the human resources sector also have activities that staff within the human resource sector have to undergo. One of the human resources activities in Tesco is to recruit, retain and dismiss staff this is an important activity and requires a lot of attention. The human resources center has to deal with the recruitment of staff, they have to hold interviews and undergo research for applicants who want to work for Tesco. This activity requires not only interviews and research but it also requires the human resources sector to advertise placements. Another thing this activity requires is to retain good high quality staff; the human resources can manage this by acting as consultants and helping members of staff in everyway possible. In addition the human resources have a duty to ensure that Tesco maintains a good working environment and therefore form good working relationships between staff so there is an endless pleasant felling in Tesco and it would prevent good workers from leaving Tesco as a result of hostility within the organization. It is also very important that Tesco allows its internal customers to have sick leaves lunch brakes etc. to relieve any pressures of work which the employees could fell they would need to resign. One more activity, which I am going to put in to perspective, is the dismissal of staff. The company has to deal with many incidents of staff dismissal every year but it is the human resources sector that deals with them directly. It is the human resources job to give warnings to employees i.e. verbal warnings for lateness and then written warning etc. so when a employee violates Tesco’s company policy whatever it may be, it is then the human resources responsibility to provide a notice to the member of staff who has violated company policy that they have been dismissed from the company in other words â€Å"sacked†. Another set of activities, which the human resources sector has to deal with, is the training, development and promotion of employees. The training of employees in Tesco is done solely by the human resource sector. It is human resource that decides what kind of training a particular employee needs, when the particular employee needs training and how long will the employee need to be trained for. For instance if a member of staff was appointed trainee manager of Tesco it would then be the responsibility of the human resource sector to decide how long the employee should train for depending on the particular employees personal ability. The training of Tosco’s internal customers is part of its employees development, the reason for this is because the training of employees is to do with the development of skills i.e. communication with customers. The provided training at Tesco’s helps develop skills for many employees every year for Tesco’s nurtures all its employees and gives them skills to carry along with them to future employment when they leave Tesco if they should leave. Another aspect, which the human resources sector in Tesco has to deal with, is the promotion of its staff. I feel every member of staff regardless of their role whether they are toilet cleaners or till assistants are entitled to promotion after being part of a company such as Tesco for a certain amount of time. However, the statement I have just made is not how Tesco runs its promotion opportunities there are other factors that Tesco’s human resources look into when considering an employees promotion. One factor that the human resources look at is how interested you are with your work and how interested you are with Tesco itself, the human resources look for employees who have actually gained an interest with their work and the organization when selecting an employee to be promoted, this is important for Tesco for an employee who has an interest with the company and their job is likely to put more effort and sufficiency in their work than somebody who has a low amount of interest for the company and their job. Tesco’s human resources sector also looks at a promotion candidate’s ability to get along with their fellow employees. This is also an important factor for Tesco when deciding to promote a member of staff to a higher role for they want to promote friendly/pleasant characters as opposed to hostile/rude employees who don’t get along with anybody in their current role let a lone a higher role where they will be in contact with more employees. Another factor that the human resources look at is the employee’s ability to manage their current job exceedingly well. In my own personal opinion this is the most significant factor apart from † how long the employee has been working with the company for† when deciding to promote a member of staff into a higher position. I feel this is the most important factor the reason being is that you cannot possibly promote a member of staff onto a higher position with higher pay cheque and higher responsibility when they are struggling or just about managing with their current job. The next set of activities that the human resources sector have to undergo in Tesco that I am going to put into perspective in this assignment is the monitoring and maintenance of good working conditions. Good working conditions are enforced by Tesco’s human resource sector and list of the conditions are presented to all new employees when they start at Tesco. Some of the information presented to the new employees on the list of terms and conditions include, the address of their work placements, the employees hours of work, the employees wage and also additional payments such as commission, bonuses and overtime. Also in them list of terms and conditions are employees holiday entitlements per year both personal and statutory days e.g. Christmas, whether the employee will receive sick pay and if so on what basis i.e. only with a Doctors note. In addition the list of terms and conditions, which are presented to all new employees at Tesco’s, include pension rights and any f ringe benefits, for example share rewards staff vouchers etc. The working conditions are regularly inspected by staff from the Human resource sector to ensure that the working conditions in Tesco is kept at a superior standard to ensure that employees can do there work well without worrying about any obstacles distracting them from their work. The physical environment such as good lighting and ventilation, modern furnishings and equipment, adjustable heating, low noise pollution and a restful color scheme. In Tesco, in their attempt to make sure there is an endless pleasant environment and good working conditions in the store the human resources offer employees personal services such as free medical screening and the availability to talk to counselors whenever they are experiencing any personal problems. By Tesco helping their internal customers in this way it can help to relieve a lot of tension and maintain a good working environment for Tesco’s employees. The last activity I am going to put into perspective that Tesco’s human resource sector undergoes is health and safety. The UK law requires internal customers as well as employers to conform to the health and safety legislation. Like most organizations Tesco have a health and safety officers who advises the managers at Tesco about their responsibilities in regards to the health and safety law it is, also it is the role of the health and safety officer to ensure all employees are kept informed about the health and safety law via the manager. In addition it is the human resources sector that makes sure that there is a display of the details of the health and safety law that is displayed where everyone working in the store can in the store can see it.

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