Definition and Examples of Singular They

In  English grammar, singular they is the use of the pronoun they, them, or their to refer to a singular noun or to certain indefinite pronouns (such as anybody or everyone). Also called  epicene they and unisex they. Though strict prescriptive grammarians regard the singular they as a grammatical error, it has been in widespread use for several centuries. Singular they appears in the writings of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Austen, Woolf, and many other major English authors. In January 2016,  the American Dialect Society chose the gender-neutral singular they as its Word of the Year: They  was recognized by the society for its emerging use as a pronoun to refer to a known person, often as a conscious choice by a person rejecting the traditional gender binary of  he  and  she (American Dialect Society press release, January 8, 2016). Examples When a person talks too much, they learn little. (Duncan Hines, Lodging for a Night, 1938)If anybody wants their admission fee back, they can get it at the door. (Fiddlers Dram. Spooky South: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore, retold by S. E. Schlosser. Globe Pequot, 2004)She admired the fullness of the dirty net curtains, opened every drawer and cupboard, and, when she found the Gideons Bible, said, Somebodys left their book behind. (Sue Townsend, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction. Lily Broadway Productions, 2004)She kept her head and kicked her shoes off, as everybody ought to do who falls into deep water in their clothes. (C.S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn-Treader, 1952)I know when I like a person directly I see them! (Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out, 1915)A person cant help their birth, Rosalind replied with great liberality. (William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848) Singular They and Agreement Examples of semantically singular they are given in [52]: [52i] Nobody in their right mind would do a thing like that. [52ii] Everyone has told me they think I made the right decision. [53iii] We need a manager who is reasonably flexible in their approach. [52iv] In that case the husband or the wife will have to give up their seat on the board. Notice that this special interpretation of they doesnt affect verb agreement: we have they think (3rd plural) in [ii], not *they thinks (3rd singular). Nonetheless, they can be interpreted as if it were 3rd person singular, with human denotation and unspecified gender. (Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2005) The Growing Acceptance of Singular They The general hesitancy of grammarians towards accepting singular they is not actually matched by many of their academic colleagues who have researched the usage and its distribution (e.g. Bodine 1075; Whitley 1978; Jochnowitz 1982; Abbot 1984; Wales 1984b). Nor indeed is it matched by the lay native speakers of standard English, who show an overwhelming preference for it in contemporary spoken English, non-formal written English and an ever-widening spread of non-formal written registers, from journalism to administration and academic writing. . . . Singular they, in fact, has been well established in informal usage for centuries; until prescriptive grammarians decreed it was grammatically incorrect, and so outlawed it, effectively, from (public) written discourse. The OED and Jespersen (1914) reveal, for example, that right from the time of the introduction of the indefinite pronouns into the language in their present form in the Late Middle English period, the option involving they has been in common use. (Katie Wales, Personal Pronouns in Present-Day English. Cambridge University Press, 1996) The Only Sensible Solution His or her is clumsy, especially upon repetition, and his is as inaccurate with respect to grammatical gender as they is to number. Invented alternatives never take hold. Singular they already exists; it has the advantage that most people already use it. If it is as old as Chaucer, whats new? The  Washington Post’s style editor, Bill Walsh, has called it the only sensible solution to the gap in English’s pronouns, changing his newspapers style book in 2015. But it was also the rise in the use of  they  as a pronoun for someone who does not want to use he or she. Facebook began already in 2014 allowing people to choose they as their preferred pronoun (Wish them a happy birthday!). Transgender stories, from The Danish Girl, a hit movie, to Caitlyn Jenner, an Olympic athlete who has become the world’s most famous trans woman, were big in 2015. But such people prefer their post-transition pronouns: he or she as desired. They is for a smaller minority who prefer neither. But the very idea of non-binary  language with regard to gender annoys and even angers many people. In other words, as transgender people gain acceptance, non-binary folks are the next frontier, like it or not. Who knew a thousand-year-old pronoun could be so controversial? (Prospero, Why 2015’s Word of the Year Is Rather Singular. The Economist, January 15, 2016) Origin of the Concept of the Gender-Neutral Masculine Pronoun [I]t was [Ann] Fisher [author of A New Grammar, 1745] who promoted the convention of using he, him and his as pronouns to cover both male and female in general statements such as Everyone has his quirks. To be precise, she says that The Masculine Person answers to the general Name, which comprehends both Male and Female; as, Any person who knows what he says. This idea caught on. . . The convention was bolstered by an Act of Parliament in 1850: in order to simplify the language used in other Acts, it was decreed that the masculine pronoun be understood to include both males and females. The obvious objection to this--obvious now, even if it was not obvious then--is that it makes women politically invisible. (Henry Hitchings, The Language Wars: A History of Proper English. Macmillan, 2011)

How Did Adolf Hitler Use Environmental Isolationism In

How did Adolf Hitler use Environmental Isolationism in and alongside the Hitler Youth Program to benefit his cause during The Third Reich (1933-1945)? Trinidad Reyes Ms. Coloma Period 4 May 22, 2017 1573 Words Section I How did Adolf Hitler use Environmental Isolationism in and alongside the Hitler Youth Program to benefit his cause during The Third Reich(1933-1945)? During this time period Adolf Hitler had taken control over Germany and had begun purging the country of people he thought were â€Å"impure†. He began building up his military powers and persuading his people. The Source â€Å"Children of The Slaughter† is especially significant to this investigation because it gives detail about Hitler’s Youth groups and gives†¦show more content†¦This source’s context contains information about how the youth were trained in preparation for the war and what they were trained for. It gives information about the age ranges for the different groups and rites of passages. It also describes the separation between boys and girls in these youth camps, and is thus valuable to one researching Hitler’s Youth. A limitation of this is that does not reveal anything about Hitler’s success or failure in his military involvement, or reveal anything about his invasions into other countries but simply informs about his Youth programs. It does not reveal his military involvement and is thus not valuable to one researching Hitler’s Involvement in other countries. Section II Adolf Hitler manipulated the Hitler Youth to build up his militaristic power, maintain and strengthen his control over Germany during The Third Reich, and easily purge Germany of â€Å"Impure races† with his anti-semitic raised soldiers. Hitler used environmental isolationism to train and gain loyalty from the youth while he manipulated and indoctrinated them to follow his beliefs using propaganda and anti-semitic teachings. Hitler isolated the youth from the rest of Germany to be able to easily manipulate their beliefs. In 1926 the Hitler Youth was founded and was made for the purpose to train boys to enter the SA (Storm Troopers), a Nazi Party paramilitaryShow MoreRelatedSection I. How Did Adolf Hitler Use Environmental Isolationism1607 Words   |  7 PagesSection I How did Adolf Hitler use Environmental Isolationism in and alongside the Hitler Youth Program to benefit his cause during The Third Reich(1933-1945)? During this time period Adolf Hitler had taken control over Germany and had begun purging the country of people he thought were â€Å"impure†. He began building up his military powers and persuading his people. The Source â€Å"Children of The Slaughter† is especially significant to this investigation because it gives detail about Hitler’s Youth groupsRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesMorrow Jr. 161 6 Locating the United States in Twentieth-Century World History †¢ Carl J. Guarneri 213 7 The Technopolitics of Cold War: Toward a Transregional Perspective †¢ Gabrielle Hecht and Paul N. Edwards 271 8 A Century of Environmental Transitions †¢ Richard P. Tucker 315 About the Contributors †¢ 343 _ IN TR OD UC TIO N Michael Adas B y any of the customary measures we deploy to demarcate historical epochs, the twentieth century does not appear to

The Importance of Friendship Free Essays

It’s impossible to know all of the different cultural differences in body language that you can run into. And trying to abide by all of them is even tougher. If I did, I’d be running around not looking at anyone with my hands in my pockets. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Friendship or any similar topic only for you Order Now Of course, then I would be offending both Turkish people (hands in my pockets) and all of my friends in the States. This is article is a compilation of my research. I apologize if I omit anything or make a mistake – there’s so much information in regards to this subject, and it’s difficult to capture it all. Drop me a line or comment if you see an error or want to add something. 1. Eye Contact: In the United States and Canada, INTERMITTENT eye contact is extremely important in conveying interest and attention. In many Middle Eastern cultures, INTENSE eye contact between the same genders is often a symbol of trust and sincerity however, between opposite genders, especially in Muslim cultures, anything more than BRIEF eye contact is considered inappropriate. Additionally, in Asian, African, and Latin American cultures, extended eye contact is considered a â€Å"challenge.† The Japanese tend to consider even brief eye contact uncomfortable. And, in some cultures, a woman should look down when talking to a man (thanks to thank Denise Gerdes, a former Peace Corps volunteer from Minnesota for that information). 2. Handshakes: In my handshake article Networking 101: You Better Get A Grip and Read This, I talked about the handshake in Western cultures. Between cultures, however, there are differences that could throw you off! For example, in parts of Northern Europe a quick firm â€Å"one-pump† handshake is the norm. In parts of Southern Europe, Central and South America, a handshake is longer and warmer – meaning the left hand usually touches the clasped hands, the elbow, or even the lapel of the shakee. Beware that in Turkey, a firm handshake is considered rude and aggressive. In certain African countries, a limp handshake is the standard. Men in Islamic countries never shake the hands of women outside the family. 3. Greetings: In America, we have the standard greeting: â€Å"Hello, my name is.. † with a handshake. At a networking event, chances are persons from a different culture will probably assimilate into everyone else’s style, however, there are other greetings out there of which you should be aware. In Japan, people bow. In Italy, people kiss cheeks. There is a very interesting list over at Bruce Van Patter’s website. 4. Personal Space: I get freaked out when someone gets too close to me – and I immediately try to end the conversation. However, in some cultures it is normal to be â€Å"in the bubble.† In China, if someone is doing business, it is widely accepted to have NO personal space at all. Strangers regularly touch when standing near each other. On the other hand, some cultures require much more space than in America. Keep in mind, that personal space will differ for everyone based on their upbringing. The advice that I would give, is that if you are unsure, start with your comfort zone, and let the other person move to where they are comfortable. 5. Touching:This is a big no-no. It may look okay, but you could be fooled. For example, did you know that in some sects of Judaism, the only woman that a man will touch in his lifetime is the woman he is married to? In Japan, Scandinavia, and England, touching is less frequent. In Latino cultures, touching is encouraged. This may not have a place in this article, but still interesting: NEVER touch a person’s head. This can be religiously offensive. Really, when you are out networking, just DON’T touch – except to shake hands. If you are comfortable, let the other person guide what is appropriate to them. 6. Small Talk: It’s tough to make small talk. And to make it even tougher, sometimes it is different in cultures outside of America. There was not much research on this, however, some of my loyal readers were able to help me out. Susanne Ebling of Washington, D. C suggests that in other cultures, just because you are asked â€Å"How are you? ,† it doesn’t mean that the other person is asking for a full health report. Keep in mind that this is not always a cultural thing. If someone you don’t know asks you how you are, you should never say anything but, â€Å"excellent,† or â€Å"fine,† or some derivative. Also, James Yoakum from New York reminded me that in America, often it is appropriate to ask what a person does for a living in a conversation. In fact, that’s how most people make small talk — and, in certain situations, it’s completely wrong, which I will discuss in another article. However, what you need to know now is that for many cultures it is inappropriate to ask this altogether. I say, learn how to network without making this part of your â€Å"small-talk† routine. 7. Personal Dress and Hygiene: I don’t know of any culture where it is acceptable to not brush your teeth. I could be wrong. However, everything else can vary! Some cultures don’t shave – their mens’ faces (or womens’ legs or underarms). Some cultures never wear deodorant and others don’t bathe as frequently. You must be careful to make sure you do not offend anyone. And yes, sometimes odors that are quite odd to you might be very acceptable in another culture. 8. Gestures:They mean different things everywhere. Seriously, keep your gestures to yourself. If you want to flip off the business card warrior, it might not have any effect at all if he/she is from a different culture. In fact, in some cultures, it’s used as a pointer. The thumbs-up has all different meanings too. At the peril of destroying my reputation, I am not even going to write about them. Also be careful with the American â€Å"A-Ok† sign and putting your hands on your hips. Conclusions: The two most important ideas to take away from this article is that you know these differences exist and that you treat others how you would want to be treated. Once again, the best policy is to let the other person lead the interaction if you are unsure. That way, you can never be wrong! How to cite The Importance of Friendship, Papers

Communications and Computer Knowledge Commensurate

Question: Discuss about the Communications and Computer Knowledge Commensurate. Answer: Introduction: Managing the employees achievement is a prolonged exhaustive process. The systematic evaluation through which the achievement of the employees of any company is judged is known as performance appraisal. This evaluation helps a company to find out the ways where it should improve in order to excel in the market (Girgis, Georgy and Abou-Zeid 2015).. The basic objectives of this system are: to identify the fortitude and deficiency of the employees, to evaluate if a person has scope of improvement or if they should be shirked off, to sustain a record of the salary structure existing in the company, wages paid to the employees and the incentives they has received. This report will focus on the performance appraisal of the organization named Welton NHS Trust. It is an organization providing health service to the people within the geographical domain of the country (webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk 2016). It also performs some pre-specified specialized function The NHS trusts were build under the guidance of National Health Service and Community Care Act of 1990. Through this report the appraisal system of Welton Trust has been evaluated. There are several methods by which the organization can use its appraisal system on motivate and generate an impact on its employees. The outcome of the appraisal system has been highlighted in this report. Initially the report highlights the different tools through which the performance is evaluated (Zheng et al. 2016). The way in which KSF can be used to improve the companys performance has also been recognized. It is then followed by the way in which AMO model can be beneficial for the organization. The report has been concluded by seeing if this system can be used to generate HPWS in the system. Problems persisting in Welton NHS Trust: Our evaluation shows that Welton NHS Trust has been using appraisal of the last type as discussed in the next part of the report. That is the manager is solely responsible for assessing his team. It has been found that the directorate works with 10 managers from different departments. The mangers are responsible for maintaining a small group of employees (www.weltonsurgery.co.uk 2015). Two important facets have cropped up regarding the appraiser system of the company. In one point the Directorate of Clinical Support finds that there has been problem cropping up in the employers side regarding their managers, specially the manager dealing with the waiting list. On other hand the manager reports that he has efficiently solved the problem and corrected the mistakes made by the clerk working under him. Now the directorate is in great need to restore the balance of the trust by finding some new method of appraisal so that the employees agitation does not shootout through the bottle-neck o f the trust. Through the next section a brief analysis of the goals and types of appraisal system has been discussed to elucidate the steps that the trust may take up to uplift the existing scenario. Goals of the Appraisal system: The system which tries to evaluate the performance of the institution conducts their survey with certain pre-fixed goals (Agarwal and Thakur 2013). They are: To appraise individual performance: If appraising of individual performance can be done successfully then it will help the company to realize the point where it needs to improve. Incentive Structure: By evaluating the performance of the employees it can be understood if at all they are happy with the price that they gets in return to their service. Most of the time it has been observed that some extra benefits always acts as a catalyst. It enhances the performance of the employees. Hence, the goal is to set up an appropriate incentive structure. Deciding on shirk-off: The performance of the organization in this report the Welton NHS trust helps the organization to decide on if it is ready to keep its existing staff working in the office or if it wants to shirk off the laid back, under-performing employee. Types of Appraisal system: There is a varied range of existing system by which performance can be evaluated. They are discussed as follows: It is the very basic yet easiest way to understand the companys performance. The constant communication between the employees and the manager of the organization helps in deciding the performance. The manager evaluates the performance of its employees on the basis of some pre-set goals (Rigby and Bilodeau 2015). Through this method the capability of an individual to handle the technical sides of the organization is evaluated. Say for e.g.: A receptionists ability to efficiently operate the computer and provide correct information to the clients can be taken as his technical skills. 360-Degree Appraisal: This particular type of appraisal is a bit complicated. Through this process the reviews of all the co-employees are taken into consideration while accessing the performance of an individual (Gupta 2013). The feedbacks are scrutinized by the managers and then the appraisal is decided. The employee himself has been bestowed with the duty to evaluate his performance. The manager later on tallies his observation with his employees self assessed report and informs the same about any discrepancies of the same (Songstad 2012). This is one of the technically best way as well as time saving way of evaluating the workers performance. After each individual project, the employee gets marked according to his performance. Hence, at the end of the year an employee gets evaluated by the average of his performance in different projects. This average score helps the manager to find out the flaws of the employees. Project evaluation method also highlights the consistent performer of the economy. Manager has been bestowed the crucial job of coordinating with his team and with the clientele. He needs to satisfy the later without disrupting the balance between the former one. The manager takes feedback from his client and the team members in deciding upon the employees performance. Problems of the Used Appraisal Technique: Often it has been seen that this technique has negative effects that surpasses the positivity of the technique. Usually there is a tendency of the managers getting biased towards some particular employee whereas against some others (Bernardin and Wiatrowski 2013). Also it has often been noticed that the managers try to shade their faults by highlighting some issues of the employees under him. There is another problem faced while using this technique. The employee often feels that their boss and managers has been trying to unnecessarily intervene in their works. At the same time the managers may remain too busy with other works. Hence, there is a need to change the existing system of appraisal to improve the scenario. The next section deals with the way how proper skill generation can help the trust in upgrading their existing performance scenario. KSF formation and performance improvement: Skills and knowledge are two most important attributes that are essential for working in any field. Knowledge about any subject implies having an in-depth understanding in that subject. The term skill on other hand implies the ability to use the biblical knowhow into practical field to solve any problem.(Certo 2015). As seen in our analysis that Welton NHS Trust has been facing some issues within the group under their waiting list manager. It has been observed that the employee dealing with data-entry has made some mistakes in his dealings in spite of being experienced in that genre. It is important for any company to hire people with proper knowledge about the profession in which they are appointed. At the same time it is the duty of the company to train their employees on different skills that they may need while carrying on their task. Here in this part the different types of skill that any employee must acquire to enhance their performance are discussed. The skills can be broadly categorized under 4 groups. They are: Inter-personal skills: Inter-personal skill deals with peoples ability to communicate with the other co-employees and consist of three sub-skills namely, leadership skills, relationship skills and skills of delegating and helping others (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Information management: The training of gathering proper information, correlating them with one another and analyzing them to yield fruitful outcomes falls under this domain. Analytic skills: This skill helps people to have an in-depth knowledge planning, analyzing quantitative data and using technology to manipulate large pool of data. Action skills: The fourth and the last kind of skill that requires setting goal and entrepreneurial quality is known as the action skills Through our analysis as it has been seen that theres an interactive issue amongst the new manger and the team, hence, few skills can be suggested that may help them to improve the situation. The team of dealing with data-entry should be given some knowledge about recent the technical know-how of using the computer efficiently (Dowding 2013). Aged clerks may not be well accustomed with operating the machine and therefore may require training in it. At the same time some session where inter-personal skill can be brushed will be helpful for the company. As already mentioned above there has been some growing agitation amongst the employees on the manager. The company needs to seriously curb this problem to ensure future smooth functioning in their system. Hence, the inter-personal skill can be beneficial for the company in dealing with this problem and helping the manager to understand their fault as well as binding the employees and managers in a closer professional relationship. AMO Model and implementation to improve HPWS: The AMO model is an acronym of three parts. They are: A: A stands for ability. It means the things that company is able to increase the ability of production of its employees (Wang et al. 2014). M: Motivation, it implies the things that the company does to motivate the employees and O: It stands for Opportunity, that the company has been providing its employees to help them perform better. Presence of all three components of AMO ensures the company to have enhanced performance (Wang 2014). By implementing this model, Welton NHS Trust can ensure to see a high performance work system of their company. At the initial level, prior to hiring an employee, the recruitment team should scrutinize if the interviewee has proper skills and knowledge that the job demands. Post recruitment, the company should provide proper guidance to the employee to learn and use development tools. Even if some employee has knowledge about the required tools then also they must start from the scratch and go through the entire training. This should be made mandatory as each individual company has certain unique guidelines which need to be understood at the beginning of the job. High-Performance Work System can be ensured only when the employees are properly motivated to do their job (Ogbonnaya et al. 2016). It can only be done if they receive proper appraisal from their managers. The company can try out the appraisal system dealing with project evaluation. It can give its employees certain grades after each complete project that they do. At the end of the year the managers may then be asked to provide the report for his teams performance project wise. The employee qualifying some pre-set targets in their project related performance should be provided with incentives in the form of appraisal. The appraisal can be monetary benefit, promotions or some other benefits that induces the workers to work harder the next time (Kehoe and Wright 2013). There is some drawbacks that the company may face in this system like, the managers may not be willing to give proper grades. To create a high-performance work system, the Welton NHS Trust should also ensure that the evaluation report is cross-checked and verified by other team managers before handing it to the Directorate. Conclusion: The report presented above has been a miniscule of the complex system of Appraisal Management of a company. To wrap up the report, it can be connoted that several tools are available which can be used to evaluate the performance system. Each individual tool has its own perk and flaws. The effectiveness of the method can truly be recognized only after implementation of the same. It can definitely be concluded that the company can prosper with proper development and implementation of skills after imparting the correct knowledge via AMO model. References: Aggarwal, A. and Thakur, G.S.M., 2013. Techniques of performance appraisal-a review.International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT) ISSN, pp.2249-8958. Archive, N. (2016). UK Government Web Archive The National Archives. [online] Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Available at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/*/https://www.institute.nhs.uk/quality_and_value/productive_ward/case_studies.html [Accessed 17 Dec. 2016]. Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Bernardin, H.J. and Wiatrowski, M., 2013. Performance appraisal.Psychology and Policing,257. Certo, S., 2015.Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Dowding, D., 2013. Are nurses expected to have information technology skills? The NHS knowledge and skills framework requires staff to have communications and computer knowledge commensurate with their roles. Dawn Dowding reports on a study to identify whether employers are conforming to this standard.Nursing Management,20(5), pp.31-37. Girgis, A., Georgy, M. and Abou-Zeid, A., 2015. Public project appraisal: A risk-based decision making approach. InRICS COBRA AUBEA 2015(pp. 1-7). Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Gupta, T., 2013. SUITABILITY OF 360 DEGREE APPRAISAL SYSTEM TO MANAGE COMPANY'S HEALTH: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY.International Journal of Organizational Behaviour Management Perspectives,2(1), p.238. Kehoe, R.R. and Wright, P.M., 2013. The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees attitudes and behaviors.Journal of management,39(2), pp.366-391. Ogbonnaya, C., Daniels, K., Connolly, S. and van Veldhoven, M., 2016. Integrated and Isolated Impact of High-Performance Work Practices on Employee Health and Well-Being: A Comparative Study. Rigby, D. and Bilodeau, B., 2015. Management tools trends 2015.London, Bain Company. Songstad, N.G., Lindkvist, I., Moland, K.M., Chimhutu, V. and Blystad, A., 2012. Assessing performance enhancing tools: experiences with the open performance review and appraisal system (OPRAS) and expectations towards payment for performance (P4P) in the public health sector in Tanzania.Globalization and health,8(1), p.1. Wang, A., 2014. An AMO model for communicating and promoting financial services.The Routledge Companion to Financial Services Marketing, p.305. Wang, C.H., Baba, V.V., Hackett, R.D. and Hong, Y., 2014, January. Human Resource Systems and Broaden OCB Role Definitions: An Ability-Motivation-Opportunity Model. InAcademy of Management Proceedings(Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 11363). Academy of Management. Weltonsurgery.co.uk. (2015). Welton Family Health Centre - Practice Information. [online] Available at: https://www.weltonsurgery.co.uk/info.aspx?p=20 [Accessed 17 Dec. 2016]. Zheng, L., Baron, C., Esteban, P., Xue, R., Zhang, Q. and Sotelo, K.I.G., 2016. Pointing out the gap between academic research and supporting software tools in the domain of the performance measurement management of engineering projects.IFAC-PapersOnLine,49(12), pp.1561-1566.