Demolition of steel manufacturing plant

Demolition of steel manufacturing plant Introduction This report is to outline the demolition of an existing steel manufacturing plant between Sheffield and Rotherham, all buildings on the brownfield site will be demolished. The client is a major internet mail order retailer who requires a handling and distribution warehouse on the site. The report will show potential hazards that may be found on the site and precautionary measures are needed. This will involve removing the existing buildings found on the site and that adequate provisions are made to assure the local authority that any potential hazardous are removed safely and correctly from the site. The report will also contain a specification of a suitable foundation answer for the new building, and a suitable frame solution. There will be a solution for the cladding system, a method of construction for the concrete floor slab for the new building. The building will have a gross area of 13,000m2 which will incorporate high bay racking which will be used for storage of the retail products. Within the design a 600m2 office accommodation is required on site for the staff to operate the facility. The new building will be a close as possible to the boundary to allow space for vehicular access to and from the site. Demolition Under section 80 of the 1980 Building Act anyone intending to carry out demolition is required to notify the council. This outline Method Statement and all detailed Method Statements produced will be in accordance with BS 6187. Site personnel Contracts manager Safety advisor Full Time Site Manager Demolition Site Supervisor Co-ordinator Demolition operatives Plant operators Working Hours The standard working hours for a construction company are 07.30 17.30 Monday Friday. Weekend working is only arranged as necessary and by agreement with both the client and Local Authority. It is understood that restrictions on site working hours are as detailed below, and therefore conclude that the standard hours of work fall within the prescribed timings; Weekdays 7.00 19.00 Saturdays 9.00 12.00 Sundays and Bank Holidays No Work Ground Site Survey Level and water depth were inspected in this survey, as this will cause difficulties in the design of the foundation and retaining structure if there is a water table. However, from the survey it can be assumed that ground water table is not present. A Type 3 Full Access Sampling Identification Survey (Demolition/Refurbishment Surveys), should be carried out to locate and describe, as far as it is practicable, all asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in the building and may involve some destructive inspection, to gain access to all areas in the building, some may be difficult to reach or are hidden from sight. A full sampling program is undertaken to identify possibly ACMs and estimates of the volume and surface area of ACMs. Services Services are known to exist in the bordering footpaths/roads and enter the site. All services to the buildings to be demolished are to be disconnected at or beyond the site boundary prior to works commencing. The local gas and electricity suppliers will be informed for the proposed working period with the client and all statutory undertakers are to ensure that all services are identified and isolated or their positions marked as required. It is recommended that a CAT scan should be carried out before commencing of the works to locate the possibility of rouge services within the site area. If there are any services within the site which are to remain live, they will need to be assessed and protected as necessary. Carefully controlled hand excavated trial pits will be carried out as necessary to prove and verify exact location and nature of recorded services. Soft Strip A soft internal strip of the building must firstly undertaken before the main demolition the buildings are removed. All areas will be inspected prior to the works commencing. Soft strip of all flammable materials will be undertaken. The soft strip will normally undertake with hand tools. During the soft strip all operatives will be advised to be vigilant for hazardous substances or materials. Any hazardous substances or materials found shall be brought to the attention of the site supervisor who will asses these and arrange for the appropriate action to be undertaken. All necessary PPE will be provided and worn during the soft strip. Access to the roof should be limited to lowest possible practical necessity. Mechanical and demolition will be carried out where it is safe to do, as it is always the preferred method. Soft strip material arising will be disposed of via suitable skips with record maintained regarding identification and disposal. Any materials that can be re-cycled or re-used will separate from the general waste. TheManual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended) set no specific requirements such as weight limits (ref). Although it sets out no limit common sense should prevail that when lifting heavier items it should be done in teams. Movements on and off site are to be fully supervised by the ground operative at all times. Damping down measures in the form of a hand held water spray system may be adopted should the need arise. All runoff water from the suppression operations is to be channelled to the nearest low point of the building footprint. The basements are to act as soakaways for the runoff water. The constant monitoring of dust will be carried out and all necessary suppression will be implemented as determined by the site supervisor. All materials are to be removed to licensed disposal points via sheeted transport with full documentation being supplied upon completion of the works. Hard Demolition There are two main methods of demolition which are available for this type of demolition works to be carried out, they are piecemeal and deliberate explosive collapse. Piecemeal demolition involves the process of using cranes and other equipment to dismantle the building, it is a more controlled method of demolition which allows for any materials which can salvaged and re used within the project. However, it may take longer to complete the necessary works which could in turn delay the project. Demolition of buildings or structure by hand-held tools such as electric or pneumatic breakers, sometimes as a preliminary to using other methods, should be carried out, where practicable, in the reverse order to the original construction sequence. Lifting appliances may be necessary to hold larger structural members during cutting and for lowering severed structural members and other debris. Chutes may be used to discharge debris into a vehicle or hopper. Foundations would normally be grubbed up by excavation machines. When any part of a building is being demolished by a balling machine, pusher arm or similar equipment, only the machine operator and banksman should be allowed close to the working area. The cabs of all machines should be strong enough to protect the operator against the fall of debris. In particular, the windscreen and rooflight should be of shatterproof material and guarded by a grille of steel bars or a substantial mesh. The deliberate collapse of the whole or part of a building or structure requires particularly high standards of planning, supervisions and execution, and careful consideration of its effect on other parts of the structure or on adjacent buildings or structures. A surrounding clear area and exclusion zone are required to protect both personnel and property from the fall of the structure itself and debris which may be thrown up by the impact. The collapse is usually achieved either by removing key structural elements (e.g. with explosive charges) or by wire rope pulling at a high level to overturn the structure. The possible modes of failure must be studied to ensure that the method selected will produce the required pattern of collapse. If the operation is not successful, the remaining structure may be extremely dangerous for the completion of the demolition. It is therefore, recommended that the most appropriate way of dismantling the building will be through the piecemeal method of demolition. This will be the most cost effective way of dismantling the buildings. It also ensures that all of the materials that are removed can go through the re-use and re-cycle waste management system. Once the activities involved in the demolition take place, the tools and equipment required to carry out the work can be defined, these will include cranes of various types, transport equipment, bolting equipment, welding equipment including cables, guns and drying ovens, electric generators, hydraulic jacks, measuring equipment and miscellaneous equipments. The heaviest or highest element to be dismantled, or the part which requires the greatest lifting capacity (radius-weight) determines the minimum crane capacity to be used. The first stage of the hard demolition stage is to removal of the roof system. The roof system consists of steel corrugated sheeting and in order to remove the material scaffolding will need to be erected, any work carried out manually on the roof will have to have fall arrest systems in place. The next stage will be the removal of the existing cladding system on the walls of the building. This will again removed manually and may also involve the use crane machinery to safely remove the material away from the building. Subsequently the steel frame will be dismantled with the steel frame roof trusses needing to be removed first. This will involve the use carnage machinery which will be operated by a qualified Slinger with a valid CSCS card, at all times when the crane is being operated it must supervised by the site supervisor. After the trusses have been removed the steel stanchions can be removed, they must first be securely attached the crane and then the bolts can be removed manually from the foundations. All the steel removed will be salvaged and under the waste plan it will sold to a scrap yard. Lastly the concrete ground floor will be broken up and removed. The concrete will need to be grubbed first, this concrete will then be used as part of the base course for the new building foundations. This will be achieved by the use of a mobile crusher to convert the concrete into base course. This process will involve large amounts dust produced and a high degree of noise, this will be covered in section 2 of the report which will include all of the safety considerations and PPEs to be worn during the demolition stage. Hazardous materials Identification and removal of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) will be carried out prior to our commencement on site. However, given the age of the structures it is envisaged that some ACMs will remain undetected until the soft strip and main demolition works are progressed. Site Managers, Supervisors and Operatives will be briefed in this regard and a process is to be established between K D C, the client and his asbestos surveyor to minimise the potential hazard of any asbestos discovered during the works and also the potential delay to the contract. Other hazards have been identified in terms of lead paint, oil containing excessive levels of PCBs and also refrigerant from Air Conditioning systems. Samples of paint will be taken as required in order to assess any lead content if needed. In the event this registers positive, respirators with the appropriate filters will be issued. Oils will be sampled at the earliest opportunity and drained and disposed of through a licensed undertaker. Air conditioning units and associated pipe work will be de-gassed by a specialist contractor at the earliest opportunity. Arsenic is one of the likely contaminants which may be found from the ground site survey, if found in this instance then Approved Document Part C Section 2.3 of Building Regulations should be followed. Personal protective equipment All site personnel will be issued with standard personal protective equipment. Each operative will have general protection issued by the Site Supervisor dependent upon the work in hand. Safety wear will comprise of the following: Hard hats, ear and eye defenders, nasal protection against high volume of dust, dermal protection to exposed vulnerable areas and footwear against risk of penetration and impact, high visibility vests/jackets. Site perimeter Warning notices and restricted area notices will be positioned at vantage points. The permanent working area is to be protected and scaffold in accordance with the clients requirements prior to main demolition works commencing. Solid barriers will be in place to all site boundaries through the provision of either timber hoarding, solid heras type fencing or utilisation of existing boundary walls. The inner perimeter of the working area is to receive a further block and mesh hoarding as necessary to demark active demolition zones or protected services. Elevations which front public rights of way will have sentries in attendance when needed. During plant demolition the management of pedestrians and traffic will be implemented by the contractor jointly with the client/County Council/Local Highways Authority. Access and egress to the workface will be via designated routes. These will be agreed and implemented by our site supervisor. The existing road system is to be followed in accordance with the traffic management scheme to be adopted. All plant will be delivered to site by road going low loader, with no plant movements carried out on existing roadway to ensure that the road surface and also existing below ground sewers/drainage is not damaged through displacement. Workforce protection Areas of risk directly beneath the demolition area will be cordoned off and clearly segregated from third parties. Barriers are to be erected complete with warning signs. All temporary barriers and signs etc. will be constantly checked and maintained before and during each working day by the Site Supervisors. All areas of safety will be constantly evaluated with attention to detail being given the utmost concern at all times. Any secondary lighting required within the site will be the responsibility of, and provided by, the contractor in a safe and secure manner. The positioning of any lights will be in liaison with the client. The position of any lighting will be such that there is no risk imported to the adjacent operational properties. Dust noise reduction strategy Noise levels will be monitored during the course of the works. It is accepted that noise cannot be eliminated entirely, but reasonable steps will be taken to reduce any adverse effects of noise generated by the works. Previous works of this nature have been carried out and have had noise assessments produced. A table summary of these results is shown below for reference. The nature of the works and type of structures will allow controlled sectional removal of structural elements using remotely operated plant. The nature and capability of the plant proposed to be used is such that all operations will be carried out with the minimum of noise and emissions generated on the site. All of the contractors Plant and Machinery should have engines compliant with emission regulations EU Stage 3. In addition all exhaust gases are mixed with intake air to reduce particle matter and Nitrogen emissions. The location of all plant and machinery, specifically crushing plant, will be positioned as far as is reasonably practicable from sensitive receptors, specifically members of the public and adjacent residential properties. As a matter of course all plant and machinery will have the engines turned off when idling. Anticipated noise levels Activity Noise produced at Source Noise produced at site boundary Demolition Breaking slabs Crushing 93db(A) 103db(A) 89db(A) 80db(A) 85db(A) 75db(A) Suitable Foundation Solution Before deciding on a suitable foundation solution a frame proposal for the building must be provided. A large span steel portal will be used for the design of the building with a cladding system attached to this frame. It can be determined from this that the best solution for the foundation would be a pad foundation. The columns of steel framework transfer their load to the foundation by means of the base plates. The foundation bolts constitutes the unifying element between foundation and framework. In cases where the columns transfer compressive stress only, the bolts are used to locate the column correctly. The office space provided will require separate foundations, this is since it will be a cavity wall construction. Therefore, a strip foundation solution is required to spread the load from the walls uniformly. The depth of the strip foundation should be at least 0.75m according NHBC 2008 Standards Section 4.4, with the foundation spread having to be at least the width of the wall, when building on rock at 2m depth. When carrying pit excavations for the foundations it is important to ensure there is an earth support barrier. This can achieved with the use steel interlocking sheeting around the pit. Suitable Frame Proposal The most appropriate solution for the frame proposal will be multi-span large frame steel portals, a large span portal frame can span from 15m to 60m. Spacing between the frames can from 6m to 12m with the roof pitch having a low pitch between 15Â ° to 18Â °. Within the design it should incorporate high bay racking. Therefore, it is advised the portal frame should include lattice members made for lateral support, which will be required particularly in the instance of longer span frames. Multi-span portal frames are suitable for wide buildings and are economical in material usage and labour contribution. An example of the multi-span steel portal frame has been provided.

Course purshasing Essay

* Founded by France Dominique Mandonnaud in 1969 as a simple perfume shop. * By 1979 the company was already expanded to â€Å"several stores† * Originally, Sephora was planned to be self-service store that offers a variety of products. * Its founder Mandonnaud rebranded his combined set of stores in order to expand is market. * Mandonnaud extended its branches all over France by acquiring 8% of total French retail perfume market and was purchased by LVMH, luxury product group, for $262 million in 1997. * Sephora expanded its operations and services beyond the perfume industry and expanding its core of products to cosmetics. * Under LNMH’s ownership and opened its first U. S store in New York City in 1998 However, this presented a challenge for the company as they had a difficult time to supply the products from other prestigious brands; such as Estee Lauder and Clinique. * The Company banked on rather unknown brands to fill its shelves therefore, these relationships grew strong and eventually this fact led to the innovation and creativity of these brands to introduce new lines of products. * Sephora confronted many issues on their cosmetic line division, especially with the direct line of supply from other stores. * Bottom line, Sephora offers more than 200 brands that go from the typical classics to new and exotic brands; altogether, Sephora counts with more than 20,000 products. Among those products we could find top of line and sophisticated brands as well as not so well know products. * Sephora formed an strategic alliance with JC Penny. * Sephora. com was projected to generate 15-20% of Sephora USA sales in 2010. * Sephora. com ranked top 50 retail sites in U. S SWOT analysis Strengths * Globally distributed with more than 1000 shops worldwide * Strong parent company; LVMH * More than 20,000 products to offer. * Strong online sales * self-service approach to cosmetics * Strong emphasis on construct loyalty brand by tracking down the customers shopping habits. Weaknesses * Modest operational budget. * Low brand recognition * Lack of TV promotions and print ads. * Higher price than drugstores and supermarkets Opportunities * Enhance their customer loyalty program in order to build a â€Å"relationship† with the product consumers. * Sign contracts with famous celebrities to endorse their products. * Introduction to enter into emerging economies such as Brazil and India. Threats * Economic downturn. * Other companies in the same industry. * Amazon and other online companies that sale cosmetic, with their aggressive approach could certainly become a threat. Identification of Problem * Personnel and financial constraints needed to be addressed. * Imagination and inventiveness was greatly needed. * Budget limitation, presented a real challenge when it comes to budget allocation to different initiatives. * Outcomes assessment of social media campaigns as well as mobile applications constituted a real test to overcome. Sephora Direct Julie Bornstein took Sephora on another journey. She transforms the marketing view to a much modern and up to date campaigns. * New Budget request was introduced in order to launch a major campaign that will include social media, web site enhancement as well as the implementation of â€Å"customer relationship† campaigns. * Campaign success should be assessed thorough out Facebook â€Å"likes† and twitter followers as well as I phone application downloads. Sephora. com and Beauty Insider * Sephora. com was implement on 1999 with very imp clear short and long term goals. * Up to 25% of sales should be generated by Sephora. com by 2010. * By 2007 Sephora developed its Beauty Insider campaign. * Incentives such as 1 point for every dollar, redeem points programs are among those strategies in order to create that â€Å"relationship† with its customers Social Media Although this initiative had a rocky start, eventually become a success, Bornstein visionary initiative and her persistence, this initiate obtained 1 million product reviews posted on their web site. (Ofek, 2012). Facebook * Sephora join Facebook by 2008 in less than a year their account had close to 300,000 fans in Facebook. * Last statistics show the Sephora page with more than 900,000 Twitter * By 2010, Sephora had approx. 100,000 users. * Primarily used for current promos, contests, events, etc. * Customers used it to tweet about newly found products. You Tube * Used by Sephora to upload â€Å"How to Videos† on make-up applications; however this sharing video site could be utilized on a much more aggressive way. Cell phone applications * The rapid pace of technology forced mayor companies such as Sephora to create applications for smart phones like IPhone, Droid, Blackberry, etc. Alternatives Budget Re-distribution As stated previously the fast pace of technology constitute a real challenge not only to Sephora but to every single company. Therefore, I would like to present the following suggestions: * Cellphone applications should really receive a great attention and consequently, more financial Resources. * Pros * Instant reaching out to their customer base * Cons * Increase cost of application development fees. * Facebook, according to younger generations has become â€Å"not cool† and obviously not as attractive for younger women, therefore Sephora should look into other popular social media networks in order target new customers that eventually become loyal customers. Instagram, Pheed, thumb, Medium, etc. should be receiving at least 5% of the developmental budget for emerging social sites. * Pros * Targeting potential new buyers, young men and women that are eager to take on the world. * Cons * This target population might take some time in order to become actual customers. * Beauty Insider should remain at 20% as this constitutes the strongest campaign for Sephora when it comes to help â€Å"Sephora loyal customers†. * Pros * Continuous catering of â€Å"loyal customers† * Cons * Become obsolete if new strategies are not develop. * Retailing – print catalogs, store animations. Should receive 30% percent of their developmental budget as these tools have become obsolete for the most part. (Personal opinion) * Pros * Reduction of cost in traditional advertise. * Cons * Potential loose of mature but loyal customers. Recommendation Finally, my recommendation will be to start a comprehensive Research of outcomes in the different categories of initiates developed under Julie Bornstein leadership. Based on those findings re-restructure the entire budget and re-think some of our means to reach out to new and existing customers. We live in a fast speed life and therefore our customers are as busy as they could help. Therefore Sephora must constantly evaluate and re-design their marketing strategies in order to provide the upmost friendly user options to inform serve and sell our products and services to their consumers. Therefore I would choose the Cellphone application development to receive a greater part of the advertisement developmental budget and at the same time re-balance other line of the budgets in order to adjust the budgets accordingly to the outcomes evaluation done thorough the above suggested research.

Standard English Definitions and Controversies

In the entry for Standard English in  The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), Tom McArthur observes that this widely used term...resists easy definition but is used as if most educated people nonetheless know precisely what it refers to. For some of those people, Standard English (SE) is a synonym for good or correct English usage. Others use the term to refer to a specific geographical dialect of English or a dialect favored by the most powerful and prestigious social group. Some linguists argue that there really is no single standard of English. It may be revealing to examine some of the presumptions that lie behind these various interpretations. The following comments--from linguists, lexicographers, grammarians, and journalists--are offered in the spirit of fostering discussion rather than resolving all the many complex issues that surround the term Standard English. Controversies and Observations About Standard English A Highly Elastic and Variable Term [W]hat counts as Standard English will depend on both the locality and the particular varieties that Standard English is being contrasted with. A form that is considered standard in one region may be nonstandard in another, and a form that is standard by contrast with one variety (for example the language of inner-city African Americans) may be considered nonstandard by contrast with the usage of middle-class professionals. No matter how it is interpreted, however, Standard English in this sense shouldnt be regarded as being necessarily correct or unexceptionable, since it will include many kinds of language that could be faulted on various grounds, like the language of corporate memos and television advertisements or the conversations of middle-class high-school students. Thus while the term can serve a useful descriptive purpose providing the context makes its meaning clear, it shouldnt be construed as conferring any absolute positive evaluation. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, 2000) What Standard English Is Not (i) It is not an arbitrary, a priori description of English, or of a form of English, devised by reference to standards of moral value, or literary merit, or supposed linguistic purity, or any other metaphysical yardstick--in short, Standard English cannot be defined or described in terms such as the best English, or literary English, or Oxford English, or BBC English.(ii) It is not defined by reference to the usage of any particular group of English-users, and especially not by reference to a social class--Standard English is not upper class English and it is encountered across the whole social spectrum, though not necessarily in equivalent use by all members of all classes.(iii) It is not statistically the most frequently occurring form of English, so that standard here does not mean most often heard.(iv) It is not imposed upon those who use it. True, its use by an individual may be largely the result of a long process of education; but Standard English is neither the product of li nguistic planning or philosophy (for example as exists for French in the deliberations of the Academie Francaise, or policies devised in similar terms for Hebrew, Irish, Welsh, Bahasa Malaysia, etc); nor is it a closely-defined norm whose use and maintenance is monitored by some quasi-official body, with penalties imposed for non-use or mis-use. Standard English evolved: it was not produced by conscious design. (Peter Strevens, What Is Standard English? RELC Journal, Singapore, 1981) Written English and Spoken English There are many grammar books, dictionaries and guides to English usage which describe and give advice on the standard English that appears in writing...[T]hese books are widely used for guidance on what constitutes standard English. However, there is often also a tendency to apply these judgments, which are about written English, to spoken English. But the norms of spoken and written language are not the same; people dont talk like books even in the most formal of situations or contexts. If you cant refer to a written norm to describe spoken language, then, as we have seen, you base your judgments on the speech of the best people, the educated or higher social classes. But basing your judgments on the usage of the educated is not without its difficulties. Speakers, even educated ones, use a variety of different forms... (Linda Thomas, Ishtla Singh, Jean Stilwell Peccei, and Jason Jones, Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. Routledge, 2004) Although Standard English is the kind of English in which all native speakers learn to read and write, most people do not actually speak it. (Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah,  International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English, 5th ed. Routledge, 2013) Standard English Is a Dialect If Standard English is not therefore a language, an accent, a style or a register, then of course we are obliged to say what it actually is. The answer is, as at least most British sociolinguists are agreed, that Standard English is a dialect...Standard English is simply one variety of English among many. It is a sub-variety of English... Historically, we can say that Standard English was selected (though of course, unlike many other languages, not by any overt or conscious decision) as the variety to become the standard variety precisely because it was the variety associated with the social group with the highest degree of power, wealth and prestige. Subsequent developments have reinforced its social character: the fact that it has been employed as the dialect of an education to which pupils, especially in earlier centuries, have had differential access depending on their social class background. (Peter Trudgill, Standard English: What It Isn’t, in Standard English: The Widening Debate, edited by Tony Bex and Richard J. Watts. Routledge, 1999) The Official Dialect In countries where the majority speak English as their first language one dialect is used nationally for official purposes. It is called Standard English. Standard English is the national dialect that generally appears in print. It is taught in schools, and students are expected to use it in their essays. It is the norm for dictionaries and grammars. We expect to find it in official typed communications, such as letters from government officials, solicitors, and accountants. We expect to hear it in national news broadcasts and documentary programmes on radio or television. Within each national variety the standard dialect is relatively homogeneous in grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation (Sidney Greenbaum, An Introduction to English Grammar. Longman, 1991) The Grammar of Standard English The grammar of Standard English is much more stable and uniform than its pronunciation or word stock: there is remarkably little dispute about what is grammatical (in compliance with the rules of grammar) and what isnt. Of course, the small number of controversial points that there are--trouble spots like who versus whom--get all the public discussion in language columns and letters to the editor, so it may seem as if there is much turmoil; but the passions evinced over such problematic points should not obscure the fact that for the vast majority of questions about whats allowed in Standard English, the answers are clear. (Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2006) The Guardians of Standard English The so-called native speakers of standard Englishes are those people who have somehow espoused a particular set of conventions that loosely have to do with the way English has been codified and prescribed in dictionaries, grammar books and guides to good speaking and writing. This group of people includes a large number of those who, having espoused the conventions, nevertheless do not consider themselves to be excellent users of those conventions. For many of these so-called native speakers the English language is a unique entity that exists outside or beyond its users. Rather than considering themselves owners of English, users often think of themselves as guardians of something precious: they wince when they hear or read uses of English that they consider to be sub-standard, and they worry, in their letters to newspapers, that the language is becoming degraded... Those who do feel they have rights and privileges, who have a sense of ownership of the English language and who can make pronouncements about what is or is not acceptable, as well as those to whom these attributes are accorded by others, do not necessarily belong to a speech community whose members learned English in infancy. Native speakers of non-standard varieties of English, in other words, the majority of native speakers of English, have never had any real authority over Standard English and have never owned it. The actual proprietors may, after all, simply be those who have learned thoroughly how to use a standard English to enjoy the sense of empowerment that comes with it. So those who make authoritative pronouncements about a standard English are simply those who, irrespective of accidents of birth, have elevated themselves, or been elevated, to positions of authority in academe or publishing or in other public areas. Whether or not their pronouncements will continue to be accepted is another matter. (Paul Roberts, Set Us Free From Standard English. The Guardian, January 24, 2002) Toward a Definition of SE From the dozens of definitions [of Standard English] available in the literature on English, we may extract five essential characteristics. On this basis, we may define the Standard English of an English-speaking country as a minority variety (identified chiefly by its vocabulary, grammar, and orthography) which carries most prestige and is most widely understood. (David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003) SE is a variety of English--a distinctive combination of linguistic features with a particular role to play...The linguistic features of SE are chiefly matters of grammar, vocabulary, and orthography (spelling and punctuation). It is important to note that SE is not a matter of pronunciation. . . .SE is the variety of English which carries most prestige within a country... In the words of one US linguist, SE is the English used by the powerful.The prestige attached to SE is recognized by adult members of the community, and this motivates them to recommend SE as a desirable educational target...Although SE is widely understood, it is not widely produced. Only a minority of people within a country...actually use it when they talk...Similarly, when they write--itself a minority activity--the consistent use of SE is required only in certain tasks (such as a letter to a newspaper, but not necessarily to a close friend). More than anywhere else, SE is to be found in print. The Ongoing Debate It is in fact a great pity that the standard English debate is marred by the sort of conceptual confusions and political posturings (no matter how poorly expressed) ...For  I think there are genuine questions to be asked about what we might mean by standards in relation to speech and writing. There is a great deal to be done in this respect and proper arguments to be made, but one thing is clear for sure. The answer does not lie in some simple-minded recourse to the practice of the best authors or the admired literature of the past, valuable though that writing is. Nor does the answer reside in rules for speech laid down by either the educated of any official body held to be able to guarantee spoken correctness. The answers to the real questions will be found to be much more complex, difficult and challenging than those currently on offer. For these reasons they might be more successful. (Tony Crowley, Curiouser and Curiouser: Falling Standards in the Standard English Debate, in Standard English: The Widening Debate, edited by Tony Bex and Richard J. Watts. Routledge, 1999)

How to Ask for Information - ESL Education

There are a number of formulas used when asking for information in English. Here are some of the most common: Could you tell me...?Do you know...?Do you happen to know...?Id like to know...Could you find out...?Im interested in...Im looking for.. These two forms are used for asking for information on the telephone: Im calling to find out...Im calling about... After you study these constructions, take the asking for information quiz to check your understanding. More English Functions DisagreeingContrasting IdeasMaking ComplaintsAsking for InformationGiving AdviceGuessingBeing Imprecise or VagueSaying No NicelyShowing PreferencesMaking SuggestionsOffering HelpGiving WarningDemanding Explanations Construction Formula Question Word Example Finish Could you tell me when the next train leaves? Do you know how much that vase costs? Do you happen to know where Tom lives? Id like to know what you think about the new project. Could you tell me when the next train leaves? Could you find out when she is going to arrive? Formula Gerund (-ing) Example Finish Im interested in buying a boat Formula Noun Example Finish Im looking for information on holidays in Spain. Formula used only on the telphone Question Word Example Finish Im calling to find out... if flight AZ098 will leave on time today. Formula used only on the telphone Noun Example Finish Im calling about... the offer published in todays newspaper.