Saturday, January 25, 2020

An Introduction To Human Resource Development Management Essay

An Introduction To Human Resource Development Management Essay HRD is an emerging concept to distinguish between strategic and business-oriented learning from traditional learning and development (Sambrook, 2004). HRD is generally focused on three areas in organization, viz. training and development, career development and organizational development (Fenwick, 2004, p.193). According to McCarthy et al. (2003, p. 58), the purpose of HRD is to foster the process of training in a company and to facilitate the organizational learning process. Despite with history of about fifteen year, HRD is remains as a vague and poorly defined concept (Garavan et al., 1999; Sambrook, 2004; Stewart, 2005), partly due to the difficulties in defining the scope for the concept and lack of a unified definition (Garavan et al., 1999). The concept of HRD is interrelated with a wide range of disciplines such as economics, sociology, psychology, strategic management, leadership and human resource management (Stewart, 2005, p.91). Definitions are therefore varies with different perspectives adopted by different authors (Garavan et al., 1999). Most HRD literatures are performance-oriented or learning-oriented as pointed out by Simmonds and Pederson (2003). For instance, Sambrook (2004, p.611) defines HRD as all those activities that seek to facilitate all forms of learning and development at all levels within organizations. On the other hand, Slotte et al. (2004, p.485) defines HRD as covering functions related primarily on training, career development, organizational development and research and development in addition to other organizational HR functions where these are intended to foster learning capacity at all levels of the organization, to integrate learning culture into its overall business strategy and to promote the organizations effort to achieve high quality performance. According to Hatcher; Kalra (cited in Hatcher 2003), HRD has been attacked for treating human as resources which to be manipulated or used to achieve organizational goal. The authors further argued that the HRD definition emphasis too much on resources while overlook potential (Hatcher, 2003, p.1). According to the Hatcher (2003), there are potential in each employee which exceeds the economic value. Therefore, treating human as resources places them in a subservient and compliant position to organizational goals and limits our ability to be in harmony with nature (Hatcher, 2003, p.1). On the other hand, Sambrook (2004) added to the critiques of HRD by arguing that most HRD literatures generally emphasis on performance outcome and neglect the organizational issues concerning the marginalized populations. According to Bierema (2002, p.245), the issues of diversity, equality, power, heterosexism, discrimination, sexism, racism, or other issues of oppression in organizations are ignored by current HRD literatures. Bierema and Cseh (2003) further argued that these undiscussable issues are ignored but yet, have significant impacts on both individual and organization. To address such issues, Rigg et al. (2007) had argued that it is necessary to think HRD from a critical stance. They argued that there is a need for critical turn in HRD (Rigg et al., 2007). 2.0 Critical Approach to Human Resource Development Before discussing on what is critical human resource development (CHRD), it is necessary to understand the term critical. Antonacopoulou (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 195) defines critical as providing voice for the repressed and marginalized, exposing assumptions and values, revealing the use of power and control, and challenging inequalities and sacrifices made in the name of efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability through a self-reflexive critique of rhetoric, traditional, authority, and objectivity. On the other hand, Burrell (cited in Sambrook, 2004, p. 614) suggested that critical theory is associated with challenging rational organizational practices and replacing them with more democratic and emancipatory practices. The two definitions implies that being critical mean to challenge unjust practices in the organization and to pursue a more democratic and justice practice. Hence, according to Kincheloe (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p.198), critical approach to HRD is dedicated to change organizations and their HRD practices towards a more just, equitable, life-giving, and sustainable workplace. However, Francis (2007) argued that critical approach to HRD is not opposed to traditional HRD. In fact, it seeks to help practitioners and academics to better understand and aware of the ambiguities in current HRD (Francis, 2007). Besides, it also seeks to demonstrate how inequalities and shift in power can affect the abilities to control the production, distribution and consumption of HRD practices and ultimately, the effects of these inequalities to the individual development and participation of employees (Francis, 2007, p.84). After understanding the meaning of critical in the context of HRD, then how to be critical in HRD? According to Antonacopoulou in his definition of critical, being critical can be achieved through self-critique on rhetoric, traditional, authority and objectivity. On the other hand, Burrell (2001) proposed that a critical approach should comprise of six components, viz. political, iconoclastic, epistemological, investigative, revelatory and emancipatory (Burrell, 2001 p. 14-17). Sambrook (2009) applied Burrells framework in the HRD context and outlined the attributes that distinguish CHRD from traditional one, which presented as follow: Political. Burrell (2001) argued that political perspective of critical approach is to understand the use of power in an organization and how political forces in organization can shape or influence human life. Hence, CHRD seek to identify the key stakeholders and influencers of HRD and examine their influence on the HRD activities (Sambrook, 2004; 2009). Unlike traditional HRD where employees and trainees are suppressed and excluded from giving their opinion, CHRD aware of the need for the shift of power to allow traditional oppressed groups to have more freedom and voicing opportunities (Sambrook, 2004; 2009). Iconoclastic. According to Burrell (2001, p.15), being critical involve breaking down the solidity of dominant imagery and icon. Therefore, CHRD attempts to challenge current perception of HRD and seeks to identify the purpose underlying each HRD activities (Sambrook, 2009). HRD suppose to serve the purpose of employees development or merely focus on performance-outcome? Asking such question will then lead to the exposure of weaknesses in current HRD activities which is performance-oriented (as argued by most critical HRD literatures) while the development of individual in organization is neglected (Sambrook, 2009). Epistemological. Sambrook (2004, 2009) argued that epistemological perspective is concerned with understanding of the foundations of HRD and the methodologies used in the construction of the knowledge about HRD. CHRD challenges currently dominant positivism and quantitative approaches in the construction of the knowledge about HRD and to adopt a more qualitative methods which will enable more in-depth study on the values, morality and ethics in HRD (Sambrook, 2009, p.66). Investigative. Burrell (2001) argued investigative perspective of critical approach try to challenge something that others have taken for granted. Being investigative in the context of HRD concerns with surfacing the social equality issues in organization which have been neglected in current research and practice of HRD (Sambrook, 2004). This maybe include an investigation of why certain groups of people having the priorities in receiving training than the others. Besides, investigative perspective can also include the investigation of the difference between what is HRD (in the eye of practitioners) and what actually been done by them (Sambrook, 2004). Revelatory. Burrell (2001, p.16) argued that, by attacking illusion, there can be a concomitant demonstration of what is illusion and what is truth. Given the difficulties and ambiguities in defining the term HRD, revelatory perspective of CHRD attempts to challenge current understanding of HRD in order to find the truth of HRD and to unified the different discourses which currently regarded as HRD (Sambrook, 2004; 2009). However, Burrell (2001) argued that it is difficult to practice revelatory perspective as it is problematic to distinguish between illusion and truth. Emancipatory. According to Sambrook (2009, p. 67), there are arguments on whether HRD should serve the purpose of freeing employees from capitalist exploitation and employment degradation. However, Burrell (2001) argued that it is difficult to achieve emancipatory as organization system always involve control and the effect of power is unavoidable. From the above attributes, it is noted that these strands are interrelated (Sambrook, 2004). Sambrook (2009) argued that individual awareness of the attributes of CHRD is important for CHRD to be put into practice. In addition, individual antecedents such as understanding and acceptance of ones role, recognition of the boundaries of ones profession, political awareness, excellent communication skills, respect and trust are also essential for the success of CHRD (Sambrook, 2009, p.66). In addition to personal antecedent, organization antecedents that involved include organizational culture of participation, democracy, learning and personal development (Sambrook, 2009, p.66) 3.0 Contributions of Critical Human Resource Development Sambrook (2009) mentioned in her article Critical HRD: a concept analysis that the practice of CHRD will result in a more democratic work production, improved (working/learning) relationship, more effective and relevant learning, enhanced transfer of learning, improved creativity and productivity, and an acceptance of alternative approaches to knowing (Sambrook, 2009, p. 68). 3.1 Political Perspective Contributions to Individual As mentioned above, political perspective of CHRD aware of the needs for the shift of power in an organization to allow traditionally oppressed groups to voice out their opinion. In line with that, Lowe (cited in Fenwick, 2004) argued that CHRD plays the mediating role to allow employees unions and management to collaborate in designing jobs, training and working condition. He further argued that CHRD can help to counter management push for new HRM practices that undercut the union, could champion a people-centered agenda and help leverage management collaboration (Lowe cited in Fenwick, 2004). Besides, the shift of power also related to the concept of empowerment. Empowerment is the shift of decision making power to employees (Erstard, 1997). According to Zeithamal; Berry and Parasuraman (cited in Ravichandran, n.d., p.2), employee empowerment is proven to have positive impact on job satisfaction and reduces role stress. It is also suggested that empowered employees experience lesser job ambiguity and have quicker response to problem as they can avoid wasting time referring the problem to their superior (Singh cited in Ravichandran, n.d., p.2). In addition, empowered employees are also demonstrating greater commitment and loyalty to the organization (Greasley et al., 2008). Contribution to Organization Employee empowerment as mentioned above also has its positive impacts on the organization effectiveness. According to Ladden (n.d.), empowerment can improve the productivity, decision making process and quality of service. The improvement of decision making process is due to the fact that decisions are made by employees who have the most appropriate information, expertise needed (Ladden, n.d.). Besides, empowered employees will also likely to have greater commitment to the decision made, thus, enable product or customer problem to be dealt more quickly which in turn will have positive impact on productivity and customer service quality(Ladden, n.d.). 3.2 Iconoclastic and Emancipatory Perspective Contributions to Individual From the iconoclastic perspective, the breakdown of the dominant performance-oriented purpose of HRD activities and the recognition of true purpose of HRD will lead to individual development in an organization. Fenwick (2004) who examines the practices of CHRD in workplace suggested that one of the CHRD practices in organization takes in the form of emancipatory action learning where employees learns as a team and collaborate to solve a problem through direct experimentation, critical thinking and communication. According to Lanahan and Maldonado (cited in Spence, 1998), action learning can help participants to solve problems more effectively compared with simple training and at the same time, develop leadership in them. Marquardt (2000) in his article action learning and leadership added to the point of leadership development by arguing that action learning can help improve individual effectiveness by developing good leadership attributes such as system thinking; risk taking and innovative; openness and share decision making; and become teachers, coach and mentor to others. Participants can develop system thinking skill through the process of asking new questions to gain better insight of a problem before coming out with its solution (Marquardt, 2000). This will in turn increase their ability to handle complex, seemingly unconnected aspects of organizational challenge (Marquardt, 2000). Besides, action learning can also increase the ability of participants to think in new ways rather than following the traditional route which will then improve their innovativeness and willingness to take risk (Marquardt, 2000). Furthermore, participants in action learning program can also learn to accept others opinion, learn from others perspective and to provide valuable feedback which will then help to create a culture of openness among participants and leaders are learning how to share their decision making power with others (Marquardt, 2000). Contributions to Organization York et al. (cited in Spence, 1998) suggested that action learning can also help to facilitate the transfer of learning as participants are able to take immediate action, thus making changes to the practices in an organization. On the other hand, Alvesson and Willmott (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 203) argued that emancipatory action learning can help employees to develop critical assessment about unfair practices in organization and then helps to improve the organization through actions to address such issues. According to Fenwick (2004), another practice of CHRD is in the form of emancipatory project- a small projects aims at addressing a specific oppressive issue. Meyerson and Kolb (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 204) has conducted such project and found that the project can yield a fruitful result to initiate changes in organization. On the other hand, Tosey and Nugent (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p. 204) demonstrated another example showing critical inquiry-focused form of action learning help transform management team of a failing small manufacturing company to think creatively about strategy and change the way they related to one another to be more supportive, caring and challenging. Challenges in Practice Despite the fruitful benefits of emancipatory action learning as mentioned above, Fenwick (2004) argued that the practice of the approach was proven to be difficult. Difficulties arise as emancipatory action learning should involve employees at the lower level of hierarchy and punitive actions from managers when the project failed to achieve expected result may caused further oppressed or violence of employees in the organization (Fenwick, 2004). Therefore, to avoid that to be happened, Fournier and Grey (cited in Fenwick, 2004, p.203) argued that the intention of emancipatory action learning should not be emphasized on performance outcome. Contrary, emancipatory action learning should emphasize on dimensions such as equality, fairness, job condition and politics of knowledge legitimation that are embedded in problems of organizational bottleneck and communication blockages (Fenwick, 2004, p. 203). However, the non-performance intention is apparently contradict with the traditional business objective that pursuing business performance, efficiency and productivity. Fenwick (2004) argued that performance is arguably the purpose of organizational existence and the original purpose of HRD is to enhance performance. The practice of CHRD that emphasize on promoting equality, fairness and emancipatory of employees condemned the hierarchical management of human learning and the productivity-driven purposes of business (Fenwick, 2004). This becomes a great challenge for practitioners in their efforts to adopt critical approach in HRD. 3.3 Epistemological Perspective Contributions to Individual From the epistemological perspective, the challenge of the methodologies used in the construction of the knowledge about HRD is related to the concept of critical reflection (Sambrook, 2009). According to Brookfield (1988), there are four major activities in critical reflection, viz. assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation and reflective skepticism. Van Woerkom (2004) who studies about the effects of critical reflection on HRD argued that critical reflection in HRD will helps to facilitate more effective learning of individual in an organization. Employees who engage in critical thinking are likely to display critical reflective behavior of reflecting, career awareness, experimenting, learning from mistakes, critical opinion sharing, invites others for feedback, and challenging groupthink (Van Woerkom, 2004, p. 187). The author argues that the adoption of critical reflective behavior has proven to have positive impacts on both the individual as well as organization. In the individual level, the adoption of critically reflective behavior will increase employees self-efficacy and participation in the workplace (Van Woerkom, 2004). The improvement in self-efficacy is due to the fact that employees need to have a certain degree of competency and risk-taking behavior to display critical reflective behavior in the workplace (Van Woerkom, 2004). They have to withstand social pressure and be critical instead of following the traditional ways or practices (Van Woerkom, 2004). Van Woerkom (2004, p. 187) argued that critical reflective behavior not only allow employees to develop their own competences and to connect their working life to personal development, but it also enabled them to optimize or to critically analyze and try to change work practice. In addition, Van Woerkom (2004) further argued that employees who adopt critical reflective behavior are likely to have a steeper learning curve and this will have positive effect on their self-efficacy. On the other hand, the increase in participation is due to the fact that the adoption of critical reflective behavior requires employees to get involved in the organization and to understand the work practice at different level of organization as well as the scope to solve problem and learn from mistakes (Van Woerkom, 2004). According to Van Woerkom (2004), employees that display critical reflective work behavior are more often being invited to participate in organization. Contributions to Organization In the organizational level, Van Woerkom (2004) had conducted investigation in two organizations (a textile painting factory and a forensic psychiatric clinic) and found that critically reflective behavior is effective to transform organization from Taylorism to a modern organization, with participating and self-managing workers (p. 187). Van Woerkom argued that to achieve this, employees have to reflect on their own current and future position in the organization and to reflect on their own behavior, instead of blaming others for mistakes (Woerkom, 2004, p. 187). Besides, the practices of challenging groupthink, ask for feedback, critical opinion sharing will likely to stimulate double loop learning in organization (Van Woerkom and Croon, 2008). According to Argyris (2002), Double-loop learning occurs when errors are corrected by changing the governing values and then the action. By practicing critical opinion sharing, ask for feedback and challenging groupthink, employees are able to share what they have learned with others, thereby facilitate the effectiveness of learning and working of the organization (Van Woerkom and Croon, 2008). Furthermore, Natale and Nicci (2006) in their research of critical thinking in organization pointed out that low level of conflict can help to stimulate the quality of decision making of a team. Therefore, conflict that resulted from critical thinking of individual in organization is useful to stimulate the performance of the organization (Natele and Nicci, 2006). However, the research also revealed that when conflict intensified, its positive effects will diminishes and team performance will deteriorates (Natele and Nicci, 2006). Challenges in Practice Despite the benefits of practicing critical reflection in the workplace to both employees and organization, Sambrook (2009) argued that individual and organizational barriers may arise in the effort of organization to implement CHRD which caused by dogma, misunderstanding, and perceived threat of loss of power. Particularly, the implementation of CHRD requires the shift of power which will may causes authority or management to resist the adoption of CHRD because the fear of losing their power (Sambrook, 2009). Besides, Reynolds (cited in Rigg and Trehan, 2008, p.378) argued that dissonance resulted from challenging status quo and questioning their position may cause individual to resist engaging in critical thinking. 4.0 Conclusion Current HRD is emphasis on the learning and performance while ignore the issues of diversity, equality, power, heterosexism, discrimination, sexism, racism, or other issues of oppression in organizations (Bierema, 2002, p. 245). Therefore, CHRD is emerged to address these issues. Sambrook (2009) using Burrells (2001) framework of six strands to a critical approach has constructed the attributes of CHRD, which are: political, iconoclastic, epistemological, investigative, revelatory and emancipatory. Generally, critical perspective of HRD is about challenging contemporary practices, exposing assumptions, revealing illusion, and questioning tradition (Sambrook, 2004, p. 614) in the objective to create a more just, equitable, discrimination-free working environment and to contribute toward human capital development. CHRD facilitates more effective learning of individual which will then increase the competencies and self-efficacy of individual (Van Woerkom, 2004). It is also argued that critical thinker in an organization are more often being invited to participate in the organization (Van Woerkom, 2004). Furthermore, the practice of CHRD can help individual to develop leadership as argued by Marquardt (2000). On the other hand, empowerment of employees helps to increase the productivity and responsiveness to problem while reducing the job ambiguity and work stress of employees (Ravichandran, n.d.). In organizational level, CHRD can facilitate double-loop learning which will help to change the practice of the organization (Van Woerkom and Croon, 2008). Besides, CHRD can also help to create a company with independent and participating workforce as suggested by Van Woerkom (2004). In addition, the effect of employee empowerment can also help to increase the productivity, service quality and decision making process as argued by Ladden (n.d.). However, the practice of CHRD will meet certain challenges in term of contradiction between the objective of CHRD and performance purpose of business objective (Fenwick, 2004) and the reluctance of individual to engage in the practice of CHRD (Sambrook, 2009). Therefore, Sambrook (2009) argued that organizational and individual antecedents as mentioned above are crucial for CHRD to be put into practice. (3532 words)

Friday, January 17, 2020

Desegregation Debate

The challenge of desegregating schools was brought upon in 1954 by five separate court cases, ultimately joined together and called Brown v. The Board of Education. Though each case was different, they all revolved around the main argument that segregation itself violated the â€Å"equal protection under the laws† guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, and had detrimental psychological effects on Negroes. Segregation was almost always initiated by whites, and initiated on the basis that blacks were inferior and undesirable. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. When blacks allowed themselves to accept their status at the separate school, the effect on their personalities was perpetually worse than any problem they might encounter in an integrated school. This element became a prominent part of the legal case against segregation (Stephan 9). The biggest argument against desegregation was the perception that blacks were not as intelligent as whites. Since the Fourteenth Amendment did not guarantee the right to a quality education, if a school chose not to accept them, there was nothing that could be done legally. Long after the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine became law, it was clear that blacks were indeed separate, but they were not equal. Segregation still had a firm hold in the areas of public education, public transportation, hotels and restaurants, hospitals, housing and departments of the United States Government (Stephan 7). An example was the case of McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education in 1950. George McLaurin was admitted on a segregated basis to the graduate school of the University of Oklahoma as a result of a federal district court order. He was required to sit in an anteroom outside of his classes and was given separate tables at the library and cafeteria (Stephan 11). The expenditure disparity between white and black children was enormous in some areas of the country. In the South, the average expenditure for white children was $44. 00, but was only $13. 00 for black children. In Georgia, the figures were $35. 00 versus $6. 00 and in Mississippi, $45. 00 versus $5. 00. Considering the national average per pupil expenditure was $99. 0, it was clear that the school system was separate and unequal and blacks were not receiving their fair share (Stephan 8). There was also the cost of integrating schools to legal specifications. To minimize transportation costs and to accommodate distinctions between the suburbs and the inner city, the people who were supposed to pay those costs were those who lived near the ghetto inside the inner city limits. Even though the cost was no more than segregation had imposed on middle-class black people, the whites argued that they now had to pay more money in taxes to solve a problem that wasn't their fault. Black children were more likely to attend an inner city school and they felt that in return for their taxes they would receive an increase in crime and a lower standard of education (Stephan 175). Another major argument regarding desegregation was the fact that there was de jure (by law) segregation in the south and de facto (by geography) segregation in the north, with the differentiating factor being â€Å"purpose or intent to segregate. † (Stephan 91) Every standing court order related to school desegregation was based on the discoveries of de jure segregation, either in the north or south. In each case, the courts found that local school districts and occasionally state educational agencies as well, had systematically carried out policies leading to or reinforcing segregation (Stephan 122). One of the disadvantages of desegregation, however, was the way it destroyed the ethnicity of blacks. While they were segregated, it was easy for them to maintain their African-American background. Once they became part of an integrated school system, they were forced to conform to white society's views on dress code, religion and behavior. The busing issue was considered to be â€Å"an educational disaster. † Whereas previously, black children had been bused long distances to segregated schools, now they were busing white children to integrated schools. It didn't help the minority children and it hurt the middle-class children, creating conflicts where they weren't any before. The white middle-class families who felt violated by having blacks being bused into their schools and neighborhoods fostered hostilities. When rioting broke out, it became so serious that the police and National Guard were called in to protect the black students. In addition, it increased educational costs with the addition of new buses and the salaries of the drivers, and jeopardized the health and safety of children (Stephan 123). According to the government, the purpose of desegregation was to integrate the population with the expectation that racially, economically and socially disadvantaged children would benefit and therefore enhance their abilities of obtaining the knowledge needed to acquire higher status and better jobs. With all of the factors contributing to the problems of desegregation, it is obvious that the blacks were caught in a no-win situation. They were already considered to be mentally inferior to whites due to the white perception of them during the times of slavery. Now they were attempting to increase their intelligence level, but their inferiority was causing them to be excluded from the same education that whites were receiving. Once they were finally granted rights into the schools, the stress they were experiencing caused even more psychological problems and learning disabilities. During this time, it was forgotten that the major function of schools was and always will be to educate, and that should never be based on race, religion or color.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Definition and Examples of Colonial Lag in Language

In linguistics, colonial lag is the hypothesis that colonial varieties of a language  (such as American English) change less than the variety spoken in the mother country (British English). This hypothesis has been vigorously challenged ever since the term  colonial lag  was coined by  linguist Albert Marckwardt in his book  American English  (1958). For example, in an article in  The Cambridge History of the English Language,  Volume 6  (2001), Michael Montgomery concludes that in regard to American English, [t]he evidence cited for colonial lag is selective, often ambiguous or tendentious, and far from indicating that American English in any of its varieties is more archaic than innovative. Examples and Observations These post-colonial survivors of  earlier phases of mother-country culture, taken in conjunction with the retention of earlier linguistic features, have made what I should like to call a colonial lag. I mean to suggest by this term nothing more than that in a transplanted civilization, such as ours undeniably is, certain features which it possesses remain static over a period of time. Transplanting usually results in a time lag before the organism, be it a geranium or a brook trout, becomes adapted to its new environment. There is no reason why the same principle should not apply to a people, their language, and their culture. (Albert H. Marckwardt, American English. Oxford University Press,  1958) Colonial Lag in American English There was for a long time a popular belief that languages separated from their home countries, like a bud nipped from its stem, ceased to develop. This phenomenon was called colonial lag, and there were many--including, notably, Noah Webster--who argued in particular for its applicability to American English. But though the colonial languages in the New World might have been isolated from their homelands, these languages were not unaffected by their trip to the New World. Colonial lag is, as linguist David Crystal says, a considerable oversimplification. Language, even in isolation, continues to change. (Elizabeth Little,  Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of Americas Languages. Bloomsbury, 2012)With ongoing language changes, it is often argued that colonies follow the linguistic developments of the mother country with some delay because of the geographical distance. This conservatism is called colonial lag. In the case of American English it is witnessed, for ins tance, in changes that took place in the modal auxiliaries can and may. Can gained ground in uses previously associated with may earlier and more rapidly in England than in the American colonies (Kytà ¶ 1991).Colonial lag is not, however, in evidence with all linguistic changes. In the case of third-person singular present-tense suffixes, for instance, no such tendency can be observed. (Terttu Nevalainen, An Introduction to Early Modern English. Oxford University Press, 2006) Colonial Lag in New Zealand English Because of the fragmentation of transplanted speech communities, the children of colonial founding populations may lack well-defined peer groups and the models they provide; in such an event, the influence of the dialects of the parents generation would be stronger than in more typical linguistic situations. This is especially true of more isolated settlers children. As a result, the dialect that develops in such situations largely reflects the speech of the previous generation, thus lagging behind.[P]arental origin is often an important predictor of aspects of individuals speech. This provides some support for the notion of colonial lag. (Elizabeth Gordon, New Zealand English: Its Origins and Evolution. Cambridge University Press, 2004)[T]here are a number of grammatical features in the New Zealand archive which can be described as archaic in that we assume that they were more typical of mid-nineteenth-century English than of later periods. One reservation, however, is that a number of grammatical changes which have affected English in the British Isles in the last 200 years have started in the south of England and spread out from there, arriving later in the English north and southwest--and then in Scotland and Ireland, if at all--with some considerable time lag. There are a number of conservative features on the ONZE tapes [Origins of  New Zealand  English project] which may therefore be either archaic, or English regional, or Scottish, or Irish, or all four. One such is the use of for-to infinitives, as in They had for to gather the crops. (Peter Trudgill,  New-Dialect Formation: The Inevitability of Colonial Englishes. Oxford University Press, 2004)

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Animal Rights They Do Exist!

When God gave us our life, He also created beautiful living creatures which also have the right to live on the same planet. Without a doubt, we are the superior in thoughts and power, but unfortunately we tend to forget about the responsibility, which comes to us with our power. While some human beings truly believe that animal rights exist, the others only consider animals to be the food and medical research issues. According to my personal belief, animals have the same feelings and go through the same depth of pain and love as we do. If you take a look at your pet, you will definitely notice that when loved deeply, it will always return love in many various folds. The only difference lies in their inability to say what they feel. When cared of and looked after very well, animals can even sacrifice their lives for us! A lot of humans seem to be unable to do the same. Luckily, a lot of people are truly animal lovers. They make sure to provide animals with good care and ensure no animal around is being hurt. Even if the question is about a little hamster or a kitten, they provide the best care and make certain the animal feels comfortable and safe. If you just try to analyze animals, you will notice that just like us animals also have families, they take care of their babies and are also bonded by love. So when we take the little ones from them, just imagine how much pain and suffering they feel! They suffer no less than our kind, when we’re distant from our beloved ones. While on the one side there are human beings who are ready to give anything to save animals, on the other side we see the ones who do not care about them. These people hurt animals or even kill them for pleasure and fun. They study them and have no regrets in the process. If you and me would never prefer to spend our days away from the people dear to our heart or locked in a cage, then why do we decide to treat animals that way? Before taking any measures, it is highly important to think what this act is going to mean to them. But if we can somehow justify killing animals to obtain certain nutrition elements, depriving little fellows of their lives to just create luxurious products is a crime no matter what. Because of our desire to satisfy our ego, certain species of animals are nowadays at verge of extinction. To my opinion, this is a crime and there should be a solid punishment. Killing the fluffy fellows just for fun or for human pleasure cannot be justifiable. Just like you and me, animals also have the right to live in this world and never be afraid of us. If we call ourselves â€Å"homo sapience†, we have to understand and learn to respect animals and treat them with love.