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Posted By Zaphod
I always get in a muddle over capital letters so can you help me please! (Before I explain, I just need to point out that while I have typed '&safety' with a gap between '&' And 'Safety', for some reason, when previewing the thread it only shows it as '&safety' - i.e. without a gap! - must be some sort of Internet quirk)
Anyway, back to my questions;
Would you write; 'This is a health &safety issue'. Or, would you write; 'This is a Health &Safety Issue'
Would you write 'I love health &safety' or would you write 'I love Health &Safety'
Also, is it OK to write the '&' sign - denoting 'health &safety' to be more as a sort trade-mark rather than two separate entities. Or should it really be 'health AND safety'?
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Posted By Jonathan Breeze
I would say it depends...
If you are using the term as a proper noun to describe the discipline of which you are a practitioner, then I would use "Health & Safety" i.e. with capitals.
If you are using the term more generically as in "health & safety issues" then I wouldn't use the capitals.
Either way, you're probably more likely to get a definitive answer from Ask Jeeves or something similar.
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Posted By Alex Cameron
We always use lower case initials, with 'and' spelt in full, when we're producing IOSH literature -- so 'health and safety'. (The only exception, of course, is with proper names like the Health and Safety Executive.)
Alex Cameron
Editor, IOSH Publishing Department
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Posted By Zaphod
Thanks Alan. If IOSH are using lower case, I feel vindicated in my quest to stop over-using capitals - against the strong opinions of my colleagues and boss who keep wanting to change my written work by sticking capital letters all over the place!
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Posted By Ian G Hutchings
Hi
I went on a business writing course last year and we were taught to avoid capitals as much as possible. Apart from the example given, such as HSE etc. I have spent a large amount of time removing capitals from reports as people can get carried away with them for some reason.
The use of lower case letters also makes the writing flow more and is easier to read. We were also taught to avoid using an ampersand (&) where possible.
Regards
Ian
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Posted By Ron Hunter
I'm reminded of frequent and recent 'bonkers conkers' issues where the press and/or spokespersons report that some activity has been suspended for "health and safety reasons", when in fact neither term applies.
What I'm driving at here is that rather than worrying about the grammatical construct, you should be asking yourself if the issue is one with both a 'health' and a 'safety' element. Sometimes it is only health, sometimes only safety. Often,particularly in the popular press, it is neither!!
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