The Movie Roots essays

The Movie Roots essays In the history of the United States nothing has brought more shame to the face of America than the cold, premeditated years of keeping black people in captivity, which is known as slavery. Accordingly, slavery can be defined as an inhumane action done to an individual or group of people that causes either physical or mental harm. Slavery, at its very core was a cruel and heartless institution; from the idea behind it to the way it was enforced. It degraded the lives of human beings (particularly blacks) and forbade the basic freedom that every man and woman deserves, according to the Constitution. One example of how cruel and inhumane slavery actually was is the historical film Roots. In the movie Roots, the life of an enslaved African male named Kunta Kinta is followed, beginning with his abduction from his eighteenth century home in Africa. During this time, the Middle Passage was almost unbelievable, being that hundreds upon hundreds of Africans were abducted from their homes to go on boats to America. Consequently, Europeans traveled to Africa and captured Africans such as Kunta Kinta using guns in which many Africans had never seen before. This would later help develop their land and satisfy their need for power in the New World. The conditions on the boats were dreadful. The Africans soon to be slaves were packed like sardines and chained tightly together. Also, the temperature in the disease-infested rooms was unbearable and there was literally no fresh air for slaves to breathe. This particular part of the movie, I thought was one of the most significant parts, because it allowed the viewer to actually see the conditions on these boats. They seemed much like a slaughterhouse and I cant imagine how anyone could have survived in such a detrimental environment. In fact, Olaudah Equiano a former slave and loyal British subject said that, sleep was the only refuge. Consequently, the...

Parental involvement through Sexuality Education in Singapore. Essay Example

Parental involvement through Sexuality Education in Singapore. Essay Example Parental involvement through Sexuality Education in Singapore. Essay Parental involvement through Sexuality Education in Singapore. Essay Education under the undertaking Alternate . By analyzing and analyzing our instance survey on Netherlands, we seek to implement options to increase parental engagement through the instruction of Sexuality Education in Singapore. Rationale for pick We have chosen gender instruction as our country of concern as the current methods in gender instruction is non effectual in visible radiation of the modern young person civilization. School-based gender instruction in Singapore is incorporated into scientific discipline, wellness instruction and civics and moral instruction topics. The Ministry of Education[ 1 ]( MOE ) has besides introduced the Growing Old ages[ 2 ]( GY ) series every bit good as Breaking Down Barriers[ 3 ]( BDB ) programme which is compulsory for all authorities schools to follow. Parents are besides given the option to opt-out their kids from go toing these programmes. In position of a more broad and open-minded society, young persons are progressively receptive to new thoughts, and are easy and most influenced by the mass media. This is supported from our primary research, where pupils are asked on the grade of influence of the parents, teachers/counselors, equals and the media have on them in footings of supplying them with cognition and advice sing sex instruction. The advancement of mass media has overtaken the current steps initiated by MOE in encompassing healthy development of gender amongst the younger coevals in Singapore. This is farther substantiated by the increasing tendency[ 4 ]of teenage gestations and sexually familial infections ( STIs ) , where they are prosecuting in sexual activities at a far younger age. Therefore, the function of parents in gender instruction is important in educating their kids about sex in an environment of openness, thereby heightening kids s understanding on topic. The current attack of leting parents to hold the option of choosing out their kids from gender negotiations provided by the school contradicts with base of MOE recognizing that parents are the most of import pedagogue in gender instruction[ 5 ]. Mentioning to our primary informations gathered, 66 % of the pupils surveyed feel that parents are non making adequate and are non actively involved in their gender instruction. Therefore, by supplying parents with the opt-out option, it does non to the full prosecute or include them in educating their kids and hence it is an unequal attack taken by the MOE. As compared to parents who are still encompassing the more conservative Asiatic values, young persons have immensely conflicting values and this consequences in differences between their mentalities wholly. Regardless of their backgrounds, parents have to step in and be responsible in educating their kids on gender issues. However, there is trouble in this as most parents are uncomfortable[ 6 ]with discoursing these issues with their kids. This is a consequence of the new mentality of our coevals on the subject of gender. To counter the job, the MOE should join forces more closely with parents in order to relieve the conflicting values of parents and young persons with a more holistic course of study that is, besides, more applicable to our coevals of young persons. Hence, the options must supply a strong and broad scope of accomplishments to adolescents in the dealing of gender issues. This subject is highly of import, as it addresses the younger population, who will organize the majority of our hereafter stakeholders in Singapore. Purposes and Aims We aim to authorise parents with better accomplishments and cognition in educating their kids on gender issues. Our aims are to: To open up parents towards discoursing the sensitive subject of gender to their kids. To advance effectual parent-child communicating. To enable pupils think through the possible effects of their determinations instead than turn them off with a moralistic attack. Scope of undertaking Target Audience Parents: Our primary mark audience is parents of pupils from Raffles Girls School ( Secondary ) and Raffles Institution ( Secondary ) . Students: Our secondary mark audience is pupils from secondary schools. Research Focus With the chief focal point on increasing parental engagement in gender instruction, we plan to transport out our undertaking over a span of 5 months through a multi-tiered attack ; encapsulating both the affected group ( Youth ) every bit good as the wider community they are a portion of ( Families/parents and School ) , covering our primary purpose ( healthy development of gender for young persons ) . Research Methodology Primary Data We interviewed Mr Leo Hee Khian[ 7 ], a pupil Advisor from Raffles Instituition. Online studies were given out to secondary school pupils from authorities and independent[ 8 ]schools. This is to guarantee a better representative of the pupil population in Singapore as schools transporting Integrated Programmes may offer a different attack in transporting out their gender instruction plan to their pupils. Surveies were besides distributed to parents through the Raffles Parents Association ( RPA )[ 9 ]and Parents for Raffles Girls School AssociationA ( PRGS Association )[ 10 ]to garner information on their beliefs and mentalities sing the current teaching method and course of study of Singapore s gender instruction so as to assist us craft a better method of direction. Secondary Datas As gender instruction is a sensitive yet of import issue, there have been many active treatments on online forums every bit good as newspaper articles associating to the content of its course of study. There are a assortment of published studies and diaries on all facets of gender instruction which are available for reappraisal. We reviewed several instance surveies of different states utilizing the internet resources on how they deliver their course of study, providing to kids and young persons of different age groups. The function of parents in educating their immature is besides studied to garner information on how they can lend most efficaciously in developing their kids. Chapter 2 Case STUDY: Netherlands AND USA Nederlands Overview The Dutch Model was formulated, concentrating on empowerment and common regard in a relationship among young persons. aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦ + parent engagement Advantages The Dutch Model provides accurate information sing hazards associated with pre-marital sex and equal information sing contraceptive method and birth control methods. It focuses on values, attitudes, communications and dialogue accomplishments. It helps young persons to cover with equal and other societal force per unit areas ; supplying chances to pattern communicating, dialogue and averment accomplishments. Disadvantages Sexuality instruction course of study might non be comprehendible to immature kids and therefore the effectivity of course of study may be questioned. As gender is a sensitive subject, it may do parents to choose their kids out of the programme. The Dutch Model does non extinguish the hazard of gestations or STDS as it excludes the instruction of prophylactic methods to young persons. United States of America ( USA ) Overview Sexual activity instruction in USA chiefly focuses on recommending abstention, but more schools are now offering abstinence-plus course of study[ 11 ]. There are many sellers and organisations which have assorted programmes[ 12 ]catered to different age group and a scope of socio-economic background, such as white middle-class, African-americans, hapless, parents of 11-15 old ages old. Advantages Through abstention and abstinence-plus course of study, the values of abstention can play an of import function in assisting adolescents in defying the media and peer force per unit area, as the young persons are populating in a sex-saturated civilization where holding insouciant sex is the norm. The abstinence-only course of study[ 13 ]focal points on two tined attack: It places more accent on societal, emotional and psychological facets of sex ; it besides educates adolescents sing love, familiarity and committedness. On the other manus, the abstinence-plus course of study seeks to cut down teenage gestations and STDs as a consequence from unprotected sexual activity ; hence it teaches adolescents sing contraceptive method methods. Coupled with direct support[ 14 ]and support for the abstention programme by the authorities, it allows more resources to be pulled in for a more effectual gender instruction. Based on studies[ 15 ]conducted, consequences has shown that there is overpowering parental support for abstention course of study. Furthermore, since many parents in America are Christians, coupled with the fact that the bulk of the faith in America preaches abstention ( no sex until matrimony ) , every bit good as many abstention related subjects ( love, committedness, etc ) , this will intend that most parents are to the full cognizant of what their kids are being taught in schools. Thus they can complement the current gender course of study, doing it more effectual. Disadvantages With the approachs of our X-generation young persons, the thought of abstention may non be relevant with the modern American society and civilization. Adolescents are holding a more broad mentality, chiefly as a consequence of the mass media. Surveies[ 16 ]conducted showed that holding pre-marital sex is the norm for many adolescents as a consequence of many factors, such as equal force per unit area and the modern dad civilization. While schools are mostly involved in battle against teenage gestations, there is no standard course of study taught to pupils throughout every school[ 17 ]. Not all parents are agreeable on the content of course of study due to differing positions as a consequence of spiritual or race differences as some faiths[ 18 ]may non favor the abstention or abstention plus-approach. Similarities drawn USA was chosen as the 2nd instance as it is a really developed state with its people holding a really broad mentality, and this is something we aspire for Singapore to accomplish, where parents and kid will happen it less awkward and more comfy in discuss gender. Furthermore, both America and Singapore s gender instruction both accents on abstention, hence, by larning the attack and the ( positive and negative ) deductions of America s gender instruction, we can so use it to Singapore s context. Like Singapore, USA is a multi-racial state and hence this will no uncertainty impact the attack to learning gender instruction as a consequence of differing positions. Chapter 3 Singapore Current Tendencies on gender instruction MOE set a model on the gender instruction course of study which all schools have to follow. The cardinal guiding rules of gender instruction are: Parents bear the chief duty for the gender instruction of their kids ; Sexuality instruction is premised on the importance of the heterosexual married household as the basic unit of society ; The instruction of facts is integrated with the instruction of values, which reflect that of the mainstream society ; Students will be taught to understand and esteem the attitudes, values and beliefs sing gender that other communities propagate ; Specially selected and trained instructors are to learn the Turning Years bundle ; and relevant resources in the community will be brought in to complement school resources for gender instruction. This model encourages parents to be actively involved in educating their kids as they bear the chief duty . While all authorities secondary schools are to follow the Turning Old ages[ 19 ]series and independent schools may hold their ain programmes, parents are able to hold the option of choosing out their kids from the gender instruction bundle. Alternatively, schools may prosecute external sellers[ 20 ]approved by MOE. The current approved external administrations conduct programmes in the signifier of workshop and seminars as a teaching method of learning gender instruction, which merely a few includes the engagement of parents. The demand for affecting parents As parents are given the opt-in and opt-out option, this suggests that the gender instruction in Singapore is non a fool-proof program. Essential issues affecting the cognitive, emotional, societal, physical and moral facets of gender may be neglected by parents who chose to choose out their kids from the programme. Embraced by conservative Asiatic values, these parents have non yet been fused with the broad and unfastened mentality that our universe today portions. Furthermore, a big per centum, 70 % , of the young persons we surveyed felt that their parents were non being actively involved plenty in their gender instruction. Besides, merely one-fourth of the young persons objected to their parents being involved in their gender instruction. Through research, we found that parents have a large influence in the determinations teens make about sex below the age of 16[ 21 ]. However, from the consequences[ 22 ]we gathered from our study, it seems that many parents are non cognizant of the importance on the influence they have on their kids s determination devising. Hence, it is evident that we have to bridge this spread in thought and acquire the parents more actively involved in their kids gender instruction programme. Lessons Learnt Assurance is cardinal Constructing good resonance between parents and kid is of import in interrupting down coevals spread as in enhances effectual communicating. This will greatly cut down the extent of differing/conflicting positions and beliefs, enabling parents to supply accurate information sing gender issues to their kids. Parents are found to possess accomplishments of being an pedagogue, and their natural function in sex instruction is apparent. Yet many parents are non recognizing their full potency as an pedagogue due to grounds such as being uncomfortable in speaking with their kids about the topic and besides deficiency of cognition about anatomy, physiology, or other related information. Hence, they frequently feel diffident and embarrassed to keep treatments due to the deficiency of assurance in educating kids on gender. Therefore, bureaus should see incorporating parents to the full into their wellness instruction schemes. Making consciousness of course of study amongst parents While the school provides basic sex instruction, parents must be cognizant that the cognition and information presented or taught in schools are merely auxiliary, and parents themselves play a polar function in educating their kids at place, since morality issues sing sex are largely non covered in schools[ 23 ]. Therefore moral issues and duty must be taught by the parents of the kid when it comes to sex. The influence of mass media Any parent can certify to the waxy, unquestioning and imitative nature of their kid, and since the mass media is one of the most outstanding beginnings of the kid s mentality of the outside universe, the changeless repeat of sexual contents on the telecasting will no uncertainty act upon the kid s mentality to a certain extent. Developed Schemes Equiping parents Schools can prosecute professionals, experts and even successful parents to present presentations or keep little workshops. Awareness is therefore developed among parents on the importance of keeping conversations with their kids sing gender instruction. Parent -Teacher coaction To prosecute pupils through coaction between parents and instructors in planing an effectual usage of teaching method within the programme. Prosecuting young persons and parents on the net Making a forum to keep treatments enable young persons to freely show their positions or sentiments sing gender. Acknowledging that most thoughts conveyed by equals and the media may be misdirecting, we decided to lasso in trainers/ counselors qualified in the field of gender instruction to rectify any misconception young persons may hold, and to supply proper advice to them. Besides, by prosecuting parents to supervise these forums, they are able to lend to the treatment by posting their positions at the same clip. This will profit parents greatly, leting them to hold a general deeper apprehension in young persons Proposed Options Parent Education Programs Schools may tie-in school events with parent instruction plans to better grownups accomplishments for educating and pass oning with young person, particularly about gender and generative wellness. . Reviewing the bringing of gender instruction programme The Raffles Parents Association can keep a meeting with instructors every 6 months to reexamine the teaching method of presenting the programme. During their reappraisals, they should include the positions of parents about the content of the gender instruction programme that ought to be taught in school. The ground being that parents have a better thought of what their striplings mentality are about the subject of sex every bit good as the exposure that their teens have on the subject. This can be done by holding feedbacks from parents online through the Raffles portal web site, for easiness of communicating. With these feedbacks and reappraisals, our school can hold a more efficient, relevant and effectual manner of presenting gender instruction messages to pupils every bit good as holding a more impactful one. Involving experts into young person online forums As opposed to parents restricting the inflow of information from the mass media which is highly impractical, on-line portals ( e.g. youth.sg ) can be developed for striplings to portion their ideas on the subject of gender. A gender instruction forum will be designed in the on-line portal such that unfastened and healthy treatments can be fostered, on occasion with the advice of experts. Young persons are able to present inquiries and they are responded by qualified[ 24 ]trainers and counselors in this field. Chapter 4: Action Plan Parent Education Programme ( PEP ) Key Players / Stakeholders Schools Secondary schools serve as a platform in enabling parents to take part in the plans easy as their kids maintain them updated with approaching of import school events. Our mark group will be Raffles Girls School ( Secondary ) and Raffles Institution ( Secondary ) in peculiar. Non-Governmental Organisations ( NGOs )[ 25 ] NGOs have the power to consequence widespread alteration A ; topographic point force per unit area on other cardinal participants to pull off the tendencies. Examples of relevant expertness are the Institute of Advanced Parentology[ 26 ]( IAP ) , Focus on the Family[ 27 ]. Experts, professionals and facilitators in the relevant Fieldss will be invited. Successful parents Parents who have successfully overcome their fright and/or embarrassment in pass oning with their kid sing gender issues will be invited to talk. Rationale for our proposed action plan/ class of action Tiing up with two of import school maps such as Briefings to Secondary 1-4 Parents ( held at the start of the every twelvemonth the school principal ) and Parent-Teacher Meetings ( held in the 2nd semester every twelvemonth ) will be utile in capturing a broad audience. This programme is to supply accomplishments to parents to pass on with striplings through these two synergistic workshops. Parents will therefore be more equipped in educating their kids about healthy sexual development and determination devising. Action Plan The organizing commission of the several school maps will include a short Parent Education Programme workshop where presentations are held by wellness professionals and rearing experts from assorted NGOs of relevant field. More male facilitators will besides be invited instead than most of the clip merely female facilitators are present. This is to promote more engagement of male parents because same-sex parent-child communicating at place tends to work better[ 28 ]. Successful parents will be engaged to portion their experience on how they dealt with challenges while educating their kids on gender issues. They will be able to supply information parents want and need every bit good as reference the concerns and frights of the audience. These real-life illustrations will enable parents to get cognition and information on how unfastened communicating can be cultivated in order to portion their values and beliefs with their kids efficaciously, while going more sceptered to go effectual gender pedagogues of their kids. A mass get offing parents via the school depicting the plan will inform parents about the inside informations of the available workshops. These workshops, binding in with school maps, will be scheduled on weekends ( Saturday and Sunday ) so as to avoid upseting their work agendas during weekdays. Feasibility Parent negotiations are extremely executable as it has been done in most schools. However, it is hard to aim all parents to remain on for negotiations given their busy daily agendas and other committednesss. They may hold work duties, peculiarly amongst the low income groups or households with exclusive breadwinners, where gender instruction may non be perceived as of import in such households. Solutions To do the programme an impactful one, advanced and synergistic presentation techniques[ 29 ]can be used in carry oning this workshop to capture the involvement of audience efficaciously. Besides, inducements can be offered to promote greater engagement in workshops, including light refreshments and awards such as verifiers and rearing books. Reviewing the bringing of gender instruction programme Key Players / Stakeholders Raffles Parents Association ( RPA ) and Parents of Raffles Girls School Association ( PRGS Association ) Parent support groups for the Raffles household. They represent the proportion of parents in Raffles, supervising general affairs in and out of the course of study. Teachers They are the chief beginning of medium in school which pupils get their gender instruction from. They deliver the course of study and impart accomplishments and cognition to pupils. Rationale for our proposed action plan/ class of action Through the reappraisal of the course of study, parents will hold a better thought of their striplings mentality on the subject of gender every bit good as the exposure that they have on the subject. Hence, parents can supply valuable feedbacks and positions as to what should be included or emphasised on during the instruction of gender instruction to pupils. Action Plan Feedbacks are to be collected from parents through the RPA and PRGS Association online portals for the easiness of communicating. Besides, we can use our Raffles chief web site to associate parents to the portals for more convenience. The RPA and PRGS Association will keep a meeting with instructors at least one time every 6 months to reexamine the content and the teaching method of the gender instruction course of study designed by the Raffles schools. Valuable and insightful feedbacks from parents should be brought Forth in these meetings, to be discussed and considered amongst the instructors and members of RPA and PRGS Association. Feasibility For this proposed option to be successful, we need the cooperation of parents to be actively involved and concerned about the contents taught to their kids on the subject of gender. They have to cognize that they play a large function in their gender instruction. Additionally, male childs and misss differing biological make-up and hence, some content taught may non be relevant to each gender if sexuality instruction is taught to youth in general. Some of import sections[ 30 ]are therefore left out which might be built-in to the physical and psychological development of young persons. Solutions A different course of study can be catered to different gender to accommodate each gender s demands consequently. All schools, depending if they are coeducational schools, may follow two course of studies providing for each gender, so that gender instruction can be taught individually for the misss and male childs. Involving experts into online forums Key Players / Stakeholders SgForums.com A reputable online portal which discusses a assortment of subjects related to the current universe today. Outstanding subjects are put into forums, where netizens are accessible to the latest intelligence and treatments. There is besides a forum named SgSexForums dedicated to discussion about gender, and we are looking at incorporating gender instruction into this forum. . Professionals and experts They will be invited to be on the panel of forum, so as to react to any questions or positions posed by young persons. They are trained experts from local gender instruction sellers which are approved by MOE, every bit good as advisers and professionals majoring in the development of young person. Young persons Youths serves as an of import voice for parents to hold a deeper apprehension on their positions and concerns. This can assist to contract the communicating spread between the two coevalss as parents are more cognizant of their demands and wants sing gender instruction. A ­Schools Given primary positions expressed by pupils in the forum, schools will work around the demands and wants of the pupils, giving feedbacks to the MOE. Understanding what young persons are concerned with, a more convincing course of study can so be developed to turn to their demands. Rationale for our proposed action plan/ class of action Forums by and large receive much attending from the Singaporean young person communities, and web portals such as STOMP and sgforums.com are known to stand for the voice of the young person society. Although earlier research findings showed that media platforms render young persons susceptible to negative messages about gender, however we still believe that they are powerful tools through which we can set our thoughts across. We are looking at accommodating mass media and healthy treatment of gender issues, and this can be achieved through online forums discoursing about the local gender instruction. Through proper designing of the forums and prosecuting trained experts on the relevant subjects, we believe these online forums will assist to guarantee a more unfastened gender instruction excluding the restraints of school course of study, whereby young persons can do themselves heard. This helps us to accomplish our aim of a more open-minded society towards gender issues, which is ins trumental in assisting parents take charge of their kids s sexual good being. Action Plan Two separate forums will be set up in the on-line portal catered to both young persons and parents. All stations are accessible to the populace, and this allows each stakeholder to be cognizant of the different point of views that youths or parents have. Certified experts from sex instruction sellers will be invited to originate unchained treatment about gender, and besides answer assorted questions that youths or parents might hold. In add-on, we will prosecute parent support groups to supervise these forums and input their ain experiences, furthering healthy argument. As such, any deceptive positions will be corrected by qualified professionals, forestalling young persons from obtaining wrong information from undependable beginnings on the cyberspace. Feasibility Popular local web forums like STOMP ( Youthphoria ) and youth.sg promote unconstrained treatments about societal issues, and promote young persons to portion about their perceptual experiences of the universe around them. Many forums are besides initiated by young persons to discourse the quality of their gender instruction. One restriction, nevertheless, would be that the forums might be prone to defamatory and provocative remarks by insensitive users. Solutions Inappropriate remarks may be marked as Spam by other users, automatically concealing the remark. Besides, parent support groups can be tasked to take charge of these forums as decision makers, chiefly to fuel healthy argument about gender issues based on their ain experiences. Benefits of our program Primary Data We managed to acquire consequences from a relevant yet broad spectrum of the population. This is apparent from the ages of the respondents, which range from 13-18 every bit good as their educational degree which include pupils from the secondary degree and junior colleges. There is besides an about equal mix of responses from both males and females every bit good. With this, we can do certain that we can do certain that the spread across the population is non biased in any manner due to unsimilarities between the above groups ( e.g. hormonal differences, difference in academic demands ) and therefore can convey representative consequences of all young persons in general as required by our undertaking subject. Chapter 5: Decision Strengths Through this undertaking, we have gained a many-sided apprehension of the gender instruction state of affairs in Singapore, through surveying and questioning our cardinal stakeholders. Value-added by extended research online, we are now cognizant of the assorted cognition spreads in the course of study and our developed schemes can efficaciously decide them. For illustration, one contradiction we identified would be that MOE allows parents to choose out of the course of study, even though they stress the importance of parental engagement in school-based gender instruction. Translating our programs into world, through prosecuting trained experts to reply assorted questions posed by young persons and parents, we are guaranting that young persons do non have the incorrect information or acquire misled by undependable beginnings from the cyberspace. Furthermore, our Parent Education Programme ( PEP ) serves to increase parental consciousness about their kids s wellbeing at school, even if parents opt their kids out of the gender instruction course of study. Ultimately, we aim at heightening parent-child communicating and deciding the contradictions in the current course of study through our developed schemes. Restrictions Inaccuracy in study responses from pupils and parents There is a chance of them non being honest in replying inquiries due to conservative nature and sensitiveness of subject. Adolescents opposition to parental engagement Young persons may be uncomfortable in showing their positions in forums in the presence of parents. Without striplings engagement, the on-line portal will non be effectual in functioning as a platform for active and unfastened treatments for both stakeholders. Possible Improvements An betterment would be spread outing the range to provide to assorted faiths. Since Singapore is a multi-racial society, some faiths may non prophesy values that are in line with what MOE offers on abstention and the instruction of preventives. This would ensue in a struggle of involvements among the pedagogues, parents, spiritual organisations and the adolescents themselves, who might be diffident as to which philosophy to follow. Hence, it would be best to develop a scheme that would extensively provide to the distinguishable faiths in Singapore. This will let parents to be more positive in imparting their support, after cognizing that their faiths philosophies tie in with the proposed scheme. Future Developments We hope to widen the undertaking by including parents from other Secondary Schools. We can utilize the consequences obtained from RI and RGS to estimate the effectivity of our proposed options and do farther betterments. Successful parents, who have benefited from the options proposed, can portion their penetrations and lessons learnt from them, during the PEP conducted in other Secondary Schools. Chapter 6 BIBLIOGRPAHY Web sites: Release of the turning old ages series for upper secondary: Sense and Sexuality. 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Retrieved 22 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.pathfind.org/pf/pubs/focus/IN % 20FOCUS/inv_parents.htm gt ; Larry G. Brady: How to Raise Kids without Climbing the Walls. Retrieved 22 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //books.google.com.sg/booksid=bThRzH6jj6gC A ; pg=PA94 A ; lpg=PA94 A ; dq=psychological+impacts+of+premarital+sex A ; source=bl A ; ots=mEZkGOHwn8 A ; sig=7DcootQgLDKMV1P_n3lY-pfn0hw A ; hl=en A ; ei=bc1XTL7DAYy5rAfo86mOBQ A ; sa=X A ; oi=book_result A ; ct=result A ; resnum=6 A ; ved=0CDEQ6AEwBQ # v=onepage A ; q A ; f=false gt ; Involving Parents In Reproductive Health Decisions. Retrieved from 22 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.californiateenhealth.org/download/Involving_parents.pdf gt ; Joy L Walker: A qualitative survey of parents experiences of supplying sex instruction for their kids: The deductions for wellness instruction. Retrieved 22 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //hej.sagepub.com/content/60/2/132.abstract gt ; State Policies in Brief: Sexual activity and STI/HIV Education. Retrieved 27 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_SE.pdf gt ; Religious Communities and Sexuality Education. Retrieved 27 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rcrc.org/pdf/SexEd.pdf gt ; Patricia Donovan, July/August 1998: School-Based Sexuality Education: The Issues and Challenges. Retrieved 27 August 2010, from lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //guttmacher.com/pubs/journals/3018898.html gt ; Newspaper Articles: Sharon Jason, ( 22 August 2010 ) How the USA compares in learning teens about sex, USA TODAY. Tan, H.Y. and Teo E. , ( 21 August 2010 ) , Sex Education: Too small, excessively late, and excessively obscure? , The Straits Times Serene Goh, ( 21 August 2010 ) , Let s talk with kids about sex, The Straits Times Tan, H.Y. , ( 21 August 2010 ) , Asia dawdling in gender instruction, The Straits Times Leow, S.W. , Ong, C. , ( 21 August 2010 ) , St Patrick s objects to condom picture, The Straits Times Charissa Yong, ( 12 August 2010 ) , No sex please, we re Chinese, The Straits Times Liew H.Q. , ( 29 July 2010 ) , Schools engaging sex instruction experts once more, The Straits Times Liew H.Q. , ( 30 April 2010 ) , Govt calls for more transparence in gender instruction, The Straits Times Amelia Tan, Theresa Tan and Yeo Sam Jo, ( 25 May 2009 ) , Sex instruction: Experts identify 2 weak links , The Straits Times Irene Tan, ( 9 February 2010 ) , Aware bows out of sex instruction for now, The Straits Times Videos: Sexual activity instruction for kids lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=aMf0WbB-F4I gt ; Health Promotion Board Choices Teen Sexuality Education lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=B6acvEJRzxo gt ;

Lease assingment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lease assingment - Essay Example The first item that appears uncomfortable is leasing the bedroom apartment because I am not allowed to use any other part of the premise. Flexibility should be enhanced to all tenants by the proprietor in terms of using other sections of the premises (Jacobus 282). Another problem in the lease is that the contract runs for a year. As a tenant, I have no flexibility in terms of terminating the contract before the stipulated period. Moreover, the property manager, who is Joe Daworker, is responsible for handling issues concerning use of premises. A problem may arise making me want to talk directly to the owner of the premises. As a tenant, I feel that 1,455 US dollars is a lot of money to be paid to the proprietor within a single day because security deposit is to be paid during the signing of lease contract. The security deposit should be paid in installments because there is no guarantee that I will damage any part of the premises as a tenant. Another problem arises from possession o f the premises as outlined in lease contract. Since I will be entitled to possess the premises on the first day of signing the contract, I feel that the proprietor should also be responsible in ensuring the well-being of all tenants. This should involve carrying out maintenance and repairs of the one bedroom apartment during my stay in the premises. ... According to premise usage, the proprietor restricts any form of retail, professional and commercial activities within the apartment. In the event of carrying out any commercial activities, consent must be obtained from the proprietor by following. This item contrasts with possession rights because I should be allowed to carry out any legal activities within the apartment as a tenant. The proprietor requires tenants to get liability insurance before engaging in any professional or commercial activities. In the event of failing to abide by that item on the leasing agreement, the tenant is evicted from the premise with immediate effect because he or she is said to have breached the leasing contract. I find this item tedious and costly since the process of obtaining insurance liability is quite demanding and expensive (Jacobus 283). In terms of evicting the premise, I feel that every tenant should be given adequate time to find another apartment before being forced to vacate the premise s. The contract restricts any extra person apart from the tenant to stay in the apartment. I find this clause unrealistic because relatives and friends who may want to spend a couple of nights in the apartment. This item on the contract needs to be adjusted where tenants should be allowed to stay with their friends and relatives within the apartment. In spite of the contract allowing tenants to have guests for a limited time of fourteen consecutive days, the impression created to tenants is that their freedom is restricted. Privacy of tenants is compromised when the agreement restricts the sharing of bedrooms within the apartment. As mentioned earlier,

The Munich Agreement Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words

The Munich Agreement - Dissertation Example Chamberlain’s role was central to the appeasement process as a committed person in response to the public opinion. But this was not without criticism. Left wing-writers under a pseudonym Cato published guilty men in 1940, which accused Chamberlain of taking undue advantage of public opinion and giving unrealistic hopes of peace with Germany.   They sought to point out that Chamberlain underestimated the British capacity and overestimated the German’s capacity of war. They have painted Chamberlain as a great deceiver . Because of the outbreak of the Second World War in spite of the cession of the Sudetenland, Chamberlain stood exposed to criticism for having slowed down the rearmament program after the First World War. Historical research on this episode has these writers as the first phase. In what can be called the second phase of historical research, Taylor in his 1961 publication †The Origin of Second World War†, remarked that the role of appeasement in the outbreak of Second World War was;   â€Å"The cause of war was therefore as much the blunders of others as the wickedness of dictators themselves.†Ã‚   In 1963, The Appeasers, Martin Gilbert and Richard Gott maintained that Chamberlain deceived the public by showing the bogey of another war which the British could not afford. However, since the 1960s, revisionist historians argued for the compelling reasons for appeasement as that was the only viable policy for the British in the 1930s. The Nation had a weak economy drained of resources after the needs in the war just ended. Historians such as Patrick Finney agreed that appeasement was the inevitable result of British decline. They also argued that public opinion prior to 1937 could not be easily dismissed. Maurice Calling in his 1975 publication, The Impact of Hitler: British Politics and British Policy 1933-40, maintained that the appeasement policy was compelled by domestic considerations. Chamberlain, motivated by the state of the country’s economy and political stand of his Conservative party, took the appeasement decision that was expected to become popular with the British public. Chamberlain changed his stand in response to the public opinion after Germany occupied Prague in 1939. R.A.C Parker, in his Chamberlain and Appeasement (1993), argued that Chamberlain deliberately used the reasons of weak economy and weak military, to shape the public opinion, as he was deeply committed to appeasement for the sake appeasement and not due to weakness.5 From looking at the historiography relating to the Munich agreement it is clear to see that there is an ongoing debate relating to the issue. Throughout this piece I intend to

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay Example for Free

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report describes the findings of a qualitative research project, The Experience of Ethnic Minority and Migrant Workers in the Hotel and Catering Industry: Routes to Support and Advice on Workplace Problems, funded by the European Social Fund and Acas and carried out by the Working Lives Research Institute at London Metropolitan University. The research provides evidence of the conditions faced by ethnic minority and migrant workers in the hotel and restaurant sector, an industry already known for its harsh working environment. In-depth interviews with 50 ethnic minority and migrant workers in London, the West Midlands and the South West were carried out between May 2005 and May 2006. In addition, interviews were held with key informants to provide contextual information on features and trends within the sector. The key findings of the research are summarised here. Working conditions in hotels and restaurants †¢ Cash-in-hand, undeclared or under-declared, and illegal working was found among the ethnic minority and migrant restaurant workers interviewed, and affected both employment conditions and rates of pay. This was prevalent in small, ethnic minority-owned restaurants, usually employing members of the same ethnic group. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was the rate commonly paid to basic grade staff, including bar and restaurant staff, hotel porters and housekeeping staff, particularly outside of London. The research also found a high incidence of flat rate payments per shift or per week, regardless of hours worked, below the NMW, often paid cash-in-hand. Long hours working was a further feature. Full-time workers did a minimum 40-hour week, with 50 to 60 hours a week being common, particularly in restaurants. Late night working, or until the last customer left, was often expected without extra pay. Some felt that they had no life outside work due to the long hours demanded by the job. In some instances, individuals had several jobs to earn money to support family or send back home. There was low awareness of holiday and leave entitlements. Very few workers received more than the statutory entitlement to four weeks’ holiday. Some reported getting no paid holidays or receiving less than the legal minimum, and there was generally low awareness of holiday entitlement. In small restaurants there was sometimes an informal policy of two weeks’ leave. It was common for workers to have received no written statements of particulars or contracts. This was found among both informally and legitimately employed workers, and was a source of anxiety for several. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 1 †¢ There were poor perceptions of job security in the sector. Few workers felt secure in their employment, often feeling they could be sacked on the spot, particularly those working informally. Some longer-term workers in regular employment were aware that increasing use of casual and agency staff meant that their jobs were not secure. Training available to migrant workers, particularly in restaurants, was minimal, usually only in basic health and safety, hygiene or fire procedures. In some hotels, however, managers had recognised the neglect of training in the past and were offering staff the chance to pursue National Vocational Qualifications. †¢ Problems at work †¢ There was a high degree of acceptance of the poor working conditions in the sector among interviewees, with issues such as low pay, long hours, unpaid overtime and poor health and safety standards often not perceived as particular â€Å"problems† but rather viewed as the nature of work in the sector. Where problems were identified these related to: pay; long working hours; workload; getting time off; bullying and verbal abuse, including racial harassment; problems getting on with colleagues; English language skills; and theft of property from work. Bullying and verbal abuse was common, particularly in kitchens where chefs were often known as bullies, but this was accepted by some as â€Å"just the mentality of the kitchen†. Sometimes the abuse had a racial element, with â€Å"bloody foreigner† used as a term of abuse. Racist abuse from restaurant customers was also regularly suffered by some waiters. In one hotel, several staff had experienced bullying from a manager, resulting in time off sick with stress. Staff believed there was an ulterior motive of trying to get rid of long-serving employees and replacing them with cheaper casual staff. Opportunities for promotion were felt by several interviewees to be inhibited by discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality or age, as well as the limitations imposed by work permit or visa rules. Some long-term workers felt they had been overlooked for promotion, with their age then compounding the problem as employers looked for younger staff to promote and develop. Where employees saw that they had opportunities to progress, this was due to the support of a manager. Opportunities were further limited by employer presumptions about the suitability of staff for â€Å"front-of-house† jobs, such as reception or waiter positions, based on ethnicity, gender and age. Some employers expressed preferences for white staff, or a â€Å"balance† of white and non-white front-of ­ house staff, on the grounds that it was what their customers wanted. The research found that such racial stereotyping was expressed openly in this sector in a way that may not be acceptable in other sectors. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 2 †¢ In the main, interviewees did not raise health and safety concerns when discussing problems at work, reflecting an acceptance of the hazards of this type of work. However many issues did arise during the course of interviews, which included: burns and working in hot kitchens; working in a confined space; back and shoulder pains; and tiredness from long working hours and heavy workload. Often, responsibility for health and safety, such as avoiding burns, was seen as primarily belonging to the employee and not the employer. Most workers believed that little could be done to tackle the problems that they were having at work, or felt that the only solution was to leave the job. A handful of workers had taken action to resolve their problems at work, either by raising concerns with their manager, or seeking outside support or advice. †¢ Support, advice and awareness of rights †¢ Workers felt poorly informed about employment rights in the UK, and had little idea of where to get information if they needed it. Many also were unsure about aspects of their own particular terms and conditions of employment, which was related to a lack of written information. As might be expected, those who had been in the UK for a longer time, and the small number who were members of a trade union, felt better informed about their rights at work. Trade unions had been a valuable source of support for a small number of interviewees, but for most workers, unions simply did not feature in their experience of work. But despite the difficulties of organising in the sector, including high staff turnover, no culture of trade unionism and employers that are hostile to trade unions, union membership was growing in one London hotel and catering branch. This was the result of recruitment campaigns that included information in several languages. Some interviewees either had, or would, seek support from community organisations about problems at work. However, there was a variation in the level of community support available in the three regions, with London and the West Midlands having established organisations representing a variety of ethnic groups, but such structures were much less well developed in the South West. Seeking support and advice through community organisations can also be a double-edged sword for those who work for employers within the same ethnic community, with some fearing that if they sought advice, word would get around and they would have problems getting work in future. Of the small number of workers who had sought support for problems at work, Citizen’s Advice, Acas and a specific project for service workers (no longer in existence) had been used. While a small number were aware of Citizen’s Advice, a couple thought that the service excluded them because of its name, which implied to them that it was for British citizens only. †¢ †¢ †¢ 3 Conclusions and recommendations †¢ While many of the working conditions and problems highlighted in this report are common to workers in the sector, the research found several features that serve to differentiate the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers: immigration status; working in the informal sector; discrimination in the labour market and employment; and low expectations which increase tolerance of poor working conditions. For ethnic minority and migrant workers the difficulties in raising and resolving problems relate both to their own individual vulnerability and characteristics of work in the sector. Recent migrant workers may have limited English language skills and little or no knowledge of UK employment rights and support structures, factors that compound the difficulties of addressing problems in the sector. These include: the perception that there is a ready supply of labour to replace workers who complain; a lack of union organisation; a culture of poor personnel practice, such as minimal training and provision of information; and the informal nature of much employment obtained by ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector. There appeared also to be a lack of monitoring or enforcement of employers’ compliance with employment legislation in this sector. To understand the different experiences and motivations for ethnic minority and migrant workers working in hotels and restaurants, the research developed a typology of strategies that highlights at one end how some individuals feel they are acting strategically in relation to their work choices, whereas at the other, economic factors and limitations play a greater role in determining their choices. The strategies move from Career progression through Broadening opportunities and Stepping stone to Pragmatic acceptance and No alternative. The research makes a number of recommendations about how the position of this vulnerable group of workers can be improved through better access to employment rights and information, improvements in working conditions and career opportunities, and improved provision of support and advice. †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 1. INTRODUCTION This project, The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers in the Hotel and Catering Industry: Routes to Support and Advice on Workplace Problems, was funded by the European Social Fund and Acas and carried out by the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University between May 2004 and July 2006. The project used qualitative research methods to explore the experiences and problems at work of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants, with the aim of both identifying the range of experiences and problems encountered, and gaining a greater understanding of access to and use of support and advice to resolve these problems. The research therefore provides evidence of the conditions faced by ethnic minority and migrant workers, which is an area relatively neglected by research so far. Its objective is to inform policy in order to improve good practice in relation to the employment of ethnic minority and migrant workers, to prevent problems from arising, and to improve the support and advice mechanisms available. The key target groups for these research findings and policy objectives are thus employers, statutory bodies, the voluntary sector, trade unions and community groups. 1. 1 Background to the project At the start of the project a working paper (Wright and Pollert, 2005) was prepared to establish the extent of ethnic minority and migrant working in the hotel and restaurant sector, as well as pinpointing the main issues for workers in the sector identified by the existing literature. The working paper is available on the project website1. The paper showed that ethnic minority and migrant workers make up a significant part of the hotel and restaurant workforce – almost threefifths (59%) of workers in the sector in London described themselves as other than White British in the 2001 census (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27). Outside of London the picture reflects the differences in the concentration of the ethnic minority population across the UK. In the West Midlands, where 84% of the hotel and restaurant workforce were White British in 2001, the largest other groups were White other (2. 9%), Bangladeshi (2. 3%) and Indian (2. 2%). The sector is a particularly important source of employment for some groups, with 52% of male Bangladeshi workers employed in restaurants, compared to only 1% of white males (Holgate, 2004: 21). In London, migrant workers (those born outside the UK) account for 60% of those employed in the hotel and restaurant sector (GLA, 2005: 68), compared to 31% of all London workers who were born outside the UK. However there have been important changes in the composition of the hotel and restaurant workforce since the 2001 census, with employers filling vacancies in the sector by employing significant numbers of workers from the East European countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 (known as the A8 countries). The government requires nationals of the A8 countries who wish to work in the UK to register with the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), and Home Office figures show that of the 375,000 workers registered between May 2004 and March 2006, 22% were working in hospitality and catering (80,570 workers) (Home Office, 1 http://www. workinglives. org/HotelCatering. html 5 2006a). There has, however, been a decline in the proportion of WRS applicants in Hospitality and Catering from 31% in the second quarter of 2004, to 18% in the first quarter of 2006, with Administration, Business and Management now employing greater numbers. The highest proportion of all applicants under the scheme were Polish (61%), followed by Lithuanian (12%) and Slovak (10%). The figures also show a movement of registered workers to other parts of the UK than London, with the percentage applying to London falling from 25% in the second quarter of 2004, to 11% in the first quarter of 2006 (Home Office, 2006a). While working conditions in the industry have been well documented as consisting of low pay, low status, exploitation of employees and lack of unionisation (e. g. Gabriel, 1988; Price, 1994; Head and Lucas, 2004; LPC 2005), little has been written in the UK about the actual experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers, with much of the existing literature focusing on management behaviour and strategy (Wright and Pollert, 2005). Some recent exceptions include a study of low pay in London (Evans et al, 2005), which included the hotel and catering industry. This study of 341 randomly selected low paid workers contained 90% who were migrants. Of their sample of hotel and hospitality workers, the largest group (two-fifths) were non-British whites, mainly from Eastern Europe, followed by Africans (24%). It found the lowest rates of pay to be in the hotel and catering sector, below contract cleaning, home care and the food industry. Other recent research has considered the experience of Central and East European migrants in low paid employment in the UK in the context of the A8 countries joining the EU, and covers hospitality, along with construction, agriculture and au pairs (Anderson et al, 2006). It is some 15 years since the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) undertook a formal investigation into recruitment and selection in hotels (CRE, 1991) in response to concern that the sector was failing to consider equal opportunities in employment practices. It found that ethnic minority staff were disproportionately concentrated in unskilled jobs, and found only one ethnic minority manager out of 117 hotels investigated. It made a number of recommendations about how hotels should improve their practices in relation to recruitment, monitoring, positive action and training taking account of equal opportunities issues. However, we have been unable to find evidence of any monitoring or evaluation of whether these recommendations have been heeded or implemented by hotel employers. While knowledge of employment rights among all workers in the UK is poor, it has been shown that vulnerable groups know even less (Pollert, 2005). A random survey of people’s awareness of employment rights in the West Midlands found that women, ethnic minorities, young people and the low paid were least likely to be aware of their rights (WMLPU, 2001). The research was undertaken in the context of considerable public debate on migration policy, and at a time when the government was intending to phase out low skilled migration schemes, such as the Sectors Based Scheme, which granted work permits to certain numbers of workers in skills shortage sectors such as hospitality, in the light of new labour available from the European Union (Home Office,2005). At the same time there is increasing concern for â€Å"vulnerable† workers, and the government has recently published a policy statement on protecting vulnerable workers, defined as â€Å"someone working in an environment where the risk of being denied employment rights is high and who does not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from that abuse† (DTI, 2006: 25). 6 1. 2 Research aims The research set out to address the following key questions: 1. What are the working conditions of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants? 2. How are working conditions seen and what are perceived as ‘problems’, and how does this impact on acceptance of poor working conditions? 3. What type of problems do ethnic minority and migrant workers have working in hotels and restaurants? 4. How do these compare to the problems generally affecting workers in the sector and to what extent are they associated with particular labourmarket niches within the sector to which these workers are confined? If this is so, to what extent is the insecurity of migrant status relevant, or is racial discrimination relevant? 5. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about their rights at work, and to what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector attempt to enforce their legal rights at work, or instead try to find ways to achieve a sufficient income and manageable working conditions, even if this means colluding with illegal employment practices? 6. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about where to get advice and support for problems at work? And who do they turn to for advice and support? To what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector use statutory (i.e. Acas, CRE), voluntary (CABx, local advice agencies), trade union, community (groups or informal contacts through ethnic networks) or informal (friends, family) sources of support and advice? 7. What are the experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector of using all these sources of support and advice and what barriers do they face in accessing support and advice for workplace problems? 1. 3 Structure of the report The report describes the research methodology and access routes, together with the characteristics of the interviewees in section 2. The working conditions experienced by interviewees are described in section 3, confirming evidence from much of the existing literature on the sector, but also highlighting where the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers may be particular. Section 4 describes the problems encountered by interviewees in their jobs in hotels and restaurants, but also considers the attitude of these workers to defining â€Å"problems† at work, as well as their approaches to resolving problems and barriers to resolution. The information, support and advice available to and used by the ethnic minority and migrant workers interviewed is explored in section 5, together with their awareness of employment rights in the UK. 7 In section 6 conclusions are drawn about the specific experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector, the problems that they face and their need for support and advice, suggesting that changes need to be made to practice within the sector, as well as in improved provision of support to ethnic minority and migrant workers. 8 2. METHODOLOGY The project employed qualitative research methods to gather in-depth accounts of the experiences of 50 ethnic minority and migrant workers. Interviews were carried out between May 2005 and May 2006. In addition, interviews and face-to ­ face and telephone conversations were held with key informants to provide contextual information on features and trends within the sector affecting ethnic minority and migrant workers. The strengths of using qualitative methods are that they can not only identify tangible issues (the problems themselves, for example), but also more elusive, subjective issues, such as motivation, perceptions of opportunities and of rights, sense of inclusion, integration and fairness – or their opposites – sense of frustration, alienation and barriers to obtaining support and fairness at work. 2. 1 Regional scope The research project was confined to England within the terms of reference set by the European Social Fund. Three English regions were selected in order to provide a comparison of experiences of migrant and ethnic minority workers: London, the West Midlands and the South West. London and the West Midlands have considerably larger non-white and migrant populations than other parts of the country, with significant numbers of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis working in the hotel and restaurant sector in the West Midlands (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27 ­ 28). In contrast, the South West is the English region with the smallest non-white population, but is experiencing a growth in migrant workers. The problems facing ethnic minority and migrant populations here have been less well documented, but where studies have been done, isolation from ethnic minority communities and support structures emerges as an issue (BMG Research, 2003; Gaine and Lamley, 2003; SWTUC, 2004). Tourism also accounts for 10% of total employment in the South West, with the greatest proportion of these (70%) employed in the hospitality sector – accommodation, restaurants, pubs etc. (Tourism Skills Network South West, 2002). In the South West it was decided to focus the research on two towns with a large tourist population and therefore a high demand for a hotel and restaurant workforce: Bournemouth and Plymouth. The Human Resources manager of a Bournemouth hotel group, interviewed for this research, said that only 32% of their workforce was British, indicating a high reliance on foreign-born workers. 2. 2 Definitions of ethnic minority and migrant workers The research includes both â€Å"ethnic minority† and â€Å"migrant† workers, categories which, in real life, are complex, changing and overlapping. Some ethnic minorities (using the Labour Force Survey definitions) will also be migrants. Migrants (defined here as all those who were born outside the UK, Home Office, 2002) may or may not be defined as ethnic minorities, and may or may not be discriminated against. White Australian or Canadian migrant workers, for example, would not be. But Kosovan people may be regarded as ethnic minorities, and suffer racism and discrimination, and Czech or Polish people may or may not be discriminated against, and while they may not be â€Å"visible† in terms of skin colour, in the way black and Asian people are, they are â€Å"visible† in terms of language, cultural characteristics, and discrimination. As many â€Å"white† Eastern Europeans are now 9 working in the hotel and restaurant sector, particularly since the EU enlargement in May 2004, it was felt to be important to include their experiences in the study. 2. 3 Access to research participants In order to include the experience of a broad range of interviewees from different ethnic groups and backgrounds, including both recent and more settled ethnic minorities, it was decided to use multiple routes to access interviewees. Therefore a range of bodies were contacted, many with a twofold purpose of: a) providing contextual information about the sector and/or the experiences of particular ethnic groups; and b) helping gain access to research participants. Organisations contacted included trade unions, community and worker organisations, sector bodies, employers and statutory and advice agencies (see Appendix 2). In the South West, where there are fewer organised community groups than in the two other regions, we spoke to officers at Bournemouth Borough Council, who gave us informal contacts within the main local ethnic minority communities, as well as putting us in contact with several community interpreters who spoke the main languages of the local ethnic minority groups: Portuguese, Korean, Turkish, Bengali and Spanish. These routes proved very useful in helping to access research participants and in providing interpretation for interviews. However, in the end, Turkish and Bangladeshi workers were reluctant to come forward to be interviewed, which the interpreters said was because they were fearful of speaking out about their employers, despite reassurances of confidentiality. In all three areas we used fieldworkers who were able to use their language skills to carry out interviews in workers’ native languages, namely Bengali, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian and Mandarin. The fieldworkers were also able to provide access to workers who may not have come forward otherwise, being people who were known and trusted among their own ethnic communities, or who were able to provide sufficient reassurance of confidentiality. Training was provided in using the interview guide to all fieldworkers to ensure a common approach was used in interviews and that fieldworkers understood the aims and objectives of the research. While the approach used provided access to workers in a wide range of establishments,from large hotel groups to small independent restaurants, including several working ‘illegally’ or ‘informally’, we acknowledge that using such routes could not access the most hard-to-reach illegal migrant and ethnic minority workers, who may constitute a considerable proportion of workers in the sector. The research may not fully represent the worst conditions found in the ‘underbelly’ of the sector as suffered by many ‘illegal’ or ‘undocumented’ migrants, as portrayed, for example, in Steven Frear’s 2002 film about a London hotel, Dirty Pretty Things. It was decided not only to seek out interviewees who perceived themselves as having had a â€Å"problem† at work, but a range of people in different jobs in the sector, in order to explore their typical work experiences and their attitudes towards â€Å"problems† and conditions in the sector. 10 2. 4 Key informants In addition to the worker interviews, at least 20 key informants (see Appendix 2) provided further context on the hotel and restaurant sector, including regional knowledge. These included employers and employer representative bodies, trade union officials and branch members, community organisations, representatives of sector bodies and statutory and voluntary organisations. In some cases in-depth interviews were carried out, and in others more informal conversations were held either face-to-face or on the telephone. 2. 5 Worker interviews A total of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out in the three regions, with a greater number in London due to the huge range of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector in the capital. The breakdown was as follows: Table 1: Worker interviews by region Region London South West West Midlands Total % 46% 24% 30% 100% No. of worker interviews 23 12 15 50 during the interviews, which and a half. Participants were of both themselves and their participation with a ? 10 shop A semi-structured interview schedule was used generally lasted between 45 minutes to an hour assured of confidentiality, and of the anonymity employer. They were thanked for their time and voucher. At the start of the interview, participants were asked to complete a two-page questionnaire giving basic demographic and employment details, data from which is provided in the following section. 2. 5. 1 Ethnicity Respondents were asked to describe their ethnicity, according to the classification used in the 2001 Census. The results are grouped together in table 2. Table 2: Ethnicity of the sample Ethnicity White Bangladeshi and Pakistani Chinese and Other Asian Black Mixed % 36% 26% 20% 16% 2% No. of interviewees 18 13 10 8 1 11 2. 5. 2 Country of birth Table 3 shows the range of countries from which interviewees came. It was notable that only one participant was born in the UK, despite attempts to find British-born ethnic minority workers in the sector. Both fieldworkers and interviewees themselves commented that many British-born people do not wish to work in a sector that is known for low pay and long hours, including the children of migrants interviewed, as they seek better alternative employment opportunities (some young British-born workers do work in the sector while they are students, but tend to do so for only a short time). Table 3: Country of birth Country of birth Bangladesh China Colombia France Ghana Holland Indonesia Ivory coast Korea Lithuania Philippines Poland Portugal Slovakia Somalia Spain Sudan Turkey UK Ukraine 2. 5. 3 Gender Women are under-represented in the sample (38% of interviewees) compared to their presence in the sector as a whole, but this reflects the fact that the sample includes a substantial number of Bangladeshi workers, who represent a significant group in the sector in the West Midlands, and most of these workers are male (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27-28). 2. 5. 4 Age Only one interviewee was under 21 years old. Almost two-fifths (38%) were aged 21 to 30 years old, and the same proportion were between 31 and 40 years old. Six interviewees (12%) were aged 41 to 50, and five (10%) were between 51 to 60. None of the interviewees were aged over 60. 2. 5. 5 Education Overall the sample was fairly highly educated, with 36% having a first stage or higher degree. Another 10% had post-secondary non-tertiary level education, and 36% had received education up to secondary level, while 12% had received. % 24% 10% 6% 2% 4% 2% 2% 2% 6% 8% 2% 4% 4% 6% 6% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% No. of interviewees 12 5 3 1 2 1 1 1 3 4 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 12 primary level education or less. A further 6% had other qualifications or the details of their education were not known. 2. 5. 6 Employment The majority (62%) of the interviewees worked in restaurants, while 30% worked in hotels. The remaining 8% either worked in both hotels and restaurants, as agency workers, or in catering services. More than half of respondents (54%) said there were 10 or fewer employees where they worked. A further 22% said there were between 11 and 25 people where they worked. Only 6% worked for employers with between 26 to 49 people and 10% said there were 50 or more employees where they worked. However these figures should be treated with caution, and may underestimate the number working for larger employers, as respondents may have interpreted the questions as referring to the workplace or department of the hotel where they worked, rather than the employer as a whole. Almost half the interviewees (48%) worked as waiters or waitresses, either in hotels or restaurants. Another 20% were chefs or cooks, and a further 4% worked in kitchens as general assistants. 12% said they were supervisors or managers and 4% described themselves as cashiers. Another 10% worked in other jobs in hotels as receptionist, general assistant or porter/bar worker. The majority of workers were full-time (70%), while 14% said they worked parttime, and 14% were casual workers. Working hours were long. The largest proportion (40%) worked over 40 hours per week – 10% worked between 41 and 48 hours, while almost a third (30%) said they worked over 48 hours a week. Just over a third (36%) worked between 21 and 40 hours a week. Only 6% did less than 20 hours a week. The majority (82%) had only one job at the time of the interview, with 18% having two or more jobs. However, some of those currently working in only one jo.

Macbeth Essay -- essays research papers

Macbeth is an epic tragedy inspiring pity and remorse because the hero, though flawed, is also shown to be human. The play portrays a journey of self-discovery and awareness as both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth pass from happiness to misery. Their punishment is well deserved but the retributive price is enormous. Evil, both internal and external corrupts their minds, distorting their positive traits and exaggerating their worst. Both fall victim to ‘vaulting ambition’, pride and greed, tempting them to acts of treason and betrayal of friends, kinsman and the nation itself. Warfare on the battlefield mirrors the metaphorical warfare being played out between the forces of good and evil within them. Spurred by ambition, supernatural solicitation and by the taunting of his wife, Macbeth deliberately chooses to embark on what he knows to be an evil course. From the moment he listens with ‘rapt’ attention to the witches, he allows himself to be drawn further and further into a vision of hell. The audience accompanies him into a morass of nightmares, ghosts, bloody visions and false prophecies. Abnormal conditions of mind such as insanity, sleep walking and hallucinations demonstrate his moral and emotional decline. We are given insight into their feelings of agitation, anxiety, fear, determination and regret which minimises the horror of the murder. Macbeth’s soliloquies voice his inner thoughts, making him an object of pity as well as a fascinating portrait of evil. A psychological change takes place as we witness the valiant general become a ruthless murderer. Although conscious of this evil transformation, he cannot resist the process. Ambition has become a powerful drug, usurping his reason and will as he lurches towards personal disaster. Brutality hardens him and his misrule brings suffering and chaos to Scotland. Macbeth Macbeth exhibits many of the traditional attributes of a tragic hero. Courage, determination, intelligence and moral awareness are clearly evident in his actions in the early scenes. His reputation is high and he holds a noble, aristocratic position of power and influence. He is introduced as a courageous general, worthy of respect and honour, brave, valiant, noble, imaginative, kind, ambitious, loving and artless. ‘Brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name.’ He is ambitious for public acclaim, recognition and wants to appear great and adm... ...cating Macbeth with his first words "So foul and fair a day I have not seen". His actions unsettle the moral and natural order, consequently his authority is repudiated and overthrown. Macbeth's usurpation is not rewarded "upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, / And put a barren sceptre in my gripe" (III.i.60), he committed an unnatural act. Lady Macbeth's precipitation of these actions is punished accordingly, ironically after the murder of Duncan she suggests that "These deeds must not be thought / After these ways: so, it will make us mad" (II.ii.33). The entire mood of the play is effected by the disruption of nature. Repeated images of darkness, blood, and violence contribute to this tone The vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, the sleep-walking of Lady Macbeth, all occur in the darkness of night and evoke for Macbeth a feeling of fear and horror . Again the dramatic verse intertwines the language and themes. The theme of transformation was apparent in Macbeth, the hero esteemed by his peers, however through his desire for power he transformed into a man obsessed with his desires, his tragedy was his downfall

Coffee Benefits Essay

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the emotional and physical benefits of coffee Central Idea: Coffee provides numerous health benefits which are contain antioxidant, improve cognitive performance and physical performance. Introduction I.I believe there is something special in our little everyday moments, from that first wonderful sip of hot, milky coffee in the morning to those ten stolen minutes of me. II.Not only does coffee taste good, it can stimulate my mind to refresh and relax. III.Coffee stimulates your senses from its caffeine content which stimulates metabolism and supports mental alertness and concentration. IV.Coffee may hydrate you beside its advantage of relaxing. a.Because water is the main ingredient in a cup of coffee, it helps you work towards your daily water needs and is practically free of calories. V.Coffee refreshes you with its wealth of polyphenols. a.Polyphenols are nutrients that help maintain your body in good health over time. VI.Today I would share with you guys about the three major health benefits of coffee – coffee and antioxidants, coffee and your mind and coffee and your body. (Transition: Let’s start with the coffee and antioxidants) Body I.Research has shown that a cup of coffee naturally comes with antioxidants, which are really good for you. a.Your body is constantly exposed to particles called – free radicals. i.Particles which are caused by factors like exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, environmental pollution, stress and smoking. b.Scientific studies suggest that free radicals can damage your body tissues, affect the ageing process and cause diseases like cataracts, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. c.Antioxidants in your body neutralize the free radicals and protect your body cells from damage. (Transition: Now that you know something about the coffee and antioxidants, let’s look at coffee and your mind) II.Many studies suggest that coffee drinking can improve overall ‘cognitive performance’. a.The cognitive performance which includes important mental skills like perception, attention, memory, problem solving and reaction or response abilities. b.There is some evidence to suggest potential benefits of coffee and caffeine in situations which require increased alertness e.g. night shifts and jet lag. (Transition: Now I have brief about the coffee and your mind. So let’s move to the last) III.Upping Your Physical Performance and weight management aid a.Increasing your capability and capacity for exercise. b.This means that you can keep going at a more intense pace, for a longer period and gain more from your workouts! c.Did you know that a plain black cup of coffee contains a very small amount of calories? i.In fact, coffee may be able to help maintain a healthy weight! Conclusion I.As we have seen, Coffee provides numerous health benefits which are contains antioxidants, improve cognitive performance and physical performance. II.Thus, the next time you drink a cup of coffee, just think of all its benefits! – â€Å"go beyond taste†. Bibliography Books S Rautiainen et al, 2012. Total antioxidant Capacity from Diet and Risk of Myocardial Infarction: A prospective Cohort of Women. The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 125. R Sinha et al, 2012. Caffeinated and decaffeinated and tea intakes and risk of colorectal cancer in a large prospective study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 96; 374-381. Article Sin CWM, et al (2008). Systematic review on the effectiveness of caffeine abstinence on the quality of sleep. J Clin Nursing; 18:13-21. Internet sources Coffee & Health: From The Institute For Scientific Information On Coffee. â€Å"Cancer†. (27 Jan, 2012) Retrieved 26 Sept 2012 from http://www.coffeeandhealth.org/topics/cancer/ Coffee & Health: From The Institute For Scientific Information On Coffee. â€Å"Mental Performance† . (2 Feb, 2012) retrieved 26 Sept 2012 from http://www.coffeeandhealth.org/topics/mental-performance/.

1984 and the US Government Essay

Panopticism is the word to use to describe the events that occur in Orwell’s 1984. In this expression is found the harrowing acts of violence that pervade the novel, and that allow the government to define the parameters of human existence: That is to say, the autocratic control of the government with regards to the populace is omniscient. It is within the US government that the comparisons between 1984 and that other democratic state are diabolically similar. There is no clear dichotomy between Orwell’s fictitious imaginings of a super power and that of the United States government. In all branches of a democratic society where control can be exploited it is, in both 1984 and the US government. This means that in the media, the news broadcasts, the home, the police force, every percentage where capital is invested there lies a nefarious underbelly of judiciary, legislative, and executive corruption. In 1984 there is extreme use of privacy extortion; wiretaps are habitual, and in Winston’s home this remains supremely true. The most oppressing of events that occur in 1984 is the chronic changing of the dictionary. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth. See more: Experiment on polytropic process Essay His job consists of changing the past, rewriting history as it were so that the politics of Oceania are aligned in harmony with all existing present political persuasion. This means that Oceania can rewrite history so they are the victors in history and that means they can commit no evil. In the US history the omitting of certain historical facts from history texts has been numerous; the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War Two was hidden; Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and put into concentration camps so that their political or cultural heritage wouldn’t jeopardize the American’s fight against Japan. This omission was just one of many facts of horrendous inhuman actions the US has committed and tried to cover up. Even in Orwell’s fictitious wanderings there exists the slogan â€Å"Who controls the past, controls the future†, which is true in many US government cover-ups; it is in the belief that to keep the public ignorant of governmental activity is what keeps the public supporting their government, because if they don’t know something exists, then they can’t have an opinion for or against it, like the concentration camps. In Orwell’s novel there are secret arrests that happen during the night. People are arrested for any number of ‘crimes’, for having freedom of speech, for having thoughts other than in support of Oceania (for which the thought police will have one arrested), for going against Big Brother in any fashion, there were arrests made and the person simply disappeared. In the US government’s history such arrests have occurred. The US government, now with the War on Terror campaign has aligned itself with that of Orwell’s thought police, and they have done this with Project Carnivore. Project Carnivore is the US government’s Justice Departments initiative to keep surveillance on private citizens, as Ventura et al (2005) in their article Government and the War on Terror, â€Å"Perhaps the most intrusive web-based technology ever developed, Carnivore possesses the ability to essentially wiretap individuals’ computers, accessing every piece of datum flowing to and from a Central Processing Unit (CPU), provided the data were moved on a network connection†. This type of surveillance is cunningly similar to what happens to Winston Smith. Winston Smith, though working at the Ministry of Truth remembers history as it was, not as it is written. In Orwell’s dystopia, media control is essential. The US government, and especially during the Bush administration is controlling the media in every capacity. Currently in the media there exists little or no dissent in the political views, especially views against the war; by controlling the media the US government controls the publics view on the outside world and the government’s interaction with that world. At Winston’s job, he rewrites history, and by rewriting history, he is covering up a sordid past that if the public new that’s how government was in reality, there would be a mass wave of protest against Big Brother and the government would dissipate with so many of its citizens in alliance against autocratic control. The US government, during their war on terror, and under Project Carnivore, has done its own share of secret arrests, in detaining people they believe are affiliated with the Taliban based on their culture. The same stultifying fear that forfeits justice in 1984, is the same fear that exists in the reality of the United States, with their policies on protecting the American people by forcing certain parties to vacate the country, or by simply holding them in detention centers without cause. On December 6, 2001, then Attorney General John Ashcroft addressed the Senate Judiciary Committee in praise of this act, and it’s restructuring of the NSA, CIA and FBI. (Ashcroft 524) His rhetoric was patriotic and concise, and his views of the USA PATRIOT act and its changes seemed sincere. This was supported with the passage of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which paved the road for the Patriot act itself. Eric Rosand wrote about the resolution in 2003. His response to its necessity was one of sympathy to the government, for having to face such a difficult challenge. However, not everyone who has commented on the alterations of the US governmental policy has done so with such reverence. David Cole compared the investigations into possible terrorist cells in the United States, to the â€Å"Palmer Raids† of 1919 – where, following a series of bombings, J. Edgar Hoover led a series of â€Å"round ups† of immigrants across the country and held them without trial or charge in â€Å"unconscionable conditions, interrogated incommunicado and in some cases tortured†. (529) This attitude has spread throughout the country, as the appearance of impropriety has permeated the government’s handling of the terrorist investigations. Mary Jacoby brings up the question of the legal definition of â€Å"Detainee†. This is in response to the holding of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. The prisoners of this facility have been acquired from around the world – from the war in Afghanistan, and from arrests done in dozens of countries around the world. However, the problem arises when the soldiers fighting for the Afghan military are brought in as detainees, rather than prisoners of war. While the Guantanamo prison has its apologists, such as Charles Krauthammer – who states that freeing of these men would be â€Å"lunacy† (537) – the fact remains, that in strict terms, the United States is in break of the Geneva Convention by holding POWs. Orwell’s totalitarian society bears witness to the fact that the Party controls Oceania, and every citizen residing there. In thought, in emotion, in sexual expression, there is no force greater than that of the Thought Police. Winston himself, when tortured by O’Brien, is forced to see five fingers instead of four. That is how controlling the Party is in 1984, they cause even a simple truth as seeing four fingers false; their manipulation is purely ingenious and inhumane. 1984 is similar to the US government in the scotching of human rights. Thoughts are controlled; lives are public domain because privacy doesn’t exist if even emotions are controlled. The media is the main link between Oceania and America. Dystopia exists in how the news is presented and how the truth is slanderous and causes a person very quickly to be an unperson, to speak Newspeak. Though the simple act of ridding the nation of human rights and through secret arrests and detaining individuals without giving them proper due process of the law, 1984 and the US government could almost be one and the same. There is a symbolism here that cannot be ignored. It is in war that the two nations converge. War is good for the economy, and war makes peace. That is also the belief of the war on terror; war must exist first so that peace can follow. War creates jobs and the therefore raises the standard of living in Oceania and in America. The US government has used this type of propaganda to influence the citizenry to support war. War equalizes the economy and every person benefits monetarily from such deeds. That is the similarity between Orwell’s 1984 and the US government. War is Peace. With the thought police and with Project Carnivore there can be no deviation from the norm, no freedom of which to speak. That is panopticism; the government keeping an eye on everyone and everything constantly controlling. Work Cited Orwell, George. 1984. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. New York. 1983. Goodwin, Amy & David. Why Media Ownership Matters. Seattle Times. Sunday, April 3, 2005.

Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Essays

Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Essays Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Paper Describe the role of Lipids in Living Organisms Paper Lipids are a large and varied group of organic compounds, (3) which are insoluble in water, but soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol and ether. (7). The molecules contain atoms of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms is always greater than 2:1. (2)Triglycerides are fats and oils and are made when glycerol form condensation reactions with three fatty acids to produce ester bonds. (2). At 20à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C fats are solids whereas oils are liquids. One of the major roles of lipids in organisms is the use of these fats as energy stores. Upon breakdown they yield 38 kJ/g of energy compared favourably with carbohydrates which yield 17 kJ/g, (3) so they therefore store twice as much energy than carbohydrates. Animals store fat when hibernating and fat is also found below the dermis of the skin of vertebrates where it serves as an insulator. (10). Plants usually store oils and a small mass for energy is used in plants where the dispersal of small seeds by w ind or insects is much easier. (9). Triglycerides are also compact, insoluble, can be stored at high concentrations, without requiring water as a solvent and are not mobilised as easily as carbohydrates, (5) which makes them long term energy stores. (5)Fats also act as shock absorbing layers. (2). This protects delicate organs such as the kidneys or the heart from physical damage. Aquatic mammals such as whales have extremely thick subcutaneous fat, called blubber. (3). The blubber is extremely important in thermoregulation as underwater hair is ineffective as an insulation because it cannot trap water in the same way as it can air. (10). Therefore as it is a poor conductor of heat, the layer of fat under the skin of aquatic mammals helps them to keep warm in cold climates. Fats aid buoyancy in aquatic mammals because they are less dense than water. This is especially true in vertebrates such as aquatic birds. (2)Lipids are used for electrical insulation in Schwann cells. The membra nes of Schwann cells are largely composed of lipid and they do not contain the protein channels. (9). The Schwann cells produce the fatty material myelin that surrounds the axons of many mammalian nerve cells. (6)Triacylglycerols also release twice as much water as do carbohydrates when oxidised in respiration. (5). A more indirect role of triacylglycerols is the use of their metabolic water, this is the water produced from their oxidation. (5). This metabolic water is of vital importance, which include the development of very young reptiles when enclosed in eggshells or the daily metabolisms of animals such as camels, which live in habitats where water is scarce. (5). Triglycerides are also commonly used in waterproof coverings. (2). Oil coats animal skin to waterproof it along with fur and feathers so that water is repelled and the animals insulation is not affected.However, insects and plant leaves use wax to form a waxy cuticle, which prevents water loss by evaporation and trans piration. (9). The waxes are esters of fatty acids with long chain alcohols other than glycerols. (10). Exoskeletons may also be coated with it. Saturated fatty acids that have no carbon-carbon double bonds have a high melting point and are found in animals whereas unsaturated fatty acids with one or more double bonds have lower melting points and are found in plants. (4). These fatty acids are also used to derive plant scents, which attract insects and aid pollination.Phospholipids are lipids containing a phosphate group and are formed when one of the primary alcohol groups of glycerol (head) forms an ester with phosphoric acid (tail), instead of a fatty acid. (10). The presence of the phosphate group means that the charge on the head of the molecule is unevenly distributed. It is said to be polar and is attached to water. The head end of the molecule is described, as being hydrophilic (soluble in water). The hydrocarbon tails do not have this uneven charge distribution. They are t herefore non-polar and will not mix with water. The tail end of the molecule is described as being hydrophobic (insoluble). (4). The main role of phospholipids in living organisms is that they are a major component of membranes and it is these solubility characteristics, which are of extreme importance in cells because lipids tend to associate into non-polar groups and barriers, as in the cell membranes that form boundaries between and within cells. (8).Therefore, if phospholipids were placed in water, they would arrange themselves into a phospholipid bilayer where the tails point inward and the heads outwards. (7). This bilayer forms the basis of cell membranes. The membrane is partially permeable as water; water soluble and polar molecules cannot pass through whereas gases, lipids and non-polar molecules can. Other more minor roles of phospholipids in living organisms are in the transport of fat between gut and liver in mammalian digestion and as a source of acetylcholine. (5)Ster oids are lipids whose molecules contain four rings of carbon and hydrogen atoms with various side chains. (9). Steroids are common in all organisms, mainly as hormones. Phosphatidyl inositol (a phospholipid lacking the group esterified to the phosphate) acts to release inositol trisphosphate and diacylglycerol as intercellular second messengers to hormones. (1). Terpenes are common in plants as pigments whereas cholesterol is the most common in humans. From cholesterol are made the bile salts, the sex hormones and the hormones of the adrenal cortex, (5) aldosterone and cortisone. (10). A steroid closely related to cholesterol occurs in the human skin and is converted to vitamin D by the ultraviolet rays in the sunlight. (5)Lipids also lower the surface tension in the air breathing vertebrates to make breathing possible. (11)Therefore evolution development has facilitated the compartmentalisation of cells with the aid of phospholipids it can be considered as a vital compartment, whi ch has enabled complex development and variation with birds fro example. Such variation as buoyancy, insulation etc are brought about by triglycerides.