Christopher Columbus Case Essay Example for Free

Christopher Columbus Case Essay Christopher Columbus is one of the most well-known explorers in history. Christopher Columbus had many voyages that he had done throughout the years. There was several letters that he had written, one regarding his first voyage was to Luis de Santangel that explained what he had found, and the way he felt during his voyage. Another was his fourth voyage to Ferdinand and Isabella, in which he shows sorrow and regret for his discoveries. In the letters that Christopher Columbus had written his tones were very distinct and different. It is hard to think that it is even the same person wrote the two letters. Columbus made a complete change from arrogant to humble in his attitude. The letter that Christopher Columbus had written to Luis de Santangel was regarding his first voyage and his tone in this letter can be described as very eager, passionate, and anxious for his upcoming voyages. When reading the first letter you can tell that he is excited just by the way he describes the way the island looks. He goes in great length about the marvels of the new lands he encounters. He explains them as he is a child experiencing something new for the first time. All are most beautiful, of a thousand shapes, and all are accessible and filled with trees of a thousand kinds and tall, and they seem to touch the sky and Espanola is a marvel. Christopher Columbus radiates his excitement through his letter to Luis de Santangel. Christopher Columbus almost feels as he truly has the whole world at his finger tips, and awaits more. In His letter Regarding the Fourth Voyage that was to Ferdinand and Isabella you see a much different demeanor about him. Very pessimistic and down attitude surrounds his writing. He speaks of weeping when he thinks about the lands that he has found, due to the fact that they are pretty much barren. He goes on by saying people are dying them daily because of the audacity that people have there, imprisoning people, and taking their lands. He goes on deeper by explaining how he has grown old and grey. Not a hair on his body that isnt gray. He states how everyone is trying to explore and plunder without any knowledge of exploration or any heart for the matter, just trying to get a piece of the action. I think he feels somewhat betrayed, and asks mutual punishment for Alonso de Ojeda, who is the man that took almost everything he had. â€Å"The same punishment is due to him who robbed me of the pearls, and to him who infringed my rights as admiral†. Christopher Columbus is one of the most well-known explorers of all time. Columbus life was a voyage in itself. While he rose to fame as an outstanding explorer, he also had terrible lows in his life. During his voyages, Columbus wrote letters documenting his experience. His tone and diction in Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage is upbeat and hopeful, while his tone in the Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage is full of sadness. His series of four voyages between 1492 and 1504 produced a brief moment of wonder following by a longs series of disasters and disappointments, which reflect his attitudes at these different times in his life.

The Story of an Hour Essay Example for Free

The Story of an Hour Essay Mallard is feeling, and how the to contradict each other. An irony of fate occurs when there is difference in what a character realizes what they want and how they are treated in the end. Mrs. Mallard in this short story is the abyss of irony of fate. â€Å"When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills† (Chopin 170). Mrs. Mallard spends the first half of the short story feeling intense guilt and sadness with the news that her husband has died. Later on in the story Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now free, without her husband she can do what she wants. When Mrs. Mallard has finally come to terms with her husband’s death and learned that it is a good thing, her husband walks in the door. Mrs. Mallard sees her husband alive and drops dead of a heart attack. Mrs. Mallard truly lives up to the irony of fate because instead of her husband being dead and her being free, Mrs. Mallard dies and her husband is the one who is alive and free. The metaphor, simile, and the irony of fate that Kate Chopin uses in The Story of an Hour help the reader follow Mrs. Mallard on her journey from grief to joy. The metaphor helps the reader understand the sadness she is feeling. The simile shows how Mrs. Mallard is dealing with her grief after hearing the news of her husband’s death. The irony of fate shows how after accepting that her husband’s death means freedom to her, she dies and it shows the reader the irony in it all. The three literary devices help illustrate the journey Mrs. Mallard takes when learning of her husband’s death. The simile and metaphor illustrate her sadness and then the irony of fate illustrates how her acceptance and joy of her husband’s death is her true end.

Moral And Ethical Issues Of Human Cloning Philosophy Essay

Moral And Ethical Issues Of Human Cloning Philosophy Essay Cloning is rapidly emerging as one of the most controversial and emotion-laden of topics in todays world. To clone or not to clone: that is the million-dollar question. The prospect of cloning humans is highly controversial and raises a number of ethical, legal and social challenges that need to be considered. So, is it right or is it wrong? Can we not overlook this aspect since there are many advantages to it? But then again, a line has to be drawn somewhere, does it not? Before going into the controversial debate over cloning, a concrete, dictionary definition of what a clone is, must be given in order to prevent any confusion that may occur later on. A clone is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the aggregate of the asexually produced progeny of an individual as well as an individual grown from a single somatic cell of its parent and genetically identical to it. To put it in simpler words, it is an asexually reproduced offspring who has the same genetic information as anothe r organism or organisms. With that said, A matter of much debate in current society is whether human cloning should be allowed so that infertile couples could have the opportunity to have genetically related children, give people the chance of life after death, and open the way for perfect match organ transplants, or should it be banned because it involves the waste and destruction of human embryos, could lead to unfair treatment of cloned individuals and their original, and it may lead to a designer society. A 1997 CNN poll conducted among 1,005 American adults found that 69% are scared of the possibility of cloning humans (Poll). Why is this? This fear of the unknown has always excited the human race, from the Marina trench to the outer limits of space, we as humans have always strived to increase our scientific and technological knowledge. In order to over come the fear of the dark we must shine light on the unknown. Many Americans feel very strongly one way or the other on the issue of human cloning, thr ough this paper we will research and discuss where each of these sides are coming from, exploring the ethical, moral, and logical aspects of both pro and anti- cloning concerns. Jeff Sessions, junior United States Senator from Alabama has stated, We, in this country, have believed by a substantial majority that cloning human beings is not right and should not be done. We certainly have all seen the rejections of Nazi Germanys abuses of science. As a society and a nation, there ought to be some limit on what we can allow or should allow(Brainy Quotes). This statement in its self, makes are minds race to the internal sacred parts of our bodys, it make us ask the personal question, is human cloning ethical, does it truly meet our own standards of right vs. wrong? On one side of the debate are those who are against human cloning. These people feel that cloning could very possibly do more damage than good. First of all, in the beginning stages of cloning it will take many years to perfect it. It took at least 208 attempts, which means embryos, to succeed in cloning Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned (Gibbs 52). It is suspected that it will take even more attemp ts to successfully clone a human being. Presently, in the cloning of mammals, 98% of cloned embryos do not implant, or die off during gestation or shortly after birth (Gibbs 52). Also, those who are against cloning respond to the argument that cloning allows for bringing the dead back to life, that a clone will not have the same personality that the original person had. This is due to the fact that much of personality is determined by nurture and environment, not genes. So, they believe that if someone clones a person in hopes of having them be exactly like the original person, the clone will end up being treated unfairly and have unrealistic expectations set upon them. Thirdly, as for clones providing a perfect organ and blood match, those against cloning are afraid that clones may be produced only for the reason to take their organs or blood. This means that the clones would not be treated as a real person, if they are alive at all, assuming they are not created for use of their h earts or other vital organs. Also, anti-cloning people feel that it is possible that society could become homogeneous because only the best and most talented people would be cloned and therefore, society would lose all of its diversity (What Would a Human Clone Be Like). On the opposing side many pro cloning activist believe cloning great individuals with exemplary talents, genius, or character can be reproduced. Another Einstein, Mozart or Michael Jordan could benefit our society. They could teach us and help us teach our children, thus creating a stronger and healthier society  Ã‚  (Human cloning). Biologist hope that endangered species could be saved. They hope that through the research and perfection of the technology to clone mammals, preservation of endangered species will become available. Many other individual supports believe that with cloning, infertile couples could have children. Despite getting a fair amount of publicity in the news current treatments for infertility, in terms of percentages, are not very successful. One estimate is that current infertility treatments are less than 10% successful. Couples go through physically and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children. Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children (Human cloning). So a simple question to ask, how do the scientist themselves feel about the ethics behind cloning? The scientists of the Missiplicity Project (Missy, the first dog to be cloned in history, following Dolly the sheep. The project started with the wish of Missys owners to have her reproduced) answer to the question on ethics by saying that since they do believe in ethics, they developed their own Code of Bioethics. This code sets out guidelines regarding issues such as ethical treatment of the animals as well as the effort to minimize the waste of viable embryos or the destruction of flawed embryos. The scientists believe that cloning is definitely a new form of assisted reproduction, just as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization were new and criticized as ungodly in their day. People have very different views of what is natural. Embryo cloning still depends on a human egg from a woman and sperm from a man. Human embryo cloning just tweaks apart a zygote at the two-cell stage, changing a single two-cell form of life into two one-cell forms of life. One can argue that God did not intend cloning to be done. But the same argument was used, largely in the past, to oppose such techniques as in vitro fertilization. It all depends upon what one is used to, and what one considers being natural(Jesse Rainbow). Some claim that cloned humans may be born without souls. They speculate that the soul enters the body when a sperm fertilizes an ovum. Since there is no sperm involved in cloning, perhaps the fetus would develop without a soul. There is no way to know whether a soul is present; it has no weight, it cannot be seen, touched, smelled, heard, or detected in any other way. In fact, many people believe that souls do not exist. Speculation on this topic can never be resolved. The final moral question raised by cloning is this: who is to be held responsible for taking care of this new life? The person whose genetic material is being used could easily be separate from the clone and claim no responsibility, as does a sperm donor. The person involved in giving birth to the child could also claim no responsibility since she is merely a surrogate. Human cloning is dangerous to society. The moral implications and the psychological ramifications toward clones and their progenitors only add to the urgency for many to want to permanently ban cloning. Many who picture cloning as immoral imagine a person cloning him or herself so that the clone could be robbed for a needed organ. This argument is irrelevant; one has to separate possible abuses of a technology from the debate over whether a technology is moral. Quantum physics is not immoral because it has been used to design nuclear weapons. The Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II made a recent statement against cloning of all life forms. The Vatican issued statement specifically condemning the cloning of humans but has not come out officially against cloning of other animals.   If God had wanted us to clone ourselves, he would have given us a way for a-sexual reproduction. But because we were made to reproduce bi-sexually, this is the only way we should continue to do so.   However, in contrast to the opinions of their peers, some Jewish and Muslim religious leaders testified before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission that they feel that embryo and cloning research might provide discoveries that would lead to an appropriate way to counter infertility (Jesse Rainbow). On August 29th 2000 Pope John Paul II addressed the International Congress on Transplants. He commented that medical methods that fail to respect the dignity and value of the person must always be avoided. I am thinking in particular of attempts a t human cloning with a view to obtaining organs for transplants: these techniques, insofar as they involve the manipulation and destruction of human embryos, are not morally acceptable, even when their proposed goal is good in itself (Pope Paul II). On the same note, scientists are attempting to create transgenic pigs, which have human genes. Their heart, liver or kidneys might be useable as organ transplants in humans. This would save many lives. Thousands of people die each year waiting for available human organs if this is achieved, transgenic animals could be cloned to produce as many organs as are needed (Cloning Debate). A thought we as humans must explore is can we live with ourselves if we set ideal while men, women and children are dieing all over the world from dieses. Dont we have a moral and ethical obligation to not just our county but to our selves to strive and find not just answers, but antidotes to diseases such as cancer, Parkinsons, and Alzheimer? How do you feel about it, does the end really justify the means? So with so much debate and so much controversy, what could possible cause a human to want to clone another living life? Where is the logic behind all this madness, is trying to clone mammals a logical idea? Scientists hope that one day therapeutic cloning can be used to generate tissues and organs for transplants. So that it may some day be used in humans to produce whole organs from single cells or to produce healthy cells that can replace damaged cells in degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers or Parkinsons. To do this, DNA would be extracted from the person in need of a transplant and inserted into an enucleated egg. After the egg containing the patients DNA starts to divide, embryonic stem cells that can be transformed into any type of tissue would be harvested. The stem cells would be used to generate an organ or tissue that is a genetic match to the recipient. In theory, the cloned organ could then be transplanted into the patient without the risk of tissue rejection. If organs could be generated from cloned human embryos, the need for organ donation could be significantly reduced (Cloning Fact Sheet). The British Organ Donor Society (BODY) supports cloning efforts to relieve the strain of the lack of organs that are available. Cloning technology is expected to aid the result in several medical breakthroughs.   It is thought that there may one day be a cure for cancer.   This is because the cloning process helps us understand the process of cell differentiation. Theories exist that if a cure for cancer can be found, then further testing may lead to a cure for heart attacks and cloning organs for organ transplantation. Scientists believe that they may be able to treat heart attack victims by cloning their healthy heart cells and injecting them into the areas of the heart that have been damaged.   The cloning of organs would eliminate individuals waiting on a list for an organ transplant.   Skin for burn victims, brain cells for the brain damaged, spinal cord cells for quadriplegics and paraplegics, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys could be produced. By combining this techn ology with human cloning technology it may be possible to produce needed tissue for suffering people that will be free of rejection by their immune systems (Human Cloning). Biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology Inc. (ACT), based in Worcester, Massachusetts, said the human cloning breakthrough was aimed not at creating a human being but at mining the embryo for stem cells to treat diseases ranging from Parkinsons to juvenile diabetes. Michael West, chief executive officer of ACT hopes to further treatment of ailments such as diabetes, cancer, AIDS, Parkinson s and Alzheimers disease . Megan Regan wrote to the Human Cloning Foundation for not help, but awareness. This is an exert from her plead to inform even persuade those against cloning I, too, was at first against cloning as I didnt like the idea of playing God. However, ten years ago I developed endolymphatic hydrops, which is an autoimmune disease of the middle ear. Since then Ive lost my hearing, developed balance problems and dizziness and there is no cure. As such I had to give up my job, which I loved; but worse was yet to come. I began getting bad headaches, blurred vision and pressure in my brain. I was then diagnosed with Arnold Chari malformation. Ive since had neurosurgery twice. Its helped but not cured the problem. Also I have osteoarthritis of the cervical spine, which likewise cannot be cured. So, to stem cell research, cloning and DNA manipulation, I say bring it on so people who, like me and in other cases worse off than me, would benefit from it. I dont want to live forever and become a superhuman through this technology. However, I believe I, and so do others, deserve a better quality of life. Might I add that healthy people who are against cloning would no doubt change their minds if placed in my position or in other peoples positions who see the great need of this technology (Hope). Still how logical is it? Reproductive cloning is expensive and highly inefficient. More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. More than a hundred nuclear transfer procedures could be required to produce one viable clone. In addition to low success rates, cloned animals tend to have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders. Japanese studies have shown that cloned mice live in poor health and die early. About a third of the cloned calves born alive have died young, and many of them were abnormally large. Many cloned animals have not lived long enough to generate good data about how clones age. Appearing healthy at a young age unfortunately is not a good indicator of long-term survival. Clones have been known to die mysteriously. For example, Australias first cloned sheep appeared healthy and energetic on the day she died, and the results from her autopsy failed to determine a cause of death (Cloning Fact Sheet). Cloning may be good and it may be bad. Probably its a bit of both. The question must not be greeted with reflex hysteria but decided quietly, soberly and on its own merits. We need less emotion and more thought (Richard Dawkins is an eminent Brithish ethologist, evolutionary theorist, and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University). Due to the inefficiency of animal cloning (only about 1 or 2 viable offspring for every hundred experiments) and the lack of understanding about reproductive cloning, many scientists and physicians strongly believe that it would be unethical to attempt to clone humans. Not only do most attempts to clone mammals fail, about 30% of clones born alive are affected with large offspring syndrome and other debilitating conditions. Several cloned animals have died prematurely from infections and other complications. The same problems would be expected in human cloning. In addition, scient ists do not know how cloning could impact mental development. While factors such as intellect and mood may not be as important for a cow or a mouse, they are crucial for the development of healthy humans. With so many unknowns concerning reproductive cloning, the attempt to clone humans at this time is considered potentially dangerous. Cloning is definitely a sensitive issue that must be handled very carefully. Although cloning of animals has already been done, the human race may not yet be ready for the cloning of humans, regardless of the matter that it has already been done or not. There is no doubt in my mind that cloning has great advantages to it, but with it comes the fear that many lines may be crossed which should not be crossed. Scientists may believe that ethics may cease scientific development but with care and regard for ethics that are also within reason, I believe that this development will not be ceased. We have explored some of the major pro and cons in the controversial issue of cloning; from the ethical, morality and logic stand points we beginning to understand the sensitivity and grave importance of this topic. Now to say cloning is right or wrong is a personal decision. One that I hope I have shed light upon so that you might explore more the cause and effects of cloning the human race.

Flexible working time and work life balance

Flexible working time and work life balance The male breadwinner model, which puts an emphasis on the household as the womans sphere and the workplace as the mans sphere, no longer defines how most families divide labor between men and women (Crompton 2006). The increased participation of women in the labor market, along with technological change and globalization, have dramatically changed the structure of the labor market, and have most likely changed how workers balance their life between work and family. (copy) Good as well: flexible working practices brought upon by an increasing need for work-life balance which have been largely if not wholly due to external forces that are beyond the control of organisations. However, all organisations operate and seek to support in the environments that are continuously subjected to change. These changes can have a marked effect on an organisation, its performance, even its survival. Meanwhile, time after time, organisations react to the drivers of change by taking short-term or knee jerk decisions that predictably have an effect on the way work is organised. What is work life balance? Work life balance is employment based on emergent new values, which doesnt discriminate against those with caring or other non- work responsibilities, and which provides an opportunity for people to realize their full potential in work and non work domains. Lewis (1996:1) According to a recent study by Georgetown University, employee stress from trying to find time for their children correlates with decreased productivity and increased absenteeism. The study found that unplanned absences were costing some businesses nearly $1 million a year. Thus, HR specialists are trying in many attempts to help employees reach work-life balance by introducing new working strategies. One of these strategies is flexible working time. Flexible scheduling allows employees to adjust the time or place their work as completed. It can mean compressing 40 hours into four days, starting and ending workdays at different times, or doing some of your work at home. The reason may be as simple as wanting to better manage a long commute. Some parents choose to arrive at work later so they can take their children to school. Some companies may offer these options to retain female employees who might consider leaving their jobs after having children. But is it really that flexible time always helps to achieve work-life balance? Does employee prefer to manage his/her time or like to be committed to a specified timing because he/she may not be able to manage time, which leads to a more mess and imbalance? And which of these two options will increase the p roductivity? This research brings together material from diverse sources to provide an overview of recent research, current thinking and future debates on the key work-life policy issues, especially those which affect organizations in Bahrain. To build an informed policy debate on work-life balance issues in Bahrain, more Bahraini based research is essential. Chapter Two Literature review: 2.1 Work-life balance: The (phrase) Work-Life Balance was originated as a consequence of the Family Friendly Policies that were introduced in the 1970s and 1980s in UK, primarily as a retention tool for women, and since then it has become a widespread concept. With this, they were for women and about women. To avoid the pitfall of being viewed as discriminatory and the need to bring a more, all-inclusive significance into these policies, they were renamed as work-life balance policies. Since the 1970s, the UK Government has introduced several governmental changes to strengthen and to protect the rights of workers. In response to these changes, demands from employees as also from customers who want a larger business window a large number of organizations in the UK, have today introduced varied and innovative Work-life balance policies. The Government continues to play a key role in ensuring that (WLB) continues to gain momentum through legislation, financial incentives and support and promotion of best prac tices (Milburn, 2003). ** DTI (2003) Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice Department of Trade and Industry, London. 2.2 What is Work life Balance? Meanwhile, the definition of Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work (DTI, 2003). This is achieved when an individuals right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. work life balance emphasizes on the adjustment of working patterns, and it focuses on the need for everyone, regardless of age, race or gender, to find a pace (that suits them) to help them combine work with other responsibilities or aspirations. Work-Life Balance has an important underlying implication that Work-Life Balance is for everyone, not just for mothers or families and is critical in not just developing policies but also in reviewing them and their impact on employees (Alexandra, 2003), thats why the idea that employers should enhance flexibility has been promoted recently. Within the UK, The Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the Work-Life Balance campaign, in March 2000. The aim of the campaign was in two-fold. First, to convince employers of the economic benefits of work-life balance (this was done by the employment of real-life case studies). Secondly, to convince employers of the need for change (DTI, 2003). Work-life concerns are simply added to an organizations bundle of practices that are designed to benefit competitive strategy to aid attraction and retention in tight labor markets, reduce high levels of absenteeism, and establish long-term relationships with employees based on commitment and productivity. 2.3 The need for a work-life balance As individuals, are all expected to play multiple roles, i.e. employee, boss, spouse, parent, child, sibling, friend, and community member. In turn, each of these roles imposes demands on us that necessitate time, energy and commitment to fulfill. The conflict of work-family or work-life happens when the cumulative demands of these many work and non-work life roles are miss-assorted in some respect so that participation in one role is made more difficult by participation in the other role (Duxbry and Higgins, 2001). Duxbry and Higgins conceptualize work-life conflict to include areas such as, role overload (RO) (having too much to do and too little time to do it in) as well as role interference (when incompatible demands make it difficult, if not impossible, for employees to perform all their roles well). Additionally, role interference can be divided into two factors: family to work interference (FTW) and work to family interference (WTF). With the first case, interference occurs when the roles and responsibilities of the family hinder the work related responsibilities (i.e., a family illness prevents attendance at work; conflict at home makes concentration at work difficult). With the latter case (WTF) interference occurs when work demands make it harder for an employee to fulfill their family responsibilities. 2.4 Background to Flexible Working Rights In April 2003 employees in the UK were first given the right to request flexible working. In the modern work environment, the introduction of these new rights helped to point up that traditional working patterns could no longer be sustained by employers and that there was a need to address the work/life balance. Organizations already facing skills shortages would find recruitment and indeed retention made harder if a more flexible approach to working patterns was not adopted. Suite of Rights The flexible working rights which were established were significant in themselves, however, they formed part of a new set of rights which sought to create a more family friendly work environment. Until April 2003, individual parental rights were primarily limited to maternity leave for a new mother giving her the right for a leave, the right for parents to take emergency time off for dependants (not just limited to children) and to take up to 13 weeks parental leave, which had been introduced in December 1999. In April 2003, however, the following new rights were introduced: The right to maternity leave was extended considerably so that, for the first time, all employees (regardless of their length of service) were entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave and those with more than a years service acquired the right to 52 weeks maternity leave. Fathers also gained rights, albeit limited to 2 weeks paternity leave, on the birth of their child. Extraordinary new rights were given to those seeking to adopt, with statutory adoption leave and statutory paternity leave, giving rights reflecting maternity and paternity leave, for adopting parents. It is significant (and perhaps indicates the extent to which this Government is keen to support working parents) that the next item on the flexible working agenda, announced in 2004, is the possibility of allowing flexible maternity leave between parents; instead of only a mother having the right to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave, there is the vision of some limited swapping of the right to maternity absence as between the mother and father of the child. Before these revolutionary new rights in 2003, the ability of any employee to work flexibly or indeed part-time was very much limited to circumstances where an employer agreed through good will or good practice to such an arrangement. Critics of the flexible working rights argue that the new provisions have not moved this position forward because all they provide is a right to request and to have that request considered seriously. Before they existed, however, there were only two circumstances where flexible working patterns of any sort could be enforced: Firstly, where an individual was a disabled employee and could demonstrate that some form of adjustment to their working hours or duties and working arrangements amounted to a reasonable adjustment which their employer was grateful to make in accordance with the disability discrimination. Secondly, and only as a way of challenging a refusal, female employees could argue that in respect of part-time working, a refusal to agree to part-time work was contrary to the sex discrimination. This is on the basis that it can be shown that a practice within an organization prohibiting part-time working (or indeed a practice allowing only full-time working) operates to the greater disadvantage of women than men and thus falls within the concept of indirect sex discrimination. Why was it Implemented? The history that reflects the flexible working laws introduced in 2003 goes back a number of years. In June 2001, the UK Government established a Task Force whose role was to consider specifically the issues which working parents face; in particular the Task Force was to consider how to assist parents in meeting their desire for flexible working patterns, whilst at the same time remaining compatible with the need for business efficiency and requirements. The establishment of the Task Force was against the background of a voluntary campaign and Government funding to encourage employers and businesses to address work/life balance issues. In March 2000, the Prime Minister launched a campaign known as the Work/Life Balance Campaign with a view to persuading organizations to improve the lot of working parents in such a way as to nevertheless continue achieving business and customer requirements. The original campaign was not in fact focused upon parents, but looked at all employees regardless of whether they had caring responsibilities or not. It was significant, however, in recognizing that the attitude, culture and philosophy of workers had moved on considerably from the ambitious society of the 1980s and 1990s. According to information from the Department of Trade and Industry, the Work/Life Balance Campaign was accompanied by a test fund which, in the run up to the introduction of legislative requirements and legal obligations, encouraged employers to introduce and develop innovative working arrangements. By helping to fund consultancy support, projects were undertaken with work/life balance in mind, including the introduction of new working patterns as well as specific recruitment projects. Over the three years from 2000 to 2003, the Work/Life Balance Challenge fund benefited employers to the sum of  £10.5 million. In its report on 19 November 2001, the Government Task Force made nine recommendations to the Government, many of which were translated to form the basis of the new legislation. In addition to the campaign and the recommendations of the Task Force, the Government had also informed itself of the views of the working population, through the issue of a green paper: Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice. This consultation paper was issued in December 2000. The responses to the consultation paper made clear that whilst improving maternity and indeed paternity rights (such as parental leave) would be of benefit to working parents, by far the most popular and indeed significant benefit was improved flexibility to meet childcare and work responsibilities. Armed with these responses and the Task Force report About Flexible Working, the Government tabled parts of the Employment Act 2002 which resulted in implementation of significant new flexible working rights, implemented through an amendment to the Employment Rights Act 1996 and two sets of regulations. Demographic Changes Demographic changes have played a significant role in impressing the need for organizations to develop more varied and non-traditional working patterns: With the ageing population, many more people are finding that they have caring responsibilities such as looking after elderly or disabled relatives. As we are all living longer, more individuals are becoming disabled, according to the Employers Forum on Disability in UK. With the move away from extended families and as people become more mobile, so they are not living close to relatives and parents, those with children are less able to rely on grandparents or other relatives to help with child care responsibilities. The percentage of women who have taken up employment has increased. The trend for life expectancy, although different for men and women, has increased by roughly five years. The Business Case So much for the demographic changes, but there are also business benefits for organizations which offer new or more flexible working arrangements, particularly given the high skills shortage in the UK and more older people who themselves are keen to work but may prefer or indeed require more flexibility. Employers may be surprised to know that for some individuals the ability to work flexibly is more important than the pay or benefits that a particular job may provide. In an online poll carried out by Reed Recruitment in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry in UK as part of its Work/Life Balance Campaign 2002, a third of those polled (out of 4,000 people) expressed a preference for having the opportunity to work flexibly, rather than having a  £1,000 pay rise (Reed.co.uk). Over 43% of the men who responded to the poll selected flexible working as the benefit they would most look for in a new job, compared to 13% who would look for a company car, and 7% who considered gym membership to be the priority. Adopting family friendly and flexible working policies has the following advantages for employers: Retention of staff is the key to the stability and knowledge of the organization. Knowledge is lost when somebody leaves and networks are broken. This can be critical in a small business where major customers can go elsewhere when an employee, who understands their needs and whom they trust, moves on to a competitor. The typical recruitment costs of replacing an individual have been estimated at an average  £3,500, ranging from  £1,000 for an unskilled manual worker to over  £5,000 for a professional employee. These costs do not take account of the investment made in training (both formal and informal training) which is lost if skilled employees leave the workplace, as well as lost time and experience. Consequently, it makes commercial sense to try and retain staff rather than recruit new staff [Labor Turnover, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, October 2000]. Savings in absenteeism. Absenteeism costs approximately  £500 per employee a year. A quarter of employers rank home and family responsibilities as one of the five main causes of sickness absence. Employers that help their employees to balance their work with their family lives see improvements in business performance (Cheibl, L. and Dex.S, 1998). It enables businesses to benefit from a greater contribution from the workforce and maximizes the contributions that working parents are able to make to their employers. A strong track record in work/life balance can be a selling point to potential employees who consider that such a balance is important. Many employers sees benefits from flexible working and leave arrangements including: improved employee satisfaction and motivation improved retention rates and recruitment benefits increased employee productivity reduced labor turnover improved reputation Reduced absenteeism. All of which provide improved business results. After having introduced the new rights for parents in 2003, a survey was conducted and analysis of how successful the new rights have been within the UK (Employment Relations Occasional Papers: Results of the First Flexible Working Employee Survey, Tom Palmer, Department of Trade and Industry). The outcome of that report demonstrated that one million parents had made requests for flexible working. That is only a quarter of those who are eligible, meaning that three million who could have made such a request have not done so. Perhaps significantly, it seems that employers when faced with such requests do not have any major difficulty acceding them. 80% of those employees requesting flexible working had their request agreed. The shortfall of those pursuing their new rights and the three million who have not, may be explained by the surveys statistics which demonstrate that 52% of parents who are eligible are unaware in the first place that they have the right to request flexible workin g. The Government has declared an intention to extend these new rights beyond parents with children under six. However, the success and significance of new rights such as these can only be measured when individuals become fully aware of their abilities. The fact that 10% of employees without dependent children were reported in the survey to have requested flexible working, suggests that there is a need on the part of individuals without children to gain this benefit. In organizations where requests were made, despite that individuals did not always have the statutory right, the reasons for the change warrant examination: 13% quoted work life balance 11% cited family responsibilities 11% simply because they wanted more free time (i.e. voluntary and not driven by childcare or family pressures) 7% because of travel arrangements 7% to meet the caring needs of relatives or friends 6% due to health problems. As these statistics demonstrate therefore, an organizations ability to offer flexible working arrangements provides a significant benefit to an extremely wide pool of actual or potential employees. This may, however, just be the tip of the iceberg. What the survey does not analyze is how many individuals simply do not pursue a request. In the Equal Opportunity Commissions Annual Report for 2003-2004 (available at www.eoc.org.uk) four in ten mothers, one in ten fathers and one in five carers have left an organisation or refused a job because of caring responsibilities. This suggests that there are many who do not have confidence in their organizations willingness to accommodate them. What Can be Requested? The statutory request for flexible working, which must be in writing and must be dated (Regulation 4), can request a variation to the individuals contract in one of the following ways: a change to the hours of work; a change to the time when the work is required (for example, the same eight hour day but an early start and early finish); a change to the place of work as between home and place of business. The statutory provisions do not go beyond these fairly focused and limited flexible arrangements. Nothing within any of the provisions appear to prevent the employee seeking a change to more than one of the above, for example to reduce hours and work from home. What other scholars said: Given the competing demands of work and life, it is unsurprising that many employees experience conflict between the two domains. Work-life conflict can affect any employee but people with care responsibilities are more likely to suffer most because of the greater demands on their time. Research has tended to find that mothers, particularly those with young children, are less satisfied with their work-life balance than other groups of workers (Saltztein et al. 2001). Feelings of work-life conflict have been associated with, psychological and physical health problems; marital and family relationship problems, increased sickness absence and decreased life and job satisfaction (Evans and Steptoe 2002; Crouter et al. 2001;Westman 2001) The effects of work-family conflict on organizational outcomes have been well documented in the management and psychology literatures. According to Netemeyer, Brashearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœAlejandro, and Boles (2004), work-family conflict is an inter-role conflict where job expectations interfere with family-related responsibilities. The detrimental effects of work- family conflict on job satisfaction, employee retention, and psychological well-being have also been addressed (Brough, and Kalliath 2004). Related to work-family conflict, identity theory suggests individuals possess certain life roles (i.e., work-family roles) that may conflict, thus creating a spillover effect (Thoits 1991). When role clash occurs, the more valued role (i.e., family) takes precedence, and individuals are likely to instill protective measures to safeguard valued roles against potential damage. According to identity theory, these defense mechanisms may be implemented at the risk of abandoning the conflicting role(i.e., work) (Thoits 1991). Consistent with this notion, a study based in the retail sales industry indicates that when salespeople encounter conflict between two salient roles (work and family), they tend to withdraw from the less salient work role through higher turnover in order to maintain the more valued family role (Netemeyer, Brashearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœAlejandro, and Boles 2004). Work-life conflicts are seen to have a potentially detrimental impact on productivity, personal effectiveness, marital relations, child-parent relationships and even child development (Gornick and Meyers, 2003). A review of the role conflict literature indicates that studies proposing links between work-family conflict and job satisfaction have also witness a dramatic increase. For instance, the majority of studies have shown that work-family conflict is associated with decreased levels of job satisfaction (Adams and King 1996). Employers do realize that employee stress is partially due to the challenges in balancing work and family (Matusicky 2003). A good balance between work and family life has been said to benefit employers, as it is linked to better life satisfaction and subsequently to workers being more productive, creative and efficient (Zelenski, Murphy and Jenkins 2008). Numerous studies have demonstrated that employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs are more likely to engage in organizational deviance behaviors such as working less hard, absenteeism and company theft (Lau, Au, and Ho 2003). A recent meta-analysis on the effects of ethical climate suggests that job dissatisfaction poses a significant threat to organizations due to its intensifying effects on dysfunctional behavior (Martin and Cullen 2006). Drew et al.,(2003) believes that a number of factors might encourage employers to adopt policies to promote work-life balance. These include the business case for such polices such as a lower staff turnover, reduced absence and improved productivity, as well as changes in human resource management and changes in technology that enhances opportunities for working from home. Another key factor is increasing demand for greater flexibility from employees. All reviewed research results show positive effects of flex-time on the work-family balance. Flex-time workers with children under the age of 18 report lower levels of time pressure, and a higher level of job and life satisfaction than do their non-flex counterparts (Zuzanek 2000). Flexible work hours are associated with more satisfaction with family life (Jekielek 2003) and a reduction in perceived time stress (Tausig and Fenwick 2001). Analysts Comfort, Johnson and Wallace (2003) also found flex-time to be related to increased job satisfaction, increased satisfaction with pay and benefits, and a reduction in paid sick days. All of these relationships appeared slightly stronger for women. Over one-third of Canadian employees report having flex-time schedules (Comfort, Johnson and Wallace 2003).The proportion of those who reported having flex-time arrangements is higher among men than among women and is mainly found in small establishments, non-unionized settings, low-skill occupations, retail and commercial industries. A research on flexible working in Ireland has found these arrangements are more common in the public than in the private sector and that, women make use of them more frequently than men (Drew et al., 2003). Gender and the public/private sector distinction are two key factors in the analysis of the effects of flexible working. The measure of work-life conflict captures tensions between work and family commitments. In this research I want to investigate whether flexible working arrangements facilitate a work-life balance and reduce work pressure.

Foreign language instruction should begin in Kindergarten

Foreign language instruction should begin in Kindergarten Topic: â€Å"Foreign language instruction should begin in Kindergarten† In the early states of developing brain, people has equipped with skills to communicate each other with special abilities for understanding and acquiring language. This ability gradually decline over time because people need to develop another skills, which are necessary for survival. Thus, receiving and applying of a new language becomes easier for young children. Moreover, children in this stage have the ability to imitate and copy the new sound correctly, this is convenient for the comprehensive development of the ability to pronounce new words in children. Learning a second language provides many benefits for children. Children can learn composite things, because they are too young to understand that it is difficult.. Thus, they are able to learn a second language with an easy way. Also, learning foreign language may make their knowledge wider when they become an adult. This will bring a lot of opportunities for children in the future. On the other hand, many believe that children should not learn foreign language because they will probably use that language most of time, therefore, they might fail to remember their own language. Moreover, children in Kindergarten should be focusing on studying the fundamental abilities which are necessary for them in whole life (e.g. Communication skills, language skills). Foreign language instruction should be delayed until children have developed comprehensively in many aspects of psychology or constitution (at least 4th grade). This essay seeks to address the following question: Should foreign language instruction begin in Kindergarten? This paper has been divided into three parts. Firstly, why should children start learning a foreign language as soon as possible? The second part deals with how kindergarteners could approach with second language. Finally, the achievement of learning a foreign language at the beginning of life will be clarified. Nowaday, concerning about studying a foreign language, owning two or more languages which brings many great advantage to people, is becoming a general trend of modern society. Therefore, it comes to the question that should foreign language instruction begin in Kindergarten? Although, some people may disagree, many others agree that children should not wait until they are adult in order to learn a new language. Learning a foreign language as the young age has many advantages for the following reasons. First, the early start learning second language will improve the ability of children to absorb a natural language instead of learning a conscious way the older child or adult would normally do. This will help the child feel comfortable participating in language classes, foreign language will be able to come to a natural child like native language. Second, learning foreign language assists children smarter. According to a 5-year study of language research center at Cornell, early learni ng a second language does not affect the intellectual development of the child, as opposed to help children focus better in school when compared with children, who only know their native language. In addition, second language supports vernacular if introduced early and using appropriate methods. Learning a foreign language helps children express their native language grammatically correct, clear, more coherent. Third, when children learn a language through a combination of learning with rewarding games that will create pleasurable for children. Children do not get bored when just learning to play with my friends. These activities will assist children sooner confident, bolder when communicating with others and participating in social activities later. That is really the biggest skills will accompany children for the rest of their life.â€Å"The mind is much more like a muscle than weve ever realized. †¦ It needs to get cognitive exercise. Its not some piece of clay on which you put an indelible mark.† – James Flynn, The New Yorker, 2012 http://blog.languagelizard.com/2011/09/27/reasons-why-children-should-learn-languages-as-early-as-possible/ Debate continues about how how kindergarteners approach with second language. â€Å"In general, there are two ways in which children may learn a second language: simultaneously or sequentially† (McLaughlin et al., 1995; Tabors, 2008). Therefore, schools should create opportunities for children to hear a second language everyday in contexts like native language. Listening skills are extremely important to learn the language. Learning the other language might begin from listening speaking reading writing. Outside school hours, children can watch television, listen to poems, stories, songs via cassettes. Children can also hear foreigners talk by their language. There are a lot of resources (tapes, movies, game software ) for parents to choose for their children.Learning another language actually enhances a childs overall verbal development, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff Ph.D., author of How Babies Talk. http://www.languagestars.com/program-overview/programs/parents-and-tots/14-programs/curriculum/66-the-benefits-of-learning-language-young.html In addition, children may not understand everything they hear. Intonation, sounds, feelings, words also helps a lot. Children may not understand the meaning, but we can distinguish this language with the native language and the ability to use speculation to understand main ideas: who are questioning, who are happy. Also, the words are repeated many times with the aid of photographs, contextual help children understand the true meaning of them. They are excellent conditions to learn a foreign language, which is useful for success in the future. Speculate skills help children learn more quickly, including language. However, some of the questions are given that if kindergarteners learn foreign language too early, they may forget a little bit of their own language or time for entertainment might be replaced by time for learning the second language in them, consequently, foreign language should not be require, but it should be encouraged. For example, there are many schools in the United States delay foreign language training until children enter in higher level (at least 7th grade). However, it will lose the most opportunity to access another language of children. They should be offered many other choices of extracurricular activities or additional classes, which in they could practice constantly foreign language with friends or teachers. Consequently, they could not be taken time from another courses. Learning a second language is always a great experience in the life of each person. The first benefit is easy to realize the advantages of foreign language proficiency gives each person while traveling. Contact with the natives, understand and immerse yourself in a new culture even at the most rudimentary level is no longer a far-fetched thing. In addition to the existing benefits, scientists also spent quite a lot of research effort in this regard. According to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, who know at least two languages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹represents a sensible thinking. Learning language at an early age helps maintain mental sanity as they age. This is synonymous with high adaptability to new situations and unexpected. Also, according Psychological research on Sciencestudy, learning languages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹assists us process words quickly, especially with the word meaning similarities in both two languagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹. By measuring eye movement technique, researchers found that people fluent in two foreign languages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹could use less time while reading from the same original words, such as sport in English and Dutch. This suggests that the brain needs less time to adopt the general characteristics. Understanding foreign language helps people to delay the development of Alzheimers disease is still no cure and can attack anyone, for about 4 to 5 years. The findings were presented at the 2011 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Moreover, children know two foreign languages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹better expressed in the test situation or creativity. Research conducted on 121 children with about half of them can speak a language other than their native language. They are required to perform the repeat sequence, problem-solving and simulating colored blocks. The survey showed that processing speed and move from task to another task of the children speak two foreign languages, which are moreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ flexible and keen intelligence than the others. Futhermore, the ability to think in another language supports them to make rational decisions for different scenarios. This is a result of research the University of Chicago (USA). According to the researchers, the habit of thinking in another language allow people to make cautious decisions and less sentiment over. Besides, it seems to be the most important impact of a foreign language that it is less affected by emotion than native language. Th e idea suggests that children should be taught foreign language as soon as they enter in Kindergarten. â€Å"The more children learn about a foreign language, the more they understand about their own language.† Nancy Rhodes, director of foreign language education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-263877-advantages-of-learning-a-foreign-language-at-an-early-age.html In conclusion, although some parents worry that starting their toddler on a second language will interfere with developing the first language skills, the opposite is actually true. Young children can differentiate between two languages within the first years of life without difficult. Also, learning second language will bring to children and their family these activities and experiences that can develop over time. Otherwise, kindergarteners will find opportunities and new ideas as they adapt to the language learning process. Starting as soon as possible means they are expanding possibilities and opportunities in the future. Therefore, instructing the second language in Kindergarten is really necessary. Any child can be developed, it depends on how you do it Shinichi Suzuki. Reference list: Reasons Why Children Should Learn Languages As Early As Possible, 2011. Halgunseth, L (2010) How Children Learn a Second Language, Retrieved on May 17, 2010 from http://www.education.com Advantages of learning a foreign language at an early age, 2011. Is learning a foreign language good for kids at a young age, 2011. The Benefits of Learning Language Young, 2013.

Teaching For Tomorrow The Changing Role Of Teachers Education Essay

Teaching For Tomorrow The Changing Role Of Teachers Education Essay The above journal is a study conducted by Janet Jenkins. The study focuses on the ICT and its role in learning and how it changes teachers role in an educational setup. ICT is one of many feature motivating transformation in classrooms all over. It is distinguishing in its universal eminence and in its twin function as mutual grounds for change and a ways for attaining it. With the invention of internet, the World Wide Web and also the video conferences, there has been wide scope of communications possibilities for school. A class connected to the internet, has made communication over distance simpler than what it was before. With ICT, the students get to study in a more inclusive environment. It always offers something different irrespective of their individual capacities. ICT gives the students of this era gives the platform and resources to communicate and control what is being communicated. With technology integrated in the classrooms, the instructor no longer organize what is happening in class in terms of control over the information and looses their monopoly of authority they have over the class, students and most importantly on the flow of information. The teachers role with ICT changes into a manager, collaborator, assistor and assessor. But he/she still remains a subject specialist with that of a manager For teachers, becoming facilitators of learning that is organizing teamwork, stabilizing inclusion, managing the classroom activity provides a different challenge. This also results in the fact that most of their time is seen spent supporting the students than having a whole class teaching. ICT enhances learning in classrooms in different ways. The four ways in which it helps learning; they are learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be. (Janet, 2008) With ICT the role of teachers changes in different ways, not just in terms of teaching. The changes includes transform in the relationship with pupils, alteration in the task to of the facilitators and executors who support learning in totality, Change in the content and scope of teaching, and finally Changing locus of control, from teacher to learner. ICT has sparked findings that it has posed a threat to the teachers certified proficiency. Our teachers of tomorrow require a fresh advancement to their career and a innovative idea of what it means to teach and what it means to learn. The new teacher requires to adopt an approach that is fairly broad, to seek out ,to instigate, sustain and aid learning, and finally to create an atmosphere favorable to learning. The author states that , there needs to be an equilibrium between using the advanced technological tools in a class and conventional means of schooling and learning. Efficient incorporation of the ICT in schools may thus, in the long run, entail the alteration of school ethnicity. ICT will possibly, in retrospect, be seen as the vehicle which inspired new ways of philosophy about schooling and learning, and finally opened the classroom to revolutionize. Perceptions that may affect teachers intention to use technology in secondary mathematics classes. The above study is conducted by Robyn Pierce Linda ball. Published online: 16 January 2009, Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009 Technology today is not just used in one particular class. It is used in many classes for different subjects to make learning interesting and simple. This study brings to light technology that is available and accessible in many mathematics classes. Adopting the new technologies and matching up to the expectation in order to support learning and teaching requires the teachers of today to modify their teaching practices. This is because teaching mathematics using technology requires a marked change in behavior for practicing mathematics teachers who have taught and have been taught in traditional means, which is through classrooms dominated by work culture of chalk and board and following to pen and paper In using the outline, the researchers worry was mathematics teachers purpose to transform their teaching practice in order to incorporate the technology that they expected to use in the classrooms. The researcher wished to investigate the teachers attitude towards teaching mathematics with technology and also the perceived control over teaching mathematics with technology. . The issue with usage of technology was related to the attitudes of teachers about the technology and their perception of the impact and change it could bring across in the form of threat to him/her. The negative attitude that they have , seem to have stemmed from the belief that technology would not enhance student learning. Their views and practices gradually changed as they observed positive impact on their students learning. The researcher also found that , with the teachers using computers in their mathematics classes, there was a shift in their perception of using computers and the value and significance of having them in their classrooms. These negatives attitudes that was instilled in them before would have acted as barrirs to their non acceptance and restriction of using technology in their classrooms. Thus resulting in intention to change their teaching practices due to their observation and personal experience that technology integration in classrooms can create positive ch ange in a students academics. Teachers who believe that students learn best by working with the pen and paper culture or believes that students should be demonstrated the understanding of mathematics without the aid of technology, may have a negative attitude towards technology. The researcher stated that pen and paper culture be implemented in the initial years of learning and then resort to technology as the level goes higher. This proves the researchers observation that teachers in the school do not use technology even though they are experts in using the advancements because they feel pen and paper method would help students develop more understanding of the mathematical concepts. Teachers are not only bothered about the students understanding of the concepts ,but also their attitudes, which is significant in determining the incorporation of technology in their classrooms. Another reason of resorting to pen and paper culture as they did before resorting to technology was due to the fact that a teachers attitude towards technology usage can also relate to the perception of what changes may occur in their classroom practice. At the same time they perceived the effort that is involved in, learning technology and changing practice. The teachers felt the time required in learning technology was so long that they would have finished the course by then using their normal teaching and learning system. And also the learning will not be a burden but also distract the mathematically weak students as with technology there is no control of information and the teachers role change, also with the monopoly of control they have over them. To which some studies state that using technology will actually enable less able students to explore the study matter through the technology that is used in class

Racism :: essays research papers

Racism can ‘destroy the personality and scar the soul.’   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martin Luther King Australian society is made up of a wide variety of groups. These groups of people have different cultural traditions and economic and social background. The success of the communication and interacting of these groups depends largely on the attitudes, values, and behaviour of people towards different groups. Racism is probably the first form of discrimination we think of. It is the belief that some races of people are inferior to other ‘races’. Racism usually involves negative acts against the group of people considered inferior. Genocide is the deliberate extermination of a whole race or ethnic or religious grouping of people. The impact of racism on the Aboriginal people is not just horrific but genocidal. Racism is a problem for Aboriginal Australians. This includes occupation of Aboriginal land under the ‘Terra Nullius’ principle, assimilation, the stolen generation, and Aboriginal Australian’s health. Before the arrival of European settlers, Australia was probably inhabited by as many as 500 different tribal groups of Aboriginal peoples. Many of these groups, their cultures, and their languages have been wiped out by white settlement. Aboriginal Australians traditionally owned land on a group or tribal basis according to birthright. Being a member of a tribe entitled an individual to dwell on a certain designated area of land and to utilise the natural materials from that land. The land was inalienable, that is ownership could not be transferred, because no one really ‘owned; the land in the European sense of the word therefore disputes about land did not arise between Aborigines. Upon European settlement in Australia, all useful available land was carved up by the settlers according to the notion of possession of land based on English law. This division of land failed to recognise any land rights held by the original dwellers. Dispossession had a devastating effect on Aboriginal society To the Aborigines the land was part of their very being. It had a special religious significance and they believed there was a direct relationship between the spirit and the site from which the spirit came. That place was the person’s life force and that person was inseparable connected with it and these sites were considered sacred. Within a generation of the first white settlement, many tribal groups were decimated or wiped out. By the 1850s many were on the point of extinction, others were extinct. In the Port Phillip area, for example, government records show that a pre-contact population of about 10000 was reduced to less than 2000 in only eighteen years.