You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13.
Clear Lighting
Use energy more efficiently and help save the planet by switching to low-energy light bulbs.
Many of us still use traditional bulbs around the house. But simply replacing one traditional 100-watt bulb in your home with a low-energy equivalent will save you the amount of electricity required to make 1,200 cups of tea. It will also reduce your annual electricity bill, so as well as using less energy, you’ll be paying less money. This is because traditional bulbs only use 10% of the electrical energy to produce light, while the remaining 90% is wasted as heat. Low-energy bulbs, which are also known as compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs, are more efficient because most of the electrical energy is used to generate actual light instead.
CFLS are more expensive to buy, costing an average of £6 each compared to 40p for a traditional equivalent, but they work out cheaper in the long run because they use less electricity and are much more durable, lasting at least six times longer.
However, they do have some drawbacks. For example, they can have a slow start-up, taking some time to reach their full brightness, so you are recommended to use them where they will be left on for longer periods, such as your living room or hallway. This also avoids frequent switching on and off, which may also shorten the life of the bulb.
CFLs are also noticeably dimmer when used in cold conditions, such as in a garage or outside, as this can reduce the bulb’s efficiency, so this is not recommended. Finally, CFLs are also likely to be up to three times heavier than traditional bulbs, which may make them unsuitable for some light fittings, so you should always check these before changing your bulbs.
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Rights in the workplace
This leaflet explains your legal rights when you are at work, including what your employer must (and must not) do for you.
Do I need a contract?
A written contract of employment is useful to have because it sets out what you can expect from your job and from your employer. There are laws to protect workers, whether or not they have a written contract.
Every worker has the right to be paid and to enjoy a reasonably safe place of work. You also have certain legal rights, such as the right not to be discriminated against at work because of your sex, race or disability.
What can I do if I don’t have a written contract?
Every employee has a legal right to receive a written statement which sets out your terms of employment. You should get this within eight weeks of starting your job. The terms include basic things like the name of your employer and where you will be working, the date you started work, how much you will earn and when you will be paid. It will also include terms about your hours of work, your holiday entitlement and any benefits, such as holiday and sickness pay and pensions. It should also state the length of notice you both have to give, as well as any disciplinary rules.
In many cases, employers don’t do all of this. They either give employees a short offer letter or nothing at all. This is partly because an employer can’t be fined for not giving you a proper contract.
If you want a contract, but your employer won’t give you one, all you can do is apply to an employment tribunal for a list of what should be included in your written statement.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27.
Adult Education Courses: Computing skills for all levels
A Introduction to Computing This 10-week course is for those with only a little experience but no confidence in your computing skills. It aims to help you to get to know your way around the computer, to understand the jargon and to use the basic applications of word processing, database and spreadsheets. Fees: £25 payable at start of course.
B Computer Literacy and Information Technology A certificated course offering three or more modules chosen from, e.g. word processing, database, spreadsheets, spreadsheet graphic data and computer art. This course is suitable for those with a basic understanding of computers. Fees: £10 per module, payable at start of course.
C Integrated Business Technology 1 This 30-week programme consists of five set modules that must be successfully completed in order to gain the intermediate level Certificate in IBT. Word processing, database, spreadsheets, spreadsheet graphic data and integrated documents are all covered. This is a challenging course leading to a good level of accuracy, presentation, business understanding and skill. Entry qualification – Certificate in Computer Literacy and IT. Fees: £75 payable at start of programme, or £25 payable at the start of each 10-week session.
D Text / Word Processing Levels 1, 2 and 3 Students wishing to apply will be assessed and entered for the appropriate exam course. All abilities are catered for, including absolute beginners with no previous keyboard experience [Level 1 group]. Fees: £20, £25 or £30 according to level. Additional examination fee of £10 – both payable in advance of course to reserve a place.
E Integrated Business Technology 2 Six set modules must be successfully completed in order to gain the certificate for this 60-week course. The modules will include Electronic Communication, File Management, Source Data Processing, Automated Presentation Production and Publication Production. This is a high-level course aimed at further developing business understanding, presentation and effective computing skills. Applicants must have the IBT intermediate level certificate and an intermediate level qualification in Desk Top Publishing, as well as experience of using email. Fees: £125 payable at start of course only. Booking essential for course places.
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ENROL NOW AT YOUR CENTRE
Welcome to our new Adult Community Education brochure. You will find a wide range of learning opportunities which reflect the County Council’s commitment to community-based adult learning.
How to join a course
Our courses are very popular so we advise you to enrol early to avoid disappointment.
- By post: complete the booking form and return it together with your cheque to the main centre organising your course.
- In person: at one of our main centres. Details of opening times can be found under the information for each centre.
- At an information week: this is held at our main centres prior to the beginning of term. You can meet your tutor to make sure you have chosen the right course before you enrol.
- At the first session: only if there are places available, so please telephone the centre beforehand.
Further information
- You can telephone your main centre for the latest information on the availability of courses.
- Ask for a course description sheet, which will give you more details on the suitability of each course.
- Come to a main centre at the beginning of term where you can talk to members of staff.
- Visit our website at http://www.midland.edu.uk/adult
Lifelong learning for all – additional needs
We aim to accommodate students with disabilities into our provision wherever possible. Your main centre can give you information on special equipment and/or individual learner support which may be available to enable you to join our course. Disabled access does vary from centre to centre, however, so please check with your centre before enrolling.
Child care
Many of our centres offer crèche facilities, which are staffed by experienced and qualified workers. Please book early, as places are limited.
How much do courses cost?
The prices are displayed in three bands and are inclusive of tuition and registration fees. However, there may be additional costs such as examination fees, materials and books. You can find out about these at the main centre.
Band A: Full fee. Band B: Fee payable by people over the age of 60. Band C: Fee payable by low-income groups on recognised benefits.
NB If you are claiming a reduction in fees you will be required to bring evidence of your entitlement when you enrol, and at the start of each term.
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
Battle of the Bag
The world has declared war on the plastic bag. What did this harmless item do to attract such a negative reaction? Caroline Williams explains.
For a growing number of environmentalists, the humble plastic bag has become public enemy number one — an unnecessary evil that must be stopped. The only people who have a good word to say about plastic bags are the plastic-bag industry, unsurprisingly. They claim that plastic bags are nowhere near the world’s worst environmental problem and say the reason they are under attack is because they are an easy and emotive target that reflects individuals’ guilt about general environmental responsibility. So who is right?
Since it was introduced in the 1970s, the plastic bag – made from high-density polyethylene – has become part of our lives, and today most people around the world don’t use anything else to carry their shopping. Estimates differ, but it is thought that the UK gets through at least 9 billion plastic bags a year. Globally, we carry home between 500 billion and a trillion every year. That is 150 bags a year for every person on Earth, or, to put it another way, a million a minute and rising. In the UK, even though up to 7 billion plastic bags may be reused, they still end up in rubbish bins, while a few become street litter. But ultimately the vast majority end up in landfill sites as waste. Only a fraction are incinerated for energy production and an even smaller number are recycled into heavy-duty plastic.
Startling as these statistics may be, they do not explain why plastic bags have become so hated, as they still constitute only 1% of UK litter. Claire Wilton of the environmental group Friends of the Earth claims that plastic bags are ‘a waste of resources in that we use them once and throw them away’. But there are bigger and better examples of fossil fuel waste, so the issue is also about visible pollution.
Samantha Fanshawe of the UK Marine Conservation Society points out that, ‘Plastic bags exceed what you would anticipate to be their pollution impact because they are so much more mobile than other types of litter. Once the wind reaches them, they become a highly visible problem, blowing around streets and getting caught in the branches of trees.
But plastic bags can also have a devastating effect on wildlife, and the problem is increasing. One victim was a Minke whale washed up in northern France in 2002, with 800 kilograms of plastic bags and other packaging blocking its stomach. The Planet Ark Environmental Foundation in Australia estimates that tens of thousands of marine animals and birds are killed every year, and since most marine animals die far out at sea, the real death toll may be much higher.
Denmark was among the first to try reducing these problems in 1994 when they introduced a tax on packaging, including carrier bags. This led to a 66% drop in take-up at the checkout, despite the fact that it was the retailers and not their customers who had to pay up. Taiwan followed in 2001, charging consumers about two pence for a plastic bag. The tax was criticised by industry and the public as being confusing and unfair but still managed to slash plastic bag usage by 69%.
In 2002, Bangladesh took a more drastic approach, bringing in a total ban on the production and sale of polyethylene and introducing a £5 on-the-spot fine for using a plastic bag. If a blanket ban seems a little extreme, it was prompted by more than just green thinking. In a country with limited waste disposal and virtually no bins, most of the 10 million or so plastic bags used every day were dropped in the street, then washed into rivers and sewers where they choked the country’s drainage system. Blocked drains are widely held responsible for the devastating monsoon floods of 1988 and 1989. In the two years since the ban, the once floundering jute-bag industry has been resurrected and street children are reportedly doing a roaring trade in handmade paper bags. A resurgence of rebel plastic-bag manufacturers this year has prompted a government crackdown, with manufacturers facing up to ten years in jail and a fine of £9000.
Elsewhere, governments rich and poor are making attempts to bin the bag. The government of the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is also taking a hard line. There, being caught in possession of a polyethylene bag could get you seven years behind bars and a £1000 fine. In 2002, Ireland introduced a tax of 15 cents on plastic carriers, payable by the consumer. Within months the number of bags taken from shops fell by 90%, and in the two years since then, the ‘PlasTax’ has raised €23 million for waste management initiatives.
According to Wilton, ‘Plastic bags are symbolic of a society in which we use things without thinking and then throw them away. Governments have realised that, by focusing on something so symbolic, they can get messages across to people about their behaviour and how it affects the environment.’
The plastic bag industry, unsurprisingly, takes issue with being blamed for general environmental irresponsibility. But even with the facts on their side, manufacturers seem resigned. ‘Green marketing wins out every time,’ says spokesman Peter Woodall.