Multicultural Britain

Tony Blair's speech on Integration in Britain was significant. (Click on his picture to listen again!).

Here are some questions that are answered in his speech.

1. What are the essential values of British society?
2. As a multicultural society, what do we have in common when religions and cultural identities differ?
3. What obligation does a person have to be part of multicultural Britain?
4. How is the idea of Integration dealt with through education?
5. Give examples of ethnic disadvantage.
6. How has the Labour Party tried to solve the problem of ethnic minority disadvantage?
7. In his closing comments, what very clear message does Tony Blair have migrants to Britain?

What is your experience as a 'foreigner' in Britain? How does your experience of people in Britain compare to some of the things Tony Blair was saying?

I look forward to hearing from you.
Annie

The British Middle Class

During our discussions about social classes in Britain, we talked about the changing face of the classes. Distinctions between social classes today are perhaps less defined than they once were.

Go to Blackboard - Contemporary British Studies. Find and read the report 'New Middle Britain'. What are your views/opinions about any of the information found in this report?

I look forward to reading your comments on your Blogs.

What is St David's Day

A number of you have been heard talking about 'St David's Day'. No doubt, you are wondering what it is, yes?

Well, here is your chance to DISCOVER something about it!

Who was St David? Is he special in Wales? Why is the daffodil associated with St David's Day?

Employment in Britain

We have briefly looked at employment in Britain. If you remember, the lecture on employment mentioned that employment practice is fundamental to any organisation in Britain.

What aspect of an organisation deals with employment? What are some of the key issues in Britain related to employment? What must an employer take into considerations when offering employment? What should an employee be aware of before accepting a job?

Happy Discovering!!

Employment in Britain

The next lecture looks at some of the different aspects of Employment in Britain. Before the lecture, I'd like you to think about some things related to employment.

Here are some questions. Spend some time thinking about the answers as they apply to YOU.

Why did you choose to have a university education?

Why did you choose to study in the UK?

What do you expect a university education will do for you?

What do you expect of your life with a university education?

What do you NOT want from your life that has led you to choose a university education?

Are you different from those who do not have a university education? How?

How do you imagine your lifestyle to be in 10 years, once you've achieved your academic goals?

How do you imagine your lifestyle in 10 years without an education?

Think about employment in your country.

What levels of employment are there? Who works in those jobs? Where do you hope to fit in?



Enjoy your thoughts!

Exploring British Newspapers

Everyday there are world events that make the news. Newspaper editors plan the layout of their papers very carefully. Why? Because they want to attract readers in order to sell their papers.

The owners of National newspapers have established readers. They [the newspapers] believe they understand what their readers want to hear. They believe they know what their readers’ political views are. They want to keep their readers and attract new ones.

In the LRC…

Go to the newspaper section. Get a copy of all the newspapers for the same day. Work with a partner.


Things to observe

According to each newspaper, what is the top or #1 story of the day? How do you know?

Do the other newspapers report the same news, but on a different page? Why? How much space is dedicated to the story?

Look at the Comments /Editorial section. What do you observe?

Can you get an idea, by looking at some of the language, of what the newspapers’ views are on a particular news item?

Your Blog

Please discuss these observations on your blog. If you don’t have time to finish your observations in the LRC today, come back!!

Health Issues in Britain

We ended the lecture on 'Health in Britain' with the following:



Access to health care is unequal in Britain. There are a number of factors that seem to play a role in the quality of health care available around Britain. According to Abercrombie and Ward (2000) these are to do with:

• region
• social class
• gender
• ethnicity
• allocation of resources

What can you discover about these inequalities? Can you find any examples of how these inequalities present themselves? Remember, you can use pictures, cartoons, and videos to support your findings!