SECTION 2

Presenter: Welcome everyone. My name is Derek Palmer and I’m here to give you some tips about managing your money. It is worth making a little effort to keep your financial affairs in good shape. Keep your money under control , and you can concentrate on the real business of studying and living here. Here are two basic tips for managing your finances.

First, make full use of banking facilities . Once you have opened a bank account, you can ask the bank’s financial advisers to help you decide how to manage your money. You can use your bank account to pay your regular bills such as electricity , gas and telephone by direct debit or by standing order, on a regular basis. The financial advisers can help you to organise a budget account to pay regular bills or help you to deal with any periods when you might need an overdraft facility. If you have a financial sponsor , make sure you find out from them exactly when the money will become available to you and how much there will be. You can also use checks to pay for goods and services. With banking becoming organized more and more on an international basis, you may also find that you can use the cash card you have in your own country to draw money from your home accounts while you are here. Cards carrying signs such as Cirrus or Maestro may have this facility . Ask your home bank about this before you leave, to ensure that you bring the right cards with you.

Second, deal with financial problems promptly . Monitor your account in the UK carefully and make sure you do not over -or, if you have arranged an overdraft, make sure you do not go over the amount you agreed with the bank. If you do run into any money problems, take the initiative and sort them out quickly-do not risk going into debt or falling behind with your rent. Problems may arise, for example, if there is a sudden change in the political situation in your country, if there are unexpected delays in transferring your money, or if your personal circumstances change — for example, your accommodation arrangements , your marital status. In these situations, do not be tempted to borrow money. Instead, get advice from a reliable source. Start by meeting wifo the student counselor at your college or university. He or she can tell you what to do about paying your tuition fees, and whether there are any college funds or charitable trusts that might be able to help you. If you are building up debts on credit cards or rent arrears, debt counselling may be available at your institution . If the problems are caused by political situations or changes in foreign exchange , ask your Embassy for advice.

Let’s turn to insurance. During your stay, there are three types of insurance that you might need. The first is personal property insurance-to cover your possessions against damage or theft. If possible, try to arrange this in your own country before you come to the UK. The second is medical insurance-to cover your medical bills. You may prefer to arrange this in advance. The third is motor insurance. You must have this if you want to drive a car or ride a motorcycle here.

For each type, there are many different insurance policies available, so look around until you find one that meets your needs – including your budget. You will find a range of insurance companies listed in your local telephone directory, and your bank or building society may also be able to offer you an insurance policy . Many insurance companies have special policies for students. Ask the we fareadviser at your college or university for advice. Make sure that you understand all the conditions before you agree to a policy .

When you are considering a particular policy, ask yourself some questions. What will be paid out to me when I make a claim? Some personal property insurance policies, for example, only pay you the second-hand value of your lost possessions new for old . “New-for-old” policies will pay you the lull cost of replacing the item, but they tend to be more expensive. Are there any conditions attached to the policy? Some medical insurance policies will not cover you for pre-existing medical conditions-that is. conditions you already have when you take out the policy. Some personal property policies may not cover your possessions if they are taken away from the place where they are normally kept-for example, if you take your CD-player to a friend’s house. Are there any exceptions to the policy? For example, a medical insurance policy may not cover you if you plav a dangerous sport. Now, let’s look at…

SECTION 3

Professor: Good morning. Now, this term, we’ve looked at various aspects of recruitment and you can now see how much more there is to it than just putting applicants through a short interview or reading CVs. Now, today’s tutorial is just to recap some of the main points regarding recruitment . I’d like you to imagine that you are managers and we will discuss how different applicants would fit into the team or group they have to work with. We’ll look at some examples later. You can select someone-even a friend-who has all the right qualifications . Then, you can also check that they have a lot of experience – that they’ve done the sort of tasks that you want them to do in your company.

Sandra: But you need to know if they have the right character , don’t you?

Professor: Precisely, Sandra. If they start work and you realise that they just don’t get along with everybody else

Mike: You’ve got a problem.

Professor: Exactly, Mike. Exactly. They might have contrasting views on how to do something. They might not be able to get on with other members of your team.

Sandra: Even adding one person to a team can change the whole? group dynamic , can’t it?

Mike: Absolutely. This could be particularly true with someone who is particularly outgoing or outspoken .

Sandra: Could company training reduce the possibility of this happening?

Professor: Possibly, but company training tends to show new people how you do something at a particular company rather than changing a person’s character to suit your company.

Mike: There’s also the question of ability . Particularly in a team situation, people have to believe in each other’s ability to do the tasks the boss has given. They have to trust that everyone will do their part of the job.

Sandra: Right. But trying to find out what someone’s personality is in a job interview is … well, is it possible? I mean, you won’t find out what they’re really like until they actually start work.

Professor: Well, is there any value in asking candidates questions about their hobbies, for example?.

Sandra: I doubt it. What could that tell you?

Mike: I don’t know. It could tell you something about their personality-whether they’re outgoing, for example.

Professor: Most people involved in recruitment would argue that it does tell you something. More and more employers around the world are making use of “personality questionnaires ” to help them select new staff.

Mike: Yes. You mentioned those in the last lecture. Do they work?

Professor: Well, most employers use them, but there is concern that they do not reveal the applicants’ true personality .

Sandra: Yes. Some people might just write the answers that they think the employer wants.

Professor: That’s true. Very often, employers can weed out the applicants who do that by asking more detailed questions during the interview ,

Mike: The fact that they have been used for so lone and that they are so widely used makes me think that there must be something in them.

Professor: Well

Sandra: I’m not so sure. Just because they’re used a lot, that doesn’t automatically mean that they are useful or worthwhile .

Professor: True. But these tests have been created by experts and they believe that the answers can provide indicators as to roughly the type of person that the applicant is.

Sandra: How about the idea of setting problems for applicants and seeing how they approach them?

Professor: I like that idea, but the problems need to be simple, since Q29/30 there’s not much time to prepare a full answer. In addition, the applicant doesn’t have much background knowledge of the way that the company does things.

Sandra: It’s a good idea, but may not always be practical. Usually it is though.

Mike: I’ll need convincing .

Professor: Let’s move on to take a look at

SECTION 4

Lecturer: Today, we’re going to look at recycling programmes. The confusion over what we can and cannot recycle continues to confound consumers. Let’s look at plastics first, as they are especially troublesome , since different types of plastic require different processing to be reformulated and re-used as raw material. Some municipalities accept all types of plastic for recycling, while others only accept jugs, containers and bottles with certain numbers stamped on their bottoms.

The symbol code we’re familiar with-a single digit ranging from 1 to 7 and surrounded by a triangle of arrows-was designed by The Society of the plastics Industry, or SPI. in 1988 to allow consumers and recyclers to differentiate types of plastics while providing a uniform coding system for manufacturers . The numbers, which many countries now require to be molded or imprinted on all-or at least most-containers that can accept the half-inch minimum-size symbol, identify the type of plastic. The symbols also help recyclers do their jobs more effectively.

The easiest and most common plastics to recycle are made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PETE, and are assigned the number 1. Examples include soda and water bottles, medicine containers, and many other common consumer product containers . Once it has been processed by a recycling facility pe te , PETE can become fibre-fill for winter coats, sleeping bags and life jackets . It can also be used to make bean bags, rope, car bumpers , tennis ball felt, combs, cassette tapes, sails for boats, furniture and, of course, other plastic bottles.

Number 2 is reserved for high-density polyethylene plastics. These include heavier containers that hold laundry detergents and bleaches as well as milk, shampoo and motor oil. Plastic labelled with the number 2 is often recycled into toys, piping, plastic lumber and rope. Like plastic designated Q34 number 1, it is widely accepted at recycling centres.

Plastics that are less commonly recycled include polyvinyl chloride , commonly used in plastic pipes, shower curtains, medical tubing , vinyl dashboards, and even some baby bottle nipples . These get the number 3. Like number 4, which include wrapping films, grocery and sandwich bags, and other containers made of low-density polyethylene, and 5, which are polypropylene containers used in tupperware , among other products, few municipal xecvcling centres will accept it due to its very low rata nf recyclability .

Another useful plastic to recycle is number 6, which is used in polystyrene , or Styrofoam, items such as coffee cups , disposable cutlery, meat trays, Q39 packing “peanuts” and insulation. It is widely accepted because it can be re- Q38/40 processed into many items, including cassette tapes and rigid foam insulation.

Last, but far from least, the hardest plastics to recycle are items crafted from various combinations of the aforementioned plastics or from unique plastic formulations not commonly used. Usually imprinted with a number 7 or nothing at all, these plastics are the most difficult to recycle and, as such, are seldom collected or recycled. More ambitious consumers should feel free to return such items to the product manufacturers to avoid contributing to the local waste stream, and instead put the burden on the makers to recycle or dispose of the items properly.