The school website Essay Example for Free

The school website Essay Cncs: The school website is very basic, although it explains the variety amounts of information for parents and students, for example year 11 students can access there exam timetable on the side of the home page. While parents can browse through the calendar accessible on the website to identify important dates for their children. Varndean: The difference in how the icons are used, for Varndean they used more efficiently as in comparison to Cardinal Newman, the icons are not located down the side of the page but rather just as the top and are put into one icon called â€Å"School†. When there is an organised system to state what type of information hovered over shows can be accessed. On the front page they also show visual aid of the school and how students are taught, assessed and the opinions from students themselves. Logo Cncs: The logo for cardinal Newman links towards the school being catholic, this is shown as the logo is a cross representing a Christian symbol. The cross is very basic as it’s a black cross, which represents the religion that the school follows. Varndean: The design of the logo is 4 dolphins in cooperated into 1 which represents the 4 houses that, the design is very beautiful due to the colours used for each dolphin working well together as a logo. Don’t understand why the logo is a dolphin, I don’t see the link between the logo and the school – no link towards the sea, only connection is the 4 houses Letter Cncs: Letter from cardinal Newman states that’s students enrolled into he school will have to participate must perform in classes in order to gain marks to receive the best results at the end of the academic year, Further down the page, it states if students needed any support through courses, they will have to have a meeting with their teachers stating their problems and ask for extra lessons when needed in order for students to either catch up or cope with lessons. Letter presented formally towards parents of teachers who are concerned for their children coping with their students learning. Shows appropriate language for both student and teachers – understand what needs to be improved and what parents can do to help. Vardean: Language mainly formal in presentation of the letter as its  associated towards parents, however some parts are informal as they are targeted for the students to understand the different activities students can take part in as the who message is about enrichment day for students. It also states in the letter how much the activities will cost while stating the variety of activities students can enjoy. The letter is very easy to read – main points re listed to parents and students. Information’s not piled up onto letter – doesn’t bore reader. School prospectus Cncs: Cardinal Newman’s prospectus is more mature for students and parents, illustrating pictures of the daily lives the school students take part in, creating an idea of who the school is run and what new students will discover. Information laid out and organised – clearing sub =headings for text. The background is white in order for text to be easier to read as writing is size 11. The prospectus has 24 pages, gives more detail about the school. Varndean: prospectus is too childish, the colour scheme for each page is different and there is no consistency in presentation. Different blends of colours makes texts harder to read. Only a few amount of pictures – not enough visual images about the school. Audience students and parents. Parts of the prospectus states what the children who want to eb part of the school will discover when being in the school. Imformation presented in an imfromal way so its understandable for students. They don’t have huge junks of infmation as they get straight to the point.

Waste Management In The Construction Industry Construction Essay

Waste Management In The Construction Industry Construction Essay Management for the solid waste is one of the important parts of Environmental Engineering or Management in Construction Industry. As the construction industry worldwide is a conspicuous consumer of raw materials of many types and it does not have an enviable record in its attitude to managing the waste, it produced both during construction and as a result of the demolition of buildings. Although there are some demolition materials were recycled, such as doors and windows, or bricks, these components are limited that most of the construction waste has long been indiscriminately loaded into containers and taken to landfill with no attempt to salvage anything that might be of use. However, landfill is not a suitable long-term to handle the solid construction waste, as depleting the worlds natural resources, our pollution may be irreparably damaging its natural eco-system. The practice of solid waste management is underpinned by a hierarchy of waste control measures (Peng et al., 1997). This hierarchy, shown in Figure ##, means control measures are preferable to recycling rather than disposal the waste by incineration or land-filling. Recycling of solid waste means re-used the waste after that waste is re-processed. Therefore, the amount of solid waste of construction industry can be reduced by recycling. To recycle the solid waste, the building materials and components is needed to be re-examined their life cycle by life cycle assessment, that is the framework within which a material or product is examined through its entire from raw material extraction, manufacture, construction, use, maintenance and disposal. As a result, the solid wastes were used to be handled in one direction that is using for landfill, but now some of the solid wastes can be used for another construction works, so that the waste can be reduced. Nevertheless, in order to achieve the goal, all participants in the construction process are needed to make the integrated effort. If someone is going to demolition a building and want to recycle the construction waste, there should be another construction project that is going to use the recycled material. Effective waste management therefore requires a collaborative effort through the construction supply chain in which the client, designer, materials manufacturers and suppliers, construction and demolition contractors and waste disposal contractors all have an important role to play. Innovative design As it is mentioned above that designer is one of the parties that need to help a construction project become more environments. To reduce construction waste, innovations in the design of buildings can provide a greater flexibility and permit refurbishment and fit-out as when needed to do so. Buildings can also be designed to facilitate de-construction. As it is the preferred method of demolition, the materials used can choose as some re-use materials. Also, innovative design can have a significant impact on material wastage. For example, the roof of the Sydney Olympic Main Arana Grandstand was designed in such a way that it requited 22% less steel. Material Supply To minimize promoting waste during construction, suppliers of the material also play an important role, as they can rationalize production by standardizing components and reducing packaging. Also, they can participate with recycled content in the manufacture of products. Such as BHP, a leading Australian mining and resources company, manufactures 100% recycled steel products in its Sydney mini-mill which uses up to 300 000 tonnes of scrap steel each year. A better waste management can also be promoted by innovative supply arrangements. From some adopting practices like taking-back surplus or recyclable materials (Environment Australia, 2000), it is reported that some producers of construction materials now are starting to take responsibility for the whole life cycle of their products. An example is showing that Interface Australia Pty Ltd has refocused its supply arrangements to achieve less wasteful practices. The company of supplying modular carpet tiles has adopted a system throug h which customers lease rather than buy the carpet. Customers pay a monthly fee, which includes warranty, design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and final reclamation of the product, for the value and use of the carpet supplied. Construction Construction Contractor can also reduce solid waste during construction, as their works may include waste management plans, good site management and organization. Accurate estimating and ordering with nil allowance for waste reduces the volume of waste, the cost of materials and the cost of waste disposal. On the construction site, it should be clearly separated and labeled the wastes which can recycle and cannot recycle. It is reported that through its waste minimization measures, Fletcher Construction reduced waste disposal costs by 55% and increased profits compared to another project, of very similar design and construction, in which waste minimization measures were not implemented (McDonald, 1996). In the construction industry, in the large proportion of the work is sub-contracted, ensuring supplier and sub-contractor compliance with waste management plans is crucial. On the Stadium Australia project, 7000 fire doors were delivered direct from the factory without packaging and sub-contracts required compliance with project waste management plans and specified that packaging materials had to be returned to the original suppliers (Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2000). Demolition The demolition process generates the greatest volumes of waste in Construction Industry, so a good planning can reduce waste very effectively. Deconstruction of the components of a building should be done very carefully and taken apart piece by piece since these materials can salvage and re-use. Salvage and re-use of building components requires a network through which materials and purchasers can be matched. There are reported to be very successful material/waste exchanges operating in the United States, e.g., Mason Brothers in Vermont, who use a barter system to trade used items from buildings and are reportedly making a profit (Witten, 1992). Mason Brothers do not specialize in historical treasures but also supply low-end materials, such as US$10 doors and chipped bathtubs. Another successful broker of salvaged items is Urban Ore in Berkeley, California. The company operates a 2.2 acre (0.89 ha) warehouse, employs 16 people and reported expected gross sales of US$1,000,000 in 1992 (Hazen and Sawyer PC, 1993). At present, such exchanges are in their infancy in Australia although some government agencies have created exchange web sites. However, in some situation that salvage and re-use are not possible, due for instance to the use of composite materials, demolition waste can still be recycled. For example, during the demolition of the Balmain Power Station in Sydney, around 18 000 tonnes of concrete and brick and 2000 tonnes of steel were recycled (Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2000). Waste disposal In the waste management process, additional to the provision and emptying of skips, waste disposal contractors can also assist in through offering services. For a good practice illustrate, technological barriers to the management of solid construction waste are being overcome. Construction waste has a high potential for recovery and re-use (Cosper et al., 1993; Schlauder and Brickner, 1993) and recycling options for solid construction waste are also increasing (Merry, 1990; von Stein and Savage, 1994). However, the extent to which recycling, re-use and reduction of solid construction waste can be achieved depends on motivational and attitudinal influences on the behaviour of participants at all levels of the construction process, from site operatives, to clients, managers, foremen, suppliers and designers; pressures to complete work quickly, for example, might lead a tradesman to cut components from new material rather than spending time locating suitable previously cut pieces (Federle, 1993). In the construction industry, Skoyles and Skoyles (I 987) were the first to recognize that the problem of material wastage was more dependent upon the attitudes and behavioural tendencies of individuals involved in the construction process than upon the technical processes it employed. Since then other studies by Heino (1994), Soibelman et al. (1994), Guthrie and Mallett (1995), Lingard et al. (2000) and Teo (2000) have reinforced this view. Due to time and cost constraints, poor leadership and a lack of experience in dealing with environmental issues, their findings suggest that negative attitudes towards waste management prevail on construction projects. to the construction industry of making itself more sustainable, it would seem that the challenge is more fundamental than merely creating policies and systems to monitor work-practices. Rather, the problem is cultural and lies in changing peoples attitudes to issues such as waste management.

Franz Kafkas Judgement :: Kafka Judgement Essays

Franz Kafka's Judgement    This short story of Franz Kafka is really a challenging one to interpret but apparently there are some contextual clues that enables us to draw some logical conclusions out of the story. Firstly, we should handle this story in terms of human relationships; there are 3 kind of relationships represented in the story. The first is the relationship between George (the main character of the story) and his friend in Russia; the second is George's relationship with his fiancà ©e and the third is his relationship with his father. Each exposition of these relationships contradicts with the persons involved in. That is, while George is devoted to writing to a friend whom he hasn't seen for 3 years, he doesn't write about important events. George tracks himself as a lonely character throughout the story so he may be trying to share his loneliness with a friend, but he has his fiancà ©e near him as well. However, we aren't informed enough about how close their relationship is in th at they are engaged only for a month. Then, we witness an extraordinary relationship of a father and a son. George and his father are like strangers to one another partly because his father is like a brutal shadow on him limiting his life. Only after her mom is dead that his father becomes less aggressive and gives him chance at their family business to put forward new plans and expand the business.    Then we should handle the problem of the judgement. What kind of a judgemant is this? The judgement of the father to sentence his son to death or George's own judgement to free himself from the burden of such a restricted life with a dreadful and unloving father left behind after his mom's death though his life standards are high. Here, we should take a look at the characters in depth to better interpret the story. There is round characterization of George who is represented as the main figure in the story. He is a young merchant running a family business with his widowed father. He and his father must be living in a wealthy neighborhood as it says in the story that they live in a graceful house along the bank of a river with maids in it.

Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

By comparing and contrasting the characters of Jack and Ralph it allows the reader to fully understand their characters and how each develops throughout the novel. Once this has been achieved the reason the rivalry occurs becomes evident and the novel’s most important qualities and themes emerge from these two characters. It is then that we are able to see why Ralph and Jack’s friendship can never develop into anything but rivalry. Throughout the novel we see that Ralph and Jack share similar qualities, but there is a great difference in the way they use these attributes to benefit both themselves and others. Ralph uses his power to create a democracy, where each person has the right to voice their opinions and ideas. â€Å"I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking...and he won’t be interrupted.† The conch becomes a symbol of the right of a speaker to a fair hearing. While Jack uses his authority to produce a fascist, hostile environment where he controls the doings of his tribe. â€Å"Tomorrow we shall hunt† and â€Å"He said we weren’t to let you in.† Whilst both characters have the chance to exercise their power, both do so in a disparate way, with Ralph aiming to benefit the group as a whole, and Jack himself profiting from his actions. Ralph and Jack begin the novel with similar beliefs, both wanting to implement rules. â€Å"I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them.† Ralph concentrates on being rescued and Jack goes along with this taking on the responsibility that he and his choir will mind the fire. â€Å"We’ll be responsible for keeping the fire going-†, but while Ralph remains focused on being rescued, Jack’s newfound interest in hunting leads him to forget about rescue. â€Å"Jack had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was. ‘Rescue? Yes, of course! All the same, I’d like to catch a pig first-.† As the story evolves, so to do Ralph and Jack’s different opinions. The pressure on Ralph and Jack’s different ideas peak when Jack forgets about his responsibilities in order to hunt. When Ralph tells Jack a ship had passed, and Jack had let the fire go out, because he had been hunting, all Jack can say is â€Å"You should have seen the blood!† Now Jack is faced with two choices. â€Å"There was the brilliant world of hunting, tactics, fierce exhilaration, skill; and there was the world of longing and baffled commonsense.

Binge Drinking On Americas Campuses Essay -- Binge Drinking College A

Binge Drinking on America's Campuses On any Friday or Saturday night, the average college student is usually drinking, dancing and out having fun. They typically party with friends at fraternity parties, bars, and clubs; and unfortunately most of these students are underage, consuming excessive amounts of alcohol or 'Binge Drinking'. Binge drinking results in several detrimental outcomes, some are even fatal. Today this type of drinking is rampant on educational campuses everywhere. Large and small, urban and rural educational institutions are not left unaffected by this growing trend to binge drink.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Binge drinking is defined as "the consumption of five or more drinks, in a row, on at least one occasion" (NCADI). Several surveys announce that about 1/3rd of high school seniors and 42 percent of college students binge drink on a regular basis(NCADI). Figures such as these are extremely upsetting because one expects institutions of higher learning to be the breeding ground for new leaders and innovative thinkers. Unfortunately, these statistics only make educational campuses appear, as if, everything is a party, much like National Lampoon's Animal House. Animal House is a 1980's movie dedicated to displaying college life and the experience in a college fraternity; it constantly depicted students binge drinking. Harvard University's School of Public Health conducted a College Alcohol study, surveying students at more than 119 colleges. Of those surveyed, 44 percent admitted to having engaged in binge drinking at least once in the two weeks prior to the survey (Booze News). Researchers discovered that white students, age 23 or younger, and members of a fraternity or sorority, on average are more likely to binge drink (Booze News). They also noted that students who were binge drinkers in high school, were three times more likely to binge drink in college (Booze News). "The percentage of students who are binge drinkers is nearly uniform from freshman year to senior year, and over half of the binge drinkers were frequent binge drinkers" (Booze News). Binge drinking has been associated with several alcohol-related problems. The Harvard survey also notes that "a higher percentage of binge drinkers than non-binge drinkers reported having experienced alcohol-related problems, since the beginning of the school year" (Booze News). Frequent bing... .... http://www.health.org/govpubs/phd627/binge.htm ?Booze News Fact Sheet: BINGE DRINKING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.? Booze News Newsletter. February 2,1999.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.cspinet.org/booze/collfact.htm Bormann, Carol A. and Stone, Michael H. ?The Effects of Eliminating Alcohol in a College Stadium: The Folsom Field Beer Ban(University of Colorado at Boulder).? Journal of American College Health, Sept 2001 v50 i2 p81. Brick, John. ?Alcohol Poisoning.? A publication of Intoxikon International. AOL Online. http://members.aol.com/intoxikon/alcohol.poisoning.html Buurma, Christine. ?U. Michigan student's death shows risk of binge drinking.? The Cavalier Daily Online Edition. November 16, 2000. http://www.cavalierdaily.com/Cvarticle.asp?ID=6604&Date=11/16/2000&Keyword=binge+drinking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Durand, Maria F. ?A Major Turning Point: MIT Case Causes Repercussions Throughout Nation.? ABC News Online. September 18, 2000. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/mit000915.html ?Media Project Launched to Combat College Binge Drinking.? Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). November 20, 1997. http://www.cspinet.org/new/aluncorn.htm

History of Russian Thought Essay

Russian political and social thought remains a mystery to many historians, often insisting that Russia neatly follow western European categories of development and thought. Rejecting this odd sort of Euro-centrism is the first task of the intellectual historian, and from this point of view has Walicki made his career as the west’s premier historian of Russian political theory. Given the fact that this book is 467 pages, it is not this review’s intention to summarize the contents of this work, but rather to concern itself with method and the approach to this complex and ill-understood subject. A good place to start might be the basic class distinctions in Russian society. It is no accident that the book begins with two highly related objects: the rise of â€Å"enlightenment† thought under Catherine II (the Great) and, concomitant with this rise, the development of an elitist, aristocratic opposition to the crown. This start of some sort of Enlightenment-based criticism of monarchy derives both from western sources, that specifically of Montesquieu, as well as ancient Russian sources, that specifically of the ancient boyar duma, or elite assembly of the land. Hence, the stage is set for the remainder of the book: the constant fluctuation, often confusing, between modern, western models of political critique pleasantly seasoned with large doses of ancient political institutions. It is never made clear, and it is likely impossible to make clear, which element took center stage, the â€Å"west† or the ancient institutions. Among the Russian Slavophiles, major critics of Peter the Great and his western reforms, it is made clear. The Slavophiles, a specifically mystic, and Christian movement, almost Rousseauian in its basic social theory, based their approach on the criticism of the crown on the ancient Russian institutions of the peasant commune, the boyar Duma and the ancient piety of the Russian Church. Hence, early on, Walicki crates a typological distinction that defines the entire work: that between the more or less western-style, liberal rejection of monarchical absolutism, and a more peasant-based and communal criticism of the centralization of royal power. Neither approach rejects monarchy per se, but they criticize the development of the Petrine state, that is the centralized, expensive, militarized and bureaucratic absolutism introduced into Russia by Peter the Great as incompatible with Russian traditions. In terms of this typology, the most extreme of the first group might be the Decembrist movement, especially in the radical masonic societies of Paul Pestel. Unlike many historians, Walicki refuses to ignore the powerful part played by Masons in 18th and 19th century Russian history. The Decembrists, like nearly all opposition movements in the mid 19th century, was both Masonic and aristocratic, having few roots among the common people. Ultimately, Pestel rejected monarchy altogether, demanding an aristocratic based popular assembly elected by full and universal suffrage without property qualifications. He promised Poland its independence, and even became the first Russian Zionist, holding that Jews who refused to assimilate into the new Russia would be sent to Palestine to create a new Jewish nation with government assistance. He was joined in the revolutionary effort by the Society of United Slavs, also aristocratic and military based, who fought with Pestel over ideological concerns, chief of which was the place of old Russian institutions in the new society. The United Slavs, slightly less radical then Pestel’s organization, sought to base the new democratic order on the old Russian institutions of the duma and collective farming arrangements. Now, while the Decembrists ultimately failed, largely due to internal divisions and their lack of understanding of Russian conditions, the real significance of these movements was to give the aristocracy a public program run by semi-secret organizations, in the Decembrist case, military societies. The very fact that these groups were wealthy and aristocratic proves their limitations, and does show, as Walicki insists, that there is no distinction between class and political ideology, since political ideology was largely dictated by class status, at least in the sense that Russian nobles viewed themselves as heir to old Russia rather than to Petrine Russia. But just what they meant by â€Å"old Russia† is another story, and itself is a powerful subtext to this work. The approach to Freemasonry in Russia is worth a review in itself. Rarely dealt with in a serious way, the Masons are depicted by Walicki as the last refuge of the old aristocracy both accepting and rejecting the western Enlightenment. The failure in this otherwise excellent section is whether or not the public statements of the Masonic organizers were truly the belief of the order, or were simply exoteric utterances of the â€Å"initiated† speaking to a â€Å"backward† society. Nevertheless, Masonry (and Walicki holds that these were mostly funded by foreign sources) became a sort of pseudo-religion for the alienated old aristocrats long pushed out of power by the distant, upstart Petersburg bureaucracy. It is clear that the Masons were strictly clubs for the wealthy, sought to usher in a new â€Å"golden age† of history and looked down upon finance. These rather odd confluences of ideas simply tell us what little the Masons ere willing to speak about in public, or, even more, the fact that the aristocracy was using Masonry to challenge the organization of the Petersburg bureaucracy. Either way, masonry was a means whereby the old aristocracy could organize their forces and pool resources, but whether there was a political program that was basically agreed upon is another matter. Pestel’s group came the closest. It is rare that the western Enlightenment is imported wholesale into Russia. In fact, Pestel is an exception in that regard. At first, the famed Russian polemicist Peter Chaadaev held that western Europe should be imported to Russia, since, as he became famous for saying, â€Å"Russia has no history. Chaadaev made himself infamous in Russia by holding that there was no â€Å"Russian history† until Peter the Great made elite Russia European, slyly assuming that historical nations are European, technically advanced and based on baconian scientific models of administration. But his fascination with such things faded early on in his career, as both the revolutionary fervor of France and the dominance of the bourgeois repelled him. For Chaadaev, â€Å"Old Europe† was that of the medieval aristocracy rather than the modern, revolutionary bourgeois. Later figures like Alexander Herzen began their own careers with the same approach, only to actually live in England and France in exile, eventually returning to Russia with a loathing for European fashions and political ideologies. But all of these distinctions can be brought under our original methodological heading: the aristocratic opposition to the crown and the forms that this upper class agitation can take. The problem with this approach is that it leaves out the peasantry as a politically active part of the population. The fact that Walicki has no reference to the Old Believers and their strict, Russian Orthodox anarchism that numbered about 20 million followers by the middle of the 19th century is a major, glaring fault in the work itself. But, without saying so explicitly, this work seems to revolve around the aristocracy and the modes that their opposition to the Petrine state took over time. But the positive side to this approach is that it proves, contrary to typical courses in political theory, that radicalism in Russia was an upper class phenomenon and had few roots with the peasants, who were inclined to the Old Belief. Class status here meant that the higher one found oneself in the economic or aristocratic hierarchy, the more you were inclined to oppose the state (which itself, was based on a service bureaucracy rather than the old aristocracy) and the more one was to lean to radical theories of either economics or politics. The smattering of detail this review offers seeks to suggest that the aristocratic splits in Russian society are responsible for the development of its political ideas. Even more, if a thesis of this work can be found, this is likely it. Masonry, materialism, communitarianism, and even Marxism (though much later) all stem from the various battles among aristocratic and otherwise upper class factions. What they had in common was that they were wealthy, urban and sought to bring about a semi-utopia by force and revolution, bringing the â€Å"dark masses† to a â€Å"true knowledge† of their destiny and social importance. Hence, all of these movements opposed the monarchy in one sense or another. With very few exceptions, these movements all began rather enamored with western ideas, only to be repelled by them once actual contact with westerners became a fact. But the enlightenment was not rejected, only dressed in Russian clothing. Only the Leninists broke this mold, importing Marxism from Germany with few modifications, without the slightest concession to Russia as a cultural entity. The very fact that Leninism was so bizarre in Russian history shows how alien it was from currents of even the most radical thought in Russia and hence, how it was forced to impose itself by violence. What seems to link all Russian radical ideas together is that they were not Leninists, in the sense that they all looked to Russian tradition for the germs of radical institution-building. Hence, one can conclude by holding that Russian radicalism sought to build enlightenment ideas on old Russian institutions. A project destroyed by Lenin, largely never to be revived.

Plantation System Essay

This essay seeks to account for the emergence of the plantation system in the Caribbean. Discuss with special reference to the sugar industry. According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary a plantation is a long, artificially-established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined. Plantations are grown on a large scale as the crops grown are for commercial purpose Crops grown on plantations include fast-growing tress (often conifers), cotton, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, sisal, some oil seeds (notably oil palms) and rubber trees. Farms that produce alfalfa, Lespedeza, clover and other forage crops are usually not called plantations. He term â€Å"plantation† has usually not included large orchards (except for banana plantations), but does include the planting of trees for lumber. A plantation is always a monoculture over a large area and does not include extensive naturally occurring stands of plants that have economic value. Because of its large size, a plantation takes advantage of economies of scale. Protectionist policies and natural comparative advantage have contributed to determining where plantations have been located. Among the earliest examples of plantations were the latifundia of the Roman Empire, which produced large quantities of wine and olive oil for export. Plantation agriculture grew rapidly with the increase in international trade and the development of a worldwide economy that followed the expansion of European colonial empires. Like every economic activity, it has changed over time. Earlier forms of plantation agriculture were associated with large disparities of wealth and income, foreign ownership and political influence, and exploitative social systems such as indentured labor and slavery. The history of the environmental, social and economic issues relating to plantation agriculture is covered in articles that focus on those subjects. In the 17th century Europeans began to establish settlements in the Americas. The division of the land into smaller units under private ownership became known as the plantation system. Starting in Virginia the system spread to the New England colonies. Crops grown on these plantations such as tobacco, rice, sugar cane and cotton were labor intensive. Slaves were in the fields from sunrise to sunset and at harvest time they did an eighteen hour day. Women worked the same hours as the men and pregnant women were expected to continue until their child was born. European immigrants had gone to America to own their own land and were reluctant to work for others. Convicts were sent over from Britain but there had not been enough to satisfy the tremendous demand for labor. Planters therefore began to purchase slaves. At first these came from the West Indies but by the late 18th century they came directly from Africa and busy slave-markets were established in Philadelphia, Richmond, Charleston and New Orleans. The death-rate amongst slaves was high. To replace their losses, plantation owners encouraged the slaves to have children. Child-bearing started around the age of thirteen, and by twenty the women slaves would be expected to have four or five children. To encourage child-bearing some population owners promised women slaves their freedom after they had produced fifteen children. In the early days of the Southern colonies land was inexpensive but workers were hard to find. Men could buy up huge estates on which to grow profitable crops such as tobacco, but they couldn’t find anyone willing to work the land. At first they solved this problem by using indentured servants. An indentured servant was a type of temporary slave, contracted to work for a period of several years in order to pay back the cost of a passage by ship from Britain to the colonies. The conditions of plantation life were harsh and dangerous, and 40 percent of indentured servants died before paying off their debts. The classic plantation was a politico-economic invention, a colonial frontier institution, combining non-European slaves and European capital, technology, and managerial skill with territorial control of free or cheap subtropical lands in the mass, monocrop production of agricultural commodities for European markets. The plantation system shaped Caribbean societies in certain uniform ways: the growth of two social segments, both migrant, one enslaved and numerous, the other free and few in number; settlement on large holdings, the choicest lands (mainly coastal alluvial plains and intermontane valleys) being preempted for plantation production; local political orders excluding the numerically preponderant group from civil participation by force, law, and custom; and a capitalist rationale of production, with the planter a businessman rather than a farmer-colonist, even though the investment of capital in human stock and the code of social relations lent a somewhat non-capitalist colo ration to enterprise.