How Fair are the Fares?


Book Description

How fair are the Fares? : Train fares and ticketing, sixth report of session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence




Seberson Method: New SAT® Vocabulary Workbook


Book Description

Further your SAT vocabulary knowledge to get farther down the road to success This SAT vocabulary workbook helps students master more than 700 words that frequently appear in the SAT's reading, writing, and essay sections. The book's approach reflects changes made to the test in recent years, focusing on understanding vocabulary more than rote memorization. It's a modern workbook designed to give students the edge needed to improve their SAT scores. 145 short lessons—Each lesson features a theme to help contextualize vocabulary and concludes with a mini quiz to test understanding. Practical organization—Chapters focus on different elements of the SAT, including words for reading topics like history and science, transition words, and commonly confused words. Learning that lasts—With extra tips for retention, this focused approach works equally well for students who are taking the test in a week or in a year. Perfect for summer learning—This guide makes a great summer workbook for students planning to take the SAT this coming year who want to get a head start on studying before heading back to school. Get the ideal resource for students looking to master SAT vocabulary.




Public Service on the Brink


Book Description

The contributors to this book mount a robust defence of the concept and practice of public service at a crucial time for its future. They question the ill-conceived assumptions behind the endless programmes of reform imposed by successive governments, often on the basis of advice from people with no direct experience of working in the public sector. With cuts in public spending by the coalition government and “austerity” programmes being imposed in Britain and abroad, the book could not be more timely in its reminder of the core purpose of public service. After a long period of denigration of the public sector, here is the voice that has not been heard clearly through these decades of reorganisation: "I know what my job is and I want to do it as well as I can. Indeed I would love my work if I could get one day's peace to get on with it. But I am beset at every turn by unintelligible, time wasting and fruitless management initiatives, constant change, ill-judged targets, wrong-headed 'commercial' exemplars and continuous and misguided restructuring. I have to watch as, instead of my 'customers' (actually patients, pupils, taxpayers) getting a better deal from me, the only beneficiaries seem to be those who can lobby for special treatment." The book contains accounts of public service by people of varying backgrounds and ages who work both inside and outside of the public sector. They share an allegiance to the value and purpose of working for the common good and an enthusiasm for getting things right and for the opportunity to recount their experience through this book.




The Opening of Heathrow Terminal 5


Book Description

BAA opened Heathrow's fifth terminal for business on 27 March, after six years of construction at a cost of £4.3bn, on time and within budget. Passengers had been promised a "calmer, smoother, simpler airport experience". Multiple problems, however, meant that on the first day of operation alone, 36,584 passengers were frustrated by the 'Heathrow hassle' that Terminal 5 (T5) had been designed to eliminate. Problems were experienced with the baggage system, car parking, security searches and aspects of the building itself. When the baggage system failed, luggage piled up to such an extent that it was transported by road to be sorted off-site. According to British Airways, 23,205 bags required manual sorting before being returned to their owners. The Committee finds that most of these problems were caused by one of two main factors: insufficient communication between owner and operator, and poor staff training and system testing. The Committee was pleased to find that steps were being taken at all levels to address the problems at the source of T5's problems, and BAA, British Airways and the union Unite are working together to make Terminal 5 a success.




Delivering a Sustainable Railway


Book Description

The White Paper, 'Delivering a sustainable railway' (Cm. 7176, ISBN 9780101717625) published on July 2007 and set the Government's general vision for the railways for the next thirty years. Network Rail's engineering overruns at New Year 2008 caused tremendous inconvenience to passengers across the country and inevitably shaped the Committee's oral evidence sessions. The Committee's investigation, along with analyses from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) have led them to believe that the engineering overruns are symptonatic of crucial system flaws which have to be resolved if there is to be any hope of getting a sustainable railway, as promised in the White Paper. This report covers both subjects




Ticketing and Concessionary Travel on Public Transport


Book Description

Ticketing and concessionary travel on public transport, is the 5th report from the Transport Committee in 2007-08 session (HCP 84, ISBN 9780215514493). It examines the the aim of producing an integrated ticketing system across England, with the introduction of smartcard concessionary travel passes.The report inquires into the extent to which integrated ticketing on public transport has been achieved for all users; the issues regarding smartcards; arrangements for revenue protection (stopping fare-evasion) which will be affected by new forms of ticket; the impact of concessionary travel in England which is costing £1 billion per annum. The Committee has set out a number of recommendations, including: the Committee believes that the Government in terms of promoting integrated bus ticketing has achieved too little of practical value; it recommends that Traffic Commissioners be given powers to arbitrate where bus companies and local transport authorities disagree; that coach travel should be given greater consideration in future statements of public transport policy; it is imperative that the full range of tickets, including multi-modal options be available at all main outlets so that the Government's aim of fare simplification can be better acheived (see The Future of Rail, Cm. 6233, ISBN 9780101623322); that the Government needs to ensure suitable guidelines on differential pricing is included in decisions on rail fares and rail franchises with particular reference to smartcards; that the Government needs to articulate a clearer strategy for the development of integrated ticketing in general and smartcards in particular; that the Government should move towards a unified system of public transport revenue protection; that the Department of Transport should commission an evaluation of the benefits of the national scheme for free local bus travel and that national concessionary travel is properly funded. For a related title see, How Fair are the Fairs (HCP 700-I, session 2005-06, ISBN 9780215028853).




Common Errors in English Usage


Book Description

Online version of Common Errors in English Usage written by Paul Brians.










Ill Fares the Land


Book Description

Something is profoundly wrong with the way we think about how we should live today. In Ill Fares The Land, Tony Judt, one of our leading historians and thinkers, reveals how we have arrived at our present dangerously confused moment. Judt masterfully crystallizes what we've all been feeling into a way to think our way into, and thus out of, our great collective dis-ease about the current state of things. As the economic collapse of 2008 made clear, the social contract that defined postwar life in Europe and America - the guarantee of a basal level of security, stability and fairness -- is no longer guaranteed; in fact, it's no longer part of the common discourse. Judt offers the language we need to address our common needs, rejecting the nihilistic individualism of the far right and the debunked socialism of the past. To find a way forward, we must look to our not so distant past and to social democracy in action: to re-enshrining fairness over mere efficiency. Distinctly absent from our national dialogue, social democrats believe that the state can play an enhanced role in our lives without threatening our liberties. Instead of placing blind faith in the market-as we have to our detriment for the past thirty years-social democrats entrust their fellow citizens and the state itself. Ill Fares the Land challenges us to confront our societal ills and to shoulder responsibility for the world we live in. For hope remains. In reintroducing alternatives to the status quo, Judt reinvigorates our political conversation, providing the tools necessary to imagine a new form of governance, a new way of life.