Contemporary World 2022-23 - Lon230111011

Contemporary World
Study E-Booklet 2022-23

First published in 2016 by Bloomsbury Institute (formerly known as the London School of Business and
Management), 7 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3RA Updated in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and
2022.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright holder. These materials were originally designed in 2016 by
Bloomsbury Institute (formerly known as the London School of Business and Management) Foundation
Year Team and were updated in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 1

Contents
Welcome! 4
Contact List 5
FYI 5
Foundation Year Tutors 5
Learning Technology 5
Learning Enhancement 5
Disability and Wellbeing Advisors 5
Employability 5
Module Overview 6
First Half 6
Second Half 7
How to use this Study E-Booklet 8
Induction 9
Next Week 10
Week 1: Identity 11
Aims 11
Seminar 11
Workshop 16
Next Week 18
Week 2: Truth 19
Aims 19
Seminar 19
Workshop 23
Next Week 25
Week 3: Environment 26
Aims 26
Seminar 26
Workshop 29
Next Week 31
Week 4: Technology 32
Aims 32
Seminar 32
Workshop 36

Week 5: AS1 Assessed Discussions 38
Next Week 39
Week 6: Reflection 40
Aims 40
Seminar 40
Workshop 43
Next Week 45
Week 7: Organisations 46
Aims 46
Seminar 46
Workshop 48
Next Week 51
Week 8: Values in Business 52
Aims 52
Seminar 52
Workshop 56
Next Week 58
Week 9: Values in Law 59
Aims 59
Seminar 59
Workshop 62
Next Week 64
Week 10: Values in Finance 65
Aims 65
Seminar 65
Workshop 71
Week 11: Tutorials 73
List of References 74

Welcome!
This e-booklet will take you through the Contemporary World module – one half of the first term of Foundation
Year.
This is where you can find all your Contemporary World module study materials and information. You’ll need this
e-booklet for all your Contemporary World seminars and workshops. You can use it outside of the classroom to
revise and prepare for your assignments. But remember we are always here to help, too.
We hope you enjoy the course!
Yours,
The Foundation Year Team

Contact List
FYI
If you need to contact the Foundation Year Team (or if you are not sure who to contact with your question), the
quickest way to get an answer is to email fyi@bil.ac.uk.
Foundation Year Tutors
• Contact your tutors if you want to talk about your academic development, to give feedback on the
seminars and workshops or if you have additional questions about lesson materials, homework or
assessments. Your tutors are the first point of contact - if they are unable to help they will always refer you
to an appropriate person.
• Contact your Module Leaders if you have additional questions about your assessments, grades or to give
general feedback on the module contents.
• Contact your Course Leader if you have additional questions about your grades, progression or to give
general feedback on the course.
Course Leader: Tom Ironmonger tom.ironmonger@bil.ac.uk

Module Leader: Jamie Cawthra jamie.cawthra@bil.ac.uk
Module Tutors: Roberta Brenna roberta.brenna@bil.ac.uk
Cecilia Catter cecilia.catter@bil.ac.uk
Tanya Munday tanya.munday@bil.ac.uk
Paula de Pando paula.depando@bil.ac.uk
You can find the email addresses of all Foundation Year tutors on Canvas. They’ll be on the Home
page of each module.
Learning Technology
learntech@bil.ac.uk
Contact our Learning Technology Team if you are having problems accessing or using Canvas, and when you are
experiencing technical issues when uploading your assignments. Make sure you do this at least one day before
your deadline - in your email explain the nature of the problem and attach your work (just to be safe).
Learning Enhancement
lee@bil.ac.uk
This is a programme aimed at improving academic performance, regardless of existing level. Learning
Enhancement provides small group and one-to-one learning opportunities. Email lee@bil.ac.uk to book an online
appointment or sign up to advertised workshops.
Disability and Wellbeing Advisors

nadia.michail@bil.ac.uk and rebecca.collins@bil.ac.uk
Our Disability and Wellbeing Advisors are located at Euston Road 303. If you have a disability; long-term medical
condition; SpLD; neurodiversity; or any mental health concerns, you can speak to the team and find out how we
can support you throughout your studies.
Employability
employability@bil.ac.uk
The employability programme ensures that you are well-prepared to take on the challenges of postgraduate study,
employment, and self-employment through one-to-one appointments and workshops.

Module Overview
First Half
Week
Lecture Seminar Workshop
and date
1 Identity Identity Identity
2 Truth Truth Truth
3 Environment Environment Environment
4 Technology Technology Technology
5 Special Workshop ASSESSED DISCUSSIONS (AS1)

Second Half
Week
and Lecture Seminar Workshop
date
Reflections
6 Reflections Reflections
REPORT (AS2) DEADLINE
7 Organisations Organisations Organisations
8 Values in Business Values in Business Values in Business
Values in Law Values in Law Values in Law

9
10 Values in Finance Values in Finance Values in Finance
Tutorials
Special Workshop Tutorials
11 LEARNING LOG (AS3)
DEADLINE

How to use this Study E-Booklet
Throughout your first term at Bloomsbury Institute, you’ll be taking the Contemporary World module. This
document you’re reading right now is the Study E-Booklet for Contemporary World. It contains information
about the module schedule, seminar and workshop activities, assessments and more. It also contains
videos, podcasts, articles and links which will help you get the most out of your experience with
Contemporary World.
When you read this document, you’ll notice that there are several boxes where you can type in your own
notes. This means that, over the course of the term, you will fill up your Study E-Booklet with ideas,
information, reminders and assessment plans. In fact, the more you use your Study E-Booklet, the more
ideas you will have when it comes to assessments. We strongly encourage you to write in your Study E-
Booklet every week!
If you download your Study E-Booklet from Canvas every week, you will not see any notes you wrote in it
before. To make sure you’re updating the same copy of the Study E-Booklet, you can do one of these two
things:
• If you are using the same laptop every week, you can save the Study E-Booklet as a PDF on that
laptop. Whenever you open the PDF, you’ll find all the notes you kept previously.
• If you are not using the same laptop every week, you can still access a saved version of the Study
E-Booklet wherever you are. You can do this by using OneDrive, which you have access to through
your Bloomsbury Institute Outlook account.
o Log into Outlook using your Bloomsbury Institute email address and password.
o On the left-hand side, look for the following icon:
o Clicking that icon takes you to OneDrive. Here, you can save files online and access them
wherever you can log in to your Outlook account.
o When you finish taking notes in your Study E-Booklet, save it to your OneDrive folder. Then,
when you use it next, open and OneDrive again and download your Study E-Booklet from
there.
Ask your seminar tutor if you aren’t sure how to keep your own copy of the Study E-Booklet!

Induction
Make sure you’re keeping notes during your induction! You can do this with a pen and paper, but you can
also use a laptop.
If you choose a laptop, we recommend using an online service like Office 365 (you can log in using your
Bloomsbury Institute email address), Google Docs or Padlet. These will store your notes even if you have
computer problems.
Some questions to think about:
• What are you most excited about?
• What are you nervous about?
• What do you plan to do alongside studying (e.g., join a society, become a student
leader, find a job, etc.)?
• Who do you think you’ll be after you finish your Foundation Year?

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Identity:
Podcast: BBC The Why Factor | Identity
The Why Factor examines one simple question: Who are you? Did you choose your identity or was it given
to you?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03nzsw2
Video: Food Identity
Watch the video below, and then think about the questions beneath it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUhrOsKwgwY
Are there any foods which are important to your own identity? They might be important to you because…
a) They’re important for your culture.

b) You have an important memory involving that food.
c) You just enjoy eating it a lot!
How else might food affect your identity?

Week 1: Identity
Don’t forget to keep lecture notes either online or on paper!
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Identity.
In the seminar and workshop, you will:
– Define some key terms relating to the topic.
– Discuss the relationship of identity to the contemporary world.
– Prepare for the first part of your AS1 and AS2 assessments.
Seminar
Lecture Recap
Your tutor will write down words and concepts that you remember from the lecture on the whiteboard. You
will decide which of these words and concepts is most important or memorable.
Help each other to explain to your tutor what these words and concepts are. Remember that they are
unlikely to have attended the lecture.
Key Terms
Identity | Self-Reflection | Digital Identity | Unconscious Bias
Split into groups. Each group will research one of these terms using their lecture notes, their laptops and
personal stories. The task of the group will be to try to explain their term using their research. You can be as
creative as you like (consider making a poster, or a presentation slide with PowerPoint), but the focus should
be on explaining the concept clearly to your peers. Try to imagine they do not understand anything about the
concept.
Definitions
Write a short definition of each of the terms:
Identity
Self-Reflection

Digital Identity
Unconscious Bias
Reflection Task
What do you remember most about your colleagues’ explanations? Why?

What makes something easy to learn?
Reading Exercise
Read the following text alone. When you have finished reading, answer these questions in the boxes after
the text:
• What did you already know about what the text says about identity?
• What did you learn from reading?
• Is this an academic article? What makes you think this?
• Do you agree with the points the text is making?
• What would you like to learn more about on this subject?
When you have finished answering these, turn to the person sitting next to you and compare answers.

PLEASE NOTE: the following text has been included to help you to understand some of the key issues
around the topic. You can use this as a guide when writing your reports, but you cannot copy and paste
sections of it. The text has been passed through Turnitin which means that, if you do, this will show up to the
person marking and it it’s likely that you could fail. To do well on this assignment, we recommend that you
use this essay for inspiration, but form your own opinions and arguments about the question. You could also
use the sources that have been referenced by reading these sources and forming your own ideas about their
content. You are also encouraged to find and evaluate your own sources (see the lesson in Study and
Research Skills about source evaluation).
Why is identity important in the contemporary world?
In her book The Human Condition, political philosopher Hannah Arendt says that ‘by inventing ourselves we
are inventing a world in which we want to live’ (Arendt, 1958, p.43). This quote carries two important
messages. Firstly, that our identities are not fixed. Secondly that, in choosing our identity, we can affect the
world around us. In a time when the internet has given us more opportunities than ever to create different
versions of ourselves, these words encourage us to think about the impact our choices might have on the
contemporary world.
For thousands of years, we have found similar keys to understanding our identities. The country we’re from,
our first languages, even our names, can hold powerful messages about who we consider ourselves to be.
These characteristics are unquestionably important for self-definition, but only provide a quick sketch of who
we are as a whole. In the modern world, there are many more ways of defining ourselves, and many more
ways to do it. The rise of social media platforms – like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok – have
changed the way that we understand who we are.
The global reach of internet platforms means that it’s now possible for groups to communicate with people
they would never have been able to in the past. Individuals with the same interests, ethnicity, gender or
ideas are able to find agreement and disagreement with each other, and to begin defining their identities
collectively. This can be very powerful. In the summer of 2020, the murder of George Floyd mobilised
thousands of people around the globe to unite against racism. This created a wave of cultural togetherness
on a scale that has never been seen before, and led to significant changes being made to combat systemic
racism. (Douglas, Chrisafis & Mohdin, 2021). It can be said that these protesters successfully invented the
world in which they wanted to live.
Social media’s emphasis on the importance of individual identity has also affected the way we represent
ourselves outside group contexts. Users of social platforms create identities online that are similar, but also
different to the ones that we have offline (ICT Online, 2010). This separation is understandable: there is
freedom in being able to express parts of our personalities online that we can’t in other parts of our lives. For
many, this is extremely empowering. Self-expression is a form of identity creation, after all. It’s easy to feel
like the internet is a separate space from the offline world, and that how we behave online isn’t really ‘who
we are’. But our actions – online or offline, good or bad - shape our identities as much as our beliefs or
language do. This is our choice. And, as Arendt says, every choice we make helps to create a world.
You have the power to choose. What world do you want to create?
References
Arendt, H. 1958. The Human Condition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Douglas, D., Chrisafis, A., & Mohdin, A. ‘One year on, how George Floyd’s murder has changed the world’.
The Guardian [online]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/22/george-floyd-
murder-change-across-world-blm [Accessed on 22/09/2022].
ICT Online. 2010. ‘What is the identity of identity in the digital age?’. Science Daily [online]. Available from:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100224134029.htm [Accessed on: 22/09/22].

Reference for this article:
Bloomsbury Institute. 2022. ‘Why is identity important in the contemporary world?’. Contemporary World
Study Booklet 2022-23. Unpublished.
What did you already know about what the text says about identity?
What did you learn from reading?
Is this an academic article? What makes you think this?

Do you agree with the points the text is making?
What would you like to learn more about on this subject?

Workshop
Discussion Topic
Speak in small groups about the following topic:
What is identity and why is it important?
• Practice the art of being respectful.
• Encourage each other to make contributions.
• Listen carefully to your peers.
• Be prepared to change your opinion.
Here are some questions to help guide your discussion:
• Do you have a single identity, or several?

• When do you form your identity?
• Why are people’s backgrounds important to them?
• How has the internet influenced identity?
You can use personal stories, but you must also demonstrate that you have read sources and thought about
different points of view.
Assessment Time
Most weeks in the term, we will dedicate part of our Workshop to assessments. This helps make sure that
you have plenty of time to complete your work, and that you can ask questions and get support while you do.
This week, your seminar tutor will explain how Assessment Time works. After that, there is a task for you to
complete, based on the first part of your AS2 Report below.
Assessment: Report (AS2) 1/4
The first part of your assessment will be to write 225 words on the following question:
Can a person’s identity change?
You should include at least 2 complete citations and references. You will be submitting all four parts to this
report in Week 6.
To develop your answer, you could explore both sides of the debate before choosing your response.

Reflection
Reflect on what you have learned this week and how it will help you answer this week’s assessment
question. This reflection will be useful when you come to write your assessment. When you’ve answered the
questions, write a draft answer to the assessment question above. You can use the box below for both parts
of the task, but you could also do your reflection on paper if that’s easier for you. Here are the questions and
points to guide your reflection:
• What did you find most interesting about identity? Why?

• What did you find challenging about this topic? Why?
• Did anything change the way you thought about identity?
• What would you like to learn more about?
• Can a person’s identity change?

Next Week
Here is some material to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Truth:
Podcast: Philosophy Bites | Truth and Relativism
An interview with philosopher Tim Williamson about whether truth can be different for different people.
https://philosophybites.com/2015/04/tim-williamson-on-the-appeal-of-relativism.html
Video: Maya Angelou | Learning the Truth
Acclaimed author Maya Angelou discussing what it means to speak the truth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1WktjVggxU&t

Week 2: Truth
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Truth.
• Research and define key terms related to the idea of truth.
• Discuss this idea.
• Read about how we know that something is true.
• Prepare for the second part of your assessment.
Seminar
Catch Up!
Turn to the person next to you and talk about the lecture. Write down all the things you can remember. Don't
worry if you think the points are not important or correct. Just see what comes to mind.

Key Terms
Talk, research and refer to your lecture notes to provide definitions to these terms:
Truth | Fact | Post-Truth
Definitions
Truth
Fact
Post-truth

Reading Exercise
Read the text below. When you have finished reading you will be assigned one of the first three paragraphs
to study with a partner. Each pair will need to describe what the paragraph is saying in less than two
sentences. You cannot copy any of the text, so will need to use your own words to answer. You can write
your answers here:
Paragraph Number:
Summary:
Research Skills about source evaluation). This is an important skill when writing academically. If you learn
how to do it now you will find it easier to succeed in the future.
How do we know that something is true?
1
A news story by CNN in 2019 claims that as many as one in six Americans are not certain that the world is
round (Picheta, 2019). In 2017, an image of a Facebook post by the Flat Earth Society (a group which
promotes the idea that the earth is flat rather than round) was shared around the internet – the post read:
‘The Flat Earth Society has members all around the globe’. This is a good example of why many thinkers
refer to our present moment as being the ‘post-truth age’. According to the Cambridge Dictionary (2021) a
post-truth age is one in which ‘people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and
beliefs, rather than one based on facts’. If this is the case, then it is important to investigate the idea of facts
and truth to see how we can identify them.
2
Looking for definitions of the word ‘truth’ doesn’t always help us understand the word. Many simply define
truth as the quality of being true, which doesn’t help us much. Perhaps instead it is better to find people who
seek truth for a living, and to see what techniques they use to do so. One example of a job which involves
finding the truth is a scientist. Scientists try to find truths by using reliable methods. By experimenting on
things in the world, and creating theories based on these experiments, scientists are able to make
predictions about how things will behave in the future (New Scientist, 2021). For example, if a thousand
phones are dropped, and they all fall to the ground, it is possible to say that ‘phones fall to the ground when
they are dropped’. Such statements are often referred to as being facts. For something to be called a fact,
there must be proof that it has happened, or that it will continue to happen.

3
When it comes to spreading information in the contemporary world, we rely heavily on the internet. Thanks
to the internet, claims are often checked carefully for truth. However, this is not always the case. While many
large websites have rules and policies to try to prevent this from happening, others do not. Twitter, for
example, recently announced that it would no longer stop users sharing misinformation about Covid-19
(Kern, 2022). As a result, it is a good idea to ‘fact-check’ information – make sure that claims are based on
reliable evidence. A good place to start is the post from the Flat Earth Society mentioned above. When it’s
so easy to create fake Facebook posts, it is worth checking twice to see if posts you see shared are actually
true.
4
Whilst fact-checking is clearly a good practice for truth seekers to undertake, it can be difficult to believe that
anything is definitely true. Despite this, we can be confident that throughout history, the pursuit of truth has
led us to discoveries which would never have occurred if we hadn’t bothered to try.
References
Cambridge University Press. 2021. Post-Truth. Cambridge Dictionary [online]. Available from:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/post-truth. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Kern, R. 2022. Twitter stops enforcing Covid-19 misinformation policy. Politico [online]. Available from:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/29/twitter-stops-enforcing-covid-19-misinformation-policy-00071110.
[Accessed: 16/01/23].
New Scientist. 2021. The Scientific Method. New Scientist [online]. Available from:
https://www.newscientist.com/definition/the-scientific-method/. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Picheta, R. 2019. The Flat-Earth Conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? Cnn
[online]. Available from: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-
scli-intl/index.html. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Bloomsbury Institute. 2022. ‘How do we know that something is true?’. Contemporary World Study Booklet
2022-23. Unpublished.

Workshop
Discussion Topic
Get into groups and discuss the following topic:
What is truth?
Here are some questions to help guide your discussion:
• What makes something true?

• What is a fact?
• Are facts more important than beliefs?
• Why do some people say we live in a post-truth world?
Assessment Time
Follow the instructions your seminar tutor gives for this week’s assessment preparation.
The second part of your assessment will be to write 225 words on the following question:
How do we know that something is true?
report in Week 6.
To develop your answer, you could explore the complexity of the relationship between truth and facts. What
are the differences? What are the disadvantages and advantages of both?

Reflection
• What did you find most interesting about truth? Why?

• Did anything change the way you thought about truth?
• How do we know that something is true?

Next Week
Here is some material to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Environment:
Podcast: BBC Costing the Earth | The Future of Environmentalism
Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley looks at what could happen next for people campaigning against climate change.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000ntc1
Video: UCLA | An Introduction to Sustainability
Learn about the various ways that sustainability is defined.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx04Kl8y4dE

Week 3: Environment
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Environment:
• Research and define key ideas relating to the environment.
• Understand how these ideas relate to one another.
• Prepare for your AS1 assessment.
• Prepare for the third part of your AS2 assessment.
Seminar
Catch Up!
Catch up on what you learnt in the lecture. Compare lecture notes and discuss anything you found
interesting.
Key Terms
Sustainability | Circular Economy | Greenwashing
Discuss these terms with someone nearby. Use your phone, your laptop and your lecture notes to agree on
definitions for each term. Note these down, along with your sources and any other ideas.
Definitions
Sustainability
Circular Economy

Greenwashing
Reading Exercise
Click on the blue hyperlinks to find definitions. If you don’t understand any words that aren’t hyperlinked, ask
your tutor, or write on the class Padlet. Once you have finished reading the extract, we will discuss it as a
class. If the person next to you has finished reading, you are welcome to start discussing it between you.
However, please do so quietly out of respect for people who are still reading.
Research Skills about source evaluation).
How companies blame you for climate change
It's an advert that is infamous in environmental circles. A man who appears to be an indigenous American
paddles a canoe downstream. He starts in relatively pristine waters, but soon paddles alongside discarded
newspapers, past industrial buildings, and finally pulls his canoe ashore on a bank littered with waste.
"Some people have a deep, abiding respect for the natural beauty that was once this country," reads the
voiceover. "And some people don't," it continues, as a motorist throws litter from their window, spilling at the
feet of the canoeist. "People start pollution and people can stop it," the voiceover concludes, as the camera
zooms in on a tear rolling down the man's cheek. The advert became known as the "crying Indian"
campaign.
The advert was later heavily criticised for passing the responsibility of reducing litter pollution onto
consumers (and for employing an Italian American actor to play the role of an indigenous American), but
when it first aired in 1971 it won awards for its environmental message, says Finis Dunaway, professor of
American environmental history at Trent University in Canada (Dunway, 2017).
The advert was paid for by Keep America Beautiful, a group established in the 1950s by leaders from
packaging companies like the American Can Company and the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, and other
public figures. Keep America Beautiful campaign against littering, but have also lobbied against bottle bills
and legislation that would have required packaging to be returnable or recyclable rather than disposable,
says Dunaway, who is also the author of Seeing Green: The Use and Abuse of American Environmental
Images.
Rather than addressing the root cause of America's litter problem – the fact that there was much more
disposable packaging after World War Two – their advertising campaigns focused on the bad behaviour of
some consumers, he says. "Images and feelings were being manipulated by corporations to put the onus on
the individual." […]
The question of who is responsible for climate change is incredibly complicated, explains Jocelyn Timperley
in an article for BBC Future's Climate Emotions series (Timperley, 2020). Is it the companies who supply
goods and services or the consumers who create the demand?

On the one hand, 70% of greenhouse gas emissions in the past two decades can be attributed to 100 fossil
fuel producers, according to a report from the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) (CDP, 2017).
So their role is clearly important. But rich, Western consumers also contribute a disproportionate amount of
emissions through the choices they make. Another assessment, co-authored by Diana Ivanova, a research
fellow specialising in household consumption from the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of
Leeds in the UK, suggests households contribute more than 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions
(Ivanova et al., 2015). It depends on whom you hold responsible for Scope 3 emissions, which are "indirect"
emissions resulting from using goods and services, for example (Walenta, 2021). […]
Companies which produce "green" goods tend to have lower profitability, according to a 2020 report from
Misato Sato, a research fellow at the London School of Economics, and her colleagues (Sato et al., 2020).
This is in part because these firms operate less efficiently. Added to this, there is still a high demand for less-
sustainable products, like SUVs, which are among the most popular models of car (Timperley & Proctor,
2021).
While it might seem harmless for the public to be encouraged to reduce their emissions and recycle,
Dunaway warns it could have a downside. "The disconnect between the severity of the climate crisis versus
so much focus on these little actions [like recycling or picking up litter], that not only distract from corporate
responsibility, but also don't seem to [make] a difference – it's trying to encourage a feeling of empowerment,
but I think it sometimes can actually be disempowering."
Keep America Beautiful reprised the "crying Indian" figure in later adverts that repeated similar themes about
indigenous people's "reverence" for the land. While today these adverts look out of touch, they created a
narrative that lasted for decades that climate change could be tackled from our own homes, concludes
Dunaway.
While there is certainly more that we could all be doing, where should we be looking for more action on the
climate?
References
Anon. (2017). ‘New report shows just 100 companies are source of over 70% of emissions’, CDP [online].
Available from: https://www.cdp.net/en/articles/media/new-report-shows-just-100-companies-are-source-of-
over-70-of-emissions. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Dunway, F. (2017). ‘The “Crying Indian” ad that fooled the environmental movement’, Chicago Tribute
[online]. Available from: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-indian-crying-
environment-ads-pollution-1123-20171113-story.html. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Ivanova, D. et al. (2015). ‘Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption’, Journal of

Industrial Ecology 20(3). 526-536.
Sato, M. et al. (2020). Does it pay for firms to go green? London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate
Change and the Environment & Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of
Economics and Political Science. Available from: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-
content/uploads/2020/06/GRI_policy-report_Does-it-pay-for-firms-to-go-green-1.pdf. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Timperley, J. (2020). ‘Who is really to blame for climate change?’, BBC [online]. Available from:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200618-climate-change-who-is-to-blame-and-why-does-it-matter.
[Accessed: 22/09/22].
Timperley, J. & Proctor, A. (2021). ‘How SUCs came to rule the world at the cost of the climate’, BBC
[online]. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09z6d1s/how-suvs-came-to-rule-the-world-at-the-
cost-of-the-climate. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Walenta, J. (2021). ‘The making of the corporate carbon footprint: the politics behind emission scoping’,
Journal of Cultural Economy 14(1). 1-16.
Park, W. (2022). ‘How companies blame you for climate change’, BBC [online]. Available from:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220504-why-the-wrong-people-are-blamed-for-climate-change.
[Accessed: 22/09/22].

Workshop
Discussion
Get into groups and discuss the following topic:
Should businesses reduce their pollution?
Use the following questions to guide your discussion:
• What kinds of pollution can businesses create?

• What might be the benefits in reducing pollution?
• What might be the negatives of reducing pollution?
• Have you seen businesses use greenwashing? How?
Assessment Time
The third part of your assessment will be to write 250 words on the following question:
Who has a responsibility to protect the environment?
report in Week 6.
To develop your answer, you could think about how different political views might influence the way people
respond to this issue.

Reflection
• What did you find most interesting about the environment? Why?
• Did anything change the way you thought about the environment?
• Who has a responsibility to protect the environment?

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Technology:
Podcast: The Digital Human | Virtue
Some online spaces can bring out the best in us. Others bring out the worst. How could we tailor our
technology to become a force for good?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0017k7l
Video: The Social Dilemma | Official Trailer
What are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? Silicon Valley insiders reveal how
social media is reprogramming civilization.
https://youtu.be/uaaC57tcci0
You can watch the full documentary on Netflix.

Week 4: Technology
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Technology.
– Research and define key terms related to technology.
– Discuss the impact of technology.
– Prepare for the final part of your assessment.
Seminar
Catch Up!
interesting.
Key Terms
Artificial Intelligence | Algorithm | Bots | Virtual Reality
You’ll work with different partners to find sources for all four of these key terms. Make sure you keep a note
of the sources you find.
• First partner: find sources which give you a definition of each term.
• Second partner: find sources which give you a positive opinion about each term.
• Third partner: find sources which gives you a negative opinion about each term.
• Fourth partner: find a case study about each term (a story about the term, e.g.:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039)
To find sources, consider using:
• Google. You could use the ‘news’ or ‘books’ filter to get different results.
• Google Scholar. This searches for academic journals and books. The results will probably be in very
academic English.
• Library (the Bloomsbury Institute online library).
• Don’t use Wikipedia. Their articles can be edited by anybody and are not always reliable. However,
every Wikipedia page includes a list of references, which you could use.
You can use the boxes below to keep track of your sources.

Artificial Intelligence
Definition:
Positive opinion:
Negative opinion:
Example:
Algorithm
Definition:
Positive opinion:
Negative opinion:
Example:
Bots
Definition:
Positive opinion:
Negative opinion:
Example:

Virtual Reality
Definition:
Positive opinion:
Negative opinion:
Example:
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a language model. You can type messages and requests, and it will respond to you.
As a group, we’ll talk through what exactly ChatGPT is, how it works, what it can do, and what the
opportunities and risks are for using it. You can use the box below to take notes while we do.
Notes:
The AS2-style essay answer on the next page was written entirely by ChatGPT. Read through it carefully
and use the box below to take notes. What does it do well? What does it do poorly?

Notes:
Now head to Canvas. On the Contemporary World Canvas site, under Syllabus, you’ll find a link to Help and
Guidance for AS2. On that page, you can find the marking criteria we use when we grade your AS2 Reports.
Look through that marking criteria. What sort of grade do you think this ChatGPT answer would get?

Workshop
Learning Technology
We use technology to help with teaching and learning all the time. What examples can you think of? Your
tutor will list them on the board/Padlet.
Which items on the list have you tried using before? If you’ve tried using all of them, which do you have the
least experience with?
You’ll have the chance to try out this piece of learning technology now, along with others who also don’t
have much experience with it. You can ask your tutor for help, but you can also search online for guides and
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) about this piece of learning technology.
When you’ve had a chance to try it out, your tutor will ask for your thoughts.
• Was it easy to use?

• When would it be helpful to use this technology during your time at Bloomsbury Institute?
• Can you imagine this piece of technology being helpful outside of your degree?
Assessment Time
The final part of your assessment will be to write 225 words on the following question:
Has technology made our lives better or worse?
report in Week 6.
To develop your answer, you could explore both sides of the discussion before offering your own response.

Reflection
• What did you find most interesting about this subject? Why?
• Did anything change the way you thought about this subject?
• Has technology made our lives better or worse?

Week 5: AS1 Assessed Discussions
If you did not attend in Week 4 and have not been put into a group, or you do not know which group you are
in, please contact your tutor or the Module Leader.
You can read the Assessment Brief in the Syllabus area of the Contemporary World Canvas page for more
information about AS1.

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Reflection:
Podcast: Mind Reading 2.0 | The Double Standard
Psychologist Emily Pronin discusses how we can fail to notice our own biases. Consider if self-reflection
could help avoid these troubles.
https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-double-standard/
Video: The Art of Reflection
Some tips on how to reflect and why it is important.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W06b198FjfI

Week 6: Reflection
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Reflection.
– Learn about methods of self-reflection.
– Practise our skills of self-reflection independently and with others.
– Prepare for your final assessment of the module.
Seminar
Catch Up!
interesting.
Key Terms
Analysis | Description | Evaluation
With a partner, use your research skills and lecture notes to find definitions of these three terms. How do you
think each contributes to self-reflection?
Analysis
Description
Evaluation

Video on Reflective Writing
Today, we’re going to practice some reflective writing. To help us understand how to write reflectively, we’ll
first watch this short video. Take notes during the video, particularly if there is something you did not hear or
understand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1eEPp5VSIY
What can you remember from the video? Your tutor will write your suggestions up on the board.

Reflective Writing
Let’s put the tips we learned in the video into practice. In the box below, or in your seminar notes, write a
reflection on the following question:
How have you developed since starting at Bloomsbury Institute?

Workshop
Speed Reflection
You’ll be put into pairs, and each given a role: interviewer and interviewee.
The interviewer will ask the questions below, the interviewee must answer.
After 5 minutes you’ll switch, and your roles will be reversed. Then, you’ll change partners and try the same
activity again.
The questions are:
• What do you want to achieve this week, and how will you achieve it?
• Which three words best describe you as a person?
• What kind of world do you want to live in? Why?
• What’s your most important memory, and why?
• Which person has been the biggest influence on your life?
Post-Activity Reflection
Use the box below to reflect on the following questions:
• How did you feel when you were answering the questions?
• How did your answers change? What did they become?
• Did it make a difference who was asking the questions? If so, why do you think that was?

Padlet
We’ve been using Padlet in our workshop for the last few weeks, but now it’s time to try creating your very
own Padlet.
• Go to www.padlet.com.
• Click ‘Sign up for free’.
• If you would like to sign up with your personal email address, you can do so. Alternatively, you can
click ‘Log in with Microsoft’, and enter your BIL email address.
• Select the pink ‘Make a Padlet’ button.
• Choose your layout. We recommend a Wall, Grid or Shelf layout.
• Use the ‘Modify’ panel to customise your Padlet. Try experimenting with different settings!
o One helpful thing you can do is look for where it says ‘Address’ in these settings. You can
give your Padlet a custom URL – make it something memorable!
Create a new pad on your very own Padlet. In that pad, note down what you think of Padlet. You can use
text, audio or video – be creative!
• Is Padlet easy to use?

• What functions would you like to learn about?
• What questions do you have about using Padlet?

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Organisations:
Infographic: A Brief History of Charitable Giving
Winspire, a company who provide prizes for charity auctions, offer a look at how charities have been
organised over the past 5,000 years. Click the link below to view the infographic.
https://you.winspireme.com/hs-fs/hub/297253/file-2643807460-jpg/History-Charitable-Giving-
Infographic3.jpg
Video: Thomas Hobbes Explained in 60 Seconds
A preview of a philosopher we’ll look at in next week’s lecture: Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes had a clear vision
of why people need to organise together – to avoid a life that was “nasty, brutish and short”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BpWjkNPcRc

Week 7: Organisations
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Organisations.
– Discuss types of organisations and how people start them.
– Consider what sort of organisation you could start, and why.
Seminar
Lecture Discussion
Which key concepts can you remember from the lecture? Work with a partner to go over your lecture notes.
Your tutor will write your suggestions up on the board.
Exercise
Work in pairs. Take turns asking each other these questions:
• What do you enjoy doing? Why?

• What are you good at?
• How do you want make people feel in everyday life?
If you like, you can keep notes in the box below.

Video Exercise
Watch the following film and answer the questions below:
DWP. 2017. How Razan became an award-winning business woman with New Enterprise Allowance.
YouTube. [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH7EPwFqugo [Accessed 22/09/22].
Why did Razan start her business?
What product does she sell? Why?
How did her business succeed?

Workshop
Exercise
Work individually to start developing your business. Revisit the questions you answered at the beginning of
the class.
Organisation purpose. Start here: define what your organisation does in a single sentence.
The ability to adhere to deadlines, prioritise your time and resources, and maintain
concentration are essential abilities for employers. My organisation will be a "true freedom
movement law organisation" that will have organisational skills that will be key to a lawyer's
success. My organisation will have some senior mentors who will help attorneys handle
cases much more effectively, much as in school. Organization will offer paralegal,
administrative, and other support services to attorneys.
Identity. What about your own identity will you bring to your organisation? What makes it uniquely yours?
I will utilise my identification to facilitate a person's (lawayer's) legal registration and documents, allowing that
person to obtain rights, benefits, and obligations. I will be able to make decisions, have debts, and engage
into agreements. I may discuss some of my own experiences that led you to apply to that firm in my
organisation. Such experiences might be from my university, my job, volunteering, or even life events! I will
make certain that I develop my views and offer sufficient information to support your rationale. I will bring my
experience and willingness to go above and above for my lawyers. What advantages they can obtain
throughout their employment.
Organisational Values. What do you believe is important?
1.
Respect - respecting their individual human rights and privacy and eliminating.
2.
Act as guiding principles- confidentiality rights to prepare an adequate defence.
3.
Integrity and ethics - doing the right thing, in an honest, fair, and responsible way.

Goals. What do you want to achieve by starting your organisation?
Understanding what freedoms and advantages employees are legally entitled to is essential for preventing
online disputes. I want to attain managerial performance. I want to be satisfied to safeguard everyone, not
just the big actors in an organisation. As an organisation, I will describe my choice for constructing my
business and define the various duties and legal obligations. analysing funding possibilities, investment
agreements, and private equity deals, as well as providing advice on business or partnership investment
formation.
Problems and solutions. What problem will your organisation solve, and how?
Problems:
Lack of training.
Solutions:
Lawyers can believe that their on-the-job training was insufficient or inappropriate for them
to work at their highest level. The attorneys should inform their supervisors of their wish to
receive training in particular areas and inquire about opportunities for doing so. To avoid
further disengagement and poor job performance, make sure to communicate your
problems with the proper supervisors in private and not with other employees. You may
start looking forward to your good days again with the appropriate tools and strategy.
Assessment Time
Last week, you made your own Padlet. Open it up again now.
Read the grey box on the next page carefully. It contains the instructions for your third and final assessment.
You’ll start drafting an answer to this question. You can do so on paper, in your preferred programme (e.g.,
Word, Pages, Google Docs), or directly into Padlet. If you feel confident, you can just get started answering
the question. If you’d like some more guidance, you can follow these steps:
• Begin by writing one sentence which responds to the first part of the question (What organisation
have you created?), and one sentence which responds to the second part (Why?).
• Pick one of these answers and start to develop it. Use the details you wrote in the boxes above as
inspiration. You should be explaining your answers – make them as clear as possible, so that
anybody could understand your writing.
• Do the same thing for the other half of the answer.
• Using Google, Google Scholar, BOLD or any other research tool you’d like, look up organisations
similar to yours. Where and how do they operate? What challenges do they face? What can you
learn from their experiences?
• Use this research to help develop your answer. Were you inspired by any of these organisations?
Do you have ideas about how to avoid problems they faced? Have you found sources to show that
these organisations were successful, and that yours could be as well? Add your research to your
answer (and don’t forget to cite it).
• Once you’ve followed these steps, read back over your answer. Look for any places where you think
it needs more detail. Don’t forget that you can ask your seminar tutor for feedback.

Note that you should not complete the reflective task in the workshop this week. Do this later, when you
have the chance to think back over your response.
Assessment: Learning Journal (AS3) 1/4
In AS3, you will answer topic questions related to starting an organisation. You will also reflect on the
process of answering these questions using a range of different formats. The answer and its reflection must
be uploaded onto your personal Padlet.
You will be assessed on your answers and your reflections on writing them.
This week you will answer the question:
What organisation have you created and why? (200 words)
Your answer should:

a) Be concise and informative.
b) Use at least one source and reference it correctly.
c) Include a list of references at the end.
After you have written your answer, you must reflect on the process.
Each reflection must use one of these formats:

a) 2-minute video
b) 200-words of text
c) 2:30-minute audio recording
d) A visual infographic
N.B.: You can choose which format you use for each reflection, but you cannot use the same format twice.
That means you must use all four formats.
Your reflection should:

a) Describe and analyse challenges you found while completing these questions.
b) Explain what you’ve learned from the process.
c) Use a unique format
Your answer and its reflection should be in two separate pads. You should have at least 8 pads in
your final Padlet.
Consider bringing in more than one source – look for opportunities to provide evidence that your
organisation could be successful.

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Values in Business:
Podcast: Business with Purpose | Impacting Community (with Venessa Fleury)
In this interview, entrepreneur Venessa Fleury talks about how she started a non-profit organisation to help
her local community.
https://player.fm/series/business-with-purpose-1539641/impacting-community-ep-145-vanessa-fleury
Video: Mind the Product | From pandemic to pingdemic – building through uncertainty
In this talk, Randeep Sidhu explains how his values helped him while designing the NHS Covid app – a
product which he knew would both save and end lives.
https://www.mindtheproduct.com/from-pandemic-to-pingdemic-building-through-uncertainty/

Week 8: Values in Business
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Values in Business.
– Discuss the sorts of values which businesses practise.
– Research case studies of businesses with strong values.
Seminar
Activity
In groups, write down as many reasons as you can for starting a business. When you have them ready, pass
your list of reasons on to another group.
When your group has been given another group’s list, read it through carefully together. Then, for each entry
on that list, try to think of a business which would achieve that goal. You can use the box below to take
notes.
Together, we’ll go through the list of reasons, and hear about the businesses you think could be started. Did
any groups think of similar reasons? Did the other groups propose similar businesses to help achieve those
goals?

Case Studies (Examples)
A cooperative is a business which is owned by its members. Sometimes they are owned by the employees
of the business. Sometimes they are owned by the customers of the business. Sometimes they are owned
by both. Let’s look at the first two minutes of a video explaining the history of a very early cooperative from
the UK: the Rochdale Pioneers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNVzOsZt6ew
Now it’s your turn to find some information about a case study. Here’s a man you may have already heard
of.
Abdul Sattar Edhi (1928 – 2016)
Using your research skills, find sources which tell you the answers to the following questions. Write down the
answers, as well as your sources, in the boxes on the next page. Try to write out your sources using the
Harvard referencing style – there are examples in your Study & Research Skills booklet. DON’T copy and
paste your answers – practise your academic writing.

What business did Edhi found?
What were Edhi’s reasons for starting his business?
What does Edhi’s business do today?

Interview task
For this activity, you will be making an audio recording with a partner about your business ideas.
• Find a partner to work with.
• Imagine that you are a journalist who will soon be interviewing a famous entrepreneur – your partner
is that entrepreneur.
• A good journalist always does their research! Talk to your partner and find out what sort of
organisation they created last week.
• Once you’ve found out enough about your partner’s organisation, write down two questions which
you’d like to ask your partner. You can use the box below.
o You might ask them about their past, or what they want from their future.
o You could ask them about their heroes and who has influenced them.
o You could ask them about their hobbies and personal life, and how this affects their
organisation.
• After you’ve thought of two questions, note down a third question as well: what is the purpose of
your organisation?
• Soon, you’ll be interviewing your partner by asking them all three questions.
• Instructions for how to do your interview, including how to make an audio recording, will be on your
workshop slides – your tutor will talk you through the process.
• There will be a little time at the start of the Workshop to finish your interviews, if needed.

Workshop
Assessment Time
Open your private Padlet.
• See if you can answer the question in a single sentence.
• Use a few more sentences to expand on that answer, explaining what you mean by complex or
special words that you’ve used. Consider using sources to help explain these words!
• Think about why you’ve answered the question in that way. Using a few sentences, add some
justification for the purpose you’ve decided on.
• Think about what your organisation would change about the world, and why that would be a good
thing. Explain this using a few more sentences, and consider using a source to help show that these
predictions are reasonable (e.g., another organisation which did something similar).
• Summarise what you’ve written in a single sentence – this is your conclusion!

What is the purpose of your organisation? (200 words)
Your answer should:


a) 2-minute video

your final Padlet.
When reflecting on your answers, consider what you would do differently if you were to do this assessment
again.

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Values in Law:
Podcast: The Open University | Trial by jury
Several experts explain and discuss one of the fundamental features in UK law: the right to a trial by jury.
This conversation covers some complicated topics – don’t worry if you can’t understand everything they say!
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/trial-by-jury/id380227648?i=1000411369147
Video: The Law Society of NSW | What is the rule of law?
This educational video from the Law Society of New South Wales explains one of the guiding principles of
modern law: the rule of law.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R20U9zkMmg

Week 9: Values in Law
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Values in Law.
– Learn about key laws which all UK businesses must follow.
– Research case studies of employment law.
Seminar
Lecture Discussion
Which key concepts can you remember from the lecture? Work with a partner to go over your lecture notes.
Which ideas were important to you? What did you learn about, and what did you already know?
Research Task
What is the UK’s Equality Act of 2010? What are the 9 protected characteristics? Use your research skills to
find out. Write the answers down in the box below, and make sure you understand what each one is
referring to.
Bullying and Harassment
Bullying and harassment is behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or offended. Harassment is
unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.

Examples of bullying or harassing behaviour include:
• spreading unkind rumours

• unfair treatment
• picking on or regularly undermining someone
• denying someone’s training or promotion opportunities
Bullying and harassment can happen:
• face-to-face
• by letter
• by email
• by phone
The law
Bullying itself is not against the law, but harassment is. This is when the unwanted behaviour is related to
one of the following:
• age
• sex
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sexual orientation
Research Activity
Look at these cases of bullying and harassment at two prestigious London universities by searching for any
news articles relating to them. What do you think about the cases? Which is worse in the eyes of the law?
Case 1

Case 2
Infographic Task
Your tutor will give you several examples of infographics – a kind of image which communicates
information clearly and simply.
Your next task is to design an infographic about the UK Equality Act 2010.
We recommend you use Canva, a design tool which you can find at www.canva.com.
• Create an account using your Bloomsbury Institute email address.

• Check your Outlook inbox for the verification code sent by Canva.
• Follow the instructions on the slides for guidance in using Canva for the first time.
Your infographic should explain which characteristics are protected by the Equality Act 2010. Once this is
included, decide what other information your infographic should contain! For example…
• Information about the history of the Equality Act 2010.

• Examples of harassment and bullying in workplaces.
• What sorts of legal consequences companies could face if they fail to uphold the Equality
Act 2010.
• Case studies of legal cases which have been brought against companies which did not
uphold the Equality Act 2010.
There will be a little time at the start of the Workshop to finish your infographic, if needed.

Workshop
Assessment Time
• Use your research skills to find out which important laws are applicable to your organisation.
o Searching for ‘UK law ___’ and inserting your organisation’s industry can be a good start!
o For example, ‘UK law charity’ tells us charities are governed by the Charities Act 2011.
• Make a list of 1-3 laws which your organisation must follow. Focus on the laws you judge to be most
important.
• Write out very quick explanations of the laws you have chosen. What do they say your organisation
must do?
• Write out quick explanations of why you’ve selected these laws. Why are they the most important
ones for you to be aware of?
• Arrange the writing you’ve done by moving the sentences around. Try to find the order of sentences
which makes it easiest to read and understand. Ask your neighbour for feedback if you like!

Which laws should you be aware of when starting your organisation? (200 words)
Your answer should:


a) 2-minute video

your final Padlet.
After you’ve finished writing your answer, go back and revisit it. Read it through out loud. Think if there are
any parts you could edit to make it clearer and easier to understand.

Next Week
Here are some materials to help prepare you for next week’s topic, Values in Business:
Article: The Important Site | 10 Reasons Why Accounting Is Important
This article offers some clear reasons why it’s important for every organisation to care about accounting. You
could use it as a starting point for next week’s AS3 question!
https://theimportantsite.com/10-reasons-why-accounting-is-important/
Video: ColdFusion | Theranos – Silicon Valley’s Greatest Disaster
American company Theranos offered breakthrough medical technology, but in 2015 investigators discovered
that Theranos had lied about its assets. This year, CEO Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of fraud. Find out
why in this short documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CccfnRpPtM

Week 10: Values in Finance
Aims
The topic of this week’s seminar and workshop is Values in Finance.
– Discuss key concepts in accounting.
– Research a case studies of poor accounting practice.
Seminar
Research Task
Using your notes from the lecture, or by conducting your own research, provide definitions for these
accounting terms:
Assets
Expenses
Liabilities

Case Study
Read the extract below about a recent business scandal. Take notes, and make sure you look up any words
you don’t recognise or understand. Afterwards, answer the questions on the next page.
Everything you need to know about the Theranos scandal
In 2014, Theranos, a blood-testing startup pitching a supposedly revolutionary technology, was flying high.
While existing technology required one vial of blood for each diagnostic test conducted, Theranos claimed to
be able to perform hundreds of tests (supposedly over 240) ranging from cholesterol levels to complex
genetic analysis, with just a single pinprick of blood. Automated, fast and inexpensive, Theranos seemed to
be offering technology that could revolutionize medicine and save lives the world over.
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, had famously dropped out of Stanford to found the
company using her tuition money, and was just 30 when Theranos was at its peak. Having raised over
$700m in investment from the likes of Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, the company had become the rising star
of Silicon Valley and was valued at over $9 billion, while Holmes, with a share of more than half that, was
heralded as the female Steve Jobs.
The only problem? The technology didn’t work.
It was John Carreyrou, twice-Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist of The Wall Street Journal who first broke the
story in 2015. Having received a tip doubting the performance of the Theranos technology, John’s interest
was triggered further by Holmes’s purported ability to invent ground-breaking medical technology after just
two semesters of chemical engineering classes at Stanford.
Despite intimidation and threats of legal action, former Theranos employees Erika Cheung and Tyler
Schultz, whose Grandfather George Schultz was a member of the Theranos board, began sharing their
experiences of the company, its technology and practices with John. They revealed lies to board members, a
culture of intimidation and secrecy, technology that repeatedly failed quality assurance and crucially, results
sent to real patients that were fundamentally incorrect, upon which life-changing medical decisions were
being made. It would seem that the company had been built on nothing more than audacious lies...
In 2018, Holmes stepped down as CEO and, alongside former company president Ramesh Balwani, was
charged with criminal fraud, having allegedly misled investors and deliberately made false claims made
about the efficiency of the company’s blood testing technology.
Three months later the company officially shut down following investigation by the FBI, leaving thousands of
former employees, many of whom John found to be talented people with integrity, unaware of the company’s
fraudulent activity, uncertain about their future.
In January 2022, Holmes was found guilty on four charges of defrauding investors, and now faces up to 20
years in prison. More information around the downfall of Theranos was revealed in the trial, with prosecutors
accusing Holmes of destroying evidence in Theranos' final days in business. Testifying in her own defence,
Holmes admitted to mistakes in Theranos' operation, but continued to maintain that she never knowingly
defrauded patients or investors.
Roff, C. 2022. Everything you need to know about the Theranos scandal. Pan Macmillan [online]. Available
from: https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-john-carreyrou [Accessed:
22/09/22].

Summarise the Theranos case in your own words.
What was the asset Theranos claimed to have?
What were the consequences for Theranos?

Cash Flow
Watch this video and answer the questions below:
MBAbullshitDotCom. 2014. Cash Flow Statement Tutorial for Cash Flow Statement Analysis Explained.
YouTube. [online]. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh-eTgiUO0s. [Accessed 22/09/22].
What is cash flow?
What is in a cash flow statement?

Accounting in Your Organisation
Below are several common cash flow problems that organisations face. Read through them, and then we’ll
talk through them together to make sure you understand all of them. Make sure that you look up any terms
which you do not understand.
Which of these problems would your organisation be most likely to face?
1. Seasonal imbalances
Most businesses experience seasonal highs and lows throughout the year. But, without the right planning,
these seasonal imbalances can cause businesses to feel the financial impact.
When a business experiences a busy period, some may find it hard to meet the increased demand. Whilst in
the quieter periods, it can be difficult to meet day-to-day running costs.
To keep your cash flowing all year round it is first essential to get to know your seasonal cycle. Over time
your financial records will highlight trends which can guide your business decisions.
When you expect to have a seasonal peak you may want to employ more team members or bring in extra
stock. Whereas, when you expect to have a down period you may want to try additional marketing
techniques or find a new product to fill in the gap.
Unfortunately, not all seasonal imbalances can be planned for. A surprising change in weather, for instance,
can cause an unexpected cash flow gap. For example, a business that sells sunglasses and swimwear may
struggle to make a sale when the country experiences unexpected cold weather.
2. Excess stock
Whilst buying in bulk can have advantages, if you purchase too much stock it could end up gathering dust
and tying up cash.
This is why good stock management is essential so that you never hold stock for longer than necessary.
To achieve this you should implement a good stock management system, check inventory levels carefully,
discipline your spending habits and always clear discontinued or out-of-date stock.
3. High liabilities
If your business’s liabilities, such as rent, telephone bills and utilities, are too high in relation to your sales
volume it could lead to a cash flow shortage.
Having bills fall due around the same time of the month or year can also leave businesses short and
scratching their heads over how to pay on time.
The easiest way to reduce the impact this has on your cash flow is to regularly review your liabilities and cut
back where you can. With many suppliers it’s also possible to change the timing or frequency that bills fall
due to make them more manageable, for instance by switching to monthly rather than quarterly billing
cycles.
When making cost-cutting decisions, remember that sometimes the cheapest option isn’t necessarily the
best. You need to be careful not to sacrifice quality for cost as this could have a negative impact on your
company.
Adapted from: Hilton Baird (2017) 12 Common Causes of Cash Flow Problems (and how to overcome
them). Hilton Baird. [online]. Available from: https://www.hiltonbairdfinancial.co.uk/common-causes-cash-
flow-problems/. [Accessed 22/09/22].

Video Task
In this task, you will create a video where you describe how your organisation will avoid a cash flow problem.
Find a partner to work with. At least one of you will need a phone which can record video. If you can’t find a
partner with a phone that records video, let your seminar tutor know.
You will take it in turns to record videos of one another, following the instructions on the seminar slides.
In these videos, you will choose one of the cash flow problems from the list above, explain it in your own
words, and describe how your organisation will avoid having this problem.
Before you record your video, do the following:
• Think about what you’re going to say – how exactly will your organisation avoid the cash flow
problem you have chosen? Be specific to your organisation, and don’t just copy the advice from the
list above.
• Create a short script or storyboard for your video. It’s important to have a plan rather than just
making it up as you go along!
• Once you have your plan, practice what you’re going to say. Try to talk slowly and clearly, and don’t
worry if you mess up – just say the part you messed up again and keep going.
When you’re ready, and if you are comfortable with it, your partner will film you reading out your planned
video. If you are not comfortable with being filmed during the workshop, you should instead practice running
through your plans with one another.
Upload your video to your private Padlet or, if you’re feeling confident, to our shared group Padlet.
There will be a little time at the start of the Workshop to finish your video, if needed.

Workshop
Assessment Time
• See if you can answer the question in a single sentence.
• Use a few more sentences to expand on that answer, explaining what you mean by complex or
special words that you’ve used. Consider using sources to help explain these words!
• Think about why you’ve answered the question in that way. Using a few sentences, add some
justification for the purpose you’ve decided on.
• Use sources to help explain your answer.
• Summarise what you’ve written in a single sentence – this is your conclusion!

Why is accounting important in your organisation? (200 words)
Your answer should:


a) 2-minute video

your final Padlet.
When you use sources, don’t just tell us what they say. You should also put them into context – explain what
the source means, and why it’s helpful for your answer.

Week 11: Tutorials
This week you will be working on assessments during your seminar and workshop. You'll also have the
opportunity for a short one-to-one conversation with your seminar tutor. In this tutorial, you can:
• Ask questions about your module performance, your assessments, the future of your course and
more.
• Discuss your AS2 feedback and how it can be implemented in future work.
• Get tips on how to make the best use of the rest of the Foundation Year.

List of References
Identity
Arendt, H. 1958. The Human Condition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Bloomsbury Institute. 2022. ‘Why is identity important in the contemporary world?’. Contemporary World
Study Booklet 2022-23. Unpublished.
Douglas, D., Chrisafis, A., & Mohdin, A. ‘One year on, how George Floyd’s murder has changed the world’.
The Guardian [online]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/22/george-floyd-
murder-change-across-world-blm [Accessed on 22/09/2022].
ICT Online. 2010. ‘What is the identity of identity in the digital age?’. Science Daily [online]. Available from:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100224134029.htm [Accessed on: 22/09/22].
Truth
Bloomsbury Institute. 2021. How do we know that something is true? Contemporary Themes Study Booklet
2021-21. Unpublished.
Cambridge University Press. 2021. Post-Truth. Cambridge Dictionary [online]. Available from:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/post-truth. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Kern, R. 2022. Twitter stops enforcing Covid-19 misinformation policy. Politico [online]. Available from:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/29/twitter-stops-enforcing-covid-19-misinformation-policy-00071110.
[Accessed: 16/01/23].
New Scientist. 2021. The Scientific Method. New Scientist [online]. Available from:
https://www.newscientist.com/definition/the-scientific-method/. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Picheta, R. 2019. The Flat-Earth Conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? CNN
[online]. Available from: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-
scli-intl/index.html. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Environment
Anon. (2017). ‘New report shows just 100 companies are source of over 70% of emissions’, CDP [online].
Available from: https://www.cdp.net/en/articles/media/new-report-shows-just-100-companies-are-source-of-
over-70-of-emissions. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Dunway, F. (2017). ‘The “Crying Indian” ad that fooled the environmental movement’, Chicago Tribute
[online]. Available from: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-indian-crying-
environment-ads-pollution-1123-20171113-story.html. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Ivanova, D. et al. (2015). ‘Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption’, Journal of

Industrial Ecology 20(3). 526-536.
Park, W. (2022). ‘How companies blame you for climate change’, BBC [online]. Available from:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220504-why-the-wrong-people-are-blamed-for-climate-change.
[Accessed: 22/09/22].
Sato, M. et al. (2020). Does it pay for firms to go green? London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate
Change and the Environment & Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of
Economics and Political Science. Available from: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-
content/uploads/2020/06/GRI_policy-report_Does-it-pay-for-firms-to-go-green-1.pdf. [Accessed: 22/09/22].

Timperley, J. (2020). ‘Who is really to blame for climate change?’, BBC [online]. Available from:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200618-climate-change-who-is-to-blame-and-why-does-it-matter.
[Accessed: 22/09/22].
Timperley, J. & Proctor, A. (2021). ‘How SUVs came to rule the world at the cost of the climate’, BBC
[online]. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09z6d1s/how-suvs-came-to-rule-the-world-at-the-
cost-of-the-climate. [Accessed: 22/09/22].
Walenta, J. (2021). ‘The making of the corporate carbon footprint: the politics behind emission scoping’,
Journal of Cultural Economy 14(1). 1-16.
Organisations
DWP. 2017. How Razan became an award-winning business woman with New Enterprise Allowance.
YouTube. [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH7EPwFqugo [Accessed 22/09/22].
Values in Law
O’Connor, S., & Ram, A. 2017. Uber loses appeal in UK employment case. Financial Times. [online]
Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/84de88bc-c5ee-11e7-a1d2-6786f39ef675. [Accessed 22/09/22].
Values in Finance
Hilton Baird. 2017. 12 Common Causes of Cash Flow Problems (and how to overcome them). Hilton Baird.
[online]. Available from: https://www.hiltonbairdfinancial.co.uk/common-causes-cash-flow-problems/.
[Accessed 22/09/22].
MBAbullshitDotCom. 2014. Cash Flow Statement Tutorial for Cash Flow Statement Analysis Explained.
YouTube. [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh-eTgiUO0s. [Accessed 22/09/22].

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Contemporary World

Study E-Booklet 2022-23

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 1

How to use this Study E-Booklet 8

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 2

Week 8: Values in Business 52

Week 9: Values in Law 59

Week 10: Values in Finance 65

Week 11: Tutorials 73

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 3

We hope you enjoy the course!

The Foundation Year Team

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 4

Foundation Year Tutors

Course Leader: Tom Ironmonger tom.ironmonger@bil.ac.uk

Disability and Wellbeing Advisors

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 5

1 Identity Identity Identity

2 Truth Truth Truth

3 Environment Environment Environment

4 Technology Technology Technology

5 Special Workshop ASSESSED DISCUSSIONS (AS1)

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 6

7 Organisations Organisations Organisations

8 Values in Business Values in Business Values in Business

Values in Law Values in Law Values in Law

10 Values in Finance Values in Finance Values in Finance

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 7

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 8

Some questions to think about:

• What are you most excited about?

• What are you nervous about?

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 9

Podcast: BBC The Why Factor | Identity

Video: Food Identity

a) They’re important for your culture.

How else might food affect your identity?

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 10

Don’t forget to keep lecture notes either online or on paper!

In the seminar and workshop, you will:

– Define some key terms relating to the topic.

– Discuss the relationship of identity to the contemporary world.

Identity | Self-Reflection | Digital Identity | Unconscious Bias

Write a short definition of each of the terms:

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 11

What do you remember most about your colleagues’ explanations? Why?

• What did you learn from reading?

• Is this an academic article? What makes you think this?

• Do you agree with the points the text is making?

• What would you like to learn more about on this subject?

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 12

Why is identity important in the contemporary world?

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 13

What did you learn from reading?

Is this an academic article? What makes you think this?

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 14

What would you like to learn more about on this subject?

Contemporary World Study E-Booklet 2022-23 Page 15

Speak in small groups about the following topic:

What is identity and why is it important?

• Practice the art of being respectful.

• Encourage each other to make contributions.