Harassment

Harassment (/həˈræsmənt/ or /ˈhærəsmənt/) covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour which disturbs or upsets, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is behaviour which appears to be threatening or disturbing. Sexual harassment refers to persistent and unwanted sexual advances, typically in the workplace, where the consequences of refusing are potentially very disadvantageous to the victim.

Etymology

The word is based in English since circa 1618 as loan word from the French harassement, which was in turn already attested in 1572 meaning torment, annoyance, bother, trouble and later as of 1609 was also referred to the condition of being exhausted, overtired. Of the French verb harasser itself there are the first records in a Latin to French translation of 1527 of Thucydides’ History of the war that was between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians both in the countries of the Greeks and the Romans and the neighbouring places where the translator writes harasser allegedly meaning harceler (to exhaust the enemy by repeated raids); and in the military chant Chanson du franc archer of 1562, where the term is referred to a gaunt jument (de poil fauveau, tant maigre et harassée: of fawn horsehair, so meagre and …) where it is supposed that the verb is used meaning overtired.

Harassment in the United Kingdom

Harassment is a topic which, in the past couple of decades, has been taken increasingly seriously in the United Kingdom, and has been the subject of a number of pieces of legislation.

Introduction

Though racial and sexual discrimination have been unlawful under the Race Relations Acts and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 respectively, it is only comparatively recently that specific legislation has defined harassment specifically as unlawful.

Because of the rise recently in awareness of the issues involved in harassment, recent trends have shown significant rises in the number of people making claims of harassment at Employment Tribunals. If the complaint is serious, high damages may be awarded against the Employer, so it is important for the Employer to take seriously any allegation of harassment at an early stage and take steps to quickly resolve it.

There is also legislation in place to be able to deal with discrimination, and this legislation is distinct to that provided under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Acts.

Moped

A moped (/ˈmoʊpɛd/ MOH-ped) is a small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than motorcycles, or automobiles, because mopeds typically travel about the same speed as bicycles on public roadways. Strictly speaking, mopeds are driven by both an engine and by bicycle pedals, but in common usage and in many jurisdictions the term moped is used for similar vehicles including a scooter. Mopeds occasionally resemble powered bicycles, more commonly called a motorized bicycle. Some mopeds are of a step-through type design, while others are step-over designs, having a motorcycle-like frame, including a "backbone" and a raised fuel tank, mounted directly between the saddle, and the head tube. Most are similar to a regular motorcycle, only having the addition of pedals, in which the rider can both manually power the vehicle through a bicycle-like crankset in addition to a small displacement engine. Although mopeds usually have two wheels, some regions classify low-powered three- or (rarely) four-wheeled vehicles as a moped.

Moped (band)

Moped was a New Zealand band formed in Palmerston North by three brothers, Gareth (guitar & backing vocals), Hayden (bass and lead vocals) and Karl Shearman (drums). They played a brand of groove saturated reggae rock, with lyrics which speak of a clear Christian commitment.

Albums

Moped released two albums and one EP during their career. Their first album, Noise From the Knee Drill, was released in 2002 and their second album, Welcome to the Exodus, was released in 2005. In 2006, the band saw the release of their farewell EP and DVD titled One More March. Noise From the Knee Drill was a more rock based album, and though it was a far less polished album (than later albums) it contained songs such as "Guilt Trip" and "This Means War", which were regarded by many fans to be among Mopeds best work. Welcome to the Exodus featured more reggae based songs (but not without the rock influence) such as "Roots Down", "Will You Come" and "Sunset, Sunrise." It concludes with a moving acoustic song, "Stick to your Guns." These songs are also considered to be among their most popular.