This book will help you expand your academic vocabulary using the

Academic Word List (the AWL). All students, home students and
overseas students, need to learn the technical vocabulary of
their field. As learners of English preparing for academic study you
also need to learn general academic vocabulary, words such as:
feature, illustrate, regulate, strategy. This core academic vocabulary is
used by writers in many different subject areas.
Learning vocabulary from the AWL will help you improve your
comprehension of academic texts. It will also help you write
assignments in an academic style.

Of course the basic vocabulary of English is also important for

academic learners.
You can try learning some words from the list every day, but it is
better to study the words in context, so that you understand
how they are used.

2
PART 1:

Academic Word List - p. 3 - 157

Exercise 1: The Motor Car

Exercise 2: Introduction to Computers

Exercise 3: Measurement of Current

Exercise 4: An Experiment in Chemistry

Exercise 5: The History of Life on Earth

Exercise 6: Cells

Exercise 7: Alternatives to the Concept of a Body Clock

Exercise 8: Charles Darwin

Exercise 9: Natural Selection

Exercise 10: Malaria: Discovery by Committee

Exercise 11: Causes of Cancer

Exercise 12: Attempted Suicide

Exercise 13: Indications for Psychiatric Inpatient Care

Exercise 14: Aerospace Medicine

Exercise 15: The Immune System

Exercise 16: The Concept of Number

Exercise 17: Carbohydrate and Fibre

Exercise 18: Affluence and Inequality

Exercise 19: The Travelling Salesman

Exercise 20: Stocks

Exercise 21: Business Cycle

Exercise 22: Banking

Exercise 23: Globalisation

3
Exercise 24: On the Motivation to Work

Exercise 25: Trading in Other Securities

Exercise 26: Interest

Exercise 27: Inflation and Deflation

Exercise 28: Retailing Strategy

Exercise 29: Common and Preferred Stock

Exercise 30: Company Structure

Exercise 31: Recruitment and Selection

Exercise 32: The Problem of Production

Exercise 33: History of Tourism

Exercise 34: Commercialism and Sport

Exercise 35: European Union

Exercise 36: The Public Order Act

Exercise 37: Causing Death

Exercise 38: Requirements for Murder

Exercise 39: Treason

Exercise 40: Crime, Deprivation and Morality

Exercise 41: Martial Law

Exercise 42: Modern Developments in Law

Exercise 43: 20th Century British History

Exercise 44: Time in History

Exercise 45: 1931 General Election

Exercise 46: Tackling the Inner Cities

Exercise 47: Ethics

Exercise 48: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

4
Exercise 49: Language

Exercise 50: Music

Exercise 51: Educational Research

Exercise 52: Statistics in Language Studies

Exercise 53: Overseas Students in Higher Education

Exercise 54: Teaching English with Video

Exercise 55: Royal Dutch/Shell Group

Exercise 56: An Observation and an Explanation

PART 2:
List of headwords in exercises 158

5
Motor Car

A Motor Car is, broadly, any self-powered vehicle with more than two wheels and an
enclosed passenger compartment, capable of being steered by the operator and
designed for use on a road or street. The term is used more specifically to denote
any such vehicle designed to carry two to seven people. A synonym is automobile
(Grk. autos, "self"; Lat., mobilis, "movable"). Larger vehicles designed for more
passengers are called buses, and those designed to carry freight are called lorries.
The term automotive vehicle includes all of the above, as well as certain specialised
industrial and military vehicles.

Construction

The primary components of a car are the power plant, the power transmission, the
running gear, and the control system. These constitute the chassis, on which the
body is mounted.

The Power Plant

The power plant includes the engine and its fuel, the carburettor, ignition, lubrication,
and cooling systems, and the starter motor.

The Engine

By far the greatest number of cars use piston engines, but from the early 1970s a
significant number of rotary-engine vehicles came into use.

The four-cycle piston engine requires four strokes of the piston per cycle. The first
downstroke draws in the petrol mixture. The first upstroke compresses it. The second
downstroke - the power stroke - following the combustion of the fuel, supplies the
power, and the second upstroke evacuates the burned gases. Intake and exhaust
valves in the cylinder control the intake of fuel and the release of burned gases. At
the end of the power stroke the pressure of the burned gases in the cylinder is 2.8 to
3.5 kg/sq cm. These gases escape with almost explosive violence with the sudden
opening of the exhaust valve. They rush through an exhaust manifold to a silencer,
an enlarged section of piping containing expanding ducts and perforated plates
through which the gases expand and are released into the atmosphere.

Continuous availability of power and greater smoothness of operation of the four-

cycle engine were provided by the development of the four-cylinder engine, which
supplies power from one or another of the cylinders on each stroke of the cycle. A
further increase in power and smoothness is obtained in engines of 6, 8, 12, and 16
cylinders, which are arranged in either a straight line or two banks assembled in the
form of a V.

In the early 1970s one Japanese carmaker began to manufacture cars powered by
the rotary-combustion, or Wankel, engine, invented by the German engineer Felix
Wankel in the early 1950s. The Wankel engine, in which the combustion movement

6
employs rotors instead of vertical pistons, can be up to one-third lighter than
conventional vehicle engines because it needs fewer spark plugs, piston rings, and
moving parts.

Carburation

Air is mixed with the vapour of the petrol in the carburettor. To prevent the air and the
carburettor from becoming too cold for successful evaporation of the fuel, the air for
the carburettor is usually taken from a point close to a heated part of the engine.
Modern carburettors are fitted with a so-called float-feed chamber and a mixing or
spraying chamber. The first is a receptacle in which a small supply of petrol is
maintained at a constant level. The petrol in most makes of cars is pumped from the
main tank to this chamber, the float rising as the petrol flows in until the desired level
is reached, when the inlet closes. The carburettor is equipped with such devices as
accelerating pumps and economiser valves, which automatically control the mixture
ratio for efficient operation under varying conditions. Level-road driving at constant
speed requires a lower ratio of petrol to air than that needed for climbing hills, for
acceleration, or for starting the engine in cold weather. When a mixture extremely
rich in petrol is necessary, a valve known as the choke cuts down the air intake
drastically, permitting large quantities of unvaporised fuel to enter the cylinder.

Ignition

The mixture of air and petrol vapour delivered to the cylinder from the carburettor is
compressed by the first upstroke of the piston. This heats the gas, and the higher
temperature and pressure favour ready ignition and quick combustion. The next
operation is that of igniting the charge by causing a spark to jump the gap between
the electrodes of a spark plug, which projects through the walls of the cylinder. One
electrode is insulated by porcelain or mica; the other is grounded through the metal of
the plug, and both form part of the secondary circuit of an induction system.

The principal type of high-tension ignition now commonly used is the battery-and-coil
system. The current from the battery flows through the low-tension coil and
magnetises the iron core. When this circuit is opened at the distributor points by the
interrupter cam, a transient high-frequency current is produced in the primary coil
with the assistance of the condenser. This induces a transient, high-frequency, high-
voltage current in the secondary winding. This secondary high voltage is needed to
cause the spark to jump the gap in the spark plug. The spark is directed to the proper
cylinder by the distributor, which connects the secondary coil to the spark plugs in the
several cylinders in their proper firing sequence. The interrupter cam and distributor
are driven from the same shaft, the number of breaking points on the interrupter cam
being the same as the number of cylinders.

The electrical equipment controls the starting of the engine, its ignition system, and
the lighting of the car. It consists of the storage battery, a generator for charging it
when the engine is running, a motor for starting the engine, and the necessary wiring.
Electricity also operates various automatic devices and accessories, including
windscreen wipers, directional signals, heating and air conditioning, cigarette lighters,
powered windows, and audio equipment.

7
Lubrication

In the force-feed system, a pump forces the oil to the main crankshaft bearings and
then through drilled holes in the crankpins. In the full-force system, oil is also forced
to the connecting rod and then out to the walls of the cylinder at the piston pin.

Cooling

At the moment of explosion, the temperature within the cylinder is much higher than
the melting point of cast iron. Since the explosions take place as often as 2,000 times
per minute in each cylinder, the cylinder would soon become so hot that the piston,
through expansion, would "freeze" in the cylinder. The cylinders are therefore
provided with jackets, through which water is rapidly circulated by a small pump
driven by a gear on the crankshaft or camshaft. During cold weather, the water is
generally mixed with a suitable antifreeze, such as alcohol, wood alcohol, or ethylene
glycol.

To keep the water from boiling away, a radiator forms part of the engine-cooling
system. Radiators vary in shape and style. They all have the same function, however,
of allowing the water to pass through tubing with a large area, the outer surface of
which can be cooled by the atmosphere. In air cooling of engine cylinders, various
means are used to give the heat an outlet and carry it off by a forced draught of air.

The Starter Motor

Unlike the steam engine, the petrol engine must usually be set in motion before an
explosion can take place and power can be developed; moreover, it cannot develop
much power at low speeds. These difficulties have been overcome by the use of
gears and clutches, which permit the engine to travel at a speed higher than that of
the wheels, and to work when the vehicle is at rest. Ease of starting and steadiness
of operation are secured in the highest degree in a multicylinder engine. An electric
starter motor, receiving its current from the storage battery, turns the crankshaft, thus
starting the petrol engine. The starter motor is of a special type that operates under a
heavy overload, producing high power for very short periods. In modern cars, the
starter motor is automatically actuated when the ignition switch is closed.

The Power Transmission

The engine power is delivered first to the flywheel and then to the clutch. From the
clutch, which is the means of coupling the engine with the power-transmission units,
the power flows through the transmission and is delivered into the rear-axle drive
gears, or differential, by means of the drive shaft and universal joints. The differential
delivers the power to each of the rear wheels through the rear-axle drive shafts.

The Clutch

Some type of clutch is found in every car. The clutch may be operated by means of a
foot pedal, or it may be automatic or semiautomatic. The friction clutch and the fluid
coupling are the two basic varieties. The friction clutch, which depends on solid
contact between engine and transmission, consists of: the rear face of the flywheel;

8
the driving plate, mounted to rotate with the flywheel; and the driven plate, between
the other two. When the clutch is engaged, the driving plate presses the driven plate
against the rear face of the flywheel. Engine power is then delivered through the
contacting surfaces to the transmission by means of a splined (keyed) shaft.

Fluid coupling may be used either with or without the friction clutch. When it is the
sole means of engaging the engine to the transmission, power is delivered
exclusively through an oil medium without any contact of solid parts. In this type,
known as a fluid drive, an engine-driven, fan-bladed disc, known as the fluid flywheel,
agitates the oil with sufficient force to rotate a second disc that is connected to the
transmission. As the rotation of the second disc directly depends on the amount of
engine power delivered, the prime result of fluid coupling is an automatic clutch
action, which greatly simplifies the requirements for gear shifting.

Manual and Automatic Transmissions

The transmission is a mechanism that changes speed and power ratios between the
engine and the driving wheels. Three general types of transmission are in current
use: conventional or sliding-gear, Hydra-Matic, and torque-converter systems.

The conventional transmission provides for three or four forward speeds and one
reverse speed. It consists of two shafts, each with gears of varying diameters. One
shaft drives the other at a preselected speed by meshing the appropriate set of
gears. For reverse speed, an extra gear, known as the idler gear, is required to turn
the driven shaft in the opposite direction from normal rotation. In high gear, the two
shafts usually turn at the same speed. In low, second, and reverse gears, the driven
shaft turns more slowly than the driving shaft. When a pair of gears permits the
driven shaft to turn more rapidly than the driving shaft, the transmission is said to
have overdrive. Overdrive is designed to increase the speed of an automobile without
taxing the engine beyond what is considered its normal operating limit.

The Hydra-Matic type of transmission combines the automatic clutch provided by

fluid coupling with a semiautomatic transmission. A mechanical governor, controlled
by the pressure exerted on the accelerator pedal, regulates gear selection through a
system of hydraulically controlled shift valves. Hydra-Matic transmission provides for
several forward gears.

The torque-converter type of transmission provides an unlimited number of gear

ratios with no shifting of gears. The torque converter is a hydraulic mechanism using
engine power to drive a pump, which impels streams of oil against the blades of a
turbine. The turbine is connected to the drive shaft and causes it to rotate.

Both Hydra-Matic and torque-converter systems are controlled by a selector lever on

the steering column, which provides also for reverse and sometimes for emergency-
low gears.

The Running Gear

The running gear of the car includes the wheel-suspension system, the stabilisers,
and the wheels and tyres. The frame of the car may be considered the integrating

9
member of the running gear. It is attached to the rear axle and to the front wheels by
springs. These springs, along with the axles, the control and support arms, and the
shock absorbers, constitute the wheel-suspension system. In modern cars the front
wheels are independently suspended from the frame in a manner that permits either
wheel to change its plane without appreciably affecting the other. This type of front-
wheel suspension is known popularly as knee-action suspension. The stabilisers
consist of spring-steel bars, connected between the shock-absorber arms by levers,
to decrease body roll and improve steerability.

The Control System

Steering is controlled by a hand wheel, mounted on an inclined column and attached

to a steering tube inside the column. The other end of the tube is connected to the
steering gear, which is designed to provide maximum ease of operation. Power
steering, adapted for passenger cars in the early 1950s, is generally a hydraulic
mechanism used as a booster to reduce the effort of steering.

A car has two sets of brakes: the hand or emergency brake and the foot brake. The
emergency brake generally operates on the rear wheels only, but it may operate on
the drive shaft. The foot brake in modern cars is always of the four-wheel type,
operating on all wheels. Hydraulic brakes on cars and hydraulic vacuum, air, or
power brakes on lorries apply the braking force to the wheels with much less exertion
of force on the brake pedal than is required with ordinary mechanical brakes. The
wheel brakes are generally of the internally expanding type, in which a convex strip of
material is forced against a concave steel brake drum.

New Developments

Oil shortages and rising fuel prices during the 1970s encouraged car engineers to
develop new technologies for improving the fuel economy of existing petrol engines
and to accelerate work on alternative engines. Large V-8 petrol engines became less
common from the early 1980s, being replaced by 6-, 5-, 4-, and 3-cylinder V-engines,
using microprocessors for improved fuel-air control and thus better fuel economy.
During the early 1980s research and development began on automatic transmissions
controlled electronically for maximum efficiency and having infinitely variable gear
ratios. At the same time, digital speedometers, trip-information devices, and
electronic devices to cue owners regarding maintenance and other chores were
appearing in increasing numbers of cars.

Engines

Among alternatives to petrol engines, diesel and electric engines appeared the most
promising. The turbine engine continued to be held back by high manufacturing costs
and other problems; technical hurdles remained for the revived Stirling engine; the
steam engine, which was the object of experiment in passenger cars during the
1960s and 1970s, proved impractical; and the Wankel rotary engine, inherently less
fuel-efficient, remained a low-production, high-performance power plant.

Diesel V-8 engines appeared in the late 1970s in cars made by the United States
manufacturer General Motors, and V-6, V-5, and V-4 diesels were used increasingly

10
during the early 1980s because of the engine's superior fuel economy, which is up to
25 per cent better than that of a comparable petrol engine. Concern that diesel
exhaust may contain carcinogens continues to retard diesel development. The
advent of turbocharged diesels overcame one inherent problem of the engine: slow
acceleration.

Electric Cars

Important advances in battery technology have led to electric cars capable of speeds
up to 80 km/h and a range of 160 km or more. Such cars might become popular
because they can be recharged overnight when the power demand on electric
generating stations is low. Mass use of electric vehicles would lower the demand for
crude oil.

By using lightweight steel, aluminium, plastics, and magnesium, car manufacturers

drastically reduced the size and weight of their models in the late 1970s and early
1980s in an effort to improve fuel efficiency. Front-wheel drive technology, which
allows more passenger and cargo space inside smaller cars, has been adopted by
carmakers worldwide, replacing the rear-drive arrangement commonly used since the
motor industry's earliest days.

Introduction to Computers

Although the computer has been in existence since the late 1940s, the idea of such a
machine was first conceived as early as 1833 by Charles P. Babbage. He called it an
Analytical Engine. It was conceived because of his frustration with the many errors
produced by clerks in making their calculations.

Charles Babbage, a Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England,

wanted to build a machine capable of calculating any equation he cared to enter. It
was never completed since there was one thing missing from the world in the early
19th century, namely electronics. Babbage was restricted to mechanical technology,
i.e. cogs, levers, wheels. He was able to complete one part of the Analytical Engine
and this can be seen today in the Computing Gallery of the Science Museum, in
London. If you like mechanics, it is a beautiful construction. But the fact remains that
it was not possible to build a mechanical computer. Had Babbage access to
electronics, then he would most certainly have been the first person to build a
computer.

In the event the world had to wait until the early 1940s for the first electromechanical
computer. One of the early pioneers was Howard A. Aiken who coincidentally also
came from Cambridge, but in Massachusetts in America.

Electronics

Electronics is today the most convenient technology for constructing computers.

Electronic devices such as transistors, diodes, capacitors and resistors form the
basis of the modern computer.

11
Fortunately, we do not need to know anything about electronics in order to
understand what computers can do and how they are programmed, apart from one
most important factor. The electronic devices are called two-state devices and
computers comprise millions of these two-state devices.

Two-state Devices

An electronic device need not be a simple two-state device. It could be three, four or
more. However, designers of electronic components have found it easier (and,
therefore, cheaper) to construct two-state devices. In the past, computer designers
have built ten-state electronic components, but the resulting computer was expensive
and complex. For this reason, all computers tend to rely on the two-state basic
component.

A two-state device is something we are all familiar with. Take a tap; this may be in
one of only two states at any given time - allowing water to flow (ON) or not (OFF). A
light bulb is another example; it may be either passing an electric current (i.e.
illuminated) or not passing an electric current (i.e. not illuminated). A two-state device
then, like a switch on a wall, can be in only one of two possible states at any given
instant, i.e. it may be either ON or OFF.

The two states that electronic devices in computers can take up are concerned with
voltage levels. What is required is two clearly distinct voltages with no possibility of
confusion between them. The output from one device provides the input to the next
device, and this next device must be certain of detecting which of the two levels it is
receiving. In practice, several combinations (pairs) can be used, depending on the
application and the manufacturer. Such combinations are of this kind:

A positive voltage and zero voltage (e.g. +5 volts and 0 volts)

A positive voltage and a negative voltage (e.g. +2 volts and -2 volts)
A larger positive voltage and a smaller positive voltage (e.g. +3.3 volts and +0.2
volts)

Computer people, however, do not like talking about voltage levels or the presence
or absence of electrical charges. They prefer to represent the two voltage levels or
the presence or absence of a charge in another way, namely by binary.

Binary

Binary is a number system. Since every number system has zero as one of its digits,
and because binary comes from the Latin meaning twice or two, the only other digit it
can have is 1. Binary, then, with its 0s and 1s, is a very convenient method of
representing the two internal states of a computers electronic components. Binary
digits do not actually exist inside computers, only electrical charges (or voltages). So,
for example, +5 volts can be represented by binary 1 and zero volts by binary 0 (i.e.
the absence of a charge). Similarly for the other combinations shown above.
However, we shall frequently talk about binary digits as though they do exist inside a
computer. We must just make certain that we remember that this is only a convenient
representation.

12
In the decimal number system, the ten digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are used. Any
value can be represented using one or more of these digits, for example 253. Any
value can also be represented by binary digits, except that we can only use the two
digits 0 and 1. Thus, 253(decimal) is 11111101 in binary. Later on we shall have
more to say about binary. Let us now begin to look at the basic structure of a
computer.

Basic Structure of a Computer

One method of introducing the basic structure of a computer is to present it with a

problem to solve. In our case this will be a simple problem, one for which we would
not normally use a computer. Suppose we want to find the largest number in a given
set of numbers. If we were to engage a human colleague to solve this problem, two
elements would be required. First, we would have to provide an instruction. This
could be a simple statement, e.g. find the largest number in this set. Secondly, we
would have to provide the list of numbers.

The computer will also require both these elements in order to solve a problem. The
instruction, however, will need to be much more detailed than the one given to a
human being. It may involve perhaps as many as 15 separate instructions. We shall
see the reason for this soon. You should note that instructing computers to perform
various tasks involves a much more comprehensive set of details than we normally
require when communicating with each other.

The total set of instructions to perform a given task is called a program. The list of
numbers upon which the computer program works is called the data numbers, or
data for short. Thus, like the human being a computer requires both instructions and
data in order to solve a problem. The difference is that the program instructions are at
a much more detailed level.

Memory Unit and Arithmetic Unit

The human colleague requires a memory in order to retain (store) the instruction. So
does a computer. Therefore, one component unit of a computer must be a Memory
Unit or store. However, no computation can take place in this unit. It is just a device
for storing or retaining information.

If we recall, Charles Babbage wished his computer to perform calculations upon any
equation he cared to enter. Thus, as a second unit there must be some device which
can perform the four basic arithmetical functions of addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. This unit is called the Arithmetic Unit, or AU for short. It
is in here that any computation is performed. This unit is also capable of comparing
two numbers and deciding which is the smaller, the larger or whether they are equal.
But how do numbers (data) get into the arithmetic unit from the memory unit?

Control Unit

The purpose of this third and final component, the Control Unit (or CU), is to pass
numbers or other forms of data into the arithmetic unit and then inform this unit
which arithmetic or comparison function to perform. Once the arithmetic unit has

13
computed the result, the control unit passes it into the memory. The control unit, then,
is the unit which controls the passage of data to and from the memory and the AU
and, also, decides which arithmetic operation the program instruction has asked for.

These three units, the memory, the arithmetic unit and the control unit, are known
collectively as the Central Processing Unit, or CPU for short. These are the three
units common to all computers, no matter how large or small, how cheap or
expensive.

Input and Output

How does a human being put information (data or program instructions) into the
memory of the central processing unit? This is the purpose of a special device called
an input device, which is also under the control of the control unit. An input device
will convert the everyday characters which we use, into binary and pass them into the
memory unit.

Once the program has processed the data ready to produce results, we would like to
see them. We would find it difficult to read long strings of binary noughts and ones
and, in consequence, an output device is used to convert binary patterns inside the
CPU into our everyday characters. That is, it performs the opposite function to an
input device.

There are many different types of input and output devices. Some are more suitable
than others in given applications. Chapter 4 discuses the various types in detail. Here
we need mention just two common devices. The Keyboard device is used for putting
in information. This input device is very similar to an ordinary QWERTY typewriter
(the first six letters being q-w-e-r-t-y), except that it has additional keys by which the
user can communicate with the computer. Often, the keyboard has a screen attached
which can display any information typed in by the user, or any information sent out by
the central processing unit. Together, the keyboard and screen are called a VDU
(visual display unit). If a printed copy is required, so that we can keep a record of
computer output, then a hardcopy (i.e. printed) device is required.

The input and output devices are not part of the main CPU. They are on the
periphery (edge) and are sometimes called peripheral devices.

Input-Process-Output System

If we look at a diagram of a computer, we see that the computing process is nothing

other than a simple input-process-output system. This is something which we are all
familiar with in many everyday situations. For example, baking a cake. The input is
the collecting together of the various ingredients, the process is the mixing and the
cooking, the output is the edible cake. Computing is not a magical procedure, it is a
straightforward logical input-process-output procedure, in essence simpler to
understand than the chemical reactions that go on inside a cake in the oven.

More about the Memory

14
The main memory of a computer (i.e. the memory unit) can often account for 50% of
the total cost of the CPU. For this reason, its size is deliberately limited. The larger
the main memory, the more expensive the computer becomes. To put this another
way, computer manufacturers frequently limit the size of the memory in order to bring
the computer within the purchasing power of the market to which they are selling.

Some computers, such as the Control Data Corporation (CDC) computer, have a
very large memory and can contain as many as one million characters. This may
appear to be large but, in practice, it is not large enough to contain all the programs
and data for which a computer is used. A payroll application for a company with
about a thousand employees will require several hundred thousands of characters
just to hold all the data. The program instructions themselves will run into many
thousands. Furthermore, a computer is not purchased simply to run a payroll; there
will be invoicing, stock control, sales forecasting programs, as well as all the data
each program requires. These cannot all be held inside the main memory. In any
case, information inside the computer is lost every time the machine is switched off,
rather like a television screen which loses its information (picture) when turned off.

Auxiliary Storage Devices

What is required is some form of additional (auxiliary) storage for all the programs
and data whereby they can be retained on a permanent basis. These auxiliary
storage devices (also called secondary or backing stores) are magnetic devices,
similar to music cassette tapes and long-playing records.

Information stored on magnetic devices can be used time and time again, as with LP
records which can be played over and over again with-out losing the original. On
such devices, information may be held permanently in a computer system. When
information on a magnetic device is required, it must be passed into the main or
central memory of the CPU before it can be processed. In other words, only a copy of
the information is transferred, leaving the original version still intact.

There are two main types of auxiliary storage device, magnetic tape and magnetic
disc. One large tape can hold between 10 and 40 million characters; a large
magnetic disc may contain in excess of 200 million characters. These devices are far
cheaper than the main memory of the CPU and are discussed in Chapter 5.

Some people get worried about the vast volume of information held on auxiliary
storage devices. They feel that, since the main memory is limited in size, the
information which flows into it from auxiliary devices might flood or swamp the main
memory. This could indeed be the case. However, programmers have to organise the
information held on secondary storage devices into smaller units or groups, or blocks
as they are more formally called. Suppose that a computer is running a payroll
program. The information (data) is held on magnetic tape. Normally, a few, perhaps
three, records (see Chapter 7), one for each employee, are transferred into main
memory. The program will process these three and then transfer the results to the
output device. The next three records will be brought in and processed, the results
being transferred onto the same output device. This process is repeated until all the
records of all the employees have been processed. In this way, by breaking up the
data into blocks, the entire data file can be processed a few records at a time.

15
Hardware and Software

At a computer installation, the various units which we have discussed can be seen
and touched. They will vary in colour, size and shape, depending upon the
imagination of the computer manufacturer. These units are called the hardware of a
computer. But by themselves they are useless, in the way that a taxi standing in the
road is. By itself it cannot do anything. What is required is a taxi driver to come along
and turn the hardware into a functioning whole by inserting the ignition key, pressing
the various pedals, and manipulating the gear lever and the steering wheel.
Computer hardware requires a driver in order to make the hardware function
correctly. This driver is called software. The software operates and controls the
hardware units and makes certain that they all work in unison. The more formal term
for this special software is computer operating system software.

Even so, the taxi with its driver is not per-forming a service nor will the taxi driver earn
his living. What is required is a passenger. Likewise the computer with its hardware
and operating system software cannot perform a useful service until it is instructed to
perform a specific job. It is the application program (such as a payroll, traffic control,
space exploration) which turns the hardware and software into a useful system. Thus,
there are three elements required by any computer system:

The hardware units

The operating system software
The application program(s)

(Introduction to Computers by John Shelly & Roger Hunt)

Measurements of Current

Absolute measurements of current and potential difference are of importance

primarily in laboratory work, so for most purposes relative measurements are
sufficient. The meters described in the following paragraphs are all intended for
relative measurements.

Galvanometers

Galvanometers are the main instruments used to detect and measure current. They
depend on the fact that force is generated by an electric current flowing in a magnetic
field. The mechanism of the galvanometer is so arranged that a small permanent
magnet or electromagnet sets up a magnetic field that generates a force when
current flows in a wire coil adjacent to the magnet. Either the magnet or the adjacent
coil may be movable. The force deflects the movable member by an amount
proportional to the strength of the current. The movable member may have a pointer
or some other device to enable the amount of deflection to be read on a calibrated
scale.

16
In the D'Arsonval reflecting galvanometer, a small mirror attached to a movable coil
reflects a beam of light on a scale of about 1 m (3 ft) away from the instrument. This
arrangement involves less inertia and friction than does a pointer, and consequently,
greater accuracy is achieved. The instrument is named after the French biologist and
physicist Jacques d'Arsonval, who also conducted experiments with the mechanical
equivalent of heat, and in the high-frequency oscillating current of low voltage and
high amperage (D'Arsonval current) used in the treatment of certain diseases, such
as arthritis. Known as diathermy, this treatment involves the production of heat in, for
example, a limb, by passing a high-frequency current between two electrodes placed
on the skin. The addition of a scale and proper calibration converts a galvanometer
into an ammeter, the instrument used for measuring electric current in amperes.
D'Arsonval was also responsible for inventing a direct-current (DC) ammeter.

Only a limited amount of current can be passed through the fine wire of a
galvanometer coil. When large currents have to be measured, a shunt of low
resistance is attached across the terminals of the meter. Most of the current is
bypassed through this shunt resistance, but the small current flowing through the
meter is still proportional to the total current. By taking advantage of this
proportionality, a galvanometer can be used to measure currents of hundreds of
amperes.

Galvanometers are usually named according to the magnitude of the currents they
will measure.

Microammeters

A microammeter is calibrated in millionths of an ampere and a milliammeter in

thousandths of an ampere.

Ordinary galvanometers cannot be used for the measurement of an alternating

current (AC), because the alternation of the current would produce deflection in both
directions.

Electrodynamometers

An adaptation of the galvanometer, however, called an electrodynamometer, can be

used to measure alternating currents by means of electromagnetic deflection. In this
meter a fixed coil, in series with the moving coil, is employed in place of the
permanent magnet of the galvanometer. Because the current in the fixed and moving
coils reverses at the same instant, the deflection of the moving coil is always in the
same direction, and the meter gives a constant current reading. Meters of this type
can also be used to measure direct currents.

Iron-vane meters

Another form of electromagnetic meter is the iron-vane meter or soft-iron meter. In

this device two vanes of soft iron, one fixed and one pivoted, are placed between the
poles of a long, cylindrical coil through which is passed the current to be measured.
The current induces magnetism in the two vanes, causing the same deflection no

17
matter what the direction of the current. The amount of the current is ascertained by
measuring the deflection of the moving vane.

Thermocouple meters

Meters that depend on the heating effect of an electric current are used to measure
alternating current of high frequency. In thermocouple meters the current passes
through a fine wire that heats a thermocouple junction; the electricity generated by
the thermocouple is measured by an ordinary galvanometer. In hot-wire meters the
current passes through a thin wire that heats and stretches. This wire is mechanically
linked to a pointer that moves over a scale calibrated in terms of current.

AN EXPERIMENT IN CHEMISTRY

PRELIMINARY

The chemistry laboratory is a place where you will learn by observation what the
behaviour of matter is. Forget preconceived notions about what is supposed to
happen in a particular experiment. Follow directions carefully, and see what actually
does happen. Be meticulous (very exact and careful) in recording the true
observation even though you know something else should happen. Ask yourself
why the particular behaviour was observed. Consult your instructor (teacher) if
necessary. In this way, you will develop your ability for critical scientific observation.

EXPERIMENT I: DENSITY OF SOLIDS

The density of a substance is defined as its mass per unit volume. The most obvious
way to determine the density of a solid is to weigh a sample of the solid and then find
out the volume that the sample occupies. In this experiment, you will be supplied with
variously shaped pieces of metal. You are asked to determine the density of each
specimen and then, by comparison with a table of known densities, to identify the
metal in each specimen. As shown in Table E1, density is a characteristic property.

Table E1: Densities of Some Common Metals, g/cc.

Aluminium 2.7
Lead 11.4
Magnesium 1.8
Monel metal alloy 8.9
Steel (Fe, 1% C) 7.8
Tin 7.3
Woods metal alloy 9.7
Zinc 7.1

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PROCEDURE

Procure (obtain) an unknown specimen from your instructor. Weigh the sample
accurately on an analytical balance.

Determine the volume of your specimen by measuring the appropriate dimensions.

For example, for a cylindrical sample, measure the diameter and length of the
cylinder. Calculate the volume of the sample.

Determine the volume of your specimen directly by carefully sliding the specimen into
a graduated cylinder containing a known volume of water. Make sure that no air
bubbles are trapped. Note the total volume of the water and specimen.

Repeat with another unknown as directed by your instructor.

QUESTIONS

1. Which of the two methods of finding the volume of the solid is more precise?
Explain.

2. Indicate how each of the following affects your calculated density: (a) part of the
specimen sticks out of the water; (b) an air bubble is trapped under the specimen in
the graduated cylinder; (c) alcohol (density, 0.79 g/cc.) is inadvertently substituted for
water (density, 1.00 g/cc) in the cylinder.

3. On the basis of the above experiment, devise a method for determining the density
of a powdered solid.

4. Given a metal specimen from Table E1 in the shape of a right cone of altitude
3.5cm with a base of diameter 25 cm. If its total weight is 41.82 g, what is the metal?

(Experimental Chemistry, by Sienko and Plane).

The History of Life on Earth

The history of life on earth has been a history of interaction between living things and
their surroundings. To a large extent, the physical form and the habits of the earths
vegetation and its animal life have been moulded by the environment. Considering
the whole span of earthly time, the opposite effect, in which life actually modifies its
surroundings, has been relatively slight. Only within the moment of time represented
by the present century has one species - man - acquired significant power to alter the
nature of his world.

During the past quarter-century this power has not only increased to one of disturbing
magnitude but it has changed in character. The most alarming of all mans assaults
upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with
dangerous and even lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable;
the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living
tissues is for the most part irreversible. In this now universal contamination of the
environment, chemicals are the sinister and little-recognized partners of radiation in

19
changing the very nature of the world - the very nature of its life. Strontium 90,
released through nuclear explosions into the air, comes to earth in rain or drifts down
as fallout, lodges in soil, enters into the grass or corn or wheat grown there, and in
time takes up its abode in the bones of a human being, there to remain until his
death. Similarly, chemicals sprayed on croplands or forests or gardens lie long in soil,
entering into living organisms, passing from one to another in a chain of poisoning
and death. Or they pass mysteriously by underground streams until they emerge and,
through the alchemy of air and sunlight, combine into new forms that kill vegetation,
sicken cattle, and work unknown harm on those who drink from once-pure wells. As
Albert Schweitzer has said, Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own
creation.

It took hundreds of millions of years to produce the life that now inhabits the earth -
aeons of time in which that developing and evolving and diversifying life attained a
state of adjustment and balance with its surroundings. The environment, rigorously
shaping and directing the life it supported, contained elements that were hostile as
well as supporting. Certain rocks gave out dangerous radiation; even within the light
of the sun, from which all life draws its energy, there were short-wave radiations with
power to injure. Given time - time not in years but in millennia - life adjusts, and a
balance has been reached. For time is the essential ingredient; but in the modern
world there is no time.

The rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow
the impetuous and heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature.
Radiation is no longer merely the background radiation of rocks, the bombardment of
cosmic rays, the ultra-violet of the sun that have existed before there was any life on
earth; radiation is now the unnatural creation of mans tampering with the atom. The
chemicals to which life is asked to make its adjustment are no longer merely the
calcium and silica and copper and all the rest of the minerals washed out of the rocks
and carried in rivers to the sea; they are the synthetic creations of mans inventive
mind, brewed in his laboratories, and having no counterparts in nature.

To adjust to these chemicals would require time on the scale that is natures; it would
require not merely the years of a mans life but the life of generations. And even this,
were it by some miracle possible, would be futile, for the new chemicals come from
our laboratories in an endless stream; almost five hundred annually find their way into
actual use in the United States alone. The figure is staggering and its implications are
not easily grasped - five hundred new chemicals to which the bodies of men and
animals are required somehow to adapt each year, chemicals totally outside the
limits of biologic experience.

Among them are many that are used in mans war against nature. Since the mid-
1940s over two hundred basic chemicals have been created for use in killing insects,
weeds, rodents, and other organisms described in the modern vernacular as pests;
and they are sold under several thousand different brand names.

These sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms,
gardens, forests, and homes - non-selective chemicals that have the power to kill
every insect, the good and the bad, to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish
in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in soil - all this

20
though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects. Can anyone believe
it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth
without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called insecticides, but
biocides.

The whole process of spraying seems caught up in an endless spiral. Since DDT was
released for civilian use, a process of escalation has been going on in which ever
more toxic materials must be found. This has happened because insects, in a
triumphant vindication of Darwins principle of the survival of the fittest, have evolved
super races immune to the particular insecticide used, hence a deadlier one has
always to be developed - and then a deadlier one than that. It has happened also
because, for reasons to be described later, destructive insects often undergo a
flareback, or resurgence, after spraying, in numbers greater than before. Thus the
chemical war is never won, and all life is caught in its violent crossfire.

Along with the possibility of the extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central
problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of mans total
environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm - substances that
accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to
shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future
depends.

Some would-be architects of our future look towards a time when it will be possible to
alter the human germ plasm by design. But we may easily be doing so now by
inadvertence, for many chemicals, like radiation, bring about gene mutations. It is
ironic to think that man might determine his own future by something so seemingly
trivial as the choice of an insect spray.

All this has been risked - for what? Future historians may well be amazed by our
distorted sense of proportion. How could intelligent beings seek to control a few
unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and
brought the threat of disease and death even to their own kind? Yet this is precisely
what we have done. We have done it, moreover, for reasons that collapse the
moment we examine them. We are told that the enormous and expanding use of
pesticides is necessary to maintain farm production. Yet is our real problem not one
of over-production? Our farms, despite measures to remove acreages from
production and to pay farmers not to produce, have yielded such a staggering excess
of crops that the American taxpayer in 1962 is paying out more than one billion
dollars a year as the total carrying cost of the surplus-food storage programme. And
is the situation helped when one branch of the Agriculture Department tries to reduce
production while another states, as it did in 1958, It is believed generally that
reduction of crop acreages under provisions of the Soil Bank will stimulate interest in
use of chemicals to obtain maximum production on the land retained in crops.

All this is not to say there is no insect problem and no need of control. I am saying,
rather, that control must be geared to realities, not to mythical situations, and that the
methods employed must be such that they do not destroy us along with the insects.

(Silent spring by Rachel Carson)

21
Cells

Cells are the basic units of life. They are the true miracle of evolution. Miracle in the
figurative sense, since although we do not know how cells evolved, quite plausible
scenarios have been proposed. Miraculous, none the less, in the sense that they are
so remarkable. Most remarkable, and, in a way, a definition of life, is their ability to
reproduce themselves. They are able to take in chemicals and convert them into
usable energy and to synthesize all the components of the cell during growth that
eventually leads to cell

Animals are made up of specialized cells, such as blood cells, cartilage cells, fat
cells, muscle cells, nerve cells - humans have about 350 different cell types while
lower animals, like hydra, only 10 to 20. Cells carry out an amazing range of
specialised functions, such as carrying oxygen, transmitting messages, contracting,
secreting chemicals, synthesizing molecules, and multiplying. The cells in the embryo
are initially much less specialized and differ from each other in more subtle ways. All
have certain basic characters and in order to understand their role in development it
is helpful to be aware of four cell activities, three cell structures, and two main kinds
of molecule.

The four cell activities are cell multiplication, cell movement, change in character, and
cell signalling. These are mainly self-explanatory. Cells multiply by dividing and this
usually requires cell growth, the cells doubling in size before dividing in two. Cells can
also change shape, exert forces, and move from one place in the embryo to another.
They can also change character: during development cells change from having rather
unspecialised characters to mature cells with very specific functions. Cells in different
parts of the embryo can be thought of as developing along quite different pathways,
diverging more and more in character. Finally, cells give out and receive signals from
neighbouring cells.

Cells cannot normally be seen without a microscope, being about one-thousandth of

a millimetre in diameter. However, some cells, like the large eggs of frogs, are easily
visible, and the human egg is just visible to the naked eye. The three key cell
structures are the cell membrane, the cytoplasm, and the nucleus. Surrounding the
cell is a very thin cell membrane which controls the entry and exit of molecules, and
maintains the integrity of the cell. On the surface of the membrane are special
receptors for signals from other cells, as well as molecules that enable cells to
adhere to one another. Confined by the cell membrane the cytoplasm contains all the
machinery for production of energy and cell growth; and there are also structures in
the cytoplasm which can generate forces to change the shape of the cell, resulting in
cell movement. Embedded within the cytoplasm is the cell nucleus surrounded by its
own special membrane. Within the nucleus are the chromosomes of the cell, which
contain the genes.

The life of the cell is dependent on the chemical reactions among the many million
constituent molecules. Two key classes of molecules are nucleic acids and proteins
which will be described much more fully in Chapter 5 and can be largely ignored for
the present. Genes are made of the nucleic acid DNA, and they exert their effect by
determining which proteins are made in the cell. Proteins are fundamental to the life
of the cell because they are essential for all the key chemical reactions as well as

22
providing the main framework of all the structures in the cell. Almost all the chemical
reactions in the cell such as the provision of energy or the synthesis of key molecules
will only take place in the presence of special proteins, known as enzymes, which
allow the reactions to occur. Proteins are also the major structural molecules in the
cell, providing, for example, the forces for cell movement, receptors at the cell
surface, and the adhesive links between cells. Proteins also give different cells their
special character. For example, the protein haemoglobin carries oxygen in the red
blood cells, and insulin, another protein, is made in particular cells in the pancreas.

The wide variety of proteins in the cells are all coded for by the genes in the nucleus.
While proteins themselves are synthesized in the cytoplasm, whether or not a protein
is made is dependent on whether or not the gene that contains the information for
that protein is active (Chapter 5). The only function of genes is to determine which
proteins are made, thereby determining which chemical reactions take place and
which structures will be present in the cell. In this way, genes control cell behaviour.

Cell behaviour can thus provide the crucial link between genes and animal structure
and form. If we can understand how cells behave during development so as to make
arms and brains we can then begin to ask how genes control the behaviour of the
cells and so establish the link. Cells thus provide the key to understanding
development because their behaviour brings about embryonic development and is
controlled by gene activity. In very general terms there are, in development, three
kinds of genes - those that control spatial organization, those that control change in
form, and those that control cell differentiation.

Alternatives to the Concept of a Body Clock

Another major problem that we must consider is the possibility that the continuing
rhythmicity is not due to the body clock. Two alternative explanations, and our
comments on them, follow.

1. The rhythm is responding to an external influence that has not been controlled in
the experimental protocol.

The problem is to decide what such an influence might be. The influences upon
humans of the planets, moon, and factors such as magnetic fields, atmospheric
pressure, and cosmic rays have been imagined by some, including lovers,
astrologers and those who, in the past, have diagnosed types of "lunacy".
Unfortunately, when such influences are considered as explanations of the results of
free-running experiments, the following problems have never been satisfactorily dealt
with.

Why do individuals have free-running rhythms that differ in length? Even

though the average value is 25 hours individuals show values generally within
the range 24-26 hours. (As suggested in Chapter 1, larks" tend to be at the
lower end of the range and "owls" towards the top of it.)
Where are the sense organs that pick up such external factors? There is
evidence for a magnetic sense in some animals, including humans. However,

23
 its role in influencing these rhythms - let alone actually being responsible for
them - is not at all established. Sense organs for lunar and planetary
influences, for atmospheric pressure and cosmic rays are as yet purely
hypothetical.

2. The results are due to a regular structuring of an individual's life-style; they are a
reflection of the regularity of our habits rather than of some body clock.

There is much to be said for such a theory. There is no doubt that individuals tend to
structure their day around routines of meals, personal hygiene, leisure, work, etc.
There are, however, some problems with this theory.

It is not clear how the duration of sleep could be controlled as regularly as is

observed to be the case. Even though it might be argued that a regular life-
style implies a regular degree of fatigue and so will require a regular amount of
sleep, in practice, such a degree of regularity is not achieved. Individuals go to
bed later or earlier than average on certain occasions, as can be seen by
close inspection of Fig. 2.2. For example, an individual might go to bed later
than usual on one occasion because a piece of work or some leisure time
activity took longer than normal. It is likely that this will make him more tired
than usual and so we might guess that he will sleep longer. This would result
in his rhythms running more slowly when he was interested and more quickly
when he was bored (because he would go to bed earlier due to the lack of
something interesting to do and so require less sleep). This idea - that longer
activity spans would be followed by longer sleeps and vice versa - does not
find experimental support. The reverse is seen: long "daytimes" tend to be
followed by shorter sleeps and vice versa. This is a result that is much easier
to account for if we suggest that a body clock is responsible for the alternation
between sleep and activity. Such a clock will wake an individual when a
certain stage of the sleep/wake cycle is reached; if he goes to bed late then
that stage will be reached after a shorter period of sleep than usual. Such is
the experience of most of us when we go to bed late: we might sleep slightly
later than usual but rarely long enough to compensate completely for the late
night. Our body clock has woken us for the next day after only a minimal
opportunity for extra sleep.
When all results from the free-running experiments are considered, the
sleep/wake cycle is about 25 hours. If it were due to some "memory" of our
life-style then we would predict that about half the population would show a
value less than 24 hours and the free-running periods of individuals would be
distributed fairly symmetrically about an average value of 24 hours.

We have stressed the regularity that is observed in free-running experiments and

interpreted it as evidence for the body clock. However, we should add that,
particularly when experiments lasting several months are performed, certain
irregularities do creep into the results. Occasionally sleep is missed, or is twice as
long as usual. Sometimes volunteers alternate between normal and long sleeps
(lasting 16 rather than 8 hours, for example) or even appear to adopt a sleep/wake
cycle that lasts about 50 rather than 25 hours. In such circumstances, rhythms of
food intake also can become irregular with missed or extra meals during the course
of a single "day". However, the rhythm of body temperature generally retains its

24
regular 25 hour period. These results do not require us to dispense with the idea of
an internal body clock, if only because they appear very rarely in experiments lasting
only a week or so. (By contrast, the 25-hour rhythms are regularly seen). Instead the
results suggest that the system requires an occasional rhythmic input from the
outside world to run smoothly. The alternatives to an internal body clock (planetary
influences, cosmic rays, etc.) do not offer a ready explanation of these irregularities.

Charles Darwin

Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882), was a British scientist, who laid the foundation
of modern evolutionary theory with his concept of the development of all forms of life
through the slow-working process of natural selection. His work has been of major
influence on the life and earth sciences and on modern thought in general.

Born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on February 12, 1809, Darwin was the fifth child of a
wealthy and sophisticated family. His maternal grandfather was the successful china
and pottery entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood; his paternal grandfather was the well-
known 18th-century doctor, poet, and savant Erasmus Darwin. His father was a
successful provincial physician with a dominant personality; his mother died when
Charles was only eight, after which time he was looked after by his elder sisters.
Known as a rather ordinary student, Darwin left Shrewsbury School in 1825 and went
to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. Finding himself squeamish at the
sight of human blood and suffering, Darwin left Edinburgh and went to the University
of Cambridge, in preparation for a life as a Church of England clergyman, which he
thought would best allow him to pursue his increasing interest in natural history. At
Cambridge he came under the influence of two figures: Adam Sedgwick, a geologist,
and John Stevens Henslow, a botanist. Henslow not only helped build Darwin's self-
confidence but also taught his student to be a meticulous and painstaking observer of
natural phenomena and collector of specimens. After graduating from Cambridge in
1831, the 22-year-old Darwin was taken aboard the English survey ship HMS Beagle,
largely on Henslow's recommendation, as an unpaid naturalist on a scientific
expedition round the world. This voyage, which began on December 27, 1831,
determined Darwin's whole future career.

Voyage of the Beagle

The Beagle, under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy, a strict disciplinarian of
aristocratic stock and fundamentalist religious beliefs, was originally scheduled to
spend a year or two primarily charting the coastal waters of South America. In the
event, it was gone for five years and circumnavigated the globe. Almost four of those
years were spent on the east and west coasts of South America, and Darwin was
able to leave the ship for two extended periods on the mainland. In September 1835
the Beagle headed west for Australia, returning to England via the Cape of Good
Hope. Darwin's job as naturalist gave him the opportunity to observe a variety of
geological formations in different continents and islands along the way, as well as a
vast array of fossils and living organisms. In his geological observations, Darwin was
most impressed by the effect that natural forces have on shaping the Earth's surface.

At the time, most geologists adhered to the so-called catastrophe theory that the
Earth had experienced a succession of creations of animal and plant life, and that

25
each creation had been destroyed by a sudden catastrophe, such as an upheaval or
convulsion of the Earth's surface. According to one prominent version of this theory,
the most recent catastrophe was the Flood of Noah, as recorded in the Bible. It wiped
away all land animals except those taken into the ark (plants and fishes presented a
problem); the rest were visible only as fossils. According to the catastrophists,
species of plants and animals were individually created and immutable, that is,
unchangeable for all time.

The catastrophist viewpoint (but not the immutability of species) was challenged by
the British geologist Sir Charles Lyell in his three-volume work Principles of Geology
(1830-1833). Lyell maintained that the Earth's surface is undergoing constant
change, the result of natural forces operating uniformly since the Creation (which he
argued was millions of years ago).

Darwin was given the first volume of Lyell's work just before he left England, and the
subsequent volumes were sent to him in South America. Lyell's uniformitarian
principles provided him with exactly the framework he needed for his own geological
observations. Lyell argued that active geological change was still going on apace,
and Darwin was especially impressed with an earthquake he experienced while in
Chile that actually raised the coastline by several feet. Beyond that, however, he
realized that some of his own observations on the local relationships between fossils
and living plants and animals cast doubt on Lyell's vague views on the special
creation of new species. Darwin noted that some fossils of supposedly extinct
species in a particular geographical area closely resembled living species of the
same region. In the Galpagos Islands, 1,000 km off the coast of Ecuador, he also
observed that each island supported its own form of tortoise, mocking bird, and finch;
the various forms were closely related but differed in structure and eating habits from
island to island. These observations raised the question, for Darwin, of possible links
between distinct but similar species.

Theories of Natural Selection

When Darwin returned to England in 1836, he was a mature scientist. His letters and
packages of specimens sent to Sedgwick, Henslow, and others during his voyage
had established his reputation at home. He immediately threw himself into the work
of preparing his share of an extensive report of the scientific discoveries made during
the Beagle voyage, and editing his own travel diary for publication. Darwin's Journal
of Researches (1839) achieved popular as well as scientific acclaim, and it was
followed in 1844 and 1846 by further volumes on volcanic islands and on the geology
of South America.

None of this published work by Darwin challenged the assumption that biological
species are immutable. However, in July 1837 Darwin opened a private notebook
entitled "Transmutation of Species", in which he recorded observations and
speculations bearing on the question (which he subsequently called "that mystery of
mysteries"). His thinking on how organisms evolve was brought into sharp focus in
September 1838, when he read An Essay on the Principle of Population (originally
published in 1798) by the British economist Thomas Robert Malthus. Malthus
observed that all biological species, including human beings, possess a far greater
reproductive capacity than can actually be realised. For human beings, there was

26
always a potential disparity between the means of subsistence and the number of
mouths to feed. Human population growth was thus limited by dire checks, such as
famine, disease, and war.

Darwin immediately saw the relevance of Malthus's work for his own thinking: if all
the offspring of a plant or animal cannot survive to reproductive maturity, there must
be biological reasons why those that survive do so. This constant press, which he
called natural selection, was the motor of biological change over time. In 1838, 1842,
and 1844 he produced increasingly elaborate private versions of his evolutionary
theory; the latter is virtually a prcis of the famous book that he eventually published
in 1859.

In the meantime, Darwin had married, in 1839, his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood,
and they soon afterwards left London for a small estate, Down House, in Downe,
Kent. His father had left him independently wealthy. At Down, he and his wife had ten
children, three of whom died in infancy. By then, too, Darwin was beginning to suffer
from an illness that was to plague him intermittently for the rest of his life. It produced
shaking, nausea, dry retching, and great prostration. It left him, by his own testimony,
unable to work for days and weeks on end, although his output of scientific books
and correspondence continued to be prodigious. The source of his illness will
probably never be completely unravelled, although it possibly had a large
psychosomatic component. It also relieved him of many social, professional, and
domestic obligations, thus enabling him to concentrate on what mattered most to him:
his work.

In 1856, after eight years of sustained work on fossil and living barnacles (published
in two large volumes), Darwin at last began work on a volume that he intended to call
Natural Selection. It was interrupted in 1858, when Alfred Russel Wallace, a young
naturalist then working in Malaysia, sent Darwin his own brief sketch of evolution
through natural selection. Lyell, who had been privy to Darwin's own evolutionary
thinking, arranged for a joint presentation of Wallace's sketch and a brief essay by
Darwin at a meeting of the Linnean Society in London. Darwin was then stimulated to
write On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. It sold out on the first
day of publication in November 1859 and remains one of the greatest scientific
treatises ever written. It went through five further editions in Darwin's lifetime.

Darwin's was by no means the first treatise to argue for the change of biological
species over time. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, had developed his own
evolutionary ideas in a series of medical writings and poems. The French naturalist
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his Philosophie Zoologique (1809), expounded a
comprehensive evolutionary synthesis, based on the commonly held notion that
characteristics acquired in an organism's lifetime could be passed on to the offspring.
He famously argued that the giraffe's long neck was the result of generations of
stretching to reach leaves higher in the trees. This form of inheritance was described
as "Lamarckian". In 1844 the Scottish publisher Robert Chambers anonymously
published his own evolutionary synthesis, entitled Vestiges of the Natural History of
Creation. Darwin knew all these works, and in later editions of the Origin provided a
historical introduction. Their influence on him was general rather than particular,
however, as revealed by the differences in his theory.

27
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is essentially that, because of the
population pressure as described by Malthus, the young born to any species
compete intensely for survival. Those young that survive to reproduce tend to
embody favourable natural variations (however slight the advantage may be) - the
process of natural selection - and these variations are passed on by heredity. Darwin
recognized that his understanding of the mechanisms of heredity was limited, but he
insisted that as long as inherited variation does occur, his theory would work.
Therefore, some members of each generation will be able to adapt themselves to
changing environmental conditions (changes in food supply, predators, or climate, for
example), and this gradual and continuous process of adaptation is the source of the
evolution of species. Within Darwin's vast conceptual scheme, extinct and present-
day species of plants and animals were represented as a kind of "tree of life", in
which closely related modern organisms are descended from common ancestors.
Moreover, he provided additional support for the older concept that the Earth itself is
not static but evolving.

In a deliberate attempt to make his ideas more acceptable, Darwin did not discuss
human evolution in the Origin, confining himself to a single sentence: "Light will be
thrown on the origin of man and his history". Nevertheless, his private notebooks
make it clear that he recognized from the beginning that human beings were also part
of the evolutionary process. He elaborated his views on human evolution in two later
works, but the popular idea that he argued that human beings are descended from
apes is false: within his scheme, human beings and other primates, such as modern
apes and monkeys, are all descended from common, more primitive ancestors.

Reactions to the Theory

Darwin was extremely anxious about how his theory would be received, but, a shy
man, he declined to debate his work publicly. Thomas Henry Huxley ("Darwin's
Bulldog") became his most ardent spokesman. Reaction to the Origin was
immediate. Some biologists argued that, since there was no laboratory proof of
Darwin's theories, it must remain a hypothesis. Others criticized Darwin's concept of
variation, pointing out that he could explain neither the origin of variations nor how
they were passed between generations. This particular scientific objection was not
answered until the birth of modern genetics in the early 20th century. Still others
believed that natural selection was not sufficiently powerful to produce the changes
Darwin attributed to it. In fact, Darwin's work convinced many scientists of the fact of
biological evolution, but his theories were doubted by many until the early 20th
century. The most publicized attacks on Darwin's ideas, however, came not from
scientists but from religious opponents (or scientists acting out of religious belief).
The thought that living things had evolved by natural processes denied the special
creation of humankind and seemed to place humanity on a plane with the animals;
both of these ideas were serious challenges to orthodox theological opinion.

Huxley himself (who coined the word "agnostic" to describe his own religious
opinions) was never afraid of a tussle with the theologians, most famously in 1860
with Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford. The idea of man descended from apes
was already prominent by then, and Wilberforce patronizingly asked Huxley "Was it
through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a
monkey?" Huxley replied that he would rather be related to an ape than to a man of

28
intelligence who used his eloquence to obscure the "real point at issue". Darwin
himself was cagey about expressing himself publicly on religious matters, partly from
timidity, partly to avoid causing pain to his devout wife Emma. We know from his
letters and private notebooks that he gradually lost his own faith and can be said to
have vacillated between atheism and agnosticism.

Later Years

Darwin kept revising successive editions of the Origin, to account for various
scientific criticisms that were raised. In addition, he produced a series of monographs
that elaborated different aspects of matters discussed in the Origin. The Variation of
Animals and Plants Under Domestication (1868) expanded the analogy between
"artificial" and natural selection, pointing out that animal and plant breeders could
produce significant new variations simply by selectively breeding offspring. "How
much more powerful than man," he insisted, "is Nature herself." The Descent of Man
(1871) tackled the emotive issue of human evolution (which he had avoided in the
Origin), and also developed a theory of sexual selection as another mechanism of
organic change, complementing natural selection. The Expression of the Emotions in
Man and Animals (1872) was essentially an essay in comparative psychology,
drawing on Darwin's close observations of the early development of his own children.

Darwin was also a gifted botanist who used his own gardens at Down to great effect.
In the last two decades of his life he wrote five botanical books, describing a wide
range of observational and experimental work. It included the role of insects on
cross-fertilisation; the adaptations of climbing plants such as ivy; the intriguing
sensitive plants that respond to touch and are sometimes insectivorous (such as the
Venus flytrap); and the important function of the humble earthworm in breaking down
leaves and turning earth into fertile soil.

By the time he died on April 19, 1882, Darwin was a world-famous scientist. He had
been given many with honours and awards, such as fellowship of the Royal Society,
and honorary membership in many scientific academies. Despite the controversial
nature of many of his ideas, the scientific establishment recognised his worth and he
was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Darwin's Legacy

Although Darwin was not the first evolutionist, modern evolutionary biology begins
with him. He was the first to marshal enough scientific evidence to convince his fellow
scientists that biological species can change over time by natural means. However,
the principal mechanism he proposed - natural selection - was not properly
appreciated until the 20th century, when the work of biologists such as John Burdon
Haldane, Sewell Wright, and Julian Huxley (T. H. Huxley's grandson) combined
Mendelian genetics and population dynamics to produce what was called Neo-
Darwinism. This synthesis remains the basis of much contemporary research in
evolutionary biology.

During Darwin's lifetime, his vision of struggle as a brute fact of biological life was
more widely accepted. The English social theorist Herbert Spencer coined the phrase
"survival of the fittest" as an alternative to Darwin's less-loaded "natural selection",

29
and social Darwinism (more accurately called "social Spencerianism") became the
basis of much social and economic thought. In particular, evolutionary ideas were
used to explain many social phenomena and to justify the dominant capitalistic and
imperialist ideology of the age. As evolution and development became fundamental
features of the modern world-view, few areas of human life and endeavour escaped
an evolutionary analysis, although in many cases it has been misunderstood or
misappplied.

Natural Selection

Natural selection chooses the "fittest" but the fittest what? For Darwin the answer
was clear: the fittest individual organisms. Fitness, for Darwin, meant whatever
qualities assisted an organism to survive and reproduce. Components of fitness were
qualities like fast running legs, keen eyes, abundant, high quality milk. "Fitness" later
became a technical term used by mathematical geneticists to mean "whatever is
favoured by natural selection". As a trivial consequence of this, it became possible to
argue that "survival of the fittest" is a tautology.

Notwithstanding Darwin's emphasis on individual survival and reproduction, other

evolutionists have sometimes thought of natural selection as choosing among larger
units: groups of individuals, or species. Restraint in aggression, for instance, has
been explained as resulting from natural selection between species: those species
whose individual members tore each other limb from limb went extinct. At least in this
simple, naive form, such "group selectionism" is now discredited. The 1960s and
1970s saw a reversion among theorists, away from group selectionism, back to the
Neo-Darwinian rigour of the 1930s. Evolutionary change comes about through gene
substitutions in gene pools and these ordinarily result from differences in genetic
effects on individual survival and reproduction. Subtle and indirect ways in which
genes might influence their survival were also recognized. For example, worker ants
are sterile, but they can still affect the representation of copies of their genes in the
gene pool, by favouring the reproduction of their close relatives, such as their mother
or their reproductive sisters. In a notable theoretical advance, W. D. Hamilton
proposed "inclusive fitness" as a generalization of "Darwinian fitness" which took
account of such indirect, kinship effects. The phrase "kin selection" is helpfully used
to distinguish this important theory from the discredited "group selection" which it
superficially, and misleadingly, sometimes seems to resemble.

Malaria: Discovery by Committee

Perhaps the best known of all recent antimalarial drugs is chloroquine. As

antimalarial drugs were desperately needed during the war, it is startling to realize
that chloroquine was first synthesized several years before the war and recognized at
that time as having antimalarial activity. A delightfully frank account of its
development shows some of the less scientific problems of discovery.

In 1934, H. Andersag, a chemist at the Bayer Laboratories in Elberfeld, prepared a

compound which was first known as Resochin. It might be described as a simplified
mepacrine, although it belonged to a substantially different chemical class. For 10
years few people knew anything about it. Some limited laboratory and clinical tests
undertaken at Bayer led to the belief that it was slightly too toxic to be acceptable. A

30
closely related substance, which was given the name Sontochin, was also laid aside.
Under cartel agreements, both the Winthrop Chemical Company in the United States
and, later, the French firm of Specia were informed about Resochin and Sontochin.
By this time, 1940, the German army had overrun France, and in Europe the normal
assessment of new drugs was made subordinate to military needs.

In the USA, the need for research into antimalarial drugs had naturally been
foreseen. A program on the synthesis of new antimalarial drugs was initiated at the
National Institutes of Health in 1939 and formed the basis of a war program
organized by the Committee on Medical Research of the Office of Scientific Research
and Development, National Research Council. The program involved scientists from
the universities and industry, private individuals, the US Army, the Navy and the
Public Health Service, and included liaison with Great Britain and Australia. It was
coordinated by a group of conferences, subcommittees, and, from November 1943,
by the Board for the Co-ordination of Malarial Studies. The overall search for new
antimalarial agents involved the screening of some 16,000 compounds, most of them
for both suppressive and prophylactic activity against several avian malarias, plus a
thorough study of the toxicology and pharmacology of many of the preparations in
lower animals. Finally the appraisal was undertaken of some 80 compounds against
the malarias of man.

A great deal of useful information was assembled. Some people will regard such a
massive exercise in organization with awe. To others it may seem like a recipe for
disaster rather than for successful research. It seems that the machinery did not work
very well in discovering chloroquine. Under cartel agreements, the identity and
properties both of Sontochin and of Resochin had been disclosed to the Winthrop
Chemical Company. The reports created sufficient interest for Sontochin to be
synthesized and tested by the American company, and it was found to be active
against malaria in canaries. Resochin was not pursued at that time, but both
compounds were duly registered for purposes of patenting. The information very
properly reached the files of the survey for antimalarial compounds under the Survey
Number SN-183 and was available to various conferences, committees, and
subcommittees on the Co-ordination of Malarial Studies. History does not record
what the members of these committees thought about it, or whether they had time to
read their papers.

Meanwhile, P. Decourt, a French clinical consultant to Specia, took samples of the

drug to Tunisia for human trials. There he was helped by Jean Schneider, later a
professor in the medical faculty at Paris. Schneider's trials were interrupted by the
Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, and after the capture of Tunis,
Schneider turned over his promising results and his remaining samples of Sontochin
to the US Army.

In due course some of the drug reached the United States. Its chemical composition
was determined at the Rockefeller Institute in New York and found to be identical with
the material synthesized at the Winthrop laboratories 3 years earlier. According to
Coatney, this discovery created havoc bordering on hysteria. "We had dropped the
ball and in doing so had lost valuable time in the search for a reliable synthetic
antimalarial. Naturally the lapse had to be covered up. The compound was given a
new number and the biological data declared secret.

31
Further trials on Sontochin, now SN-6911, confirmed its considerable effectiveness,
and also generated several ideas which resulted in the synthesis of a compound
which was named SN-7618. It was made, but it was also found to be known already
and to have been patented in the USA, along with Sontochin, by Winthrop. It was, in
fact, a different salt of the same base as the original Bayer Resochin, and after much
comparison with other related compounds it became established and was recognized
formally in February 1946 under the name chloroquine. It had been synthesized and
first tested in animals about 12 years earlier, and rejected, or ignored, twice. It has
become the drug of choice for the American armed forces and for the World Health
Organization, and has survived against the threat of resistant strains for a surprisingly
long time.

Since this time much progress has been made in understanding the biology of
plasmodia and new antimalarial drugs have been discovered. Primaquine, chemically
in the same family as the pre-war German drug patnaquin, emerged as the most
notable success of the great US wartime project. Daraprim (pyritnethatnine), a very
different substance, evolved some years later from research of more general
significance, to which we shall return in the next chapter. There are also more recent
drugs and a radically different approach, based on advances immunology, is leading
towards the development of vaccines. Much has been done to control mosquitoes
too, but they, like the malaria parasites, have adapted to survive in the face of new
enemies. The great hope of eradicating malaria has faded: new battles must be
fought and new weapons devised if even the present level of control is to be
maintained.

Causes of Cancer

A number of factors produce cancer in a proportion of exposed individuals. Among

these factors are heredity, viruses, ionising radiation, chemicals, and alterations in
the immune system. For a long time these various factors seemed to work in different
ways, but now researchers are studying how they might interact in a multifactorial,
sequential process resulting in malignancy. Basically, cancer is a genetic process.
Gene abnormalities can be inherited or they can be induced in a body cell by a virus,
or by damage from an outside source. Probably a series of sequential mutations
eventually leads to a single cell that is malignant and proliferates as a clone.
Originally it was thought that a malignant clone was completely abnormal, and that
the only way to cure cancer was to rid the body of all the abnormal cells.
Considerable evidence now indicates that the problem may be a loss of the ability of
the cell to differentiate into its final, functioning state, perhaps because of the inability
to produce a necessary factor.

Heredity Factors

It is estimated that no more than 20 per cent of cancers are based on inheritance.
Several types of cancer, however, do run in families. Breast cancer is an example.
Cancer of the colon is more common in families that tend towards polyps in the
colon. A type of retinoblastoma has been demonstrated to occur only when a specific
gene is deleted. These genes, called tumour-suppressor genes or antioncogenes,

32
normally act to prevent cellular replication. Their deletion prevents the normal check
on abnormal multiplication of cells, that is, "removing the brakes". In some hereditary
disorders, the chromosomes exhibit a high frequency of breakage; such diseases
carry a high risk of cancer.

Viral Factors

Viruses are the cause of many cancers in animals. In humans the Epstein-Barr virus
is associated with Burkitt's lymphoma and lymphoepitheliomas, the hepatitis virus
with hepatocarcinoma, and a papilloma virus with carcinoma of the cervix. These
viruses associated with human tumours are DNA viruses. The HTLV virus that
produces a T-cell leukaemia is an RNA virus, or retrovirus, as are most of the viruses
associated with animal tumours. In the presence of an enzyme called reverse
transcriptase, they induce the infected cell to make DNA copies of the virus's genes,
which can be incorporated into the cell genome (the full complement of DNA). Such
viruses may contain a gene, called a viral oncogene, capable of transforming normal
cells into malignant ones. Research indicates that each viral oncogene has a
counterpart in the normal human cell called a proto-oncogene, or cellular oncogene.
Oncogene gene products (i.e., proteins for which they code) have been identified as
growth factors (or proteins necessary for the action of growth factors), which
stimulate the growth of tumour cells.

Radiation Factors

Ionising radiation is a potent cause of cancer. Radiation induces changes in DNA,

including chromosome breaks and transpositions, in which the broken-off ends of two
chromosomes are exchanged. It acts as an initiator of carcinogenesis, inducing a
change that progresses to cancer after a latent period of years. This delay provides
opportunity for exposure to other factors.

Chemical Factors

The process by which chemical agents cause cancer has been extensively studied.
Some chemicals act as initiators. Only a single exposure is required, but cancer does
not follow until a long latent period has occurred and after exposure to another agent
that acts as a promoter. Initiators produce irreversible changes in DNA. Promoters do
not change DNA, but they do increase synthesis of DNA and stimulate expression of
genes. They have no effect if given before the initiator, only if given after the initiator
and given repeatedly over a period of time. For example, tobacco smoke contains
many chemical initiators and promoters. The promoter action of cigarettes is very
important, and if smoking is stopped, the risk of lung cancer falls rapidly. Alcohol is
another important promoter; chronic abuse greatly increases the risk of cancers
known to be induced by other agents, such as lung cancer in smokers.
Carcinogenetic chemicals also produce chromosome breaks and translocations.

Immune-System Factors

The immune system appears to be able to recognize some forms of malignant cell
and stimulate the production of cells able to destroy them. An important factor in the
development of cancer may be a disease or other damaging event leading to a state

33
of immune deficiency. Such states are a consequence of AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome), inherited immune deficiency diseases, and the administration
of immunosuppressive drugs.

Environmental Factors

It is estimated that about 80 per cent of cancers may be caused by environmental

factors. The best-established cause is tobacco smoke, actively or passively inhaled,
which is responsible for about 30 per cent of all deaths from cancer. Dietary factors
may account for about 40 per cent, but the causative relationship is not as clear, and
the responsible constituents of the diet are not clearly defined. Obesity is a risk factor
for a number of cancers, especially cancers of the breast, colon, uterus, and prostate.
Dietary fat and low dietary fibre are associated with high incidence of colon cancer.
Dietary fat and obesity, like alcohol, appear to act as promoters.

The Oncogene Factor

The common component that unites these seemingly disparate mechanisms may be
the oncogene. Oncogenic viruses may insert their genes at many places in the
animal genome. A viral oncogene that is inserted in connection with a cellular
oncogene influences the expression of the oncogene and induces cancer. Radiation
and carcinogenetic chemicals produce DNA damage, mutations, and chromosome
changes, and oncogenes are often located on the chromosome near the fragile site
or breakpoint.

A malignancy appears to be the result of a series of mishaps beginning with an

abnormal gene or a somatic mutation (a mutation of a normal body tissue cell),
probably more than one, followed by a promoting activity that stimulates the
expression of one or more oncogenes, or inhibits the effects of one or more
antioncogenes, thus leading to the release of growth factors. Perhaps the earlier
event leads to the loss of production of metabolites necessary for the normal
differentiation of the cell. The stimulation of growth factors then causes the clone of
undifferentiated cells to proliferate, and a defect in the immune system permits the
abnormal cells to escape destruction by the normal surveillance mechanism.

Attempted Suicide

Although the proportion of deliberate self-poisoning or self-injury patients who require

psychiatric inpatient care is fairly small, this group is of special importance because it
includes those most likely to have serious psychiatric disorders, those at special risk
of suicide or further attempts, and some patients who pose very difficult management
problems. A case has been made for brief admission of patients who may not be
suffering from psychiatric disorders, but who are in a state of particularly severe
crisis. Clearly, the decision to admit a patient to hospital must be taken only after very
careful consideration.

When a patient is admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit the clinical team should
avoid the temptation to commence specific treatments immediately, especially those
of a physical nature. Better management is likely to result from a period of careful
observation and assessment, with considerable support being provided at this time

34
through frequent contact with nursing and other ward staff. A simple problem-
orientated method of assessment can facilitate both management and
communication between staff members. In units which employ a multidisciplinary
approach, each patient might be allocated one member of staff (a "primary therapist")
who has the main responsibility for dealing with the patient's problems. This should
avoid conflicting advice or approaches. Above all else, it is important that psychiatric
inpatient care is based on a carefully coordinated policy, especially for patients at
particular risk of suicide. If a suicide should occur in hospital it is recommended that
attention is paid to dealing with the resultant feelings both of patients and staff.

(Attempted suicide by Keith Hawton and Jose Catalan)

Indications for Psychiatric Inpatient Care

The types of patients likely to require psychiatric inpatient treatment were discussed
in Chapter 4. To summarise, broadly speaking there are three main categories of
such patients.

1. Those with serious psychiatric disorders, especially depression with serious

suicidal ideation or significant impairment of insight. Also patients with
schizophrenia, organic states, and some suffering from alcoholism.
2. Those at risk of suicide. The characteristics of such patients were described
previously (p. 66). This group includes "failed suicides". It overlaps to a large
extent with the first category.
3. Patients who require a short period of removal from stress. These include
patients whose coping resources are temporarily exhausted, those who
require further assessment, and patients for whom the mobilization of
additional help is necessary before they can begin to cope with their
difficulties.

The following case example is of a patient who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital
because of reasons which placed her in both categories (1) and (2).

Margaret, a 58-year-old housewife, was admitted deeply unconscious to a general

hospital after having taken a very large overdose of a mixture of tranquillisers,
antidepressants, and paracetamol, together with half a bottle of vodka. She spent 5
days in the intensive care unit before recovery. On the day of the overdose, after her
husband and daughter had gone to work, she had finished writing a suicide note
which she had started a week before. After leaving the letter in a drawer she had
gone to a nearby town and booked in at a hotel. Having asked that she should not be
disturbed she had taken the overdose in her room. When her husband and daughter
returned home they had been distressed at not finding Margaret. Eventually, they
discovered the suicide note, which mentioned the name of the hotel. The police were
contacted and they managed to find her.

During the assessment interview Margaret claimed she took the overdose intending
to go to sleep and never wake up again. She was evasive when asked if she still felt
like killing herself. However, she admitted that she had felt very miserable for 3 or 4
months. Recently, she had started thinking the future was hopeless and that she was
no longer able to look after her husband and daughter properly. Her thoughts

35
seemed slow and she complained of lack of energy and difficulty in staying asleep at
night.

The therapist judged that Margaret had made a very serious attempt to kill herself,
that she was severely depressed and a continuing suicide risk, Although Margaret felt
that nothing could be done to help her she agreed to be admitted to a psychiatric
unit.

For a few patients, compulsory admission to a psychiatric inpatient unit under an

order of the Mental Health Act will be deemed necessary. Description of the types of
patients for whom this might be indicated, and guidance on how to proceed were
provided in Chapter 4 (p. 75). In addition, a summary of those sections of the Act
concerned with admission of patients to hospital, or detention of patients already in
hospital, which are relevant for attempted suicide patients was provided in an
Appendix to that chapter.

Aerospace Medicine

Aerospace Medicine is the branch of preventive medicine that is concerned with the
physiological and psychological stresses on the human body in flight. The study of
effects within the earth's atmosphere is also called aviation medicine; beyond this
atmosphere the study of effects is also called space medicine.

Aviation Medicine

Specialists in aviation medicine study the reactions of human beings to the stresses
of air travel. They are concerned with the proper screening of candidates for flight
training, the maintenance of maximum efficiency among aircrews, and with clinically
oriented research into the effects of flight on the body. They also cooperate actively
with aeronautical engineers in the development of safe aircraft.

History

Aviation medicine is rooted in the early 18th-century physiological studies of

balloonists, some of whom were also physicians. In 1784, a year after the first
balloon flight by the French physicist Jean Piltre de Rozier, a Boston physician,
John Jeffries, made the first study of upper-air composition from a balloon. The first
comprehensive studies of health effects in air flight were made by the French
physician Paul Bert, who published his research on the effects of altered air pressure
and composition on humans in 1878 under the title La pression barometrique. In
1894 the Viennese physiologist Herman Von Schrtter designed an oxygen mask
with which the meteorologist Artur Berson set an altitude record of 9,150 m. With the
advent of aircraft, the first standards for military pilots were established in 1912.
Significant work in this area was directed by the physician Theodore Lyster, an
American pioneer in aviation medicine. Technical advances included the first
pressurised suit, designed and worn by the American aviator Wiley Post in 1934, and
the first antigravity suit, designed by W. R. Franks in Great Britain in 1942. In an
effort to help design better restraint systems for military jet aircraft, the United States
flight surgeon John Stapp conducted a series of tests on a rocket-powered sledge,

36
culminating on December 10, 1954, when Colonel Stapp underwent deceleration
from a velocity of 286 m/sec in 1.4 sec.

Physiological Considerations

Aviation medicine is concerned primarily with the effects on human beings of high
speed and high altitude, and involves the study of such factors as acceleration and
deceleration, atmospheric pressure, and decompression. In civil-aviation medicine,
an additional concern is passenger airsickness.

High Speed

In itself, high speed does not produce harmful symptoms. What can be dangerous
are high acceleration or deceleration forces; these are expressed as multiples of the
earth's gravity at sea level, or gs. In pulling out of a dive, for example, a pilot may be
subjected to an inertial force as high as 9 g. If a force of 4 to 6 g is sustained for more
than a few seconds, the resulting symptoms range from visual impairment to total
blackout. Protection is provided by a specially designed outfit, called an anti-g suit,
which supplies pressure to the abdomen and legs, thus counteracting the tendency
for blood to accumulate in those areas. Proper support of the head is essential during
extreme deceleration in order to avoid swelling of the sinuses and severe headaches.
While facing backwards in a seated position, properly supported human test subjects
have been able to tolerate a deceleration force of 50 g without severe injury.

Oxygen Supply

A critical consideration in aircraft travel is the continuing physiological requirement for

oxygen. The only oxygen stored by the body is that in the bloodstream. Although
muscles can function temporarily without oxygen, the buildup of toxic products soon
limits activity. Brain and eye tissues are the most sensitive to oxygen deficiency.

The earth's atmosphere, which contains 21 per cent of oxygen by volume, is under a
normal sea-level pressure of 760 tons. The barometric pressure up to about 4,575 m
is sufficient to sustain human life. Above this altitude the air must be artificially
pressurised to meet the respiratory needs of human beings.

High-altitude military aircraft are provided with oxygen equipment, and military
personnel are required to use it at all times when participating in flight above 3,050
m. Military craft that can fly above 10,675 m usually also have cockpits under
pressure. Positive-pressure breathing equipment is also used in all other aircraft
capable of flight above 10,675 m. Full or partial pressure suits with additional oxygen
equipment are required in military aircraft capable of flight above 16,775 m.

Commercial carriers provide oxygen systems and pressurised cabins in accordance

with civil air regulations. An airliner flying at 6,710 m, for example, must maintain a
"cabin altitude" of 1,830 m.

Altitude Sickness

37
This physiological condition results from a state of acute oxygen deficiency, known
medically as hypoxia, at high altitudes. Ascending from the lower atmosphere, called
the troposphere, the atmosphere is thin enough at 3,900 m to produce symptoms of
hypoxia, or oxygen hunger. At the lower limit of the stratosphere, about 10,675 m,
normal inhalation of pure oxygen no longer maintains an adequate saturation of
oxygen in the blood.

Hypoxia produces a variety of reactions in the body. Mild intoxication and stimulation
of the nervous system are followed by progressive loss of attention and judgement
until unconsciousness occurs. Respiration and pulse rate increase, and the systemic
oxygen content is reduced. Prolonged lack of oxygen may cause damage to the
brain.

Aeroembolism

Because of the reduction of barometric pressure at altitudes above 9,150 m, the body
tissues can no longer retain atmospheric nitrogen in solution. As a result, liberated
gas bubbles, as well as ruptured fat cells, may enter the circulatory system and form
obstructions, or emboli, in the blood vessels. This condition, known medically as
aeroembolism and popularly as the bends, leads to confusion, paralysis, or
neurocirculatory collapse. The most characteristic symptoms of the bends are pain in
the large joints resulting from pressure of the gas on tendons and nerves, together
with spasm of the blood vessels. Preflight inhalation of pure oxygen to eliminate
nitrogen from the system has proved valuable as a preventive measure. Rapid
decompression, resulting from accidental failure at high altitudes of the pressure
within the cabin, causes major damage to the heart and other organs by the ram
effect of gases formed in the body cavities.

Airsickness

Airsickness is produced by a disturbance of the labyrinthine mechanism of the inner

ear, although psychogenic factors such as apprehension can also play a part. Motion
sickness can be prevented by taking drugs containing scopolamine or some
antihistamines before flying.

Time Change

As transport planes became faster, pilots and passengers were able to travel across
many time zones in less than a day. The resulting disturbance in the body's
"biological clock" or circadian ("about a day") rhythm can produce disorientation and
reduce concentration and efficiency. This condition is popularly known as jet lag.
While troublesome to passengers, the problem is more acute for pilots, who may
have to fly another assignment in a short time. Concern has been expressed about
the possible effect of this situation on air safety, although no air accident has yet
been clearly identified as jet-lag-induced.

Space Medicine

Specialists in space medicine - a discipline also known as bioastronautics - study the

human factors involved in flight outside the atmosphere. Most of the potential

38
dangers in space travel (such as acceleration and deceleration forces, the need for
an artificial atmosphere, and noise and vibration) are similar to those encountered in
atmospheric flight, and can be compensated for in similar ways. Space-medicine
scientists, however, must consider two additional problems-weightlessness and the
increased radiation outside the atmosphere.

History

The first information about human performance during space travel was gathered in
Germany in the 1940s under the direction of Hubertus Strughold. Both the United
States and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) conducted rocket
tests with animals from 1948. In 1957 the USSR put a dog into the earth's orbit, and
the United States used a monkey for tests in 1958. The tests suggested that few
biological dangers existed in space flight. This was confirmed when human space
flight began on April 12, 1961, with the launching of the Soviet cosmonaut Yury
Gagarin into orbit.

The United States followed with the Mercury-Redstone suborbital flights, and then the
orbital Mercury and Gemini flights, the Apollo moon landings, the experimental orbital
vehicle Skylab, and Space Shuttle flights. Then, in the 1980s, when Soviet
cosmonauts began setting records for time spent in the gravity-free or "microgravity"
environment, the effects of long-term weightlessness began to be viewed as a
serious medical problem.

Physiological Findings

Few serious biological effects were noted during the early years of space flight. Even
the 21-day quarantine of astronauts returning from the Apollo moon mission was
subsequently abandoned, because no infectious agents were identified. The body
functions that were monitored (often with specially designed miniature instruments)
included heart rate, pulse, body temperature, blood pressure, respiration, speech and
mental alertness, and brain waves. Few changes occurred. Changes in hormones
and in concentrations of salts in the blood did take place, but these were not
detrimental. Eating in weightlessness was accomplished by packaging food in
containers that could be squeezed directly into the mouth, and special systems were
designed for collection of fluid and solid wastes. The lack of a natural time cycle in
space was compensated for by keeping the astronauts' schedules synchronised with
earth time.

Psychological changes were anticipated because of the close confinement of a few

individuals in a small space with limited activity. Few psychological problems were
noted, however, perhaps because the astronauts were chosen for their emotional
stability and high motivation, and because they were assigned enough tasks to keep
them almost constantly busy. Irradiation was also found to have little effect. Short
orbital flights produced exposures about equal to one medical X-ray - about the same
as suborbital flight. The crew on the longer Skylab flight sustained many times this
dose. Space flights are planned to avoid periods when solar flares are expected to
occur, as these can emit dangerous levels of gamma radiation.

39
However, although it was assumed that gravity is necessary for normal growth, the
magnitude of physiological changes induced by extended periods in a microgravity
environment came as something of a surprise. Serious medical problems, including
loss of bone matter and muscle strength, were observed to result from long-term
weightlessness, as during the 237-day mission of three cosmonauts aboard a Salyut
space station in 1984. Moreover, atrophy of certain muscles, particularly those of the
heart, was seen to be especially dangerous because of its effect on the functioning of
the entire cardiovascular system. The blood itself was found to be affected, with a
measurable decrease in the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

On a seven-day Challenger Space Shuttle mission in 1985, these effects were

studied in an experiment using 24 rats and 2 monkeys. Post-flight examination
revealed not only the expected loss of bone and muscle strength but a decrease in
release of growth hormone as well.

These findings are taken into consideration now whenever plans are made for
crewed space flight. The busy work schedules of astronauts in space are designed to
include regular exercise periods, thereby maintaining muscle tone. And plans for the
operation of permanently crewed space stations now include provisions for changing
crews on a regular basis, so as not to subject astronauts to weightlessness for
indefinite periods of time.

The Immune System

The body defends itself against foreign proteins and infectious microorganisms by
means of a complex dual system that depends on recognizing a portion of the
surface pattern of the invader. The two parts of the system are termed cellular
immunity, in which lymphocytes are the effective agent, and humoral immunity,
based on the action of antibody molecules.
When lymphocytes recognise a foreign molecular pattern (termed an antigen), some
release antibodies in great numbers; others store the memory of the pattern for future
release of antibodies should the molecule reappear. Antibodies attach themselves to
the antigen and in that way mark them for destruction by other substances in the
body's defence arsenal. These are primarily complement, a complex of enzymes that
make holes in foreign cells, and phagocytes, cells that engulf and digest foreign
matter. They are drawn to the area by chemical substances released by activated
lymphocytes.
Lymphocytes, which resemble blood plasma in composition, are manufactured in the
bone marrow and multiply in the thymus and spleen. They circulate in the
bloodstream, penetrating the walls of the blood capillaries to reach the cells of the
tissues. From there they migrate to an independent network of capillaries that is
comparable to and almost as extensive as that of the blood's circulatory system. The
capillaries join to form larger and larger vessels that eventually link up with the
bloodstream through the jugular and subclavian veins; valves in the lymphatic
vessels ensure flow in one direction. Nodes at various points in the lymphatic network
act as stations for the collection and manufacture of lymphocytes; they may become
enlarged during an infectious disease. In anatomy, the network of lymphatic vessels
and the lymph nodes are together called the lymphatic system; its function as the
vehicle of the immune system was not recognized until the 1960s.

40
The Concept of Number

The long struggle forward in childrens thinking comes out very clearly in the
development of their number ideas - the part of Piagets work which is now best
known in this country. It offers a striking illustration both of the nature of his
discoveries and of the basic pattern of mental growth. We can watch how the child
starts from a level of utter confusion, without a notion of what number really means,
even though he may be able to count up to ten or twenty; a level where number is
completely mixed up with size, shape, and arrangement, or constantly shifts
according to the way it is subdivided or added up. And we can see how, on an
average two years later, children declare of their own accord that a number must stay
the same, whatever you do with it, so long as you do not actually add to it or take
away from it; or that whatever you have done with it, you can always reverse this and
get back to where you started from; or that you can always show it to be the same by
counting; and so on.

The following are a few examples of the ways in which Piagets experiments bring out
this pattern of growth:

1. Each child was presented with two vessels of equivalent shape and size
containing equal quantities of coloured liquid. Then the contents of one of them was
poured into (a) two similar but smaller vessels, (b) several such, (c) a tall but narrow
vessel, (d) a broad but shallow one. In each case the child was asked whether the
quantity of liquid was still the same as in the untouched vessel.

Piaget found that at a first stage, around 4-5 years, children took it for granted that
the quantity of liquid was now different - either more because the level was higher, or
more because there were more glasses, or less because the new vessel was
narrower, or less because the levels in the two or more glasses were lower. In other
words, there was no idea of a constant quantity, independent of its changing forms; if
its appearance changed, the quantity changed and could become either more or less
according to what aspect of the new appearance caught the childs eye. At a second
stage, at about 5-6, children had reached a transitional phase, in which they
wavered uncertainly between the visual appearance and the dawning idea of
conservation in their minds. Thus the quantity of liquid might be regarded as still the
same when it was poured into two smaller glasses, but as greater when it was
poured into three. Or as remaining the same if the difference in level or cross-section
in the new vessel was small, but not if it was larger. Or the child might try to allow for
the relation between cross-section and level, and experiment uncertainly without
reaching any clear conclusion. In the third stage, 6-8, children give the correct
answers right away, either by reference to the height-width relation, or by pointing out
that the quantity has not been changed: Its only been poured out.

2. As a check on these results, Piaget carried out a similar set of experiments, with
beads instead of liquids. In this way something closer to counting could be introduced
(e.g. the child putting beads into a container one by one as the experimenter did the
same into another vessel). Also he could be asked to imagine that the beads inside
each vessel were arranged into the familiar shape of a necklace. The outcome was
entirely the same. At the first stage, the children thought that the quantity of beads
would be either more or less, according as the level looked higher, or the width

41
greater, or there were more vessels, and this happened even when a child had put
one bead into his vessel for each one that the experimenter placed in his. At stage 2
there is a struggle in the childs mind as before. This may show itself for example by
his first going wrong when comparing levels between a wider and a taller vessel; then
correcting himself if asked to think in terms of the necklaces ; but when the beads are
spread over two or more containers, still thinking that the necklace will be longer. At
stage 3 once more the children reply correctly and cannot be shaken, however the
questions or the experiments may be varied.

(The Growth of Understanding in the Young Child, by Nathan Isaacs.)

Carbohydrate and Fibre

There are many different kinds of carbohydrate. Complex carbohydrate, or starch as

many people term it, occurs in plant products such as bread, rice, spaghetti, flour,
breakfast cereals (and cereals generally), potatoes, and in many vegetables. As well
as starch, carbohydrate can occur naturally as simple sugars. For example, there is a
sugar called lactose that is naturally present in milk; fruit sugar (fructose) and glucose
occur together in many fruits. Generally speaking, where carbohydrate is taken in any
of these forms, it is useful and is also accompanied by other nutrients. Meals for
everybody, including slimmers, should contain such foods. Not only are such foods
very nutritious, they also contain fibre. Generally it is recommended that there is
more fibre in the diet to keep the gut working smoothly and efficiently. Fibre is the
unabsorbed part of the food, a type of complex carbohydrate found in plant cell walls.
To maintain fibre intake at an adequate level, it is best to have carbohydrate foods in
"whole" form. For example, eat the skins on jacket potatoes; use wholemeal flour in
cooking; buy brown, wholemeal bread; use brown rice and brown spaghetti; take
breakfast cereals that are not over-processed, such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat,
porridge oats, and sugar-free muesli. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables are also
important. Dried fruits are especially high in fibre, as are pulses.

It is necessary, even if you are trying to lose weight, to maintain adequate

carbohydrate and fibre levels. At each meal try to have at least one form of good
carbohydrate such as we have mentioned above. Better still, have one form of
complex carbohydrate (something starchy like rice or bread or pasta) plus a piece of
fresh fruit. Be careful not to accompany your chosen carbohydrate with large
quantities of fat. If you are eating carrots and potatoes with your meal, do not add a
knob of butter or margarine. If you have chosen bread to make up sandwiches, use
only the thinnest scrape of fat (preferably a polyunsaturated margarine or nothing at
all). If you want potatoes with your meal, cook them more often as boiled or jacket
potatoes rather than as chips. If you must have chips do them thick cut, as they
absorb less fat that way. As you can see, the main mistake people make with
carbohydrate is to use too much fat with it.

Another difficulty with carbohydrate food is that it is often over-refined. Sugar, the
kind you buy in bags, is a highly refined form of sweetness, totally lacking in protein,
minerals, vitamins, and fibre. Everyone, whether on a slimming diet or not, should
reduce this kind of sugar to an absolute minimum. It can be surprisingly difficult to
avoid, too, because it is added to so many foods and drinks. Biscuits, cakes, most
fizzy drinks, squashes and fruit juices, sweets, chocolates, ice-cream, and jam all

42
contain vast quantities of sugar. Savoury foods such as pickles, sauces, tinned
vegetables, gravies, soups, and ready-made frozen meals often have sugar added.
Read the labels on the foods you buy and you will be surprised at the number of
hidden sources of refined sugar.

You can see why it is easy to be muddled about carbohydrate. Some diets have put
all carbohydrate in the "bad" category. This is a great pity. The thing to avoid or at
least cut down on is refined sugar and the products that contain it. You will be more
successful in this endeavour if you make sure you are not excessively hungry
because of an over-restrictive diet. If your standard way of eating (or your slimming
diet) includes a mix of proteins, complex carbohydrate, and fresh fruits at each meal,
you are much less likely to eat large amounts of refined sugar or the products that
contain it.

(Get Slim and Stay Slim: The Psychology of Weight Control, by Jennifer J. Ashcroft
and J. Barrie Ashcroft)

Affluence and Inequality

When social commentators in the 1950s and early 1960s postulated a progressive
transformation of capitalism into 'post-capitalism', the centrepiece of that diagnosis
was an assumption that economic inequalities were steadily diminishing. Other
important assumptions were built into the more sophisticated versions of the thesis.
The nature of power, it was said, had changed drastically through its detachment
from private property, and through the emergence of a complex network of pressures
and interests resulting in diffusion of influence over the shape of society into many
hands. Increasing social mobility was taken to be unfreezing fixed positions which
individuals and families had previously occupied over their lifetimes, and to be forging
new ties of personal acquaintance, experience and identity between the different
strata of the population. But the touchstone of the 'affluent society' was a postulated
reduction of economic inequalities to little more than frills. Capitalism, so it was at
least implicitly acknowledged, had not in the past matched its creation of wealth by a
fair and tolerable distribution of wealth. It was now doing so, through a more or less
silent process of transformation from within.

Two sets of changes were thought to be at work, closely related to each other. First,
and most simply, inequalities of income, property and security of life were assumed
to be growing steadily smaller, and less significant in their impact. Second, so the
argument ran, such economic inequalities as remained were much less class-tied
than they had been before. They arose now far less from ownership and non-
ownership of capital and from pressures of the labour market - from the relations of
production - than from conditions unrelated, or only loosely related, to class. Residual
poverty was seen as the product of old age, physical and mental handicap, high
fertility, social incompetence - also, it was added later, of discrimination against
women, against coloured people, against other minorities. As such it was remediable
by some combination of improved welfare measures and socio-cultural therapy. No
radical changes in the economic foundations of society would be needed. In so far as
they might have seemed necessary earlier, such changes had now occurred or were

43
occurring - quietly, almost surreptitiously, without fuss. Capitalism, in its new 'post-
capitalist' form, was fulfilling the promise which it had long withheld.

The evidence adduced for this erosion of economic inequalities was very sketchy,
and would have been highly vulnerable to criticism in a period less coloured than the
1950s by socio-political complacency. But there were at least some signs from the
decade before which might seem to give support to the thesis. Explanations, on the
other hand, were usually quite rudimentary. Some relied on assumptions about the
consequences of taxation and welfare measures. In fact, attempts to measure the
real impact of public policy on distribution were rare and little known, but already then
underlined the need for caution in assuming that state action was spreading wealth
much more evenly. Other explanations looked to changes in industrial and
occupational structure - to a relative contraction in the numbers of unskilled and
casual workers and to a concomitant expansion in the numbers of non-manual
workers, in particular. There was inferred from these changes, on their own or in
conjunction with crude data on money incomes, a transformation of the structure of
jobs and incomes from the shape of a pyramid or cone to to the shape of a diamond
or lozenge, bulging affluently in the middle. This kind of geometric distribution was
dramatic, but both inaccurate and misleading. It was inaccurate because it attributed
to the shape of income distribution in the post-war years a degree of simplicity and
novelty which it did not have, while ignoring the continuing pyramidical shape of
property ownership. It was misleading beyond that because it exaggerated the
changes in occupational structure, and misinterpreted their significance, in ways that
we shall discuss later.

In general, explanations of the postulated process of economic equalisation did not

go beyond assumptions of these kinds, and brief references to reduction of
unemployment and of earnings differentials by skill as well as by sex and age. Nor
did they need to. For the thesis was borne less by evidence and by explicit argument
than by faith. A theory of automatic progress has a long history in both popular and
academic thought. It received fresh support in the 1950s - as a prognosis for the
future, not as a characterisation of the past - both because some real, though quite
limited, changes had occurred during the previous decade; and above all because
the socio-political climate was hostile to the implications of any diagnosis that those
changes had run their course.

II

Such as they were, these changes had indeed run their course by the early 1950's.
But the point was obscured not only by the reluctance of most commentators to look
at the signs; not only by the fact that the signs in any case were complex and took
time to read; but also by a conceptual confusion so elementary that its persistence as
a feature of the debate about capitalism and 'post-capitalism' seems wilful. No clear
distinction was drawn between the question of absolute levels of living and security -
the 'average' conditions of life - and the question of distribution, the range of
inequality around the average. 'Affluence' reflected in rising overall levels of living for
the population at large was, and still often is, equated ipso facto with a reduction of
relative inequalities. If that equation were correct, then there would be nothing new
by itself in the erosion of inequality alleged to mark the transition from capitalism to
'post-capitalism'. For increasing average 'affluence' has been a long-standing trend in

44
Britain and other industrial capitalist societies - intermittent, it is true, and slower for
many decades in Britain than in countries which industrialised later; but in the long
run so far a pronounced upward trend nevertheless.

To take just a few estimates, net national income per head of population in the United
Kingdom has been calculated as more than doubling in real terms between the early
1920s and the middle 1960s. The trend was uneven. It had been downward in the
preceding period around World War I; it was more or less flat during the depression
years around 1930; it turned down again between the early and the late 1940s. But
the long-term trend was upward both before and after World War II. By the early
1940s the index of per capita national income stood about 50 per cent above its level
twenty years before; by 1965 it was some 50 to 60 per cent higher than in the early
1950s. The rates of increase during the periods of fastest expansion were much the
same - 16 or 17 per cent over five years - both pre-war and post-war: from the early
1930s to the early 1940s, and again from the 1950s. Industrial productivity and real
gross wages have been estimated for the United Kingdom as growing by an annual
average of about 2 per cent per head over the period from 1871 to 1895; as
stagnating with even some decline in real wages, from 1895 to 1913; as rising again,
by an average of about 1 per cent from the early 1920s to 1938, and by more than 2
per cent a year from 1949 to 1960. Comparisons with corresponding estimates for
the U.S.A., Sweden, Germany and France show the U.K. lagging behind these other
countries in the two decades before World War I, and again in the years after World
War II; it was behind the others for which data are available during the inter-war
years, too, in terms of growth of industrial productivity, though not in terms of growth
of real wages. The 1960s were marked by rising unemployment and increasingly
uneven rates of economic growth. But the overall trend in real gross incomes from
employment was still upwards. After discounting for price increases, average wage
and salary earnings in the U.K. rose by about 3 per cent per year, or even slightly
more, over the period 1960-70.

The issue here is not the slower rate of growth in output and real incomes in Britain
by comparison with a number of other industrial capitalist countries for much of the
time since the 1890s, relevant though the variety of explanations suggested for that
are to other questions concerning the nature of British capitalism and its class
structure. Nor is the point to argue that long-run economic growth - slow or fast - is an
inherent and necessarily continuing feature of capitalism. To make that assumption
would be to beg the questions raised by recent signs of a possibly deep-rooted
economic crisis - by a conjunction of uneven growth rates, high unemployment and
accelerating inflation with falling rates of profit, from the 1960s, long after Keynesian
techniques of economic management were presumed to have mastered the major
tendencies to recurrent stagnation characteristic of earlier capitalism. The point for
the moment is a much simpler one. Increases in average levels of living are in no
way a new phenomenon. The rates of increase which have prevailed since World
War II have long historical precedents. Indeed the kinds of figures quoted earlier
exaggerate recent trends of growth in disposable income - the real value of earnings
in hand - because they are gross measures taken without regard to the effects of
direct taxation. As more and more earners have been brought within the range of
income tax, and as effective rates of direct taxation have been raised in the lower
reaches of the range especially, net earnings have risen progressively slower than
gross earnings. Those of male manual workers, for example, rose by an average of

45
only about 1 per cent a year in the 1960s compared with about 2 per cent a year in
the earlier period after World War II, although the rate of growth in gross earnings
was faster in the 1960s than before.

There is, therefore, no magic or novelty attaching to the rising 'affluence' of the post-
World War II epoch. It may of course be argued - it has certainly often been implied -
that there is some qualitative difference between recent and earlier increases in real
income: that prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s has raised the condition of the bulk of
the population over some threshold between 'poverty' and 'affluence', above which
inequalities of condition relate in the main only to inessentials. That argument,
however, raises a series of questions about the criteria by which, and on whose
judgement, 'essentials' are to be distinguished from 'frills'; we shall discuss these
later. The argument does not dispose of the fact that generations of ordinary earners
before the 1950s had experienced substantial improvements in their conditions in
absolute terms. Merely to note the fact of such improvements, then and now, throws
no light whatsoever on the critical question of trends in the range of relative inequality
around the rising average.

III

It has now, by the early 1970s, become almost part of conventional wisdom to
dismiss the faith of the 1950s in a progressive erosion of economic inequalities as
either nonsense or at least glibly over-optimistic. The recognition of reality which that
implies is welcome. But the very assurance with which this dismissal tends to be
expressed carries at least two dangers with it.

The first is the risk of adopting a vulgar version of the theory 'plus a change, plus
c'est la mme chose'. Such a theory, projecting the experience of the 1950s and
1960s backwards without qualification, is blind to those periods in which special
circumstances have produced some genuine shifts in distribution. As we shall show,
shifts of that kind have been moderate in extent, and the product of exceptional
conjunctions of events. But they have given an impetus to reformist social policies
which goes well beyond their actual achievements: they have helped to create
illusions that evolutionary adaptations of policy are sufficient to spread income,
wealth and security much more evenly within a continuing capitalist framework. The
exceptional and limited character of such shifts in distribution has to be shown in
order to dispel those illusions. That in turn entails recognition of their historical reality
- not their dismissal by a crude theory that nothing ever changes.

The second danger arises from the way in which the rediscovery of inequality in the
1960s replaced the rival faith of earlier post-war years. It was the social turbulence of
the 1960s which opened many eyes to the persistence of inequality, much more than
an accumulation of factual evidence. Facts to question and refute the complacency of
the 1950s were available well before they were generally used for that purpose. But
they did not come into public and professional consciousness until mounting unrest -
of different kinds and from a variety of sources - pointed to a partial dissolution of that
'consensus' about the established order which had been widely taken for granted in
the 1950s. So the 1960s saw a change in fashions of social observation and
commentary. But fashions can change again. Resistance to changes of fashion
requires, among other things, a solid knowledge of facts. It is for this reason, not

46
least, that a fairly detailed examination of the record with regard to trends in
economic equality is essential, even though the outcome now - unlike ten years ago -
is not likely to be much of a surprise.

(John Westergaard and Henrietta Resler: Class In A Capitalist Society)

The Travelling Salesman

The travelling salesman appeared late in the 19th century in Europe and in the
United States. The early itinerant peddler carried his goods on his back or on his
horse, working his way from a port city through the hinterlands. With the coming of
the railway and the assurance given to sellers by new credit-reporting systems,
salespeople with their sample cases moved across the land. Persuasive skill was
less important in those days of unsatisfied demand, and orders were readily
forthcoming. By 1900, however, with the increasing supply of manufactured goods,
buyers became more discriminating in their purchases. Greater attention was given
to training the sales force and to providing buyer incentives. The growth of
industrialization and urban living led to the development of merchandising as a major
business endeavour. The use of sales promotion practices has experienced steady
growth in the 20th century.

Stocks

Stock, in business and finance, refers to certificates representing shares of

ownership in a corporation. When individuals or organizations purchase shares in a
company, they receive stock certificates indicating the number of shares they have
acquired. Such certificates entitle them to shares in the profits of the company, which
are paid out at intervals, in the form of dividends. Besides a claim on company
profits, stockholders are entitled to share in the sale of the company if it is dissolved.
They may also vote in person or by proxy for corporation officers, inspect the
accounts of the company at reasonable times, vote at stockholders' meetings, and,
when the company issues new stock, have priority to buy a certain number of shares
before they are offered for public sale. Because stocks are generally negotiable,
stockholders have the right to assign or transfer their shares to another individual.
Unlike a sole proprietor or partner in a business, a stockholder is not liable for the
debts of the corporation in which he or she has invested. The most the stockholder
can lose if the company fails is the amount of her or his investment. According to the
New York Stock Exchange, about 47 million people in the U.S. owned stocks in
publicly held corporations in 1985.

The Business Cycle

The Business Cycle is a term used in economics to designate changes in the

economy. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the level of business activity in
industrialised capitalist countries has veered from high to low, taking the economy
with it.

Phases of the Business Cycle

47
The timing of a cycle is not predictable, but its phases seem to be. Many economists
cite four phases - prosperity, liquidation, depression, and recovery - using the terms
originally developed by the American economist Wesley Mitchell, who devoted his
career to studying business cycles.

During a period of prosperity a rise in production becomes evident. Employment,

wages, and profits increase correspondingly. Business executives express their
optimism through investment to expand production. As the upswing continues,
however, obstacles begin to occur that impede further expansion. For example,
production costs increase; shortages of raw materials may further hamper
production; interest rates rise; prices rise; and consumers react to increased prices
by buying less. As consumption starts to lag behind production, inventories
accumulate, causing a price decline. Manufacturers begin to retrench; workers are
laid off. Such factors lead to a period of liquidation. Business executives become
pessimistic as prices and profits drop. Money is hoarded, not invested. Production
cutbacks and factory shutdowns occur. Unemployment becomes widespread. A
depression is in progress.

Recovery from a depression may be initiated by several factors, including a

resurgence in consumer demand, the exhaustion of inventories, or government
action to stimulate the economy. Although generally slow and uneven at the start,
recovery soon gathers momentum. Prices rise more rapidly than costs. Employment
increases, providing some additional purchasing power. Investment in capital-goods
industries expands. As optimism pervades the economy, the desire to speculate on
new business ventures returns. A new cycle is under way.

In fact, business cycles do not always behave as neatly as the model just given, and
no two cycles are alike. Business cycles vary considerably in severity and duration.
Major and minor cycles can occur, with varying spans.

The most severe and widespread of all economic depressions occurred in the 1930s.
The Great Depression affected the United States first but quickly spread to Western
Europe. From 1933 to 1937 the United States began to recover from the depression,
but the economy declined again from 1937 to 1938, before regaining its normal level.
This decline was called a recession, a term that is now used in preference to
liquidation. Real economic recovery was not evident until early 1941.

Special Cycles

Apart from the traditional business cycle, specialised cycles sometimes occur in
particular industries. The building construction trade, for example, is believed to have
cycles ranging from 16 to 20 years in length. Prolonged building slumps made two of
the most severe American depressions worse. On the other hand, an upswing in
building construction has often helped to stimulate recovery from a depression.

Some economists believe that a long-range cycle, lasting for about half a century,
also occurs. Studies of economic trends during the 19th and early part of the 20th
centuries were made by the Russian economist Nikolai Kondratieff. He examined the
behaviour of wages, raw materials, production and consumption, exports, imports,
and other economic quantities in Great Britain and France. The data he collected and

48
analysed seemed to establish the existence of long-range cycles. His "waves" of
expansion and contraction fell into three periods averaging 50 years each: 1792-
1850, 1850-1896, and 1896-1940. Such studies, however, are not conclusive.

Causes of Cycles

Economists did not try to determine the causes of business cycles until the increasing
severity of economic depressions became a major concern in the late 19th and early
20th centuries. Two external factors that have been suggested as possible causes
are sunspots and psychological trends. The sunspot theory of the British economist
William Jevons was once widely accepted. According to Jevons, sunspots affect
meteorological conditions. That is, during periods of sunspots, weather conditions are
often more severe. Jevons felt that sunspots affected the quantity and quality of
harvested crops; thus, they affected the economy.

A psychological theory of business cycles, formulated by the British economist Arthur

Pigou, states that the optimism or pessimism of business leaders may influence an
economic trend. Some politicians have clearly subscribed to this theory. During the
early years of the Great Depression, for instance, President Herbert Hoover tried to
appear publicly optimistic about the inherent vigour of the American economy, thus
hoping to stimulate an upsurge.

Several economic theories of the causes of business cycles have been developed.
According to the underconsumption theory, identified particularly with the British
economist John Hobson, inequality of income causes economic declines. The market
becomes glutted with goods because the poor cannot afford to buy, and the rich
cannot consume all they can afford. Consequently, the rich accumulate savings that
are not reinvested in production, because of insufficient demand for goods. This
savings accumulation disrupts economic equilibrium and begins a cycle of production
cutbacks.

The Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter, a proponent of the innovation

theory, related upswings of the business cycle to new inventions, which stimulate
investment in capital-goods industries. Because new inventions are developed
unevenly, business conditions must alternately be expansive and recessive.

The Austrian-born economists Friedrich von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises subscribed
to the overinvestment theory. They suggested that instability is the logical
consequence of expanding production to the point where less efficient resources are
drawn upon. Production costs then rise, and, if these costs cannot be passed on to
the consumer, the producer cuts back production and lays off workers.

A monetary theory of business cycles stresses the importance of the money supply in
the economic system. Since many businesses must borrow money to operate or
expand production, the availability and cost of money influence their decisions. Sir
Ralph George Hawtrey suggested that changes in interest rates determine whether
executives decrease or increase their capital investments, thus affecting the cycle.

Accelerator and Multiplier Effects

49
Basic to all theories of business-cycle fluctuations and their causes is the relationship
between investment and consumption. New investments have what is called a
multiplier effect: that is, investment money paid to wage earners and suppliers
becomes income to them and then, in turn, becomes income to others as the wage
earners or suppliers spend most of their earnings. An expanding ripple effect is thus
set into motion.

Similarly, an increasing level of income spent by consumers has an accelerating

influence on investment. Higher demand creates greater incentive to increase
investment in production, in order to meet that demand. Both of these factors also
can work in a negative way, with reduced investment greatly diminishing aggregate
income, and reduced consumer demand reducing the amount of investment
spending.

Regulating the Cycle

Since the Great Depression, devices have been built into most economies to help
prevent severe business declines. For instance, unemployment insurance provides
most workers with some income when they are laid off. Social security and pensions
paid by many organisations furnish some income to the increasing number of retired
people. Although not as powerful as they once were, trade unions remain an obstacle
against the cumulative wage drop that aggravated previous depressions. Schemes to
support crop prices (such as the European Common Agricultural Policy) shield
farmers from disastrous loss of income.

The government can also attempt direct intervention to counter a recession. There
are three major techniques available: monetary policy, fiscal policy, and incomes
policy. Economists differ sharply in their choice of technique.

Monetary policy is preferred by some economists, including the American Milton

Friedman and other advocates of monetarism, and is followed by most conservative
governments. Monetary policy involves controlling, via the central bank, the money
supply and interest rates. These determine the availability and costs of loans to
businesses. Tightening the money supply theoretically helps to counteract inflation;
loosening the supply helps recovery from a recession. When inflation and recession
occur simultaneously - a phenomenon often called stagflation - it is difficult to know
which monetary policy to apply.

Considered more effective by American economist John Kenneth Galbraith are fiscal
measures, such as increased taxation of the wealthy, and an incomes policy, which
seeks to hold wages and prices down to a level that reflects productivity growth. This
latter policy has not had much success in the post-World War II period.

Banking

Banking is transactions carried on by any individual or firm engaged in providing

financial services to consumers, businesses, or government enterprises. In the
broadest sense, banking consists of safeguarding and transfer of funds, lending or
facilitating loans, guaranteeing creditworthiness, and exchange of money. These
services are provided by such institutions as commercial banks, central banks,

50
savings banks, trust companies, finance companies, life insurance agencies, and
merchant banks or other institutions engaged in investment banking. A narrower and
more common definition of banking is the acceptance, transfer, and, most important,
creation of deposits. This includes such depository institutions as central banks,
commercial banks, savings and loan associations, building societies, and mutual
savings banks. All countries subject banking to government regulation and
supervision, normally implemented by central banking authorities.

Aspects of Banking

The most basic role of banking, safeguarding funds, is done through vaults, safes,
and secure facilities which physically store money. These physical deposits are in
most cases insured against theft, and in most cases against the bank being unable to
repay the funds. In some banks, the service is extended to safety deposit boxes for
valuables. Interest given on savings accounts, a percentage return on the bank's
investments with the money, gives an additional incentive to save. Transfer of funds
can be handled through negotiable instruments, cheques, or direct transfers
performed electronically. Credit cards and account debit cards, electronic cash tills,
computer on-line banking, and other services provided by banks extend their
usefulness by offering customers additional ways of gaining access to and using their
funds. Automated clearing houses perform similar services for business customers
by handling regular payments, such as wages, for a company banking with the bank.
Longer-term schemes for providing regular income on savings are often offered
through trust funds or other investment schemes.

Loans to bank customers are drawn on the funds deposited with the bank and yield
interest which provides the profits for the banking industry and the interest on savings
accounts. These loans may take the form of mortgages or other sophisticated
policies. Banks may guarantee credit for customers who wish to obtain loans from
other institutions. They also provide foreign exchange facilities for individual
customers, as well as handling large international money transfers.

Early Banking

Many banking functions such as safeguarding funds, lending, guaranteeing loans,

and exchanging money can be traced to the early days of recorded history. In
medieval times, the Knights Templar, an international military and religious order, not
only stored valuables and granted loans but also arranged for the transfer of funds
from one country to another. The great banking families of the Renaissance, such as
the Medici in Florence (Italy), were involved in lending money and financing
international trade. The first modern banks were established in the 17th century,
notably the Riksbank in Sweden (1656) and the Bank of England (1694).

17th-century English goldsmiths provided the model for contemporary banking. Gold
stored with these artisans for safekeeping and was expected to be returned to the
owners on demand. The goldsmiths soon discovered that the amount of gold actually
removed by owners was only a fraction of the total stored. Thus, they could
temporarily lend out some of this gold to others, obtaining a promissory note for
principal and interest. In time, paper certificates redeemable in gold coin were

51
circulated instead of gold. Consequently, the total value of these banknotes in
circulation exceeded the value of the gold that was exchangeable for the notes.

Two characteristics of this fractional-reserve banking remain the basis for present-
day operations. First, the banking system's monetary liabilities exceed its reserves.
This feature was responsible in part for Western industrialisation, and it still remains
important for economic expansion. The excessive creation of money, however, may
lead to inflation. Second, liabilities of the banks (deposits and borrowed money) are
more liquid - that is, more readily convertible to cash - than are the assets (loans and
investments) included on the banks' balance sheets. This characteristic enables
consumers, businesses, and governments to finance activities that otherwise would
be deferred or cancelled; however, it underlies banking's recurrent liquidity crises.
When depositors en masse request payment, the inability of the banking system to
respond because it lacks sufficient liquidity means that banks must either renege on
their promises to pay or pay until they fail. A key role of the central bank in most
countries is to regulate the commercial banking sector to minimise the likelihood of a
run on a bank which could undermine the entire banking system. The central bank
will often stand prepared to act as "lender of last resort" to the banking system, to
provide the necessary liquidity in the event of a widespread withdrawal of funds. This
does not equal a permanent safety net to save any bank from collapse, as was
demonstrated by the Bank of England's refusal to rescue the failed investment bank
Barings in 1995.

Banking in Britain

Since the 17th century Britain has been known for its prominence in banking. London
still remains a major financial centre, and virtually all the world's leading commercial
banks are represented.

Aside from the Bank of England, which was incorporated, early English banks were
privately owned rather than stock-issuing firms. Bank failures were not uncommon;
so in the early 19th century, joint-stock banks, with a larger capital base, were
encouraged as a means of stabilising the industry. By 1833 these corporate banks
were permitted to accept and transfer deposits in London, although they were
prohibited from issuing banknotes, a monopoly prerogative of the Bank of England.
Corporate banking flourished after legislation in 1858 approved limited liability for
joint-stock companies. The banking system, however, failed to preserve a large
number of institutions; at the turn of this century, a wave of bank mergers reduced
both the number of private and joint-stock banks.

The present structure of British commercial banking was substantially in place by the
1930s, with the Bank of England, then privately owned, at the apex, and 11 London
clearing banks ranked below. Two changes have occurred since then: The Bank of
England was nationalised in 1946 by the postwar Labour government; and in 1968 a
merger among the largest five clearing banks left the industry in the hands of four
(Barclays, Lloyds, Midland, and National Westminster). Financial liberalisation in the
1980s has resulted in the growth of building societies, which in many ways now carry
out similar functions to the traditional "clearing banks".

52
The larger clearing banks, with their national branch networks, still play a critical role
in the British banking system. They are the key links in the transfer of business
payments through the checking system, as well as the primary source of short-term
business finance. Moreover, through their ownership and control over subsidiaries,
the big British banks influence other financial markets dealing with consumer and
housing finance, merchant banking, factoring, and leasing. The major banks
responded to competition from building societies by offering new services and
competitive terms.

A restructuring in the banking industry took place in the late 1970s. The Banking Act
of 1979 formalised Bank of England's control over the British banking system,
previously supervised on an informal basis. Only institutions approved by the Bank of
England as "recognised banks" or "licensed deposit-taking institutions" are permitted
to accept deposits from the public. The act also extended Bank of England control
over the new financial intermediaries that have flourished since 1960.

London has become the centre of the Eurodollar market; participants include
financial institutions from all over the world. This market, which began in the late
1950s and has since grown dramatically, borrows and lends dollars and other
currencies outside the currency's home country (for example, franc accounts held in
any country other than France).

Banking in the United States

The United States banking system differs radically from such countries as Canada,
Britain, and Germany, where a handful of organisations dominate banking. In the
past, geographical constraints on expansion prevented banks from moving beyond
their state or even beyond their county. Thus, many small bankers were protected
from competition. The result is a national network of almost 12,000 commercial
banks. More recently most states as well as the federal government have loosened
the regulation of banks, especially in the area of mergers and acquisitions. Many
banks have grown by taking over other banks inside and outside their home states.
The largest banks account for the bulk of banking activity. Fewer than 5 per cent of
the banks in the United States are responsible for more than 40 per cent of all
deposits; 85 per cent of the banks hold less than one fifth of total deposits. The
Federal Reserve System, composed of 12 Federal Reserve Banks and 25 Federal
Reserve Districts throughout the United States, is the central bank, banker to the US
government, and supervisor of the nation's banking industry.

The US banking system is distinguished by a tradition of thrift institutions established

to remedy the commercial sector's historic neglect of the non-business consumer
market. Savings and loan associations (SLAs) which first appeared in the 1830s,
were patterned after cooperative movements in Scotland and England. Dealing
mostly in residential real estate mortgages, and particularly in home mortgage loans,
SLAs exist primarily to support home ownership. In the late 1980s the failures of
many SLAs caused the government to overhaul the industry and place it under
federal supervision. American savings banks, established with similar intentions,
invest the deposits of customers in stocks and bonds, especially government bonds,
and also provide mortgage services. Credit unions likewise invest money on behalf of
members.

53
While government regulation of commercial banking since the mid-1930s has led to a
low failure rate and preserved a substantial amount of competition in some markets,
local monopolies have also been implicitly encouraged. Moreover, stringent
regulations have caused some bankers to devote considerable resources to
circumventing government controls. Rethinking of the role of government regulation
in the economy in general may lead towards even further liberalisation of controls
over the banking system.

Banking in Continental Europe

Major central banks in the European Union are France's Banque de France,
Germany's Bundesbank, and the Bank of Italy. Major commercial banks include
Germany's Deutsche Bank A.G., Dresdner Bank A.G., and Commerzbank A.G., and
France's nationalised Banque Nationale de Paris, Crdit Lyonnais, and Socit
Gnrale. Significant structural differences distinguish the banking system of
continental Europe from that of many other developed nations. The main differences
are in ownership, scope, and concentration of activities.

One distinguishing aspect of European banking, especially in the Latin countries, is

the role of the state. Virtually all banking institutions in the United States, Canada,
and Britain, are privately owned. In France and Italy, however, the government either
owns the major commercial banks or the majority of their stock. The role of the
government in banking is therefore significant, and often controversial. France's
Crdit Lyonnais was the subject of considerable criticism in the early 1990s because
of the government assistance extended to it to cover its heavy trading losses.
European banks engage in some activities prohibited elsewhere, such as the
placement and acquisition of common stock. Commercial banks in Europe tend to be
highly business orientated and limit their lending to shorter-term loans. Long-term
loans are handled by bank affiliates. The share of the deposits and loans handled by
the major European banks tends to be particularly large. This stems from the
absence of restrictions on branching, leading the large European banks to maintain
extensive networks of branches in their home countries. The absence of an antitrust
tradition also accounts for the greater degree of concentration.

Germany's Bundesbank has become the dominant central bank in the European
Union, thanks mainly to its success in controlling inflation and Germany's economic
strength. Its constitution leaves it notably independent from government interference.
There is a broad consensus that it will serve as the basis for any European central
bank in the event of full European Monetary Union. However, the Bundesbank itself
has in the past been conspicuously lukewarm about the prospect, apparently fearing
the effect of association with other national economies on its own sound record on
inflation.

Banking in Switzerland

Switzerland is renowned as a centre for world banking because of its political

neutrality, its financial stability, and the national tradition of confidentiality in banking,
dating from a law of 1934 which made it an offence for banks to disclose details
about their customers without express authorisation. Subsequent legislative changes
and international agreements have not overly compromised this secrecy, especially

54
with regard to noncriminal tax evasion. Private banking is one of the country's
principal sources of income.

The semiprivate Swiss National Bank, Switzerland's central bank, is owned jointly
through shares held by the cantons, other banks, and the public. Swiss commercial
banking is dominated by the "Big Four": the Union Bank of Switzerland, the Swiss
Bank Corporation, Crdit Suisse, and Swiss Volksbank. Numerous smaller banks
and branches of foreign banks also operate in Switzerland. There are also 28 canton
banks, funded and controlled by their respective cantons.

Banking in Japan

As one of the world's richest countries, Japan has a banking sector with considerable
influence on the world economy as a whole. The Bank of Japan is the national
central bank, and controls the banking system; it has less constitutional autonomy
than in many other developed countries. Several government banks and institutions
supplement the commercial banking sector: the Japan Export-Import Bank handles
large credits for international trade; the Housing Loan Corporation assists the
provision of company housing; and the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Finance
Corporation advances loans for equipment purchase. The Japan Development Bank
supports industrial finance, assisted by the private Industrial Bank of Japan, Long-
Term Credit Bank of Japan, and Nippon Credit Bank Ltd. Some private banks such
as Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (the world's largest bank) are tied closely to the government
through government investment; the Bank of Tokyo specialises in foreign exchange.
Commercial banks such the Mitsubishi Bank, the Mitsu Bank, and the Sumitomo
Bank are often relics of the great prewar commercial and industrial conglomerations,
the so-called zaibatsu, and maintain close ties with their associated businesses and
financial institutions. Small-scale cooperatives and credit associations, grouped on a
prefectural basis, are important in providing banking services for farmers and small
businesses. Japan's mutual loans and savings banks all converted into full
commercial banks after reform in 1989. The state Postal Savings System is also an
important channel for domestic savings. Reform of Japanese banking laws in the mid
1990s freed banks to operate in the international securities trade frequented by
Japan's highly successful financial houses. Reciprocal opportunities were also
opened for securities houses to offer banking services. The banking sector is
expected to expand its business in the long term as a result of these changes.

Banking in Canada

The Bank of Canada is the national central bank. Canada has numerous chartered
commercial banks. In 1980 Canadian banks were reorganised into two bands:
"Schedule I", with shareholdings by any individual limited to 10 per cent; and
"Schedule II", either foreign-owned or in private hands. Further legislation in 1992
freed banks, trust companies, and insurance companies to diversify into each other's
areas of interest, and opened ownership of Schedule II banks to nonbanking
institutions. Trust and mortgage loan companies, provincial savings banks, and credit
unions are also important components of the banking system.

Banking in Australia

55
The Reserve Bank of Australia, established in 1911, is the national central bank. The
components of the Commonwealth Banking Corporation, including the
Commonwealth Trading Bank and the Commonwealth Savings Bank (Australia's
largest savings bank), are also government owned. Large commercial banks in
Australia are normally referred to as trading banks: major examples include the
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
the National Australia Bank, and the Westpac Banking Corporation. Building societies
are also common. Banking reform in the 1980s similar to that enacted in Britain freed
many building societies to become banks or offer banking services, and also opened
the domestic market to more foreign competition.

Banking in New Zealand

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is the national central bank. The Post Office
Savings Bank (the largest saving bank), the Reserve Bank, and the Bank of New
Zealand (largest of the commercial banks) are owned and operated by the
government. Commercial banks are called trading banks as in Australia: the Australia
and New Zealand Banking Group and the Westpac Banking Corporation are both
also represented in Australia. Trustee savings banks are also prevalent. The
government lends money at low interest to farmers, home builders, and small
businessmen through the State Advances Corporation.

Banking in Singapore

As one of the world's major financial centres and a regional economic giant,
Singapore has an internationally significant banking regime. Central banking
functions are exercised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, though issuing of
currency is conducted by a separate government body. The domestic commercial
banking industry in Singapore consists of some 13 local banks and is dominated by
the leading houses. The Post Office Savings Bank serves as the national savings
bank. There are also numerous merchant banks. Singapore is also host to numerous
foreign banks, divided according to the type of licence they are granted: full,
restricted, or "offshore". The Singaporean government operates a compulsory
savings scheme for employees, the Central Provident Fund. Singapore's banking
industry continues to grow and mature with the development of the nation's economy.

Banking in Hong Kong

Nominally under British jurisdiction and banking law until 1997, Hong Kong is
important as a banking centre in proportion to its position as one of Asia's major
economic axes. The Office of the Commissioner of Banking supervises banking in
Hong Kong, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (established
1993). There are three banks of issue in the dependency: the Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Standard Chartered Bank, and the Bank of
China. Numerous locally incorporated commercial banks operate alongside branches
of foreign banks; there are also many banks operating under restricted licences and
numerous deposit-taking companies.

Banking in India

56
The central bank of India is the Reserve Bank: most large commercial banks were
nationalised in 1969, with more being nationalised in 1980. The Department of
Banking at the Ministry of Finance controls all banking. The State Bank of India, the
largest commercial bank, handles some of the Reserve Bank's roles. The other
nationalised banks share the commercial market with nonnationalised and foreign
banks. Some of them offer merchant banking services, though there are no
independent merchant banks in India. Cooperatives and credit societies are an
important supplement to the private banking industry, especially in rural areas. It
remains to be seen whether India's process of economic liberalisation will spread to
the banking sector.

Banking in Developing Countries

The type of national economic system that characterises developing countries plays
a crucial role in determining the nature of the banking system. In capitalist countries a
system of private enterprise in banking prevails; in a number of socialist countries (for
example, Egypt and Sudan) all banks have been nationalised. Other countries have
patterned themselves after the liberal socialism of Europe; in Peru and Kenya, for
instance, government-owned and privately owned banks coexist. In many countries,
the banking system developed under colonialism, with banks owned by institutions in
the parent country. In some, such as Zambia and Cameroon, this heritage continued,
although modified, after decolonisation. In other nations, such as Nigeria and Saudi
Arabia, the rise of nationalism led to mandates for majority ownership by the
indigenous population.

Banks in developing countries are similar to their counterparts in developed nations.

Commercial banks accept and transfer deposits and are active lenders, especially for
short-term purposes. Other financial intermediaries, particularly government-owned
development banks, arrange long-term loans. Banks are often used to finance
government expenditures. The banking system may also play a major role in
financing exports.

In the poorer countries, an extensive but primitive nonmonetary sector usually

continues to exist. It is the special task of the banking community to encourage the
use of money and instil banking habits among the population.

Role of Central Banking

The foremost monetary institution in a free market economy is the central bank.
These are usually government-owned institutions, but even in countries where they
are owned by the nation's banks (such as the United States and Italy), the
responsibility of the central bank is to the national interest.

Most central banks perform the following functions: they serve as the government's
banker, act as the banker of the banking system, regulate the monetary system for
both domestic and international policy goals, and issue the nation's currency. As
banker to the government, the central bank collects and disburses government
income and receipts, manages the issue and redemption of government debt,
advises the government on all matters pertaining to financial activities, and makes
loans to the government. As banker to the nation's banks, the central bank holds and

57
transfers banks' deposits, supervises their operations, acts as a lender of last resort,
and provides technical and advisory services. Monetary policy for both domestic and
foreign purposes is implemented and, in many countries, decided by the national
banking authorities, using a variety of direct and indirect controls over the financial
institutions. Coins and notes that circulate as the national currency are usually the
liability of the central bank.

The ability of the central bank to control the money supply and thus the pace of
economic growth is responsible for a major economic policy debate. Some
economists believe that monetary control is extremely effective in the short run and
can be used to influence economic activity. Nevertheless, some hold that
discretionary monetary policy should not be used because, in the long run, central
banks have been unable to control the economy effectively. Another group of
economists believes that the short-term impact of monetary control is less powerful,
but that the central banking authorities can play a useful role in mitigating the
excesses of inflation and depression. A newer school of economists claims that
monetary policy cannot affect systematically the pace of national economic activity.
All agree that problems related to the supply side of the economy, such as fuel
shortages, cannot be resolved by central-bank action.

International Banking

The expansion of trade in recent decades has been paralleled by the growth of
multinational banking. Banks have historically financed international trade, but the
notable recent development has been the expansion of branches and subsidiaries
that are physically located in other countries, as well as the increased volume of
loans to borrowers internationally. For example, in 1960 only eight US banks had
foreign offices; by 1987, 153 US banks had a total of 902 foreign branches. Similarly,
in 1973, fewer than 90 foreign banks had offices in the United States; by 1987, 266
foreign banks operated 664 offices in the United States. Most are business-
orientated banks, but some have also engaged in retail banking.

The growth of the Eurodollar market has forced major banks to operate branches
worldwide. The world's banking system played a key role in the recycling of
petrodollars, arising from the surpluses of the oil-exporting countries and the deficits
of the oil-importing nations. This activity, while it smoothed international financial
arrangements, is currently proving awkward as foreign debtors find it more difficult to
repay outstanding loans.

Globalisation

For good or ill, globalisation has become the economic buzz-word of the 1990s.
National economies are undoubtedly becoming steadily more integrated as cross-
border flows of trade, investment and financial capital increase. Consumers are
buying more foreign goods, a growing number of firms now operate across national
borders, and savers are investing more than ever before in far-flung places.

Whether all of this is for good or ill is a topic of heated debate. One, positive view is
that globalisation is an unmixed blessing, with the potential to boost productivity and
living standards everywhere. This is because a globally integrated economy can lead

58
to a better division of labour between countries, allowing low-wage countries to
specialise in labour-intensive tasks while high-wage countries use workers in more
productive ways. It will allow firms to exploit bigger economies of scale. And with
globalisation, capital can be shifted to whatever country offers the most productive
investment opportunities, not trapped at home financing projects with poor returns.

Critics of globalisation take a gloomier view. They predict that increased competition
from low-wage developing countries will destroy jobs and push down wages in
today's rich economies. There will be a "race to the bottom" as countries reduce
wages, taxes, welfare benefits and environmental controls to make themselves more
"competitive". Pressure to compete will erode the ability of governments to set their
own economic policies. The critics also worry about the increased power of financial
markets to cause economic havoc, as in the European currency crises of 1992 and
1993, Mexico in 1994-95 and South-East Asia in 1997. Despite much loose talk
about the "new" global economy, today's international economic integration is not
unprecedented. The 50 years before the first world war saw large cross-border flows
of goods, capital and people. That period of globalisation, like the present one, was
driven by reductions in trade barriers and by sharp falls in transport costs, thanks to
the development of railways and steamships. The present surge of globalisation is in
a way a resumption of that previous trend.

That earlier attempt at globalisation terminated abruptly with the first world war, after
which the world moved into a period of fierce trade protectionism and tight restrictions
on capital movement. During the early 1930s, America sharply increased its tariffs,
and other countries retaliated, making the Great Depression even greater. The
volume of world trade fell sharply. International capital flows virtually dried up in the
inter-war period as governments imposed capital controls to try to insulate their
economies from the impact of a global slump.

2 Early Motivation theories

2.1

These approaches can be categorised under three headings.

Satisfaction theories. The assumption here is that a satisfied worker is a productive

worker.

Incentive theories. The assumption of these theories is based on the principle of

reinforcement, what might crudely be called the carrot approach. Individuals will
work harder given specific reward or encouragement for good performance.

Intrinsic theories. Man is not an animal, say these theorists. He will work best if given
a worthwhile job and allowed to get on with it. The reward will come from the
satisfaction in the work itself.

2.2 Satisfaction theories

There is very little evidence that a satisfied worker actually works harder. However
there is strong support for the suggestion that a satisfied worker tends to stay in the

59
same organisation. There is also evidence that satisfaction correlates positively with
mental health. This suggests that paying attention to conditions of work and worker
morale will reduce staff turnover and absenteeism but will not necessarily increase
individual productivity. Herzbergs findings suggest a reason for this.

Under this heading can be grouped those theories that hold that people work best
when they like their leader, or are satisfied with their work group.

It has been suggested that where satisfaction does correlate with productivity, it may
be the productivity that caused the satisfaction rather than the other way round.

2.3 Incentive theories

Incentive theories suggest that the individual will increase his efforts in order to obtain
a desired reward.

Although based on the general principle of reinforcement, most of the studies in this
area have concentrated on pay or money as a motivator. To some extent this
concentration is justifiable in that money acts as a stand in for many other rewards
such as status and independence. This situation may, however, be more true of
America, where most of the studies were done, than of Europe.

Incentive theories undoubtedly can work if:

a. The individual perceives the increased reward to be worth the extra effort;
b. The performance can be measured and clearly attributed to the individual;
c. The individual wants that particular kind of reward;
d. The increased performance will not become the new minimum standard.

These theories often work well for the owner-manager or, at the worker level, in unit
or small-batch manufacturing. If, however, any of the first three conditions does not
apply, the individual will tend to see the reward as an improvement to the general
climate of work and will react as under Satisfaction theories. Condition (d) of course,
if violated, will only create a serious credibility gap.

2.4 Intrinsic theories

These theories derive their raison dtre from some general assumptions about
human needs along lines originally advocated by Maslow. Maslow categorised
human needs as follows:

Self-actualisation needs;
Esteem needs;
Belonging and love needs;
Safety needs;
Physiological needs.

He postulates that needs are only motivators when they are unsatisfied. He further
suggests that these needs work, roughly, in the kind of hierarchy implied by the listing
above. The lower-order needs (physiological and safety) are dominant until satisfied,

60
whereupon the higher-order needs come into operation. There is considerable
intuitive support for this conceptualisation. If you are starving, your needs for esteem
or status will be unimportant; only food matters. When adequately warm, further heat
will not motivate you, i.e. the need does not operate as a motivator. Unfortunately the
research evidence does not support the idea that needs become less powerful as
they are satisfied, except at the very primitive level. Aldefer, who has simplified
Maslows needs down to three categories - the need for existence, the need to relate.
to others and the need for personal growth - is at pains to point out that each of us
may have different levels of each kind.

The assumption of the intrinsic theorists (e.g. McGregor and Likert) is that the higher-
order needs are more prevalent in modern men and women than we give them credit
for. In particular that we can gain a lot of satisfaction from the job itself, provided that
it is our job, i.e. we have some degree of freedom in determining what the job is and
how we will do it. This approach would say that involvement or participation will in
general tend to increase motivation, provided that it is genuine participation. Rewards
tend to lie in the task itself or in the individuals relations with the group. The ideal is
to create conditions where effective performance is a goal in itself rather than a
means to a further goal. The manager is a colleague, consultant and resource, rather
than a boss.

These theories are appealing but there is evidence to suggest that they do not work
too well when:

The technology prevents the individual from having control over his or her job design,
i.e. at shop-floor level in process, mass or large batch production;

The individual does not have strong needs for self-actualisation, or alternatively likes
authoritarian masters.

One would expect therefore to find these intrinsic theories working best where
individuals of intelligence and independence were working on challenging problems,
e.g. in R and D laboratories or in some consulting firms. The evidence supports this
supposition.

2.5 Underlying assumptions

These theories all stem from some underlying assumptions about people. To a large
extent unproven, they tend to represent the dominant mood or climate of opinion at
that time. Schein has classified them as follows, and it is interesting to note that the
categories follow each other in a sort of historical procession, starting from the time of
the industrial revolution.

The rational-economic assumption. We are primarily motivated by economic needs.

We are essentially passive animals to be manipulated, motivated and controlled by
the organisation. Our feelings are essentially irrational; organisations must be so
organised that these feelings and unpredictable traits are controlled (McGregors
Theory X Assumptions). But, fortunately, not all of us are like this. There are those
who are self-motivated, self-controlling and in charge of their emotions. This group
must assume responsibility for the management of the others.

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The social assumption. We are essentially social animals and gain our basic sense of
identity from relationships with others. As a result of the necessary rationalisation of
work much of the meaning has gone out of work itself and must be sought in the
social relationships of the job. Management is only effective to the extent that it can
mobilise and rely on these social relationships. Issues of leadership style and group
behaviour are therefore of great importance.

The self-actualising assumption. We are primarily self-motivated and self-controlled.

We seek to be mature on the job and are capable of being so. External controls and
pressures are likely to be seen as reducing our autonomy and therefore will affect our
motivation. Given a chance, people will voluntarily integrate their own goals with
those of the organisation.

The complex assumption. Schein comes down in favour of what he calls complex
man . People are variable. We have many motives which have at any one time a
hierarchy, but the particular hierarchy may change from time to time and situation to
situation. We do not necessarily have to find fulfilment of all our needs in any one
situation. We can respond to a variety of managerial strategies. Whether we will or
not, will depend upon our view of their appropriateness to the situation and to our
needs.

The psychological assumption. This is a category suggested by Levinson, following

Jacques and Zaleznik. A person is a complex, unfolding, maturing organism who
passes through physiological and psychological stages of development. We evolve
an ego ideal towards which we strive. The most powerful motivating force in us, over
and above such basic drives as hunger, sexuality, aggression, is the need to bring
ourselves closer to our ideal. The greater the gap between our perception of
ourselves in reality and our ego ideal the more angry we are with ourselves and the
more guilt we feel. Work is part of our identity, our ego ideal, and opportunities must
be provided for us to work towards our ego ideal in work if we are to be motivated.

2.6

The kind of theory that we subscribe to will colour all our views about management
and people in organisations. Satisfaction and incentive theories, assumptions that
people are rational-economic, will lead to a bargaining approach, to preoccupation
with the extrinsic conditions of work, money and fringe benefits. Believers in intrinsic
theories, in self-actualising or psychological theories, will be more concerned with
creating opportunities for individuals to develop and realise their talents, with
providing the right climate for work and the right type of work.

At this point it might be helpful to the reader to pause and reflect upon his or her
assumptions about people and the appropriate theory of motivation. For we are now
going to complicate the whole issue, to pour more variables into the mix than are
assumed even by Scheins complex assumption or Levinsons psychological one.
Working from a basic model of a persons decision-making process we shall proceed
piecemeal towards a better and fuller understanding of how people answer the three
questions posed at the beginning of this chapter. The resulting picture will be
complicated and intricate. This is only in line with the intricacies of reality, but for
most operational purposes psychological reality is too complex. We are reduced to

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thinking in stereotypes or over-simplifications in order to get anything done and to
avoid the paralysis of analysis. This process of reduction is, however, a better base
for action if we understand the underlying complexity and if we confront our other
prejudices, assumptions and stereotypes along the way.

(Understanding organisations by Charles Handy)

Trading in Other Securities

Exchanges trade in all forms of securities. While the general operations of exchanges
apply to all securities trading, there are some differences. In particular, trades in
nonstock securities are often managed by financial intermediaries other than brokers.

Bonds

Bonds provide a way for companies to borrow money. People who invest in bonds
are lending money to a company in return for yearly interest payments. Bonds are
traded separately from stocks on exchanges. Most bonds are bought in large
quantities by institutional investors - large investors such as banks, pension funds, or
mutual funds.

Options

Options are traded on many U.S. stock exchanges, as well as over the counter.
Options writers offer investors the rights to buy or sell - at fixed prices and over fixed
time periods - specified numbers of shares or amounts of financial or real assets.
Writers give call options to people who want options to buy. A call option is the right
to buy shares or amounts at a fixed price, within a fixed time span. Conversely,
writers give put options to people who want options to sell. A put option is the right to
sell shares or amounts at a fixed price, within a fixed time span. Buyers may or may
not opt to buy, or sellers to sell, and they may profit or lose on their transactions,
depending on how the market moves. In any case, options traders must pay
premiums to writers for making contracts. Traders must also pay commissions to
brokers for buying and selling stocks on exchanges. Options trading is also handled
by options clearing corporations, which are owned by exchanges.

Futures

Futures contracts are also traded on certain U.S. exchanges, most of which deal in
commodities such as foods or textiles. Futures trading works somewhat like options
trading, but buyers and sellers instead agree to sales or purchases at fixed prices on
fixed dates. After contracts are made, the choice to buy or sell is not optional. Futures
contracts are then traded on the exchanges. Commodities brokers handle this
trading.

Futures and options traders often judge markets trends by monitoring compiled
indexes and averages of stocks, usually organized by industry or market ranking.
Among the most closely watched U.S. indexes are the Dow Jones averages and
Standard & Poor's.

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Interest

Interest is payment made for the use of another person's money; in economics, it is
regarded more specifically as a payment made for capital. Economists also consider
interest as the reward for thrift; that is, payment offered to people to encourage them
to save and to make their savings available to others.

Interest is usually paid only on the principal, that is, on the sum of money loaned, and
it is called simple interest. In some cases, interest is paid not only on the principal but
also on the cumulative total of past interest payments. This procedure is known as
compounding the interest, and the amount so paid is called compound interest. The
rate of interest is expressed as a percentage of the principal paid for its use for a
given time, usually a year. Thus, a loan of $100 at 10 percent per annum earns
interest of $10 a year. The current, or market, rate of interest is determined primarily
by the relation between the supply of money and the demands of borrowers. When
the supply of money available for investment increases faster than the requirements
of borrowers, interest rates tend to fall. Conversely, interest rates generally rise when
the demand for investment funds grows faster than the available supply of funds to
meet that demand. Business executives will not borrow money at an interest rate that
exceeds the return they expect the use of the money to yield.

During the Middle Ages and before, the payment and receiving of interest was
questioned on moral grounds. The position of the Christian church, as defined by the
Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas, condoned interest on loans for business
purposes, because the money was used to produce new wealth, but adjudged it
sinful to pay or receive interest on loans made for purchase of consumer goods.
Under modern capitalism, the payment of interest for all types of loans is considered
proper and even desirable because interest charges serve as a means to allocate the
limited funds available for loan to projects in which they will be most profitable and
most productive. Consumers are protected from contracting loans at excessive
interest rates. In the U.S., some states have statutes providing ceilings on interest.

Inflation and Deflation

Inflation and deflation, in economics, are terms used to describe, respectively, a

decline or an increase in the value of money, in relation to the goods and services it
will buy.

Inflation is the pervasive and sustained rise in the aggregate level of prices measured
by an index of the cost of various goods and services. Repetitive price increases
erode the purchasing power of money and other financial assets with fixed values,
creating serious economic distortions and uncertainty. Inflation results when actual
economic pressures and anticipation of future developments cause the demand for
goods and services to exceed the supply available at existing prices or when
available output is restricted by faltering productivity and marketplace constraints.
Sustained price increases were historically directly linked to wars, poor harvests,
political upheavals, or other unique events.

Deflation involves a sustained decline in the aggregate level of prices, such as

occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s; it is usually associated with a

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prolonged erosion of economic activity and high unemployment. Widespread price
declines have become rare, however, and inflation is now the dominant variable
affecting public and private economic planning.

Kinds of Inflation

When the upward trend of prices is gradual and irregular, averaging only a few
percentage points each year, such creeping inflation is not considered a serious
threat to economic and social progress. It may even stimulate economic activity: The
illusion of personal income growth beyond actual productivity may encourage
consumption; housing investment may increase in anticipation of future price
appreciation; business investment in plants and equipment may accelerate as prices
rise more rapidly than costs; and personal, business, and government borrowers
realise that loans will be repaid with money that has potentially less purchasing
power.

A greater concern is the growing pattern of chronic inflation characterised by much

higher price increases, at annual rates of 10 to 30 percent in some industrial nations
and even 100 percent or more in a few developing countries. Chronic inflation tends
to become permanent and ratchets upward to even higher levels as economic
distortions and negative expectations accumulate. To accommodate chronic inflation,
normal economic activities are disrupted: Consumers buy goods and services to
avoid even higher prices; real estate speculation increases; businesses concentrate
on short-term investments; incentives to acquire savings, insurance policies,
pensions, and long-term bonds are reduced because inflation erodes their future
purchasing power; governments rapidly expand spending in anticipation of inflated
revenues; and exporting nations suffer competitive trade disadvantages forcing them
to turn to protectionism and arbitrary currency controls.

In the most extreme form, chronic price increases become hyperinflation, causing the
entire economic system to break down. The hyperinflation that occurred in Germany
following World War I, for example, caused the volume of currency in circulation to
expand more than 7 billion times and prices to jump 10 billion times during a 16-
month period before November 1923. Other hyperinflations occurred in the United
States and France in the late 1700s; in the USSR and Austria after World War I; in
Hungary, China, and Greece after World War II; and in a few developing nations in
recent years. During a hyperinflation the growth of money and credit becomes
explosive, destroying any links to real assets and forcing a reliance on complex
barter arrangements. As governments try to pay for increased spending programs by
rapidly expanding the money supply, the inflationary financing of budget deficits
disrupts economic, social, and political stability.

History

Examples of inflation and deflation have occurred throughout history, but detailed
records are not available to measure trends before the Middle Ages. Economic
historians have identified the 16th to early 17th centuries in Europe as a period of
long-term inflation, although the average annual rate of 1 to 2 percent was modest by
modern standards. Major changes occurred during the American Revolution, when
prices in the U.S. rose an average of 8.5 percent per month, and during the French

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Revolution, when prices in France rose at a rate of 10 percent per month. These
relatively brief flurries were followed by long periods of alternating international
inflations and deflations linked to specific political and economic events.

The U.S. reported average annual price changes as follows: 1790 to 1815, up 3.3
percent; 1815 to 1850, down 2.3 percent; 1850 to 1873, up 5.3 percent; 1873 to
1896, down 1.8 percent; 1896 to 1920, up 4.2 percent; and 1920 to 1934, down 3.9
percent. This extended history indicates a recurring sequence of inflations, linked to
wartime periods, followed by long periods of price stability or deflation. Consumer
prices accelerated during the World War II era, rising at an annual average rate of 7.0
percent from 1940 to 1948, and then stabilised from 1948 to 1965, when the annual
increases averaged only 1.6 percent, including a peak of 5.9 percent in 1951 during
the Korean War.

In the mid-1960s a chronic inflationary trend began in most industrial nations. From
1965 to 1978 American consumer prices increased at an average annual rate of 5.7
percent, including a peak of 12.2 percent in 1974. This ominous shift was followed by
consumer price gains of 13.3 percent in 1979 and 12.4 percent in 1980. Several
other industrial nations suffered a similar acceleration of price increases, but some
countries, such as West Germany (now part of the united Federal Republic of
Germany), avoided chronic inflation. Given the integrated status of most nations in
the world economy, these disparate results reflected the relative effectiveness of
national economic policies.

This unfavorable inflationary trend was reversed in most industrial nations during the
mid-1980s. Austere government fiscal and monetary policies begun in the early part
of the decade combined with sharp declines in world oil and commodity prices to
return the average inflation rate to about 4 percent.

Causes

Demand-pull inflation occurs when aggregate demand exceeds existing supplies,

forcing price increases and pulling up wages, materials, and operating and financing
costs. Cost-push inflation occurs when prices rise to cover total expenses and
preserve profit margins. A pervasive cost-price spiral eventually develops as groups
and institutions respond to each new round of increases. Deflation occurs when the
spiral effects are reversed.

To explain why the basic supply and demand elements change, economists have
suggested three substantive theories: the available quantity of money; the aggregate
level of incomes; and supply-side productivity and cost variables. Monetarists believe
that changes in price levels reflect fluctuating volumes of money available, usually
defined as currency and demand deposits. They argue that, to create stable prices,
the money supply should increase at a stable rate commensurate with the economy's
real output capacity. Critics of this theory claim that changes in the money supply are
a response to, rather than the cause of, price-level adjustments.

The aggregate level of income theory is based on the work of the British economist
John Maynard Keynes, published during the 1930s. According to this approach,
changes in the national income determine consumption and investment rates; thus,

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government fiscal spending and tax policies should be used to maintain full output
and employment levels. The money supply, then, should be adjusted to finance the
desired level of economic growth while avoiding financial crises and high interest
rates that discourage consumption and investment. Government spending and tax
policies can be used to offset inflation and deflation by adjusting supply and demand
according to this theory. In the U.S., however, the growth of government spending
plus "off-budget" outlays (expenditures for a variety of programs not included in the
federal budget) and government credit programs have been more rapid than the
potential real growth rate since the mid-1960s.

The third theory concentrates on supply-side elements that are related to the
significant erosion of productivity. These elements include the long-term pace of
capital investment and technological development; changes in the composition and
age of the labour force; the shift away from manufacturing activities; the rapid
proliferation of government regulations; the diversion of capital investment into
nonproductive uses; the growing scarcity of certain raw materials; social and political
developments that have reduced work incentives; and various economic shocks such
as international monetary and trade problems, large oil price increases, and sporadic
worldwide crop disasters. These supply-side issues may be important in developing
monetary and fiscal policies.

Effects

The specific effects of inflation and deflation are mixed and fluctuate over time.
Deflation is typically caused by depressed economic output and unemployment.
Lower prices may eventually encourage improvements in consumption, investment,
and foreign trade, but only if the fundamental causes of the original deterioration are
corrected.

Inflation initially increases business profits, as wages and other costs lag behind price
increases, leading to more capital investment and payments of dividends and
interest. Personal spending may increase because of "buy now, it will cost more
later" attitudes; potential real estate price appreciation may attract buyers. Domestic
inflation may temporarily improve the balance of trade if the same volume of exports
can be sold at higher prices. Government spending rises because many programs
are explicitly, or informally, indexed to inflation rates to preserve the real value of
government services and transfers of income. Officials may also anticipate paying
larger budgets with tax revenues from inflated incomes.

Despite these temporary gains, however, inflation eventually disrupts normal

economic activities, particularly if the pace fluctuates. Interest rates typically include
the anticipated pace of inflation that increases business costs, discourages consumer
spending, and depresses the value of stocks and bonds. Higher mortgage interest
rates and rapidly escalating prices for homes discourage housing construction.
Inflation erodes the real purchasing power of current incomes and accumulated
financial assets, resulting in reduced consumption, particularly if consumers are
unable, or unwilling, to draw on their savings and increase personal debts. Business
investment suffers as overall economic activity declines, and profits are restricted as
employees demand immediate relief from chronic inflation through automatic cost-of-
living escalator clauses. Most raw materials and operating costs respond quickly to

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inflationary signals. Higher export prices eventually restrict foreign sales, creating
deficits in trade and services and international currency-exchange problems. Inflation
is a major element in the prevailing pattern of booms and recessions that cause
unwanted price and employment distortions and widespread economic uncertainty.

The impact of inflation on individuals depends on many variables. People with

relatively fixed incomes, particularly those in low-income groups, suffer during
accelerating inflation, while those with flexible bargaining power may keep pace with
or even benefit from inflation. Those dependent on assets with fixed nominal values,
such as savings accounts, pensions, insurance policies, and long-term debt
instruments, suffer erosion of real wealth; other assets with flexible values, such as
real estate, art, raw materials, and durable goods, may keep pace with or exceed the
average inflation rate. Workers in the private sector strive for cost-of-living
adjustments in wage contracts. Borrowers usually benefit while lenders suffer,
because mortgage, personal, business, and government loans are paid with money
that loses purchasing power over time and interest rates tend to lag behind the
average rate of price increases. A pervasive "inflationary psychology" eventually
dominates private and public economic decisions.

Stabilisation Measures

Any serious antiinflation effort will be difficult, risky, and prolonged because restraint
tends to reduce real output and employment before benefits become apparent,
whereas fiscal and monetary stimulus typically increases economic activity before
prices accelerate. This pattern of economic and political risks and incentives explains
the dominance of expansion policies.

Stabilisation efforts try to offset the distorting effects of inflation and deflation by
restoring normal economic activity. To be effective, such initiatives must be sustained
rather than merely occasional fine-tuning actions that often exaggerate existing
cyclical changes. The fundamental requirement is stable expansion of money and
credit commensurate with real growth and financial market needs. Over extended
periods the Federal Reserve System can influence the availability and cost of money
and credit by controlling the financial reserves that are required and by other
regulatory procedures. Monetary restraint during cyclical expansions reduces inflation
pressures; an accommodative policy during cyclical recessions helps finance
recovery. Monetary officials, however, cannot unilaterally create economic stability if
private consumption and investment cause inflation or deflation pressures or if other
public policies are contradictory. Government spending and tax policies must be
consistent with monetary actions so as to achieve stability and prevent exaggerated
swings in economic policies.

Since the mid-1960s the rapid growth of federal budget spending plus even greater
percentage increases in off-budget outlays and a multitude of federal lending
programs have exceeded the tax revenues almost every year, creating large
government deficit borrowing requirements. Pressures to provide money and credit
required for private consumption and investment and for financing the chronic budget
deficits and government loan programs have led to a rapid expansion of the money
supply with resulting inflation problems. Effective stabilisation efforts will require a
better balance and a more sustained application of both monetary and fiscal policies.

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Important supply-side actions are also required to fight inflation and avoid the
economic stagnation effects of deflation. Among the initiatives that have been
recommended are the reversal of the serious deterioration of national productivity by
increasing incentives for savings and investment; enlarged spending for the
development and application of technology; improvement of management techniques
and labour efficiency through education and training; expanded efforts to conserve
valuable raw materials and develop new sources; and reduction of unnecessary
government regulation.

Some analysts have recommended the use of various income policies to fight
inflation. Such policies range from mandatory government guidelines for wages,
prices, rents, and interest rates, through tax incentives and disincentives, to simple
voluntary standards suggested by the government. Advocates claim that government
intervention would supplement basic monetary and fiscal actions, but critics point to
the ineffectiveness of past control programs in the United States and other industrial
nations and also question the desirability of increasing government control over
private economic decisions. Future stabilisation policy initiatives will likely
concentrate on coordinating monetary and fiscal policies and increasing supply-side
efforts to restore productivity and develop new technology.

Retailing Strategy

To be successful, a retailer must distinguish itself from other retailers and develop a
strategy for satisfying the needs and preferences of a specific consumer group. This
strategy, called a retail mix, involves careful consideration of (1) the product to sell,
(2) the quantity at which to make the product available, (3) the location at which to
sell the product, (4) the time to make the product available, (5) the pricing of the
product, and (6) the appeal that can be generated to attract the consumer's interest.

The Product

Retailers strive to offer products that appeal to the tastes of the consumer, are of
good quality, and function properly. Sometimes the product must also provide
psychological and emotional benefits, such as prestige or convenience. For example,
an expensive watch with a well-known, visible brand name may give its owner a
sense of prestige.

Quantity

Unlike wholesalers, who sell goods in quantities that often are too large to be useful
for individuals or families, retailers sell products in small quantities that are more
convenient for consumers. For example, wholesalers may sell jeans to retail stores in
lots (units) of a dozen pairs each. Retailers then sell consumers jeans by the
individual pair.

Location

A retailer's location must be convenient. In locating retail stores, retailers consider the
market or town in which they want to establish themselves, the part of town to be in,
and the actual site of their store. In some cases, no store is involved because the

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right location for shopping for a product is the consumer's home or place of business.
These retailers without stores, known as nonstore retailers, act as direct marketers
by contacting customers directly through mail, the Internet, television, telephone, or
other means.

Timing

Retailers must make their products available at times when consumers are willing
and able to buy them. Retailers identify consumer buying patterns and adjust such
things as store hours, inventory levels, and promotional programs to accommodate
consumers. Retailers also identify special times that generate opportunities to sell
merchandise, such as holidays, changing seasons, and special occasions, such as
weddings and school graduations.

Pricing

Retailers use different pricing strategies to attract different consumers. For example,
some stores use low or discount prices to attract economy-minded consumers, while
some stores set higher prices to convey an upscale image.

Appeal

Retailers work hard at creating an image of their store or product that customers find
appealing. Retailers use such promotional techniques as advertising and public
relations to create awareness and build interest in their products. These techniques
also attract customers to the retailer's store, provide valuable information about the
retailer, and persuade customers to buy.

Common and Preferred Stock

The rights and benefits of a stockholder vary according to the type of stock held.

The two main stock categories are called common and preferred. Financial loss or
gain can be greater with common stock than with preferred stock. Holders of
common stock have residual equity in a corporation; that is, they have the last claim
on the earnings and assets of a company, and may receive dividends only at the
discretion of the company's board of directors and after all other claims on profits
have been satisfied. For example, if the company is dissolved, stockholders share in
what is left only after all other claims have been settled. Dividends and equity
conferred by common stocks have no fixed dollar value; holders of such stock,
therefore, benefit more from a company's prosperity or lose more from a company's
adversity than do holders of preferred stocks.

If a stock has preferred dividends, the owner is entitled to receive a fixed dividend
rate before any dividends are distributed to other stockholders; if a stock has
preferred assets, the stockholder receives a share of the proceeds from the
dissolution of a company before holders of nonpreferred stock do. Some stocks have
both preferred dividends and preferred assets. Stock with first preference in the
distribution of dividends or assets is called first preferred or sometimes preferred A,
the next is called second preferred or preferred B, and so on.

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Although holders of preferred stock may have to forego a dividend during a period of
little or no profit, this is not true for two types of preferred stock. One is cumulative
preferred stock, which entitles the owner to cumulation of past-due and unpaid
dividends; the other is protected preferred. When the latter is issued, the corporation,
after paying the preferred-stock dividends, places a specified portion of its earnings
into a reserve, or sinking, fund in order to guarantee payment of preferred-stock
dividends.

Two other stock categories are redeemable stock and convertible stock. The former
is preferred stock issued with the stipulation that the corporation has the right to
repurchase it. The latter stock endows the stockholder with the option of exchanging
preferred stock for common stock under specific conditions, such as when the
common stock reaches a certain price, or when the preferred stock has been held for
a particular time.

Although most stockholders have the right to vote at their meetings, thus participating
in corporate management, some stocks specifically prohibit this. Although such
nonvoting stocks may be among any of those previously mentioned, at least one kind
of stock issued by a corporation must be endowed with the voting privilege. Voting
stock may not be changed to nonvoting stock without the stockholder's consent. So-
called vetoing stock is between voting and nonvoting stock; its holders may vote only
on specific questions. Before voting by proxy was permitted, independent
stockholders influenced the management of a company. After it was authorized,
however, company managers and directors holding a stock minority obtained enough
proxies from absentee stockholders to outvote any opposition, thus perpetuating their
control.

Company Structure

Most organizations have a hierarchical or pyramidal structure, with one person or a

group of people at the top, and an increasing number of people below them at each
successive level. There is a clear line or chain of command running down the
pyramid. All the people in the organization know what decisions they are able to
make, who their superior (or boss) is (to whom they report), and who their immediate
subordinates are (to whom they can give instructions).

Some people in an organization have colleagues who help them: for example, there
might be an Assistant to the Marketing Manager. This is known as a staff position: its
holder has no line authority, and is not integrated into the chain of command, unlike,
for example, the Assistant Marketing Manager, who is number two in the marketing
department.

Yet the activities of most companies are too complicated to be organized in a single
hierarchy of layers. Shortly before the first world war, the French industrialist Henry
Fayol organized his coal-mining business according to the functions that it had to
carry out. He is generally credited with inventing functional organization. Today, most
large manufacturing organizations have a functional structure, including (among
others) production, finance, marketing, sales, and personnel or staff departments.
This means, for example, that the production and marketing departments cannot take
financial decisions without consulting the finance department.

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Functional organization is efficient, but there are two standard criticisms. Firstly,
people are usually more concerned with the success of their department than that of
the company, so there are permanent battles between, for example, finance and
marketing, or marketing and production, which have incompatible goals. Secondly,
separating functions is unlikely to encourage innovation.

Yet for a large organization manufacturing a range of products, having a single

production department is generally inefficient. Consequently, most large companies
are decentralized, following the model of Alfred Sloan, who divided General Motors
into separate operating divisions in 1920. Each division had its own engineering,
production and sales departments, made a different category of car (but with some
overlap, to encourage internal competition), and was expected to make a profit.

Businesses that cannot be divided into autonomous divisions with their own markets
can simulate decentralization, setting up divisions that deal with each other using
internally determined transfer prices. Many banks, for example, have established
commercial, corporate, private banking, international and investment divisions.

An inherent problem of hierarchies is that people at lower levels are unable to make
important decisions, but have to pass on responsibility to their boss. One solution to
this is matrix management, in which people report to more than one superior. For
example, a product manager with an idea might be able to deal directly with
managers responsible for a certain market segment and for a geographical region, as
well as the managers responsible for the traditional functions of finance, sales and
production. This is one way of keeping authority at lower levels, but it is not
necessarily a very efficient one. Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman, in their well-
known book In Search of Excellence, insist on the necessity of pushing authority and
autonomy down the line, but they argue that one element - probably the product -
must have priority; four-dimensional matrices are far too complex.

A further possibility is to have wholly autonomous, temporary groups or teams that

are responsible for an entire project, and are split up as soon as it is successfully
completed. Teams are often not very good for decision-making, and they run the risk
of relational problems, unless they are small and have a lot of self-discipline. In fact
they still require a definite leader, on whom their success probably depends.

Recruitment and Selection

When there is a vacancy in a company, it is the job of the Personnel Manager and his
department to manage the recruitment of a new employee. One way an organization
can find staff for job vacancies is to recruit in-company. Management can inform
people of new appointments by means of the firms notice board or news bulletin.
Another possibility is to ask for recommendations from departmental managers and
supervisors. If it is necessary to recruit outside the company, the personnel
department may use commercial and government employment offices or consultants.
It may prefer to put its own advertisement in a newspaper or magazine.

It is usual for an advertisement to give a short description of the job, conditions of

work and salary, and to invite introductory letters from applicants. After studying
these, management decides who receives an application form.

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In order to assess the applications, managers can work from a personnel
specification such as Rodgers Seven-Point Plan. They do not choose applicants who
do not have a good profile. For this reason, it is important that the application form
requests clear information about such things as the applicants age, education,
qualifications and work experience. It must also ask for references from other
employers or people who know the applicant well. This information helps
management to make a final decision on the number of applicants they can short-list
for interview.

The staff who hold an interview together are called an interview panel. It is important
that they know what information they need to get from the applicants. This comes
from a careful reading of job descriptions, personnel specifications, and applications.
To help the panel in their selection, some companies use an interview assessment
form. This is used by the panel during the interview when each applicant is checked
under the same point on the form.

Many employers say that the success of a good business begins in the Personnel
Managers office.

The Problem of Production

One of the most fateful errors of our age is the belief that 'the problem of production'
has been solved. Not only is this belief firmly held by people remote from production
and therefore professionally unacquainted with the facts - it is held by virtually all the
experts, the captains of industry, the economic managers in the governments of the
world, the academic and not-so-academic economists, not to mention the economic
journalists. They may disagree on many things but they all agree that the problem of
production has been solved; that mankind has at last come of age. For the rich
countries, they say, the most important task now is 'education for leisure' and, for the
poor countries, the 'transfer of technology'.

That things are not going as well as they ought to be going must be due to human
wickedness. We must therefore construct a political system so perfect that human
wickedness disappears and everybody behaves well, no matter how much
wickedness there may be in him or her. In fact, it is widely held that everybody is born
good; if one turns into a criminal or an exploiter, this is the fault of 'the system'. No
doubt 'the system' is in many ways bad and must be changed. One of the main
reasons why it is bad and why it can still survive in spite of its badness, is this
erroneous view that the 'problem of production' has been solved. As this error
pervades all present-day systems there is at present not much to choose between
them.

The arising of this error, so egregious and so firmly rooted, is closely connected with
the philosophical, not to say religious, changes during the last three or four centuries
in man's attitude to nature. I should perhaps say: western man's attitude to nature,
but since the whole world is now in a process of westernisation, the more generalised
statement appears to be justified. Modern man does not experience himself as a part
of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it. He even talks
of a battle with nature, forgetting that, if he won the battle, he would find himself on
the losing side. Until quite recently, the battle seemed to go well enough to give him

73
the illusion of unlimited powers, but not so well as to bring the possibility of total
victory into view. This has now come into view, and many people, albeit only a
minority, are beginning to realise what this means for the continued existence of
humanity.

The illusion of unlimited powers, nourished by astonishing scientific and technological

achievements, has produced the concurrent illusion of having solved the problem of
production. The latter illusion is based on the failure to distinguish between income
and capital where this distinction matters most. Every economist and businessman is
familiar with the distinction, and applies it conscientiously and with considerable
subtlety to all economic affairs - except where it really matters: namely, the
irreplaceable capital which man has not made, but simply found, and without which
he can do nothing.

A businessman would not consider a firm to have solved its problems of production
and to have achieved viability if he saw that it was rapidly consuming its capital. How,
then, could we overlook this vital fact when it comes to that very big firm, the
economy of Spaceship Earth and. in particular, the economies of its rich passengers?

One reason for overlooking this vital fact is that we are estranged from reality and
inclined to treat as valueless everything that we have not made ourselves. Even the
great Dr. Marx fell into this devastating error when he formulated the so-called 'labour
theory of value'. Now, we have indeed laboured to make some of the capital which
today helps us to produce - a large fund of scientific, technological, and other
knowledge; an elaborate physical infrastructure; innumerable types of sophisticated
capital equipment, etc. - but all this is but a small part of the total capital we are
using. Far larger is the capital provided by nature and not by man - and we do not
even recognise it as such. This larger part is now being used up at an alarming rate,
and that is why it is an absurd and suicidal error to believe, and act on the belief, that
the problem of production has been solved.

Let us take a closer look at this 'natural capital'. First of all, and most obviously, there
are the fossil fuels. None, I am sure, will deny that we are treating them as income
items although they are undeniably capital items. If we treated them as capital items,
we should be concerned with conservation; we should do everything in our power to
try and minimise their current rate of use; we might be saying, for instance, that the
money obtained from the realisation of these assets - these irreplaceable assets -
must be placed into a special fund to be devoted exclusively to the evolution of
production methods and patterns of living which do not depend on fossil fuels at all or
depend on them only to a very slight extent. These and many other things we should
be doing if we treated fossil fuels as capital and not as income. And we do not do any
of them, but the exact contrary of every one of them: we are not in the least
concerned with conservation; we are maximising, instead of minimising, the current
rates of use; and, far from being interested in studying the possibilities of alternative
methods of production and patterns of living - so as to get off the collision course on
which we are moving with ever-increasing speed - we happily talk of unlimited
progress along the beaten track, of 'education for leisure' in the rich countries, and of
'the transfer of technology' to the poor countries.

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The liquidation of these capital assets is proceeding so rapidly that even in the
allegedly richest country in the world, the United States of America, there are many
worried men, right up to the White House, calling for the massive conversion of coal
into oil and gas, demanding ever more gigantic efforts to search for and exploit the
remaining treasures of the earth. Look at the figures that are being put forward under
the heading 'World Fuel Requirements in the Year 2000'. If we are now using
something like 7,000 million tons of coal equivalent, the need in twenty-eight years'
time will be three times as large - around 20,000 million tons! What are twenty-eight
years? Looking backwards, they take us roughly to the end of World War II, and, of
course, since then fuel consumption has trebled; but the trebling involved an increase
of less than 5,000 million tons of coal equivalent. Now we are calmly talking about an
increase three times as large.

People ask: can it be done? And the answer comes back: it must be done and
therefore it shall be done. One might say (with apologies to John Kenneth Galbraith)
that it is a case of the bland leading the blind. But why cast aspersions? The question
itself is wrong-headed, because it carries the implicit assumption that we are dealing
with income and not with capital. What is so special about the year 2000? What
about the year 2028, when little children running about today will be planning for their
retirement? Another trebling by then? All these questions and answers are seen to
be absurd the moment we realise that we are dealing with capital and not with
income: fossil fuels are not made by men; they cannot be recycled. Once they are
gone they are gone for ever.

But what - it will be asked - about the income fuels? Yes, indeed, what about them?
Currently, they contribute (reckoned in calories) less than four per cent to the world
total. In the foreseeable future they will have to contribute seventy, eighty, ninety per
cent. To do something on a small scale is one thing: to do it on a gigantic scale is
quite another, and to make an impact on the world fuel problem, contributions have
to be truly gigantic. Who will say that the problem of production has been solved
when it comes to income fuels required on a truly gigantic scale?

Fossil fuels are merely a part of the 'natural capital' which we steadfastly insist on
treating as expendable, as if it were income, and by no means the most important
part. If we squander our fossil fuels, we threaten civilisation; but if we squander the
capital represented by living nature around us, we threaten life itself. People are
waking up to this threat, and they demand that pollution must stop. They think of
pollution as a rather nasty habit indulged in by careless or greedy people who, as it
were, throw their rubbish over the fence into the neighbour's garden. A more civilised
behaviour, they realise, would incur some extra cost, and therefore we need a faster
rate of economic growth to be able to pay for it. From now on, they say, we should
use at least some of the fruits of our ever-increasing productivity to improve 'the
quality of life' and not merely to increase the quantity of consumption. All this is fair
enough, but it touches only the outer fringe of the problem.

To get to the crux of the matter, we do well to ask why it is that all these terms -
pollution, environment, ecology, etc. - have so suddenly come into prominence. After
all, we have had an industrial system for quite some time, yet only five or ten years
ago these words were virtually unknown. Is this a sudden fad, a silly fashion, or
perhaps a sudden failure of nerve?

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The explanation is not difficult to find. As with fossil fuels, we have indeed been living
on the capital of living nature for some time, but at a fairly modest rate. It is only since
the end of World War II that we have succeeded in increasing this rate to alarming
proportions. In comparison with what is going on now and what has been going on,
progressively, during the last quarter of a century, all the industrial activities of
mankind up to, and including, World War II are as nothing. The next four or five years
are likely to see more industrial production, taking the world as a whole, than all of
mankind accomplished up to 1945. In other words, quite recently - so recently that
most of us have hardly yet become conscious of it - there has been a unique
quantitative jump in industrial production.

Partly as a cause and also as an effect, there has also been a unique qualitative
jump. Our scientists and technologists have learned to compound substances
unknown to nature. Against many of them, nature is virtually defenceless. There are
no natural agents to attack and break them down. It is as if aborigines were suddenly
attacked with machine-gun fire: their bows and arrows are of no avail. These
substances, unknown to nature, owe their almost magical effectiveness precisely to
nature's defencelessness - and that accounts also for their dangerous ecological
impact. It is only in the last twenty years or so that they have made their appearance
in bulk. Because they have no natural enemies, they tend to accumulate, and the
long-term consequences of this accumulation are in many cases known to be
extremely dangerous, and in other cases totally unpredictable.

In other words, the changes of the last twenty-five years, both in the quantity and in
the quality of man's industrial processes, have produced an entirely new situation - a
situation resulting not from our failures but from what we thought were our greatest
successes. And this has come so suddenly that we hardly noticed the fact that we
were very rapidly using up a certain kind of irreplaceable capital asset, namely the
tolerance margins which benign nature always provides.

Now let me return to the question of 'income fuels' with which I had previously dealt in
a somewhat cavalier manner. No-one is suggesting that the world-wide industrial
system which is being envisaged to operate in the year 2000, a generation ahead,
would be sustained primarily by water or wind power. Now we are told that we are
moving rapidly into the nuclear age. Of course, this has been the story for quite some
time, for over twenty years, and yet, the contribution of nuclear energy to man's total
fuel and energy requirements is still minute. In 1970, it amounted to 2.7 per cent in
Britain; 0.6 per cent in the European Community; and 0.3 per cent in the United
States, to mention only the countries that have gone the furthest. Perhaps we can
assume that nature's tolerance margins will be able to cope with such small
impositions, although there are many people even today who are deeply worried, and
Dr. Edward D. David, President Nixon's Science Adviser, talking about the storage of
radioactive wastes, says that 'one has a queasy feeling about something that has to
stay underground and be pretty well sealed off for 25,000 years before it is harmless'.

However that may be, the point I am making is a very simple one: the proposition to
replace thousands of millions of tons of fossil fuels, every year, by nuclear energy
means to 'solve' the fuel problem by creating an environmental and ecological
problem of such a monstrous magnitude that Dr. David will not be the only one to

76
have 'a queasy feeling'. It means solving one problem by shifting it to another sphere
- there to create an infinitely bigger problem.

Having said this, I am sure that I shall be confronted with another, even more daring
proposition: namely, that future scientists and technologists will be able to devise
safety rules and precautions of such perfection that the using, transporting,
processing and storing of radioactive materials in ever-increasing quantities will be
made entirely safe; also that it will be the task of politicians and social scientists to
create a world society in which wars or civil disturbances can never happen. Again, it
is a proposition to solve one problem simply by shifting it to another sphere, the
sphere of everyday human behaviour. And this takes us to the third category of
'natural capital' which we are recklessly squandering because we treat it as if it were
income: as if it were something we had made ourselves and could easily replace out
of our much-vaunted and rapidly rising productivity.

Is it not evident that our current methods of production are already eating into the
very substance of industrial man? To many people this is not at all evident. Now that
we have solved the problem of production, they say, have we ever had it so good?
Are we not better fed, better clothed, and better housed than ever before - and better
educated? Of course we are: most, but by no means all, of us: in the rich countries.
But this is not what I mean by 'substance'. The substance of man cannot be
measured by Gross National Product. Perhaps it cannot be measured at all, except
for certain symptoms of loss. However, this is not the place to go into the statistics of
these symptoms, such as crime, drug addiction, vandalism, mental breakdown,
rebellion, and so forth. Statistics never prove anything.

I started by saying that one of the most fateful errors of our age is the belief that the
problem of production has been solved. This illusion, I suggested, is mainly due to
our inability to recognise that the modern industrial system, with all its intellectual
sophistication, consumes the very basis on which it has been erected. To use the
language of the economist, it lives on irreplaceable capital which it cheerfully treats
as income. I specified three categories of such capital: fossil fuels, the tolerance
margins of nature, and the human substance. Even if some readers should refuse to
accept all three parts of my argument, I suggest that any one of them suffices to
make my case.

And what is my case? Simply that our most important task is to get off our present
collision course. And who is there to tackle such a task? I think every one of us,
whether old or young, powerful or powerless, rich or poor, influential or uninfluential.
To talk about the future is useful only if it leads to action now. And what can we do
now, while we are still in the position of 'never having had it so good'? To say the
least - which is already very much - we must thoroughly understand the problem and
begin to see the possibility of evolving a new life-style, with new methods of
production and new patterns of consumption: a life-style designed for permanence.
To give only three preliminary examples: in agriculture and horticulture, we can
interest ourselves in the perfection of production methods which are biologically
sound, build up soil fertility, and produce health, beauty and permanence.
Productivity will then look after itself. In industry, we can interest ours selves in the
evolution of small-scale technology, relatively non-violent technology, 'technology
with a human face', so that people have a chance to enjoy themselves while they are

77
working, instead of working solely for their pay packet and hoping, usually forlornly,
for enjoyment solely during their leisure time. In industry, again - and, surely, industry
is the pace-setter of modern life - we can interest ourselves in new forms of
partnership between management and men, even forms of common ownership.

We often hear it said that we are entering the era of 'the Learning Society'. Let us
hope this is true. We still have to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow
men but also with nature and, above all, with those Higher Powers which have made
nature and have made us; for, assuredly, we have not come about by accident and
certainly have not made ourselves.

The themes which have been merely touched upon in this chapter will have to be
further elaborated as we go along. Few people will be easily convinced that the
challenge to man's future cannot be met by making marginal adjustments here or
there, or, possibly, by changing the political system.

The following chapter is an attempt to look at the whole situation again, from the
angle of peace and permanence. Now that man has acquired the physical means of
self-obliteration, the question of peace obviously looms larger than ever before in
human history. And how could peace be built without some assurance of
permanence with regard to our economic life?

(Small is Beautiful by E F Schumacher)

History of Tourism

Tourism can be recognized as long as people have travelled; the narrative of Marco
Polo in the 13th century; the "grand tour" of the British aristocracy to Europe in the
18th century; and the journeys of David Livingstone through Africa in the 19th century
are all examples of early tourism. Thomas Cook is popularly regarded as the founder
of inclusive tours with his use of a chartered train in 1841 to transport tourists from
Loughborough to Leicester. Before the 1950s, tourism in Europe was mainly a
domestic activity with some international travel between countries, mainly within
continental Europe. In the period of recovery following World War II, a combination of
circumstances provided an impetus to international travel. Among the important
contributing factors were the growing number of people in employment, the increase
in real disposable incomes and available leisure time, and changing social attitudes
towards leisure and work. These factors combined to stimulate the latent demand for
foreign travel and holidays. The emergence of specialist tour operators who
organized inclusive holidays by purchasing transport, accommodation, and related
services and selling these at a single price, brought foreign holidays within the price-
range of a new and growing group of consumers. The "package" or "inclusive" tour
democratized travel in Europe; foreign holidays were no longer the preserve of the
affluent and socially lite classes.

Commercialism and Sport

It is becoming commonplace to think of sport as a "leisure industry". In recent years

there have certainly been dramatic moves to open sport up to the forces of the
market. The maximum wage and the retain-and-transfer system in football, and the

78
distinction between gentlemen and players in cricket has been scrapped. Tennis also
abandoned the amateur and professional labels and simply called all competitors
"players" from 1967. Most recently a change of heart on the part of the athletics
authorities now enables top competitors to earn very large sums which are held in
"trust funds". This technicality permits athletes to remain "amateurs". Only Rugby
Union holds out against the commercial tide despite widespread speculation about
covert payments to players. Cricket, the game of the British amateur par excellence,
is now sponsored by tobacco firms and insurance companies whilst footballers
advertise everything from double-glazing to Guinness on their shirts. The football
league was recently sponsored by a Japanese camera manufacturer whose name
had to be repeated when publishing or broadcasting results. A newspaper and now a
bank have since taken over. In return for media coverage and the "clean" image of
sport, sponsors are prepared to provide big injections of cash. This new rush to make
profits from sport provides a contemporary context against which to measure the
earlier degree of commercialisation. To what extent were large profits made from
spectator sports and what kind of earnings and working conditions could a
professional sportsman expect? What role have newspapers, the radio, and
television played in sport? This leads us to the composition and behaviour of sports
crowds, especially at football matches and the current debate about the reasons for
hooliganism. How far are money and the media responsible for the misbehaviour of
football supporters? Or is aggression leading to violence endemic in sport and sports
spectators? competent, phlegmatic Englishman reading the Oxford Book of Greek
Verse while organising supplies and technical support with a minimum of fuss. There
was still hope for Britain if the old qualities of stoicism and the knack of handling
"native" races could be combined with the scientific and management skills needed in
the modern world.

Another sporting triumph followed hard upon the conquest of Everest and gave
added reassurance to the nation, especially those steeped in the amateur spirit for
whom the demolition of English professional football by Puskas and the Hungarians
was not a matter for much regret. On 6 May 1954 at the small Iffley Road stadium in
Oxford, Roger Bannister, a medical student at the University, broke The four-minute
mile with the help of a couple of friends, Chris Brasher and Christopher Chataway.
Despite the apparent informality of the occasion, this was no glorious undergraduate
fluke. The sub-four-minute mile was a superbly planned and executed achievement.
The record was broken by scientific training and pacing in which two first-class
athletes sacrificed themselves to permit Bannister to break the record. A blend of the
old virtues and the new, which the public seemed to understand and appreciate,
united these two very different achievements. Bannister and Hunt gave the English
hope for the future within the British Isles and more importantly in the wider post-
imperial world. Not since a bony young Yorkshireman, Len Hutton, batted into a third
day in August 1938 against Bradman's Australia to pass the Don's record score for a
test match had the British known such transcendent moments of self-belief through
sport. Hutton, later to become the first professional captain of England and knighted
in 1956, joined the ranks of those who had to embody the hopes and expectations of
an England creaking under the weight of its industrial and imperial past, but whose
sense of destiny was still quite strong.

(Sport and the British: A Modern History by Richard Holt)

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European Union (EU)

European supranational organization dedicated to increasing economic integration

and strengthening cooperation among its member states. The European Union was
established on November 1, 1993, when the Treaty on European Union, or Treaty of
Maastricht, was ratified by the 12 members of the European Community (EC) -
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Upon ratification of the treaty,
the countries of the EC became members of the EU, and the EC became the policy-
making body of the EU.

Under the Treaty on European Union, European citizenship was granted to citizens of
each member state. Customs and immigration agreements were enhanced to allow
European citizens greater freedom to live, work, or study in any of the member
states, and border controls were relaxed. A goal of establishing a common European
currency (European monetary union) was set for 1997.

Background

Prior to November 1993, the European Union was called the European Community.
The EC was composed of what originally were three separate organizations: the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), created in 1951; and the European
Economic Community (EEC, often referred to as the Common Market) and the
European Atomic Energy Commission (Euratom), both set up in 1957. The three
institutions merged in 1967, creating the EC and establishing headquarters in
Brussels.

Organization

Decision-making in the EU is divided between supranational European institutions

and the governments of the member states. The European Commission and the
European Parliament are administered by the EU, and the Council of Ministers is
composed of ministers from each of the member governments. The Court of Justice
serves as the final arbiter in legal matters or disputes among EU institutions or
between EU institutions and member states.

European Commission

The European Commission serves as the executive branch of the EU. It makes policy
proposals and presents them to the Council of Ministers. The European Commission
also represents the EU in economic relations with other countries or international
organizations. The administrative role of the commission is to manage EC funds and
programmes and to deliver aid to other countries.

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers, the main law-making body of the EU, is composed of
cabinet ministers from the member governments. The council is aided by the
Committee of Permanent Representatives, which is comprised of the permanent
representatives (or ambassadors) of each member state.

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European Council

Summit meetings among the top leaders of the member states are called at least
once every six months by the country holding the presidency of the Council of
Ministers. This meeting of heads of state and government is called the European
Council. The summits were instituted on a regular basis in 1975. The European
Council became an official part of the EC structure in 1987.

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the only body of the EU whose members are directly
elected by the citizens of its member states. Formerly only a consultative body, the
parliament gained new influence under the Treaty on European Union. The main
body meets in Strasbourg, though most of its committee work is done in Brussels and
the secretariat is based in Luxembourg. The 567 seats are allotted based on the
population of each member state. In 1994 Germany had the largest representation,
with 99 seats.

Individual committees of the European Parliament review legislation proposed by the

European Commission. These committees often propose amendments to the
legislation before submitting it to the Council of Ministers. The parliament may veto a
proposal after it reaches the Council of Ministers if it disagrees with the council's
position. The European Parliament also works with the Council of Ministers on the
EU budget and can reject a budget plan if agreement cannot be reached within the
council.

Committees

While the Treaty on European Union increased the political powers of the European
Council, other bodies took on advisory roles similar to those once held by the
parliament. The Economic and Social Committee is one of the most important of
these bodies. Its 189 members are appointed to four-year terms by the Council of
Members to represent employer and employee groups, as well as other interest
groups. The committee has a strictly advisory role, but the Council of Ministers and
the European Commission are obligated to consult the committee on many legislative
issues. Another important group is the Committee of the Regions, created by the
Treaty on European Union to bring the EU closer to its citizens and to give regional
and local authorities a voice in government. The committee has 189 members that
are allocated based on the population of each country. It has no legislative power,
but must be consulted on matters relating to certain economic and social issues.

Court of Justice

The final arbiter in all matters of EU law is the Court of Justice. The court is
composed of 13 judges who are appointed to six-year terms, with at least one judge
from each member country. The court deals with disputes between member
governments and EU institutions and among EU institutions, and with appeals
against EC rulings or decisions. Courts of the member states often refer cases
involving an unclear point of EU law to the Court of Justice. The court makes binding
rulings on EU law to help guide the rulings of national courts. The rulings of the Court

81
of Justice set legal precedents and become part of the legal framework of each
member state.

History

World War II devastated the economy of Europe. Some Europeans hoped that the
reconstruction of western Europe would result in an agreement to create a unified
European state. But the idea of a unified Europe was undermined by the beginning of
the Cold War and lingering suspicions of West Germany (now part of the united
Federal Republic of Germany). Two French statesmen - Jean Monnet and Robert
Schuman - believed that France and Germany might put aside their long-running
antagonism if given economic incentives for cooperation. In May 1950 Schuman
proposed the creation of a common authority to regulate the coal and steel industry
in West Germany and France; membership was also open to other western
European countries. The proposal was welcomed by the West German government
and by the governments of Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Along
with France, the five countries signed the Treaty of Paris in 1951, and the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established in August 1952. The British
government opposed the supranational nature of the planned ECSC and decided not
to join.

In June 1955 the foreign ministers of the six nations in the ECSC agreed to examine
the possibilities for further economic integration. This new effort resulted in the two
Treaties of Rome of March 1957, which created the European Economic Community
(EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The latter proved to
be of little importance because each national government kept control of its nuclear
power programmes.

European Economic Community

Economically, the EEC treaty mandated, over a 12-year period, the elimination of
trade barriers among member nations, the development of a common tariff for
imports from the rest of the world, and the creation of a common policy for managing
and supporting agriculture. Politically, the treaty gave a greater role to national
governments than had the earlier ECSC treaty, though it did provide for the EEC to
become more supranational as economic integration progressed. In response to the
EEC, Great Britain and six other non-EEC countries formed the European Free Trade
Association (EFTA) in 1960. In 1961, with the EEC's apparent economic success,
Great Britain began negotiations towards membership. In January 1963, however,
the French president Charles de Gaulle vetoed British membership, particularly
because of its close ties to the United States. De Gaulle vetoed British admittance a
second time in 1967.

Creation of the EC

The basic economic features of the EEC treaty were gradually implemented, and the
three communities (the EEC, the ECSC, and Euratom) merged in July 1967 under
one set of institutions, the European Community. No progress was made on
enlargement of the EC or on any other new proposals, however, until after De Gaulle

82
resigned as president of France in May 1969. The next French president, Georges
Pompidou, was more open to new initiatives within the EC.

At Pompidou's suggestion, a summit meeting of the leaders of the member states

was held in The Hague in December 1969. This summit paved the way for the
creation of a permanent financing arrangement for the EC, the development of a
framework for foreign-policy cooperation among the member nations, and the
opening of membership negotiations with Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, and
Norway.

Expansion of the EC

In January 1972, after nearly two years of negotiations, treaties of accession were
signed to admit the four applicant countries on January 1, 1973. Great Britain,
Ireland, and Denmark joined as scheduled; however, in a national referendum,
Norway voted against membership.

In Great Britain, opposition to EC membership continued. After the Labour party

regained power in 1974, it carried out its election promise to renegotiate British
membership conditions (particularly financial ones); the renegotiation resulted in only
marginal changes, but it created a period of uncertainty within the EC. A divided
Labour government endorsed continued EC membership and called a national
referendum on the issue for June 1975. Despite strong opposition from some groups,
the British people voted for continued membership.

In 1979 and 1980, the British government, claiming that the value of its contributions
far exceeded the value of benefits received, again attempted to change its terms of
membership. The conflict was resolved during the spring of 1980 when several
members agreed to pay a greater share of the EC costs. In 1984 it was agreed that
Great Britain would receive a partial rebate of its annual net contributions to the EC,
beginning with a rebate of US$800 million for that year.

Greece entered the EC in 1981 and, after eight years of negotiations, Spain and
Portugal joined in 1986. Other important developments during the 1970s and 1980s
included the expansion of EC aid to less developed countries (especially to former
colonial possessions of the member states); the institution of the European Monetary
System to provide some stability in the relationships among member currencies; and
progress towards removing internal trade barriers and establishing a single market.

European Monetary System

In March 1979 the European Monetary System (EMS) was established as a first step
towards achieving an economic and monetary union. Initial plans to reach complete
EMU by 1980 proved overly optimistic; currencies of member states fluctuated
against each other, and the devaluation of some currencies limited economic growth
and led to high inflation. The EMS was proposed to stabilise exchange rates and
curb inflation by limiting the margin of fluctuation for each member currency to a
small deviation from a central rate. A common European Currency Unit (ECU) was
introduced by which the central exchange rates could be set. The ECU was
comprised of all the EU currencies, weighted according to the economic importance

83
of each country. When any currency reached the limit of the margin of fluctuation, set
at 2.25 per cent, the central banks of the respective countries were obliged to
intervene by selling off the stronger currency and buying the weaker one. The EMS
also required member governments to take appropriate economic policy steps to
prevent continued deviation from the central rate. The EMS helped lower inflation
rates in the EC and eased the economic shock of global currency fluctuations during
the 1980s. However, its principal mechanism, the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM),
collapsed in September 1992 under sustained attack by currency speculators,
triggered by high German interest rates following reunification. Italy and Great Britain
were forced out of the ERM.

Towards a Single Market

The most significant development in the EC during the 1980s was the progress
towards implementing a single European market. The campaign for the single market
was led by Jacques Delors, a former French finance minister who became president
of the European Commission in 1985. At a summit meeting in Milan, Italy, the
commission proposed a seven-year timetable for removing nearly all the remaining
trade barriers between member states. The European Council approved the plan,
and the goal of achieving a single European market by December 31, 1993,
accelerated reforms with the EC and increased cooperation and integration among
member states. Ultimately, it led to the formation of the European Union.

One obstacle to full economic integration was the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
During the 1980s the CAP accounted for about two-thirds of annual EC expenditures
(revenues were gained from levies on imports and up to two per cent of the value-
added tax collected by member states). The CAP encouraged the production of large
surpluses of some commodities that the EC was committed to buy, resulting in
subsidies to some countries at the expense of others. At an emergency summit
meeting in 1988, EC leaders agreed on mechanisms to limit these payments; under
the 1989 budget, agricultural subsidies comprised less than 60 per cent of total EC
spending for the first time since the 1960s.

Single European Act

The fixed timetable for achieving the single market exposed the EC's need for greater
power in order to resolve all the issues surrounding the elimination of trade barriers in
time for the deadline. The Council of Ministers had to reach unanimous agreement on
every decision, effectively giving any one member state veto power and thus slowing
the political process.

The Single European Act, introduced in December 1985 and approved by all 12
members by July 1987, established the first major changes to EC structure since the
already established Treaties of Rome of 1957. Among the changes was the
introduction of the weighted majority system which helped speed up the process of
implementing the single market. The Single European Act also made other important
changes. The European Council, which had provided much of the impetus for the
single market, was given formal status; the European Parliament was given greater
voice and influence; and member states agreed to adopt common policies and
standards on matters ranging from taxes and employment to health and the

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environment. In addition, the Court of First Instance was established to hear appeals
of EC rulings brought by individuals, organizations, or corporations; and each
member state resolved to bring its economic and monetary policies in line with its
neighbours, using the EMS as a model.

Changes in Europe and the EC

Supporters of an economic and monetary union argued that there could not be a
single market as long as restrictions on money transfers and exchange premiums
limited the free flow of capital. A three-stage plan for achieving EMU was suggested.
At the same time, the commission proposed a social charter on human rights. Great
Britain voiced opposition to both proposals, expressing concern that its sovereignty
would be threatened if the power of the EC was expanded. However, Great Britain
eventually joined the plan for EMU as changes swept throughout Europe causing the
need for a swift and united response from the EC.

As Communism crumbled in eastern Europe, many of the former Communist

countries looked to the EC for political and economic assistance. The EC agreed to
military aid and association agreements with many of the countries, but ruled out
immediate membership. An emergency summit in April 1990 made an exception for
East Germany, allowing the country to be automatically incorporated into the EC
upon completion of German reunification. At this same summit, West Germany and
France proposed an intergovernmental conference (IGC) to pursue closer European
unity in the wake of the rapid political upheaval. The British prime minister Margaret
Thatcher opposed calls for increased unity, but in 1990 John Major became prime
minister and adopted a more conciliatory approach towards the idea of European
unity. The IGC, along with a similar conference working on a timetable for the EMU,
began work on a series of agreements that became the Treaty on European Union.

Treaty on European Union

Representatives from each of the EC countries negotiated the Treaty on European

Union in 1991, and in December the European Council met at Maastricht, the
Netherlands, to consider a draft version. After intense bargaining among members,
the final treaty was signed by the European Council on February 7, 1992. A provision
of the treaty mandated that the voters of each member state had to approve the
European Union by popular referendum; the treaty was ratified in October 1993. The
European Union was established on November 1, when the treaty went into effect.

Outlook

The EU represents a desire for peace and cooperation among sovereign European
states. With increased cooperation and growth, the EU may become a major
economic unit. However, the long-term goal of a single federal European political
state as envisioned by the original proponents of European economic cooperation
has largely been rejected.

The number of member countries in the EU is expected to increase by the end of the
decade. Turkey applied for membership in 1987; Austria in 1989; Cyprus and Malta
in 1990; Sweden in 1991; and Switzerland, Finland, and Norway in 1992. Several

85
eastern European countries are also expected to apply for membership. Switzerland
later withdrew its membership application to avoid violating its history of neutrality. In
June 1994 Austrian voters overwhelmingly affirmed a referendum on EU membership
and prepared to join in 1995. Finland, Austria, and Sweden joined the EU in 1995;
after a referendum, Norway once again elected to remain outside.

Other potential EU applicants include members of the European Free Trade

Association (EFTA). In 1991 the EC and EFTA completed an agreement to establish
the European Economic Area, which would provide a single market for goods,
services, and capital. The European Economic Area, which took effect on January 1,
1994, eliminated trade barriers between the EU and EFTA, each of which is the
other's largest trading partner.

The Public Order Act

Despite its title, the Public Order Act creates some offences which apply whether the
conduct takes place in a public or a private place. Of particular relevance here are
those offences which involve violence or the threat of violence. The Act provides a
"ladder" of offences, of which the most serious is riot (section 1). The essence of riot
is the use of unlawful violence by two or more persons in a group of at least twelve
persons who are using or threatening violence. The maximum penalty is ten years'
imprisonment, compared with a maximum of five years for the lesser offence of
violent disorder. The essence of violent disorder (section 2) is the use or threat of
unlawful violence in a group of at least three persons who are using or threatening
violence. Beneath violent disorder comes the crime of affray (section 3), now defined
in terms of threatening or using unlawful violence towards another, and carrying a
maximum of three years' imprisonment. Affray may be committed by one individual,
and, like the other offences, it may be committed in a private place. The term
"violence" includes conduct intended to cause physical harm and conduct which
might cause harm (such as throwing a missile towards someone); and, for the two
most serious offences of riot and violent disorder, "violence" bears an extended
meaning which includes violent conduct towards property.

Is it necessary to have an extra ladder of offences so closely linked with the general
ladder of offences of violence? One reason might be the unsatisfactory state of the
law under the Offences against the Person Act 1861: that Act fails to provide both a
clear and defensible gradation of offences and any general offences of threatening
violence against another. The provisions of the Public Order Act are, however,
usually justified on other grounds. One supposed justification is that these extra
offences are needed to cope with "group offending", which causes fear in ordinary
citizens, and extra difficulties for the police and for prosecutors (in obtaining
persuasive evidence). Offences committed by groups may well occasion greater fear
than offences committed by individuals, and it may also be true that groups have a
tendency to do things which individuals might not do: there is a group bravado, a
group pressure, which may lead to excesses. On the other hand, the criminal law
already makes some provision for such cases. The law of conspiracy is aimed at
group offending, but conviction depends on proof of some prior agreement. The law
of complicity enables the conviction of people who aid and abet others to commit
offences, and spreads a fairly wide net in doing so.

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Causing Death

If causing death is to be regarded as the most serious harm that can be inflicted, it
would seem to follow that the most blameworthy form of homicide should result in the
highest sentences imposed by the courts. Indeed, many systems of criminal law
impose a mandatory sentence for murder (or whatever the highest form of homicide
is called in that system). In some jurisdictions this is a mandatory sentence of death.
In others, such as those in the United Kingdom, it is the mandatory sentence of life
imprisonment. Why should this penalty be mandatory, and not at the discretion of the
court as in other offences? One argument in favour of the mandatory sentence of life
imprisonment is that it amounts to a symbolic indication of the unique heinousness of
murder. It places the offender under the State's control, as it were, for the remainder
of his or her life. This is often linked with a supposed denunciatory effect - the idea
that the mandatory life sentence denounces murder as emphatically as possible -
and with a supposed general deterrent effect, in declaring that there is no mitigation
of sentence available for this crime. It might also be argued that the mandatory life
sentence makes a substantial contribution to public safety.

None of these arguments is notably strong, let alone conclusive. The mandatory
penalty does indeed serve to mark out murder from other crimes, but whether the
definition of murder is refined to capture the worst killings, and only the worst killings,
remains to be discussed below. Whether the life sentence is regarded as a sufficient
denunciation in society depends on the public's perception of what life imprisonment
means: if it is widely believed that it results in an average of nine years'
imprisonment, the effect will be somewhat blunted. The same applies to the general
deterrent argument: its effectiveness depends on whether the penalty for murder
affects the calculations of potential killers at all, and, if it does, whether life
imprisonment is seen as significantly more or less severe than the alternative of a
long, fixed-term sentence. As for public protection, this depends on executive
decisions with regard to release; it fails to take into account whether it is necessary
for public protection to keep "lifers" in for so long.

For practical purposes, the culpable causing of another person's death may fairly be
regarded as the most serious offence in the criminal calendar. There is an argument
that treason is a more serious offence, since it strikes at the very foundations of the
State and its social organizations, but treason is so rare that it is surely permissible to
treat homicide as the most serious form of crime. The reason for this is not difficult to
find: the harm caused by many other crimes is remediable to a degree, whereas the
harm caused by homicide is absolutely irremediable. Even in crimes of violence
which leave some permanent physical disfigurement or psychological effects, the
victim retains his or her life and, therefore, the possibility of further pleasures and
achievements, whereas death is final. This finality makes it proper to regard death as
the most serious harm that may be inflicted on another, and to regard a person who
chooses to inflict that harm as the most culpable of offenders, in the absence of some
excuse or justification.

Although many deaths arise from natural causes, and many others from illnesses and
diseases, each year sees a large number of deaths caused by "accidents", and also
a number caused by acts or omissions which amount to some form of homicide in
English law. for 1987 the statistics show that there were some 20,000 accidental

87
deaths, of which some 7,000 occurred in the home, 6,000 at work, and 5,000 on the
roads. By comparison, the number of deaths recorded as criminal homicide was 600,
which includes all the murders and manslaughters. This figure is relatively small
when compared with many American cities, but that is no cause for satisfaction.
There are still awkward questions to be confronted. For example, are we satisfied
that the 600 deaths recorded as homicide are in fact more culpable than all, or even
most, of the deaths recorded as accidents? In other words, does English criminal law
pick out the most heinous forms of killing as murders and manslaughters, or are the
boundaries frozen by tradition? Another question is whether the criminal law ought
not to be wider in its application to activities which carry some risk of causing death
than in other spheres. Thus, even if it would be excessive to sweep large numbers of
the deaths now recorded as "accidents" into the law of homicide, there may be
sufficient justification for creating or enforcing offences designed to ensure safe
conditions of work, safe goods, safe buildings, and so on. It was argued in Chapter 2
that the criminal law ought to spread its net wider where the potential harm is greater.
It will be seen that English law does this up to a point, and in the process seems to
accept social-defence arguments as reasons for departing from several of the
principles set out in Chapter 3.

Requirements for Murder

In English criminal law there are now two alternative fault requirements for murder:
an intent to kill, or an intent to cause grievous bodily harm. What do these
requirements mean? Do they extend the definition of murder too far, or are they too
narrow.

Intent to kill may be regarded as the most obvious and indisputable form of fault
element for murder, but to some extent that depends on the meaning of "intent". This
has been the subject of a number of House of Lords decisions, and yet the definition
is still not clear and settled. Probably the most accurate statement would be that a
person intends to kill if it is his or her purpose to kill by the act or omission charged,
or if he or she foresees that death is practically certain to follow from that act or
omission. In this way, both purpose and foresight of practical certainty are regarded
as part of the definition of intent, although there are other statements suggesting that
foresight of practical or "virtual" certainty is merely evidence from which intent may be
inferred. How would this test be applied? In many cases the word "intent" is used
without elaboration, but there are some for which a full explanation of the meaning of
intention is necessary. A fairly typical set of facts is provided by Nedrick (1986),
where D had a grudge against a woman and had threatened to "burn her out". One
night he went to her house, poured paraffin through the letter-box and on to the front
door, and set it alight. One of the woman's children died in the ensuing fire. When
asked why he did it, D replied: "Just to wake her up and frighten her." A defence of
this kind, a claim that the purpose was only to frighten and not to cause harm,
requires the full definition to be put to the jury. The question is: granted that D's
purpose was to frighten, did he nonetheless realize that it was practically certain that
his act would cause death or grievous bodily harm to someone? The jury should
answer this by drawing inferences from the evidence in the case and from the
surrounding circumstances.

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What about the alternative element in the definition, an intent to cause grievous
bodily harm? This has considerable practical importance, since this is all that the
prosecution has to prove in order to obtain a verdict of guilty of murder. It must be
shown that the defendant intended (which, again, includes both purpose and
awareness of practical certainty) to cause really serious injury to someone. The
House of Lords confirmed this rule in Cunningham (1981): D struck his victim on the
head a number of times with a chair, causing injuries from which the victim died a
week later. D maintained throughout that he had not intended to kill, but there was
evidence from which the jury could infer - and did infer - that he intended to cause
grievous bodily harm. The House of Lords upheld D's conviction for murder: an intent
to cause really serious injury is sufficient for murder, without any proof that the
defendant intended, or even contemplated, the possibility that death would result.

Does the "grievous bodily harm" rule extend the definition of murder too far? If the
point of distinguishing murder from manslaughter is to mark out the most heinous
group of killings for the extra stigma of a murder conviction, it can be argued that the
"grievous bodily harm" rule draws the line too low. In terms of principle, the rule
requires justification because it departs from the principle of correspondence, namely
that the fault element in a crime should relate to the consequences prohibited by that
crime. By allowing an intent to cause grievous bodily harm to suffice for a murder
conviction, the law is violating a general principle, turning the most serious of its
offences into a constructive crime. Why should it be necessary to "construct" a
murder conviction out of this lesser intent? There are arguments in favour of this:
death is final, murder is the gravest crime, and there is no significant moral difference
between someone who chooses to cause really serious injury and someone who sets
out to kill. No one can predict whether a serious injury will result in death - that may
depend on the victim's physique, on the speed of an ambulance, on the distance
from the hospital, and on a range of other medical and individual matters. If one
person chooses to cause serious injury to another, it should be presumed that he or
she realizes that there is always a risk of death, and such cases show a sufficiently
wanton disregard for life as to warrant the label "murder" if death results. The
counter-arguments, which would uphold the principle of correspondence, are that
breach of that principle is unnecessary when the amplitude of the crime of
manslaughter lies beneath murder, and also that the definition of grievous bodily
harm includes a number of injuries which are most unlikely to put the victim's life at
risk. In the leading case of Cunningham Lord Edmund-Davies (dissenting) gave the
example of breaking someone's arm: that is a really serious injury, but one which is
unlikely to endanger the victim's life. So in practice the "grievous bodily harm" rule
goes further than the arguments of its protagonists would support.

Would it be right, then, to confine the fault element in murder to an intent to kill? That
would have the merit of simplicity, but would it strike the right note socially? There are
powerful arguments in favour of saying that there are other killings where an intent to
kill cannot be established, and yet where the moral or social culpability is equal to
that in most intentional killings. Of course, one cannot be adamant about whether
they merit the label "murder", because that is a question of drawing the line between
murder and manslaughter, which is not susceptible of any precise resolution. It is
hard to argue conclusively that the category of murder should be smaller or larger
(unless the death penalty or a mandatory life sentence follows); it is a question of
social judgment.

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Let us briefly consider some of the possibilities. The fault element for many serious
offences is intent or recklessness: why should this not suffice for murder? The
question is whether all killings in which the defendant is aware of the risk of death are
sufficiently serious to warrant the term "murder". One answer sometimes given is that
they are not, because a driver who overtakes on a bend, knowingly taking the risk
that there is a car travelling in the opposite direction, should not be labelled a
murderer if a collision and death happen to ensue. This example assumes that a
sympathy for motorists with overwhelm any tendency to logical analysis. One might
ask whether motorists are ever justified in knowingly taking risks with other people's
lives. Yet if the example is modified a little, so that the overtaking is on a country road
at night and the risk is known to be slight, it becomes questionable whether the
causing of death in these circumstances should be labelled in the same way as
intentional killings. This is not to suggest that motorists should be treated differently.
The point is rather that, even though knowingly taking risks with other people's lives
is usually unjustifiable, taking a slight risk is less serious than intentionally causing
death. In discussing the boundaries of murder, we are concerned with classification,
not exculpation.

To classify all reckless killings as murder might be too broad, but the point remains
that some reckless killings may be thought no less heinous than intentional killings.
Can a satisfactory line be drawn here? One approach would be to draw the line by
reference to the degree of probability. Murder is committed in those situations where
D caused death by an act or omission which he knew had death as the probable or
highly probable result. A version of this test of foresight of high probability is used in
several other European countries; it was introduced into English law by the decision
in Hyam v. DPP (1975), but abandoned in Moloney (1985) on grounds of uncertainty.

A second approach is to frame the law in such a way as to make it clear that the
court should make a moral judgment on the gravity of the defendant's conduct.
Section 210.2 of the Model Penal Code includes within murder those reckless killings
which manifest "extreme indifference to the value of human life". Scots law treats as
murder killings with "wicked recklessness", a phrase which directs the court's
attention to the circumstances of the killing. Both the Model Penal Code test and the
Scots test may be reduced to circularity, however, for when one asks how extreme or
how wicked the recklessness should be, the only possible answer is: "wicked or
extreme enough to justify the stigma of a murder conviction". Admittedly, the Model
Penal Code does contain a list of circumstances which may amount to extreme
indifference, which assists the courts and increases the predictability of verdicts in a
way that Scots law does not, but the essence of both approaches is that there is no
precise way of describing those non-intentional killings which are as heinous as
intentional killings. Their protagonists argue that the law of murder is so important
socially that derogation from the principle of maximum certainty should be allowed in
favour of more accurate labelling by the courts; opponents argue that the principle of
maximum certainty is needed here specifically to reduce the risk of verdicts based on
discriminatory or irrelevant factors, such as distaste for the defendant's background,
allegiance, or other activities.

A third, more precise formulation derives from the recommendations of the Criminal
Law Revision Committee in 1980, namely, that a killing should be classified as
murder in those situations where there is an intention to cause serious injury coupled

90
with awareness of the risk of death. Neither an intention to cause serious injury nor
recklessness as to death should be sufficient on its own, but together they restrict
one another, producing a test which both satisfies the criterion of certainty and marks
out some heinous but non-intended killings.

A fourth approach, adopted by English law until 1957 and still in force in many
American jurisdictions, is some form of felony murder rule: anyone who kills during
the course of a felony (or, more restrictively, a serious crime of violence) or whilst
resisting arrest should be convicted of murder. Thus stated, there is no reference to
the defendant's intention or awareness of the risks: the fact that D has chosen to
commit rape, robbery, or another serious offence, and has caused death thereby, is
held to constitute sufficient moral grounds for placing the killing in the highest
category. Plainly, this is a form of constructive criminal liability: the murder conviction
is constructed out of the ingredients of a lesser offence. Presumably the justification
is that D has already crossed a high moral/social threshold in choosing to commit
such a serious offence, and should therefore be held liable for whatever
consequences ensue, however unforeseeable they may be. The objections would be
reduced if awareness of the risk of death was also required: in other words, if the test
were the commission of a serious offence of violence plus recklessness as to death.
The effect of that test would be to pick out those reckless killings which occurred
when D had already manifested substantial moral and legal culpability, and to classify
them as murder.

Four alternative approaches have been described, and many others could be listed.
The point is that the traditional concepts of intention and recklessness do not, of
themselves, appear to be sufficiently well focused to mark out those killings which are
the most heinous. The law must resort to some kind of moral and social evaluation of
conduct if it is to identify and separate out the most heinous killings. Many people
might think that a person who causes death whilst using an unlawfully held firearm or
explosives ought to be convicted of murder because there is, generally speaking, no
excuse for using such dangerous equipment. Some of the people thus covered would
be armed robbers, others would be terrorists. The armed robber might say that he
had no intention of using the firearm, that he carried it with him simply to frighten the
victim, and that it went off accidentally: if the jury believes that, should he be
convicted of murder? The terrorist might say that he gave sufficient warning of the
bomb for the area to be cleared, and that it was unforeseeable that a deaf person
should remain on the premises and be killed in the explosion, which was intended
only to cause damage. If the jury believes that, should he be convicted of murder? It
is possible that juries would prefer to convict of murder in such cases so as to
register their abhorrence of the defendant's activities in general. If so, this would
suggest a social preference for regarding killings of these kinds as among the worst
because of the circumstances in which they occur, rather than because of the
defendant's awareness of the possible consequences. However, the Royal
Commission on Capital Punishment, which reviewed the matter thoroughly in the
early 1950s, and later law-reform committees have accorded preference to the
"general principle" that "persons ought not to be punished for consequences of their
acts which they did not intend or foresee". A conviction for manslaughter would be
sufficient to mark the gravity of those cases in which D was not aware of the risk of
death, and the court would have ample discretion in sentencing to reflect the
blameworthiness of D's conduct. However, there would have to be clear parameters

91
of sentencing in order to avoid the intrusion of discriminatory or irrelevant factors at
this stage.

To summarise: the existing English law classifies as murder those killings where
there was an intent to kill or an intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The reason for
distinguishing between murder and manslaughter must be to identify and to label the
most heinous killings as murder, and it has been questioned whether English law
succeeds in this. There are issues of general principle at stake, but it is also true to
say that there can be no absolutely right place in which to draw the line. The issue
assumes special significance when conviction for murder carries a mandatory
penalty, particularly when that penalty is death.

Treason

Treason is a criminal offence involving the attempt, by overt acts, to overthrow the
government to which the offender owes allegiance, or to betray the state to a foreign
power.

Two grades of treason existed in early English law: high treason, which was directed
against the Crown, and petty treason, which consisted of a crime against a subject,
such as a wife killing her husband, or a servant murdering his master.

In early English statutes the more serious offences were compassing or imagining
the death of the sovereign, adhering to the sovereign's enemies and giving them aid
and comfort, and levying war against the sovereign. Statutes were changed from time
to time between the reign of Edward III and that of Elizabeth I. After the Restoration
the Stuart judges used "constructive treason" to discourage resistance to the Crown.
They extended the offences to include words as well as deeds. In 1663, a writer was
convicted of treason for writing an article suggesting that the king was accountable to
the people.

Treason is a rare offence in modern law. In England it is usually invoked only in time
of war, and the penalty is still death. In 1917, Roger Casement was executed for
treason for attempting to gain German support for Irish independence during World
War I; in 1946, William Joyce, who had broadcast from Germany throughout World
War II and was known as "Lord Haw-Haw", was executed for treason. Joyce's
conviction was controversial as many believed that he was not a British citizen,
having been born in the United States, having no passport, and no intention to be a
British citizen.

Crime, Deprivation and Morality

Criminologists have scarcely addressed, let alone answered, the broad questions of
explaining overall trends in crime. Positivist research has generated much data about
specific relationships between individual or social characteristics and the likelihood of
conviction. Radical approaches have been characterized more by theoretical or
programmatic work than by grounded accounts or changing crime patterns. Even the
recent "New Left realism" does not address the broader questions of causation,
though its leading exponent Jock Young (1986) has rightly emphasised the need to
return aetiological questions to the foreground. But so far their explanation of rising

92
crime has largely focused on alleged deficiencies in police strategy, in particular on
counter-productive militaristic tactics which exacerbate "public alienation" and
therefore impede successful crime control (Kinsey et al., 1986, pp. 40- 2). Admittedly
the vicious cycle of police militarization and public alienation is seen to be kicked into
play by the economic crumbling of the inner city, but thereafter the weight of the
explanation is placed on inadequate (or over-heavy) policing. As will be indicated
below, I do not feel that much (if any) of the explanation can lie at the door of the
police station.

More plausible is the analysis developed in Dahrendorf's Hamlyn Lectures on "law

and order" (Dahrendorf, 1985, 1987). In this the main structural precondition of
growing crime is seen as the growth of an underclass. The social prerequisite of the
long trend in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries towards lower crime
and disorder, and greater police acceptance, was the historical process of working-
class incorporation. Uneven and limited though this might have been, the gulf
between Disraeli's two nations in the early and mid-nineteenth century became
blurred and attenuated by the twentieth. The sharp end of routine policing always
falls on the economically marginal, those who live out their lives in public places
which routine police patrols regulate, and those who are not integrated into the
mainstream institutions of economic and political life. Incorporation of the working
class reduced the adult part of this residuum to a politically insignificant, atomistic,
albeit cyclically fluctuating stratum. The main grist to the mill of policing was working-
class youth, but the perennial conflict between youth and the police is one with ever-
changing persona and is not the basis of political conflict.

This changed with the re-emergence of long-term structural unemployment, leading

to the de-incorporation of increasing sections of the working class, "who are being
defined out of the edifice of citizenship" (Dahrendorf, 1985, p. 98). The underclass in
Dahrendorf's account is not simply the product of unemployment. It is the
consequence of the apparent structural inevitability of its position: "The majority class
does not need the unemployed to maintain and even increase its standard of living.
The main point about this category - for lack of a better word we shall call it 'under
class' - is that its destiny is perceived as hopeless." (Dahrendorf, 1985, pp. 101-7).

Now there are problems with the simple postulation of a link between unemployment,
crime, and disorder, as Mrs Thatcher is only too ready to point out. There is an
enormous literature of research on the relationship, which the late Steven Box (1987)
has usefully summarised and reviewed in his very important last book, Recession,
Crime and Punishment. Box summarises some fifty research projects on the
relationship between unemployment and crime. Most are aggregate studies, looking
at the correlation over time or across space between levels of crime and
unemployment. He sums it up:

The relationship between overall unemployment and crime is inconsistent. On

balance the weight of existing research supports there being a weak but none the
less significant causal relationship. However, properly targeted research on young
males, particularly those from disadvantaged ethnic groups, which considers both the
meaning and duration of unemployment, has yet to be done. (pp. 96-7)

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Much of this debate has been vitiated by the assumption that if unemployment is
causally related to crime, this must be an invariable law: true at all times and places.
But it is more plausible to suppose that the meaning of unemployment will vary
according to a number of factors, e.g. its duration, social assessments of blame,
previous experience of steady employment, perception of future prospects,
comparison with other groups, etc. It would be too much, therefore, to expect that
there would be a universal and invariant relation. Some support for the link between
offending and perceptions of the justice of unemployment is suggested by the
research evidence on the connections of income inequality and crime. All the fifteen
studies of this reviewed by Box suggest a strong association (over time or cross-
sectionally) between economic inequality and crime in general (though this is not true
of five studies on homicide specifically) (Box, 1987, pp. 86-98). This plausibly
supports the view that it is relative deprivation which is causally related to crime, and
that in conditions where unemployment is perceived as unjust and hopeless by
comparison with the lot of other groups, this will act as a precipitant of crime. Two
recent studies, one American (Thornberry and Christenson, 1984) and one British
(Farrington et al., 1986), have both used a novel methodology to establish that at
least in the present climate unemployment is linked to crime. They have looked at the
commission of offences reported over time by a sample of youths in longitudinal
surveys. What is shown is that crime-rates (especially for property offences) were
higher during periods of unemployment than of employment. This suggests that
holding constant other variables, the same youths commit more crimes while
unemployed.

That there should be a link between (a) unemployment and (b) relative poverty, and
crime is hardly surprising. Both exacerbate the incentives to commit offences and
erode the social controls which would otherwise encourage conformity (relative
fearfulness of sanctions, perception of the justice of the system, involvement in
conventional activities and relationships, etc.). So it is clearly right to argue as
Dahrendorf does that the emergence of an underclass excluded apparently
permanently from dominant economic life is a potent condition of rising crime. This is
all grist to the mill of orthodox social democratic analyses of crime.

But it cannot be the whole story. First, there is the problem of rising crime during the
so-called period of affluence. It is this indeed which prompted the first "new realisms"
in criminology: the right-wing realism of James Q. Wilson and his associates in the
United States (Wilson, 1975); and the "administrative realism" attributed by Jock
Young to our own Home Office Research Unit (Young, 1986). If the rate of crime
increases when the adverse social conditions which have been linked to it are
becoming ameliorated, the answer must lie elsewhere: either in the failure of the
criminal justice system to deliver sanctions with sufficient certainty or positiveness
(the "New Right" analysis), or in changes in the availability of criminal opportunities in
the environment (administrative criminology).

Dahrendorf accepts both these as possible contributions, but encompasses them

within a much broader idea: the growth of anomia, the failure of a social structure to
instil adequate commitment to its conventional moral codes, as crystallized into the
criminal law. This is more profoundly a matter of the deeper cultural instilling of
conformist values than of the effective threat of post hoc sanctions by the criminal
justice system. The idea of the failure of the agencies of socialization to instil

94
discipline and moral values because of the effects of post-war "funk" and
permissiveness is a favourite stalking-horse of the right-wing populist criminology
championed by Norman Tebbit and others (and in a more sophisticated version in
Douglas Hurd's Tamworth and other speeches). The Government has eagerly seized
on the "evidence" provided by the new affluent and rural as well as urban "lager lout"
folk-devils to deny any link between inner-city deprivation and crime. Instead, the
finger is pointed at a common moral malaise due to over-liberalization and erosion of
discipline (Patten, 1988). Because of this pedigree, the opinions of the Left and of
liberals have shied away from examination of the issue of morality in relation to
crime. This is a great loss, because at root there is an integral relation between the
ideas of crime and morality. Older Marxist criminologies (notably Bonger's) saw the
link between economic conditions and crime precisely as lying in the culture of
egoism which was stimulated by economic advance under capitalism (Bonger, 1916).
This is more evident than ever in recent years with the amorally materialistic culture
which has been encouraged by the present Government's economic and social
policies. (Labour is beginning to pick up this theme: Guardian, 2 January 1989, p. 3.)
But uncomfortable questions must also be raised about the less traditional and
disciplinarian approaches to education, to family, and to other social institutions
which Left and liberal opinion have championed. What values do we want to underpin
social relations and criminal law? How can these be instilled? These problems are
ones well recognized and analysed, though not answered, by, for example,
Durkheim's discussion of anomie (Fenton et al., 1983) and Dahrendorf's of anomia.
As both emphasise, moral education cannot proceed effectively in an economically
unjust society. This much is social democratic orthodoxy. But can less authoritarian
forms of moral discipline be effective and if so, how are they to be achieved?

(Crime and Policing by Robert Reiner)

Martial Law

Martial Law is government by military authorities. Martial law derives its justification
from the need, when civil authority is inadequate, to use military force to suppress
insurrection, riot, or disorder, or to deal with public calamity. Inasmuch as martial law
is called forth by necessity, the extent and degree to which it may be employed and
may supersede civil authority are also measured by necessity.

Martial law is invoked when there is a state of war, or insurrection or rebellion

amounting to a state of war. It is not clear whether this is truly a law, or merely the
use of the amount of force necessary by the state (in England, the Crown) and its
officers to restore order. The Bill of Rights in England forbids the declaration of
martial law in time of peace.

Once the state of war is actually established, the courts cannot question military acts.
In the case of a riot or disturbance, on the other hand, the courts can determine
whether the amount of force used was excessive. It is customary whenever martial
law or some variant of it has been applied, as in wartime, to pass an Act of Indemnity
to protect any officer from legal attacks on their conduct during the period of martial
law.

95
A less rigorous form of suspension of normal procedures is the declaration of a state
of emergency, which is declared by proclamation. A state of emergency may be
declared, for a maximum of a month, when the essentials of life for the population are
threatened. It allows regulations to be made without an Act of Parliament, and grants
certain powers to government ministers.

International Aspects

In wartime, a nation may invoke martial law over its own territory as part of the war
effort; such action is distinct from military occupation by an invading power. Martial
law may also be invoked in cases of severe internal dissension or disorder, either by
an incumbent government seeking to retain power or by a new government after a
coup d'tat. Often in the case of a military coup, military authorities take over the
state administrative and judicial apparatus, and civil and political liberties are
suspended. Nations experiencing significant periods of martial law during the 1970s
and 1980s included Chile, the Philippines, Poland, and Turkey.

Modern Developments in Law

In France, the development of the judicial system after the break-up of the
Carolingian Empire was similar to that in England: Both involved the vesting of
central legal authority in the Crown after a protracted struggle with feudal manorial
courts. The essential features of the judicial system now in effect in France were
established after the French Revolution of 1789 by the Code Napoleon. This system
includes lower courts of wide jurisdiction, intermediate courts of appeal, a court to
resolve jurisdictional conflicts among courts, and a supreme appellate tribunal called
the Court of Cassation. Many European and Latin American judicial systems are
modelled on that of France.

In the Islamic world, the Koran is the source of law; justice traditionally has been
dispensed by specially trained priests in conjunction with the king, or sultan. In the
20th century, this system still prevails in such Islamic countries as Yemen and Saudi
Arabia. In Turkey, however, executive, legislative, and judicial functions have been
separated, and a judicial system similar to those of Western countries has evolved.

In other Middle Eastern and Asian countries that have attained independence since
World War II, notably Sri Lanka, India, and Israel, the courts also operate similarly to
those of the West, that is, as relatively independent institutions within a parliamentary
framework.

In Communist countries, the judicial system was usually patterned after that of the
USSR, which included a hierarchy of courts culminating in a supreme court. In the
former Yugoslavia, however, all judges, even those of the highest tribunals, were
elected, not appointed.

20th Century British History

This article analyses the constitutional aspects behind the formation of the first and
second National Governments, examining in particular the role of the king in the

96
formation of the two governments - a role which, as will be seen, was rather more
important than is usually thought.

The key to the formation of the first National Government lies in the parliamentary
arithmetic facing the second Labour government as it sought to implement its
programme of economies in August 1931. Labour was the largest party with 288
MPs; the Conservatives, who had gained more votes than Labour in the 1929
general election, were, nevertheless, only the second largest party with, by 1931, 262
MPs; and the Liberals had fifty-nine MPs. There were a further ten independents and
five MPs who owed allegiance to Sir Oswald Mosley's short-lived New party, formed
after Mosley's defection from Labour in February 1931.

It followed, therefore, that if the Labour Government was to secure acceptance of its
economic package, it had to secure the support of MPs from either the Liberal or the
Conservative party. This obvious feature of the parliamentary arithmetic is ignored by
many writers on the 1931 crisis.

They consider, sometimes in fairly abstract terms, the kinds of policies which Labour
might have adopted, without asking whether such policies had any chance of
securing parliamentary support. A policy of Keynesian expansion, for example,
whatever its merits, had no chance whatever of gaining majority support in the
conditions of August 1931. Nor would adoption of a tariff obviate the need for
economies, given that the Conservatives insisted upon severe retrenchment, whether
combined with a tariff or not.

The Labour Cabinet was, it is clear, united in its view that the budget had to be
balanced. What it could not agree on was how the budget was to be balanced; and it
was this disagreement that led to the break-up of the government. It is sometimes
said that the dissident minority in the Cabinet, led by Henderson, were not willing to
accept cuts in unemployment benefit. That is not strictly true. They were willing to
accept a cut in transitional benefit which would have had the effect of "throwing at
least some of those receiving transitional benefit upon public assistance", while
Henderson pressed hard for a "premium", a flat deduction of 1s. a week from all
unemployment benefits. What the dissidents objected to was a cut in the standard
rate of benefit. The whole Cabinet agreed that there should be a cut in the amount
that the unemployed were receiving; where they disagreed was in whether this
should include a cut in the standard rate of benefit.

The opposition parties, however, were unwilling to accept any programme of

economies which did not involve a cut in the standard rate of benefit. As the Labour
dissidents in the Cabinet recognised, they did not have the power - they were a
minority in the Cabinet as well as in the Commons - to avoid such a cut; all that they
could do was to ensure that it was not a Labour government which imposed it. Those
commentators who blame Labour for not pursuing an alternative set of more socially
just proposals in the conditions of August 1931 ought rather to blame the electorate
for not giving Labour sufficient support to form a majority government in 1929. In a
minority situation, some form of power-sharing - even if it did not necessarily involve
coalition - was inevitable.

97
Parliamentary arithmetic dictated, therefore, that Labour would have to produce a
package which was acceptable to at least one of the opposition parties. This the
Cabinet was unable to achieve. The question then arose of what alternative
government was available. Such a government had to be able to carry a programme
of economies through the House of Commons: this immediately ruled out the
possibility of a Labour minority government led by Henderson, as suggested by
Moodie in an otherwise illuminating article. It was quite clear that Henderson, the
leader of the dissident minority in the Cabinet, had no chance whatever of producing
a programme which could secure the support of a Commons majority. If, therefore,
the King had turned to Henderson after MacDonald had proffered his resignation, or
had sought the views of Labour Privy Counsellors as suggested by Herbert Morrison,
he could have been accused of wasting valuable time. In the existing conditions of
financial crisis, it was essential for a government to be formed which could ensure a
parliamentary majority in support of the economy measures so that they could pass
the Commons. Without some grasp of this basic requirement it is impossible to
understand what followed.

(20th Century British History by Vernon Bogdanor)

Time in History

In the life of politics the Greek language refers to the reign of justice by the term
aosmos; but the life of nature is a kosmos too, and indeed this cosmic view of the
universe begins with Anaximander's dictum. To him everything that happens in the
natural world is rational through and through and subject to a rigid norm.

Emphasis on the role of time characterised the Pythagorean idea of the kosmos.
According to Plutarch, when asked what Time (Chronos) was, Pythagoras (sixth
century BC) replied that it was the "soul", or procreative element, of the universe. The
extent to which Pythagoras and his followers may have been influenced by oriental
ideas has long been a subject for argument. The Orphic idea of Chronos, which may
have had an influence on Pythagoras, seems rather like the Iranian idea of Zurvan
akarana. In particular, both were depicted as multi-headed winged serpents.
Similarly, the dualism which played an important role in pythagorean philosophy
appears to echo the Zoroastrian cosmic opposition of Ohrmazd and Ahriman,
although these two ultimates were regarded as personal gods and not as abstract
principles like the Pythagorean ten basic pairs of opposites, such as limit versus
unlimited, good versus bad, male versus female, odd versus even. The most fruitful
feature of Pythagorean teaching was the key idea that the essence of things is to be
found in the concept of number, which was regarded as having spatial and also
temporal significance. Numbers were represented figuratively by patterns similar to
those still found on dominoes and dice. Although this led to Greek mathematics being
dominated by geometry, time was no less an important element in early Pythagorean
thought. Indeed, even spatial configurations were regarded as temporal by nature, as
is indicated by the role of the gnomon. This was originally a timemeasuring
instrument - a simple upright sundial. Later the same term was used to denote the
geometrical figure that is formed when a smaller square is cut out of a larger square
with two of its adjacent sides lying along two adjacent sides of the latter. Eventually,
the term came to denote any number which, when added to a figurate number,
generates the next higher number of the same shape (triangular numbers, square

98
numbers, pentagonal numbers, and so on). The generation of numbers was regarded
by the early pythagoreans as an actual physical operation occurring in space and
time, and the basic cosmogonical process was identified with the generation of
numbers from the initial unit, the Monad, which may have been a sophisticated
version of the earlier Orphic idea of the primeval World-egg.

It is well known that Pythagoras' belief in the significance of numbers was supported
by his alleged discovery, with the aid of a stringed instrument, that the concordant
intervals of the musical scale correspond to simple numerical ratios. This led many
later Greek thinkers to regard musical theory as a branch of mathematics (together
with geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy it constituted what eventually came to be
called the quadrivium), although this view was not universally accepted, the most
influential of those who rejected it being Aristoxenus of Tarentum (fourth century BC).
He emphasised, instead, the role of sensory experience. For him the criterion of
musical phenomena was not mathematics but the ear.

Long before the time of Aristoxenus, some of the most acute Greek thinkers had
found that the concept of time was difficult to reconcile with their idea of rationality.
Indeed, parmenides, the founding father of logical disputation, argued that time
cannot pertain to anything that is truly real. The essence of his difficulty was that time
and change imply that the same thing can have contradictory properties - it can be,
say, hot and cold, depending on the time - and this conflicted with the rule that
nothing can possess incompatible attributes. His basic proposition was "That which is
is, and it is impossible for it not to be." From this he argued that, since only the
present "is", it follows that past and future are alike meaningless, the only time is a
continual present time and what exists is both uncreated and imperishable.
Parmenides drew a fundamental distinction between the world of appearance,
characterised by time and change, and the world of reality which is unchanging and
timeless. The former is revealed to us by our senses, but these are deceptive. The
latter is revealed to us by reason and is the only true mode of existence.

(Time in History by G. J. Whitrow)

The 1931 General Election

The 1931 general election gave the Conservatives a huge overall majority in the
House of Commons, enabling them to pursue their tariff policy with little hindrance.
The announcement of the election itself drew together the various elements in the
Conservative party, and validated Baldwin's decision to enter the National
Government. From 1931, threats to his leadership disappeared, Moreover, because
the Conservatives took with them into the National coalition elements of the Liberal
and Labour parties, the party competition of the 1930s became seriously unbalanced,
the left being too shattered and divided to offer effective opposition.

The effect of this election on the other parties was disastrous. While it served to
reconcile warring elements in the Conservative party, in the other parties it prevented
any such reconciliation. In particular it widened the gap between Labour and National
Labour, and made it quite impossible for any reunion to take place. For the Liberals,
the election meant a breach between the party and its leader, Lloyd George, Indeed,
it meant the end of Lloyd George's connection with the Liberal party. He refused to

99
allow the party access to his fund, and partly for this reason the Liberals were forced
to accept a drastic reduction in the number of candidatures, from 513 in 1929 to 112
in 1931, The condition of the Liberals was far more serious than that of Labour, for
the Liberal party was beginning to lose its sense of identity and purpose (and has still
not fully recovered it). Once the party had shown itself, in the 1929-31 Parliament,
unwilling to support Lloyd George's programme of national reconciliation, it had no
answer to the question: What did the Liberal party stand for? Its only rallying cry
remained free trade; and yet it was clear that the 1931 election would result in a
protectionist majority. The seeming gains made by the Liberals in the negotiations
before the Cabinet agreed to an election - that there should be no joint manifesto,
and no pledge to introduce tariffs, merely an impartial inquiry - turned out (as might
have been expected) to be worthless. The squabbling in Cabinet over the formula on
which the National Government was to fight the election was, in reality, a form of
shadow-boxing: for, whatever the formula, it would be interpreted by those who had
the power to interpret it, that is, the Conservative and protectionist majority. Lloyd
George, himself perfectly willing to countenance departures from free trade in his
1918-22 Coalition, now argued that free trade was best defended through a vote for
the Labour Party. The 1931 general election was the last election until that of
February 1974 at which the electoral performance of the Liberals was of significance
to the two major parties. In agreeing to fight the election as part of the National
Government, the Liberal party abdicated from its role as a major participant in the
political system.

Because they were losing their sense of identity, the Liberals were split three ways by
the 1931 election - into Simonites, Samuelites, and the Lloyd George family group,
The first group advocated co-operation, culminating in a merger, with the
Conservatives; the second sought to preserve an independent Liberal party; the third
sought co-operation with Labour. So also the French Radicals in the Fourth Republic
were to splinter in all directions, participating in governments of both left and right.
The Liberal party could no more than the Radicals answer the fundamental question
of whether, with political liberalism and universal suffrage achieved, there remained a
distinctive philosophy of liberalism which could differentiate the Liberals from other
political parties.

Between 1929 and the formation of the second National Government after the
general election, the Liberal party had been a genuine participant in the political
system and the other parties had to consider carefully what its reactions might be.
During the course of the 1929-31 government, MacDonald gradually appreciated that
the hopes which he had entertained during the 1920s of eliminating the Liberals and
winning over the whole of the progressive vote for the Labour party could not be
achieved. It was for this reason that he felt compelled to offer the Liberals the
alternative vote, an electoral system which would have the effect of entrenching the
third party as part of the political system. The events between the formation of the
first National Government and the general election, however, turned what had been
an incipient three-party system into an unbalanced two-party system in which the
Conservatives, reinforced by defectors from the Liberal and Labour parties, the
Liberal Nationals, and National Labour party, were the obvious beneficiaries.

It was the general election, then, and not the formation of the first National
Government, that was the crucial event in the politics of the 1930s. The King was

100
involved in the decisions precipitating both events. In recent years there has been
considerable discussion of the role of the Sovereign in the eventuality of a hung
Parliament, such as that of 1929-31, and the general conclusion has been that her
role is essentially a passive one. Yet both in the formation of the National
Government and in the decision that it would fight the election as a government the
King played an important, perhaps a crucial role. That was in fact the private view of
Harold Nicolson, although he did not allow it to be expressed in his official biography
of George V. In an unpublished section of his diaries, he writes of his interview with
Queen Mary on 21 March 1949, "I talked to her about the 1931 crisis and said that I
was convinced the King had been a determinant influence on that occasion. 'Yes
certainly; he certainly was.' "

It is perhaps futile to ask the question, were the King's actions constitutional? In a
country without a codified constitution, it is hardly possible to give a definitive answer.
If one asks the further question, were the King's actions wise? one's answer is likely
to be all too heavily conditioned by hindsight, by the views one takes of the later
politics of the 1930s, of the restoration of a two-party system, and of the decline of
the Liberal Party. The historian, perhaps, can do little more than echo Disraeli's
pregnant remark in Sybil, Book IV, Chapter I: "when parties are in the present state of
equality, the Sovereign is no longer a mere pageant."

(20th Century British History by Vernon Bogdanor)

The 1931 General Election

The 1931 general election gave the Conservatives a huge overall majority in the
House of Commons, enabling them to pursue their tariff policy with little hindrance.
The announcement of the election itself drew together the various elements in the
Conservative party, and validated Baldwin's decision to enter the National
Government. From 1931, threats to his leadership disappeared, Moreover, because
the Conservatives took with them into the National coalition elements of the Liberal
and Labour parties, the party competition of the 1930s became seriously unbalanced,
the left being too shattered and divided to offer effective opposition.

The effect of this election on the other parties was disastrous. While it served to
reconcile warring elements in the Conservative party, in the other parties it prevented
any such reconciliation. In particular it widened the gap between Labour and National
Labour, and made it quite impossible for any reunion to take place. For the Liberals,
the election meant a breach between the party and its leader, Lloyd George, Indeed,
it meant the end of Lloyd George's connection with the Liberal party. He refused to
allow the party access to his fund, and partly for this reason the Liberals were forced
to accept a drastic reduction in the number of candidatures, from 513 in 1929 to 112
in 1931, The condition of the Liberals was far more serious than that of Labour, for
the Liberal party was beginning to lose its sense of identity and purpose (and has still
not fully recovered it). Once the party had shown itself, in the 1929-31 Parliament,
unwilling to support Lloyd George's programme of national reconciliation, it had no
answer to the question: What did the Liberal party stand for? Its only rallying cry
remained free trade; and yet it was clear that the 1931 election would result in a
protectionist majority. The seeming gains made by the Liberals in the negotiations
before the Cabinet agreed to an election - that there should be no joint manifesto,

101
and no pledge to introduce tariffs, merely an impartial inquiry - turned out (as might
have been expected) to be worthless. The squabbling in Cabinet over the formula on
which the National Government was to fight the election was, in reality, a form of
shadow-boxing: for, whatever the formula, it would be interpreted by those who had
the power to interpret it, that is, the Conservative and protectionist majority. Lloyd
George, himself perfectly willing to countenance departures from free trade in his
1918-22 Coalition, now argued that free trade was best defended through a vote for
the Labour Party. The 1931 general election was the last election until that of
February 1974 at which the electoral performance of the Liberals was of significance
to the two major parties. In agreeing to fight the election as part of the National
Government, the Liberal party abdicated from its role as a major participant in the
political system.

Because they were losing their sense of identity, the Liberals were split three ways by
the 1931 election - into Simonites, Samuelites, and the Lloyd George family group,
The first group advocated co-operation, culminating in a merger, with the
Conservatives; the second sought to preserve an independent Liberal party; the third
sought co-operation with Labour. So also the French Radicals in the Fourth Republic
were to splinter in all directions, participating in governments of both left and right.
The Liberal party could no more than the Radicals answer the fundamental question
of whether, with political liberalism and universal suffrage achieved, there remained a
distinctive philosophy of liberalism which could differentiate the Liberals from other
political parties.

Between 1929 and the formation of the second National Government after the
general election, the Liberal party had been a genuine participant in the political
system and the other parties had to consider carefully what its reactions might be.
During the course of the 1929-31 government, MacDonald gradually appreciated that
the hopes which he had entertained during the 1920s of eliminating the Liberals and
winning over the whole of the progressive vote for the Labour party could not be
achieved. It was for this reason that he felt compelled to offer the Liberals the
alternative vote, an electoral system which would have the effect of entrenching the
third party as part of the political system. The events between the formation of the
first National Government and the general election, however, turned what had been
an incipient three-party system into an unbalanced two-party system in which the
Conservatives, reinforced by defectors from the Liberal and Labour parties, the
Liberal Nationals, and National Labour party, were the obvious beneficiaries.

It was the general election, then, and not the formation of the first National
Government, that was the crucial event in the politics of the 1930s. The King was
involved in the decisions precipitating both events. In recent years there has been
considerable discussion of the role of the Sovereign in the eventuality of a hung
Parliament, such as that of 1929-31, and the general conclusion has been that her
role is essentially a passive one. Yet both in the formation of the National
Government and in the decision that it would fight the election as a government the
King played an important, perhaps a crucial role. That was in fact the private view of
Harold Nicolson, although he did not allow it to be expressed in his official biography
of George V. In an unpublished section of his diaries, he writes of his interview with
Queen Mary on 21 March 1949, "I talked to her about the 1931 crisis and said that I

102
was convinced the King had been a determinant influence on that occasion. 'Yes
certainly; he certainly was.' "

It is perhaps futile to ask the question, were the King's actions constitutional? In a
country without a codified constitution, it is hardly possible to give a definitive answer.
If one asks the further question, were the King's actions wise? one's answer is likely
to be all too heavily conditioned by hindsight, by the views one takes of the later
politics of the 1930s, of the restoration of a two-party system, and of the decline of
the Liberal Party. The historian, perhaps, can do little more than echo Disraeli's
pregnant remark in Sybil, Book IV, Chapter I: "when parties are in the present state of
equality, the Sovereign is no longer a mere pageant."

(20th Century British History by Vernon Bogdanor)

Economic and Social Policies

In terms of economic and social policies the impact of the 1980-1 riots was equally
ambiguous and contradictory. Part of this ambiguity, as outlined above, resulted from
the Government's strenuous efforts to deny any link between its policies and the
outbreak of violence and disorder. This denial was particularly important, since at the
time the Thatcher administration was going through a bad period in terms of popular
opinion on issues such as unemployment, social services, and housing. While Lord
Scarman was careful not to enter the political dispute between the Government and
the Labour party on issues such as unemployment and housing, his call for more
direct action to deal with these problems, along with racial disadvantage, posed a
challenge to the political legitimacy of the policies which the Government had
followed from 1979 onwards. It also posed a delicate problem for the Home Secretary
himself, since Lord Scarman had been appointed by him to carry out his Inquiry.
Having spent the whole summer denying any link between its policies and the riots,
the Government had to tread warily in responding to the economic and social policy
proposals of the Scarman Report when it was published in November 1981.

The parliamentary debate on the Report showed the Home Secretary adopting a two-
pronged strategy in his response. First, he accepted many of the recommendations
of the Report, particularly in relation to the role of the police. Additionally, he
accepted the need to tackle racial disadvantage and other social issues. Second, he
emphasised the Government's view that, whatever broader measures were taken to
deal with racial and social inequalities, the immediate priority was to restore and
maintain order on the streets. When the Home Secretary talked of the need for the
Government to give a lead in tackling racial disadvantage he therefore saw this as in
issue for the longer term. On the other hand, he was much more specific about the
reform of the police and the development of new tactics and equipment for the
management of urban disorder (Hansard, vol. 14, 10 December 1981).

In 1985, however, the Government specifically rejected calls for another inquiry like
Lord Scarman's, arguing that since the riots were a "criminal enterprise" it was
useless to search for social explanations or to have yet another report advising it
about what to do. Implicitly, the Government was saying that it knew what the
problems were, and how they could be tackled.

103
While some senior policemen, like Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Kenneth
Newman, wanted to stress the link between the police and other areas of "social
policy" (Metropolitan Police, 1986), the official government response attempted to
decontextualise the riots and see them as the actions of a small minority who were
either criminalized or influenced by extreme political ideas. The dominant approach of
the Government attempted to emphasise two main arguments.

1. that the riots were "a lust for blood", an "orgy of thieving", "a cry for loot and
not a cry for help";
2. that the riots did not reflect a failure to carry out the "urgent programme of
action" recommended by Lord Scarman in 1981, but were the outcome of a
spiralling wave of crime and disorder in inner-city areas.

The logic of this approach, articulated by Home Secretary Douglas Hurd most clearly,
was that the riots were both "unjustifiable" and a "criminal activity". In a widely
reported speech to police chiefs at the time of the disorders Hurd made this point
clear:

Handsworth needs more jobs and better housing. But riots only destroy. They create
nothing except a climate in which necessary development is even more difficult. Poor
housing and other social ills provide no kind of reason for riot, arson and killing. One
interviewer asked me whether the riot was not a cry for help by the rioters. The sound
which law-abiding people heard at Handsworth was not a cry for help but a cry for
loot. That is why the first priority, once public order is secure, must be a thorough and
relentless investigation into the crimes which were committed. (Daily Telegraph , 14
September 1985)

Such arguments resonated through the media and in the various parliamentary
debates during September and October 1985. They became part of the symbolic
political language through which the riots were understood by policy makers and by
popular opinion.

Since the 1985 unrest, and particularly after the 1987 General Election, the
Government has announced a number of initiatives on the inner city, and it has
presented these as part of an effort to rejuvenate depressed areas on a sound basis.
The evidence that has emerged since then, however, points to a major discrepancy
between the Government's promises of action and the allocation of resources to
implement them (Robson, 1988). It is perhaps too early to reach a conclusion on this
point, but a repeat of the period of inaction between 1982 and 1985 seems to be
evident, within the current political context. A number of local authorities have
attempted to take more positive action to deal with the issues raised by the 1985
riots, but their experience has shown that such local initiatives are often severely
limited by the actions of national government, the police, and broader economic and
political pressures.

In the years since 1981 the one consistent response to urban unrest has been the
provision of more resources, more training, and more equipment to the police.
Instead of tackling the causes of urban unrest, the Government has built up force to
deal with the manifestation of those root conditions.

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Increasingly the most strident political voices are raised in the name of free enterprise
and law and order, not for equity and social justice. For the New Right and other
influential sectors of political opinion the attempt to achieve racial equality through
legal and political means is at best nave political folly, and at worst a restriction on
the workings of the market. The present political climate gives little cause for
optimism that a radical change in governmental priorities in this field is likely
(Solomos, 1989).

The Government's plan of Action for Cities (DoE, 1987), issued after Mrs Thatcher's
post-election promise, says very little directly about racial inequality. It remains to be
seen whether it will suffer the fate of numerous other initiatives on the inner cities and
fade into obscurity. But one thing seems clear: during the past decade the
Government has been more intent on reducing the powers of local authorities than
on providing for fundamental changes in the social conditions of the inner cities.

(Tackling The Inner Cities By Susanne MacGregor And Ben Pimlott)

Ethics

Ethics is traditionally a department of philosophy, and that is my reason for

discussing it. I hardly think myself that it ought to be included in the domain of
philosophy, but to prove this would take as long as to discuss the subject itself and
would be less interesting.

As a provisional definition, we may take ethics to consist of general principles which

help to determine rules of conduct. It is not the business of ethics to say how a
person should act in such and such specific circumstances; that is the province of
casuistry. The word casuistry has acquired bad connotations, as a result of the
Protestant and Jansenist attacks on the Jesuits. But in its old and proper sense it
represents a perfectly legitimate study. Take, say, the question: In what
circumstances is it right to tell a lie? Some people, unthinkingly, would say: Never!
But this answer cannot be seriously defended. Everybody admits that you should lie if
you meet a homicidal maniac pursuing a man with a view to murdering him, and he
asks you whether the man has passed your way. It is admitted that lying is a
legitimate branch of the art of warfare; also that priests may lie to guard the secrets of
the confessional, and doctors to protect the professional confidences of their
patients. All such questions belong to casuistry in the old sense, and it is evident that
they are questions deserving to be asked and answered. But they do not belong to
ethics in the sense in which this study has been included in philosophy.

It is not the business of ethics to arrive at actual rules of conduct, such as: Thou
shalt not steal. This is the province of morals. Ethics is expected to provide a basis
from which such rules can be deduced. The rules of morals differ according to the
age, the race, and the creed of the community concerned, to an extent that is hardly
realized by those who have neither travelled nor studied anthropology. Even within a
homogeneous community differences of opinion arise. Should a man kill his wifes
lover? The Church says no, the law says no, and common sense says no; yet many
people would say yes, and juries often refuse to condemn. These doubtful cases
arise when a moral rule is in process of changing. But ethics is concerned with
something more general than moral rules, and less subject to change. It is true that,

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in a given community, an ethic which does not lead to the moral rules accepted by
that community is considered immoral. It does not, of course, follow that such an
ethic is in fact false since the moral rules of that community may be undesirable.
Some tribes of headhunters hold that no man should marry until he can bring to the
wedding the head of an enemy slain by himself. Those who question this moral rule
are held to be encouraging licence and lowering the standard of manliness.
Nevertheless, we should not demand of an ethic that it should justify the moral rules
of headhunters.

Perhaps the best way to approach the subject of ethics is to ask what is meant when
a person says: You ought to do so-and-so or I ought to do so-and-so. Primarily, a
sentence of this sort has an emotional content; it means this is the act towards which
I feel the emotion of approval. But we do not wish to leave the matter there; we want
to find something more objective and systematic and constant. The ethical teacher
says: You ought to approve acts of such-and-such kinds. He generally gives
reasons for this view, and we have to examine what sorts of reasons are possible.
We are here on very ancient ground. Socrates was concerned mainly with ethics;
Plato and Aristotle both discussed the subject at length; before their time, Confucius
and Buddha had each founded a religion consisting almost entirely of ethical
teaching, though in the case of Buddhism there was afterwards a growth of
theological doctrine. The views of the ancients on ethics are better worth studying
than their views on (say) physical science; the subject has not yet proved amenable
to exact reasoning, and we cannot boast that the moderns have as yet rendered their
predecessors obsolete.

(An Outline of Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell.)

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

by Thomas S. Kuhn

I Introduction

A scientific community cannot practice its trade without some set of received beliefs.
These beliefs form the foundation of the "educational initiation that prepares and
licenses the student for professional practice". The nature of the "rigorous and rigid"
preparation helps ensure that the received beliefs are firmly fixed in the student's
mind. Scientists take great pains to defend the assumption that scientists know what
the world is like...To this end, "normal science" will often suppress novelties which
undermine its foundations. Research is therefore not about discovering the unknown,
but rather "a strenuous and devoted attempt to force nature into the conceptual
boxes supplied by professional education".

A shift in professional commitments to shared assumptions takes place when an

anomaly undermines the basic tenets of the current scientific practice These shifts
are what Kuhn describes as scientific revolutions - "the tradition-shattering
complements to the tradition-bound activity of normal science" New assumptions -
"paradigms" - require the reconstruction of prior assumptions and the re-evaluation of
prior facts. This is difficult and time consuming. It is also strongly resisted by the
established community.

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II The Route to Normal Science

So how are paradigms created and what do they contribute to scientific inquiry?

Normal science "means research firmly based upon one or more past scientific
achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges
for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice". These achievements
must be sufficiently unprecedented to attract an enduring group of adherents away
from competing modes of scientific activity and sufficiently open-ended to leave all
sorts of problems for the redefined group of practitioners (and their students) to
resolve. These achievements can be called paradigms. Students study these
paradigms in order to become members of the particular scientific community in
which they will later practice.

Because the student largely learns from and is mentored by researchers "who
learned the bases of their field from the same concrete models" there is seldom
disagreement over fundamentals. Men whose research is based on shared
paradigms are committed to the same rules and standards for scientific practice. A
shared commitment to a paradigm ensures that its practitioners engage in the
paradigm observations that its own paradigm can do most to explain. Paradigms help
scientific communities to bound their discipline in that they help the scientist to create
avenues of inquiry, formulate questions, select methods with which to examine
questions, define areas of relevance, and establish or create meaning. A paradigm is
essential to scientific inquiry - "no natural history can be interpreted in the absence of
at least some implicit body of intertwined theoretical and methodological belief that
permits selection, evaluation, and criticism".

How are paradigms created, and how do scientific revolutions take place? Inquiry
begins with a random collection of "mere facts" (although, often, a body of beliefs is
already implicit in the collection). During these early stages of inquiry, different
researchers confronting the same phenomena describe and interpret them in
different ways. In time, these descriptions and interpretations entirely disappear. A
pre-paradigm school appears. Such a school often emphasises a special part of the
collection of facts. Often, these schools vie for pre-eminence.

From the competition of these pre-paradigmatic schools, one paradigm emerges -

"To be accepted as a paradigm, a theory must seem better than its competitors, but it
need not, and in fact never does, explain all the facts with which it can be
confronted", thus making research possible. As a paradigm grows in strength and in
the number of advocates, the other pre-paradigm schools or the previous paradigm
fade.

A paradigm transforms a group into a profession or, at least, a discipline. And from
this follow the formation of specialised journals, foundation of professional bodies
and a claim to a special place in academe. There is a promulgation of scholarly
articles intended for and "addressed only to professional colleagues, [those] whose
knowledge of a shared paradigm can be assumed and who prove to be the only ones
able to read the papers addressed to them".

III - The Nature of Normal Science.

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If a paradigm consists of basic and incontrovertible assumptions about the nature of
the discipline, what questions are left to ask?

When they first appear, paradigms are limited in scope and in precision. But more
successful does not mean completely successful with a single problem or notably
successful with any large number. Initially, a paradigm offers the promise of success.
Normal science consists in the actualisation of that promise. This is achieved by
extending the knowledge of those facts that the paradigm displays as particularly
revealing, increasing the extent of the match between those facts and the paradigm's
predictions, and further articulation of the paradigm itself.

In other words, there is a good deal of mopping-up to be done. Mop-up operations

are what engage most scientists throughout their careers. Mopping-up is what normal
science is all about! This paradigm -based research is "an attempt to force nature
into the pre-formed and relatively inflexible box that the paradigm supplies". No effort
is made to call forth new sorts of phenomena, no effort to discover anomalies. When
anomalies pop up, they are usually discarded or ignored. Anomalies are usually not
even noticed and no effort is made to invent a new theory (and theres no tolerance
for those who try). Those restrictions, born from confidence in a paradigm, turn out to
be essential to the development of science. By focusing attention on a small range of
relatively esoteric problems, the paradigm forces scientists to investigate some part
of nature in a detail and depth that would otherwise be unimaginable" and, when the
paradigm ceases to function properly, scientists begin to behave differently and the
nature of their research problems changes.

IV - Normal Science as Puzzle-solving.

Doing research is essentially like solving a puzzle. Puzzles have rules. Puzzles
generally have predetermined solutions.

A striking feature of doing research is that the aim is to discover what is known in
advance. This in spite of the fact that the range of anticipated results is small
compared to the possible results. When the outcome of a research project does not
fall into this anticipated result range, it is generally considered a failure.

So why do research? Results add to the scope and precision with which a paradigm
can be applied. The way to obtain the results usually remains very much in doubt -
this is the challenge of the puzzle. Solving the puzzle can be fun, and expert puzzle-
solvers make a very nice living. To classify as a puzzle (as a genuine research
question), a problem must be characterised by more than the assured solution, but at
the same time solutions should be consistent with paradigm assumptions.

Despite the fact that novelty is not sought and that accepted belief is generally not
challenged, the scientific enterprise can and does bring about unexpected results.

V - The Priority of paradigms.

The paradigms of a mature scientific community can be determined with relative

ease. The "rules" used by scientists who share a paradigm are not so easily
determined. Some reasons for this are that scientists can disagree on the

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interpretation of a paradigm. The existence of a paradigm need not imply that any full
set of rules exist. Also, scientists are often guided by tacit knowledge - knowledge
acquired through practice and that cannot be articulated explicitly. Further, the
attributes shared by a paradigm are not always readily apparent.

Paradigms can determine normal science without the intervention of discoverable

rules or shared assumptions. In part, this is because it is very difficult to discover the
rules that guide particular normal-science traditions. Scientists never learn concepts,
laws, and theories in the abstract and by themselves. They generally learn these with
and through their applications. New theory is taught in tandem with its application to a
concrete range of phenomena.

Sub-specialties are differently educated and focus on different applications for their
research findings. A paradigm can determine several traditions of normal science that
overlap without being coextensive. Consequently, changes in a paradigm affect
different sub-specialties differently. "A revolution produced within one of these
traditions will not necessarily extend to the others as well".

When scientists disagree about whether the fundamental problems of their field have
been solved, the search for rules gains a function that it does not ordinarily possess.

VI - Anomaly and the Emergence of Scientific Discoveries.

If normal science is so rigid and if scientific communities are so close-knit, how can a
paradigm change take place? Paradigm changes can result from discovery brought
about by encounters with anomaly.

Normal science does not aim at novelties of fact or theory and, when successful,
finds none. Nonetheless, new and unsuspected phenomena are repeatedly
uncovered by scientific research, and radical new theories have again and again
been invented by scientists. Fundamental novelties of fact and theory bring about
paradigm change. So how does paradigm change come about? There are two ways:
through discovery - novelty of fact - or by invention - novelty of theory. Discovery
begins with the awareness of anomaly - the recognition that nature has violated the
paradigm - induced expectations that govern normal science. The area of the
anomaly is then explored. The paradigm change is complete when the paradigm has
been adjusted so that the anomalous become the expected. The result is that the
scientist is able "to see nature in a different way".. How paradigms change as a result
of invention is discussed in greater detail in the following chapter.

Although normal science is a pursuit not directed to novelties and tending at first to
suppress them, it is nonetheless very effective in causing them to arise. Why? An
initial paradigm accounts quite successfully for most of the observations and
experiments readily accessible to that science's practitioners. Research results in the
construction of elaborate equipment, development of an esoteric and shared
vocabulary, refinement of concepts that increasingly lessens their resemblance to
their usual common-sense prototypes. This professionalisation leads to immense
restriction of the scientist's vision, rigid science, resistance to paradigm change, and
a detail of information and precision of the observation-theory match that can be
achieved in no other way. New and refined methods and instruments result in greater

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precision and understanding of the paradigm. Only when researchers know with
precision what to expect from an experiment can they recognise that something has
gone wrong.

Consequently, anomaly appears only against the background provided by the

paradigm. The more precise and far-reaching the paradigm, the more sensitive it is to
detecting an anomaly and inducing change. By resisting change, a paradigm
guarantees that anomalies that lead to paradigm change will penetrate existing
knowledge to the core.

VII - Crisis and the Emergence of Scientific Theories.

As is the case with discovery, a change in an existing theory that results in the
invention of a new theory is also brought about by the awareness of anomaly. The
emergence of a new theory is generated by the persistent failure of the puzzles of
normal science to be solved as they should. Failure of existing rules is the prelude to
a search for new ones. These failures can be brought about by observed
discrepancies between theory and fact or changes in social/cultural climates Such
failures are generally long recognised, which is why crises are seldom surprising.
Neither problems nor puzzles yield often to the first attack. Recall that paradigm and
theory resist change and are extremely resilient. Philosophers of science have
repeatedly demonstrated that more than one theoretical construction can always be
placed upon a given collection of data. In early stages of a paradigm, such theoretical
alternatives are easily invented. Once a paradigm is entrenched (and the tools of the
paradigm prove useful to solve the problems the paradigm defines), theoretical
alternatives are strongly resisted. As in manufacture so in science-retooling is an
extravagance to be reserved for the occasion that demands it. Crises provide the
opportunity to retool.

VIII - The Response to Crisis.

The awareness and acknowledgement that a crisis exists loosens theoretical

stereotypes and provides the incremental data necessary for a fundamental
paradigm shift. Normal science does and must continually strive to bring theory and
fact into closer agreement. The recognition and acknowledgement of anomalies
result in crises that are a necessary precondition for the emergence of novel theories
and for paradigm change. Crisis is the essential tension implicit in scientific research.
There is no such thing as research without counterinstances. These counterinstances
create tension and crisis. Crisis is always implicit in research because every problem
that normal science sees as a puzzle can be seen, from another viewpoint, as a
counterinstance and thus as a source of crisis.

In responding to these crises, scientists generally do not renounce the paradigm that
has led them into crisis. Rather, they usually devise numerous articulations and ad
hoc modifications of their theory in order to eliminate any apparent conflict. Some,
unable to tolerate the crisis, leave the profession. As a rule, persistent and
recognised anomaly does not induce crisis. Failure to achieve the expected solution
to a puzzle discredits only the scientist and not the theory. To evoke a crisis, an
anomaly must usually be more than just an anomaly. Scientists who paused and

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examined every anomaly would not get much accomplished. An anomaly must come
to be seen as more than just another puzzle of normal science.

All crises begin with the blurring of a paradigm and the consequent loosening of the
rules for normal research. As this process develops, the anomaly comes to be more
generally recognised as such, more attention is devoted to it by more of the field's
eminent authorities. The field begins to look quite different: scientists express explicit
discontent, competing articulations of the paradigm proliferate and scholars view a
resolution as the subject matter of their discipline. To this end, they first isolate the
anomaly more precisely and give it structure. They push the rules of normal science
harder than ever to see, in the area of difficulty, just where and how far they can be
made to work.

All crises close in one of three ways. (i) Normal science proves able to handle the
crisis-provoking problem and all returns to "normal." (ii) The problem resists and is
labelled, but it is perceived as resulting from the field's failure to possess the
necessary tools with which to solve it, and so scientists set it aside for a future
generation with more developed tools. (iii) A new candidate for paradigm emerges,
and a battle over its acceptance ensues. Once it has achieved the status of
paradigm, a paradigm is declared invalid only if an alternate candidate is available to
take its place. Because there is no such thing as research in the absence of a
paradigm, to reject one paradigm without simultaneously substituting another is to
reject science itself. To declare a paradigm invalid will require more than the
falsification of the paradigm by direct comparison with nature. The judgement leading
to this decision involves the comparison of the existing paradigm with nature and with
the alternate candidate. Transition from a paradigm in crisis to a new one from which
a new tradition of normal science can emerge is not a cumulative process. It is a
reconstruction of the field from new fundamentals. This reconstruction changes some
of the field's foundational theoretical generalisations. It changes methods and
applications. It alters the rules.

How do new paradigms finally emerge? Some emerge all at once, sometimes in the
middle of the night, in the mind of a man deeply immersed in crisis. Those who
achieve fundamental inventions of a new paradigm have generally been either very
young or very new to the field whose paradigm they changed. Much of this process is
inscrutable and may be permanently so.

IX - The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions.

Why should a paradigm change be called a revolution? What are the functions of
scientific revolutions in the development of science?

A scientific revolution is a non-cumulative developmental episode in which an older

paradigm is replaced in whole or in part by an incompatible new one. A scientific
revolution that results in paradigm change is analogous to a political revolution.
Political revolutions begin with a growing sense by members of the community that
existing institutions have ceased adequately to meet the problems posed by an
environment that they have in part created. The dissatisfaction with existing
institutions is generally restricted to a segment of the political community. Political
revolutions aim to change political institutions in ways that those institutions

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themselves prohibit. As crisis deepens, individuals commit themselves to some
concrete proposal for the reconstruction of society in a new institutional framework.
Competing camps and parties form. One camp seeks to defend the old institutional
constellation. One (or more) camps seek to institute a new political order. As
polarisation occurs, political recourse fails. Parties to a revolutionary conflict finally
resort to the techniques of mass persuasion.

Like the choice between competing political institutions, that between competing
paradigms proves to be a choice between fundamentally incompatible modes of
community life. Paradigmatic differences cannot be reconciled. When paradigms
enter into a debate about fundamental questions and paradigm choice, each group
uses its own paradigm to argue in that paradigm's defence The result is a circularity
and inability to share a universe of discourse. A successful new paradigm permits
predictions that are different from those derived from its predecessor. That difference
could not occur if the two were logically compatible. In the process of being
assimilated, the second must displace the first.

Consequently, the assimilation of either a new sort of phenomenon or a new scientific

theory must demand the rejection of an older paradigm. If this were not so, scientific
development would be genuinely cumulative. Normal research is cumulative, but not
scientific revolution. New paradigms arise with destructive changes in beliefs about
nature.

Consequently, "the normal-scientific tradition that emerges from a scientific revolution

is not only incompatible but often actually incommensurable with that which has gone
before". In the circular argument that results from this conversation, each paradigm
will satisfy more or less the criteria that it dictates for itself, and fall short of a few of
those dictated by its opponent. Since no two paradigms leave all the same problems
unsolved, paradigm debates always involve the question: Which problems is it more
significant to have solved? In the final analysis, this involves a question of values that
lie outside of normal science altogether. It is this recourse to external criteria that
most obviously makes paradigm debates revolutionary.

X - Revolutions as Changes of World View.

During scientific revolutions, scientists see new and different things when looking with
familiar instruments in places they have looked before. Familiar objects are seen in a
different light and joined by unfamiliar ones as well. Scientists see new things when
looking at old objects. In a sense, after a revolution, scientists are responding to a
different world.

Why does a shift in view occur? Genius? Flashes of intuition? Sure. Because
different scientists interpret their observations differently? No. Observations are
themselves nearly always different. Observations are conducted within a paradigm
framework, so the interpretative enterprise can only articulate a paradigm, not correct
it. Because of factors embedded in the nature of human perception and retinal
impression? No doubt, but our knowledge is simply not yet advanced enough on this
matter. Changes in definitional conventions? No. Because the existing paradigm fails
to fit? Always. Because of a change in the relation between the scientist's

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manipulations and the paradigm or between the manipulations and their concrete
results? You bet. It is hard to make nature fit a paradigm.

XI - The Invisibility of Revolutions.

Because paradigm shifts are generally viewed not as revolutions but as additions to
scientific knowledge, and because the history of the field is represented in the new
textbooks that accompany a new paradigm, a scientific revolution seems invisible.

The image of creative scientific activity is largely created by a field's textbooks.

Textbooks are the pedagogic vehicles for the perpetuation of normal science. These
texts become the authoritative source of the history of science. Both the layman's
and the practitioner's knowledge of science is based on textbooks. A field's texts
must be rewritten in the aftermath of a scientific revolution. Once rewritten, they
inevitably disguise not only the role but the existence and significance of the
revolutions that produced them. The resulting textbooks truncate the scientist's sense
of his discipline's history and supply a substitute for what they eliminate. More often
than not, they contain very little history at all. In the rewrite, earlier scientists are
represented as having worked on the same set of fixed problems and in accordance
with the same set of fixed canons that the most recent revolution and method has
made seem scientific. Why dignify what science's best and most persistent efforts
have made it possible to discard?

The historical reconstruction of previous paradigms and theorists in scientific

textbooks make the history of science look linear or cumulative, a tendency that even
affects scientists looking back at their own research. These misconstructions render
revolutions invisible. They also work to deny revolutions as a function. Science
textbooks present the inaccurate view that science has reached its present state by a
series of individual discoveries and inventions that, when gathered together,
constitute the modern body of technical knowledge - the addition of bricks to a
building. This piecemeal-discovered facts approach of a textbook presentation
illustrates the pattern of historical mistakes that misleads both students and laymen
about the nature of the scientific enterprise. More than any other single aspect of
science, the textbook has determined our image of the nature of science and of the
role of discovery and invention in its advance.

XII - The Resolution of Revolutions.

How do the proponents of a competing paradigm convert the entire profession or the
relevant subgroup to their way of seeing science and the world? What causes a
group to abandon one tradition of normal research in favour of another?

Scientific revolutions come about when one paradigm displaces another after a
period of paradigm-testing that occurs only after persistent failure to solve a
noteworthy puzzle has given rise to crisis. This process is analogous to natural
selection: one theory becomes the most viable among the actual alternatives in a
particular historical situation.

What is the process by which a new candidate for paradigm replaces its
predecessor? At the start, a new candidate for paradigm may have few supporters

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(and the motives of the supporters may be suspect). If the supporters are competent,
they will improve the paradigm, explore its possibilities, and show what it would be
like to belong to the community guided by it. For the paradigm destined to win, the
number and strength of the persuasive arguments in its favour will increase. As more
and more scientists are converted, exploration increases. The number of
experiments, instruments, articles, and books based on the paradigm will multiply.
More scientists, convinced of the new view's fruitfulness, will adopt the new mode of
practising normal science, until only a few elderly hold-outs remain. And we cannot
say that they are (or were) wrong. Perhaps the scientist who continues to resist after
the whole profession has been converted has ipso facto ceased to be a scientist.

XIII - Progress Through Revolutions.

In the face of the arguments previously made, why does science progress, how does
it progress, and what is the nature of its progress?

To a very great extent, the term science is reserved for fields that do progress in
obvious ways. But does a field make progress because it is a science, or is it a
science because it makes progress? Normal science progresses because the
enterprise shares certain salient characteristics. Members of a mature scientific
community work from a single paradigm or from a closely related set. Very rarely do
different scientific communities investigate the same problems. The result of
successful creative work is progress.

Even if we argue that a field does not make progress, that does not mean that an
individual school or discipline within that field does not. The man who argues that
philosophy has made no progress emphasises that there are still Aristotelians, not
that Aristotelianism has failed to progress. It is only during periods of normal science
that progress seems both obvious and assured. In part, this progress is in the eye of
the beholder. The absence of competing paradigms that question each other's aims
and standards makes the progress of a normal-scientific community far easier to see.
The acceptance of a paradigm frees the community from the need to constantly re-
examine its first principles and foundational assumptions. Members of the community
can concentrate on the subtlest and most esoteric of the phenomena that concern it.
Because scientists work only for an audience of colleagues, an audience that shares
values and beliefs, a single set of standards can be taken for granted. Unlike in other
disciplines, the scientist need not select problems because they urgently need
solution and without regard for the tools available to solve them. The social scientists
tend to defend their choice of a research problem chiefly in terms of the social
importance of achieving a solution. Which group would one then expect to solve
problems at a more rapid rate?

We may have to relinquish the notion, explicit or implicit, that changes of paradigm
carry scientists and those who learn from them closer and closer to the truth. The
developmental process described by Kuhn is a process of evolution from primitive
beginnings. It is a process whose successive stages are characterised by an
increasingly detailed and refined understanding of nature. This is not a process of
evolution toward anything. Important questions arise. Must there be a goal set by
nature in advance? Does it really help to imagine that there is some one full,
objective, true account of nature? Is the proper measure of scientific achievement the

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extent to which it brings us closer to an ultimate goal? The analogy that relates the
evolution of organisms to the evolution of scientific ideas "is nearly perfect". The
resolution of revolutions is the selection by conflict within the scientific community of
the fittest way to practice future science. The net result of a sequence of such
revolutionary selections, separated by period of normal research, is the wonderfully
adapted set of instruments we call modern scientific knowledge. Successive stages
in that developmental process are marked by an increase in articulation and
specialisation. The process occurs without benefit of a set goal and without benefit of
any permanent fixed scientific truth. What must the world be like in order than man
may know it?

(A Synopsis from the orginal by Professor Frank Pajares, Emory University)

Language

Language is communication among human beings that is characterised by the use of

arbitrary spoken or written symbols with agreed-upon meanings. More broadly,
language may be defined as communication in general; it is regarded by some
linguists as a form of knowledge, that is, of thought or cognition.

Approaches to Language

Language can be studied from at least two points of view: its use or its structure.
Language use is the concern of scholars in many fields, among them literature,
communications, speech and rhetoric, sociology, political science, and psychology.
Examined in studies of language use are what humans say, what they say they are
thinking, and what they mean by what they write and say to one another. Included
are content analysis and criticism of literature, studies of the history and changes of
meaning of words, and descriptions of the social factors that determine what
appropriate speech behaviour is. The fields of speech and rhetoric include studies of
the ways in which language can influence behaviour. For literary specialists,
language consists of words arranged to produce a logical or harmonious effect. For
lexicographers, it is an inventory of vocabulary, including the meanings, origins, and
histories of words. Language is also the particular way words are selected and
combined that is characteristic of an individual, a group, or a literary genre.

Language structure is the concern of linguistics. Within the field of linguistics the
definitions of language vary, and linguists differ in approach according to the
definition they use. Those who study language as written communication are
interested in the structure of what they call "text" - how sentences and their parts are
organised into coherent wholes - and concerned with how one language can be
accurately translated into another. In the field of machine translation, computers
handle the vast amount of data needed for such studies. Comparative linguists seek
to identify families of languages descended from a common ancestor.

Structural and descriptive linguists view spoken language as having a hierarchical

structure of three levels: sounds, sound combinations (such as words), and word
combinations (sentences). At the phonemic level, sounds are analysed; at the
morphemic level, the combination of sounds into meaningful units of speech

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(morphemes, that is, words or word-building units) is described; and at the syntactic
level, the combination of words in sentences and clauses is the focus.

Linguists who define language as knowledge are transformational generative

grammarians. They study both the nature of the human capacity to acquire language
and the language acquisition process.

Animal and Human Communication

The study of language as a means of expression or communication necessarily

includes the study of gestures and sounds. Considering that animals gesture and
make sounds, do animals as well as humans have language? It seems clear that
many species communicate; human as distinct from animal communication, however,
has been characterised by some scholars as unique in having the following seven
features: (1) Human languages have separate, interrelated systems of grammar and
of sound and gesture. (2) They allow new things to be communicated all the time. (3)
Humans make a distinction between the content that is communicated and their
labels for that content. (4) In human communication, spoken language is
interchangeable with language that is heard. (5) Human languages are used for
special purposes; intent lies behind what is communicated. (6) What is
communicated can refer to the past and the future. (7) Human language is learned by
children from adults and is passed down from generation to generation.

Some convincing recent research in teaching American Sign Language (AMESLAN)

to primates indicates, however, that a number of these features may not be uniquely
human. Nonetheless, it seems safe to say that although language as a system of
communication is not uniquely human, human language nevertheless has unique
characteristics. Humans string together discrete signs and units of grammar to form
an infinite set of never-before heard, thought, read, or signed sentences. Infants who
have not yet been taught grammar form their own rules of language by using their
linguistic ability together with input from the speech community into which they are
born.

Essentials for Speech

For human language to be possible, certain factors are necessary. These factors are
physiological (the body must be capable of producing the sounds of speech),
grammatical (the speech must have structure); and semantic (the mind must be
capable of dealing with the meanings of what is spoken).

Physiology

Although most of the human organs of speech evolved primarily to perform other
functions (such as eating), they are so well equipped for speaking that human
speech appears to be the most efficient communication system of any living
organism. In speech, an airstream is produced by the lungs and modulated by
vibration (or lack of vibration) of the vocal cords and by movement of the tongue, the
soft palate, and the lips. The airstream can be obstructed in varying degrees by the
teeth and can be closed off from or kept open to the nasal cavity. People who have
physiological impairments of speech and hearing still possess language, although the

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production and reception of language may have been transferred to visual systems
such as AMESLAN.

Grammar

All human language has a grammatical structure whereby sound (signalling) units are
combined to produce meaning. The minimal units of sound combination that have
meaning are called morphemes. A morpheme can correspond to a word, but it can
also refer to other sound combinations that have meaning but are not words (such as
prefixes and suffixes). In the word coexist, for example, both co and exist are
morphemes. Words and morphemes can be classed together according to what they
do in a sentence. Classes of morphemes include parts of speech (such as nouns and
verbs) as well as prefixes, suffixes, and so forth. Members of different word classes
form phrases that in turn combine into larger units - sentences or utterances.

Semantics

Finally, in human language, the speaker necessarily attaches meaning to the

structured sound sequences, and the meaning is perceived and understood by other
humans who share the same language. The process of communicating meanings
with sounds, words, and sentences and perceiving meanings that others
communicate in this way is believed to involve grammar as a tool for relating
thoughts or ideas to speech, or signalling. Every meaningful sentence or utterance
has a surface and an underlying structure. At the surface are the words and sentence
elements as spoken and interpreted. At the underlying or deep level are the words
and sentence elements as they are grammatically structured. This level of deep
structure is where sentence structure appears ambiguous. Two different surface
structures can be perceived to mean one thing, and one surface structure of a
sentence may have two meanings. The surface sentence "Flying planes can be
dangerous" means both that it can be dangerous for someone to fly planes and that
planes that are flying can be dangerous. The different interpretations of this sentence
have to do with its common surface structure having two distinct deep structures. On
the other hand, "To please John is easy" and "It is easy to please John", despite
different surface structures, are the same sentence at the level of deep structure.
Human communication is a unique process combining special speech organs,
grammatical structure, and intended and understood meanings.

Languages of the World

Spoken-gestured-signalled communication involves the same process for all humans,

and any human language can convey any human thought; nevertheless, the actual
languages spoken in the world are numerous, and they differ vastly in their sound
systems and grammatical structures.

Classification by Form

Languages can be classified by the form of their grammar. Beginning in the 19th
century, linguists attempted to group the world's languages into four morphological,
or typological, categories (that is, categories based on how words are formed):
analytic, agglutinative, inflectional, and incorporating. Analytic languages typically

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have words of one syllable with no affixes, or added parts; words are on their own,
isolated, as in Chinese. In agglutinative (from the Latin for "to glue to") languages,
words are composed of roots, or basic parts, and one or more affixes (prefixes at the
beginning, infixes in the middle, and suffixes at the end of words) with distinct
meanings. An example is Turkish, which has v ("house"), vd ("in the house"),
vlr ("houses"), and vlrda ("in the houses"). In inflectional languages, the basic
and added parts have merged, and the added parts have no independent meaning.
For example, in Latin, which is inflectional, the subject's person and number are
reflected in the form of the verb, as in fero ("I bear"), ferimus ("we bear"), and ferent
("they bear") (See also Inflection). An incorporating language is one in which objects,
indirect objects, and other sentence elements are incorporated into the verb as one
word. Swahili does this, as in hatukuviwanunulia, which means "We did not buy them
(= things) for them (= people)". The components of this word are ha (negative), tu
("we"), ku (indicator of past), vi ("them", meaning "objects"), wa ("them", meaning
"people"), and nunulia ("buy for").

Genetic Classification

Even though two languages form words or organise sentence elements in the same
way, they are not necessarily related to each other. To establish relationships among
languages is to study their genealogy and classify them genetically. Unlike a
typological classification, a genetic classification involves comparing the sound and
meaning units of different languages in order to show common parentage. Like family
resemblances among people, shared genetic resemblances among related
languages do not depend on where the languages are spoken or when they existed.
Members of a language family have a historical connection with one another and
descend in common from a single ancestor. Language family trees show the
relationships among languages; the oldest traceable ancestor language is shown at
the top of the tree, and the bottom branches show the distance of relationship among
current living members of the family. Related languages are alike in that their
grammatical elements and vocabulary show regular correspondences in both sound
and meaning. For example, the English word fish corresponds to Latin piscis, and
English father to Latin pater. The English and Latin words are cognates, that is,
genetically the same. Where English has f, Latin has p; English th corresponds to
Latin t; and so forth. Comparative linguistics is the field in which sound and meaning
correspondences (that is, cognates) among languages are analysed; genetic groups
of languages are established; and by comparing modern languages, the hypothetical
ancestor languages of such groups are tentatively reconstructed. (Such
reconstructed precursor languages are indicated by the term proto-, as in Proto-Indo-
European.)

European and Asian Families

The best-known language family is the Indo-European family, which represents about
1.6 billion people and includes most of the languages of Europe and northern India
and several languages of the region in between. Indo-European has the following
subfamilies: Italic, Germanic, Celtic, Greek, Baltic, Slavic, Armenian, Albanian, Indo-
Iranian, and the extinct Hittite and Tocharian. Further sub-classifications exist within
subfamilies. English, for example, belongs to the Anglo-Frisian group of the West
Germanic branch of the Germanic subfamily. The closest relative of English is

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Frisian, which is spoken today only in parts of Germany and the Netherlands. The
relationship of English to other Indo-European languages such as Swedish (North
Germanic), Latin (Italic), and Sanskrit (Indo-Iranian) is progressively more distant.

The Indo-European family is only one of several dozen families and proposed larger
groupings. Linguists differ in their approach to classification, and what a conservative
scholar may term a family, another more liberal scholar may consider a subfamily
within a larger grouping. Conservative scholars, on the other hand, may consider that
too little evidence exists to support such larger groupings.

Other languages are present in Europe besides the Indo-European family. Basque is
an isolate, or a language with no known relatives; and Finnish, Estonian, Saami
(Lapp), and Hungarian are the westernmost members of the Finno-Ugric branch of
the Uralic family (which also includes various languages of the Ural Mountains region
and Siberia). Occasionally linked with the Uralic languages in a Ural-Altaic group (a
relationship now rejected by most scholars) is the Altaic family, the main branches of
which are Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu-Tungus (see Altaic Languages). Several
unrelated language groups of Siberia are referred to by the regional name
Palaeosiberian languages. In the Caucasus three groups, possibly related, have
been identified; the best known of the Caucasian languages is Georgian. Many
languages of India and its northwest neighbours belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of
Indo-European. Two other groups - the Munda languages, usually considered a
branch of the Austro-Asiatic languages, and the Dravidian family - represent more
than 80 million speakers (see Indian Languages). In South-East Asia the Sino-
Tibetan languages have hundreds of millions of speakers. The family's principal
branches are the Tibeto-Burman and the Sinitic (which includes the many Chinese
"dialects", really separate languages). Some scholars attach the Tai languages
(including Thai or Siamese) to this family; others consider them of separate ancestry.

Pacific and African Languages

In the Pacific, the three main language groups are, first, the Malayo-Polynesian
languages, a family that has a Western or Indonesian branch and an Eastern or
Oceanic branch; second, the Papuan languages, a regional group of New Guinea,
comprising a number of isolates and families (some possibly related to one another);
and third, the Australian aboriginal languages (related to one another but not to non-
Australian languages). The extinct Tasmanian language may represent a fourth
group.

The languages of the Hamito-Semitic or Afro-Asiatic family are spoken in the Middle
East and Africa. The family's five branches are Semitic, including Arabic and Hebrew
(see Semitic Languages); Chad, including Hausa, widely spoken in West Africa;
Berber; Cushitic; and (now extinct) Egyptian-Coptic. Africa has three other important
families. Of the Niger-Kordofanian family, the major branch is the Niger-Congo; it
includes Africa's most widespread group, the Bantu languages (such as Swahili and
Zulu). In the Nilo-Saharan family the principal sub-division is the Chari-Nile; its Nilotic
branch includes such languages as Masai. The Khoisan family comprises the click
languages of the San and other peoples of the Kalahari Desert.

Native American Languages

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Attempts to classify native American languages have resulted in the conservative
identification of more than 150 families. In liberal classifications these are further
grouped into about a dozen so-called superstocks, but recent studies have
challenged such groupings. Even with a liberal approach, many small families remain
unlinked to larger groups, and many isolates exist. Along the Arctic coast and in
Greenland, Inupiaq (Eskimo-Aleut family) is spoken by the Inuit (Eskimo). Sub-arctic
Canada includes various Athabascan and Algonquian languages. Native American
languages in the United States east of the Mississippi River are predominantly
Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Muskogean. The principal Great Plains family is the
Siouan, but Caddoan and western Algonquian languages are also spoken.
Shoshonean languages (Uto-Aztecan family) dominate the Great Basin, bordered on
the north by the Sahaptian family. On the Northwest Coast are the Salishan and
Wakashan families, Tlingit (thought to be related to Athabascan languages), and a
probable isolate, Haida. The Apachean branch of Athabascan is found throughout
the Southwest, alongside the Yuman family and the Pima-Papago language (Uto-
Aztecan) of Arizona and southern California. In California many small families exist,
their mutual relationships often disputed.

Important in Mexico and Central America are the Uto-Aztecan family (Aztec or
Nahuatl), the Otomanguean superstock (Mixtec, Otom, and Zapotec, among others),
and families such as Mixe-Zoquean, Totonacan, and Tequistlatecan. The Mayan
family comprises about two dozen languages with millions of speakers.

Depending on their approach, linguists classify South American languages into 90-
odd families and isolates or into three nearly all-inclusive superstocks (superfamilies,
or groups of families that may be remotely related); Macro-Chibchan, Andean-
Equatorial, and G-Pano-Carib. The most widely spoken native South American
languages are Quechua and Aymara, Guaran, and Mapuche or Araucanian.
Important in Central America and northern South America are Macro-Chibchan
languages (such as Guaym, Paez, and Warao) and also the large Arawakan group
(including Island or Black Carib, Guajiro, and Campa). The widely accepted Macro-
G superstock includes many languages spoken in the Brazilian tropics.

Areal Classification

The geographic, or areal, classification of languages is also useful. Areal

classification is based on the observation of the ways in which neighbouring
languages have influenced one another. In discussions of the Northwest Coast
languages of North America, for example, statements are often made that these
languages share various consonants of a certain type, or that they all have a large
fishing-related vocabulary. Underlying such statements is an assumption that the
similarities exist because, over time, these languages have borrowed grammar,
sounds, and vocabulary from one another. Such regional resemblances, however, do
not necessarily indicate either genetic relationship or typological similarity.

Written and Spoken Language

When individual languages have a written as well as a spoken form, it is often the
case that the writing system does not represent all the distinctive sounds of the
language. The writing system of one language may make use of symbols from the

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writing system of another language, applying them to sounds, syllables, or
morphemes for which they were not originally intended. Written and spoken forms of
the same language can be compared by studying the "fit" between the writing system
and the spoken language.

Many kinds of writing systems exist. In Chinese, a written character is used for every
morpheme. The written form of the Cherokee language has a symbol for every
consonant-and-vowel syllable. Japanese is also written with such a system, which is
called a syllabary. In writing systems using an alphabet, such as the Latin alphabet,
each symbol theoretically stands for a sound in the spoken language. The Latin
alphabet has 26 letters, and languages written with it generally use all 26, whether
their spoken form has more or fewer sounds. Although it is used for written English,
the Latin alphabet does not have symbols for all the sounds of English. For example,
for some sounds, combinations of two letters (digraphs), such as th, are used. Even
so, the combination th does not indicate the spoken distinction between th in "thin"
and th in "this".

The written form of a language is static, unchanging, reflecting the form of the
language at the time the alphabet, syllabary, or character system was adopted. The
spoken form is dynamic, always changing; eventually, the written and spoken forms
may no longer coincide. One of the problems with the English written language is that
it still represents the pronunciation of the language several centuries ago. The word
light, for example, is today pronounced "lite"; the spelling "light" reflects the former
pronunciation. In languages with writing systems that have been recently developed
(such as Swahili) or reformed (such as Hebrew), the written and spoken forms are
more likely to fit.

Unlike speech, writing may ignore pitch and stress, omit vowels, or include
punctuation and capitalisation. The written and spoken forms of a language also
differ in that writing does not incorporate spoken dialect differences. Speakers of
mutually unintelligible Chinese dialects, for example, can read one another's writing
even though they cannot communicate through speech. Similarly, speakers of the
different German dialects all write in High German, the accepted standard form of the
language.

Standard and Nonstandard Language

The written form of a language may have more prestige than the spoken form, and it
also may have a more complex grammar and a distinctive vocabulary. A standard
written literary language thus tends to influence the speech of educated people. In
certain circumstances they will try to imitate it when they talk, and they may relegate
the unwritten form to situations where prestige is less important. In Arabic-speaking
countries, for example, educated people sometimes use classical Arabic in speech
as well as in writing, whereas uneducated people speak only colloquial Arabic. The
use of two such varieties of a single language by the same speaker in different
situations is called diglossia. People who use the spoken form of a standard literary
dialect in public and their native regional dialect when they are with friends (as do
many German-speaking Swiss) are said to be diglossic.

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A standard language is that one of the language's dialects that has become
dominant. Often, such dominance is due to governmental policy whereby one dialect
is given prestige over others, and various regulations or customs ensure that it is
used. The standard language (such as High German) is frequently the dialect used in
writing; that is, it is the literary language of a speech community, or at least a dialect
that has an existing orthography and a body of material written in it.

Few people actually speak such a standard language; rather, they approximate it with
their own regional variations. The standard dialect is the one that is used when a
language is taught to nonnative speakers; the learners then speak it, but do so with
an accent, or variation carried over from their first language and region. The standard
language also provides a common means of communication among speakers of
regional dialects (as in the examples given above for German). Standard languages
are thus highly useful in efforts to unite people and create a sense of national spirit.

Dialect, Argot, and Jargon

A dialect is a variety of a language that differs consistently from other varieties of the
same language used in different geographical areas and by different social groups.
For example, Boston residents who speak the New England dialect of American
English drink tonic and frapps, whereas people in Los Angeles sip sodas and
milkshakes. Within groups of people who speak the same geographical or social
dialect, other language variations exist that depend on specific situations. People
who have activities in common or share a profession or trade may have a special
"language" called an argot that identifies them as distinct from outsiders. Teenagers,
thieves, and prostitutes have an argot separating them from parents, police, and
other authorities. Such a specialised informal argot is called slang. An argot or
specialised terminology, as shared by members of a profession, without any
connotation of slang, is called a jargon. Professional groups with distinct jargons
include physicians, lawyers, clergy, linguists, and art critics. (The use of the terms
argot, jargon, and slang, however, varies somewhat from writer to writer).

Pidgins and Creoles

Just as a language may develop varieties in the form of dialects and argots,
languages as a whole may change (Latin, for example, evolved into the different
Romance languages). Sometimes rapid language change occurs as a result of
contact between people who each speak a different language. In such circumstances
a pidgin may arise. Pidgins are grammatically based on one language but are also
influenced, especially in vocabulary, by others; they have relatively small sound
systems, reduced vocabularies, and simplified and altered grammars, and they rely
heavily on context in order to be understood. Pidgins are often the result of contact
by traders with island and coastal peoples. A pidgin has no native speakers; when
speakers of a pidgin have children who learn the pidgin as their first language, that
language is then called a creole. Once the creole has enough native speakers to
form a speech community, the creole may expand into a fuller language. This is the
case with Krio, now the national language of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Krio arose
from what was originally an English-based pidgin.

International Languages

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In the midst of world linguistic diversity, a number of international languages have
been proposed as a means for solving world problems thought to be caused by
misunderstandings of communication. Sometimes, existing natural languages are
advanced to fill this role. These so-called LWCs (Languages of Wider
Communication) - such as English or French, already spoken by many people as a
second language as well as by many native speakers - have proponents who hold
that everyone should know one or the other. More often, efforts have been made to
construct artificial languages for everyone to learn. A number of artificial languages
have enjoyed a period of vogue, then fallen into disuse. One artificial language,
Esperanto, has had a relatively high success rate because it has a regular grammar,
an "easy" pronunciation, and a vocabulary based on Latin and ancient Greek and on
the Romance and Germanic languages. To speakers of languages of other families,
however, Esperanto seems less international and is harder to speak and learn. One
new language proposed for international use is LOGLAN (standing for logical
language), a laboratory-created language that is claimed to be culture-free and to
allow people to speak their thoughts clearly and unambiguously. It has a small sound
system and few grammatical rules, and its vocabulary is drawn from the eight most
widely spoken languages in the world today, including Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, as
well as Russian and other Indo-European languages.

Even if a perfect international language could be devised and adopted, however, it is

by no means certain that it could minimise global communication problems.
Moreover, the thought processes that relate languages to the ideas that people
express with them are still not understood. Even if everyone did learn Esperanto or
LOGLAN and used these languages in international or public dealings, it is probable
that processes of language change would soon take over. The world would then
have dialects of Esperanto or some other international language, leading eventually
to even further differentiation or to pidginisation, creolisation, and so forth. Indeed,
English and French in different parts of the world have already become differentiated;
the English spoken in India, for example, is different both from American English and
from British English.

Language Development, Change, and Growth

Defined as the production and perception of speech, language evolved as the human
species evolved. As a communication system, it can be related to the communication
systems of other animals. As discussed above, however, human language has a
creative and interpretive aspect that appears to mark it as distinctive. The
understanding of human speech is believed to involve specialisation of part of the left
hemisphere of the brain (Broca's area). It is possible that human language may not
have been distinct from animal communication until this physiological specialisation
occurred. The production of human language is believed to have occurred first in
Neanderthals (100,000-30,000 years ago); it is speculated that about 40,000 to
30,000 years ago the emergence of modern Homo sapiens (with skull and vocal tract
possibly better specialised for speech) was accompanied by significant linguistic
development. Modern human language, then, may be only 30,000 to 40,000 years
old. The immense diversity of languages spoken in the world indicates an incredible
acceleration in the rate of change of human language, once it emerged. If there was
in fact a first language, its sounds, grammar, and vocabulary cannot be definitely
known. Historical linguists, focusing on finding out and describing how, why, and in

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what form languages occur, can only suggest hypotheses to account for language
change.

In the 18th century the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz suggested that
all ancient and modern languages diverged from a single protolanguage. This idea is
referred to as monogenesis. Most scholars believe that such a language can, at best,
be posited only as a set of hypothetical formulas from which one can derive the
world's languages, and according to which they can be related to one another; it is
unlikely that such a reconstruction reflects a real first language as it was actually
spoken. Although many modern languages do derive from a single ancestor, it is also
possible that human language arose simultaneously at many different places on
earth and that today's languages do not have a single common ancestor. The theory
that present language families derive from many original languages is called
polygenesis.

Whether human language was ultimately monogenetic or polygenetic, the differences

among languages are believed to be relatively superficial. Although many humans
find it difficult to learn a second language, and although languages such as Chinese,
English, and Swahili may seem to have little in common, the differences among
languages are not nearly so great as the similarities among them. The sounds and
sound combinations of the world's languages, despite the ways in which they differ
from language to language, are believed to have been selected from a universal set
of possible sounds and sound combinations available to all human languages.
Human languages likewise have individual structural properties that are selected
from a common pool of possible structures. That is, no human language utilises any
sounds that cannot be produced by any human being, or any grammatical categories
that cannot be learned by any human - whether or not the native language of a given
person makes use of those sounds and structures. The range of possible language
changes, in other words, seems to be limited by the universal structural properties of
language.

When a language undergoes substantial changes both in vocabulary and in sound

and structure, the whole language may become another language. This occurs in
pidginisation and creolisation and also, for example, in the development of the
modern Romance languages from Latin. Language growth can also occur when a
minor dialect becomes dominant and breaks off from other dialects. Eventually, the
dialect that is split off ceases to be mutually intelligible with the other dialects; it may
develop new dialects of its own, become subject to pidginisation and creolisation,
and so forth, over and over again through time. This continual growth and
development characterises language in all its aspects as a living expression of both
human nature and culture.

Music

Music is the organised movement of sounds through a continuum of time. Music

plays a role in all societies, and it exists in a large number of styles, each
characteristic of a geographical region or a historical era.

Cultural Definitions

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All known societies have music, but only a few languages have a specific word for it.
In Western culture, dictionaries usually define music as an art that is concerned with
combining sounds - particularly pitches - to produce an artefact that has beauty or
attractiveness, that follows some kind of internal logic and exhibits intelligible
structure, and that requires special skill on the part of its creator. Clearly, music is not
easy to define, and yet historically most people have recognised the concept of music
and generally agreed on whether or not a given sound is musical.

Indefinite border areas exist, however, between music and other sound phenomena
such as speech, and the cultures of the world differ in their opinion of the musicality
of various sounds. Thus, simple tribal chants, a half-spoken style of singing, or a
composition created by a computer program may or may not be accepted as music
by members of a given society or subgroup. Muslims, for example, do not consider
the chanting of the Koran to be a kind of music, although the structure of the chant is
similar to that of secular singing. The social context of sounds may determine
whether or not they are regarded as music. Industrial noises, for instance, are not
usually regarded as music except when presented as part of a composition controlled
by a creative individual. In the last 50 years, however, new aesthetic approaches in
Western music have challenged this view. Composers such as John Cage have
produced works in which the listener is invited to hear music in the ambient sounds of
the environment.

Opinions also differ as to the origins and spiritual value of music. In some African
cultures music is seen as something uniquely human; among some Native
Americans it is thought to have originated as a way for spirits to communicate. In
Western culture music is regarded as inherently good, and sounds that are welcome
are said to be "music to the ears". In some other cultures - for example, Islamic
culture - it is of low value, associated with sin and evil, and attempts have been made
to outlaw its practice.

Music as a Cultural System

Music has many uses, and in all societies certain events are inconceivable without it.
A proper consideration of music should involve the musical sound itself; but it should
also deal with the concepts leading to its existence, with its particular forms and
functions in each culture, and with the human behaviour that produces the sound.

Somewhat analogous to having a language, each society may be said to have a

music - that is, a self-contained system within which musical communication takes
place and that, like a language, must be learned to be understood. Members of some
societies participate in several musics; thus, modern Native Americans take part in
both traditional Native American music and mainstream Western music.

Within each music, various strata may exist, distinguished by degree of learning
(professional versus untrained musicians), level of society (the music of the elite
versus that of the masses), patronage (court or church or public commercial
establishments), and manner of dissemination (oral, notated, or through mass
media). In the West and in the high cultures of Asia, it is possible to distinguish three
basic strata: first, art or classical music, composed and performed by trained
professionals originally under the patronage of courts and religious establishments;

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second, folk music, shared by the population at large - particularly its rural
component - and transmitted orally; and, third, popular music, performed by
professionals, disseminated through radio, television, records, film, and print, and
consumed by the urban mass public.

The Sounds of Music

In the simplest terms music can be described as the juxtaposition of two elements:
pitch and duration, usually called melody and rhythm. The minimal unit of musical
organisation is the note - that is, a sound with specific pitch and duration. Music thus
consists of combinations of individual notes that appear successively (melody) or
simultaneously (harmony) or, as in most Western music, both.

Melody

In any musical system, the creation of melody involves selecting notes from a
prescribed set called a scale, which is actually a group of pitches separated by
specific intervals (the distances in pitch between notes). Thus, the scale of 18th- and
19th-century Western music is the chromatic scale, represented by the piano
keyboard with its 12 equidistant notes per octave; composers selected from these
notes to produce all their music. Much Western music is also based on diatonic
scales - those with seven notes per octave, as illustrated by the white keys on the
piano keyboard. In the diatonic scales and in the pentatonic scales - those with five
notes per octave, most often corresponding to the black keys on the piano - that are
common in folk music, the notes are not equidistant.

Intervals can be measured in units called cents, 1,200 per octave. The typical
intervals of Western music are multiples of 100 cents (semitones), but in other
musical cultures intervals of about 50, 150, and 240 cents, for example, are also
found. The human ear can distinguish intervals as small as 14 cents, but no interval
that small seems to play a significant role in any musical system.

Rhythm

The handling of time in music is expressed through concepts such as the lengths of
notes and the interrelationships among them; relative degrees of emphasis on
different notes; and, in particular, metre.

Most Western music is built on a structure of regularly recurring beats - that is, a
metrical structure. This structure may be explicit (as in the beating of the bass drum
in popular music and marching bands), or it may be implied (often in symphonic or
instrumental music). The three most common metres in Western music are units of
four beats (with main stress on the first beat, secondary stress on the third beat); of
three beats (stress on the first); and of six beats (primary stress on the first,
secondary on the fourth). Conventionally, these metres are called o, k, and u. Far
greater complexity is found, however, in 20th-century Western art music, Indian
classical music, and West African drum ensembles. Furthermore, much music is
structured without regular metre, as in some genres in India and the Middle East, and
in Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Buddhist liturgical chant.

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Other Elements

The organisation given to simultaneously produced pitches is also of great

importance. Two or more voices or instruments performing together may be
perceived as producing independent but related melodies (counterpoint); or the
emphasis may be on how the groups of simultaneous notes (chords) are related to
one another, as well as on the progression of such groups through time (harmony).
Timbre, or sound quality, is the musical element that accounts for the differences in
the characteristic sounds of musical instruments. Singers have a variety of timbres as
well, each affected by such features as vocal tension, nasality, amount of
accentuation, and slurring of pitch from one note to the next.

One major characteristic of music everywhere is its transposability. A tune can be

performed at various pitch levels and will be recognised as long as the interval
relationships among the notes remain constant. Analogously, rhythmic patterns can
almost always be identified as identical, whether executed quickly or slowly. These
elements of music are used to organise pieces extending from simple melodies using
a scale of three notes and lasting only ten seconds (as in the simplest tribal musics)
to highly complex works such as operas and symphonies. The organisation of music
normally involves the presentation of basic material that may then be repeated
precisely or with changes (variations), may alternate with other materials, or may
proceed continually to present new material. Composers in all societies, often
unconsciously, strike a balance between unity and variety, and almost all pieces of
music contain a certain amount of repetition - whether of individual notes, short
groups of notes (motives), or longer units such as melodies or chord sequences
(often called themes).

Instruments

All societies have vocal music; and with few exceptions, all have instruments. Among
the simplest instruments are sticks that are struck together; notched sticks that are
scraped; rattles; and body parts used to produce sound, as in slapping the thighs and
clapping. Such simple instruments are found in many tribal cultures; elsewhere, they
may be used as toys or in archaic rituals. Certain highly complex instruments exhibit
flexibility not only in pitch but also in timbre. The piano produces the chromatic scale
from the lowest to the highest pitch used in the Western system and responds, in
quality of sound, to wide variation in touch. On the organ, each keyboard can be
connected at will to a large number and combination of pipes, thereby making
available a variety of tone colours. On the Indian sitar, one plucked string is used for
melody, other plucked strings serve as drones, while still others produce fainter
sounds through sympathetic vibration. Modern technology has utilised electronic
principles to create a number of instruments that have almost infinite flexibility.

The Creation of Music

Music is created by individuals, using a traditional vocabulary of musical elements. In

composition - the principal creative act in music - something that is considered new is
produced by combining the musical elements that a given society recognises as a
system. Innovation as a criterion of good composing is important in Western culture,
less so in certain other societies. In Western music, composition is normally carried

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out with the help of notation; but in much popular music, and particularly in folk, tribal,
and most non-Western cultures, composition is done in the mind of the composer,
who may sing or use an instrument as an aid, and is transmitted orally and
memorised. Creative acts in music also include improvisation, or the creation of new
music in the course of performance. Improvisation usually takes place on the basis of
some previously determined structure, such as a note or a group of chords; or it
occurs within a set of traditional rules, as in the ragas of India or the maqams of the
Middle East, which use certain modes. Performance, which involves a musician's
personal interpretation of a previously composed piece, has smaller scope for
innovation. It may, however, be viewed as part of a continuum with composing and
improvising.

The normal method of retaining music and transmitting it is oral or, more properly,
aural - most of the world's music is learned by hearing. The complex system of
musical notation used in Western music is in effect a graph, indicating principally
movement in pitch and time, with only limited capability to regulate more subtle
elements such as timbre. Both Western and Asian cultures possess other notation
systems, giving letter names to notes, indicating hand positions, or charting the
approximate contour of melodic movement.

The Social Role of Music

Music everywhere is used to accompany other activities. It is, for example,

universally associated with dance. Although words are not found in singing
everywhere, the association of music and poetry is so close that language and music
are widely believed to have had a common origin in early human history.

The Function of Music

Music is a major component in religious services, secular rituals, theatre, and

entertainment of all sorts. In many societies it is also an activity carried on for its own
sake. In Western society in the late 20th century, for example, one main use of music
involves listening at concerts or to radio or recordings (music for its own sake);
another involves the provision of music as a suitable background for unrelated
activities such as study or shopping (music as an adjunct to something else). In many
societies music serves as the chief entertainment at royal courts. Everywhere,
musicians sometimes perform for their own diversion; in some societies, however,
this private use of music has been formalised - in southern Africa, for example,
special genres and styles are reserved for musicians' performances for their personal
entertainment. The most ubiquitous use of music, however, is as a part of religious
ritual. In some tribal societies, music appears to serve as a special form of
communication with supernatural beings, and its prominent use in modern Christian
and Jewish services may be a remnant of just such an original purpose. Another, less
obvious, function of music is social integration. For most social groups, music can
serve as a powerful symbol. Members of most societies share keen feelings as to
what kind of music belongs. Indeed, some minorities (for instance in the United
States, black Americans and Euro-American ethnic groups) use music as a major
symbol of group identity.

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Music may serve as a symbol in other ways, as well. It can represent extramusical
ideas or events (as in the symphonic poems of the German composer Richard
Strauss), and it can underscore ideas that are verbally presented in operas (notably
those of the German composer Richard Wagner), in film and television drama, and
often in songs. It also symbolises military, patriotic, and funerary moods and events.
In a more general sense, music may express the central social values of a society.
Thus, the hierarchical caste system of India is symbolised in the hierarchy of
performers in an ensemble. The avoidance of voice blending in a North American
Plains peoples singing group reflects the value placed on individualism. In Western
music the interrelationship of conductor and orchestra symbolises the need, in a
modern industrial society, for strongly coordinated cooperation among various kinds
of specialists.

The Musician

In most of the world's societies, musicianship requires talent, special knowledge or

training, and effort, and the view is widespread that a successful musical work or
performance is difficult to achieve. There is no evidence that superior musical abilities
arise in one society or race as opposed to another; rather, variations in achievement
are the result of differences in technology, in the degree of specialisation of
musicians, and in the value placed on music. Individual talent, however, is
recognised among most peoples, and the musical specialist exists everywhere: as a
true professional in the West, India, the Far East, and Africa; as an informal leader
and singer in folk cultures; and as someone who also has supernatural power in tribal
societies. But if music is regarded as indispensable everywhere, the musician has
rarely enjoyed great prestige. In certain early societies in Europe and America, for
example, musicians were regarded as undesirable social deviants; this remains the
case in the present-day Middle East. In many societies music is relegated to
outsiders - foreigners or members of religious and ethnic minorities. Many modern
social systems, including those in the West, inordinately reward the outstanding star
performer but pay little attention to the average musician. Nevertheless, musicianship
in most parts of the world requires long periods of concentrated study, extending in
the case of European and Indian virtuosos to some 20 years.

Musical Regions

Each culture has its own music, and the classical, folk, and popular traditions of a
region are usually closely related and easily recognised as part of one system. The
peoples of the world can be grouped musically into several large areas, each with its
characteristic musical dialect. These areas include Europe and the West; the Middle
East with North Africa; Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent; South-East Asia
and Indonesia; Oceania; China, Korea, and Japan; and the indigenous cultures of the
Americas. All coincide roughly with areas determined by cultural and historical
relationship, but, surprisingly, they do not correspond well with areas determined by
language relationships.

The history of Western music - the one most easily documented because of Western
musical notation - is conveniently divided into eras of relative stability separated by
short periods of more dramatic change. The periods conventionally accepted are the
Middle Ages (to c. 1450), the Renaissance (1450-1600), the Baroque era (1600-

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1750), the Classical era (1750-1820), the Romantic era (1820-1920), and the modern
period. Other cultures, less well documented, likewise have experienced change and
development (not necessarily always in the direction of greater complexity), so that
the simplest tribal musics also have their histories. In the 20th century, however,
rapid travel and mass communication have led to a great decrease in the musical
diversity of the world.

Approaches to Educational Research

It is perfectly possible to undertake a worthwhile investigation without having detailed

knowledge of the various approaches to or styles of educational research, but a
study of different approaches will give insight into different ways of planning an
investigation, and, incidentally, will also enhance your understanding of the literature.
One of the problems of reading about research methods and reading research
reports is the terminology. Researchers use terms and occasionally jargon that may
be incomprehensible to other people. It is the same in any field, where a specialised
language develops to ease communication among professionals. So, before
considering the various stages of planning and conducting investigations, it may be
helpful to consider the main features of certain well-established and well-reported
styles of research.

Different styles, traditions or approaches use different methods of collecting data, but
no approach prescribes nor automatically rejects any particular method. Quantitative
researchers collect facts and study the relationship of one set of facts to another.
They use techniques that are likely to produce quantified and, if possible,
generalisable conclusions. Researchers adopting a qualitative perspective are more
concerned to understand individuals' perceptions of the world. They seek insight
rather than statistical analysis. They doubt whether social 'facts' exist and question
whether a 'scientific' approach can be used when dealing with human beings. Yet
there are occasions when qualitative researchers draw on quantitative techniques,
and vice versa.

Classifying an approach as quantitative or qualitative, ethnographic, survey, action

research or whatever, does not mean that once an approach has been selected, the
researcher may not move from the methods normally associated with that style. Each
approach has its strengths and weaknesses and each is particularly suitable for a
particular context. The approach adopted and the methods of data collection selected
will depend on the nature of the inquiry and the type of information required.

It is impossible in the space of a few pages to do justice to any of the well-established

styles of research, but the following will at least provide a basis for further reading
and may give you ideas about approaches which you may wish to adopt in your own
investigation.

Action research and the 'teacher as researcher' model

There are many definitions of action research. Cohen and Manion describe it as

essentially an on-the-spot procedure designed to deal with a concrete problem

located in an immediate situation. This means that ideally, the step-by-step process

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is constantly monitored over varying periods of time and by a variety of mechanisms
(questionnaires, diaries, interviews and case studies, for example) so that the
ensuing feedback may be translated into modifications, adjustments, directional
changes, redefinitions, as necessary, so as to bring about lasting benefit to the
ongoing process itself rather than to some future occasion (Cohen and Manion
1994: 192)

As they point out, an important feature of action research is that the task is not
finished when the project ends. The participants continue to review, evaluate and
improve practice. Elliott (1991: 69) takes the definition a stage further:

It aims to feed practical judgement in concrete situations, and the validity of the
'theories' or hypotheses it generates depends not so much on 'scientific' tests of truth,
as on their usefulness in helping people to act more intelligently and skilfully. In
action research 'theories' are not validated independently and then applied to
practice. They are validated through practice.

Brown and McIntyre, who describe an action-research model for curriculum

innovation in Scottish schools, also draw attention to the principle of deriving
hypotheses from practice. They write:

The research questions arise from an analysis of the problems of the practitioners in
the situation and the immediate aim then becomes that of understanding those
problems. The researcher/actor, at an early stage, formulates speculative, tentative,
general principles in relation to the problems that have been identified; from these
principles, hypotheses may then be generated about what action is likely to lead to
the desired improvements in practice. Such action will then be tried out and data on
its effects collected; these data are used to revise the earlier hypotheses and identify
more appropriate action that reflects a modification of the general principles.
Collection of data on the effects of this new action may then generate further
hypotheses and modified principles, and so on as we move towards a greater
understanding and improvement of practice. This implies a continuous process of
research and the worth of the work is judged by the understanding of, and desirable
change in, the practice that is achieved. (Brown and McIntyre 1981: 245)

The essentially practical, problem-solving nature of action research makes this

approach attractive to practitioner-researchers who have identified a problem during
the course of their work and see the merit of investigating it and, if possible, of
improving practice. There is nothing new about practitioners operating as
researchers, and the 'teacher as researcher' model has been extensively discussed
(Bartholomew 1971, Cope and Gray 1979, Raven and Parker 1981).

Action research is not, of course, limited to projects carried out by teachers in an

educational setting. It is appropriate in any context when 'specific knowledge is
required for a specific problem in a specific situation, or when a new approach is to
be grafted on to an existing system' (Cohen and Manion 1994: 194). Action research
needs to be planned in the same systematic way as any other type of research, and
the methods selected for gathering information will depend on the nature of the
information required. Action research is not a method or technique. It is an approach
which has proved to be particularly attractive to educators because of its practical,

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problem-solving emphasis, because practitioners (sometimes with researchers from
outside the institution; other times not) carry out the research and because the
research is directed towards greater understanding and improvement of practice over
a period of time.

Case study

The case-study approach is particularly appropriate for individual researchers

because it gives an opportunity for one aspect of a problem to be studied in some
depth within a limited time scale (though some case studies are carried out over a
long period of time, as with Elizabeth Richardson's (1973) three-year study of Nailsea
School).

Case study has been described as 'an umbrella term for a family of research
methods having in common the decision to focus on inquiry around an instance'
(Adelman et al. 1977). It is much more than a story about or a description of an event
or state. As in all research, evidence is collected systematically, the relation-ship
between variables is studied and the study is methodically planned. Case study is
concerned principally with the interaction of factors and events and, as Nisbet and
Watt (1980: 5) point out, 'sometimes it is only by taking a practical instance that we
can obtain a full picture of this interaction'. Though observation and interviews are
most frequently used in case study, no method is excluded. Methods of collecting
information are selected which are appropriate for the task.

The great strength of the case-study method is that is allows the researcher to
concentrate on a specific instance or situation and to identify, or attempt to identify,
the various interactive processes at work. These processes may remain hidden in a
large-scale survey but may be crucial to the success or failure of systems or
organisations.

Case studies may be carried out to follow up and to put flesh on the bones of a
survey. They can precede a survey and be used as a means of identifying key issues
which merit further investigation, but the majority of case studies are carried out as
free-standing exercises. The researcher identifies an 'instance', which could be the
introduction of a new syllabus, the way a school adapts to a new role, or any
innovation or stage of development in an institution - and observes, questions,
studies. Each organisation has its common and its unique features. The case-study
researcher aims to identify such features and to show how they affect the
implementation of systems and influence the way an organisation functions.

Inevitably, where a single researcher is gathering all the information, selection has to
be made. The researcher selects the area for study and decides which material to
present in the final report. It is difficult to cross-check information and so there is
always the danger of distortion. Critics of the case-study approach draw attention to
this and other problems. They point to the fact that generalisation is not always
possible, and question the value of the study of single events. Others disagree.

Denscombe (1998: 36-7) makes the point that 'the extent to which findings from the
case study can be generalised to other examples in the class depends on how far the

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case study example is similar to others of its type', and, drawing on the example of a
case study of a small primary school, cautions that

this means that the researcher must obtain data on the significant features
(catchment area, the ethnic origins of the pupils and the amount of staff turnover) for
primary schools in general, and then demonstrate where the case study example fits
in relation to the overall picture.(p. 37)

Bassey holds similar views, but prefers to use the term 'relatability' rather than
'generalisability'. In his opinion,

an important criterion for judging the merit of a case study is the extent to which the
details are sufficient and appropriate for a teacher working in a similar situation to
relate his decision making to that described in the case study. The relatability of a
case study is more important than its generalisability. (Bassey 1981: 85)

He considers that if case studies

are carried out systematically and critically, if they are aimed at the improvement of
education, if they are relatable, and if by publication of the findings they extend the
boundaries of existing knowledge, then they are valid forms of educational
research.(p. 86)

A successful study will provide the reader with a three-dimensional picture and will
illustrate relationships, micropolitical issues and patterns of influences in a particular
context.

A word of warning. Single researchers working to a deadline and within a limited

timescale need to be very careful about the selection of case study topic. As Yin
(1994: 137) reminds us:

Case studies have been done about decisions, about programmes, about the
implementation process, and about organisational change. Beware these types of
topic - none is easily defined in terms of the beginning or end point of the 'case'.

He considers that 'the more a study contains specific propositions, the more it will
stay within reasonable limits' (p. 137). And we all have to keep our research within
reasonable limits, regardless of whether we are working on a 100-hour project or a
PhD.

The ethnographic style

The ethnographic style of fieldwork research was developed originally by

anthropologists who wished to study a society or some aspect of a society, culture or
group in depth. They developed an approach which depended heavily on observation
and, in some cases, complete or partial integration into the society being studied.
This form of participant observation enabled the researchers, as far as was possible,
to share the same experiences as the subjects, to understand better why they acted
in the way they did and 'to see things as those involved see things' (Denscombe

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1998: 69). This approach is no longer limited to anthropological studies and has been
effectively used in a good many studies of small groups.

Participant observation takes time and so is often outside the scope of researchers
working on 100-hour projects. The researcher has to be accepted by the individuals
or groups being studied, and this can mean doing the same job, or living in the same
environment and circumstances as the subjects for lengthy periods. Time is not the
only problem with this approach. As in case studies, critics point to the problem of
representativeness. If the researcher is studying one group in depth over a period of
time, who is to say that group is typical of other groups which may have the same
title? Are teachers in one school necessarily representative of teachers in a similar
school in another part of the country? Are canteen workers in one type of
organisation likely to be typical of all canteen workers? Generalisability may be a
problem, but as in the case-study approach the study may be relatable in a way that
will enable members of similar groups to recognise problems and, possibly, to see
ways of solving similar problems in their own group.

Surveys

The aim of a survey is to obtain information which can be analysed and patterns
extracted and comparisons made. The census is one example of a survey in which
the same questions are asked of the selected population (the population being the
group or category of individuals selected). The census aims to cover 100 percent of
the population, but most surveys have less ambitious aims. In most cases, a survey
will aim to obtain information from a representative selection of the population and
from that sample will then be able to present the findings as being representative of
the population as a whole. Inevitably, there are problems in the survey method. Great
care has to be taken to ensure that the sample population is truly representative. At a
very simple level, that means ensuring that if the total population has 1000 men and
50 women, then the same proportion of men to women has to be selected. But that
example grossly oversimplifies the method of drawing a representative sample, and if
you decide to carry out a survey, you will need to consider what characteristics of the
total population need to be represented in your sample to enable you to say with fair
confidence that your sample is reasonably representative.

In surveys, all respondents will be asked the same questions in, as far as possible,
the same circumstances. Question wording is not as easy as it seems, and careful
piloting is necessary to ensure that all questions mean the same to all respondents.
Information can be gathered by means of self-completion questionnaires (as in the
case of the census) or by means of questionnaires, schedules or checklists
administered by an interviewer. Whichever method of information gathering is
selected, the aim is to obtain answers to the same questions from a large number of
individuals to enable the researcher not only to describe but also to compare, to
relate one characteristic to another and to demonstrate that certain features exist in
certain categories. Surveys can provide answers to the questions What? Where?
When? and How?, but it is not so easy to find out Why? Causal relationships can
rarely if ever be proved by survey method. The main emphasis is on fact-finding, and
if a survey is well structured and piloted, it can be a relatively cheap and quick way of
obtaining information.

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The experimental style

It is relatively easy to plan experiments which deal with measurable phenomena. For
example, experiments have been set up to measure the effects of using fluoridated
toothpaste on dental caries by establishing a control group (who did not use the
tooth-paste) and an experimental group (who did). In such experiments, the two
groups, matched for age, sex/gender, ratio of boys to girls, social class and so on
were given a pre-test dental examination and instructions about which toothpaste to
use. After a year, both groups were given the post-test dental examination and
conclusions were then drawn about the effectiveness or otherwise of the fluoridated
toothpaste. The principle of such experiments is that if two identical groups are
selected, one of which (the experimental group) is given special treatment and the
other (the control group) is not, then any differences between the two groups at the
end of the experimental period may be attributed to the difference in treatment. A
causal relationship has been established. It may be fairly straightforward to test the
extent of dental caries (though even in this experiment the extent of the caries could
be caused by many factors not controlled by the experiment), but it is quite another
matter to test changes in behaviour. As Wilson (1979) points out, social causes do
not work singly. Any examination of low school attainment or high IQ is the product of
multiple causes:

To isolate each cause requires a new experimental group each time and the length
and difficulty of the experiment increases rapidly. It is possible to run an experiment
in which several treatments are put into practice simultaneously but many groups
must be made available rather than just two. The causes of social phenomena are
usually multiple ones and an experiment to study them requires large numbers of
people often for lengthy periods. This requirement limits the useful-ness of the
experimental method. (Wilson 1979: 22)

So, the experimental style does allow conclusions to be drawn about cause and
effect, if the experimental design is sound, but in education and the social sciences
generally, large groups are needed if the many variations and ambiguities involved in
human behaviour are to be controlled. Such large-scale experiments are expensive
to set up and take more time than most students working on 100-hour projects can
give. Some tests which require only a few hours (e.g. to test short-term memory or
perception) can be very effective, but in claiming a causal relation-ship, great care
needs to be taken to ensure that all possible causes have been considered.

Narrative enquiry

It is only recently that I have become interested in the use and interpretation of
narratives and in particular the acceptance of stories as valuable sources of data.
Stories are certainly interesting and have been used for many years by management
consultants and others who present examples of successful (and unsuccessful)
practice as a basis for discussion as to how successful practice might be emulated
and disasters avoided. What has always taxed me has been how information derived
from storytelling can be structured in such a way as to produce valid research
findings. It took an experienced group of postgraduate and postdoctoral students who
had planned their research on narrative inquiry lines to sort me out and to explain
precisely what was involved. I was not even sure what 'narrative inquiry' actually

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meant and so, always believing the best way to find out is to ask an expert, I asked
one member of the group, Dr Janette Gray, to tell me. She wrote as follows:

It involves the collection and development of stories, either as a form of data

collection or as a means of structuring a research project. Informants often speak in a
story form during the interviews, and as the researcher, listening and attempting to
understand, we hear their 'stories'. The research method can be described as
narrative when data collection, interpretation and writing are considered a 'meaning-
making' process with similar characteristics to stories (Gudmunsdottir 1996: 295).
Narrative inquiry can involve reflective autobiography, life story, or the inclusion of
excerpts from participants' stories to illustrate a theme developed by the researcher.
A narrative approach to inquiry is most appropriate when the researcher is interested
in portraying intensely personal accounts of human experience. Narratives allow
voice - to the researcher, the participants and to cultural groups - and in this sense
they can have the ability to develop a decidedly political and powerful edge.(Gray
1998: 1)

Colleagues to whom I had earlier spoken and who had success-fully adopted a
narrative inquiry approach to one or more of their research projects had always made
it clear that stories were not used merely as a series of 'story boxes' piled on top of
one another and with no particular structure or connecting theme. The problem I had
was in understanding how such structures and themes could be derived. Jan's
explanation was as follows:

All forms of narrative inquiry involve an element of analysis and development of

themes, dependent on the researcher's perspective. Stories share a basic structure.
The power of a story is dependent on the storyteller's use of language to present an
interpretation of personal experience. The skill of the narrative researcher lies in the
ability to structure the inter-view data into a form which clearly presents a sense of a
beginning, middle and an end. Even though the use of story as a research tool is a
relatively new concept in the social sciences, historically story has been an accepted
way of relating knowledge and developing self-knowledge. One of the major
strengths of such a means of conducting inquiry is the ability to allow readers who do
not share a cultural background similar to either the storyteller or the researcher to
develop an understanding of motives and consequences of actions described within
a story format. Narrative is a powerful and different way of knowing.

Data collection for narrative research requires the researcher to allow the storyteller
to structure the conversations, with the researcher asking follow-up questions. So a
narrative approach to the question of how mature-age under-graduates perceive their
ability to cope with the experience of returning to study would involve extended,
open-ended interviews with one or two mature-aged students. This would allow the
students to express their personal experience of the problems, frustrations and joys
of returning to study. It might also involve similar 'conversations' with other
stakeholders in their education - perhaps family members; their tutors and lecturers -
to provide a multiple perspective of the context of the education of mature-aged
undergraduates. (Gray 1998: 2)

Jan added that 'the benefit of considerate and careful negotiation will be a story
allowing an incredibly personal and multi-faceted insight into the situation being

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discussed'. I am sure this is so. I have become convinced of the value of this
approach and that stories can in some cases serve to enhance understanding within
a case study or an ethnographic study. However, narratives can present their own set
of problems:

Interviews are time-consuming and require the researcher to allow the storytellers to
recount in their own way the experience of being (or teaching) a student. This may
not emerge in the first interview. Until a trust relationship has developed between
researcher and storyteller, it is highly unlikely that such intimate information will be
shared. Such personal involvement with the researcher involves risks and particular
ethical issues. The storytellers may decide they have revealed more of their feelings
than they are prepared to share publicly and they may insist either on substantial
editing or on with-drawing from the project. (Gray 1998: 2)

Problems of this kind can arise in almost any kind of research, particularly those
which are heavily dependent on interview data, but the close relationship needed for
narrative inquiry can make the researcher (and the storyteller) particularly vulnerable.

The fact that the narrative approach carries with it numbers of potential difficulties,
particularly for first-time researchers, and researchers operating within a particularly
tight schedule, certainly does not mean that it should be disregarded when
considering an appropriate approach to the topic of your choice. Far from it - but as is
the case with all research planning, I feel it would be as well to discuss the issues
fully with your supervisor before deciding what to do, and if possible to try to find a
supervisor who is experienced, or at least interested in narrative inquiry.

Which approach?

Classifying an approach as ethnographic, qualitative, experimental, or whatever,

does not mean that once an approach has been selected, the researcher may not
move from the methods normally associated with that style. But understanding the
major advantages and disadvantages of each approach is likely to help you to select
the most appropriate methodology for the task in hand. This chapter covers only the
very basic principles associated with the different styles or approaches to research
which will suffice - at any rate until you have decided on a topic and considered what
information you need to obtain.

Further reading is provided at the end of this chapter. As far as possible, I have tried
to indicate books and journals which should be available in academic libraries.
However, always consult the library catalogue. If there is an on-line facility, the
librarian will show you how the system operates. Then take advantage of what the
library has in stock or is able to obtain from another library in the area - preferably
without cost. Borrowing books through the interlibrary loan system can be quite
expensive - and it can be slow.

(Doing your research project by Judith Bell)

Statistical Inference

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4.1 The problem

Until now we have been considering how to describe or summarise a set of data
considered simply as an object in its own right. Very often we want to do more than
this: we wish to use a collection of observed values to make inferences about a larger
set of potential values; we would like to consider a particular set of data we have
obtained as representing a larger class. It turns out that to accomplish this is by no
means straightforward. What is more, an exhaustive treatment of the difficulties
involved is beyond the scope of this book. In this chapter we can only provide the
reader with a general outline of the problem of making inferences from observed
values. A full understanding of this exposition will depend to some degree on
familiarity with the content of later chapters. For this reason we suggest that this
chapter is first read to obtain a general grasp of the problem, and returned to later for
re-reading in the light of subsequent chapters.

We will illustrate the problem of inference by introducing some of the cases which
we will analyse in greater detail in the chapters to come. One, for example, in chapter
8, concerns the size of the comprehension vocabulary of British children between 6
and 7 years of age. It is obviously not possible, for practical reasons, to test all British
children of this age. We simply will not have the resources. We can only test a
sample of children. We have learned, in chapters 2 and 3, how to make an adequate
description of an observed group, by, for example, constructing a histogram or
calculating the mean and standard deviation of the vocabulary sizes of the subset of
children selected. But our interest is often broader than this; we would like to know
the mean and standard deviation which would have been obtained by testing all
children of the relevant age. How close would these have been to the mean and
standard deviation actually observed? This will depend on the relationship we expect
to hold between the group we have selected to measure and the larger group of
children from which it has been selected. How far can we assume the characteristics
of this latter group to be similar to those of the smaller group which has been
observed? This is the classical problem of statistical inference: how to infer from the
properties of a part the likely properties of the whole. It will turn up repeatedly from
now on. It is worth emphasising at the outset that because of the way in which
samples are selected in many studies in linguistics and applied linguistics, it is often
simply not possible to generalise beyond the samples. We will return to this difficulty.

4.2 Populations

A population is the largest class to which we can generalise the results of an

investigation based on a subclass. The population of interest (or target population)
will vary in type and magnitude depending on the aims and circumstances of each
different study or investigation. Within the limits set by the study in question, the
population, in statistical terms, will always be considered as the set of all possible
values of a variable. We have already referred to one study which is concerned with
the vocabulary of 6-7-year-olds. The variable here is scores on a test for
comprehension vocabulary size; the population of interest is the set of all possible
values of this variable which could be derived from all 6-7-year-old children in the
country. There are two points which should be apparent here. First, although as
investigators our primary interest is in the individuals whose behaviour we are
measuring, a statistical population is to be thought of as a set of values; a mean

138
vocabulary size calculated from a sample of observed values is, as we shall see in
chapter 7, an estimate of the mean vocabulary size that would be obtained from the
complete set of values which form the target population. The second point that
should be apparent is that it is often not straightforward in language studies to define
the target population. After all, the set of 6-7-year-old children in Britain, if we take
this to refer to the period between the sixth and seventh birthdays, is changing daily;
so for us to put some limit on our statistical population (the set of values which would
be available from these children) we have to set some kind of constraint. We return to
this kind of problem below when we consider sampling frames. For the moment let
us consider further the notion of target or intended population in relation to some of
the other examples used later in the book.

Utterance length. If we are interested in the change in utterance length over time in
childrens speech, and collect data which sample utterance length, the statistical
population in this case is composed of the length values of the individual utterances,
not the utterances themselves. Indeed, we could use the utterances of the children to
derive values for many different variables and hence to construct many different
statistical populations. If instead of measuring the length of each utterance we gave
each one a score representing the number of third person pronouns it contained, the
population of interest would then be third person pronoun per utterance scores.

Voice onset time (VOT). In the study first referred to in chapter 1, Macken & Barton
(1980a) investigated the development of childrens acquisition of initial stop contrasts
in English by measuring VOTs for plosives the children produced which were
attempts at adult voiced and voiceless stop contrasts. The statistical population here
is the VOT measurements for /p, b, t, d, k and g/ targets, not the phonological items
themselves. Note once again that it is not at all easy to conceptualise the target
population. If we do not set any limit, the population (the values of all VOTs for word-
initial plosives pronounced by English children) is infinite. It is highly likely, however,
that the target population will necessarily be more limited than this as a result of the
circumstances of the investigation from which the sample values are derived.
Deliberate constraints (for example a sample taken only from children of a certain
age) or accidental ones (non-random sampling - see below) will either constrain the
population of interest or make any generalisation difficult or even impossible.

Tense marking. In the two examples we have just looked at, the population values
can vary over a wide range. For other studies we can envisage large populations in
which the individual elements can have one of only a few, or even two, distinct
values. In the Fletcher & Peters (1984) study (discussed in chapter 7) one of the
characteristics of the language of children in which the investigators were interested
was their marking of lexical verbs with the various auxiliaries and/or suffixes used for
tense, aspect and mood in English. They examined frequencies of a variety of
individual verb forms (modal, past, present, do-support, etc.). However, it would be
possible to consider, for example, just past tense marking and to ask, for children of a
particular age, which verbs that referred to past events were overtly marked for past
tense, and which were not. So if we looked at the utterances of a sample of children
of 2;6, we could assign the value 1 to each verb marked for past tense, and zero to
unmarked verbs. The statistical population of interest (the values of the childrens
past referring verbs) would similarly be envisaged as consisting of a large collection
of elements, each of which could only have one or the other of these two values.

139
A population then, for statistical purposes, is a set of values. We have emphasised
that in linguistic studies of the kind represented in this book it is not always easy to
conceptualise the population of interest. Let us assume for the moment, however,
that by various means we succeed in defining our target population, and return to the
problem of statistical inference from another direction. While we may be ultimately
interested in populations, the values we observe will be from samples. How can we
ensure that we have reasonable grounds for claiming that the values from our sample
are accurate estimates of the values in the population? In other words, is it possible
to construct our sample in such a way that we can legitimately make the inference
from its values to those of the population we have determined as being of interest?
This is not a question to which we can respond in any detail here. Sampling theory is
itself the subject of many books. But we can illustrate some of the difficulties that are
likely to arise in making generalisations in the kinds of studies that are used for
exemplification in this book, which we believe are not untypical of the field as a
whole.

Common sense would suggest that a sample should be representative of the

population, that is, it should not, by overt or covert bias, have a structure which is too
different from the target population. But more technically (remembering that the
statistical population is a set of values), we need to be sure that the values that
constitute the sample somehow reflect the target statistical population. So, for
example, if the possible range of values for length of utterance for 3-year-olds is 1 to
11 morphemes, with larger utterances possible but very unusual, we need to ensure
that we do not introduce bias into the sample by only collecting data from a
conversational setting in which an excessive number of yes-no questions are
addressed to the child by the interlocutor. Such questions would tend to increase the
probability of utterance lengths which are very short - minor utterances like yes, no,
or short sentences like I dont know. The difficulty is that this is only one kind of bias
that might be introduced into our sample. Suppose that the interlocutor always asked
open-ended questions, like What happened? This might increase the probability of
longer utterances by a child or children in the sample. And there must be sources of
bias that we do not even contemplate, and cannot control for (even assuming that we
can control for the ones we can contemplate) 1.

Fortunately there is a method of sampling, known as random sampling that can

overcome problems of overt or covert bias. What this term means will become clearer
once we know more about probability. But it is important to understand from the
outset that random here does not mean that the events in a sample are haphazard
or completely lacking in order, but rather that they have been constructed by a
procedure that allows every element in the population a known probability of being
selected in the sample.

While we can never he entirely sure that a sample is representative (that it has
roughly the characteristics of the population relevant to our investigation), our best
defence against the introduction of experimenter bias is to follow a procedure that
ensures random samples (one such procedure will be described in chapter 5). This
can give us reasonable confidence that our inferences from sample values to
population values are valid. Conversely, if our sample is not constructed according to
a random procedure we cannot be confident that our estimates from it are likely to be

140
close to the population values in which we are interested, and any generalisation will
be of a dubious nature.

How are the samples constructed in the studies we consider in this book? Is
generalisation possible from them to a target population?

4. 3 The theoretical solution

It will perhaps help us to answer these questions if we introduce the notion of a

sampling frame by way of a non-linguistic example. This will incidentally clarify
some of the difficulties we saw earlier in attempts to specify populations.

Suppose researchers are interested in the birth weights of children born in Britain in
1984 (with a view ultimately to comparing birth weights in that year with those of
1934). As is usual with any investigation, their resources will only allow them to
collect a subset of these measurements - but a fairly large subset. They have to
decide where and how this subset of values is to be collected. The first decision they
have to make concerns the sources of their information. Maternity hospital records
are the most obvious choice, but this leaves out babies born at home. Let us assume
that health visitors (who are required to visit all new-born children and their mothers)
have accessible records which can be used. What is now required is some well-
motivated limits on these records, to constitute a sampling frame within which a
random sample of birth weights can be constructed.

The most common type of sampling frame is a list (actual or notional) of all the
subjects in the group to which generalisation is intended. Here, for example, we could
extract a list of all the babies with birth-dates in the relevant year from the records of
all health visitors in Great Britain. We could then choose a simple random sample
(chapter 5) of n of these babies and note the birth weights in their record. If n is large,
the mean weight of the sample should be very similar (chapter 7) to the mean for all
the babies born in that year. At the very least we will be able to say how big the
discrepancy is likely to be (in terms of what is known as a confidence interval - see
chapter 7).

The problem with this solution is that the construction of the sampling frame would be
extremely time-consuming and costly. Other options are available. For example, a
sampling frame could be constructed in two or more stages. The country (Britain)
could be divided into large regions, Scotland, Wales, North-East, West Midlands,
etc., and a few regions chosen from this first stage sampling frame. For each of the
selected regions a list of Health Districts can be drawn up (second stage) and a few
Health Districts chosen, at random, from each region. Then it may be possible to look
at the records of all the health visitors in each of the chosen Districts or perhaps a
sample of visitors can be chosen from the list (third stage) of all health visitors in
each district.2

The major constraint is of course resources - the time and money available for data
collection and analysis. In the light of this, sensible decisions have to be made about,
for example, the number of Health Districts in Britain to be included in the frame; or it
may be necessary to limit the inquiry to children born in four months in the year
instead of a complete year. In this example, the sampling frame mediates between

141
the population of interest (which is the birth weights of all children born in Britain in
1984) and the sample, and allows us to generalise from the sample values to those in
the population of interest.

If we now return to an earlier linguistic example, we can see how the sampling frame
would enable us to link our sample with a population of interest. Take word-initial
VOTs. Our interest will always be in the individuals of a relatively large group and in
the measurements we derive from their behaviour. In the present case we are likely
to be concerned with English children between 1;6 and 2;6, because this seems to
be the time when they are learning to differentiate voiceless from voiced initial stops
using VOT as a crucial phonetic dimension. Our resources will be limited. We should,
however, at least have a sampling frame which sets time limits (for instance, we
could choose for the lower limit of our age-range children who are 1;6 in a particular
week in 1984) ; we would like it to be geographically well-distributed (we might again
use Health Districts) ; within the sampling frame we must select a random sample of
a reasonable size.3

That is how we might go about selecting children for such a study. But how are
language samples to be selected from a child? Changing the example, consider the
problem of selecting utterances from a young child to measure his mean length of
utterance (mlu - see chapter 13). Again it is possible to devise a sampling frame. One
method would be to attach a radio microphone to the child, which would transmit and
record every single utterance he makes over some period of time to a tape-recorder.
Let us say we record all his utterances over a three-month period. We could then
attach a unique number to each utterance and choose a simple random sample
(chapter 5) of utterances. This is clearly neither sensible nor feasible - it would
require an unrealistic expenditure of resources. Alternatively, and more reasonably,
we could divide each month into days and each day into hours, select a few days at
random and a few hours within each day and record all the utterances made during
the selected hours. (See Wells 1985 : chapter 1 , for a study of this kind.) If this
method of selection were to be used it would be better to assume that that child is
active only between, say, 7 am. and 8 p.m. and select hours from that time period.

In a similar way, it will always be possible to imagine how a sampling frame could be
drawn up for any finite population if time and other resources were unlimited. The
theory which underlies all the usual statistical methods assumes that, if the results
obtained from a sample are to be generalised to a wider population, a suitable
sampling frame has been established and the sample chosen randomly from the
frame. In practice, however, it is frequently impossible to draw up an acceptable
sampling frame - so what, then, can be done?

4.4 The pragmatic solution

In any year a large number of linguistic studies of an empirical nature are carried out
by many researchers in many different locations. The great majority of these studies
will be exploratory in nature; they will be designed to test a new hypothesis which has
occurred to the investigator or to look at a modification of some idea already studied
and reported on by other researchers. Most investigators have very limited resources
and, in any case, it would be extravagant to carry out a large and expensive study
unless it was expected to confirm and give more detailed information on a hypothesis

142
which was likely to be true and whose implications had deep scientific, social or
economic significance. Of necessity, each investigator will have to make use of the
experimental material (including human subjects) to which he can gain access easily.
This will almost always preclude the setting up of sampling frames and the random
selection of subjects.

At first sight it may look as if there is an unbridgeable gap here. Statistical theory
requires that sampling should be done in a special way before generalisation can be
made formally from a sample to a population. Most studies do not involve samples
selected in the required fashion. Does this mean that statistical techniques will be
inapplicable to these studies? Before addressing this question directly, let us step
back for a moment and ask what it is, in the most general sense, that the discipline of
statistics offers to linguistics if its techniques are applicable.

What the techniques of statistics offer is a common ground, a common measuring

stick by which experimenters can measure and compare the strength of evidence for
one hypothesis or another that can be obtained from a sample of subjects, language
tokens, etc. This is worth striving after. Different studies will measure quantities which
are more or less variable and will include different numbers of subjects and language
tokens. Language researchers may find several different directions from which to
tackle the same issue. Unless a common ground can be established on which the
results of different investigations can be compared using a common yardstick it would
be almost impossible to assess the quality of the evidence contained in different
studies or to judge how much weight to give to conflicting claims.

Returning to the question of applicability, we would suggest that a sensible way to

proceed is to accept the results of each study, in the first place, as though any
sampling had been carried out in a theoretically correct fashion. If these results are
interesting - suggesting some new hypothesis or contradicting a previously accepted
one, for example - then is time enough to question how the sample was obtained and
whether this is likely to have a bearing on the validity of the conclusions reached. Let
us look at an example.

In chapter 11 we discuss a study by Hughes & Lascaratou (1981) on the gravity of

errors in written English as perceived by two different groups: native English-
speaking teachers of English and Greek teachers of English. We conclude that there
seems to be a difference in the way that the two groups judge errors, the Greek
teachers tending to be more severe in their judgements. How much does this tell us
about possible differences between the complete population of native-speaking
English teachers and Greek teachers of English? The results of the experiment would
carry over to those populations - in the sense to be explained in the following four
chapters - if the samples had been selected carefully from complete sampling
frames. This was certainly not done. Hughes and Lascaratou had to gain the co-
operation of those teachers to whom they had ready access. The formally correct
alternative would have been prohibitively expensive. However, both samples of
teachers at least contained individuals from different institutions. If all the English
teachers had come from a single English institution and all the Greek teachers from a
single Greek school of languages then it could be argued that the difference in error
gravity scores could be due to the attitudes of the institutions rather than the
nationality of the teachers. On the other hand, all but one of the Greek teachers

143
worked in Athens (the English teachers came from a wider selection of backgrounds)
and we might query whether their attitudes to errors might be different from those of
their colleagues in different parts of Greece. Without testing this argument it is
impossible to refute it, but on common sense grounds (i.e. the common sense of a
researcher in the teaching of second languages) it seems unlikely.

This then seems a reasonable way to proceed. Judge the results as though they
were based on random samples and then look at the possibility that they may be
distorted by the way the sample was, in fact, obtained. However, this imposes on
researchers the inescapable duty of describing carefully how their experimental
material - including subjects - was actually obtained. It is also good practice to
attempt to foresee some of the objections that might be made about the quality of
that material and either attempt to forestall criticism or admit openly to any serious
defects.

When the subjects themselves determine to which experimental group they belong,
whether deliberately or accidentally, the sampling needs to be done rather more
carefully. An important objective of the Fletcher & Peters (1984) study mentioned
earlier was to compare the speech of language-normal with that of language-
impaired children. In this case the investigators could not randomly assign children to
one of these groups - they had already been classified before they were selected. It
is important in this kind of study to try to avoid choosing either of the samples such
that they belong obviously to some special subgroup.

There is one type of investigation for which proper random sampling is absolutely
essential. If a reference test of some kind is to be established, perhaps to detect lack
of adequate language development in young children, then the test must be
applicable to the whole target population and not just to a particular sample.
Inaccuracies in determining cut-off levels for detecting children who should be given
special assistance have economic implications (e.g. too great a demand on
resources) and social implications (language-impaired children not being detected).
For studies of this nature, a statistician should be recruited before any data is
collected and before a sampling frame has been established.

With this brief introduction to some of the problems of the relation between sample
and population, we now turn in chapter 5 to the concept of probability as a crucial
notion in providing a link between the properties of a sample and the structure of its
parent population. In the final section of that chapter we outline a procedure for
random sampling. Chapter 6 deals with the modelling of statistical populations, and
introduces the normal distribution, an important model for our purposes in
characterising the relation between sample and population.
1
We have passed over here an issue which we have to postpone for the moment,
but which is of considerable importance for much of the research done in language
studies. Imagine the case where the population of interest is utterance lengths of
British English-speaking pre-school children. We have to consider whether it is better
to construct a sample which consists of many utterances from a few children, or one
which consists of a small number of utterances from each of many children. We will
return to this question, and the general issue of sample size, in chapter 7.

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2
The analysis of the data gathered by such complex sampling schemes can become
quite complicated and we will not deal with it in this book. Interested readers should
see texts on sampling theory or survey design or consult an experienced survey
statistician.
3
The issues raised in the first footnote crop up again here; measurements on
linguistic variables are more complex than birth weights. We could again ask whether
we should collect many word-initial plosives from few children, or few plosives from
many children ( see chapter 7). A similar problem arises with the sample chosen by
several stages. Is it better to choose many regions and a few Health Districts in each
region or vice versa?

SUMMARY

In this chapter the basic problem of the sample-population relationship has been
discussed.

1. A statistical population was defined as a set of all the values which might
ever be included in a particular study. The target population is the set to
which generalisation is intended from a study based on a sample.
2. Generalisation from a sample to a population can be made formally only if the
sample is collected randomly from a sampling frame which allows each
element of the population a known chance of being selected.
3. The point was made that, for the majority of linguistic investigations, resource
constraints prohibit the collection of data in this way. It was argued that
statistical theory and methodology still have an important role to play in the
planning and analysis of language studies.

(Statistics in Language Studies by Anthony Woods, Paul Fletcher & Arthur Hughes)

Overseas Students in Higher Education

The United Kingdoms higher education system has changed dramatically during the
past decade. Government has decreed that the life and work of universities and
colleges should become increasingly accountable to public scrutiny. The system
must demonstrate that public funds are used responsibly and effectively to promote
high quality teaching and research. Increasingly funding for both research and
teaching is being linked to the quality of provision. Institutions are being encouraged
to rely less exclusively upon funding sourced from taxation and to seek other means
of raising their income by becoming more entrepreneurial within the wider
educational marketplace.

It is the pressures upon higher education which, in part, provide the impetus for this
book. One of the distinctive ways in which institutions are aiming to expand their
activities and increase their income is by developing significantly the courses that
they offer for overseas students. There have been dramatic increases in the numbers
of undergraduate and postgraduate overseas students within the system. As this
aspect of university and college activity has burgeoned it has become apparent that
the quality of the teaching and learning offered to overseas students must be
maintained and enhanced and also become subject to audit. The central aim of this

145
book is to draw upon the developing literature, expertise and experience which focus
upon the delivery of courses for overseas students and to offer a useful resource for
those academic staff who have a measure of responsibility for teaching and
sustaining the quality of overseas students learning experiences. In addition, it is
hoped that the book will be of interest to overseas students who are contemplating or
embarking upon programmes of study in the United Kingdom.

The expansion in overseas students numbers has been noteworthy during the past
decade. In 1973 there were 35,000 international students in HIEs in the UK. This was
followed by a decline in the early 1980s, and by dramatic growth in the early 1990s
so that by 1992 numbers had risen to 95,000 (CVCP 1995a: 2.2). This increase can
he accounted for by a decline in the real cost of courses for overseas students,
steady per capita growth in the principal consuming countries, and the expansion of
the student base in UK institutions (ibid.). Currently one third of overseas students
are postgraduates, and international students are concentrated in three main
academic areas: Engineering, Technology, Social Science, and Business and
Finance (ibid: 2.3).

Within the global context (setting aside the USAs dominant 70 per cent share) the
UK is a major player in the provision of courses for overseas students and has 17 per
cent of the total overseas student population, with one third from the European Union
(CVCP 1995a: 5.3). It should be noted that it is predicted that the global supply of
overseas student places will increase, and expected that the UK will endeavour to
expand its volume in response to constraints in home student numbers, the higher
fees international students command and the move to increase postgraduate
numbers (ibid: 5.5).

Overseas students are having a significant impact upon the economies of UK higher
education institutions. In broad terms their economic impact arises from the export of
educational services from the UK so that student fees and expenditure represent an
injection into the circular flow of income (CVCP 1995a: 3.2-3.3); even discounting EU
students, funded at undergraduate level and paid for by the UK Treasury, the value
of fees of fully funded overseas students was 310 million in 1992-3 (ibid: 3.31). In
addition, their expenditure on UK-produced goods and services is estimated to be at
least 405 million in 1992-3 (ibid.: 3.32). In total this sums to twice the value of UK
exports of coal, gas and electricity in the same year (ibid: 3.33). In terms of the
benefit to institutions themselves, on average 5.1 per cent of old university income
depends on international students and 2.2 per cent in new universities. There are
also, of course, non-economic benefits arising from overseas student provision such
as the promotion of the English language and culture and fostering understanding
between races. In such circumstances it is hardly surprising that the government is
keen to promote the export of educational services as a means of promoting
economic growth (see for example DTI 1995).

According to a wide ranging recent survey, the main reasons why overseas students
decide to study in the UK rather than anywhere else are: that the English Language
is spoken; UK qualifications are recognised by the home government and companies;
the standard and quality of education in the UK; the international reputation of UK
education; the presence of well known universities; and that students are already
used to the English system of education (Allen and Higgins 1994: 22, table 20). The

146
two main reasons they decided to go to their current institution rather than elsewhere
in the UK were the academic reputation of the institution (for 27.8 per cent) and the
content of the course (for 20.8 per cent) (ibid: 39, table 27).

Given the importance that overseas students attach to the quality of UK institutions
and the courses they offer, it is essential that quality is maintained. There have,
however, in recent years been concerns that the rapid expansion in overseas
courses could have an effect upon quality. For instance an editorial in the Times
Higher Education Supplement (1994) opined that there was a danger that the
recruitment of overseas students was being driven too much by the pursuit of money
to support an under-funded system and too little by genuine educational
considerations. The need to maintain quality has been recognised within the system
and the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) has recently issued a
relevant Code of Practice (CVCP 1995b). The introduction by the Chairman of the
CVCP demonstrates higher educations determination to maintain high standards and
quality control. As he says: The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals seeks
to encourage the commitment of institutions to providing value for the investment
made by and on behalf of their international students by developing and applying
consistent procedures in the recruitment and support of such students.

It is evident that higher education institutions must pay particular attention to the
quality of the teaching and learning which they offer for overseas students. With the
establishment of a quality assurance system which ensures that higher education
teaching is scrutinised on a regular basis and that external assessors ratings are
published (see for example HEFCE 1996; HEQC 1995), institutions have become
very much more aware of the importance of teaching and concerned to enhance
academic staff expertise in this crucial aspect of their roles. Many institutions now
provide formal training in teaching methods and linked higher education teaching
qualifications for their staff (SEDA 1996), and have established staff and educational
development units to offer appropriate advice and support. There is an ever growing
body of literature which brings together the pertinent research and expertise on
teaching and learning in higher education and offers academic staff a valuable
resource (see for example Brown and Atkins 1988; CVCP 1992a; Ramsden 1992;
Wilkin 1995). There is, however, within the available corpus very little mention of
overseas students and the special problems they present when studying in the UK
environment (but see Makepeace 1989; and Ballard and Clancy 1991 for an
Australian example). It is an apposite time, therefore, to make available for the wider
academic community the burgeoning body of information on teaching and learning
which has a direct bearing upon overseas students studying in the UK higher
education system. This book comprises invited chapters from colleagues who have
experience and a particular interest in working with overseas students. The aim is not
to supply tips for teachers but rather to bring to tutors attention theoretical
perspectives, empirical studies, informing principles and experience which have a
bearing upon overseas students learning in the UK as the host country. It is hoped
that the information will help sensitise academic staff to the problems encountered by
both students and tutors and also offer interpretive frameworks which will aid
reflection upon practice and develop proposals for improving practice.

In education there is no easy distinction between an entity known as theory and

another referred to as practice. Theory should have some bearing upon the real

147
world of practice and our actual practices are always informed by either covert or
overt theoretical assumptions. As we all know, there is nothing so practical as a good
theory. The contributors to the book have, depending upon their substantive subject
matter and the manner in which they treat their topics, given different emphases to
theoretical and practical matters. We have used this consideration as the principle for
arranging the sequence of chapters. We begin with those that place a greater stress
upon policy issues which may inform and guide educational practices and we move
on to those which give a greater emphasis to practical considerations. We divide the
chapters up into two sections, Part I, Principles: perspectives and orientation and
Part II, Practice: supporting learning, but we are well aware that the division
between them is somewhat arbitrary.

(Overseas students in higher education by David McNamara and Robert Harris)

Teaching English with Video

So far we have discussed what there is in the way of video equipment and materials
and we have looked at how we can use the machine. It's time now to turn our
attention to how video can fit into our teaching as a whole. This chapter examines
reasons for using video in language teaching and considers when and how we could
introduce it into the syllabus and into the lesson.

Video is not the only resource we have at our disposal in the language classroom. It
takes its place among a range of other aids we use quite regularly, so we have to
decide what its strengths are. What does it do particularly well in the context of
language teaching?

If your students want to study spoken English, you will spend part of the time in the
classroom working on examples of the spoken language. Most language courses use
dialogue or a narrative to present the language of the unit. We use examples in the
textbook, and often on audio, which gives them the greater realism of different voices
and sound effects. When, with video, we can add moving pictures to the soundtrack,
the examples of language in use become even more realistic. These examples are
more comprehensive too, because they put before us the ways people communicate
visually as well as verbally. So video is a good means of bringing 'slices of living
language' into the classroom.

In many language classrooms today there are times when we want to get our
students talking to us and to each other. We want to give them the opportunity to put
their own language into practice in a genuine effort to communicate. So we look for
situations where our learners will really have something they want to say to each
other. The right video material can do this in a range of ways: its vivid presentation of
settings and characters can be used to set the scene for roleplay; it can present a
case with such impact that it sparks off fierce debate; we all make our own
interpretations of what we see and so video can be a stimulus to genuine
communication in the classroom by bringing out different opinions within the group.

We all send and receive visual signals when we talk to each other. These help us
decipher what is being communicated. It must therefore help learners when they
listen to a foreign language if they can see as well as hear what is going on. And

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video's moving pictures also help learners concentrate because they provide a focus
of attention while they listen. Both these forms of support suggest that video is a
good medium for extended listening to the foreign language. The more exposure
learners have to the language, the better they are likely to learn it. In some situations,
the classroom is the only place learners can hear the foreign language spoken, so
video becomes a means of giving them a 'language bath' in the classroom.

In our homes we associate the small screen with entertainment. We expect to enjoy
the experience of viewing. Learners bring the same expectations to the experience of
viewing video in the classroom and we can encourage this positive attitude by using
video in a flexible way. It is a medium of great variety, with a wealth of different kinds
of software which we can use to ring the changes in our teaching. This book
suggests many ways in which we can use video in a different way to viewing
television. We can also at times use it just like television. Video helps us provide a
richer and more varied language environment within which learning can take place.
The combination of variety, interest and entertainment we can derive from video
makes it an aid which can help develop motivation in learners.

The integration of video into your syllabus will depend on the kind of video installation
you have. If you have video playback available in your classroom whenever you want
it, along with a good choice of materials, you can afford to use it in a variety of ways.
In some lessons you might use it for five minutes. In others it could be the
springboard for a two-hour session. If you only have access to the machine once a
month in a special video room, you will want to make it the centre of attention for that
session. Whatever access you have, it is much better to plan video sessions into the
syllabus. If it is left as an optional extra, it's too easy to forget about it or to decide not
to bother. It helps everyone get started if there are notes indicating where and how
video materials would fit into the syllabus.

On what basis can this syllabus integration be organised? There isn't always an
obvious link between the materials you have and the syllabus in use.

The link through language is the most obvious and most straightforward one to make
if your syllabus is based on linguistic items such as language structures or functions.
Published materials for ELT normally reflect trends in language teaching and the
current language-focussed series can generally be linked to the syllabus through the
language functions or structures they present. In non-ELT materials you can look for
situations which are likely to feature highly predictable language: scenes set in
restaurants or shops, at parties, the reception desk or the dining table can sometimes
be picked out of a longer programme and used in isolation to give an example of
particular language functions in operation. (However you might be surprised at how
often these settings don't include the language you expect to hear.)

Once you've found a video sequence you could use to present specific language
items, you then have to decide when you will introduce it in your teaching of a unit.
There are several possibilities:

it could be used to present language - either for the introduction of new areas
of language or to supplement what has been taught by other means and
methods;

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 it could be used to check whether students are already familiar with the
language and can use it confidently, to help the teacher diagnose problems;
it could be used to stimulate learners to produce the language themselves
through roleplay or discussion.

We return to these uses in the last part of this chapter, when we look in detail at roles
for video in the lesson.

Topics are a feature of some language syllabuses. A unit of work might be based
around a topic like ecology or the leisure interests of young people in Britain or the
education systems of different countries. A video programme about the same topic
could be a welcome addition to that unit. It could put a different perspective on the
topic; it could introduce new information; it could invite comparison of the ways the
same subject can be treated in different media or from different points of view.

Another way of linking through topic is by means of subject matter introduced in the
textbook for language practice. For example, talking about the jobs people do is often
used to practise describing daily routines. There may be video materials on your
shelves showing people at work which you could use to extend practice of this kind.
An exercise in describing places could be based on a video sequence which showed
a particular town. All of this uses video to introduce variety and interest to classroom
work.

Your syllabus may include slots for the development of certain skills such as listening
to lectures or writing reports. You could think of using video material occasionally as
an input to these activities. A video recording of a meeting could give practice in
taking notes of main points. A documentary programme could form the basis for
discussion in the weekly slot for communicative activities. Viewing an interesting
story requires the exercise of listening skills.

You do not always have to have a specific link to other items on the syllabus. Some
sets of video material are self-contained and come with their own activities: a serial
story, a training series for management skills, a set of business meetings. Any of
these could create their own regular slot on the timetable: a Sherlock Holmes story
once a month, perhaps, or a weekly session for the Business English group to view
the next episode of Bid for Power. Alternatively a range of different video materials
could be used in a period earmarked for video. The important thing is that the slot be
timetabled in, so that even where video provision is very limited, everyone is
encouraged to think about how they can use what there is.

This brings us on to thinking about how you can integrate video into your lesson. The
rest of this chapter looks at how you might do this, using examples from a range of
video materials, ELT and non-ELT. The Video Plans in this chapter are taken from
Teacher's Guides and other print support produced for published video materials.
Although the suggestions are for a specific piece of video, they have been selected
because the ideas are transferrable to other materials.

Is video better suited to one stage of a lesson rather than another? With materials
designed to highlight language items, we have an indication of how materials
designers approach the question of video's role in the lesson.

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I will look at this in relation to the traditional stages of a language lesson,
presentation, practice, reinforcement, and to the elicitation stage some teachers
introduce before presentation.

(a)Video for elicitation

There are times when you want to encourage talk within the classroom group, with
students drawing on their own language resources to express thoughts they want to
communicate. There are also times when you need to find out how much your
students know or can do with language. You may have a new group for whom you
have to work out a syllabus, or you may want to check to see whether a revision
session is necessary or not. For all of these reasons you may want to hear your
students talking with as little prompting as possible from you. Students often find that
their ability to produce language which is appropriate for a particular situation is less
than they had expected. The technique of getting them to supply the missing
dialogue after a silent viewing of a scene provides a good opportunity for you and
them to find out what language they have at their command and how flexibly they can
use it. When this is your purpose you might use a short sequence for as little as five
or ten minutes at the beginning of a lesson.

(b)Video at the presentation stage

In a sense all video material is presenting examples of language. I use the term here
in the language teaching sense of the presentation of new language items which will
be the focus for the next unit of work. How appropriate is video for this stage of a
unit? In language teaching we are accustomed t using dialogues which present very
restricted examples of language. This is acceptable in the textbook, and can even be
made to work on audio, but it is more difficult when we can see real people in a real
setting on video. The scene looks awkward and unconvincing if the language is so
controlled and repetitive that the interaction becomes quite unnatural. Because of this
the language in video materials, even for elementary level, tends to be a little more
varied than it would be in the textbook. Most ELT series are intended to supplement
what is in the textbook not to replace it and they are intended to be used to
consolidate the learning of language that has already been presented in another
form.

The Follow Me course is one which does aim to introduce new language items
through video. This is done within the programme itself by using very restricted
examples of language and by recycling these examples through the programme and
through the course in a range of different short scenes. The fact that Follow Me was
designed for broadcast meant that it had to do its own presentation, as it were, for
home viewers. A teacher with a video machine in the classroom has the choice of
when to use video material and could for example use a sequence with an
appropriate setting to establish a context before new language items are introduced.

It's very unlikely that video will be your only means of presenting language so you do
have a choice. Assuming that all the materials you have are equally suitable for your
students, the main distinguishing feature of the video materials is likely to be that they
provide the most realistic examples of the language in use. Your choice therefore
could be boiled down to whether you want to start with the `real thing' on video, as an

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example of what the unit is about, or whether you want to keep the most realistic
example for later, to reinforce what has gone before.

(c) Video used for reinforcement

This is a good use of video because it capitalises on video's naturalism to present

more realistic examples of language, and the visual support video offers can lighten
the additional language load. Video Plan 6 on page 53 is taken from materials
intended to be used as language reinforcement.

In this treatment a variety of techniques is used to elicit the language learners already
know before they reach the 'View, Listen and Compare' stage. By then, known items
have been recycled and summarised and any new ways of asking permission in the
sequence can be highlighted. A lesson of this kind would be appropriate as the final
stage in a unit of work on ways of asking permission. It could also be a revision
session. What proportion of class time should it take up? We are always interested to
know how much classwork any material can generate. It's a factor in assessing value
for money and we also need to have some idea of how the material will fit into our
normal teaching pattern.

Most of the suggestions made in Teacher's Notes that accompany ELT video
materials would lead to a full lesson built round each video unit. The way the video
fits into the lesson varies from one publication to another. In Video Plan 6 we have an
example of very intensive treatment of a very short sequence (26 seconds) where the
video is repeatedly returned to as a stimulus to another activity. Its use is woven
through the bulk of the lesson. Video Plan 7 illustrates a different approach to a
longer sequence (about 15 minutes). Here the viewing of the sequence is used as a
springboard for a set of activities which follow it. Most of these refer back to the
content of the video but repeat viewing is not suggested.

Lets Watch returns to a viewing of the whole sequence at several points in the
suggested sequence of activities. Each unit also includes a second, silent sequence,
which provides a basis for exploitation of language presented earlier in the unit.
Video Plan 8 is taken from the Teacher's Notes and suggests several ways of
treating a short silent sequence of about two minutes.

I interpret 'practice' in its broad sense of the practice of a range of skills. This section
looks at examples of different types of skills practice suggested for video materials.

(a) Use of visual prompts

Several video workbooks for students feature still pictures taken from the video
sequence. They are sometimes used for previewing activity, or they can be used as
recall devices for language study and practice as they are in the 'Focus' section of
Family Affair (see Video Plan 7) and in the example in Video Plan 9.

If you don't have still pictures for the video materials you are using, you could still
adapt these ideas by using freeze frame on the video itself. With videodisc it is
possible to select the frame precisely and speedily so that a set of stills on the screen
could very easily be used.

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Video Plan 10 gives two further ideas for tasks which exploit the visual element of the
sequence as it is played.

(b) Roleplay

This activity is suggested with several sets of material and at different stages in the
video-based lesson. In Video Plan 6 we saw roleplay introduced after silent viewing
and before students listened to the dialogue. It was suggested again as a final recap
of the video sequence.You can also stop the tape at a dramatic point in a story and
ask your students to devise their own ending to it. Several teacher's books suggest a
real move away from the situation portrayed on the video to other, similar situations.

(c) Video drills

Some video materials have a practice stage built into each unit. The course Its Your
Turn To Speak uses laboratory drill techniques, with gaps left for the student to
supply parts of the dialogue. The camera leads the viewer into the scene and a
symbol appears on the screen as a prompt for the viewer to speak. Lets Watch
includes video exercises which are similar to traditional audio-cued drills. The Follow
Me guide suggests the use of a VCR similar to the use we sometimes make of
audiocassette players in the classroom: the 'listen and repeat' technique of pausing
the machine after each utterance for students to repeat it. This is simply using your
control of the machine and could be applied to any video material.

(d) Comprehension exercises

Comprehension is involved when we look at video and so the techniques for

developing and checking comprehension with audio or print are equally valid for
video. The examples we have seen include multiple choice and true/false questions,
gap-filling tasks, re-ordering jumbled sentences, filling in information on worksheets.
All of them treat the video sequence simply as another form of text and are familiar
exercise types. This is a useful reminder that video is just another aid at your
disposal. Even if you are new to it, you probably already have a range of ideas for
language work which could perfectly well apply to video.

We turn now from materials with a focus on language to materials you choose
because of the topic they present. This could include ELT and non- ELT material and
will mostly consist of documentary programmes or extracts from current affairs
programmes. Topic-based programmes present information and opinions. You can
use them to stimulate discussion, or as sources of data for tasks or projects.

(a) Collecting information

An information-gathering task serves the purpose of directing viewing. This is a good

activity for small group project work as it lends itself to the pooling of information and
sharing different elements of the task. Video Plan 11 is drawn from worksheets
prepared for Danish teenagers to use with a programme from a Thames Television
series: The John Smith Show. This series took four British families, all with the
surname Smith, and used it to look at aspects of life in contemporary Britain.
Television English also applies classroom techniques to off-air material. The

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Teacher's Notes suggest a variety of activities which take learners back to the video
'text' several times. Video Plan 12 above, from the introduction to the book, gives a
summary of the most common activities.

(b) Debating a topic

Choose a topic which you know will interest and involve your students. If possible it
should also be a topic about which your class will have differing views. Video Plan 13
shows how topic-based material can slot into debate which takes place before and
after the viewing.

(c) Producing a commentary

Video Plan 14 is taken from a course developed in the Free University of Berlin which
used a range of texts drawn from different media. These were grouped according to
theme and accompanied by a variety of tasks. This is one example of a task related
to an extract from off-air documentary material within a unit on drugs.

A different approach to video materials is to look at how they communicate their

message. This is particularly relevant to non-ELT materials since they were produced
to convey a message to a particular audience. They can be studied as examples of
uses of the medium in the context of the society that produced them. In language
programmes which include an element of project work and with students who are
interested in contemporary issues, this flavour of media studies can be very
motivating. All film, video and television production is an example of the use of tools
other than language to communicate to an audience. One way of analysing video
programmes is to look at the film techniques employed: editing decisions, camera
angles, the way images are juxtaposed all have an effect on the viewer, who is often
unaware of it.

The group tasks in Video Plan 15 on page 62 encourage students to think about the
way a programme was put together.

A study of this kind can be related to texts in other media too, giving a comparison of,
for example, different ways of approaching the same topic. The treatment of off-air
material outlined in Video Plans 14 and15 could form the basis for discussion of this
kind.

There are three things to look for in a story: the characters, the plot and the style of
telling the story. This is a useful basis for thinking about how you could use a story in
class. You will certainly want to make sure your students can follow the plot, and an
appreciation of the characters is usually very closely linked to our understanding of a
plot. How far you discuss the style will depend on the interests of your students.

Interesting stories are good material for developing the skill of gist listening. You can
set a clear goal: the ability to retell the main elements of the plot. It is usually possible
to follow the plot without understanding every word in the story and you can choose
stories on video which have a strong visual contribution to the storyline. Look
particularly for information about characters: attitudes are often indicated by facial

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expressions or movements. Below is an example of the way you could organise your
notes as you preview a story.

The camera can take us into people's homes and lives and places of work and lay
before us evidence of what life and work is like in another country. You would
probably choose to use materials of this kind because the aspects of the culture
featured are of relevance to your students. Perhaps they are soon to go to Britain or
the States to study or as tourists. Or perhaps they are working in Britain and having
to interpret the culture that is all around them. If these are your reasons for using
video material which highlights aspects of a society, use the video to find out what
your students want to know about it.

Different people will notice different things and some of them may surprise you.
Leave it as open as possible and encourage them to ask questions, by setting
preview questions such as 'What differences do you notice between British/North
American customs and those of your own country?' 'Does anything seem strange to
you in the scene?'

We said at the beginning of this chapter that you would have to choose when to use
video rather than another classroom aid. It's fairly clear when you would use a book
or an Overhead Projector or a magazine picture in your teaching and it's not difficult
to see that video makes a different contribution. The aid that we are most likely to use
for the same reasons as video is the audio tape or cassette recorder. We are
accustomed to using audio to present examples of language in use. It lets us bring
into the classroom different voices and different accents and a skilful use of sound
effects can suggest a setting. We can do all of these things better with video. So, if
we had the same range of materials on video as we do on audio, would we continue
to use audio in language teaching? The answer is yes, but it would have a more
limited role. It would be limited to the function it is most useful for in the language
classroom: intensive listening.

We have established that video is a good medium to use for extensive listening. It is
not however so well suited to an intensive, detailed study of spoken language. The
present generation of videocassette machines does not respond speedily or
accurately to the stop, rewind, replay sequence you go through in intensive listening
to identify every word. There is the added irritation of having the picture interfered
with and the screen takes a moment to settle down after a restart. If you want your
students to listen intensively to a dialogue, don't do it on video. The ideal would be to
have the soundtrack on an audio cassette. Then, after using it on video, any
intensive listening tasks could be carried out on audio. Where this is not possible, it is
best not to attempt intensive listening. You don't need to treat every dialogue in the
same way anyway, so keep that kind of work for audio materials and try to use video
for the work it is best suited for.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group

Royal Dutch/Shell Group is an international producer of petroleum, gas, and

chemicals. The Royal Dutch/Shell Group comprises a loose federation of more than
1700 associated companies controlled by two parent companies: the Shell Transport

155
and Trading Company based in London, England, and the Royal Dutch Petroleum
Company, based in The Hague, Netherlands.

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group ranks as the world's second largest oil company,
behind Exxon Corporation, and is the world's largest petrochemicals company. The
company operates in more than 100 countries. Its operations cover all aspects of the
oil and gas business.

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group was formed in 1907 by the merger of the Royal Dutch
Petroleum Company with Shell Transport and Trading. Shell Transport began in the
1830s in London as an importer of seashells from the Far East. British importer
Marcus Samuel inherited the company in 1870 and developed it into one of the
leading shipping and trading enterprises in Asia. He began trading in oil from Russia
in the late 19th century and incorporated the company as Shell Transport and
Trading in 1898.

Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was established by Dutch industrialist Aeilko Zijlker
in 1890 in The Hague and began drilling for oil on Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies.
Dutch accountant Henri Deterding became chief executive of Royal Dutch in 1901.
Deterding's strategy of forming alliances led to the creation, with Shell Transport, of
the Asiatic Petroleum Company in 1903 and the merger of Royal Dutch and Shell
Transport four years later. The Royal Dutch/Shell Group, 60 percent owned by Royal
Dutch and 40 percent by Shell Transport, expanded rapidly, developing oil fields in
Venezuela, Russia, the United States, Nigeria, and the Gulf of Mexico. Royal
Dutch/Shell Group's production was never concentrated in the Middle East. For this
reason, the company avoided much of the disruption in supply that occurred in the
1970s after many nations in the Middle East took control of the oil fields in their
countries. During the early 1970s, Shell began to diversify its holdings by purchasing
metal and mining interests. The company concentrated its oil exploration efforts in
Asia and Latin America and moved aggressively into natural gas production. These
strategies helped it remain one of the most profitable major oil companies through the
1980s and into the 1990s.

Weak oil prices forced the company to reduced its workforce by around one-fifth
between 1990 and 1995, when the company also sold many of its peripheral
businesses, such as metals and pesticides. Also in 1995, a public outcry in Europe
forced the company to abandon its plan to sink an oil-storage buoy in the North
Atlantic Ocean. Later in the year activists called for the company to shut down its
operations in Nigeria after the Nigerian government executed nine prominent pro-
democracy dissidents. The dissidents, who included Nigerian author Ken Saro-Wiwa,
had challenged the government's environmental and economic policies concerning
the operation of oil companies in Nigeria.

An Observation and an Explanation

It is worth looking at one or two aspects of the way a mother behaves towards her
baby. The usual fondling, cuddling and cleaning require little comment, but the
position in which she holds the baby against her body when resting is rather
revealing. Careful American studies have disclosed the fact that 80 per cent of
mothers cradle their infants in their left arms, holding them against the left side of

156
their bodies. If asked to explain the significance of this preference most people reply
that it is obviously the result of the predominance of right-handedness in the
population. By holding the babies in their left arms, the mothers keep their dominant
arm free for manipulations. But a detailed analysis shows that this is not the case.
True, there is a slight difference between right-handed and left-handed females, but
not enough to provide an adequate explanation. It emerges that 83 per cent of right-
handed mothers hold the baby on the left side, but then so do 78 per cent of left-
handed mothers. In other words, only 22 per cent of the left-handed mothers have
their dominant hands free for actions. Clearly there must be some other, less obvious
explanation.

The only other clue comes from the fact that the heart is on the left side of the
mothers body. Could it be that the sound of her heartbeat is the vital factor? And in
what way? Thinking along these lines it was argued that perhaps during its existence
inside the body of the mother, the growing embryo becomes fixated (imprinted) on
the sound of the heart beat. If this is so, then the re-discovery of this familiar sound
after birth might have a calming effect on the infant, especially as it has just been
thrust into a strange and frighteningly new world outside. If this is so then the mother,
either instinctively or by an unconscious series of trials and errors, would soon arrive
at the discovery that her baby is more at peace if held on the left against her heart,
than on the right.

This may sound far-fetched, but tests have now been carried out which reveal that it
is nevertheless the true explanation. Groups of new-born babies in a hospital nursery
were exposed for a considerable time to the recorded sound of a heartbeat at a
standard rate of 72 beats per minute. There were nine babies in each group and it
was found that one or more of them was crying for 60 per cent of the time when the
sound was not switched on, but that this figure fell to only 38 per cent when the
heartbeat recording was thumping away. The heartbeat groups also showed a
greater weight-gain than the others, although the amount of food taken was the same
in both cases. Clearly the beatless groups were burning up a lot more energy as a
result of the vigorous actions of their crying.

Another test was done with slightly older infants at bedtime. In some groups the room
was silent, in others recorded lullabies were played. In others a ticking metronome
was operating at the heartbeat speed of 72 beats per minute. In still others the
heartbeat recording itself was played. It was then checked to see which groups fell
asleep more quickly. The heartbeat group dropped off in half the time it took for any
of the other groups. This not only clinches the idea that the sound of the heart
beating is a powerfully calming stimulus, but it also shows that the response is a
highly specific one. The metronome imitation will not do - at least, not for young
infants.

So it seems fairly certain that this is the explanation of the mothers left-side
approach to baby-holding. It is interesting that when 466 Madonna and child
paintings (dating back over several hundred years) were analysed for this feature,
373 of them showed the baby on the left breast. Here again the figure was at the 80
per cent level. This contrasts with observations of females carrying parcels, where it
was found that 50 per cent carried them on the left and 50 per cent on the right.

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What other possible results could this heartbeat imprinting have? It may, for example,
explain why we insist on locating feelings of love in the heart rather than the head. As
the song says: You gotta have a heart! It may also explain why mothers rock their
babies to lull them to sleep. The rocking motion is carried on at about the same
speed as the heartbeat, and once again it probably reminds the infants of the
rhythmic sensations they became so familiar with inside the womb, as the great heart
of the mother pumped and thumped away above them.

Nor does it stop there. Right into adult life the phenomenon seems to stay with us.
We rock with anguish. We rock back and forth on our feet when we are in a state of
conflict. The next time you see a lecturer or an after-dinner speaker swaying
rhythmically from side to side, check his speed for heartbeat time. His discomfort at
having to face an audience leads him to perform the most comforting movements his
body can offer in the somewhat limited circumstances; and so he switches on the old
familiar beat of the womb.

Wherever you find insecurity, you are liable to find the comforting heartbeat rhythm in
one kind of disguise or another. It is no accident that most folk music and dancing
has a syncopated rhythm. Here again the sounds and movements take the
performers back to the safe world of the womb.

From The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris. (Jonathan Cape and McGraw Hill, 1967)

Source : Internet

List of headwords in exercises

abandon, 14, 34, 38, 48, 55

abstract, 43, 44, 48

academy, 8, 18, 51, 53

access, 2, 22, 45, 48, 52, 54

accommodate, 27, 28, 33

accompany, 17, 48, 49, 50, 54

accumulate, 5, 14, 18, 21, 27, 32

accurate, 3, 4, 8, 18, 38, 48, 49, 52, 54

achieve, 3, 7, 8, 18, 27, 32, 34, 35, 37, 40, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51

acknowledge, 18, 48

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acquire, 5, 8, 11, 20, 22, 27, 32, 47, 48, 49, 52

adapt, 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 18, 48, 51, 54

adequate, 14, 17, 24, 40, 41, 48, 52, 56

adjacent, 3, 44

adjust, 5, 27, 28, 32, 48, 51

administrate, 11, 35, 40, 41, 46

adult, 40, 49, 52, 56

advocate, 21, 24, 27, 45, 48

affect, 1, 4, 9, 14, 21, 22, 24, 27, 37, 48, 50, 51

aggregate, 21, 27, 40

aid, 11, 35, 36, 39, 44, 50, 53, 54

albeit, 32, 40

allocate, 12, 26, 35, 46

alter, 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 27, 48, 49, 50

alternative, 1, 7, 8, 24, 32, 37, 38, 43, 45, 48, 52, 54

ambiguous, 46, 49, 51

amend, 35

analogy, 8, 48, 50

analyse, 2, 4, 8, 21, 24, 27, 38, 40, 43, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 56

annual, 5, 18, 27, 35

anticipate, 14, 27, 48

apparent, 22, 27, 34, 35, 40, 48, 52, 53

append, 11, 13

appreciate, 1, 8, 27, 34, 45, 54

approach, 10, 12, 24, 27, 35, 38, 40, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56

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appropriate, 1, 4, 24, 35, 49, 51, 53, 54

approximate, 49, 50

arbitrary, 27, 49, 53

area, 1, 8, 14, 15, 22, 24, 35, 38, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54

aspect, 8, 16, 22, 41, 43, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56

assemble, 1, 10

assess, 10, 12, 13, 31, 40, 52, 54

assign, 14, 20, 52

assist, 1, 9, 22, 30, 35, 38, 43, 52

assume, 8, 14, 18, 24, 32, 38, 40, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54

assure, 18, 19, 32, 48, 53

attach, 1, 2, 3, 15, 18, 49, 52, 53

attain, 5, 42, 51

attitude, 18, 24, 27, 32, 33, 52, 54

attribute, 8, 40, 44, 48, 51, 52

author, 55

authority, 22, 30, 34, 35, 41, 42, 46, 48, 49

automate, 1, 18, 22, 27, 35, 51

available, 1, 10, 18, 21, 26, 27, 28, 33, 37, 40, 43, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54

aware, 6, 28, 38, 48, 53, 54

behalf, 22, 53

benefit, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 35, 43, 45, 48, 51, 53

bias, 52

bond, 22, 25, 27

brief, 8, 12, 18, 27, 38, 52

160
bulk, 18, 22, 32, 54

capable, 2, 11, 14, 24, 49, 50

capacity, 1, 8, 27, 49

category, 13, 17, 24, 29, 30, 32, 38, 40, 49, 51

cease, 48, 49

challenge, 8, 14, 24, 32, 46, 48, 49, 50, 55

channel, 22

chapter, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 24, 32, 37, 45, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54

chart, 8, 50

chemical, 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, 55

circumstance, 7, 18, 33, 38, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 56

cite, 21

civil, 14, 32, 41

clarify, 52

classic, 49, 50, 52

clause, 27, 49

code, 6, 11, 38, 40, 42, 53

coherent, 49

coincide, 49, 50

collapse, 5, 14, 22, 35

colleague, 2, 24, 30, 48, 51, 52, 53

commence, 12

comment, 7, 18, 43, 54, 56

commission, 22, 25, 35, 38, 40, 46

commit, 35, 36, 38, 40, 46, 48, 53

161
commodity, 25, 27, 35

communicate, 2, 12, 49, 50, 51, 54

community, 22, 32, 35, 47, 48, 49, 53

compatible, 30, 44, 48

compensate, 7, 14

compile, 25

complement, 8, 11, 48

complex, 2, 15, 17, 18, 24, 27, 30, 49, 50, 52

component, 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 22, 49, 50

compound, 10, 26, 32

comprehensive, 2, 8, 14, 54

comprise, 2, 35, 49, 53, 55

compute, 2, 22, 49, 50

conceive, 2, 50

concentrate, 8, 14, 22, 24, 27, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55

concept, 7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 38, 44, 48, 50, 51, 52

conclude, 16, 21, 37, 38, 45, 46, 51, 52

concurrent, 32

conduct, 3, 14, 22, 36, 38, 41, 47, 48, 51

confer, 10, 29, 35

confine, 6, 8, 38

confirm, 14, 38, 52

conflict, 12, 35, 40, 42, 44, 48, 52, 56

conform, 40

consent, 18, 22, 29

162
consequent, 2, 3, 9, 11, 18, 21, 22, 30, 32, 38, 40, 48, 51

considerable, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22, 24, 32, 38, 45, 52, 56

consist, 1, 22, 27, 39, 40, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54

constant, 1, 3, 8, 14, 16, 40, 47, 48, 50, 51

constitute, 1, 6, 11, 22, 38, 43, 44, 45, 48, 52

constrain, 22, 27, 52, 53

construct, 1, 2, 21, 27, 32, 35, 38, 39, 48, 49, 52

consult, 4, 10, 24, 30, 31, 35, 51, 52

consume, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 48, 50, 53

contact, 1, 12, 13, 28, 49

contemporary, 8, 22, 34, 54

context, 34, 46, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54

contract, 6, 25, 26, 27

contradict, 27, 44, 46, 52

contrary, 32

contrast, 7, 52, 56

contribute, 32, 33, 35, 37, 40, 48, 53, 54

controversy, 8, 22, 39

convene, 1, 18, 40, 48, 50

converse, 25, 26, 52

convert, 2, 3, 6, 29, 32, 48

convince, 8, 32, 45, 48, 49, 51

cooperate, 14, 22, 25, 35, 45, 50, 52

coordinate, 10, 12, 27, 50

core, 1, 48

163
corporate, 2, 20, 22, 29, 30, 55

correspond, 8, 18, 21, 38, 44, 49, 50

couple, 1, 34, 38

create, 5, 8, 10, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 32, 35, 36, 37, 46, 48, 49, 50, 54, 55

credit, 22, 24, 27, 30

criteria, 18, 38, 44, 48, 50, 51

crucial, 6, 22, 45, 51, 52, 53

culture, 40, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54

currency, 22, 23, 27, 35

cycle, 1, 7, 14, 21, 27, 40

data, 2, 10, 18, 21, 40, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54

debate, 8, 18, 22, 23, 34, 40, 46, 48, 54

decade, 8, 18, 22, 27, 35, 46, 53

decline, 8, 18, 21, 27, 45, 53

deduce, 43, 47

define, 4, 11, 14, 22, 26, 27, 30, 36, 37, 38, 40, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52

definite, 6, 45, 49, 50

demonstrate, 11, 22, 48, 51, 53

denote, 1, 44

deny, 8, 32, 40, 46, 48

depress, 13, 18, 21, 22, 23, 27, 46

derive, 24, 38, 41, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54

design, 1, 2, 5, 14, 24, 32, 37, 51, 52, 54

despite, 5, 8, 23, 27, 34, 35, 36, 48, 49

detect, 2, 3, 48, 52

164
deviate, 35, 52

device, 1, 2, 3, 21, 54

devote, 21, 22, 32, 48

differentiate, 6, 11, 45, 49, 52

dimension, 4, 52

diminish, 18, 21

discrete, 22, 29, 37, 38, 49

discriminate, 18, 19

displace, 2, 48

display, 48

dispose, 18, 33, 54

distinct, 2, 8, 18, 32, 34, 41, 44, 45, 49, 52, 53

distort, 5, 27, 51, 52

distribute, 1, 7, 18, 29, 52

diverse, 5, 22, 49, 50, 55

document, 50

domain, 47

domestic, 8, 22, 27, 33

dominate, 8, 22, 24, 27, 32, 40, 44, 46, 49, 53, 56

draft, 35

drama, 18, 22, 34, 50, 53, 54

duration, 7, 21, 40, 50

dynamic, 8, 49

economy, 1, 8, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 32, 35, 40, 43, 46, 52, 53, 55

edit, 8, 51, 53, 54

165
element, 2, 5, 27, 30, 38, 44, 45, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54

eliminate, 14, 35, 45, 48

emerge, 5, 10, 18, 33, 40, 46, 48, 49, 51, 56

emphasis, 9, 37, 40, 44, 46, 50, 51, 52, 53

empirical, 52, 53

enable, 3, 6, 8, 22, 34, 36, 45, 51, 52

encounter, 14, 48, 53

energy, 5, 6, 13, 32, 35, 56

enforce, 37

enhance, 35, 51, 53

enormous, 5, 40

ensure, 15, 37, 43, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53

entity, 53

environment, 5, 8, 11, 14, 23, 32, 35, 40, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55

equate, 2, 18

equip, 1, 14, 22, 27, 32, 38, 46, 48, 49, 54

equivalent, 3, 16, 32

erode, 18, 23, 27, 40

error, 2, 32, 52, 56

establish, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 18, 21, 22, 28, 30, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53,
54, 55

estate, 8, 22, 27

estimate, 11, 18, 52, 53

ethic, 47, 51

ethnic, 40, 50, 51

evaluate, 38, 48, 51

166
eventual, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 27, 35, 44, 45, 49

evident, 7, 8, 11, 18, 21, 24, 32, 36, 38, 40, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54

evolve, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 18, 24, 32, 42, 48, 49

exceed, 22, 26, 27, 35

exclude, 1, 32, 40, 51, 53

exhibit, 11, 50

expand, 1, 5, 8, 18, 21, 22, 27, 35, 43, 49, 53, 55

expert, 32, 48, 51, 53

explicit, 18, 27, 48, 50

exploit, 23, 32, 54

export, 21, 22, 27, 53

expose, 11, 14, 35, 54, 56

external, 7, 21, 24, 48, 53

extract, 51, 52, 54

facilitate, 12, 22, 51

factor, 2, 7, 11, 14, 21, 22, 33, 38, 40, 48, 49, 51, 54, 56

feature, 8, 18, 22, 35, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56

federal, 22, 27, 35, 55

fee, 53

file, 2, 10

final, 2, 6, 10, 11, 31, 35, 37, 38, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54

finance, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30, 35, 43, 53

finite, 1, 32, 49, 50, 52

flexible, 27, 48, 50, 54

fluctuate, 21, 27, 35, 40

167
focus, 8, 38, 40, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54

format, 51

formula, 21, 32, 38, 45, 48, 49

forthcoming, 19

found, 33, 44, 47

foundation, 8, 18, 37, 48

framework, 6, 8, 18, 35, 42, 48, 53

function, 1, 2, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 22, 28, 30, 42, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54

fund, 22, 25, 26, 29, 32, 34, 35, 45, 53

fundamental, 6, 8, 27, 44, 45, 46, 48

furthermore, 2, 50

gender, 51

generate, 1, 3, 6, 10, 28, 40, 44, 48, 51, 54

generation, 5, 8, 18, 32, 44, 48, 49, 54

globe, 8, 23, 35, 49, 53

goal, 22, 24, 30, 35, 48, 54

grade, 39

grant, 16, 18, 22, 35, 38, 41, 48

guarantee, 22, 29, 48

guideline, 27

hence, 5, 52

hierarchy, 30, 42, 49, 50

highlight, 24, 54

hypothesis, 7, 8, 49, 51, 52

identical, 10, 50, 51

168
identify, 4, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 24, 27, 28, 38, 44, 45, 49, 50, 51, 54

ideology, 8

ignorant, 6, 10, 18, 43, 48, 49

illustrate, 16, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54

image, 28, 34, 48, 54

immigrate, 35

impact, 18, 22, 23, 27, 32, 46, 53, 54

implement, 22, 35, 43, 46, 51

implicate, 5, 18, 52

implicit, 18, 22, 32, 46, 48

imply, 7, 18, 24, 44, 48, 50, 51

impose, 23, 37, 43, 52

incentive, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27, 35, 40

incidence, 11, 51, 52

incline, 1, 32

income, 18, 21, 22, 27, 32, 33, 40, 53

incorporate, 11, 22, 35, 40, 49, 55

index, 18, 25, 27

indicate, 4, 11, 13, 20, 27, 37, 40, 44, 49, 50, 51, 54

individual, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, 28, 35, 36, 38, 40, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52

induce, 1, 3, 11, 14, 48

inevitable, 40, 43, 48, 51

infer, 18, 38, 52

infrastructure, 32

inherent, 1, 18, 21, 30, 50

169
inhibit, 11

initial, 6, 27, 35, 44, 48, 52

initiate, 5, 10, 11, 21, 27, 35, 46, 48

injure, 5, 14, 38, 54

innovate, 21, 30, 50, 51

input, 2, 7, 49, 54

insert, 2, 11

insight, 13, 51

inspect, 7, 20

instance, 9, 21, 22, 32, 35, 50, 51, 52, 53

institute, 10, 22, 25, 27, 35, 40, 42, 48, 51, 52, 53

instruct, 2, 4, 30, 51

integral, 40

integrate, 1, 23, 24, 27, 30, 35, 40, 50, 51, 54

integrity, 6

intelligent, 5, 8, 24, 51

intense, 8, 13, 23, 35, 51, 54

interact, 5, 11, 51, 54

intermediate, 42

internal, 1, 2, 7, 30, 35, 41, 50

interpret, 7, 18, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54

interval, 20, 35, 44, 50, 52

intervene, 21, 27, 48

intrinsic, 24

invest, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 53

170
investigate, 46, 48, 51, 52

invoke, 39, 41

involve, 2, 3, 10, 14, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 32, 35, 36, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51,
52, 54

isolate, 48, 49, 51, 54

issue, 8, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29, 35, 38, 40, 46, 51, 52, 53, 54

item, 32, 52, 54

job, 2, 8, 18, 23, 24, 31, 46, 51, 54

journal, 8, 48, 51

justify, 8, 24, 32, 36, 37, 38, 41, 47

label, 17, 34, 38, 48, 49

labour, 18, 22, 23, 27, 32, 35, 40, 43, 45, 46

layer, 30

lecture, 40, 51, 54, 56

legal, 35, 38, 41, 42, 46

legislate, 22, 35, 42

levy, 35

liberal, 14, 22, 40, 43, 45, 49

licence, 22, 47, 48

likewise, 2, 22, 49, 50

link, 3, 6, 8, 15, 22, 27, 36, 37, 40, 46, 49, 52, 53, 54

locate, 11, 22, 28, 51, 52, 56

logic, 2, 21, 38, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50

maintain, 1, 5, 6, 8, 10, 14, 17, 22, 27, 38, 40, 46, 53

major, 6, 7, 8, 14, 18, 19, 21, 22, 27, 35, 40, 43, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55

manipulate, 2, 24, 48, 56

171
manual, 1, 18

margin, 27, 32, 35, 40

mature, 6, 8, 22, 24, 48

maximise, 1, 5, 14, 32, 34, 36, 38, 41

mechanism, 1, 3, 8, 11, 14, 35, 51

media, 34, 46, 50, 54

mediate, 52

medical, 10, 14, 34, 38

medium, 1, 54

mental, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 24, 32

method, 2, 4, 5, 12, 32, 40, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54

migrate, 15

military, 1, 10, 14, 22, 35, 41, 50

minimal, 7, 49, 50

minimise, 22, 32, 49

minimum, 17, 24, 34

ministry, 22

minor, 18, 21, 29, 32, 43, 46, 49, 50, 52

mode, 44, 48, 50

modify, 5, 22, 38, 48, 51, 52

monitor, 14, 25, 51

motive, 14, 24, 48, 50, 51, 54

mutual, 22, 25, 49

negate, 2, 21, 27, 49

network, 18, 22

172
neutral, 22, 35

nevertheless, 8, 18, 22, 43, 47, 49, 50, 56

nonetheless, 38, 48, 49

norm, 44

normal, 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 21, 22, 27, 41, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54

notion, 4, 8, 16, 48, 52

notwithstanding, 9

nuclear, 5, 32, 35

objective, 47, 48, 52

obtain, 1, 4, 5, 22, 24, 29, 32, 36, 38, 48, 51, 52

obvious, 4, 32, 38, 43, 45, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56

occupy, 4, 8, 18, 41

occur, 6, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22, 27, 37, 38, 44, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55

odd, 44, 49

offset, 27

ongoing, 51

option, 25, 29, 52, 54

orient, 14, 22, 53

outcome, 16, 18, 46, 48

output, 2, 8, 18, 27

overall, 10, 18, 27, 40, 45, 51

overlap, 13, 30, 48

overseas, 53

panel, 31

paradigm, 48

173
paragraph, 3

parallel, 22

parameter, 38

participate, 14, 22, 24, 29, 45, 50, 51

partner, 5, 20, 32, 35

passive, 11, 24, 45

perceive, 24, 37, 40, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52

percent, 22, 26, 27, 51, 55

period, 1, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21, 25, 27, 29, 33, 35, 40, 41, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51,
52, 54

persist, 18, 48

perspective, 51, 53, 54

phase, 16, 21

phenomenon, 8, 18, 21, 44, 48, 50, 51, 56

philosophy, 32, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49

physical, 5, 12, 18, 22, 32, 36, 37, 44, 47

plus, 10, 17, 18, 27, 38

policy, 12, 18, 21, 22, 23, 27, 35, 40, 43, 45, 46, 49, 53, 55

portion, 15, 29

pose, 12, 24, 46, 48

positive, 2, 23, 24, 46, 54

potential, 3, 5, 8, 14, 27, 35, 37, 51, 52

practitioner, 23, 48, 51

precede, 18, 23, 48, 51

precise, 4, 5, 32, 38, 40, 48, 50, 51, 54

predict, 7, 21, 23, 24, 32, 38, 48, 53, 54

174
predominant, 49, 56

preliminary, 4, 32

presume, 18, 38

previous, 13, 18, 21, 22, 23, 29, 32, 40, 48, 50, 52

primary, 1, 3, 8, 12, 14, 15, 22, 24, 26, 32, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52

prime, 1, 35

principal, 1, 8, 22, 26, 49, 50, 51, 53

principle, 5, 8, 24, 35, 37, 38, 44, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53

prior, 35, 36, 48

priority, 20, 30, 46, 48

proceed, 2, 4, 11, 13, 24, 26, 27, 29, 32, 40, 41, 50, 51, 52, 53

process, 2, 5, 8, 11, 18, 22, 24, 32, 35, 37, 40, 44, 47, 48, 49, 51

professional, 8, 18, 32, 34, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

prohibit, 22, 29, 38, 48, 52

project, 1, 10, 18, 23, 26, 30, 40, 48, 51, 54

promote, 11, 19, 53

proportion, 3, 5, 11, 12, 22, 32, 51, 54

prospect, 22, 40

protocol, 7

psychology, 8, 14, 17, 21, 24, 27, 28, 37, 49

publication, 8, 51, 54

publish, 8, 14, 27, 34, 45, 46, 53, 54

purchase, 2, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 33, 55

pursue, 8, 10, 35, 43, 45, 47, 48, 53

qualitative, 18, 32, 51

175
quote, 18

radical, 10, 18, 22, 40, 45, 46, 48

random, 48, 52

range, 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 18, 21, 27, 30, 35, 38, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54

ratio, 1, 44, 51

rational, 24, 44

react, 2, 6, 8, 14, 21, 24, 45

recover, 13, 21, 27, 33, 45

refine, 17, 37, 48

regime, 22

region, 8, 22, 30, 35, 49, 50, 52

register, 10, 38

regulate, 1, 14, 21, 22, 27, 35, 40, 41, 49, 50

reinforce, 24, 45, 54

reject, 10, 35, 44, 46, 48, 49, 51

relax, 35

release, 1, 5, 11, 14, 15, 37

relevant, 8, 11, 13, 18, 36, 38, 48, 52, 53, 54

reluctance, 18

rely, 2, 10, 18, 24, 27, 45, 49, 53

remove, 5, 11, 13, 22, 35

require, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 26, 27, 30, 32, 35, 38, 43, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54,
56

research, 1, 8, 10, 11, 14, 24, 40, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53

reside, 22, 49

resolve, 22, 35, 38, 42, 48

176
resource, 13, 21, 22, 24, 46, 52, 53, 54

respond, 7, 8, 22, 24, 27, 35, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56

restore, 27, 39, 41, 45, 46

restrain, 9, 14, 27

restrict, 2, 22, 23, 27, 35, 38, 46, 48, 54

retain, 2, 5, 7, 14, 37, 41, 50

reveal, 8, 14, 44, 48, 51, 56

revenue, 27, 35

reverse, 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 16, 27

revise, 8, 38, 51, 54

revolution, 21, 24, 27, 42, 48

rigid, 44, 48

role, 6, 7, 8, 22, 34, 35, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54

route, 48

scenario, 6

schedule, 8, 14, 22, 35, 51

scheme, 8, 21, 22, 52

scope, 22, 48, 50, 51, 52

section, 1, 11, 13, 36, 38, 40, 45, 52, 53, 54

sector, 22, 27, 46

secure, 1, 18, 21, 22, 25, 43, 46, 56

seek, 5, 21, 24, 41, 43, 45, 48, 49, 51, 53

select, 1, 8, 9, 31, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54

sequence, 1, 11, 27, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54

series, 3, 8, 11, 14, 18, 35, 48, 51, 54, 56

177
sex, 8, 18, 24, 51

shift, 1, 16, 18, 23, 27, 32, 48

significant, 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 14, 18, 22, 27, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51,
52, 53, 56

similar, 2, 5, 8, 14, 16, 21, 22, 27, 35, 42, 44, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54

simulate, 30

site, 11, 28

so-called, 1, 8, 22, 29, 32, 49

sole, 1, 20, 32

somewhat, 25, 32, 37, 49, 50, 53, 56

source, 8, 11, 17, 18, 22, 27, 42, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54

specific, 1, 2, 11, 12, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 38, 40, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56

specify, 6, 25, 29, 32, 52

sphere, 32, 37

stable, 14, 21, 22, 27, 35, 50

statistic, 32, 37, 51, 52

status, 24, 27, 35, 48

straightforward, 2, 51, 52, 54

strategy, 24, 28, 40, 46, 55

stress, 7, 13, 14, 21, 46, 49, 50, 53

structure, 2, 6, 7, 8, 18, 22, 30, 35, 40, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54

style, 1, 24, 50, 51, 54

submit, 35

subordinate, 10, 30

subsequent, 8, 14, 22, 52

subsidy, 35

178
substitute, 4, 48

successor, 8, 30, 48, 50

sufficient, 1, 3, 8, 10, 14, 18, 21, 22, 37, 38, 40, 43, 48, 51

sum, 26, 34, 40, 53

summary, 11, 13, 38, 40, 52, 54

supplement, 22, 27, 53, 54

survey, 8, 10, 40, 51, 52, 53

survive, 5, 8, 9, 10, 32

suspend, 1, 41

sustain, 8, 14, 27, 32, 35, 53

symbol, 37, 46, 49, 50, 54

tape, 2, 54

target, 5, 40, 52

task, 2, 14, 22, 23, 24, 32, 51, 54

team, 12, 30

technical, 1, 9, 14, 22, 34, 48, 52

technique, 18, 21, 27, 28, 48, 51, 52, 54

technology, 1, 2, 24, 27, 32, 50, 53

temporary, 14, 22, 27, 30

tense, 48, 50, 52

terminate, 23

text, 48, 49, 52, 54

theme, 32, 40, 50, 51, 54

theory, 7, 8, 18, 21, 24, 27, 32, 40, 44, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53

thereby, 6, 14, 38, 50

179
thesis, 18

topic, 23, 51, 53, 54

trace, 22, 49

tradition, 21, 22, 30, 37, 38, 40, 48, 50, 51, 54

transfer, 2, 22, 27, 30, 32, 35, 49

transform, 11, 18, 48

transit, 1, 16, 18, 43, 48

transmit, 6, 50, 52

transport, 14, 23, 32, 33, 55

trend, 18, 21, 23, 25, 27, 40, 54

trigger, 35

ultimate, 35, 48, 49, 52

undergo, 8, 14, 49

underlie, 22, 24, 49, 52

undertake, 10, 51

uniform, 8

unify, 35

unique, 27, 32, 37, 49, 50, 51, 52

utilise, 49, 50

valid, 45, 51, 52, 54

vary, 1, 2, 8, 15, 16, 21, 24, 27, 40, 41, 49, 50, 51, 54

vehicle, 1, 14, 48

version, 2, 8, 18, 35, 38, 40, 44

via, 8, 21

violate, 24, 35, 38, 48

180
virtual, 8, 22, 23, 32, 38

visible, 6, 28, 48

vision, 8, 48

visual, 2, 14, 16, 49, 54

volume, 4, 14, 22, 23, 27, 53

voluntary, 7, 24, 27

welfare, 18

whereas, 27, 37, 49

whereby, 2, 49

widespread, 21, 22, 27, 34, 49, 50

181