PIONEER HANDBOOK, THE _DE _INVENTIONE _DIALECTICA _LIBRI _TRES (TO WHICH I SHALL HAVE REPEATED OCCASION TO RETURN), WAS SPECIFIED FOR THE CAMBRIDGE SYLLABUS AT THE TIME AT WHICH BACON ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY. THE 1560 STATUTES FOR TRINITY COLLEGE (WHICH BACON ATTENDED) LIKEWISE NAME AGRICOLA, AND IN ONE VERSION SETON'S ELEMENTARY MANUAL BASED ON AGRICOLA AND MELANCHTHON, AS BASIC TEXTS FOR DIALECTIC TEACHING. WE KNOW FROM THE PERSONAL ACCOUNT BOOKS OF ARCHBISHOP WHITGIFT, WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF BACON'S STUDIES AT TRINITY, THAT HE CUSTOMARILY BOUGHT THE DIALECTIC MANUALS OF SETON AND CAESARIUS FOR HIS STUDENTS. ONE MAY SURMISE THAT FOR WHITGIFT'S STUDENTS, AT LEAST, THESE TWO WERE STANDARD DIALECTIC TEXTS. THIS VIEW IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY SURVIVING INVENTORIES OF THE STOCKS OF CONTEMPORARY CAMBRIDGE BOOKSELLERS, IN WHICH SETON IS PARTICULARLY PROMINENT, AND IN THE STUDENTS' PERSONAL BOOKLISTS PRESERVED AMONGST THE PROBATE RECORDS IN THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES. THESE TWO LATTER SOURCES SHOW A REMARKABLE PREPONDERANCE OF DIALECTIC MANUALS (FIVE OR SIX OCCURRING IN A SINGLE STUDENT BOOKLIST; SEVERAL COPIES OF UPWARDS OF TEN TITLES ON THE SHELVES OF BOOKSELLERS), ALL CONFORMING TO THE TYPE OF ' REFORMED' MANUAL I HAVE DESCRIBED. BOOKLISTS AND INVENTORIES ONCE AGAIN CONFIRM THAT RAMIST TEXTS WERE WIDELY CIRCULATED AT THE TIME AT WHICH BACON ATTENDED CAMBRIDGE (1573 - 5). WE KNOW THAT BACON'S TUTOR WAS HOSTILE TO RAMISM, AND THAT HE DID NOT PURCHASE RAMIST TEXTS FOR HIS OWN STUDENTS. THE DISPUTE BETWEEN TWO CAMBRIDGE DONS (EVERARD DIGBY AND WILLIAM TEMPLE) ABOUT THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF RAMIST AND ARISTOTELIAN METHODS, SHORTLY AFTER BACON LEFT CAMBRIDGE, SUGGESTS THAT THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE INTEREST IN DIALECTICAL METHODS IN THE UNIVERSITY AT THE TIME. THERE IS IN ADDITION AN ARGUMENT FROM NEGATIVE EVIDENCE. RAWLEY TELLS US THAT BACON WAS ' NO PLODDER UPON BOOKS' ]I, 12]. HIS ACCOUNT OF BACON'S READING HABITS CONVEYS AN IMPRESSION OF A VORACIOUS, BUT UNSYSTEMATIC READER, AND A GLANCE AT THE FOOTNOTES TO THE SPEDDING EDITION OF THE SCIENTIFIC WORKS SHOWS THAT IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, DESPITE HIS CONVENTIONAL PARADE OF CLASSICAL SOURCES AND RECONDITE INFORMATION, BACON APPEARS TO HAVE MADE USE OF A FAIRLY LIMITED RANGE OF POPULAR ENCYCLOPAEDIC WORKS. FOR EXAMPLE, THOUGH IT WOULD BE NICE TO BELIEVE, AS SOME CRITICS HAVE SUGGESTED, THAT THE EXPERIMENTAL BIAS OF BACON'S SCIENTIFIC METHOD IS IN PART DERIVED FROM THE WORKS OF ROGER BACON, THE BULK OF HIS REFERENCES TO ROGER BACON APPEAR TO BE BASED ONLY ON A SHORT AND THOROUGHLY UNEXPERIMENTAL EXCERPT IN A POPULAR COLLATION OF MAGICAL TEXTS, AND MANY OF THE KEY SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS TO WHICH HE GIVES ATTENTION (' WHETHER A VACUUM EXISTS?', ' WHETHER THE MOON IS THE CAUSE OF THE TIDES?', ' WHETHER PRINCIPLES ARE PAIRS OF CONTRARIES?') CORRESPOND TO STANDARD TOPICS OR _QUAESTIONES SET TO STUDENTS FOR DEBATING AS PART OF THEIR INITIAL TRAINING. IT WOULD BE EQUALLY PLAUSIBLE TO SUGGEST THAT ALL BACON'S ALLUSIONS TO ATOMISM AND ATOMISTIC DOCTRINES CAN BE TRACED TO A FEW POPULAR SOURCES. THIS IS VERY MUCH THE SITUATION WHEN WE CONSIDER THE OFTEN NOTED ' ARISTOTELIAN' PRESUPPOSITIONS IN BACON'S WRITINGS ON PROCEDURE AND METHOD. TEMPTING AS IT IS TO SEE BACON'S WORKS (AS SOME CRITICS HAVE DONE) AS A DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOPHISTICATED REASSESSMENT OF ARISTOTLE'S ORGANON BY THE SCHOOLS OF OXFORD, PARIS AND PADUA, AND HENCE TO INVOKE A VAST SCHOLASTIC BACKGROUND, IT IS IN FACT POSSIBLE TO ACCOUNT BOTH FOR BACON'S ' ARISTOTELIAN' ASSUMPTIONS AND FOR HIS ' ANTI-ARISTOTELIAN' POLEMIC IN TERMS OF THE CONTENT OF THE DIALECTIC MANUAL, AND CONTEMPORARY POLEMICAL DISCUSSIONS OF DIALECTICAL METHOD. SUCH EVIDENCE DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE CLAIM THAT THE DIALECTIC HANDBOOK PROVIDES MORE THAN ONE OF A HOST OF BACKGROUNDS AGAINST WHICH ONE MIGHT CONSIDER BACON'S WORKS. TO ESTABLISH MY STRONGER THESIS IT NEEDS TO BE SHOWN THAT IN TACKLING SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WHICH ARE CENTRAL TO HIS WRITINGS AS A WHOLE, BACON TAKES UP ISSUES WHICH BELONG SPECIFICALLY TO DIALECTIC, AND IN PARTICULAR TO DIALECTICAL THEORIES OF METHOD, AND DEBATES THESE IN THEIR OWN TERMS. IN BACON'S WRITINGS ON PROCEDURE OF DISCOVERY WE SHALL SEE THAT SUCH A CORRESPONDENCE IS NOT DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH. THE _NOVUM _ORGANUM IS EXPLICITLY PRESENTED AS A REACTION TO THE APPROACH OF THE ' DIALECTICI', AND TO A LOGIC WHICH TAKES THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF ITS FIELD OF APPLICATION ON TRUST. AND WE HAVE RAWLEY'S OFTEN-QUOTED REMARK THAT ' WHILST ]BACON] WAS COMMORANT IN THE UNIVERSITY, ABOUT SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE' (THAT IS, AT A TIME WHEN THE DIALECTIC HANDBOOKS OF AUTHORS LIKE SETON AND CAESARIUS PROVIDED HIS DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF LOGIC AND ARISTOTLE'S ORGANON) ' HE FIRST FELL INTO THE DISLIKE OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF ARISTOTLE' ]I, 4]. (SINCE HIS TUTOR WHITGIFT WAS AN OLD-SCHOOL ARISTOTELIAN IT IS UNLIKELY THAT HE PROMPTED OR ENCOURAGED BACON'S MISTRUST OF THE OLD ORGANON.) THE DIALECTICIANS, AS BACON FREQUENTLY COMPLAINS, REGARDED THE DISCUSSION OF DERIVATION OF PRINCIPLES AS LYING OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THEIR WORK. ON THE WHOLE THEY WERE CONTENT TO INVOKE THE ARISTOTELIAN TAG THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF ANY DISCUSSION ARE DRAWN FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF EXPERTS IN THE PARTICULAR FIELD IN WHICH DISCUSSION TAKES PLACE, WHILST THE PRINCIPLES COMMON TO ALL FIELDS ARE IMMEDIATELY SEEN TO BE TRUE BY THE DISCERNING MIND. WHEN PRESSED, HOWEVER, THEY CONCEDED THAT THE ULTIMATE BASIS FOR BELIEF IN PRINCIPLES IS AN INDUCTION. THE SOURCE FOR THIS IS AGAIN ARISTOTLE, IN THE _POSTERIOR _ANALYTICS. BACON POINTS OUT THAT THE INDUCTION WHICH THE DIALECTICIANS ACTUALLY DISCUSS IN THEIR HANDBOOKS IS AN IMPERFECT FORM OF INFERENCE WHICH IS CLEARLY UNSUITABLE FOR THE TASK OF DERIVING SOUND PRINCIPLES, BUT HE ACCEPTS THE FACT THAT SOME FORM OF INDUCTION IS IN ORDER. HIS OWN METHOD IS AN ATTEMPT TO PERFORM SUCH AN INDUCTION, THAT IS, TO INFER THE GENERAL RULE FROM THE PARTICULARS IN WHICH IT INHERES, BY ANOTHER ROUTE. WHAT IS STRIKING, AND SUPPORTS THE CLAIM THAT HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOGIC OF DISCOVERY WAS RESTRICTED TO WHAT HE LEARNT FROM THE DIALECTIC HANDBOOK, IS THAT HE APPEARS TO BE UNAWARE OF THE SOPHISTICATED DISCUSSION BY CONTINENTAL COMMENTATORS ON THE _POSTERIOR _ANALYTICS OF JUST WHAT ARISTOTLE INTENDED BY THE INDUCTION WHICH YIELDS INDEMONSTRABLE PRINCIPLES. THE UNIVERSAL RULES OF _PHILOSOPHIA _PRIMA, WHICH EVEN FOR BACON REMAIN BEYOND ANY INDUCTION, ARE PRECISELY THE FIRST PRINCIPLES RECOGNISED AS COMMON TO ALL SCIENCES BY THE DIALECTICIANS (MELANCHTHON DISCUSSES THEM PARTICULARLY CLEARLY IN HIS _EROTEMATA _DIALECTICES). EVEN BACON, THAT IS, BELIEVES THAT SOME PRINCIPLES ARE OF SUCH GENERALITY THAT THEY ARE SIMPLY RECOGNISED AS TRUE BY AN ASTUTE OBSERVER OF THE NATURAL WORLD (PRINCIPLES LIKE, ' WHEN EQUALS ARE ADDED TO EQUALS THE RESULTS ARE EQUAL', OR ' THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN ANY OF ITS PARTS'). AND _PHILOSOPHIA _PRIMA IS NOT THE ONLY COMPONENT OF HIS SYSTEM TAKEN OVER UNCRITICALLY FROM THE DIALECTIC HANDBOOK. LIKE THE DIALECTICIANS HE TAKES IT THAT THE BASIC MOVEMENTS OF ALL INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY ARE THOSE ' UP' FROM WHAT IS PRIOR OR BETTER KNOWN TO US TO WHAT IS PRIOR OR BETTER KNOWN IN NATURE, AND ' DOWN' FROM WHAT IS PRIOR OR BETTER KNOWN IN NATURE TO WHAT IS PRIOR OR BETTER KNOWN TO US. HE ALSO APPARENTLY RETAINS A RATHER NAIVE VIEW OF EXPLANATION OF PARNOWN TO US. HE ALSO APPARENTLY RETAINS

THE CASE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN MEDICINE HOW THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS FOR THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE AFFECT EVERYONE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM - AND WHY THEY SHOULD BE RESISTED. PUBLISHED BY THE CAMPAIGN FOR INDEPENDENCE IN MEDICINE, REPRESENTING THE BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, THE HOSPITAL CONSULTANTS AND SPECIALISTS ASSOCIATION, THE BRITISH DENTAL ASSOCIATION AND THE INDEPENDENT HOSPITAL GROUP. IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, MANY OF BRITAIN'S DOCTORS WORKING WITHIN NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE HOSPITALS HAVE TAKEN INDUSTRIAL ACTION FOR THE FIRST TIME. SUCH ACTION WOULD HAVE SEEMED UNTHINKABLE A FEW YEARS AGO; AND IT INDICATES THAT MORALE WITHIN THE N.H.S. HAS DETERIORATED DRASTICALLY. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? WHAT PERSUADED A TRADITIONALLY LIBERAL, HUMANE AND DEDICATED PROFESSION TO EMBARK ON A COURSE WHICH MUST HAVE MEANT SOME MEASURE OF INCONVENIENCE, DISCOMFORT AND EVEN DANGER TO THE PUBLIC THEY HAVE SERVED SO FAITHFULLY FOR SO MANY YEARS? MANY ISSUES HAVE COMBINED TO PRODUCE THE PRESENT TRAGIC SITUATION. BUT THE ONE DESCRIBED HERE IS THE ONE CREATED BY THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT'S PLAN TO ELIMINATE ALL PRIVATE FACILITIES FROM N.H.S. HOSPITALS AND TO CREATE NEW POWERS TO CONTROL - AND PROBABLY IN TIME, TO SUPPRESS - THE EXISTENCE OF INDEPENDENT MEDICINE IN BRITAIN. WHY DO PRIVATE FACILITIES IN N.H.S. HOSPITALS EXIST AT ALL? THE FOUNDERS OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE AIMED TO PROVIDE FREE MEDICAL CARE, TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS, FOR EVERY CITIZEN OF BRITAIN. IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE MOST SKILLED AND HIGHLY-QUALIFIED CONSULTANTS (WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE DEVOTED THEMSELVES ENTIRELY TO INDEPENDENT PRACTICE) COULD WORK WITHIN THE SERVICE, A NUMBER OF "PAY BEDS" AND OTHER PRIVATE FACILITIES WERE SET ASIDE BY THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY FOR THE USE OF PATIENTS WHO CHOSE TO BE TREATED PRIVATELY. TODAY, THESE FACILITIES INCLUDE SOME 4,000 PAY BEDS, WHICH REPRESENT ABOUT 1 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BEDS IN N.H.S. HOSPITALS. JUST ABOUT HALF THE 12,000 CONSULTANTS IN THE N.H.S. FOREGO A PROPORTION OF THEIR DUE SALARIES, IN ORDER TO BE FREE TO ENGAGE IN SOME FORM OF PRIVATE PRACTICE. HOW HAS THE SYSTEM SERVED THE PUBLIC? IT HAS UNDOUBTEDLY HELPED THE N.H.S. TO RECRUIT TALENTED DOCTORS (WHO MAY NEVER UNDERTAKE PRIVATE PRACTICE AT ALL, BUT WHO VALUE THEIR FREEDOM TO BE ABLE TO IF THEY WISH); IT HAS EXPOSED THE N.H.S. TO SOME OF THE ADVANCES MADE BY INDEPENDENT MEDICINE, TO THE ADVANTAGE OF THE N.H.S. PATIENTS; AND IT HAS PREVENTED AN OVERWORKED, UNDER-FUNDED PUBLIC SERVICE FROM BECOMING INTERNATIONAL MEDICINE'S "POOR RELATION". IT HAS ALSO SAVED THE N.H.S. SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF MONEY. THE CONSULTANTS WHO GIVE UP PART OF THEIR SALARIES AND PENSIONS HAVE NOT, ON THAT ACCOUNT, WORKED SHORTER HOURS. A RECENT GOVERNMENT SURVEY SHOWED THAT THE AVERAGE WEEK FOR ALL CONSULTANTS - BOTH FULL AND PART TIME WAS ABOUT 60 HOURS, AND, INCLUDING TIME "ON CALL", WAS OVER 100. THE REVENUE FROM PAY BEDS IS ALSO MATERIAL. PATIENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY THE TOTAL COST TO THE N.H.S. OF MAINTAINING AND SERVING THE PAY BEDS; SOME L260 A WEEK, IN A LONDON TEACHING HOSPITAL. TOTAL REVENUE FROM THIS SOURCE IS ESTIMATED AT BETWEEN L30 AND L40 MILLION A YEAR - AND IS RISING STEEPLY. FINALLY, BY ALLOWING CONSULTANTS TO COMBINE PRIVATE AND N.H.S. PRACTICE UNDER THE SAME ROOF, IT HAS CONTRIBYTED TO MORE EFFICIENT WORKING, BU CUTTING DOWN TRAVELLING TIME BETWEEN HOSPITALS, AND MAKING THE CONSULTANTS MORE READILY AVAILABLE TO BOTH N.H.S. AND PRIVATE PATIENTS IN EMERGENCIES. THIS IS THE SYSTEM THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS PROPOSING TO DESTROY. WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT PROPOSING? IN AUGUST 1975, THE GOVERNMENT ISSUED A CONSULTATIVE DOCUMENT ENTITLED "THE SEPARATION OF PRIVATE PRACTICE FROM NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE HOSPITAL". IT CONTAINED TWO MAIN PROPOSALS. THE FIRST WAS TO ABOLISH PAY BEDS AND OTHER PRIVATE FACILITIES IN N.H.S. HOSPITALS. AND THE SECOND WAS TO CREATE A NEW SYSTEM OF LICENSING, TO CONTROL THE SETTING-UP OF INDEPENDENT HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES. THE MEDICAL AND DENTAL PROFESSIONS - SENIORS AND JUNIORS ALIKE - WERE SO IMMEDIATELY AND UNANIMOUSLY ALARMED BY THE LIKELY CONSEQUENCES OF BOTH PROPOSALS, THAT THEIR REPRESENTATIVE BODIES (NORMALLY REPRESENTING A WIDE RANGE OF OPINION) UNITED IN REPLYING TO THE CONSULTATIVE DOCUMENT WITH A REASONED CASE OF THEIR OWN. THEIR CASE WAS NEVER ANSWERED. THE GOVERNMENT HAS EVEN REFUSED TO AWAIT THE REPORT OF THE FORTHCOMING ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE ON WHETHER THE PROPOSALS ARE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AT ALL - PRESUMABLY BECAUSE THE FACTS MIGHT CONFLICT WITH POLITICAL THEORY. FACED WITH AN OFFICIAL WALL OF SILENCE, THE MEDICAL PROFESSION WAS FORCED TO CONSIDER DIRECT ACTION - WITH RESULTS THAT LED TO TODAY'S SERIOUS AND EMBITTERED SITUATION. WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT'S CASE? BEFORE LOOKING IN DETAIL AT THE REASONS FOR THE DOCTORS' OPPOSITION, IT IS ONLY FAIR TO ASK WHY THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE ITS PROPOSALS AT ALL. ON THIS, THEY HAVE BEEN EXPLICIT. THEY NOTE (RIGHTLY) THAT N.H.S. WAITING LISTS FOR NON-EMERGENCY TREATMENT ARE LONG, BUT THAT PATIENTS PREPARED TO PAY FOR INDEPENDENT TREATMENT (DIRECTLY, OR THROUGH A HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME) CAN BE TREATED BY THE CONSULTANT, AND AT THE TIME, OF THEIR CHOICE. THIS IS LABELLED "QUEUE JUMPING"; AND IT IS THIS THAT THE LAST TWO LABOUR PARTY MANIFESTOS PROMISED TO PREVENT. BUT HOW JUSTIFIED IS THE SLUR? AND WHAT WILL ABOLISHING PAY BEDS DO TO HELP AN ADMITTEDLY FAR-FROM-IDEAL SITUATION? FIRST, IT HAS TO BE REMEMBERED THAT PAY BEDS ARE ONLY 1 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL BEDS IN N.H.S. HOSPITALS - SO THAT ABOLISHING THEM IS HARDLY GOING TO DISPERSE WAITING LISTS OVERNIGHT. INDEED, IN 1966-1969, THE NUMBER OF PAY BEDS WAS REDUCED BY 25 PER CENT, BUT WAITING LISTS ACTUALLY GREW BY 4 PER CENT] SECOND, THE FACT IS THAT THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF BEDS IN THE N.H.S., EVEN TODAY. WAITING LISTS RESULT FROM SHORTAGES OF STAFF - AND THE ABOLITION OF PRIVATE FACILITIES IS LIKELY TO HAVE (AS EVEN THE GOVERNMENT ADMITS) NO IMMEDIATE EFFECT WHATSOEVER. SO THE PRIVATE PATIENT IS NOT ADDING TO THE WAITING LIST. INDEED BY CHOOSING PRIVATE TREATMENT, HE IS RELIEVING PRESSURE ON THE N.H.S. - WHILE CONTINUING, OF COURSE, TO MAKE HIS FULL TAX CONTRIBUTION TO IT. AND IF POLITICIANS CAN DEFEND THEIR USE OF PRIVATE BEDS AND OTHER SERVICES ON THE GROUNDS OF CONVENIENCE, WHY IS THE SAME ARGUMENT INAPPLICABLE TO THE BUSINESS MAN WHO MAY NEED PRIVACY IN WHICH TO WORK, OR A TAXI-DRIVER WHO WISHES TO CHOOSE THE TIME OF HIS OPERATION IN ORDER TO MINIMISE HIS LOSS OF INCOME? AGAIN, IF THE CASE AGAINST THE PRIVATE PATIENT IS THAT HE IS RECEIVING TREATMENT IN AN N.H.S. HOSPITAL, IT HAS TO BE REMEMBERED THAT PAY BEDS WERE ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED FOR JUST THIS PURPOSE - AND HAVE BROUGHT THE N.H.S. AND ITS PATIENTS THE BENEFITS REFERRED TO EARLIER. ABOLISHING PAY BEDS, IN FACT, IS AS DUBIOUS IN PRINCIPLE AS IT IS LIKELY TO BE HARMFUL IN PRACTICE. NOR IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE PUBLIC WANTS SUCH A CHANGE. TRUE, IT WAS PROMISED IN THE MANIFESTO OF THE PARTY ELECTED TO POWER - EVEN IF BY LESS THAN 40 PER CENT OF THE ELECTORATE. BUT PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS HAVE CONSISTENTLY SHOWN THAT FEWER THAN ONE PERSON IN FIVE ACTUALLY SUPPORTS THE ABOLITION OF PAY BEDS. AND DOCTORS - WHO ARE, AFTER ALL, RATHER MORE INVOLVED WITH THE N.H.S. THAN POLITICIANS - HAVE EVEN MORE SPECIFIC REASONS FOR OPPOSING THEIR PRESENT PLANS. WHY DO DOCTORS OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT? WHY ARE AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF DOCTORS - INCLUDING DOCTORS WHO HAVE NO PRIVATE PRACTICE AT ALL - OPPOSED TO THE PROPOSALS OUTLINED IN THE CONSULTATIVE DOCUMENT? 1. THE PLANS WILL DAMAGE THE N.H.S., AND HARM ITS PATIENTS. THE N.H.S. IS ALWAYS SHORT OF DOCTORS. INDEED, IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT THE SERVICE CAN ONLY BE MANNED BY RECRUITING FROM OVERSEAS - TAKING DOCTORS, IN EFFECT, FROM MANY OF THOSE COUNTRIES WHO CAN LEAST AFFORD TO LOSE THEM. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF PAY BEDS AND FACILITIES ARE ABOLISHED? FIRST, SOME CONSULTANTS WILL SIMPLY LEAVE THE N.H.S. - EITHER TO PRACTISE PRIVATELY, OR TO EMIGRATE. THE NUMBER DOING SO CANNOT BE FORECAST, OF COURSE, BUT IT IS LIKELY TO INCLUDE MANY TALENTED PEOPLE WHOM THE N.H.S. CAN ILL AFFORD TO LOSE. SECOND SOME WHO ELECT TO STAY WILL HAVE THEIR EFFICIENCY CURTAILED BY THE NEED TO SPEND TIME TRAVELLING BETWEEN N.H.S. AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS - AND WILL BE LESS AVAILABLE IN EMERGENCIES FOR THIS REASON. THIRD, WITH THE REMOVAL OF THE PROSPECT OF EVEN A LIMITED AMOUNT OF PRIVATE PRACTICE, MANY DOCTORS WILL CHOOSE NOT TO ENTER THE N.H.S. AT ALL. HOW MANY WILL BE LOST IN THIS WAY, AGAIN, WE WILL NEVER KNOW. ALL THESE FACTORS WILL AGGRAVATE AN ALREADY UNSATISFACTORY SITUATION - WITH RESULTS THAT WILL BE FELT FOR YEARS TO COME. CAN THE GOVERNMENT SERIOUSLY CLAIM THAT A DUBIOUS "PRINCIPLE" OUTWEIGHS THE HARM THAT PATIENTS WILL SUFFER AS A RESULT? 2. LOSING THE CONSULTANTS OF TODAY WILL MEAN LOSING THE SPECIALISTS OF TOMORROW. IF CONSULTANTS ARE DRIVEN FROM THE N.H.S. ABROAD, OR TO PRIVATE PRACTICE, THE TRAINING OF JUNIOR DOCTORS WILL SUFFER. AT PRESENT, JUNIORS WHO HANDLE ROUTINE WORK IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH SENIOR CONSULTANTS ARE RECEIVING THE VERY BEST TRAINING, WHETHER THEY PROCEED TO SPECIALISE, OR GO INTO GENERAL PRACTICE. CHANGING THE SYSTEM WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY MEAN FEWER TRAINING POSTS; MANY OF THE MOST TALENTED JUNIORS WILL SEEK SIMILAR TRAINING ABROAD - TO THE PERMANENT LOSS OF BRITISH MEDICINE. 3. MEDICAL STANDARDS WILL SUFFER. WHATEVER MAY BE SAID BY TODAY'S GOVERNMENT ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF INDEPENDENT MEDICINE TO EXIST, THERE CAN BE NO SERIOUS DOUBT THAT THE ABOLITION OF PAYBEDS AND FACILITIES IS A MAJOR STEP ON THE ROAD TO A STATE MONOPOLY OF MEDICINE. NOT ONLY MAY (AND WILL) TODAY'S ARGUMENTS AGAINST PAY BEDS BE DEPLOYED AGAINST INDEPENDENT HOSPITALS IN THE FUTURE; THE GOVERNMENT WILL, UNDER ITS PRESENT PROPOSALS, ACQUIRE THE AUTHORITY TO STAMP OUT PRIVATE FACILITIES - SIMPLY BY REFUSING TO ISSUE OR TO RENEW LICENCES. (IN FACT, BY RESCINDING AN EARLIER LABOUR GOVERNMENT'S INCLUSION OF PAY BEDS IN THE N.H.S. TODAY'S GOVERNMENT WOULD BE ABOLISHING PRIVATE HOSPITAL TREATMENT TOTALLY IN AREAS - SUCH AS ULSTER, EAST ANGLIA AND THE NORTH EAST - WHERE ALTERNATIVE FACILITIES ARE AT PRESENT VERY LIMITED.) AND A STATE MONOPOLY WOULD HAVE AT LEAST TWO VERY SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR MEDICAL STANDARDS GENERALLY. FIRST, IT WILL THREATEN THE EXISTENCE OF THE DOCTOR'S PRIMARY LOYALTY TO HIS PATIENT. IT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE WHOLE DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP THAT THE DOCTOR IS FREE TO TREAT HIS PATIENT IN THE PATIENT'S BEST INTERESTS, RATHER THAN ALONG THE LINES LAID DOWN BY BUREAUCRATS; AND WHEN HIS ONLY CHANCE OF EMPLOYMENT LIES IN A STATE MONOPOLY, HIS FREEDOM IS UNDER AN OBVIOUS THREAT. SECOND, IT IS A FACT THAT NEARLY ALL MAJOR ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN THIS CENTURY HAVE BEEN MADE IN SYSTEMS WHERE A HEALTHY "FREE ENTERPRISE" ELEMENT HAS BEEN PRESENT. THE REASONS ARE COMPLEX AND NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD, BUT THERE IS SMALL DOUBT THAT AS A STATE MONOPOLY, THE CAPACITY OF BRITISH MEDICINE TO MAINTAIN ITS HIGH POSITION AND REPUTATION WILL BE IMPAIRED. AGAIN, IT WILL BE THE PATIENTS WHO SUFFER. 4. THE PROPOSALS IMPLY A GRAVE THREAT TO CIVIL LIBERTIES, FOR DOCTORS AND THE PUBLIC ALIKE. NO PROFESSION WHOSE MEMBERS' DEVOTION AND SERVICE HAVE KEPT THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE FUNCTIONING THROUGH THIRTY YEARS CAN BE ACCUSED OF BEING AGAINST THE IDEALS OF ADEQUATE PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. INDEED, THE MEDICAL PROFESSION'S CASE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT'S PLAN IS MAINLY BASED UPON ITS INFORMED AND CONSIDERED BELIEF THAT THE PROPOSALS WILL MAKE THE N.H.S. LESS RATHER THAN MORE, ADEQUATE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ITS NON-PAYING PATIENTS. BUT THE PROPOSALS IMPLY AT LEAST THREE SERIOUS CHALLENGES TO THE IDEA OF FREEDOM AS IT IS UNDERSTOOD IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY. FIRST - AND PERHAPS LEAST IMPORTANT - THEY REPRESENT A UNILATERAL BREACH OF ONE OF THE MAIN CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE N.H.S. IN IMPOSING THESE CHANGES UPON THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, AGAINST THE PROFESSION'S JUDGEMENT AND ADVICE, THE GOVERNMENT IS ACTING IN A WAY IT WOULD DEPLORE (AND RIGHTLY) IN ANY OTHER EMPLOYER SEEKING TO IMPOSE HIS WILL ON ANY OTHER GROUP OF WORKERS. SECOND, THERE ARE EVEN WORSE THREATS IN STORE. IN SETTING OUT ITS PROPOSALS FOR LICENSING, THE GOVERNMENT STATES ITS INTENTION TO SEE THAT THE REMAINING PRIVATE SECTOR DOES NOT ABSORB ANY UNDUE PROPORTION OF SKILLS NEEDED BY THE N.H.S. ONCE THIS HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AS A PRINCIPLE, IT CAN ONLY MEAN THAT DOCTORS WISHING TO WORK IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR COULD BE FACED WITH A CHOICE BETWEEN UNEMPLOYMENT, EMIGRATION OR VIRTUAL CONSCRIPTION INTO THE N.H.S. CAN IT BE IMAGINED THAT THIS PROPOSAL WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE IN RELATION TO ANY OTHER GROUP OF WORKERS IN BRITAIN TODAY? AND CAN IT BE IMAGINED THAT ONCE ACCEPTED IN THE CASE OF DOCTORS, THE PRINCIPLE WILL NOT BE APPLIED TO OTHER CATEGORIES IN THE FUTURE? FINALLY, AS OUTLINED EARLIER, THERE ARE VERY REAL REASONS TO SUPPOSE THAT THE PRESENT PROPOSALS ARE SIMPLY THE PRELUDE TO THE MORE OR LESS GRADUAL DESTRUCTION OF INDEPENDENT MEDICINE IN BRITAIN. THIS WILL EFFECTIVELY MEAN THAT EVEN THOSE WHO ARE PREPARED TO SET ASIDE A PROPORTION OF THEIR ALREADY TAXED INCOME TO PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES WILL BE UNABLE TO DO SO - BECAUSE THE FACILITIES WILL NOT EXIST. EVEN IF PRIVATE MEDICINE WERE A PRIVILEGE OF THE RICH (AND IT IS NOT; PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS LESS THAN SMOKING, AND ITS SUBSCRIBERS RANGE FROM COMPANY DIRECTORS TO SHIPYARD WORKERS) THIS MUST SURELY BE AGREED TO BE A DIRECT THREAT TO INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY OF CHOICE, THAT AFFECTS EVERY ONE IN BRITAIN. THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS TO ABOLISH PAY BEDS AND SET UP A LICENSING SYSTEM FOR PRIVATE HEALTH FACILITIES SHOULD BE RESISTED BY DOCTORS, BY WORKERS IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH, AND BY THE PUBLIC AT LARGE. THEY WILL HARM THE N.H.S. - BOTH IMMEDIATELY, AND IN WAYS WHICH WILL ONLY BECOME APPARENT IN THE YEARS TO COME - TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE PATIENTS WHO NEED IT MOST. THEY WILL DEPRESS STANDARDS IN MEDICINE GENERALLY - AGAIN TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE PATIENTS. AND THEY IMPLY A CASUAL ABANDONMENT OF SOME OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES OF THE BRITISH CITIZEN IN A WAY THAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS HASTY, ILL-CONSIDERED AND OMINOUS.

VICTOR KEEGAN ASSESSES THE IMPACT OF THE MCINTOSH REPORT ON NATIONALISATION A CALL TO KEEP THE POLITICIANS OUT OF IT REACTION TO THE MCINTOSH REPORT PUBLISHED YESTERDAY IS LIKELY TO BE DOMINATED BY ITS CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL TO CREAET A NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR NATIONALISED INDUSTIRES TO ACT AS A BUFFER BETWEEN WHITEHALL AND THE PRESENT EXECUTIVE BOARDS. BUT THIS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DISTRACT ATTENTION FROM THE REST OF THE REPORT. EVERYBODY AGREES THAT IT CONTAINS ONE OF THE BEST INDEPENDENT DIAGNOSES OF WHAT HAS GONE WRONG WITH MINISTERIAL CONTROL OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES. DESPITE ALL THE STORIES ABOUT CREEPING NATIONALISATION, "STATE GRABS," AND THE NATIONALISATION OF STEEL, THE SIZE OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR HAS REMAINED RELATIVELY STABLE SINCE THE EARLY 1960S. SIMILARLY, IN THE DECADE TO 1970 THE EARINGS IN FOUR KEY NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES (ALL OF WHOSE PER CAPITA WAGE BILLS HAVE BEEN INFLATED BY PRODUCTIVITY DEALS DESIGNED TO REDUCE MANNING) ROSE AT A COMPARABLE RATE TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR. SINCE 1970 THE INDEX FOR NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES HAS RISEN MUCH FASTER THAN THE INDEX FOR ALL INDUSTRIES; BUT, AFTER EXCLUDING COAL, THE AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS IN MOST PUBLIC CORPORATIONS INCLUDING BRITISH STEEL AND THE POST OFFICE INCREASED BY 112 PER CENT BETWEEN 1970 AND 1975 - COMPARED WITH AN INCREASE OF 108 PER CENT FOR ALL WORKERS. THE REPORT CHARTS HOW THE MISGUIDED DECISIONS OF SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS TO RESTRAIN PUBLIC SECTOR PRICE INCREASES HAS RESULTED IN A SHARP REDUCTION IN THE ABILITY OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES TO PAY FOR INVESTMENTS FROM PROFITS; AS A RESULT REVENUE SUBSIDIES FROM GOVERNMENT ROSE FROM L200 MILLIONS IN 1971 TO L1,300 MILLIONS IN 1974 AND A SIMILAR AMOUNT LAST YEAR. THIS ACTUALLY UNDERSTATES THE IMPACT ON THE GOVERNMENT'S BORROWING REQUIREMENT BECAUSE THE TREASURY WAS ALSO FORCED TO STEP UP LOANS PARTLY FOR THESE REASONS ALL THE INSTITUTIONALISED PRESSURE TOWARDS MAKING PUBLIC ENTERPRISES MORE EFFICIENT WENT BY THE BOARD, ALONG WITH INVESTMENT APPRAISAL AND FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE. ABOVE ALL THE CONCEPT OF RESPONSIBILITY VANISHED. THE CHAIRMAN OF A PUBLIC ENTERPRISE COULD HARDLY BE BLAMED FOR ITS DISMAL FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE WHEN IT STEMMED FROM A DECISION TAKEN BY A MINISTER. WITHIN THIS CONTEXT THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE (NEDO) TEAM PAINT A DEVASTATING PICTURE OF IGNORANCE, MISUNDERSTANDINGS, LACK OF TRUST BETWEEN MINISTERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS AND NATIONALISED INDUSTRY DIRECTORS, AND ABSENCE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING OBJECTIVES. A REDEEMING FEATURE IN ALL THIS IS THAT THE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE OF NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES BETWEEN 1960 AND 1975 WAS FAR BETTER THAN THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE SUGGESTS. THE NEDO REPORT IS AGNOSTIC ON THE SUBJECT OF THE EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES, BUT MORE THAN HALF OF THE CORPORATIONS STUDIED ACHIEVED A RISE IN OUTPUT PER HEAD SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THAT FOUND IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE. HAVING CORRECTLY ANALYSED THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS - THE NEED TO BRING CIVIL SERVANTS INTO CLOSE CONTACT WITH INDUSTRY WHILE INSULATING PUBLIC SECTOR EXECUTIVE BOARDS FROM THE DEBILITATING EFFECTS OF INTERFERENCE FROM WHITEHALL - THE REPORT PLIMBS FOR A "BUFFER" BOARD CHAIRED BY A PART-TIME PRESIDENT, WHO ULTIMATELY CARRIES THE CAN, AND STAFFED WITH CIVIL SEVANTS, TRADE UNIONISTS AND MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD. SUCH A SOLUTION MIGHT WORK WHERE THE CHEMISTRY WAS RIGHT. THE NATIONAL ENTERPRISE BOARD (ITSELF A KIND OF BUFFER) SEEMS TO HAVE DEVELOPED A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH LAYLAND. THE ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY MIGHT WELL DEVELOP SOMETHING ALONG THESE LINES AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLOWDEN REPORT OVER WHICH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAS BEEN PROCRASTINATING FOR MONTHS. MOST PUBLIC SECTOR BOSSES WILL RIGHTLY RESIST THE INSERTION OF ANOTHER BUREAUCRATIC LAYER BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR ULTIMATE OWNERS - THE GOVERNMENT. WHAT THE MCINTOSH REPORT NEEDS TO EXPLAIN IS WHY ITS OWN LAUDABLE AIMS CANNOT BE ACHIEVED BY RESTRUCTURING EXISTING BOARDS. IF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES WERE FREED FROM WHITEHALL INTERFERENCE, IT COULD BE MADE ILLEGAL FOR THEM TO OPERATE IN ANY OTHER THAN A COMMERCIAL WAY - UNLESS THEY GOT A SPECIFIC AND OPEN DIRECTIVE. IF IT IS GOOD TO GIVE CIVIL SERVANTS GREATER EXPERIENCE OF INDUSTRY, WHY NOT PUT THEM ON THE MAIN BOARDS? TRADE UNIONISTS ARE LIKELY TO BE ON EXECUTIVE BOARDS FOLLOWING THE BULLOCK COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS. UNDER SUCH A REVISED SCHEME THE CHAIRMAN WOULD DEAL WITH THE "POLITICS" AND STRATEGY LEAVING HIS CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND THE REST OF THE TOP MANAGEMENT TO MANAGE. WHETHER THERE ARE ONE, TWO, OR TEN TIER BOARDS THERE WILL ALWAYS BE OCCASIONS WHEN THE GOVERNMENT WILL (AND SHOULD) INTERVENE - AS WITH MAJOR CLOSURES IN AREAS OF HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT. THE NEDO TEAM SEEM TO HAVE PROPOSED A BUFFER BOARD AS A CATALYST OF CHANGE RATHER THAN AS AN INSTANT PANACEA. BUT IT WOULD BE TRAGIC IF SOME ACTION WERE NOT FORTHCOMING FROM GOVERNMENT. MORALE IN NATIONALISED INDUSTIRES CAN ONLY MOVE ONE WAY. UPWARDS.

EXTRACTS FROM THE CONTROVERSIAL REPORT BY SIR. RONALD MCINTOSH, HEAD OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ON THE STATE OF BRITAIN'S NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES "IN DECEMBER 1973 THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES PUBLISHED A REPORT ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROCEDURES. THIS RECOMMENDED THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD INSTITUTE A WIDE-RANGING INQUIRY INTO THE ROLE OF THE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES IN THE ECONOMY AND THE WAY IN WHICH THEY ARE TO BE CONTROLLED IN THE FUTURE. IN A WHITE PAPER PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1975 THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAD ASKED THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE TO UNDERTAKE THIS INQUIRY. WE BEGAN WORK IN JULY 1975 AND THE REPORT WAS COMPLETED BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER 1976. BY ANY STANDARDS THE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES OCCUPY A CENTRAL ROLE IN OUR ECONOMY. TOGETHER THEY ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN A TENTH OF THE NATIONAL PRODUCT AND NEARLY A FIFTH OF TOTAL FIXED INVESTMENT. THE FOUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE COUNTRY (AFTER CENTRAL GOVERNMENT) ARE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES. AS SUPPLIERS THEY OCCUPY A DOMINANT POSITION IN ENERGY, COMMUNICATIONS, STEEL AND TRANSPORT. THEY ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT A THIRD OF ALL THE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT BOUGHT BY BRITISH INDUSTRY AND FOR SEVERAL SECTORS OF INDUSTRY THEY ARE THE SOLE DOMESTIC CUSTOMER. IT FOLLOWS FROM THIS THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND THE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES IS A MATTER OF MAJOR SIGNIFICANCE; ITS EFFECT FOR GOOD OR ILL ON THE COUNTRY'S INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE CAN HARDLY BE EXAGGERATED. OUR INQUIRY HAS LEFT US IN NO DOUBT THAT THE EXISTING FRAMEWORK OF RELATIONSHIPS, DEVELOPED UNDER GOVERNMENTS OF BOTH MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES, IS UNSATISFACTORY AND IN NEED OF RADICAL CHANGE. 1. THERE IS LACK OF TRUST AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THOSE WHO RUN THE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND THOSE IN GOVERNMENT (POLITICIANS AND CIVIL SERVANTS) WHO ARE CONCERNED WITH THEIR AFFAIRS. 2. THERE IS CONFUSION ABOUT THE RESPECTIVE ROLES OF THE BOARDS OF NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES MINISTERS AND PARLIAMENT WITH THE RESULT THAT ACCOUNTABILITY IS SERIOUSLY BLURRED. 3. THERE IS NO SYSTEMATIC FRAMEWORK FOR REACHING AGREEMENT ON LONG TERM OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY, AND NO ASSURANCE OF CONTINUITY WHEN DECISIONS ARE REACHED. 4. THERE IS NO EFFECTIVE SYSTEM FOR MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND ASSESSING MANAGERIAL COMPETENCE. THE EVIDENCE FOR OUR ANALYSIS POINTS TO A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT MACHINE OF THE PROBLEMS OF INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT. IN PARTICULAR, SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS HAVE BEEN RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUITY AND TO RECOGNISE THAT IN ANY LARGE INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION, WHETHER IN THE PUBLIC OR THE PRIVATE SECTOR, SOME ASSURANCE OF STABLE OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES IS A PRECONDITION OF EFFICIENCY. THE DIFFICULTY OF RECONCILING THE DIFFERENT TIMESCALES OF POLITICIANS AND INDUSTRIALISTS WAS MENTIONED TO US TIME AND AGAIN. THE PROBLEM IS FAMILIAR AND THERE IS NO EASY SOLUTION; BUT IT CANNOT SIMPLY BE BRUSED UNDER THE CARPET. IN ALL THE MAIN NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES, PLANS FOR INVESTMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND MANPOWER HAVE TO BE MADE FOR PERIODS, WHICH EXTEND WELL BEYOND THE LIFETIME OF A SINGLE PARLIAMENT. UNTIL A FRAMEWORK IS ESTABLISHED WITHIN WHICH MANAGEMENT CAN PLAN WITH CONFIDENCE, THE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES WILL NEVER OPERATE AT ANYTHING LIKE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. AT THE SAME TIME ONE MUST RECOGNISE THE REALITIES OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. PEOPLE WHO WORK IN NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES DEEPLY RESENT CERTAIN KINDS OF GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT SEEMS TO BE BASED ON SHORT-TERM POLITICAL EXPENDIENCY. HAVING SEEN THE DAMAGE WHICH SUCH INTERVENTION CAN DO BOTH TO PERFORMANCE AND MORALE WE HAVE GREAT SIMPTHY WITH THIS VIEW. BUT THE FACT IS THAT MINISTERS IN BRITAIN ARE CONTINUALLY SUBJECTED TO SHORT-TERM PRESSURES FROM MANY QUARTERS AND AN ELECTED GOVERNMENT OFTEN FEELS OBLIGED TO RESPOND TO SUCH PRESSURES. PROPOSALS WHICH IGNORE THIS ARE NOT LIKELY TO BRING ANY LASTING BENEFIT. PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO CLARIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES HAVE ENDED IN FAILURE. AT FIRST SIGHT THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF ATTRACTION IN THE CONCEPT OF A COMPLETELY ARM'S LENGTH RELATIONSHIP, IN WHICH THE DIFFERNCE BETWEEN COMMERCIAL AND SOCIAL OBLOGATIONS IS PRECISELY DEFINED AND THE RULES FOR DEPARTMENTAL AND CORPORATE BEHAVIOUR ARE NEATLY CODIFIED. BUT THE EVIDENCE DEMONSTRATES CONVINCINGLY THAT IN THE REAL WORLD THINGS WOULD NOT WORK OUT LIKE THAT. IT SEEMS TO US THAT THE THINKING BEHIND THE WHOLLY ARM'S LENGTH APPROACH IS BASED ON A FALSE ANALOGY WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR. THE FINANCIAL STRUCTURES AND DISCIPLINES IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS ARE VERY DIFFERENT - NOT LEAST BECAUSE THE ULTIMATE SANCTION OF LIQUIDATION IS IN PRACTICE ABSENT IN THE MAJOR NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES. MOREOVER, THEIR IMPORTANCE AS EMPLOYERS, SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS, AND THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THEIR ACTIONS MAKE IT RIGHT AS WELL AS INEVITABLE THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE A CLOSE INTEREST IN THEIR STRATEGIES. THE EVIDENCE WE HAVE ACCUMULATED POINTS OVERWHELMINGLY TO THE NEED TO BASE THE NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES' RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT ON THREE BASIC CONCEPTS - TRUST, CONTINUITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. THE PRESENT STRUCTURE OF RELATIONSHIPS HAS MANIFESTLY FAILED TO PROVIDE THESE. FOR THIS REASON WE REJECT THE ARGUMENT THAT ALL THAT IS NEEDED IS TO PUT MORE EFFORT INTO MAKING THE EXISTING SYSTEM WORK. WE ACCEPT THAT WITH GOODWILL AND INTELLIGENT HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, INDIVIDUALS CAN MAKE ALMOST ANY SYSTEM WORK. BUT OUR STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE PRESNET SYSTEM IS ILLFITTED TO WITHSTAND THE STRAINS AND PRESSURES WHICH ARISE WHEN THE GOING IS DIFFICULT; AND THAT IN MANY RESPECTS IT ACTS AS A POSITIVE DETERRENT TO MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. WEARE CONVINCED THAT A COMPLETELY NEW APPROACH IS NEEDED. WE PROPOSE THAT FOR EACH MAJOR NATIONALISED INDUSTRY THERE SHOULD BE A POLICY COUNCIL AND A SEPARATE CORPORATION BOARD. THE POLICY COUNCIL'S MAIN FUNCTIONS WOULD BE TO AGREE CORPORATE OBJECTIVES AND THE STRATEGIES TO ACHIVE THEM; TO ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE CRITERIA APPROPRIATE TO THE INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRY; TO ENDORSE CORPORATE PLANS; AND TO MONITOR PERFORMANCE. THE CORPORATION BOARD WOULD MANAGE THE CORPORATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THESE OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES AND CRITERIA. IT WOULD PUT FORWARD STRATEGIC POLICY OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COUNCIL; UNDERTAKE THE NECESSARY DETAILED PLANNING; AND BE FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING POLICIES AND PLANS ONCE THEY HAD BEEN AGREED BY THE COUNCIL. THE POLICY COUNCIL WOULD BE CHAIRED BY A PRESIDENT WHO WOULD BE APPOINTED BY GOVERNMENT WITH CONSIDERABLE SECURITY OF TENURE. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CORPORATION BOARD AND SOME OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WOULD SIT ON THE COUNCIL, WHICH WOULD ALSO INCLUDE SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS FROM THE TRESURY AND SPONSOR DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES OF TRADE UNIONS CONCERNED AND MEMBERS REFLECTING USER AND OTHER INDEPENDENT VIEW POINTS. THE COUNCIL WOULD HAVE A SMALL FULL-TIME STAFF. THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE CORPORATION BOARD WOULD BE APPOINTED BY AND BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE POLICY COUNCIL. THE POLICY COUNCIL WOULD ACCOUNT TO PARLIAMENT THROUGH ITS ANNUAL REPORTS AND THE ROLE OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES WOULD BE STRENTHENED BY THE PROVISION OF MORE RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT POLICIES AND PERFORMANCE. GOVERNMENT WOULD EXERCISE ITS CONCERN FOR THE EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES AND FOR SOCIAL AND REGIONAL POLICY THROUGH THE COUNCILS. IT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO INTERVENE DIRECTLY IN THE ACTIONS OF THE BOARD. IT WOULD, HOWEVER, BE GIVEN POWERS OF SPECIFIC DIRECTION WHICH WOULD ENABLE IT IN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES TO OVERRIDE COUNCIL DECISONS. ALL DIRECTIONS WOULD BE PUBLISHED AT THE TIME THEY WERE ISSUED AND MINISTERS WOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE TO PARLIAMENT FOR THE USE OF THEIR POWERS IN THE ORDINARY WAY. WE ALSO PROPOSE THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD DEVISE MORE RATIONAL FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS FOR NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES WHICH WOULD TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH INDIVIDUAL CORPORATIONS OPERATE. THE USE OF PUBLIC DIVIDEND CAPITAL OR ITS EQUIVALENT SHOULD BE BASED ON AGREED PRINCIPLES RATHER THAN DETERMINED AD HOC. FIRM GROUND RULES FOR SUBSIDY ARRANGEEMENTS AND, IN EXCEPTIONAL CASES FOR CAPITAL WRITE-OFFS SHOULD BE AGREED IN ADVANCE WITH THE POLICY COUNCIL CONCERNED. OUR PROPOSALS WOULD INVOLVE A SUBSTANTIAL DEPARTURE FROM THE TRADITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DIRECTING AND MANAGING LARGE PUBLIC SECTOR ENTERPRISES. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS NECESSARY AND JUSTIFIED BECAUSE THE EXISTING SYSTEM HAS FALLEN INTO SUCH A STATE OF DISREPUTE. THE COUNCILS WOULD BRING TOGETHER AT REGULAR INTERVALS ROUND ONE TABLE ALL THOSE WHOSE SUPPORT IS ESSENTIAL TO A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY AND WHOSE OPPOSITION COULD FRUSTRATE IT. AT THE RISK OF BEING THOUGHT NAIVE WE BELIEVE THAT THE HABIT OF WORKING TOGETHER ON THE PROBLEMS OF A PARTICULAR INDUSTRY SHOULD LEAD TO A MUCH GREATER CONVERGENCE OF VIEW AMONG THE VARIOUS INTERESTS CONCERNED. IN PARTICULAR WE THINK THAT THE INCLUSION OF SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS ON EACH COUNCIL COULD OVER TIME DO MUCH TO BRING ABOUT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF INDUSTRY IN WHITEHALL. IN THIS RESPECT WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS MUCH WE CAN USEFULLY LEARN FROM FRENCH PRACTICE. IN THE SAME WAY WE BELIEVE, ON THE EVIDENCE WE RECEIVED THAT A CLOSER INVOLVEMENT OF TRADE UNIONS IN THE STRATEGIC POLICY MAKING OF MOST NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES IS OVERDUE. WE RECOGNISE THAT IT WILL BRING PROBLEMS WITH IT FOR BOTH MANAGEMENT AND UNIONS; BUT WE BELIEVE THAT IT COULD GREATLY HELP TO GENERATE A SENSE OF COMMITMENT TO THE INDUSTRY'S LONG-TERM PLANS WHICH IS NOT OFTEN PRESENT UNDER EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS. AS A RESULT OF OUR PROPOSLAS THE TREASURY SHOULD GAIN A MUCH BETTER INSIGHT INTO THE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS OF NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND INTO THE IMPLICATINS FOR THEM OF MACRO-ECONOMIC POLICY CHANGES. THERE WOULD BE A CONSIDERABLE CHANGE IN THE ROLE OF SPONSOR DEPARTMENTS. THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO CONCENTRATE ON THE STRATEGIC AND SECTORAL ASPECTS OF NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES' ACTIVITIES AND SICNE THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE INVOLVED IN DETAILED INTERVENTION. APPRAISAL OR MONITORING THERE SHOULD BE SCOPE FOR SAVINGS IN STAFF. FINALLY, WE EMPHASISE THAT OUR PROPOSAL FOR POLICY COUNCILS DOES NOT IMPLY ANY DOWN-GRADING OF THE STATUS OF CORPORATION BOARDS. IT IS TRUE THAT IT INVOLVES ABANDONING THE PRETENCE THAT THE BOARDS CAN BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING LONG-TERM STRATEGY. BUT THEY WILL RETAIN RESPONSIBILITY FOR INITIATING ALL FORMS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING; THEY WILL BE PROTECTED FROM INTERFERENCE IN DAY TO DAY MANAGEMENT; AND THEIR PERFORMANCE WILL BE MEASURABLE BY OBJECTIVE AND PUBLICLY KNOWN CRITERIA."

S MEETING THE VOCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE OLDER BLIND PERSON E BY THOMAS W. DICKEY __MR. DICKEY IS ON THE STAFF OF THE REHABILITATION INSTITUTE, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY AT CARBONDALE._ ]THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 1974 SUMMER CONVENTION OF THE MIDWESTERN REGION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS FOR THE BLIND, SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA.] __^^ABSTRACT: THE VOCATIONAL PLACEMENT OF BLIND PERSONS WHO ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER PRESENTS THE COUNSELOR WITH AN UNUSUAL CHALLENGE. THE STATISTICAL DATA ON THE DESIRABILITY OF HIRING OLDER WORKERS IS REVIEWED, ALONG WITH POINTERS ON RESPONDING TO EMPLOYERS' OBJECTIONS. OLDER BLIND PERSONS WHO DESIRE REMUNERATIVE EMPLOYMENT FALL INTO FOUR GROUPS, EACH REQUIRING A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF PLACEMENT SERVICES: MINIMAL, AVERAGE, SHELTERED, AND SPECIAL. THE RELATIONSHIP OF PAST WORK EXPERIENCE TO NEW JOB POSSIBILITIES IS ALSO EXPLORED._ AS SCOTT (1969) HAS POINTED OUT, MEETING THE NEEDS OF OLDER BLIND PERSONS HAS NOT BEEN A PRIORITY WITH THE BLINDNESS SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE VOCATIONAL AREA WHERE THE PROBLEMS OF PROVIDING EFFECTIVE SERVICE ARE FORMIDABLE, AND WHERE CONCENTRATION ON THE YOUNGER BLIND PRODUCES A HIGHER NUMBER OF CLOSURES FOR A GIVEN INVESTMENT OF TIME AND EFFORT. THE FACT REMAINS THAT OLDER BLIND PERSONS HAVE REAL VOCATIONAL NEEDS; IN MY OPINION, THERE ARE PROCEDURES WHICH, IF CONSCIENTIOUSLY APPLIED, COULD FACILITATE VOCATIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF SOME OF THE OLDER BLIND. IN THE PAGES THAT FOLLOW I WILL GIVE EXAMPLES OF SUCH PROCEDURES AND SUGGEST WAYS IN WHICH THEY MIGHT BE PRACTICALLY APPLIED. A VOCATIONAAL NEED, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PAPER, IS DEFINED AS ONE IN WHICH ULTIMATE SATISFACTION REQUIRES THE ATTAINING OF REMUNERATIVE EMPLOYMENT; THE TOTAL PROCESS OF ACHIEVING THIS OBJECTIVE MIGHT INVOLVE A VARIETY OF SERVICES RANGING FROM PHYSICAL RESTORATION AND TRAINING THROUGH VOCATIONAL COUNSELING AND PLACEMENT. THE SCOPE OF THIS PRESENTATION PRECLUDES A MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION OF ALL OF THEM. ATTENTION WILL THEREFORE BE FOCUSED ON PLACEMENT, SINCE THIS IS THE SERVICE WHICH DEALS MOST DIRECTLY WITH THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING REMUNERATIVE EMPLOYMENT, A PROCESS WHICH, IN THE CASE OF MOST OLDER BLIND PERSONS, IS COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT. WHILE THE PRECISE MEANING OF THE TERM "OLDER" USUALLY VARIES WITH THE PERSON DEFINING IT, THE TERM AS USED HERE WILL REFER TO PERSONS 55 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THOSE 65 AND OVER. THERE ARE TWO REASONS FOR THIS EMPHASIS: 1) SINCE, AFTER AGE 40, THERE IS AN INVERSE RATIO BETWEEN AGE AND AVAILABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT, OTHER FACTORS BEING EQUAL, IT SEEMS EVIDENT THAT ANY TECHNIQUE, PROGRAM, OR STRATEGY WHICH WILL FACILITATE THE PLACEMENT OF PERSONS 65 AND OVER WILL APPLY WITH EQUAL OR GREATER EFFECTIVENESS TO THOSE BETWEEN 55 AND 65; 2) BECAUSE 65 IS THE MOST COMMON AGE FOR MANDATORY RETIREMENT IN BOTH THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS, IT IS ASSUMED THAT THERE MAY BE MORE INDIVIDUALS 65 AND OVER WHO DO NOT HAVE WORK (BUT WHO COULD AND WOULD LIKE TO WORK) THAN THERE ARE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 55 AND 64. THE LEGALLY BLIND POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES IN PREDOMINANTLY AN OLDER POPULATION. IN THE 1971 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF BLINDNESS, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT TWO-THIRDS OF ALL LEGALLY BLIND PERSONS ARE 55 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER. THE FIGURES OF THE MODEL REPORTING AREA FOR 1970, WHICH ARE PROBABLY MORE ACCURATE AND SOMEWHAT MORE CONSERVATIVE, SHOWED THAT PERSONS 65 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER COMPRISE 44.5 PERCENT OF THE BLIND POPULATION IN THE 16-STATE AREA OF THE STUDY (KAHN & MOORHEAD, 1973). IT MIGHT REASONABLY BE INFERRED FROM THIS DATA THAT, SINCE PERSONS 55 AND OVER CONSTITUTE A MAJORITY OF THE BLIND POPULATION, THEY WOULD BE RECEIVING A MAJOR PORTION OF AVAILABLE SERVICES. WHILE THE CONVERSE OF THIS PROPOSITION HAS, IN FACT, BEEN THE RULE, IT APPEARS THAT THE IMPACT OF ITS LOGIC IS BEGINNING TO BE FELT AND WILL BE INCREASINGLY RESPONDED TO BY POLICYMAKERS IN BOTH THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS. WITH RESPECT TO AMOUNT OF VISION, THERE IS SLIGHTLY LESS TOTAL BLINDNESS (ABSOLUTE BLINDNESS, LIGHT PERCEPTION, AND LIGHT PROJECTION) AMONG THE OLDER POPULATION (65-74), 22.3 PERCENT, THAN THERE IS AMONG THE YOUNGER POPULATION (20-44), 26 PERCENT (KAHN & MOORHEAD, 1973). THIS SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT SLIGHTLY MORE PERSONS IN LTHE OLDER POPULATION HAVE SOME USEFUL VISION AND, OTHER FACTORS BEING EQUAL, THE POSSESSION OF SOME DEGREE OF USEFUL VISION TENDS TO ENHANCE THE INDIVIDUAL'S MOBILITY POTENTIAL WHICH IS OFTEN IMPORTANT IN MEETING VOCATIONAL NEEDS. IDENTIFYING THE KIND OF EMPLOYMENT THAT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE OLDER BLIND POPULATION IS COMPLICATED BY THE FACT THAT DATA DESCRIBING THE VOCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS POPULATION ARE NOT AVAILABLE. THERE IS, HOWEVER, AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF STATISTICAL INFORMATION DESCRIBING THE OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AND OTHER VOCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONS 65 AND OVER IN THE GENERAL WORK FORCE. A STATISTICAL OVERVIEW OF THE OCCUPATIONAL AREAS IN WHICH OLDER PERSONS ARE EMPLOYED SHOULD PROVIDE US WITH THE BASIS FOR MAKING A MORE ENLIGHTENED JUDGMENT ABOUT THE KINDS OF VOCATIONAL ADJUSTMENT THAT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE OLDER BLIND POPULATION. WE TEND TO THINK OF PERSONS 65 AND OVER AS BEING RETIRED; IN FACT, THE 1967 AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT APPLIES ONLY TO PERSONS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 40 AND 65. YET THE ACTUAL FIGURES TELL QUITE A DIFFERENT STORY. IN 1970, 2,164,000 OUT OF 8,089,000 MEN 65 AND OVER WERE IN THE WORK FORCE AS WERE 1,056,000 OF THE 10,907,000 WOMEN IN THE SAME AGE GROUP (U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, 1974). A FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL AREAS IN WHICH PEOPLE 65 AND OVER WORK (ANNUAL AVERAGES OF 1971) REVEALS THAT AMONG MEN, MANAGERS, OFFICIALS, AND PROPRIETORS ACCOUNT FOR 17.2 PERCENT; FARMERS AND FARM MANAGERS, 16.3; CRAFTSMEN, FOREMEN, AND KINDRED, 12.6; SERVICE WORKERS, EXCLUDING PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS, 11.7; PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND KINDRED, 10.8; OPERATIVES (SEMI-SKILLED AND UNSKILLED INDUSTRIAL JOBS) AND KINDRED, 8.5; SALES, 7.6; CLERICAL AND KINDRED, 5.8; NONFARM LABORERS, 5.6; FARM LABORERS AND FOREMEN, 3.3; AND PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD WORKERS, 0.4. AMONG WOMEN, PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD WORKERS ACCOUNT FOR 18.5 PERCENT; CLERICAL AND KINDRED, 18.3; SERVICE WORKERS, EXCLUDING PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS, 17.3; PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND KINDRED, 12.5; SALES, 9.8; OPERATIVES AND KINDRED, 9.3; MANAGERS, OFFICIALS, AND PROPRIETORS, 8.9; FARMERS AND FARM MANAGERS, 2.2; FARM LABORERS AND FOREMEN, 2.0; CRAFTSMEN, FOREMEN, AND KINDRED, 1.2; AND NONFARM LABORERS, 0.2 (STEIN, 1971). OCCUPATIONAL AREAS IN WHICH BLIND PERSONS HAVE FOUND SUBSTANTIAL EMPLOYMENT STAND AT MIDPOINT OR ABOVE IN THE RANK ORDER DISTRIBUTION OF THESE OCCUPATIONAL AREAS. THESE ARE, FOR MEN, MANAGERIAL, SERVICE, PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, AND OPERATIVE; AND, FOR WOMEN, CLERICAL, SERVICE, PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, SALES, AND OPERATIVES. THE FOREGOING DATA DEMONSTRATES THAT AGE, IN AND OF ITSELF, DOES NOT PREVENT QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS FROM PERFORMING SATISFACTORILY ON MANY OF THE SAME KINDS OF JOBS. IT IS RECOGNIZED THAT WHEN BOTH DISABILITIES EXIST IN ONE PERSON, THE COMPLEXITY, DIFFICULTY, AND CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING SATISFACTORY PLACEMENT IN REMUNERATIVE EMPLOYMENT IS MORE THAN DOUBLED. I BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THAT FOR AN OLDER BLIND PERSON WHO IS IN GOOD HEALTH, WHO HAS DEMONSTRATED JOB SKILLS AND RELIABLE WORK HABITS BASED ON SUBSTANTIAL EXPERIENCE, AND WHO IS STRONGLY MOTIVATED TO WORK, THE GOAL OF FULL- OR PART-TIME REMUNERATIVE EMPLOYMENT IS NOT AT ALL UNREALISTIC. GROUP 1, MINIMAL, IS A SMALL BUT IMPORTANT GROUP OF OLDER BLIND PERSONS WHO WILL REQUIRE LITTLE OR NO HELP IN OBTAINING EMPLOYMENT AND WHO WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE SEEN BY AN AGENCY. THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND EXPERIENCE AS MANAGERS, ADMINISTRATORS, CONSULTANTS, ENGINEERS, TEACHERS, AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL PERSONS. IF FORCED TO RETIRE AT 65 OR EARLIER AND IF STILL INTERESTED IN WORKING, THEY HAVE THE CONTACTS, THE ABILITY, AND THE PRESTIGE TO OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT IN ANOTHER FIRM OR AGENCY ON A JOB SIMILAR TO, OR PERHAPS, LESS DEMANDING THAN THE ONE FROM WHICH THEY RETIRED. TYPICAL OF THIS KIND OF OLDER PERSON, ALTHOUGH NOT BLIND, WOULD BE THE GROUP OF PSYCHOLOGISTS STUDIED BY OTTO F. EHRENTHEIL (1964). IN THIS STUDY, QUESTIONNAIRES WERE SENT TO 496 OLDER PSYCHOLOGISTS AND 174 USABLE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE RETURNED. SINCE THE AVERAGE AGE OF THOSE RESPONDING WAS 70 FOR MEN AND 69 FOR WOMEN, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT MANY OF THEM HAD EXPERIENCED MANDATORY RETIREMENT. NEVERTHELESS, 70 PERCENT OF THE MEN AND 69 PERCENT OF THE WOMEN WERE CONTINUING TO WORK FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME, FOR INSTANCE, AS CONSULTANTS OR IN SCHOOLS OTHER THAN THOSE FROM WHICH THEY HAD RETIRED. GROUP 2 REQUIRES FROM MODERATE TO CONSIDERABLE ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING EMPLOYMENT. IT CONSISTS OF PERSONS WHO WORKED IN LOWER-LEVEL JOBS IN THE MANAGER/ OFFICER/PROPRIETOR OR PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL OR SALES CATEGORIES, PLUS THOSE WHO WORKED AT ANY LEVEL IN THE CLERICAL, SERVICES, OR OPERATIVE CATEGORIES. EXAMPLES MIGHT INCLUDE ASSISTANT MANAGERS, SUPERVISOR, DARK-ROOM TECHNICIANS, COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS, MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONISTS, AND LAUNDRY, HOSPITAL, CAFETERIA, AND FACTORY WORKERS. GROUP 3 MIGHT REQUIRE SOME COUNSELING BUT NO REAL PLACEMENT SERVICE. IT CONSISTS OF OLDER BLIND PERSONS WHO ARE NOT QUALIFIED FOR OR INTERESTED IN COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT, BUT WHO WOULD LIKE TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR INCOME BY WORKING IN A SHELTERED WORKSHOP. GROUP 4 WOULD DEFINITELY BE THE LARGEST OF THE GROUPS, IN MY OPINION, AND WOULD REQUIRE SOME HELP FROM THE COUNSELOR WORKING IN COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES AS WILL BE DESCRIBED LATER. ITS COMBINED MEMBERSHIP REPRESENTS WORK EXPERIENCE IN A VARIETY OF OCCUPATIONS AND IN A NUMBER OF JOBS. THE CHARACTERISTIC WHICH IDENTIFIES THIS GROUP IS THE FACT THAT ITS MEMBERS ARE SEEKING WORK PRIMARILY AS A MEANS OF SUPPLEMENTING THEIR PENSIONS, WHETHER THESE ARE DERIVED FROM PUBLIC AND/OR PRIVATE SOURCES. THEY SPECIFICALLY DO NOT WANT FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT AND, IN AN IMPORTANT SENSE THEREFORE, THEIR MOTIVATION IS STRICTLY ECOMONIC RATHER THAN VOCATIONAL. IN TERMS OF THESE FOUR GROUPS, IT APPEARS THAT PERSONS IN GROUPS 1 AND 3 WOULD REQUIRE MINIMAL, IF ANY, PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE. THE MEMBERS OF GROUP 2 WOULD SEEM TO REQUIRE THE MOST SERVICE AND THOSE IN GROUP 4 SOMEWHAT LESS AND OF A TYPE THAT WILL BE DESCRIBED LATER. BEFORE CONSIDERING SPECIFIC PROCEDURES, IT SHOULD BE REEMPHASIZED THAT OWING TO THE SEVERITY OF THIS MULTIPLE DISABILITY THE CLIENT MUST: 1) BE IN GOOD HEALTH, 2) HAVE DEMONSTRATED JOB SKILLS AND RELIABLE WORK HABITS BASED ON SUBSTANTIAL EXPERIENCE, AND 3) BE STRONGLY MOTIVATED TO WORK. IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT, OTHER FACTORS BEING EQUAL, THE LESS SEVERE EITHER OR BOTH DISABILITIES ARE, THE GREATER THE CHANCES OF SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT--AND THE SEVERITY OF BOTH DISABILITIES MAY VARY SIGNIFICANTLY. FOR INSTANCE, A 65-YEAR-OLD CLIENT MAY HAVE THE BODY MOVEMENTS, SKIN TEXTURE, AND VOICE TONE WHICH THE OBSERVER WOULD NORMALLY ASSOCIATE WITH SOMEONE 50 YEARS OF AGE OR THEY MAY BE THOSE OF A 70 YEAR-OLD. SIMILARLY, A LEGALLY BLIND CLIENT MIGHT HAVE NO VISION OR HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO READ LARGE PRINT WITH AN OPTICAL AID. PLACEMENT OF OLDER BLIND CLIENTS IS IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE SAME BASIC PROCEDURES AS IS THE PLACEMENT OF YOUNGER BLIND PERSONS. THE DIFFERENCE LIES IN THE KIND OF MATERIALS THAT ARE UTILIZED IN APPLYING THESE PRINCIPLES AND THE EMPHASIS THAT IS GIVEN. SINCE MOST COUNSELORS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THESE BASIC PROCEDURES, I WILL MERELY INDICATE THAT THEY INVOLVE AN APPLICATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL SELLING TO PERSUADE THE EMPLOYER THAT AN OLDER BLIND PERSON CAN BE A PROFITABLE INVESTMENT AS AN EMPLOYEE, AND THE USE OF BASIC JOB ANALAYSIS PROCEDURES TO IDENTIFY JOBS THAT CAN BE PERFORMED SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY WITH LITTLE OR NO VISION. APPLICATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF JOB BEING SOUGHT. WITH A TYPICAL SERVICE OR FACTORY JOB-- WHERE REQUIRED JOB KNOWLEDGE AND DUTIES ARE RELATIVELY SIMPLE, WHERE THE CLIENT'S VERBAL SKILLS ARE LIMITED--CLIENT PERFORMANCE IN AN EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW WILL NOT BE DETERMINING. IN THIS SITUATION, THE COUNSELOR WILL HAVE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELLING THE EMPLOYER ON HIRING THE INDIVIDUAL AND FOR SELECTING THE JOB IN WHICH HE IS TO PERFORM. IN THE CASE OF A PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL, OR MANAGERIAL TYPE OF JOB WHERE ACQUIRED JOB KNOWLEDGE IS COMPLEX AND UNKNOWN TO THE COUNSELOR, WHERE SOCIAL, INTERPERSONAL, AND COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, THE CLIENT MUST SELL HIMSELF IN THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW SINCE IT IS A CRUCIAL FACTOR IN DETERMINING THE EMPLOYER'S DECISION. IN THIS SITUATION THE COUNSELOR'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES ARE: 1) TO ASSIST THE CLIENT IN THE PREPARATION OF A RESUME, 2) TO CONTACT THE EMPLOYER IN AN EFFORT TO PERSUADE HIM TO GRANT THE CLIENT AN INTERVIEW, AND 3) TO HELP THE CLIENT PREPARE HIMSELF FOR EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW.

PAPER 6 - GOVERNMENT DECISIONS AND SMALL FIRMS BOLTON COMMITTEE WAS SET UP IN 1969 TO INQUIRE INTO THE PROBLEMS OF SMALL FIRMS. ITS REPORT WAS PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 1971. THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO INVESTIGATE THE ORGANISATIONS SAID PROCEDURES BY WHICH THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR IS REPRESENTED IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. THE BOLTON REPORT DEFINED "SMALL FIRM", AS ONE WHICH MUST FULFIL THE FOLLOWING THREE CONDITIONS. (A) IT MUST HAVE A RELATIVELY SMALL SHARE OF ITS MARKET THEREBY LACK ANY POWER TO INFLUENCE SIGNIFICANTLY THE PRICE PER UNIT ON QUANTITY SOLD OF ITS PRODUCTS. (B) IT MUST BE MANAGED PERSONALLY BY THE OWNER OR OWNERS AND LACK ANY SEMBLANCE OF A FORMALISED MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE. (C) IT MUST BE INDEPENDENT AND NOT MERELY A SUBSIDIARY OF A LARGER ENTERPRISE. SMALL FIRMS LACK A MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY THUS REPRESENTATIVE ACTIVITY CANNOT BE DELEGATED AND IS SEEN BY OWNERS AS BEING COSTLY IN TERMS OF THEIR TIME. THE FOLLOWING ARE REPRESENTATIVE BODIES FOR THE SMALL BUSINESSES - TRADE ASSOCIATION, EMPLOYERS ORGANISATION, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, CHAMBER OF TRADE AND RECENTLY, THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF SELF-EMPLOYED. THE C.B.I. INTEREST IS CENTRED ON ITS OWN SMALLER FIRMS COUNCIL, BUT THE LATTER CANNOT MAKE POLICY, ONLY IF SATISFIED BY THE "GRAND COUNCIL" OF THE C.B.I. 800,000 SMALL FIRMS/BUSINESSES WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE C.B.I. THEREFORE A NUMBER OF SEPARATE VOICES REPRESENT THEIR INTERESTS. IT IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO INITIATE A MAJOR CHANGE IN DECLARED GOVERNMENT POLICY AND MORESO ONCE A WHITE PAPER OR A BILL ON PROPOSED POLICY HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. THE MOST EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION IS THAT WHICH TAKES PLACE IN ANTICIPATION OF FUTURE LEGISLATION. ALL THE ABOVE GROUPS LOBBY M.P.'S. ALSO MAKE AS MUCH USE OF THE MEDIA AS POSSIBLE. CONSERVATIVE PARTY SYMPATHETIC TO SMALL FIRMS. HAROLD WILSON (1974) WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THEM. HOWEVER, THE REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS FEEL THAT THE CIVIL SERVICE IS NOT SYMPATHETIC TO THEM. AFTER THE DISCUSSION OF THE INTRODUCTION OF CAPITAL TRANSFER TAX (MARCH 1975). CONCLUSIONS DRAWN REGARDING THE PROBLEMS OF REPRESENTATION THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS:- (A) DIFFICULT FOR REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS TO BRING ABOUT MAJOR AMENDMENTS TO DECLARED POLICY. (B) A LARGE NUMBER OF ORGANISATIONS ARE PREPARED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE SMALL BUSINESS SHOULD THE NEED ARISE. (C) IN BRINGING PRESSURE TO BEAR ON GOVERNMENT, THE REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS ARE ABLE TO OPERATE THROUGH A VARIETY OF CHANNELS OF INFLUENCE. (D) THE CASE FOR AMENDING THE C.T.T. LEGISLATION SUFFERED FROM A LACK OF UP-TO-DATE QUANTITIVE EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE LIKELY IMPACT OF C.T.T. ON THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR. PAPER 7 - MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES AND DECISION MAKING. THIS PAPER IS CONCERNED WITH THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE EXISTENCE OF MULTINATIONAL BUSINESSES AFFECTS THE FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH ECONOMIC POLICY IN ITS WIDEST SENSE IS DEVELOPED. DUE TO THE GROWTH OF THESE COMPANIES, THE BALANCE OF PRESSURES ON GOVERNMENT HAS CHANGED REGARDING THE FORMULATION OF POLICY ON THEIR PART TOWARDS INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. WHY DO COMPANIES GO "MULTINATIONAL?" (A) PROTECTION OF A STRONG MARKET POSITION IN A PARTICULAR COUNTRY. (B) NATURE OF THE PRODUCT MADE AND ITS COMMERCIAL "CYCLE". (C) THE SINGLE NATIONAL MARKET IS TOO SMALL A BASE FOR COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS. DO INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES HAVE POWER WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITIES OVER THE AFFAIRS OF INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES? THERE IS LITTLE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF THE QUANTITATIVE IMPACT OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES ON THE BRITISH ECONOMY. THERE IS, HOWEVER A BODY OF QUALITATIVE EVIDENCE WHICH INDICATES THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IS CHANGING I.E. THE BASIS ON WHICH TRADITIONAL THEORIES ABOUT TRADE AND INDUSTRY HAVE BEEN FORMULATED. GOVERNMENTS WILL HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT THEY ARE OPERATING IN A WORLD WHERE CORPORATIONS ARE THE AGENTS FOR PLANNING THE FLOWS OF EXPORTS AND INVESTMENTS. CORPORATE DECISIONS ABOUT THE LOCATION OF PRODUCTION CAPACITY ALSO AFFECT EMPLOYMENT. ANY COUNTRY WISHING TO DEVELOP ITS INDUSTRY KNOWS THAT IN MOST INSTANCES THE ONLY AVAILABLE VEHICLE FOR THE TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IS THE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS ITS FREEDOM LIMITED IN DECISION MAKING BY THE PRESENCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES WHO WITH THEIR OWN SUPERNATIONAL INTERESTS DOMINATE THEIR OWN AREAS WHICH ARE SIGNIFICANT TO THE GOVERNMENT I.E. CHRYSLER, FORD ETC. IT IS FELT THAT THESE COMPANIES SHOULD GIVE GREATER CONSIDERATION TO THEIR WIDER SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES. THEY SHOULD CHANGE METHODS OF OPERATION TO TAKE HEED OF THE FOLLOWING: EMPLOYERS, CUSTOMERS, ENVIRONMENT AND LOCALITY. IF A BRITISH GOVERNMENT EVENTUALLY CONCLUDES THAT IT WISHES TO LEGISLATE IN THIS AREA OF WIDER CORPORATE PERFORMANCE, IT WILL FIND THAT INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES POSE A MAJOR PROBLEM, AS THEY ALREADY DO FOR TRADES UNIONS, WHOSE ORGANISATION AND SPHERE ARE ONLY NATIONAL IN THEIR LIMITS. PAPER 8 - WORKERS PARTICIPATION IN INDUSTRIAL DECISION MAKING MACBEATH'S DEFINITION OF A MANAGEMENT "IS THE WORD USED FOR THE FUNCTION OF CONTROLLING AND FOR THE GROUP OF PEOPLE IN CONTROL". HIS (MACBEATH) REGARDS THE FUNCTION OF A MANAGER "A MANAGER MUST, IF HE IS TO JUSTIFY HIS TITLE, MAKE DECISIONS WHICH OTHERS IMPLEMENT". PARTICIPATIVE INSTITUTIONS ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:- "INTEGRATIVE" - WHERE WORKERS ARE INVOLVED IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS WITHIN THE EXISTING COMPANY FRAMEWORK. "FORMAL" - PROCEDURES WITH RULES (WORKS COUNCILS AND SUGGESTION SCHEME). "INFORMAL" - NO RECOGNISED RULES. PARTICIPATIVE APPROACH. PRACTICES WHICH DEVELOP "ON THE SHOP FLOOR" ARE "CUSTOMERY" WHILE THEY CAUSE NO PROBLEMS AND "RESTRICTIVE" WHEN MANAGERS FIND THEM INHIBITING. THESE PRACTICES ARE "FORMAL" IF THEY HAVE UNION AGREEMENT. "INFORMAL" IF THEY HAVE NOT. AS UNIONS ARE EXTERNAL TO THE EMPLOYING ORGANISATION, THEY ARE CALLED "DISJUNCTIVE" INSTRUMENTS OF PARTICIPATION. DEGREES OF PARTICIPATION ARE AS FOLLOWS: (A) MANAGEMENT DECIDES UNILATERALLY WITHOUT PRIOR INFORMATION TO WORKERS. (B) MANAGEMENT DECIDES UNILATERALLY BUT WORKERS ARE INFORMED BEFORE THE DECISION IS PUT INTO EFFECT (C) MANAGEMENT DECIDES AFTER HEARING WORKERS VIEWS (D) NEGOTIATIONS TAKE PLACE BUT MANAGEMENT GOES AHEAD IF NO AGREEMENT IS REACHED. (E) NEGOTIATIONS TAKE PLACE AND NO ACTION IS TAKEN WITHOUT AGREEMENT. (F) WORKERS DECIDE UNILATERALLY. 1975 - HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT ALSO THE EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION ACT. (DESIGNED TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR TRADE UNIONS TO ATTAIN RECOGNITION). DEFINITION OF WORK "WORK MEANS THAT WHICH IS DONE BY EMPLOYEES DURING EMPLOYMENT". THREE LEVELS OF WORK:- TASKS - BASIC UNITS OF WORK. JOB - PARTICULAR GROUP OF TASKS SYSTEM OF EMPLOYMENT - JOBS PUT OR DEVELOPED TOGETHER. THE MOST OBVIOUS REASON FOR SEEKING A SHARE IN DECISION MAKING IS THAT THE EXISTING COURSE OF DECISIONS IS UNSATISFACTORY. TWO TYPES OF DECISION MAKING:- MECHANISTIC - EXPLICIT RULES; BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIC - FOUND IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES REFERENCE IS MADE TO F.W. TAYLOR (=D101 - MECHANISTIC MAN) STYLES OF MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING ARE CATEGORISED AS FOLLOWS:- (1) EXPLOITATION - MANAGERS DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR THE ORGANISATION AND EMPLOYEES MUST ACCEPT IT (2) PATERNALISM - MANAGERS DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR THE ORGANISATION AND WHAT IS BEST FOR ITS EMPLOYEES, AND THEY MUST ACCEPT IT. (3) INFORMATION - MANAGERS PASS INFORMATION, OR PERMIT IT TO PASS, TO EMPLOYEES ABOUT DECISIONS AND THE REASONS FOR THEM (4) CONSULTATION - MANAGERS INFORM SUBORDINATES BEFORE THE DECISION, WATCH REACTIONS AND LEAVE OPEN THE POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION NEGOTIATION - MANAGERS, FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY, ASK SUBORDINATES IF THEY WILL AGREE TO A DECISION, AND EMPLOYEES INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY ADVANCE COUNTER PROPOSAL OR MODIFICATIONS AGREEMENT ON OBJECTIVES - NEGOTIATIONS EXTEND TO CLARIFYING COMMON GROUND JOINT EXAMINATION - REPRESENTATIVES OF INTEREST GROUPS IN THE ORGANISATION EXAMINE COMMON PROBLEMS WITHOUT PREJUDICE ABOUT THE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL BEST MEET COMMON OBJECTIVES JOINT DECISION MAKING - THE PREVIOUS PROCESS ELIMINATES DIVISION ON MANY POINTS THAT PROLONG, AND COMPLICATE NEGOTATION, BECAUSE THE ELEMENT OF ADVOCACY WITH ITS COMMITMENT TO "WINNING" A POINT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED JOINT IMPLEMENTATION - PROCESS OF PREPARING TO IMPLEMENT DECISIONS MAY HAVE TAKEN LONGER THAN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRILLIANT PLANS IN PRIVATE; THE IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE SMOOTHER AND MORE FLEXIBLE. SOCIETIES MAINTAIN THEMSELVES BY A SYSTEM OF LAW WHICH HAS TWO PARTS - ABSTRACT GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF WIDE APPLICATION AND PRECEDENTS OR ENACTMENTS APPLYING TO SPECIFIC AREAS. CIVIL LAW - GOVERNS RELATIONS BETWEEN GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS IN SOCIETY CRIMINAL LAW - PROTECTS THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY ITSELF FROM HARMFUL ACTIVITIES MUCH LAW IS "PRESCRIPTIVE" REQUIRING PEOPLE TO BEHAVE IN CERTAIN WAYS. SOME IS "ENABLING", SAYING THAT CITIZENS MUST DO CERTAIN THINGS. SOME IS "FORMATIVE" INDICATING THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BUT NEED NOT NECESSARILY BEHAVE TO EACH OTHER IN CERTAIN WAYS. THE LAW RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT IS "PRESCRIPTIVE".

WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, COVENTRY ENGLAND. IN ANY JOB RELYING ON DOCUMENTATION, ONLY A CERTAIN AMOUNT CAN EITHER BE TRANSCRIBED INTO BRAILLE OR RECORDED ON TAPE, LEAVING A LARGE INFORMATION GAP FOR A VISUALLY HANDICAPPED PERSON. BOTH BRAILLE AND TAPE HAVE INHERENT PROBLEMS. BRAILLE IS EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE, AND WHERE VOLUNTARY TRANSCRIPTION IS RELIED ON, GENERALLY SLOW. BRAILLE TEXTS ARE VERY BULKY AND THEREFORE CREATE SERIOUS STORAGE PROBLEMS. AUDIO TAPES ARE QUICKER AND EASIER TO PRODUCE, ALLOWING MORE FREQUENT UPDATING OF MATERIAL, AND ARE ALSO MORE COMPACT FOR STORAGE. HOWEVER TAPES ARE UNSATISFACTORY FOR STORING INFORMATION WHICH IS USED FOR FREQUENT REFERENCE DUE TO THE LACK OF ADEQUATE INDEXING FACILITIES. IN AN ATTEMPT TO OVERCOME SOME OF THE PROBLEMS OF PRODUCING BRAILLE, AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED BY WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND. MATERIAL IS OBTAINED IN COMPUTER-READABLE ERROR-FREE FORM, AND A COMPUTER PROGRAM TRANSLATES THE TEXT TO CONTRACTED BRAILLE WHICH IS THEN EMBOSSED DIRECTLY ON MANILLA PAPER. THIS SYSTEM MAKES POSSIBLE FAST INEXPENSIVE PRODUCTION OF SINGLE COPIES IN BRAILLE WHEN THE TEXT IS IN MACHINE-READABLE FORM. AS A FIRST STEP IN DETERMINING PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IT WAS DECIDED TO CONDUCT A PILOT STUDY INTO THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF A PARTICULAR GROUP, AND LAWYERS WERE SELECTED AS FORMING A DEFINABLE AND ARTICULATE GROUP. THEY HAD AN OBVIOUS NEED FOR DOCUMENTATION WITH CONSTANT UPDATING AND WITH EFFICIENT INDEXING, AND THEY WERE A SUFFICIENTLY LARGE GROUP TO INCORPORATE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AND IDEAS, WHILST SHARING THE SAME BASIC PROBLEMS. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT OUT TO IDENTIFY THE BROAD INFORMATION NEEDS OF VISUALLY HANDICAPPED LAWYERS, AND A 58 PER CENT RESPONSE (38 REPLIES) SHOWED THEM, AS EXPECTED, TO BE VAST. NEEDS WERE EXPRESSED FOR: (A) STANDARD TEXT AND REFERENCE BOOKS ON ALL MAJOR TOPICS OF LAW, AND COURT AND REGISTRY PRACTICE. (B) A GOOD LEGAL JOURNAL. (C) CASE REPORTS. (D) VARIOUS REGULATIONS, DIRECTIVES, AND MORE STATUTES. (E) STANDARD FORMS IN USE IN SUCH THINGS AS FAMILY LAW, CONVEYANCING, AND FOR PROCEDURAL APPLICATIONS. IT WOULD OBVIOUSLY NOT BE FEASIBLE TO PRODUCE ALL THIS MATERIAL EITHER IN BRAILLE OR ON TAPE, AND SO A STUDY OF THE LAWYERS' WORK-METHODS WAS NECESSARY, TO DISCOVER WHAT USE WAS MADE OF THIS MATERIAL, AND HOW FREQUENTLY IT WAS USED, TO SEE HOW MUCH OF IT WAS REALLY NEEDED, AND IN WHAT FORM, WHETHER IN BRAILLE OR ON TAPE, AND WHETHER WHOLE TEXTS WERE DESIRABLE, OR ALTERNATIVELY, WHETHER INDEXES, SECTIONS OR ABSTRACTS WOULD SERVE THE PURPOSE. A STUDY WAS ALSO CARRIED OUT OF THE EXISTING RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO VISUALLY HANDICAPPED LAWYERS. THIS INCLUDED A SURVEY OF LEGAL PUBLISHING FIRMS, TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY WERE PRODUCING ON MACHINE-READABLE TAPE, FOR POSSIBLE USE WITH AN AUTOMATED BRAILLE SYSTEM. IT WAS FOUND THAT BASIC MATERIAL, PLUS STATUTES, WAS PRODUCED BOTH IN BRAILLE AND ON TAPE, BY THE R.N.I.B.'S STUDENTS' LIBRARY, PLUS ONE OR TWO TEXTS FOR SALE, AND SELECTIONS FROM A MONTHLY JOURNAL. THIS WAS SUPPLEMENTED BY VARIOUS VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS. HOWEVER THE LARGE INFORMATION GAPS INDICATED, STILL EXISTED. FOR EVERYONE CONCERNED THESE WERE FILLED TO A GREAT EXTENT BY READING ASSISTANCE FROM A SIGHTED PERSON, THIS MEANT EXTRA EXPENSE TO MOST PEOPLE, AND IT WAS THEREFORE DESIRABLE TO USE THE TIME OF THE READER TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE. WHILST STUDENTS AND LECTURERS COULD PLAN TO SOME EXTENT WHAT READING THEY NEEDED TO DO, THIS BECAME LESS POSSIBLE IN PRIVATE PRACTICE, WHERE THERE WAS A CONSTANT NEED FOR QUICK REFERENCE TO SMALL PORTIONS OF BOOKS, FILES AND POST. INTERVIEWS WITH LAWYERS INDICATED THAT CASE REPORTS WERE NOT WIDELY USED, EXCEPT IN THE ACADEMIC FIELD, BUT THAT THE STANDARD FORMS, ALREADY MENTIONED, COURT AND REGISTRY PRACTICE BOOKS, STATUTES AND OTHER REFERENCE TEXTS SUCH AS HALSBURY'S LAWS OF ENGLAND, AND AUTHORITATIVE LEGAL TEXTS, WERE WIDELY USED. BRAILLE WAS MUCH USED, AND IT WAS GENERALLY AGREED THAT WHERE QUICK REFERENCE WAS NECESSARY, OR WHERE SOMETHING NEEDED TO BE MINUTELY DIGESTED SUCH AS THE WORDING OF A SECTION IN A STATUTE, IT WAS BEST TO HAVE THE INFORMATION IN BRAILLE. RECORDED MATERIAL WAS OF GREAT USE FOR INFORMATION WHICH DID NOT NEED THIS SORT OF TREATMENT, BUT PERHAPS ONLY NEEDED GOING THROUGH ONCE OR TWICE. ACCEPTING THAT READING MACHINES, SUCH AS THE OPTACON, WILL HELP IN THE FUTURE TO BRIDGE SOME OF THESE GAPS, THEY ARE AT PRESENT BEYOND THE PRICE RANGE OF MOST INDIVIDUALS, AND SO IT SEEMED THAT MORE PROVISION IN BRAILLE TO ADD TO EXISTING SERVICES WAS NEEDED. FOR THE PRACTITIONER IT WOULD ONLY BE POSSIBLE TO STORE ONE OR TWO LEGAL TEXTS, EVEN ASSUMING THAT MASS PRODUCTION WERE FEASIBLE, SO WHAT WAS NEEDED WAS A SERVICE BY WHICH A TEXT COULD BE HELD CENTRALLY, AND SECTIONS OR EXTRACTS DISTRIBUTED ON DEMAND, WITH PERHAPS THE CONTENTS AND INDEXES CIRCULATED AROUND THE LIKELY USERS TO AID REFERENCE. MUCH MATERIAL COULD BE STORED IN THIS WAY, INCLUDING THE STANDARD FORMS, AND PRACTICE BOOKS. TWO BASIC METHODS OF CENTRAL STORAGE ARE POSSIBLE, FIRSTLY A BRAILLE MASTER CAN BE HELD, FOR THERMOFORM PRODUCTION, AS THE STUDENTS' LIBRARY DOES AT PRESENT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF STATUES, OR ALTERNATIVELY, MATERIAL COULD BE STORED DIGITALLY ON MAGNETIC TAPE OR PUNCHED CARDS, FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN AUTOMATED PRODUCTION SYSTEM. IN MY VIEW THE LATTER WOULD BE MUCH QUICKER, CHEAPER, ENABLE MORE INFORMATION TO BE STORED CENTRALLY AND SELECTIVELY RETRIEVED. THE STUDY LED ME THEREFORE TO THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS: (A) THE INFORMATION GAPS OF A LAWYER ARE LARGE, AND THERE IS A CONSTANT NEED FOR UPDATING AND QUICK REFERENCE. O (B) THE PREFERRED METHOD FOR THE PRESENT MEETING OF THESE NEEDS IS BRAILLE. (C) LACK OF STORAGE SPACE PRECLUDES LAWYERS POSSESSING ALL THE BRAILLE REFERENCE WORKS THEY WOULD LIKE. HOWEVER THERE IS A CLEAR NEED FOR ONE TO TWO COMPLETE TEXTS SUCH AS A PRECEDENT BOOK. UNTIL INEXPENSIVE COMPACT STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR PERSONAL USE BECOME GENERALLY AVAILABLE, THERE IS A NEED FOR A FAST ON-DEMAND SERVICE TO PROVIDE SELECTIVE LISTINGS IN BRAILLE. (D) COUPLED WITH THE ON-DEMAND SERVICE, MORE WORK SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN TO FIND OUT WHAT LEGAL MATERIAL IS BEING PRODUCED IN DIGITAL FORM. STATUTES ARE BEING PRODUCED BY THIS METHOD BY H.M.S.O., AND IT APPEARS THAT OTHER MATERIAL WILL INCREASINGLY BE AVAILABLE IN THIS FORM, THUS INCREASING THE SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE SYSTEM. (E) STANDARD FORMS SHOULD BE STORED CENTRALLY, AND DISTRIBUTED TO LAWYERS ON THE SAME ON-DEMAND BASIS. (F) A GOOD LEGAL JOURNAL SHOULD BE PRODUCED REGULARLY, PREFERABLY ON TAPE. THE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE EXISTS WHICH WOULD ENABLE THESE PROPOSALS TO BE PUT INTO PRACTICE, AND IN MY VIEW IF THIS WERE DONE, NOT ONLY WOULD LAWYERS BENEFIT, BUT MUCH MORE INFORMATION COULD BECOME POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE TO BLIND PEOPLE IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE. FURTHER TO THIS REPORT, IT IS PROPOSED THAT AN ASSOCIATION FOR VISUALLY HANDICAPPED LAWYERS BE SET UP ITS PURPOSES WOULD BE: (A) TO GIVE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED LAWYERS A CONCERTED VOICE IN ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING THEIR PROFESSIONAL STANDING, ABILITY OR EFFICIENCY. (B) TO SHOW THAT SUCH LAWYERS ARE HIGHLY COMPETENT AT THEIR WORK, AND SO TRY TO OVERCOME SOME OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES' PREDILICTIONS AGAINST THEM, THUS WIDENING JOB OPPORTUNITIES. (C) TO ACT AS A GROUP CONCERNED TO SET UP (AND SHOULD IT PROVE NECESSARY, FINANCE) SERVICES RELATED TO THEIR NEEDS, AND TO PRESS FOR THE LIKE TO CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF OTHER GROUPS OF VISUALLY HANDICAPPED PEOPLE. (D) TO ACT AS A POOL OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN WORK-METHODS, ENABLING BLIND PEOPLE ALREADY IN THE PROFESSION TO BRANCH OUT INTO NEW FIELDS OF WORK, AND HELPING THOSE ENTERING THE PROFESSION TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE JOBS THEY WILL BE EXPECTED TO UNDERTAKE, AND THE SKILLS THEY WILL NEED TO ACQUIRE AS A VISUALLY HANDICAPPED PERSON. I PROPOSE TO CALL A ONE DAY CONFERENCE WITH A VIEW TO SETTING UP THIS ASSOCIATION, AND I WILL CIRCULATE FURTHER DETAILS IN DUE COURSE.

1. INTRODUCTION RESEARCH ON AIDS FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED STARTED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AT WARWICK UNIVERSITY IN MAY 1971. SINCE THEN THE RESEARCH HAS EXPANDED BRINGING IN SCIENTISTS FROM A RANGE OF DISCIPLINES. CLOSE CONTACT HAS BEEN MAINTAINED WITH THE ORGANISATIONS OF AND FOR THE BLIND BOTH IN BRITAIN AND IN THE REST OF THE WORLD. THE EMPHASIS HAS BEEN ON RESEARCH ON METHODS OF INCREASING ACCESS TO INFORMATION, AND THE TRANSFERENCE OF THIS RESEARCH TO THE POTENTIAL BLIND USER. THIS HAS INVOLVED THE UNIT IN DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE MANUFACTURERS OF AIDS AND IN RELATED EVALUATION PROGRAMMES. 2. ORIENTATION MAPS A BLIND PERSON WHO HAS TO FIND HIS WAY ROUND A STRANGE TOWN IS FACED WITH TWO MAJOR PROBLEMS: FIRSTLY, THE PROBLEM OF WALKING ALONG PAVEMENTS AND CROSSING ROADS WITHOUT GETTING SERIOUSLY INJURED, AND SECONDLY THE PROBLEM THAT THE BLIND PERSON HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAYOUT, OR NAMES, OF THE STREETS. IF A BLIND PERSON HAS SOME FORM OF MENTAL PICTURE OF THE STREET LAYOUT HE CAN THEN ADD PIECES OF INFORMATION TO THIS BASIC PICTURE. THE PROBLEM BECOMES MORE SERIOUS WITH CHILDREN WHO ARE BORN BLIND SINCE THEY OFTEN HAVE GREAT DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING THE LAYOUT OF ROADS AND ROAD JUNCTIONS; FOR INSTANCE THE AUTHOR FOUND THAT A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF BLIND TEENAGERS DID NOT REALISE THE PURPOSE OR SHAPE OF A ROUNDABOUT. AN EMBOSSED MAP CAN SOMETIMES BE USEFUL IN THESE SITUATIONS. IN MAKING AN EMBOSSED MAP THE FIRST PROBLEM IS TO CHOOSE SUITABLE LANDMARKS FOR A BLIND PEDESTRIAN. THIS IS NOT TRIVIAL SINCE A GUIDE DOG IS TRAINED TO AVOID OBSTACLES SUCH AS PILLAR BOXES. NOISES AND EVEN SMELLS CAN SOMETIMES BE USEFUL IN DETERMINING ONE'S POSITION. THE INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED ON THE MAP, HAS TO BE EMBOSSED IN A WAY THAT IS BOTH CLEAR AND UNAMBIGUOUS. THE SENSE OF TOUCH LACKS THE FINE RESOLUTION OF VISION, SO MUCH LESS CAN BE MARKED ON AN EMBOSSED MAP THAN ON A VISUAL ONE. CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, BLIND PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF TOUCH THAN THEIR SIGHTED PEERS. THE BLIND OFTEN HAVE DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING MANY COMMON VISUAL SYMBOLS SUCH AS THE COMPASS ROSE. MOST BLIND PEOPLE HAVE NEVER USED AN EMBOSSED MAP. SOMEONE WHO WAS BORN BLIND HAS TO BE TAUGHT HOW A MAP CAN BE A SCALED AND CODED REPRESENTATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT. IT IS ALSO NECESSARY TO TEACH A BLIND CHILD TO SCAN A MAP IN A SYSTEMATIC MANNER IN ORDER TO BUILD UP SOME FORM OF MENTAL PICTURE OF THE AREA. THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEM OF A SIGHTED PERSON READING A LARGE WALL MAP BUT ONLY BEING ALLOWED TO LOOK AT ONE SQUARE INCH AT A TIME. TO MAKE A CLEAR MAP BY ANY MANUAL METHOD IS VERY TIME-CONSUMING AND THEREFORE EXPENSIVE IF ONE TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE COST OF LABOUR. WITH THESE METHODS IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE THE SCALE OF THE MAP OR TO UPDATE THE INFORMATION. A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SYSTEM WAS DEVELOPED TO OVERCOME THESE PROBLEMS. A LARGE SCALE MAP IS MARKED UP WITH THE EXTRA INFORMATION WHICH WILL BE USEFUL TO A BLIND PEDESTRIAN. THIS INFORMATION MAY INCLUDE GRADIENTS, BUS STOPS, NAMES OF SHOPS AND LIKELY DESTINATIONS. THE OPERATOR GOES SELECTIVELY ROUND THIS MAP WITH A STYLUS WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE COMPUTER. THE MAP IS SIMULTANEOUSLY DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN OF THE VISUAL DISPLAY UNIT. THE OPERATOR CAN NOW MODIFY THE MAP BY INSERTING OR DELETING INDIVIDUAL LINES, MOVING END POINTS OF LINES AND CHANGING THE SCALE. THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THE SCALE IS IMPORTANT SINCE A MAP IS USUALLY AN AID TO THE ORGANISATION OF INFORMATION AS WELL AS A SCALED-DOWN FORM OF REPRESENTATION. IT IS OFTEN DESIRABLE TO ENLARGE AN AREA AROUND A ROAD JUNCTION; THE BLIND OFTEN MEASURE DISTANCE BY THE TIME IT TAKES TO WALK, SO A MODERATE ENLARGEMENT OF A ROAD JUNCTION DOES NOT CREATE ANY SERIOUS DIFFICULTIES IN INTERPRETATION. THE OPERATOR CAN ALSO MAKE THE LINES HAVE DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS AS WELL AS DIFFERENT FORMS SUCH AS SOLID, DOTTED OR DASHED. STANDARD SYMBOLS, REPRESENTING FEATURES SUCH AS ZEBRA CROSSING OR STEPS, CAN BE ADDED TO THE DISPLAY. THE OPERATOR CAN ALSO TYPE IN TEXT FROM THE KEYBOARD AND THE COMPUTER PROGRAM WILL CONVERT IT TO BRAILLE. WHEN THE OPERATOR IS SATISFIED WITH THE DISPLAY, THE COMPUTER IS INSTRUCTED TO PUNCH THE NUMERICAL DATA ON PAPER TAPE. A MAP CAN BE STORED IN NUMERICAL FORM ON PAPER TAPE AND THEN QUICKLY MODIFIED AT A LATER DATE. THE PUNCHED PAPER TAPE CONTROLS AN ENGRAVING MACHINE WHICH CUTS A MIRROR-IMAGED COPY OF THE MAP. SINCE THE MAP IS ENGRAVED INTO THE MATERIAL, A COPY HAS TO BE MADE IN EPOXY RESIN. THIS EPOXY COPY IS IDENTICAL TO THE DESIRED SHAPE FOR THE FINAL COPIES SO IT IS USED AS A MOLD IN A VACUUM-FORMING MACHINE. THIS SYSTEM OFFERS AN INEXPENSIVE AND FASTER ALTERNATIVE TO THE CURRENT TIME-CONSUMING METHODS FOR MAKING EMBOSSED MAPS FOR THE BLIND. THE SYSTEM HAS NOW REACHED THE STAGE WHERE IT CAN BE USED FOR ROUTINE MAP PRODUCTION. THE EVALUATION OF THESE MAPS HAS BEEN DONE BY WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND IN COOPERATION WITH THE BLIND MOBILITY RESEARCH UNIT. THE INITIAL TASK WAS TO IDENTIFY SETS OF EMBOSSED SYMBOLS WHICH CAN BE EASILY DISTINGUISHED BY TOUCH. EIGHT AREAL, SEVENTEEN LINE AND THIRTY POINT SYMBOLS WERE TESTED; THESE EXPERIMENTS INVOLVED TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX SUBJECTS INCLUDING BLIND SCHOOL CHILDREN AS WELL AS ADULTS WHO READ BRAILLE AND ADULTS WHO DO NOT READ BRAILLE. THE NEXT EXPERIMENT INVOLVED TEACHING BLIND SCHOOL CHILDREN THE MEANINGS OF FOURTEEN EMBOSSED SYMBOLS. THIS WAS DONE BY PRESENTING THE CHILD WITH EACH SYMBOL IN TURN, WITH A TAPE RECORDING GIVING THE MEANING TEN SECONDS LATER. THE CHILD HAD TO BEAT THE TAPE RECORDING IN GIVING THE CORRECT MEANING. THIS TEST WAS REPEATED THREE WEEKS LATER TO SEE HOW WELL THE CHILDREN HAD REMEMBERED THE SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS. THE MOST SURPRISING RESULT WAS THAT THE CHILDREN FOUND THE SYMBOLS FOR STEPS GOING UP AND STEPS GOING DOWN THE EASIEST TO REMEMBER EVEN THOUGH THESE TWO SYMBOLS ONLY VARIED IN ELEVATION. AFTER A FURTHER THREE WEEKS, THE CHILDREN WERE GIVEN AN EMBOSSED MAP AND ASKED TO FIND THE SYMBOLS ON THE MAP. IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE ERRORS WERE DUE TO FAILURE TO REMEMBER THE SYMBOLS OR INABILITY TO FIND THEM ON THE MAP, HALF THE SUBJECTS WERE GIVEN A LIST OF SYMBOLS WITH THEIR MEANINGS IN BRAILLE. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE NUMBER OF ERRORS MADE BY THESE TWO GROUPS WHICH INDICATES THAT TACTUAL SCANNING IS A MAJOR PROBLEM IN LEARNING TO READ AN EMBOSSED MAP. A FURTHER EXPERIMENT STUDIED THE USE OF SINGLE AND DOUBLE LINE REPRESENTATION OF ROADS. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE SUBJECTS, BLIND ADULTS, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER AT READING THE SINGLE LINE MAP. HOWEVER IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE RESULTS MIGHT HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT IF THE SUBJECTS HAD BEEN CONGENITALLY BLIND CHILDREN. MAPS OF THE INSIDES OF BUILDINGS, SHOPPING CENTRES AND NEIGHBOURHOODS HAVE BEEN TESTED LESS FORMALLY USING ADULT BLIND SUBJECTS. THESE EVALUATIONS HAVE PROVED USEFUL IN ENSURING THAT THE RESEARCH IS DIRECTED TOWARDS REALISTIC SITUATIONS. 3. TRANSCRIPTION OF SHORT DOCUMENTS BRAILLE READERS OFTEN HAVE PROBLEMS IN HAVING SHORT DOCUMENTS TRANSCRIBED QUICKLY INTO CONTRACTED BRAILLE. TYPICAL DOCUMENTS ARE AGENDAS AND MINUTES OF MEETINGS, INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOMESTIC APPLIANCES, LOCAL TELEPHONE DIALLING CODES, KNITTING PATTERNS AND PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE NEEDED FOR REFERENCE. TYPICALLY THE NUMBER OF COPIES REQUIRED IS FROM ONE TO SIX. THIS PROJECT IS CONCERNED WITH INVESTIGATING THE VIABILITY OF USING A COMPUTER-BASED TRANSCRIPTION SYSTEM BASED ON EXISTING TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE THIS PERSONAL SERVICE. THE BASIC SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING SHORT DOCUMENTS IN CONTRACTED BRAILLE IS: (=I) A TYPIST, WITH NO COMPUTING KNOWLEDGE, INPUTS THE TEXT ON PUNCHED CARDS, PAPER TAPE OR DIRECTLY ON A VISUAL DISPLAY UNIT. CONTROL CHARACTERS, FOR NEW PARAGRAPH ETC., ARE ALSO ADDED BY THE TYPIST AS SHE INPUTS THE MATERIAL (I.E. THE TEXT IS NOT ANNOTATED BY SOMEONE ELSE). (=II) A LINE PRINTER LISTING OF THE TEXT IS PRODUCED IN ORDER TO PROOF-READ FOR TYPING ERRORS. (=III) THE TEXT IS INTERACTIVELY EDITED ON A VISUAL DISPLAY UNIT WITH A PROGRAM DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS PURPOSE. THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR SPEED OF OPERATION, MINIMAL COMPUTING REQUIREMENTS AND FOR EASE OF USE BY OPERATORS WITH NO EXPERIENCE OF COMPUTING. (=IV) THE TEXT IS TRANSLATED TO A GOOD APPROXIMATION TO GRADE =II STANDARD ENGLISH BRAILLE. (=V) THE BRAILLE IS OUTPUT ON AN ON-LINE EMBOSSER. ONLY THE TRANSLATION PHASE REQUIRES EXTENSIVE CENTRAL PROCESSOR TIME; ALL OTHER COMPUTER OPERATION USE LESS THAN ONE PER CENT OF THE CENTRAL PROCESSOR TIME, AND CAN BE TIME SHARED WITH OTHER UNRELATED PROGRAMS. AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE PROJECT IS THE ASSESSMENT OF DEMAND, COST, AND ACHIEVABLE SERVICE IN TERMS OF ACCEPTABILITY OF THE QUALITY OF THE COMPUTER PRODUCED BRAILLE AND TURN ROUND TIME. SO FAR OVER A MILLION WORDS HAVE BEEN TRANSCRIBED AS PART OF THE EVALUATION PROGRAMME. THE MATERIAL TRANSCRIBED CAN BE ROUGHLY GROUPED AS: DOMESTIC - 10.4 PER CENT LEISURE - 15.4 PER CENT RELIGIOUS - 2.5 PER CENT EDUCATION - 25.4 PER CENT EMPLOYMENT - 29.1 PER CENT MISCELLANEOUS - 17.2 PER CENT A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS CIRCULATED TO THE BLIND SUBJECTS WHO HAD USED THE SUSTEM. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT BOTH THE NUMBER OF MISCONTRACTIONS AND THE USE OF SINGLE-SIDED BRAILLE ARE ACCEPTABLE FOR THIS APPLICATION. THIS PROJECT HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE DEMAND FOR SHORT DOCUMENTS IN BRAILLE, AND THAT COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEMS CAN POTENTIALLY SATISFY A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF THIS DEMAND. THE TRADITIONAL BRAILLE COOKERY BOOK IS MADE OF MANILLA PAPER BOUND IN A LARGE VOLUME. THIS MEANS THAT THE BLIND HOUSEWIFE HAS TO ALLOCATE SUFFICIENT WORKING SPACE FOR THE COOKERY BOOK, AND HAS TO WASH AND DRY HER HANDS EACH TIME SHE WISHES TO REFER TO THE RECIPE. THE SYSTEM TESTED AT WARWICK INVOLVED REPRODUCING THE RECIPES IN PLASTIC SHEET AND BOUND LOOSE-LEAF IN A RING BINDER. THE RECIPES CAN BE REMOVED FROM THE FOLDER AND SPONGED DOWN AFTER COOKING. THE REACTION OF THE USERS HAS BEEN UNIFORMLY FAVOURABLE SO THE DETAILS OF THE SYSTEM HAVE BEEN PASSED ON TO THE ESTABLISHED SERVICE ORGANISATIONS. READING STIMULATION OFTEN COMES FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS BEING ABLE TO JOIN IN. BRAILLE LOOKS COMPLETELY ALIEN TO PARENTS (WHO ARE OFTEN NON-BRAILLISTS), SIBLINGS AND FRIENDS. SOME BOOKS WERE PRODUCED IN BOTH BRAILLE AND PRINT - EACH BRAILLE PAGE HAVING A CORRESPONDING LARGE PRINT PAGE BOUND OPPOSITE, SO THAT ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE. THESE BOOKS INCLUDE SHORT STORIES, INTERLINED STORIES FOR THE VERY YOUNG AND A PUZZLE BOOK INCORPORATING A TACTILE MAZE. ENCOURAGING COMMENTS HAVE COME BACK FROM THE CHILDREN, EXPRESSING ENJOYMENT IN BEING ABLE TO INVOLVE THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND ASKING FOR "MORE PLEASE". 4. BRAILLE BANK STATEMENTS LACK OF PRIVACY IS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS DEPRIVATIONS CAUSED BY BLINDNESS, THEREFORE THE AVAILABILITY OF BANK STATEMENTS IN BRAILLE CAN BE VERY IMPORTANT TO SOME BLIND INDIVIDUALS. MANUAL PRODUCTION REQUIRES HIGHLY SKILLED BRAILLE TRANSCRIBERS WHO ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY, ALSO MANUAL TRANSCRIPTION USUALLY INTRODUCES A CONSIDERABLE TIME DELAY. IN ORDER TO BE USEFUL BANK STATEMENTS MUST BE UP-TO-DATE, AND NO ERRORS CAN BE TOLERATED. THESE CONDITIONS ARE MET BY THE AUTOMATIC TRANSCRIPTION OF STATEMENTS FROM DIGITAL DATA PROVIDED BY THE BANKS. LLOYDS, LEWIS'S AND MIDLAND BANKS USE THIS SYSTEM ON A REGULAR BASIS TO PROVIDE BRAILLE STATEMENTS TO THEIR BLIND CUSTOMERS. THE BANK SUPPLY THE DATA RECORDED DIGITALLY IN PRINT-IMAGE FORMAT ON 9-TRACK MAGNETIC TAPE BUT THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF THE CUSTOMERS ARE NOT INCLUDED. THE PROGRAM TO CONVERT THE PRINT-IMAGE FORMAT TO THE BRAILLE FORMAT IS WRITTEN IN FORTRAN =IV FOR THE SIGMA 5 COMPUTER. AS WELL AS CHANGING THE FORMAT, THE PROGRAM CHECKS THAT THE INPUT DATA IS IN THE CORRECT FIELDS AND THAT THE FINAL BALANCE IS CORRECT. IF THERE WERE AN ERROR, THE BRAILLE STATEMENT WOULD BE SUPPRESSED AND AN ERROR MESSAGE WOULD BE OUTPUT ON THE LINE PRINTER. THE PROGRAM ALSO PRODUCES A SIGHTED PRINTOUT IN THE SAME FORMAT AS THE BRAILLE VERSION IN ORDER TO ASSIST THE CUSTOMER'S BRANCH IN DEALING WITH ANY QUERIES WHICH THE BLIND CUSTOMER MAY RAISE. ANOTHER ADVANTAGE OF THIS AUTOMATED SYSTEM IS SPEED; IT TAKES ONLY A MATTER OF MINUTES TO PRODUCE A BATCH OF STATEMENTS FROM THE DIGITAL TAPE. DEMAND FOR THIS SERVICE IS CURRENTLY IN EXCESS OF 5000 BRAILLE PAGES PER YEAR. 5. SELECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION FOR ANY BLIND PERSON WITH A SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL BACKGROUND, KEEPING UP-TO-DATE WITH HIS SUBJECT RAISES SPECIAL PROBLEMS. THE SIGHTED PERSON CAN GO TO HIS LIBRARY AND BROWSE AT WILL; AND IT IS AN ACCEPTED PART OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT THAT RESOURCES ARE MADE AVAILABLE FOR HIM TO DO SO. THE BLIND PERSON MUST OBTAIN THE HELP OF HIS SIGHTED FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES TO READ RELEVANT ARTICLES FOR HIM; BUT BEFORE HE CAN EVEN DO THIS, HE NEEDS A MEANS OF IDENTIFYING WHAT IS RELEVANT TO HIM FROM CURRENT SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY BRAILLE ALERTING SERVICE, HE MUST DEPEND UPON HAVING ACCESS TO A SIGHTED COLLEAGUE WITH AN EQUIVALENT TECHNICAL BACKGROUND AND A PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF HIS INTERESTS. THIS IS A VERY REAL PROBLEM IN THE FIELD OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, WHERE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IS RAPID AND CONTINUOUS. IN OTHER RESPECTS, COMPUTING HAS BEEN ABLE TO OFFER PARTICULARLY GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF BLIND STAFF ON EQUAL TERMS WITH THEIR SIGHTED COLLEAGUES. TO GIVE SOME IDEA OF THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM I.N.S.P.E.C., THE INFORMATION SERVICE RUN BY THE INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, ADDS ABOUT 130,000 ITEMS PER YEAR TO ITS DATA BASE WHICH COVERS PHYSICS, ELECTRO-TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTERS AND CONTROL. TO HANDLE THIS VOLUME OF INFORMATION THE SYSTEM IS, OF NECESSITY, COMPUTER-BASED. THE ROUTINE I.N.S.P.E.C. SERVICE PROVIDES EACH SUBSCRIBER WITH A LIST OF ARTICLES WITHIN THE USER'S PERSONAL FIELDS OF INTEREST. WITH OUR PILOT SCHEME, EACH MONTH I.N.S.P.E.C. SUPPLIES THE UNIT WITH A COMPUTER-READABLE TAPE CONTAINING ABSTRACTS OF RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES FROM COMPUTER SCIENCE JOURNALS. A COMPUTER PROGRAM AUTOMATICALLY SELECTS THE ABSTRACTS OF SPECIFIC INTEREST TO EACH BLIND PROGRAMMER ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROJECT. THE TEXT IS THEN AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATED TO CONTRACTED BRAILLE WHICH IS EMBOSSED DIRECTLY ON MANILLA PAPER. THE BRAILLE IS RING-BOUND, WITH STIFF COVEDRS TO PROTECT THE EMBOSSING, BEFORE BEING DESPATCHED TO THE BLIND USERS. IN COOPERATION WITH THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION A SERVICE SIMILAR TO THAT DESCRIBED PREVIOUSLY IS PROVIDED FOR ALERTING A GROUP OF BLIND PSYCHOLOGISTS TO ARTICLES OF SPECIFIC INTEREST TO THEM. 6. COMPOSITOR'S TAPES IN THE PRINTING INDUSTRY COMPOSITORS TAPES HAVE BEEN IN USE FOR MANY YEARS. HOWEVER THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM INVOLVES CORRECTING THE ERRORS ON THE TYPE ITSELF AND NOT ON THE COMPOSITORS TAPE. THERE ARE ALSO A MULTIPLICITY OF CODES IN USE WHICH MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO WRITE A COMPUTER PROGRAM TO READ A RANGE OF THESE TAPES. HOWEVER ERROR-FREE COMPUTER-COMPATIBLE TAPES ARE NOW BECOMING AVAILABLE WITH THE INTRODUCTION, BY PRINTERS, OF COMPUTER-BASED COMPOSING SYSTEMS. THESE TAPES OFFER AN INEXPENSIVE FAST METHOD FOR PRODUCING BRAILLE BOOKS WHICH ONLY INCLUDE ORDINARY TEXT (I.E. NO MATHEMATICS, MUSIC, TABLES OR DIAGRAMS). THE UNIT IS WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WHO GENERATE TAPES WHICH ARE ERROR-FREE AND CONTAIN MANY CONTROL CHARACTERS DESIRABLE FOR THE AUTOMATED PRODUCTION OF THE BRAILLE EDITION. A SAMPLE SECTION OF A BOOK HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCED IN BRAILLE. 7. BRAILLE INPUT TO A COMPUTER AT THE PRESENT TIME THERE IS NO SATISFACTORY SYSTEM FOR TRANSCRIBING MANUALLY OR AUTOMATICALLY SPECIALIST BRAILLE CODES SUCH AS MATHEMATICS, WHICH IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE COMPUTER-ASSISTED SYSTEMS FOR LITERARY TEXT. SUCH A SYSTEM MAY BE HIGHLY DESIRABLE, AS FOR EXAMPLE MANY BOOKS CONTAIN A LARGE PROPORTION OF ORDINARY TEXT AND A SMALL AMOUNT OF MATHEMATICS OR SCIENTIFIC NOTATION. A BRAILLE KEYBOARD HAS BEEN INTERFACED TO A COMPUTER, AND SOFTWARE HAS BEEN WRITTEN TO INPUT FROM THIS KEYBOARD, DISPLAY AND INTERACTIVELY EDIT ON A GRAPHICS TERMINAL. THE DATA IS THEN MERGED WITH ORDINARY TEXT BEFORE IT IS PROCESSED BY THE TRANSLATION PROGRAM. THIS MEANS THAT THE MATHEMATICS APPEARS IN THE CORRECT POSITION IN THE BRAILLE OUTPUT. 8. STORAGE OF BRAILLE ON CASSETTE AN ASSOCIATED DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN THE INTERFACING OF A PERKINS BRAILLEWRITER WITH A DOMESTIC CASSETTE TAPE DECK. A SKILLED TRANSCRIBER CAN INPUT ON THE CONVENTIONAL BRAILLE KEYBOARD, OBTAIN AN IMMEDIATE COPY ON MANILLA PAPER AS WELL AS STORING THE DATA ON CASSETTE. THE CASSETTE CAN LATER BE READ INTO A SMALL COMPUTER FOR INTERACTIVE EDITING AND PRODUCTION OF MULTIPLE COPIES ON MANILLA PAPER. THIS TYPE OF SYSTEM COULD HELP MANUAL TRANSCRIBERS IN PRODUCING MULTIPLE COPIES OF BRAILLE TEXTS ON MANILLA PAPER. A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT COULD BE THE INCORPORATION OF A MICROPROCESSOR TO PERMIT LOCAL INTERACTIVE EDITING. BRAILLE MUSIC A COMPUTER PROGRAM IS BEING DEVELOPED TO TRANSLATE STANDARD MUSIC NOTATION INTO BRAILLE CODE. THE PROGRAM PERMITS AN OPERATOR, WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE OF COMPUTERS OR THE BRAILLE CODE, TO INPUT MUSIC FROM A STANDARD KEYBOARD. THE MUSIC IS DISPLAYED IN THE STANDARD MUSIC NOTATION ON A GRAPHICS TERMINAL FOR CHECKING AGAINST THE ORIGINAL SCORE, AND THE OPERATOR CAN INTERACTIVELY EDIT THE DATA. THE DATA IS TRANSLATED AND OUTPUT ON THE ON-LINE EMBOSSER WITHOUT HUMAN INTERVENTION. THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN USED TO PRODUCE A SAMPLE OF PART OF A PIANO SONATA AND, ON THE BASIS OF FEEDBACK FROM BLIND MUSICIANS, THE SYSTEM IS BEING IMPROVED. 10. BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, THE BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER HAS BEEN PRODUCED AS AN AID IN COMMUNICATING AMONG THAT COMMUNITY OF RESEARCHERS AND DEVELOPERS INTERESTED IN APPLIED RESEARCH INVOLVING BRAILLE PRODUCTION WITH COMPUTER-ASSISTED SYSTEMS. THE NEWSLETTER IS PRODUCED THREE TIMES A YEAR AND IS DISTRIBUTED INTERNATIONALLY. 11. DEVICES THE UNIT HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN DESIGNING A LARGE NUMBER OF DEVICES TO HELP THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED. THERE IS ONLY ROOM HERE TO GIVE TWO EXAMPLES. AN ELECTRIC DIGITAL CLOCK WITH AUDIO OUTPUT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR THE ELDERLY AND DIABETIC BLIND. THIS DEVICE IS NOW BEING MANUFACTURED BY AN H. M. PRISON. ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT IS A REMOTE POSITION INDICATOR. FOR INSTANCE A BLIND PERSON MAY LEAVE THE DEVICE BY HIS LAWNMOWER WHEN HE IS EMPTYING THE GRASSBOX. ON RETURN HE CLAPS HIS HANDS, WITHIN 30 FEET OF THE MOWER, AND THE DEVICE WILL GIVE OUT A SHORT "BEEP". THIS DEVICE WILL PROBABLY BE MANUFACTURED BY A WORKSHOP FOR THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED. 12. NON-VISUAL DISPLAYS MANY AIDS FOR THE SENSORY IMPAIRED INVOLVE COMMUNICATING INFORMATION FROM A MACHINE TO A HUMAN BY A SENSE OTHER THAN THE USUAL ONE. IF THE VISUAL CHANNEL CANNOT BE USED IT BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO MAKE OPTIMAL USE OF OTHER COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. HOWEVER VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE OPTIMAL DESIGN OF SINGLE OR MULTI-MODAL DISPLAYS FOR THE MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE. THE FIRST SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS INVOLVED A COMPENSATORY TRACKING TASK WITH RANDOM INPUT SIGNALS (FIVE DIFFERENT CUT-OFF FREQUENCIES) WITH FIVE ONE-DIMENSIONAL DISPLAYS WHERE THE ERROR IS REPRESENTED BY: (=I) VISUAL: DEFLECTION (=II) AUDITORY: MARK-SPACE RATIO (=III) AUDITORY: MATCHING FREQUENCY (=IV) AUDITORY: BEAT FREQUENCY (=V) AUDITORY: AMPLITUDE MATCHING THE ANALYSIS OF RESULTS INCLUDED A COMPARISON OF THE MEASURED CLOSED-LOOP FREQUENCY RESPONSE WITH THAT OBTAINED FROM A MODIFIED FORM OF CROSS-OVER MODEL. FROM THESE RESULTS IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DEFINE TWO PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS FOR ASSESSING DISPLAYS. THE SECOND SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS INVOLVED A COMPARISON BETWEEN VARIOUS AUDIO ERROR DISPLAYS AND A VISUAL DISPLAY IN TERMS OF MONITORING THE CHANGE IN THE OPERATOR'S RESPONSE TO A STEP CHANGE IN THE FREQUENCY BANDWIDTH OF THE INPUT SIGNAL. THE OPERATOR DESCRIBING FUNCTION WAS MODELLED USING A MODIFIED 5-PARAMETER CROSS-LEVEL MODEL, AND THE APPLICABILITY OF THIS MODEL DURING PERIODS OF TRANSIENT RESPONSE WAS VERIFIED. 13. RESEARCH INFORMATION IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, A REGISTER OF RESEARCH HAS BEEN COMPILED. THIS REGISTER CONTAINS A LIST OF ALL KNOWN NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED. A NEW EDITION IS BEING COMPILED WHICH WILL ALSO CONTAIN A LIST OF THE MAIN ORGANISATIONS OF AND FOR THE BLIND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND A LIST OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED. THE REGISTER IS BEING PRODUCED IN INKPRINT, GRADE 1 AND GRADE 2 BRAILLE. THE PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THIS REGISTER HAVE BEEN RECEIVED ENTHUSIASTICALLY BY RESEARCH WORKERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. 14. FOREIGN CONTACTS THE UNIT HAS BEEN VISITED BY RESEARCH WORKERS FROM MANY COUNTRIES. MEMBERS OF THE UNIT HAVE ALSO BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT SCIENTISTS IN FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA, DENMARK, NETHERLANDS, GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC, GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, POLAND, SOVIET UNION, HUNGARY, YUGOSLAVIA, BULGARIA, U.S.A., CANADA AND BRAZIL. 15. FUNDING THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS IS GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED: AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND BANK OF ENGLAND BARCLAYS BANK LIMITED BRITISH COUNCIL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY FORD OF BRITAIN TRUST LLOYDS BANK LIMITED MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL MIDLAND BANK LIMITED NATIONAL COMPUTING CENTRE NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK LIMITED OCEAN TRANSPORT AND TRADING LIMITED ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL WILLIAM AND GLYN'S BANK LIMITED

BARNARD S.J. "VARIABLE FREQUENCY POWER SUPPLY". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. BROWNE J. "INFORMATION NEEDS OF BLIND LAWYERS". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, SEPT 1976, 37 PP. CLARK L.L. & GILL J.M. "ON CREATING AN INTERNATIONAL 2NFORMATION SYSTEM ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND BLINDNESS". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, APRIL 1977, 42 PP. DAVALL P.W. & GILL J.M. "A METHOD FOR THE COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF VISUAL AND AUDITORY DISPLAYS". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 29, JUNE 1975, PP 9-21. DAVALL P.W. & GILL J.M. "A COMPARISON OF HUMAN OPERATOR TRANSIENT RESPONSE TO VISUAL AND AUDITORY DISPLAYS". TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND. DOUCE J.L. & GILL J.M. "COMPUTER-DRAWN MAPS FOR THE BLIND". ELECTRONICS AND POWER, VOL. 19, NO. 14, AUGUST 1973, PP 331-332. DOUCE J.L. "SOME DEVELOPMENTS IN COMPUTER-AIDED INFORMATION SERVICES FOR THE BLIND". PROC. IEE, VOL. 123, NO. 1, JAN 1976, PP 93-97. DOUCE J.L. & TOBIN M.J. "DISCUSSION PAPER ON THE DESIRABILITY OF A JOINT RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE BRAILLE CODE, EXTENDING THE USE OF BRAILLE, AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF READING SKILLS". BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, FEB 1976, PP 5-8. REPRINTED IN NEW OUTLOOK FOR THE BLIND, VOL 70, NO. 5, MAY 1976, P 215. DOUCE J.L. "RATIONALISATION OF BRAILLE BOOK PRINTING". BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, AUG 1976, PP 25-30. DOUGLAS J.P. "REMOTE INFORMATION SERVICE". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. FILTNESS A.J. "EMBOSSING BRAILLE USING THE LINE PRINTER TECHNIQUE". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. GILL J.M. "TACTILE COMMUNICATION OF GRAPHICAL INFORMATION". MASTER'S THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1971. GILL J.M. "COMPUTER PRODUCTION OF TACTILE DIAGRAMS AND MAPS". THE LEONARD CONFERENCE, CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, JAN 1972, PP 73-77. GILL J.M. "PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF MAP PRODUCTION". MOBILITY MAP CONFERENCE, NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, SEPT 1972. GILL J.M. "THE FUTURE OF COMPUTERS AND THE BLIND". VIEWPOINT, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND, SPRING 1973. GILL J.M. "A METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF TACTUAL MAPS AND DIAGRAMS". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 26, JUNE 1973, PP 203-204. GILL J.M. & JAMES G.A. "A STUDY ON THE DISCRIMINABILITY OF TACTUAL POINT SYMBOLS". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 26, JUNE 1973, PP 19-34. GILL J.M. "DESIGN, PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION OF TACTUAL MAPS FOR THE BLIND". PH.D. THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1973. GILL J.M. & JAMES G.A. "MOBILITY MAPS: THE CHOICE OF SYMBOLS". NEW BEACON, VOL. 58, NO. 682, FEB 1974, PP 35-38. GILL J.M. "MOBILITY MAPS FOR THE BLIND". CENTRAL OFFICE OF INFORMATION, PROJECT, NO. 24, SPRING 1974, PP 22-23, 36. GILL J.M. & TOBIN M.J. "EUROPEAN REGISTER OF RESEARCH ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENT". UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, MAY 1974. GILL J.M. "TACTUAL MAPPING". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 28, OCT 1974, PP 57-80. GILL J.M. "ORIENTATION MAPS FOR THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED". BRITISH CARTOGRAPHIC JOURNAL, DEC 1974, PP 94-98. GILL J.M. "METHODS OF INCREASING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF READING MATERIALS BY THE BLIND". THE LOUIS BRAILLE CONFERENCE, CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, JAN 1975, PP 155-162. GILL J.M. & REID F. "VISUAL HANDICAP: AIDS AND SUPPORT". OPEN UNIVERSITY COURSE "THE HANDICAPPED PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY", UNIT 6, 1975. GILL J.M. "AUDITORY AND TACTUAL DISPLAYS FOR SENSORY AIDS FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 29, JUNE 1975, PP 187-196. GILL J.M. "NON-VISUAL COMPUTER PERIPHERALS". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 29, JUNE 1975, PP 197-212. GILL J.M. & CLARK L.L. "INTERNATIONAL REGISTER OF RESEARCH ON BLINDNESS AND VISUAL IMPAIRMENT". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. GILL J.M. "THE AUTOMATED PRODUCTION OF BANK STATEMENTS IN BRAILLE". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, DEC 1975, 85 PP. GILL J.M. "BANK STATEMENTS IN BRAILLE". SOCIAL WORK SERVICE, NO. 10, JULY 1976, P 27. GILL J.M. "BRAILLE DOCUMENT SERVICE". SOCIAL WORK TODAY, VOL. 7, NO. 1, APRIL 1976, P 9. GILL J.M. & MARTIN M.D. "INSPEC IN BRAILLE". IEE NEWS, JUNE 1976, P 3. GILL J.M. "THE USE OF DIGITALLY-STORED TEXT FOR BRAILLE PRODUCTION". NATIONAL COMPUTER CONFERENCE, NEW YORK, JUNE 1976. REPRINTED IN BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, AUG 1976, PP 6-10, AND SIGCAPH NEWSLETTER, NO. 20, JULY 1976, PP 21-24. GILL J.M. & HUMPHREYS J. "A FEASIBILITY STUDY ON A BRAILLE TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE FOR SHORT DOCUMENTS". BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, AUG 1976, PP 19-24. GILL J.M. "PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS IN BRAILLE: A PRELIMINARY REPORT". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, NOV 1976, 7 PP GILL J.M. "AVAILABLE PAGE BRAILLE EMBOSSERS". BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, DEC 1976, PP 16-29. GILL J.M. & HUMPHREYS J.B. "AN ANALYSIS OF BRAILLE CONTRACTIONS". BRAILLE RESEARCH NEWSLETTER, NO. 5, JULY 1977, PP 50-57. HITSCHMANN R.J. "BRAILLE OUTPUT FOR ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1974. HUMPHREYS J.B. "AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION BY COMPUTER OF MUSIC NOTATION TO BRAILLE". BRAILLE RESEARCH NEWSLETTER, NO. 5, JULY 1977, PP 5-12. HUNTER K.C.J.W. "ULTRASONIC POSITION INDICATOR FOR THE BLIND". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1973. JAMES G.A. & GILL J.M. "RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF TACTUAL MAPS AND DIAGRAMS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM". INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR THE EDUCATION OF BLIND YOUTH, MADRID, 1972. JAMES G.A. & GILL J.M. "MOBILITY MAPS FOR THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED: A STUDY OF LEARNING AND RETENTION OF RAISED SYMBOLS". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 27, APRIL 1974, PP 87-98. JAMES G.A. & GILL J.M. "A PILOT STUDY ON THE DISCRIMINABILITY OF TACTILE AREAL AND LINE SYMBOLS FOR THE BLIND". RESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, NO. 29, JUNE 1975, PP 23-31. LEWIS S.W. "AUTOMATIC INDEXING SYSTEM FOR TAPE RECORDERS". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. PARSONS J.L. "COMPUTER PROGRAM TO TRANSLATE INKPRINT TO GRADE II BRAILLE". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1972. PEARSON P.J. "TACTILE MUSIC SCORE". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1974. SHEATH S. "SPELLED SPEECH". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. WILSON K.J. "AN AUDIO CLOCK FOR THE BLIND". DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975. "DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF A SYSTEM FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SHORT DOCUMENTS IN CONTRACTED BRAILLE". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, 1975, 173 PP. "A SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING BRAILLE SPECIAL CODES WHICH IS COMPATIBLE WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION PROGRAMS". WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, MARCH 1976, 7 PP.

AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION BY COMPUTER OF MUSIC NOTATION TO BRAILLE A SYSTEM IS BEING DEVELOPED FOR INPUT AND DIGITAL STORAGE OF MUSIC NOTATION USING A COMPUTER, WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION TO THE BRAILLE MUSIC CODE. THE INTENTION OF THE PROJECT IS TO PRODUCE BRAILLE MUSIC WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE OF BRAILLE BEING REQUIRED OF THE PERSON OPERATING THE SYSTEM. INVESTIGATION OF EXISTING SYSTEMS INVOLVING COMPUTERS FOR PRODUCTION OF BRAILLE MUSIC SUGGESTS THAT NONE SO FAR ENCOUNTERED APPROACHES FULLY-AUTOMATED TRANSCRIPTION, MOST BEING DESCRIBED AS "COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSLATION". IN EACH CASE EITHER INTERVENTION IS REQUIRED AT THE INPUT STAGE BY A SKILLED MUSIC BRAILLIST OR THE BRAILLE OUTPUT IS NOT EXACTLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARD BRAILLE MUSIC NOTATION (REFS. 1-6). IN VIEW OF THE SHORTAGE OF SKILLED MUSIC BRAILLE TRANSCRIBERS RELATIVE TO THE DEMAND FOR BRAILLE MUSIC, THERE THEREFORE REMAINS A NEED FOR A SYSTEM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ACCEPTABLY ACCURATE BRAILLE MUSIC QUICKLY WITH MINIMAL OR NO INTERVENTION BY SKILLED BRAILLISTS. A COMPUTER PROGRAM ON THE SIGMA 5 COMPUTER AT WARWICK UNIVERSITY FOR THE INPUT, STORAGE, EDITING AND TRANSLATION TO BRAILLE OF INKPRINT MUSIC NOTATION HAS NOW BEEN DEVELOPED TO THE POINT WHERE IT HAS BEEN USED TO PRODUCE A GOOD APPROXIMATION TO THE BRAILLE TRANSCRIPTION OF A SHORT PIECE OF PIANO MUSIC. THE MUSIC NOTATION IS INPUT ON A GRAPHICAL DISPLAY UNIT CONNECTED ON-LINE TO THE COMPUTER. WHILE THIS IS STILL COMMERCIALLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE TRADITIONAL PUNCHED CARD INPUT, IT APPEARS TO BE A MORE SUITABLE MEDIUM FOR MUSIC NOTATION, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY GRAPHICAL RATHER THAN TEXTUAL. BRAILLE OUTPUT IS PRODUCED ON AN =LE/D 120 BRAILLE EMBOSSER. A GRAPHICAL DISPLAY UNIT NORMALLY HAS TWO FORMS OF INPUT: AN ORDINARY ALPHA-NUMERIC KEYBOARD, AND A MEANS OF ADDRESSING POSITIONS ON THE DISPLAY SCREEN, USUALLY A JOYSTICK OR LIGHT PEN. THE LATTER COULD IN THEORY BE USED EXTENSIVELY IN CONJUCTION WITH THE KEYBOARD TO SPECIFY THE MUSIC NOTATION BY BUILDING UP AN IMAGE OF THE PRINTED SCORE ON THE SCREEN AND HAVING SOFTWARE SORT THE INFORMATION INTO ORDER AND MAKE SENSE OF IT. THIS METHOD HAS THE ADVANTAGE THAT THE INPUT OPERATOR WOULD REQUIRE VIRTUALLY NO KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC NOTATION, BUT WOULD REQUIRE CONSIDERABLE PROGRAMMING EFFORT TO IMPLEMENT AND WOULD BE LIKELY TO BE RELATIVELY SLOW TO USE. A MORE CONVENTIONAL ALPHANUMERIC CODE HAS THEREFORE BEEN ADOPTED FOR THE SPECIFICATION OF THE MUSIC NOTATION ITSELF WHILE THE JOYSTICK IS USED TO IDENTIFY PARTICULAR MUSICAL ITEMS ALREADY DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN FOR EDITING PURPOSES. A NUMBER OF ALPHANUMERIC LANGUAGES FOR INPUT OF MUSIC NOTATION TO A COMPUTER HAVE BEEN USED BY VARIOUS RESEARCHERS FOR PURPOSES OF MUSIC ANALYSIS, CATALOGUING OR PRINTING (REF. 7). MANY HAVE LIMITATIONS DEPENDENT ON THE PARTICULAR PROJECT THEY WERE DESIGNED FOR, AND THERE IS NO UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED STANDARD CODE EITHER FOR INPUT OR FOR DIGITAL STORAGE OF MUSIC NOTATION. THE FORD-COLUMBIA LANGUAGE (REF. 8) DEVELOPED FOR MUSIC PRINTING IS CLAIMED TO BE CAPABLE OF REPRESENTING ALL ASPECTS OF PRINTED MUSIC NOTATION, BUT DOCUMENTATION FOR THIS LANGUAGE HAS ONLY RECENTLY BEEN PUBLISHED. THE INPUT LANGUAGE AND DATA STRUCTURE FOR STORAGE OF THE MUSIC NOTATION IN THE PRESENT PROJECT HAVE THEREFORE BEEN DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS PROJECT, ALTHOUGH HOPEFULLY WITH A CAPABILITY FOR WIDER APPLICATION. THE INPUT LANGUAGE IS INTERACTIVELY INTERPRETED RATHER THAN COMPILED. FORMS OF INPUT USING PUNCHED CARDS HAVE ENCOUNTERED PARTICULAR PROBLEMS WITH PROOFREADING AND CORRECTION OF THE DATA. THE USE OF AN INTERPRETED LANGUAGE ALLOWS TWO IMMEDIATE CHECKS ON THE INPUT: FIRSTLY, ANY CHARACTER WHICH IN A PARTICULAR CONTEXT CANNOT BE INTERPRETED ACCORDING TO THE SYNTAX OF THE LANGUAGE IS REJECTED, WITH A MESSAGE TO INFORM THE OPERATOR THAT THIS HAS BEEN DONE: THUS A BAR LINE WOULD NOT BE ACCEPTED IF THE TIME COUNT DID NOT COMPLY WITH THE TIME SIGNATURE, UNLESS THE CHECK WERE SPECIFICALLY OVERRIDDEN BY THE OPERATOR; AND SECONDLY, THE MUSIC IS DISPLAYED GRAPHICALLY ON THE SCREEN IN AN APPROXIMATION TO THE PRINTED SCORE AS IT IS INPUT, ENABLING THE OPERATOR TO COMPARE THE MUSIC AS DISPLAYED WITH THE MUSIC AS PRINTED AND CORRECT THE STORED MUSIC AS NECESSARY, EITHER BEFORE CONTINUING OR LATER. THIS ALSO HAS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE FOR THE OPERATOR OF IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK. THE INPUT LANGUAGE USED IS NOW ADEQUATE TO ENCODE THE FEATURES WHICH ARE RELEVANT TO THE BRAILLE TRANSCRIPTION OF MOST OF THE GENERAL INKPRINT MUSIC SYMBOLS. FEATURES OF THE INKPRINT NOT RELEVANT TO THE BRAILLE, SUCH AS BEAMING TOGETHER OF NOTES, HAVE NOT GENERALLY BEEN INCORPORATED BUT COULD BE INCLUDED WITHOUT DIFFICULTY IF FOR EXAMPLE IT WERE REQUIRED TO PRODUCE A GOOD QUALITY PRINT VERSION FROM THE DIGITALLY-STORED MUSIC. MORE OBSCURE NOTATION AND SIGNS USED ONLY FOR PARTICULAR INSTRUMENTS HAVE ALSO NOT YET BEEN INCLUDED BUT AGAIN THE INPUT LANGUAGE AND DATA STRUCTURE ARE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO BE EXTENDED TO INCLUDE THESE AS AND WHEN NECESSARY. THE LANGUAGE ALLOWS CONSIDERABLE ABBREVIATION OF REPETITIOUS PASSAGES FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF THE OPERATOR AND IS GENERALLY DESIGNED TO MINIMISE THE NUMBER OF KEYSTROKES REQUIRED. HOWEVER, ALL MUSIC IS STORED IN FULL AND THERE IS NO OBLIGATION ON THE INPUT OPERATOR TO NOTICE ANY REPETITION IN THE MUSIC. THE DATA STRUCTURE FOR DIGITAL STORAGE OF THE MUSIC IS INDEPENDENT OF THE INPUT LANGUAGE. THIS PERMITS REVISIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE INPUT LANGUAGE WITHOUT INVALIDATING MUSIC ALREADY STORED, AND ALLOWS A FAIRLY FREE FORMAT FOR INPUT BUT A FIXED FORMAT FOR STORAGE. DIGITAL STORAGE COMPRISES A RANDOM-ACCESS DISC FILE CONTAINING THREE LINKED LISTS OF BLOCKS OF DATA ITEMS REPRESENTING RESPECTIVELY INKPRINT MUSIC AND UNFORMATTED AND FORMATTED BRAILLE. DATA FIELDS FOR INDIVIDUAL ITEMS ARE OF VARIABLE LENGTH, FOR COMPACT STORAGE AND EASY EXTENSION OF THE RANGE OF SYMBOLS WHICH CAN BE REPRESENTED. RANDOM ACCESS IS PARTICULARLY NECESSARY TO ENABLE THE USE OF LINKED LISTS FOR EDITING AND FOR DETECTING REPEATED BARS AND PASSAGES IN THE TRANSLATION TO BRAILLE. IT IS ASSUMED THAT IN GENERAL A PIECE OF MUSIC IS TOO LONG FOR A SIGNIFICANT PART OF IT TO BE HELD IN CORE STORAGE AT ANY ONE TIME. EDITING FACILITIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO PERMIT INSERTION OR DELETION OF COMPLETE BARS AT ANY ONE POINT, AND EDITING DURING INPUT OF THE BAR CURRENTLY BEING INPUT, AS WELL AS COMPREHENSIVE EDITING OF ANY SPECIFIED BAR AFTER INPUTTING IS COMPLETE. EDITING OF A SPECIFIED BAR IS REQUESTED BY GIVING THE BAR AND LINE NUMBERS. THE REQUIRED BAR IS DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN AND INDIVIDUAL ITEMS MAY BE INSERTED, DELETED OR MODIFIED USING THE JOYSTICK TO IDENTIFY ITEMS. INSERTED ITEMS ARE DISPLAYED AT THE APPROPRIATE POSITION ON THE SCREEN. DELETED ITEMS ARE CROSSED OUT. THE DISPLAY MAY BE REFRESHED AT ANY TIME DURING THE EDITING OF A BAR, WITH DELETED ITEMS REMOVED AND THE REST PROPERLY SPACED. THE FILE IS NOT CHANGED UNTIL THE OPERATOR GIVES THE INSTRUCTION TO END THE EDIT. ALL OPERATIONS ON THE INKPRINT MUSIC REPRESENTATION ARE EQUALLY AVAILABLE FOR THE BRAILLE REPRESENTATION WITH LITTLE EXTRA COMPLEXITY IN THE PROGRAM SINCE BOTH ARE STORED IN A SIMILAR FORM. ALTHOUGH THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM IS TO PRODUCE PERFECT BRAILLE, THIS MAY NOT BE ATTAINABLE IN PRACTICE BECAUSE SOME RULES OF BRAILLE MUSIC DEPEND ON MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE WHICH MAY NOT BE READILY COMPUTABLE, SO IT IS DESIRABLE TO HAVE A CAPABILITY FOR EDITING THE BRAILLE PRODUCED BY THE TRANSLATION PROCESS. INCIDENTALLY, BRAILLE MAY BE INPUT DIRECTLY FROM THE KEYBOARD REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT IT REPRESENTS MUSIC, THEREBY ASSISTING THE DIGITAL STORAGE OF BRAILLE CODES WHICH HAVE NOT YET BEEN TRANSCRIBED AUTOMATICALLY. ARCHIVING ROUTINES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM TO ENABLE INDIVIDUAL PIECES OF MUSIC TO BE SAVED ON AND SUBSEQUENTLY RECOVERED FROM MAGNETIC TAPE FOR PERMANENT STORAGE. THE TRANSLATION FROM INKPRINT TO BRAILLE HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO TWO SEPARATE PASSES. THE FIRST PASS, THE TRANSLATION PROPER, PRODUCES AND STORES BAR BY BAR A BRAILLE REPRESENTATION OF THE MUSIC. THIS PASS INCLUDEDS SUCH THINGS AS DETECTION OF REPEATED BARS. THE SECOND PASS, FORMATTING, PRODUCES FROM THIS UNFORMATTED BRAILLE A REPRESENTATION OF THE FINAL BRAILLE OUTPUT, FORMATTED ACCORDING TO THE BAR-OVER-BAR LAYOUT OF STANDARD BRAILLE MUSIC NOTATION (REF. 9-10). THIS DIVISION INTO TWO PASSES APPEARS GENERALLY SIMPLER THAN A SINGLE-PASS TRANSLATION, AND ALSO ALLOWS ACCESS TO THE BRAILLE IF NECESSARY AT THE INTERMEDIATE STAGE. ALTHOUGH THE TRANSLATION IS PARTIALLY DEPENDENT ON THE FINAL LAYOUT, THE FEATURE WHICH WOULD CAUSE THE GREATEST DIFFICULTY, SPLITTING OF BARS AT THE END OF A LINE, IS NOT NORMAL PRACTICE UNLESS A BAR IS TOO LONG TO FIT ONTO A SINGLE BRAILLE LINE, IN WHICH CASE ANY FORMAT DEPENDENCIES CAN BE DETECTED DURING THE FIRST PASS. CERTAIN BRAILLE FEATURES, OCTAVE SIGNS AND DOUBLING, ARE RE-MARKED AT THE BEGINNING OF A BRAILLE PARALLEL. THESE HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE FIRST PASS AT ALL PLACES WHERE THEY ARE POTENTIALLY REQUIRED, AND FLAGGED TO BE DELETED WHERE NECESSARY DURING THE SECOND PASS. THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN USED TO INPUT, CORRECT AND TRANSLATE TO BRAILLE A SAMPLE PART OF A REASONABLY STRAIGHT-FORWARD PIANO DUET: THE PRIMO PART OF THE SECOND MOVEMENT OF THE SONATA IN =D (K. 381) BY MOZART. THE BRAILLE VERSION OF THIS SAMPLE WAS DISTRIBUTED WITH A QUESTIONNAIRE AND REQUEST FOR COMMENTS AND CRITICISM TO ABOUT 40 BLIND MUSICIANS, AND A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS AND ORGANISATIONS FOR THE BLIND. REPLIES HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM MOST OF THE RECIPIENTS, AND MOST OF THOSE WHO HAVE REPLIED HAVE EXPRESSED AN ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO HELP IN THE FURTHER EVALUATION OF THIS PROJECT. THE BRAILLE TRANSCRIPTION DISTRIBUTED CONTAINED A NUMBER OF ERRORS AND OMISSIONS, SOME KNOWN AT THE TIME IT WAS DISTRIBUTED AND OTHERS REVEALED BY THE MUSICIANS' COMMENTS. THESE FALL INTO THREE CATEGORIES: FEATURES WHICH WERE NOT INCORPORATED INTO THE TRANSLATION ALGORITHM AT THE TIME THE SAMPLE WAS PRODUCED, MINOR PROGRAMMING ERRORS IN THE TRANSLATION ALGORITHM, AND MINOR DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE BRAILLE MUSIC CODE AS DEFINED IN THE MANUAL (REF. 9) AND THAT IN CURRENT USE. WHERE THE MANUAL IS NOT CLEAR ON PARTICULAR POINTS OR CONFLICTS WITH CURRENT USAGE, DE GARMO'S INTRODUCTION TO BRAILLE MUSIC TRANSCRIPTION (REF. 11) HAS BEEN USED AS A REFERENCE TO DETERMINE THE CORRECT BRAILLE TRANSLATION. THE PROGRAM HAS SINCE BEEN CORRECTED AND EXTENDED TO PRODUCE AN ALMOST ACCURATE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE PIECE OF MUSIC, AS COMPARED WITH THAT PRODUCED MANUALLY BY A TRANSCRIBER OF THE ROYAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND (R.N.I.B.), WHO HAS KINDLY PROVIDED A CORRECT BRAILLE VERSION OF PART OF THE PIECE OF MUSIC IN QUESTION. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED SO FAR IN TRANSLATION HAVE ARISEN PARTICULARLY FROM THE VARIOUS BRAILLE ABBREVIATION DEVICES WHICH DO NOT OCCUR IN THE INKPRINT. SINCE THE TRANSLATION IS REQUIRED TO BE FULLY AUTOMATIC THERE CAN BE NO ASSISTANCE WITH THESE AT THE INPUT STAGE. THE TRANSLATION ALGORITHM MUST DETECT, FOR EXAMPLE, REPETITION OF BEATS OR PART-BEATS WITHIN A BAR, WHETHER THESE ACTUALLY SAVE ANY SPACE IN THE BRAILLE, REPETITION OF WHOLE BARS OR PASSAGES, WHETHER ONE PART IS PLAYED IN UNISON WITH ANOTHER, WHERE DOUBLING SHOULD BE USED, WHERE SIMPLE SHORT SLURS OR LONG SLURS OR BRACKET SLURS SHOULD BE USED. THESE FEATURES REQUIRE THAT NEITHER THE INPUT NOR THE OUTPUT OF THE TRANSLATION STAGE CAN BE STRICTLY SEQUENTIAL. IT IS NECESSARY TO EXAMINE PREVIOUSLY TRANSLATED BARS TO DETERMINE WHETHER A BAR CURRENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION IS A REPEAT OF AN EARLIER BAR. IT IS SOMETIMES NECESSARY TO INSERT BRAILLE CELLS BEFORE OTHERS WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN OUTPUT: FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE END OF A PASSAGE WHERE THE LEFT HAND IS PLAYED AN OCTAVE BELOW THE RIGHT HAND, IT IS NECESSARY TO GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS BAR TO MARK THIS. TESTS FOR REPETITIONS INVOLVE MORE THAN A DIRECT COMPARISION OF INKPRINT REPRESENTATION: FOR EXAMPLE, IN A REPEATED BAR, AN EXPRESSION MARK MAY STILL BE IN EFFECT AND THEREFORE NOT RE-MARKED IN THE PRINT. OR A REPEATED BEAT WITHIN A BAR MAY CONTAIN NOTES WHERE ACCIDENTALS OR FINGERING ARE NOT RE-MARKED. FURTHER PROBLEMS ARISE WHERE THE ORDER OF THE BRAILLE DOES NOT QUITE FOLLOW THE ORDER OF THE PRINT: THUS "=P DOLCE" IN THE SAMPLE REFERRED TO ABOVE BECOMES "DOLCE =P" IN THE BRAILLE, ACCORDING TO THE RULE THAT SIGNS OF WIDER APPLICATION SHOULD COME FIRST. IT IS IN MATTERS SUCH AS THIS THAT IT IS DESIRABLE TO OBTAIN THE OPINION OF TYPICAL BRAILLE MUSIC READERS AS TO WHETHER SLIGHT DEVIATIONS FROM THE STRICT BRAILLE DEFINITION ARE ACCEPTABLE. FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDE TRANSLATION OF A WIDER VARIETY OF TYPES OF MUSIC AND MORE COMPLEX NOTATION THAN HAS BEEN SO FAR TACKLED. BRAILLE VERSIONS OF THE FOUR SEPARATE VOICE PARTS OF MOZART'S REQUIEM MASS AND THE ASSOCIATED BOARD OF THE ROYAL SCHOOLS OF MUSIC 1977 GRADE =V PIANOFORTE EXAMINATIONS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED; AN ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE TO REPRODUCE THESE AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE FROM THE INKPRINT SCORES USING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION PROGRAM. VOCAL WORKS WILL PRESENT ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS IN THAT THE WORDS (IF IN ENGLISH) ARE TO BE TRANSCRIBED INTO GRADE TWO BRAILLE, AND AS IN THE MUSIC ITSELF, USE OF REPEAT SIGNS IS COMMON FOR REPEATED WORDS AND PHRASES. EXTRA SLURS ARE ALSO REQUIRED IN THE MUSIC TO INDICATE THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN NOTES AND SYLLABLES WHERE THIS WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE CLEAR. SINGLE-LINE NON-KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN BRAILLE IS DIVIDED INTO SEGMENTS, THE LENGTH OF WHICH MAY VARY WITHIN LIMITS SO THAT THE SEGMENTATION REFLECTS THE NATURAL STRUCTURE AND PHRASING OF THE MUSIC. THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ANY SIMPLE WAY OF DETERMINING AUTOMATICALLY WHERE THE DIVISION SHOULD BE MADE.

1. COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSLATION OF BRAILLE MUSIC: PROGRESS REPORTS, MAY 1971 TO AUGUST 1975; AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. 2. S.A.M.B.A. AND R.U.M.B.A.: SYSTEMS FOR COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSLATION OF BRAILLE MUSIC, W. WATKINS AND J. SIEMS; BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 1976. 3. COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSCRIPTION OF BRAILLE MUSIC, SALLY WILKINSON; BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 1976. 4. COMPUTER PRINTING OF BRAILLE MUSIC USING THE =IML-MIR SYSTEM, P. HOWARD PATRICK AND PATRICIA FRIEDMAN; COMPUTERS AND THE HUMANITIES, VOL. 9. PP. 115-121, MAY 1975. 5. COMPUTERS AND MUSIC BRAILLE, P. HOWARD PATRICK AND ROSALIND E. PATRICK; BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 1976. 6. AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER PRINTING OF BRAILLE MUSIC USING THE =IML-MIR (INTERMEDIARY MUSIC LANGUAGE - MUSIC INFORMATION RETRIEVAL) SYSTEM, P. HOWARD PATRICK, MUSIC DEPARTMENT, THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, DECEMBER 1976. 7. SEVERAL PAPERS IN: MUSICOLOGY AND THE COMPUTER; THREE SYMPOSIA, EDITED BY BARRY S. BROOK; CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 1970. 8. THE FORD-COLUMBIA INPUT LANGUAGE, STEFAN BAUER-MENGELBERG; IN MUSICOLOGY AND THE COMPUTER. 9. REVISED INTERNATIONAL MANUAL OF BRAILLE MUSIC NOTATION 1956, PART 1, WESTERN MUSIC, COMPILED BY H. V. SPANNER; WORLD COUNCIL FOR THE WELFARE OF THE BLIND. 10. REVISED INTERNATIONAL MANUAL OF BRAILLE MUSIC NOTATION 1956, 1975 AMERICAN ADDENDUM; AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, 1975. 11. INTRODUCTION TO BRAILLE MUSIC TRANSCRIPTION, MARY TURNER DE GARMO; DIVISION FOR THE BLIND AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, 1974. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL. COMPUTING FACILITIES ARE MADE AVAILABLE BY THE S.R.C., AND OTHER FACILITIES BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK. THIS PAPER HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO BRAILLE AUTOMATION NEWSLETTER FOR PUBLICATION IN THE JULY ISSUE. IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS, PLEASE SEND THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO J. B. HUMPHREYS, WARWICK RESEARCH UNIT FOR THE BLIND, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, COVENTRY, ENGLAND.

HOUSING FEEDBACK STUDY, GREENLEYS, MILTON KEYNES. LAST WINTER 300 RESIDENTS ON FIVE RENTED ESTATES IN MILTON KEYNES SPENT AN EVENING TELLING THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR HOUSES AND ESTATES. DURING THE TWO HOUR MEETINGS, RESIDENTS COMPLETED A QUESTIONNAIRE COMMENTING ON THE THINGS THEY LIKE ABOUT THEIR HOUSES AND THE THINGS THEY WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE. THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY REPORTED HERE IS NOT TO DETERMINE WHICH ESTATE IS THE "BEST" SO ITS DESIGN CAN BE COPIED ON OTHER NEW CITY ESTATES. THE STUDY'S OBJECTIVE IS TO IDENTIFY THOSE DESIGN FEATURES WHICH ARE GOOD AND BAD ABOUT EACH HOME, THEN TO ADVISE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ARCHITECTS PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL. AT THE END OF EACH EVENING SESSION, RESIDENTS USED A LARGE GAMEBOARD WITH SLIDING PLASTIC WINDOWS TO DESIGN THEIR IDEAL HOUSES. THE PURPOSE OF THE BOARD WAS TO SHOW RESIDENTS THE INCREASE OR DECREASE IN WEEKLY RENT CAUSED BY DESIGN CHANGES TO THEIR HOUSE. THE GAMEBOARDS HAS 12 COLUMNS, EACH COLUMN CONTAINS THREE OR FOUR ILLUSTRATED OPTIONS FOR ONE ASPECT OF THE HOUSE. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE COLUMN FOR BEDROOMS, RESIDENTS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF CHOOSING TWO DOUBLE BEDROOMS, TWO DOUBLE BEDROOMS AND ONE SINGLE BEDROOM, THREE DOUBLE BEDROOMS, OR THREE DOUBLE BEDROOMS AND ONE SINGLE BEDROOM. EACH OPTION HAS A RENT ASSOCIATED WITH IT. THE THREE DOUBLE BEDROOMS AND ONE SINGLE BEDROOM OPTION "COST" 75 PENCE PER WEEK MORE THAN THE TWO DOUBLE BEDROOM OPTION. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME IS THAT IT ALLOWS THE RESIDENT TO DESIGN A HOUSE USING THE SAME THOUGHT PROCESS AS AN ARCHITECT, WHO KNOWS HE HAS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY TO SPEND FOR EACH HOUSE. THIS AMOUNT IS FIXED BY THE GOVERNMENT. WITHIN THE REQUIREMENT THAT HE ACHIEVES CERTAIN STANDARDS, THE ARCHITECT CAN TRADE GOOD PROVISION OF ONE FEATURE FOR LOWER PROVISION OF ANOTHER IN DESIGNING HIS HOUSE. HOWEVER, HE CANNOT OVERSPEND THE TOTAL BUDGET. THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME PRESENTS THE RESIDENT WITH 12 KEY DESIGN ITEMS TO USE FOR GRADING-OFF EXPENDITURE. FOR EXAMPLE, A RESIDENT MAY DECIDE THAT CENTRAL HEATING IS MORE IMPORTANT TO HIM THAN CAR PARKING PROVISION. HE IS THEN FREE TO CONCENTRATE HIS EXPENDITURE ON A CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM, ESTABLISHING IT AS A HIGH PRIORITY. FOR GREENLEYS, RESIDENTS HIGHEST PRIORITIES ARE TO INCREASE GARDEN SIZE, TO EXTEND CENTRAL HEATING UPSTAIRS, AND TO HAVE SEMI-DETACHED RATHER THAN TERRACED HOUSES. THE LOWEST PRIORITY ITEM (THING RESIDENTS WOULD BE MOST WILLING TO SACRIFICE) IS THE SECOND W.C. OVERALL FOR THE FIVE ESTATES STUDIED, THE TOP PRIORITY IS FULL CENTRAL HEATING. THE PRIORITY ORDER FOR OTHER ITEMS IS: IMPROVED NOISE INSULATION BETWEEN DWELLINGS; INTERNAL STORAGE, HALF OF WHICH SHOULD BE IN BEDROOMS; ON-PLOT PARKING; GARAGING; EXTERNAL STORAGE; AND GARDEN FENCES. COMPARED TO THESE THINGS, RESIDENTS CONSIDER SEMI-DETACHED OR DETACHED HOMES OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE AND SAY THEY SHOULD BE BUILT ONLY WHEN ALL OTHER PRIORITY ITEMS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED. GARDENS SHOULD BE SLIGHTLY LARGER. A MAJORITY OF ALL FAMILIES SAID THEY WOULD PREFER GARDENS OF AT LEAST 100 SQUARE METRES. LARGE AREAS OF OPEN SPACE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE GARDEN ARE NOT AN ADEQUATE SUBSTITUTE FOR MORE SPACE IN THE GARDEN UNLESS THE OPEN SPACE IS ENCLOSED AND SAFE FOR SMALL CHILDREN. JUST OVER HALF OF THE FAMILIES ON THE ESTATES FEEL THAT THEIR GARDENS ARE NOT PRIVATE. THIS RANGES FROM 71 PERCENT ON FULLERS SLADE TO 29 PERCENT ON GALLEY HILL. ALMOST EVERYONE AGREES THAT BETTER FENCING WOULD IMPROVE GARDEN PRIVACY. THE AVERAGE GARDEN SIZE IN GREENLEYS IS 69 SQUARE METRES. TWO OUT OF FIVE FAMILIES SAID THEY ARE SATISFIED BY THE PRESENT GARDEN SIZE. ON THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME, OVER HALF THE GREENLEYS RESIDENTS LIVING IN TWO AND THREE BEDROOM HOUSES INCREASED GARDEN SIZE. GREENLEYS RESIDENTS GIVE THEIR GARDENS HIGH SCORES FOR PRIVACY. SEVENTY PERCENT SAY THEIR GARDEN IS PRIVATE. A GROWING INTEREST IN ALLOTMENTS. ONE OUT OF FIVE FAMILIES IN THE STUDY WANT AN ALLOTMENT WITHIN 15 MINUTES WALK OF THEIR HOUSE. A FURTHER 22 PERCENT ARE INTERESTED IN AN ALLOTMENT, BUT WOULD PROBABLY BE SATISFIED IF THEIR PRESENT GARDEN WERE LARGER. DISTANCE TO THE ALLOTMENT (UP TO ONE MILE) AND COST DOES NOT INFLUENCE THE DEMAND. MILTON KEYNES BOROUGH HAS PROPOSED THAT THE RENT FOR A TEN POLE ALLOTMENT SHOULD BE L4.50 PER YEAR AND ALTHOUGH MANY FAMILIES IN THE STUDY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE AVERAGE COST OF AN ALLOTMENT IS, THEY WERE PREPARED TO PAY IN EXCESS OF THIS. IN GREENLEYS, ONE OUT OF THREE FAMILIES SAID THEY EITHER "VERY" OR "FAIRLY" INTERESTED IN OWNING AN ALLOTMENT 15 MINUTES WALK AWAY. MOST ARE UNHAPPY WITH PROVISION FOR THE CAR. THREE OUT OF FOUR FAMILIES LIVING ON ALL OF THE ESTATES OWN A CAR. ON ALL ESTATES EXCEPT STANTONBURY =I THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PARKING PLACES IS APPARENTLY SUFFICIENT FOR RESIDENTS' AND VISITORS' CARS. TO THE MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS LOCATION OF PARKING IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN A COVERED PARKING SPACE. CONSEQUENTLY, MOST PEOPLE PREFER A HARD SURFACE PARKING AREA ADJACENT TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE HOUSE, BUT 29 PERCENT ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR A GARAGE AND A FURTHER 38 PERCENT WOULD PAY FOR A CARPORT. THREE OUT OF FIVE FAMILIES ON GREENLEYS OWN A CAR. SIXTY PERCENT OF RESIDENTS SAID THE PARKING SPACES ON THE ESTATE ARE INADEQUATE FOR BOTH THEIR CARS AND VISITORS CARS. ON THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME, ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF GREENLEYS RESIDENTS WOULD PAY FOR A PARKING SPCAE NEXT TO THEIR HOUSE. ONE-FIFTH WOULD PAY TO RENT A GARAGE OR CARPORT NEXT TO THE HOUSE. GREENLEYS RESIDENTS WANT "PROPER PARKS" ALMOST ALL GREENLEYS FAMILIES FELT OPEN SPACE GAVE THE ESTATE A DESIRABLE OPEN FEELING. BECAUSE LANDSCAPING WAS INCOMPLETE AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY, ONLY A FEW SAID THAT LIVING ON GREENLEYS WAS LIKE LIVING IN A PARKLAND] SEVEN OUT OF TEN FAMILIES SAY THE LANDSCAPED OPEN SPACE SHOULD BE USED FOR PROPER PARKS - A MUCH HIGHER FIGURE THAN ON OTHER ESTATES. IT IS LIKELY THAT THE UNUSUALLY HIGH DEMAND REFLECTED THE INCOMPLETE LANDSCAPING AND LACK OF PLAY EQUIPMENT AT THE TIME OF THE STUDY. FOOTPATHS REQUIRED TO PLACES PEOPLE WANT TO GO. THEORETICALLY, THREE OUT OF FOUR FAMILIES PREFER FOOTPATHS TO BE SEPARATED FROM MAIN ROADS. HOWEVER, PEOPLE ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF A FOOTPATH TO THEIR DESTINATION, NO MATTER WHERE IT IS LOCATED. GREENLEYS RESIDENTS ARE GENERALLY SATISFIED WITH FOOTPATHS ON THEIR ESTATE. THEY DON'T FEEL THAT FOOTPATHS IN THE COURTYARDS AFFECT PRIVACY IN THE HOUSES. AT THE TIME OF THE STUDY PLAY AREAS WERE INADEQUATE. ON ALL ESTATES EXCEPT STANTONBURY =I, MORE THAN HALF THE FAMILIES ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN'S PLAYSPACES PROVIDED AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY (DEC.-JAN. 1974/75). THE SURVEY SHOWS THAT EACH GROUP OF 20 HOUSES SHOULD SHARE A 100 SQUARE METRE TODDLERS PLAY AREA AND EVERY 250 HOUSES SHOULD SHARE TWO EQUIPPED PLAY AREAS, ONE HARD-COVERED KICKABOUT AREA AND ONE "SOFT" KICKABOUT AREA FOR BALL GAMES. IN ADDITION, ON NEW ESTATES FAMILIES PREFER THAT A LARGE PROPORTION OF THESE PLAY AREAS SHOULD BE COMPLETED WHEN THE FIRST HOUSES ARE HANDED OVER. PARENTS WANT PLAY AREAS FOR UNDER FIVES NEAR TO AND VISIBLE FROM EACH DWELLING, AND FOR 5 TO 12 YEAR OLDS AWAY FROM THE HOUSE AND SURROUNDED BY PUBLIC OPEN SPACE. (PARENTS PREFER BOTH TYPES OF PLAYSPACE TO BE SITUATED AWAY FROM ROADS AND TO BE WELL AND SAFELY EQUIPPED. MANY PARENTS EXPRESS A DESIRE FOR SUPERVISED PLAY AREAS FOR UNDER FIVES). ALTHOUGH ALMOST ALL RESIDENTS FEEL THAT THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHOOSING THE PLAY EQUIPMENT, THE MAJORITY FEEL THIS SHOULD BE DONE WITH THE ADVICE OF EITHER THE ESTATE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION OR THE CHILDREN. ON THE FIVE ESTATES SURVEYED, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PLAY ARRANGEMENT IS IN STANTONBURY =I WHERE CHILDREN USE PLAY AREAS IN THE ENCLOSED COURTYARDS BEHIND THE HOUSES. AT THE TIME OF THE STUDY, THERE WERE NO PLAY AREAS ON GREENLEYS. NOT SURPRISINGLY, VERY FEW FAMILIES WERE SATISFIED WITH PLAY PROVISION. SINCE THEN, 22 TODDLERS PLAYSPACES, FIVE JUNIOR PLAYSPACES AND ONE KICKABOUT AREA HAVE BEEN PROGRAMMED FOR GREENLEYS. TWO STOREY TERRACED OR SEMI-DETACHED HOUSES ARE PREFERRED. NEARLY ALL (87 PERCENT) OF THE PEOPLE LIVING IN TWO STOREY HOUSES LIKE THIS ARRANGEMENT. ONLY 21 PERCENT OF FULLERS SLADE FAMILIES ARE HAPPY WITH A THREE STOREY HOUSE. ON THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME, THREE OUT OF FIVE FAMILIES IN GREENLEYS CHOSE A SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE INSTEAD OF THEIR PRESENT TERRACED HOUSE. THIS IS CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN ON ANY OTHER ESTATE. ON ALL ESTATES, ALMOST NONE OF THE POEPLE LIVING IN SEMI-DETACHED WANT TO PAY EXTRA RENT FOR A DETACHED HOUSE. HALF OF THOSE LIVING IN TERRACED HOUSES ARE WILLING TO PAY EXTRA RENT TO LIVE IN A SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE BUT ONLY IF THIS HOUSE INCORPORATES THE OTHER PRIORITY ITEMS SUCH AS FULL CENTRAL HEATING, IMPROVED NOISE INSULATION, 100 SQUARE METRE GARDEN ETC. RESIDENTS LIKE BRICK CLADDING. RESIDENTS IN GREENLEYS WERE SHOWN THREE DRAWINGS OF THEIR HOUSE: ONE AS IT IS, ONE CLAD IN BRICK AND TIMBER (AS ON GALLEY HILL) AND ONE IN A BLOCKWORK AND COLOURED PANEL COMBINATION (AS ON BRADVILLE =II). THEY WERE ASEKD WHICH THEY LIKED THE MOST AND WHICH THEY LIKED THE LEAST. IN COMMON WITH OTHER ESTATES, THERE WAS A STRIKING DIFFERENCE IN PREFERENCES EXPRESSED BY MEN AND WOMEN. WOMEN WERE FAIRLY EQUALLY DIVIDED BETWEEN PRESENT BRICK CLADDING AND THE BRICK AND TIMBER OPTION BECAUSE BOTH SEEMED BRIGHT AND ATTRACTIVE. MEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, PREFERRED ALL BRICK CLADDING, MOST SAYING BRICK IS STRONG SOLID AND BETTER WEARING. MANY GREENLEYS FAMILIES WOULD CHANGE THE ESTATE LAYOUT. PEOPLE JUDGE THEIR ESTATE LAYOUTS BY CRITERIA OF SAFETY, SPACIOUSNESS AND PRIVACY. THE ESTATES SAMPLED SHOWED STREET LAYOUTS, SHORT CULS-DE-SAC AND COURTYARD LAYOUTS CAN ALL ACHIEVE SATISFACTORY SOLUTIONS BASED ON THESE CRITERIA. THE MOST SUCCESSUFL LAYOUTS SAMPLED ARE BRADVILLE =II WHICH IS LIKED FOR HIGH LEVELS OF PRIVACY AND SPACIOUSNEESS AND STANTONBURY =I WHICH IS LIKED FOR ITS SAFETY. ON THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME, TWO OUT OF FIVE GREENLEYS RESIDENTS CHANGED THE LAYOUT OF THEIR ESTATE. MOST OF THE RESIDENTS CHOSE EITHER A STREET LAYOUT LIKE BRADVILLE =II OR A RANDOM LAYOUT AROUND SHORT CULS-DE-SAC. WHILE GREENLEYS RESIDENTS THINK THE PRESENT LAYOUT IS QUIET AND SAFE FOR CHILDREN, THOSE WHO CHOOSE A STREET LAYOUT WANT IMPROVED CAR ACCESS AND A FEELING OF SPACIOUSNESS. SOME LOUNGES ARE SUPER. FAMILIES IN GREENLEYS TWO AND FOUR BEDROOM HOUSES THINK THAT THE LOUNGE IS THE BEST FEATURE OF THE HOUSE. THESE LOUNGES ARE LIKED BECAUSE THEY ARE SO LARGE (19 SQUARE METRES). FAMILIES IN THE THREE BEDROOM HOUSE GENERALLY FEEL THAT THEIR LOUNGE (14 SQUARE METRES) IS TOO SMALL. THE REACTIONS OF GREENLEYS RESIDENTS ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF REACTION TO LOUNGES ON OTHER ESTATES. THE STUDY FOUND THAT SIZE DETERMINES RESIDENTS SATISFACTION WITH LOUNGES. SMALL FAMILIES WANT AS LARGE A LOUNGE AS LARGE FAMILIES. THE MINIMUM LOUNGE SIZE ACCEPTABLE TO THE MAJORITY OF FAMILIES IS 15 SQUARE METRES. LOUNGE SIZES ON THE ESTATES SAMPLED RANGE BETWEEN 11 AND 20 SQUARE METRES. RESIDENTS IN THE GREENLEYS THREE BEDROOM HOUSE DO NOT LIKE THE STORE CUPBOARD IN THE LOUNGE. THEY FEEL THE CUPBOARD OCCUPIES VALUABLE LOUNGE SPACE AND THAT IT IS AWKWARD TO HAVE STORAGE SPACE OPENING DIRECTLY INTO THE LIVING ROOM. CENTRAL HEATING IN ALL BEDROOMS IS DESIRED. IMPROVED HEATING IS THE FOREMOST PRIORITY FOR PEOPLE IN ALL ESTATES. HEATING IN BEDROOMS IS CONSIDERED INADEQUATE IN ALL HOUSES. TWO OUT OF THREE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY EXTRA RENT TO IMPROVE THEIR HEATING SYSTEM. IDEALLY, MOST PEOPLE PREFER RADIATORS TO HOT AIR SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, MOST FAMILIES WOULD PREFER A HOT AIR SYSTEM TO THE WHOLE HOUSE OVER RADIATORS DOWNSTAIRS ONLY. ON THE PRIORITY EVALUATOR GAME, TWO OUT OF THREE GREENLEYS RESIDENTS IMPROVED THEIR HEATING SYSTEM BY EXTENDING IT UPSTAIRS. ONLY GARDEN SIZE WAS IMPROVED BY MORE FAMILIES. SOME BEDROOM STORAGE IS REQUIRED. INTERNAL ENCLOSED STORAGE PROVISION IS ONE OF THE WEAKEST ASPECTS OF DESIGN ON THE FIVE ESTATES. RESIDENTS ON THE ESTATES CLEARLY PERCEIVE ENCLOSED STORAGE SPACE AS MUCH MORE USEFUL THAN UNENCLOSED STORE. GREENLEYS HOUSES HAVE BETWEEN 4 AND 6.2 SQUARE METRES ENCLOSED STORAGE - THE LARGEST AMOUNT ON ANY ESTATE RESIDENTS ARE PLEASED WITH THE AMOUNT OF STORAGE, BUT MANY ARE UNHAPPY WITH THE LOCATION. FAMILIES PREFER ONE-THIRD TO ONE-HALF THE ENCLOSED STORAGE SPACE LOCATED UPSTAIRS, PREFERABLY IN OR ADJACENT TO THE BEDROOMS. NINE OUT OF TEN FAMILIES WANT BUILT-IN CUPBOARDS IN THE BEDROOMS. THE GREENLEYS TWO BEDROOM HOUSE HAS A BOX ROOM FOR STORAGE. THE STUDY FOUND MOST RESIDENTS USE THE ROOM AS A WORKSHOP OR HOBBY ROOM; NONE OF THE RESIDENTS USE IT EXCLUSIVELY FOR STORAGE. STORAGE OUTSIDE THE DWELLING IS ALSO INSUFFICIENT. THE AMOUNT OF OUTSIDE STORAGE PROVIDED RANGES FROM 3 SQUARE METRES IN FULLERS SLADE TO NONE IN BRADVILLE =II AND SOME GREENLEYS AND GALLEY HILL HOUSES. IN GENERAL EVEN THOSE WITH THE LARGEST PROVISION FEEL THAT THERE IS TOO LITTLE SPACE IN THE OUTSIDE STORE. HIGHEST SATISFACTION WITH OUTSIDE STORAGE IS ACHIEVED IN GALLEY HILL AND STANTONBURY =I HOUSES WHICH HAVE SOME SURPLUS STORAGE SPACE IN ON-PLOT GARAGES. LACK OF GARAGES OR CARPORTS ADJACENT TO GREENLEYS HOUSES CREATES DISSATISFACTION WITH EXTERNAL STORAGE. FAMILIES REGARD OUTSIDE STORAGE AS THE MOST IMPORTANT EXTERNAL IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED TO THEIR HOUSE. THEY ARE RELUCTANT HOWEVER, AS ARE RESPONDENTS ON OTHER ESTATES, TO GIVE UP ANY INTERNAL FEATURE OF THEIR HOUSES FOR IMPROVED EXTERNAL STORAGE. SEPARATE W.C.S AND BATHROOMS. MOST GREENLEYS RESIDENTS FIND THE DOWNSTAIRS W.C. IS A USEFUL FEATURE. RESIDENTS ARE CRITICAL OF THE PLASTIC TAPS AND SAY THEY WOULD LIKE A LARGER WASH BASIN AND MORE TILES IN THE DOWNSTAIRS W.C. ON THE PRIORITY EVALUATION GAME, ONE FAMILY IN THREE WAS WILLING TO PAY EXTRA FOR A SHOWER IN ADDITION TO A BATH. MOST FAMILIES LIKE KITCHENS. RESIDENTS WANT KITCHENS LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE APPLIANCES, PROVIDE PLENTY OF FOOD AND UTENSIL STORAGE AND HAVE SPACE FOR AN OCCASIONAL MEAL. RESIDENTS IN HOUSES WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF KITCHEN STORAGE HAVE OFTEN ADDED KITCHEN UNITS OR SHELVES TO PROVIDE MORE STORAGE SPACE. APPLIANCE OWNERSHIP ON ALL ESTATES IS HIGH - ALMOST EVERYONE OWNS A REFRIGERATOR, NINE OUT OF TEN OWN A WASHING MACHINE, SEVEN OUT OF TEN OWN A SPIN OR TUMBLE DRIER AND ONE IN FOUR OWNS A DEEP FREEZE. THERE IS NO CLEAR PREFERENCE FOR KITCHENS SITUATED AT THE FRONT OR REAR OF HOUSES. IN GENERAL, THOSE IN HOUSES WITH KITCHENS AT THE FRONT PREFER THIS ARRANGEMENT AND THOSE IN HOUSES WITH KITCHENS AT THE REAR PREFER A REAR KITCHEN. MANY RESIDENTS ARE CRITICAL OF KITCHEN VENTILATION AND THE QUALITY OF KITCHEN FITTINGS. BUT RESIDENTS PLACE LOW PRIORITY ON IMPROVING FITTINGS COMPARED TO PRIORITIES ON INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF APPLIANCE SPACE IF THEY BOUGHT OTHER APPLIANCES. FAMILIES IN THE THREE AND FOUR BEDROOM GREENLEYS HOUSES FIND THEY HAVE ADEQUATE KITCHEN STORAGE. SINGLE BEDROOMS ARE TOO SMALL. RESIDENTS INDICATED THAT THEY HAVE A CLEAR CONCEPTION OF IDEAL BEDROOM SIZE. THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS RESIDENTS' PREFERRED SIZES AND THE RANGE OF BEDROOM SIZES IN THE ESTATE SAMPLE. THE HEADINGS ARE: BEDROOM: PREFERRED SIZE: SAMPLE ESTATE SIZE. MAIN DOUBLE BEDROOM: 12.5 SQUARE METRES: 9.6-14.6 SQUARE METRES. OTHER DOUBLE BEDROOM: 10 SQUARE METRES: 9.6-13 SQUARE METRES SINGLE BEDROOMS: 7.4 SQUARE METRES: 4.4-10 SQARE METRES. SINCE SIZE IS IMPORTANT IN PRODUCING SATISFACTION WITH BEDROOMS, BEDROOMS LARGER THAN THE PREFERRED SIZES WILL BE SATISFACTORY TO MOST FAMILIES. MOST FAMILIES WANT AT LEAST ONE EXTRA BEDROOM TO SERVE AS A COMBINATION GUEST ROOM. STORE ROOM AND PLAYROOM. THE MAJORITY OF FAMILIES WOULD LIKE TO SEE CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEMS EXTENDED TO BEDROOMS. THEY WOULD ALSO LIKE BUILT-IN STORAGE CUPBOARDS IN BEDROOMS. GREENLEYS RESIDENTS ARE GENERALLY PLEASED WITH THE SIZE OF DOUBLE BEDROOMS, BUT MORE THAN HALF THINK THE SINGLE BEDROOMS ARE TOO SMALL. THESE FAMILIES WOULD DECREASE SIZES OF DOUBLE BEDROOMS TO MAKE THE SINGLE BEDROOM LARGER. MOST FAMILIES LIKE DINING AREAS. FOR MOST FAMILIES THE DINING AREA SERVES AS A PLACE TO EAT AND AS A QUIET AREA FOR HOMEWORK AND OTHER ACTIVITIES. FOR THIS REASON FAMILIES WANT A DINING AREA WHICH CAN BE SEPARATED FROM THE LOUNG TO PROVIDE PRIVACY. MOST FAMILIES PREFER A COMBINED KITCHEN/DINING AREA; TWO OUT OF THREE FAMILIES WITH A KITCHEN/DINER ARE HAPPY WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT. MOST RESIDENTS DO NOT LIKE COMBINED LOUNGE/DINING ROOMS. GREENLEYS RESIDENTS ARE GENERALLY HAPPY WITH THE DINING AREA. ONE EXCEPTION IS IN SOME FOUR BEDROOM HOUSES WHERE POOR ARRANGEMENT OF DOORS AND STORE CUPBOARDS REDUCES USEABLE SPACE IN THE DINING ROOM. VARIETY AND CHOICE. FAMILIES IN MILTON KEYNES WENT MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSE. WHILE THE FAMILIES SURVEYED WERE NEARLY UNANIMOUS IN WANTING THINGS SUCH AS FULL CENTRAL HEATING, IN MANY OTHER AREAS FAMILIES HAD VERY INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES FOR HOUSE DESIGN. FOR THIS REASON, THE CORPORATOON FEELS IT IS ESSENTIAL TO CONTINUE BUILDING A VARIETY OF HOUSE TYPES AND RESIDENTIAL LAYOUTS. THE FAMILIES IN THE RESIDENTIAL DESIGN FEEDBACK STUDY HAVE CONFIRMED THE OVERWHELMING IMPORTANCE OF THIS VARIETY. HOWEVER, ACHIEVEMENT OF VARIETY WITHOUT OFFERING CHOICE IS UNLIKELY TO RESULT IN RESIDENT SATISFACTION. FOR A VARIETY OF HOUSE TYPES TO BE MEANINGFUL, FAMILIES MUST HAVE A CHOICE OF ACCOMMODATION. ONLY ONE-THIRD OF THE FAMILIES IN THE STUDY FELT THEY WERE "OFFERED A CHOICE OF ESTATES" WHEN THEY MOVED TO MILTON KEYNBES. THIS PATTERN VARIES, HOWEVER, WITH LENGTH OF RESIDENCE. ONLY ONE IN FOUR FAMILIES WHO MOVED TO THEIR HOUSE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 1973 FELT THEY HAD A CHOICE OF ESTATES. HALF OF THOSE MOVING AFTER JULY 1974 WHEN MORE NEW HOUSES WERE BEING BUILT, SAID THEY HAD A CHOICE OF ESTATES. ONLY ONE IN FIVE GREENLEYS RESIDENTS SAID THEY HAD A CHOICE OF ESTATES. FOR MOST PEOPLE THIS LACK OF CHOICE HAS NOT LED TO UNHAPPINESS WITH LIFE ON GREENLEYS. 93 PERCENT SAID THEY ARE "VERY PLEASE" OR "QUITE PLEASED" WITH LIFE ON GREENLEYS. HOWEVER, FOR THE REMAINING SEVEN PERCENT WHO ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH LIFE ON THE ESTATE, WHAT SOLUTIONS CAN BE OFFERED? STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO REMEDY SOME OF THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THE STUDY. TODDLERS PLAY AREAS HAVE BEEN BUILT AND LANDSCAPING DONE. PARKING PLACES HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED TO RESIDENTS INSTEAD OF THE FORMER "FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED" SYSTEM. BUT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE CHANGES WHICH WOULD REQUITE MAJOR STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS. A GREENELYS RESIDENT WHO FEEL THAT HOUSING ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY FITS HIS CONCEPTION OF AN "IDEAL" HOME BETTER THAN HIS PRESENT HOUSE CAN APPLY TO THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR A TRANSFER. THE TRANSFER PROCESS IS ESSENTIALLY A SIMPLE ONE, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL POINTS WORTH CONSIDERING BEFORE YOU TAKE THE STEP OF ASKING YOUR HOUSING REPRESENTATIVE FOR A TRANSFER. 1. THINK ABOUT THE GOOD POINTS OF GREENLEYS. THERE MAY BE CERTAIN THINGS ABOUT YOUR PRESENT HOUSE THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON OTHER ESTATES. IN ADDITION THERE MIGHT BE THINGS ABOUT THE LOCATION OF YOUR ESTATE WHICH ARE AN ADVANTAGE. PERHAPS IT IS CLOSE TO YOUR WORK, OR THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT ROUTE WHICH YOU USE FOR SHOPPING OR WORK RUNS CLOSE TO YOUR PRESENT HOME. MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS PROBABLY LIVE CLOSE TO YOUR PRESENT HOME. 2. THINK ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OTHER ESTATES. IF THERE ARE ONE OR TWO ESTATES YOU THINK YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIVE ON, A LITTLE RESEARCH MIGHT SAVE A LOT OF TROUBLE. PERHAPS YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES WITH SOMEONE WHO LIVES THERE. THINK ABOUT THE JOURNEYS YOU MAKE (TO WORK, TO SHOP, TO THE DOCTOR, YOUR CHILDREN'S TRIPS TO SCHOOL) AND WHETHER THEY WOULD BE EASIER OR MORE DIFFICULT FROM THE NEW ESTATE. IF YOU USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT, CHECK THE ROUTES AND TIMES. 3. REMEMBER THAT IT CAN BE EXPENSIVE TO MOVE HOUSE. IF YOU RENT A VAN TO MOVE YOUR OWN FURNITURE IT WILL COST AT LEAST L8. IF YOU HAVE A COMMERCIAL FIRM DO THE MOVE, FOR AN AVERAGE HOUSE FULL OF FURNITURE IT WILL COST AT LEAST L30. THERE ARE OTHER COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MOVE. THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CAN ASK YOU TO MAKE GOOD ANY DAMAGE TO THE INSIDE OF YOUR PRESENT HOUSE AND TO REPAINT WALLS WHERE THE PAINTWORK IS NOT IN GOOD CONDITION. THERE WILL ALSO BE DECORATING COSTS FOR YOUR NEW HOUSE IF YOU WANT TO PAINT OR PAPER ANY OF THE ROOMS. THE GAS OR ELECTRICITY BOARD WILL CHARGE FOR DISCONNECTING AND RECONNECTING THE COOKER. WILL THE CURTAINS AND CARPETS IN YOUR PRESENT HOUSE FIT THE HOUSE YOU WANT TO TRANSFER TO? IF NOT, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL COSTS OF PURCHASING MORE CURTAINS AND CARPETS, OR ALTERING THE ONES YOU ALREADY HAVE. SO BEFORE YOU ASK FOR A TRANSFER, IT IS PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA TO ESTIMATE THE COSTS. 4. IF YOU HAVE CONSIDERED THE POINTS ABOVE, AND ARE SURE YOU WANT TO TRANSFER, THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS PREPARED TO HELP. THE BEST WAY TO APPLY FOR A TRANSFER IS BY VISITING THE LOCAL HOUSING OFFICE AT 2 WOOLMANS, FULLERS SLADE. BEFORE YOU VISIT THE HOUSING OFFICE, YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING POINTS: (A) YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING A HOUSE ON AN ESTATE WHICH IS STILL BEING BUILT. THIS MEANS THAT A NUMBER OF HOUSES ARE AVAILABLE FOR LETTING AS THE CONTRACTOR COMPLETES THEM. IF YOU ASK FOR A HOUSE ON AN ESTATE WHERE CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN COMPLETED, YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL VACANCIES ARE CREATED BY PEOPLE MOVING OUT, WHICH OBVIOUSLY TAKES LONGER. IT WILL ALSO SPEED THE PROCESS IF YOU CAN LIST MORE THAN ONE ESTATE OR HOUSE TYPE BECAUSE THIS INCREASES THE NUMBER OF HOUSES AVAILABLE TO YOU. (B) IF YOU HAVE YOUR HEART SET ON ONE PARTICULAR HOUSE TYPE, THEN APPLY FOR A TRANSFER TO THIS BY ALL MEANS. THE HOUSING MANAGER MAY ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT OTHER OPTIONS BECAUSE HE DOESN'T LIKE TO SEE PEOPLE DISAPPOINTED BY LONG WAITING LISTS. BUT IF YOU EXPLAIN TO HIM WHY YOU PREFER ONE ESTATE OR HOUSSE TYPE ABOVE ALL OTHERS HE WILL DO THE BEST HE CAN TO HELP YOU. (C) YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT NEW ESTATES THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS BUILDING BY VISITING ONE OF THE LOCAL HOUSING OFFICES (TINKERS BRIDGE, BRADVILLE, FULLERS SLADE) AND ASKING FOR THE FOLDER ON HOUSING FOR RENT. THIS INCLUDES FLOOR PLANS FOR MOST HOUSES AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE ESTATE. SHOW HOUSES ARE OPEN ON MANY NEW ESTATES SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE HOUSES ARE LIKE INSIDE. MILTON KEYNES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WAVENDON TOWER, WAVENDON, MILTON KEYNES =MK17 8=LX

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POLICY MAKING AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. IN THE BOOK BY THOMAS R. DYE ON UNDERSTANDING POLICY MAKING A NUMBER OF MODELS OF THE POLICY MAKING PROCESS ARE PRESENTED. THE FIRST TASK OF THIS PAPER IS TO EXAMINE THESE MODELS AND TO ASSESS THEIR POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF POLICY MAKING. BEFORE WE CAN MAKE ANY PROGRESS IN THIS DIRECTION IT IS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT DYE MEANS BY THE MODE, IN THIS CONTEXT. AN EXAMINATION OF THIS SORT SOON BEGINS TO REVEAL AMBIGUITIES IN HIS USE OF THE TERM. OF THE SIX MODELS OF THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS WHICH DYE PRESENTS, THREE SEEM TO ME TO BE COMPARABLE, THAT IS TO SAY, THAT IN DESCRIBING THESE THREE AS MODELS DYE IS AT LEAST USING THE TERM IN THE SAME SENSE. HE DESCRIBES THE THREE THEORIES AS "A GROUP THEORY OF POLICY MAKING", "AN ELITE THEORY", AND "AN INSTITUTIONAL THEORY". IN WHAT SENSE THEN ARE THESE THREE MODELS TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING, AND/OR DOING SOMETHING WHICH NONE OF THE OTHER THREE ATTEMPTS TO DO. IN THE FIRST PLACE THEY ALL POINT TO A RECOGNISABLE FEATURE OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AND ASSERT THAT THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF THE SYSTEM IN THE POLICY AREA UNDER CONSIDERATION. THAT WE CAN SAY THIS OF THE MOEDLS IN QUESTION IS ONE OF THEIR STRENGTHS. IF ONE ASSERTS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN EDUCATION POLICY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL CAN BEST BE UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF THE RIVALRIES AND CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE MAJOR GROUPS CONCERNED, ONE IS SAYING SOMETHING DEFINITE AND FALSIFIABLE. SOMEONE WISHING TO DISPUTE THIS INTERPRETATION MIGHT POINT TO CERTAIN INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL POLICY, AND SUGGEST THAT IN FACT IT WAS THIS FACTOR WHICH WAS MORE INFLUENTIAL IN CONTROLLING POLICY DEVELOPMENT. THESE THREE MODELS, AS WELL AS PROVIDING A SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF DEVELOPMENT IN A PARTICULAR POLICY AREA, ALSO MAKE ASSERTIONS ABOUT THE DYNAMICS OF THAT DEVELOPMENT. SOMEONE EMPLOYING THE GROUP THEORY WOULD POINT TO THE CHANGING RELATIONS BETWEEN GROUPS AND THE INCREASE OR DECREASE IN THE INFLUENCE OF THE PARTICULAR GROUP, IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN THE ADOPTION OR NON-ADOPTION OF SOME NEW POLICY. BUT ALTHOUGH THE TWO OTHER THEORIES OF THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS, THE "ELITE" AND THE "INSTITUTIONAL" THEORIES, BOTH PROVIDE FAIRLY DEFINITE DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSES, NEITHER CAN BE QUITE SO READILY EMPLOYED TO EXPLAIN CHANGING POLICIES. INSTITUTIONS, IF THEY ARE TO EARN THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED SUCH, MUST EXHIBIT A HIGH DEGREE OF STABILITY IN THEIR INTERNAL STRUCTURE. IT IS CLEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN CHANGES IN POLICY OR THE MANNER IN WHICH POLICY DEVELOPS IN A PARTICULAR AREA, BY POINTING TO THE STABILITY OF THE INSTITUTIONS MOST INVOLVED. WHAT ONE CAN DO OF COURSE, IS TO USE THE INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TO EXPLAIN STAGNATION OR STABILITY IN THE POLICIES ADHERED TO IN A PARTICULAR AREA. THE PROBLEMS OF USING THE "ELITE" MODEL TO EXPLAIN CHANGE ARE SOMEWHAT SIMILAR. AN ELITE WHOSE COMPOSITION IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING CEASES TO BE AN ELITE. AN ELITE MUST ALSO BE WITHOUT SERIOUS INTERNAL DIVISION AND THIS CREATES DIFFICULTIES IF ONE IS SEEKING TO EXPLAIN CHANGE. BUT IN FACT THE DIFFICULTIES OF USING AN ELITE THEORY TO EXPLAIN POLICY DEVELOPMENT ARE NOT QUITE PARALLEL TO THOSE WHICH EXIST IN THE CASE OF INSTITUTIONAL THEORY. THE HARDEST FORM OF ELITE THEORY WOULD CERTAINLY BE OPEN TO THE OBJECTIONS WHICH I HAVE JUST VOICED. BUT MOST WRITERS EMPLOYING THIS APPROACH ARE IN FACT USING A THEORY OF ELITE/MASS INTERACTION. WHEN THIS IS SO AN ELEMENT OF CONFLICT IS IMMEDIATELY INTRODUCED AND THE MODEL BECOMES MUCH MORE USEFUL IN THE EXPLANATION OF CHANGE. ONE MIGHT SAY FOR EXAMPLE, THAT AN ELITE MASS INTERACTION THEORY WAS APPROPRIATE IN THE FIELD OF RACE RELATIONS IN THIS COUNTRY. THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT INIATIVE REMAINED WITH THE ELITE AND THAT THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF POLICY CONFORMED WITH ELITE PREFERENCES, BUT IT WOULD MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN HESITATIONS IN THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS THE ADOPTION OF MORE LIBERAL AND INTERVENTIONIST POLICIES BY REFERRING TO THE RESTRAINTS ON ELITE ACTION IMPOSED BY MORE CONSERVATIVE MASS OPINION. TO USE THIS MODEL FOR DESCRIBING AND EXPLAINING THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY IN THE FIELD OF RACE RELATIONS MAKES DEFINITE DESCRIPTIVE AND EXPLANATORY ASSERTIONS BECAUSE IT EXCLUDES THE INFLUENCE ON POLICY OF ORGANISED RACIAL MINORITIES AND ASSERTS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT ARGUMENTS BETWEEN THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES ON THIS ISSUE HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY. I HAVE SO FAR LAID CONSIDERABLE EMPHASIS ON TWO QUALITIES OF THE THREE MODELS UNDER EXAMINATION: THEIR ABILITY TO DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN. IT MIGHT BE ARGUED THIS EXERCISE IS SUPERFLUOUS BECAUSE THE OBJECT OF ANY MODEL IS PRECISELY THIS, THAT IN FACT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE MEAN BY A MODEL. UNFORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE TRUE THAT THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN MOST OF THE TIME IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE TRUE ALL OF THE TIME, AND IT IS CERTAINLY, AS I HOPE TO SHOW, DIFFICULT TO SEE HOW THE THREE REMAINING MODELS REFERRED TO BY DYE CAN BE USED TO DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN. LET US TAKE FIRST THE INCREMENTAL MODEL. THIS IS A MODEL WHICH IS ABOVE ALL DESCRIPTIVE, BUT IT IS NOT DESCRIPTIVE IN QUITE THE SAME SENSE AS ARE THE GROUP, INSTITUTIONAL, AND ELITE THEORIES. THE GROUP AND ELITE THEORIES OF POLICY MAKING BOTH DESCRIBE BY POINTING TO THOSE ACTORS IN THE PROCESS WHO ARE CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT. THE INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH DESCRIBES NOT BY POINTING TO THE ACTORS, BUT BY SUGGESTING THAT THE CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH THEY ACT IS WHAT REALLY MATTERS. THE INCREMENTAL MODEL IS NOT DESCRIPTIVE OF THE WAY IN WHICH POLICY IS MADE BUT RATHER OF THE OUTCOME. IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT THE INCREMENTAL THEORY POINTS ENTIRELY TO DESCRIPTION AND MAKES NO ASSERTIONS ABOUT EXPLANATION. ANOTHER PECULIARITY OF THIS THEORY IS THAT NOT ONLY DOES IT CONFINE ITS DESCRIPTION TO POLICY OUTCOME AS DISTINCT FROM THE POLICY MAKING PROCESS, BUT IT ALSO DESCRIBES THAT OUTCOME ALMOST ENTIRELY IN TERMS OF RATE OF CHANGE. TO EMPLOY THE INCREMENTAL MODEL IS OF COURSE TO DO A GREAT DEAL MORE THAN SIMPLY ASSERT THAT POLICY CHANGES ALWAYS SLOWLY, BUT THE OTHER PARTS OF THE THEORY ARE MOSTLY TO EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS SO AND WHY MORE RATIONAL PROCEDURES, WHICH MIGHT IMPLY MORE RAPID CHANGE IN CERTAIN DIRECTIONS, ARE NOT USED AND IN FACT ARE NOT DESIRABLE. BUT IF THE INCREMENTAL THEORY TRIES TO EXPLAIN AND JUSTIFY THE SLOWNESS OF CHANGE OF POLICY DOES THIS NOT MEAN THAT IT HAS SOME EXPLANATORY COMPONENT? I DO NOT THINK SO. THE INCREMENTAL THEORY DOES NOT PROVIDE WHAT WE MIGHT CALL POSITIVE EXPLANATION OF HOW AND WHY CERTAIN POLICIES ARE DEVELOPED, INSTEAD IT SIMPLY ASSERTS THAT POLICY WILL DEVELOP INCREMENTALLY BY SHOWING THAT RATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR POLICY MAKING ARE IMPOSSIBLE. IT THEREFORE ASSERTS INCREMENTALISM BECAUSE ONE, AND ONLY ONE, OF THE ALTERNATIVES, THAT IS A RATIONAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS, IS IMPRACTICABLE. ALTHOUGH THEREFORE THERE IS A REAL DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENT IN THE INCREMENTAL THEORY, ITS EXPLANATORY COMPONENT IS ENTIRELY NEGATIVE, AND FOR THIS REASON THE THEORY IS MUCH LESS USEFUL TO A POLITICAL SCIENTIST EXAMINING POLICY THAN THE OTHER THREE THEORIES ALREADY DISCUSSED. ANY EXAMINATION OF THE RATIONAL MODEL OF POLICY MAKING TAKES US EVEN FURTHER FROM BOTH DESCRIPTION AND EXPLANATION. IT IS QUITE EVIDENT THAT THIS THEORY MAKES NO PRETENCE OF DESCRIBING ACTUAL CONDITIONS AND IS USUALLY MORE PROPERLY CONSIDERED AS A BRANCH OF FORMAL THEORY, MORE FAMILIAR IN ECONOMICS THAN IN THE STUDY OF POLITICS. THE LAST OF THE SIX MODELS TO BE EXAMINED HERE, SYSTEMS THEORY, APPEARS AT FIRST SIGHT TO BE SIMILAR IN MANY WAYS TO THE FIRST THREE TYPES OF MODEL EXAMINED. IT DOES PURPORT TO PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF POLITICAL PROCESSES AND IF THOSE WHO EMPLOY IT DO NOT CLAIM THAT IT EXPLAINS POLICY DEVELOPMENT THEY USUALLY DO SUGGEST THAT IT PROVIDES LEADS TO POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS. AN IMPORTANT, ALTHOUGH CERTAINLY RATHER OBVIOUS, POINT WHICH HAS TO BE MADE AT THE OUTSET, IS THAT SYSTEMS THEORY PROVIDES WHAT PURPORTS TO BE A DESCRIPTION OF ANY POLITICAL SYSTEM, WHEREAS THOSE WHO EMPLOY ANY OF THE FIRST FOUR MODELS DISCUSSED IN THIS PAPER, WOULD NOT SUGGEST THAT THEIR MODELS ARE EQUALLY APPROPRIATE TO ALL SYSTEMS AND IN ALL POLICY AREAS. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS THEN DESCRIBES THE POLITICAL PROCESS, BUT IN SUCH A WAY AS NOT TO DISTINGUISH AT ALL AS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH DIFFERENT POLITICAL SYSTEMS MAY PERFORM. BUT, ONE MAY ASK, HOW CAN THIS BE A DESCRIPTION. SURELY TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING IS TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION ABOUT IT FOR IT TO BE POSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH THE THING DESCRIBED FROM OTHER THINGS. THE ANSWER TO THIS DIFFICULTY IS THAT POLITICAL SYSTEMS ANALYSIS IS A DESCRIPTION, BUT IT IS A DESCRIPTION OF POLITICS AS SUCH, RATHER THAN A DESCRIPTION OF ANY PARTICULAR POLITICAL SYSTEM. SINCE THEN SYSTEMS ANALYSIS PROVIDES A DESCRIPTION OF POLITICS ANYWHERE, IT DOES NOT ALLOW US TO MAKE THE STEPS FROM DESCRIPTION TO POSSIBLE EXPLANATION, WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE IN THE CASE OF THE GROUP, ELITE, AND INSTITUTIONAL THEORIES. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT, FOR ADVOCATES OF A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO POLITICAL ANALYSIS, ALTHOUGH THEY OFTEN DO NOT SUGGEST THAT THEIR APPROACH PROVIDES EXPLANATIONS, DO BELIEVE THAT IT SUGGESTS LINES OF POSSIBLE INVESTIGATION. IN MY VIEW THE PROPOSITIONS SUGGESTED BY SYSTEMS ANALYSIS FOR INVESTIGATION ARE INVARIABLY BANAL AND INEVITABLY SO, SINCE AN APPROACH WHICH DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO SPECIFY ANY PARTICULAR ASPECT OF THE POLITICAL PROCESSS AS CRUCIAL SIMPLY LEAVES ALL QUESTIONS OPEN. SO FAR I HAVE CRITICISED THE SYSTEMS APPROACH TO POLITICAL ANALYSIS FOR ITS INABILITY TO SUGGEST EXPLANATIONS IN GENERAL, BUT ADDITIONAL POINTS NEED TO BE MADE IN RELATION TO THE USE OF THIS APPROACH IN THE EXPLANATION FO POLICY MAKING PROCESSES OR POLICY OUTCOMES. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM PROVIDED BY SYSTEMS ANALYSIS IS RATHER LIKE A DESCRIPTION OF A FREE MARKET SYSTEM OF ECONOMY WHICH LEAVES OUT THE PROFIT MOTIVE. BY THIS I MEAN THAT THE SYSTEMS APPROACH PROVIDES US WITH A LIST OF ACTIVITIES, THINGS WHICH HAVE TO BE DONE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS, BUT DOES NOT SUGGEST POSSIBLE MOTIVATIONS FOR THE POLITICAL ACTORS. THE SYSTEM WHICH THEY PORTRAY IS THEN RATHER LIKE AN ECONOMY IN WHICH NO-ONE HAS ANY PRESSING NEED TO CONSUME OR TO MAKE MONEY WITH WHICH TO BUY THINGS. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM HAS BECOME A MACHINE WHICH IS ALWAYS DISCONNECTED FROM THE POWER SUPPLY. NOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO LEARN A CERTAIN AMOUNT ABOUT A MACHINE BY EXAMINING IT WHILST IT IS NOT IN MOTION. ONE CAN DISCOVER THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF WHICH IT IS MADE UP AND PERHAPS, ALTHOUGH THIS IS MORE DOUBTFUL, THE WAYS IN WHICH THESE ARE CONNECTED. SIX MODELS OF THE POLICY MAKING PROCESS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE FIRST FIVE OF THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY DEVISED AS APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLICY MAKING AND THE SIXTH, SYSTEMS ANALYSIS, ALTHOUGH NOT SPECIFICALLY INTENDED FOR THIS PURPOSE, IS NEVERTHELESS CONSIDERED APPLICABLE BY ITS ADVOCATES TO THE STUDY OF POLICY MAKING. WE HAVE SEEN THAT TO CALL THESE APPROACHES MODELS IS CONFUSING. THE FIRST THREE ARE SO IN THE SENSE THAT THEY PROVIDE US WITH A DESCRIPTION AND POINT TO ONE SPECIFIC ASPECT OF THE POLICY PROCESS WHICH IS REGARDED AS CRUCIAL. BECAUSE THEY AIM TO DO THIS THEY COMBINE PROPOSED DESCRIPTIONS WITH POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS. THE FOURTH APPROACH EXAMINED IS ALSO DESCRIPIVE BUT IT CONFINES ITS DESCRIPTION TO OUTCOME AND TO THE EXTENT THAT IT HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE PROCESSES OF POLICY MAKING, AND THEREFORE THE EXPLANATION OF HOW ONE POLICY RATHER THAN ANOTHER IS ADOPTED, IT IS MAINLY CONCERNED TO REFUTE THE APPLICABILITY OF THE RATIONAL MODEL, RATHER THAN TO PROPOSE ANY ALTERNATIVE. TO SAY THAT POLICY IS NOT MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CANONS OF COMPLETE RATIONALITY AND THAT IT IS A MISTAKE TO ATTEMPT TO APPLY THESE CANONS IN REAL LIFE IS NOT TO PROVIDE ANY ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION OF HOW ONE POLICY RATHER THAN ANOTHER COMES TO BE ADOPTED. FINALLY, WITH RESPECT TO THE SIXTH APPROACH, SYSTEMS ANALYSIS, WE CONCLUDED THAT AS A DESCRIPTION OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS IN GENERAL, IT WAS INCAPABLE EITHER OF SUGGESTING EXPLANATIONS OR PROPOSITIONS FOR EXAMINATION.

RUNNING A LEARNING RESOURCE FACILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS. KEITH DAVIES AND MARJORIE NEEDHAM, SAINT ALBANS PROGRAMMED LEARNING CENTRE. ABSTRACT: THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES THE PROBLEMS OF ORGANISING AND RUNNING AN "ON-DEMAND" LEARNING RESOURCE FACILITY FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS FROM A WIDE RANGE OF BACKGROUNDS. IT DESCRIBES THE ORGANISATION OF SUCH A FACILITY FOR USE BY THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, EMPHASISING THE NEED FOR A LARGE COLLECTION OF MATERIAL AND THE DIFFICULTIES OF PROVIDING ON-GOING TUTORIAL HELP. THE NEED FOR DIAGNOSTIC WORK WITH NEW STUDENTS IS DISCUSSED IN DETAIL AND SOME OBSERVATIONS ARE OFFERED ON THE PROBLEMS OF ASSESSING, INDEXING AND RETRIEVING LEARNING MATERIAL FOR INDIVIDUAL USE. SOME CONCLUSIONS ARE OFFERED ON WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER WHEN ESTABLISHING SUCH A SERVICE. THIS ARTICLE SETS OUT TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS OF ORGANISING AND RUNNING A "LEARNING RESOURCE FACILITY" FOR USE BY STUDENTS FROM ONE OR MORE EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS. ITS OBSERVATIONS ARE BASED LARGELY ON WORK AT THE WRITERS' OWN UNIT AND AT VARIOUS LINKED EXPERIMENTAL SCHOOLS UNITS BUT THEY ARE NOT INTENDED SIMPLY AS A DESCRIPTION OF THAT WORK: THE PRINCIPLES ARE PUT FORWARD AS BEING APPLICABLE TO SIMILAR SITUATIONS. FOR SPACE REASONS, DETAILED JUSTIFICATION OF THE OBSERVATIONS HAS HAD TO BE OMITTED BUT MAY BE FOUND IN THE REFERENCES LISTED. THE TERM "LEARNING RESOURCE FACILITY" HAS BEEN USED DELIBERATELY. THE AUTHORS, WHETHER REASONABLY OR NOT, HAVE CLASSIFIED BOOK AND AUDIO-VISUAL RESOURCE ITEMS UNDER THREE HEADINGS: REFERENCE, WHICH IS SELF-EXPLANATORY: TEACHING, BY WHICH THEY IMPLY MATERIALS USED _BY _A _TEACHER TO INVOKE LEARNING: AND _LEARNING _RESOURCES WHICH THEY CLASS AS THOSE ITEMS FROM WHICH A STUDENT CAN LEARN EITHER DIRECTLY OR WITH MINIMUM (SUPERVISORY) GUIDANCE. THE MOST TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF SUCH A RESOURCE IS A LEARNING PROGRAMME, BUT IT MIGHT ALSO INCLUDE SUCH ITEMS AS STRUCTURED WORK CARDS OR TAPES. THE WORD "FACILITY" RATHER THAN "CENTRE" WAS CHOSEN SINCE THE SERVICE DISCUSSED IS ENVISAGED AS SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE MAIN TEACHING STRATEGIES RATHER THAN AS THE FOCAL POINT OF THE SCHOOL. THE MAJOR FACILITY ON WHICH THESE COMMENTS ARE BASED IS THAT PROVIDED BY THE WRITERS' UNIT. THIS IS SITED AT A COLLEGE OF FURTHER EDUCATION, BUT OPERATES A SERVICE WHEREBY ANYONE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD CAN MAKE USE OF INDIVIDUAL LEARNING FACILITIES SIMPLY BY RINGING UP OR PAYING A VISIT. CONSEQUENTLY THE ORGANISATION AND THE LEARNING RESOURCE MATERIAL MUST BE CAPABLE OF COPING WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF CLIENTS, RANGING FROM PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL CHILDREN THROUGH COLLEGE STUDENTS TO ADULTS IN THEIR 40S AND 50S. SIMILARLY, IT MUST BE PREPARED TO ENCOUNTER A WIDE RANGE OF ABILITY AND LEARNING PROBLEMS - ONE CLIENT MAY WANT TO LEARN TO READ, ANOTHER TO STUDY =GCE "A" LEVEL BIOLOGY. FOR THESE REASONS WE HAVE FOUND THAT IT NEEDS TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS: (1) CONSTANTLY MANNED RECEPTION FACILITIES - BOTH TO MAKE A QUICK RESPONSE IF APPROACHED BY UNCERTAIN CLIENTS (E.G. ADULT NON-READERS) AND TO OPERATE FORMAL BOOKING PROCEDURES WHICH ENSURE THAT OVERBOOKING DOES NOT OCCUR. THE RECEPTIONIST DOES NOT NEED TO BE A TEACHER SO LONG AS A TEACHER IS AVAILABLE WHEN NEEDED; MANY QUERIES ARE ROUTINE AND OUR SECRETARIES ARE WELL ABLE TO HELP CLIENTS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY WANT; (2) IDEALLY, ENOUGH ROOM TO ACCOMMODATE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF STUDENTS LIKELY TO BE PRESENT AT ANY ONE TIME; IN PRACTICE THERE ARE ALWAYS SOME RESTRICTIONS (E.G. WE CAN ONLY ACCOMMODATE TWO OR THREE PEOPLE ON AUDIOLANGUAGE COURSES AT ONCE); (3) AS BIG A COLLECTION OF MATERIAL AS POSSIBLE - AND THE MATERIAL NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST SEMI-STRUCTURED, PROVIDED WITH INDICATORS OF STUDENT SUCCESS (E.G. SELF-MARKING TESTS) AND INDEXED BY LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY. AN OPERATION OF THIS KIND DEPENDS ON USERS FEELING THEY ARE GAINING SOMETHING DEFINITE, AND THAT IN TURN DEPENDS ON THE MATERIAL BEING ACCURATELY MATCHED TO ITS USER AND PROVIDED WITH BUILT-IN FEEDBACK; (4) SOME FORM OF TUTORIAL AND DIAGNOSTIC HELP, IDEALLY ALL THE TIME FOR ALL PUPILS, THOUGH IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE THAT IN PRACTICE. THIS LAST REQUIREMENTS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT ONE AND WE APPEAR TO BE UNUSUAL AMONG SUCH SERVICES IN AT LEAST PROVIDING IT SOME EXTENT; WE CAN DO IT ONLY BECAUSE OUR FACILITY IS SET UP TO DEAL WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PROBLEMS, HENCE A TUTOR IS ALMOST ALWAYS AROUND HELPING THOSE WITH SEVERE LEARNING PROBLEMS. EVEN SO, CLIENTS HAVE TO BE DIVIDED INTO TWO OVERALL GROUPS, THOSE NEEDING ASSISTANCE AND THOSE WHO APPEAR ABLE TO MANAGE WITH LITTLE OR NONE; THE LATTER TEND TO SUFFER TUTORIAL NEGLECT. IT MAY BE ARGUED THAT THIS SITUATION IS UNTYPICAL OF RESOURCE PROVISION IN EDUCATION; WE WOULD ARGUE HOWEVER THAT IF GENUINE _LEARNING RESOURCE PROVISION IS TO BE MADE, IT NEEDS TO INCLUDE MOST OR ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS AND OUR EXPERIENCE OF RUNNING MORE RESTRICTED "FACILITIES" IN LOCAL SCHOOLS OR GROUPS OF SCHOOLS CONFIRMS THAT THE PROBLEMS DISCUSSED BELOW ARE _NOT PECULIAR TO AN INDEPENDENT UNIT. PROBLEMS OF ORGANISING INDIVIDUAL LEARNING FACILITIES. AS MAY BE GATHERED, ORGANISATION OF SUCH FACILITIES POSES CONSIDERABLE PROBLEMS ONCE A WIDE RANGE OF ABILITY IS INVOLVED (AND THAT IS LIKELY TO BE AN ARGUMENT FOR DEVELOPING SUCH FACILITIES). THE MAIN PROBLEM IS THE NEED TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO A CUSTOMER'S INITIAL DEMANDS WHICH MAY TAKE ONE OF TWO FORMS; HE MAY HAVE BEEN SENT WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO DO A PARTICULAR PIECE OF WORK, OR HE MAY COME WITH A _NEED THAT IS MORE OR LESS CLEARLY IDENTIFIED. THESE DEMANDS PRESENT DIFFERENT PROBLEMS. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE FIRST CASE IS CLEAR CUT, BUT IN PRACTICE SOME RE-DIAGNOSIS MAY BE NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT WHAT IS BEING ASKED FOR IS REALLY WHAT IS NEEDED - IN A TYPICAL CASE A STUDENT WAS SENT TO "REVISE MULTIPLICATION OF DECIMALS". HE PROVED QUITE CAPABLE OF HANDLING DECIMALS BUT DID NOT KNOW HIS MULTIPLICATION TABLES; THE REQUIRED TREATMENT WAS THUS NOT A BOOK ON DECIMALS BUT PROVISION OF A TABLE SQUARE AND SOME PRACTICE. IN THE SECOND CASE THE STUDENT'S PRECISE NEED MAY HAVE TO BE FOUND OUT BY PATIENT QUESTIONING AND POSSIBLY SOME FORM OF CHECK TEST IF HE IS UNCERTAIN OF HIS OWN KNOWLEDGE; THEN MATCHING MATERIAL MUST BE LOCATED. THERE ARE TWO MAJOR COURSES OF ACTION POSSIBLE. ONE IS TO UTILISE THE SPECIALIST TEACHING STAFF OF THE ESTABLISHMENT IN WHICH THE FACILITY IS HOUSED, TO PROVIDE HELP AND ADVICE. WHILE IDEAL FROM ITS ABILITY TO "TAP" A WIDE RANGE OF KNOWLEDGE AND TO INVOLVE MANY STAFF, THIS APPROACH HAS MANY PROBLEMS IN PRACTICE - ARE THE RELEVANT STAFF AVAILABLE WHEN NEEDED? HOW MUCH OF THEIR TIME WILL THE PROCESS CONSUME? THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO BUILD UP EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE LEARNING FACILITY TO COPE WITH THE MAJORITY OF PROBLEMS. THIS WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY INVOLVE SOME TRAINING IN DIAGNOSTIC ACHIEVEMENT TESTING AND A NEED FOR KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE. THE TWO APPROACHES ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE BUT A SCHEME BASED ON THE SECOND ONE APPEARS TO BE MORE PRACTICABLE IN MOST CASES. OUR OWN SCHEME IS FORTUNATE IN THAT MOST OF THE LEARNING MATERIAL IS HEAVILY STRUCTURED, AND THE INTELLECTUAL LEVEL OF IT IS COMPARATIVELY SIMPLE; IT IS THEREFORE USUALLY POSSIBLE FOR STAFF, BY QUICKLY REVIEWING THE FRAMES IMMEDIATELY PREVIOUS TO THAT CAUSING DIFFICULTY, TO ANSWER QUERIES EVEN ON SUBJECTS WITH WHICH THEY ARE NOT FAMILIAR. GIVEN THAT THIS IS POSSIBLE, ORGANISATION OF SUCH A SERVICE CAN BE ECONOMICALLY PROVIDED; IN EFFECT A STUDENT SIMPLY CALLS IN AT AN APPOINTED TIME. HE IS NORMALLY SEEN BY A TUTOR ON THE FIRST OCCASION AND HIS NEEDS DISCUSSED BEFORE HE IS INTRODUCED TO THE LEARNING MATERIAL. FIGURE =A SHOWS THE INDUCTION PATTERN. THE NON-TUTORIAL STUDENT IS ALSO ISSUED WITH A SIMPLE RECORD CARD LISTING WHAT HE IS DOING, HOW LONG HE SPENDS HERE AND WITH SPACE FOR HIM TO NOTE DATE AND TIME OF HIS NEXT VISIT. WHEN HE HAS FINISHED HE SIMPLY DROPS THE CARD INTO A BOX ON HIS WAY OUT. EACH MORNING, THE PREVIOUS DAY'S CARDS ARE COLLECTED BY A SECRETARY AND THE VISIT TIMES TRANSFERRED TO A WALL BOOKING CHART COVERING THE CURRENT WEEK AND THE WEEK FOLLOWING. IT IS THUS EASY TO SEE AT A GLANCE WHERE SPACES ARE AVAILABLE AND PRE-BOOKED STUDENTS HAVE PRIORITY. STUDENTS NEEDING CONSTANT TUTORIAL GUIDANCE ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY, MORE DETAILED RECORDS BEING KEPT, AND THEY NORMALLY WORK UNDER SUPERVISION; EVEN SO, SIX TO EIGHT WIDELY DIFFERING INDIVIDUALS DOING DIFFERENT THINGS MAY BE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF ONE TUTOR AT ANY ONE TIME AND A TUTOR, DURING A 2 1/2 HOUR SESSION, MAY ENCOUNTER UP TO 13-14 STUDENTS, EACH PUTTING IN 1-1 1/2 HOUR'S WORK AT HIS OR HER CONVENIENCE. IN THIS RESPECT AN ORGANISED LEARNING FACILITY CAN IMPROVE MARKEDLY ON THE COMMON 1: 1 REMEDIAL TEACHING SITUATION AND CAN AVOID THE INFLEXIBILITY OF HAVING TO HAVE HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS IF SMALL GROUP TEACHING IS REQUIRED. PROBLEMS OF STORING, RETRIEVING AND ASSESSING LEARNING MATERIAL. IT IS PROBABLY CLEAR FROM WHAT HAS BEEN SAID ABOVE THAT THE PROVISION OF SUCH A LEARNING FACILITY DIFFERS CONSIDERABLY FROM THE COVENTIONAL LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTRE SITUATION. TO PROVIDE A GENUINE _LEARNING SERVICE REQUIRES A COMBINATION OF EFFECTIVE MATERIAL AND A KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF, BUT THERE ARE ALSO NEEDS WHICH ARE MORE DIVERSE THAN THOSE OF MOST LIBRARIES: SPECIFICALLY EITHER THE OPERATING STAFF MUST BE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE INDEED OR THE MATERIAL MUST BE CAREFULLY INDEXED TO MEET THE NEEDS FOR RETRIEVAL BY A WIDE RANGE OF PERSONS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO USE CLERICAL STAFF, HELPFUL PARENTS OR POSSIBLY EVEN SENIOR PUPILS FOR RECEPTION DUTY ON A PART-TIME BASIS, AND THEY MAY NEVER BECOME FULLY FAMILIAR WITH THE COLLECTION. THE CONCLUSION WE HAVE REACHED IS THAT FOR SUCH A SITUATION, THE RETRIEVAL SUBJECT INDEX MUST BE BROKEN DOWN VERY FINELY INDEED: "EQUATIONS" IS FAR TOO BROAD A READING, CLIENTS CAN HAPPILY ASK FOR "SOMETHING ON SURDS" OR "TRINOMIALS" AND ONE MUST BE ABLE TO LOCATE AND PRODUCE ANYTHING AVAILABLE. FURTHERMORE, IF THE STAFF ARE NOT TO BE GIVEN UNNECESSARY WORK OR THE STUDENT TO BE FRUSTRATED, IT IS DESIRABLE FOR EACH ITEM TO BE MARKED WITH AN UNDERSTANDABLE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: "VECTORS (O LEVEL REVISION)" IS BETTER THAN JUST "VECTORS". WE TEND TO USE MULTIPLE-ENTRY CARDS SO THAT THE STAFF CAN SEE AT A GLANCE WHAT IS AVAILABLE ON ANY PARTICULAR TOPIC AND AT WHAT LEVEL, BUT EVEN SO WE ARE ALWAYS BEING CAUGHT OUT BY NEW AND (TO LIBRARY SUBJECT CATALOGUERS) ABTRUSE ENQUIRIES. AS TO REFERENCING MATERIAL FOR STORAGE, WE FIND IT DIFFICULT TO ADVISE ON ANY ONE SCHEME SINCE CIRCUMSTANCES DIFFER SO WIDELY. SINCE BROWSING IS NOT MUCH NEEDED IN THE SORT OF SERVICE WE ARE PROVIDING, WE USE A PIGEON-HOLING SYSTEM BY SUBJECT AND NUMBER (E.G. MATHS. 12) EACH PIGEON-HOLE CONTAINING UP TO A DOZEN ITEMS; NON-BOOK MATERIAL IS IDENTIFIED BY APPROPRIATE CODE PREFIXES SINCE IT LIVES IN DIFFERENT ROOMS. THE DISADVANTAGE IS THE DIFFICULTY IN BROWSING; THE ADVANTAGES ARE FLEXIBILITY AND EASE OF REPLACEMENT BY STAFF IN A HURRY. AS WOULD BE THE CASE IN MANY SCHOOLS WE CANNOT AFFORD TO EMPLOY STAFF FULL TIME SIMPLY FOR THE CHORE OF LOOKING AFTER A COLLECTION. ASSESSING LEARNING MATERIAL (E.G. FOR SUITABILITY) IS ALSO A PROBLEM WITH ANY LEARNING FACILITY BEING MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN IN A CONVENTIONAL LIBRARY/RESOURCE AREA SITUATION: WE MUST CONFESS THAT WE HAVE SO FAR NO OBJECTIVE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. USE OF STUDENT COMMENT FORMS IS NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL - AND IN ANY CASE WE EXIST TO SERVE STUDENTS NOT TO MAKE THEM FILL IN FREQUENT QUESTIONNAIRES. OUR OWN ASSESSMENTS ARE LARGELY SUBJECTIVE, BEING BUILT UP FROM OBSERVATION AND STUDENTS' COMMENTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT WE REALISE THAT THEY ARE STILL IMPERFECT. CONCLUSIONS THE PROBLEMS OF RUNNING A LEARNING RESOURCE FACILITY ARE ESSENTIALLY THOSE WHICH MUST BE FACED AS SOON AS THE NEEDS AND DEMANDS OF THE STUDENT OR _USER ARE GIVEN PRIORITY OVER THOSE OF THE ORGANISER. IN A CONVENTIONAL REFERENCE RESOURCE SITUATION (E.G. A LIBRARY) THE ORGANISATION AND INDEXING-RETRIEVAL ARE LARGELY ARRANGED TO SUIT THE STAFF: THE USER IS PRESUMED TO KNOW ROUGHLY WHAT HE WANTS, TO BE ABLE, WITH HELP IF NEED BE, TO FERRET OUT MATERIAL GENERALLY RELATING TO THAT AREA OF KNOWLEDGE, AND THEN TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS FOR HIMSELF THE SUITABILITY OF THAT MATERIAL. IN AN INDIVIDUAL LEARNING SITUATION, THE STUDENT MAY WELL HAVE SPECIFIC NEEDS, OR HE MAY BE UNCERTAIN. IN THE LATTER CASE, HE, TO MEET HIS OWN DEMANDS, MAY WELL NEED TO BE HELPED TO FIND OUT WHAT HE WANTS. IN EITHER CASE, HE NEEDS THEN TO BE MATCHED CLOSELY TO APPROPRIATE MATERIAL AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND THEN ASSURED OF ACADEMIC SUPPORT WHEN AND AS HE NEEDS IT. THIS IMPLIES THAT: 1. THERE IS A CLEAR ORGANISATION FOR INDUCTING, HELPING AND SUPERVISING STUDENTS, MATCHED WITH A WIDE RANGE OF EFFICIENT LEARNING MATERIAL AT VARIOUS LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY - THE LATTER IDENTIFIED IN ADVANCE; 2. THE STAFF MUST HAVE THEIR NORMAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE MATERIAL COLLECTION GREATLY INCREASED - EITHER BY PERSONAL STUDY, OR, MORE PRACTICABLY, BY A VERY DETAILED AND INFORMATIVE INDEX; 3. THERE SHOULD BE DIAGNOSTIC FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO COPE WITH PROBLEMS AND TO HELP THE STUDENT DEFINE EXACTLY WHAT HE DOES WANT; 4. THERE NEEDS TO BE A "SAFETY NET" WHEREBY SOMEONE HAS RESPONSIBILITY AT LEAST FOR KEEPING AN EYE ON A PARTICULAR STUDENT'S PROGRESS AND, IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR SUPERVISING IT; 5. THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE FLEXIBLE AND NOT TO DEPEND ON ONE OR TWO PEOPLE ONLY. IN OUR EXPERIENCE, MOST STUDENTS SEEM WILLING TO RELATE TO THE NEAREST REASONABLY SYMPATHETIC ADULT SO LONG AS THAT PERSON CAN SOLVE THEIR IMMEDIATE LEARNING PROBLEM. THE ORGANISATION IDEALLY NEEDS TO BE SUCH THAT FOR THOSE NOT NEEDING CONSTANT HELP, ANY MEMBER OF STAFF - TEACHING OR NON-TEACHING - CAN USE IT TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER. GIVEN THESE PREPREQUISITES, SUCH A FACILITY CAN SERVE A WIDE RANGE AND NUMBER OF STUDENTS BOTH EFFECTIVELY AND ECONOMICALLY, ESPECIALLY IF THE ECONOMIC CRITERIA ARE CALCULATED IN TERMS OF THE QUANTITY OF SPECIFIC LEARNING ACHIEVED IN PROPORTION TO THE NUMBER OF STAFF INVOLVED. REFERENCES. DAVIES, W.J.K. AND NEEDHAM, M. (1967) THE WORK OF A PROGRAMMED LEARNING CENTRE. _=APLET _CONFERENCE _PROCEEDINGS. DAVIES, W.J.K. AND NEEDHAM, M. (1969) A STUDY ON THE USE OF LEARNING PROGRAMMES IN AN INDIVIDUAL LEARNING SITUATION. __SCOTTISH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, _PROCEEDINGS. DAVIES, W.J.K. (1970) SAINT ALBANS PROGRAMMED LEARNING CENTRE. _EDUCATION, NOVEMBER 15, 1970. DAVIES, W.J.K. AND NEEDHAM, M. (1972) =IRMA HELPS THE HANDICAPPED, _EDUCATION, FEBRUARY, 1972. DAVIES, W.J.K. (1972) RESOURCES FOR THE LEARNER. _EDUCATION, OCTOBER, 1972. DAVIES, W.J.K. (1975) __LEARNING RESOURCES? AN ARGUMENT FOR _SCHOOLS. =CET 1975. THE AUTHORS HAVE BEEN CONCERNED WITH =PL AND =ET SINCE 1962 AND ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING THE COUNTY-PROGRAMMED LEARNING CENTRE AT SAINT ALBANS IN HERTFORDSHIRE; THE UNIT IS CONCERNED ALMOST ENTIRELY WITH DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN THE FIELD OF LEARNING RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS, INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC SERVICES MR. DAVIES HAS JUST COMPLETED A SURVEY OF RESOURCE PRACTICE IN BRITISH AND EUROPEAN SCHOOLS ON BEHALF OF =CET AND THE RESULTS ARE DUE FOR PUBLICATION IN SPRING 1975. ADDRESS: W.J.K. DAVIES, COUNTY PROGRAMMED LEARNING CENTRE, C/O SAINT ALBANS COLLEGE OF FURTHER EDUCATION, 29 HATFIELD ROAD, SAINT ALBANS, HERTS.

36, CRANBOURN STREET, LONDON =WC2H 7AD. PHONE: 01-240 0754 NEXT TO LEICESTER SQUARE TUBE STATION OFFICE HOURS 1#00 P.M. - 6#00 P.M., SATURDAY 10#00 A.M. - 5#00 P.M. DIRECTOR ALAN D. GUBBAY M.A. THE CENTRE WAS THE FIRST SCHOOL OF AUTHENTIC CLASSIC GUITAR TUITION TO BE ESTABLISHED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1952 BY LEN WILLIAMS, WHOSE MASTERY OF TECHNIQUE AND TEACHING IS ELOQUENTLY EXPRESSED BY HIS WORLD FAMOUS SON JOHN. INTEREST IN THE INSTRUMENT WAS AWAKENED AND NUTRURED BY THE DEDICATED GROUP OF TEACHERS, AND THE LIST OF STUDENTS ATTENDING SOON EXCEEDED 500. SINCE THAT TIME THE CENTRE HAS REMAINED THE FOUNTAIN-HEAD OF GUITAR ACTIVITY AND EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY. WE STILL RECOGNISE ONLY ONE METHOD - THAT OF $G ANDRES SEGOVIA. $G HISTORY HAS CONFIRMED THE TECHNICAL SUPERIORITY OF ALL THAT IS CONVEYED BY THE NAME OF $G SEGOVIA, $G AND HIS DISCIPLES ARE THE GREATEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD TODAY. TUITION TAKES THE FORM OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL LESSONS, IN THE DAYTIME AND ON SATURDAYS, AND CLASSES IN THE EVENINGS. BEGINNERS' CLASSES START EVERY WEEK, AND THEY ARE FOR THOSE WITH NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC OR THE GUITAR. CLASSES ARE CONSTANTLY RE-GROUPED TO ALLOW FOR THE PUPILS' VARYING RATES OF PROGRESS; THUS, THOSE RAPIDLY ADVANCING ARE NOT HELD BACK, NOR ARE THOSE WHO WISH TO PROCEED AT A SLOWER PACE CONSTANTLY FRUSTRATED IN TRYING TO KEEP UP. DIPLOMAS IN TECHNICAL COMPETENCE INSPIRE AN AIR OF COMPETITION, AND PROVIDE GOALS TO AIM FOR, BUT THEY ARE OF COURSE BY NO MEANS COMPULSORY OR ESSENTIAL. THE ATMOSPHERE IS ALWAYS INFORMAL AND ENTHUSIASTIC. THERE ARE COURSES IN "UNDERSTANDING MUSIC", EMBRACING THEORY, HARMONY, AND ARRANGING FROM OTHER INSTRUMENTS. THESE ARE RUN BY THE COMPOSER JOHN W. DUARTE, RECOGNISED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AS THE LEADING AUTHORITY ON MUSIC FOR THE GUITAR. STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE FULL USE OF OUR STUDIOS IN THE DAYTIME FOR PRACTICE, AND GUITARS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO AVOID THE INCONVENIENCE OF CARRYING THEIR OWN TO THE CENTRE. IT HAS NEVER BEEN OUR POLICY TO TRY TO SATISFY OUR STUDENTS WITH A LARGE RANGE OF INFERIOR INSTRUMENTS, BUT RATHER TO PATIENTLY SEEK OUT THE BEST IN EACH PRICE RANGE. OUR OWN MASTER CRAFTSMEN WORK TIRELESSLY TO PRODUCE INSTRUMENTS TO OUR EXACTING REQUIREMENTS. HARALD PETERSEN, THE DISTINGUISHED DANISH LUTHIER, CONTINUES TO CONSTRUCT EXCELLENT CONCERT GUITARS, AMONGST THE WORLD'S BEST; STRONG AND VIBRANT IN THE BASS AND YET WITH THEIR CHARACTERISTIC BRIGHT AND CLEAR TREBLE SOUND. IN RECENT YEARS WE HAVE SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED IN JAPAN FOR STUDENT AND CONCERT MODELS. SEVERAL LUTHIERS ARE NOW COMMISSIONED, AND WITH THEIR PLENTIFUL SUPPLIES OF ROSEWOOD AND METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL THEY ARE MAKING FINE INSTRUMENTS AT PRICES WHICH WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES (INCLUDING SPAIN). ALTHOUGH OF COURSE WE WELCOME SALES, WE ARE PRIMARILY A TEACHING INSTITUTION, AND NOT DEPENDENT UPON SALES REVENUE. THUS PRICES ARE ALWAYS COMPARATIVELY LOW. PROSPECTIVE BUYERS ARE INVITED TO EXAMINE AND COMPARE INSTRUMENTS IN ONE OF OUR STUDIOS, ALONE AND AT THEIR LEISURE. WE KNOW WELL THE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED IN CHOOSING, AND THERE IS NEVER ANY HURRY TO BUY. FURTHERMORE WE HAVE A CREDIT SCHEME FOR MOST MODELS AT NO FURTHER EXPENSE; AND IN ADDITION THERE IS A UNIQUE TRIAL PLAN FOR BEGINNERS WHO WISH TO TEST THEIR ABILITY TO LEARN WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY A GUITAR AT THE OUTSET. FINALLY, WE RUN A CAREFULLY ARRANGED CORRESPONDENCE COURSE FOR STUDENTS WHO CANNOT ATTEND A TEACHER FOR LONG PERIODS. A TEACHER IS APPOINTED TO EACH STUDENT AND DEALS WITH HIS PROBLEMS PROMPTLY AND EFFICIENTLY BY PERSONAL LETTER SERVICE. PUPILS VISITING LONDON ARE ENCOURAGED TO ARRANGE THE OCCASIONAL LESSON TO CHECK ON THEIR PROGRESS. AM I TOO OLD TO LEARN? THIS IS DIFFICULT TO ANSWER. OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE HAD MANY STUDENTS IN THEIR FIFTIES, AND A FEW IN THEIR SIXTIES, WHO BEGAN WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC OR ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, BUT SUCH WAS THEIR NATURAL FINGER DEXTERITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF MIND THAT THEIR PROGRESS HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLY FASTER THAN MANY OTHER PUPILS IN THEIR TEENS WITH LESS NATURAL ABILITY. ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, (AND THEY NEVER ARE) THE YOUNGER PUPIL STARTS WITH AN ADVANTAGE. AGE, HOWEVER, IS NOT A DECISIVE FACTOR. PERSONS TAKING UP THE GUITAR IN THEIR LATE FORTIES CANNOT BECOME VIRTUOSI, BUT IF THEY WORK HARD UNDER EXPERT GUIDANCE, MOST CAN BECOME GOOD PLAYERS, AND THIS CAN BE HIGHLY SATISFYING. DO I HAVE TO LEARN MUSIC? YES. READING MUSIC IS ESSENTIAL; BUT THIS IS MUCH EASIER THAN THE ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF GUITAR TECHNIQUE. ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE AN ACCOMPLISHED SIGHT READER IN ORDER TO PLAY WELL. ONLY SUCH MUSIC IS TAUGHT AS IS NECESSARY FOR EACH STAGE OF PRACTICAL ADVANCE. TUITION STARTS WITH MUSIC AND THE GUITAR TOGETHER, QUITE NATURALLY, AND WITH NO UNDUE STRAIN ON MIND OR MEMORY. A PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC IS SOME ADVANTAGE, BUT NOT REALLY IMPORTANT. WHAT TYPE OF INSTRUMENT DO I NEED? INSTRUMENTS WITH NARROW OR SHORT FINGERBOARDS ARE DIFFICULT TO PLAY AND HARMFUL FOR BEGINNERS, AND INSTRUMENTS WITH BODIES CONSTRUCTED ENTIRELY OF PLYWOOD GIVE POOR AND FEEBLE TONE, AS DO THOSE WITHOUT FAN-BRACING. GUITARS WITH STEEL STRINGS ARE COMPLETELY UNSUITABLE; THEY ARE TOO HEAVILY CONSTRUCTED, THE STRINGS ARE DIFFICULT TO HOLD DOWN WITH THE LEFT HAND AND THEY CANNOT BE PLAYED IN THE CLASSICAL STYLE. THEY ARE MADE TO BE PLAYED WITH A PLECTRUM. THE BEGINNER SHOULD ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF HIS TEACHER BEFORE COMMITTING HIMSELF TO A NEW AND POSSIBLY UNSUITABLE INSTRUMENT, AS THERE ARE MANY PITFALLS FOR THE UNWARY. THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF THE AUTHENTIC CLASSIC GUITAR ARE ILLUSTRATED BELOW. WIDTH OF FINGERBOARD AT NUT: 2 1/16 INCH. SCALE OF VIBRATING LENGTH OF STRINGS FROM SADDLE TO NUT: 25 3/4 INCHES. WIDTH AT TOP BOUT: 11 1/8 INCHES. WIDTH AT NARROW SECTION OF TABLE: 9 1/2 INCHES. WIDTH AT BOTTOM BOUT: 14 1/2 INCHES. NYLON AND BOUND STRINGS LOOPED OVER SPANISH TYPE BRIDGE. FRONT TABLE: SEASONED, UNBLEMISHED, CLOSE GRAINED SPRUCE FROM THE BLACK FOREST, WITH ANNULAR DIVISIONS ABOUT 12 - 16 PER INCH. BEST WOODS SHOW THE CROSS GRAIN "SILK" PATTERN. IF THE GRAIN WIDENS AT THE OUTER EDGE OF THE TABLE THIS SHOULD BE GRADUAL. A SOUND BOARD OF WOOD CUT TANGENTIALLY WILL NOT VIBRATE PROPERLY AND IS LIABLE TO WARP. THE END GRAIN MUST BE VERTICAL. FAN STRUTS: SITKA SPRUCE. BACK, SIDES AND BRIDGE: ROSEWOOD, EITHER EAST INDIAN, OR PALISANDA OR JACARANDA FROM BRAZIL. IN THE CASE OF SOME PETERSEN MODELS HIGH QUALITY SYCAMORE IS USED FOR THE BACK AND SIDES. NECK: MAHOGANY. FINGERBOARD: EBONY OR ROSEWOOD IN CHEAPER INSTRUMENTS. FRETS ARE OF GERMAN SILVER. CROSS STRUTS: HONDURAS MAHOGANY. LINING: LINDEN SPRUCE. NUT, SADDLE AND ROLLERS: IVORY. TUNING MACHINES: BRASS WITH WORMS OF HIGHLY TEMPERED STEEL. TODAY, THERE IS A LARGE AND RAPIDLY INCREASING REPERTOIRE OF MUSIC TO CHOOSE FROM, INCLUDING BOTH ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS AND TRANSCRIPTIONS FROM OTHER INSTRUMENTS. THE MODERN GUITARIST WITH A SOUND BASIC TECHNIQUE CAN TAKE WHICHEVER PATH HE FANCIES; FROM BACH TO JAZZ, OR FROM ELIZABETHAN LUTE MUSIC TO THE NOBEL MUSIC OF SPAIN; AND AS EVER THE GUITAR REMAINS THE PERFECT TROUBADOUR INSTRUMENT. ALTHOUGH THE NATIONAL INSTRUMENT OF SPAIN, THE GUITAR HAS NOW BECOME COSMOPOLITAN, AND JUST AS WE NO LONGER REFER TO THE ITALIAN VIOLIN OR THE SWISS ACCORDION, SIMILARLY THERE IS A TENDANCY TO DROP THE TERM SPANISH IN CONNECTION WITH THE CLASSIC GUITAR. FURTHERMORE, AT THE PRESENT TIME MOST AUTHENTIC "SPANISH" GUITARS ARE MADE OUTSIDE SPAIN. THE MOST REMARKABLE STRINGED INSTRUMENT OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY WAS NOT, AS MANY SUPPOSE, THE LYRE, FAVOURED BY DILETTANTE AND AMATEURS AND AFFECTED BY LESBIANS, BUT UNDOUBTEDLY THE KITHARA, TODAY FORGOTTEN. THIS WAS HOMER'S INSTRUMENT, AND GREEK LEGEND ATTRIBUTES ITS INVENTION TO APOLLO, GOD OF LIGHT AND PATRON OF MUSIC AND POETRY. IT CONSISTED OF A SOUND-BOX WITH SIDE-WALLS FROM WHICH PROJECTED TWO ARMS TERMINATING IN A CROSS-BAR, THE YOLK, WHICH CARRIED THE STRINGS. THE ARMS WERE ALWAYS BEAUTIFULLY CURVED. ORIGINALLY THEY WERE MADE OF RAM'S HORN, AND LATER OF WOOD: THE STRINGS WERE OF PLANT FIBRE OR ANIMAL SINEW. THE GREEKS BEGAN COLONISING MEDITERRANEAN GAUL AS EARLY AS 630 =BC, AND BY THE 5TH CENTURY =BC GREEK CITIES DOTTED THE COASTS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEAS, AND THE KITHARA HAD BECOME COSMOPOLITAN. THE EARIEST REPRESENTATION OF THE GUITAR DATES FROM THE 11TH CENTURY, AND IS FOUND ON A CAPITAL OF THE ABBEY OF SAINT GEORGES NEAR ROUEN. AT THIS TIME, THE DARK AGES, THE WHOLE OF EUROPE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE MUSLIM DOMAIN AND MEDITERRANEAN GAUL WAS CULTURALLY STAGNANT. THE SPANIARDS AS YET HAD NO MUSICAL TRADITION AND WERE ENGAGED IN BITTER WARFARE, AND MUSLIM MUSIC WAS OF THE PRIMATIVE ORIENTAL TYPE PERMITTING OF NO WORTHWHILE DEVELOPMENT. IT WAS THUS LEFT TO THE PROVENCALS, WHO HAD BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE GREEK TETRACHORD FOR 1500 YEARS, TO GROPE THEIR WAY TOWARD THE DIATONIC SCALE, AND EXPERIMENT WITH INSTRUMENTS LIKE THE CITTERN WITH ITS SELF-SUPPORTING NECK, UNTIL THE GUITAR WAS PRODUCED - STILL PRESERVING THE ANCIENT GRACEFUL CURVED OUTLINE. THUS DERIVED FROM THE KITHARA BOTH IN CONSTRUCTION AND ETYMOLOGY, "IT SPREAD LIKE A MIGHTY WAVE OVER ALL EUROPE: THE GLORY OF THE ORCHESTRA WAS AT ITS DAWN". IN THE 16TH CENTURY THERE EMERGED IN SPAIN THE $G VIHUELA, $G A LARGER AND MORE REFINED VERSION OF THE PRIMITIVE GUITAR, WITH FURTHER STRINGS. THIS WAS PLAYED BOTH WITH THE BOW AND FINGERS AMBIVALENTLY. THE BEST-KNOWN VIHUELIST OF THE TIME WAS LUIS MILAN, AND A WEALTH OF VALUABLE CONTRAPUNTAL MUSIC WAS WRITTEN. $G FERNANDO $G SOR IS REGARDED AS THE FIRST GREAT MASTER OF THE GUITAR. HE WAS A PROLIFIC COMPOSER, VIRTUOSO PLAYER, AND THE FOUNDER OF THE MODERN SCHOOL OF TECHNIQUE. IN 1809, DURING THE NAPOLEONIC INVASION OF SPAIN, SOR FLED TO ENGLAND AND CAUSED A SENSATION WITH HIS EXTRAORDINARY SKILL AND MUSICIANSHIP, PRESENTING A NEW PHASE IN TONAL ART. HIS FAME, HOWEVER, WAS TRANSIENT, AND WHEN HE RETURNED AGAIN TO EUROPE AFTER A TWO YEAR VIST TO RUSSIA, THE INSTRUMENT WAS NO LONGER FASHIONABLE. SOR SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE FORGOTTEN AND REJECTED IN PARIS. OTHER COMPOSERS AND VIRTUOSI OF THAT ERA WERE ATTRACTED TO THE GUITAR. $G PAGANNINI $G CLAIMED THAT HE "LOVED THE GUITAR FOR ITS HARMONY". HE WAS AN ACCOMPLISHED PLAYER, AND AT ONE TIME DISCARDED THE VIOLIN FOR THREE YEARS IN FAVOUR OF THE GUITAR. HE WROTE A GREAT DEAL OF MUSIC FOR THE INSTRUMENT. FURTHER ADVANCES IN CONSTRUCTION CAME WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF FAN-STRUTTING BY $G ANTONIO TORRES, $G AN OBSCURE SPANISH CARPENTER, IN THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY. EXPERIMENTS HAD ALREADY BEEN MADE WITH THIS SYSTEM EARLIER IN THE CENTURY IN SPAIN, AND IT HAD ALSO BEEN USED BY LOUIS PANORMO IN ENGLAND IN HIS GUITARS "IN THE SPANISH STYLE". TORRES DEMONSTRATED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FRONT TABLE IN THE PRODUCTION OF SOUND, BY MAKING INSTRUMENTS WITH BACKS AND SIDES OF INERT $G PAPIER MACH[E. $G THE FANWISE BRACING NOT ONLY ALLOWS THE SOUNDBOARD THUS SUPPORTED TO BE MADE MUCH THINNER AND MORE FLEXIBLE, BUT ALSO ASSISTS IN THE TRANSMISSION OF MAXIMUM VIBRATION FROM THE BRIDGE TO ALL PARTS OF THE FRONT, PRODUCING A FULL AND RESPONSIVE TONE. TORRES ALSO FURTHER ENLARGED THE BODY AND FIXED THE SCALE LENGTH. THE MODERN CONCERT GUITAR WAS BORN. TOWARD THE END OF THE LAST CENTURY, $G FRANCISCO TARREGA $G MADE MANY IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SOR TECHNIQUE. THESE INCLUDED THE MODERN METHOD OF HOLDING THE INSTRUMENT, POSITION OF THE HANDS, AND THE MANNER OF PICKING THE STRINGS. HE WROTE SOME TUNEFUL AND ROMANTIC MUSIC FOR THE INSTRUMENT, AND CONTRIBUTED MANY NOTABLE TRANSCRIPTIONS. INDEED ALBENIZ, HAVING HEARD SOME OF HIS OWN COMPOSITIONS PLAYED ON THE GUITAR, IS SAID TO HAVE PREFERRED THEM TO THE ORIGINAL PIANO VERSIONS. IT SEEMS THAT TARREGA WAS EXTREMELY SHY. HE GAVE VERY FEW PUBLIC RECITALS IN HIS LIFETIME, AND HIS INFLUENCE WAS MOSTLY BY PERSONAL CONTACT. IN HIS NATIVE TOWN OF CASTELLON STANDS A MONUMENT IN HONOUR OF THIS GREAT MUSICIAN AND INTERPRETER OF THE NATIONAL INSTRUMENT. $G TARREGA'S $G EARLY SUCCESS IN PIANO-FORTE PLAYING AND HARMONY AT THE $G CONSERVATOIRE $G OF MADRID MIGHT HAVE OPENED FOR HIM A MORE LUCRATIVE CAREER, BUT HE COULD NOT RESIST THE CALL OF THE INSTRUMENT HE LOVED SO MUCH, AND WAS DESTINED TO LIVE THE LATTER YEARS OF HIS LIFE IN POVERTY IN BARCELONA. IN 1909, THE YEAR OF TARREGA'S DEATH, SEGOVIA GAVE HIS FIRST RECITAL IN GRANADA, AND EMBARKED UPON HIS LONG AND DISTINGUISHED CAREER. HE MADE IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS ON THE BASIS OF TARREGA'S TECHNIQUE CONCERNED MAINLY WITH THE QUESTION OF RIGHT HAND TECHNIQUE, THE STRIKING ACTION OF THE THUMB, AND BY ADVOCATING THE USE OF NAILS IN PICKING THE STRINGS. THUS AT LAST, THE GUITAR EMERGED FROM THE SHADOWS OF DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY INTO THE SUNLIGHT; BROUGHT FROM THE DRAWING-ROOM OF TARREGA INTO THE CONCERT HALL OF SEGOVIA. SEGOVIA REPRESENTS THE GREATEST EXPONENT OF THE INSTRUMENT, A MUSICIAN WITHOUT WHOM THE HISTORY OF THE GUITAR WOULD LACK MEANING. THROUGH HIS MANY PERFORMANCES AND RECORDINGS HE HAS INSPIRED A WHOLE GENERATION OF GUITARISTS AND COMPOSERS AND THE REPERTOIRE OF THE INSTRUMENT HAS BEEN ENRICHED BY MANY HUNDREDS OF COMPOSITIONS AND TRANSCRIPTIONS. THE FINAL PHASE IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE GUITAR CAME IN 1947, WHEN ALBERT AUGUSTINE REPLACED THE FEEBLE GUT STRINGS WITH NYLON. MONOFILAMENT IS NOW USED FOR THE TREBLE STRINGS, AND WIRE WOUND NYLON FLOSS FOR THE BASS. THESE STRINGS ARE RELIABLE, LAST INFINITELY LONGER, AND BRING GREATLY INCREASED VOLUME AND DYNAMIC RANGE TO THE MODERN GUITAR. THE GUITAR IS A MINIATURE ORCHESTRA, COMPLETE IN ITSELF WITH ITS BROAD SPECTRUM OF TONE COLOURS. IT COMBINES ITS POWER AS A SOLO INSTRUMENT WITH THE ENTENDED HARMONY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KEYBOARD, WHILST PORTAMENTO (GLIDING FROM ONE NOTE TO THE NEXT) AND VIBRATO (SLIGHT WAVERING OF SOUND) ADD THE SOUL AND WARMTH OF THE ORCHESTRAL STRINGS. THE INTIMATE CONTACT BETWEEN THE STRINGS AND FINGERS IMBUES THE GUITAR WITH A FRIENDLY AND PERSONAL CHARACTER; NO OTHER INSTRUMENT IS HELD AND PLAYED WITH SUCH NATURAL GRACE, AND ITS VERSALITY AND ELOQUENCE MAKE IT IDEAL FOR EXPRESSING THE FULL RANGE OF EMOTION AND SENTIMENT.

WAGNER'S FAMOUS COMPLAINT TO LUDWIG =II OF BAVARIA THAT HAVING INVENTED THE INVISIBLE ORCHESTRA, HE WISHED HE COULD GO ON TO INVENT THE INVISIBLE STAGE, WAS NOT MERELY PROMPTED BY A SET OF FLOUNCY BLUMENMADCHEN COSTUMES. THAT HE WAS HIMSELF PLUNGED INTO SELF-DOUBT EVERY TIME HIS DESIGNERS ATTEMPTED TO REALIZE HIS WRITTEN PRESCRIPTIONS, IS CLEAR FROM HIS STATEMENT THAT THE STAGE DIRECTIONS "MUST REMAIN PUZZLES FOR AESTHETIC CRITICISM UNTIL THEY HAVE FULFILLED THEIR PURPOSE AS TECHNICALLY FIXED POINTS IN A COMPLETE DRAMATIC REPRESENTATION, AS HINTS FOR ACTING, AS STIMULI FOR THE CREATIVE IMAGINATION." THE FIRST USEFUL RESPONSE TO THIS PLEA FOR HELP, CAME (SOME TIME AFTER WAGNER'S DEATH) FROM THE SWISS ARCHITECT ADOLPHE APPIA, WHO SUBMITTED TO BAYREUTH DESIGNS WHOSE AUSTERE SIMPLICITY CAPTURES THE ESSENTIAL ATMOSPHERE AND LEAVES THE REST TO THE MUSIC, TO THE SINGING ACTOR, AND TO THE SPECTATOR'S IMAGINATION. ALTHOUGH THESE DESIGNS WERE WARMLY COMMENDED TO COSIMA BY HER SON-IN-LAW, HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN - WHO HAD DISMISSED THE FAVOURED STAGE-ARTIST MAX BRUCKNER'S DESIGNS AS "FAMILIAR STUFF, WITHOUT A TRACE OF INVENTION OR IMAGINATION" - SHE ONLY MUTTERED SOMETHING ABOUT NANSEN'S PICTURES OF THE NORTH POLE EXPEDITION, AND WOULD HAVE NONE OF THEM. BY THE TIME APPIA'S IDEAS OF THE 1890'S ARRIVED ON THE BAYREUTH STAGE (THROUGH WIELAND WAGNER IN HIS 1951 _PARSIFAL), THE LANGUAGE THEY EMBODIED HAD BECOME A VIRTUAL COMMONPLACE OF MODERN THEATRE DESIGN, NOTABLY THROUGH THE WORK OF EDWARD GORDON CRAIG AND OF LEOPOLD JESSNER. THE DEBATE ABOUT THE STAGING OF WAGNER IS FOR THE MOST PART CONFINED TO TWO OPPOSED FACTIONS, THE ONE HOLDING THAT WAGNER'S INSTRUCTIONS OUGHT TO BE CARRIED OUT TO THE LETTER, THE OTHER THAT THEY OUGHT NOT. BUT THE STAGING PROBLEM TO WHICH APPIA OFFERED A SOLUTION, AND WHICH WIELAND SOLVED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN PRACTICE, MAY BEST BE PUT THUS. SINCE WAGNER'S MUSIC - PARTICULARLY IN THE _RING, WHICH IS OUR CONCERN HERE - IS RICHLY MIMETIC, IS ANY DRAMATIC PURPOSE SERVED BY TRYING TO TRANSLATE THE ORCHESTRAL DRAMA INTO VISUAL TERMS? IF ONE IS UNMUSICAL, THE ANSWER IS PLAINLY YES, OTHERWISE THE TRUE DRAMA, THAT IS, THE _MUSICIAN'S DRAMA, WOULD BE HEARD MERELY TO THUNDER ALONG, UNPRESENTED AND UNINTELLIGIBLE, BUT ONE CAN BE MUSICAL AND STILL SUBSCRIBE TO A VISUALLY "FAITHFUL" STAGING - NAMELY, BY ARGUING ON THE SIDE OF $G_GESAMTKUNSTWERK$G IDEOLOGY, NOT TO SAY OF DOWNRIGHT SYNAESTHESIA, THAT THE ARTISTIC AIM MUST BE THAT TOTAL SATISFACTION WHICH DERIVES FROM CONCORDANT SENSORY IMPRESSIONS. AGAINST SUCH ARGUMENTS, WIELAND HELD FIRST THAT A SUPERABUNDANCE OF DETAIL COULD NOT BUT DETRACT FROM THE LARGER, MORE IMPORTANT PATTERNS IN DRAMAS WHICH HE SAW AS IN ESSENCE MYTHICAL, RATHER THAN EPIC AND NARRATIVE. AND SECONDLY HE MADE THE OBSERVATION, WHICH IS PLAIN COMMON SENSE, THAT IT'S JUST A BORE FOR BOTH STAGE AND ORCHESTRA TO TRY TO DO WHAT THE OTHER IS DOING. WHAT HE WANTED, AS PIERRE BOULEZ, HIS LAST _PARSIFAL CONDUCTOR, HAS CONFIRMED, WAS AN EXACTLY COORDINATED "CREATIVE DISAGREEMENT" BETWEEN STAGE AND PIT. THERE CAN BE LITTLE DOUBT THAT WIELAND'S DESIGNS AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE "NEW BAYREUTH" ERA HAVE BEEN THE DOMINANT INFLUENCE ON POSTWAR WAGNER STAGING. EVERY NOW AND THEN THE OPPOSING ARMY HAS MUSTERED ITS BEAR, RAMS, RAVENS, DRAGONS AND OTHER INGENIOUS CONTRIVANCES IN COUNTER-ASSAULT, BUT THE QUARTERMASTER HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEFEATED BY THE FAILURE OF ONE OR OTHER VITAL ELEMENT, SO THAT THE PARTY, PERFORCE BRANDISHING THE NON-EXISTENT WEAPONS RIGHTLY BELONGING TO THE OTHER SIDE, HAS RETIRED IN DISORDERLY IGNOMINY. (ISN'T THIS A PITY?) SHEER FRUSTRATION MAY HAVE THROWN UP A JUGENDSTIL _PARSIFAL (IN MUNICH), A POP AND OP _RING (IN KASSEL) AND SOCIO-POLITICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF MOST OF THE OPERAS (IN LEIPZIG, ETC). BUT BY AND LARGE MOST PRODUCTIONS HAVE SEIZED ON WIELAND'S IDEAL OF AN ESSENTIALLY ABSTRACT STAGE PRESENTATION, ONLY TO FAIL THROUGH STRIKING UNEASY COMPROMISES WITH REALISM. SO ANYONE WHO WOULD MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF AS A WAGNER PRODUCER HAS SOMEHOW TO ACCOMMODATE WIELAND'S (DRAMATICALLY SUCCESSFUL) SOLUTIONS TO THE FUNDAMENTALIST'S PROGRAMME OF STICKING CLOSELY TO THE ORIGINAL MISE-EN-SC[ENE. THIS HAS BEEN GOTZ FRIEDRICH'S AIM. HIS 1972 _TANNHAUSER WAS THE TALK OF BAYREUTH, AND THE FIRST TWO PARTS OF HIS NEW LONDON PRODUCTION OF THE _RING HAVE JUST BEEN SEEN AT COVENT GARDEN. FROM HIS CRITICAL ATTITUDE TO BOTH THE PREVAILING ORTHODOXIES OF STAGING, HE HAS FOUND A WAY OF MARRYING HIS INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER OF WAGNER'S INSTRUCTIONS TO A NOTION OF STAGECRAFT WHICH IS ENTIRELY MODERN. FRIEDRICH WILL GO DOWN AS THE PRODUCER WHO MOUNTED THE _RING ON A REVOLVING QUADRILATERAL PLATFORM, AND THUS DARED TO SQUARE THE ETERNAL CIRCLE. THE PRESENCE OF SUCH A MIRACLE OF HYDRAULICS (DEVISED BY THE CZECH DESIGNER, JOSEF SVOBODA) IS NOT SEEN BY FRIEDRICH AS ANY OBSTACLE TO INTERPRETING _SOME OF WAGNER'S INSTRUCTIONS MORE LITERALLY THAN THEY CAN EVER HAVE BEEN BEFORE. THUS ALTHOUGH HIS VALKYRIES DON'T ACTUALLY RIDE (THEIR FEATHER-SKIRTED CLOAKS AND AGGRESSIVELY PLUMED HEADS PROCLAIM THEM BIRDS OF PREY), THEY ARE ACTIVE ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE, TRANSPORTING THE CHARRED CORPSES OF WARRIORS TO VALHALLA. THIS ORIGINATES IN A CLOSE READING OF WAGNER'S TEXT, WHICH SHOULD, AFTER ALL, BE ANY PRODUCER'S STARTING-POINT. FRIEDRICH'S INTERPRETATION IS EXPLICITLY ANTI-PSYCHOLOGICAL: THE DRAMA IS ALLOWED TO DEVELOP FROM THE ELOQUENCE OF CONCRETE DETAIL, A TENDENCY HE WAS QUICK TO SPOT IN THE LATER PRODUCTIONS OF WIELAND AND THOSE OF HIS BROTHER WOLFGANG. BEARING IN MIND WHAT WAS POSSIBLE ON EVEN THE MOST ADVANCED CONTEMPORARY STAGE, WITH ITS PAINTED FLATS AND PRE-ELECTRIC LIGHTING, FRIEDRICH MUST HAVE ASKED HIMSELF WHAT THE COMPOSER COULD REALLY HAVE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE IN TERMS OF THE TARNHELM TURNING ITS WEARER INTO A DRAGON, A TOAD, AND WHATNOT, OF VALKYRIES ON HORSEBACK AMONG THE STORM-CLOUDS, AND OF SIEGFRIED WITH GRANE IN HIS BOAT ON THE RHINE; ABOVE ALL, HOW CAN HE HAVE HOPED TO ENCOMPASS THE COLLAPSE OF THE PALACE OF THE GIBICHUNGS AND THAT FINAL COSMIC HOLOCAUST/INUNDATION WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO ENVELOP THE STAGE? ALL THIS IS IN THE MUSIC ITSELF, AND THAT IN FACT _IS WAGNER'S DEFINITIVE SOLUTION; TO REALIZE THIS IS NO HELP TO US, ANY MORE THAN IT WAS TO WAGNER, IN DECIDING WHAT TO DO ON THE _STAGE. WAGNER'S LITERALISM MADE HIM ANXIOUS THAT THE DRAMATIS ANIMALIA SHOULD NOT LACK FOR A RAVEN, AND IT IS PROBABLE THAT THE AUDIENCE'S RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT CONVENTIONS OF ILLUSION WAS RATHER MORE GENEROUS AND COMPREHENDING THAT IT WOULD BE TODAY. BUT SUCH EXPERIENCED THEATRE MEN AS RICHARD FRICKE, WHO WAS CALLED UPON TO CHOREOGRAPH EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING FROM FAFNER TO THE SWIMMING MACHINES (INGENIOUSLY DEVISED FOR THE INTREPID RHINE-DAUGHTERS), AND KARL BRANDT WHO DESIGNED THESE AND ALL THE BAYREUTH MACHINERY, WERE ADAMANT IN WARNING THE COMPOSER _AGAINST EXPLICITNESS. FRICKE, INDEED, WAS CERTAIN THAT PEOPLE WOULD LAUGH AT THE DRAGON - SO THEY DID - AND HE BEGGED, UNSUCCESSFULLY, THAT IT SHOULD BE A HEARD, RATHER THAN A SEEN, PRESENCE. WITH THE MEANS TODAY AVAILABLE, HOWEVER, MOST OF THIS COULD BE CONVINCINGLY CONTRIVED (THOUGH SURELY EVEN WAGNER'S ORCHESTRA MUST SOMETIME HAVE PLAYED SECOND FIDDLE TO THE ENDEARINGLY UNPREDICTABLE ANTICS OF THE MENAGERIE, AND STILL WOULD TODAY). AND IT SHOULD BE, MAINTAINS FRIEDRICH: WHEREVER IT HELPS THE DRAMA ALONG. HOW, THEN, ARE WE BEST TO CONCEIVE THE NATURE OF THAT DRAMA? WAGNER'S THEATRE WAS ONE OF ILLUSION - THE TWIN PROSCENIUM ARCHES AT BAYREUTH ARE DELIBERATELY DESIGNED TO AMPLIFY ILLUSORY EFFECTS. SOUNDS AND SIGHTS WERE PART OF A DIONYSIAN STRATEGY TO INTOXICATE THE SENSES, TRANSPORTING THE SPECTATOR TO THAT MYSTICAL PLANE WHERE, ALONE, THE GLORIES AND MISERIES OF THE HUMAN CONDITION, AND INDEED TRUTH ITSELF, COULD BE EXPERIENCED, EVEN IF NOT ALWAYS BROUGHT WITHIN THE APOLLONIAN REALM. THAT, ANYWAY, WAS NIETZSCHE'S ANALYSIS OF WAGNER'S PROGRAMME, AND IT IS AGAINST THAT KIND OF IDEOLOGY THAT FRIEDRICH SETS THE WHOLE WEIGHT OF MODERN SCEPTICISM AND MILITANT UNBELIEF. ONLY FOR THE NAIVE AND GULLIBLE CAN SUCH A PROGRAMME STILL CARRY ITS OLD MEANING. WHERE DOES THE _RING TAKE PLACE, ASKS FRIEDRICH: IN ICELAND, IN THE NORTH OF SWEDEN, IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY GERMANY, IN THE VICINITY OF SOME PRESIDENTIAL PALACE, OR FAR HENCE IN A DISTANT GALAXY? HIS OWN TERSE REJOINDER IS: "IF THE PLACE OF ACTION MUST BE STATED, IT IS THE STAGE OF COVENT GARDEN." A BRAVE ANSWER, WHICH IMMEDIATELY COMMITS HIM TO FRAMING HIS SHOW WITH A PUCKISH SHAKESPEARIAN EPILOGUE AND DEPLOYING BRECHTIAN TACTICS OF ALIENATION. "SEE", SAYS LOGE, DANGLING HIS FEET IN THE ORCHESTRA PIT AT THE END OF _RHEIN/GOLD, "ITS NO MORE THAN A CRAZY SHOW. WHAT'S TO BE MADE OF IT?" WHEN WOTAN LEAVES THE FLAME-GIRT MOUNTAIN-TOP AT THE END OF _WALKURE, IT IS SO THAT HIS CHALLENGE, $G"WEM MEINES SPEERES SPITZE FURCHTET, DURCHSCHREITE DAS FEUER WIE]"$G MAY BE ADDRESSED, FROM THE COLD AND NEUTRAL LIGHT OF THE FRONT OF THE STAGE, DIRECTLY TO THE AUDIENCE. ILLUSIONS _ARE ILLUSIONS, AND THE WAGNER WHO CHRISTENED HIS BAYREUTH VILLA "WAHNFRIED", SURELY WOULD NOT BE TOO DISPLEASED WITH FRIEDRICH'S STRATEGY OF CREATING STAGE SPECTACULARS WHICH NEVER ALLOW TO FORGET FOR ONE INSTANT THAT THEY ARE JUST THAT. SVOBODA'S MIRRORS CAN BOTH REFLECT AND REFRACT GRAVITY-GOVERNED BALLETICS INTO VIRTUAL IMAGES IN ANOTHER ELEMENT, AND OPEN UP THE MINING GALLERIES AND FORGING SHOPS OF NIBELHEIM ITSELF. BUT AT SOME POINT WE WILL WANT TO LAUGH: AND SO THE OCCASIONAL RHINEMAID-FOR-REAL BOBS UP OUT OF THE BATH OF MIRRORS TO CONFOUND OUR INCREDULITY, AND AT THE CENTRE OF NIBELHEIM STANDS THE CRYSTAL-ENCRUSTED DALEK, ALBERICH, AS IF TO REMIND US THAT THE WHOLE SUBTERRANEAN EPISODE CAN ONLY BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY IF SEEN AS A PARODY OF =SF SOAP-OPERA - ELECTRONICALLY AMPLIFIED VOICES. FRENETICALLY SEMAPHORING LIGHT-SYSTEMS, AND ALL. BUT IT IS WHEN FRIEDRICH TURNS TO THEORIZING ABOUT MYTH THAT THE HONEST-TO-TECHNOLOGY APPROACH OF HIS STAGING BEGINS TO LOOK A LITTLE OVER-HEATED. HIS IDEA IS THAT ANY OPERATIC PRODUCTION INVOKES THREE FRAMES OF REFERENCE: THE _NOTIONAL WORLD OF THE OPERA ITSELF (FOR EXAMPLE, THAT OF NORDIC MYTHOLOGY); THE _ACTUAL, BUT _HISTORICAL, WORLD INTO WHICH IT WAS FIRST LAUNCHED BY ITS COMPOSER AND LIBRETTIST; AND THE _ACTUAL WORLD OF THE _MOMENT OF PERFORMANCE ITSELF. IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO BRING ALL THREE TIME-SCALES INTO HARMONY, THEN ONE MAY, ACCORDING TO THE THEORY, SET ONE'S SIGHTS ON THE WORK'S PROPHETIC CONTENT. HERE FRIEDRICH SETS UP A TWO-FOLD "UTOPIAN" GOAL, NAMELY THE FULLEST POSSIBLE REALIZATION OF WAGNER'S OWN THEATRICAL OBJECTIVES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FULFILMENT "OF ]HIS] HUMANISTIC AND POLITICAL IDEAS". AS TO WHETHER BY THE LATTER IS MEANT MAKING THE STAGE EVENTS FALL IN LINE WITH THE THEORIES, OR THE GLAD DAY WHEN THEY WILL DAWN ON THE MORE MUNDANE SIDE OF THE "MYSTIC CHASM" THAT AT BAYREUTH (AT ANY RATE) SERVES AS ORCHESTRA-PIT, HE IS EVIDENTLY NOT ALTOGETHER CLEAR. BUT IF IT IS A POLITICAL AS OPPOSED TO AN ARTISTIC UTOPIA HE HAS IN MIND, THEN WE WOULD DO BETTER TO DERIVE ITS CODE OF CONDUCT FROM THE OPERAS, AND PARTICULARLY THE _RING, THAN FROM THE MASTER'S POLITICAL TESTAMENT ITSELF. AND IF THE _RING IS TO BE OUR MODEL, WE ARE FACED WITH THE DILEMMA OF WHETHER TO _READ IT IN ORDER TO FIND THERE THE SANGUINE SPIRIT OF FEUERBACH (WHO GUIDED THE PEN OF THE POET WAGNER), OR TO _LISTEN TO IT FOR THE MELANCHOLIC SPIRIT OF SCHOPENHAUER, WHO HAD SO DEEPLY TOUCHED WAGNER THE _COMPOSER IN THE COURSE OF HIS PROTRACTED WORK ON THE SCORE. IN PRACTICAL TERMS THIS SEEMS TO BOIL DOWN TO SETTING INDIVIDUAL OPERAS OF THE _RING, AND INDIVIDUAL SCENES WITHIN THOSE OPERAS, IN "FRAMES", THE LANGUAGE OF WHOSE SYMBOLISM IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE. BUT IN FRIEDRICH'S _RHEIN/GOLD THE PRESENTATION OF THE CHARACTERS WAS SUCH A FARRAGO OF TRENDY STYLES, AND THERE WAS SO MUCH (OFTEN AMUSING) REFERENTIAL DISTRACTION ON STAGE, THAT AT THE END NO CLUE REMAINED AS TO THE SCHEME THAT MUST HAVE BOUND EVERYTHING TOGETHER IN HIS MIND. UNLESS, THAT IS, WE WERE WITNESSING THE FIRST ROUND IN A HOT-BLOODED SUICIDE-PACT BETWEEN PRE-INDUSTRIAL HIGH SOCIETY, INFIRM THROUGH EXCESSIVE INTER-BREEDING AND TECHNOLOGICAL PROLETARIANISM. BUT WITHOUT BEING NUDGED BY THE EXTRACTS FROM SHAW'S _PERFECT _WAGNERITE AND HANS MAYER'S ESSAY "THE ' RING' AS A BOURGEOIS PARABLE" WHICH APPEAR IN THE PROGRAMME, WOULD ONE HAVE GUESSED AS MUCH? WHAT WENT WRONG HERE WAS THAT INSTEAD OF A MARRIAGE OF THE THREE LEVELS OF FRIEDRICH'S THEORY, THERE WERE A GOOD DOZEN MYTHOLOGIES WARRING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. WHATEVER VIEW A PRODUCER TAKES OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF MYTHOLOGIES - AND THIS IS A CENTRAL QUESTION IN ANY PSYCHOLOGY OF THE THEATRE - UNLESS THE CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS CAN BE WELDED INTO A COHERENT _NEW MYTHOLOGY, THEN HIS TIME-MACHINE IS AN ENGINE FOR NOTHING BUT CHAOS. A PRODUCER OF GOTZ FRIEDRICH'S AMBITION MUST NEEDS BE A MYTH MAKER, AND ONLY SINGLE VISION CAN HELP HIM HERE. THEORY CANNOT. LET HIM INSIST FOR ALL HE IS WORTH THAT THE _RING IS "NEITHER MYTH NOR HISTORY", BUT SOMETHING HAPPENING ON A STAGE; THE PRIMEVAL ELOQUENCE OF THE MUSIC WILL PROVE HIM WRONG WHERE NOTHING ELSE WILL. LET THE THEATRE OF ILLUSION BE ABOLISHED, BY ALL MEANS, BUT FOR A PRODUCER TO DENY TO EVEN THE MOST COLDLY-CALCULATED POSES STRUCK UPON HIS STAGE A SIGNIFICANCE WIDER THAN THE IMMEDIATE ACTION, IS A FORM OF ARTISTIC SUICIDE AND A SILLY ONE AT THAT. BUT AT LEAST THE DAGGER OF THEORY CAN BE THROWN AWAY, AND THE DEED UNDONE. DIE WALKURE SHOWED AN ALTOGETHER MORE COHERENT SCHEME THAN WAS EVIDENT IN _DAS _RHEIN/GOLD, THE ONLY REAL NOVELTIES HERE BEING THE MIME (DURING THE PRELUDE) OF THE BATTLE FROM WHICH SIEGMUND EVENTUALLY STAGGERS, EXHAUSTED, INTO HUNDING'S HUT, AND THE HAWKLIKE VALKYRIES, SEEN AS RELUCTANT EMISSARIES OF A WOTAN WHO HAS STIRRED UP A WAR ON EARTH SIMPLY TO GET A SUPPLY OF MORTAL HEROES SLAIN, AND SO CARRIED UP TO VALHALLA TO MAN ITS BATTLEMENTS AGAINST THE COMING INVASION. (IT IS INDICATIVE OF WOTAN'S HAVING JOINED THE RANKS OF YESTERDAY'S MEN THAT HE SHOULD THINK TO RECRUIT FROM AMONG THE SLAIN RATHER THAN THE SLAYERS.) SUCH AN INTERPRETATION CERTAINLY STRENGTHENS THE MOTIVE OF BRUNNHILDE'S REVOLT AGAINST HIM. BUT SINCE THESE PRESENT REMARKS HAVE TO BE BASED ON THE DRESS REHEARSALS, AND SINCE THE PRODUCTION AS A WHOLE WILL NOT BE COMPLETED FOR ANOTHER YEAR, IT IS ONLY SENSIBLE TO DEFER FURTHER COMMENT ON THE STAGE-PRESENTATION, AND TO RETURN TO A FINAL CONSIDERATION OF MYTH, MIMETICS AND ABSTRACTION. ROBERT DONINGTON HAS SHOWN AS PERSUASIVELY AS SUCH THINGS CAN BE SHOWN THAT THE MATERIAL OF THE _RING IS IN ESSENCE MYTHICAL. WAGNER CONSTRUCTED A COHERENT NEW MYTHOLOGY OUT OF THE ONES THAT HE PLUNDERED, GIVING IT SO PRECISE A MUSICAL EMBODIMENT THAT ONE IS COMPELLED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS NON-OPERATIC OPERATIC ART HAS BECOME THE LANGUAGE CLOSEST TO THAT OF MYTH. BOTH MUSIC AND MYTHOLOGY, WRITES LEVI-STRAUSS IN A SPLENDID PASSAGE IN WHICH HE ACKNOWLEDGES WAGNER AS THE ORIGINATOR OF THE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF MYTHS, ARE "INSTRUMENTS FOR THE OBLITERATION OF TIME. BELOW THE LEVEL OF SOUNDS AND RHYTHMS, MUSIC ACTS UPON PRIMITIVE TERRAIN, WHICH IS THE PHYSIOLOGICAL TIME OF THE LISTENER; THIS TIME IS IRREVERSIBLE AND THEREFORE IRREDEEMABLY DIACHRONIC, YET MUSIC TRANSMUTES THE SEGMENT DEVOTED TO LISTENING TO IT INTO A SYNCHRONIC TOTALITY, ENCLOSED WITHIN ITSELF." MUSIC IS MYTH IN A TIMELESS SENSE, RESISTING, AS A WRITTEN SCORE MUST, ANY ATTEMPTS AT ALTERATION, VARIATION OR TRANSFORMATION. BUT THE VISUAL AND OTHER FUNCTIONAL STAGE ELEMENTS IN WAGNER'S GRAND SCHEME ARE, AS HE HIMSELF UNWILLINGLY ADMITTED, ONLY "TECHNICALLY FIXED POINTS" AND NOT THE ABSOLUTES THAT, WITH A NOD TO SCHOPENHAUER'S PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC, WE MUST AGREE THAT THE SCORES ARE. A PRODUCER WILL BE UNWISE TO DISCARD TOO HASTILY THE RESONANCE OF THE MYTHICAL ELEMENTS AS HE FINDS THEM, BOTH IN THE TEXT THEMSELVES, AND IN HALLOWED VARIANTS IN THE WORK OF HIS PREDECESSORS. FOR ALL THAT, MUCH HALLOWED TRADITION MAY HAVE TO BE SACRIFICED WHEN THE NEW CONCEPTION IS A GOOD ONE. WORKS OF DRAMATIC ART CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE ONLY THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATIONS THAT EACH AND EVERY AGE HAS IT IN ITS POWER TO IMPOSE UPON THEM. ANY AGE OF UNBELIEF WILL NATURALLY FIND THESE TRANSFORMATIONS MOST DIFFICULT TO EFFECT FOR ITSELF. THE CONSOLATION AFFORDED BY WAGNERIAN MUSIC-DRAMA IS THAT PRODUCER AND AUDIENCE ALIKE HAVE ONE IMPERATIVE, ONE ABSOLUTE IN WHICH TO GROUND BOTH THEIR RESPONSE, AS ALSO THEIR QUEST FOR THE MYTH APPROPRIATE TO THE MOMENT. PATRICK CARNEGY'S FAUST AS MUSICIAN: A STUDY OF THOMAS MANN'S NOVEL "_DOCTOR _FAUSTUS" WAS PUBLISHED LAST YEAR.