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Explores how the work of Martin Heidegger may be read alongside our contemporary understandings of information technology. It begins by considering the view of information as degraded knowledge, a position refuted by Heidegger’s account of truth as correctness. Information is thereafter treated as a form of availability, grounded in the relation between humans and equipment, which is characterised by its insistence. A differentiation between various forms of equipment is made by way of Heidegger’s later writings on technics, leading to a discussion of information technology in the shadow of enframing, or emplacement. The central place of “anxiety” in our relationship to new technologies is underscored, and offered up as a way of thinking beyond the escalation of calculative ordering.

Concern has been expressed, over the years, about the financial management strategies adopted by small firms, but very little is known about these practices. Business performance measures are an important element of these financial management strategies. The paper discusses the findings from research carried out in the UK examining the quantitative and qualitative criteria in the measurement of performance in small firms. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 20 owner‐managers from both manufacturing and service sectors. Orthodox theory assumes that the objective of the firm is to maximise profits, and it follows that the performance measures advocated are largely based upon this theory. However, research has shown that small firms pursue a range of goals. It was, therefore, not surprising to find that owner‐managers of small firms used a variety of measures and indicators to assess business performance. Profit measures were found to be less important than conventional views suggest. In particular, cash flow indicators were considered to be critical. Other performance measures adopted by owner‐managers include the quality of inputs and outputs and intangible indicators.

It is not necessary to trouble you here with the nature or names of the many amino acids which make up the molecule of a protein. Let me mention at random just two among them which, like several more, have been shown to be absolutely essential for the growth of the body and in smaller amount for its maintenance. I will choose cystine, which is an amino‐acid containing sulphur, and tryptophane, which is an indol derivative. Suppose at a particular period of its history the human body in order to grow and function normally demands half a gramme a day of cystine. Now of a protein containing 1 per cent. of that amino acid 50 grammes a day satisfies that particular demand, but of another protein containing less cystine a proportionately greater amount will be required, and it is always possible for a deficiency in cystine to become the factor which limits the flesh‐forming value of a protein. But, again, suppose the body at the same time requires 1 gramme of tryptophane a day. Now the protein of which 50 grammes gave an adequate supply of cystine might contain say 1 per cent. only of tryptophane. The latter amino acid would now become a limiting factor for the value of the protein, and 100 grammes instead of 50 will after all be required. This, however, would supply twice as much cystine as is necessary and probably excess of other amino acids. This excess cannot be used for the growth or maintenance of the tissues, but can only share in the less specific functions of fats and carbohydrates by supplying energy on oxidation. These considerations will perhaps make it clear that the food proteins which can be used with the greatest economy in the body are those which contain all the essential amino acids in such relative proportions as will correspond most nearly with the proportions required by the living tissues of the consumer. These are the proteins of so‐called high biological value; they are the “first‐class proteins” which nowadays, as I have said, receive mention whenever diets are evaluated. That different proteins have different values in this sense has been abundantly proved by controlled experiments on animals and to a less extent by experiments on humans. It will be easily understood that it is animal proteins which in general have the highest value. It was long accepted that a man doing average work required a daily ration of 100 grammes of protein. More recently we have come to believe that this figure is too high. I can testify as a result of experiments in practical classes involving estimations of the daily excretions of nitrogen, that the average consumption of Cambridge undergraduates (those in training doubtless excepted) is not above some 80 grammes. But in this the proportion of first‐class protein is probably higher than the average.

In these times—aptly described as the age of dehydration—few food products appear to have aroused as much technical interest as has dried egg. Upon this point we have the criterion of the galaxy of papers and communications in the various trade and scientific journals. Admittedly, much of the interest is doubtless due to the painfully rare appearance of the goods in the form delivered by the hen. However, there is little doubt that some of the developments in our knowledge and usage of a convenient form of an otherwise highly perishable commodity may have wide repercussions in food‐preparation in the future, both in industry and in the household. It would appear that the attaining and maintaining of hygienic conditions in the dehydrating plants has received the attention it warrants. Naturally, unless reasonable care in the storage or usage of the finished product is exercised, conditions will occur under which rapid contamination with and multiplication of bacteria will occur. The intention of the Dried Egg (Control of Use) Order, 1945 (S.R. & O. No. 627), which forbids the use of dried egg in certain foods and in materials sold in the wet state, is to provide against such conditions. Of the desirable properties which a dehydrated product should possess, ease of reconstitution is one of the most important. In the bakery and allied trades the difficulty, or, more correctly, the variability, of solubility of various deliveries of dried egg has occasioned some complaint. It is interesting to note that, with a view to assisting wetting, and hence reconstitution, addition of surface‐active agents, either to the egg pulp before dehydration, or to the dried product, has been the subject of several patents. As regards keeping properties, dried egg offers no exception to the general rule that the rate of deterioration on storage decreases progressively with reduction in the moisture content. It is reported that a product containing as little as 2 per cent. of moisture is being manufactured in U.S.A. Apparently, the only satisfactory packing for such a highly‐dehydrated product is a sealed metal container. The deterioration of dried egg powder, with the production of the peculiar and characteristic off‐flavour, has been shown to be connected with a small amount of glucose originally present. This decreases during storage, and the development of unpalatability may be correlated with the amount of glucose remaining. At the same time, the solubility of the powder decreases, rendering reconstitution more difficult, and the whipping or beating properties, so vital in the making of cakes, become impaired. Initial removal of the glucose, such as De‐controlled fermentation, markedly improves the stability of the product; re‐addition of glucose to an egg pulp from which the natural carbohydrate has been removed yields on dehydration a powder showing the same effects of deterioration as ordinary dried egg. Addition of reducing monosaecharoses other than glucose has a similar effect. Recently‐published reports of work carried out at the Cambridge Low Temperature Research Station provide strong evidence that the reaction mechanism resulting in the loss in solubility of dried egg powder is a two‐stage process. In the first stage, which does not in itself result in a decrease in solubility, the reducing group of the glucose molecule condenses with the free amino groups of the protein components; a further reaction then occurs which causes the protein to become insoluble. It had been previously discovered that addition to the egg pulp before drying of a simple amino‐acid such as glycine or alanine retarded the loss of solubility, although other forms of deterioration, such as the darkening of the colour of the powder, were not inhibited. Presumably, the glucose reacts preferentially with the added amino‐acid, instead of attacking the egg‐proteins. Another method of overcoming the loss of solubility is by the addition of substantial amounts of sucrose (or lactose) to the egg pulp before drying. How the protective action operates does not appear to be known, and it is peculiar that lactose, itself a reducing sugar, does not cause loss in solubility in the same manner as glucose. The “sugar‐dried egg” obtained on dehydration is readily soluble, and, since it possesses all, or nearly all, of the aerating properties of fresh egg, is claimed to be as good as frozen egg, or even shell egg, for cake‐making. Allocations of sugar‐dried egg are now being made to the bakery trade, and, should no difficulty be encountered in large‐scale production, it is to be presumed that in due course its use will become much more general. In the form now being supplied, sugar‐dried egg has an egg solids to sugar ratio of 2 to 1, thus allowing existing trade recipes to be rebalanced without recourse to awkward calculations. When reconstituted, 3 pounds of liquid egg contain approximately 5 ounces of sugar; this high sugar content of course restricts the use of this product to food preparations of a sweet nature. The mixture aerates rapidly, and, since it possesses a good oven spring, underbeating rather than full development of the batter gives the most satisfactory result. Additionally, the use of sugar‐dried egg lowers the amount of baking powder required; in some mixes baking powder may be omitted altogether. Sponges and similar goods of superior texture, flavour and keeping qualities may thus be made. Obviously, developments in other forms of dried egg and allied products are to be expected. Thus the previously‐mentioned protective action of lactose suggests the preparation of dehydrated mixtures of egg and milk or milk products, and in fact interesting experiments have been carried out involving the use of whey powder as a protective agent.

If I were a wealthy man there are two things I would do : in the first place, I would found a Chair at one of our more progressive medical schools and instal in it a man whose duty it would be to give as part of the clinical training of every student a course of lectures in the prevention of disease by good food. Something must be done to dispel from the medical man's mind the idea that vitamins are a kind of medicine to be prescribed for certain disorders, much as you give quinine to counter malaria. It has been said with much wisdom that it is better to build a fence at the top of the cliff than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom—incidentally, it is also cheaper. We do need to make it more clearly understood that, apart from all humanitarian considerations, the proper feeding of the people is a question of national insurance. This aspect of the future of nutrition has always seemed to me so obvious that it has surprised me that those whose job it is to understand the basic principles of insurance have not appreciated years ago its potential value to them. When I was in Canada recently I found, however, that they had got hold of the idea. One of the largest insurance companies in the Dominion is contributing $500,000 towards the cost of the national nutrition propaganda campaign because they are convinced that it is the most promising project for improving health and increasing expectation of life. The second benefaction I would make would be to finance the sending to each of about half a dozen countries of a small, well qualified and equipped team of young medical men and nutrition experts, trained to correlate on the spot information about diet and the incidence of disease. I would send one team to the heavy meat‐eating areas of the South American plains. They would solve in a year or two the long disputed question whether very high protein intakes are harmful to health and liable to produce certain disorders. I would send another team to South‐Eastern Europe to one of the areas where the peasants live almost entirely on vegetables, coarse bread and goats' milk. Is it true that these people have a very low incidence of digestive disorders and hardly ever suffer from cancer of the digestive tract? We do not know, but a team using standardised methods of examination and survey would not be long in finding the truth. Dr. Sinclair and his Oxford Nutrition Survey team has prepared the model of what is required. Such teams will, I believe, be widely used in the post‐war years. They may actually be required even earlier. They would be invaluable if they could be rushed into territories as soon as they are liberated from the enemy, where their task would be to survey and advise on the nutritional conditions of the liberated people—which in many cases, we fear, are likely to be grievous. War has few virtues. One undoubtedly is that activity in many fields of enterprise is enormously stimulated. Another is that problems can often be lifted clear of the arena of political dispute. This war of liberation will offer some compensation for the devastation and waste of human effort if it brings nearer by years the day when every man, woman and child can be assured that they will never know the want of the foods on which their health depends. Not until that day dawns can the Atlantic Charter, calling for freedom from fear, freedom from want, become reality.

Difficulties which have for many years surrounded the interpretation of false descriptions of trade goods and services are emphasised in the discussions, in and out of Parliament, of the Protection of Consumers (Trade Descriptions) Bill, the new code of consumer legislation which although incorporating much that has gone before, does introduce a number of rather sweeping extensions. In the opening of the Committee stage in the House of Lords most of the debate ranged around the meaning of the term false description itself, and an amendment which defeated the Government, made it necessary for a description to be false in a material particular to be an offence. This is in fact the present law. The amendment has now little more than theoretical interest as the Bill with numerous others was jettisoned because of the General Election.

THE end of October saw the return of most of our overseas visitors, continental and otherwise, to their homes, leaving with us pleasant memories of a mutually successful visit. The Englishman's proverbial difficulties with foreign tongues, even of neighbouring France, did not complicate matters unduly or reduce too much those interchanges which conference and school afforded. We can repeat our frequently‐expressed hope that there will be an ever increasing series of visits, both of the foreigner to England and of ourselves as foreigners to other countries. We would welcome longer stays in both cases. Nothing but good can come from them.

“It is generally accepted that the food industry must be scientifically based to cope with the problems, particularly of public health, which arise as new processes of growing, manufacturing, packaging and preserving food depart even further from traditional ways.”

THE year that is ending has not been a dramatic one from the library point of view, but it has been full of interest and activity. No outstanding library has been built or re‐modelled, but many quite interesting and effective ones have been added to the service; and there is a growing tendency for the library to enlarge its functions and to become a social centre as well as a place for reading and for the lending of books. The new plan leans towards the library on simple lines, with fewer divisions into apartments; indeed, the library in one room, the smallest models of which are the attractive new libraries at Halifax, forms a norm to which in a greater or less degree the new buildings approximate. Lectures, debating classes, listening groups and exhibitions increase. In respect of listening groups it may be said that the number of libraries now trying them is very large, but they cannot be said to be successful everywhere from the point of view of the mere numbers attending them. We hope this experiment will continue. Children's work increases in almost geometrical ratio to every other kind, and the time has come, as a writer remarks in a contemporary, that the children's librarians were organized.

ALL who have visited Liverpool for any length of time have affection for her. She lies alongside a noble river, watched over by the lofty Liver building and the perhaps more architecturally perfect offices of the Mersey Dock authorities. Even in these days, when the very largest ships have been diverted to Southampton, splendid vessels come from and go to the ends of the earth almost daily. The river is the essential fact about Liverpool; she was born of the river and her waterfront is one of the world's rendezvous. As a city she compares favourably with any English town, and perhaps excels most in her few splendid buildings, amongst which the new and rapidly growing Cathedral takes first rank.