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The three volumes before us comprise the second title in the “Elgar Reference Collection” of Critical Ideas in Economics, a new series which, we learn from the book cover, aims to provide “an essential reference source for students, researchers and lecturers in economics.” Each volume in the series will bring together a collection of previously-published articles and book-chapters which “focuses on [a] concept widely used in economics,” and will thereby “improve access to important areas of literature which will not be available in the archives of many of the newer libraries.” No one can deny that Professor Walker’s topic is ideally suited to this stated intent; is there a concept more “widely used in economics” than that of equilibrium? A collection of previously-published items cannot, of course, be appraised in terms of the originality of its content. Such a work offers a different sort of contribution. In addition to the publisher’s stated aim of an improved access to those key articles which, either because of their age or the location of their publication, are not widely available, a work such as this can perform a function not unlike that which Weintraub (1991, pp. 129–130) ascribes to the survey article. The act of selection (and, hence, of exclusion) serves to delineate the field for the non-specialist, and the ordering of the items in the collection can reveal instructive lines of intellectual development – a “filiation of scientific ideas” to adopt Schumpeter’s (1954, p. 6) felicitous phrase – that otherwise might be obscured.

Bystander apathy has been a source of debate for decades. In the past half-century, psychologists developed theoretical frameworks to understand bystander activity, commonly referred to as bystander intervention models (BIMs). More recently, BIMs have been modified to facilitate initiatives to prevent various forms of online victimization. This chapter begins with a review of BIMs and recent applications of bystander intervention research to online environments. We also present several future directions for research along with applications for reducing technology-facilitated violence, including programming recommendations and theoretical development.

This exposition explains how Elementary Theory works and how it has been developed over the last two-and-a-half decades. Both increased scope and heightened precision are covered.

Theoretic methodology is explained. Using that method formal models are constructed analogous to empirical events. Those models predict events, design experiments, and guide applications in the field.

There is a widely held belief in sociology that theory becomes more vague and imprecise as its scope broadens. Whereas broader generalizations are more vague than narrower ones, this exposition shows that abstract theory becomes more precise as its scope broadens.

Here implications and limitations are closely connected. Regarding implications, this exposition shows that scientific explanations and predictions are viable today in sociology but only when exact theory is employed. Regarding limitations, the theory and research included in this exposition make clear why the empiricist search for regularities that dominates sociological research is so very limited in its results.

This exposition demonstrates that theory is the method of all the sciences and in particular the science of sociology.

This chapter revisits and extends the multiple-source, multiple-object theory of legitimacy in organizations. It introduces the idea of legitimized regimes and uses it to extend the theory’s range beyond the usual focus on power and domination. The theory describes mechanisms that: (1) establish the legitimacy of new or contested regimes; and (2) facilitate the spread of legitimacy to structures and processes that lie outside organizational boundaries. The chapter uses current affirmative action debates to illustrate the mechanisms under study. The work concludes with a summary that includes discussion of prospects for research on extensions of the multiple-source, multiple-object theory.

A centuries-long history of theory and research shows that every authority system tries to cultivate a belief in its legitimacy. This paper focuses on the legitimation of regimes – social relationships and the rules that govern them. We use existing theory and research to identify a basic legitimation assumption that includes four conditions necessary to establish legitimacy. We also identify four corollaries of the assumption and use our own published and unpublished laboratory research to show (1) how successful experimental procedures satisfy the assumption’s conditions, and (2) how the failure of experimental procedures to establish legitimacy violate the assumption and its corollaries.

At a meeting of the Nutrition Panel of the Food Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, Dr. Joseph Needham, of the Biochemical Laboratory, University of Cambridge, speaking on “ The Biological Nature of the Egg,” pointed out what complex structures were the eggs of birds and other vertebrates. In fact the embryo, which is eventually to develop into the new animal, only occupies a very small space within the total egg. The remainder serves, in one way or another, to keep the organism alive until it is hatched. It is interesting to note that this is not the case in lower animals. The octopus in its egg is not supplied by its mother with enough copper but must obtain more for itself from the surrounding sea. Newts and frogs in their eggs also must to some extent look after themselves. Birds' eggs, however, represent a type of perfectly “closed box” structure which requires many ingenious devices in order to survive. One of these, through which the bird saves itself from being poisoned by its own by‐products, is the fact that the developing embryo does not excrete nitrogen as urea but in the form of uric acid which is more easily deposited as crystals.—Dr. Ethel M. Cruickshank, of the Department of Agriculture, Cambridge, who spoke on the “ Chemical Composition of the Egg,” pointed out that the hen was a physiological machine for turning raw materials into human foodstuffs. The amount of such human food which the hen could produce in a day depended on a number of factors, but to a large extent it was true to say that the bigger the hen the larger the egg. The number of eggs which a hen would lay in a year was a different matter, but an interesting point was the fact that high production had little or no detrimental effect on the quality of the eggs. In considering the composition of the egg one must divide it into three parts. The shell was principally made up of calcium carbonate, although small amounts of magnesium, phosphorus and organic matter were present. The white was composed of four different kinds of protein and could be divided into layers of thick and thin white. The proportion of thick to thin white influenced the culinary value of the egg. Together, the four proteins in the white contained the essential amino acids which made “ first class ” protein. Egg white contained minerals and also supplied valuable amounts of vitamin B. The yolk contained two proteins which were also shown to be of “ first class ” quality. Besides protein the yolk contained 30 to 32 per cent. of fat. Numerous minerals were present, including relatively rich amounts of easily assimilable iron. Vitamins A, D, B1 and B2 were also present. The anti‐rachitic vitamin D was of great significance in the diet. Dr. Cruickshank also discussed the factors in the diet of the hen which might give the yolk an unpleasant taste or a strange colour. Although the amount of fat, and hence the total food value of the egg, could only be influenced to a slight extent by the diet of the hen, the nature and flavour of the egg could be very strikingly altered by feeding mashes containing, for example, hemp seed or linseed oil. As regards vitamins, it was essential that plenty of these should be present in the diet of the hen in order that her egg might be of high nutritive value. As regards minerals, it was very well known that by feeding a hen a diet which was short of calcium a thin shell was obtained. However, the calcium content of the yolk and white were not affected. The amount of iodine in eggs was affected by the amount in the hens' food, although iron and copper appeared to be independent of the amount present in the diet.—Dr. S. K. Kon, of the National Institute for Research in Dairying, Reading, spoke on the nutritive importance of eggs in the diet. He stressed that eggs share with milk the ability to cover nutritive requirements during the period of rapid development. The vitamins, minerals and “ first class ” protein in eggs made them one of the protective foods. In particular, eggs supplemented very well the proteins present in cereals. Dr. Kon showed in detail how eggs contribute to the various factors of a good diet.—Dr. R. B. Haines, of the Low Temperature Research Station, Cambridge, spoke on the preservation of eggs. He showed how hens' eggs were in a state of rapid change. The aim of storage was to retard or stop this change and prevent the attack of outside agencies such as micro‐organisms. Although storage only affected the nutritive value of eggs to a very minor degree, any loss of palatability and cooking quality was a clear indication that certain slight chemical changes had taken place. Dr. Haines mentioned three methods for the large‐scale storage of eggs. The first was cold storage, the second, storage with the partial addition of CO2, and the third, full gas storage. For other purposes, drying or freezing could be used. Problems connected with the storage of eggs led to the consideration of questions of production and handling. For example, “ thick white ” was apparently due to the individual hen. Again, spoilage of eggs by the invasion of bacteria was influenced by the structure of the egg‐shell, which might vary greatly in successive eggs from the same hen or by the “ washing ” treatment which the eggs received. Among many other topics upon which Dr. Haines touched were “ swollen ” and “ flabby ” yolks due to loss of moisture, “ watery whites,” “ sunken ” and “ sided ” yolks due to chemical changes, and eggs with “ whiskers,” due to the growth of fungus on the shell.—Miss Mary Andross, of the West of Scotland College of Domestic Science, Glasgow, gave the final paper on the subject of “ The Cooking of Eggs.” Research in domestic science concerned itself with what effect such factors as temperature, time, rate of cooking, acidity, or the addition of salts, might have on the nutritive properties of eggs which were boiled, poached, fried, scrambled or made into omelets, custards, mayonaise, meringues, angel cakes, or sponge cakes. Another important factor which was the subject of scientific investigation was the effect of the age of the egg in relation to its cooking qualities. Miss Andross also discussed the waste of food value which might take place in different methods of cooking, and she concluded by discussing the effects which different treatments might have on the digestibility of the food.

There is a certain type of British trader who, with pharisaic unction, lifts up his voice and deplores the unhappy condition of “the heathen in his blindness,” including all persons of other nationalities and any of his own who may happen to differ in opinion from himself. On these collectively it is his habit to bestow his contemptuous regard when from his elevated position he condescends to thank Providence that as far as the methods and conduct of business are concerned he is “not as other men.” Of course, most people recognise that the attitude assumed by this type of person is one for which it is difficult altogether to blame him. Born as he was in an atmosphere reeking with traditions of insular supremacy, and nurtured from his youth up on notions of commercial arrogance, it is no miracle that he arrives at maturity with singularly inflated ideas of the greatness of his powers and person. If there is one thing more than another in which he feels particular pride it is the possession of a superabundant stock of what he is pleased to call “business acumen,” and to hear him, it might be imagined that no one could approach him in enterprise and general commercial ability.