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Contextualises a number of concerns related to the usage of National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications by both employers and employees in Britain. It provides an analysis of the main factors that are likely to affect the ways in which the newly formed Learning and Skills Council interacts with this well established, but controversial system of vocational qualifications.

Considers how basic skills affect competitiveness, particularly that of small businesses, and the effectiveness of some facets of recent policy initiatives directed at increasing the level of basic skills. Economic performance is seriously threatened by low standards of basic skills. Basic skills are an element of competitiveness because they are connected with personal development, occupational skills, and information technology skills. The application of market and system failure models offers some insight into the levels of basic skills training provided by employers. It is suggested that there is a substantial way to go before employers are firmly persuaded of the competitiveness benefits of undertaking more investment in basic skills training.

This article sets out to critically evaluate the impact that higher education institution (HEI)‐based consultancy can have upon the adoption and use of e‐commerce by businesses units operating in the small business sector of the British economy. Anecdotal evidence suggests that “new” (post‐1992) universities are more likely to offer consultancy services to small businesses. It is also claimed that owner/managers seem reluctant to pay full economic prices and would only subscribe to HEI‐based consultancy services if and when these are supported by considerable subsidies. In order to test the owner/manager reluctance hypothesis, 60 matched case studies were conducted, involving small businesses based in the West Midlands region of Great Britain. Preliminary results indicate that most small business owner/managers are aware of the potential benefits accruing from ICT and e‐commerce and tend to use HEI‐based consultancy services as a subsidised access point to e‐markets, involving both their core and peripheral activities. There exists, however, an apparent mismatch between the supply and demand sides of the HEI‐based ICT and e‐commerce consultancy market.

As was predicted, the Patent Office White Paper Intellectual property and innovation (Cmnd 9712, HMSO, £6.70) was published in April. Bold type is used in the White Paper to highlight firm government proposals and I believe these make two very serious threats to the interests of industrialists and the general community, and will make problems for librarians and information officers. In each case the effect of the government's proposals will be to raise costs and create barriers to the flow of much needed information: (1) The fair dealing sections 6 and 7 of the Copyright Act 1956, which has enabled information to be photocopied for ‘research and private study’ will be amended, if the government embody their proposal in legislation ‘to exclude copying for commercial purposes’. Who will decide where the border between commercial and non‐commercial falls? Will the librarian or information officer be expected to give summary judgments all day long on differential charges? And why should commercial enterprises be expected to pay a higher price which will simply be passed on to the public? Will permission have to be sought from the copyright owner? Will separate accounting be required? (2) Earlier in the report when concluding the section commending increased use of computers and online searching, the recommendation includes these words ‘… the government recognises that the charges made for these services will have to be set at a level which does not give rise to unfair competition with the private sector’. Why should the small and medium size businesses (much mentioned as ‘SME's’ in the report) have to pay inflated prices for information the government believes they should be using? The much talked about ‘efficiency’ which means not using two people where one will suffice and thus reducing costs, is deliberately rejected by the government who are in effect saying, ‘if you have access to our data bases you must pay the equivalent of a hefty profit to an unnecessary middle man, as well as the basic costs of our service’.

ALTHOUGH a new epoch in high‐speed flight opened with the introduction of the jet propulsion engine, new problems were presented by the thrust characteristics and high fuel‐consumption of the gas turbine.

Details of Some Components Used for Subsidiary Services in Aircraft, Missiles and Space Vehicles. Bristol Siddeley has received orders from the Australian Government for Palouste auxiliary power unit trolleys for use with the Royal Australian Navy's Wessex Mark 31 helicopters. A special version of the Palouste air starter weighing only 470 lb. has been developed for this purpose. It is easily transportable by helicopter and can be handled on the ground by one man.

WE define as an open tube a thin‐walled structure, the cross‐section of which does not include any closed circuit. This property is common, for example, to the curved channel, the interspar wing cut‐out and the panel stiffened with Z‐sections, illustrated in FIG. 1 (a, b, c). But the interspar cut‐out with nose cell (FIG. 1d) is not an open tube in the present definition. All structures discussed in this paper are assumed to be cylindrical and to have a constant cross‐section. It is relatively simple to extend the results to conical taper and longitudinally varying thickness, but this would be beyond the scope and space of the present analysis (see, however, ref. 5).

The aim of this study is to examine the motive of China's and India's engagement in African countries particularly in Ethiopia and to address the land grabbing and debt-trap diplomacy between Ethiopia and the Asian drivers, which creates challenges across the diverse social, political, economic and ecological contexts.

This study utilises both primary and secondary data. The available literature is also reviewed. The primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and discussions from (1) several authority offices in Ethiopia, sources close to authorities, information-rich informants, employees and (2) perspectives, perceptions and prospects from individual members of society.

The study unmasks the win-win cooperation strategy from the perspective of the members of society in Ethiopia, evaluates whether China and India have strings attached or land grabbing motives. The study also shows that whether China's and India's move was deliberate, the implications of debt-trap diplomacy and exploitation in Ethiopia are apparent. Additionally, this study investigated several considerable potential threats to Ethiopia that will persist unless significant measures are taken to control the relations with Asian drivers.

Some of the limitations of this paper pertain to the primary data collection process from the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and other authorities, which was very challenging because people can be punished for talking to journalists or researchers. Furthermore, some investors were not willing to participate in discussions because they were engaged in areas that are not related to their licenses. Many interviewees were also not willing to disclose their names, and the data are not exhaustive in the number of investment projects covered.

This study provides new evidence on the influence of Chinese and Indian investment, aid and trade on Ethiopia's social, political and economic spheres. Additionally, this study contributes to the ongoing debate on land grabbing and debt-trap diplomacy in Ethiopia.