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The experimental parliamentary subsidy on knights' fees and freehold incomes from lands and rents of 1431 was the only English direct lay tax of the Middle Ages which broke down. As such, this subsidy has a clear historiographical significance, yet previous scholars have tended to overlook it on the grounds that parliament's annulment act of 1432 mandated the destruction of all fiscal administrative evidence. Many county assessments from 1431–1432 do, however, survive and are examined for the first time in this article as part of a detailed assessment of the fiscal and administrative context of the knights' fees and incomes tax. This impost constituted a royal response to excess expenditures associated with Henry VI's “Coronation Expedition” of 1429–1431, the scale of which marked a decisive break from the fiscal-military strategy of the 1420s. Widespread confusion regarding whether taxpayers ought to pay the feudal or the non-feudal component of the 1431 subsidy characterized its botched administration. Industrial scale under-assessment, moreover, emerged as a serious problem. Officials' attempts to provide a measure of fiscal compensation by unlawfully double-assessing many taxpayers served to increase administrative confusion and resulted in parliament's annulment act of 1432. This had serious consequences for the crown's finances, since the regime was saddled with budgetary and debt problems which would ultimately undermine the solvency of the Lancastrian state.

Surface Mounting is shown to be the fourth generation of electronic interconnection technology. It has several facets and is seen differently from various viewpoints in the assembly industry. A review of published papers shows that the subject grew during the 1970s with no single inventor and as a result of numerous developments which are now combining into a coherent technology with important compatibility with other recent innovations.

Following the discussion at our recent Annual General Meeting, a questionnaire was sent out to all members. Almost half of them replied despite the fact that the time allowed for returning the questionnaire had been kept very short. Some members even provided detailed comments.

Sorts by theme cases involving ethical dilemmas and actions taken in each as described by 23 practising US school administrators in responses to a questionnaire: the majority involved issues of teacher competence. The ethical orientation of the administrators was found to be normally distributed with respect to the five‐level Van Hoose and Paradise model. Only one administrator demonstrated all six components of the moral reasoning described by Howe (1986); most lacked the courage to act on the resolution they preferred. Discusses implications for the selection and training of school administrators.

The paper gives design guidelines for polymer thick‐film technology (PTF). After an introduction reviewing the main PTF properties, materials and processes, detailed PTF design rules are presented. They are conservative, to achieve high production yield. The design rules are based on the considerable experience in the companies of the authors and of the persons mentioned in the acknowledgements, as well as on information from the open literature and from materials suppliers. The design guidelines are intended primarily for designers, but they are also important for production personnel, to facilitate a close coupling between design and production, and thus provide optimum use of PTF and obtain high production yield.

This one‐day seminar, repeated in Sweden and Denmark, had its origins in a most interesting co‐operative project which was supported in the four Nordic countries by a total of eleven companies and research organisations. A series of six projects, each relating to a particular aspect of Polymer Thick Film Technology, was agreed by the participants, and the work programme was carried out mainly in national research institutes but with a considerable input from industrial collaborators.

Falls among older people cause significant mortality and morbidity, thus presenting a serious issue for older people and health and social care professionals alike. The simple occurrence of a fall conceals the range of physical, psychological, social and environmental factors, which can contribute to this event. Research advocates that professionals should engage with health promotion and develop individualised preventions in order to minimise risk of falling. In this study, a multi‐disciplinary, falls prevention initiative was developed with older people who had recently fallen. The initiative started with a common assessment but was followed by a variable, individualised programme of different interventions. The older people involved were assessed pre‐ and post‐intervention, using a questionnaire checklist, on several different dimensions associated with falling. Outcomes were assessed in terms of reduction in risk and the incidence of falls, both of which were found to be statistically significant in several of the identified dimensions post‐intervention. Consequently, it could be estimated that approximately 44 falls were prevented through this nine‐month initiative. This study would support the integration of this falls prevention initiative into routine community care practice through the existing over‐75 health check and the development of a specialised falls team. Further research would be beneficial to follow up whether the reduction in the incidence of falling is sustained over time. Enhanced participation of user, carer, voluntary and community partners is recommended as this would allow older people themselves to play an active role in improving their own well‐being and that of others.

Materials based on polymer films which are deposited by a screen printing process onto an inert substrate are finding innumerable applications in the fabrication of circuits in modern electronic assemblies. At one time the concept of ‘polymer thick film’ (PTF) technology might have been seen as an alternative to printed circuits on organic substrates or to thick film circuits on ceramic. The point is made here that, resulting from the very diverse range of materials now available, it is better to regard PTF as a supporting technology to be used in conjunction with other techniques from printed circuit or hybrid film technology. There are many examples where individual PTF materials have been selected and used in assisting or enabling roles with obvious technical advantages and significant commercial benefit.

As Vice‐President of ISHM‐UK, I am very pleased to have this opportunity to express a few thoughts about our technology in this first issue of the new Journal. In the UK we do not have a ‘President’ of our Society and thus the post I have the honour to hold may appear as the first of numerous anomalies and inconsistencies which abound in the subject area in which we work.