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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1941

Professor J. C. Drummond concluded his Cantor Lectures in January, 1938, by a quotation from Thomas Muffett's Healths Improvement, published in 1655: “Wherefore let us neither…

Abstract

Professor J. C. Drummond concluded his Cantor Lectures in January, 1938, by a quotation from Thomas Muffett's Healths Improvement, published in 1655: “Wherefore let us neither with the impudent, call diet a frivolous knowledge, or a curious science with the imprudent; but embrace it as the leader to perfit health (which as the wise man sayeth) is above gold, and a sound body above all riches.” Diet as the leader to perfect health: let us consider this for a moment in connection with the present subject. The object of the application of science to food is essentially the improvement of the diet of the people of the world. That, at any rate, is the long view of the question, though other motives may actuate certain groups at certain times. To‐day, for example, in this country, the main object of scientific work is to feed the population as efficiently as possible with the food available. Science in Germany for several years has been the handmaiden of the Nazi party and their four years' plan has been far more scientifically developed than any food plan in this country (so far as is at present obvious). It may be taken as certain that science applied to food has improved the diet of the people, although governments and industry have not necessarily always utilised the knowledge gained with this end in view, a position that obviously applies to all new discoveries in science. Scientists engaged in studies concerning food have the development of the knowledge of food chemistry either directly or indirectly as their main object; the majority are not concerned with the application of the results of this knowledge. Before dealing in detail with a few of the particular aspects of the application of chemistry to food, its production, its treatment, its storage and its service, I would briefly summarise the activities of the scientist as follows. He seeks to find the reason for the rule‐of‐thumb methods of the farmer, the stock‐breeder, the baker, the brewer, the physician, the requirements of the consumer himself, and, having found the explanation, he seeks to remove the unknowns, to standardise procedure, and to improve the process. This, I think, sums up the work of the scientist, and in doing this his studies lead him into every phase of the problems of the feeding of the people. Initially the chemist devoted his particular attention to the purity of foods. He did not know what “purity” entailed, neither do we know to‐day; like all knowledge, the science of food is an ever‐widening circle. The theory of “calorie” feeding has given place to the “vitamin” hypothesis, the limitations of which are now being more and more realised; tomorrow or next year a new concept of food and diets will be developed. The studies in the “purity” of food undertaken by the predecessors of the present members of the “Society of Public Analysts and other Analytical Chemists” were of fundamental importance. The objects of that Society, founded in 1874, are not without significance. Broadly they may be stated as follows: The study of analytical chemistry and of questions relating to the adulteration of articles of food, and the promotion of the efficiency and proper administration of the laws relating to the repression of adulteration. For the moment I wish to stress just one of these objects, namely, the study of analytical chemistry. Without reliable methods of analysis, studies in the composition of food are useless; the importance of a large proportion of the work published to‐day has to be discounted because of failure to appreciate the importance of reliable methods of analysis. It is only by the light of careful analysis that the picture of the composition of a food can be thrown on to a screen and examined. Appreciation of the composition of the food is the key which will open the door to a knowledge of its reactions, not only in its production, but also in its digestion by the human being. Without the work of the analysts, the research worker is unable to appreciate the influence of the facts he may discover. In this country the field of scientific investigation is covered by a number of organisations, Government‐controlled, partially Government‐controlled and private (the private consisting of academic workers in universities and colleges and the laboratories of the large commercial firms concerned with food production). Problems of the production of basic foods, of manufacture, of cooking, of storage and preservation and of distribution are all investigated. The science of agriculture is very modern, and it is only in comparatively recent years that chemistry, as such, has been seriously applied to this branch of practical science. In this country, the Rothamsted Experimental Station at Harpenden, founded in 1843, has been foremost in trying to collate scientific data with details of farming practice. Other important research stations, such as the Long Ashton Research Station, the Chipping Campden Station, the Rowett Institute, the National Institute for Research in Dairying, are all products of the present century. These bodies are essentially concerned with the production of the basic materials, fruit, cereals, meat, etc., for the food manufacturer, although this limitation of activity is not applicable everywhere; for example, Long Ashton devotes particular attention to the cider industry, Chipping Campden to canning, and Reading to cheese and other milk products. The next stage, food manufacture in all its phases, is in this country covered by the Food Investigation Board of the D.S.I.R. and by a number of Research Associations which are jointly supported by the Government and by member firms. But by far the greater proportion of scientific work on food manufacture is carried out in the laboratories of the great food firms. The Food Group of the Society of Chemical Industry has been active in arranging meetings concerned with the chemistry of food and has helped considerably to foster free discussion. In problems of distribution the food scientist has collaborated with the Royal Sanitary Institute and the Association of Medical Officers of Health. This collaboration has been of the greatest use, because it is of little worth for the food manufacturer to produce wholesome food if in its distribution the shopkeeper does not take the necessary precautions to see that the food is handed to the purchaser in as good a condition as the precautions taken in its production warrant. Dr. Andrew Borde, the seventeenth‐century physician, wrote in his Breviary of Dyet—“A good cook is half a physician for the chief physic dotli come from the kitchen, wherefore the physician and the cook must consult together.” A striking commentary on this thought has lately appeared in the preface to a book by McCance and Widdowson, published under the regis of the Medical Research Council: “The nutritional dietetic treatment of disease, as well as research into problems of human nutrition, demand an exact knowledge of the chemical composition of food.”

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 43 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1923

THIS issue of The Library World marks the commencement of a new volume, and we take the opportunity of thanking our many readers for their continued good feeling and support. It…

Abstract

THIS issue of The Library World marks the commencement of a new volume, and we take the opportunity of thanking our many readers for their continued good feeling and support. It is a pleasure to us to record the fact that we are able to enlarge this initial number of the volume and that we feel the time has come when we shall make such enlargement a permanency, without any corresponding increase in the subscription price.

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New Library World, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1945

THE beginning of a new volume is always a matter of concern both to its Editor and to its Readers. It is usual to be able to forecast some programme of work or at least policy…

Abstract

THE beginning of a new volume is always a matter of concern both to its Editor and to its Readers. It is usual to be able to forecast some programme of work or at least policy, for the year then opening. At the moment what is usual is not here; we have the cessation of actual battle in Europe, it is true; but we are as involved in Asia as we have ever been and, in spite of the optimists, the end is not in view. It would be well, too, for us always to realize that while there is no battle here, there is conflict with disease, want, misery and homelessness on a scale never approached before. It is certain only that men of goodwill, amongst whom librarians hope they are numbered, are awake to the situation and anxious to help. Thus, in our pages we shall endeavour to keep open minds and ideas adapted to our changing world before our readers.

Details

New Library World, vol. 48 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1951

The utterance at a recent council estimates meeting of an Alderman to the effect that he opposed increase of the book‐fund of the libraries in the town because, whenever he wanted…

Abstract

The utterance at a recent council estimates meeting of an Alderman to the effect that he opposed increase of the book‐fund of the libraries in the town because, whenever he wanted a book, he bought it, was, we suspect, a vainglorious one used for a special purpose and time. It was obviously, too, that of a man who may read on occasion, but is not a regular user of books. There are many such and, no doubt, their limited point of view is to be encouraged, so far as book‐purchase is concerned. What it disregards, or does not understand, is that the real reader cannot easily contemplate life without books; he never has enough of them, even if he is not a hoarder of them. There are thousands such. Their homes are not large enough, and their purses are too limited, for them to buy everything they want to read. The “Alderman” can feel that books are cheap; he spends more, if he has the means, on a box of cigars, or a bottle of whiskey, than any ordinary book costs. A single visit to a theatre with his wife (with the inevitable accompanying dinner or supper and transport) costs him more than a shelf of them. If he throws away the book when read, or rejected—for only a few such books are read through by the type under consideration—that is of little more con‐sideration than his disposal of cigar ash or used theatre tickets. In this stringent time the greater part of the community depends upon the borrowed book. Inevitably this will increasingly be the case. Every man and woman, however, who loves books desires to possess them, and every wise librarian encourages that desire. It can reduce the use of libraries very little, if at all, and our business as librarians should be to provide for the literate nation, indeed to assist its making. There are many ways in which this might be done—the provision of lists on “Books for Every Home” with clear notes on why, for it must be realized that not every citizen knows the books that are commonplace tools. In how many homes, for instance, is Whittaker's Almanack to be found? A reference book, of course; but almost the first need of a household is a set of the best tools of this sort. Has any library yet issued a list with this special intention? Say, “Six Books necessary to Every Home”? We assume that when a reader is passionately drawn to a book he must buy it, but such attraction is mainly felt by those who are already book‐lovers. For others there are such questions as, where shall we put the books suggested? An answer may be that every librarian, in his own area, should urge that built‐in bookcases should be a feature in every house plan. He might do much to solve a real problem. He can continue, too, to assist book‐buying by his periodic exhibitions of books for prizes, presents (Christmas and birthday) and help to answer the question, “What books of great literature ought to be in every home for children and for life‐keeping?” His every convert would become also a life user of libraries.

Details

New Library World, vol. 53 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1977

The long controversy that has waxed furiously around the implementation of the EEC Directives on the inspection of poultry meat and hygiene standards to be observed in poultry…

Abstract

The long controversy that has waxed furiously around the implementation of the EEC Directives on the inspection of poultry meat and hygiene standards to be observed in poultry slaughterhouses, cutting‐up premises, &c, appears to be resolved at last. (The Prayer lodged against the Regulations when they were formally laid before Parliament just before the summer recess, which meant they would have to be debated when the House reassembled, could have resulted in some delay to the early operative dates, but little chance of the main proposals being changed.) The controversy began as soon as the EEC draft directive was published and has continued from the Directive of 1971 with 1975 amendments. There has been long and painstaking study of problems by the Ministry with all interested parties; enforcement was not the least of these. The expansion and growth of the poultry meat industry in the past decade has been tremendous and the constitution of what is virtually a new service, within the framework of general food inspection, was inevitable. None will question the need for efficient inspection or improved and higher standards of hygiene, but the extent of the

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British Food Journal, vol. 79 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1975

Tom Schultheiss and Linda Mark

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the…

123

Abstract

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1968

MR. DENIS HOWELL, M.P., Minister for Libraries, who was to have told Conference how public libraries had progressed since the Act, had to withdraw and so we did not find out how…

Abstract

MR. DENIS HOWELL, M.P., Minister for Libraries, who was to have told Conference how public libraries had progressed since the Act, had to withdraw and so we did not find out how the responsible minister felt about us.

Details

New Library World, vol. 70 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1980

Jean Herold

The effect of government on our lives is evident when we read newspapers or magazines, watch television or listen to the radio. At the international, national, and local level…

Abstract

The effect of government on our lives is evident when we read newspapers or magazines, watch television or listen to the radio. At the international, national, and local level, decisions are made which ultimately affect many people. To understand the way governments work, political scientists study the principles, processes, and structures of government as well as the political institutions that have developed. This entails a broad range of interests because of the multiplicity and complexity of relations among governments at all levels.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Book part
Publication date: 31 March 2010

David Prochaska

This chapter is an exercise in speaking, letting individuals speak for themselves insofar as possible. As Marx famously put it, “they cannot represent themselves, they must be…

Abstract

This chapter is an exercise in speaking, letting individuals speak for themselves insofar as possible. As Marx famously put it, “they cannot represent themselves, they must be represented.” The “they” were peasants, potato farmers in 1840s France, and by extension peasants, workers, and other lower class groups, not to mention women and minorities who rarely made it into the historical record, and even more rarely in their own words. To give “voice to the voiceless,” as the now old new social historians of the 1960s and 1970s put it, I consciously include here numerous speakers, arranged in two sets of different voices: quotes in the text and endnotes to further document and amplify points. With this plethora of voices, the aim is not to complicate but to speak clearly, listen carefully, and engage respectfully. To multiply the speakers speaking is the single best way to make two primary points concerning what is most important about the Chief Illiniwek mascot controversy: that the sheer number of individuals speaking out is in itself significant, and that this community colloquy all comes down to identity – who we are, individual identity, communal identity.

Details

Studies in Symbolic Interaction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-961-9

Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2001

Jan-Erik Johanson

The aim of this study is to assess the significance of social capital in a public organization according to two theoretical frameworks. Following the structural hole theory (Burt…

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the significance of social capital in a public organization according to two theoretical frameworks. Following the structural hole theory (Burt, 1992), a sparse social network enables employees to gain control and information benefits. According to the social capital theory (Coleman, 1988), a cohesive social network creates trust and an obligation to cooperate. The theories describe favorable outcomes of the opposite poles of social structure, but the discussion shows that the social capital might not be realized because of unfavorable contextual factors. Empirical findings indicate that a sparse ego network increases an employee's indirect control and that a dense work unit network increases trust in the democracy of decision making. The discussion suggests that a sparse social network might be most beneficial to a bureaucratic organization and that cohesiveness does not automatically induce commitment if it is not supported by favorable social norms. Unless prerequisites of social interaction are well secured, the organization faces the risk of having inadequate levels of social cohesion, which might impede the creation of social capital. In conclusion, the management is faced with the challenge of social liabilities arising from both social cohesion and the lack of it.

Details

Social Capital of Organizations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76230-770-8

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