Journal of Research & Scholarly Output 2006 - Grimsby Institute of ...
Journal of Research & Scholarly Output 2006 - Grimsby Institute of ...
Journal of Research & Scholarly Output 2006 - Grimsby Institute of ...
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<strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> research & scholarly output<br />
Autumn <strong>2006</strong> Edition<br />
Volume 1
FOCUS<br />
<strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> research & scholarly output<br />
ISBN: 1 900134 65 9<br />
FOCUS<br />
Page
Editor’s<br />
Comments<br />
by the Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>Research</strong> at the<br />
<strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further & Higher<br />
Education, Dr. John Esser PhD, MSc,<br />
B.Sc, PGCE<br />
I first arrived in <strong>Grimsby</strong> on a dark,<br />
foggy night in 1977 to be interviewed<br />
for a biology lecturer’s post at what<br />
was then <strong>Grimsby</strong> College <strong>of</strong><br />
Technology.<br />
Thanks to the fog, my first impressions <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Grimsby</strong> are somewhat hazy, but I was<br />
struck by the friendliness <strong>of</strong> the local folk<br />
and the availability <strong>of</strong> decent fish – both<br />
something <strong>of</strong> a novelty to us southerners.<br />
Fortunately, I was <strong>of</strong>fered the post and soon<br />
got stuck into teaching everything from<br />
‘Microbiology for Nursery Nurses’ to<br />
‘Oceanography for Fisheries Managers’.<br />
At that time, the emphasis in further<br />
education colleges was very much on<br />
teaching, with little opportunity for<br />
academic staff to become involved in<br />
research. I was, however, fortunate in that<br />
then, as is the case now, <strong>Grimsby</strong> College <strong>of</strong><br />
Technology, now <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Further and Higher Education, was<br />
developing its higher education portfolio,<br />
and my new head <strong>of</strong> department had the<br />
foresight to recognise the importance <strong>of</strong><br />
research-active staff in underpinning this.<br />
Staff were encouraged to do research as<br />
well as teach; a strategy which, within a few<br />
years, resulted in <strong>Grimsby</strong> College<br />
becoming an internationally recognised<br />
centre <strong>of</strong> food education and research.<br />
On a personal level, this enlightened<br />
approach presented me with the<br />
opportunity to gain a PhD in applied<br />
entomology and go on to spend the next 23<br />
years leading international development<br />
research and consultancy projects, seeing a<br />
lot <strong>of</strong> the world whilst doing so.<br />
Having recently returned to working in<br />
<strong>Grimsby</strong>, with a remit to raise the <strong>Institute</strong>’s<br />
research pr<strong>of</strong>ile, I was very keen to become<br />
involved in initiatives that might generate<br />
similar career development opportunities for<br />
fellow staff and students – initiatives such as<br />
this journal.<br />
The journal’s principal objective is simple –<br />
to encourage in-house research through<br />
providing a medium that allows staff and<br />
students to present their research findings<br />
and other scholarly outputs to a wide<br />
audience.<br />
Over the coming months the editorial team<br />
shall be working hard at getting the journal’s<br />
balance and format right; but to succeed we<br />
need your input. The contributors’ notes at<br />
the back <strong>of</strong> this issue provide initial<br />
guidance on how to do this - so please, no<br />
excuses; let us have your submissions<br />
NOW!<br />
Page<br />
FOCUS
Welcome to the<br />
first <strong>Journal</strong> from<br />
The <strong>Grimsby</strong><br />
<strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Further & Higher<br />
Education<br />
by its Principal and Chief Executive,<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Daniel Khan MA, FCCA, FAIA<br />
It is with great pleasure that I<br />
introduce the first issue <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Institute</strong>’s new journal.<br />
The journal will showcase the scholarly<br />
activity undertaken by members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Institute</strong>’s staff and our partners, in<br />
particular those engaged in teaching on our<br />
higher education courses, a number <strong>of</strong><br />
whom are currently undertaking taught and<br />
research-based higher degrees. Much <strong>of</strong><br />
what follows evidences hard work and<br />
commitment to their respective subject<br />
areas.<br />
Teaching informed by research activity will,<br />
by its very nature, enhance the pedagogical<br />
process and raise the status <strong>of</strong> those<br />
involved in delivery. The <strong>Institute</strong> is<br />
committed to doing everything that is<br />
possible to support this process to ensure<br />
the research, particularly action-based<br />
research, becomes fully embedded within<br />
the culture <strong>of</strong> the organisation. It forms part<br />
<strong>of</strong> our wider commitment to our local<br />
population to provide high quality<br />
undergraduate courses.<br />
early Access Movement, has experience in<br />
teaching in the Further Education sector and<br />
a career-long commitment to widening<br />
participation in higher education from<br />
under-represented groups. His article and<br />
his current research project are particularly<br />
apposite at a time when the spotlight is on<br />
higher education within further education as<br />
never before. My personal thanks to him.<br />
As with all academic journals FOCUS<br />
should be viewed as an arena <strong>of</strong> debate. It<br />
will not shy away from controversial topics<br />
which are presented in a rigorous academic<br />
manner and do not descend into polemic.<br />
Finally, I would simply like to add that higher<br />
education has made great strides within the<br />
<strong>Institute</strong> over the past few years. This is to<br />
the credit all those involved in its delivery,<br />
organisation and support. This new journal<br />
is one more step on the road to the<br />
<strong>Institute</strong>’s re-definition <strong>of</strong> itself as a fully<br />
integrated further and higher education<br />
establishment.<br />
It is our intention to invite an external<br />
academic to contribute to each edition and I<br />
am particularly pleased that Gareth Parry,<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Education at the University <strong>of</strong><br />
Sheffield, agreed to be the first such<br />
contributor. Gareth was a luminary <strong>of</strong> the<br />
FOCUS<br />
Page
Contents<br />
The Collegiate and Transfer Functions<br />
<strong>of</strong> Further Education Colleges in the United Kingdom<br />
Page 3<br />
The Challenge <strong>of</strong> Teaching International Students<br />
Page 21<br />
WISHful Thinking?<br />
Page 39<br />
Critical Circuits and Textual Constructs:<br />
Henry James’ ‘The Figure in the Carpet’<br />
Page 49<br />
Vocational Excellence in Seafood Processing<br />
Page 59<br />
‘Comics are for Kids’ - Exploring the Origins<br />
<strong>of</strong> Bias Against Sequential Art in the United Kingdom<br />
Page 73<br />
Error Analysis and Interlanguage<br />
Page 85<br />
Information for Contributors<br />
Page 95<br />
FOCUS Page 1
The Collegiate and<br />
Transfer Functions<br />
<strong>of</strong> Further Education<br />
Colleges in the<br />
United Kingdom<br />
By Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Gareth Parry - School <strong>of</strong> Education, University <strong>of</strong> Sheffield<br />
In many ways, British further education<br />
colleges perform similar collegiate and<br />
transfer functions to American community<br />
colleges but, unlike their transatlantic<br />
counterparts, they stand outside the<br />
framework <strong>of</strong> arrangements established for<br />
universities and other higher education<br />
institutions. Whereas community colleges<br />
are considered part <strong>of</strong> – even central to – the<br />
American higher education system, the<br />
further education colleges are administered<br />
in a separate sector <strong>of</strong> post-compulsory<br />
education. Not just regarded as different,<br />
they are required to provide most <strong>of</strong> their<br />
programmes at levels below that <strong>of</strong><br />
undergraduate education. Although small<br />
amounts <strong>of</strong> higher education are <strong>of</strong>fered by<br />
a majority <strong>of</strong> colleges, and larger amounts<br />
FOCUS Page 3
y a minority, their location in a discrete<br />
sector <strong>of</strong> further education or post-16<br />
learning was intended, among other things,<br />
to discourage any upward drift in their<br />
mission.<br />
While state-level responsibility for public<br />
community colleges has promoted a variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> models, including combined university<br />
and community college systems,<br />
administrative and then political devolution<br />
in the four countries <strong>of</strong> the United Kingdom<br />
has highlighted differences as well as<br />
commonalities in their tertiary<br />
arrangements. Among the most marked <strong>of</strong><br />
these differences, both within and between<br />
the four jurisdictions, has been the higher<br />
education role <strong>of</strong> further education colleges<br />
(Parry, 2005).<br />
In England, about one in nine higher<br />
education students are taught in further<br />
education settings and most <strong>of</strong> them<br />
concentrated in a minority <strong>of</strong> colleges. In<br />
Scotland, by contrast, around one-quarter<br />
<strong>of</strong> all higher education students are enrolled<br />
in further education establishments and<br />
nearly all colleges have significant amounts<br />
<strong>of</strong> work at these higher levels. In the much<br />
smaller territories <strong>of</strong> Wales and Northern<br />
Ireland, the picture is different again: the<br />
Welsh colleges accounting for the smallest<br />
proportion <strong>of</strong> higher education numbers<br />
(8%) and those in Northern Ireland closer to<br />
the figure for Scotland (20%).<br />
Until recently, there has been little<br />
appreciation and insufficient understanding<br />
<strong>of</strong> the nature, scope and significance <strong>of</strong><br />
these variations. Indeed, a focus on British<br />
patterns and trends tended to mask<br />
important differences in the way that<br />
England and Scotland accomplished the<br />
shift from elite to mass scales <strong>of</strong><br />
participation and, in the Scottish case, how<br />
that country achieved levels <strong>of</strong> nearuniversal<br />
access nearly ten years ahead <strong>of</strong><br />
those projected for English higher<br />
education. These growth patterns and<br />
policies are the subject <strong>of</strong> the second part <strong>of</strong><br />
the paper where the college contribution to<br />
higher education and the character <strong>of</strong><br />
collegiate and transfer activity in England<br />
and Scotland are compared.<br />
Some reference is also made to the situation<br />
in Wales and Northern Ireland although, for<br />
reasons mainly <strong>of</strong> size and student mobility,<br />
they have less claim to be treated as<br />
separate systems. These two countries<br />
have large numbers <strong>of</strong> their population<br />
studying elsewhere. In Northern Ireland, this<br />
is largely because <strong>of</strong> the under-supply <strong>of</strong><br />
places in the province. In Wales, not only did<br />
a large proportion <strong>of</strong> Welsh students register<br />
at institutions in England, but Welsh higher<br />
education establishments serve very<br />
substantial numbers <strong>of</strong> English students.<br />
The English system is by far the largest,<br />
enrolling close to 80% <strong>of</strong> the student<br />
population in its eighty-eight universities,<br />
forty-three higher education colleges, and<br />
over 300 further education colleges <strong>of</strong>fering<br />
courses <strong>of</strong> higher education. Scottish<br />
institutions, on the other hand, recruit<br />
around one in seven <strong>of</strong> the total, and those<br />
in Wales (5%) and Northern Ireland (3%)<br />
take a smaller share. These proportions<br />
hardly change if students studying at a<br />
distance with the Open University are<br />
included.<br />
Page 4<br />
FOCUS
Before embarking on ‘home international’<br />
comparisons (Raffe, 2000), some shared<br />
features <strong>of</strong> further education establishments<br />
in the United Kingdom are briefly reviewed.<br />
Compared to the higher education and the<br />
compulsory education sectors, it is still the<br />
case that further education is the least<br />
studied part <strong>of</strong> the education and training<br />
system. There are notable scholarly studies<br />
on the history and contemporary<br />
development <strong>of</strong> further education but the<br />
coverage is generally better for England and<br />
Wales (Cantor and Roberts, 1986; Cantor et<br />
al., 1995; Ainley and Bailey, 1997; Hyland<br />
and Merrill, 2003) and sometimes limited on<br />
the role <strong>of</strong> higher education in further<br />
education (Green and Lucas, 1999;<br />
Smithers and Robinson, 2000). However,<br />
there are now specific studies on the college<br />
contribution to higher education in Scotland<br />
(Gallacher, 2003) and England (Parry and<br />
Thompson, 2002; Parry, Davies and<br />
Williams, 2003) as well as those on<br />
collaboration between further and higher<br />
education (Abramson, Bird and Stennett,<br />
1996).<br />
Further education: shared features and<br />
developments<br />
Three major aspects <strong>of</strong> the past and present<br />
development <strong>of</strong> British further education<br />
colleges should be noted, each with a<br />
bearing on their capacity to provide higher<br />
education and, where necessary, transfer<br />
their students to degree-awarding<br />
institutions.<br />
Diversification, differentiation and the<br />
curriculum<br />
First, although they have their roots in<br />
technical and vocational education, the<br />
colleges are much more plural in their<br />
curriculum than commonly supposed. This<br />
is especially the case in England where<br />
some 250 establishments are styled general<br />
further education colleges and just under 40<br />
are specialist institutions. There are also<br />
another 100 or so sixth form colleges that,<br />
before their transfer into the English further<br />
education sector, were under schools<br />
regulations. This set <strong>of</strong> colleges has a<br />
traditional focus on academic education for<br />
16 to 19 olds and they are usually smaller<br />
and more selective than the further<br />
education colleges.<br />
Following the decline in manufacturing and<br />
the collapse <strong>of</strong> apprenticeships in the 1970s<br />
and 1980s, many further education colleges<br />
diversified into academic, general, basic<br />
and second chance education at the same<br />
time as renewing their general and specialist<br />
vocational programmes. In expanding their<br />
courses leading to upper secondary<br />
academic qualifications, they frequently<br />
competed with local schools (and sixth form<br />
colleges) and <strong>of</strong>ten <strong>of</strong>fered a broader range<br />
<strong>of</strong> subjects than school sixth forms. In<br />
developing their second chance education<br />
they built on a long tradition <strong>of</strong> open access<br />
to adults who used the college as an<br />
‘alternative’ route to qualify for higher<br />
education, to re-enter the labour market, or<br />
to change direction.<br />
FOCUS Page 5
A number <strong>of</strong> colleges were also centres for<br />
adult education, for pr<strong>of</strong>essional and<br />
continuing education, for basic skills, and<br />
for English as a second language. Given this<br />
portfolio <strong>of</strong> programmes, the majority <strong>of</strong><br />
students were adults who studied mainly<br />
part-time. Some who entered straight or<br />
soon after leaving secondary school<br />
preferred the more adult environment <strong>of</strong> the<br />
college and for many it was an opportunity<br />
to improve on their school performance by<br />
re-taking examinations or beginning new<br />
and different courses <strong>of</strong> study.<br />
Colleges came to rival schools as settings<br />
where young people prepared for higher<br />
education but, unlike institutions <strong>of</strong><br />
secondary education, they also <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
vocational qualifications and access<br />
courses not available in the compulsory<br />
system. Only in respect <strong>of</strong> academic<br />
qualifications – A-levels in England, Wales<br />
and Northern Ireland and Highers in<br />
Scotland – was there an overlap, although<br />
much less so for Highers which remained<br />
largely a school-based qualification.<br />
Vocational qualifications, including those at<br />
the higher levels, were distinctive to further<br />
education establishments and frequently<br />
provided staged access to higher education<br />
within these same colleges or entry to<br />
higher education establishments. As a result<br />
<strong>of</strong> the rise <strong>of</strong> access courses in further<br />
education colleges, greater numbers <strong>of</strong><br />
adults returning to study chose to qualify for<br />
higher education through courses<br />
specifically designed for older students.<br />
Previously, their main option had been parttime<br />
A-level courses in the colleges<br />
(examinations intended for young people<br />
who studied full-time for two years) but,<br />
from the 1980s onwards, locally and<br />
nationally recognised access programmes<br />
became a normal entry route for many<br />
‘mature’ and ‘non-traditional’ students.<br />
Dual sectors <strong>of</strong> further and higher education<br />
A second feature <strong>of</strong> further education<br />
colleges was their public funding and their<br />
operation under regulations different from<br />
the universities (all but one funded by the<br />
state) and the schools (mainly supported by<br />
the state but with a significant private sector<br />
involvement). The colleges were originally<br />
part <strong>of</strong> a local authority system <strong>of</strong> further<br />
education that included, at one end, the<br />
polytechnics and other establishments<br />
devoted mainly to ‘advanced’ (higher<br />
education) programmes and, at the other,<br />
the great majority <strong>of</strong> colleges mostly<br />
concerned with ‘non-advanced’ courses. In<br />
Scotland, the central institutions (the<br />
equivalent to polytechnics) were funded by<br />
the Scottish Office while, as elsewhere, the<br />
further education colleges came under the<br />
local authorities (or the library boards in<br />
Northern Ireland). On the other side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
binary line, each <strong>of</strong> the ‘autonomous’<br />
universities in the United Kingdom was<br />
funded by the Westminster government<br />
through a single intermediary body.<br />
At the end <strong>of</strong> the 1980s, the English<br />
polytechnics were removed from local<br />
government and, at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the<br />
1990s, the further education colleges in<br />
England and Wales were themselves<br />
established as independent corporations<br />
funded by central government through a<br />
further education funding council in each<br />
country. In Scotland, the further education<br />
Page 6<br />
FOCUS
colleges were also incorporated, receiving<br />
their funding initially direct from the Scottish<br />
Office and later from their own further<br />
education funding council. At the same<br />
time, a new unified higher education sector<br />
was created in each jurisdiction bringing<br />
together the established universities and the<br />
former polytechnics and higher education<br />
colleges, several <strong>of</strong> which became new<br />
universities. In this way, each country<br />
acquired its own higher education funding<br />
council and eventually its own further<br />
education funding council. Only in Northern<br />
Ireland was this not the case.<br />
Henceforth, their provision – along with that<br />
<strong>of</strong> school sixth forms, community education,<br />
and government-funded training and<br />
workforce development providers – was<br />
planned and co-ordinated, area by area,<br />
through a network <strong>of</strong> 47 local LSCs.<br />
However, dual sector divisions did little to<br />
inhibit the development <strong>of</strong> a wide variety <strong>of</strong><br />
collaborative arrangements between<br />
institutions in the two sectors, some longstanding<br />
and several pioneered by the local<br />
authorities.<br />
Collegiate and transfer functions<br />
For the last fifteen years, then,<br />
establishments that had further education<br />
as their primary goal were treated separately<br />
from institutions that had higher education<br />
as their central or only purpose. Along with<br />
dual sectors <strong>of</strong> further and higher education<br />
came separate and different regimes for<br />
allocating public funds, assessing the<br />
quality <strong>of</strong> education, and collecting and<br />
publishing statistical information. The small<br />
size <strong>of</strong> the Scottish and Welsh systems<br />
allowed for a measure <strong>of</strong> co-ordination and<br />
joint working between the funding councils<br />
for each sector, including the use <strong>of</strong> a joint<br />
executive.<br />
This was always more difficult in England,<br />
especially after 2000 when a new body –the<br />
Learning and Skills Council (LSC) – was<br />
established to take responsibility for the<br />
strategic development, planning, funding,<br />
management and quality assurance <strong>of</strong> the<br />
whole <strong>of</strong> post-16 learning, excluding higher<br />
education. Under this reform, the further<br />
education colleges lost their own sector.<br />
If by collegiate function is meant the<br />
approval <strong>of</strong> a course or programme for<br />
transfer credit to a senior institution (as in<br />
the American system), the equivalent in<br />
further education would be the recognition<br />
<strong>of</strong> undergraduate qualifications below the<br />
level <strong>of</strong> the bachelors degree (the first<br />
degree in British higher education) for<br />
transfer into the early, middle or later years<br />
<strong>of</strong> a three or four year degree. The collegiate<br />
and transfer functions exercised by British<br />
colleges are <strong>of</strong> a different nature and order<br />
to those in the community college system.<br />
Not only do general further education<br />
colleges, along with sixth form colleges and<br />
schools, serve as important access and<br />
qualifying environments for students<br />
seeking entry to the front-end <strong>of</strong><br />
undergraduate programmes in universities<br />
and other institutions <strong>of</strong> higher education,<br />
but the opportunity to transfer into the later<br />
stage <strong>of</strong> a first degree at these institutions<br />
has not, until recent years, been a feature <strong>of</strong><br />
British arrangements.<br />
FOCUS Page 7
The reasons for this are historical and<br />
structural. Although the four-year degree in<br />
Scotland was less specialist in its admission<br />
requirements and curricula, both the<br />
Scottish degree and the three-year full-time<br />
honours degree in the rest <strong>of</strong> the United<br />
Kingdom have been – traditionally and<br />
predominantly – the preserve <strong>of</strong><br />
establishments <strong>of</strong> higher education. With no<br />
tradition or concept <strong>of</strong> a general<br />
baccalaureate degree (except perhaps in<br />
the Open University), and without the<br />
modular-credit structures to facilitate<br />
student choice, mobility and transfer, the<br />
British first degree was a relatively selfcontained<br />
and linear phenomenon. While<br />
the former polytechnics led the move to<br />
more modular and flexible curricula, there<br />
has been no systematic development <strong>of</strong> a<br />
credit framework within and between the<br />
post-secondary sectors. Once again, the<br />
central authorities in Scotland and Wales<br />
have shown more willingness to begin this<br />
process than those in England.<br />
Nevertheless, collegiate and transfer<br />
functions are now increasingly undertaken<br />
by further education colleges. Unlike in<br />
American colleges where the collegiate<br />
function is associated traditionally (though<br />
not exclusively) with the liberal arts<br />
curriculum, the higher education<br />
programmes <strong>of</strong>fered by further education<br />
colleges are, in the main, vocational in<br />
orientation. They lead to qualifications, such<br />
as the higher national diploma and the<br />
higher national certificate, that were once<br />
awarded by the business and technical<br />
education councils, and today by some <strong>of</strong><br />
the universities as well. Moreover, for most<br />
<strong>of</strong> their history these higher diplomas and<br />
certificates were designed and operated as<br />
free-standing qualifications, leading directly<br />
to employment or used by employers to<br />
train and upgrade their existing workforce.<br />
Then, as now, the colleges do not make<br />
their own awards, whether at the higher<br />
levels or for any other programme they<br />
teach.<br />
Another consequence <strong>of</strong> specialist and<br />
selective entry to full-time first degree<br />
education has been high rates <strong>of</strong> graduation<br />
and a reluctance therefore to consider<br />
changes that might undermine the efficiency<br />
and effectiveness <strong>of</strong> the British system. As a<br />
result <strong>of</strong> expansion and competition, many<br />
universities are less selective than<br />
previously yet government policies aimed at<br />
widening participation carry with them an<br />
insistence that high rates <strong>of</strong> completion be<br />
maintained. For students not to complete<br />
their studies in the minimum expected time<br />
is still regarded by the central authorities as<br />
a sign <strong>of</strong> failure on the part <strong>of</strong> the institution<br />
and the student.<br />
Given the higher status and higher individual<br />
rates <strong>of</strong> return to first degree qualifications,<br />
as well as the growth <strong>of</strong> strongly vocational<br />
programmes at the bachelors level, many <strong>of</strong><br />
these short-cycle higher diplomas and<br />
certificates have since been used as<br />
intermediate or transfer qualifications. When<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered by higher education institutions<br />
themselves, as they still are in England and<br />
Wales, they have been integrated into the<br />
structure <strong>of</strong> first degree courses, as exit<br />
qualifications for some students and as<br />
entry points for those claiming ‘advanced<br />
standing’ on the basis <strong>of</strong> previous<br />
qualifications or experience. When <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
by further education colleges, they are<br />
Page 8<br />
FOCUS
probably the closest the British have come<br />
to the American transfer function.<br />
Although most higher diploma and<br />
certificate students have to transfer to a<br />
higher education establishment if they wish<br />
to graduate with a first degree, a small<br />
number <strong>of</strong> colleges in England provide<br />
internal progression to the bachelors degree<br />
in selected specific subjects. In these<br />
circumstances, the colleges have to satisfy<br />
the validating and awarding university that<br />
they can provide research-related teaching<br />
at a level comparable to that <strong>of</strong>fered in the<br />
final years <strong>of</strong> a university bachelors degree.<br />
As in the United States, a major issue for<br />
further education colleges is the extent to<br />
which their higher education courses are<br />
aligned to, and accepted by, the<br />
universities. Some transfer relationships are<br />
the subject <strong>of</strong> articulation agreements and<br />
others might be managed or negotiated on<br />
an individual basis. Given the long-standing<br />
and continuing role <strong>of</strong> further education<br />
institutions in preparing students –<br />
especially adults – for admission to the first<br />
year <strong>of</strong> undergraduate programmes in the<br />
universities, articulation agreements are<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten more common and better developed<br />
for this purpose than they are for transfer<br />
activity at the higher levels.<br />
In summary, the collegiate and transfer<br />
functions <strong>of</strong> further education colleges<br />
involved the movement <strong>of</strong> students with<br />
sub-degree higher education qualifications<br />
gained in the colleges sector to first degree<br />
programmes in the universities sector.<br />
Across the United Kingdom as a whole<br />
some 13% <strong>of</strong> higher education students<br />
were taught in further education<br />
establishments and an increasing<br />
proportion <strong>of</strong> these sought progression to<br />
the first degree, either by ‘top-up’<br />
arrangements (where available) in the same<br />
colleges or, more usually, by transfer to<br />
universities. If only undergraduate students<br />
are included, and if Open University<br />
students are excluded, the proportion <strong>of</strong><br />
college-based higher education students<br />
across the United Kingdom as a whole is<br />
17%, or one in six <strong>of</strong> the undergraduate<br />
population in face-to-face institutions.<br />
Partly because <strong>of</strong> the different data<br />
collection systems in each sector, and partly<br />
because <strong>of</strong> the difficulty in tracking<br />
individual students, there is little reliable<br />
data on the volume and pattern <strong>of</strong> students<br />
moving from higher national qualifications to<br />
the first degree. A government document<br />
reporting data for 1997 suggested that 55%<br />
<strong>of</strong> students who completed a higher national<br />
diploma in England went on to achieve an<br />
honours degree. Just how many <strong>of</strong> these<br />
represented internal progression within the<br />
same establishment (which might be a<br />
further education college or higher<br />
education institution) and how many<br />
actually transferred to another<br />
establishment was not indicated<br />
(Department for Education and<br />
Employment, 2000). The same source<br />
calculated that 29% <strong>of</strong> those completing the<br />
two-year diploma began their degree course<br />
in year two and 50% started in year one.<br />
Progression and transfer rates were also<br />
likely to vary in relation to the scale, shape<br />
and significance <strong>of</strong> the college contribution<br />
in the different parts <strong>of</strong> the United Kingdom.<br />
In the remainder <strong>of</strong> this paper, the college<br />
FOCUS Page 9
contribution made, first, to the shift to mass<br />
higher education and, second, to the drive<br />
to near-universal access is compared<br />
between the four countries <strong>of</strong> the United<br />
Kingdom. On the basis <strong>of</strong> this evidence, two<br />
models <strong>of</strong> collegiate and transfer activity<br />
can be identified, one associated with new<br />
policy directions in England (and Wales) and<br />
the other reflecting a more settled path <strong>of</strong><br />
development in Scotland.<br />
Mass higher education: growth<br />
trajectories and the college contribution<br />
In the short period between the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
1980s and the first half <strong>of</strong> the 1990s, British<br />
higher education underwent a dramatic<br />
expansion, with the age participation rate<br />
for young people in full-time undergraduate<br />
education doubling to over 30% and the<br />
size <strong>of</strong> student population increasing by<br />
more than half. Both the suddenness and<br />
the pace <strong>of</strong> expansion took most observers<br />
by surprise. In quantitative terms, if rather<br />
less in its values, British higher education<br />
moved from an extended elite to a mass<br />
system. What was intended as a modest<br />
increase in numbers to help counter a<br />
demographic downturn in the school-leaver<br />
population became the basis for<br />
unprecedented levels <strong>of</strong> growth. Buoyant<br />
demand combined with funding policies<br />
designed to lower the unit <strong>of</strong> resource<br />
produced a wave <strong>of</strong> ‘efficient expansion’<br />
that required neither the creation <strong>of</strong> new or<br />
alternative institutions nor the reform <strong>of</strong> the<br />
traditional entry and exit qualifications for<br />
higher education.<br />
Underneath this expansion were country<br />
variations in the levels and patterns <strong>of</strong><br />
growth. Rates <strong>of</strong> increase were considerably<br />
higher in Wales and England, where total<br />
student numbers rose by 56% and 47%<br />
respectively, and lower in Scotland and<br />
Northern Ireland, where both rose by under<br />
40%. At the beginning <strong>of</strong> the expansion<br />
period, Scotland and Northern Ireland had<br />
participation levels in excess <strong>of</strong> 20% and, in<br />
this sense, were already on the threshold <strong>of</strong><br />
mass scales <strong>of</strong> higher education. By the end<br />
<strong>of</strong> the growth phase, participation levels in<br />
Scotland were still 25% higher than in<br />
England, with Northern Ireland and Wales<br />
located between the two. Although its<br />
increase was greater than for other<br />
territories, England was the only country not<br />
to have passed the 30% mark by 1993.<br />
In all four countries, institutions in the (then)<br />
non-university sector <strong>of</strong> higher education<br />
(including those becoming universities after<br />
1992) grew faster than the established<br />
universities. However, the gap between<br />
these two sets <strong>of</strong> higher education<br />
establishments was smaller in Scotland,<br />
mainly because it was the further education<br />
colleges that secured the most rapid growth<br />
in higher education enrolments (a feature it<br />
shared with Northern Ireland). By contrast,<br />
the further education sector in England was<br />
a source <strong>of</strong> much slower growth and, in<br />
Wales, the numbers <strong>of</strong> college-based<br />
enrolments actually declined.<br />
In the two largest systems, therefore, the<br />
college contribution to the shift to mass<br />
higher education was significantly different,<br />
even divergent. In Scotland, it was the<br />
further education colleges that took the bulk<br />
Page 10<br />
FOCUS
<strong>of</strong> expansion. Its one-year higher national<br />
certificate and its two-year higher national<br />
diploma courses, available part-time and<br />
full-time, accounted for the great majority <strong>of</strong><br />
this higher education contribution. These<br />
programmes were <strong>of</strong>fered within a Scottish<br />
framework <strong>of</strong> vocational qualifications and,<br />
in the tradition <strong>of</strong> local authority further<br />
education, they were funded (and continued<br />
to be regarded) as ‘advanced’ further<br />
education. In this way, the colleges were<br />
able to assume major responsibility for a<br />
level and category <strong>of</strong> work that was <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
less and less by the central institutions.<br />
Moreover, support for this growth continued<br />
under the Scottish Office after 1992 when it<br />
took over funding responsibility for the<br />
colleges from the local authorities.<br />
establishments was just one factor<br />
sustaining the college contribution to higher<br />
education at these levels.<br />
This discrete mission for higher education in<br />
further education at the sub-degree levels is<br />
evident in the not inconsiderable amounts <strong>of</strong><br />
advanced work found in most colleges.<br />
Most <strong>of</strong> this provision is part-time,<br />
continuing a long and well-established<br />
pattern <strong>of</strong> students studying while in<br />
employment. Nevertheless, more recent<br />
growth has seen a new focus on full-time<br />
courses at the higher national levels. As a<br />
result <strong>of</strong> these twin trends, the majority <strong>of</strong><br />
new undergraduate level entrants to<br />
Scottish higher education now commence<br />
their studies in further education settings.<br />
When, in response to a looming financial<br />
crisis, full-time undergraduate expansion in<br />
all parts <strong>of</strong> the United Kingdom was brought<br />
to a halt in 1994, Scotland had more than a<br />
quarter <strong>of</strong> its higher education students in<br />
the further education sector. All the same,<br />
this was only a slight increase in the college<br />
proportion found at the start <strong>of</strong> the<br />
expansion era. What has been described as<br />
two parallel systems <strong>of</strong> higher education in<br />
Scotland (Gallacher, 2002) was not a<br />
product <strong>of</strong> the passage to mass higher<br />
education. Rather, it was a means by which<br />
that country was able to achieve a relatively<br />
smooth transition to mass conditions and,<br />
at the same time, maintain its lead (with<br />
Northern Ireland) in higher levels <strong>of</strong><br />
participation in the United Kingdom. That<br />
advanced further education courses were<br />
funded at a lower average level <strong>of</strong> resource<br />
than the early years <strong>of</strong> a four-year degree<br />
programme in Scottish higher education<br />
As in all regions <strong>of</strong> the United Kingdom, the<br />
opportunity to study in a locally accessible<br />
college is particularly important in providing<br />
a route back into education for adult<br />
students, both at the stage <strong>of</strong> initial entry to<br />
further education and then into higher level<br />
programmes. Scottish further education<br />
colleges do not just bring an older range <strong>of</strong><br />
students into undergraduate studies than<br />
other face-to-face establishments. There is<br />
evidence as well that, compared to the<br />
higher education sector, they have been<br />
successful in attracting a much higher<br />
percentage <strong>of</strong> students from disadvantaged<br />
areas (Raab, 1998). Participation rates in the<br />
colleges for those from the most<br />
disadvantaged areas were about twice as<br />
high as those in the higher education sector<br />
and, in the Scottish system at least, the<br />
further education colleges appeared to have<br />
a key role in widening access to higher<br />
education.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 11
Except in relation to the franchising <strong>of</strong><br />
undergraduate courses to further education<br />
establishments, the college contribution to<br />
the great expansion <strong>of</strong> higher education in<br />
England was secondary. Its role was<br />
auxiliary and ancillary. Neither their history<br />
<strong>of</strong> engagement with higher level work, nor<br />
their costs, nor their flexibility and<br />
accessibility, were able to compete with a<br />
pattern <strong>of</strong> demand that reproduced and<br />
reinforced the hegemony <strong>of</strong> the honours<br />
degree in the English system. In this country,<br />
most <strong>of</strong> the surge in growth was focused on<br />
the first degree and was taken by the higher<br />
education institutions.<br />
Among the latter, it was the polytechnic<br />
numbers that expanded the fastest (by more<br />
than two-thirds during the expansion years).<br />
The rate <strong>of</strong> increase among the established<br />
universities was half this figure (at 37%) and<br />
among the further education colleges –<br />
where growth was slowest – it was 23%. In<br />
any other context, the level <strong>of</strong> growth in<br />
further education would have been<br />
exceptional but the effect <strong>of</strong> spectacular<br />
expansion elsewhere was to reduce the<br />
college proportion <strong>of</strong> higher education<br />
enrolments.<br />
It was only the introduction <strong>of</strong> franchising,<br />
always a minor phenomenon in Scotland,<br />
that prevented an overall reduction in the<br />
college contribution to English higher<br />
education. Franchising involved a higher<br />
education establishment sub-contracting<br />
the teaching <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> its undergraduate<br />
programmes (in whole or part) to one or<br />
more further education colleges. The fastest<br />
expanding polytechnics were in the van <strong>of</strong><br />
this development, especially when capacity<br />
limits had been reached in taking additional<br />
students into their own buildings and<br />
campuses.<br />
Colleges were also keen to enter into<br />
franchise arrangements. It brought new<br />
income streams into the college and the<br />
status attached to higher level work was<br />
attractive to many teaching staff. It provided<br />
avenues <strong>of</strong> progression for its students,<br />
especially those unable or unwilling to<br />
attend a higher education institution outside<br />
their locality or region. Franchising also<br />
brought some colleges into higher<br />
education for the first time as well as<br />
diversifying the levels and subjects <strong>of</strong><br />
undergraduate study taught in further<br />
education settings.<br />
Like the growth to which it gave rise,<br />
franchising was neither planned nor<br />
regulated by the sector bodies and it<br />
attracted concern in some quarters that<br />
quality and standards were being<br />
compromised. It coincided as well with the<br />
creation in 1992 <strong>of</strong> a new further education<br />
sector. Part <strong>of</strong> the rationale for this reform in<br />
England was to relieve further education<br />
colleges <strong>of</strong> the burden <strong>of</strong> higher education<br />
(seen as the proper responsibility <strong>of</strong><br />
universities and polytechnics) and so enable<br />
them to focus more clearly on their core<br />
mission (at the upper secondary and<br />
associated tertiary levels). Indeed, the new<br />
further education funding council operated a<br />
policy <strong>of</strong> ‘no policy’ in respect <strong>of</strong> the higher<br />
education it inherited from the previous local<br />
authority system and which it was obliged to<br />
continue to fund.<br />
Page 12<br />
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Near-universal access: two models <strong>of</strong><br />
collegiate and transfer activity<br />
As a result <strong>of</strong> these growth trajectories and<br />
features, England lurched to mass higher<br />
education without the colleges being viewed<br />
or treated as central to this transition (Parry,<br />
2003). In Scotland, quasi-markets were also<br />
used by the state to sponsor expansion at a<br />
lower unit <strong>of</strong> resource yet the outcome here<br />
was a clear division <strong>of</strong> academic labour<br />
between provision <strong>of</strong> first degree and<br />
postgraduate education (in the higher<br />
education sector) and sub-degree<br />
vocational higher education (in the further<br />
education sector). Higher education in the<br />
Scottish colleges was funded directly for<br />
this purpose. Many <strong>of</strong> the colleges that<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered higher education in England did so<br />
on the basis <strong>of</strong> both direct and indirect<br />
(franchise) funding and this contributed to a<br />
mix <strong>of</strong> levels, types and parts <strong>of</strong><br />
undergraduate qualifications taught in<br />
further education, including the first degree.<br />
When the national committee <strong>of</strong> inquiry into<br />
higher education (the Dearing inquiry, 1996-<br />
97) examined these matters, it was<br />
impressed with the participation levels<br />
achieved in Scotland and recommended<br />
that renewed growth in England should be<br />
concentrated at the sub-degree levels. More<br />
significantly, but equally controversially, it<br />
proposed that the majority <strong>of</strong> this expansion<br />
should be located in further education<br />
colleges. More than that, these colleges<br />
should be funded directly for this ‘special<br />
mission’ and, to prevent any erosion or drift<br />
in this mission, no growth should be allowed<br />
in first degree and postgraduate education<br />
in the further education sector. Franchise<br />
relationships were viewed with considerable<br />
disquiet by the inquiry and the new quality<br />
assurance body for higher education was<br />
asked to regulate and contain their<br />
development.<br />
This attempt to give English colleges a<br />
distinct role in higher education was<br />
recommended by a committee <strong>of</strong> inquiry<br />
into higher education, not further education.<br />
It was yet another example <strong>of</strong> policy and<br />
purpose being made for further education<br />
by an external body or party, in this case the<br />
higher education sector. Such was the<br />
strong division between the higher and<br />
further education sectors in the English<br />
system that the recommendation<br />
occasioned little public response from the<br />
colleges. Among the 50 or so colleges that<br />
accounted for over half <strong>of</strong> the higher<br />
education numbers in further education,<br />
there was some dismay that their<br />
aspirations to provide courses to the first<br />
degree might be checked. The other college<br />
providers, where higher education<br />
frequently represented small pockets <strong>of</strong><br />
activity and where some <strong>of</strong> this was funded<br />
indirectly, were equally concerned about<br />
curbs on franchising.<br />
Whatever the source <strong>of</strong> their concerns, there<br />
was no active or collective engagement by<br />
the colleges with the Dearing proposals.<br />
More <strong>of</strong>ten it was the ambivalence or<br />
hostility <strong>of</strong> higher education establishments<br />
or agencies that commanded more<br />
attention. However, it must be remembered<br />
that most colleges were clear that their core<br />
mission lay elsewhere and, compared to the<br />
huge number <strong>of</strong> enrolments at the further<br />
FOCUS Page Page 13
education levels, higher education students<br />
were but a tiny fraction <strong>of</strong> the student<br />
population in the sector. When published, it<br />
was other recommendations in the inquiry<br />
report that were to dominate public debate<br />
in the post-Dearing years.<br />
In retrospect, the main political purpose <strong>of</strong><br />
the Dearing inquiry (which received<br />
bipartisan support from the governing and<br />
opposition parties) was to make the<br />
‘breakthrough’ on the introduction <strong>of</strong> fees<br />
for full-time undergraduate courses<br />
(including those in further education<br />
colleges). Adopting a different model than<br />
that recommended by the inquiry, the new<br />
Labour government required an up-front<br />
flat-rate private contribution to the costs <strong>of</strong><br />
all first degree and sub-degree<br />
programmes. At the same time, the Blair<br />
administration implemented a manifesto<br />
pledge to establish, following referendums<br />
in each country, a parliament in Scotland<br />
and national assemblies in Wales and<br />
Northern Ireland. One <strong>of</strong> the first actions <strong>of</strong><br />
the Scottish parliament was to reject the<br />
English approach to fees and to devise its<br />
own deferred payment scheme.<br />
Given that political devolution highlighted<br />
and reinforced trends toward greater<br />
differentiation between the four countries, it<br />
was during the second Blair government<br />
that it became possible to conceive <strong>of</strong> two<br />
models <strong>of</strong> collegiate and transfer activity in<br />
the English and Scottish systems. Troubled<br />
by damp demand for existing sub-degree<br />
qualifications and by some critical quality<br />
assessment reports on higher education in a<br />
minority <strong>of</strong> colleges, the Westminster<br />
government embarked on major policy<br />
experiment designed to change (‘break’) the<br />
traditional pattern <strong>of</strong> demand for English<br />
higher education.<br />
Firstly, a new two-year work-focused<br />
qualification – the foundation degree – was<br />
invented to enhance the standing <strong>of</strong><br />
vocational sub-degree higher education<br />
and, over time, to replace previous<br />
qualifications at this level. This was the first<br />
new major higher education qualification to<br />
be introduced since the diploma <strong>of</strong> higher<br />
education in the 1970s. Secondly, a target <strong>of</strong><br />
50% <strong>of</strong> the 18 to 30 age group in higher<br />
education was identified to lead the drive to<br />
widening participation, to close the ‘skills<br />
gap’ at the intermediate levels and to<br />
achieve near-universal access by the year<br />
2010. Reflecting its skills agenda and a<br />
somewhat low-trust relationship with further<br />
education, the government looked to<br />
colleges to ‘deliver’ this qualification in<br />
association with employers and the<br />
universities.<br />
Contrary to the Dearing recommendations,<br />
the main instrument for this delivery function<br />
was to be indirect funding, either in<br />
franchised arrangements or through<br />
recognised funding consortia. In what the<br />
government described as a ‘structured<br />
partnership’, employers would contribute to<br />
the design and operation <strong>of</strong> the new<br />
qualification, colleges would teach much <strong>of</strong><br />
the programme, and universities would<br />
award the short-cycle ‘degree’. As in past<br />
and present franchise relationships, the<br />
universities awarded additional funded<br />
places for foundation degrees would need<br />
to ‘top-slice’ these funds to cover the costs<br />
<strong>of</strong> their quality assurance and other<br />
Page 14<br />
FOCUS
services. The remainder would be passed to<br />
the colleges to teach these programmes.<br />
Currently, the proportion retained the<br />
franchising university ranges from 5% to<br />
50%, with most partnerships reporting<br />
between 20% and 40% (Parry et al., 2003).<br />
Thirdly, the undergraduate fee regime<br />
introduced by the first Blair government was<br />
partially de-regulated. From <strong>2006</strong>, higher<br />
education providers were allowed to charge<br />
up to three times the previous flat-rate fee<br />
and, unlike the earlier scheme, students<br />
were able to begin to pay this when in<br />
employment. Unsurprisingly, the ruling<br />
coalition in Scotland announced its<br />
opposition to these ‘top-up’ fees. Equally, it<br />
saw no reason to adopt foundation degrees.<br />
The Welsh assembly also gave a<br />
commitment not to introduce variable fees<br />
during the life <strong>of</strong> the present administration.<br />
On the other hand, policy borrowing in the<br />
form <strong>of</strong> foundation degrees proceeded<br />
apace.<br />
So, in conclusion, two models <strong>of</strong> collegebased<br />
undergraduate education and<br />
transfer can be discerned, each with their<br />
own dilemmas <strong>of</strong> access, progression and<br />
‘employability’. In England, there has been<br />
continuing ambivalence about the role <strong>of</strong><br />
higher education in further education as well<br />
as an unresolved ambiguity about the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> the foundation degree. Is it<br />
primarily an exit qualification leading to<br />
entry or re-entry to the labour market? Or, is<br />
it a transfer qualification enabling students<br />
from a wide range <strong>of</strong> social and economic<br />
backgrounds to achieve the first degree<br />
qualification? Or, should and can it be both?<br />
As a new qualification, the foundation<br />
degree has yet to prove itself one way or the<br />
other. Moreover, most <strong>of</strong> the public debate<br />
and media interest in access issues in<br />
England has been preoccupied with the<br />
placement <strong>of</strong> ‘bright’ working class young<br />
people in some <strong>of</strong> the leading researchintensive<br />
universities. In Scotland, where the<br />
higher national diplomas and certificates will<br />
be retained (and revised) and where higher<br />
education numbers will be held at present<br />
levels, the access problem is more<br />
immediately a transfer or progression<br />
question. More than a third <strong>of</strong> full-time<br />
higher national students in Scotland<br />
progress to further study, including the first<br />
degree, but these routes are <strong>of</strong>ten limited<br />
and spread unevenly between the new and<br />
old universities (Osborne et al., 2002).<br />
If, as at present, attrition is greater at the<br />
sub-degree levels and the number <strong>of</strong> those<br />
transferring into higher education<br />
institutions is less than desired, there is the<br />
prospect <strong>of</strong> many adult and working class<br />
students finding their opportunities reduced<br />
or delayed in an increasingly stratified<br />
pattern <strong>of</strong> Scottish higher education. There<br />
is a risk as well that, if ‘widening<br />
participation students’ become the main<br />
audience for the foundation degree, then<br />
England might follow Scotland in allowing<br />
two relatively disconnected systems to<br />
conceal new patterns <strong>of</strong> inequality in ‘a new<br />
learning divide’ (Morgan-Klein, 2000).<br />
Retention and transfer are likely to figure<br />
large in the work <strong>of</strong> the new merged funding<br />
council for further and higher education<br />
planned in Scotland. No such reform is<br />
contemplated in England, at least not ahead<br />
FOCUS Page Page 15
<strong>of</strong> the conclusions <strong>of</strong> an independent review<br />
<strong>of</strong> further education colleges (the Foster<br />
review, 2004-05). This review was prompted<br />
by worries about the mission and identity <strong>of</strong><br />
general further education colleges. In one<br />
set <strong>of</strong> policies, they were asked to play a<br />
leading role in the delivery <strong>of</strong> foundation<br />
degrees. In another set <strong>of</strong> policies, these<br />
same institutions were urged to make<br />
special provision for individuals as young as<br />
fourteen and fifteen years <strong>of</strong> age who would<br />
undertake studies in college as part <strong>of</strong> their<br />
secondary school curriculum. A third set <strong>of</strong><br />
policies insisted that such colleges cultivate<br />
a specialist vocational focus and make that<br />
central to their mission.<br />
Arguably, these were not conditions that<br />
favoured the development <strong>of</strong> secure and<br />
sustainable higher education in the college<br />
sector. In England, further education<br />
colleges had yet to be widely regarded or<br />
accepted as normal and necessary settings<br />
for undergraduate education.<br />
This paper was presented at the Annual<br />
Conference <strong>of</strong> the Council for the Study<br />
<strong>of</strong> Community Colleges, Boston,<br />
Massachusetts, USA, 8-9 April 2005.<br />
Page 16<br />
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References<br />
Abramson, M., Bird, J. and Stennett, A.<br />
(eds.) (1996) Further and Higher Education<br />
Partnerships. The Future <strong>of</strong> Collaboration,<br />
Buckingham, Society for <strong>Research</strong> into<br />
Higher Education and Open University<br />
Press.<br />
Ainley, P. and Bailey, B. (1997) The Business<br />
<strong>of</strong> Learning: Staff and Student Experiences<br />
<strong>of</strong> Further Education in the 1990s, London,<br />
Cassell.<br />
Cantor, L. M. and Roberts, I. F. (1986)<br />
Further Education Today: A Critical Review,<br />
London, Routledge & Kegan Paul.<br />
Cantor, L., Roberts, I. and Pratley, B. (1995)<br />
A Guide to Further Education in England<br />
and Wales, London, Cassell.<br />
Department for Education and Employment<br />
(2000) Foundation degrees. Consultation<br />
paper, London, DfEE.<br />
Gallacher, J. (2002) ‘Parallel lines? Higher<br />
education in Scotland’s colleges and higher<br />
education institutions’, Scottish Affairs, 40,<br />
pp. 123-139.<br />
Gallacher, J. (2003) Higher Education in<br />
Further Education Colleges: the Scottish<br />
Experience, London, Council for Industry<br />
and Higher Education.<br />
Green, A. and Lucas, N. (eds.) (1999) FE and<br />
Lifelong Learning: Realigning the Sector for<br />
the Twenty-first Century, London, <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Education University <strong>of</strong> London.<br />
Hyland, T. and Merrill, B. (2003) The<br />
Changing Face <strong>of</strong> Further Education,<br />
London, RoutledgeFalmer.<br />
Parry, G. (2005) ‘British higher education<br />
and the prism <strong>of</strong> devolution’, in T. Tapper<br />
and D. Palfreyman (eds.) Understanding<br />
Mass Higher Education. Comparative<br />
Perspectives on Access, Abingdon,<br />
RoutledgeFalmer, pp. 160-189.<br />
Parry, G. (2003) ‘Mass higher education and<br />
the English: wherein the colleges?’, Higher<br />
Education Quarterly, 57 (4), pp. 308-337.<br />
Parry, G. and Thompson, A. (2002) Closer by<br />
degrees: the past, present and future <strong>of</strong><br />
higher education in further education<br />
colleges, London, Learning and Skills<br />
Development Agency.<br />
Parry, G., Davies, P. and Williams, J. (2003)<br />
Dimensions <strong>of</strong> difference: higher education<br />
in the Learning and skills sector, London,<br />
Learning and Skills Development Agency.<br />
Parry, G., Moseley, R., Thompson, J. and<br />
Blackie, P. (2003) Review <strong>of</strong> Indirect Funding<br />
Agreements and Arrangements between<br />
Higher Education Institutions and Further<br />
Education Colleges, Issues Paper 2003/57,<br />
Bristol, Higher Education Funding Council<br />
for England.<br />
Raab, G. (1998) Participation in Higher<br />
Education in Scotland, Edinburgh, Scottish<br />
Higher Education Funding Council.<br />
Raffe, D. (2000) ‘Investigating the education<br />
systems <strong>of</strong> the United Kingdom’, in D.<br />
Phillips (ed.) The Education Systems <strong>of</strong> the<br />
United Kingdom, Wallingford, Symposium<br />
Books, pp. 9-28.<br />
Smithers, A. and Robinson, P. (eds.) (2000)<br />
Further Education Re-formed, London,<br />
Falmer Press.<br />
Morgan-Klein, B. (2000) ‘Scottish higher<br />
education and the FE-HE nexus’, Higher<br />
Education Quarterly, 57 (4), pp. 338-354.<br />
Osborne, M., Gallacher, J. and Murphy, M.<br />
(2002) A <strong>Research</strong> Review <strong>of</strong> FE/HE Links.<br />
Report to Scottish Executive, Stirling,<br />
Centre for <strong>Research</strong> in Lifelong Learning.<br />
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About the author<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Gareth Parry works in the School <strong>of</strong> Education at the<br />
University <strong>of</strong> Sheffield. His research and teaching interests are in<br />
higher education policy and change, access and participation,<br />
system and organisation, and international tertiary education. He<br />
has published widely in these areas. In addition he is a Fellow <strong>of</strong><br />
the Society for <strong>Research</strong> into Higher Education and a Director <strong>of</strong><br />
the ESRC Study 'Universal Access and Dual Regimes <strong>of</strong> Further<br />
and Higher Education'.<br />
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The Challenge<br />
Picture courtesy <strong>of</strong><br />
Dr John Esser<br />
<strong>of</strong> Teaching<br />
International<br />
Students<br />
By Stephen Bloy - Deputy Director, Academic Programmes and Action<br />
<strong>Research</strong> at The <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further & Higher Education.<br />
Abstract:<br />
Colleges and Universities now see<br />
education as a global enterprise, which has<br />
effectively led to the commodification <strong>of</strong><br />
education. Although there appears to be an<br />
assumption that the world is quickly moving<br />
towards a converging commonality, with<br />
educational needs becoming homogenised<br />
and driven by advances in world trade,<br />
technology, communication, transport and<br />
travel, do we need to recognise, that in an<br />
international market how we teach<br />
education programmes and/or curricula<br />
may require extensive adaptation? The<br />
intention <strong>of</strong> this paper is to consider and<br />
discuss issues that may well influence the<br />
successful teaching <strong>of</strong> standard educational<br />
programmes to a cohort <strong>of</strong> international<br />
students. The empirical exploration <strong>of</strong> this<br />
paper is framed within the context <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world in which we live and draws a focus on<br />
the important issues such as social, cultural,<br />
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values, educational background, systems<br />
and expectations. The intention is to add to<br />
current discourse in what is increasingly an<br />
important dimension in the field <strong>of</strong><br />
education.<br />
Key words:<br />
International, teaching education, values,<br />
culture, social reality.<br />
culturally diverse in its composition.<br />
Intentional or unintentional ignoring or<br />
ignorance <strong>of</strong> factors such as societal<br />
background, history, cultural differences,<br />
attitudes and values, educational<br />
background and expectations may impact<br />
on the successful delivery <strong>of</strong> educational<br />
programmes to an international student<br />
group.<br />
Introduction<br />
It is <strong>of</strong>ten argued that the global dimension<br />
has added impetus to the effective<br />
commodification <strong>of</strong> contemporary life with<br />
the world rapidly moving towards a<br />
converging commonality with needs<br />
becoming homogenised (Ritzer, 1996;<br />
Smart 1999). Both the Further and Higher<br />
Education sectors now operate within a<br />
dynamic global market, with universities and<br />
colleges developing international<br />
perspectives and pursuing marketing<br />
strategies to attract international students<br />
(Morrison, 1998). With education however,<br />
an alternative view may be to acknowledge<br />
that although there are global needs and<br />
opportunities we may need to accept that<br />
education per se may not be truly a global<br />
product. Just as a manufacturing company<br />
may change the packaging <strong>of</strong> a product or<br />
vary the specification slightly to suit the<br />
country or culture <strong>of</strong> a country they wish to<br />
access, education programmes and/or<br />
curricula may also require adaptation for an<br />
international market. In reality, the allure <strong>of</strong> a<br />
universal educational product may distract<br />
from the real challenge educators face<br />
today, that is to deliver and support ‘the<br />
product’ in a manner that suits a student<br />
population which is likely to be increasingly<br />
In addition to discussing these issues in<br />
general terms, because <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Grimsby</strong><br />
<strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further and Higher Education’s<br />
rapidly growing direct involvement in China,<br />
specific reference will be made to issues<br />
arising from teaching Chinese students in<br />
the UK. The <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong>’s increasing<br />
involvement in China is not unique as,<br />
Rosecky et al., (2004) point out:<br />
“Evolution in its worldview has moved China<br />
from a classic Marxism/Mao dicta to a more<br />
pragmatic educational approach, one that<br />
includes non-public education”.<br />
Universities, institutes and colleges and<br />
their educational programmes do not<br />
operate in a vacuum, they are through the<br />
tutors, support staff and students<br />
inextricably connected to their societalcultural<br />
environment. Recognition <strong>of</strong> the<br />
diverse cultural and educational<br />
backgrounds <strong>of</strong> the students should<br />
highlight the necessity to review the<br />
assumptions that we make when teaching<br />
or developing educational programmes.<br />
Burrell, & Morgan,(1979) argue:<br />
“The rationale for a particular way <strong>of</strong> thinking<br />
is grounded in a network <strong>of</strong> implicit or<br />
explicit assumptions regarding ‘ontology’<br />
(Science <strong>of</strong> Being –Reality) and ‘human<br />
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nature’ that define an individual’s view <strong>of</strong> the<br />
social world. These assumptions provide the<br />
foundation <strong>of</strong> behaviour inclining the<br />
individual to see and interpret the world from<br />
one perspective rather than from another”.<br />
How we learn to see and our perspective <strong>of</strong><br />
what we learn to see is socially constructed<br />
and is framed in the language and life that<br />
we lead or have led. Consequently, we may<br />
as tutors and lecturers, albeit inadvertently,<br />
have a tendency to view our world as the<br />
world without recognising that the ways <strong>of</strong><br />
seeing are constantly being shaped by<br />
numerous hidden forces that make reality<br />
real in a culturally specific way. Individual<br />
perception and our understanding <strong>of</strong> our<br />
world are developed through the tools<br />
provided by language and other learned<br />
ways <strong>of</strong> seeing that forms our culture. By<br />
acknowledging that this is the case, it is apt<br />
to question what effect does or could this<br />
have on our teaching style or a students<br />
learning style.<br />
Within the context <strong>of</strong> developing education,<br />
Fink. (2001) contends that:<br />
“Policy initiators and makers <strong>of</strong>ten see<br />
students as mere statistics, whereas the<br />
policy implementers, i.e. the educators,<br />
have to face the reality <strong>of</strong> promoting and<br />
developing the learning <strong>of</strong> a specific group<br />
<strong>of</strong> students with all the associated diversity<br />
and complexity”.<br />
Fink (ibid):<br />
“Each context creates a set <strong>of</strong> variables with<br />
which the policy implementers (educators)<br />
must contend and about which some policy<br />
initiators seem unaware, unimpressed, or<br />
even uncaring”.<br />
To just assume that programmes can be<br />
delivered in a standard form without<br />
consideration for the formative background<br />
<strong>of</strong> the students is a flawed strategy. A recent<br />
discussion with some teachers from central<br />
China attending a comprehensive English<br />
training programme at <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Further and Higher Education illustrated this<br />
point very clearly. Seeing a detachment <strong>of</strong><br />
Ghurkha soldiers on a parade during a<br />
cultural visit to York, they ask where they<br />
came from? When told Nepal and shown<br />
where Nepal is on a world map, they denied<br />
the existence <strong>of</strong> Nepal. For them this<br />
country does not exist. And, these were<br />
secondary education teachers!<br />
Clearly, as educators it is important to<br />
accept that to develop an understanding <strong>of</strong><br />
the culture <strong>of</strong> a country from a student’s<br />
educational perspective, it is necessary to<br />
have some understanding <strong>of</strong> the country’s<br />
history and in particular recent history and<br />
transformational events. The fall <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Berlin wall in 1989 and the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Ceacescue regime in Romania are two<br />
examples <strong>of</strong> transformational events that led<br />
to major cultural changes. Furthermore,<br />
these events, among others, signalled the<br />
demise <strong>of</strong> the old world bipolar order and<br />
set the scene for a new world order in which<br />
the internationalisation <strong>of</strong> education would<br />
come to the fore. The successful delivery<br />
and support <strong>of</strong> educational programmes it<br />
would seem requires careful consideration<br />
<strong>of</strong> cultural transferability, generic and<br />
specific applicability and manipulation <strong>of</strong><br />
meaning. Recognition <strong>of</strong> the effect this may<br />
influence how we develop and deliver<br />
education programmes to a diverse cohort<br />
<strong>of</strong> students. We should also consider<br />
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whether our metaphors, stories and<br />
examples might be devalued and worthless<br />
if the students cannot relate to them.<br />
Furthermore, what barriers to the transfer <strong>of</strong><br />
learning could we actually be creating by<br />
just failing to think through in sufficient detail<br />
what is really required to ‘internationalise’<br />
the programmes successfully?<br />
According to Lumby (2004),<br />
“an educator is lacking essential breadth if<br />
practice remains bounded by the values and<br />
approaches which have emerged over time<br />
in any one location”..<br />
The very notion <strong>of</strong> a converging education<br />
commonality with needs becoming<br />
homogenised raises a series <strong>of</strong> important<br />
issues. For example, within this concept <strong>of</strong><br />
globalisation <strong>of</strong> education, terms such as<br />
world-class education are now being used.<br />
What does it mean; is it a marketing strap<br />
line or a philosophy? What does<br />
globalisation really mean in practice to our<br />
learners? Dimmock, (2004) contends:<br />
“A tension and struggle may exist between<br />
the forces <strong>of</strong> globalisation bringing<br />
homogenous change and those <strong>of</strong> societal<br />
culture tending to preserve long cherished<br />
customs and ways”..<br />
Furthermore, Lumby (2004) argues that:<br />
“An international perspective adopts a<br />
stance which recognises the homogenizing<br />
force <strong>of</strong> globalization but, also recognises<br />
the pr<strong>of</strong>ound differences that remain”. And<br />
adds “that an international perspective<br />
implies looking for what is shared, in<br />
context, issues, values and practice but also<br />
looking for what is different or appears<br />
different”..<br />
Whilst Fink (2001) points out:<br />
“Well intentioned, highly motivated people,<br />
both policy makers and policy<br />
implementers, seek in their own ways to<br />
create the very best educational experiences<br />
for young people. Unfortunately, they have<br />
become so caught up in their own paradigm<br />
or mindset that they are unable or unwilling<br />
to see the perspective <strong>of</strong> others, or to<br />
acknowledge that their way may not support<br />
the students learning”.<br />
The world today is integrated in a way that<br />
can lead to worldwide learning. However, in<br />
the context <strong>of</strong> pedagogical approaches for<br />
the international learner, Dimmock, Lumby<br />
and Fink are clear in that identifying and<br />
understanding cultural differences, values<br />
and assumptions about human beings and<br />
the world in which they live, in other words<br />
identifying the student’s paradigm, is key to<br />
the successful delivery and support <strong>of</strong><br />
educational programmes to a cohort <strong>of</strong><br />
international students. The unstated but<br />
implicit challenge is that in a global market<br />
the aim is to deliver and support education<br />
programmes in a manner which truly reflects<br />
awareness <strong>of</strong> cultural root differences.<br />
Munoz & Katsioloudes (2004) advocate:<br />
“As international learners and processors in<br />
a global environment, those unfamiliar with<br />
varying cultural codes may experience a<br />
high level <strong>of</strong> stress in social encounters and<br />
suffer from interpersonal anxiety and self<br />
doubt”.<br />
Through the methods we adopt when<br />
teaching an international student group<br />
there could be the tendency to impose,<br />
either consciously or sub-consciously, the<br />
culture and associated values and beliefs<br />
developed in the English speaking world. In<br />
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doing so we could then fall into the trap <strong>of</strong><br />
ignoring the powerful influence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
student cohort’s home country’s ‘deep’<br />
culture. It is necessary to recognise that the<br />
epistemological development <strong>of</strong> educational<br />
processes, curricula, teaching methods and<br />
learning styles in the developed societies <strong>of</strong><br />
the so called ‘first-world’ are the products <strong>of</strong><br />
centuries <strong>of</strong> influence, evolvement, progress<br />
and specific refinement. For example, the<br />
United Kingdom’s educational evolution can<br />
easily be traced back as a series <strong>of</strong> ‘building<br />
block’ stages from modern history to<br />
Roman Britain. If we look even further back<br />
we can see that what the Romans taught us<br />
is based on their accumulated knowledge<br />
drawn from the Greeks, Egyptians and other<br />
earlier Mediterranean centred civilisations. It<br />
is argued that our knowledge and way <strong>of</strong><br />
thinking owes much to the learned scholars<br />
from the ancient classical world.<br />
Fink (2001) contends:<br />
“educational systems in most Western<br />
countries have delivered what society has<br />
historically wanted them to deliver”.<br />
However, historical development <strong>of</strong> an<br />
educational system and way <strong>of</strong> learning in<br />
one part <strong>of</strong> the world does not guarantee<br />
appropriateness in another part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world. To assume that it does, ignores, or at<br />
best, pays little regard to the<br />
epistemological development <strong>of</strong> learning<br />
and education in other countries. In China<br />
for example, education and sophisticated<br />
learning has also developed over several<br />
millennia but in a totally different way from<br />
the western world. Chinese knowledge and<br />
ways <strong>of</strong> learning are not derived from the<br />
same base - point as in the UK. A dissimilar<br />
set <strong>of</strong> factors and influences shaped the<br />
thinking and development <strong>of</strong> education and<br />
learning in China. Chinese learning draws<br />
from Confucius, Taoism, Buddha and<br />
Chinese scholars such as Lao Tzu, not from<br />
Aristotle and Archimedes. Early Chinese<br />
scholars did not have much interest in pure<br />
abstract thinking. When they came across<br />
abstract ideas, they expressed them in<br />
concrete or visual objectives. For example,<br />
instead <strong>of</strong> saying fast, they would say a<br />
thousand mile horse. For the concept <strong>of</strong> old,<br />
Chinese had three different ways <strong>of</strong><br />
expression: one was aged sixty years,<br />
another was seventy years, and a third was<br />
aged eighty or ninety years. Kam-Cheung<br />
Wong (2004) points out:<br />
“Both in subject content and in the method<br />
<strong>of</strong> thinking in philosophy, the ancient<br />
Chinese were at great distance from the<br />
ancient Greeks, who developed early<br />
interest in the universe and in logic which<br />
laid the foundations for the development <strong>of</strong><br />
Western worldview”.<br />
Logic remains essential in Western<br />
philosophical training to this day (Russell,<br />
1961). Not so for the Chinese!<br />
Perhaps even more relevant, Chinese<br />
learning and societal perspectives in recent<br />
history have been greatly influenced by<br />
Marxism and Maoism; philosophies which<br />
are poles apart from the predominant ways<br />
<strong>of</strong> thinking in the so called west. H<strong>of</strong>stede<br />
(1996) adds:<br />
“In attempting to understand differences,<br />
one needs history and in understanding<br />
history, one needs culture………….Thinking<br />
is affected by the kind <strong>of</strong> family they grew up<br />
in, the kind <strong>of</strong> school they went to, the kind<br />
<strong>of</strong> authority and legal system they are<br />
accustomed to. The causality between<br />
FOCUS Page Page 25
institutions and culture is circular; they<br />
cannot be separated”.<br />
Societal culture is a significant theoretical<br />
construct. Moloi (2003) refers to culture at<br />
three levels - surface, middle and deep. In<br />
her opinion, it is the deep culture i.e. the<br />
culture that develops through the language<br />
and life <strong>of</strong> the people, informed by time,<br />
traditions and history, that is difficult to<br />
change. Moloi (ibid) contends<br />
“that insufficient attention to the local culture<br />
results in only shallow surface comparison”.<br />
Within this concept <strong>of</strong> deep culture it is<br />
prudent to question whether the Chinese<br />
‘thousand mile horse’ lack <strong>of</strong> abstract type<br />
<strong>of</strong> thinking still prevails and consider the<br />
impact would it have on learning transfer.<br />
The exploration by Morgan (1986) <strong>of</strong> the<br />
concept <strong>of</strong> psychic prisons by using the<br />
allegory <strong>of</strong> Plato’s cave, suggests “People<br />
can get trapped by illusions hence the way<br />
they understand reality is limited and<br />
flawed”. Whilst Fink, (2001) observes:<br />
“we get caught up in ones own mindset that<br />
we become unwilling or unable to see the<br />
perspective <strong>of</strong> others”.<br />
Consequently we could reject alternative<br />
viewpoints because they do not sit<br />
comfortably within our paradigm.<br />
Lumby, J. (2004) argues<br />
“an international perspective consequently<br />
leads to a critical attitude <strong>of</strong> existing theory<br />
which is based largely on western values<br />
and also <strong>of</strong> the dominant group within the<br />
west – white middle class men”.<br />
The point that Lumby makes is crucial as it<br />
encourages reflection on the influence <strong>of</strong><br />
personal values. We <strong>of</strong>ten develop ideas<br />
about other people’s values by observing<br />
their behaviour, rather than through detailed<br />
discussion. Such observations may well be<br />
biased towards the support or confirmation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the personal values and viewpoints that<br />
we already hold. It is important that we<br />
acknowledge what may be accepted as fact<br />
or truth in one culture may not be in another.<br />
The denial <strong>of</strong> the existence <strong>of</strong> Nepal as a<br />
country previously referred to emphasises<br />
this point. Developing the ability to see<br />
things from a different perspective from<br />
other parts <strong>of</strong> the world is needed to change<br />
our embedded thinking to ensure the<br />
successful transfer <strong>of</strong> learning to an<br />
international student cohort. Lumby (2004)<br />
provides a useful definition:<br />
“An international perspective can therefore<br />
be defined as viewing values and practices<br />
in locations across the world including one’s<br />
own with sufficient openness to reach<br />
insights about similarities, differences and<br />
their scale and translating such insights into<br />
renewed commitment and ideas for<br />
developing one’s own practice. Such a<br />
stance <strong>of</strong>fers vibrant learning to leaders (and<br />
educators) wherever they are based”.<br />
Within the framework <strong>of</strong> indicative content<br />
and learning outcomes, educational<br />
programme planning in the UK is quite<br />
straight forward – define what the students<br />
must learn, divide the learning into<br />
convenient chunks, produce schemes <strong>of</strong><br />
work and lesson plans, establish<br />
timeframes, develop an assessment/ testing<br />
regime, organise learning resources, then<br />
tell the teachers how to achieve<br />
predetermined targets. The Higher<br />
Education programmes for delivery at<br />
<strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further and Higher<br />
Education are planned and organised in<br />
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precisely this way. The process has not<br />
fundamentally changed in recent years, with<br />
very little modification except for subject<br />
specific updating. It is probable that the<br />
majority <strong>of</strong> educational programmes in the<br />
UK are probably organised in this manner.<br />
Reducing the learning into component<br />
parts, focusing on parts <strong>of</strong> the process and<br />
not the whole is an approach to education<br />
proposed by Taylor and Ford (1947). The<br />
conventional wisdom is that the logical,<br />
linear and consistent with western<br />
intellectual thought with reason and<br />
rationality is the only accepted way <strong>of</strong><br />
knowing. The scientific management<br />
principles <strong>of</strong> dividing work up in discrete<br />
components, establishing the one best way<br />
and sticking rigidly to the format may be the<br />
most efficient way to mass produce<br />
consumer goods. I would question whether<br />
it the most effective way to organise<br />
learning. Our acceptance <strong>of</strong> the notion that<br />
how we learn to see is very culturally<br />
specific should lead to the consideration<br />
that this style <strong>of</strong> teaching may not be<br />
consistent with the learning style <strong>of</strong> Chinese<br />
students. Consequently, in planning to<br />
teach a diverse student cohort, what<br />
assumptions and favoured ways <strong>of</strong> thinking<br />
must be challenged and addressed to<br />
ensure that the manner in which the<br />
teaching is structured, organised and<br />
delivered is right for the learning style <strong>of</strong> the<br />
international students?<br />
Analysis <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Research</strong><br />
Analysis <strong>of</strong> the research undertaken for this<br />
paper suggests that there is a need to reflect<br />
on how we teach international students<br />
when they come to study in the UK. The<br />
research is summarised as a discourse<br />
drawn from the responses <strong>of</strong> colleagues.<br />
Italics indicate where verbatim quotations<br />
have been used but without specific<br />
identification <strong>of</strong> origin. The research analysis<br />
focused on three main issues: the impact <strong>of</strong><br />
cultural differences; student learning style<br />
and teaching style.<br />
Exploring the affect <strong>of</strong> Cultural differences<br />
Within the context <strong>of</strong> planning the<br />
programmes, the major issue was that for<br />
the majority <strong>of</strong> the students forming the<br />
subject <strong>of</strong> this research English is their<br />
second language. Allowing additional time<br />
for delivery <strong>of</strong> materials, workshop activities<br />
and for students to discuss, answer<br />
questions and to illustrate the application <strong>of</strong><br />
the theory to their specific circumstances<br />
emerged as a constant theme. Tutors also<br />
need to be aware, that religious events<br />
including; prayer times, holidays and fasting<br />
can and do affect student learning.<br />
Consequently, the speed at which the<br />
programme/lesson can be moved along can<br />
be very different. It was also argued, when<br />
planning course handbooks and curriculum<br />
projects that tutors are responsible for<br />
making all courses inclusive. The group will<br />
be from a diverse range <strong>of</strong> socio-cultural<br />
backgrounds and as such planning should<br />
accommodate this.<br />
“I have found that extra explanations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
assignment briefs were required and these<br />
have been thoroughly deconstructed in a<br />
separate English and Cultural Studies class”.<br />
Also within the discussions on assignments,<br />
the issue <strong>of</strong> plagiarism emerged. Chinese<br />
students regularly copied each others work<br />
FOCUS Page Page 27
and used material from literature and<br />
websites without proper Harvard<br />
referencing. Apparently this custom is not<br />
frowned upon in China and is, to a certain<br />
extent, actively encouraged. When<br />
challenged, the Chinese students did not<br />
think that they had done anything wrong.<br />
Rather than cheating, the Chinese students<br />
saw this as a mark <strong>of</strong> respect to use work<br />
that has already been written. And is an<br />
acceptable method <strong>of</strong> learning.<br />
Identification and awareness <strong>of</strong> this cultural<br />
issue demonstrates the need for tutors,<br />
when planning the programmes, to ensure<br />
that students are made aware that custom<br />
and practice they are used to may not be<br />
appropriate. Consequently, tutors should<br />
also plan for additional support to help<br />
students address this issue so that students<br />
are not disadvantaged because <strong>of</strong> language<br />
or cultural differences. Furthermore, in<br />
Chinese Colleges, there appears to be no<br />
pressure to complete homework. Chinese<br />
students did not seem to be used to it and<br />
appeared not to like the concept <strong>of</strong> doing<br />
things.<br />
“They say they have completed the work<br />
when they haven’t, which raises the issue <strong>of</strong><br />
the student losing face if challenged”.<br />
The Chinese do not appear to understand<br />
the reasons why this work needs to be<br />
done.<br />
When designing group activities, care<br />
should be taken when choosing groups to<br />
ensure those less able learners and those<br />
with limited English speaking skills are<br />
placed with students that are more able.<br />
Contemporary learning theory suggests that<br />
peer tutoring is not only effective in helping<br />
less able students, but also can extend<br />
pupils that are more able.<br />
“I.choose to separate foreign students from<br />
each other as they have a tendency to ‘stick<br />
together.’ I have found that separating<br />
students encourages them to integrate<br />
better and serves to improve their spoken<br />
English skills”.<br />
It is also necessary for tutors to understand<br />
that in China registers are not used, which<br />
can create issues with punctuality,<br />
particularly if students attend when they feel<br />
like it – apparently Chinese tutors don’t pick<br />
up on lateness. Although the discipline<br />
imposed by the lecturers at the <strong>Grimsby</strong><br />
<strong>Institute</strong> was respected, it was a major<br />
mindset change for the Chinese students.<br />
Cultural differences and the manner in<br />
which different societies educate pupils may<br />
create initial difficulties in engaging the<br />
student, particularly in respect <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
used question and answer approach to<br />
teaching. Tutor responses indicate that the<br />
manner in which students have been<br />
previously taught may make it problematical<br />
to question learners, particularly with the<br />
use <strong>of</strong> direct questions. In many cultures the<br />
potential for loss <strong>of</strong> face is a very serious<br />
issue, far more so than perhaps in Western<br />
cultures. Having to ask a question, or the<br />
possibility that an answer one gives may be<br />
incorrect, could limit the initial engagement<br />
<strong>of</strong> students. Chinese students are not used<br />
to engaging in classroom discussions as<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the learning experience. In China,<br />
learning is mostly tutor led. Chinese<br />
students are not really encouraged to<br />
debate – although they like to and are<br />
encouraged to read out loud. As the tutor is<br />
Page 28<br />
FOCUS
seen as the senior person, differences in<br />
cultural courtesy, deference and<br />
unwillingness to contradict can inhibit the<br />
free transfer <strong>of</strong> information. Consequently,<br />
students have to be encouraged to join in<br />
and the tutor has to create the right culture<br />
to ensure learning.<br />
“In conventional lectures there is little<br />
interaction, whilst the seminars should be<br />
student led. There has been an<br />
understandable reluctance to join in<br />
discussions and it has taken about a whole<br />
term to make this a normal practice, but with<br />
patience and encouragement it does<br />
happen”.<br />
The tutor needs to convince the students<br />
that open discussion would be appreciated<br />
and beneficial to the course and is a<br />
teaching strategy used to develop their<br />
understanding. However, there may have to<br />
be a trade <strong>of</strong>f with adopting this strategy.<br />
Until the students are relaxed about being<br />
questioned and are comfortable with this<br />
expectation, the tutor may have to consider<br />
changes to teaching style. It may be that for<br />
a particular student cohort or particular<br />
student a particular teaching strategy may<br />
never be appropriate!<br />
It was contended, that recognition <strong>of</strong> this<br />
point helped with the issue <strong>of</strong> classroom<br />
management. Some tutors observed that<br />
international students <strong>of</strong>ten have a tendency<br />
to repeatedly hold conversations in their<br />
native language to purposely exclude the<br />
tutor. As one tutor observed, “during my<br />
first lesson with international students I was<br />
failing to engage them, they then started<br />
talking between themselves, thus disrupting<br />
the rest <strong>of</strong> the session”. Also within the<br />
context <strong>of</strong> engaging students and<br />
classroom management, it appears that<br />
where the tutor stands is important to note.<br />
In China, teachers stand at the front <strong>of</strong> class<br />
and don’t walk around – conventional<br />
lecture style; walking about is very different<br />
from what Chinese students are used to.<br />
The concept <strong>of</strong> walking about, into the<br />
student body metaphorically speaking,<br />
could be considered intimidating for some<br />
students and impact on learning transfer.<br />
Including into lesson planning activities that<br />
have a link to what they are interested in and<br />
what they can relate to was considered an<br />
appropriate tactic. For example:<br />
“I included statistics and information<br />
regarding what is happening in China into<br />
the lesson, this surprised the learners as<br />
they commented ‘wow, Chinese<br />
information,’ created an immediate interest<br />
and engaged the learners”.<br />
Making allowances for differences in the<br />
international student’s learning style.<br />
It appears that with the Chinese there are<br />
definite differences in learning styles. They<br />
are used to working through text from cover<br />
to cover and expect to be ‘spoon fed’.<br />
Which text book are we using and, starting<br />
at chapter 1 appears to be the mindset.<br />
Colleagues had to introduce the concept <strong>of</strong><br />
lectures and seminars and point out to<br />
students that it was not necessary to read<br />
text books from cover to cover. They appear<br />
to have difficulty in grasping that you pick<br />
out what you need.<br />
“‘I found that their learning style had been<br />
very didactic and the seminar set-up was<br />
alien to them, therefore I continued to check<br />
FOCUS Page Page 29
their understanding <strong>of</strong> issues with them. I<br />
also had to spend time explaining to them<br />
how HE operates in the UK which they are<br />
now becoming accustomed to. It was<br />
however difficult at the start as it was a<br />
major culture change for these students”.<br />
Where English is a second language, care<br />
has to be taken to avoid misunderstandings<br />
particularly about the way things were<br />
phased. And, even where the spoken<br />
English appears good, not all jokes go down<br />
well. The differences in the sense <strong>of</strong> humour<br />
(cultural) could create a barrier to successful<br />
learning or even be perceived as <strong>of</strong>fensive.<br />
The recent example <strong>of</strong> the cartoons that<br />
appeared in the Danish press and greatly<br />
<strong>of</strong>fended Muslim communities world wide<br />
should indicate to tutors that cultural<br />
sensitivity is required and that humour may<br />
not always be appropriate. Barriers can also<br />
be created by the nuances <strong>of</strong> the English<br />
language itself. The use <strong>of</strong> technical terms,<br />
jargon, expressions and in particular jokes<br />
does not appear to work with a cohort <strong>of</strong><br />
international students.<br />
“I have studied cultural relativism during my<br />
degree so I did not perceive that there would<br />
be differences. However, I have found that<br />
the language barrier had a negative impact<br />
on learning”..<br />
Similarly, we have to consider the suitability<br />
<strong>of</strong> the metaphors, individuals and examples<br />
we use to illustrate the points we are<br />
making. Using Richard Branson and Robert<br />
Maxwell to illustrate a lecture I gave on<br />
leadership in the Republic <strong>of</strong> Sudan, I was<br />
faced with row upon row <strong>of</strong> blank faces.<br />
Who are they? A colleague reflecting on a<br />
similar experience observed:<br />
“When delivering a lesson regarding<br />
leadership for degree level learners I<br />
included what I thought would be well<br />
known leaders to discuss. The Chinese<br />
learners in the group were not comfortable<br />
discussing their own leaders and were not<br />
familiar with leaders such as Tony Blair or<br />
Condoleeza Rice, even George Bush. I<br />
altered my strategy and engaged learners by<br />
talking about football managers and letting<br />
them lead the seminar”.<br />
Clearly time needs to be taken to prepare<br />
well in advance and find out the Chinese,<br />
African, or other equivalents? Failure to do<br />
so could be seen at best as an oversight<br />
and over reliance on a western way <strong>of</strong><br />
seeing things, or at worst very ignorant and<br />
disrespectful <strong>of</strong> other cultures! The notion <strong>of</strong><br />
using fairly ‘neutral’ examples such as<br />
football players as illustrated above may be<br />
the most sensitive approach.<br />
There was a broad consensus that<br />
allowances should be made for the students<br />
use and understanding <strong>of</strong> the English<br />
language. The structure <strong>of</strong> the Chinese<br />
language for example influences their<br />
construction and use <strong>of</strong> English. Awareness<br />
<strong>of</strong> how we regularly and perhaps unwittingly<br />
use colloquial English expressions is<br />
important, and these should be avoided.<br />
“I try to be careful with my language and<br />
avoid slang terms as much as possible for<br />
pupils who have limited English speaking<br />
skills”.<br />
Tutors need also to be aware that getting the<br />
Chinese students to write 2000 word<br />
assignments was an anathema to them<br />
because they were not used to it. Therefore<br />
Page 30<br />
FOCUS
the teaching style/expectations and<br />
assessment methodology may need to be<br />
modified to compensate. It was also<br />
considered to be paramount that the tutor<br />
really got to know and understand the<br />
student’s learning styles. One tutor<br />
observed:<br />
“Without making that extra effort to get to<br />
know and understand their needs I have no<br />
doubt that there would have been many<br />
more failures <strong>of</strong> assignments. Much <strong>of</strong> their<br />
work is practical so tutors are having more<br />
demands placed upon them in having to<br />
further explain requirements that are easily<br />
understood by UK students”.<br />
Another theme that emerged was that<br />
students expect to be provided with<br />
information, rather than develop<br />
understanding through practical application<br />
<strong>of</strong> the theory. In the UK, tutors use and refer<br />
to a variety <strong>of</strong> text books and opinions and<br />
encourage students to take responsibility<br />
for their learning. In China, the tendency is<br />
to use only one, which is the set text. The<br />
tutor explains everything without challenges<br />
from the students. In the UK, students are<br />
expected and encouraged to question and<br />
challenge as part <strong>of</strong> the learning process.<br />
Chinese students because <strong>of</strong><br />
cultural/political/national influences and<br />
background do not challenge, which reflects<br />
the observation by Moloi (2003) on ‘deep’<br />
culture being difficult to change.<br />
A Personal Viewpoint:<br />
The information gathered from the empirical<br />
research was not surprising. There wasn’t a<br />
wide divergence on what was required to<br />
develop a teaching strategy appropriate for<br />
international students. The synthesis <strong>of</strong><br />
observations appear to reflect what was<br />
identified in the literature regarding the<br />
cultural aspect <strong>of</strong> the globalisation <strong>of</strong><br />
education, Lumby (2004), Dimmock (2004),<br />
Fink (2001), and the driving forces <strong>of</strong><br />
McDonaldisation, Ritzer (1996), Smart<br />
(1999). There was a general agreement that<br />
successful teaching <strong>of</strong> an education<br />
programme to an international student<br />
cohort should be based on a well thought<br />
out planning process that is informed at<br />
both the macro and micro levels. Identifying,<br />
planning for and respecting the differences<br />
in personal values and culture,<br />
differentiation and the learning styles <strong>of</strong> the<br />
students, which further reflected the<br />
observations and points made by Moloi<br />
(2003), Wong (2004), Morgan (1986) and<br />
Fink (2001).<br />
It was strongly argued that there are huge<br />
benefits from having a culturally diverse<br />
group in the classroom, especially when<br />
discussing global issues. Added to this<br />
there are benefits for British students in their<br />
development <strong>of</strong> citizenship, learning and an<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> the benefits <strong>of</strong> celebrating<br />
diversity. There was consensus that<br />
understanding the culture, recognising the<br />
differences and knowing what we can do<br />
and what we may need to change was<br />
fundamental to the successful transfer <strong>of</strong><br />
learning to international students. Lumby<br />
(2004) states:<br />
”an international perspective is not about<br />
knowing about the practice <strong>of</strong> others, but<br />
about reaching a deeper understanding <strong>of</strong><br />
our own practice and how it relates to that <strong>of</strong><br />
other”..<br />
FOCUS Page Page 31
Tutors need to be prepared and be aware <strong>of</strong><br />
the deep cultural backgrounds <strong>of</strong> their<br />
students (Moloi, 2003; Dimmock, 2004;<br />
Fink, 2001). This <strong>of</strong>ten means doing some<br />
background research into the manners and<br />
customs so that unintentional <strong>of</strong>fence is not<br />
caused (H<strong>of</strong>stede ,1996). Equally, all agreed<br />
that it was necessary to learn as much as<br />
you can about the culture beforehand,<br />
(Wong, 2004). At a social level, some tutors<br />
acknowledged it can be difficult to make<br />
small talk conversation – which reflects the<br />
observation by Lumby, (2004) “an educator<br />
is lacking essential breadth if practice<br />
remains bounded by the values and<br />
approaches which have emerged over time<br />
in any one location”. To be able to relate on<br />
a social level can be one <strong>of</strong> the most<br />
effective strategies <strong>of</strong> learning transfer.<br />
In addition, tutors should be aware <strong>of</strong> how<br />
students respond and relate to you and take<br />
appropriate action to ensure that no <strong>of</strong>fence<br />
is given and that learning outcomes are met.<br />
The term “<strong>of</strong>fence” refers to incidents that<br />
would seem bad mannered or inappropriate,<br />
e.g. shaking hands on introduction is not<br />
always appropriate, particularly with Arabic<br />
students. Shaking hands with an Arabic<br />
woman who is not your wife, mother or<br />
sister is not acceptable at all.<br />
It was considered an appropriate teaching<br />
strategy to engage the students by clearly<br />
stating at the beginning <strong>of</strong> the course<br />
exactly what is expected <strong>of</strong> them with<br />
respect to their participation in lectures,<br />
seminars, classroom discussion and<br />
assignment requirements. However in doing<br />
so, the tutor needs to understand where the<br />
students are, metaphorically speaking, at<br />
the beginning <strong>of</strong> the course and what<br />
support the students may need to meet<br />
those expectations. It is also just as<br />
important for the tutors to reflect on where<br />
they are, metaphorically speaking, in<br />
preparation for teaching international<br />
students and make necessary adjustments<br />
to their style and expectations.<br />
Recruiting students from different societies<br />
has a positive impact not only on the<br />
finances <strong>of</strong> the host University or <strong>Institute</strong><br />
but also to the wider community in general.<br />
However, the university or institute needs to<br />
ensure that appropriate study support for<br />
these learners and staff development for the<br />
tutors delivering the programmes is<br />
available to ensure a quality education for<br />
all. It was argued that there should be<br />
resources available that give tutors a quick<br />
guide to a learner’s culture, making sure that<br />
they do not stereotype. One colleague went<br />
further by suggesting:<br />
“I think that there should be extra employees<br />
devoted to areas within the institute to help<br />
learners with summative assessments who<br />
have subject knowledge for the curriculum<br />
areas as well as an understanding <strong>of</strong> ESOL”.<br />
In conclusion, it became clear that teaching<br />
a cohort <strong>of</strong> international students can be<br />
problematical if cultural, societal and<br />
language differences are not recognised or<br />
acknowledged. It is not safe to assume that<br />
learning transfer can be successful without<br />
understanding the formative background <strong>of</strong><br />
the student. The modifications required in<br />
teaching style may in practice only be minor,<br />
such as lengthier explanations, teaching at a<br />
slower pace, additional study support on<br />
Page 32<br />
FOCUS
eferencing or the use <strong>of</strong> meaningful<br />
examples to highlight some tactics – minor<br />
in application, major in outcome. Minor or<br />
not, my conclusion is that by not<br />
considering these issues the teaching<br />
strategy is flawed and the potential for the<br />
successful transfer <strong>of</strong> learning and a<br />
positive student experience greatly<br />
diminished.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 33
Reference Papers<br />
Dimmock, C. (2004) ‘Societal Culture,<br />
Leadership and School Improvement’:<br />
Lincoln University March 2004<br />
Lumby, J. (2004) ‘International Perspectives<br />
on Leadership and Management’: Lincoln<br />
University March 2004<br />
Moloi, C (2003) ‘Educational Leadership<br />
from a Personal Perspective’: Lincoln<br />
University November 2003<br />
Smith, M. (2004) ‘Mediating the world:<br />
Development Education and Global<br />
Citizenship’ Globalisation, Societies and<br />
Education Volume 2, No1 March 2004,<br />
Carfax Publishing<br />
Wong, K-C. (2004) ‘Cultural Issues and<br />
Education Leadership’: Lincoln University<br />
March 2004<br />
Ritzer, G. (1996) The McDonaldisation <strong>of</strong><br />
Society: Pine Forge: London<br />
Rosecky, R.B, Smith, L.W. & Yongfang, L<br />
(2004) Non – Public Collegiate Education in<br />
Modern People’s Republic <strong>of</strong> China, in<br />
International Education <strong>Journal</strong>Vol.15, No 2<br />
(2004)<br />
Russell, B (1961) History <strong>of</strong> Western<br />
Philosophy 2nd Ed, London: Routledge in<br />
Wong, K-C. (2004) ‘Cultural Issues and<br />
Education Leadership’: Presented at<br />
Lincoln University March 2004<br />
Smart, B. (ed) (1999) Resisting<br />
McDonaldisation: London Sage<br />
Taylor, F.W. (1947) Scientific Management:<br />
Harper Row: New York<br />
Walker, A. & Dimmock, C. (Eds). (2002).<br />
School Leadership and Administration:<br />
Adopting a cultural perspective. New York:<br />
Routledge Falmer<br />
Bibliography<br />
Burrell, G. & Morgan, G. (1979) Social<br />
Paradigms and Organisational Analysis,<br />
London, Heineman<br />
Fink, D. (2001) The Two Solitudes: policy<br />
makers and policy implementers in<br />
Fielding, M. (2001) Taking Education Really<br />
Seriously - Four years’ Hard Labour,<br />
London, Routledge Falmer<br />
Foskett, N & Lumby, J (2003) Leading and<br />
Managing Education: International<br />
Dimensions, London, Paul Chapman.<br />
H<strong>of</strong>stede, G. (1991) Culture and<br />
Organisations: S<strong>of</strong>tware <strong>of</strong> the Mind:<br />
London: McGraw Hill<br />
Morrison, K. (1998), Management Theories<br />
for Educational Change, London, Paul<br />
Chapman<br />
Morgan, G. (1985), Images <strong>of</strong> Organisation,<br />
London, Sage<br />
Munoz, J.M. & Katsioloudes, M.L (2004)<br />
Executive Perceptions on International<br />
Education in a Globalised Environment: in<br />
International Education <strong>Journal</strong> Vol5, No 2,<br />
2004<br />
FOCUS Page Page 35
About the author<br />
Although originally a qualified engineer, Stephen is due to complete<br />
his Doctorate <strong>of</strong> Education Degree (EdD) during the academic year<br />
<strong>2006</strong>/7. His doctoral research interests are Educational Leadership<br />
and Management, Managing Quality in Education, and the<br />
influence <strong>of</strong> culture in education. During his doctoral studies he<br />
has written several papers addressing these themes. He was<br />
awarded a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) by<br />
the University <strong>of</strong> Humberside in 1995. In addition he also holds a<br />
Post Graduate Certificate <strong>of</strong> Education, a Diploma in Management<br />
Studies, a Diploma in Purchasing and Supply and several training<br />
qualifications.<br />
Stephen has held several senior managerial posts in industry. He<br />
was a Purchasing Manager for Nestle (UK) Ltd for many years and<br />
then the training manager for a private training provider before<br />
returning to Nestle (UK) Ltd as the Company Training Manager.<br />
Stephen was recruited by the then <strong>Grimsby</strong> College to specifically<br />
manage their Management Development Centre. Stephen has also<br />
undertaken freelance managerial consultancy contracts, for major<br />
organisations both in the UK and more extensively in the Middle<br />
East and Africa. He is currently employed as the <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong>’s<br />
Deputy Director for Academic Programmes and Action <strong>Research</strong>.<br />
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FOCUS
WISHful Thinking?<br />
By Rob Cooling - Head <strong>of</strong> Health and Safety Training and Consultancy<br />
Services at East Coast Occupational Safety and Health (ECOSH), a<br />
commercial subsidiary <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further and Higher<br />
Education.<br />
As the current legal framework fails to<br />
support effective worker involvement, this<br />
paper questions whether organisations<br />
should consider adopting a systems<br />
approach to managing Worker Involvement<br />
in Safety and Health (WISH).<br />
In February 2004 the Health and Safety<br />
Commission (HSC) published a visionary<br />
strategy for workplace health and safety in<br />
Great Britain to 2010 and beyond. In this<br />
strategy the HSC described its mission is to<br />
“gain the recognition <strong>of</strong> health and safety as<br />
a cornerstone <strong>of</strong> civilised society and with<br />
that achieve a record <strong>of</strong> workplace health<br />
and safety that leads the world”. Worker<br />
involvement was presented as a<br />
fundamental success factor in striving<br />
towards this vision.<br />
The rhetoric on worker involvement is<br />
nothing new, the phrase that health and<br />
safety should be ‘everybody’s business’ has<br />
been around a long time, yet the idealistic<br />
shouts <strong>of</strong> ‘empowerment’ and ‘selfmanagement’<br />
remain heady aspirations.<br />
Even though we live in a society which<br />
outwardly promotes industrial democracy,<br />
very few organisations have taken the steps<br />
necessary to embrace worker involvement<br />
in safety and health (WISH). Most<br />
organisations continue to artificially<br />
subscribe to the weakest forms <strong>of</strong> worker<br />
involvement, <strong>of</strong>ten to meet legal<br />
requirements, with the underlying proviso<br />
that these changes do not markedly shift the<br />
balance <strong>of</strong> power within the organisation.<br />
Yet why is this the case? Why is it only the<br />
most enlightened organisations that have<br />
FOCUS Page Page 39
harnessed the vast reservoir <strong>of</strong> untapped<br />
knowledge and experience possessed by<br />
the workforce? This question is difficult to<br />
answer, particularly in consideration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
irrefutable benefits <strong>of</strong> worker involvement.<br />
Recent research conducted by the HSE<br />
(HSE, 2005) suggests that the prevailing<br />
safety culture within an organisation is a key<br />
determinant <strong>of</strong> the extent <strong>of</strong> worker<br />
involvement, yet this perspective may seem<br />
somewhat paradoxical as effective worker<br />
involvement is fundamental in supporting a<br />
positive safety culture. In addition, issues<br />
such as a lack <strong>of</strong> understanding <strong>of</strong> the<br />
importance and meaning <strong>of</strong> health and<br />
safety, perceived complexity <strong>of</strong> health and<br />
safety legislation, and the associated time<br />
and costs incurred in implementing new<br />
practices, were all cited as substantial<br />
barriers to involving the workforce in health<br />
and safety.<br />
Indeed, effective involvement <strong>of</strong> the<br />
workforce in health and safety is vital. The<br />
workforce know about their job and working<br />
conditions and will have insights into how<br />
they impact upon their health and safety.<br />
They have the potential to identify key<br />
issues and may already have suggestions<br />
for improving health and safety at work. The<br />
management <strong>of</strong> occupational safety and<br />
health is always more successful when it<br />
involves workers and their representatives<br />
than when it is pursued unilaterally by<br />
management. This assertion is backed up<br />
by a growing body <strong>of</strong> evidence which<br />
indicates that effective WISH has a positive<br />
impact on both individual workers and<br />
organisations as a whole. <strong>Research</strong> collated<br />
by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive<br />
n.d.) demonstrates that workers who are<br />
involved are more committed and feel more<br />
valued. This is reflected in greater job<br />
satisfaction and a lower likelihood <strong>of</strong> leaving<br />
the organisation.<br />
Further research illustrates that those<br />
organisations which encourage WISH, in all<br />
its various forms, experience significant<br />
improvements in health and safety<br />
performance. In particular, empirical<br />
evidence (Reilly et al., 1995) has shown, that<br />
where trade union safety representatives<br />
work together with employers, accident<br />
rates can be up to 50% lower than where<br />
managers alone make decisions over health<br />
and safety.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the main problems lies in the fact<br />
that current legislation does not support or<br />
encourage effective WISH, nor is it relevant<br />
to the ‘changing world <strong>of</strong> work’. The current<br />
legal provisions within the UK promote<br />
WISH founded upon the principle <strong>of</strong><br />
‘consultation’. The limitation here is that<br />
consultation is an extremely weak form <strong>of</strong><br />
worker involvement, with many employers<br />
establishing mechanisms to consult with the<br />
workforce to meet minimum standards, but<br />
more <strong>of</strong>ten than not failing to take heed <strong>of</strong><br />
suggestions and recommendations arising<br />
from the consultation process.<br />
Within the UK, we also have to be aware<br />
that worker involvement operates within a<br />
continually changing socio-economic<br />
landscape. In particular, the number <strong>of</strong><br />
small firms continues to grow unabatedly,<br />
most <strong>of</strong> which do not have trade union<br />
recognition and may never even have heard<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Health and Safety (Consultation with<br />
Employees) Regulations 1996. In addition,<br />
Page 40<br />
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the growing trends <strong>of</strong> contractorisation and<br />
reliance upon agency, peripatetic and lone<br />
workers, create working environments in<br />
which worker involvement requires a great<br />
deal <strong>of</strong> thought and careful planning if it is to<br />
be successful.<br />
It may well be that the European Union will<br />
continue to have a strong influence on the<br />
development <strong>of</strong> legislation promoting<br />
worker involvement. In April 2005, the<br />
national information and consultation<br />
regime commenced operation in parallel<br />
with the European Works Council regime.<br />
The Information and Consultation <strong>of</strong><br />
Employee Regulations 2003, which took<br />
effect from 5 th April 2005, have the potential<br />
to be one <strong>of</strong> the most significant pieces <strong>of</strong><br />
employment legislation ever to be<br />
introduced in the UK. The Regulations will<br />
enable employees in an affected business to<br />
require their employer to set up a Works<br />
Council. The employer will then have to<br />
consult with the council on ‘decisions likely<br />
to lead to a substantial change in work<br />
organisation and contractual relations’. Its<br />
scope is therefore very wide and potentially<br />
covers mergers and acquisitions or<br />
outsourcing <strong>of</strong> activities. Initially, the<br />
Regulations impacted upon all employers<br />
who have 150 or more employees in the UK.<br />
However, employers <strong>of</strong> 100 or more<br />
employees will be covered in 2007, and 50<br />
or more in 2008. In addition to these<br />
regulations, some employers are required to<br />
inform and consult employee<br />
representatives at a Europe-wide level<br />
through a European Works Council.<br />
However, the number is relatively low for a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> reasons. Firstly, to be covered by<br />
European Works Council legislation the<br />
employer must have 1,000 or more<br />
employees in Europe and 150 in two or<br />
more European countries. Secondly, the<br />
employer is only required to start<br />
negotiations to establish a European Works<br />
Council if a formal request is received. In<br />
other words, if employees or their<br />
representatives fail to make this request<br />
then negotiations will not be triggered.<br />
In countries such as France and Germany,<br />
mandatory national works councils are<br />
longstanding, with this recent legislation<br />
suggesting that it is only a matter <strong>of</strong> time<br />
before the UK catches up in this area.<br />
These comments suggest that it will clearly<br />
be a case <strong>of</strong> ‘watching this space’ for further<br />
developments in worker involvement, along<br />
with potential cases where employers,<br />
under the scope <strong>of</strong> the aforementioned<br />
legislation, fail to consult with their<br />
employees over health and safety related<br />
matters. Indeed, if the influence <strong>of</strong> the EU is<br />
anything to go by, it certainly appears that<br />
we will be continually pushed into a more<br />
participative approach to health and safety<br />
decision-making.<br />
Taking into account the benefits <strong>of</strong> effective<br />
WISH there is a strong case for fundamental<br />
legislative review and reform for law that<br />
lays out higher standards for worker<br />
involvement, specifically in relation to health<br />
and safety at work. However, it is also<br />
important that legislation remains relevant to<br />
the changing world <strong>of</strong> work, with an<br />
appreciation <strong>of</strong> the evidence that suggests<br />
that it is the increasing number <strong>of</strong> small<br />
firms that tend to have more deficient<br />
systems for worker involvement (Walters,<br />
FOCUS Page Page 41
1996). This legislation needs to be backed<br />
up by comprehensive guidance for<br />
organisations genuinely interested in<br />
involving the workforce in all aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
health and safety at work.<br />
Why a systems approach?<br />
Taking into account the previously<br />
discussed issues, there are many reasons<br />
why organisations may have difficulty in<br />
attempting to involve workers in health and<br />
safety. So how do organisations go about<br />
promoting WISH? Well, one point that is<br />
glaringly apparent is that compliance with<br />
statutory provisions alone will not engender<br />
the levels <strong>of</strong> involvement needed to bring<br />
about noticeable improvements in health<br />
and safety performance. If organisations<br />
are to truly reap the rewards <strong>of</strong> worker<br />
involvement then it requires managing in the<br />
same way as any other organisational<br />
function. Taking this assertion on board, the<br />
WISH Management Model has been<br />
proposed as an adaptation <strong>of</strong> the HSE’s<br />
familiar framework for successful health and<br />
safety management (HSE, 1997),<br />
advocating a systems approach to<br />
managing WISH.<br />
From the outset, a commitment to worker<br />
involvement should be clarified within a<br />
policy, ideally this should be distinct from<br />
the general safety policy. The WISH policy<br />
should include a management commitment<br />
to involving the workforce in all aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
health and safety, from the development <strong>of</strong><br />
the safely policy itself, to an ongoing<br />
involvement in risk assessments and the<br />
improvement <strong>of</strong> safe systems <strong>of</strong> work. The<br />
WISH policy is pivotal within the systems<br />
approach and once it is in place, attempts<br />
can then be made to organise the workforce<br />
for effective worker involvement. The<br />
organising stage will ensure that the<br />
workforce has the levels <strong>of</strong> competency<br />
needed to actively contribute to health and<br />
safety at work. It will also involve making<br />
sure that there are adequate mechanisms in<br />
place for communicating information on<br />
worker involvement. These organisational<br />
requirements will be supported by effective<br />
co-operation between all parties and control<br />
over worker involvement practices. Once<br />
the 4 Cs’ <strong>of</strong> worker involvement are in place,<br />
the organisation will be on the right lines to<br />
fostering a safety culture founded upon<br />
worker involvement.<br />
At the planning and implementation stage,<br />
organisations need to identify where they<br />
are in terms <strong>of</strong> worker involvement before<br />
looking at the mechanisms needed to<br />
promote greater involvement. It must be<br />
appreciated that there is a clear spectrum <strong>of</strong><br />
worker involvement, with the provision <strong>of</strong><br />
information perceived as a very loose form<br />
<strong>of</strong> worker involvement, right up to the polar<br />
extremes <strong>of</strong> co-determination (Works<br />
Councils) and self-management.<br />
Consultation and participation are both<br />
presented as forms <strong>of</strong> worker involvement<br />
within the worker involvement spectrum,<br />
with participation argued as a purer form,<br />
permitting the active involvement <strong>of</strong><br />
employees at management decision making<br />
level.<br />
The mechanisms for involving the workforce<br />
are wide and varied, however, what is more<br />
important is that organisations look into<br />
finding the balance <strong>of</strong> mechanisms that<br />
‘best fits’ their organisation.<br />
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FOCUS
These mechanisms can range from the<br />
familiar indirect forms <strong>of</strong> involvement such<br />
as safety representatives and safety<br />
committees and plant or works councils, to<br />
safety circles, suggestion schemes, job<br />
enrichment and even team working,<br />
including HAZOP studies, where applicable.<br />
Once the workforce becomes actively<br />
involved in health and safety, the next step<br />
is monitoring the impact <strong>of</strong> this involvement<br />
upon health and safety performance. A<br />
range <strong>of</strong> active and reactive monitoring<br />
techniques can be utilised to critically<br />
assess whether worker involvement is<br />
having the desired effect. This leads directly<br />
into the final components <strong>of</strong> auditing and<br />
reviewing the systems in place, with a focus<br />
upon continuous improvement in all areas.<br />
Although is not realistic to suggest that<br />
organisations begin by subscribing to<br />
principles <strong>of</strong> self-management, what is<br />
needed is a period <strong>of</strong> experimentation as<br />
organisations attempt to introduce new<br />
systems for involving the workforce before<br />
deciding upon the most suitable techniques.<br />
These attempts should be founded upon<br />
continuous improvement, ultimately striving<br />
towards self-managed teams and the<br />
creation <strong>of</strong> an organisation that is highly<br />
flexible and resilient to change. This may<br />
appear to the cynic to be a somewhat<br />
idealistic crusade, yet it is only when we<br />
have a truly autonomous and competent<br />
workforce that we will be able to manage<br />
risks in a dynamic fashion.<br />
The future <strong>of</strong> WISH?<br />
So what does the future hold for WISH?<br />
Well, it is clear that WISH will be a high<br />
priority for many years to come, as a part <strong>of</strong><br />
the constant search for new initiatives to<br />
further drive down the rates <strong>of</strong> accidents<br />
and cases <strong>of</strong> ill health at work. It must be<br />
remembered that bringing about<br />
improvements in health and safety, and<br />
developing the safety culture within any<br />
organisation, is all about a focus on people,<br />
and without worker involvement and the<br />
ensuing commitment to safety initiatives, it<br />
unlikely that organisations will meet the<br />
tough targets and best value indicators for<br />
the health and safety system set out within<br />
the Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy<br />
(ODPM, 2000).<br />
,<br />
WISH will continue to remain high on the<br />
HSC’s / HSE’s agenda as a part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ongoing commitment to behavioural safety<br />
and the s<strong>of</strong>t systems approach. Indeed, the<br />
HSE will undoubtedly continue to build upon<br />
the work established by the Workers Safety<br />
Advisors (WSA) initiative in 2002, which<br />
tested ways <strong>of</strong> encouraging greater<br />
employee involvement in health and safety.<br />
This was another excellent example <strong>of</strong><br />
where partnerships between trade unions,<br />
employers and workers can lead to<br />
improvements in organisations that did not<br />
have trade union recognition. The pilot ran in<br />
four sectors (automotive engineering,<br />
construction, hospitality and the voluntary<br />
sector) and two thirds <strong>of</strong> the employers<br />
participating in the pilot had less than<br />
twenty-five employees. Changes to the<br />
approach to health and safety were reported<br />
by some three quarters <strong>of</strong> the employees<br />
FOCUS Page Page 43
who took part in the pilot. Specific changes<br />
made included: joint training for managers,<br />
the production <strong>of</strong> new and / or revised<br />
policies and procedures, and the<br />
involvement <strong>of</strong> workers in risk assessments<br />
(HSE CRR 144/2003). Following on from the<br />
success <strong>of</strong> the pilot, the Workers’ Safety<br />
Adviser Challenge Fund was launched in<br />
2003 with three million pounds <strong>of</strong> funding<br />
allocated to the initiative, over a three year<br />
period, with the overall aim <strong>of</strong> promoting<br />
greater employer and employee involvement<br />
in health and safety.<br />
These initiatives are crucial if awareness and<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> health and safety at work<br />
is to be developed, yet the fact remains that<br />
more specific and practical guidance is still<br />
needed for organisations who are looking to<br />
actively involve their workers in health and<br />
safety. The statement that ‘an<br />
organisation’s greatest asset are its people’<br />
has become somewhat <strong>of</strong> a hackneyed<br />
cliché, yet surely it is about time that we<br />
took this advice on board and began to look<br />
at opportunities for engaging the workforce<br />
in health and safety at work.<br />
Page 44<br />
FOCUS
References:<br />
HSE (2005) Obstacles preventing worker<br />
involvement in health and safety. HSE<br />
<strong>Research</strong> Report 296<br />
http://www.hse.gov.uk/workers/involvement<br />
/evidence.htm<br />
Reilly, B., Paci, P. and Holl, P., (1995) Unions,<br />
safety committees and workplace injuries.<br />
British <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> Industrial Relations<br />
Walters, D. (1996) Trade unions and the<br />
effectiveness <strong>of</strong> worker representation in<br />
health and safety in Britain. International<br />
<strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> Health Services<br />
HSE (1997) Successful health and safety<br />
management, HSG 65, HSE Books<br />
Revitalising health and safety: Strategy<br />
statement OSCSG0390 (2000)<br />
The Worker Safety Adviser (WSA) Pilot, York<br />
Consulting with Fife College <strong>of</strong> Further<br />
Education, HSE CRR 144/2003<br />
FOCUS Page Page 45
About the author<br />
Rob Cooling MA, BSc(Hons), BA(Hons), PGCE, CMIOSH is Head <strong>of</strong><br />
Health and Safety Training and Consultancy Services at East Coast<br />
Occupational Safety and Health (ECOSH), a commercial subsidiary<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further and Higher Education. Rob is<br />
lead tutor for the NEBOSH Diploma qualification and also works<br />
with NEBOSH as an examiner.<br />
Rob is a chartered safety and health practitioner and has<br />
experience <strong>of</strong> providing health and safety consultancy services to<br />
a diverse range <strong>of</strong> sectors, including engineering, manufacturing<br />
and contruction, along with the delivery <strong>of</strong> bespoke training to the<br />
chemical and petro-chemical industries. He is currently completing<br />
doctoral research into the law and management <strong>of</strong> worker<br />
involvement in safety and health and has published a number <strong>of</strong><br />
articles in recognised safety magazines and journals, including the<br />
Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP).<br />
Page 46<br />
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Critical Circuits and<br />
Textual Constructs:<br />
Henry James’ 'The<br />
Figure in the Carpet'<br />
Dr. Donna Cox - Course Leader for the English Studies degree programme<br />
at The <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong>. She considers this short story, published in 1896,<br />
as a vehicle for the elucidation <strong>of</strong> critical engagement.<br />
This paper will consider Henry James’ short<br />
story ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, published in<br />
1896, as a vehicle for the elucidation <strong>of</strong><br />
critical engagement. That a fictional<br />
construct may be used to comment on<br />
critical receptivity and theoretical aspects <strong>of</strong><br />
linguistic power is to posit engagement with<br />
facets <strong>of</strong> linguistic structure as paradigmatic<br />
<strong>of</strong> interpretative response. The text itself will<br />
be considered to be transmissive <strong>of</strong> the<br />
rhetorical mechanisms <strong>of</strong> textual analysis<br />
because the act <strong>of</strong> criticism is both its<br />
central focus and is inherent to its narrative<br />
presentation. It will be considered that ‘the<br />
figure’ acts as a central point towards which<br />
critical desire directs its agency whilst the<br />
critic is held captive to his interpretative<br />
project, held in a domain <strong>of</strong> power<br />
imposition within the virtual dimension <strong>of</strong><br />
literary criticism. Aesthetic pursuit then<br />
FOCUS Page Page 49
must inherently depend upon an unrelenting<br />
exertion <strong>of</strong> power which becomes endemic<br />
to its process. In its examination <strong>of</strong> textual<br />
constructs and the critical circuits we tread<br />
in relation to them, this paper will draw upon<br />
poststructuralist and psychoanalytical<br />
theory to interrogate aspects <strong>of</strong> critical<br />
practice.<br />
‘The Figure in the Carpet’ presents us with<br />
the quest <strong>of</strong> an unnamed narrator to unravel<br />
the mystery <strong>of</strong> the work <strong>of</strong> Hugh Vereker, an<br />
author he admires. After producing a<br />
commissioned review <strong>of</strong> Vereker’s new<br />
novel for a journal, he has opportunity to<br />
meet the author who explains that all critical<br />
attention seems to miss his “little point . . .<br />
what shall I call it – the particular thing I’ve<br />
written my books most for” (James: 1896,<br />
15 – emphasis as original). 1 The narrator<br />
becomes intrigued by the elusive “little<br />
point” and becomes embroiled in a critical<br />
pursuit to unveil ‘the particular thing’ to<br />
which the author alludes. His desire is to be<br />
crowned “victor – with the critical laurels”<br />
(32). It is in conversation with Vereker that<br />
the author purports the point <strong>of</strong> criticism to<br />
be as palpable as a figure in a carpet:<br />
“‘What else in heaven’s name is criticism<br />
supposed to be?’” (17). In his frustrated<br />
questioning <strong>of</strong> the author, the narrator<br />
ventures “pr<strong>of</strong>anely” that ‘the thing’ in the<br />
text might be aligned with “some kind <strong>of</strong><br />
game you’re up to with your style,<br />
something you’re after in the language.<br />
Perhaps a preference for the letter P! . . .<br />
Papa, potatoes, prunes - that sort <strong>of</strong><br />
thing?’” (19) To the narrator’s list <strong>of</strong><br />
‘pr<strong>of</strong>ane’ suggestions, we might add<br />
another word beginning with ‘the letter P’:<br />
power.<br />
The textual production entitled ‘The Figure<br />
in the Carpet’ is riddled through and through<br />
with configurations <strong>of</strong> power and this is<br />
overlaid by its intimate connection with<br />
desire as an operative component in the<br />
unravelling <strong>of</strong> the tale. The “game [it’s] up to<br />
with [its] style” is a correlative <strong>of</strong> the trickery<br />
at the heart <strong>of</strong> its subject matter. Its<br />
sentence structures, with their numerous<br />
sub-clauses so reluctant to lay “the subject”<br />
wholly upon the table, tantalize to the last<br />
term. Coercive suspense is written into its<br />
very structuration. This particular short story<br />
grips its subject so tightly that we never<br />
seem to reach its elusive “little point” whilst<br />
simultaneously being invited to miss the<br />
point continually as part <strong>of</strong> its alluring game.<br />
In its configuration lies its meaning; James’<br />
story is one which inherently dictates how it<br />
is meant to be read as we enter its confines<br />
to negotiate with the iron grasp <strong>of</strong> its own<br />
enigma. The narrative voice reminds us that<br />
it is captive to its own constructedness:<br />
I had been shut up with my obsession for<br />
ever - my gaolers had gone <strong>of</strong>f with the key.<br />
I find myself quite as vague as a captive in a<br />
dungeon. . . (59)<br />
James’ tale progresses precisely by<br />
withholding its meaning, by not unveiling<br />
‘the thing’ operative at the centre <strong>of</strong> its<br />
power mechanism. As critics and readers<br />
we dance a figure around the figure in the<br />
carpet with which we are supposed to be<br />
intimately concerned in our critical quest to<br />
uncover the “buried treasure” (23): the<br />
elusive and mysterious object existing as<br />
fascinating fetish point <strong>of</strong> readerly attentions<br />
and critical intentions.<br />
Page 50<br />
FOCUS
‘The thing’ exists as a negative presence in<br />
the text, i.e. ‘the thing’ is what it is not for it<br />
is nowhere present yet is actually identical<br />
with its non-presence, existing only as an<br />
intangible, a de-stablised referent which<br />
crosses the threshold <strong>of</strong> itself as signified<br />
presence, an “unimaginable truth” (47). The<br />
centrality <strong>of</strong> ‘the thing’ itself in its fictional<br />
framework is such that the figuring <strong>of</strong> itself<br />
as intangible is an illogical presence in the<br />
text. In order then to realise the antipresence<br />
<strong>of</strong> ‘the thing’, the subject, in its<br />
imagined encounter with it, must occupy a<br />
split position which submits to its own<br />
supposition <strong>of</strong> foresight. This would thereby<br />
posit a readerly position existing as a<br />
ghostly reverberation from the future on the<br />
edges <strong>of</strong> the interpretative performance. As<br />
reading subjects, we are subject to that<br />
which has not yet occurred, that which does<br />
not yet ‘figure’; we are critically fascinated<br />
by what is held in suspense as a projected<br />
possible presence. This then is what<br />
constitutes “a piece <strong>of</strong> literary experience”<br />
(51). In a schematics <strong>of</strong> aesthetic trickery, I<br />
find myself ensnared by an underlying<br />
anxiety <strong>of</strong> dissolution, longing to “have joy<br />
<strong>of</strong> the thing I lacked” (61). Writing in a<br />
posited textual present, the narrator states<br />
that,<br />
Pen in hand, this way, I live the time over,<br />
and it brings back the oddest sense <strong>of</strong> my<br />
having been for months and in spite <strong>of</strong><br />
myself a kind <strong>of</strong> coerced spectator. (48)<br />
In this scenario, the narrator is clearly split<br />
between two scenes: the scene <strong>of</strong> the<br />
writing present and that <strong>of</strong> past recollection.<br />
Yet the recollection <strong>of</strong> the past requires its<br />
habitation as present in the telling <strong>of</strong> the<br />
story. This present is itself always crossed<br />
through by an anticipatory projection into a<br />
time <strong>of</strong> full possession <strong>of</strong> ‘the thing’ through<br />
an imposition <strong>of</strong> interpretative power,<br />
thereby ensuring critical success. Just as<br />
‘the thing’ haunts the critic, the critic haunts<br />
‘the thing’ in a mutual power dynamic<br />
activated by the interpretative process.<br />
For all its virtual intangibility, ‘the thing’ has<br />
a physicality circumscribed by its marked<br />
place on the page:<br />
‘The thing’s as concrete there as a bird in a<br />
cage, a bait on a hook, a piece <strong>of</strong> cheese in<br />
a mouse-trap. It’s stuck into every volume<br />
as your foot is stuck into your shoe. It<br />
governs every line, it chooses every word, it<br />
dots every i, it places every comma’ (8).<br />
The characters exist, <strong>of</strong> course, only as<br />
mechanisms in a fictional machinery limited<br />
in their walk by “every page and line and<br />
letter” for “it was only in such circles we<br />
were all constructed to revolve” (60).<br />
Gwendoline quite literally feels “in italics”<br />
and thinks “in capitals” (32). The eye is<br />
indeed “what the printed page had been<br />
expressly invented to meet”: its marks are<br />
all there is until activated by the reading<br />
process by which a shimmering ‘figure’ may<br />
be conjured up in direct relation to the<br />
power the text wields over us; in its<br />
seductive tricks lies the process <strong>of</strong> critical<br />
reception, our dialogical engagement<br />
overlaid by shadows <strong>of</strong> textual power so<br />
that we may experience “‘a pleasure so rare;<br />
the sense <strong>of</strong> . . . something or other’” (5).<br />
Propelled forward by the synthetic project <strong>of</strong><br />
the text, the critical reader enters the virtual<br />
dimensionality <strong>of</strong> ‘the thing’ as a ‘nothing’<br />
FOCUS Page Page 51
which is central to the story. The figure<br />
thereby becomes figurative. In the figuring<br />
<strong>of</strong> ‘the thing’ lies seduction as the subject<br />
engages with rhetorical structure and the<br />
structure acts as a trap into which the<br />
reading body is lured and held captive: sent<br />
to ground by “the chase for which I myself<br />
had sounded the horn” (29). By entering the<br />
virtual dimension <strong>of</strong> criticism, the critic<br />
becomes engaged in a phantasy in which he<br />
may hold the illusion <strong>of</strong> full presence. ‘The<br />
thing’ is a sleeper in the flesh <strong>of</strong> the story, a<br />
lodged foreign body lodged in the ample<br />
Jamesian surrounds. In their ‘Preliminary<br />
Communication’ <strong>of</strong> 1893 to Studies on<br />
Hysteria, Breuer and Freud refer to the<br />
symptomatic base <strong>of</strong> hysteria being due to<br />
memory acting as a lodged “foreign body”<br />
which remains active in the working present<br />
(Breuer and Freud: 1991, 57). The present<br />
<strong>of</strong> the narrative is here wound around with a<br />
superfluity activated from within by the<br />
reading body which, in its critical endeavour,<br />
occupies the unnamed position <strong>of</strong><br />
secondary narrator-writer. The reading body<br />
in this text is, <strong>of</strong> course, split by being both<br />
represented (narrator) and implied (reader).<br />
This split scene <strong>of</strong> readership, inhabiting a<br />
place in and out <strong>of</strong> the text, positions the<br />
interpretative act itself as hysterical. If, in<br />
reading, the one and other intrude upon one<br />
another in an imposition <strong>of</strong> boundary so that<br />
the threshold <strong>of</strong> the subject is transgressed<br />
in the reading process, the depiction <strong>of</strong> this<br />
process within the story space itself must<br />
render James’ text doubly split. Iser<br />
theorises the reading process in<br />
phenomenological terms:<br />
If reading removes the subject-object<br />
division that constitutes all perception, it<br />
follows that the reader will be ‘occupied’ by<br />
the thoughts <strong>of</strong> the author, and these in their<br />
turn will cause the drawing <strong>of</strong> new<br />
‘boundaries’ . . . ‘division’ takes place within<br />
the reader himself. (Iser: 1988, 226).<br />
In textual exegesis is a radical estrangement<br />
then. We become, to use Kristevan<br />
terminology, ‘strangers to ourselves’. The<br />
subject is ‘subject’ to power, subjected and<br />
subjectified in relation to constructivity<br />
which is not to say that it reaches a stable<br />
point <strong>of</strong> ‘subject’ or indeed that that state <strong>of</strong><br />
being subject is ever identical to itself but is<br />
indeed constantly under threat <strong>of</strong> eruption.<br />
Butler refers to this in The Psychic Life <strong>of</strong><br />
Power as “a reiterated ambivalence at the<br />
heart <strong>of</strong> agency” (Butler: 1997, 18). In a<br />
reading <strong>of</strong> power mechanics which is built<br />
upon Freud’s ‘compulsion to repeat’, Butler<br />
states that:<br />
Power is never merely a condition external<br />
or prior to the subject, nor can it be<br />
exclusively identified with the subject. If<br />
conditions <strong>of</strong> power are to persist, they must<br />
be reiterated; the subject is precisely the site<br />
<strong>of</strong> such reiteration. . . (Butler: 1997, 16)<br />
In its perpetual performance, a projected<br />
unity is encountered again and again for as<br />
long as a central point <strong>of</strong> power is<br />
maintained. Such a reading would posit the<br />
existence <strong>of</strong> a transcendental referent<br />
without which there would be no sense in<br />
signing analytically and in thrall <strong>of</strong> which the<br />
“critical laurels” are withheld. This links with<br />
Lacan’s concept <strong>of</strong> the phallus as<br />
transcendental signified and Foucault’s<br />
formulation <strong>of</strong> resistance as non-anterior to<br />
power (Foucault: 1990, 95). Far from being<br />
Page 52<br />
FOCUS
<strong>of</strong>fered for interpretation, the ‘thing’ in<br />
Vereker’s text maintains its position central<br />
to the text by being resistant to any such<br />
readerly acquisition; the thing becomes the<br />
impossible yet necessary object as lynchpin<br />
<strong>of</strong> all critical machinations. In its elusive<br />
manoeuvres, the text sets up a dynamic <strong>of</strong><br />
critical hide-and-seek. Through its very<br />
effacement, it declares what it is ‘about’ in<br />
an elaborate snare it sets for its reader,<br />
alluding to its ‘thing’ at every turn, tempting<br />
with an erotics <strong>of</strong> flirtation, inviting the<br />
reader to linger on its threshold, catch hold<br />
<strong>of</strong> it and “pull hard, pull it right out”: a<br />
tantalising text-tease (24). We are “therefore<br />
to be [ ] good boy[s]” - and girls - and “not<br />
try to peep under the curtain before the<br />
show [is] ready: [We] should enjoy it all the<br />
more if [we sit] very still” (47). The story has<br />
the power to hold us captive, we are ‘on a<br />
promise’, “thoroughly to be tantalised” (40),<br />
coerced into turning the page in a physical<br />
encounter with the text as a material and<br />
tangible thing which promises to ‘unveil its<br />
idol’ in front <strong>of</strong> a “palpitating audience” (49)<br />
but will eventually “lay [itself] bare” only in a<br />
final revelation <strong>of</strong> negativity. In its black<br />
markings on “every page and line and letter”<br />
lies its engravement. Its continual acts <strong>of</strong><br />
deferral are connected with the deathliness<br />
which is the impetus lying behind the<br />
signifying act: it is as a compensation for<br />
loss <strong>of</strong> ‘the object’ that it is signified. It is in<br />
a quest to critically unravel the secretive<br />
figure that a posited wholeness may be<br />
obtained for subjects radically split through<br />
the signifying act: the reader is held hostage<br />
linguistically to the ‘the thing’ embedded in<br />
the text. In his essay on ‘Differance’,<br />
Derrida refers to the ‘a’ as a silent figure “like<br />
a tomb”, a pyramid in which the letter rises<br />
again through interpretative play (Derrida:<br />
1968, 132). Just as a pyramid holds the<br />
treasure <strong>of</strong> the dead, Vereker ‘the scribe’<br />
refers to the ‘thing’ held within his text as<br />
“buried treasure” for critical unearthing. He<br />
takes his ‘secret’ beyond life’s limits, his<br />
treasure goes with him beyond the limits <strong>of</strong><br />
life: “the sentence had virtually been written.<br />
The writer might go down to his grave” [57].<br />
The quest for to discover the secret <strong>of</strong> “the<br />
figure” is referred to by the narrator as that<br />
which acts as a “counterpoise to [ ] grief”<br />
[51].<br />
The ‘treasure’ <strong>of</strong> the text correlates with<br />
Lacan’s objet a as projected phantasy, the<br />
fixated fetish as centre over which ‘I’ may<br />
oscillate endlessly in negotiation with critical<br />
desire. “Ask the writer about the anxiety<br />
that he experiences when faced by the<br />
blank sheet <strong>of</strong> paper,” says Lacan, “and he<br />
will tell you who is the turd <strong>of</strong> his phantasy”<br />
(Lacan: 1977, 315 – emphasis as original).<br />
In the retentive procedures <strong>of</strong> James’ text<br />
and its mechanisms <strong>of</strong> withholding, it retains<br />
that lodged foreign body; it keeps its filth<br />
within as a stored up “buried treasure” to be<br />
picked over in fantasised privacy. In<br />
Freudian theory, the anal stage <strong>of</strong> ego<br />
development sees the infant’s ‘treasure’ as<br />
central to formation <strong>of</strong> subjectivity, the<br />
faecal trajectory by which boundaries are<br />
established. According to Mary Douglas,<br />
“[a]ny structure <strong>of</strong> ideas is vulnerable at its<br />
margins” (Douglas: 1991, 121). Like Divine<br />
in the John Waters’ film Pink Flamingo, we<br />
might sense “deep dark trouble”: a deep<br />
dark trouble lying beneath the still waters <strong>of</strong><br />
aestheticism; a troubling presence existing<br />
under the surface, its subterranean position<br />
providing the guarantor for artistic<br />
FOCUS Page Page 53
production in which we might catch “whiffs”<br />
<strong>of</strong> the “faint wandering notes <strong>of</strong> a hidden<br />
music” (31). Keep that thing away from this<br />
thing so that ‘the thing’ may retain its<br />
centrality in the scheme <strong>of</strong> power<br />
mechanics.<br />
reflexive response to structures <strong>of</strong> power. 2<br />
Without the threat <strong>of</strong> dismantling, aesthetic<br />
wholeness has no meaning; “the flame <strong>of</strong> art<br />
burns most intensely” where it is most in<br />
danger <strong>of</strong> being extinguished (15). Without<br />
the violent threat <strong>of</strong> unravelling, the figure in<br />
the carpet will not hold. Without the<br />
Within this scenario, critical reception<br />
becomes a power game <strong>of</strong> ‘fascination’; the<br />
imposition <strong>of</strong> critical power, the figure simply<br />
cannot configure<br />
indefinable thing has us in thrall, wasted and<br />
wandering in a romantic quest for ‘unveil the<br />
indefinable’: “literature [is] a game <strong>of</strong> skill”<br />
(36). ‘The treasure’ is an object <strong>of</strong> exchange<br />
between subjects, ‘[t]he [m]iddle’ in which<br />
one and other converge in a passionate<br />
encounter, “fire[d] as [we’ve] never been<br />
fired” before (18).<br />
Was the figure in the carpet traceable or<br />
describable only for husbands or wives - for<br />
lovers supremely united? (52)<br />
The linking <strong>of</strong> united lovers with the heart <strong>of</strong><br />
the textual mystery invites a reading <strong>of</strong> a<br />
position <strong>of</strong> interpretative jouissance, an<br />
artistic sublime achieved through that which<br />
transcends its circumscribed place in the<br />
scriptible. We, as critics, may be fascinated<br />
by the totem <strong>of</strong> power wielded by the textual<br />
fasces, spellbound by what Vereker refers to<br />
in his work as the “organ <strong>of</strong> life” (19). In<br />
coercive structure then, which imprisons the<br />
reader (existing within the text and outside<br />
its boundaries), lies “intoxication” (42) and a<br />
“pleasure so rare” (5) as subject and object<br />
clash in a sexual/textual encounter which<br />
gives a form <strong>of</strong> “rapture” (3). That there is a<br />
clash between one and other in the act <strong>of</strong><br />
interpretation may be co-existent with<br />
liminal challenge as a jubilation in the extratextual<br />
position thus rendered - that is, in a<br />
Page 54<br />
FOCUS
Notes<br />
1. All subsequent unattributed page<br />
references are to Henry James, ‘The Figure<br />
in the Carpet’. Embarrassments: The<br />
Figure in the Carpet; Glasses; The Next<br />
Time; The Way it Came. London:<br />
Heinemann, 1896.<br />
Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection.<br />
Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Routledge,<br />
1992.<br />
2. The linking <strong>of</strong> sublimity and the<br />
aesthetic as an element <strong>of</strong> intense<br />
pleasure-pain connected with movement in<br />
subjective boundaries is traced through the<br />
Lacanian concept <strong>of</strong> jouissance and<br />
Lyotard’s concept <strong>of</strong> the sublime in order to<br />
underscore the power structure <strong>of</strong> the<br />
aesthetic.<br />
Bibliography<br />
Breuer, Joseph and Sigmund Freud.<br />
Studies on Hysteria. London: Penguin,<br />
1991.<br />
Butler, Judith. The Psychic Life <strong>of</strong> Power:<br />
Theories in Subjection. Stanford: Stanford<br />
University Press, 1997.<br />
Derrida, Jacques. ‘Differance’. ‘Speech<br />
and Phenomena’ and Other Essays on<br />
Husserl’s Theory <strong>of</strong> Signs. Evanston, IL:<br />
Northwestern University Press, 1973. 129-<br />
160.<br />
Douglas, Mary. Purity and Danger: An<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> the concepts <strong>of</strong> pollution and<br />
taboo. London: Routledge, 1991.<br />
Foucault, Michel. The History <strong>of</strong> Sexuality:<br />
An Introduction. Trans. Robert Hurley.<br />
London: Penguin, 1990.<br />
Iser, Wolfgang. ‘The reading process: a<br />
phenomenological approach’. Modern<br />
Criticism and Theory: A Reader. Ed. David<br />
Lodge. London: Longman, 1988. 212-228.<br />
James, Henry. ‘The Figure in the Carpet’.<br />
Embarrassments: The Figure in the Carpet;<br />
Glasses; The Next Time; The Way it Came.<br />
London: Heinemann, 1896. 3-66.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 55
About the author<br />
Dr. Donna Cox is Course Leader for the English Studies degree<br />
programme at The <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong>. Academic work is theoretical<br />
in focus and has published in fields <strong>of</strong> critical and cultural theory<br />
and psychoanalysis.<br />
Specialist teaching areas: Victorian literature, contemporary film<br />
and fiction, gender and literary theory. <strong>Research</strong> undertaken in<br />
critical theory and the development <strong>of</strong> psychoanalysis.<br />
Current research interests include dimensions <strong>of</strong> rhetoric in<br />
relation to critical practice and the performative domain <strong>of</strong> rap and<br />
hip-hop music.<br />
Page 56<br />
FOCUS
Vocational<br />
Excellence in<br />
Seafood Processing<br />
Dr Mike Dillon and Robin Keates - Humber <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Food & Fisheries,<br />
<strong>Grimsby</strong>, UK. Kate Conway, Youngs Bluecrest, <strong>Grimsby</strong>, UK.<br />
Abstract<br />
The food manufacturing workforce<br />
undertakes operations that are increasingly<br />
complex. This labour intensive sector is<br />
characteristically heavily reliant on the<br />
effectiveness <strong>of</strong> its human resources to<br />
underpin productivity. The Humber Food<br />
Centre <strong>of</strong> Vocational Excellence (CoVE) is a<br />
responsive partnership that provides<br />
frontline management with focused<br />
techniques, information and education<br />
customised to business needs. The variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> support methods on <strong>of</strong>fer includes<br />
training in-factory, ‘digital factory’ training<br />
facilities, internationally adopted s<strong>of</strong>tware<br />
tools and dedicated workplace delivery.<br />
United Nations Industrial Development<br />
Organisation (UNIDO) s<strong>of</strong>tware provides a<br />
standardised approach to recording<br />
projects which can maximise return from<br />
capital, plant and machinery, highlighting<br />
performance and reveal potential<br />
improvement areas. The project-based<br />
programmes help key workers and<br />
management to understand the implications<br />
and benefits <strong>of</strong> selected change, and<br />
encourage full participation and<br />
commitment from these personnel. Projects<br />
FOCUS Page Page 59
are already showing real economic and<br />
quality benefits to the participating<br />
businesses. The CoVE has also been<br />
successful in driving new product<br />
development projects in the Humber region<br />
through the provision <strong>of</strong> training support in<br />
new-product development and utilisation <strong>of</strong><br />
the dedicated new product development<br />
lower than the EU, USA and Japan in terms<br />
<strong>of</strong> operational effective efficiency. Key areas<br />
for improvement were identified as<br />
changeover times, downtime, output rates,<br />
wastes & skills shortages. These problems<br />
are <strong>of</strong> particular significance when the<br />
importance <strong>of</strong> food manufacturing to the<br />
local economy is considered.<br />
centre.<br />
Keywords:<br />
fish, manufacturing, training, improvement,<br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware<br />
Employment within the ‘Manufacture <strong>of</strong><br />
Food Products & Beverages’ sector<br />
constitutes 16.3% <strong>of</strong> employment in North<br />
East Lincolnshire, 5% in Hull and 5.8% in<br />
Skill gaps in modern fish manufacturing<br />
North Lincolnshire. There is a manufacturing<br />
cluster within the Humber region that<br />
In fish products manufacturing, the work<br />
force undertakes daily operations that have<br />
become increasingly complex. Fish<br />
products manufacturing is a labour intensive<br />
sector and is therefore heavily reliant on the<br />
effectiveness <strong>of</strong> its human resources to<br />
underpin business productivity. This<br />
weighted reliance on personnel creates a<br />
represents 8.2% <strong>of</strong> local employment or<br />
over 23 000 jobs. The relative size <strong>of</strong> the<br />
labour market also has a bearing, with food<br />
commonly identified as a key strategic<br />
sector for support through both the Humber<br />
Sub-Regional Economic Strategy and the<br />
Regional Development Agency’s Cluster<br />
Strategy.<br />
need for higher skilled operatives and<br />
technicians.<br />
The relative deficit <strong>of</strong> Level 3 (pre-degree)<br />
skills within the food sector points to the<br />
The competitiveness <strong>of</strong> the UK Food<br />
Manufacturing Industry is currently a major<br />
concern. An International Benchmarking<br />
Study (FDNTO, 1998) found that the UK<br />
food industry is on average nearly 10%<br />
need for training. There is a particular need<br />
for higher level craft and technical skills<br />
provision in order to underpin overall<br />
operational effectiveness and efficiency<br />
within the sector. The food sector, in<br />
We would like to acknowledge our partner institutes who are working with us on these<br />
projects. North Lindsey College are researching and implementing Business improvement<br />
skills programmes and Hull College are leading on Engineering Maintenance. Further the<br />
Learning and Skills Council have actively supported the project financially and<br />
operationally.<br />
Mick Lochran - Assistant Director <strong>of</strong> Applied Learning, Skills and Technology,<br />
North Lindsey College<br />
Brian Smith - Project Manager, North Lindsey College<br />
Graham Towse - Director <strong>of</strong> Learning (programmes), Hull College<br />
Dave Dyble - Work Based Learning Co-ordinator, Hull College<br />
Ruth Palmer - Learning and Skills Council, Humber<br />
Page 60<br />
FOCUS
contrast to national projections, has shown<br />
growth as the sector consolidates. This<br />
growth has contributed to the tightening in<br />
the labour market and is now manifesting<br />
itself in terms <strong>of</strong> skill/labour shortages in the<br />
higher order jobs, thereby stimulating a<br />
demand. Moreover, for every job lost, a new<br />
higher order job is created as the sector<br />
moves to higher levels <strong>of</strong> mechanisation.<br />
These issues are not unique to the Humber<br />
region. Nationally, both policy makers and<br />
industrial spokespersons are raising<br />
concerns over the capacity <strong>of</strong> the sector<br />
and the need for better qualified entrants<br />
and more highly skilled operational staff in<br />
what is now one <strong>of</strong> the most competitive<br />
sectors in the country.<br />
The main areas <strong>of</strong> skills support<br />
requirements within the food manufacturing<br />
sector have been identified in several key<br />
reports. These include the national and<br />
regional Foresight Programmes (Food<br />
Manufacturing), the Food Faraday Initiative,<br />
the Yorkshire and Humber Skills Action Plan,<br />
the Regional Food Cluster Strategy, and<br />
finally local household surveys. The priority<br />
skills shortages/training needs which<br />
emerge from these reports include:<br />
• Production management skills<br />
• Project management skills<br />
• Business improvement skills<br />
• Engineering skills – specifically<br />
multi-skilling<br />
• Product development skills- including<br />
up-skilling chefs<br />
The Centre <strong>of</strong> Vocational Excellence in Food<br />
Manufacturing<br />
The UK Government has developed the<br />
“Centre <strong>of</strong> Vocational Excellence” (CoVE)<br />
strategy to drive improvement in up-skilling<br />
target sectors <strong>of</strong> the work-force at<br />
supervisory level to agreed national<br />
standards. CoVEs now exist in many<br />
different sectors <strong>of</strong> industry in the UK and<br />
are mostly physically situated in the<br />
geographical region where the client<br />
industry is based.<br />
The CoVE in Food Manufacturing was<br />
initiated in November 2002 in <strong>Grimsby</strong> in the<br />
Humber region. The CoVE was a joint<br />
initiative <strong>of</strong> three Humber-based education<br />
institutes - <strong>Grimsby</strong> College, North Lindsey<br />
College and Hull College. Staff members<br />
were recruited by the beginning <strong>of</strong> 2003<br />
from these colleges. Each college provides<br />
suitably qualified trainers and assessors to<br />
provide expertise to the local companies<br />
involved in the project.<br />
The main target group for the Humber Food<br />
CoVE are the production workforce and<br />
junior management/line technicians<br />
involved in food processing operations<br />
within the Humber region. Many are line<br />
operatives in a production process typified<br />
by small batch production, subject to linechangeover<br />
issues and shift pattern<br />
production. Team leaders, mechanics/fitters<br />
and technicians are employed in each shift<br />
to maintain productivity. These individuals,<br />
who are charged with maintaining<br />
productivity, constitute the critical target<br />
group to up-skill, both in terms <strong>of</strong> those<br />
already employed in these roles and those<br />
FOCUS Page Page 61
who wish to move into them. The CoVE<br />
targets both male and female learners,<br />
those people in employment but unqualified<br />
and the unemployed who wish to progress<br />
to team leader/technician roles within the<br />
industry.<br />
CoVE project set-up<br />
A project-based approach was adopted to<br />
ensure that the new skills gained through<br />
training were applied and potential impacts<br />
on the participating businesses captured.<br />
Training standards provided by the National<br />
Training Organisation were reviewed and<br />
selected. Staff members were trained in<br />
delivery <strong>of</strong> the National Vocational<br />
Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 modules in Food<br />
and Drink Manufacturing, Engineering and<br />
Business Improvement. The team was also<br />
trained in the use <strong>of</strong> internationally adopted<br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware tools for monitoring manufacturing<br />
improvement. A standard approach was<br />
employed for measuring the skill levels and<br />
factory efficiency.<br />
CoVE organisation<br />
level include monitoring progress, financial<br />
review and strategic direction.<br />
Level 2 is the Working Group, which<br />
consists <strong>of</strong> the Food CoVE Manager, a Coordination<br />
Unit and the <strong>Institute</strong> partners.<br />
The co-ordination team was provided by the<br />
lead college, which is responsible for the coordination<br />
<strong>of</strong> the objective assessment<br />
improvement projects within the CoVE<br />
project and also for the dissemination <strong>of</strong><br />
benchmarking activities in operational<br />
efficiency. The Food CoVE Manager chairs<br />
this group, gives day-to-day technical<br />
direction, co-ordinates trials <strong>of</strong> and training<br />
in the IT tools and reports to the Steering<br />
Group. The <strong>Institute</strong> partners in the Working<br />
Group are individually responsible for<br />
delivering their allocated work packages.<br />
Level 3 consists <strong>of</strong> the external quality<br />
assurance checks provided by the National<br />
Verification Scheme to ensure that the skills<br />
training delivered by the Food CoVE meets<br />
the approved standards. This is achieved by<br />
inspecting the portfolios <strong>of</strong> evidence<br />
created by the students in the workplace.<br />
A three level system was employed for the<br />
organisational structure with clear roles and<br />
responsibilities for all the stakeholders.<br />
Level 1 is the Steering Group, which<br />
contains representatives from the users<br />
(industry), suppliers (institutes, private<br />
sector, sector skills council) and donors<br />
(LSC, Regional Development Group). The<br />
executive board <strong>of</strong> the steering group<br />
includes the Chairman (from industry) and<br />
the Secretary, who is also the Food CoVE<br />
Manager. The key responsibilities at this<br />
CoVE project management and control<br />
The Steering Group exercises control <strong>of</strong> the<br />
project through regular reports on progress<br />
in line with the project plan. This is<br />
accompanied by continual financial review<br />
and scrutiny <strong>of</strong> new and proposed assets<br />
and their use. The Secretary briefs the<br />
Steering Group on key issues and the Coordination<br />
Unit also circulates a report. An<br />
exception report is issued when significant<br />
variation arises between actual and planned<br />
delivery. The Steering Group has been key in<br />
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ensuring that the approaches used by the<br />
CoVE are viable<br />
Project delivery mechanisms<br />
A variety <strong>of</strong> delivery methods were adopted:<br />
also supported the projects.<br />
Project outputs<br />
The project has developed learning<br />
materials in:<br />
• work-based learning in-factory<br />
• training through a new factory unit in<br />
<strong>Grimsby</strong> (created as both a training and<br />
trading unit)<br />
• a “digital factory” making use <strong>of</strong> the<br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware-based tools.<br />
The new factory unit includes a state-<strong>of</strong>-theart<br />
pasteuriser, a mini plate/blast freezer and<br />
a mini drying unit. This unit is now available<br />
to allow teams to take part in simulated<br />
exercises and thus gain insight into the food<br />
manufacturing environment.<br />
The “digital factory” is drop-in centre where<br />
a range <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware tools enable simulated<br />
factory production situations to be studied.<br />
These tools also support the one hundred<br />
factory managers and supervisors from the<br />
region who are studying for work-based<br />
degree programmes.<br />
There was also an investment in fixed and<br />
mobile plant to underpin delivery, which has<br />
created the flexibility to take small-scale<br />
simulated plant into factories.<br />
These delivery methods are practically<br />
biased and suit both small and large plant.<br />
The investment in modern traceability<br />
systems in the <strong>Grimsby</strong> demonstration plant<br />
and the new product development centre<br />
1. food and Drink Manufacturing<br />
2. engineering Maintenance<br />
3. business Improvement<br />
4. new product Development.<br />
These learning materials have been<br />
contextualised to take account <strong>of</strong><br />
production improvement strategies using<br />
overall effective efficiency (OEE) principles<br />
and also the precise needs <strong>of</strong> the learners<br />
and the food sector.<br />
CoVE implementation<br />
A Manufacturing Club was organised and<br />
linked to several relevant organisations. This<br />
was initially set up at 3 pilot sites within the<br />
region to help provide feedback from<br />
industry on the project and the training<br />
material developed. The headquarters is<br />
located at the Humber <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Food and<br />
Fisheries (part <strong>of</strong> <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong>) and the<br />
team there is now supporting 160 factory<br />
supervisors working on specific factory<br />
projects.<br />
Learning Materials<br />
Learning materials were developed in<br />
relation to the need to drive improvement in<br />
the overall efficiency and effectiveness<br />
(OEE) <strong>of</strong> participating companies. The<br />
learning programme was designed to drive<br />
improvement in those factory management<br />
FOCUS Page Page 63
target skills which could improve factory<br />
performance. The work-force was up-skilled<br />
in modern factory management approaches<br />
and engineering related topics such as setup<br />
reduction. This was combined with<br />
raising awareness <strong>of</strong> market opportunities<br />
through new product development and<br />
explaining how to access new markets by<br />
meeting agreed standards such as the<br />
British Retail Consortium Global Standards.<br />
The qualification units<br />
The qualification units are delivered through<br />
work-based learning using projects based<br />
upon real issues within the participants’<br />
workplace. Every two weeks a workshop is<br />
delivered to the staff on-site where the<br />
educational aspect <strong>of</strong> the project is<br />
supported with training. This involves<br />
working through the units and relating them<br />
to the individual factory projects. The<br />
trainees are given practical examples and<br />
exercises, which can be studied and applied<br />
to the same elements within their own<br />
organisation. For example, the practical<br />
issues related to setting up and shutting<br />
down the factory are discussed and then<br />
related to any problems within this remit in<br />
their own organisation.<br />
Student project work<br />
Each alternate (non-workshop) week a<br />
mentor/assessor visits the workplace to<br />
assist participants with their portfolios and<br />
projects. During these visits the<br />
assessor/mentor will help the students to<br />
complete a ‘Project Improvement Pack’<br />
(PIP). The PIP has been developed to enable<br />
participants to relate the educational<br />
training they receive through CoVE support<br />
to a specific improvement project within<br />
their workplace. The work-book enables the<br />
team or individual to select a given area <strong>of</strong><br />
the factory operation which is not<br />
performing and agree strategies to improve.<br />
The individual or team chooses their project<br />
(with help from the pack), discusses this<br />
with their Line Manager and works on this,<br />
with support, throughout their time with<br />
CoVE. The pack teaches analysis <strong>of</strong> cause<br />
and effect (assisting in the choice <strong>of</strong><br />
project), production performance<br />
measurement, cost benefit analysis, factory<br />
trials, data collection and performance<br />
analysis. This is additional and<br />
complimentary to the qualification training<br />
and is used to help support the<br />
development <strong>of</strong> their target skill set.<br />
The PIP is used alongside the s<strong>of</strong>tware tools<br />
and currently includes the following<br />
sections:<br />
• Company Survey<br />
• Key Skills Assessment<br />
• Evaluating the Project<br />
• Measuring Production Performance<br />
• Complete Proposal<br />
• Complete Cost Benefit Analysis<br />
• Undertake Factory Trials<br />
• Project Completion<br />
• Skills Impact<br />
Page 64<br />
FOCUS
S<strong>of</strong>tware Tools<br />
Produce Plus is a United Nations Industrial<br />
Development Organization (UNIDO)<br />
approved s<strong>of</strong>tware tool which is sold for<br />
commercial use and is based upon the idea<br />
<strong>of</strong> continuous improvement. Produce Plus is<br />
employed to centrally manage improvement<br />
projects and also to objectively measure<br />
and quantify the impact <strong>of</strong> production costs<br />
and performance. It is easy to use, yet<br />
sophisticated, and is aimed at all levels <strong>of</strong><br />
management. It monitors and assists<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> six key performance indicator<br />
areas:<br />
• Production<br />
• Quality<br />
• Overall Effective Efficiency<br />
• Costs<br />
• Labour Performance<br />
• Industrial Engineering Measurements for<br />
Performance and Efficiency<br />
The tool also makes it possible to compare<br />
current results with previously defined<br />
targets and allows accurate costing <strong>of</strong> line<br />
manning, total production, individual<br />
products and proposed new products. The<br />
costing takes into account unavoidable<br />
losses, materials, direct and indirect labour<br />
and product families’ allocated overheads.<br />
This function is paramount for monitoring<br />
performance on the factory floor as well as<br />
assisting a company to realise the true costs<br />
<strong>of</strong> production.<br />
The s<strong>of</strong>tware thus allows appropriate staff to<br />
monitor key production information and to<br />
utilise all that information in order to have<br />
better control over their activities. It assists<br />
in reviewing the current status <strong>of</strong> the<br />
business and provides support in making<br />
important operational and strategic<br />
decisions. As well as these important<br />
business benefits, there is the added gain in<br />
the upgrading <strong>of</strong> employee skills.<br />
Continuing CoVE development and<br />
expansion<br />
The Humber Food CoVE is continuously<br />
evolving in an attempt to provide the most<br />
beneficial support possible to the local Food<br />
Cluster.<br />
In response to industry need a New Product<br />
Development Level 3 NVQ has been created<br />
which is to be launched in September 2004.<br />
There are currently 12 full-time and 4 parttime<br />
candidates who have registered for this<br />
programme. It is supported by the New<br />
Product Development Centre, ‘Jus Juse’,<br />
which opened in October 2003 in <strong>Grimsby</strong><br />
to enable participating companies to create,<br />
test, trial and evaluate new products. As well<br />
as state-<strong>of</strong>-the-art kitchen facilities,<br />
specialist digital systems and rapid on-line<br />
product analysis, ‘Jus Juse’ <strong>of</strong>fers the<br />
opportunity to get real feedback from the<br />
paying general public who try the new<br />
products in the café area. The New Product<br />
Development Centre gives all CoVE<br />
participants (whether undertaking the New<br />
Product Development NVQ or not) the<br />
opportunity to follow the whole<br />
development process from concept to<br />
launch - or just individual steps if required.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 65
The logical pathway follows these steps:<br />
CREATE<br />
Define Customer Needs<br />
Generate Ideas<br />
Agree Target Costs<br />
TEST<br />
Devise specification<br />
Objectively test product<br />
Modify concept<br />
TRIAL<br />
Plan the process<br />
Run trial product<br />
Cost and analyse<br />
EVALUATE<br />
Sensory/consumer feedback<br />
Finished pack tests<br />
Final costing<br />
LAUNCH<br />
Results and Discussion<br />
So far, 160 factory supervisors have been or<br />
are involved in training programmes being<br />
delivered by the CoVE. There are a further<br />
150 individuals who are interested in<br />
commencing the programme shortly.<br />
Previously only a few factories undertook<br />
training at this level as they did not believe it<br />
gave any real benefits to their business<br />
All <strong>of</strong> the participants have completed or are<br />
currently undertaking project work. The<br />
projects undertaken so far have covered a<br />
wide range <strong>of</strong> problems and most that have<br />
been completed have demonstrated<br />
commercial gain through improved<br />
efficiency. Table 1 gives information on the<br />
types <strong>of</strong> projects, a short description <strong>of</strong> the<br />
work undertaken and an outline <strong>of</strong> projected<br />
or achieved impact.<br />
Page 66<br />
FOCUS
Although some factories were happy to give<br />
commercial estimates <strong>of</strong> gain, others<br />
preferred to quote reduction in scrap values<br />
or increases in efficiency. The figures quoted<br />
are confirmed by the factory management<br />
prior to them being entered into the table.<br />
Seven factories have been involved with the<br />
projects described involving 40 staff (some<br />
in teams) and 17 specific projects.<br />
Another development outside <strong>of</strong> project<br />
work was the implementation <strong>of</strong> a<br />
development strategy to link training to pay<br />
rates by our pilot food company. One <strong>of</strong> the<br />
desired results <strong>of</strong> this strategy was to aid in<br />
the recruitment and retention <strong>of</strong> skilled staff.<br />
To achieve this, the staffing requirement was<br />
split into three operator groups linked to<br />
specific pay rates (reducing the number <strong>of</strong><br />
current pay rates): production operative;<br />
skilled production operative; and key<br />
operative. The three operator groups are<br />
defined below along with the training each<br />
group is expected to undertake to achieve<br />
their maximum pay rate.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 67
This pay structure demonstrates a<br />
commitment from the company to provide<br />
training and to up-skill employees to<br />
become skilled operatives in a reasonably<br />
practicable period <strong>of</strong> time. The structure<br />
also allows for pay grade simplification<br />
coupled with an increase in interchangeable<br />
skills and flexibility across all sites.<br />
It was also recognised that it was<br />
impossible to reshape the operative’s<br />
development structure without first<br />
providing junior and senior management<br />
with the correct skills to carry out their<br />
management positions. A development<br />
structure was created to address these<br />
issues, again at three levels with staff<br />
working towards recognised qualifications<br />
depending on their level <strong>of</strong> seniority, as<br />
detailed below.<br />
Page 68<br />
FOCUS
Conclusions<br />
So far a target group <strong>of</strong> 1,000 staff from the<br />
pilot factory have completed Level 1 and 2<br />
training this year. The impact on<br />
absenteeism and staff retention has been<br />
significant with staff retention increasing by<br />
approximately 33% and absenteeism also<br />
being significantly reduced.<br />
The factory supervisory projects have been<br />
put in place and the target skill sets have<br />
been improved, e.g. 78% - 90%<br />
achievement on qualifications.<br />
The projects have also had an impact on<br />
business performance – ranging from what<br />
appears to be minor economic impact to<br />
£100,000 per annum net gain.<br />
The table below provides an outline <strong>of</strong> a<br />
sample improvement project and the<br />
benefits derived from involvement with the<br />
CoVE project.<br />
The feedback from industry has been<br />
favourable and this has increased interest in<br />
the Humber Food CoVE project and the<br />
associated qualifications and support.<br />
Additionally, all team members are positive<br />
about the CoVE approach.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 69
Bibliography<br />
Dillon, M. 2001. Adaptation <strong>of</strong> a predictive<br />
cost model to determine the cost <strong>of</strong> control<br />
in identified critical loss areas within the fish<br />
processing chain. Post Harvest Fisheries<br />
programme 1997 to 2001. DFID Project<br />
R6959.<br />
Dillon, M. 2001. Enhance competitiveness<br />
and sustainability <strong>of</strong> industrial development<br />
in Uganda with particular emphasis on<br />
Agro-Industries and micro and small scale<br />
enterprises. Uganda Integrated Programme<br />
2001. UNIDO Project TF/UGA/00/A03/11-<br />
51.<br />
Dillon, M., Hannah, S., James, T.,<br />
Sanchez, J. and Thompson, M. 2000.<br />
Building Pr<strong>of</strong>itable Business - S<strong>of</strong>tware<br />
Tools for Changes. IFT Annual Conference.<br />
Dallas, USA. June 2000.<br />
Dillon, M., Hannah, S. and Leeman, C.<br />
2001. Appraisal <strong>of</strong> UNIDO Data Collection<br />
Protocol and Compatibility with ICE-IT<br />
S<strong>of</strong>tware Tool. Mike Dillon Associates Ltd,<br />
UK.<br />
Dillon, M., Hannah, S. and Leeman, C.<br />
2001. Score-IT Benchmarking Protocol and<br />
Example Data Collection Forms. Mike Dillon<br />
Associates Ltd, UK.<br />
Besley, S. and Sokol<strong>of</strong>f, P. 2003. Policy<br />
Briefing - Foundation Degrees, Meeting the<br />
need for higher level skills. London<br />
Publications Ltd, UK.<br />
Page 70<br />
FOCUS
About the author<br />
Dr Mike Dillon has over 20 years experience within the food<br />
industry. He has written numerous publications and several books<br />
which have been delivered nationally and internationally. He has<br />
been involved in delivering consultancy to UK organisations and<br />
has provided support for several African and Pakistan fisheries<br />
departments through the United Nations Industrial Development<br />
Organisation and the European Union.<br />
He was the director <strong>of</strong> the Humber <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Food & Fisheries for<br />
two years where he was involved with the development <strong>of</strong> special<br />
projects including the successful Humber Food Centre <strong>of</strong><br />
Vocational Excellence (CoVE). Under his leadership the institute<br />
has developed foundation degrees which include Food<br />
Manufacturing Management, World Class Manufacturing and<br />
Logistics. The institute has successfully delivered training to SMEs<br />
through several special projects with the focus on providing<br />
support to the food industry.<br />
He is currently Vice Principal at The <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong>, where he is<br />
responsible for the Enterprise and International areas.<br />
Robin Keates, is the Programme Leader for: Foundation Degree in<br />
Manufacturing Management (World-Class Systems); Foundation<br />
Degree in World Class Manufacturing; and the B.Sc.(Hons.)<br />
Manufacturing Management (World-Class Systems). He is also a<br />
lecturer and writer not only for the above, but also for other<br />
Foundation Degrees, Honours Degrees and Postgraduate courses<br />
as well.<br />
He is currently undertaking a Ph.D. in ‘The impact <strong>of</strong> Human<br />
Resource Strategic decisions, with respect to how this directly<br />
impacts on the productivity <strong>of</strong> a manufacturing organisation can<br />
have either a positive or a negative effect’ with the Leeds<br />
Metropolitan University.<br />
Currently Robin has presented papers which have shown the<br />
positive contribution <strong>of</strong> the Foundation Degrees to organisations.<br />
In addition to this, Robin is a Chartered Engineer with a specialist<br />
field <strong>of</strong> Engineering, Manufacturing and Management.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 71
‘Comics are for<br />
Kids’ - Exploring<br />
the Origins <strong>of</strong> Bias<br />
Against Sequential<br />
Art in the United<br />
Kingdom<br />
Chris Dows - Course co-ordinator and tutor on the BA (Hons) Pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
Writing programme at The <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> Further and Higher<br />
Education’s East Coast Media centre.<br />
The majority <strong>of</strong> Britons do not regard comic<br />
books as a serious form <strong>of</strong> story telling, and<br />
despite the fact that sequential art is<br />
increasingly recognised as an important<br />
narrative medium, equal to prose and<br />
scriptwriting in its sophistication and<br />
influence on popular culture, an inaccurate<br />
and demeaning opinion <strong>of</strong> sequential art<br />
FOCUS Page Page 73
continues to persist within this country. The<br />
question this paper wishes to address is a<br />
simple one - where did the bias against<br />
comic books in the United Kingdom<br />
originate? Across the world, comic books<br />
<strong>of</strong>fer a rich and varied environment for a<br />
writer and excitingly diverse subject matter<br />
for the reader – a fact acknowledged by a<br />
substantial number <strong>of</strong> regular consumers<br />
across mainland Europe, Japan and the<br />
United States. In this country however,<br />
sequential art in all <strong>of</strong> its forms (comic<br />
books, collected trade paperbacks and<br />
graphic novels) continue to be regarded with<br />
disdain and rejected as worthless, yet the<br />
characters and narratives from their pages<br />
continually prove to be hugely popular in<br />
differing media.<br />
As a perfect example <strong>of</strong> this irony, consider<br />
UK Box-<strong>of</strong>fice receipts for comic bookbased<br />
films in the United Kingdom.<br />
Regardless <strong>of</strong> whether the original text is<br />
recognised as belonging to the<br />
superhero/fantasy genre or less obvious<br />
adaptations <strong>of</strong> graphic novels (witness the<br />
popularity <strong>of</strong> ‘Road to Perdition’ (1), ‘From<br />
Hell’ (2) and ‘A History <strong>of</strong> Violence (3) – most<br />
people had no idea they started life as<br />
panels and speech balloons), many<br />
blockbusters <strong>of</strong> the last thirty years have<br />
been based on comic book characters, yet<br />
the majority <strong>of</strong> the British public would never<br />
dream <strong>of</strong> reading the source material. In<br />
England, ‘comic books are for kids’ and<br />
while some explanation can clearly be<br />
attached to the post-war output from the<br />
British comic book publishers who<br />
exclusively targeted pre-teen and young<br />
teen audiences, it is the intention <strong>of</strong> this<br />
essay to propose that attitudes to the<br />
medium were formed several centuries ago<br />
through a series <strong>of</strong> highly influential<br />
historical and cultural events.<br />
In order to contextualise the factors that<br />
shaped modern-day attitudes to sequential<br />
art, one has to travel back to a time when<br />
England shared the same image-based<br />
mass communication as the rest <strong>of</strong> Europe.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the major reasons the United<br />
Kingdom’s attitudes towards comic books<br />
differs to that <strong>of</strong> mainland Europe<br />
(particularly France and Belgium) is directly<br />
connected to its relationship with religious<br />
iconography and, in particular, the events <strong>of</strong><br />
the Reformation. Christian imagery had<br />
been growing in popularity as early as the<br />
eighth and ninth centuries, but the explosion<br />
<strong>of</strong> Catholicism across Europe and its<br />
subsequent reliance on image-based texts<br />
brought a limited version <strong>of</strong> sequential art to<br />
the masses (in the form <strong>of</strong> church paintings,<br />
stained glass windows, frescoes and alterbased<br />
Tryptych that did not include a textual<br />
narrative as contemporary Japanese<br />
medieval paintings did). Theologians and art<br />
critics may argue the function <strong>of</strong> art was<br />
(and is) to represent the glory <strong>of</strong> God, but<br />
there is dramatic evidence to refute this<br />
point. Serenus <strong>of</strong> Marseilles, an Iconoclast<br />
bishop who had actively destroyed all <strong>of</strong> the<br />
imagery within his diocese some time<br />
towards the end <strong>of</strong> the sixth century, was<br />
sent the following communication from<br />
Pope St. Gregory the Great (between 590-<br />
604 AD), the man widely regarded to have<br />
been responsible for the doctrine,<br />
organisation and discipline <strong>of</strong> the Catholic<br />
Church up until the Middle Ages:<br />
Page 74<br />
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‘Not without reason has antiquity allowed<br />
the stories <strong>of</strong> saints to be painted in holy<br />
places. And we indeed entirely praise thee<br />
for not allowing them to be adored, but we<br />
blame thee for breaking them. For it is one<br />
thing to adore an image, it is quite another<br />
thing to learn from the appearance <strong>of</strong> a<br />
picture what we must adore. What books are<br />
to those who can read, that is a picture to<br />
the ignorant who look at it; in a picture even<br />
the unlearned may see what example they<br />
should follow; in a picture they who know no<br />
letters may yet read. Hence, for barbarians<br />
especially a picture takes the place <strong>of</strong> a<br />
book’<br />
The Veneration <strong>of</strong> Images, Catholic<br />
Encyclopaedia(4)<br />
Medieval tomb sculpture, Jerpoint Abbey,<br />
Ireland, c.1500 (a)<br />
This clearly indicates that religious<br />
iconography (usually without supporting<br />
text) was being produced with the sole<br />
intention <strong>of</strong> presenting narratives in a<br />
pictorial form as a substitute for written text,<br />
which was firmly in the hands <strong>of</strong> the learned<br />
within the hierarchy <strong>of</strong> the Catholic Church.<br />
Imagery was the key to both educating and<br />
controlling the masses –the people were<br />
given information orally or through the<br />
presentation <strong>of</strong> graphic (<strong>of</strong>ten sequential)<br />
images across Europe up until and beyond<br />
the Reformation, indicating that most<br />
Europeans would have the ability to<br />
understand the messages being presented<br />
to them by employing deconstructive skills<br />
very similar to those used today in the<br />
reading <strong>of</strong> a sequential art text. Theorists<br />
such as Andrew Greeley believe that the<br />
contemporary Catholic reader <strong>of</strong> texts is<br />
quite different to a non-Catholic reader in<br />
that their imaginations are based on<br />
analogies, a ‘metaphorical narrative’ as<br />
defined by Greeley in his book ‘The Catholic<br />
Myth – The Behaviour and Beliefs <strong>of</strong><br />
American Catholics’ (5) and directly<br />
represented by symbolic representations<br />
during the administration <strong>of</strong> the Sacraments<br />
and presentation <strong>of</strong> religious belief within<br />
the Catholic Church. It is reasonable to<br />
assume that this ‘metaphorical narrative’<br />
has been generated, fostered and<br />
maintained through the use <strong>of</strong> religious<br />
imagery throughout the centuries – and, in<br />
particular, imagery that shows a series <strong>of</strong><br />
events in order to reinforce the teachings <strong>of</strong><br />
the Church. This may provide some<br />
reinforcement as to why mainland Europe<br />
continues to enjoy sequential art and<br />
embrace it as an art form, and why the<br />
events <strong>of</strong> the Reformation are so vital in the<br />
shaping <strong>of</strong> attitudes towards sequential art<br />
which is irrefutably image-based.<br />
Stained Glass window, Collegiate Church <strong>of</strong><br />
St. Nicholas, Gallway, 1320 (b)<br />
FOCUS Page Page 75
From the beginnings <strong>of</strong> Christianity in the<br />
7 th Century, the Catholic Church invested<br />
enormous amounts <strong>of</strong> money into its<br />
building programme and the symbolism <strong>of</strong><br />
the Church literally towered above<br />
communities across the United Kingdom.<br />
However, with this amount <strong>of</strong> money and<br />
power came an inevitable corruption – and<br />
in 1517 Martin Luther, a German monk tired<br />
<strong>of</strong> the abuse and teachings <strong>of</strong> the Catholic<br />
Church, began the Protestant movement<br />
that would sweep across Europe. It has to<br />
be stated at this juncture that Protestantism<br />
did not destroy Catholicism or eradicate the<br />
use <strong>of</strong> religious imagery – far from it. In fact,<br />
the later counter-Reformation begun by the<br />
Jesuits in 1534 would address much <strong>of</strong> the<br />
damage wreaked on the Catholic Church<br />
across mainland Europe and, it has to be<br />
said, Catholicism did not die out in the<br />
United Kingdom at any point (although<br />
openly worshipping as a Catholic at the end<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sixteenth Century was not one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
healthiest occupations to follow in this<br />
country). The most important aspect for our<br />
consideration <strong>of</strong> attitudes to sequential art is<br />
this: in order to eradicate the perceived and<br />
actual power base <strong>of</strong> the Pope (the<br />
substitution <strong>of</strong> written text with images),<br />
Henry VIII destroyed or covered over every<br />
vestige <strong>of</strong> Catholic iconography apparent in<br />
mainland Britain.<br />
Henry VIII attempted to slow the overexuberance<br />
<strong>of</strong> Archbishop Cranmer and his<br />
followers (6), worse was yet to come in the<br />
form <strong>of</strong> the assault on Catholic doctrine<br />
between 1547 and 1553 by King Edward. If<br />
Henry VIII started the shift in attitudes<br />
towards pictorial communication in this<br />
country, King Edward completed the change<br />
<strong>of</strong> religious narrative from image-based to<br />
text-based. Taking the fight against<br />
Catholicism to an even higher level, the<br />
Bible itself was rewritten from Latin to<br />
English in the Book <strong>of</strong> Common Prayer and<br />
by the middle <strong>of</strong> the Sixteenth Century<br />
sequential art was removed as a<br />
replacement for reading in this country, and<br />
while Protestants created their own religious<br />
imagery in the form <strong>of</strong> paintings, the attitude<br />
to iconography was completely different.<br />
Martin Luther himself states:<br />
‘Images, bells, eucharistic vestments,<br />
church ornaments, altar lights, and the like I<br />
regard as things indifferent. Anyone who<br />
wishes may omit them. Images or pictures<br />
taken from the Scriptures and from good<br />
histories, however, I consider very useful yet<br />
indifferent and optional. I have no sympathy<br />
with the iconoclasts.’<br />
Luther’s Works, American Edition,<br />
Fortress, vol.37 p. 371 (7)<br />
Using the Pope’s refusal to annul his<br />
marriage to Catherine <strong>of</strong> Aragon as a<br />
starting point, King Henry VIII launched a<br />
sweeping and brutal attack on the Catholic<br />
Church that culminated in the destruction <strong>of</strong><br />
Churches and Monasteries and the torture<br />
and execution <strong>of</strong> religious leaders and<br />
followers. While it has been argued that<br />
The Book <strong>of</strong> Common Prayer, 1596 (c)<br />
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Luther did admit that representational<br />
imagery from the Bible could serve a useful<br />
teaching purpose, but it is this indifference<br />
(taken in extremis by subsequent followers –<br />
including Archbishop Cranmer et al. in<br />
England) that eradicated familiar, traditional<br />
methods <strong>of</strong> relaying passages from the<br />
Bible to the non-literate majority. Because <strong>of</strong><br />
the events <strong>of</strong> the Reformation, England<br />
crucially moved from an image-based to a<br />
text-based religious culture earlier than the<br />
rest <strong>of</strong> mainland Europe that began its<br />
Catholic recovery in Spain and particularly<br />
France, where Napoleon’s ‘concordat’ with<br />
the Holy Church <strong>of</strong> Rome brought<br />
Catholicism back as the state religion.<br />
Similarly, events in Belgium, the<br />
Netherlands, Germany and France allowed<br />
these countries a continuity <strong>of</strong> image-based<br />
narrative far stronger than ours. The fact<br />
that it remained within the confines <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Church and the introduction <strong>of</strong> the printing<br />
press for religious and non-religious works<br />
was developed in mainland Europe is not<br />
important – the majority <strong>of</strong> these European<br />
cultures were regular Church-goers, so their<br />
exposure to religious iconography<br />
continued unchallenged for a considerable<br />
time to come.<br />
While the English slowly lost their reliance<br />
on sequential art to educate and inform<br />
them, the skills required to read and<br />
understand image-based communications<br />
(in the form <strong>of</strong> single paintings or<br />
sequentially presented texts) did not<br />
completely disappear. The Reformation did<br />
not destroy our ability to understand Comic<br />
Books and this move to a text-based culture<br />
did not benefit the masses one bit, as it was<br />
not in the interests <strong>of</strong> the ruling classes to<br />
have an educated workforce. From that<br />
perspective there was very little difference<br />
to the situation maintained by the Catholic<br />
Church, but this removal <strong>of</strong> iconography did<br />
heavily influence our attitude towards<br />
imagery. The suppression <strong>of</strong> sequential<br />
visual communication by the State was one<br />
crucial aspect contributing to the unease<br />
and distrust <strong>of</strong> contemporary British<br />
readers, but this is not the whole story.<br />
There was a later development in imagebased<br />
communication, this time from a<br />
popular culture perspective, that would add<br />
the negative dimension <strong>of</strong> confusion to the<br />
English perception <strong>of</strong> comic books – the<br />
invention <strong>of</strong> the cartoon.<br />
Despite the move away from sequential<br />
works in England due to their connotations<br />
with the Catholic Church, the work <strong>of</strong><br />
William Hogarth (1697-1764) would seem to<br />
be an exception to the rule – and suggests<br />
that the visual literacy <strong>of</strong> his audience was<br />
still relatively high despite the break in<br />
continuity caused by the Reformation. His<br />
hugely popular series <strong>of</strong> engravings such as<br />
‘The Harlot’s Progress’ and ‘The Rake’s<br />
Progress’ were expressly designed to<br />
convey a narrative in a strict order, and as<br />
such illustrated the appetite for imagebased<br />
sequential entertainment in this<br />
country.<br />
‘Moll as a Prostitute’, Plate 3 <strong>of</strong> 6 from The<br />
Harlot’s Progress, William Hogarth, 1732 (c)<br />
FOCUS Page Page 77
While Hogarth resisted the increasingly<br />
popular style <strong>of</strong> caricature, practitioners<br />
such as George Townshend seized on this<br />
exaggerative and simplified form <strong>of</strong> imagery<br />
because they knew the audience enjoyed its<br />
irreverently direct assault on the<br />
newsworthy people <strong>of</strong> the day. In his books<br />
Meditations on a Hobby Horse (8), Art and<br />
Illusion (9) and Uses <strong>of</strong> Images (10),<br />
Gombrich continually refers to the great<br />
metaphorical power <strong>of</strong> the Cartoon image,<br />
particularly in the hands <strong>of</strong> such masters as<br />
Gillray and Hogarth. Gombrich notes that<br />
the simplification <strong>of</strong> the image into line<br />
drawings executes a ‘condensation and<br />
comparison’ <strong>of</strong> complex ideas into a form<br />
that is instantly understood by its<br />
contemporary audience, so communicates<br />
directly with them. With Hogarth feeling<br />
‘…an increasing dismay and unhappiness at<br />
the deterioration <strong>of</strong> the social situation with<br />
increase <strong>of</strong> crime and gin-drinking’<br />
Jack Lindsay, Hogarth – His Art and his<br />
World p.137 (11)<br />
‘Promis’d Horrors <strong>of</strong> the French Invasion’,<br />
James Gillray, 1796 (e)<br />
During the early and middle part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
1700’s Hogarth chose to use every tool in<br />
his sophisticated palette (or ‘Cartoonist’s<br />
Armoury’ as Gombrich succinctly puts it in<br />
‘Meditations on a Hobby Horse’ (8)) to<br />
present his feelings on society as broadly as<br />
possible. With his primary theme <strong>of</strong> choice<br />
(salvation or damnation), Hogarth was using<br />
his art to present the world as he saw it and,<br />
despite the use <strong>of</strong> humour and satire, urge<br />
caution to a crumbling society.<br />
This popularity would not have been<br />
possible without mass production (and<br />
merciless plagiarism) thanks again to the<br />
evolution <strong>of</strong> the printing press, a<br />
technological development that led to an<br />
ever-wider range <strong>of</strong> woodcut and engraved<br />
single-colour images and books being<br />
produced for large-scale consumption. By<br />
the end <strong>of</strong> the seventeenth century,<br />
simplified line-art representations or<br />
lampoons <strong>of</strong> public figures began to appear<br />
within Britain - cartooning was born, and<br />
would set a precedent <strong>of</strong> content for English<br />
audiences that would do much to generate<br />
negative attitudes and misunderstanding<br />
towards the associated medium <strong>of</strong><br />
sequential art to the present day.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the first applications in the United<br />
Kingdom <strong>of</strong> the skills <strong>of</strong> broadsheet artists<br />
was religious propaganda, continuing the<br />
British tradition <strong>of</strong> using the Church as a<br />
battleground for public control. In 1680,<br />
pictorial attacks on the Government, Church<br />
and Monarchy were commonplace – and<br />
regularly employed speech balloons and<br />
accompanying text beneath them to<br />
reinforce meaning (again, what Scott<br />
McCloud would call an ‘additive relationship<br />
between text and image’ (12)). This device<br />
would be increasingly employed with the<br />
explosion <strong>of</strong> political cartoons and the<br />
satirical strip from the end <strong>of</strong> the eighteenth<br />
Century, introducing such notable<br />
practitioners as Thomas Rowlandson (1757-<br />
1815), James Gillray (1757-1815) and<br />
George Cruikshank (1792-1878). It is<br />
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interesting to note that later European<br />
practitioners <strong>of</strong> satire such as Honore<br />
Daumier (1808-1879) would not employ<br />
speech balloons in their lithographs, but the<br />
nature <strong>of</strong> cartoons was set in the English<br />
public’s eye – as was their purpose; to<br />
ridicule and satirise, a sometimes vicious<br />
form <strong>of</strong> entertainment that is still practised<br />
today.<br />
‘A swarm <strong>of</strong> Bees hiving in the Imperial<br />
Carriage!’, George Cruikshank, 1816 (f)<br />
The rise <strong>of</strong> graphic satire is a key point in<br />
understanding the formation <strong>of</strong> attitudes<br />
within the United Kingdom to sequential art,<br />
and concerns the reaction <strong>of</strong> the audience<br />
to its messages and presentation. While its<br />
exponents had very clear social issues to<br />
address within their use <strong>of</strong> caricature or<br />
lampooning, and the communicative<br />
mechanics worked highly effectively to<br />
promote an understanding and appreciation<br />
<strong>of</strong> these messages, did the nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
texts damage attitudes towards the entire<br />
medium? Satirical content may be executed<br />
crudely or creatively, but the exclusive and<br />
continual use <strong>of</strong> this style and tone within<br />
cartoons may have had a cumulative<br />
negative effect on the British readership<br />
over the best part <strong>of</strong> a century. The intent <strong>of</strong><br />
Gillray to accurately reflect the vigorous and<br />
bitter party political fighting, and Hogarth to<br />
tackle the collapse <strong>of</strong> civilisation through the<br />
Cartoon medium inevitably meant they had<br />
to ‘filter’ their message in order to make it<br />
universally acceptable in order to prevent<br />
possible censorship from the Governments<br />
<strong>of</strong> the time. There was an informationhungry,<br />
newly educated audience (thanks to<br />
the move towards text-based language)<br />
who would use their relatively expensive<br />
broadsheets for amusement, information<br />
and discussion and for decades the political<br />
Cartoon would have met a significant part <strong>of</strong><br />
this need. There is no doubting the success<br />
<strong>of</strong> the cartoon medium within the United<br />
Kingdom and across the world, but perhaps<br />
the skill and creativity evidenced in the<br />
visual satire <strong>of</strong> Gillray, Hogarth, Rowlandson<br />
and Cruikshank within cartoons led to a<br />
familiarity that possibly bred an enduring<br />
contempt for all forms <strong>of</strong> line-art – including<br />
comic books.<br />
The following few decades within the United<br />
Kingdom would do nothing to change this<br />
attitude towards an art form that continued<br />
its development unabated in Mainland<br />
Europe, thanks mainly to the revolutionary<br />
experiments in sequential narrative<br />
undertaken in Switzerland by the<br />
schoolmaster Rodolphe Topffer (1799-<br />
1846). He produced a series <strong>of</strong> illustrated<br />
books as well as a revolutionary paper on<br />
physiognomics, the methodology <strong>of</strong><br />
interpreting human character, intelligence<br />
and virtue through a close scrutiny <strong>of</strong><br />
physical appearance and comparisons to<br />
the animal world that would influence artists<br />
up to Wilhelm Busch and beyond. Topffer<br />
fully understood the metaphorical power <strong>of</strong><br />
the cartoon image, but further realised the<br />
potential <strong>of</strong> narrative storytelling through the<br />
medium. Due to his failing eyesight, Topffer<br />
reverted to writing rather than illustrating<br />
and while this was an unfortunate personal<br />
FOCUS Page Page 79
tragedy, he nevertheless single-handedly<br />
began a divergence in subject matter for the<br />
medium whose significance cannot be<br />
overestimated, leading to the production <strong>of</strong><br />
texts involving romantic courtship, a satire<br />
<strong>of</strong> Faust and even space travel.<br />
Page 1 ‘Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois’,<br />
Rodolphe Topffer, 1827 (g)<br />
The only British equivalent to this<br />
experimentation was the work <strong>of</strong> Richard<br />
Doyle (1824-1883) who, having ironically left<br />
the satirical Punch magazine because <strong>of</strong> its<br />
continual hostility to the Catholic Church in<br />
1850, produced ‘The adventures <strong>of</strong> Brown,<br />
Jones and Robinson’ (13) in 1854 – a series<br />
that relied on sequential narrative and<br />
underpinning textual explanation. It was<br />
narrow in subject matter however, and never<br />
really caught the public’s imagination<br />
despite its satirical nature. This series failure<br />
may in itself support the previous<br />
conclusion that familiarity with this style <strong>of</strong><br />
writing may have left its once-amused<br />
audience tired <strong>of</strong> the satirical content, and<br />
with the rise <strong>of</strong> Victorian attitudes there was<br />
little place for vulgarity within ‘respectable’<br />
publications aimed at the growing middle<br />
class.<br />
French artist Gustave Dore (1832-1883),<br />
who produced ‘L’Histoire de la Sainte<br />
Russie’ (14), an extraordinary sequence <strong>of</strong><br />
477 line drawings presenting the history <strong>of</strong><br />
Russia. Employing a number <strong>of</strong><br />
revolutionary techniques (silhouette, speed<br />
lines for movement, differing angles and<br />
points <strong>of</strong> view for the reader), this perhaps<br />
underlines the distance that had already<br />
developed in style, subject matter and<br />
audience interest between mainland Europe<br />
and the United Kingdom – such was the<br />
popularity <strong>of</strong> Dore’s work, it was still widely<br />
printed in a number <strong>of</strong> languages in the early<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the twentieth century. The place <strong>of</strong><br />
line art, as single images with multiple<br />
events, certainly flourished in England<br />
during the Victorian period – but it is clear<br />
the content was restricted to satire, comedy<br />
or sensationalized illustrations <strong>of</strong> the news.<br />
Even the hugely influential ‘Ally Sloper’s Half<br />
Holiday’ (15) published in 1884 and widely<br />
regarded as England’s first Comic Book had<br />
a deliberate vulgarity that, despite its<br />
popularity, must have directly affected the<br />
general attitude towards the medium – and<br />
added to the negativity <strong>of</strong> attitude towards<br />
the format by the general public.<br />
This widening <strong>of</strong> interests and tastes<br />
between the United Kingdom and Europe<br />
can be further evidenced by the work <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Page 24 ‘Histoire pittoresque de la Sainte<br />
Russes’, Gustav Dore, 1854 (h)<br />
Page 80<br />
FOCUS
The intention <strong>of</strong> this study was to investigate<br />
the reasons contributing to the<br />
contemporary bias against sequential art in<br />
the United Kingdom. Whilst further events<br />
during the twentieth century reinforced and<br />
amplified this bias up to the present day, the<br />
conclusion is that attitudes to image-based<br />
narrative were significantly altered during<br />
the events <strong>of</strong> the Reformation, and<br />
confusion regarding the nature <strong>of</strong> sequential<br />
art’s purpose and usage was generated by<br />
the development <strong>of</strong> the political cartoon<br />
during the Eighteenth Century. Increasingly,<br />
media and literary critics are vocalising their<br />
conclusions that sequential art deserves the<br />
same respect as other written media (16), be<br />
it prose, scriptwriting or poetry, but the<br />
magnitude <strong>of</strong> the historical events that<br />
changed cultural attitudes towards imagebased<br />
storytelling in this country were <strong>of</strong><br />
such a scale that their effects are felt even<br />
today. The irony is that, at some stage,<br />
everyone in this country relies upon a<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> text and imagery presented<br />
in a sequential manner when learning to<br />
read - but perhaps this in itself is a further<br />
significant reason why the British continue<br />
to believe that ‘comics are for kids’.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 81
References<br />
Collins, Max Allen, Road to Perdition.<br />
London:Titan Books, 2002.<br />
Moore, Alan, From Hell. Kitchen Sink Press,<br />
1997.<br />
Locke, Vince, A History <strong>of</strong> Violence.<br />
London: Titan Books, 2005.<br />
(4) The Catholic Encyclopaedia, The<br />
Veneration <strong>of</strong> Images<br />
http://www.newadvent.com<br />
accessed March 3 rd <strong>2006</strong><br />
(5) Greeley, Andrew, The Catholic Myth –<br />
The Behaviour and Beliefs <strong>of</strong> American<br />
Catholics. Prentice Hall & IBD, 1991.<br />
(14) Dore, Gustav, Histoire pittoresque,<br />
dramatique et caricaturale de la sainte<br />
Russie . France: Hermann, 2005.<br />
(15) Ross, Charles, Ally Sloper’s Half<br />
Holiday. Dalziel & Sinkins t/a ‘The<br />
Sloperies’,<br />
1884-1916.<br />
16) Graham-Dixon, Andrew, The Culture<br />
Show – Alan Moore Interview. BBC2<br />
Broadcast<br />
9 th March <strong>2006</strong>, 7.30pm.<br />
Bragg, Melvin, The South Bank Show –<br />
Manga. ITV, Broadcast 19 th February<br />
<strong>2006</strong>, 11.05pm.<br />
(6) Weir, Alison, Henry VIII King and Court.<br />
London: Jonathan Cape, 2001.<br />
(7) Luther, Martin, Luther’s Works -<br />
American Edition. St.Louis,<br />
Concordia/Philadelphia:Fortress Press,<br />
1955 – 1971.<br />
(8) Gombrich, Ernst Hans, Meditations on<br />
a Hobby Horse and other essays on the<br />
theory <strong>of</strong> art. Edinburgh: Phaidon<br />
Press, 1963.<br />
(9) Gombrich, Ernst Hans, Art and Illusion<br />
– A study in the psychology <strong>of</strong> pictorial<br />
representation. Edinburgh: Phaidon<br />
Press, 1983.<br />
(10) Gombrich, Ernst Hans, Uses <strong>of</strong> Images:<br />
Studies in the Social Function <strong>of</strong> Art<br />
and Visual Communications. Edinburgh:<br />
Phaidon Press, 1999.<br />
(11) Lindsay, Jack, Hogarth – His Art and<br />
his World. London: Hart-Davis,<br />
MacGibbon, 1977.<br />
(12) McCloud, Scott, Understanding<br />
Comics – The Invisible Art.<br />
HarperCollins, 1994.<br />
(13) Doyle, Richard, The Adventures <strong>of</strong><br />
Brown, Jones and Robinson. Punch<br />
(var.), 1854.<br />
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About the author<br />
Chris Dows is course co-ordinator and tutor on the BA (Hons)<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essional Writing programme at East Coast Media, and has<br />
been a lecturer at the <strong>Grimsby</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> for ten years. He is<br />
currently undertaking a PhD in English and Creative Writing with<br />
the University <strong>of</strong> Lancaster, studying the bias against comic books<br />
in the United Kingdom and comparing the creative process behind<br />
the production <strong>of</strong> Sequential Art scripts to other members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
textual matrix. Over the last twelve years, his pr<strong>of</strong>essionally<br />
published work has ranged from gothic horror books to high<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ile children’s titles, and he currently writes for a number <strong>of</strong> Star<br />
Trek magazines and graphic novels in the United Kingdom and<br />
United States.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 83
Error Analysis<br />
and Interlanguage<br />
By Meng Zhang - Associate Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> English Education and Head <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Foreign Language Department at Zhengzhou Teachers College in<br />
Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.<br />
Abstract:<br />
This paper is concerned with a brief<br />
discussion on both Error Analysis Theory<br />
and Interlanguage Theory. According to the<br />
author, Error Analysis Theory based on the<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> the learners’ errors made in their<br />
learning process, and Interlanguage Theory<br />
based on the analysis <strong>of</strong> the features <strong>of</strong><br />
learner language, are <strong>of</strong> crucial significance<br />
and implications to both English learning<br />
and teaching. Yet there still exist some<br />
problems with the description <strong>of</strong> the<br />
learner's errors. On the basis <strong>of</strong> the<br />
discussion concerning learner language, the<br />
author considers what attitude we should<br />
take towards the learners’ errors and puts<br />
forward some possible suggestions for<br />
remedial teaching.<br />
Key Words:<br />
error analysis; interlanguage; learner<br />
language<br />
The significance <strong>of</strong> learners’ errors and<br />
justifications <strong>of</strong> error analysis<br />
Learners’ errors were <strong>of</strong> no significance at<br />
all in the pre-scientific era when language<br />
teachers concentrated their efforts on the<br />
learning <strong>of</strong> the correct forms <strong>of</strong> the target<br />
FOCUS Page Page 85
language by the learners. It came <strong>of</strong> no avail<br />
to make much fuss about errors as the belief<br />
generally held at that time among teachers<br />
and linguists was that it was teaching<br />
methodology that should be improved if<br />
learners made errors. It was considered that<br />
Bad teaching probably gave rise to errors by<br />
learners, and if the teaching methodology<br />
improved to perfection, errors would be<br />
avoided and the learners would be enabled<br />
to learn that pure and accurate form <strong>of</strong> the<br />
target language. Another attitude towards<br />
learners’ errors was that errors were simply<br />
inevitable in the learning process and what<br />
counted most was to design some means to<br />
deal with such errors. Accordingly, there<br />
would be no need to identify the sources <strong>of</strong><br />
errors or the possibility <strong>of</strong> giving learners’<br />
errors their own right as a system. At the<br />
time when contrastive analysis prevailed in<br />
the field <strong>of</strong> applied linguistics and learners’<br />
errors were identified as the interference <strong>of</strong><br />
the mother tongue <strong>of</strong> the learner with the<br />
target language they were learning.<br />
According to the Contrastive Analysis<br />
Hypothesis, errors probably arise where<br />
there are great differences between the<br />
learner’s mother tongue or any previously<br />
acquired language and the language he or<br />
she is trying to acquire. The errors<br />
themselves are interference or intrusion <strong>of</strong><br />
the mother tongue and they have to be<br />
overcome in the learner’s progressive<br />
learning until they are completely<br />
eradicated. Such negative attitudes towards<br />
learners’ errors are not inconsistent with the<br />
behavioristic perception. The behavioristic<br />
notion <strong>of</strong> language learning is that <strong>of</strong><br />
formation <strong>of</strong> correct habits from the<br />
reinforcement <strong>of</strong> the certain plausible<br />
response to stimulus, in the light <strong>of</strong> which<br />
“errors were predicted to be the result <strong>of</strong> the<br />
persistence <strong>of</strong> existing mother tongue<br />
habits in the new language” (Corder,<br />
1981,10). Such persisting habits harm the<br />
very learning process, namely, the habit<br />
formation process, and should be<br />
eliminated immediately to prevent their<br />
formation in the new language. The<br />
tendency for immediate error correction is<br />
strong in the teaching practice <strong>of</strong><br />
audiolingualism. It was not until the late<br />
sixties that people began to gain a new<br />
insight into learners’ errors. Strong evidence<br />
from researches in psycholinguistics has<br />
shown that the learners’ errors are regular in<br />
their patterns and rule-governed. Studying<br />
<strong>of</strong> learners’ errors could throw some light on<br />
how learners process language input as the<br />
errors themselves could be to some extent<br />
representative <strong>of</strong> the learners’ intake,<br />
namely, how much the learners have learnt<br />
and how much they have yet to learn.<br />
Therefore, the justification <strong>of</strong> error analysis<br />
could be made for two orientations: first,<br />
pedagogical justification, it provides<br />
opportunity for a systematic means <strong>of</strong><br />
eradication; second, theoretical justification,<br />
it is part <strong>of</strong> the systematic study <strong>of</strong> the<br />
learners’ language (Corder; 1981).<br />
According to Corder, learners’ errors are<br />
significant in three different ways. First, for<br />
teachers, the learners’ errors could tell them<br />
how far towards the goal the learner has<br />
progressed and, consequently, what<br />
remains for him to learn. Secondly, for<br />
researchers the errors provide evidence <strong>of</strong><br />
how language is learnt or acquired and what<br />
strategies or procedures the learner is<br />
employing in his discovery <strong>of</strong> language.<br />
Thirdly for, learners, committing errors is a<br />
Page 86<br />
FOCUS
way the learner has <strong>of</strong> testing his<br />
hypotheses about the nature <strong>of</strong> language he<br />
is learning (Corder; 1981). In modern<br />
language teaching and learning, there has<br />
been a shift <strong>of</strong> focus from the preoccupation<br />
with teaching (particularly explicit grammar<br />
teaching) to identification <strong>of</strong> the learners’<br />
communicative needs in language learning.<br />
The concept <strong>of</strong> learner-centeredness has<br />
gained its momentum in the overall<br />
language teaching and learning. In light <strong>of</strong><br />
the new tendency, an adequate<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> what processes, in which<br />
the learners engage themselves for the task<br />
<strong>of</strong> learning a second or foreign language, are<br />
attributable to the very fulfillment <strong>of</strong> that<br />
learning tasks by the learners are <strong>of</strong> crucial<br />
significance to decision making concerning<br />
development <strong>of</strong> teaching materials as input<br />
and providing conditions that are facilitative<br />
<strong>of</strong> the learning. In the Chomskyan notion <strong>of</strong><br />
language acquisition, the second language<br />
learners experience the same process <strong>of</strong><br />
formulating hypotheses about the target<br />
language they are learning. Errors by the<br />
learners in the language production are that<br />
the learner reveals his underlying knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> the newly acquired language. However,<br />
while what is going on in the learner’s<br />
psyche when he or she tries to produce<br />
sentences basing on his or her own<br />
grammar is hard to observe, his or her<br />
language production (or performance) could<br />
provide observable data for illuminating that<br />
innate competence in the learner. If we<br />
acknowledge that learners’ errors are<br />
systematic and that the learner’s language is<br />
independent <strong>of</strong> either the mother tongue or<br />
the target language, then it would be<br />
justifiable to say that the study <strong>of</strong> errors by<br />
learners as well as the learner’s language is<br />
<strong>of</strong> great value to the understanding <strong>of</strong><br />
language learning and even <strong>of</strong> language<br />
itself.<br />
Defining errors: variety <strong>of</strong> foci<br />
When applied linguists come to tackle<br />
errors, practical problems arise as defining<br />
errors is not in any sense easier than<br />
defining learning. Selinker (1972) simply<br />
discarded the concept <strong>of</strong> “errors” by<br />
viewing the language used by the learners<br />
as a whole language system, for which he<br />
coined the term ‘interlanguage’, implying<br />
that such language is a continuum on the<br />
one end <strong>of</strong> which there is the mother tongue<br />
or any previously acquired language and on<br />
the other there is the target language. The<br />
interlanguage shares the characteristics <strong>of</strong><br />
two social dialects <strong>of</strong> the languages.<br />
Language A<br />
Interlanguage<br />
Target<br />
Language<br />
For the sources <strong>of</strong> this language system<br />
Selinker identified four possible areas <strong>of</strong><br />
transfer that might shape the structure <strong>of</strong><br />
interlanguage: transfer <strong>of</strong> one’s native<br />
language or other languages the learner has<br />
already acquired, transfer <strong>of</strong> training,<br />
transfer <strong>of</strong> communication, and transfer <strong>of</strong><br />
strategy. Nemser coined the term<br />
‘approximative system’ for the language the<br />
learner is using, implying that the learner is<br />
engaged in a progressive process in the<br />
direction <strong>of</strong> the target language. Corder<br />
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would regard the learner’s language as a<br />
dialect (or idiosyncratic dialect) which is<br />
based on the ‘transitive competence’ <strong>of</strong> the<br />
learner. He used the term due to two<br />
considerations: firstly, “any spontaneous<br />
speech intended by the speaker to<br />
communicate is meaningful, in the sense<br />
that it is systematic, regular, describable in<br />
terms <strong>of</strong> a set <strong>of</strong> rules”. Secondly,<br />
“sentences <strong>of</strong> that language are<br />
insomorphous with some <strong>of</strong> the sentences<br />
<strong>of</strong> his target language, and have the same<br />
interpretation” (Corder; 1981). According to<br />
Corder, “two languages which share some<br />
rules <strong>of</strong> grammar are dialects”; the<br />
differences between an idiolect and<br />
idiosyncratic dialect would be that an<br />
idiolect “possesses rules drawn from<br />
overlapping social dialects but does not<br />
possess any rules which are not rules <strong>of</strong> any<br />
one <strong>of</strong> these dialects”.<br />
Set <strong>of</strong> rules<br />
Set <strong>of</strong> rules <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> language B<br />
language A<br />
For idiosyncratic dialect, “some <strong>of</strong> the rules<br />
required to account for the dialect are not<br />
numbers <strong>of</strong> the set <strong>of</strong> rules <strong>of</strong> any social<br />
dialect; they are peculiar to the language <strong>of</strong><br />
that speaker” (Corder; 1981). A learner’s<br />
language is not the only type <strong>of</strong> idiosyncratic<br />
dialect; according to Corder there are also<br />
deliberately deviant, such as poetic texts,<br />
for which the author is supposed to know<br />
the rules <strong>of</strong> the language but chooses not to<br />
obey them; pathologically deviant, such as<br />
the language <strong>of</strong> aphasics who are supposed<br />
to know the rules <strong>of</strong> the language before<br />
symptoms <strong>of</strong> their diseases take effect ; and<br />
infant learning his mother tongue. For errors<br />
themselves, Corder believed distinction<br />
must be made between the deviancy from<br />
the learner’s language, which Corder called<br />
performance errors or mistakes and are<br />
accessible to automatic self-correction and<br />
should not count as errors, and those which<br />
“reveal his underlying knowledge <strong>of</strong> the<br />
language to date” and are not likely to be<br />
self-corrected by the learner himself since<br />
they are systematic and regular. However, if<br />
we think that the learner’s language is<br />
systematic and has its own grammar and<br />
rules, we have to admit that whatever the<br />
learner utters when he or she tries to<br />
communicate in his or her language is legal<br />
and genuine in terms <strong>of</strong> his or her<br />
interlanguage. Every utterance he or she<br />
produces is grammatical and perfect except<br />
for some performance mistakes or slips <strong>of</strong><br />
tongue or pen. Moreover, even if we try to<br />
identify errors in the utterances by the<br />
learner, the criterion applicable would still be<br />
very vague, by the fact that the<br />
determination <strong>of</strong> an error should be based<br />
on the situational context <strong>of</strong> the specific<br />
utterance. A well-formed sentence may still<br />
be erroneous or inappropriate in the<br />
context. Corder (1981) argued that whatever<br />
the surface form or apparent<br />
appropriateness <strong>of</strong> a learner’s utterances,<br />
none are utterances in the target language.<br />
In other words, he is not speaking the target<br />
language at any time, but a language <strong>of</strong> his<br />
own, a unique idiolect, which no doubt<br />
shares many features <strong>of</strong> the target language.<br />
The only solution proposed by Corder is that<br />
“every utterancy <strong>of</strong> the learner must be<br />
regarded as an acceptable utterance in his<br />
transitional dialect. That is to say, every<br />
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sentence has to be analyzed in error<br />
analysis process. Then the major task <strong>of</strong> the<br />
linguist is to recognize the structures or<br />
constructs that are not in accordance with<br />
the rules <strong>of</strong> the target language and<br />
reconstruct them to provide some<br />
explanations.<br />
The process <strong>of</strong> error analysis<br />
According to Corder, error analysis can be<br />
roughly divided into three stages:<br />
recognition <strong>of</strong> idiosyncracy, accounting for a<br />
learner’s idiosyncratic dialect, and<br />
explanation. Corder has also pointed out<br />
that in the process <strong>of</strong> error analysis,<br />
concentration only on superficially ill-formed<br />
sentences (overtly idiosyncratic) is not<br />
enough. Those that are well-formed but<br />
inappropriate relating to the context must<br />
also be dealt with. Such sentences Corder<br />
called “covertly idiosyncratic” cannot be<br />
interpreted ‘normally’ in context. Both<br />
overtly idiosyncratic and covertly<br />
idiosyncratic sentences have to be<br />
analyzed. The three processes in describing<br />
the learner’s language are regularization,<br />
standardization, and de-contextualization.<br />
The process <strong>of</strong> regularization is an attempt<br />
to restructure “an utterance in order to<br />
eliminate the sorts <strong>of</strong> results <strong>of</strong> the<br />
adventitious failures <strong>of</strong> performance already<br />
referred to under the heading <strong>of</strong> slips <strong>of</strong> the<br />
tongues”. And standardization would be to<br />
“restructure the speaker’s utterances to<br />
remove the systematic variation between<br />
utterances from different individuals due to<br />
personal and sociocultural factors.” Decontextualization<br />
is the process <strong>of</strong><br />
“interpreting the speaker’s message or<br />
intentions” (Corder:33).The most important<br />
stage here is explanation. It is<br />
psycholinguistic, as it tries to explain how<br />
and why the learner’s language is what it is.<br />
Corder justified the third stage that “we<br />
cannot make any principles used by his<br />
idiosyncratic sentences to improve teaching<br />
unless we understand how and why they<br />
occur”.(Corder: 24)<br />
One explanation is that the idiosyncratic<br />
dialect is the result <strong>of</strong> interference the<br />
mother tongue. And such interference<br />
poses hindrance to learner’s acquiring the<br />
habits <strong>of</strong> the second language. In this<br />
perception, the idiosyncratic sentences are<br />
but “evidence that the correct automatic<br />
habits <strong>of</strong> the target language and not yet<br />
been acquired” (Corder:25).Then it is only a<br />
matter <strong>of</strong> methodological improvement for<br />
the final eradication <strong>of</strong> all the errors (the<br />
habits in the second language). The other<br />
explanation, according to Corder, is that<br />
“language learning is some sort <strong>of</strong> dataprocessing<br />
and hypothesis-forming activity<br />
<strong>of</strong> a cognitive sort”. And the learners make<br />
false hypotheses about the rules <strong>of</strong> the<br />
target language in their language<br />
production. Then the efforts should be made<br />
towards enabling the learner to “reformulate<br />
a hypothesis more in accordance with the<br />
facts <strong>of</strong> the target language (Hockett 1948,<br />
quoted by Corder:25). According to this<br />
view, learner’s errors are not negative<br />
hindering forces, rather, they are inevitable<br />
and necessary parts <strong>of</strong> the second language<br />
learning. Therefore, if we can have an<br />
adequate description <strong>of</strong> the idiosyncratic<br />
dialect and provide plausible explanations,<br />
we would be able to provide facilitative<br />
conditions for the learners to formulate<br />
hypotheses about the rules <strong>of</strong> the target<br />
language.<br />
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Varieties <strong>of</strong> errors: acceptability and<br />
appropriateness<br />
A1<br />
Acceptable<br />
B1<br />
Appropriate<br />
In the learner’s idiosyncratic dialect, one<br />
sentence could be well formed, in terms <strong>of</strong><br />
the target language-based criterion, but<br />
denies appropriate interpretation in the<br />
context. Here the problems <strong>of</strong><br />
appropriateness arise when we try to decide<br />
which sentence or phrase is idiosyncratic<br />
and which one is not. Generally, there are<br />
two kinds <strong>of</strong> appropriateness. First, the<br />
learner’s utterance must be <strong>of</strong> the truth<br />
value concerning its referential relationship,<br />
indicating that the referring expression used<br />
in the utterance must have its real referent in<br />
his or her real life. This is what Corder called<br />
referential appropriateness. For example<br />
when a second year college student says “I<br />
found a part-time job in the corporation this<br />
summer vocation”, the utterance is wellformed<br />
and syntactically perfect. But the<br />
referring expression ‘the corporation’ might<br />
be inappropriately used to refer to a small<br />
shop on the campus. It is referentially<br />
inappropriate. Second, the learner has to be<br />
able to select the appropriate style or<br />
register <strong>of</strong> language for the social situation,<br />
hence social appropriateness. When a<br />
learner approaches a foreigner on the street<br />
greeting “can you speak English”, he<br />
produces an utterance that is socially<br />
inappropriate. Accordingly, a sentence can<br />
be acceptable but inappropriate or<br />
unacceptable but appropriate. Listed below<br />
are the possible varieties <strong>of</strong> the idiosyncratic<br />
sentences for interpretation:<br />
A2<br />
B2<br />
Unacceptable Inappropriate<br />
1) A1 and B1: free from errors<br />
(non-idiosyncratic)<br />
2) A2 and B2: erroneous<br />
3) A2 and B1: erroneous<br />
4) A2 and B2: erroneous<br />
For any sentence <strong>of</strong> the idiosyncratic<br />
dialect, plausible interpretation in terms <strong>of</strong><br />
the target language has to be applied.<br />
According to Corder, there are four<br />
possibilities for an interpretation: 1) wellformed<br />
sentence and plausible<br />
interpretation; 2) well-formed sentence but<br />
incorrect interpretation; 3) acceptable<br />
utterance but ambiguous, that is ,<br />
accessible to two possible interpretations;<br />
and 4) well-formed but uninterpretable<br />
sentences. In the restructuring process,<br />
correct interpretation is possible to be made<br />
in accordance with the learner’s intention in<br />
the first case. For the second case, some<br />
incorrect interpretation can be made <strong>of</strong> the<br />
erroneous sentence by the learner.<br />
Sometimes the first interpretation based on<br />
one’s intuition could be irrelevant to the<br />
context in which the sentence is placed. To<br />
solve this problem, Corder proposed that a<br />
longer context or larger range <strong>of</strong> context has<br />
to be taken into account in making out the<br />
learner’s intended meaning. In the third<br />
case, the overtly erroneous sentence is<br />
accessible to two possible interpretations.<br />
The decision on the genuine one has to be<br />
based on the reference to the mother<br />
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tongue <strong>of</strong> the learner. The implication for the<br />
discussion above would be that “the wellformedness<br />
or otherwise <strong>of</strong> a learner’s<br />
utterance is not the only criterion for<br />
establishing the presence <strong>of</strong> errors”, and<br />
“what is crucial is whether the normal target<br />
language interpretation <strong>of</strong> his utterance is<br />
appropriate or not in the context” (Corder:<br />
44). For the interpretation <strong>of</strong> the learner’s<br />
idiosyncratic dialect, a teacher is in a good<br />
position to perform the task when he or she<br />
has the following advantages: 1) he or she<br />
has a good understanding <strong>of</strong> the learning<br />
situation <strong>of</strong> the students and can easily<br />
relate the learners’ utterances or sentences<br />
to the actual context 2) he or she is the<br />
native speaker <strong>of</strong> the learner’s mother<br />
tongue and is therefore capable <strong>of</strong><br />
interpreting the learners’ intended meaning<br />
in terms <strong>of</strong> the mother tongue 3) he or she<br />
was once, and may still be the speaker <strong>of</strong><br />
the idiosyncratic dialect, namely, he has the<br />
similar experiences <strong>of</strong> formulating<br />
hypotheses about the rules <strong>of</strong> the target<br />
language. So a teacher who is non-native<br />
speaker <strong>of</strong> the target language but shares<br />
the mother tongue <strong>of</strong> the learners is in a<br />
better position than the native speaker <strong>of</strong><br />
the target language when tracing the errors<br />
in the learner’s interlanguage.<br />
Problems with EA<br />
There still exist a lot <strong>of</strong> problems with the<br />
description <strong>of</strong> the learner’s errors. The<br />
elusive nature <strong>of</strong> the learner’s language, the<br />
variations <strong>of</strong> errors, and the mother tongue<br />
influence all complicate the description.<br />
Following are the major problems:<br />
a. Interlanguage is changing<br />
As the learning process is the process <strong>of</strong><br />
formulating hypotheses about the rules <strong>of</strong><br />
the target language, the learner would<br />
constantly test his or her hypotheses and try<br />
to revise them to be more in accordance<br />
with the target language. So in the strict<br />
sense, it is quite impossible to have a<br />
sectional or horizontal study <strong>of</strong> the learner’s<br />
language. While a longitudinal study is more<br />
feasible, arbitrary decisions have to be<br />
made sometimes as to when some features<br />
disappear and new features arise on the<br />
continuum. Even for well-formed and<br />
appropriate sentences by the learners we<br />
still have a right to doubt that they genuinely<br />
represent the underlying knowledge <strong>of</strong> the<br />
learners, as such utterances or sentences<br />
might be simply an imitation <strong>of</strong> the readymade<br />
set expression or formula. Corder<br />
gave the example <strong>of</strong> the learner’s use <strong>of</strong> the<br />
greeting “how do you do”, <strong>of</strong> which the wellformedness<br />
and appropriateness does not<br />
guarantee that the learner has really<br />
mastered the use <strong>of</strong> the verb ‘do’. However,<br />
the changeable nature <strong>of</strong> interlanguage<br />
does not affect interlanguage as a<br />
systematic and independent language in its<br />
own right. As Corder argued, “that his<br />
language is changing all the time, that his<br />
rules are constantly undergoing revision is <strong>of</strong><br />
course, true and rarely complicates the<br />
problem <strong>of</strong> description but does not<br />
invalidate the concept <strong>of</strong> “ a learner’s<br />
language” (Corder: 56).<br />
b. Only textual data is not enough<br />
Corder has identified two basic constraints,<br />
external constraint and internal constraint,<br />
FOCUS Page Page 91
for the textual data to be inadequately<br />
representative sample <strong>of</strong> the learner’s<br />
language. By external constraints Corder<br />
indicated the fact that textual data is not<br />
spontaneous language produced by the<br />
learner under the pressure <strong>of</strong> natural<br />
communicative needs. Moreover, there are<br />
such artificial constraints as topic<br />
restriction, time constraint, and threats <strong>of</strong><br />
failure. By internal constraint, Corder meant<br />
that “the learner himself will place limitations<br />
upon the data we work with, by selecting<br />
those aspects <strong>of</strong> knowledge which he has<br />
most confidence in” (Corder: 60). That is to<br />
say, the learner would not reveal sufficient<br />
data about his underlying knowledge <strong>of</strong> his<br />
language. From the textual data, we seem to<br />
get only what the learner believes he knows<br />
rather than what he really knows. However,<br />
in a foreign language learning context,<br />
elicitation <strong>of</strong> data <strong>of</strong> spontaneous language<br />
production is very difficult to achieve, simply<br />
because the learners are seldom engaged in<br />
a real communication in the target language.<br />
We can hardly get a whole corpus <strong>of</strong> the<br />
learners’ spontaneous speech production<br />
when they only have fragmentary and<br />
occasional performance.<br />
c. Language transfer versus universality <strong>of</strong><br />
interlanguage<br />
On the one hand, we have identified that<br />
most <strong>of</strong> the learners’ errors can be traced to<br />
the influence <strong>of</strong> their mother tongue and<br />
acknowledged that language transfer plays<br />
crucial role in interlanguage. On the other,<br />
strong evidence has shown that there are a<br />
lot <strong>of</strong> similarities in the interlanguage <strong>of</strong><br />
learners with various cultural and linguistic<br />
backgrounds. Such similarities seem to<br />
prove the hypothesis that all sorts <strong>of</strong> second<br />
language learners follow the same<br />
sequence <strong>of</strong> learning and their prior<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> their mother tongue comes no<br />
avail to the acquisition <strong>of</strong> the new language.<br />
However, modern cognitive learning<br />
theories have formulated that the very<br />
success <strong>of</strong> learning is determined by how<br />
much the learner has already known about<br />
the subjects. And the learning process is the<br />
process <strong>of</strong> incorporating the new items into<br />
the already existent cognitive structure(<br />
Ausubel 1963). When a learner has already<br />
had sophisticated knowledge about one<br />
language system, it is hard to imagine for<br />
him not to exploit the advantage <strong>of</strong> prior<br />
knowledge in the second language learning.<br />
Corder has the justification that “it appears<br />
then that the nature <strong>of</strong> the interlanguage<br />
grammar a learner creates for himself is to a<br />
considerable extent determined by the<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> language the learner already<br />
possesses and how elaborate and<br />
sophisticated that knowledge is ”( Corder:<br />
74). But it is true at the same time that such<br />
factors as age, settings, and motivation<br />
would play significant roles in second<br />
language learning. The younger the<br />
learners, the more communicating oriented,<br />
and the more informal the setting, the more<br />
similar the structural properties <strong>of</strong> their<br />
interlanguage systems will be. As Corder<br />
has pointed out, “the maximum degree <strong>of</strong><br />
similarity between approximative systems <strong>of</strong><br />
learners will be found in the case <strong>of</strong> young<br />
learners <strong>of</strong> any language, whatever their<br />
mother tongue in the earliest stages <strong>of</strong><br />
learning a particular language in an informal<br />
setting, and per contra that the maximum<br />
differences in the approximative system <strong>of</strong><br />
learners will be found among adult learners<br />
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<strong>of</strong> different mother tongues learning<br />
different target languages in formal settings”<br />
(Corder: 77). In the Chinese learning<br />
situation, we would probably place our<br />
learners on the other end <strong>of</strong> the scale: they<br />
are adult, learning English for academic<br />
purposes, and have highly formal<br />
instructional settings. So much can be<br />
expected <strong>of</strong> the features that are unique to<br />
the Chinese learners <strong>of</strong> English. And we can<br />
base most <strong>of</strong> our interpretations <strong>of</strong> their<br />
sentences on the mother tongue translation,<br />
as it is the case in actuality.<br />
interpretations in locating the possible<br />
sources <strong>of</strong> the learners’ errors, steady<br />
progress could be made when the<br />
methodology is improved and variables are<br />
held in control.<br />
Conclusion<br />
As the learner’s language is systematic and<br />
describable, error analysis provides access<br />
to the observable data from which<br />
inferences can be made about the learner’s<br />
underlying knowledge about his or her<br />
language. As a methodology error analysis<br />
has implications both for practical purposes<br />
and psycholinguistic orientation. It serves to<br />
help the teacher to gain insight into the<br />
learner’s learning process and provide more<br />
facilitative conditions that can promote the<br />
process. Mere error correction, particularly<br />
the immediate correction in class, may<br />
distort the learner’s hypothesis formulation<br />
and delay the learning process. More solid<br />
evidence could be obtained when the data<br />
is elicited from a large corpus <strong>of</strong> the textual<br />
materials, in which irrelevant performance<br />
mistakes can be more easily deleted on the<br />
basis <strong>of</strong> probability method and regularity<br />
can be more easily captured. Moreover, the<br />
corpus can be enhanced by integrating<br />
materials from the learner’s oral production<br />
for evidence <strong>of</strong> spontaneous speech. Even<br />
though caution has to be made about our<br />
References:<br />
Ausubel, David A. (1963). Cognitive<br />
structure and the facilitation <strong>of</strong> meaningful<br />
verbal learning. <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> Teacher<br />
Education 14:217-21<br />
Corder, S. Pit. (1981). Error Analysis and<br />
Interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University<br />
Press.<br />
Selinker,1972. "Interlanguage". International<br />
Review <strong>of</strong> Applied Lingustics 10 Corder,<br />
S. Pit.(1973). Introducing Applied<br />
Linguistics, Penguin: Educational<br />
FOCUS Page Page 93
About the author<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Meng Zhang was born in 1955 and graduated in 1982<br />
from the Foreign Language Faculty English Department at the<br />
Henan Normal University in China. She is currently an Associate<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> English Education and Head <strong>of</strong> the Foreign Language<br />
Department at Zhengzhou Teachers College in Zhengzhou City,<br />
Henan Province, China.<br />
E-mail:dream55630@hotmail.com<br />
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Information for Contributors<br />
The primary aim <strong>of</strong> this <strong>Journal</strong> is to publish<br />
stimulating and informative articles on<br />
research and other scholarly output from<br />
<strong>Institute</strong> staff and students. Because <strong>of</strong> the<br />
diversity <strong>of</strong> the readership it is essential that<br />
the articles are presented in a lively, readerfriendly<br />
way, whilst at the same time being<br />
authoritative and <strong>of</strong> academic merit.<br />
At this stage we anticipate publishing three<br />
types <strong>of</strong> article:<br />
• Full research papers – full account <strong>of</strong><br />
complete project, including experimental<br />
findings<br />
• Reviews – overviews <strong>of</strong> recent research<br />
in a larger subtopic<br />
• Short communications – early findings <strong>of</strong><br />
ongoing research, critiques, comment,<br />
short essays etc.<br />
We also welcome ‘Letters to the Editor’<br />
commenting on recent papers and<br />
encouraging dialogue between researchers<br />
and readers.<br />
Articles should be printed double–spaced<br />
on one side only <strong>of</strong> A4 paper. Margins<br />
should be 3 cm wide and pages numbered<br />
consecutively. Where ever possible arial 12<br />
should be used as the default font, although<br />
other fonts & styles may be used for<br />
emphasis, titles etc.<br />
Articles must also be provided as a word file<br />
either on a CD-ROM, or as an attachment to<br />
an e-mail. Articles should be submitted to<br />
Debbie Fisher at the Towers Annex<br />
(fisherdj@grimsby.ac.uk).<br />
All articles should have a short, imaginative<br />
title to grab the reader’s attention. Each<br />
article should conclude with brief,<br />
biographical details <strong>of</strong> the author.<br />
Full research papers should begin with an<br />
accurate, informative abstract in one<br />
paragraph. It should not exceed 250 words.<br />
Following sections might consist <strong>of</strong><br />
introduction, methods, results, conclusions<br />
and discussion. Review articles should<br />
begin with an introductory paragraph, with<br />
the main text broken up into three or four<br />
subheadings. Articles and papers should be<br />
between 1500 and 2500 words in length.<br />
Due to the wide readership <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Journal</strong><br />
we advise that you ask a colleague in a<br />
different specialism to read your paper and<br />
confirm understanding prior to submission.<br />
Short communications by their very nature<br />
will vary in their format and style, but should<br />
be thought provoking and informative.<br />
Illustrations should be clearly identified with<br />
a figure number and caption. Where<br />
appropriate, the author should provide one<br />
very strong image for use on the title page.<br />
Other figures should be numbered<br />
consecutively using Arabic numbers and<br />
should be referred to in the text.<br />
FOCUS Page Page 95
Line illustrations (figures, charts etc) should<br />
be drawn to a high standard and be large<br />
enough to withstand reduction.<br />
Photographs must be clear, good quality<br />
slides or prints. Digital images should be in<br />
jpeg format and have a minimum resolution<br />
capable <strong>of</strong> producing 6 X 4” prints at 300<br />
d.p.i.<br />
Where possible, references should be<br />
restricted to ten or less and the Harvard<br />
referencing system used. Authors are also<br />
encouraged to recommend one or two<br />
websites where the reader can find out more<br />
on the subject presented.<br />
Further tips & guidance on writing academic<br />
articles, referencing etc. can be found at:<br />
Tables must be numbered, have a title and<br />
be referred to in the text. SI units must be<br />
used throughout and all symbols defined;<br />
acronyms and abbreviations should be kept<br />
to a minimum and, where used, spelt out on<br />
first usage.<br />
http://www.hull.ac.uk/studyadvice/resource<br />
s/acadw/01pdfs/acadwrit.pdf<br />
http://www.hull.ac.uk/studyadvice/serv_info<br />
/reso_bigtable.htm<br />
Where possible the figures, photos, tables<br />
etc should be included in the appropriate<br />
position <strong>of</strong> the text and supplied as<br />
separate, clearly identifiable files (i.e. file<br />
name to reference place in the article).<br />
Cartoon courtesy <strong>of</strong> Nearing Zero, an<br />
Archive <strong>of</strong> Largely Satisfactory Freeware<br />
(www.nearingzero.net).<br />
Page 96<br />
FOCUS
Nuns Corner, <strong>Grimsby</strong>, North East Lincolnshire, DN34 5BQ<br />
www.grimsby.ac.uk