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1. Aims
Our school aims to ensure that all personal data collected about staff, pupils, parents, governors, visitors and other individuals is collected, stored and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the expected provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) as set out in the Data Protection Bill.
This policy applies to all personal data, regardless of whether it is in paper or electronic format.
2. Legislation and guidance
This policy meets the requirements of the GDPR and the expected provisions of the DPA 2018. It is based on guidance published by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on the GDPR and the ICO's code of practice for subject access requests.
It also reflects the ICO's code of practice for the use of surveillance cameras and personal information.
In addition, this policy complies with regulation 5 of the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005, which gives parents the right of access to their child's educational record.
3. Definitions
Term | Definition |
Personal data | Any information relating to an identified, or identifiable, individual. This may include the individual's: Name (including initials) Identification number Location data Online identifier, such as a username It may also include factors specific to the individual's physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity. |
Special categories of personal data | Personal data which is more sensitive and so needs more protection, including information about an individual's: Racial or ethnic origin Political opinions Religious or philosophical beliefs Trade union membership Genetics Biometrics (such as fingerprints, retina and iris patterns), where used for identification purposes Health – physical or mental Sex life or sexual orientation |
Processing | Anything done to personal data, such as collecting, recording, organising, structuring, storing, adapting, altering, retrieving, using, disseminating, erasing or destroying. Processing can be automated or manual. |
Data subject | The identified or identifiable individual whose personal data is held or processed. |
Data controller | A person or organisation that determines the purposes and the means of processing of personal data. |
Data processor | A person or other body, other than an employee of the data controller, who processes personal data on behalf of the data controller. |
Personal data breach | A breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to personal data. |
4. The data controller
Our school processes personal data relating to parents, pupils, staff, governors, visitors and others, and therefore is a data controller.
The school is registered as a data controller with the ICO and will renew this registration annually or as otherwise legally required.
5. Roles and responsibilities
This policy applies to all staff employed by our school, and to external organisations or individuals working on our behalf. Staff who do not comply with this policy may face disciplinary action.
5.1 Governing board
The governing body has responsibility for ensuring that our school complies with all relevant data protection obligations.
5.2 Data protection officer
The data protection officer (DPO) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this policy, monitoring our compliance with data protection law, and developing related policies and guidelines where applicable.
They will provide an annual report of their activities directly to the governing board and, where relevant, report to the board their advice and recommendations on school data protection issues.
The DPO is also the first point of contact for individuals whose data the school processes, and for the ICO.
Full details of the DPO's responsibilities are set out in their job description.
Our DPO is Naomi Long Srikrotriam and is contactable via email email@example.com.
5.3 Headteachers
The headteachers act as the representative of the data controller on a day-to-day basis.
5.4 All staff
Staff are responsible for:
- Collecting, storing and processing any personal data in accordance with this policy
- Informing the school of any changes to their personal data, such as a change of address
- Contacting the DPO in the following
- With any questions about the operation of this policy, data protection law, retaining personal data or keeping personal data secure
- If they have any concerns that this policy is not being followed
- If they are unsure whether or not they have a lawful basis to use personal data in a particular way
- If they need to rely on or capture consent, draft a privacy notice, deal with data protection rights invoked by an individual, or transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area
- If there has been a data breach
- Whenever they are engaging in a new activity that may affect the privacy rights of individuals
- If they need help with any contracts or sharing personal data with third parties
6. Data protection principles
The GDPR is based on data protection principles that our school must comply with.
The principles say that personal data must be:
- Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner
- Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes
- Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it is processed
- Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
- Kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed
- Processed in a way that ensures it is appropriately secure
This policy sets out how the school aims to comply with these principles.
7. Collecting personal data
7.1 Lawfulness, fairness and transparency
We will only process personal data where we have one of 6 'lawful bases' (legal reasons) to do so under data protection law:
- The data needs to be processed so that the school can fulfil a contract with the individual, or the individual has asked the school to take specific steps before entering into a contract
- The data needs to be processed so that the school can comply with a legal obligation
- The data needs to be processed to ensure the vital interests of the individual e.g. to protect someone's life
- The data needs to be processed so that the school, as a public authority, can perform a task in the public interest, and carry out its official functions
- The data needs to be processed for the legitimate interests of the school or a third party (provided the individual's rights and freedoms are not overridden)
- The individual (or their parent/carer when appropriate in the case of a pupil) has freely given clear consent
For special categories of personal data, we will also meet one of the special category conditions for processing which are set out in the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
Whenever we first collect personal data directly from individuals, we will provide them with the relevant information required by data protection law.
7.2 Limitation, minimisation and accuracy
We will only collect personal data for specified, explicit and legitimate reasons. We will explain these reasons to the individuals when we first collect their data.
If we want to use personal data for reasons other than those given when we first obtained it, we will inform the individuals concerned before we do so, and seek consent where necessary.
Staff must only process personal data where it is necessary in order to do their jobs.
When staff no longer need the personal data they hold, they must ensure it is deleted or anonymised. This will be done in accordance with the Information and Records Management Society's toolkit for schools
8. Sharing personal data
We will not normally share personal data with anyone else, but may do so where:
- There is an issue with a pupil or parent/carer that puts the safety of our staff or students at risk
- We need to liaise with other agencies – we will seek consent as necessary before doing this
- Our suppliers or contractors need data to enable us to provide services
to our staff and pupils – for example, IT companies. When doing this, we
- Only appoint suppliers or contractors which can provide sufficient guarantees that they comply with data protection law
- Establish a data sharing agreement with the supplier or contractor, either in the contract or as a standalone agreement, to ensure the fair and lawful processing of any personal data we share
- Only share data that the supplier or contractor needs to carry out their service, and information necessary to keep them safe while working with us
We will also share personal data with law enforcement and government bodies where we are legally required to do so, including for:
- The prevention or detection of crime and/or fraud
- The apprehension or prosecution of offenders
- The assessment or collection of tax owed to HMRC
- In connection with legal proceedings
- Where the disclosure is required to satisfy our safeguarding obligations
- Research and statistical purposes, as long as personal data is sufficiently anonymised or consent has been provided
We may also share personal data with emergency services and local authorities to help them to respond to an emergency situation that affects any of our pupils or staff.
Where we transfer personal data to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, we will do so in accordance with data protection law.
9. Subject access requests and other rights of individuals
9.1 Subject access requests
Individuals have a right to make a 'subject access request' to gain access to personal information that the school holds about them. This includes:
- Confirmation that their personal data is being processed
- Access to a copy of the data
- The purposes of the data processing
- The categories of personal data concerned
- Who the data has been, or will be, shared with
- How long the data will be stored for, or if this isn't possible, the criteria used to determine this period
- The source of the data, if not the individual
- Whether any automated decision-making is being applied to their data, and what the significance and consequences of this might be for the individual
Subject access requests should include:
- Name of individual
- Correspondence address
- Contact number and email address
- Details of the information requested
If staff receive a subject access request they must immediately forward it to the DPO. SARs must be returned within one month of the day the request is received.
9.2 Children and subject access requests
Personal data about a child belongs to that child, and not the child's parents or carers. For a parent or carer to make a subject access request with respect to their child, the child must either be unable to understand their rights and the implications of a subject access request, or have given their consent.
Children aged 12 and above are generally regarded to be mature enough to understand their rights and the implications of a subject access request. Therefore, most subject access requests from parents or carers of pupils at our school may not be granted without the express permission of the pupil. This is not a rule and a pupil's ability to understand their rights will always be judged on a case-by-case basis.
9.3 Responding to subject access requests
When responding to requests, we:
- May ask the individual to provide 2 forms of identification
- May contact the individual via phone to confirm the request was made
- Will respond without delay and within 1 month of receipt of the request
- Will provide the information free of charge
- May tell the individual we will comply within 3 months of receipt of the request, where a request is complex or numerous. We will inform the individual of this within 1 month, and explain why the extension is necessary
We will not disclose information if it:
- Might cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the pupil or another individual
- Would reveal that the child is at risk of abuse, where the disclosure of that information would not be in the child's best interests
- Is contained in adoption or parental order records
- Is given to a court in proceedings concerning the child
If the request is unfounded or excessive, we may refuse to act on it, or charge a reasonable fee which takes into account administrative costs.
A request will be deemed to be unfounded or excessive if it is repetitive, or asks for further copies of the same information.
When we refuse a request, we will tell the individual why, and tell them they have the right to complain to the ICO.
9.4 Other data protection rights of the individual
In addition to the right to make a subject access request (see above), and to receive information when we are collecting their data about how we use and process it (see section 7), individuals also have the right to:
- Withdraw their consent to processing at any time
- Ask us to rectify, erase or restrict processing of their personal data, or object to the processing of it (in certain circumstances)
- Prevent use of their personal data for direct marketing
- Challenge processing which has been justified on the basis of public interest
- Request a copy of agreements under which their personal data is transferred outside of the European Economic Area
- Object to decisions based solely on automated decision making or profiling (decisions taken with no human involvement, that might negatively affect them)
- Prevent processing that is likely to cause damage or distress
- Be notified of a data breach in certain circumstances
- Make a complaint to the ICO
- Ask for their personal data to be transferred to a third party in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (in certain circumstances)
Individuals should submit any request to exercise these rights to the DPO. If staff receive such a request, they must immediately forward it to the DPO.
We use CCTV in various locations around the school site to ensure it remains safe. We will adhere to the ICO's code of practice for the use of CCTV.
We do not need to ask individuals' permission to use CCTV, but we make it clear where individuals are being recorded. Security cameras are clearly visible and accompanied by prominent signs explaining that CCTV is in use.
Any enquiries about the CCTV system should be directed to Naomi Long Srikrotriam, Director.
13. Photographs and videos
As part of our school activities, we may take photographs and record images of individuals within our school.
We will obtain written consent from parents/carers, or pupils aged 18 and over, for photographs and videos to be taken of pupils for communication, marketing and promotional materials.
Where we need parental consent, we will clearly explain how the photograph and/or video will be used to both the parent/carer and pupil. Where we don't need parental consent, we will clearly explain to the pupil how the photograph and/or video will be used.
All schools add and adapt to reflect your school's uses of photographs and videos for communication, marketing and promotional materials:
Uses may include:
- Within school on notice boards and in school magazines, brochures, newsletters, etc.
- Outside of school by external agencies such as the school photographer, newspapers, campaigns
- Online on our school website or social media pages
Consent can be refused or withdrawn at any time. If consent is withdrawn, we will delete the photograph or video and not distribute it further.
When using photographs and videos in this way we will not accompany them with any other personal information about the child, to ensure they cannot be identified.
See our safeguarding policy for more information on our use of photographs and videos.
14. Data protection by design and default
We will put measures in place to show that we have integrated data protection into all of our data processing activities, including:
- Appointing a suitably qualified DPO, and ensuring they have the necessary resources to fulfil their duties and maintain their expert knowledge
- Only processing personal data that is necessary for each specific purpose of processing, and always in line with the data protection principles set out in relevant data protection law (see section 6)
- Completing privacy impact assessments where the school's processing of personal data presents a high risk to rights and freedoms of individuals, and when introducing new technologies (the DPO will advise on this process)
- Integrating data protection into internal documents including this policy, any related policies and privacy notices
- Regularly training members of staff on data protection law, this policy, any related policies and any other data protection matters; we will also keep a record of attendance
- Regularly conducting reviews and audits to test our privacy measures and make sure we are compliant
- Maintaining records of our processing activities, including:
- For the benefit of data subjects, making available the name and contact details of our school and DPO and all information we are required to share about how we use and process their personal data (via our privacy notices)
- For all personal data that we hold, maintaining an internal record of the type of data, data subject, how and why we are using the data, any third-party recipients, how and why we are storing the data, retention periods and how we are keeping the data secure
15. Data security and storage of records
We will protect personal data and keep it safe from unauthorised or unlawful access, alteration, processing or disclosure, and against accidental or unlawful loss, destruction or damage.
In particular:
- Paper-based records and portable electronic devices, such as laptops and hard drives that contain personal data are kept under lock and key when not in use
- Papers containing confidential personal data must not be left on office and classroom desks, on staffroom tables, pinned to notice/display boards, or left anywhere else where there is general access
- Where personal information needs to be taken off site, staff must sign it in and out from the school office
- Passwords that are at least 8 characters long containing letters and numbers are used to access school computers, laptops and other electronic devices. Staff and pupils are reminded to change their passwords at regular intervals
- Encryption software is used to protect all portable devices and removable media, such as laptops and USB devices
- Staff, pupils or governors who store personal information on their personal devices are expected to follow the same security procedures as for school-owned equipment (see our [online safety policy/ICT policy/acceptable use agreement/policy on acceptable use])
- Where we need to share personal data with a third party, we carry out due diligence and take reasonable steps to ensure it is stored securely and adequately protected (see section 8)
16. Disposal of records
Personal data that is no longer needed will be disposed of securely. Personal data that has become inaccurate or out of date will also be disposed of securely, where we cannot or do not need to rectify or update it.
For example, we will shred or incinerate paper-based records, and overwrite or delete electronic files. We may also use a third party to safely dispose of records on the school's behalf. If we do so, we will require the third party to provide sufficient guarantees that it complies with data protection law.
17. Personal data breaches
The school will make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that there are no personal data breaches.
In the unlikely event of a suspected data breach, we will follow the procedure set out in appendix 1.
When appropriate, we will report the data breach to the ICO within 72 hours. Such breaches in a school context may include, but are not limited to:
- A non-anonymised dataset being published on the school website which shows the exam results of pupils eligible for the pupil premium
- Safeguarding information being made available to an unauthorised person
- The theft of a school laptop containing non-encrypted personal data about pupils
18. Training
All staff and governors are provided with data protection training as part of their induction process.
Data protection will also form part of continuing professional development, where changes to legislation, guidance or the school's processes make it necessary.
19. Monitoring arrangements
The DPO is responsible for monitoring and reviewing this policy.
This policy will be reviewed and updated if necessary when the Data Protection Bill receives royal assent and becomes law (as the Data Protection Act 2018) – if any changes are made to the bill that affect our school's practice. Otherwise, or from then on, this policy will be reviewed every 2 years and shared with the Associate Governors.
Appendix 1: Personal data breach procedure
This procedure is based on guidance on personal data breaches produced by the ICO.
- On finding or causing a breach, or potential breach, the staff member or data processor must immediately notify the DPO
- The DPO will investigate the report, and
determine whether a breach has occurred. To decide, the DPO will consider
whether personal data has been accidentally or unlawfully:
- Lost
- Stolen
- Destroyed
- Altered
- Disclosed or made available where it should not have been
- Made available to unauthorised people
- The DPO will alert the headteacher and the chair of governors
- The DPO will make all reasonable efforts to contain and minimise the impact of the breach, assisted by relevant staff members or data processors where necessary. (Actions relevant to specific data types are set out at the end of this procedure)
- The DPO will assess the potential consequences, based on how serious they are, and how likely they are to happen
- The DPO will work out whether the breach must be
reported to the ICO. This must be judged on a case-by-case basis. To
decide, the DPO will consider whether the breach is likely to negatively affect
people's rights and freedoms, and cause them any physical, material or
non-material damage (e.g. emotional distress), including through:
- Loss of control over their data
- Discrimination
- Identify theft or fraud
- Financial loss
- Unauthorised reversal of pseudonymisation (for example, key-coding)
- Damage to reputation
- Loss of confidentiality
- Any other significant economic or social disadvantage to the individual(s) concerned
If it's likely that there will be a risk to people's rights and freedoms, the DPO must notify the ICO.
- The DPO will document the decision (either way), in case it is challenged at a later date by the ICO or an individual affected by the breach. Documented decisions are stored [set out where you keep records of these decisions – for example, on the school's computer system, or on a designated software solution]
- Where the ICO must be notified, the DPO will
do this via the 'report a
breach' page of the ICO website within 72
hours. As required, the DPO will set out:
- A description of the nature of the personal
data breach including, where possible:
- The categories and approximate number of individuals concerned
- The categories and approximate number of personal data records concerned
- The name and contact details of the DPO
- A description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach
- A description of the measures that have been, or will be taken, to deal with the breach and mitigate any possible adverse effects on the individual(s) concerned
- A description of the nature of the personal
data breach including, where possible:
- If all the above details are not yet known, the DPO will report as much as they can within 72 hours. The report will explain that there is a delay, the reasons why, and when the DPO expects to have further information. The DPO will submit the remaining information as soon as possible
- The DPO will also assess the risk to
individuals, again based on the severity and likelihood of potential or
actual impact. If the risk is high, the DPO will promptly inform, in
writing, all individuals whose personal data has been breached. This
notification will set out:
- The name and contact details of the DPO
- A description of the likely consequences of the personal data breach
- A description of the measures that have been, or will be, taken to deal with the data breach and mitigate any possible adverse effects on the individual(s) concerned
- The DPO will notify any relevant third parties who can help mitigate the loss to individuals – for example, the police, insurers, banks or credit card companies
- The DPO will document each breach, irrespective
of whether it is reported to the ICO. For each breach, this record will
include the:
- Facts and cause
- Effects
- Action taken to contain it and ensure it does not happen again (such as establishing more robust processes or providing further training for individuals)
Records of all breaches will be stored [set out where you will keep these records – for example, on the school's computer system, or on a designated software solution]
- The DPO and headteacher will meet to review what happened and how it can be stopped from happening again. This meeting will happen as soon as reasonably possible
Actions to minimise the impact of data breaches
We will take the actions set out below to mitigate the impact of different types of data breach, focusing especially on breaches involving particularly risky or sensitive information. We will review the effectiveness of these actions and amend them as necessary after any data breach.
Sensitive information being disclosed via email (including safeguarding records)
- If special category data (sensitive information) is accidentally made available via email to unauthorised individuals, the sender must attempt to recall the email as soon as they become aware of the error
- Members of staff who receive personal data sent in error must alert the sender and the DPO as soon as they become aware of the error
- If the sender is unavailable or cannot recall the email for any reason, the DPO will ask the ICT department to recall it
- In any cases where the recall is unsuccessful, the DPO will contact the relevant unauthorised individuals who received the email, explain that the information was sent in error, and request that those individuals delete the information and do not share, publish, save or replicate it in any way
- The DPO will ensure we receive a written response from all the individuals who received the data, confirming that they have complied with this request
- The DPO will carry out an internet search to check that the information has not been made public; if it has, we will contact the publisher/website owner or administrator to request that the information is removed from their website and deleted


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above: newly published by Connor Court - 'Turning Left or Right'
The essay that follows was an original draft of an essay on 'The Democratic Mixed Economy' - written for "Turning Left or Right – Values in Modern Politics": a book edited by Carlo Carli, Tim Wilson and Paul Collits, and published by Connor Court. That essay was very significantly cut back to be much more concise; so I am hoping readers may get some idea of the intentions of the original draft.
But firstly – the abstract below is an account of that book, and I urge readers to consider purchasing it; The "Democratic Mixed Economy" essay follows:
Democracy is about choice. But today it can appear to be a choice between personalities as major political parties squabble over different shades of the same policy. Is the great political contest of ideas over? Or are the divisions less obvious than they once were?
How does the left balance competing ideas like free speech and avoiding offence? Why do classical liberals want to abolish the ABC and Australian Institute of Sport? And where do the left, liberals and conservatives agree, and why?
Turning left or right asks these questions, breaks through the wall of sound bites and explores how century-old political philosophies connect to practical policy for the 21st Century.
Each chapter includes three essays from some of Australia's most engaged political thinkers who explore contemporary policy issues, find the dividing lines and reinject values and ideas. Importantly, every author's essay provides insight into the solutions they think are needed to make Australia a better country for future generations.
To order and for more info see: http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=262#.UnCWhUG4aUk
By Tristan Ewins
Historical Background on the Mixed Economy
The Left has had an often ambiguous relationship with the State when it came to matters of political economy. Marxists sought centralisation of industry in the hands of the State under socialism en route to 'stateless communism'. Yet there were those among them who believed that under capitalism the ruling classes would never allow socialisation of any form to progress beyond what was necessary to protect their own economic interests. In the Marxist view the state was not seen as an impartial arbiter between civic interests nor as a 'neutral' vehicle for the common good. Marxist views of the state as a vehicle for specific class interests contrasted with the socialism of Ferdinand Lassalle – the German socialist who – after the German philosopher Hegel – saw the State as a vehicle for reconciliation and 'the universal interest'. And both Lassalle and Marx were at odds with libertarian anarchists such as Proudhon who saw in the co-operative movement the potential to transcend capitalism without the trappings of the State.
In the 20th Century, however, Greek Marxist Nicos Poulantzas was to suggest that states themselves could be marked by internal contradiction due to the logic of class conflict. This went both beyond liberal notions of a 'neutral' state and beyond orthodox Marxist notions that state apparatuses under capitalism by their nature served only narrow bourgeois interests. From this it follows that contested states could advance working class and civic interests even under capitalism depending on the balance of class forces. It is on this basis that this author intends to argue that a 'historic compromise' is possible in the form of a 'democratic mixed economy'. Universal suffrage is one potential basis for working class power – and affects the 'balance of class forces' - but is best utilised under circumstances of high social democratic and class consciousness and organisation.
Regardless of all this, however, in the course of the twentieth century progressive liberals and socialists alike became associated with ideas of (relatively) 'big government' – of a progressive public sector and social wage. Successive World Wars had demonstrated the potential of central economic planning; indeed of 'state capitalism'. And classical economic liberalism stood discredited by the experience of Depression. This lent a degree of prestige to social democracy and its ambitions of strong welfare states, and an advancing public sector. Much of the world adopted a Keynesian approach involving a key role for the state sector in bringing forward public works: stimulating aggregate demand to counter cyclical downturns. This also required higher (often progressive) taxes – in order to source public investments and service debt. As opposed to the classical economic liberals and Austrian School economists, for the Keynesians there was no natural 'equilibrium' – achieved through the winding back of so-called 'distortions' such as tax, the public sector, labour market regulation and so on. The classical Keynesian economy was 'mixed' – but as yet not democratic – in the sense of delivering true popular control.
In Sweden especially Rudolf Meidner and Gosta Rehn developed an approach to economic management involving full employment, growth, high incomes and the containment of inflation. In Sweden security and growth went hand in hand as a steadily expanding welfare state developed alongside one of Europe's most robust economies. Strong industry policies aimed to create high wage jobs in the place of unviable industries which could not survive without cheap labour. Full employment was accepted by both employers and employees as part of the Swedish 'historic compromise'. This was opposed to the previous reality: of capitalism founded on insecurity – with a 'reserve army of labour' resulting in 'labour market discipline' – but at great economic and social cost.
Swedish social democracy was to advance steadily for decades – achieving 'political citizenship' (through universal suffrage) and 'social citizenship' (through the welfare state): and finally attempting to achieve a regime of "economic citizenship" through innovative measures of economic democratisation and socialisation. But Sweden's march forward was brought to a halt over the issue of Meidner wage earner funds. Through these funds, Rudolf Meidner and the powerful unions who promoted the cause sought to compensate Swedish workers for past wage restraint – which had resulted in 'super profits' and concentration of ownership – by according to them collective capital share. This held the potential of gradually socialising investment in Sweden – leading to what in retrospect could legitimately have been called a "democratic mixed economy". The defeat of the Meidner initiative by militant employers, here, was 'the high water mark' for Swedish social democracy.
Around about the same time (the 1970s and 1980s) social democracy underwent a succession of defeats through much of the advanced capitalist world. The First and Second Oil Shocks hit western capitalism hard, underscored by an ongoing tendency of profits to fall as anticipated by Marx as far back as the 19th Century.. (This 'falling rate of profit' remains the consequence of the cost of constant revolutionising of the means of production; although capitalists can get away with intensifying the rate of exploitation as a response - in a context where new technology improves productivity and living standards in absolute and qualitative terms at the same time; Favourable terms of trade can also serve as a protection at a national level – as historically with Sweden - but not a comprehensively global level) Wage restraint and a falling wage share of the economy, as well as attacks on industrial liberties were promoted as a means of restoring profitability. So too was 'corporate welfare' – funded through attacks on the welfare state, implementation of 'user pays', reduction of corporate taxation and like measures. Profits were restored and inflation contained – but through much of the world this was at tremendous social cost. (Sweden was not unaffected, being forced to drastically reduce the value of the Krona to remain competitive; but its welfare state remained resilient, and cushioned vulnerable Swedes against the 'economic storm')
The rise of neo-liberal ideology meant the progressive stigmatisation of the public sector; of the welfare state and social wage; of industrial rights and of progressive taxation. User pays and more regressive tax mixes hit the vulnerable hard. Even in Australia the Accords entered into by the unions and the Hawke Labor Government did not deliver the 'Nordic' outcomes some had hoped for. Wage restraint was rewarded with tax cuts – but those very tax cuts also reduced the revenue base from which the social wage and welfare state might otherwise have been expanded. Stigmatisation of labour militancy – on the grounds of 'reconciliation' – also led to a growing intolerance for industrial action. Furthermore – the most rudimentary ideas of social democratic redistributive justice became virtually 'unspeakable' – let alone a more robust critique of capitalist instability, exploitation, waste and centralisation of power.
Fast forward to 2013, however, and there were growing 'cracks in the neo-liberal ideological edifice' despite decades of its Ideological hegemony. In Australia robust intervention by the Rudd Labor government managed to steer Australia through the 2007-08 'Global Financial Crisis' relatively unscathed. But stigma against major tax reform remained; and an ill-timed attempt to introduce a 'super profits' tax on mining saw the end of Rudd Labor with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's replacement by Julia Gillard. Following this, Prime Minister Gillard's carbon tax was successful in reducing emissions – and yet its introduction was politically damaging in light of previous promises not to introduce such a tax; and with Conservative disinformation about the proportionate effect of the tax on cost of living pressures)
What kind of Democratic Mixed Economy for Today?
All this said, what kind of 'democratic mixed economy' should Leftists be aiming for today? Certainly the Left would be well advised to exploit any weak points in the 'neo-liberal edifice' as the basis for and ideological counter-offensive. Importantly: many arguments for the old kind of mixed economy remain relevant – and Labor needs to reassess its previous commitment to the neo-liberal Ideology; including its own past rejection of the mixed economy.
Firstly we will observe the centrality of the welfare state and social wage for 'social citizenship'.
Public sector intervention can provide 'social insurance' – for example in aged care, disability support and services, comprehensive socialised medicine, legal aid, social housing and various forms of welfare. Arguably these services must be provided to all on the basis of need – as a matter of human decency, and of distributive justice. At the moment the quality of aged care in Australia is a hidden shame; and one which would spur much greater social outrage if working class voters realised what quite possibly awaited them and their loved ones in their final years.
The strongest welfare states are found in the Nordic nations (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark) as well as in the Netherlands. Australian social democracy as embodied in the Labor Party has a long way to go to deliver Nordic levels of social security; and falls short in its scope of social expenditure compared to many other OECD countries as well. And yet the class base necessary as a foundation for a strong welfare state remains viable in Australia. Tax reform aimed at the wealthy and the upper middle class (in the vicinity of the top 15% income demographic) – would have a broad enough base to deliver tens of billions in funds for comprehensive social wage and welfare reform to the benefit of the remainder of the population.
Modern abundance also provides the economic foundation for greater cultural development and popular cultural participation than ever before.
As early as 1892 the Marxist scholar Karl Kautsky proclaimed:
"We must not think of the socialist society as something rigid and uniform, but rather as an organism, constantly developing, rich in possibilities of change, an organism that is to develop naturally from increasing the division of labour, commercial exchange, and the dominance of society by science and art." (my emphasis) (Kautsky, P 141)
In the information age Kautsky's words appear prophetic. And yet modernity in its capitalist guise also warps culture, including science and art themselves. Even science and art are increasingly commodified to fulfil the ends of profit maximisation. In the field of academia, Arts and Social Sciences not 'functional' to capitalism are increasingly marginalised. But free education, including liberal education and education for ideological literacy and active and critical citizenship - could accommodate a plurality of wide ranging criticism – including of capitalism itself - as part of the project for a 'democratic mixed economy'.
This brings us to the matter of public infrastructure and enterprise.
There are 'natural public monopolies' – especially in the area of infrastructure – where competition just doesn't make sense - and private monopoly even less so. To elaborate – competition can duplicate cost structures – the physical cost of infrastructure; the cost of duplicated administration; the cost of profit margins. And private infrastructure (also Public Private Partnerships) tend to pass on an increased cost of borrowing on to consumers. On the other hand private monopoly can be just as damaging – lacking the corrective functions of competition, and also potentially leading to profit gouging and abuse of market power. To be specific, current areas of potential natural public monopoly include communications infrastructure; as well as water and energy; roads and public transport; ports and airports. In Melbourne it is notable that emerging working class suburbs are lacking crucial infrastructure including public transport, health services and schools because the state has abrogated its responsibilities – in order to hold down tax. Private infrastructure is the more-costly option; and if funded through user pays mechanisms can be highly regressive.
Large public sector corporations can also potentially compete in the global marketplace – delivering social dividends to the public – and made viable by the economies of scale provided in the context of government investment - without removing the corrective and refining influences of competition. Social investment in mining via a Sovereign Wealth Fund could potentially capture tens of billions for social purposes which otherwise are largely diverted overseas. It could even be financed in part via a reformed mining tax.
There are other areas where public sector intervention makes sense – not always to form a 'natural public monopoly' – but to enhance competition and outcomes in otherwise monopolistic or oligopolistic sectors. Sometimes there is also the need to counter possible collusion. Examples include public sector banking; state owned general insurance; state-owned private health insurance. State enterprises have also historically involved cross-subsidisation for the disadvantaged. Municipal as well as co-operative and not-for-profit child care and aged care can also 'deliver a better deal' to consumers. (where necessary with state subsidy)
State funding can also be essential in areas of pure scientific research where the immediate commercial gains are not clear. And public sector media and broadcasting can provide a corrective influence – pursuing goals beyond mere profitability, or the 'cultural power-plays' of a handful of billionaires. This can include the goals of an authentic and inclusive pluralism, as well as ensuring quotas for local content, and the genuine promotion of participatory media.
Finally, today most Australian families would prefer to own their own home. But the Howard-era housing bubble has put housing out of reach for many. Substantial investment in social housing could provide for disadvantaged families, pressing urban consolidation, while also increasing housing supply, and helping to correct the market failure of unaffordable housing.
But the public sector alone is not 'the last word' on the democratic mixed economy. To be truly 'democratic' an economy must rest on real popular control. There is no 'play of class forces' favourable enough currently to result in the socialisation of the big transnational corporations – the 'economic commanding heights'. (for instance as envisaged in the 1970s by British Labour thinker Stuart Holland) And engagement with the transnationals is necessary in order to make available their innovations for the general public. But there are a number of possible strategies which could gradually extend the 'democratic sector' of the economy. We will mention co-operative enterprise, mutualism and collective capital formation, co-determination and economic regulation.
Karl Marx had argued at one point that co-operative productive enterprise attacked capitalist exploitation "at its very roots". Though socialist revisionist Eduard Bernstein observed that co-operative enterprise under capitalism faced the same contradictions as private enterprise. To elaborate, Bernstein – who had refuted important parts of the Marxist orthodoxy – nonetheless observed of Marxian economic analysis:
"The fall of the profit rate is a fact, the advent of over-production and crises is a fact, periodic diminution of capital is a fact, the concentration and centralisation of industrial capital is a fact, the increase of the rate of surplus value is a fact." (Bernstein, Pp 41-42)So as opposed to comprehensive socialisation under socialism, co-operatives under capitalism would face competitive pressure due to the economies of scale of their private sector rivals – who tended increasingly towards monopolism. They would be affected – and potentially ruined – by cyclical crises. And they would have to reserve greater proportions of their profits for investment (ie: internally financed investment) in the means of production – to retain co-operative status and still remain competitive.
Bernstein also feared co-operatives – for instance as anticipated by Lassalle - could become 'corporate interests' which actually gouged and exploited consumers. Specifically he considered the scenario of union-run co-operatives coming to dominate "whole branches of production".
In reality, though, co-operatives have achieved nowhere near monopoly status. Even the largest co-operatives can be held to account through competition in local and global markets. Corporate monopolisation on a global scale is the real threat. And mutual societies have no incentive to 'maximise profits' – as all revenue is reinvested for the benefit of members. Canadian economist and labour movement activist, Jim Stanford has observed several examples of successful co-operative enterprise. As of 2007 this included 'Rabobank' in the Netherlands, with 55,000 staff and 600 billion Euros under management. Also notable was the 'Mondragon Co-operative' in Spain – a worker-owned co-operative network employing over 80,000 people. (Stanford, p 329)
While subject to capitalist pressures, existing co-operatives do away with the expropriation of surplus value by capitalists. Generally under the co-operative model any profits are duly socialised; and workers maintain democratic control. And while small co-operatives may be subject to greater risk, participation in that context can be rewarding insofar as direct control overcomes the kind of alienation resulting from the division of labour under capitalism.
Meanwhile consumer co-operatives can provide ordinary people with greater market power; and mutual societies can provide voluntary social solidarity while cutting out the profit motive and indeed the profit mechanic entirely. Mutualised automotive societies, mutual credit and mutual insurance all have long histories.
Arguably, though, robust state-aid is necessary to support these endeavours, and ensure such democratic enterprise retains strong market share, and a higher market profile. Ideally this should involve concessional loans, financial advice, tax concessions, and assistance with marketing. This is suggestive of potentially visionary policies favouring economic democracy by a future Australian Labor government, and other potentially progressive future governments worldwide.
Collective Capital formation
Another area of potential economic democratisation is collective capital formation. This involves workers and citizens coalescing to invest in the economy; and in the process potentially delivering economic power to those people collectively. Collective capital formation can take many forms: some radically redistributive; others barely challenging the logic of capitalism.
In Australia it is true to argue that industry superannuation funds (private pensions) hold the potential of delivering economic power to organised labour – which administers many funds on a not-for-profit basis. This is a common argument. And yet there is a downside as well. Public pension funds hold the advantage of socialising (rather than privatising) risk faced by workers; and also of not replicating labour market inequalities in retirement. Policy makers also have to deal with the future prospect of an Aged Pension marginalised along class lines. And there is the potential for rent-seeking behaviour when it comes to fund involvement in Public Private Partnerships which simply cannot provide the best value infrastructure for citizens.
However: returning to 'Meidner'; wage eager funds in Sweden were based on far more radically redistributive premises, with 20 per cent of annual company profits set aside for workers. In decades, this would have led those democratic funds to a dominant position in the Swedish economy. But Meidner was arguably flawed in its apparent 'productivism' – its focus on Swedes in their capacity as employees - as opposed to their capacity as citizens. Arguably 'citizens funds' – marked from the start by a cap on the projected level of fund ownership – may have won over more voters, and averted the unflinching opposition of employers. At the time they were 'wound up' the funds only controlled 7 per cent of the Swedish stock market. (see: http://newleftreview.org/II/34/robin-blackburn-capital-and-social-europe )
But learning the lessons of Meidner, the time could be right for a reconsideration of democratic and redistributive forms of collective capital formation.
'Peeling the Onion' of bourgeois property rights: Nils Karleby
Swedish social democrat Nils Karleby was well-known for his characterisation of economic ownership of the means of production not as an 'indivisible' phenomenon – but rather as a 'bundle of rights'. The consequence of this is that socialisation ought be approached piecemeal – and that infringements upon the 'prerogatives' of private ownership can proceed gradually – with labour market regulation, health and safety standards, accident insurance, an eight hour day and so on. (Tilton, pp 79-81)
Hence there was Karleby's powerful metaphor that: Social Democrats should:
"[strip] away the prerogatives of capitalists, like layers of an onion, until nothing remains." (Karleby in Tilton, pp 80-81)
However in Australia far-reaching economic deregulation – including labour market deregulation – and tax cuts contributing to a regime of 'corporate welfare' – have restored these prerogatives. Meanwhile Financial deregulation and uncontained finance market speculation led to the Global Financial Crisis disaster in 2007-2008. (the legacy of which we are still living with)
A democratic mixed economy does not simply leave these matters to 'the market' when the consequence is an intensification of exploitation. Restrictions on union rights of organisation, withdrawal of labour, and access are intended to facilitate this intensification and overcome resistance.
Growth is always considered 'good' as it facilitates the endless expansion of consumption and of the world market on which capitalist self-reproduction depends. But proponents of a democratic mixed economy question the assumed "rights of property" and the social consequences of this. Increasing levels of over-time for some and promoting casualization and job insecurity for others; with a steadily-rising retirement age - all contribute to the logic and imperatives of capitalist accumulation - to the detriment of the 'life-world' of real people. Work/Life balance across peoples' entire lifetime conflicts directly with these 'prerogatives of capital'.
Further – neo-liberal capitalism is self-destructive in the sense that the inequality it produces dampens aggregate demand – and hence the very growth upon which its systemic logic depends. (as those on lower incomes tend to spend a greater portion of their income)
In response to these phenomena strong unions could be well advised to pursue an optional shortened working week for those unionised workers who so choose; and a more robust minimum wage; with recognition of the hardship faced by some workers enduring unpleasant and or inconvenient hours and conditions. (for example cleaners) Further government subsidy of wages in areas such as child care and aged care - largely feminised industries currently involving high levels of exploitation for skilled workers - could also comprise a welcome reform. (as of writing the Gillard Labor government had made some progress on this front; but the new Conservative Abbott government is rescinding subsidies for Aged Care workers)
Also co-determination as has been attempted in some countries – very notably Germany – could involve mandatory employee representation on the boards of major companies and employee input into safe work practices amongst other areas - ameliorating the 'absolutism of capital'. Though it is no permanent or comprehensive solution for antagonisms of class interest.
Looking back to the 1950s it is interesting to note that the conservatives and 'centrists' of that time were often more 'radical' on the economy than today's avowed social democrats: and even of some avowed members of the Socialist Left.
In his important work, 'Hayek Versus Marx' former Australian Communist leader Eric Aarons considers the "social market" model – as embraced by the German Christian Democrats in 1950s, and the German Social Democrats "after 1959". As Aarons explains, this approach suggested "a social vision couched in moral as well as economic terms…", and "recognition of the fundamentally social nature of organised production". Further, it implied a "moral community" "required to legitimate the social order…" , and the"[prevention] of the emergence of a 'two-tier' society" including a layer of permanently poor. A consequence of this was that "resources are allocated through both the political and economic system." And yet it also involved "recognition that desirable public ownership should not be seen as a bridgehead to full public ownership and a traditional socialist society". (Aarons pp 33-34)
Talk of a "traditional socialist society", here, is presumed to infer comprehensive state ownership and central planning. This author does not seek to replicate the errors of the old Communism – for instance the virtual usurpation of peoples' right to determine their own needs structures to a reasonable extent via market-mediated channels of consumption. Even though increasingly there are many areas – for example the energy market – where the promise of 'choice' has rung hollow – simply providing a cover for needless duplication, profiteering and waste. And while comprehensive central planning stifled individual consumer choice, it did make more sense in economies marked by greater scarcity.
A moderate form of the 'democratic mixed economy' could well conceive of itself in the tradition of the 'social market'. Although what this author does aspire to – at least in principle – is significantly more radical. As Leftists we should probably seek to shift the whole relative centre of political discourse – ultimately striving for a new hegemony. So when we speak of a 'democratic mixed economy' there is a potential plurality of interpretations. But a common denominator should be a robust public sector, and a commitment to substantial democratisation in a wide array of forms as outlined in this chapter.
Again: in addition to an strategically extended public sector this could involve a mix of co-operatives, mutualism, collective capital formation, co-determination, economic regulation, a progressive tax system, welfare state and social wage; extension of liberal rights to the industrial sphere; and appropriate economic regulation – including labour market regulation – to ensure fairness.
Importantly: the language of a "democratic mixed economy" brings together a notion which is still relatively mainstream - (the mixed economy) - in combination with "economic democracy" - which has radical connotations. In so doing, that combination is creating a space for radical and progressive ideas - possibly introducing radical ideas to a broader audience. The 'democratic mixed economy' has strategic value both as a political discourse and as a strategy for economic management, democracy and liberation.
Concluding, though: Arguably there is a place for co-operation and competition: planning and markets. And yet large scale co-operation (at the level of the largest multinationals, say) looms as 'the economic undiscovered country'. Who is to say that the refining logic of competition and self-interest is the only guarantor of quality, and will remain so forever? What future potential is there for economic activity based on altruism and co-operation? Only the future will tell.
Aarons, Eric; Hayek versus Marx And Today's Challenges; Routledge. New York, 2009
Bernstein, Eduard "Evolutionary Socialism", Shocken Books, NewYork, 1961
Kautsky, Karl, "The Class Struggle" (Erfurt Program), the Norton Library, Toronto, 1971
Stanford, Jim; Economics for Everyone – a Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism, Pluto Press, London, 2008
Tilton, Timothy; "The Political Theory of Swedish Social Democracy – Through the Welfare State to Socialism"; Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1990

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A Monad for Combinatorial Search with Heuristics
First the Haskell administrativia...
> import Data.Char
> import Control.Monad
> import Data.Monoid
> import Data.List
When using the list monad, a list is interpreted as a list of candidates in a search. The join function for this monad takes a list of lists of candidates and flattens it into a list of candidates. This is all the list monad really does: you write code that generates new candidates from old, and the >>= function applies this code to all of the candidates it knows about and then flattens this back out to a single list of candidates. Importantly it does this in a lazy way so that you only need look at candidates as they are generated.
This new monad will keep slightly more information: each candidate will have a 'penalty' value attached to it saying how attractive a candidate it is. Candidates with score 0 will be tried first, and those with score n will be tried after those with lower scores. We can represent a collection of candidates and their scores simply as a list of lists. The first list in the list will have those with score 0, the second will have those with score 1 and so on. We'll call these lists penalty lists and the positions within those lists slots.
Here's the definiton of the penalty list type:
> data PList a = P { unO :: [[a]] } deriving (Show,Eq)
It's a functor in a straightforward way:
> instance Functor PList where
> fmap f (P xs) = P (fmap (fmap f) xs)
The rule we'll adopt is that if you're trying a combination of two candidates then the penalty associated with the combination is the sum of the penalties of the individual objects. To implement this we need an alternative version of the join operation. If we have a penalty list of penalty lists and we have an element in the mth slot in the nth penalty sublist then we want it to end up in the (m+n)th slot in the final penalty list. Within a slot we can just order the elements just like in the original list monad.
> headm :: Monoid m => [m] -> m
> headm (a:as) = a
> headm [] = mempty
> tailm :: Monoid m => [m] -> [m]
> tailm (a:as) = as
> tailm [] = []
> zipm :: Monoid m => [[m]] -> [m]
> zipm ms | all null ms = []
> zipm ms = let
> heads = map headm ms
> tails = map tailm ms
> h = mconcat heads
> t = zipm (filter (not . null) tails)
> in h : t
> instance Monad PList where
> return x = P [[x]]
> x >>= f = let P xs = (fmap (unO . f) x) in P (join xs) where
> join [] = []
> join (m:ms) = let
> part1 = zipm m
> part2 = join ms
> in headm part1 : zipm [tailm part1,part2]
Explaining how join is implemented would take many words so I hope this picture of the computation of an example will do instead. I used the Monoid class simply to avoid directly referring to one level of nesting of brackets. It is intended to be a proper implementation of a Monad satisfying the three monad laws but I haven't proved this and it's possible that it occasionally leaves trailing empty lists around - which have no impact on search results.
> instance MonadPlus PList where
> mzero = P []
> mplus (P xs) (P ys) = P (zipm [xs,ys])
We can use this much like the list monad. First it will search for possibilities with zero penalty. When these are exhausted it'll backtrack to the last place where it can start finding possibilities with penalty 1. Then it'll try penalty 2 and so on. Importantly it manages to do this lazily so that we don't explore penalty n+1 until we've finished penalty n.
So now we can start using it. We'll hunt for Pythagorean triples by simply hunting through all of the triples of integers. But we'll try to find solutions where the sum of the integers is as small as possible. So as list of candidate integers we use P [[1],[2],[3]...]. In other words, the integer n has penalty n-1. Here's the code:
> ex1 = do
> x <- P $ map (\x -> [x]) [1..]
> y <- P $ map (\y -> [y]) [1..]
> z <- P $ map (\z -> [z]) [1..]
> guard $ x*x+y*y==z*z
> return $ (x,y,z)
Of course we wouldn't really search for Pythagorean triples this way. This is just an illustration of how to use the code. But note, crucially, that the equivalent code using the regular list monad would give us back no solutions. It'd start with x=1 and y=1 and then go off to infinity finding candidates for z. So as a side effect the penalty list allows us to tame some infinite searches.
Anyway, that was a simple numerical example. But this monad can be used with much more complex kinds of search. In fact it almost serves as a drop-in replacement for the list monad. This is a really nice example of the way separation of concerns is easy in Haskell. The task of generating candidates for search can easily be separated from the task of selecting from those candidates, even though the operations are highly interleaved during execution.
So here's a more complex example: writing a parser that can tolerate errors without running into combinatorial explosion. The idea is that we associate a penalty with each error. The penalty will make the parser run on the assumption of no errors until it can no longer parse, and then it'll backtrack on the assumption of one error until that assumption is no longer tenable and so on. We can liberally sprinkle 'erroneous' parsings throughout our code confident that these branches will only be taken in the event that an error-free parsing can't be found.
Firstly, here's a penalty list that we can use to introduce a penalty of just 1.
> penalty :: PList ()
> penalty = P [[],[()]]
If we stick that in the code path then anything following acquires a penalty of 1.
Now we can write a parser. We can implement Hutton's parser in his monad parsers paper with very little modification. We simply replace the usual list with the penalty list and do away with the +++ operator to allow it to be a bit more liberal about backtracking. Here's the parser type:
> newtype Parser a = Parser (String -> PList (a,String))
We could have parameterised that with the underlying monad so that we could have parsers with a choice of search strategy.
The rest is a lot like in Hutton's paper:
> parse (Parser f) x = f x
> instance Monad Parser where
> return a = Parser (\cs -> P [[(a,cs)]])
> p >>= f = Parser (\cs -> do
> (a,cs') <- parse p cs
> parse (f a) cs')
> instance MonadPlus Parser where
> mzero = Parser (\cs -> mzero)
> p `mplus` q = Parser (\cs -> parse p cs `mplus` parse q cs)
> item :: Parser Char
> item = Parser (\cs -> case cs of
> "" -> mzero
> (c:cs) -> P [[(c,cs)]])
> sat :: (Char -> Bool) -> Parser Char
> sat p = do
> c <- item
> if p c then return c else mzero
> char :: Char -> Parser Char
> char c = sat (c ==)
Now for a simple parsing problem. We'll parse simple arithmetical expressions a lot like in Hutton's paper. But I'm going to tolerate two kinds of error:
1. The shift key doesn't always work so occasionally a shifted or unshifted version of a character may appear and
2. parentheses are occasionally left out by the clumsy user.
Now we can code up a simple grammar for this. First the mapping between shifted and unshifted characters (on a Mac US keyboard):
> lowers = "1234567890-=/"
> uppers = "!@#$%^&*()_+?"
> lower x = lookup x (zip uppers lowers)
> upper x = lookup x (zip lowers uppers)
> upperChar x = case upper x of
> Nothing -> mzero
> Just y -> char y >> return x
> lowerChar x = case lower x of
> Nothing -> mzero
> Just y -> char y >> return x
A version of penalty wrapped for the parser monad:
> avoid :: Parser ()
> avoid = Parser $ \cs -> do
> penalty
> return ((),cs)
Reading keys on the assumption that the shift key may have failed:
> keyChar x = char x `mplus` (avoid >> upperChar x) `mplus` (avoid >> lowerChar x)
> digit = do
> x <- foldl mplus mzero (map keyChar "0123456789")
> return (fromIntegral (ord x-ord '0'))
> number1 :: Integer -> Parser Integer
> number1 m = return m `mplus` do
> n <- digit
> number1 (10*m+n)
> number :: Parser Integer
> number = do
> n <- digit
> number1 n
> chainl :: Parser a -> Parser (a -> a -> a) -> a -> Parser a
> chainl p op a = (p `chainl1` op) `mplus` return a
> chainl1 :: Parser a -> Parser (a -> a -> a) -> Parser a
> p `chainl1` op = do {a <- p; rest a}
> where
> rest a = (do
> f <- op
> b <- p
> rest (f a b)) `mplus` return a
Optional parentheses:
> shouldHave c = keyChar c `mplus` (avoid >> return c)
And the main part of the expression grammar:
> expr = term `chainl1` addop
> term = monomial `chainl1` mulop
> monomial = factor `chainl1` powop
> factor = number `mplus` do {shouldHave '('; n <- expr; shouldHave ')'; return n}
> powop = keyChar '^' >> return (^)
> addop = do {keyChar '+'; return (+)} `mplus` do {keyChar '-'; return (-)}
> mulop = do {keyChar '*'; return (*)} `mplus` do {keyChar '/'; return (div)}
Match the end of a string:
> end :: Parser ()
> end = Parser $ \cs ->
> if null cs then P [[((),"")]] else mzero
We can test it out with:
> completeExpr = do
> n <- expr
> end
> return n
> ex2 = parse completeExpr "2^(1+3"
When we run this we get no error-free parsing but we do get 3 readings with one error. One comes from reading the '(' as 9, one comes from inserting the missing ')' at the end and one comes from inserting ')' after '1'. Note that even for complex expressions we'll quickly find a 1- or 2-error parsing. For the regular list monad we might never get a parsing because there are an infinite number of ways of inserting parentheses.
Anyway, that was just a toy parsing problem. But a more complex application comes to my mind. Some written languages are tricky to parse because their orthography doesn't fully capture the phonetics of the original language, because there are few or no indicators of sentence or even word breaks, and because they have numerous optional orthographic and grammatical rules and use a script whose individual characters are occasionally hard to reliably identify. In such a situation it's good to have a parser driven by heuristics about what is likely to be intended and the penalty list monad might serve well. Here's an example of such a language.
Update: I forgot to add some connections to previous monads I've talked about:
is a variation of the convolution monad I described here. It deals with the "wrong category" aspect so it is a true Haskell monad. Penalty lists form some kind of dual to the convolution comonad.- It has much in common with this monad. That monad doesn't do anything smart about ordering searches but it does have the neat ability to 'fuse' different branches of a search so that different ways to arrive at the same place don't add to the combinatorial explosion. It's good for searches where you want to know what the minimum penalty is to get somewhere, but don't care what the best path actually is.
Also, in response to a comment on #haskell I've made the
example more complex so it's easier to generalise from it.


text:
After announcing the $6.1 billion loss, the company said in a statement that it would pay no dividend for the last fiscal year because of an absence of distributable profits.
The world's 14th largest steel producer, the group had paid €0.45 per share in the prior year after posting a €1.8 billion loss.
It also confirmed the dismissal of three executive board members over its recent economic difficulties and wave of scandals.
Steel-making forms the historic core of ThyssenKrupp's business, which was formed in 1999 from the merger of two steel giants Thyssen and Krupp whose roots stretch back into the 19th century.
But the steel business is highly cyclical and has been severely hit by the economic downturn.
ThyssenKrupp -- which also makes elevators, industrial plant technology, submarines and car parts -- had been scheduled to publish its earnings results on Tuesday at its annual press conference.
It is currently looking for potential buyers for the two loss-making steel plants in the United States and in Brazil.


text:
I think men get muscled for one another, kind of the way women dress up for one another when they go out. Women like a fit body, but I will take a runner over a bodybuilder anyday. And I am grossed out by male pecs that are like boobs – something Jason was talking about recently. Blech! I may be an extreme case – for example, I think Nathan Harden's skinny arm on the CD cover is sexy. I think his jutting hipbones would be sexy. But I've always liked the hipster look. I'm not alone – my guess is that skinny, brooding types, who are often called "bad boys" even when they are not, as in Nathan's case – outperform PUA types by a mile.Solipsism alert! First, straight men most certainly do not get muscled for one another. That is pure female projection. We muscle up because it feels good to be powerful rather than weak, because we tend to seek improvement and get competitive with ourselves whenever we focus on something, and because we observe that women gravitate towards the stronger, more well-developed men. It feels great when women eye your muscles with interest and grab at your pecs, your biceps and your triceps.
I never cared about being able to bench more than my best friends. My high-school tennis partner was the state powerlifting champion, I was never, ever, going to be able to compete with him. But I cared a great deal about being able to bench 135, then 225, then 315. Now, I have a naturally delicate build, but managed to put on nearly 50 pounds over the years through hitting the weights. So I have a direct basis for comparison and I can say that women, on the average, react much more strongly and much more positively to men with well-developed musculatures. Furthermore, it tends to be the hottest, fittest women who prefer the hardest men. After all, who is going to pound her harder and throw her around the bed more easily, limp-wristed Emo Boy or strong, fit, Ripped Guy.
It's not that I had any problem attracting girls when I was a slender soccer player. I'm a writer, after all, and I could probably brood for England. But then, I never once had pretty strangers in the street look me over and say "yum" either. That being said, do some guys overdo the weight training? Yes, absolutely. But there is a huge gap between a scrawny runner and a waddling musclehead who looks like a stuffed sausage in a suit. Daniel Craig as James Bond on the beach is much more the norm than Arnold as Mr. Universe posing onstage.
I thought Susan's comment about finding skinny arms to be sexy to be particularly interesting, since I have heard other women declare that they find "spaghetti arms" and "sunken chests" on men to be vomit-inducing. I have also noticed that adult women who prefer hipster men are either still attracted to the same type of juveniles that first attracted them in their early teens or fall in the 5-6 SMV category.
My hypothesis is that the human mind has an unconscious means of limiting its attraction triggers to the members of the opposite sex within an attainable SMV range. It was always astounding to me when a relatively plain woman would confess that she found one of my average male friends to be hot while genuinely exhibiting no interest whatsoever in any of my much better-looking friends. It's a very healthy and positive spin on the sour grapes fable.
As for PUAs, no. Hipsters do not outperform them. If nothing else, logic would suggest that by the time a skinny brooding hipster has emo'd his way into a girl's boudoir, the PUA will have plowed his way through six or seven women already. After all, it takes a lot more time to strike poses, simper, and wait to be noticed than damn the torpedoes and proceed full speed ahead.
"Kate Beckett" on Castle may have said it best, grammatical infelicities notwithstanding, upon realizing how many moderately attractive women had been seduced by a dead PUA whose death she was investigating. "I weep for my gender."
Anyhow, if Susan finds skinny arms to be sexy, no doubt she'll be absolutely enraptured by this video from my old Wax Trax! labelmates, particularly by the lead singer, Milan Fras. JA! JA! JA! JAWOHL! I don't know about the sexiness, but Milan is at least 1,000x more totally awesome than Nathan Harden. I doubt Harden has giant pink caribous... by which I actually mean GIANT PINK CARIBOUS.


text:
Groupe Beneteau Leverages PTC's Windchill PLM Platform for Digital Transformation Initiatives
Digital Thread Enables Development of Customized Products and
Significant Progressive Operational Cost Savings; Sets Stage for
Full-scale Smart, Connected Operations
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#DigitalTransformation—PTC
(NASDAQ: PTC) today announced that Groupe
Beneteau is using PTC's Windchill®
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform to create a digital thread
for the development of its customized sailing yachts, powerboats, and
luxury leisure homes. The iconic French boat builder recently rolled out
a digital transformation initiative that covers both its industrial
processes and the management of its commercial business. Developing
synergies between its R&D, design, and manufacturing teams is helping to
drive greater operational excellence and product differentiation.
To implement this transformation strategy across its production sites,
Groupe Beneteau started with PTC's PLM platform to develop a digital
thread throughout the product's lifecycle – from design, to product
development, to manufacturing. The digital thread provides an integrated
view of the product and delivers the right product information –
including options and variants – to all stakeholders. This enables
greater productivity, faster time-to-market of customizable boats,
better product quality, and lower costs as scrap and rework requirements
are reduced. With Windchill, Groupe Beneteau can make more informed
decisions throughout the product development process and improve
communication and collaboration. This initiative allows Groupe Beneteau
to deliver a better customer experience with more product and service
features and personalization options, and faster product delivery, all
at lower prices.
"Our digital thread will be managed by PLM, which creates the backbone
necessary to execute an Industrie 4.0 strategy. With a complete digital
process, we will have the speed and flexibility to deliver our products
with more features at a more competitive price," said Bertrand
Dutilleul, Global CIO, Groupe Beneteau. "Through parallel work streams
and a consistent digital thread of information running through our
product's lifecycles, we will be able to personalize our products while
reducing production time and errors. In addition, we will be able to
reduce our stock of product components, due to the precision introduced
into the manufacturing process. With these improvements, we expect to
achieve significant and progressive operational cost savings and
Windchill, PTC's industry-leading PLM platform, makes it easier than
ever to leverage a consolidated, up-to-date digital thread of product
information, including connected data. Windchill's highly configurable
out-of-the-box applications enable users to work faster and with more
accuracy – reducing time-to-market, cutting costs, and improving
quality. With Windchill, users across the value chain are able to
interact with data dynamically in 3D – both on a screen and through
augmented reality. With deployment options including cloud and
on-premises, Windchill has the flexibility, performance, and scale that
companies require to be industry leaders.
"Using PTC's Windchill PLM, Groupe Beneteau created a digital core,
enabling them to design and build personalized products," said Kevin
Wrenn, divisional general manager, PLM, PTC. "Having the digital thread
in place also allows Groupe Beneteau to take it to the next level and
develop a smart, connected factory that will include augmented reality
(AR) for workers on the factory floor. We are excited to see how they
continue to leverage emerging technologies and capitalize on the
opportunity to use smart, connected products and AR for sales and
marketing teams, dealerships, and customers."
Additional Resources
About Groupe Beneteau
The French group, founded in 1884,
builds a comprehensive range of sailing yachts and powerboats available
through its worldwide dealer network (12 brands, over 200 models). For
decades, Groupe Beneteau has pioneered advances in naval architecture,
design, technology, materials, processes, production and services. From
high-performing one designs for top-level racing to comfortable and
elegant cruising yachts, the Group's sailing yachts and powerboats are
famous worldwide for their innovation, quality, and seaworthiness.
About PTC (NASDAQ: PTC)
PTC unleashes industrial innovation
with award-winning, market-proven solutions that enable companies to
differentiate their products and services, improve operational
excellence, and increase workforce productivity. With PTC, and its
partner ecosystem, manufacturers can capitalize on the promise of
today's new technology to drive digital transformation.
PTC, Windchill, and the PTC logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of PTC Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and
other countries.
Corporate Communications
Jack McAvoy


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Homemade Spinach Pasta and Battered Chicken Breast
Okay. I have a confession. With as much as I've baked and cooked I've never made my own pasta. I was intimidated as I have no pasta roller or press. I have made plans to buy the attachment for Big Red (the kitchenaid), and I may well ordered from amazon now to have delivered to the states during our visit (have I mentioned we are about to head off to Florida for a month to visit my family? Sun tan, here we come).
I don't even need to write up a recipe, this was so easy.
For each person you are cooking for, mix
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
In my case, I added in 1/2 cup of spinach (not per person) and a heavy handed sprinkle of garlic powder.
Mix the egg and spinach first, then add your flour. Either use your dough hook or knead by hand into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut the ball in half or thirds, and rolling out the dough (or use your pasta roller, lucky you!). Let it rest for another 30 minutes or so. Then cut into slices. I was impatient and busy baking cookies at the same time, so I just cut it after I rolled it.
Then, lay it out to dry for an hour. When you are ready, boil it like you would your dry pasta! It cooks much quicker.
Now. Sauce!
Garlic Parmesan Sauce
Another quickie. I cooked for three people, so I cut one head of garlic in half, chopped off the top end to expose the bulbs, smother in olive oil and wrap tin foil around the bottom. Sick it into a hot oven (200C/400F), and cook until the garlic starts to brown/caramelize.
I than squeezed out the cloves into a garlic press and it oozes straight out. I added about 1/2 cup of Parmesan and 1/4 cup milk. Simple and much healthier than whipping up an Alfredo sauce. I would have loved to have Alfredo, but I thought in combo with the battered chicken I was about to make, I'd take it easy.
Battered Chicken
Now, I use Sunflower Oil. I convince myself this is healthy. I put on about 1/2 cup to heat up in a pan on medium-high heat.
I pounded out two chicken breasts and cut them into large pieces. Salt, Pepper, White Pepper the pieces.
For the batter:
1 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Adobo seasoning (you can just use a smashed up chicken bullion or well, omit, but it gives a nice taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper.
Add milk until you get a batter consistency.
-Dip the pieces into the batter, and carefully place into the oil once the oil is hot. Cook a few minutes on each side. MAKE SURE the oil is hot BEFORE you put the chicken in. If its not hot, your chicken will be very soggy, nasty and oily.
I like to dry freshly fried items on newspaper. This drains the oil out of the chicken like nothing else, and it just tastes crisp.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Homemade Spinach Pasta with Garlic Parmesan Sauce and Battered Chicken
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While Gens. Robert E. Lee and U.S. Grant squared off at Cold Harbor, Northern cavalry under Union Gen. Philip Sheridan rode west to disrupt communication and supply lines into Richmond. Confederate cavalry rode to cut them off.
The two large forces clashed June 11–12, 1864, near Trevilian Station on the Virginia Central Railroad near Louisa Court House.
The Southern horsemen succeeded in halting the Union raid, but drew much-needed cavalry away from Lee's army at Cold Harbor while Grant's army slipped across the James River to Petersburg. A multi-stop Civil War Trails driving tour of the Trevilian Station battlefield begins at the Louisa courthouse. This Trails driving tour is a work in progress.
The Sargeant Museum of Louisa County History, 214 Fredericksburg Ave, Louisa – Museum serves as the Trevilian Station battlefield visitor center with maps, exhibits and other orientation. Pick up information there about other county Civil War resources. Open 10 am–4 pm April–October. Call for hours other times. 540-967-5975.
Louisa Court House – Cavalrymen passed through this historic county seat in June 1864 to the battlefield just north and west.
First Contact – Confederate cavalry ran into Union pickets here in the early morning hours of June 11. The main Union camp at Clayton's Store was alerted, resulting in a 45-minute fight, the first shots fired in the battle.
Clayton's Store – Sheridan's 9,300 cavalrymen camped here June 10 intending to continue the raid west.
Netherland Tavern – This was the site of Confederate Gen. Wade Hampton's headquarters June 10. He learned of Sheridan's cavalry nearby and decided to stand and fight.
"Custer's First Last Stand" and "Custer Rescued" – Trevilian Station stood near here. The famous Gen. George A. Custer got into quite a fix here after he attacked Confederate wagons, then became nearly surrounded by Southerners mid-morning June 11. Custer was saved when reenforcements attacked along the railroad tracks. The Confederates withdrew to the west, but continued to block Sheridan's intended route.
Ogg Farm, Trails sign located west of Lousia Court House on north side of US 33 approximately 1 mile west of Route 22 intersection – After breaking off the fight on June 11, Hampton's Confederate cavalry withdrew here to form a new line protecting the road to Gordonsville. Union cavalry attacked this fortified position the next day but their assault along the railroad tracks was repulsed with heavy losses.
"Decisive Confederate Victory" and "Oakland Cemetery" – Furious Union attacks June 12 west of Trevilian Station failed to dislodge Confederates posted near the Ogg Farm. Sheridan turned back without accomplishing his mission. Nearly 2,000 of the almost 16,000 cavalrymen and horse artillerists engaged were casualties during the battle. Signs at the cemetery wrap up the battle and note the dozens of Confederate dead buried in Oakland.


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The next dimension for EU-China relations
Statement by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB,
Roundtable "Charting China's impact on the world economy",
Brussels, 19 April 2005
Ladies and gentlemen,
During a recent visit to China, I had the wonderful opportunity to stay briefly in Xian, the end point of the Silk Road. I remember looking down the tiny road as it disappeared over the horizon, taking travellers on a journey across thousands of kilometres and through many inhospitable landscapes. I was overcome by a feeling of deep respect for the generations of traders who – despite the enormous strains and difficulties that the journey entailed – had made this path the crucial link between China and Europe for some time.
Fortunately, exchanges between China and Europe are much easier nowadays. And I am particularly grateful that many descendents of those bold traders of ancient times have been able to make it here today. However, when we discuss contemporary EU-China relations, we do so against the backdrop of intense domestic debates in the EU about China's emergence on the global economic stage. This includes questions such as:
Does competition from China pose a threat to our economy?
Have China's rapidly growing exports already crowded out European exports in third markets?
Should the EU adopt legislation, as the US Senate is expected to do by July this year, that would increase tariffs on Chinese imports unless China agrees to revalue its currency?
There is no question that China's performance in international trade since the mid-1980s has been remarkable, especially since China joined the World Trade Organization in November 2001. This development has also had a significant impact on the rest of the world. Between 1990 and 2003, in the euro area, the value of imports from China has increased by eight times, and the value of exports to China has increased seven-fold. In particular, China's share in euro area imports rose from 2% to 7.5% in the same period.
Does this mean therefore that we Europeans should just look at ourselves as net losers in the process of competition with China? Or are we facing unique opportunities that we can take advantage of?
I would like to address this issue by first looking at past and present developments, and then at possible future trends. In doing so, I will focus mainly on trade and FDI relations between China and the euro area.
A close examination of the performance of the main trading blocks over the past 20 years shows that the trade share gains recorded by China were accompanied by a significant loss by Japan. In terms of euro area imports, for instance, Japan's share declined from 11.5% in 1985 to 7.9% in 2003. Losses were also recorded by a few other Asian economies. On balance, the market share of the Asian region as a whole with trading partners outside the region has remained broadly unchanged in markets such as the euro area and the United States.
But why has the increase of China's market share in third markets gone together with a decline in the market share of the rest of Asia? The main reason is that a growing number of firms in other Asian economies have relocated their final assembly sites to China, and export final products from there. Production in the region has been described as being akin to a single production line: and by that I mean that there are sites of high skill and productivity, such as Japan and South Korea, that provide the most technologically sophisticated goods and components, with the more labour-intensive products being produced in locations such as China. As many of the exports are component-intensive (such as electronics, in which the Asian region excels), much regional trade is intra-industry trade in intermediate goods.
Data also show that euro area exports have not been severely affected by the emergence of China as a trading party in the world economy. The share of euro area products in the imports of major partners has remained broadly unchanged, except for a slight decline in China and a few other Asian tigers.
In this regard, it is interesting to observe that while US exports have a smaller market share in the Chinese market than euro area exports, Chinese exports constitute a larger share of US imports than of euro area imports. This difference, which is of course reflected in different bilateral trade balances, may help us to better understand why the implications of China's competitiveness is debated much more frequently in the United States than in Europe.
One may object to these arguments in saying that the real challenge comes from China's high-tech exports, which have increased dramatically over the past two decades. In 2000-01, these products accounted for 28.7% of total Chinese exports, compared with 4.4% in the period 1985-89. However, the main reason for this rapid increase is that the final production stage has been transferred to China from industrialised economies, while the actual Chinese value added is still estimated to be relatively low. As a result, the subsidiaries of multinational firms still account for the bulk – nearly 90% – of total Chinese high-tech exports.
Over the medium term, however, China is expected to climb the technology ladder rather quickly, aided partly by the dissemination of technology and management skills due to foreign direct investments. The enhanced technological capability of Chinese products can already be seen from the angle of the product composition of the euro area's imports from China. More sophisticated goods from China, such as office machinery and telecommunications equipment, have experienced a significant increase in euro area's imports over the past five years, even though traditional and more labour-intensive goods – such as handbags, clothing and footwear products – remain the main import items.
These considerations lead me to draw an initial, preliminary conclusion. Although Chinese exports, if seen as part of the Asian production and export chain, may not yet represent a strong threat to euro area competitiveness, the further progress expected, in terms of both an FDI-induced upgrade of Chinese exports and the catching-up of local firms, will be an important test for the euro area (and, I believe, EU) economy in the years to come.
While correct per se, this conclusion does overlook the full picture of Europe's economic relationship which China; a picture that also includes clear opportunities. Let me give you two examples:
First of all, as incomes in China and, more generally, emerging Asia rise, the region is increasingly developing into a target market for final goods in its own right. China is becoming a key player in the global economy, not only on the supply side, but also on the demand side. It is the seventh largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, and it already ranks second in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. Its demand for imports is already one of the main engines of export growth in countries such as Japan and the emerging economies in Asia and Latin America. And it is estimated that China contributed around one-quarter of world GDP growth in PPP terms in 2001-03.
Second, with regard to foreign direct investment, it should be noted that, although the bulk of FDI flows to China still originates from other Asian economies, the EU countries together accounted for 7% of such flows last year. European FDI has recently gained important ground in some of the fastest growing sectors servicing the domestic Chinese market, such as the domestic car industry, where European firms are amongst the leading players. This is good news for the future of such firms.
Based on these considerations, my general assessment is that China should be understood primarily as a challenge to the European economy. This means that future developments will depend to a large extent on the actual behaviour of all European parties involved – with protectionism being neither a proper nor a useful avenue. These parties involve citizens as well as firms, trade unions and policy-makers. However, the process includes also the Chinese authorities in charge of macroeconomic stability, as China is currently playing a fundamental role in both the accumulation and financing of global external imbalances, and is considered equally important in view of the adjustment of such imbalances. This was recognised again at the recent IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings and reiterated in statements by the G7 and the International Monetary and Financial Committee – emphasising "that more flexibility in exchange rates is desirable for major countries or economic areas that lack such flexibility".
Having said all this, it should come as no surprise to hear that, in recent years, the ECB and the Eurosystem have intensified both their analysis of China and their relations with the Chinese authorities. The ECB now has a well-established high-level policy dialogue with the People's Bank of China. Both institutions have made considerable progress in terms of encouraging dialogue between staff, for instance through joint seminars, workshops, cooperation in the field of training and staff exchanges.
Only by having more exchanges and more discussions, like today's conference, can we improve the understanding of China here in Europe, which in my view is paramount to dispelling fears and misconceptions.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Banc Ceannais Eorpach
Stiúrthóireacht Cumarsáide
- Sonnemannstrasse 20
- 60314 Frankfurt am Main, an Ghearmáin
- +49 69 1344 7455
- email@example.com
Ceadaítear atáirgeadh ar choinníoll go n-admhaítear an fhoinse.
An Oifig Preasa


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The Russian musical scene changed considerably in the nine years that separate Reinhold Glière's first two symphonies. By 1908, when the Second was completed, revolution was clearly in the air – both politically and musically. Strange harmonies, brilliant colors, and fevered eroticism permeated the latest efforts of Alexander Scriabin. (Glière tried his hand at imitating Scriabin's style in 'Sirens', a symphonic poem dating from the same year as his 2nd Symphony.) The wild-eyed "bad boy of Russian music", Serge Prokofieff, was beginning to shock conservative Russians with the first public performances of his diabolical new piano pieces. And the work of two radical foreigners, Jean Sibelius and Richard Strauss, was starting to appear regularly on Russian concert programs.
The tense atmosphere of the opening of the battle sequence from 'Ein Heldenleben' and the epic sweep of Sibelius's early orchestral works can be clearly discerned in the first movement of the Glière Second. Despite these non-Russian influences, the music is also strongly nationalistic. Glière still owes a considerable debt to Rimsky-Korsakov, but now there are also hints of Rachmaninoff, who completed his own Second Symphony the year before Glière's. The thematic material of the opening movement is bold, striking, and full of pent-up energy – a distinct improvement over the lackluster ideas of Glière's First. The development is dramatic and explosive, as fragments of the principal theme are tossed about by the various orchestral choirs. The insistent repetitions of this theme eventually become tiresome in maestro Clark's hands. Zdeněk Macal's fire and exuberance (on Delos, with the glorious New Jersey Symphony) are preferable to Clark's blandness and restraint. II is a vigorous and lively scherzo. Glière lifted the noble melody of the central section almost without modification from the finale of Rachmaninoff's popular Second Piano Concerto. Later, America's Tin Pan Alley would use the same theme for a pop song called "Full Moon and Empty Arms". A poignant and tender aria, initially sung by the English horn, is the subject of a series of colorful variations in III. Again it is Macal who is most effective at conveying the majesty, beauty, and vivid contrasts inherent in this music. The joyous and richly varied finale has an exotic, oriental atmosphere, and the brilliant scoring is worthy of Rimsky-Korsakov at his best. There's an especially striking oboe solo at about 3:30 that Moussorgsky would have been proud to put his name to. Clark's reading is typically episodic and stodgy. Macal, on the other hand, achieves precisely the right balance between fantasy and fire.
Glière composed this symphony for a phenomenally talented young double bass virtuoso named Serge Alexandrovich Koussevitzky, who was about to embark on a new career as a conductor. It's a stunning portrait of this volatile and intense musician, who soon became one of the century's greatest conductors and a tireless champion of the newest and best music of his time. Koussevitzky led the première of Glière's Second as a part of his very first appearance as a conductor during a memorable concert of the Berlin Philharmonic on January 23, 1908.
The work that fills out this Naxos program, "The Zaporozhy Cossacks", is more rhapsody than symphonic poem. The fierce independence of the Zaporozhys – who roamed the Ukraine in the 17th century – is conveyed through a series of colorful, if rather repetitious episodes, culminating in a lively succession of peasant dances. Clark is predictably staid in the first portion of the work but comes to life when the wild dancing finally begins.
This disc is a stopgap at best. The ensemble is tentative, scrappy, and amateurish. The strings have a terrible time trying to articulate all the notes, especially in the faster variations in III of the symphony. The violins are shrill and closely miked. The sound is otherwise tinny, thin, and devoid of depth. The separation between the stereo channels is abnormally wide, leaving a gaping "hole" in the center.
Copyright © 1997, Tom Godell


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There have been several mass shootings this year, and people are still trying to figure out ways to prevent them from happening.
The latest shooting occurred at a Madden 19 game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. The attack left two dead and nine others are still recovering from gunshot wounds.
So far this year, there have been 8 notable mass shootings.
So, what's being done?
The federal government has not passed any major gun legislation in more than a dozen years. Action has been mostly on the state and local levels.
On Monday, California lawmakers approved a trio of bills to reduce the number of people with firearm access, including lifetime bans for people convicted of domestic violence or individuals placed on involuntary psychiatric holds twice in one year.
Florida also tightened gun controls, by raising the age to purchase a firearm to 21 and banning bump stock.
In Connecticut, the governor signed a bill banning bump stocks. Deerfield, Illinois banned assault weapons, within city limits, and in New Jersey, it's required that therapists and counselors alert law enforcement if a patient has threatened serious violence against themselves or others. Their right to buy a gun can then be revoked.
The battle continues to wage on how to handle these types of shootings, but so far, there appears to be no federal push to make major changes, leaving efforts up to states and cities.