Issue 2

This article was initiated by Richard Gardner, Director of the York Centre, who comments as follows: 'Mrs. Hedge has just completed a report' on a two-year research project into continuing education. Her study concentrated mainly but not exclusively on the needs and problems of architects. But it has also brought her into direct contact with other professions and with organizations such as BRE whose work is relevant to us all. Different professions and different kinds of practice/office/firms surely have different needs. But do the conclusions drawn by Mrs. Hedge and the suggestions she is making here have a kind of universal importance for all the building professions? And is the York Centre right to see them as pointers towards a new, more complete and more flexible provision of multi-disciplinary continuing education; and also as demonstrating fairly conclusively what its own role and programme of work should be?' Angela Hedge

Note: (i) All the notation used is as in the original paper, the only difference being that stresses denoted by ó are not necessarily horizontal or vertical but are along a set of axes which are mutually orthogonal. (ii) Equation numbers (1) to (6) refer to the original paper. R. Jategaonkar

President's diary The President will represent the Institution at the CEI's 10th Anniversary Banquet at The Guildhall, London, on Tuesday 10 February. Mr. Mason will travel to Manchester to attend the Annual Dinner of the Lancashire and Cheshire Branch on Friday 20 February, and with Mrs. Mason he looks forward to meeting members and their ladies of the Northern Counties Branch at the Branch Annual Dinner in Newcastle on Tyne on Friday 27 February. The following week the President and Mrs. Mason travel to Bedford on Friday 5 March to attend the Annual Dinner and Dance of the Bedfordshire and adjoining Counties Section.

This paper covers the principles of claims, the role of insurers and of insurance brokers, the responsibilities of adjusters and the duties of the parties: it also shows how, from the point of view of the insurer, greater efficiency can be achieved in the construction process by proper attention to the duties of the client and his professional advisers on the one hand and the contractor on the other. G.W. White and E.W. Hitcham

This paper is concerned with the way in which vertical load is distributed in shear wall buildings. It deals in the main with tall buildings (height to width greater than l.5:1), but some of the conclusions reached may have applicability to other types of wall construction. I.A. MacLeod and H. Hosny

This paper examines developments in the education and training of the structural engineering technician since the introduction of the Institution's Technician Certificate in 1970. The establishment of the Technician Education Council and the Engineers Registration Board has provided a framework within which the Institution has developed its policy for technicians. The progress made by the Technician Education Council is reviewed and future changes in the education of technicians are discussed. A recent survey of those who have passed the Institution test reveals the nature of their employment, their opinion of the test and their desire for status. A training scheme for technicians is described in some detail and reference is made to the recent introduction of an Associate-Membership class within the Institution for technicians. Kenneth Severn and K.C. White

Mr. T. N. W. Akroyd (F) gave us an authoritative statement on the duties of a local authority under the Building Regulations (November 1975) which stimulated us to probe yet further the issue of checking calculations. He has taken this point and dealt with it as succinctly as ever: My note (November 1975) was intended to express in simple words the answer to the question: 'Has a local authority a legal obligation in the execution of its duty under the Building Regulations to check calculations made by a qualified person?' Since you appear clearly and unmistakably to exhibit signs of someone who has not understood my previous letter let me please try to help further. Verulam