2.2 Europe as a sequence of ideas (continued) After the long period of relative peace during the nineteenth century, the First World War was a traumatic shock to Europe as a whole and offered a fundamental challenge to what had been regarded as its core values (Waever, 1995, p.151). The guiding principle adopted towards the end of the war by the victorious allies (led 2.2 Europe as a sequence of ideas Europe has also often been defined in terms of the ideas it is believed to represent and the particular system of values it is understood to embody. In different historical periods, therefore, Europe has been identified as the realm of Christianity and later as the home of science and progress. Different ideas of Europe prevailed during different periods, but they have also left their mark on contemporary conceptions. Europe has often been defined, then, in terms of a sequence of ideas, and n 2.1 Europe as a geographical area From a British point of view, judging from frequently heard expressions, Europe is something ‘out there’ (or perhaps, in the sense of EU- or Brussels-inspired regulation, ‘up there’). ‘Britain’ and ‘Europe’ are generally understood to be distinct entities rather than overlapping categories. When they ‘go to Europe’ most British people leave Britain behind – at least in the physical sense. In conventional geographical terms the situation is rather different. Europe is gen Preamble It is important to distinguish between the different dimensions of European identity, and we shall begin by identifying some of the different ways in which ‘Europe’ has been understood. Basic distinctions can be drawn between a number of quite different conceptions. These involve ideas of Europe as a geographical entity, Europe as a sequence of ideas, and – following the near destruction of Europe as a project – something that had to be created anew if it was to exist at all. In this 1 Europe in the twenty-first century Europe is changing, but so is the way in which it is governed. The beginning of the twenty-first century sees a new Europe emerging that is in many ways different from that which previously existed. Europe is less divided than it has been for most of its history, and certainly less than it was for the war-torn first half of the twentieth century or most of the ideologically divided decades of the second half. It is incomparably richer than at any other stage of its development, and seems to e Learning outcomes After studying this unit you will be able to: appreciate the historical development of ‘Europe’ as a political and economic entity; understand the rationale for the emergence of the idea of ‘Europe’ in policy making; see the difficulty in defining what Europe is and its limits; understand the contested nature of the idea of Europe; understand that ‘Europe’ is not coterminous with the European Union; 3.3 Other disadvantaged groups Information on other disadvantaged groups, such as older workers or people with disabilities, is even harder to come by. The problems faced by older workers in the labour market have become an increasing cause for concern in recent years. The nature of the disadvantage faced by older workers is, however, much harder to uncover and the evidence is often anecdotal. One trend that has become evident during the past three decades is the difficulty older workers have in obtaining any work and, in 3.2 Ethnicity and disadvantage Detailed information on other disadvantaged groups in the UK is more limited. Recent studies of the labour market disadvantage faced by Britain's ethnic minorities indicate not only that they fare badly relative to white employees, but also that their relative position deteriorated throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. According to the General Household Survey, non-white employees in the UK earned 7.3 per cent less, on average, than white employees over the period 1973–9: this deteri 1.2 Key ideas Labour market disadvantage can be manifested in a number of differences between the labour market experiences of different groups: differences of pay, of likelihood of unemployment, and differences due to occupational segregation. Labour market disadvantage and discrimination are not the same thing. Discrimination refers only to those differences between groups of workers that do not correspond to objective characteristics that affect the p Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: 6.1 Legitimating the powerful The labelling perspective associated with Berger and Luckmann focuses on the processes by which some behaviours and types of people become marked out for social disapproval – targeted by the wider society as different and requiring some form of social response. Its virtue is that it challenges conventional assumptions that social problems exist ‘out there’ as obvious and commonly understood facts. Berger and Luckmann's perspective stresses the importance of language in shaping how we de 1.4 Summary We have seen that social problems are ‘social’ in the sense that they capture public attention. They are more than private troubles, perhaps through reasons of scale but certainly because they are able to connect with other public issues, values and concerns – for example, with contemporary concerns about social justice or social order. They are historically and culturally specific – that is, they belong to, or are visible in, particular societies at particular times. Finally, while t Objectives for Section 3
After studying this section you should be able to do the following.
Recognise and use the terminology: disjoint union; power set (of a set); representation (of a data abstraction). Use and interpret the notation:
X 2.3 Truth values We will want to distinguish between statements that are true and statements that are false. Another fundamental form of data allows us to do this. This form of data consists of just two values, which we shall write as true and false. Not all texts use the same notation: some use T and F; others may use 0 for false and 1 for true (or the reverse!). We may refer to true and false as truth values, or Boolean values 4.2.1 ATM physical layer The ATM physical layer is divided into two sub-layers: the transmission convergence sub-layer and the physical medium sub-layer. Functions of the transmission convergence sub-layer include generating and receiving cells, and generating and verifying the cyclic redundancy check in the header error control field. For correct interpretation of ATM cells it is important to identify the beginning of a cell. In theory, if ATM cells are transmitted as a continuous stream of bits, 6.5.1 Virtual worlds Are you bored with your surroundings? Do you sometimes wish you were someone else? Help may be at hand. All the digital models we have looked at so far are based on our own world. But we needn't be limited by this. Why not create completely new worlds inside the computer and live in them whenever we wish? It has already been done. 6.1 Kings of infinite space? I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. (Shakespeare, Hamlet) This section draws together the themes of the previous sections by: discussing how the digital world can be manipulated; explaining how this process has significant implications for science, politics 5.5.5 Summary In this section I've briefly considered the very contentious question of what digital representations mean, but this debate must be left to another course. I have also described some of the devices that take digital information back into the analogue world of sight and sound, presenting it in a form that is meaningful to human eyes and ears. 5.5.1 Monitors Nearly all computers are supplied complete with a monitor which opens a window onto the machine's digital world. Without one we could have little idea about what the computer was doing, or even whether it was working at all. There are two main types of monitor: the CRT (cathode ray tube) and LCD (liquid crystal display). A CRT monitor looks like a television screen, and works in a similar way to a TV or a scanner. A beam of electrons is fired from a gun at the back of the Acknowledgements All materials included in this unit are derived from content originated at the Open University. Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence 1. Join the 200,000 students cur
Europe and political extremism after the First World War
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