Children's understanding of food and meals in the foodscape at school

Children come into contact with food in different places and contexts, i.e. ‘foodscapes’. The aim of the paper was to study what knowledge children construct regarding food and meals in the foodscape at school and how they do so, focusing on the school meal context. Observations, interviews and focus group interviews were used. The children appropriated ideas and understandings from the adult world and society as a whole and used it among their peers in the school meal situation. This included the adoption of institutional commensality, the telling of stories about food, and the classification of foods in dichotomies.     

Pre‐school staffs’ attitudes toward foods in relation to the pedagogic meal

The aim of this study, with the pedagogic meal in focus, was to identify pre‐school staff members’ attitudes to the role of food and meals as part of daily activities at pre‐school. Interviews were carried out at 12 pre‐schools and a total of 34 pre‐school staff participated. The staff revealed strong opinions as well as ambivalence towards how food and meals should best be integrated into their daily work and pedagogic activities. The pre‐school staffs’ lack of or insufficient education and knowledge regarding food and nutrition resulted in an ambivalent and uncertain situation with respect to how they should see themselves as teachers in the meal situation. Nevertheless, most of the staff had a clear perception of what it meant to practice a pedagogic meal. It meant helping and encouraging the children to help themselves and serving as an adult model for the children at table, though this pedagogic activity was uncommon. While the staff were satisfied with the pre‐schools’ role of catering for the children, they expressed concern about or even mistrust towards the children's parents. Despite, or perhaps due to, their inadequate knowledge about food and nutrition and the lack of specific aims for the pedagogic meal, they assumed that the public sector was a better educational institution regarding foods and a better guarantor for children's food habits and dietary intake. As the teachers’ identities have changed over the past years they have not yet found a solid ground for determining how food and meals could be integrated into their everyday work as pre‐school teachers and childminders.     

Household norms and their role in reducing household electricity consumption

Researchers have only recently begun to investigate the role of the norms of the household or family group in energy‐efficiency decisions. These researchers have demonstrated that these norms can influence the behaviour and attitudes of children within the household. We contribute to their findings by providing a characterization of the use of household norms in household decisions about electricity efficiency. For our qualitative research, we conducted focus groups with three different household types: (1) share houses/young couples with no children; (2) households with children; and (3) empty nest/elderly households in three regional centres in New South Wales, Australia (total of 76 respondents in nine focus groups). Specifically, we found that household norms were evident in the decision‐making process through rules and expectations about behaviour and the use of sanctions to enforce or shaped that behaviour. We identified several drivers of household norms including a household member taking the role of ‘efficiency champion’ and the occurrence of critical incidents in the household. In addition, we found that household members try to establish household norms to socialize household members with the goal of the intergenerational transmission of desirable behaviours. Based on these observations, we conclude that household members employ norms to regulate and reduce their electricity consumption, and as a mechanism for consumer socialization. As such, our findings are important for marketers and policy makers tasked with regulating household consumption.     

An exploratory study of the influences that compromise the sun protection of young adults

This paper reports on an exploratory research project designed to gain a deeper understanding of the influences on ultraviolet radiation (UVR) behaviours among high‐risk young adults to determine what compromises the adoption of protection measures for this group. A dual approach using focus groups and the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique was used to provide personal narratives related to UVR behaviour for tertiary education students. Results from both ‘conversations’ were content‐analysed using an iterative ‘bootstrapping’ technique to identify key themes and issues. This exploratory research identified a number of key themes including effect on mood, influence of culture, the value of tans, unrealistic optimism, risk‐orientation, and the role of experience. This group felt that they not been targeted effectively by public health campaigns and did not fully understand the dangers of high‐risk UVR behaviours. Although a number of previous studies have investigated the relationship between knowledge and behaviour, and largely concluded that increases in knowledge do not lead to increases in adoption of protection practices, the preliminary findings of this study reveal that the knowledge and perceived self efficacy of protective practices is extremely high, what is lacking is the perceived threat and thus the motivations to adopt such behaviours. The conclusions drawn from this research indicate that there are a variety of important influencing factors that compromise UVR behaviours, in particular, the lack of perceived seriousness and severity towards long term consequences such as skin cancer. The recommendation to address the imbalance of ‘perceived threat’ and ‘outcome expectations’ is to focus on increasing knowledge of skin cancer, particularly susceptibility to skin cancer and the severity of the condition.     

Is cooking dead? The state of Home Economics Food and Nutrition education in a Canadian province

High population rates of obesity and nutrition‐related chronic diseases warrant an examination of the role of food and nutrition education in health promotion. Using a mixed‐methods approach, this study explored student enrolment trends in, and perceptions of, Home Economics Food and Nutrition education in a Canadian province. Enrolment in Home Economics Food and Nutrition courses for grades 7–12 was examined from 2000 to 2010 using administrative data. Perceptions of Home Economics Food and Nutrition education by home economics teachers and superintendents were investigated through in‐depth interviews using a grounded theory approach. Results revealed that, although enrolment, including boys, increased slightly over the study period, the majority of children do not take Home Economics Food and Nutrition classes. Further, enrolment decreased significantly from grades 7 (45.77%) to 12 (7.61%). Home Economics Food and Nutrition education faces significant challenges to its future viability. These include: many school administrators, non‐home economics teachers and some parents do not value Home Economics Food and Nutrition education; Home Economics Food and Nutrition education is seen as less valuable than math and science for future career planning; outdated curriculum and teaching infrastructure; reduced numbers of new home economics teachers; decreasing student food knowledge and skills; and changing social norms regarding food and eating (increased use of convenience foods across population groups, a youth ‘fast food culture’ and fewer family meals). Results also indicated that Home Economics Food and Nutrition education is seen as critically important for youth, given that one third of Canadian children are now overweight or obese, fast and highly processed foods make up an increasing proportion of Canadians' diets, and there are increasing dilemmas being faced with food production and food safety. These results signal a growing tension between societal trends towards technological solutions in education and everyday living, and the growing acknowledgement of the externalities associated with these trends including poor health and environmental impacts. Consequently, evidence‐based food and nutrition education that is relevant for today's food environment and busy lifestyles is warranted to improve the health of current and future generations. This should be based on a comprehensive food and nutrition framework including functional, interactive and critical ‘food literacy’. Policy measures are urgently required to ensure all youth have access to food literacy education.     

Customer loyalty to food retailers in Northern Ireland: ‘devoted loyals’ or ‘promiscuous switchers’?

Store loyalty is a major challenge for food retailers, and the food retail market in Northern Ireland has been subject to considerable change in the past decade. Although shoppers will often patronize many stores, they typically have a primary affiliation to a ‘main’ food store that captures the majority of their food purchases. This study uses a unique approach to segmenting customers into groups based on loyalty in terms of both the type of data used to generate a loyalty score and the data collection techniques used. Innovative projective techniques have been used alongside traditional questioning techniques to reveal ‘behavioural’ and ‘emotional’ loyalty indicators, and in doing so create a holistic measure of customer loyalty to a main food store, allowing customers to be segmented into groups based on loyalty. A paper‐based questionnaire was administered to 152 food shoppers from throughout Northern Ireland. Responses to traditional questioning formats and projective techniques (cartoon friends and mini case studies) were analysed and used to generate a loyalty score for each respondent. The first group of customers nearly always visit the same store, are willing to recommend the store to others and are less likely to switch to a competitor, even when offered an incentive to do so. They also rate the ‘hard’ attributes of this store highly. As a result of these characteristics, customers in this segment were termed ‘devoted loyals’. The second group of customers may occasionally use a different supermarket for food shopping, some would consider switching to a competitor if offered an incentive, and they rate ‘hard’ store attributes at a slightly lower level than the ‘devoted loyals’. Based on their group profile, these customers were assigned the title of ‘susceptibles’. The third group of customers are less willing to actively encourage friends and family to shop at a specific store. Many in this group did not consider their current store as their number one choice in the next few years. An incentive to switch to a competitor store is more likely to trigger a transfer of loyalty by this group. These customers were termed ‘promiscuous switchers’.     

The impact of lifestyles and food knowledge on the food patterns of German children

The German youth is relatively well informed about healthy eating, but does not act in accordance with this knowledge. It is also known from empirical studies that there is an association between lifestyles, food knowledge and the eating patterns of older teenagers. However, is there a similar correlation in regard to younger children? This article shows results of a study addressing this issue by empirically investigating leisure time activities, food intake and food knowledge. The study conducted with 907 children, on average 12 years old, out of an urban region in northwest Germany using a written questionnaire, implies that food patterns and food knowledge have to be improved because they are – on average – only marginally acceptable. On this level, they are not in line with a healthy future. For the first time in Germany, food patterns and food knowledge of seventh grade pupils were analysed in relation to their lifestyles. The study revealed four lifestyles. One family‐oriented lifestyle and three non‐family oriented lifestyles: outdoor and sociable youth, culture‐oriented youth, and multimedia kids. The family‐oriented lifestyle influences the children's food patterns in a positive way; the three found non‐family‐oriented lifestyles lead to less preferable food patterns. The results imply that there is a phase of unhealthy food patterns at the beginning of the second life decade, which seems to be linked to the detachment from the parents and the gained independency, expressed by the first self‐chosen lifestyles. As lifestyles have such a vital influence on healthy eating, and family is no longer the place where children get their everyday competencies, school has to enable pupils to make healthier food and lifestyle choices.     

School lunch—Children’s space or teachers’ governmentality?

This article discusses social aspects of school lunches in Norway. How do 11‐year‐old students experience and perceive their packed lunches and lunch breaks and to what extent is the lunch break a space for children's sociality or an area for teachers’ governmentality? The study is based on 25 focus group discussions and drawing and writing assignments with 165 participants. A large proportion of the students expressed that they appreciated their packed lunches because they could decide for themselves what and how much to eat. Additionally, shortage of time and disturbance and noise in the classroom could ruin a good meal. The main issue that the students raised in relation to our question of sociality was with whom they could sit and eat their packed lunches. This finding underlines the importance of considering the emotional dimensions of eating and that commensal eating is not dependent on sharing the same food. The children experienced that the lunch break was governed by an adult agenda in which they had limited opportunities to create their own spaces.     

Indoctrination or education? Intention of unqualified teachers to transfer consumption norms in home economics teaching

Almost two thirds of home economics (HE) teachers in Sweden are formally unqualified (FU). Historically, HE has focused more on fostering and prescribing the ‘right’ choices whereas the modern (2011‐) curriculum focuses on teaching consequences of choices and giving students tools for assessing alternatives. Restraining from prescribing norms requires a high degree of professionalism. The objective of this study was to empirically investigate the prevalence of intentions of FU teachers to prescribe consumption norms not supported by the curriculum. Furthermore, to investigate to what extent these intentions are correlated with years of experience as a teacher, personal preferences, or personal consumption. The intention to transfer norms were measured using the concept of intentional misalignment applied to a survey distributed to a sample of FU teachers attending complementary teacher education. A two part survey was used. The first part consisted of multiple choice questions asking the teachers how important they saw it to transfer different consumption norms to their students (e.g. to consume local or organic food). These responses were evaluated quantitatively (Spearman rank correlation, Wilcoxon rank sum test and Kruskal‐Wallis analysis of variance). The second part consisted of an open‐ended question asking teachers to describe what they saw as the most important take‐home message for students in HE. The answers were compared to the national curriculum to identify intentions to transfer unsupported norms. The study indicates that more than a third of the FU HE teachers in Sweden express the intention to prescribe specific types of consumption or to transfer consumption norms that are not supported by the curriculum. The prevalence is correlated to personal preferences and thus indicates difficulties with keeping a professional perspective. These teachers must be given collegial support and opportunities for continued education–to ensure high‐quality HE education for future generations.     

The attitudes and nutritional knowledge of 11‐ to 12‐year‐olds in Merseyside and Northern Ireland

School is a major area for providing young people with nutritional knowledge and skills. In Northern Ireland home economics (HE) is taught to 11‐ to 12‐year‐olds. The 1988 Education Reform Act introduced the national curriculum and HE as a subject was effectively abolished in English schools, and key stage 3 pupils in England are taught nutrition in Science, Design and Technology and in the cross curricular theme of health education. The aim of the study was to compare the attitudes and nutritional knowledge of children in Merseyside, England (M) and Northern Ireland (NI). A questionnaire was designed, which examined attitudes to aspects of healthy eating and tested the subject's knowledge, practical and theoretical, on nutrition and healthy eating. Subjects aged 11–12 years were recruited (M: 541, NI: 128). The majority ‘understood and knew what to eat to have a healthy diet’, ‘liked the taste of healthy food’ and considered that ‘there were healthy foods at home’. However, a significantly greater number in Merseyside agreed that ‘their health will be affected in the future by what they eat now’ (M: 71%, NI: 54%, P < 0.01) and agreed that ‘they enjoyed cooking’ (M: 76%, NI: 56%, P < 0.01). Whereas more from Northern Ireland agreed that ‘they do not know what foods to eat to have a healthy diet’ (M: 14%, NI: 30%, P < 0.01), ‘that healthy eating involved “dieting” ’ (M: 29%, NI: 59%, P < 0.01) and agreed that ‘there are no healthy food choices at school’ (M: 23% NI: 42%, P < 0.01). More subjects from Merseyside disagreed that ‘healthy eating is a waste of time’ (M: 87%, NI: 77%, P < 0.01). The mean knowledge scores (correct answers) from Merseyside were significantly greater than from Northern Ireland (total score: M: 51%, NI: 43%P < 0.05; practical score: M: 58%, NI: 49%P < 0.05, theory score: M: 38%, NI: 31%, P < 0.05). The results indicate that the healthy food message seems to have been better learnt by children in Merseyside but results of surveys in Merseyside into eating habits suggest that many have not put this knowledge into practice.     

The family meal as an ideal: Children’s perceptions of foodwork and commensality in everyday life and feasts

The present article concerns meals from the point of view of children, focusing on structural and sociocultural aspects of meals in a Western context in general, and Sweden in particular. The aim was to study children's perceptions of meals with regard to what, where and with whom meals are eaten and how meals are made. The method used was an internet‐based, ethnological questionnaire, which is a qualitative method in which participants share their experiences and values regarding a certain topic of interest in writing. A hundred and twelve Swedish children were included. The children almost exclusively chose to write about family meals. These meals were described as well‐structured and organized, and were often portrayed in an idealized way, with family members sharing proper meals at home, spending an enjoyable time together with a nice atmosphere and good conversation. The children made a distinction between everyday meals and festive meals, where the main differences were that festive meals were more prone to include extended family and friends besides the nuclear family, and were described in a more exceptional way with regard to what is served and mealtime conditions. The article concludes that the family meal functioned as a way to construct the family and as a site where children acquire norms and values about meals and family identity, but they did so in an active way, by breaking rules and by challenging norms, thereby also contributing to change. The changing nature of the family meal was also seen in an extended proper meal and the commensal aspects surrounding mealtime, as commensality included both commensal eating and commensal foodwork.     

Mind the gap: line managers as effective or non‐effective talent spotters

Due to the centrality of line managers’ role in the talent identification process, this qualitative study aims to determine what effective and non‐effective talent spotters do differently from one another in relation with an ‘ideal’ talent identification model offered by the literature. A double‐blind design was applied to the sample designated by the Corporate Talent Management Director of a Latin American multinational firm. 20 senior and middle managers, some effective and some others non‐effective, who work in different countries, participated in the study. Findings show that effective talent spotters perform three key stages of the talent identification model and they do it extremely well: differentiation of potential from performance, matching process and design of developmental challenges. The clear differentiation of potential from performance constitutes the crucial stage since a fuzzy differentiation taints the following stages. Not only is it necessary to perform these key stages but they should be executed in line with the principles of the talent management literature. Recommendations for practice, including specific guidelines for Talent Managers are proposed.     

Local and/or organic: a study on consumer preferences for organic food and food from different origins

This paper gives a deeper insight into consumer preferences for different food products of varying place of origin (i.e. local, Germany, neighboring country, non‐EU country) and production practices (i.e. organic vs. non‐organic). Consumer surveys combined with choice experiments were conducted with 641 consumers in eight German regions. Mixed logit models were estimated to draw conclusions on consumers’ preferences for different product attributes. The Stimulus‐Organism‐Response model was applied to theoretically frame the key findings. Results reveal that consumers prefer locally produced food to organic food. However, conclusions on consumers’ preferences should not be generalized as they vary depending on product type and consumers’ place of residence. When looking at the willingness‐to‐pay estimates for ‘organic’ and ‘local’ while distinguishing among consumers from different regions of Germany, results indicate that consumers living in rural areas and consumers living in the eastern part of Germany are less willing to pay a premium for organic products than urban consumers and consumers from other parts of Germany. As preferences for origin attributes and organic production vary between different food products and in different regions of Germany, market actors should design marketing activities accordingly. This study adds to the international research on consumers’ preferences for organic and/or local food. The results provide better insights into preference structures, as more than one product has been included and surveys were conducted in different regions across Germany.     

Consuming nostalgia? The appreciation of authenticity in local food production

Many consumers consider local food a more sustainable choice than conventional food because of the shorter transport distances involved as well as the support provided to local economies. In addition, consumers value the perceived safety benefits, ethical associations and improved taste of local food. In this study, we focus on the cultural meanings of locally produced food among Finnish consumers. Based on interviews with 22 consumers, our analysis suggests that, besides consumers valuing sustainable, healthy and tasty locally produced food, they perceived self‐produced, self‐processed items, including those they have gathered, hunted and fished themselves, as the most authentic local food. Furthermore, local food is associated with craftsmanship and artisan production. We also found that interviewees tended to historicize their relationship to food through local production. Thus, consumers seem to be in search of ‘real’ or ‘true’ food that is embedded in their personal and shared social histories.     

Evaluating the urban consumer with regard to sourcing local food: a Heart of England study

This paper critically explores consumer perceptions and trends regarding purchasing locally produced food. Until recently, much of the research in this area largely focused on regional consumers where rural consumers had reasonable access to locally produced food and were usually in close proximity to the producers within, or close to, their immediate community. Here, the objectives of the primary research focused instead on urban attitudes and perceptions of local food within the Greater Birmingham conurbation in the West Midlands region of the UK. Birmingham is by far the most highly populated urban area of the region, and with ample opportunities to promote local food. Consumers, based mainly in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, were questioned on their locally produced food‐buying habits and attitudes in order to determine any differences in urban perceptions and buying attitudes compared with rural counterparts, and also to identify any new and potential opportunities for local food producers. Originally, 1000 questionnaires were obtained from across Greater Birmingham and Wolverhampton. However, for the purposes of this paper, it was decided to focus on two urban city centres – Birmingham and Wolverhampton, with 148 questionnaires. The results indicate that urban consumers are generally confused about what the term ‘local’ food means. The reasons for purchasing local food, while generally consistent with national patterns, differed in that supporting the local producers was not regarded as important. Barriers to purchase were largely unsurprising for an urban area, as the top choices were ‘too expensive’ followed by ‘not readily available’ and ‘no time to find it’. Understanding, information, availability and access to local food emerge as the biggest challenges to urban consumers in buying local food.     

Self‐reporting vs. observation: some cautionary examples from parent/child food shopping behaviour

Most studies on decision‐making in relation to consumption are based on self‐reported behaviour. This approach assumes that consumers can account for their decision‐making processes. However, several studies show that consumers are not always aware of what happens when they purchase goods because of the role of habit and routines, or a lack of willingness to account accurately for their purchases. A clear example of this is family decision‐making about food shopping. It is well documented that parents know that their children influence what they buy in supermarkets but it is also found that parents and children do not agree on just how much influence children have. Thus, a gap exists in the knowledge about what is actually happening in this grey zone of grocery shopping which seemingly cannot be solved through retrospective data collection. Family shopping is neither a completely rational nor conscious process, which makes the use of self‐reported behaviour problematic. This study discusses the limits of survey and interview approaches to parents' and children's shopping decisions in comparison with observations. An observational study of parent/child supermarket shopping in Denmark is used to exemplify the strengths of observation. Findings show that both parents and children are juggling a number of roles and apply a range of negotiation strategies which can explain why it is hard to account for who decided what afterwards. The article concludes that mapping certain types of consumer actions calls for other methods than self‐reported behaviour.     

To Choose (Not) to Eat Healthy: Social Norms,Self‐affirmation,and Food Choice

With the rise of obesity in America, especially within the African‐American community, it is essential to identify strategies to encourage healthier food choices. Limited research has examined what, apart from socioeconomic indicators and targeted marketing, affects African Americans’ food choice. The current research explores how a self‐focus or racial group‐focus, in the absence of explicit eating‐norm primes, social influence, and identity threats, affects food choices and this varies by race. A group‐focus leads African Americans (Caucasians) to demonstrate unhealthy (healthy) food choices. On the contrary, a self‐focus leads African Americans to demonstrate healthier preferences while there is no change in Caucasians’ food preferences. Additionally, the current research shows how self‐affirmation, in the absence of threat, can be an effective mechanism for behavior change, for both African Americans and Caucasians. Affirming valued self‐attributes, after a group‐focus, leads to healthier food choices for individuals of both races. These findings are important as they may help identify ways to increase healthier nutrition choices in general and specifically for African Americans. Potential marketing strategies are discussed.     

What organic and Fair Trade labels do not tell us: towards a place‐based understanding of certification

Certified organic and Fair Trade food products are making their way into the mainstream among Western consumers and, as such, are increasingly viewed as sustainable and preferable alternatives to the conventional food system, with its many negative social and environmental externalities. Two case studies discussed in this paper indicate, however, that operationalizing the goals for organic and Fair Trade food via certification can be a complex and difficult process. Specifically, the implementation of certification creates a disconnect between expectations raised by labels and the ‘lived experience’ of small farmers. In the case of small farmers in Mexico growing certified organic tomatoes and herbs, certification exacerbated socio‐economic inequality and disrupted local social norms by creating a hyperfocus on surveillance. In the case of small farmers in the Dominican Republic growing Fair Trade bananas, the certification process prioritized the demands of the market to such a degree that the farmers were largely unaware that they were participating in anything ‘alternative’, and it simultaneously reinforced socio‐economic inequalities within the communities. These findings suggest that if the appeal of certified labels rests on the integrity of what the label represents to consumers, then such consumer movements would benefit from a more robust analysis of how certification intersects with and affects local spaces, cultures and communities at the point of production.     

Developing Countries in the WTO System: Applying Robert Hudec's Analysis to the Doha Round

In his 1987 Developing Countries in the GATT System, Robert Hudec concluded that the identity of developing countries in the GATT system was primarily a matter of their demanding non‐reciprocal and preferential treatment, developed countries responding grudgingly to those demands and that this situation had been unfruitful either to support developing country reforms or to discipline developed country restrictions aimed at developing countries. Hudec was pessimistic about the relationship becoming more productive, but his expression of despair offered a glimmer of hope: ‘There are those who believe that the GATT has become so committed to the current policy that the only way to change it would be to start a new organization’. A new organisation was started, the World Trade Organization, but has the WTO achieved what Hudec hoped a new organisation might? At the 1987–95 Uruguay Round, developing country leaders acted as Hudec had hoped. They used international rules and bindings as leverage to support their own internally‐driven reforms; to overcome generations of accumulated protection, to lock in reforms against the backsliding that had undone previous reforms. Dealing with the Uruguay Round's ‘unbalanced outcome’ and the overlapping ‘implementation problem’ have shaped the Doha Round, but the negotiations have misconceived and mismanaged both issues. Rather than seeking to identify their real economics, the negotiations have gone back to the traditional idea of special and differential treatment. Perhaps the largest cost of this mismanagement is that in many developing countries the unilateral momentum for liberalisation has waned. To the extent that the Doha negotiations have drawn attention away from the domestic issues that were the basis of developing country liberalisation – and enhanced the status of negotiators relative to the leaders who fought at home for reform – they have contributed to that waning.     

Assessing the Performance of ‘Inflation Targeting Lite’ Countries

This paper deals with what is referred to in the literature as the ‘Inflation Targeting Lite’ (ITL) countries. These are a category of emerging countries, whose main characteristics are that they are least developed and small economies that pursue IT. They use inflation targeting to define their monetary policy framework, but for a number of reasons they are not in a position to put top priority to IT in relation to other objectives. This paper deals with a set of ITL countries for which consistent data could be gathered, and for which a date for setting inflation targeting could be discerned. The object of the paper is to study the impact of IT on actual inflation and inflation expectations. We utilise intervention analysis to time series on inflation for a number of ITL countries, which have actually implemented IT. In doing so our main concern is to assess whether, due to the IT intervention, there has been a significant change in the trend corresponding to these series and the extent to which inflation rates have actually been ‘locked‐in’ at low levels after the implementation of IT. Two major results emerge. The first is that ITL countries have been successful in ‘locking‐in’ inflation rates. The second is that non‐IT countries have also been successful in terms of the ‘lock‐in’ effect. Our overall conclusion, then, is that other factors in addition to IT underpin the apparent success of the control of inflation.