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This paper surveys developments in Higher Education in the United Kingdom since the publication of the White Paper in December 1992. It considers in particular: (1) the progress made in the reorganisation of the public sector of Higher Education, in particular of the Colleges of Education; (2) the extent to which the pressure of student demand is slackening, with consequent reduction in the rates of growth envisaged in the White Paper; (3) the tendency for women to form a larger proportion of the applicants and of those admitted, both in arts-based and science-based courses; (4) the immediate financial problems faced by universities and other institutions as a consequence of inflation.

The paper applies the technique of the “relaxation” method to the problem of fluid-film lubrication. It is found that a solution to Osborne Reynolds's governing equation can be obtained by this means in all cases of practical importance. The method also renders possible a new treatment of the difficulty presented by the occurrence of divergent films in journal bearings.The problem is shown to be tractable even when viscosity is correctly treated as a function of both temperature and pressure; moreover, as a part of this treatment, means of estimating the temperature distribution over the bearing surface are provided.A numerical example is used to illustrate the modifications in the solution resulting from viscosity variation.