Lexicographer review — Page 21 of 37 S3

The Foundation aims to document the characteristics of age barriers in job recruitment and training and to analyse their causes .

The perspectives of the social partners is also being examined , with particular attention paid to proposals for removing age barriers .

Thirdly , the project documents and assesses initiatives , in both the public and private sectors which combat age barriers , especially for older workers .

Seeking alternatives to early retirement and redundancy , the project is primarily concerned with the retention , reintegration and retraining of older workers .

The gender and ethnic backgrounds of workers and how these relate to age discrimination are examined .

More often than not , ringers think of the church as something stuck on the bottom of the belfry .

When their changes are completed , and after they have worked up a sweat , ringers often skip off to the local pub , leaving worship for others below .

This does not sit well with some clerics .

With membership of the Church of England steadily dwindling , strong-willed vicars are pressing equally strong-willed and often non-religious ringers to attend services .

Two years ago , the Rev. Jeremy Hummerstone , vicar of Great Torrington , Devon , got so fed up with ringers who did n't attend service he sacked the entire band ; the ringers promptly set up a picket line in protest .

Two years ago , the Rev. Jeremy Hummerstone , vicar of Great Torrington , Devon , got so fed up with ringers who did n't attend service he sacked the entire band ; the ringers promptly set up a picket line in protest .

“ They were a self-perpetuating club that treated the tower as sort of a separate premises , “ the Vicar Hummerstone says .

An entirely new band rings today at Great Torrington , several of whom are members of the congregation .

But there still are not enough ringers to ring more than six of the eight bells .

At St. Mary 's Church in Ilminster , Somerset , the bells have fallen silent following a dust-up over church attendance .

An entirely new band rings today at Great Torrington , several of whom are members of the congregation .

But there still are not enough ringers to ring more than six of the eight bells .

At St. Mary 's Church in Ilminster , Somerset , the bells have fallen silent following a dust-up over church attendance .

The vicar , W.D. Jones , refuses to talk about it , saying it would “ reopen the wound . “

But C.J.B. Marshall , vicar of a nearby church , feels the fault is in the stairs from the bell tower that are located next to the altar .

At St. Mary 's Church in Ilminster , Somerset , the bells have fallen silent following a dust-up over church attendance .

The vicar , W.D. Jones , refuses to talk about it , saying it would “ reopen the wound . “

But C.J.B. Marshall , vicar of a nearby church , feels the fault is in the stairs from the bell tower that are located next to the altar .

“ So crunch , crunch , crunch , bang , bang , bang -- here come the ringers from above , making a very obvious exit while the congregation is at prayer , “ he says .

Vicar Marshall admits to mixed feelings about this issue , since he is both a vicar and an active bell-ringer himself .

Vicar Marshall admits to mixed feelings about this issue , since he is both a vicar and an active bell-ringer himself .

“ The sound of bells is a net to draw people into the church , “ he says .

“ I live in hopes that the ringers themselves will be drawn into that fuller life . “

The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers , a sort of parliament of ringing groups , aims to improve relations with vicars , says John C. Baldwin , president .

It hopes to speak to students at theological colleges about the joys of bell ringing and will shortly publish a booklet for every vicar in the country entitled , “ The Bells in Your Care . “

They are not accepted everywhere , however .

The oldest bell-ringing group in the country , the Ancient Society of College Youths , founded in 1637 , remains male-only , a fact that 's particularly galling to women because the group is the sole source of ringers for Britain 's most prestigious churches , St. Paul 's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey .

This being Britain , no woman has filed an equal-opportunity suit , but the extent of the problem surfaced this summer in a series of letters to “ The Ringing World , “ a weekly newspaper for ringers .

One writer , signing his letter as “ Red-blooded , balanced male , “ remarked on the “ frequency of women fainting in peals , “ and suggested that they “ settle back into their traditional role of making tea at meetings . “

In the torrent of replies that followed , one woman ringer from Solihull observed that “ the average male ringer leaves quite a lot to be desired : badly dressed , decorated with acne and a large beer-belly , frequently unwashed and unbearably flatulent in peals . “

Medical scientists are starting to uncover a handful of genes which , if damaged , unleash the chaotic growth of cells that characterizes cancer .

Scientists say the discovery of these genes in recent months is painting a new and startling picture of how cancer develops .

An emerging understanding of the genes is expected to produce an array of new strategies for future cancer treatment and prevention .

That is for the future .

Already , scientists are developing tests based on the newly identified genes that , for the first time , can predict whether an otherwise healthy individual is likely to get cancer .

Bill and Bonnie Quinlan are among the first beneficiaries of the new findings .

The Dedham , Mass. , couple knew even before Bonnie became pregnant in 1987 that any child of theirs had a 50 % chance of being at risk for retinoblastoma , an eye cancer that occurs about once every 20,000 births .

Mr. Quinlan , 30 years old , knew he carried a damaged gene , having lost an eye to the rare tumor when he was only two months old -- after his mother had suffered the same fate when she was a baby .

Because of the isolation of the retinoblastoma tumor-suppressor gene , it became possible last January to find out what threat the Quinlan baby faced .

A test using new “ genetic probes “ showed that little Will Quinlan had not inherited a damaged retinoblastoma supressor gene and , therefore , faced no more risk than other children of developing the rare cancer .