§ Dr. Hampsonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many first degrees were awarded in the last year for which figures are available compared with the numbers awarded in 1966 and 1970; and in what faculties they were.
§ Dr. BoysonThe information for first degree graduate output in Great Britain is given in the following table. This excludes 5,575 Open University graduates in 1978, many of whom studied subjects in more than one subject group.
awarded in 1966 and 1970; and in what faculties they were.
§ Dr. BoysonThe information for higher degree graduate output in Great Britain is as follows:
Science if he will publish in the Official Report details of any studies undertaken by his Department into the harmful effects 853W of discotheque noise on the hearing of young people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe medical research council supported, between 1974 and 1978, a four-year project, undertaken by the architectural studies department of Leeds polytechnic, on hearing loss in schoolchildren-9–16 years—and students—18–25 years—with particular reference to those exposed to "pop" music. On the basis of serial audiometry, results have shown that more of the attenders at amplified pop music performances than non-attenders have a 5 dB or more hearing loss over a period of about 18 months. No mathematical correlation between hearing loss and frequency of attendance at music functions was found; and it was suggested that those with the higher losses are possibly those most sensitive to hearing damage. In order to discover whether those with the highest rate of hearing loss remain in this category, another three-year project grant is being supported at Leeds polytechnic for further serial audiometry of these children and students. It is expected that this investigation will be completed in 1981.