‘Page 6, December 13, 1978 - North Shore News |

deeper. into your: ‘sub-
- conscious mind all the time.

. The. ‘anufacturers of the
a ‘machine claim . there has
been’a_37. percent: drop in
shoplifting and | ‘theft by

The dangerous ‘nature of. much that { goes. into.
modern ‘man’s lungs and stomach, from. exhaust:
fumes to glutamates, gets a lot of attention in the.
media’ nowadays. ‘But what goes into our ears
could, in the end, prove an even greater hazard to
our health -- physical, mental and moral. So let’s
start by saluting North Vancouver City council for

_ heard,
against theft?

- stores .

the tough anti-noise bylaw it has just passed.

The determination shown. plaints |

by the city fathers to: lower

the local. decibel - level
prompted me to check what
other ; authorities - were |
doing, if. anything, about

noise. As quite often hap-—
pens, I found the British:had-
- been’ onto the same problem -
for some time past, with, no
holds barred. .

The Brits” now. officially

designate the. daily. ear-—

battering from traffic,.. in-.

dustry and even discos asa

health hazard, not just a
public nuisance. And they

employ. whole battalions of |

so-called “noise prevention
officers” whose job is: to.
handle sophisticated
monitoring equipment and
advise on noise eli mination.

“The growth of specialist
noise prevention .. officers:
reflects the deep concern.
that is felt over .the-
destructive effects | of-
Britain's rising decibel
level,” a U.K. health |
ministry spokesman said.

_TRANQUILLI ZERS

He quoted. a five-year

’ study of a village in eastern —

England that was besieged
by heavy trucks en route for
a nearby = freeway.. The

. residents took three times as

_ many tranquillizers and four.

times as many sleeping pills
as people in a nearby village
farther from the freeway.

“When a bypass was,
built,” he said, “drug- taking”
dropped by half.”

noise
too.. In south
following com-

Britain's
have teeth,
London

busters

‘residents,

. Streets.

ticketed and | given

from - neighboring
the . local noise
prevention officer ordered a
disco operator to install a

device on his door which

automatically switches off.
‘tthe heavy electronic bass-
music each time a customer _
enters or leaves. The jivers_
must miss quite a few beats ©.

in 1 the course of an evening.

In a Shropshire Village a.

‘cockerel was. clocked at a
modest 10 decibels in a non-
farming area. The owner. was
the

option of . keeping the

cockerel quiet (how?) or

wringing its neck. Other

offenders silenced -- or at

least turned down low -- by

the U.K. noise cops range all _

the way. from a_ braying
donkey at night to army
tanks rumbling through city
And right- now
they're mounting a major

“attack ‘against all forms of

. counterparts,
himself in a
‘business, because peace and

. quiet today are becoming

noisy ‘industry.

‘BOOMING BUSINESS

‘North Van. ‘City’s new.

$26, 000- -a-year
prevention

noise
officer |

and grain elevators than with
cockerels, donkeys “and

army tanks. If he goes after .
them with the same vigor -~ —

and clout -- as his British
he'll find
booming

increasingly precious
commodities. The man who

_ can safeguard them is worth ~

his keep.

However, it’s) not only
loud sounds that we have to

4

will .
“probably. be more concerned
with lawn mowers, buzz saws |

worry about.. From Toronto
comes news of an extremely
soft sound that may pose an
even greater threat to our
mental and moral well-being
than. the disco on
neighboring block.

i’ s been dubbed Rent-A-
Conscience (RAC for.short)

and it’s the brainchild of a
‘company .

‘called '. Audio-
Visual Reinforcement
Techniques Inc. of
Brooklyn, N.Y.

_ RAC isa subliminal device
aimed at ~~ persuading
shoppers. and store” em-
pioyees to abstain from
shoplifting. It

. I won't steal
I'll be caught if I do ...
And I will go to jail.” —

CAN'T BE HEARD

These messages -- mixed >

in with the store’s music
system -- are delivered so

~ quickly and quietly that you

can't consciously hear them.
But make’ no mistake,

they're digging deeper and.

_numerous ~

the -

constantly |
Tepeats four basic messages:
“I’m honest .

employées in’ U.S.
which. have. installed it. The
gadget is already. at work in
“Ontario . and
Quebec stores, and is ex-

pected to be taken up by
- eertain Vancouver retailers

before too long: It leases it

” between $2,700 and $20,000.

‘ayear, according to the size
of:the store and the: extent of
- the ie losses by theft.

. Isn't it a good thing, you |
may ask, to persuade people
‘not to steal?.

designers claim, it does, why
confine its

If the thing works as’ its
subliminal

_ Messages, ‘never consciously’ — Canada. for the same reason.

UNETHICAL

Why not prograin dit” to:
encourage you to buy - more -

in that store? To. persuade ~ ~

you not to shop in n any other
store? .

Or to tell you how to vote :

in an election?

After all, you'd ‘never

. know. what caused you to

make up your mind.

“To their. credit,
tario.
Association and the Retail
Council
condemned. the device’ as
unethical because. of its

_ ability to manipulate people
without)

- Subliminal
. vertising, tried | out briefly in
 the-sixties, is now banned in

their - consent.
television ad-

to. warning you”

“the. On- ©
Psychologists ©

of Canada, have —

But 1984. “drawing
perilously. ‘close ‘and, ‘Audio-
, Visual “Reinforcement
* Techniques’ ‘marketing boys
‘are apparently. getting even
 closer:. to: our. local _mer-
_-shants:. an

What with loud, disturbing |
noises and: soft,’ seductive

- noises, ‘maybe there’s only

“one © completely - effective .
answer today for. those of us
interested in Preserving our

sanity,

" Barplugs._

Christmas
‘Seals

PROUDLY DISPLAYING THEIR WARES at Saturday’ Ss Ans and Crafts Fair at

West Van Recreation Centre were (I to r) Anne Love of West Van with Pam Atwell
_ and Barb Head, both of North Van (Mark Warner photo).

Great Christmas Gift
Ideas for Women!
| Gentlemen:

Don’t be late.

You’ve got a date at Feminella.

Just bring her size
you'll realize

that you were wise
shopping for her
At Feminella

Complimentary Gift wrapping

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