On 2009/08/29, at 09:37 , James R. Frysinger wrote:
I presume there was some explicit or implicit imperative, or at
least an expectation, to accomplish the task fully within some short
span of time and across all sectors.
Dear Jim,
To support my earlier contention about the nature of the metric
transition in Australia, I will quote from the introduction of Kevin
Wilks' 1982 report, 'Metrication in Australia':
A REVIEW OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN
AUSTRALIA'S CONVERSION TO THE METRIC SYSTEM
1. INTRODUCTION
Since 1970, Australians have witnessed and participated in a very
remarkable technological and cultural change. This is the transition
from the long-established Imperial System of weights and measures to
the International System (SI), the most recent and most highly
developed of the metric systems.
The only previous experience Australians have had of a change like
this was the adoption, in 1966, of decimal currency.
Unlike decimal currency conversion, which was limited to two units of
currency, the dollar and the cent, and which was effectively completed
in little over 12 months (although a considerable amount of planning
occurred before that period), metric conversion has been an all
pervading exercise which has affected literally every aspect of
Australian life.
It has been an emotional experience for some, arousing sometimes
anger, sometimes admiration and always some fear and trepidation about
how the change might affect personal life.
Despite the potential for disruption to normal life, the change has
been surprisingly trouble free in both private and commercial spheres.
A small band of enthusiastic anti-metricationists gained very little
support, and the vast majority of people adopted a fatalistic and
unruffled attitude to the change. It seems that with patience, most
people have coped very well with it.
The change was largely voluntary and no new legislation, other than
the Metric Conversion Act, was introduced by State or Federal
Governments to enforce metrication. In some cases where compulsion was
necessary, metric units were substituted for imperial units in
existing Acts and Regulations.
It was sometimes asked why the decision to go metric was not reached
by referendum. This would have presupposed that people would have had
a comparable knowledge of both the imperial and the metric systems and
of the impact such a change might have. While metrication has
certainly had a massive cultural impact on people in their lives as
ordinary citizens it is, nevertheless, a predominantly technical
change, affecting commerce, industry, engineering, science and
education. For referendum purposes, relatively few people would have
had sufficient knowledge of both systems to make an informed decision.
The decision to go metric was achieved through an open committee of
inquiry, appointed by the Government, which collected evidence from
any person who felt interested or competent enough to give it.
Although the Board and its committees worked meticulously over 11
years, it was natural that there would remain evidences of imperial
usage and incomplete conversion long after metrication was officially
declared complete. Nevertheless, an irreversible change has occurred
and, as with decimal currency, the logic of the decision to convert
has impressed itself on serious-minded people, and the desire to
return to imperial units has largely disappeared.
The change was remarkable, not merely for what was achieved but also
for the very special way in which it was achieved. With its broadly
based committee structure, decision-making by consensus rather than
majority rule, its support by a skilled professional secretariat, and
with authority and responsibility for conversion vested in the persons
who would be required to carry it out, the project it was a model of
how other national projects might be planned and effected.
This report is a review of metrication policies and procedures from
their inception in 1966 when the need for a decimal system of
measurement was becoming generally appreciated, to 1982, a year after
the Board was disbanded and the project was deemed formally to be
complete.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain
from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected]
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