Example sentences of "[noun sg] have [been] a major [noun sg] " in BNC.

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1 In many countries in the early stages of industrialization agriculture has been a major source of foodstuffs , exports and labour , but the degree to which agriculture in Japan contributed capital over a sustained period is unusual .
2 The change has been a major exercise , and while the civil war may not be over in the eyes of the excise collectors , the next issue of Guinness Today will carry the story of the people behind the massive change to End Product Duty .
3 According to their former captain and hooker , Douglas Livingstone , McPherson 's influence both on and off the field has been a major factor in what has been a very successful season .
4 The whole episode has been a major embarrassment for all concerned .
5 The coalmining industry has been a major symbol of the differences between the two main political parties of post-war Great Britain : the Labour party , with its firm commitment — especially in the first decades of the period — to public ownership of the ‘ commanding heights of the economy ’ , and the Conservative party and its much greater ( and increasing from the mid-1970s on ) commitment to free market operations with minimal state interference , let alone ownership .
6 The international competitiveness of British industry has been a major cause of concern for some considerable time .
7 Japanese society has evolved singular features , which must be understood in the context of a very particular historical development , in which a profound sense of uniqueness , separateness and isolation has been a major element .
8 This question of pre-versus postsynaptic plasticity has been a major source of polemic in recent years , but with most theoreticians favouring the postsynaptic side as the main site of plasticity .
9 For those who are capable of learning how to modify diet and insulin dose to suit prevailing circumstances and want to do so , the ability to determine their own blood glucose has been a major step forward , permitting more satisfactory glycaemic control and a more adventurous approach to many activities ( Skyler et al , 1978 ; Sonksen et al , 1978 ; Walford et al , 1978 ) .
10 I know that such congestion has been a major concern among hon. Members .
11 The development of the public enterprise sector has been a major cause of the crisis of state expenditure in Spain .
12 This issue had been a major stumbling block , as any equalization of representation almost inevitably meant a relative reduction in the current number of seats held by the country 's most heavily populated provinces , Ontario and Quebec .
13 This issue had been a major stumbling block , as any equalization of representation almost inevitably meant a relative reduction in the current number of seats held by the country 's most heavily populated provinces , Ontario and Quebec .
14 Strategies to deal with this issue have been a major concern to local organisers .
15 To date , given the inadequate levels of state pension provision and the limited opportunities most women have had to save or invest for old age , their limited access to occupational pension scheme membership has been a major factor in the construction of female poverty in old age .
16 Mr. Simon Hughes As the Minister 's first answer made it clear that a price differential has been a major cause of the substantial increase in sales of unleaded petrol , and as the Secretary of State is on record as saying that the market has a role to play in cutting the use of petrol across the market in the United Kingdom , by what figures does the Department currently estimate that petrol prices will increase over the next few years ?
17 The outcome has been a major advance in thinking about the curriculum in holistic terms , in which curriculum planning is done not just in terms of subjects and their traditional labels , but also in terms of areas of experience , skills and processes as well as knowledge , and personal and affective aspects as well as the cognitive .
18 This Directive has been a major source of conflict between the UK and the European Commission .
19 Tax reform had been a major campaign commitment in 1976 , but four years later very little progress had been made on this matter .
20 THE Restoration and maintenance of the village green and its stream had been a major project for the year , it was noted at the Old Alresford Parish Council 's recent annual general meeting in the Christy Hall .
21 In sum , there are strong grounds for arguing that , together with business organisation and management , the higher civil service has been a major cause of Britain 's comparatively poor economic performance .
22 The agreement which marked the end of the dispute late in 1986 concluded that , since the preparation of teaching materials to support curriculum development had been a major burden on individual teachers , henceforth curriculum development should be supported by exemplars and other teacher materials prepared by secondees and voluntary working groups .
23 Meanwhile he says todays news has been a major setback in his own recovery .
24 From time to time Earth suffers bombardment from meteors and comets , and meteoritic impact has been a major planet-shaper and climate-modeller .
25 While the rationale for the arm 's length approach , as well as the length of the arm , varies widely from organization to organization , the desire to distance important areas of public administration from direct political control has been a major factor in the twentieth-century growth of quasi-government .
26 Learning has been a major topic within academic psychology for the past century or so .
27 Not being covered by state-run health insurance has been a major worry because ‘ sometimes I get very sick and I ca n't find the money to go to the doctor , ’ says Rita .
28 Japan 's superior economic performance has been a major focus of interest , concern or envy , but alongside the contrast in economic performance has gone fascination with Japan 's system of industrial relations .
29 More female science students ( sixteen of the twenty-four ) had attended single-sex schools than any other group in the sample ; it may be that their single-sex schooling had been a major influence in their decision to study science at degree level .
30 Held at the Stadium Youth and Community Centre in the Shankill , the crime-busting project has been a major success to date — with eight out of 11 young people getting jobs .
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