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The purpose of this paper is to take a cybernetic perspective on the impact of the earthquakes on the Convergence gathering. Convergence is an organisation formed by a network of alternative life-stylers almost 30 years ago in Canterbury, New Zealand. It holds an annual six-day gathering of 300-500 people over the New Year. Convergence evolved an acephalous structure in that there is no ongoing structured leadership. Leadership occurs in distributed, low key, transient and self-selected ways. Convergence has had its challenges and generally proved itself to be resilient.

This paper discusses the concepts of circularity, resilience, system archetypes, requisite variety, appreciative systems, network theory, antifragility, autopoiesis, structural coupling and learning organisations in relation to the Convergence gathering.

The Christchurch earthquakes of late 2010 and 2011 had an enormous impact on the people of Christchurch. While the earthquakes have not had any significant direct effects on Convergence, a significant number of people involved in Convergence suffered major chronic trauma or changes to life circumstances, which has impacted on the organisation. Nearly five years later many participants are still traumatised, while others are energised to develop Convergence as an organisation pioneering an innovative way of operating.

This research is a part of an ongoing PhD research project so results to date are provisional.

It may assist Convergence to understand the dynamics of perturbations.

There is little written on acephalous operation especially in the medium scale range. It is also hoped this research will help other organisations considering an acephalous structure.

In recent years, we have seen a paradox. No matter how much the government strives to incorporate technology into classrooms as a learning resource for students, both national and international reports prove that this is a difficult aim to achieve purpose. Training both preservice and in-service teachers is vitally important for technology to become part of everyday school life. But to achieve this, we must move away from the techno-centric focus of technology. This chapter analyzes the importance of focusing on implementing technologies in the learning activities that teacher-trainers design to prepare preservice teachers. We describe seven types of activities: assimilative, informative management, applicative, communicative, productive, experiential, and evaluation. All of these technology-based learning activities, organized in learning sequences, potentially help teachers to come to terms with technological knowledge in their pedagogical content area.

Those who move among the people with their eyes open will not doubt that the number of non‐smokers is increasing, but mostly among older adults. Sales of cigarettes, despite the ban on advertising and the grim warning printed on packets, do not reflect this however, which can only mean that those who still smoke are the heavy smokers. This is a bad sign; as is the fact that youngsters, including a high percentage of those at school, openly flaunt the habit. The offence of using tobacco or any other smoking mixture or snuff while handling food or in any food room in which there is open food (Reg. 10(e)), remains one of the common causes of prosecutions under the Food Hygiene Regulations; it has not diminished over the years. The commonest offenders are men and especially those in the butchery trade, fishmongers and stall‐holders, but, here again, to those who move around, the habit seems fairely widespread. Parts of cigarettes continue to be a common finding especially in bread and flour confectionery, but also in fresh meat, indicating that an offence has been committed, and only a few of the offenders end up in court. Our purpose in returning to the subject of smoking, however, is not to relate it to food hygiene but to discuss measures of control being suggested by the Government now that advertising bans and printed health warnings have patently failed to achieve their object.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether different types of service firms, experience-based or credence-based, benefit equally from the prescription to increase advertising during recessions.

The research consists of three steps: using the Hodrick–Prescott (HP) filter to extract the cyclical component of the time series, estimating the level of cyclical comovement and estimating the relationship between comovement and stock price.

The results suggest that experience-based service firms benefit financially from adopting the advertising “prescription” that encourages firms to increase advertising during recessions. Credence-based firms, however, experience negative financial returns when they implement the advertising “prescription”.

The limitations are data from US firms and a smaller sample size. The use of the HP filter may be considered a limitation, as other filtering methods may be utilized. The results suggest that academics’ and practitioners’ advertising “prescription” is not a one-size-fits-all strategy for service firms.

Managers must be aware that the type of service their firm provides influences whether increasing or decreasing advertising spending during a recession has a positive or negative impact on financial performance. Credence-based firms, such as those in the banking and insurance industries should avoid increasing advertising spending during recessions, as it may lead to negative financial performance. Experience-based firms, such as those in the entertainment and travel industries, benefit financially from increased advertising during recessions.

This research is first to investigate the differential impact of recessionary advertising on service firms.

Somehow, without loading up on games or owning a sound card, the author has 28 CD‐ROMs at home, with more on the way. How did all these discs get there and what do they say (if anything) about the CD‐ROM marketplace? When are CD‐ROMs marvelous new publishing media, when are they essentially compact diskette replacements, and when are they wastes of good polycarbonate? The author goes through his motley collection, noting some highlights and some messy situations. After all this grumbling, the author adds notes on the personal computing literature for April through September 1994.

This paper aims to address two unique and important questions. First, how do recessions directly affect firms’ marketing spending decisions? Second, and more importantly, do firms which are more committed to marketing spending through past recessions achieve better stock market returns?

This study is based on a combination of National Bureau of Economic Research, COMPUSTAT and Center for Research in Security Prices data on 6,000 firms between 1982 and 2009 which are analyzed using panel data-based regression models.

The authors find that firms cut marketing spending during recessions. However, firms committed to marketing spending during past recessions achieve better stock market returns. The findings are found to be robust across B2B and B2C industries, different periods and US firms which vary on the proportion of their global revenue from non-US sales.

Top executives cut marketing budgets during recessions; however, if they can resist the pressures, and strategically continue to make marketing investments during recessions, they will achieve higher stock market returns.

This is the first paper to establish the longer-term (not short-term) positive stock market performance of continuous (not episodic) marketing spending through past recessions, i.e. the view that marketing spending is necessary (not discretionary) for stock returns.