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Information overload is by no means a new concept, but has come to prominence during the last decade. This paper reviews the nature and causes of overload, and considers possible solutions, both organisational and technical, and its relevance to the information professional.

Over the past decade telecommunications media and technology (TMT) has driven a new era that has evolved into the digital age. There is a growing consensus in developed countries that TMT is the most important driver of economic and social development for a society. Its genesis began in the USA and its cultural preference for market‐based development set the framework for national policy and development. Recently the formation of convergence regulators amongst many of the leading nations has begun another episode. This article aims to explore and build upon a research study of the senior executives of six of the leading convergence regulators in Asia and Europe. The article aims to analyse by way of a numeric comparison expert views of the key convergence issues three and five years out.

A generic conceptual model was constructed of the foundation, social and economic dividend issues. By examining the relative progress of nations developments of these issues and their different approaches, new insights are developed into different regulatory approaches.

The concept of proactive regulation with competition (PRC) would appear to have benefits for a number of these nations. It is hoped that these research outcomes and hypotheses will generate further research and analysis amongst the world's leading regulators in order to work through the best regulatory approaches for the current challenges.

The paper presents original research regarding regulatory challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to review the historic development of the requirements for sub-floor (also known as “basementless space” or “crawl space”) moisture management in the USA, UK and New Zealand (NZ) from 1600s to 1969.

The review of 171 documents, including legislation, research papers, books and magazines, identified three time periods where the focus differed: 1849, removal of impure air; 1850–1929, the use of ground cover and thorough ventilation; and 1930–1969, the development of standards.

Published moisture management guidance has been found from 1683, but until the 1920s, it was based on the provision of “adequate” ventilation and, in the UK, the use of impermeable ground cover. Specific ventilation area calculations have been available from 1898 in the UK, 1922 in the USA and 1924 in NZ. These are based on the area of ventilation per unit floor area, area of ventilation per unit length of perimeter wall, or a combination of both. However, it was not until 1937 in the USA, 1944 in NZ and after the period covered by this paper in the UK, that numerical values were enforced in codes. Vents requirements started at 1 in. of vent per square foot of floor area (0.7 per cent but first published in the USA with a misplaced decimal point as 7 per cent). The average vent area was 0.69 per cent in USA for 19 cases, 0.54 per cent in NZ for 7 cases and 0.13 per cent in UK for 3 cases. The lower UK vent area requirements were probably due to the use of ground covers such as asphalt or concrete in 1854, compared with in 1908 in NZ and in 1947 in USA. The use of roll ground cover (e.g. plastic film) was first promoted in 1949 in USA and 1960 in NZ.

Common themes found in the evolution of sub-floor moisture management include a lack of documented research until the 1940s, a lack of climate or site-based requirements and different paths to code requirements in the three countries. Unlike many building code requirements, a lack of sub-floor moisture management seldom leads to catastrophic failure and consequent political pressure for immediate change. From the first published use of performance-based “adequate” ventilation to the first numerical or “deemed to satisfy” solutions, it took 240 years. The lessons from this process may provide guidance on improving modern building codes.

This is the first time such an evaluation has been undertaken for the three countries.

Evaluation in general and performance indicator systems in particular play an increasing role in society. We do not have a long historical set of experiences which helps us understand what exactly happens when, say, performance data for schools are made public on the internet and in news, because the emerging rules of the game in what some observers call the “knowledge society” (Stehr, 1994, 2001) and “reflexive modernization” (Beck, 1997a, 1997b) have inaugurated new relations between evaluation and performance data on the one hand and political, organizational and practical realities on the other.

The old year has gone, leaving its trail of never‐to‐be‐forgotten memories of strife and turbulence, calamity, disaster, and a huge burden of worries for us to face in the New Year. Few if any will not be deeply grateful to see the passing of 1985. Except for the periods of calm there cannot be a year within living memory to equal it in terms of violence, unparalleled in times of “peace”, collosal in terms of soaring social and public expenditure and financial loss, and in disasters in the world beyond the shores of these islands. It would not be an exaggeration to state that the enormous indebtedness which the year has heaped upon the people will never be wiped off, and it has got to be done mainly by those innocent of any misconduct, and their descendants. The unprecedented scale of street and community violence, the looting, thieving and general crime committed behind the screen of it.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Graduate students of the University of New England (U.N.E.) during the period 1970–1984 wrote one hundred dissertations on morale in a wide variety of educational institutions. The Staff Morale Questionnaire (S.M.Q.) developed and progressively refined at U.N.E. was extensively used in these and other studies in Australia. The project's greatest value lay in the way it enabled external (i.e. off‐campus) students to develop their academic critical abilities in a guided research effort, and in the ripple effect which has enabled numerous administrators in Australian schools to gain some sensitisation to and understanding of the importance of organisational morale.

The findings of the Steering Group on Food Freshness in relation to the compulsory date marking of food contained in their Report, reviewed elsewhere in this issue, has brought within measurable distance the Regulations which were, in any case, promised for1975. The Group consider that the extension of voluntary open date marking systems will not be sufficiently rapid (or sufficiently comprehensive) to avoid the need or justify the delay in introducing legislation.