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The content of this paper is adapted from two studies of contested takeover bids. These studies, and this paper, are attempts to add to the limited research conducted in the UK into the share price performance of companies involved in mergers and acquisitions. Research directed specifically at defended takeover bids is even more limited and only one piece of research (Holl and Taffler, 1988) to date has addressed this particular topic in the UK.

Individuals with learning disabilities (LD) who offend are more likely to be dependent on alcohol than those who do not. There is strong evidence to suggest that interventions for alcohol problems can be effective; this paper aims to address this issue.

The pre and post assessment scores from an alcohol awareness group (AAG) were collected from 34 service users with LD or a dual diagnosis of LD and mental health problems. The programme was manual led and included 12 sessions. The data collected were used to evaluate the programme.

Clients' level of knowledge and self efficacy increased after programme completion. Post group, those with a lower IQ had gained a greater level of alcohol‐related knowledge compared to those with a higher IQ. Clients with a learning disability alone scored slightly higher than those with a dual diagnosis.

The AAG has been successful in increasing motivation to change drinking behaviour, knowledge of problems related to alcohol, and “safe drinking” practice. These outcomes have been achieved across a wide range of cognitive abilities suggesting that those with an IQ below 60 can also benefit from this type of intervention.

This paper aims to trace the origins, development and future of the consumption experience as a concept in marketing and consumer research.

The author relies on subjective personal introspection to describe his involvement in the introduction and elaboration of the consumption-experience concept.

The author finds that the concept of the consumption experience has extended to many areas of marketing and consumer research, with widespread applicability in the creation of brand-related promotional messages.

The consumption experience is central to our understanding of consumers and deserves full exploration in the work of consumer researchers.

Working with Professor Elizabeth Hirschman, the author played a pioneering role in understanding the consumption experience and is happy to see that their contribution has encouraged others to pursue related themes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of digital amnesia and its influence on the future tourist.

A trend paper based on environmental scanning and speculative future analysis.

The phenomena of digital amnesia are established. The growth of digital platforms and the consumer’s reliance is exponential. The implications for the future tourist in terms of decision making, the influence of marketing messaging and potentially the recall and reimagining of authentic experience will be significant in the future.

Subject to the signals of change, should consumer’s reliance on digital platforms for the storing of information and memories continue to grow this has implications on how tourism businesses engage with their customers, influence and inform their marketing and how destinations would be reimagined based on the recall of their visitors.

The trend of digital amnesia is an established and well-documented phenomenon. The development of the trend to consider the implications for the future tourism industry based a growing dependence on digital platforms is the focus of this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge of the transformative potential of big data on city-based transport models. The central question guiding this paper is: how could big data transform smart city transport operations? In answering this question the authors present initial results from a Markov study. However the authors also suggest caution in the transformation potential of big data and highlight the risks of city and organizational adoption. A theoretical framework is presented together with an associated scenario which guides the development of a Markov model.

A model with several scenarios is developed to explore a theoretical framework focussed on matching the transport demands (of people and freight mobility) with city transport service provision using big data. This model was designed to illustrate how sharing transport load (and capacity) in a smart city can improve efficiencies in meeting demand for city services.

This modelling study is an initial preliminary stage of the investigation in how big data could be used to redefine and enable new operational models. The study provides new understanding about load sharing and optimization in a smart city context. Basically the authors demonstrate how big data could be used to improve transport efficiency and lower externalities in a smart city. Further how improvement could take place by having a car free city environment, autonomous vehicles and shared resource capacity among providers.

The research relied on a Markov model and the numerical solution of its steady state probabilities vector to illustrate the transformation of transport operations management (OM) in the future city context. More in depth analysis and more discrete modelling are clearly needed to assist in the implementation of big data initiatives and facilitate new innovations in OM. The work complements and extends that of Setia and Patel (2013), who theoretically link together information system design to operation absorptive capacity capabilities.

The study implies that transport operations would actually need to be re-organized so as to deal with lowering CO₂ footprint. The logistic aspects could be seen as a move from individual firms optimizing their own transportation supply to a shared collaborative load and resourced system. Such ideas are radical changes driven by, or leading to more decentralized rather than having centralized transport solutions (Caplice, 2013).

The growth of cities and urban areas in the twenty-first century has put more pressure on resources and conditions of urban life. This paper is an initial first step in building theory, knowledge and critical understanding of the social implications being posed by the growth in cities and the role that big data and smart cities could play in developing a resilient and sustainable transport city system.

Despite the importance of OM to big data implementation, for both practitioners and researchers, we have yet to see a systematic analysis of its implementation and its absorptive capacity contribution to building capabilities, at either city system or organizational levels. As such the Markov model makes a preliminary contribution to the literature integrating big data capabilities with OM capabilities and the resulting improvements in system absorptive capacity.

Alison Curtis, Joseph Matthews, Dan Haverkamp, Charles Farley, and James Michael offer their comments on the future of library automation from their perspective as vendors. This forum updates a similar symposium published four years earlier. When read in tandem, the 1985 forum and the 1989 version cover most of the same technologies (CD‐ROM, OPACs, gateways, but not expert systems and FAX) and issues (standards, co‐operation, money) but there is a difference. It is one of emphasis. In 1985 the emphasis seemed to be on the potential of new technologies to solve problems. Today the emphasis is more on the problems to be encountered and conquered if these technologies are to reach their real potential.

Describes a small investigation into cycle safety with Key Stage 1 pupils. The investigation used the draw and write technique to find out what children in years 1 and 2 knew about safety in relation to riding bicycles. Finds that many children were aware of the need to wear a cycle helmet, and that some wrote about the need to wear knee pads, arm bands or special clothes. Suggests that a session such as that described could provide a useful way to work about keeping safe outdoors, road safety, protective clothing or safe behaviour, or as a useful one‐off session before a school holiday.