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Following the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the government enacted an Earthquake Support Subsidy (ESS) to assist small businesses. By acting as a temporary pay cheque for employees, this policy was intended to alleviate immediate financial pressure on firms, enabling them to make more measured decisions regarding their future. In the months following the earthquake, this research conducted interviews with 26 owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on policy perceptions and experiences, including what impact, if any, the ESS had on their business operations. Correspondence with key national agencies, as well as local business support organisations, supplemented the interviews. This article frames its findings within the larger themes of SME relationships to the public policy process. It also touches briefly on comparative policy strategies of different national governments regarding post-disaster assistance programmes for SMEs.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to bring awareness to all factors that impact on the cost of an integrated library system (ILS).Design/methodology/approachUsing a total cost of ownership approach, a bigger view of all the factors impacting on cost is explored.FindingsThe paper finds that many libraries focus entirely on direct costs when selecting a new ILS, rather than factoring in staff time and other long‐term costs that will be associated with choosing a system.Originality/valueWhen the direct and indirect costs are considered, systems that have higher initial costs may be cheaper to own through their entire lifespan than other, seemingly cheaper, products.

This article reviews the various e‐book reading experiences, including dedicated reading devices; PDA‐ and PC‐based readers, Web readers, and the related issues of print on demand. Questions of format, emerging standards, and rights management solutions are described in general terms, with an eye toward important areas of divergence. The size and potential of the e‐book market is considered, in light of traditional publisher initiatives, independent e‐publishing and digital distribution. Also, important new mediators deserve attention as they struggle to niche themselves in this emerging industry.

Summary To investigate physiological processes generated by endogenous circadian rhythms on the molecular level, we have identified clock-controlled genes In the long-day plant Sinapis aiba L. A cDNA library was differentially screened using cDNA probes representing transcripts expressed at either the middle of the light period or the middle of the dark period. Two closely related groups of transcripts, Sagrp1 and Sagrp2, controlled by a circadian rhythm have been isolated. RNA blot analysis verified that transcript levels oscillate in plants grown in light/dark cycles with maxima between ‘Zeitgober’ time (zt)8 and zt12 (8–12 h after onset of illumination) and minima around zt20. Steady-state mRNA levels continue to oscillate in plants shifted from light/dark cycles to constant light. No synchronous mRNA oscillations are found in plants grown from seed in constant light at constant temperature, suggesting that the clock has to be entrained initially. In contrast, when plants grown in constant light are exposed to rhythmic temperature shifts oscillations of steady-state Sagrp mRNA levels are induced, indicating that temperature acts as an alternative external stimulus (zeitgeber) other than light to entrain the oscillator. In situ hybridization reveals that both transcript groups are expressed predominantly in meristematic and growing tissue. Strong expression is observed in the leaf primordia of the shoot apex, the procambial strands, cambium and in all cell layers of young leaves around zt12. In contrast, little or no signal is found on tissue sections isolated at zt20. This indicates that the oscillator(s) regulating Sagrp transcript fluctuations operate(s) synchronously in different organs. For both transcript groups cDNAs were isolated corresponding to unspliced pre-mRNAs or to transcripts generated by the use of a second 5′ splice site. The cDNAs corresponding to the fully spliced transcripts contain open reading frames for polypeptides of 16 kDa, each containing a putative N-terminal RNA recognition motif and a C-terminal region rich in glycine. The predicted proteins show strong homology to an ABA-inducible glycine-rich protein from maize embryos and to the mammalian RNA-binding protein A1 of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex involved in pre-mRNA splicing. The SaGRP protein fluctuates with a very low amplitude over light/dark cycles. Immunogold labeling demonstrates the presence of the SaGRP protein within the nucleus of the investigated meristematic cells of young leaves.