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Before we consider the subject matter of this paper we should briefly remind ourselves as to what investment is! Basically, this involves a sacrifice of something now for the prospect of a future gain. This will inevitably cause the individual or company to give up the purchase of goods or services today in order to achieve greater consumption in the future, despite the uncertainty of the return of the investment made.

Between the first and second world wars there was an expansion of building within Britain, which is personified by the British suburban ‘semi’. With only minor variations in their external appearance they utilised the same internal layout and were the housing equivalent of the model T Ford.

An institutionally acceptable lease is one which will enable the investor to secure the best return from the property leased. This means that the landlord should be without residual liabilities. The obligations of both the landlord and the tenant, particularly the latter, should be certain and precise as to such vital matters as repairs, user, alienation, rental payments, rent reviews, insurance and service charges. The rent review is the device by which the landlord endeavours to protect himself from the ravages of inflation. Hence periodical upward rent reviews are required, usually upon a five yearly basis. Interest should be payable in the case of late rental payments (or delayed rent reviews) at a rate, in our case 4 per cent, over a leading clearing bank's base rate.

Asset management Asset Management is a term which has become ‘common use’ in the financial sector, largely due to the growing body of individuals known as Fund Managers whose job it is to place and move investments to best advantage.

Digital contact tracing technologies are critical to the fight against COVID-19 in many countries including the UK. However, a number of ethical, legal and socio-economic concerns that can affect uptake of the app have been raised. The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions of the UK digital contact tracing app in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community in Leicester and how this can affect its deployment and implementation.

Data was collected through virtual focus groups in Leicester, UK. A total of 28 participants were recruited for the study. All participants are members of the BAME community, and data was thematically analysed with NVivo 11.

A majority of the participants were unwilling to download and use the app owing to legal and ethical concerns. A minority were willing to use the app based on the need to protect public health. There was a general understanding that lack of uptake will negatively affect the fight against COVID-19 in BAME communities and an acknowledgement of the need for the government to rebuild trust through transparency and development of regulatory safeguards to enhance privacy and prevent misuse.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the research makes original contributions being the first robust study conducted to explore perceptions of marginalised communities, particularly BAME which may be adversely impacted by the deployment of the app. By exploring community-based perceptions, this study further contributes to the emerging citizens’ perceptions on digital contact tracing which is crucial to the effectiveness and the development of an efficient, community-specific response to public attitudes towards the app. The findings can also help the development of responsible innovation approaches that balances the competing interests of digital health interventions with the needs and expectations of the BAME community in the UK.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the management of intragroup conflicts occurring in project design teams during pre-contract stages that affect the project deliverables of construction projects implemented in Sri Lanka.

A qualitative approach with a case study research strategy was used in the study. The required empirical data were collected by conducting expert interviews and reviewing the documents used in four selected projects implemented in Sri Lanka. All the projects used traditional separated procurement systems and had re-measurement contracts. Manual content analysis was used to analyze the collected data.

The study findings revealed the different types of intragroup conflicts that arise during the pre-contract stages of projects within project design teams of construction projects implemented in Sri Lanka and the causes and effects of those conflicts on project deliverables. The study recommends proactive strategies that can be adopted to manage those conflicts.

A dearth of literature on the association between the intragroup conflicts that arise during the design stages of construction projects and project deliverables exists. This study bridged this research gap. It is novel because it reveals the impact of intragroup conflicts that occur during the pre-contract stages of construction projects on project deliverables and identifies several proactive strategies that will assist in managing those intragroup conflicts.

An article by Dennis Weeks in a recent issue of Structural Survey highlighted the need for and use of an optic probe to inspect hidden parts of the building fabric.

Opens with a discussion as to whether the ′real thing′ is necessarily better than the ′cheaper alternatives′, and traces the historic rise of alternatives to ′real′ building products. Reviews available substitutes for both slating (i.e. not slate) and tiling (defined as not a tile made from clay). Discusses life expectancy and planning restrictions on substitute products.

The National Health Service estate in England comprises about 50,000 acres of (mainly freehold) land on which stand about 2,000 hospitals and numerous other buildings. The value of the estate for existing use purposes has been estimated at £18bn. The annual running costs for the estate, for heating, light‐ing, maintenance, cleaning etc, amount to more than £1.5bn or about £50 for every square metre of built space. How well is this substan‐tial asset used, and what contribution can improved management of the NHS estate make to the business of health care? By more efficient use of the estate, significant sums of both revenue and capital can be released. More effective use of the estate can improve the quality of care offered to patients. More creative manipulation of the estate can generate income to support health care development.

Surveying buildings is an art. Verifying the cause of the failure is a science. The surveyor's work involves a combination of both the art and the science. The art of the inspection evolves over many years of examining buildings and identifying failures. The appearance of each failure is committed to memory, often subconsciously, and is recalled when similar problems are encountered at a later date. This process is evolved over the working life of the surveyor, and there are few short cuts to this ‘hands‐on’ experience. For generations surveyors were unable to escape from the mystique of the elder brethren of the profession. Fortunately many of the elders passed on their knowledge to young surveyors who had no alternative but to learn their trade within the profession.