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This paper sets out to understand the impact of the ambient environment on perceived comfort, health, wellbeing and by extension productivity in the workplace.

The research combined an occupant survey considering satisfaction with the ambient environment, health and wellbeing and workplace behaviour with the monitoring of ambient environmental conditions.

The paper demonstrates that the ambient environment can have a significant impact on occupant comfort, health and wellbeing, which in turn has implications for built asset performance. Within the ambient environmental factors considered, a hierarchy may exist with noise being of particular importance. Occupant behaviour within the workplace was also found to be influential.

The research was limited to a single commercial office building, and a wider range of case studies would therefore be of benefit. The research was also limited to the summer months.

The findings show that an active approach to asset management is required, by continuously monitoring internal environment and engaging with occupants. This must carefully consider how ambient environmental factors and workplace behaviour impact upon occupants’ comfort, health and wellbeing to ensure the performance of the built asset is maximised.

This paper demonstrates that both occupiers’ workplace behaviour and ambient environmental conditions can have an impact on occupant comfort, health, wellbeing and productivity. The paper strengthens the case for the active management of the workplace environment through environmental monitoring and behaviour change campaigns supported by corresponding changes to workplace culture.

This paper investigates the relationship of ownership structure and corporate performance of China’s listed property companies. Data from all the listed property companies on China’s stock market from 2000 to 2002 were used to study ownership concentration, type of controlling shares and their relation to corporate performance. The methodology applied is the conventional ordinary least square (OLS) model which is widely used in empirical studies on corporate governance. The study shows that ownership concentration has a positive association with corporate performance. Also that state shareholding is positively related to corporate performance; this is inconsistent with other empirical studies on the ownership structure and corporate performance of China’s listed companies and rflects the industry’s characteristics.

Examines the position of confidence of commercial property lenders as surveyed by the Chesterton Financial/CSW Confidence Barometer. Describes the confidence barometer as being gauged on the response to a number of questions on lenders′ perceptions of the market. Concludes that there has been a dramatic increase in confidence from January 1993 to July 1993.

Provides results of a survey of 53 banks and financial institutions relating to property loans. Notes that the main lending banks have not responded to this survey but have reduced their loans to property companies by £117m in January 1991. Concludes that respondents to the survey have a greater interest in property lending and, therefore, the results are likely to be more positive than current market reality.

Describes a survey carried out by Chesterton Financial and the University of Greenwich when 76 banks and financial institutions responded to a written questionnaire. Summarises the results of questions concerning their property investment and lending practices. Offers several conclusions about investment and lending preferences.

African agri-food systems are undergoing major structural change in response to growing urbanization, rising incomes and shifting patterns of food consumption. The purpose of this paper is to explore four major dimensions of this surprisingly rapid structural shift in African food systems.

This chapter synthesizes the six chapters and in addition discusses future implications for agricultural education and training (AET) in Africa.

AET institutions face multiple pressures as a result of these ongoing changes. High fertility rates have produced a youth bulge that currently strains educational capacity at all levels and places huge pressures accommodating 700 million youth job market entrants over the coming 30 years.

Countries vary considerably in a number of socio-economic and political dimensions making it difficult to completely generalize on each and every issue. Cross-country comparison to the level of determining which country is better than the other in many of the variables is difficult.

Synthesis of key parameters to consider in increasing the relevance of AET institutions in Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the unfolding diet transformation in East and Southern Africa is likely to influence the evolution of employment within its agrifood system (AFS) and between that system and the rest of the economy. To briefly consider implications for education and skill acquisition.

The authors link changing diets to employment structure. The authors then use alternative projections of diet change over 15- and 30-year intervals to develop scenarios on changes in employment structure.

As long as incomes in ESA continue to rise at levels near those of the past decade, the transformation of their economies is likely to advance dramatically. Key features will be: sharp decline in the share of the workforce engaged in farming even as absolute numbers rise modestly, sharp increase in the share engaged in non-farm segments of the AFS, and an even sharper increase in the share engaged outside the AFS. Within the AFS, food preparation away from home is likely to grow most rapidly, followed by food manufacturing, and finally by marketing, transport, and other AFS services. Resource booms in Mozambique and (potentially) Tanzania are the main factor that may change this pattern.

Clarifying policy implications requires renewed research given the rapid changes in Africa over the past 15 years.

This is the first paper to explicitly link changing diets to changing employment within the AFS.

Presents the results of a 1996 survey of the lending practices (for property) of 65 banks and financial institutions. Highlights the salient results in investment, development, location and the future.

Describes a survey carried out by Chesterton Financial in conjunction with the University of Greenwich in December 1993/January 1994, in which 85 banks and financial institutions responded to a written questionnaire. The survey is the fifth in a series, following on from those carried out from 1990 to 1993. In this sample, the UK banks made up 50 per cent with the remainder divided between banks in Europe (26 per cent), Japan (11 per cent), North America (6 per cent), Middle East (5 per cent), Far East, excluding Japan (1 per cent), and others (1 per cent).