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This paper aims to document the economic importance of the housing sector, as measured by its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), which is not fully recognized. In response to the joint economic and health crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an opportunity for emerging market countries to develop and implement inclusive housing strategies that stimulate the economy and improve community health outcomes. However, so far housing does not feature prominently in the recovery plans of many emerging market countries.

This paper uses national account data and informal housing estimates for 11 emerging market economies to estimate the contribution of housing investments and housing services to the GDP of these countries.

This paper finds that the combined contribution of housing investments and housing services represents between 6.9% and 18.5% of GDP, averaging 13.1% in the countries with information about both. This puts the housing sector roughly on par with other key sectors such as manufacturing. In addition, if the informal housing sector is undercounted in the official national account figures used in this analysis by 50% or 100%, for example, then the true averages of housing investments and housing services’ contribution to GDP would increase to 14.3% or 16.1% of GDP, respectively.

Further efforts to improve data collection about housing investments and consumption, particularly imputed rent for owner occupiers and informal activity require national government to conduct regular household and housing surveys. Researcher can help make these surveys more robust and leverage new data sources such as scraped housing price and rent data to complement traditional surveys. Better data are needed in order to capture housing contribution to the economy.

The size of the housing sector and its impact in terms of employment and community resilience indicate the potential of inclusive housing investments to both serve short-term economic stimulus and increase long-term community resilience.

The role of housing in the economy is often limited to housing investment, despite the importance of housing services and well-documented methodologies to include them. This analysis highlights the importance of housing to the economy of emerging market countries (in addition to all the non-GDP related impact of housing on welfare) and indicate data limitation that need to be addressed to further strengthen the case for focusing on housing as part of economic recovery plans.

J.M. Kusel and attendant acolytes must at the time of writing (early July) be earning their civil service keep shuffling the variegated bumph they're getting in response to Little Richard's Green Paper. And discovering that in the matter of the financing our public libraries there are more than “four subjects for debate”.

Environmental sustainability has taken on increased importance in recent years with property companies. The purpose of this paper is to assess the strategies used by listed property trusts (LPTs) in Australia in delivering excellence and international best practice in environmental sustainability for commercial property.

Using content analysis, the annual reports, corporate responsibility and sustainability reports, and carbon disclosure reports for all LPTs in Australia are assessed. These public domain documents are used to identify the corporate strategies used by LPTs for implementing international best practice in environmental sustainability for the LPT commercial property portfolios.

The paper finds that Australian LPTs are seen to be strategically implementing a wide range of procedures regarding environmental sustainability. These contributions represent international best practice in environmental sustainability procedures, and include strategies at the corporate, portfolio and individual commercial property levels. These results confirm the strong leadership role of Australian LPTs in implementing international best practice in environmental sustainability in commercial property.

Previous research into sustainable commercial property has largely focused on the valuation implications with sustainability and the various sustainability rating tools. This paper rigorously assesses the strategic issues concerning implementing international best practice in environmentally sustainable commercial property; particularly highlighting the strong leadership role of LPTs in Australia in implementing these international best practices. Given the increasing significance of environmental sustainability and commercial property, this research enables more informed and practical investment decision making by property companies regarding the implementation of environmental sustainability procedures for their commercial property portfolios which are seen to be international best practice.

The term “medical” will be interpreted broadly to include both basic and clinical sciences, related health fields, and some “medical” elements of biology and chemistry. A reference book is here defined as any book that is likely to be consulted for factual information more frequently than it will be picked up and read through in sequential order. Medical reference books have a place in public, school, college, and other non‐medical libraries as well as in the wide variety of medical libraries. All of these libraries will be considered in this column. A basic starting collection of medical material for a public library is outlined and described in an article by William and Virginia Beatty that appeared in the May, 1974, issue of American Libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to prompt critical reflection on the relationship between international business (IB) and climate change by reference to an example at the margins of IB. The author reflects on personal experience of attending the Australian Grand Prix. Being heavily involved, with others, in research into the social, environmental and economic impacts of climate change in Australia and across Asia Pacific he has reason to be personally reflective on the environmental impacts of Formula 1 and other forms of motor sport. These impacts are both direct, in relation to the racing cars' energy consumption and emissions, and indirect, with regard to spectator, sponsor and support show contributions to carbon emissions.

The study is based on personal reflection on experienced events, critical consideration of the discourse of Formula 1 emanating from the organizations involved and associated with it, and consideration of criticism of motor sport as anathema.

Reflecting on the nature and impact of Formula 1 racing and its associated events, and on different possible responses to its negative impact on climate and environment, the paper considers internal initiatives to change the nature of its resource consumption. However, the paper also sees that these changes may be largely symbolic within a global business framework in which such moves represent mere “tinkering at the edges” of a major problem to which there is no real solution under current and foreseeable socio‐economic conditions.

In considering various options for “greening” Formula 1, including current projects to reduce its resource inputs and emissions outputs to the extreme of banning it – and similar activities – outright, the paper ponders the (im)possibility of “greening” any organization that is embedded in resource consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the work of the JISC‐funded RepoMMan project, which is developing a tool that will allow users to interact with a Fedora‐based institutional repository. The tool facilitates user interaction with the repository whilst developing content, using a browser interface, and will bring partial automation to the process of assigning metadata to objects, as they are made accessible to a wider audience.

The development of the RepoMMan tool is user‐needs‐driven and the project team has conducted face‐to‐face interviews and an online survey with potential research users. The findings from these parallel approaches have provided an insight into the needs of this group. Similar work will be undertaken with potential users in the teaching and learning community, and in administration. The RepoMMan tool utilises BPEL to orchestrate a range of web services.

Potential user needs are many and varied. The RepoMMan tool will be the basis for flexible user interaction with a repository during the development of materials; the web‐service approach also allows for the development of a range of ways to access repository objects appropriate to the needs of the content.

The results in this paper highlighted the potential value of a repository for general day‐to‐day purposes: the RepoMMan workflow tool is being designed to adapt to these purposes as required.

LIBRARIANS in Britain stand at the threshold of great possibilities. Having passed through the ages of the ecclesiastical library, the rich collector's private library, the academic institutional library, and the rate‐supported public library—all general libraries —they have reached the age of the special library. The next will be that of the co‐ordinated, co‐operative library service.

The character, growth and demand for football information services in England and Wales is examined. Questionnaires were sent to football clubs and supporters to investigate the quantity, quality and types of information services available, and whether the demand for football information is being met. It was found that there is more football information available than previously, through a wider range of services, and that demand for club information is growing. However, supporters feel the information is often of poor quality. The growth in football information services is attributed to the appeal of the game to non‐traditional supporters and the use of information services to market clubs as global “brands”. Democratic supporters movements have had a major influence on the development of football information services. The Internet is set to have a big impact.

The authors share the observations of a combined 70 years of consultation with organizations, and input from tens of thousands of worldwide employees, to explore conventional barriers encountered in the work environment and how to “break‐out‐of‐the‐box” to find more creative solutions to organizational problems.

Narrative based on over 70 years of consultation with organizations on a wide variety of related managerial subjects.

Certain behaviors must precede any attempts to create a fulfilling, stimulating, and freedom‐to‐think, creative work environment. Formulation and fulfillment of a psychological contract, especially on the part of the organization's leaders – but also including employees – seems to be an effective process for the development of an open, healthy climate which is encouraging and conducive to the development of creativity. In the larger view of the organization, such freedom which comes from clear understanding and expression of expectations within the company significantly increases its transparency. With increased clarity of understanding of the work environment and supportive leadership, employees will go beyond the job minimums and offer creative, “out‐of‐the‐box” contributions.

A creative new look at an old but very critical subject.