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The 11th September terrorist attacks on America continue to affect the corporate real estate industry, and this paper is intended to address a number of those ongoing effects. It first discusses property insurance coverage in general and then proceeds to analyse whether damage from acts of terrorism is covered under pre‐11th September and post‐11th September property insurance polices. It also addresses the current status of proposed US Government intervention as a terrorism insurance backstop. It then describes the strategies which certain clients located within the areas directly affected by the terrorist attacks implemented in order to be able to gain immediate access to alternative space. Finally it examines selected lease clauses to which landlords and tenants should pay closer attention in light of the terrorist attacks, including operating expense provisions, force majeure provisions, waiver of subrogation provisions, use prohibitions and alteration provisions.

It is tempting to begin the process of reorganisation by taking a blank sheet of paper and rearranging squares and lines. That should, however, be the last step of the process. Redesigning an organisation involves not only thinking about the same things in a different way, but also thinking about issues that have never been considered before. Reorganisation should be viewed as a deep operational innovation that results in far more than an incremental performance improvement. Much of conventional organisational thinking in corporate real estate is inwardly focused. This paper, the first of a three‐part series, suggests beginning with a higher, broader and more comprehensive view of the forces of change and a company’s external environment. It concludes with a review of organisational structures and suggestions for ways to approach an organisational redesign of a CRE department.

The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of the principal provisions of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (the ‘Act’),1 which became law in the USA on 26th November, 2002, and the practical effects which the Act has had on the state of terrorism insurance coverage as it had evolved between 11th September, 2001 and the passage of the Act. The Act voids some of the exclusions which had made their way into insurance policies (particularly post‐9/11) relating to losses from certain ‘acts of terrorism’ (as defined by the Act) and requires insurers meeting certain criteria to ‘make available’ terrorism insurance coverage to their insureds. The Act also establishes a temporary federal reinsurance programme which provides a system of shared public and private compensation for insured losses resulting from certain certified acts of terrorism. From the standpoint of the average insured, however, the practical impact of the Act has been far less dramatic than may appear on the face of it. As The Department of the Treasury explained in its Final Rule,2 one of the main purposes of the Act was to address market disruptions that resulted in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the USA and to ensure the availability and affordability of property and casualty insurance for certain risks associated with acts of terrorism. In addition, the Act was designed to provide a transitional period for the private insurance markets to stabilise, thereby allowing insurance companies to resume pricing terrorism insurance coverage. The Act also sought to build capacity in the insurance industry to absorb any future losses, while preserving insurance regulation and consumer protections in the individual states.

The corporate real estate professional has developed in step (though some would say a step behind) changes in the economies of the world and, more importantly, business drivers over the last 150 years. As the world’s economies have moved from an agrarian base through the industrial age, and into the information age, business has finally reached the globalisation that has been predicted for decades. Today’s corporate real estate (CRE) function bears little resemblance to the days when the only issue was on which side of the river to build the new mill. CRE function has evolved in two ways: the way it is organised, and the function it performs. The CRE role has become much more sophisticated, as well as the measurements of success. It has had to do both of these things to keep pace with ever‐changing business drivers. There is, though, significant debate on what exactly the optimal CRE organisation should look like and how it should relate to the business. Before discussing the future direction of CRE, it is important to review the context of its history, where it has been in the past, how it has changed and what problems linger.

Fashion retailing has evolved in response to opportunities and market pressures. It has been both reactive and proactive. For example, Palmer, in 2001, analyses what might be called a partnership between Canadian department stores and European couture houses in the 1950s. Her work affords a rare overview of retailing's fit with fashion design and commercial delivery systems, and is a point of departure for closely examining an earlier period (1880‐1920) in Australia. The current paper studies the leading role that department stores played in shaping the Australian fashion scene and the marketing techniques they used. A context, period and country, where a set of major retailers formed the predominant influence on fashion trends, and styles and diffusion throughout the community have been identified. Findings suggest that for the 1880‐1920 period the department store retailers were market‐driving rather than simply market‐driven, implying a more proactive and innovative role for the department stores.

Clinical audit in general surgery has been characterised by the early use of information technology to assist in the gathering of useful clinical data. Such an approach allows the study of accurate information on workload patterns and complication rates to influence the direction which audit takes and to direct the enthusiasm of the group towards locally relevant factors, modification of which can yield early benefits to patients. Audit of general surgery should cover a broad view of all aspects of the provision of surgical care, because deficiencies in the service affect access to care, the process and outcome of care as well as the need for more effective use of limited resources. The benefits to the patient of clinical audit and its inherent educational value are already apparent.

Describes interactive video (IV) as a training tool which combines the benefits of full motion video image with “interactivity”, the learner controlling progress and selecting options. Discusses its potential applications and presents two specific case scenarios from Tetra Pak (a liquid food packaging machinery company) and Bradford & Bingley (building society). Argues that IV is more effective when integrated with other training methods. Warns against unrealistic expectations of what technology‐based training can achieve; the potential of IV is most likely to be developed through relatively small but genuinely effective applications.