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Outsourcing is a mechanism which has transformed the delivery of facilities management, logistics, IT and other services to today's corporations. This paper looks at the reasons behind the rise and rise of outsourcing and its applicability to Real Estate services and concludes that much remains to be done, both by customers and suppliers, before the market will work efficiently. In particular, poor processes, inadequate measurement and inappropriate reward structures need to be addressed. However, there have been some successful case studies in Real Estate, and the market is sure to grow. Triggers for outsourcing are discussed, and lessons are drawn from more mature outsourcing markets (IT, logistics etc) that should help those contemplating Real Estate outsourcing to overcome most of the major risks.

Many modern businesses have accommodation needs which vary sharply over time. Corporate real estate (CRE) managers plan for these variations using “common sense” estimates based on average occupation levels, and these estimates are almost always wrong. This study aims to present a method where these businesses can optimise decisions on their mix of short‐ and long‐term space based on previous occupation patterns.

The optimum accommodation mix is derived from Monte Carlo simulation, where previous work patterns are resampled to estimate future needs. The method is extended to look at the effect of rental costs, and looks at how rental decisions are affected by attitudes to risk. Extensions of the method include pricing of real estate derivatives and assessing the probability of making money from renting premises. The method is easily within the grasp of most spreadsheet users, and can be automated using a number of simple, downloadable tools. This method is suitable for organisations with fluctuating workforces, and will be of special interest to project‐based organisations.

Use of “average” occupancy levels to predict the accommodation mix, while intuitive, produces worse results than simulation. While the method is transferable, the analysis must be performed using the company's specific distribution. The mix depends not only on the ratio of short‐ to long‐term rents, but also on the renter's perception of risk.

The method produces provides more accuracy for accommodation planning in all “real world” cases. The technique also provides an opportunity for the CRE manager to engage with the board about the importance of business planning.

The study describes a simulation method widely used outside the real estate industry, and provides simple side‐bars that will help readers to create their own models using Microsoft Excel.

To report on the 20th North American Serials Interest Group held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2005.

Provides a concise review of the conference, whose theme was Roaring into our 20s.

A variety of topics of interest to serialists were covered in the programs through plenary, concurrent and workshop sessions.

This paper is a useful summary of a conference of interest to library and information management professionals.

This paper seeks to describe the Canadian Library Association's 2007 pre‐conference, Collections 2007: Reinvigorating Collection Development and Management.

This paper summarizes the various papers, describing actual collections practices in a variety of library and information center settings that made up the CLA Collections pre‐conference.

The paper finds that collections development activities in academic, public and special libraries are characterized by a diversity of approaches and methods.

This paper provides a brief summary of some of the practical approaches to collections building in a variety of library and information center settings.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of the concept to thinking about Research Data Management (RDM). The concept of “wicked problems” seeks to differentiate very complex, intractable challenges from tamer issues where approaches to problem solving are well-understood.

The paper is based on and co-authored by a collaboration of practitioners from libraries, information technology and research administration, with facilitators from the Sheffield Information School. Participants worked together in two-day-long workshops to understand the wicked problem concept and advice on leadership in wicked problem contexts.

Participants concurred that RDM had many features of a wicked problem and most of Grint’s advice on leadership for wicked problems also resonated. Some elements of the issue were simple; participants were optimistic about improving the situation over time. Participants were resistant to the more negative or fatalistic connotations of the phrase “wicked problem”. Viewing RDM as a wicked problem is an interesting way of looking at it as a challenge for support professionals.

The notion of a wicked problem is a generative concept that can be usefully added to professional vocabulary.

The paper captures an in-depth response from practitioners to the notion of wicked problems as a lens for examining RDM.

The idea of implementing supply chain management (SCM) principles for the construction industry was embraced by construction stakeholders to enhance the sector's performance. The analysis from the literature revealed that the implementation of SCM in the construction industry enhances the industry's value in terms of cost-saving, time savings, material management, risk management and others. The construction supply chain (CSC) can be managed using the pull or push system. This chapter also discusses the origin and proliferation of SCM into the construction industry. The chapter revealed that the concept of SCM has passed through five different eras: the creation era, the use of ERP, globalisation stage, specialisation stage and electronic stage. The findings from the literature revealed that we are presently in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. At this stage, the SCM witnesses the adoption of technologies and principles driven by the 4IR. This chapter also revealed that the practice of SCM in the construction industry is centred around integration, collaboration, communication and the structure of the supply chain (SC). The forms and challenges hindering the adoption of these practices were also discussed extensively in this chapter.