bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shift to customer-centricity, its challenges and the future of smart supply chains
Authors: Agarwal Nikunj
Published: July 2024

This paper delves into the evolving landscape of the supply chain and logistics industry, emphasising the growing imperative of customer-centricity. It examines key drivers propelling this shift, such as the surge in e-commerce, evolving customer expectations and intensified market competition. Beyond these primary forces, the common denominator facilitating customercentric supply chains is the comprehensive availability of customer data across diverse supply chain functions. Focusing on real-world examples, the paper unveils how businesses are tailoring products and services to foster customer-centric supply chain experiences using sustainable and collaborative supply chains. It also addresses challenges faced by companies while balancing operational efficiency with customer needs. Looking ahead, the paper navigates the trajectory of smart supply chains in an era marked by unprecedented global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts. It outlines strategic drivers such as real-time execution, sustainability, predictive demand forecasting and leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for a smarter, more adaptive supply chain. Readers can expect to glean insights into the multifaceted dimensions of customer-centric supply chains, learning about successful strategies, challenges and the roadmap for future-proofing supply chains in an increasingly dynamic global landscape. This paper offers actionable insights to adapt and innovate in an era where customer-centricity and smart supply chains are pivotal for sustainable success.
What explains the housing boomlet in the city of Philadelphia?
Authors: Mcdonald John F. , Carroll Jeffrey N.
Published: July 2024

Since 2003 a sizeable shift has occurred in the location of new housing units in the Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, which consists of four suburban counties and Philadelphia County (the central city). The percentage of units located in the city of Philadelphia increased from an average of 4.6 per cent per year in the 1990s, to over 20 per cent during 2004–11, and to over 40 per cent starting in 2012. This paper stipulates that demand for new housing in the central city appears to be driven by the large increase in employment in the education and health services and, to a lesser extent, employment in business services. On the supply side, the city of Philadelphia facilitated housing supply in the central city by providing a ten-year abatement of property taxes for new housing and initiated the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI). NTI involved the sale of bonds to finance the demolition of abandoned structures and the assembly of land for development.
Analytical credit dataset, the integrated reporting framework and the banks’ integrated reporting dictionary: Do we overshoot? Or do we undershoot?
Authors: Bier Werner , Israël Jean-Marc , Colangelo Antonio , Bonci Riccardo
Published: July 2024

The demand for more complete, timely and disaggregated information — at an individual institution and even instrument level — became pressing during the financial crisis. As a result, central banking statistics moved towards granular data collection, eg as regards loans (with analytical credit datasets (AnaCredit)) and securities, strengthening policymaking in various respects, from monetary policy to macro-prudential policies supported by in-depth economic research and analyses. Reporting agents also benefit from a higher degree of standardisation, comparability and stability of reporting over time. Significant returns on investment are expected to materialise for both policy-makers and the financial industry through enhancing cross-country comparability and limiting redundancies in the data collection. With the banks’ integrated reporting dictionary (BIRD) and the integrated reporting framework (IReF) the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is acting to gradually automate and optimise reporting from banks parallel to the progressing digitalisation in the financial industry.
Embedding equity in airport operations and practices: A case study
Authors: Doran Jay , Park Tania
Published: July 2024

Government institutions play a key role in advancing equity or perpetuating systemic inequities. As part of a long-standing journey, the Port of Seattle became the first port authority in the US to establish an Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI) in 2019. Since this milestone, the country has navigated not only a pandemic, but also a period of racial reckoning, which accelerated the Port’s commitment and actions. This paper explores why the Port believes addressing equity and anti-racism is mission critical as a public sector institution and how doing so has the potential to have a positive impact on its mandate and outcomes. In addition, the paper explores three areas in which the Port has initiated systematic changes in efforts to embed equity in its operations and practices.
Town centres in Scotland: A new direction under devolution
Authors: Davison Porter Ian
Published: July 2024

Scotland is on the brink of a momentous referendum about its relationships within the United Kingdom and Europe. But in many ways, Scotland has already carved out a distinctive path in terms of town centres, reflecting the different environment, needs, dynamics and solutions available. This brief paper reflects on these differences by considering the work of the Town Centre Regeneration Fund, Architecture and Design Scotland’s award winning exhibition on the High Street, the establishment of Scotland’s Towns Partnership, the National Towns Centre Review that is under way and the success of BIDs under distinctive legislation in Scotland.
Designing an alumni strategy in a complex organisation: A multilevel approach
Authors: Kruydt Marie-Aline
Published: July 2024

Ghent University is one of the largest Belgian universities with a vibrant alumni community. Connecting with that alumni community can be a challenge and is a task in many ways impacted by the balanced centralised/decentralised structure of the university. In this paper, we highlight the different agents, spread throughout the entire university, who jointly create a meaningful alumni policy and develop a strong connection with our alumni. We also touch upon structures and tools for internal collaboration and briefly discuss the results of the renewed alumni policy that was launched two years ago.
Smart, connected and dangerous: Assessing the impact of digital business on real estate
Authors: Karpook David
Published: July 2024

A number of technological developments may soon transform the way the real estate business is conducted. Among these are technology-enabled marketplaces; internet-connected buildings and systems; machines that act as agents for themselves and the business; machines that learn and adapt their behaviour based on input; ownerless, distributed blockchain ledgers that determine when and how transactions can be completed; and smart contracts built on those blockchain ledgers. But this transformational power may raise new questions of data ownership, privacy, liability, ethics and even legality that organisations should consider before moving forward with implementation. A commitment to research, perhaps led by the office of the CIO but including many business stakeholders including legal counsel, careful evaluation of technologies and services, and testing in the form of limited-scope pilots are some of the keys to avoiding many problems.
A human-centred design approach to digital asset management: User experience as a foundation for system-configuration design
Authors: Carner Mindy
Published: July 2024

Human-centred design is not just for web and product designers. The tools and processes they use can be implemented by everyday people to better empathise with their end users, gather critical information and uncover the ‘unknown unknowns’ about system users. This paper describes some of the tools in the designer’s toolkit and how they can be applied to digital asset management configurations. It also includes a case study, which explores how consulting firm Optimity Advisors helped a client develop a customised experience for digital asset management.
Identifying warning signs of operational weakness in hedge funds and exercising rights as an investor
Authors: Korek Julian , Alsbro Ann-Sofie
Published: July 2024

This paper outlines operational risk issues in hedge funds and identifies warning signs that might indicate operational weakness. It draws investors' attention to topics that should be addressed during due diligence processes, as well as during ongoing monitoring after an investment has been made. The paper also discusses investors' limited rights in case of a hedge fund blow-up and the steps that are available to them to increase the possibility of asset recovery.
Data protection officer: Tasks and responsibilities of a key role for the innovation of the relationship between data and data subjects’ rights
Authors: La Muscatella Donato
Published: July 2024

This paper discusses the European legal framework, the guidelines, the Italian context and the essential issues, including whether the data protection officer (DPO) is a strategic role or an operational role. The paper also asks, Should the DPO be an internal function or an external professional, and what does expert knowledge of data protection law and practices mean? What is the sufficient time for a DPO to fulfil their tasks, and what does it mean to be easily accessible from each establishment?
External factors and their impact on non-aeronautical revenue
Authors: Martel François
Published: July 2024

In recent years, non-aeronautical revenue has played an increasing role in airports’ total revenue. To predict the impact that external factors may have on airport revenue, it is essential to understand how non-aeronautical revenue is generated. To help the reader understand these mechanics, this paper examines the main factors underlying the generation of non-aeronautical revenue at airports. Two significant external factors — the current credit crisis and worldwide economic recession, and the recent fluctuations in the price of oil — are then analysed with respect to their potential impact on airlines, passenger volumes and the generation of non-aeronautical revenue for airports. The paper concludes that these external factors do affect airports’ non-aeronautical revenue and that, to a certain extent, airports can take action to mitigate this impact.
Implementing ethical culture across the Australian financial landscape
Authors: Brandweiner Richard , Morey Susan
Published: July 2024

This paper invites readers to think about: ●● the worsening issue of cultural integrity and why it has become a concern for the financial services industry, specifically in Australia and at a broader global level; ●● the purpose of the financial services industry, the importance of factors such as trust and reputation that are associated with culture based in high standards of integrity and professionalism versus short term market gains; ●● the concept of stewardship of other people’s money and the dilemmas and conflicts for industry behind that concept of stewardship, the relevance of stewardship to industry’s moral compass and the relevance of culture in being good stewards; ●● identifying what culture is, why it matters and why the community deserves an industry with strong cultural integrity to be stewards of their money; ●● the role of professionalism in culture, how the foundations of culture are built and sustained through the core components of professionalism: competency, compliance and ethics; and ●● the benefits to industry that adopts and sustains such a culture. This paper aims to build awareness and knowledge of culture and the vital role it plays in the long-term sustainability of the financial services industry.
The Aspire Zone in Doha: A post-occupancy evaluation of the long-term legacies of the 2006 Asian Games
Authors: Azzali Simona
Published: July 2024

The rapid diffusion of themed-sport areas as legacies of mega-sporting events is a phenomenon gaining growing attention worldwide. An example of this is offered by the city of Doha. On the occasion of the 2006 Asian Games, the capital of Qatar faced some important urban transformations. The main legacy left after staging the event is the implementation of the Aspire Zone, Doha’s Sports City. Is this legacy beneficial in the long-term? What value is added to the city and its inhabitants? Moreover, what is the role of sports events in urban regeneration and their link with urban renewal processes? This study attempts to provide insight into the potential offered by themed-sport areas as legacies of mega-events. It aims to evaluate the rationale for the realisation of sports-dedicated zones, analysing their impact from a physical and social perspective. Specifically, the research offers an investigation into the long-term effect of the Aspire Zone, Doha Sports City, by conducting a post-occupancy evaluation. Conclusions show that there is potential to realise sports-oriented areas that are fully integrated into cities, but the design of a comprehensive and long-term plan is needed. Moreover, providing a sports city with a variety of different activities and functions will contribute to attracting different types of users and will avoid occasional use.
Inclusive entrepreneurship in downtowns and urban districts
Authors: Lin Cathy , Roler Brett , Beerbower Val , Boone Bobby
Published: July 2024

Small businesses are not only critical drivers of the local economy, particularly in downtowns and urban districts, but also the creators of wealth and opportunity for small business owners. Entrepreneurs from underrepresented or marginalised groups, however, face a lack of resources and limitations on the networks they need to thrive. Supporting entrepreneurs in these communities is a role that urban place management organisations (UPMOs) can step into to develop the local economy and create vibrancy and a unique identity for their district. Many of these businesses are typically street-level storefronts. Successful UPMOs have a unique skill set to link together public and private stakeholders, and in entrepreneurship can play a direct role in giving grants and identifying storefront space, providing wraparound services and developing programmes for business retention and sustainability. This paper describes multiple ways that UPMOs can support inclusive entrepreneurship. Ultimately, providing opportunities for a greater portion of the population benefits everyone and supports a culturally vibrant downtown for everyone.
Blockchain and the securities industry: Towards a new ecosystem
Authors: Meijer Carlo R. W. De
Published: July 2024

Blockchain — also referred to as distributed ledger — is currently one of the most discussed topics in the financial world. It has attracted a lot of interest from banks, exchanges and other players in the securities industry. They are increasingly taking this technology seriously and realising its potential to cause disruption to existing transaction processing. This may bring various benefits in terms of settlement and transaction speed, operational efficiency, transparency and cost reduction. However, a topic that is still under-exposed in the discussion around blockchain is what the future post-trade market infrastructure will look like, as well as the roles of the various players in the securities industry in a blockchain environment.
Implications of the African Union Special Declaration on Illicit Financial Flows for financial services infrastructure in Africa
Authors: Goredema Charles
Published: July 2024

Regardless of whether they are part of the formal system or not, all sectors that provide financial services are obliged to take preventive measures to avoid being used to conceal or promote criminality. This is the outcome of sustained pressure emanating from initiatives to curb money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In the last few years, various international bodies, such as the African Union (AU), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN) have begun to take the need to reduce illicit financial flows seriously. This has led to statements, of which the AU Declaration on Illicit Financial Flows (2015) is among the more recent, directed at governments and financial institutions. This paper discusses the implications of the AU Declaration on policy making by AU member states and institutional reform by all sectors within the financial infrastructure in Africa. It briefly surveys the record of formal financial institutions in preventing collusion in questionable transactions that could support illicit transfers, and finds that their record is generally not impressive. More will be required, in terms of redefining relationships with core customers, conducting due diligence, determining the activities to be reported as suspicious and preventing their abuse to perpetuate illicit transfers. The paper explores the contradictions that might impede the transition required by the AU Declaration, and suggests measures that may need to be taken to enforce compliance within the formal and informal financial sectors.
Using neural networks and Monte Carlo techniques in data science: The value of Google DeepMind in general use
Authors: Churchman Richard
Published: July 2024

Google DeepMind recently unveiled AlphaGo, a body of artificial intelligence (AI) work that purportedly beat world champion Go player, Lee See-Do. It is brilliant insofar as it uses Monte Carlo Search in conjunction with AI to work an optimal path through a near infinitesimal number of moves to triumph over its human adversary. At first glance Monte Carlo Search may seem to be the same as Monte Carlo Simulation but it is far more useful for finding a path to a particular classification. In our example, the classification of interest is the likelihood that a customer will convert to an active customer given a high bid on a digital media advertisement, subject to knowing the potential customer’s environment and journey steps thus far. Using neural networks we are able to produce ‘fiercely accurate’ models that can predict the likelihood of conversion, bringing together enormous amounts of customer journey data, enriched with the marketing expertise native to a business. It is not possible with neural networks, out of the box, to understand why or how the output was formulated. While Monte Carlo Simulation can help unlock some explanatory value in neural networks, the techniques showcased by Google DeepMind bring about a new branch of game theory that can alter the manner in which we approach the discipline of data science in response to business problems.
The banking union’s single supervisory mechanism and the securities business
Authors: Wymeersch Eddy
Published: July 2024

The European Union (EU) Commission decision to centralise prudential supervision — the so-called single supervisory mechanism (SSM) — only relate to banks, or technically ‘credit institutions’. Other financial institutions, eg investment firms, investment managers, central clearing counterparties (CCPs) or central securities depositories (CSDs), will not be included, except if they have adopted the legal form of a bank. The paper investigates to what extent prudential supervision will affect the securities side of financial activity, both in integrated banking groups and, indirectly, in non-banking financial entities. It concludes that the outcome will not be very different from the present situation, at least in some member states, where prudential supervisors have been actively paying attention to securities activities to the extent that these may affect the risks at the banks they supervise. The new model in fact follows the path of the previous ‘twin peaks’ models that exist in most EU member states, the UK and the Netherlands being two examples. As is evidenced in these states, there is a strong need for cooperation and coordination between the two lines of supervision. As far as the SSM is concerned, provision for cooperation is made in several EU regulations — the Capital Requirements Directive IV and European Supervisory Authorities regulations — but these may need to be adapted to the new setting.
Practical insights for regional multi-sectoral exercise planning: The Greater Toronto experience
Authors: Cocco Claudia , Hennebury Moira
Published: July 2024

Exercise GTA Unified was a functional, multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional, health-sector focused mass casualty preparedness exercise conducted in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on 28th November, 2019. With over 1,000 unique paper-based and electronic injects and 34 participating agencies, including 22 separate hospital sites, Exercise GTA Unified is likely the largest health-sector focused mass casualty preparedness exercise ever conducted in Canada. The exercise design approach supported a successful, objective-based functional exercise, with elements of marked realism for participants. The exercise offered a unique opportunity to collect data for future analysis and the insights gained will have a transformative impact on interagency engagement and cooperation for emergency response planning. Furthermore, the approach adopted for the exercise is affordable, reproducible, scalable and transferrable to sectors beyond the health system. This paper provides a detailed review of the key planning and design components adopted in the development and implementation of the exercise, as well as practical insights for the design and conduct of multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional functional exercises.
How Under Armour accelerates and sustains omnichannel start-up success with performance management
Authors: Wry Mark , Warren Karen
Published: July 2024

In the last decade, retail and distribution operations have experienced the ever-evolving omnichannel demand of their customers. For many supply chain organisations, solutions for the omnichannel shift were implemented in existing warehouse space. By taking to the oars, the marketplace has been able to meet their customers’ omnichannel demand, but for how long? In many cases, operations have been retrofit beyond reasonable efficiency and without room for scale. Under Armour’s Baltimore distribution house experienced the same. The strategy for a distribution house start-up, designed with omnichannel in mind, became the clear path forward. Much like the omnichannel shift, facility start-ups have many unique challenges. As Under Armour prepared to open the doors of the omnichannel distribution house (ODH), a broader start-up strategy emerged. The distribution team elected to implement a holistic performance management programme, including leadership training, process improvements, engineered labour standards and labour management software tools. Performance management, while not commonly implemented at the beginning of a facility life cycle, would create a continuous improvement culture for the ODH team, establishing resilience to change and motivation to overcome obstacles common with warehouse start-ups. In this paper, we will share how Under Armour utilised this performance management strategy to overcome human and operational start-up challenges and accelerate success in their ODH.
Socially responsible property investment in urban regeneration/ Priorities and behaviours of institutional investors in practice
Authors: Squires Graham , Moate Jari
Published: July 2024

This study examines the effectiveness of the investment practice known as ‘Socially Responsible Property Investment’ (SRPI) in the arena of urban regeneration in the UK. Funds and developers make special claims for their regeneration schemes, namely, that they deliver enhanced social benefits. This study explores/ what in regeneration practice distinguishes SRPI; the actual priorities and behaviours of investors and developers in the sub-sector; what their resultant regeneration schemes are moving towards; and future implementation suggested via a Social Credit Rating scoring of SRPI regeneration schemes. The paper reveals that SRPI is far from uniform, with a spectrum of investors and developers adopting differing priorities driven by their own investment targets. The study identifies SRPI as playing an exemplary role in urban regeneration, while finding significant barriers to widening its more mainstream application.
Risks and challenges of initial coin offerings
Authors: Tasca Paolo , Vigliotti Maria Grazia , Gong Hui
Published: July 2024

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) enable start-ups to raise investment funds. They are challenging the way companies are financed. To date, hundreds of ICOs have collectively raised around US$4bn. Other several hundred ICOs are currently running, suggesting that this phenomenon will persist in the future. ICOs have received a lot of criticism and are under scrutiny from regulators, such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This paper considers the technical, financial and regulatory risk of ICOs. The paper shows that ICOs can generate higher returns than traditional financial instruments, yet since 2013 a quarter of the projects have gone bankrupt or suffered significant cost overruns.
The potential effect of cultural priming on the effectiveness of cultural value adaptation in Western Europe
Authors: Hornikx Jos , Nijhuis Jolien
Published: July 2024

In international advertising, there has been a long-standing debate about standardisation versus adaptation. A prominent empirical line of research addressing this issue has revealed that adapting advertisements to important cultural values is beneficial for persuasion and ad liking. Strikingly, this effect is absent for Western Europeans. The present study examines if Western Europeans are sensitive to cultural value adaptation in advertising if individualism-collectivism is primed prior to exposure to the ad. An experiment was conducted in which an ad with an individualist or a collectivist value appeal was presented after exposure to irrelevant primes or to primes consisting of images expressing individualism-collectivism. The results were in line with existing studies: no effect of adaptation was found, even after cultural priming. The results were interpreted through the cultural perspective of dynamic constructivism, according to which the European context may explain why Europeans are as positive about incongruent value appeals as congruent appeals. The experiment adds to the body of research indicating that value adaptation in advertising is not beneficial for marketers in the Western European region.
Portfolio performance metrics: The rationale and methodologies
Authors: Gill Tony
Published: July 2024

As strategic changes on the real estate landscape evolve through greater institutional consolidation, securitisation and focus on core business, corporate real estate departments find themselves caught up in the wake of this transformation.One of the more pronounced trends concerns the occupancy status of large organisations. ln particular, there has been a gradual move away from portfolios that consist of owned assets to those that are primarily leased. Such migration in ownership positions also forces corporate real estate departments to reassess how their performance is evaluated. Under the previous construct, rental income from third party tenants provided one of the key benchmarks of how this was measured, but as assets are sold and possibly leased back, what are the indicators that now demonstrate how well a corporate real estate department is performing? This paper discusses the emerging importance of performance metrics that provide logical and repeatable benchmarks that can be used to evaluate, set targets and strategise leased portfolios.
The role of payment systems in reaching the unbanked
Authors: De Sousa Sergio
Published: July 2024

Reaching the unbanked has quickly become a priority on the agenda of many regulators, policy makers and researchers on an international level. As a result more innovative payment services such as mobile and e-payments have emerged as the solution to breaching the barrier between the formal banking sector and the unbanked. Regulators find themselves in the challenging position of promoting financial access while maintaining a secure, effective and efficient payment system. This paper outlines the main barriers which exclude the unbanked from the banking system as well as the current and potential players, together with their roles in reaching the unbanked. Regulators have to monitor and manage all these players as they become part of the national payment system. This paper gives regulators, particularly in developing economies, insights into current and potential scenarios which they may encounter in aiming to include the unbanked.
The role of market infrastructures in OTC derivatives markets
Authors: Benito Jesús
Published: July 2024

Regulators around the globe are trying to improve market infrastructures related to the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets. The recent crisis has proved that financial markets with reliable and transparent post-trading infrastructures are much more resilient than other segments without basic and primary market infrastructures. OTC derivatives markets were the focus of the regulator’s attention, basically due to two main aspects: (1) the bilateral management of risks did not work as expected; (2) a lack of transparency, which is the main characteristic of OTC markets, played a negative role when the financial crisis raised doubts about market participants’ solvency. Regulators around the globe reached an agreement in Pittsburgh in September 2009. They are trying to change the map and are pushing towards more centralised risk management procedures by means of the mandatory use of central counterparties, whenever possible, as well as increasing transparency for OTC derivatives markets by requiring position reporting to trade repositories. This paper discusses some of the key aspects of achieving a real and useful transparency for OTC derivatives markets and the role of existing market infrastructures in supporting the regulator’s efforts to bring more clarity to such an opaque world.
The Danish Renovation Award: Background, concept and experiences
Authors: Axelsen Lars , Meyer Søren , Bjerre Hansen Bo
Published: July 2024

Five or 10 years ago, the trade press and vocational building programmes took little notice of the field of renovation. New construction received almost all the attention in both the trade press and the curricula of vocational training programmes. To help rectify this situation, GI worked to set up a prize known as the Danish Renovation Award (RENOVER prisen). It has helped raise awareness of the field of renovation, and the renovation sector has welcomed the award with open arms.
DAM initiative planning: An interview with David Diamond
Authors: Diamond David
Published: July 2024

In this interview, digital asset management (DAM) survivor and author, David Diamond, talks to John Horodyski about the meaning of DAM, its relevance in 2012–13 and why a new book on DAM is a good thing for those working and operating in DAM. Diamond offers a wealth of insight into DAM initiative planning and a guide for those new to DAM and for all to navigate the vendor waters. Diamond’s book is real, it is honest and it is professionally relevant for all those working in the DAM profession; and so is Diamond himself.
The central bank's role in payment system development
Authors: Heikkinen Päivi , Tómasson Guðmundur Kr.
Published: July 2024

Central banks have traditionally acted as real-time gross settlement (RTGS) operators for interbank settlement, as well as overseers of critical financial market infrastructure. The importance of electronic retail payments has grown substantially during the past decade. This has meant a redefinition of critical payment systems and has also brought important retail payment systems under oversight. To promote efficiency, in some cases, central banks have also acted as a catalyst for new payment systems. We argue that digitalisation, financial integration and excess inertia in the market demand a more active role by central banks than the one hitherto adopted. Setting mandatory standards, accreditation of solutions, shared technical infrastructure with retail payment systems and even issuing electronic cash should be considered to ensure that the smooth operation of payment systems continues in future. The scope of this paper is European.
Airport security: Trying to prevent the worst from occurring while protecting from its deadly consequences
Authors: Martin Franck
Published: July 2024

Designing airport facilities and systems, from greenfield or for renovation or extension purposes, requires a perfect knowledge and understanding of airport operations, regulations and business models. It also needs to anticipate operational, technological and regulatory evolutions, to design sustainable facilities and optimise in the long run CAPEX (capital expenditures) and OPEX (operation expenditures) perspectives. Many standards apply in airport engineering, but paradoxically, one sensitive field of airport design and management has been underestimated in the past decades and is now under great focus since the occurrence of recent terrorist attacks, that is the building’s passive security. In fact, terrorist modus operandi became more and more resolute and aim, through powerful blast and ballistic vectors, at performing maximum devastation. They incidentally produce structural damage to buildings and consequently increase injury and fatality tolls in confined areas such as landside public halls. This reality, that became a permanent and complex parameter of the airport security equation, is now dealt through the ‘security by design’ reflections driven by civil aviation international regulators. This paper gives an overview on the subject and proposes directions for reflection when considering the passive security of buildings and ‘security optimised’ designs as a core element of airport security.
Little Island: Its big journey through legal battles
Authors: Pantitanonta Apicha
Published: July 2024

Little Island, also known as Pier 55, is a futuristic-looking 2.4-acre public park with performance venues out to the Hudson River in New York City. The project is primarily funded by the media mogul Barry Diller through the Diller–von Furstenberg Family Foundation. The project is part of the Hudson River Park but operates as a tax-exempt non-profit private entity on which the Foundation holds a 20-year lease. During its development process, the project was criticised by many for its controversies; this led to a lawsuit City Club of New York v. Hudson River Park Trust (2015) in the hope of prohibiting the construction of the island. The petition states that the Trust violated the public trust doctrine, State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR), and the park violates the Hudson River Park Act and its accompanying regulations. The Supreme Court of New York State denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding. In 2017, the project faced another lawsuit, City Club of New York v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (2017), concerning the unlawful construction permit issuance. The New York Southern District Court ruled that the Corps violated the Clean Water Act and the Administrative Procedure Act as it failed to consider the environmental impact of the construction in the estuarine sanctuary, but the issues were resolved subsequently. Despite the victory, the project was terminated but revived again with a pledging deal made by the then New York state governor Andrew Cuomo in 2018. The project is now completed and opened to the public in 2021. Little Island epitomises a compelling private-made-public development in New York City during modern times; its challenges and drawbacks from the legal, community and environmental perspective, including the environmental concerns, regulation violations and the fear of capitalisation on public property, are widely applicable to other developments in New York City and beyond.
Case study: Developing and implementing a flood awareness and preparedness programme
Authors: Johnston Linton , Wright Christopher , Mcarthur John
Published: July 2024

A pilot programme has been established in Adelaide to address the level of flood awareness and preparedness among residents within two local council areas. The 11-month programme commenced in December 2006. The aims of the programme are to promote selfreliance among residents and businesses to minimise risk to personal safety and property damage during a flood event. A key aspect of the programme is to target those most at risk, focusing on one-on-one interviews at flood-prone properties. This paper outlines the approach taken in conducting the pilot programme, and reviews the programme outcomes to date. The paper includes a discussion on approaches to extend similar programmes to a wider area. It explores the value of self-help measures in producing resilient communities and some of the costs involved in maintaining effective flood response. It is anticipated that this paper will be of interest to professionals involved in engaging communities in emergency planning and response. The paper emphasises one-on-one meetings as an appropriate and effective tool to promote risk reduction among those in highest risk areas.
Impact of regulatory reforms on the security transaction chain
Authors: Leclercq Sandrine
Published: July 2024

2012 was set as a deadline for the release of many legal pieces of work engaged in at the post-crisis G20 in 2008. These reforms take on an unprecedented dimension because of the number of actors affected and the huge scale of the changes proposed. Despite tremendous commitment and efforts (thousands of pages of new regulations worldwide and additional consultations under progress), a number of initiatives are lagging behind. A series of factors interfering with the global legislative process are revealing unexpected complexity. This paper analyses these factors and questions the challenges and opportunities involved for the industry in the future environment.
Is ESG investing contributing to transitioning to a sustainable economy or to the greatest misallocations of capital and a missed opportunity?
Authors: Antoncic Madelyn
Published: July 2024

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing has become a focus not only of the asset management industry but also among policy makers as a way to mobilise capital for sustainable economic development. While this could be the mechanism through which capital is allocated to companies and technology of the future to help transition to a net-zero sustainable economy and to deliver on the UN SDGs, all of the ‘noise’ around ESG reporting coupled with the ESG ‘investing frenzy’ may more likely end up being the greatest misallocation of capital and a missed opportunity. Asset owners’ strong interest in investing in ‘green’ assets to transition to a net-zero sustainable economy has led to a growing trend of asset managers labelling and rebranding mutual funds and ETFs as ESG and even mainstream funds are advertising employing ‘ESG integration’. At the same time, significant ‘greenwashing’ exits at the company reporting level due to the lack of agreed standards. Moreover, poor correlations across ESG score providers for a given company as well as intentional built-in biases introduced into the scoring and the total lack of any analysis taking into account ecological ceilings, sustainability thresholds and outer boundary limits of natural resources, will all likely lead to material capital allocation distortions. ‘Greenwashing’ at both the asset manager and the corporate level and the resultant misallocation of capital is likely setting the stage for potential risks including significant macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, as well as risks to the financial markets and financial institutions.
Urban redevelopment of a new town: The case of Zoetermeer in the Netherlands
Authors: Hereijgers Ad
Published: July 2024

The success factors contributing to the development of Zoetermeer, a former Dutch new town, into a contemporary city include dedicated public leadership, long-term commitment from social housing providers, private developers, institutional investors, timely and transparent communication with residents and the need to act and outperform the city benchmark. Zoetermeer was designed and built as a new town close to the government centre at The Hague and celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2022. It is now home to more than 125,000 residents. For decades Zoetermeer’s growth took place in the surrounding green fields. Therefore, the existing capacity-building methodology was not fit for the purpose of the ‘brownfield’ urban redevelopment challenge. The city authorities were also reluctant to engage in pro-active real estate stakeholder leadership. Since 2017, however, RITTERWALD pan-European residential strategy consultancy has supported Zoetermeer’s urban redevelopment strategy, including leading the preparation of a 10,000+ homes Urban Development Agreement (Stadsbouwakkoord) which is now being delivered to provide mixed tenure neighbourhoods. This achievement involved educating the municipal administration in the practice of urban redevelopment, including hosting regular masterclasses with high-level public and private sector actors. How a new town grew up and reinvented itself is explored in this paper.
Reinforcement and revitalisation of a professional sports-team brand: Case study evidence from Germany's Football Bundesliga
Authors: Dum Thorsten
Published: July 2024

As a result of an increasing commercialisation and professionalisation at the juncture of sport and business, it is generally believed that ‘being’ a brand is one of the most important assets of a sportsteam. Given the proliferation of high-profile brand management of sports-teams around the world and massive investment opportunities for powerful people, this paper contributes by extending existing research in sports-team branding, with the aim of analysing the stability and change of brand associations with sports-teams and how they are influenced by financially strong individuals. Using an exploratory in-depth case study focusing on Germany's ‘test tube’ club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, this longitudinal research reveals that brand associations with a sports-team tend to be volatile and fluctuate temporarily, although some might prove to be stable, depending on the phase of the club brand's lifecycle. Specific to Hoffenheim, the analysis shows that the club was able to capitalise on quick success and build brand equity, and that the brand could be revitalised after subsequent brand resistance and perceived brand erosion. Targeted both at academics and practitioners in the sports management context, the paper addresses essential theoretical issues in branding generally, which are applied to the sporting context specifically. The work thus represents a useful supplement to the growing body of branding literature.
Aligning experience data to return-to-office investments
Authors: Katsikakis Despina , Berthold Bryan , Taylor Kent
Published: July 2024

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of work was centred around business results driven by productivity and innovation. Today, after more than two years of navigating a new workplace ecosystem of office, remote and third places, we are learning that the future of work is all those things — but at the very centre are the people who have developed new ideas about what work means to them and what they want from their employers. While they want to be productive and innovative, they also want more flexibility, to be inspired, to have better work-life balance and well-being and have closer connections to colleagues and the culture. If given the chance to experience the workplace with a deep culture that fosters human connection and provides the inspiration they crave, they will deliver real results. It is an opportunity for corporate real estate (CRE) leaders to rise and partner with every discipline across their organisations, to integrate people, place and technology offerings that align on improving the employee experience. Aligning capital and operational investments requires replacing conjecture and subjectivity with employee data and insight; to lean in, listen to employees and determine what their workforce and workplace needs are to stay engaged and inspired.
A discussion about the association between space, power and human inhabitancy in an age of new urbanism: Differential claims from Kolkata, India
Authors: Saha Apala
Published: July 2024

First world spaces within third world cities emerge as a consequence of the uncontrolled injection of capital. In this age of new urbanism, cohabitation becomes a concern which demands discussion. Therefore, the basic objective of this research has been to capture the spatial interface of class and inhabitancy, within an understanding of the ‘right to the city’ concept, in the way it exists in the city of Kolkata, India. The argument has been developed by spatially segregating the city in terms of economic cores and peripheries and subsequently cores within cores and peripheries, and peripheries within cores and peripheries. The argument concludes with the understanding that, to those occupying different physical realities of the city, poverty or the lack of it, inhabitation or the lack of it, and rights or the lack of them are everyday existential truths and thus the claims are not directed towards an inter-category shift but are more intra-category in nature, given the categorical realities of each individual citizen (or, rather, ‘city’zen).
On the advent of environmental, social and governance reporting and its intersection with privacy
Authors: Bloemendal Martijn Ten
Published: July 2024

An emerging area of regulation in the form of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting is aimed at long-term sustainability and addressing the challenges of climate change and social inequality. This paper explores how ESG reporting intersects in interesting ways with well-established privacy principles under the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation. The paper analyses these privacy implications in the context of the first formal ESG law of comprehensive scope — the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation — as well as existing global ESG disclosure standards. In particular the ‘S’ of ESG encompasses issues in the employment context relating to gender equality and diversity and inclusion (D&I), thereby implicating sensitive personal data and complicating the collection of such data. In addition, the paper looks towards the question of whether there is, or should be, a ‘P’ of privacy incorporated in ESG and considers the potential development of measurable privacy metrics for this purpose.
Intelligence-led analytics for anti-financial crime compliance
Authors: Bostel Ashley
Published: July 2024

Financial institutions are continually looking for novel ways to improve the effectiveness of their anti-financial crime controls. Increasingly, they are turning to analytics to do this by embedding analytics into their anti-financial crime processes. Historically, analytics was used to gather information and provide summarisation and insights to support assessment and optimisation of financial crime controls, but advanced analytics and machine learning solutions have transformed the way financial crime is detected and investigated. In particular, the use of ‘intelligence-led’ analytics can improve the effectiveness of an institution's anti-financial crime controls by guiding them with additional financial crime intelligence information delivered through analytics solutions.