Article
Scenario-based identification of key factors for smart cities development policies
This article is devoted to an analysis of the key characteristics of smart cities. It provides insight into the key features of urban development that allow for distinguishing between smart cities and conventional ones as well as taking these features into consideration for improving existing policy instruments for smart cities. The authors used an approach based on the overview of the evolution of the concept of smart city as such and the identification of key factors/drivers of the development of smart cities. The influence of these factors was assessed with respect to their importance across 13 studies aimed at building scenarios for urban development. A set of factors peculiar to the scenarios related to smart cities was applied to an analysis of policy documents determining the development of three cities of differing scales: a megacity (Moscow), a large city (Kazan), and a small city (Winterthur).
Purpose - This paper aims to report the author’s observations and opinions during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2014. Discussions presented focus on recent technological developments and their impacts on society with three plausible future scenarios; the energy agenda with new technological advancements and future energy partnerships; and the dynamics of Russia’s future development agenda amid the Ukraine crisis. Design/methodology/approach - The paper includes a commentary on the SPIEF 2014 Forum. Ideas presented are extended through the review of relevant references and future scenarios. Findings - Technological development will continue to shape societies and may even result with the transformation of social classes. Energy will remain as a top priority area on the global and regional socio-economic agenda, with political implications across the world and in Russia. Research limitations/implications - A number of research questions arose through the discussion on the relationships between science, technology and society; future energy technologies; and geo-politics. Social implications - Technological development will certainly have implications on society. The paper explores those impacts through “visionary”, “negative” and “different” scenarios. Similarly, the transformations in the energy sector will have broader social and environmental impacts. Originality/value - With the original ideas presented, this viewpoint paper addresses some of the grand social, technological, economic, environmental and political challenges that societies face today.
The 6th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, ICEGOV2012, was organized in Albany, New York, United States (US) from the 22nd to the 25th of October 2012, hosted by the Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, State University of New York under the patronage of the United States National Archives and Record Administration. The ICEGOV (International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance) series focuses on the use of technology to transform relationships between government and citizens, businesses, civil society and other arms of government (Electronic Governance).
Developing competitive national shipbuilding industries is a strategic priority for many countries. Shipbuilding has evolved into a high tech industry over the last few decades that is strongly driven by customer needs and wishes. Consequently economic development of the industry is now far more complex than previously. International competition in the shipbuilding industry is very strong in all segments of the industry. The article assesses the future development of the shipbuilding industry globally and evaluates the position and opportunities for Russian shipbuilding. International experience of estimating industries' future development shows that a necessary condition of success is building a vision of the industry's long-term future in the context of social and economic development. One way to create such a long-term vision is through developing scenarios based on factors including wild card events, global challenges, trends, threats, drivers, barriers, and limitations. One of the most effective approaches to enhance competitiveness of the industry is Technology Foresight. The paper presents results of Foresight for civil shipbuilding in Russia on the basis of benchmarking, expert procedures and scenario analysis. It demonstrates how Technology Foresight was adjusted to the special conditions of Russia as an emerging country and how the special features of strategic industries which are in the national interest of countries can be included in Technology Foresight studies. Finally the article derives strategies for policy making to set priorities for revitalizing the industry.
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Workshop on Wireless Access Flexibility, WiFlex 2013, held in Kaliningrad, Russia, in September 2013. The 13 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this volume. The papers describe the latest results and novel research ideas in the field of flexible wireless access architecture design opening the door for innovative solutions significantly improving network performance. The following topics are covered in this volume: 4G and beyond, local area networks, multi-hop networks, sensor networks.
Ancient Rome and Athens were once considered by every indication, great cities! European cities have endured a number of long wars that nearly destroyed them permanently. In the U.S., the City of San Francisco was nearly wiped out by the earthquake of 1906 and in 1871 the City of Chicago was nearly destroyed by fire. In nearly every case, these major cities were able to recover, rebuild, transform, making them stronger and more resilient. Today the so-called “smart cities” movement is based in part on the confluence of new technologies, economic growth, a re-evaluation of quality of life factors, as well as the resurgence of interest in cities across the globe. For example, only recently have we witnessed the trend towards urban growth in American cities. Today the outward migration has reversed itself after decades of residents moving to the suburbs or further out to rural parts of the country. Now, people are returning to our cities, or have decided not to leave as their forefathers had before them. This reinforces the need to re-think and to act differently when it comes to urban planning and maintaining sustainable cities. Even the smartest of cities can not rest on their past success. Smart cities require a constant process of vision, execution, and renewal, which makes it more a journey than a destination. There are many elements that comprise a smart or intelligent city. This book was created to further explore those elements and the pathways towards becoming and maintaining a smart city. This book is a collection of works from thought-leaders across the globe, with authors currently residing in no less than 10 countries including France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Russia, in addition to the United States. The twenty-seven chapters reveal that there is far more in common than not, as each author shares their research and insights, all aimed at helping the reader better understand and appreciate the contemporary smart city movement. As the smart cities movement gains attention, some have been critical - going as far to say that this is only a passing fad or a relabeling of current events. Whether this is a fad or not, one thing is crystal clear, cities are growing and are here to stay. It is an undeniable fact that growing populations place an enormous strain on our cities in terms of transportation, infrastructure, public safety, health, education, and the quality of natural resources such as water and air. Finally there is the issue of energy and sustainability from an environmental perspective. The fall of ancient Rome may not have happened in a day, but its decline and those of other, once great, cities provide both lessons and warnings that are instructive. These lessons remind us that in the end cities are a profound collection of citizens, and without their meaningful engagement we may be left with cities that are no longer smart.
The shipbuilding sector’s multiple contributions to the social and economic development, as well as to science and technology, of major maritime countries mean that the sector attracts strong interest of entrepreneurs, researchers, and government agencies. Meanwhile the diverse forms of inter-industrial interaction, and specific aspects associated with building high-technology vessels require significant investments. Hence that is a significant challenge in a context of increasingly uncertain future demand for innovative products. What will the global shipbuilding industry look like in the next 10-15 years? What market niches will open ‘windows of opportunity’ for the Russian shipbuilding industry? Experts from industrial companies and research organisations answered these and other questions as part of a foresight study conducted by the HSE ISSEK jointly with the Krylov State Research Centre. The industry is highly dependent on various global environmental, energy, demographic, food, transport and technological factors. Accordingly, the prospects for technological development of the Russian shipbuilding and ship repair industry were analysed in the context of global, national, and industry-specific challenges, trends, drivers and limitations. The study compiled a vision of the global shipbuilding’s future based on the analysis of the expert community’s opinions, strategic documents, programmes, and forecasts. The vision comprises multiple images covering more than 400 technologies and products grouped into 11 subject areas: ecology and environment protection; engines and mechanisms; ship designs; new materials and processing technologies; formation technologies and automated systems; navigation; telecommunications; energy supply and energy saving; safety and security; management and control; vessels’ life cycle technologies; production technologies. Analysis of inter-industrial interaction revealed synergies by applying technological innovations created in other industries in the shipbuilding sector. The four possible shipbuilding development scenarios until 2030 are proposed taking into account key uncertainty factors and strategic ‘forks.’ These scenarios enabled us to identify high-priority areas with a potential to implement the full innovation cycle – from research and development to commercialisation of end products. The study’s plausible conclusion is that the Russian shipbuilding industry’s competitive advantages in the global market can be achieved by implementing active government policies to support the production of high-technology vessels and marine equipment to develop mineral deposits on the continental shelf.
Smoking is a problem, bringing signifi cant social and economic costs to Russiansociety. However, ratifi cation of the World health organization Framework conventionon tobacco control makes it possible to improve Russian legislation accordingto the international standards. So, I describe some measures that should be taken bythe Russian authorities in the nearest future, and I examine their effi ciency. By studyingthe international evidence I analyze the impact of the smoke-free areas, advertisementand sponsorship bans, tax increases, etc. on the prevalence of smoking, cigaretteconsumption and some other indicators. I also investigate the obstacles confrontingthe Russian authorities when they introduce new policy measures and the public attitudetowards these measures. I conclude that there is a number of easy-to-implementanti-smoking activities that need no fi nancial resources but only a political will.
One of the most important indicators of company's success is the increase of its value. The article investigates traditional methods of company's value assessment and the evidence that the application of these methods is incorrect in the new stage of economy. So it is necessary to create a new method of valuation based on the new main sources of company's success that is its intellectual capital.