Next Generation Infrastructure

"In response to the infrastructure crisis in the U.S.--brought to the forefront by the Minneapolis bridge collapse and the devastation of Hurricane Sandy--Hillary Brown proposes a new way to approach infrastructure needs. The alternative approach proposed in this volume calls for more diversified, distributed, and interconnected infrastructure that integrates (and in some cases mimics) natural systems"--

A new generation of infrastructure projects that harness the power of nature can help achieve development goals, including water security and climate resilience. In this report from the World Bank and World Resources Institute, both organizations are calling for green infrastructure, such as mangroves and wetlands, to play a bigger role in traditional infrastructure planning. Integrating nature into mainstream infrastructure systems can produce lower cost and more resilient services. This report guides developing country service providers and their partners on how to seize this opportunity. It reviews approaches and examples of how to integrate green infrastructure into mainstream project appraisal processes and investments.

The huge volume of multi-modal neuroimaging data across different neuroscience communities has posed a daunting challenge to traditional methods of data sharing, data archiving, data processing and data analysis. Neuroinformatics plays a crucial role in creating advanced methodologies and tools for the handling of varied and heterogeneous datasets in order to better understand the structure and function of the brain. These tools and methodologies not only enhance data collection, analysis, integration, interpretation, modeling, and dissemination of data, but also promote data sharing and collaboration. This Neuroinformatics Research Topic aims to summarize the state-of-art of the current achievements and explores the directions for the future generation of neuroinformatics infrastructure. The publications present solutions for data archiving, data processing and workflow, data mining, and system integration methodologies. Some of the systems presented are large in scale, geographically distributed, and already have a well-established user community. Some discuss opportunities and methodologies that facilitate large-scale parallel data processing tasks under a heterogeneous computational environment. We wish to stimulate on-going discussions at the level of the neuroinformatics infrastructure including the common challenges, new technologies of maximum benefit, key features of next generation infrastructure, etc. We have asked leading research groups from different research areas of neuroscience/neuroimaging to provide their thoughts on the development of a state of the art and highly-efficient neuroinformatics infrastructure. Such discussions will inspire and help guide the development of a state of the art, highly-efficient neuroinformatics infrastructure.

Historically, technological change has had significant effect on the locus of administrative activity, cost of carrying out administrative tasks, the skill sets needed by officials to effectively function, rules and regulations, and the types of interactions citizens have with their public authorities. Next generation Public Sector Innovation will be “Government 3.0” powered by innovations related to Open and big data, administrative and business process management, Internet-of-Things and blockchains for public sector innovation to drive improvements in service delivery, decision and policy making and resource management. This book provides fresh insights into this transformation while also examining possible negative side effects of the increasing ope nness of governments through the adoption of these new innovations. The goal is for technology policy makers to engage with the visions of Government 3.0 . Researchers should be able to critically examine some of the innovations described in the book as the basis for developing research agendas related to challenges associated with the adoption and use of some of the associated technologies. The book serves as a rich source of materials from leading experts in the field that enables Public administration practitioners to better understand how these new technologies impact traditional public administration paradigms. The book is suitable for graduate courses in Public Sector Innovation, Innovation in Public Administration, E-Government and Information Systems. Public sector technology policy makers, e-government, information systems and public administration researchers and practitioners should all benefit from reading this book.

'Next Generation' refers to the new technologies and services that telecommunications operators will have at their disposal as they create new 3G networks where voice and data converge and which are based on packet switched rather than circuit switched telephony. Providing a much needed overview of the latest communication technologies and describing the influences of the so-called "next generation" networks on telecommunication operators' environments, this text begins with a very brief history of telecommunications, and explains how the advent of the internet has changed the way people think about communications. The book is split into three parts: 1. Technologies: Describes the different technologies that are influencing the change from circuit switched to packet switched telephony. Covers Media Gateway Control (MEGACO), application service provision, models for management, mobile and fixed technologies such as Digital Subscriber Line and GPRS. 2. Services: Explains the new services that are made possible by the new technologies, and how they improve on current services. This section also brings in important techniques from software engineering (such as application frameworks) and shows how they may be used to create flexible network architectures. 3. Going Forward: The effects of all the recent changes on the telecommunications operators, and how it is possible to capitalise on this. Roadmaps provide a picture of the state of the industry in six months, one year and three years' time. * Presents overviews of all the new technologies and services, demonstrating how they interrelate * Written by a consultant with a wide experience of installing networks, as well as advising on network strategies for companies including Marconi, BT, IPL, Mercury, BTCellnet and Cable & Wireless * Coverage includes Internet connectivity, e-commerce, call centres, application service provision, UMTS, WAP, billing, security and directory enable networks A leading edge reference resource for telecommunications network managers, network strategists and designers.

The 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis-St. Paul quickly became symbolic of the debilitated interstate highway system—and of what many critics see as America’s disinvestment in its infrastructure. The extreme vulnerability of single-purpose, aging infrastructure was highlighted once again when Hurricane Sandy churned its way across the northeast United States. Inundating New York City’s vital arteries, floodwaters overwhelmed tunnels and sewers; closed bridges; shut down the electrical substations that control mass transit; curtailed gas supplies; and destroyed streets, buildings, and whole neighborhoods. For days and on into weeks, failures triggered by floodwaters deprived millions of electricity, heat, and water services. How can our complex, interdependent utilities support an urbanizing world, subject to carbon constraints and the impacts of climate change? How might these critical networks be made more efficient, less environmentally damaging, and more resilient? Such questions are at the heart of the approaches and initiatives explored in Next Generation Infrastructure. With a better understanding of the possible connections between different services, not only can inadvertent disruptions be reduced, but crosscutting benefits and lower costs will be possible. Next Generation Infrastructure highlights hopeful examples from around the world, ranging from the Mount Poso cogeneration plant in California to urban rainwater harvesting in Seoul, South Korea, to the multi-purpose Marina Barrage project in Singapore. Five bold organizing objectives are proposed that, in the hands of decision-makers and designers, will help bring about a future of multipurpose, low-carbon, resilient infrastructure that is tightly coordinated with natural and social systems. In their conception and design, the innovative projects highlighted in Next Generation Infrastructure encourage us to envision infrastructure within a larger economic, environmental, and social context, and to share resources across systems, reducing costs and extending benefits. Through this systems approach to lifeline services, we can begin to move toward a more resilient future.