Large-scale Development Projects Research Articles

Optimal government support policy towards technology development considering the challenges of conflict of interests, ethical and structural problems

One of the main ways of economic development is technological innovation development. The support provided by the government and the policies adopted for technology developments are important issues in the context of technology and innovation policymaking. On the other hand, the structural issues in some countries, especially in Iran, as well as the conflict of interests and ethical problems, are of crucial importance in large-scale technology development projects. The present paper addresses governmental policies and support and the underpinning parameters given the points mentioned about the economic and technological development of Iran. In this study, we first interviewed some experts, and the results were employed as inputs of the quantitative model. The important parameters influencing the determination of governmental support and policy type were also addressed. The long-term behavior of the public and private sectors as two key players were analyzed by the evolutionary game theory and their strategies were solved by replicative dynamic equations. Finally, a numerical study was conducted for a real case in Iran to better understand the features of the game model in real conditions. The results of the case study show that the main approach of the government should be legal monitoring although the minimum incentive policies and supports should also be in place. The sensitivity analysis of some major parameters reveals that the main factor in project implementation is to consider the income and costs of the private sector. The governmental policy should be based on preparing incentive mechanisms at an appropriate level and then precise legal monitoring, which will lead to technology development with the cooperation of the parties, minimum ethical problems, and the minimization of the impact of structural problems, including sanctions.

Partnership Model for Optimizing the Use of Village Funds

Since 2015, the Government has allocated village development funds in the form of Village Fund policies of IDR 20.7 trillion, then in 2016 it increased to IDR 46.9 trillion, and continues to increase in the following years. However, based on field research in a number of regions in Indonesia, it turns out that the use of Village Funds is not optimal, some of which have been proven wrongly targeted, not transparent in use, and not accountable in reporting. The aspect of planning activities and the quality of human resources implementing policies and coordination between parties that should play a role are still a major problem.
 The PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model is actually intended for the development of large-scale projects, such as the construction of highways or seaports and airports. But by taking the substance of cooperation from the parties that each have strengths, the PPP model (and its variants) may be applicable in the use of Village Funds. Using secondary data analysts, the following article discusses the theoretical aspects of the advantages of the PPP model. This model is juxtaposed with cases of success in building the economic self-reliance of rural communities with the help of private parties and academics. It is assumed that the partnership model can be an alternative solution to further optimize the use of Village Funds in order to reduce poverty in rural areas.

Проекты и приоритеты

Цель: анализ ситуации с выполнением приоритетных национальных проектов и причин неудовлетворительного положения в этом процессе на данном этапе. Предложения по методологии разработки и реализации крупномасштабных хозяйственных проектов. Обсуждение: работа посвящена краткому исследованию сложившейся на стадии реализации приоритетных национальных проектов ситуации – уровню исполнения запланированных расходов (а следовательно, степени достижения целей, поставленных перед ними) за 2019 и 2020 гг., а также представлению некоторых оценочных прогнозов влияния их исполнения на общеэкономические индикаторы, такие как экономический рост, доходы населения и некоторые другие. Причины неблагоприятного на данный момент положения по исполнению расходов лежат в области недостатков в методологическом обеспечении процесса поддержки, в частности, создании действенных механизмов заинтересованности потенциальных и желательных участников проектов со стороны, дающих им определенные преференции. Этот механизм нужно иметь до момента начала работы по проектам. Правда, после развала СССР это крупнейший общегосударственный проект, и опыта реализации работы таких масштабов не было. Однако в плане методологии подхода к разработке крупномасштабных проектов в нашей стране опыт и задел, безусловно, полезный имеется. Речь идет о работе, проведенной в конце восьмидесятых – начале девяностых годов. В 1990-1991 гг. ЦЭМИ РАН (тогда – ЦЭМИ АН СССР) выполнял роль головного института в разработке и обосновании методологических принципов выбора приоритетных направлений (ПННТП) и механизмов их реализации как одной из форм осуществления государственной политики в области управления научно-техническим развитием. Результаты: тот методический задел, который был создан в 90-х и не использован, не потерял актуальности. С момента разработки последней КП НТП И НП НТП прошло около 30 лет. Думается, что прежде чем намечать проведение крупных хозяйственных мероприятий, пора бы снова осуществить фундаментальную, масштабную инвентаризацию состояния и всего экономического потенциала, сложившегося к настоящему моменту с использованием методологических разработок тех лет. Юридической базой может явиться закон о стратегическом планировании от 28.06.2014 г.

Greening the BRI in ASEAN

Abstract Infrastructure projects, particularly investments in road, rail, and energy, can significantly impact ecological integrity and overall environmental quality. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), given its focus on large-scale infrastructure and energy projects, poses significant threats to ecosystems in BRI member countries. These environmental and social risks can, however, be assessed and mitigated by using tools such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Through examining the EIA process of a large-scale hydropower development project in Myanmar—the Myitsone dam project—the main aim of this article is to show why it is necessary to apply the concept of ecological civilization to Chinese foreign investment projects in Myanmar and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries. Analysis of the project’s EIA illustrates significant shortcomings for both the public participation process and the overall report’s ability to adhere to good practice and include the full extent of project impacts. Projects, such as this, that cause community conflict and environmental and social harm, do not fall within the stated ‘win-win-win’ objective of the BRI. The article concludes that, unlike the flawed Myitsone process, EIA combined with other requisite public participation processes associated with BRI projects have the potential to foster improved community relations and a green BRI that results in more equitable development in ASEAN. A series of significant opportunities to further green the BRI are identified.

Fundamentos y aplicaciones biomédicas de las principales tecnologías de secuenciación: una revisión de literatura

Introducción. La secuenciación tiene como finalidad determinar la composición de los nucleótidos presentes en el ADN o ARN. Desde la finalización del proyecto genoma humano, surgieron diversas tecnologías de secuenciación como Roche 454, SOLID, Illumina, Ion torrent, Pacbio y Oxford nanopore como herramientas para secuenciar rápidamente, con mayor precisión y costo-eficiencia, permitiendo el desarrollo de proyectos a gran escala y el estudio de genes y genomas, la composición de microbiomas, enfermedades metabólicas y enfermedades genéticas que afectan la población. Objetivo. Describir los fundamentos de los métodos de secuenciación de ADN y sus aplicaciones en las ciencias biomédicas. Métodos. Revisión descriptiva de las principales estrategias de secuenciación de ADN de primera, segunda y tercera generación y su aplicación en el entorno biomédico. Esta revisión se realizó a partir de la búsqueda de artículos en bases de datos electrónicas especializadas en investigación científica. Se encontraron 118 documentos, de los cuales se excluyeron 6 por no cumplir con los criterios de inclusión y se seleccionaron 112 por cumplir con todos los requisitos. Conclusiones. La secuenciación de ADN y ARN ha permitido avances en los estudios de organismos biológicos, el surgimiento de los métodos de secuenciación de siguiente generación arroja una gran cantidad de datos, incluidos genomas secuenciados completamente de varias especies, con un rendimiento extenso, tiempos reducidos y costo-eficiencia que lleva a la transformación por completo de las ciencias de la vida, logrando un progreso sin precedentes en el análisis de genomas, la evaluación de ecología microbiana y el diagnóstico de enfermedades.

Critically Endangered subpopulation of Irrawaddy dolphin in central Philippines may lose its habitat to large-scale development project

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Moving Beyond Economic Analysis: Assessing The Socio-Cultural Impacts Of Displacement And Resettlement By Sardar Sarovar Project, India

The large scale development projects like dams have been justified for a greater economic benefit of the nation. However, the development projects have become synonymous with land acquisition leading to dispossession and forced migration of a large number of people and their involuntary resettlement. Unfortunately, too much focus on the economic benefits of such large scale projects has omitted many relevant tangible and intangible socio-cultural aspects and ignored the impacts of development policies that shape forced migrations. The present paper asserts to move beyond the ‘limited’ economic analysis of large projects and includes the critical social and cultural implications of forced migration and displacement. The paper presents views of respondents displaced from the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and were resettled inGujarat. Perhaps, it is the most unique aspect of this paper to understand the socio-cultural adjustment in context of the spatial origin. The resettlement caused by the Sardar Sarovar Project has led to a change in dress patterns and marriage customs, loss of tribal folk art, destroyed the existing social networks and hindered access to new ones. Increased violence against women, problem of drunkenness and bootlegging at the resettlement sites are also highlighted. The insights in the work are based upon the fieldwork in select resettlement sites inGujarat. The author adopted participant observation, focus group discussions and key informant interviews as a means for data collection and better comprehension of the study area.

The Impact of Road Infrastructure Development Projects on Local Communities in Peri-Urban Areas: the Case of Kisumu, Kenya and Accra, Ghana

Large-scale spatial planning and urban development projects have gained popularity in cities of the Global South. Such projects are being used to improve connectivity, scale up cities’ competitiveness, and in return, attract investments. However, while road development changes peri-urban environments in the Global South cities, little attention is given to the consequences of road infrastructure in those areas. The objective of this paper is to investigate how the implementation of road infrastructure projects is transforming the socio-spatial landscapes and economic development, and how they affect social groups within the peri-urban areas of Kisumu (Kenya) and Accra (Ghana) cities, focusing on effects at the community level. The research employed a case study approach, using qualitative, quantitative and spatial methods to examine these socio-spatial and economic development dynamics. The findings show that, on the one hand, road infrastructure projects scaled up residential development, both in Kisumu and Accra, as the roads contributed to housing rents and land prices to increase and rendered peri-urban communities along them as attractive zones for real estate developers. Furthermore, accessibility to facilities and services improved. Also, in both cities, the road improvements fuelled employment opportunities. Conversely, in both cities, the road infrastructure projects led to gentrification and therefore to the displacement of poor residents into the hinterlands, which changed the social fibre and integration to a certain degree. The road infrastructure projects benefitted the rich, who own land at the expense of the poor. The findings that the impacts of road infrastructure appear to differ in locational context and class of individuals within peri-urban areas make us suggest that place-based and people-based policies need to be combined to address the consequences of road infrastructure projects.

Developing urban growth and urban quality: Entrepreneurial governance and urban redevelopment projects in Copenhagen and Hamburg

This paper considers the cases of urban redevelopment at waterfront and brownfield sites in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Hamburg (Germany) to explore how two municipal governments have pursued divergent kinds of entrepreneurial governance, even as they have aimed to create similar kinds of new-build neighbourhoods. Copenhagen and Hamburg have both engaged in large-scale speculative development projects, simultaneously raising urban land values and adding urban public good. The cities follow a long tradition of using land value capture to raise funds for municipal activities, yet their scopes of action and tools for achieving progress have been shaped by local economic and political conditions. Although both cities began redevelopment at similar kinds of sites in the 1990s, Copenhagen’s municipal government was relatively impoverished, while Hamburg’s municipal government was relatively wealthy. As a result, even though both cities deployed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and revolving funds models to reinvest revenues in future development, they possessed different potential strategies for increasing intercity competitiveness: Copenhagen’s immediate aim in redeveloping its Ørestad and harbour districts was to fund a citywide mass transit system and thereby enhance competitiveness through infrastructure development, while Hamburg sought to use its HafenCity waterfront redevelopment to boost competitiveness through port modernisation, increased in urban quality and commercial expansion in the city centre. By comparing these two cases, we can better understand the contingent nature of entrepreneurial governance and urban redevelopment processes.

Modern Motherhood, Masculinity, and Family Planning in Ghana, 1960–75

AbstractThis article analyzes policies related to reproduction in postcolonial Ghana, in particular pronatalist tendencies under Nkrumah, and the launch of the National Family Planning Programme (NFPP) in 1970. I argue that gendered nationalism was frequently articulated through women’s roles as mothers. Modernization under Nkrumah went further than large-scale development projects, because aspirations for the nation were reflected in expectations of modern motherhood. Like many family planning programs before and since, the NFPP was also highly gendered. Family planning was linked to economic and social development and progressive attitudes. Modern women and modern families were expected to embrace family planning. In public discourse, it was women’s responsibility for national development to act as mothers of the nation, whether that meant adhering to pronatalist principles under Nkrumah, or limiting their family size under successive later governments. Policies, especially NFPP, acknowledged and reinforced gendered roles related to sexual and reproductive behavior. Men were often seen as decision makers and the demographic that needed to be persuaded when it came to family planning. The gendered aspects of the NFPP are explored in this article to show that whereas adherence to “tradition” was discouraged in women, men’s gendered roles remained largely unchallenged.

Implementing Agility in Large Software Development Projects

The present paper focuses on providing an in-depth understanding of the concept of agility and its uses in the software development projects. The paper also explains the key issues experienced by large companies while implementing agility practices and frameworks in the large-scale software development projects. The paper also develops key ideas about the procedure involved in implementing agility practices through extensive study of previous literature in this context. It also recommends certain methods in which the issues experienced during the implementation of agility in large scale software development projects can be minimized. The findings provide insights about the various challenges and reasons behinds such issues that are common in such large-scale software development projects drawing instances of international companies providing software development services.

From fast-track implementation to livelihood deterioration: The dam-based Ribb Irrigation and Drainage Project in Northwest Ethiopia

The 21st century revival of large-scale water resources development projects makes it important to keep assessing their impacts – preferably from an interdisciplinary perspective – in order to not repeat past mistakes and explore whether they could improve livelihood conditions for rural communities. In this study, costs and benefits of the World Bank-funded Ribb Irrigation and Drainage Project (RIDP) were investigated using a unique systems approach. The impact for farmers with different initial farming systems (rainfed – residual moisture – irrigated) was studied using field observations, document analyses, remote sensing, agronomic data and semi-structured interviews (n = 165). Data on project-induced changes to land and water availability, cropping patterns, farming systems and farm-level economics were collected. The results show that dam and dyke construction has reduced flooding, which has resulted in declining rice productivity (−42%) and concomitant shifts to lower value cropping systems. Results also reveal that the land redistribution has caused widespread livelihood deterioration as households had to give up 25% of their farmland and the communal grazing land was fully converted into farmland. Due to top-down implementation, nontransparent communication, delayed construction and lagging financial compensation, social resistance has appeared in the command area, impeding the construction works. In addition to these problems, if no rapid change to higher value crops can be realized, 20.5% of the farmers (those who already irrigate) will experience a loss of livelihood, 64.1% of the farmers (those with rainfed and residual moisture cultivation) will be on the verge of livelihood deterioration and only 13.5% of the farmers (those with solely rainfed cultivation) will enjoy RIDP-induced improved livelihoods. The fate of this project stresses the importance of investigating initial farming systems, exploring worthy project alternatives, improving participation, communication and benefit-sharing and strengthening the institutional capacity of implementing authorities.

The shape of knowledge redistribution within planning cultures

With the beginning of the 21st century a series of large-scale urban development projects (LUDPs) were planned alongside the transformation or modernization of federal railway stations in Vienna. Herein, in October 2012 the City of Vienna together with the landowner set the course for a telling modified urban development project: the new general concept for the former railway station Wien Nordbahnhof. Just a stone’s throw away from the city’s center a new generation of citizens will find its home close or within the typological setting of an experimental superstructure, that is one of today’s biggest inner-city transformation zones, originally called the future city (“Stadt der Zukunft”). According to the city planners’ intentions the Nordbahnhof will be finished until the year of 2025 after a development process of more than three decades and a multifaceted process of public participation. The long period of development led to illuminating different imaginations of the future city and to a particular materialization of the shift of planning ideology into urban form, which accentuates a dialectical process of transformation. This paper focuses on crucial acts of resistance playing a role for the interplay of democracy and innovation within the transformation process in question.

Too Smart to Participate? Rational Reasons for Employees\u2019 Non-participation in Action Research

Action research literature promotes broad participation in order to gain better insights into prevailing issues and cope with both present and future challenges in organizations. For good reasons, action researchers view participation as desirable and even necessary. However, emphasizing participation also creates a blind spot: researchers tend to assume that employees are willing or even eager to take part in organizational change projects. A group of action researchers involved in a large-scale organizational development project in a Norwegian public organization initially also had this optimistic assumption. Over time, they realized that many employees were reluctant to participate and often kept silent, so they conducted follow-up research to explore the reasons for employees’ non-participation. The findings show that the employees had rational reasons not to participate, and that employee participation should not be taken for granted. The paper outlines eight different rationales for non-participation, and discusses implications for action research.

City profile: New Tehri

Large-scale development projects often lead to massive population displacement induced by the Dam. A number of planners, responsible organizations, resettlement experts and academic researchers have all put forward proposals for resettlement of such displaced population. Such an example of resettlement is the development of New Tehri Township for the people displaced by the Tehri Dam in India. New Tehri is an egalitarian city designed to achieve functionality, environmental sustainability, deep sensitivity of people, and their concerns. Planning for the new town entailed the integration of several diverse and sensitive issues like a high sense of responsiveness to people's needs; respect for the holding capacity and natural systems of the land; sustainability of the environment, and equal opportunities for all. In order to achieve the goal, five primary criteria, combined to form the basis for overall design and planning. The article examines the elements of urban form identified with reference to the primary criteria developed by the planners of the township and explains their assessment in the case study selected. The article attempts to highlight opportunities for researchers and planners in India and the world for analyzing, evaluating and criticizing hillside urban development and resettlement projects in terms of their sustainability.

Engineering practices for the integration of large-scale renewable energy VSC-HVDC systems

With the continuous development of power electronic devices, intelligent control systems, and other technologies, the voltage level and transmission capacity of voltage source converter (VSC)-high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology will continue to increase, while the system losses and costs will gradually decrease. Therefore, it can be foreseen that VSC-HVDC transmission technology will be more widely applied in future large-scale renewable energy development projects. Adopting VSC-HVDC transmission technology can be used to overcome issues encountered by large-scale renewable energy transmission and integration projects, such as a weak local power grid, lack of support for synchronous power supply, and insufficient accommodation capacity. However, this solution also faces many technical challenges because of the differences between renewable energy and traditional synchronous power generation systems. Based on actual engineering practices that are used worldwide, this article analyzes the technical challenges encountered by integrating large-scale renewable energy systems that adopt the use of VSC-HVDC technology, while aiming to provide support for future research and engineering projects related to VSC-HVDC-based large-scale renewable energy integration projects.

Environmental stress in Parnassius apollo reflected through wing geometric morphometrics in a historical collection with a possible connection to habitat degradation

Monitoring climate changes and habitat degradation in threatened species without negative impact to the populations can pose a considerable challenge. A rare chance to test the morphological response of wing shape and size to environmental factors on the mountain Apollo (Parnassius apollo) collected from 1938 to 1968 at a single location – Strečno mountain pass, N Slovakia presented itself in a historical collection. The canonical variate analysis showed a significant shift from a narrower to broader forewing, with more extremes in either extra broad or narrow forewings in the post- 1960 population. Analysis of existing data was conducted to determine the possible factors affecting this change. Generally, the comparative statistics of temperature and precipitation to morphology of individuals and their fluctuating asymmetry showed no, or weak, correlations. Two extreme weather events (ECEs), identified using the historical weather data, show no correlation of wing morphology to these events. Although no strong correlations can be drawn in case of the available weather data and morphology, the results of this study can be connected to strong anthropogenic effects of a large-scale road development project taking place in the vicinity of the collection site starting in November 1959 causing changes in the available habitat and therefore a shift in the wing morphology.

Risk priorities and their co-occurrences in smart city project implementation: Evidence from India’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM)

With an increasing number of smart cities initiatives in developed as well as developing nations, smart cities are seen as a catalyst for improving the quality of life for city residents. However, current understanding of the risks that may hamper successful implementation of smart city projects remains limited due to inadequate data, especially in developing nations. The recent Smart Cities Mission launched in India provides a unique opportunity to examine the type of risks, their likelihood, and impacts on smart city project implementation by providing risk description data for area-based (small-scale) development and pan-city (large-scale) development projects in the submitted smart city proposals. We used topic modeling and semantic analysis for risk classification, followed by risk likelihood–impact analysis for priority evaluation, and the keyword co-occurrence network method for risk association analysis. The risk classification results identify eight risk categories for both the area-based and pan-city projects, including (a) Financial, (b) Partnership and Resources, (c) Social, (d) Technology, (e) Scheduling and Execution, (f) Institutional, (g) Environmental, and (h) Political. Further, results show risks identified for area-based and pan-city projects differ in terms of risk priority distribution and co-occurrence associations. As a result, different risk mitigation measures need to be adopted to manage smart city projects across scales. Finally, the paper discusses the similarities and differences in risks found in developed and developing nations, resulting in potential mitigation measures for smart city projects in developing nations.

From the “project within the project” to the “city within the city”? Governance and Management Problems in Large Urban Development Projects Using the Example of the Science City Belval, Luxembourg

The paper explores the issue of new urban development areas from two specific perspectives: on the one hand, rather than concentrating on housing, we address the question of science and research, in particular university locations and science parks, as a central guiding principle for urban expansion. On the other hand, the paper focuses on the analysis of urban management and governance practices and, more specifically, the disjoining of large projects from their common urban planning context. Emphasis is put on the fact that such undertakings are defined as ‘projects’ and that they are subordinated to a specific management approach. Amid debates concerning large-scale urban development projects and urban governance, we develop the thesis that the risk for projects to unfold as a sort of ‘foreign matter’ in the urban realm increases as the degree to which they are subject to proven planning processes and regulatory practices diminishes. This argument will be empirically illustrated with Belval, the science city in the south of Luxembourg, which is developed ever since 2003 and whose progress is critically assessed here. The general conclusions include planning requirements for dealing with new large-scale development projects.

Workers wanted: Changing employee accessibility with industrial development ─ Evidence from Foxconn

In response to the trends of manufacturing revitalization and workforce shortage in the U.S., this study investigates how Foxconn changes accessibility to industrial employees by automobile and by transit in Southeast Wisconsin. Results suggest that there is a mismatch between the Foxconn site and the areas with high accessibility to industrial employees. With a great demand for labor, Foxconn reduces employee accessibility by automobile throughout the region, while its impact on employee accessibility by transit is more localized. The results inform industrial firm locations, workforce housing development, and transportation service provisions. The analysis framework shifts the angle of accessibility research to focusing on the perspective of employers, and it can be applied to investigate future large-scale economic development projects.