National Infrastructure Systems Research Articles

Role of logistics innovation capabilities in supply chains operations at manufacturing firms

This study aims to examine the impact of Logistics Innovation Capabilities and mitigating the disruption risk in supply chain operations in the manufacturing Industries of Karachi Pakistan. With the fast growth in Pakistan's economy and vision 2025 seeks to enhance the national transport infrastructure and logistics network system. The demand for logistics services in Pakistan has been steadily expanding. Pakistan's Industry focuses more on adopting logistics innovation capabilities to provide their customer with better services. Quantitative research is designed to study the link between the capabilities of dependent and independent variables to minimize the risk. By empirically analyzing survey data SPSS is a popular method to validate the study model. The impact of innovation in logistics technologies has a huge positive influence affect by firm performance, environment uncertainty, technology implementation & customer side. Through Logistics Innovation capabilities, many empirical studies have been conducted to minimize the supply chain risk. This study provides empirical support for dependent and independent variables. Our results can help Pakistan's manufacturing industry develop logistics strategies and adopt innovation capabilities to reduce supply chain risk.

Цифровая трансформация государственного управления как фактор достижения цифрового суверенитета в Российской Федерации

The aim of this paper is to examine theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of digital sover-eignty, its structure and function in the conditions of creation and implementation of information and telecom-munication technologies in various sectors of the country’s economic activity and the active process of digital transformation of public administration, changing the boundaries and instrumental base of ensuring national sovereignty of the country. The object – the process of digital transformation of public administration in the Russian Federation. The subject of the study is the activities of digital transformation of public administration of various branches and levels of government, which have an impact on ensuring the digital sovereignty of the country. The paper analyzes the stages of penetration and use of digital technologies in public administration, basing on which the main directions and goals that are mandatory elements of ensuring the digital sovereignty of the country are defined, taking into account the increasing role of technology as an instrument of countries’ political confrontation in the international arena. Based on the results of the work, it is concluded that the active introduction of modern digital technologies in key areas of public administration and society requires ensuring state digital sovereignty, which, in turn, implies the creation of its own critical information and telecommunica-tion technologies, national independent infrastructure and information systems.

Acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome: systematic review and Meta-analysis.

This study systematically reviewed the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMbase, Scopus, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, VIP database, and China biomedical literature service system (SinoMed) from database inception until August 1st, 2022. The Cochrane's risk of bias assessment tool was used to assess the risk of bias in all included studies, and Review Manager 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis of the extracted data. As a result, 12 RCTs, involving 1 087 patients with lumbar myofascial pain syndrome, were ultimately included. The Meta-analysis results showed that the visual analog scale (VAS) score of pain in the observation group was lower than those in the oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication control [SMD=-1.67, 95%CI (-2.44, -0.90), Z=4.26, P<0.000 1] and other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, electromagnetic wave irradiation combined with piroxicam gel, SMD=-1.98, 95%CI (-2.48, -1.48), Z=7.74, P<0.000 01]. The pain rating index (PRI) score in the observation group was lower than those in the lidocaine injection control [MD=-2.17, 95%CI (-3.41, -0.93), Z=3.44, P=0.000 6] and other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, MD=-5.75, 95%CI (-9.97, -1.53), Z=2.67, P=0.008]. The present pain intensity (PPI) score in the observation group was lower than that in other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, MD=-1.04, 95%CI (-1.55, -0.53), Z=4.01, P<0.000 1]. In conclusion, compared with oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, and electromagnetic wave irradiation combined with piroxicam gel, acupuncture is more effective in reducing pain in patients with lumbar myofascial pain syndrome; acupuncture also exhibites advantage over lidocaine injection in improving PRI score and showed better outcomes over tuina and low-frequency electrical stimulation in improving PRI and PPI scores.

Mobilizing infrastructure investments for urban climate action in Africa: enabling factors for multilevel action

ABSTRACT This article explores the importance of national governments and national-local relationships for scaling up local climate action to achieve global goals. From the Sustainable Development Goals to the New Urban Agenda to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the achievement of global sustainability goals will depend on deep changes to national infrastructure and urban systems. Through an analysis of climate action planning and investments in exemplary cases in Africa, the paper highlights the opportunities and challenges that come with integrating national governments into urban-focused priorities and needs, especially for mobilising financial resources. The paper finds that scaling up city climate action in the selected African countries benefits from a constructive multi-level relationship between local and national institutions and stakeholders to shape and improve the legislative, financial and operating frameworks to enable systemic change. Large-scale urban climate action can be enabled by formal multi-level institutional arrangements, links to politically prioritised policy frameworks, and transformative aims that address both climate and socio-economic benefits for communities.

Sleep Medication Use by people with Cerebral Palsy: A Population Level Data Linkage Study.

ObjectivesTo (1) compare proportions of the population dispensed sleep medication, and rate (dispensations/month) and amount (milligrams/month) of dispensed sleep medication, in individuals with and without cerebral palsy (CP); and (2) describe dispensation of sleep medication within CP and non-CP cohorts with respect to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.&#x0D; ApproachIndividuals aged 6 -36 years (aligning with those known to the Northern Ireland CP Register [NICPR]), registered with a general practitioner at 01-January-2018, were identified within the National Health Application and Infrastructure System. Sleep medications dispensed 01-January-2018 to 31-December-2019 were extracted from the Enhanced Prescribing Database. Analysis was limited to melatonin due to small counts in other medications. Routine healthcare data was sourced from the Honest Broker Service (HBS). NICPR clinical data (CP-type, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), gestation and birthweight) were linked to routine healthcare data using the Health and Care Number by HBS. Descriptive statistics are presented.&#x0D; ResultsComplete matching was achieved between NICPR and healthcare data using the HCN. Final cohorts consisted of 1,598 individuals with CP and 790,097 without CP. A greater proportion of those with CP were dispensed melatonin compared to those without CP (4.6% vs 1.0%). The CP cohort were also dispensed melatonin at a greater rate (median(IQR) CP 0.33(0.71) vs non-CP 0.25(0.54) dispensations/month) and in greater amounts (median(IQR) CP 30(74.7) vs non-CP 17.5(55.0) mg/month). Within the CP cohort, differences in melatonin dispensation were observed across sociodemographic groups (male 5.1% vs female 3.9%; children 8.2% vs young adults 2.2%; urban 6.5% vs rural 5.0%); deprived 5.1% vs affluent 4.2%). Clinical characteristics associated with greatest dispensation of melatonin were non-spastic CP (6.83%), GMFCS IV&amp;V (5.29%), or extremely premature birth (6.85%).&#x0D; ConclusionIndividuals with CP, particularly children, are more likely to be dispensed sleep medications compared to the general population. Awareness of this disparity could encourage further research on assessment and management of sleep in CP and facilitate discussions between healthcare providers and families on underlying causes of sleep problems.

Infrastructure decision-making: Opening up governance futures within techno-economic modelling

Techno-economic modelling is an important tool in evidence-building, futures assessment and decision-making in policy for socio-technical systems. However, critical assessment of the fit of sophisticated models into a decision-making context is often hidden or overlooked. Using the case of a national infrastructure systems model, this paper connects conceptions of infrastructure governance to techno-economic modelling assessing future infrastructure performance. Analysis of modelling input to a UK national level infrastructure policy process demonstrates the importance of governance understanding within infrastructure modelling for policy and it highlights the risks of not explicitly considering governance assumptions. Going on to pursue a more integrated approach to infrastructure modelling and governance, socio-technical researchers embedded within a model development research project are able to observe model development, analyse an early policy application, and facilitate discussions and co-development work with modellers. A methodological framework, building on recent transitions research ‘bridging’ socio-technical and techno-economic approaches, for connecting infrastructure governance understanding into techno-economic modelling analyses is presented and its use within this UK infrastructure modelling project is discussed. The integrated approach taken and the methodological framework developed are potential tools for researchers working with techno-economic models to support policy decisions; they show potential for further research on infrastructure futures.

Modelling gas supply systems with a high role of autonomous consumers (the case of Mongolia)

The paper presents a tool to optimize gas infrastructure systems and analyses some aspects of modelling related to autonomous gas consumers. A model of national gas infrastructure creation in Mongolia is proposed. The model is linked with the model of the regional Northeast Asian gas market and the financial models of gas infrastructure facilities. The model determines the optimal design of the national gas infrastructure system, i.e. the number of the facilities, their capacities, locations and the transport modes for connecting the consumption centres. The role of autonomous consumers is considered by introducing the demand for liquefied natural gas separately from the demand for pipeline gas. The scope of the model application is demonstrated by an illustrative example. The results show the rational natural gas import and distribution patterns. The need for expanding the energy cooperation between Mongolia and the other Northeast Asian countries to create gas industry in Mongolia is highlighted.

Infrastructure for sustainable development

Infrastructure systems form the backbone of every society, providing essential services that include energy, water, waste management, transport and telecommunications. Infrastructure can also create harmful social and environmental impacts, increase vulnerability to natural disasters and leave an unsustainable burden of debt. Investment in infrastructure is at an all-time high globally, thus an ever-increasing number of decisions are being made now that will lock-in patterns of development for future generations. Although for the most part these investments are motivated by the desire to increase economic productivity and employment, we find that infrastructure either directly or indirectly influences the attainment of all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 72% of the targets. We categorize the positive and negative effects of infrastructure and the interdependencies between infrastructure sectors. To ensure that the right infrastructure is built, policymakers need to establish long-term visions for sustainable national infrastructure systems, informed by the SDGs, and develop adaptable plans that can demonstrably deliver their vision. Investing in infrastructure systems will lock-in patterns of development for future generations. This study finds that infrastructure either directly or indirectly influences the attainment of all of the Sustainable Development Goals, including 72% of the targets.

Infrastructure as a Complex Adaptive System

National infrastructure systems spanning energy, transport, digital, waste, and water are well recognised as complex and interdependent. While some policy makers have been keen to adopt the narrative of complexity, the application of complexity-based methods in public policy decision-making has been restricted by the lack of innovation in associated methodologies and tools. In this paper we firstly evaluate the application of complex adaptive systems theory to infrastructure systems, comparing and contrasting this approach with traditional systems theory. We secondly identify five key theoretical properties of complex adaptive systems including adaptive agents, diverse agents, dynamics, irreversibility, and emergence, which are exhibited across three hierarchical levels ranging from agents, to networks, to systems. With these properties in mind, we then present a case study on the development of a system-of-systems modelling approach based on complex adaptive systems theory capable of modelling an emergent national infrastructure system, driven by agent-level decisions with explicitly modelled interdependencies between energy, transport, digital, waste, and water. Indeed, the novel contribution of the paper is the articulation of the case study describing a decade of research which applies complex adaptive systems properties to the development of a national infrastructure system-of-systems model. This approach has been used by the UK National Infrastructure Commission to produce a National Infrastructure Assessment which is capable of coordinating infrastructure policy across a historically fragmented governance landscape spanning eight government departments. The application will continue to be pertinent moving forward due to the continuing complexity of interdependent infrastructure systems, particularly the challenges of increased electrification and the proliferation of the Internet of Things.

Improvement Proposals for the Guidelines for the National Infrastructure Protection Plan

To maintain a minimum functional continuity of the national infrastructure, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety provides detailed guidelines for the establishment of a national infrastructure protection plan for each management agency. Subsequently, the management agencies must establish an institutional plan to protect the national infrastructure, to maintain the continuity of functions such as core functions and facilities in case of a disaster, and to secure the safety of people and minimize damage. However, the proposed standards for the guidelines for the National Infrastructure Protection Plan are based on common issues related to the protection of the national infrastructure system that fail to provide the correct guidelines, which reflect the characteristics of each sector. In addition, as the risk assessment procedures such as risk and impact analysis are conceptually presented, an evaluation based on the characteristics of the facilities is insufficient; in some agencies, it is performed perfunctorily. Therefore, this study analyzes the present state of the National Infrastructure Protection Plans, demonstrates the common problems, and suggests ways to improve the vulnerable parts of the guidelines for the National Infrastructure Protection Plan using case studies of advanced foreign countries. Keywords: National Infrastructure System, National Infrastructure Protection Plans, Guidelines for National Infrastructure Protection Plan, Risk Assessment

The governance of polycentric national infrastructure systems: Evidence from the UK National Infrastructure Plan

Conventionally how states ‘infrastructured’ was based around the monocentrism of the positive state. The progressive liberalisation of infrastructure over the past three decades has given rise to polycentric national infrastructure systems (NIS). This polycentric NIS exhibits a higher degree of structural, spatial and operational complexity with the state being one player though it still plays a prominent role not just through its own activities but also in seeking to steer the system to meet its territorial objectives. This is done through the formal interaction between hard and soft infrastructure (with the later characterised by themes of sustainability, consistency and criticality) components of the NIS. These themes are explored through an analysis of the UK’s National Infrastructure Plan where – it is argued – the formation of the UK NIS is characterised by a strategy of sustainable polycentrism though this strategy has yet to deliver the investment anticipated.

Strategic analysis of the future of national infrastructure

There have been many calls for a more strategic, long-term approach to national infrastructure in the UK and elsewhere around the world. While appealing in principle, developing a national infrastructure strategy in practice poses major challenges of complexity and uncertainty. The UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium has set out a systematic methodology for long-term analysis of the performance of national infrastructure systems. It deals with each infrastructure sector – energy, transport, digital communications, water supply, waste water, flood protection and solid waste – in a consistent framework and assesses the interdependencies between sectors. The method is supported with the world’s first infrastructure ‘system-of-systems’ model, which has been developed for long-term decision analysis in interdependent infrastructure systems. This paper presents the Nismod model’s analysis in the National Needs Assessment report launched at the Institution of Civil Engineers in October 2016.

Internet as a method of trolling offensive intelligence operations in cyberspace

The paper analyzes Internet trolling as an operational intelligence activity, and the challenges it presents for national security, as well as the assessment of possible strategic protection of national cyberspace. This problem arises since collecting the data through automated programs eliminates guarantees of ethical grounds for their gathering in terms of clear reason, integrity of motives, proportionality of methods and the relevant authority. The basic thesis is that intelligence gathering on the Internet may be used against the basic values of states. Functionally, due to characteristics of the targets, trolling is conducive for collecting strategic information related to individual and collective attitudes and their contextualization; or the economic entities and critical infrastructure of national crisis management system, as well as for the influence on the political decisions. Also, because of the network properties, it is suitable for identifying, locating of potential sources of information and gaining their cooperation on the basis of motivation to support the objectives. The tasks of cyber data collection include psychological profiling, imposing attitudes, conducting secret surveillance on a massive scale and interception of communications. Internet trolling enables an access to primary data on the territory of other states, and thus it is suitable for secret and covert “installation” in the online community; for organized attack to infiltrate the government systems; for military and political interests; and for sabotaging various national infrastructure, communication and other systems. Structurally, the use of trolling as a mean of collecting data stems from the military development, today applied within the doctrine of “Full Dimension Operations”. It is conducted in an organized manner, with legend and rules of secrecy, so the trolls are agents of authorized agencies. Intelligence systems, like the “Five Eyes” (FVEY - the USA, GB, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) have software tools, available IP addresses and networks of computers which run programs difficult to identify (botnet), which allows them to troll undetectably. The methods and tasks revealed through structural and functional analysis enable the induction of threats and challenges for national security of other states. The principal challenges are the consequence of automatized methods and are democratic in nature. The primary risk for national security is the fact that it involves secret and organized efforts by other states to influence public opinion and dehumanization. Another is due to the fact that agencies of some countries have a capacity to secretly monitor communications in the cyberspace of other countries. Intelligence trolling can have an online operation against a certain state as an immediate goal, like misinformation and disinformation, creating HUMINT networks, or cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. With an aim to master the Internet, the FVEY agencies are trying to invade every possible system on the global net, searching to gain access to further systems. The strategic protection of national security in cyberspace requires a multi-dimensional approach, within the framework of the national security strategy. It must include science and research of the cyber space and social networks, as the preconditions; education for the use of the Internet at all levels, quality education and public information systems, in sense of prevention; and the criminalization of fraudulent messages and training of the judiciary for prosecution, in terms of repression.

A conceptual design for a national transport model with cross-sectoral interdependencies

Abstract This paper presents issues, trade-offs and challenges encountered while developing a UK national transport model as part of a large interdisciplinary project, ITRC MISTRAL. The Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC) is a consortium of seven leading UK universities focusing on analysis of national infrastructure systems using a system-of-systems approach. In this paper, we describe a multi-modal multi-scale national transport model being developed by ITRC which includes passenger and freight transport via highways, railways, airports, seaports and local transit networks. The model predicts future demand for each mode on individual flows using an elasticity-based simulation approach. These flows are then assigned to transport networks to assess infrastructure capacity utilisation and obtain new estimates of inter-zonal travel times. The model explicitly considers cross-sectoral interdependencies with other infrastructure networks, including the energy sector (where transport is the largest consuming sector), digital communications (which provide bandwidth to passengers and enable smart mobility), waste management (which requires transport services) and water supply (where flooding poses a major risk of transport disruptions). It is also planned to be capable of estimating environmental emissions and assessing the vulnerability and resilience to risk of transport systems. The enhanced transport model discussed here builds on an existing modelling framework which has been used by the UK government to inform their National Infrastructure Assessment. As such, the model has the potential to support policy making with regards to infrastructure investment on a decadal scale, under a range of possible future scenarios including population growth, new technologies and climate change.

정보통신망 건축물의 재난관리를 위한 업무영향분석 연구

Modern society, with the development of technology, desire for public benefits is increasing, dependence, such as infrastructure and public services is increasing. This is that the paralysis of national infrastructure systems, such as infrastructure and public services is likely to cause a national and major social turmoil. In this study, according to the method of the business impact analysis to provide in the ISO continued to maintain the operations and services of the H institutions, presented the basic data necessary to build the Business continuity management system in order to provide to.

A Quantified System-of-Systems Modeling Framework for Robust National Infrastructure Planning

National infrastructure (NI) systems (i.e., energy, transport, water, waste, and information and communications technology) provide essential services to the economy and contribute to human well-being. These systems have evolved over centuries, being planned and implemented piecewise, and are mostly managed in isolation from one another. Here, we argue that the growing interconnection between these systems and the convergent challenges ahead (i.e., demographic, technological, and climate change) call for an integrated “system-of-systems” approach to managing NI. Toward that end, we propose a modeling framework for the long-term (to 2100) simulation of NI system performance in a highly uncertain future. The approach is based on the assessment of the performance of infrastructure services in a wide range of possible future conditions. This robust optimization is used to identify cross-sectoral strategies that ensure satisfactory infrastructure performance. We demonstrate the framework using Great Britain's NI as an example.

원전 사이버보안을 위한 접근제어 요건분석 및 구현방안

The Nuclear Power Plants(: NPP) are being protected as national infrastructure, and instrumentation and control(: I&C) systems are one of the principle facilities of the NPP, which perform the protection, control, and monitoring function. The I&C systems are being evolved into digitalization based on computer and network technology from analog system. In addition, the I&C systems are mostly employ the specialized logic controllers which are dedicated for the NPP, but the usage of generalized IT resources are steadily increased. The cyber security issues for the NPP are being emerged due to cyber incidents by Stuxnet and various accidents in the NPP. In this paper, hybrid access control model is proposed which are applicable to I&C system by analyzing the access control requirements specified in regulatory guides. The safety of in-service and under construction of NPP are effectively increased by applying proposed hybrid model.

THE MODERN TRENDS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Purpose – is to summarise and present the development of theoretical foundations of the process of integration of the national industrial infrastructure system based on logistic transformations. Methodology of research. Theoretical and methodological basis of the study are research works of domestic and foreign scholars on the integration of social and economic systems. The article used the dialectical method of cognition, as well as the following methods: a systematic and structural analysis, logical generalization – the study of the formation of scientific positions and forming the methodological foundations of the development of production infrastructure. Results. Implemented theoretical and methodological substantiation of the implementation of transformational changes infrastructural capacity in the context of sustainable development of the regional economic system. The transformation of the infrastructure capacity in the region is defined as a process of deep changes in the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the Multisectoral infrastructure complex on the principles of sustainable development in the direction of achieving the optimum, tailored to the needs of the regional parameters of its operation, taking into account global trends and inherited experience. The authors constructed a conceptual framework based on the transformation of infrastructure transformation sector. Transport related activities have many impacts on the environment. The most important effects are contribution to climate change, to local air pollution, to noise levels, to biodiversity loss and natural resources depletion. Practical value. These findings have practical value in the development of regional strategies and programs of development in the context of the European integration vector.

Progress of 2014—2016 China's Earth Observation and Earth Science

The support given by Earth observation data and Earth system science play an increasingly important role in global change, regional sustainable development, extreme events, and the development of social and economic needs. This field is also moving towards systematization, platforms, and standardized development. In December 2015, nearly 200 parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed in Paris to make arrangements for global action in response to climate change by 2020. China jointly issued a climate change adaptation strategy for cities in 2016 and then elevated national action to respond to climate change. China's Earth Observation and Earth Science development is facing new challenges as it supports the national civil space infrastructure and high-resolution Earth observation system.

Post-Disaster Supply Chain Interdependent Critical Infrastructure System Restoration: A Review of Data Necessary and Available for Modeling

The majority of restoration strategies in the wake of large-scale disasters have focused on short-term emergency response solutions. Few consider medium- to long-term restoration strategies to reconnect urban areas to national supply chain interdependent critical infrastructure systems (SCICI). These SCICI promote the effective flow of goods, services, and information vital to the economic vitality of an urban environment. To re-establish the connectivity that has been broken during a disaster between the different SCICI, relationships between these systems must be identified, formulated, and added to a common framework to form a system-level restoration plan. To accomplish this goal, a considerable collection of SCICI data is necessary. The aim of this paper is to review what data are required for model construction, the accessibility of these data, and their integration with each other. While a review of publically available data reveals a dearth of real-time data to assist modeling long-term recovery following an extreme event, a significant amount of static data does exist and these data can be used to model the complex interdependencies needed. For the sake of illustration, a particular SCICI (transportation) is used to highlight the challenges of determining the interdependencies and creating models capable of describing the complexity of an urban environment with the data publically available. Integration of such data as is derived from public domain sources is readily achieved in a geospatial environment, after all geospatial infrastructure data are the most abundant data source and while significant quantities of data can be acquired through public sources, a significant effort is still required to gather, develop, and integrate these data from multiple sources to build a complete model. Therefore, while continued availability of high quality, public information is essential for modeling efforts in academic as well as government communities, a more streamlined approach to a real-time acquisition and integration of these data is essential.