iTETRIS: An Integrated Wireless and Traffic Platform for Real-Time Road Traffic Management Solutions

Wireless vehicular cooperative systems have been identified as an attractive solution to improve road traffic management, thereby contributing to the European goal of safer, cleaner, and more efficient and sustainable traffic solutions. V2V-V2I communication technologies can improve traffic management through real-time exchange of data among vehicles and with road infrastructure. It is also of great importance to investigate the adequate combination of V2V and V2I technologies to ensure the continuous and costefficient operation of traffic management solutions based on wireless vehicular cooperative solutions. However, to adequately design and optimize these communication protocols and analyze the potential of wireless vehicular cooperative systems to improve road traffic management, adequate testbeds and field operational tests need to be conducted. Despite the potential of Field Operational Tests to get the first insights into the benefits and problems faced in the development of wireless vehicular cooperative systems, there is yet the need to evaluate in the long term and large dimension the true potential benefits of wireless vehicular cooperative systems to improve traffic efficiency. To this aim, iTETRIS is devoted to the development of advanced tools coupling traffic and wireless communication simulators

System dynamics platforms for integrated energy analysis

The energy field has been dominated in recent years by two different themes: on the one hand, the integrated approach to energy planning, and, on the other hand, the ownership structures for industries' management. This thesis investigates a broad range of problems arising in relation to these themes, including demand-side management, technology diffusion and supply-side management. It also reviews the corresponding approaches to assist the decision making process in connection with these problems. It is shown here that there is a methodological vacuum with respect to the support tools for energy analysis due to emerging policy challenges in the energy field, and methodological solutions are proposed to this end. The contribution is thus primarily three fold: 1) a methodology to assist both policy analysis and strategic processes, 2) a systems platform to assess policy and strategy, and 3) evaluation of specific policy and strategic issues arising in the new liberalised environments being implemented in both the British and Colombian energy systems. In this case, methodological connections are appropriate as the Colombian Government has incorporated aspects of the British energy system set-up. This thesis contains seven chapters. Chapter 1, from an extensive literature review, establishes a dilemma in relation to the methodology required to support system analysis and planning. Chapter 2 presents a new methodological proposal to meet the requirements. Chapter 3 concept-tests the proposal and specifies an analysis-support platform as a generic aid to modelling. Chapter 4 develops a case study for the UK energy system, partially testing the proposed approach and the analysis platform especially constructed for this situation. Chapter 5 elaborates upon a case study for the Colombian energy sector, examining in detail both methodology and the analysis platform uniquely designed for this case. Chapter 6, with the support of a platform construct, studies and assesses energy policies for Colombia. Finally, Chapter 7 summarises and concludes the major findings of this thesis

Harnessing technology local authorities survey 2007

The report presents and analyses the findings from the 2006-07 survey of local authorities covering their provision and support for ICT in schools

Partnerships for Sustainable Development Goals 2016

This present document is the fourth edition of a report that has been prepared by the Division for Sustainable Development of UN-DESA as a follow up the Rio+20 Conference in 2012, as an effort to provide status of progress multi-stakeholder partnerships and voluntary commitments have in realizing sustainable development. This current 2016 edition reviews a number of action networks and multi-stakeholder partnerships, with a particular focus on how they support the theme of the 2016 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) - "Ensuring that no one is left behind". Information in the report is largely based on submissions from the Partnerships for SDGs online platform, which was originally developed following the Rio+20 Conference in 201. The platform was recently redesigned ahead of the adoption of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015

Removing Barriers, Integrating Research, Spreading Excellence: The European Satellite Communications Network of Excellence "SatNEx"

Within the recently launched 6th Research Framework Programme of the European Commission, 21 major players in satellite communications research have joined forces to implement the European Satellite Communications Network of Excellence (SatNEx). The primary goal of SatNEx is to achieve long-lasting integration of the European research in satellite communication and to develop a common base of knowledge, thus contributing to the realization of the European Research Area. This paper discusses the background and motivation for implementation of the network and highlights the SatNEx mission and key objectives. A top-level overview is then provided including a description of the consortium, the Joint Programme of Activities (JPA) and the time schedule with deliverables and milestones. Finally, an update of ongoing work is presented