Space-based Communications Infrastructure for Developing Countries

This study examines the potential use of satellites to augment the telecommunications infrastructure of developing countries with advanced satellites. The study investigated the potential market for using satellites in developing countries, the role of satellites in national information infractructures (NII), the technical feasibility of augmenting NIIs with satellites, and a nation's financial conditions necessary for procuring satellite systems. In addition, the study examined several technical areas including onboard processing, intersatellite links, frequency of operation, multibeam and active antennas, and advanced satellite technologies. The marketing portion of this study focused on three case studies: China, Brazil, and Mexico. These cases represent countries in various stages of telecommunication infrastructure development. The study concludes by defining the needs of developing countries for satellites, and recommends steps that both industry and NASA can take to improve the competitiveness of U.S. satellite manufacturing

The Wave of Digital Revolution: New Trends in the Emergence, Participation, and Presentation of Metaverse Art

In early 2021, Roblox, known as the first stock in the metaverse, was officiallylisted on the New York Stock Exchange. In the same year, the famous American social media giant Facebook changed its name to Meta and focused on developing the meta-universe. At the same time, Microsoft, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Byte Jump, Baidu, Tencent and other technology giants laid out metaverse-related industries. Since then, the metaverse has become a new windfall. So what exactly is the metaverse? Meta-universe is a big concept, which is based on digital space to achieve a high degree of integration of the physical world, virtual world and human society, including all virtual worlds, augmented reality and the Internet, the core of which is a virtualization and digitization of the real world, the universe. As an excellent template for total art , metaverse undoubtedly cannot only rely on the technical support of Internet giants, but also needs to create a systematic and complete creator ecology, for this reason, metaverse and the art field naturally fuse with each other, and metaverse art sprouts and develops. For the metaverse, the intervention of artists and artworks injects new vitality into the metaverse. The artistic creation of artists can give the virtual world of the metaverse diversified and stylized forms of expression, preventing the metaverse from being reduced to a cold technical achievement or an empty virtual space. For art, the metaverseprovides a broader space for art display, participation and dissemination. The infinite virtual world of metaverse and its viewing method that breaks through the limit of screen border provide new ideas for the display of art works, and the art works with VR and AR technology as the core will be reborn in the metaverse. The combination of metaverse and art means mutual benefit and win-win. Art brings rich human connotation and emotion to metaverse technology, and art is like the flesh and blood of metaverse, which makes the originally cold technology have a temperature. Art is like the flesh and blood of the metaverse, giving the cold technology a warmth. The technology also provides a new space and platform for art, which is like a skeleton of the body supporting the outline of the whole body.

Managing ASEAN's coastal resources for sustainable development: roles of policymakers, scientists, donors, media and communities

Coastal zone management, Sustainable development, ASEAN,

Innovation in China: The Contribution of Sino-Western Joint Ventures

Since China embraced the “Open Door” policy in 1978, innovation has been an increasingly important factor for the Chinese economy. China is now the third largest country in the world league table of patent applications. China has also received large amounts of foreign direct investment, much of it from major Western innovative companies. In the earlier years of the Open Door policy, much of the involvement of Western companies was through joint ventures. International joint ventures are still important, and it is believed have substantially enhanced China’s innovative capability. It is the contention of this research that there is a direct correlation between the arrivals of Sino-Western JVs and China’s increased innovation capabilities. This is an important area of study as China moves towards becoming a developed economy. The gap in research at present is in applying innovation theory to China and to JVs. The thesis explores the contribution of Sino-Western JVs to the development of China’s innovative capabilities. A model of the innovation process is developed, and eight important factors that are considered to enhance a company’s innovative capacity, are derived from the model. The factors, expressed as propositions, are: 1: Becoming part of a wide innovative network in its industry 2: Taking part in an open innovation system in its industry 3: Relating closely to universities, and particularly their research laboratories 4: Relating closely to research institutions 5: Developing a social atmosphere conducive to innovation 6: Developing a strong strategic planning system with innovation as a focus 7: Having innovation as a primary objective of both partners at the outset of the joint venture 8: Focusing on developing intellectual property To investigate whether these propositions were accepted by Sino-Western joint ventures, 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted in ten international (Sino-western) joint ventures in China. In general the interviews provided support for the propositions. However, some reservations were expressed. Executives were reluctant to engage in open (collaborative) innovation, preferring to seek patents for developed intellectual property. They also perceived the main objective of the Western partners to be commercial success rather than innovation, although the Chinese partners were very much innovation-orientated. The research contributes to our understanding of the contribution of Sino-western JVs to the innovative capability of Chinese companies, and provides support for most of the propositions identified in the literature. Respondents remarked that most of the propositions would apply also to self-standing companies in China, and suggested that joint ventures could stimulate innovation in indigenous Chinese companies. In addition to providing a historical overview of the development of innovation in China, developing an innovation process model and testing it in the Chinese context, the thesis makes important policy and practical recommendations to Chinese organizations

CURATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH LIBRARIES

Libraries, museums and archives hold valuable collections in a variety of media, presenting a vast body of knowledge rooted in the history of human civilisation. These form the repository of the wisdom of great works by thinkers of past and the present. The holdings of these institutions are priceless heritage of the mankind as they preserve documents, ideas, and the oral and written records. To value the cultural heritage and to care for it as a treasure bequeathed to us by our ancestors is the major responsibility of libraries. The past records constitute a natural resource and are indispensable to the present generation as well as to the generations to come. Libraries preserve the documentary heritage resources for which they are primarily responsible. Any loss of such materials is simply irreplaceable. Therefore, preserving this intellectual, cultural heritage becomes not only the academic commitment but also the moral responsibility of the librarians/information scientists, who are in charge of these repositories. The high quality of the papers and the discussion represent the thinking and experience of experts in their particular fields. The contributed papers also relate to the methodology used in libraries in Asia to provide access to manuscripts and cultural heritage. The volume discusses best practices in Knowledge preservation and how to collaborate and preserve the culture. The book also deals with manuscript and archives issues in the digital era. The approach of this book is concise, comprehensively, covering all major aspects of preservation and conservation through libraries. The readership of the book is not just limited to library and information science professionals, but also for those involved in conservation, preservation, restoration or other related disciplines. The book will be useful for librarians, archivists and conservators. We thank the Sunan Kalijaga University, Special Libraries Association- Asian Chapter for their trust and their constant support, all the contributors for their submissions, the members of the Local and International Committee for their reviewing effort for making this publication possible

Enabling and Understanding Failure of Engineering Structures Using the Technique of Cohesive Elements

In this paper, we describe a cohesive zone model for the prediction of failure of engineering solids and/or structures. A damage evolution law is incorporated into a three-dimensional, exponential cohesive law to account for material degradation under the influence of cyclic loading. This cohesive zone model is implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS through a user defined subroutine. The irreversibility of the cohesive zone model is first verified and subsequently applied for studying cyclic crack growth in specimens experiencing different modes of fracture and/or failure. The crack growth behavior to include both crack initiation and crack propagation becomes a natural outcome of the numerical simulation. Numerical examples suggest that the irreversible cohesive zone model can serve as an efficient tool to predict fatigue crack growth. Key issues such as crack path deviation, convergence and mesh dependency are also discussed

India And China Space Programs: From Genesis Of Space Technologies To Major Space Programs And What That Means For The Internati

The Indian and Chinese space programs have evolved into technologically advanced vehicles of national prestige and international competition for developed nations. The programs continue to evolve with impetus that India and China will have the same space capabilities as the United States with in the coming years. This will present new challenges to the international community in spheres civilian, to space and military applications and their residual benefits

Digitalisation For Sustainable Infrastructure: The Road Ahead

In today’s tumultuous and fast-changing times, digitalisation and technology are game changers in a wide range of sectors and have a tremendous impact on infrastructure. Roads, railways, electricity grids, aviation, and maritime transport are deeply affected by the digital and technological transition, with gains in terms of competitiveness, cost-reduction, and safety. Digitalisation is also a key tool for fostering global commitment towards sustainability, but the race for digital infrastructure is also a geopolitical one. As the world’s largest economies are starting to adopt competitive strategies, a level playing field appears far from being agreed upon. Why are digitalisation and technology the core domains of global geopolitical competition? How are they changing the way infrastructure is built, operated, and maintained? To what extent will road, rail, air, and maritime transport change by virtue of digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things? How to enhance cyber protection for critical infrastructure? What are the EU’s, US’ and China’s digital strategies?Publishe

Economically sustainable public security and emergency network exploiting a broadband communications satellite

The research contributes to work in Rapid Deployment of a National Public Security and Emergency Communications Network using Communication Satellite Broadband. Although studies in Public Security Communication networks have examined the use of communications satellite as an integral part of the Communication Infrastructure, there has not been an in-depth design analysis of an optimized regional broadband-based communication satellite in relation to the envisaged service coverage area, with little or no terrestrial last-mile telecommunications infrastructure for delivery of satellite solutions, applications and services. As such, the research provides a case study of a Nigerian Public Safety Security Communications Pilot project deployed in regions of the African continent with inadequate terrestrial last mile infrastructure and thus requiring a robust regional Communications Satellite complemented with variants of terrestrial wireless technologies to bridge the digital hiatus as a short and medium term measure apart from other strategic needs. The research not only addresses the pivotal role of a secured integrated communications Public safety network for security agencies and emergency service organizations with its potential to foster efficient information symmetry amongst their operations including during emergency and crisis management in a timely manner but demonstrates a working model of how analogue spectrum meant for Push-to-Talk (PTT) services can be re-farmed and digitalized as a “dedicated” broadband-based public communications system. The network’s sustainability can be secured by using excess capacity for the strategic commercial telecommunication needs of the state and its citizens. Utilization of scarce spectrum has been deployed for Nigeria’s Cashless policy pilot project for financial and digital inclusion. This effectively drives the universal access goals, without exclusivity, in a continent, which still remains the least wired in the world