The anatomy of digital trade infrastructures

In global supply chains information about transactions resides in fragmented pockets within business and government systems. The introduction of digital trade infrastructures (DTI) that transcend organizational and systems domains is driven by the prospect of reducing this information fragmentation, thereby enabling improved security and efficiency in trade process. To understand the problem at hand and build cumulative knowledge about its resolution a way to conceptualize the different digital trade infrastructure initiatives is needed. This paper develops the Digital Trade Infrastructure Framework that identifies its structural components.Information and Communication Technolog

The anatomy of digital trade infrastructures

In global supply chains information about transactions resides in fragmented pockets within business and government systems. The lack of reliable, accurate and complete information makes it hard to detect risks (such as safety, security, compliance, commercial) and at the same time makes international trade inefficient. The introduction of digital infrastructures that transcend organizational and systems domains is driven by the prospect of reducing information fragmentation, thereby enabling improved security and efficiency in trade process. The potential of such digital trade infrastructures has been showcased in demonstrator settings, but in practice adoption and growth has been slow. In order to understand the problem at hand and build cumulative knowledge about its resolution, we need a way to conceptualize the different infrastructure initiatives. This paper therefore develops the Digital Trade Infrastructure Framework that aims to identify the structural components (anatomy) of the digital infrastructures in the trade area. The framework is developed through an empirically grounded analysis of four digital infrastructures in the trade domain within the conceptual lens of digital infrastructure. The framework can be used to position digital trade infrastructure initiatives to allow for cumulative knowledge building about its challenges as well as to articulate forward-looking agendas covering to development of instruments to oversee its resolution.Information and Communication Technolog

Climate change impact on wave energy in the Persian Gulf

Excessive usage of fossil fuels and high emission of greenhouse gases have increased the earth’s temperature, and consequently have changed the patterns of natural phenomena such as wind speed, wave height, etc. Renewable energy resources are ideal alternatives to reduce the negative effects of increasing greenhouse gases emission and climate change. However, these energy sources are also sensitive to changing climate. In this study, the effect of climate change on wave energy in the Persian Gulf is investigated. For this purpose, future wind data obtained from CGCM3.1 model were downscaled using a hybrid approach and modification factors were computed based on local wind data (ECMWF) and applied to control and future CGCM3.1 wind data. Downscaled wind data was used to generate the wave characteristics in the future based on A2, B1, and A1B scenarios, while ECMWF wind field was used to generate the wave characteristics in the control period. The results of these two 30-yearly wave modelings using SWAN model showed that the average wave power changes slightly in the future. Assessment of wave power spatial distribution showed that the reduction of the average wave power is more in the middle parts of the Persian Gulf. Investigation of wave power distribution in two coastal stations (Boushehr and Assalouyeh ports) indicated that the annual wave energy will decrease in both stations while the wave power distribution for different intervals of significant wave height and peak period will also change in Assalouyeh according to all scenarios.Full Tex