International energy trends. 3rd quarter 1977 and recent trends

For the first three quarters of 1977 energy consumption in OECD countries was 2.7% higher than for the same period in 1976. During the same period industrial production rose by 4.5% and gross domestic product by 4.0%. Thus energy growth remained low in relation to economic activity. This was the case particularly in Europe (0.6% in energy and 2.0% in GDP) and in Japan (3.6% in energy and 6.5% in GDP). In the OECD area coal consumption rose by 1.2% and oil consumption by 3.7%

Promoting access to public research data for scientific, economic, and social development

It is now commonplace to say that information and communications technologies are rapidly transforming the world of research. We are only beginning to recognize, however, that management of the scientific enterprise must adapt if we, as a society, are to take full advantage of the knowledge and understanding generated by researchers. One of the most important areas of information and communication technology (ICT)-driven change is the emergence of escience, briefly described as universal desktop access, via the Internet, to distributed resources, global collaboration, and the intellectual, analytical, and investigative output of the world’s scientific community.The vision of e-science is being realised in relation to the outputs of science, particularly journal articles and other forms of scholarly publication. This realisation extends less to research data, the raw material at the heart of the scientific process and the object of significant annual public investments.Ensuring research data are easily accessible, so that they can be used as often and as widely as possible, is a matter of sound stewardship of public resources. Moreover, as research becomes increasingly global, there is a growing need to systematically address data access and sharing issues beyond national jurisdictions. The goals of this report and its recommendations are to ensure that both researchers and the public receive optimum returns on the public investments in research, and to build on the value chain of investments in research and research data. To some extent, research data are shared today, often quite extensively within established networks, using both the latest technology and innovative management techniques. The Follow Up Group drew on the experiences of several of these networks to examine the roles and responsibilities of governments as they relate to data produced from publicly funded research. The objective was to seek good practices that can be used by national governments, international bodies, and scientists in other areas of research. In doing so, the Group developed an analytical framework for determining where further improvements can be made in the national and international organization, management, and regulation of research data.The findings and recommendations presented here are based on the central principle that publicly funded research data should be openly available to the maximum extent possible. Availability should be subject only to national security restrictions; protection of confidentiality and privacy; intellectual property rights; and time-limited exclusive use by principal investigators. Publicly funded research data are a public good, produced in the public interest. As such they should remain in the public realm. This does not preclude the subsequent commercialization of research results in patents and copyrights, or of the data themselves in databases, but it does mean that a copy of the data must be maintained and made openly accessible. Implicitly or explicitly, this principle is recognized by many of the world’s leading scientific institutions, organizations, andagencies. Expanding the adoption of this principle to national and international stages will enable researchers, empower citizens and convey tremendous scientific, economic, and social benefits. Evidence from the case studies and from other investigation undertaken for this report suggest that successful research data access and sharing arrangements, or regimes, share a number of key attributes and operating principles. These bring effective organization and management to the distribution and exchange of data. The key attributes include: openness; transparency of access and active dissemination; the assignment and assumption of formal responsibilities; interoperability; quality control; operational efficiency and flexibility; respect for private intellectual property and other ethical and legal matters; accountability; and professionalism. Whether they are discipline-specific or issue oriented, national or international, the regimes that adhere to these operating principles reap the greatest returns from the use of research data. There are five broad groups of issues that stand out in any examination of research data access and sharing regimes. The Follow Up Group used these as an analytical framework for examining the case studies that informed this report, and in doing so, came to several broad conclusions: • Technological issues: Broad access to research data, and their optimum exploitation, requires appropriately designed technological infrastructure, broad international agreement on interoperability, and effective data quality controls; • Institutional and managerial issues: While the core open access principle applies to all science communities, the diversity of the scientific enterprise suggests that a variety of institutional models and tailored data management approaches are most effective in meeting the needs of researchers; • Financial and budgetary issues: Scientific data infrastructure requires continued, and dedicated, budgetary planning and appropriate financial support. The use of research data cannot be maximized if access, management, and preservation costs are an add-on or after-thought in research projects; • Legal and policy issues: National laws and international agreements directly affect data access and sharing practices, despite the fact that they are often adopted without due consideration of the impact on the sharing of publicly funded research data; • Cultural and behavioural issues: Appropriate reward structures are a necessary component for promoting data access and sharing practices. These apply to both those who produce and those who manage research data.The case studies and other research conducted for this report suggest that concrete, beneficial actions can be taken by the different actors involved in making possible access to, and sharing of, publicly funded research data. This includes the OECD as an international organization with credibility and stature in the science policy area. The Follow Up Group recommends that the OECD consider the following: • Put the issues of data access and sharing on the agenda of the next Ministerial meeting; • In conjunction with relevant member country research organizations, o Conduct or coordinate a study to survey national laws and policies that affect data access and sharing practices; o Conduct or coordinate a study to compile model licensing agreements and templates for access to and sharing of publicly funded data; • With the rapid advances in scientific communications made possible by recent developments in ICTs, there are many aspects of research data access and sharing that have not been addressed sufficiently by this report, would benefit from further study, and will need further clarification. Accordingly, further possible actions areas include: o Governments from OECD expand their policy frameworks of research data access and sharing to include data produced from a mixture of public and private funds; o OECD consider examinations of research data access and sharing to include issues of interacting with developing countries; and o OECD promote further research, including a comprehensive economic analysis of existing data access regimes, at both the national and research project or program levels.National governments have a crucial role to play in promoting and supporting data accessibility since they provide the necessary resources, establish overall polices for data management, regulate matters such as the protection of confidentiality and privacy, and determine restrictions based on national security. Most importantly, national governments are responsible for major research support and funding organizations, and it is here that many of the managerial aspects ofdata sharing need to be addressed. Drawing on good practices worldwide, the Follow Up Group suggests that national governments should consider the following: • Adopt and effectively implement the principle that data produced from publicly funded research should be openly vailable to the maximum extent possible; • Encourage their research funding agencies and major data producing departments to work together to find ways to enhance access to statistical data, such as census materials and surveys; • Adopt free access or marginal cost pricing policies for the dissemination of researchuseful data produced by government departments and agencies; • Analyze, assess, and monitor policies, programs, and management practices related to data access and sharing polices within their national research and research funding organizations. The widespread national, international and cross-disciplinary sharing of research data is no longer a technological impossibility. Technology itself, however, will not fulfill the promise of escience.Information and communication technologies provide the physical infrastructure. It is up to national governments, international agencies, research institutions, and scientists themselves to ensure that the institutional, financial and economic, legal, and cultural and behavioural aspects of data sharing are taken into account

Uranium : resources production and demand

In August 1965, a report entitled "World Uranium and Thorium Resources" was published by the European Nuclear Energy Agency, on the basis of an examination carried out by the ENEA Study Group on the Long-Term Role of Nuclear Energy in Western Europe. It was foreseen at the time of publication that the results of this examination would need to be updated at intervals, and inDecember 1967 a second report, "Uranium Resources, Revised Estimates" was published. In order to enlarge the geographical coverage of the study, and to receive the advice of experts from uranium-producing countries outside the OECD area, this revision was made jointly with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. During 1968 a joint ENEA/IAEA Working Party prepared a first report on "Uranium Production and Short Term Demand", in an attempt to relate information on uranium production supplied by the members of the Working Party, with a prediction of the probable demand over the next ten years. The report was published in January 1969. In September 1970 a report on "Uranium Resources, Production and Demand" was published jointly by ENEA and the IAEA. This reportcontained an updating of the uranium resources position since 1967 which was again carried out by the joint ENEA/IAEA Working Party on Uranium Resources. In addition, the Secretariat had prepared estimates of uranium and separative work requirements which were annexed to the report.The present report is essentially similar to the previous one, in that it contains updated information on uranium resources, production and demand. Part II on Uranium Resources and Production was prepared in the framework of the joint NEA*/IAEA Working Party on Uranium Resources, as was the case in the three foregoing reports* The estimates of requirements for natural and enriched uranium, contained in Part III of the Report, have been prepared by a "Working Party on Uranium Demand", with an international membership set up for this purpose in spring 1972 by the NEA Study Group on the Long-Term Role of Nuclear Energy. As a result of this approach the estimates for uranium and separative work demand are based on corporately agreed input data, and the scope of the demand calculations has been extended considerably through access to relevant computer programs in several participating countries

Groupe de recherche sur la gestion de l'eau : premier rapport (1969)

Ce document, qui présente le mandat et la représentation de ce Groupe, couvre la période allant de sa création jusqu'à la fin de 1968. Il expose les changements d’orientation qui reflètent des changements de l'attitude des gouvernements en face des problèmes d’aménagement des ressources en eau, et qui ont mené à la formation de ce Groupe. Sont décrits la manière dont on a sélectionné les études les plus urgentes, ainsi que le travail s’y appliquant ; les délégués sont invitésà considérer de pair, les problèmes d’organisation, de développement et d’administration (...

Evolution de la recherche sur la désulfuration des combustibles et des gaz de cheminée

Afin de poursuivre son enquête sur la pollution atmosphérique provoquée par les oxydes de soufre, le Groupe Consultatif sur la Gestion et la Recherche dans le domaine de l'Air a créé un comité ad hoc chargé d'étudier l'état des recherches sur les méthodes employées pour la désulfuration des combustibles et des gaz de cheminée. Cette étude figure dans le document ci-joint ; elle a abouti à la création d'un groupe spécial de délégués sur "la Pollution atmosphérique résultant de l'emploi des combustibles". (Pour cette dernière activité, se reporter également à "L'observateur de l'O.C.D.E." numéro 48, octobre 1970).Une liste des participants à la réunion ad hoc concernant la recherche sur la désulfuration des combustibles et des gaz de cheminée figure à l'Annexe 1

Rapport d'avancement concernant l'expérience de mesure effectuée par les stations de base

Au cours d'un séminaire d ’experts nationaux tenu à Stockholm les 7 et 8 décembre 1967, il a été décidé d'échanger à titre expérimental des données sur la mesure de la fumée et du dioxyde de soufre effectuée dans les stations dites de base d'un certain nombre de pays (voir "Stations de base et Stations pilotes - Séminaire organisé conjointement par l'O.C.D.E. et la Suède, Stockholm 1967). L'Institut Météorologique International de Stockhom (I.M.I.) a accepté de coordonner cette expérience et d'analyser les données soumises par les réseaux nationaux de stations de base, 2. Les délais de lancement du projet ont été plus longs que prévus. En juin 1969, quatre pays avaient fourni des données, l'Allemagne, la Belgique, le Royaune-Uni et la Suède. 3. Un premier rapport d'avancement (voir page 3) concernant les informations relatives à chaque station de base participante et aux données fournies par les stations à l'I.M.I, a étéétabli par M. L. Granat de l'I.M.I., en qualité de consultant de l'O.C.D.E., Ce rapport a été examiné par le Groupe d’experts pour la recherche sur les mesures au cours de sa deuxième réunion tenue du 18 au 20 juin 1969. Le Groupe a constaté que le délai de mise en oeuvre de l'expérience a été plus long queprévu, que certains pays n ’appliquent pas les techniques d'échantillonnageet d’analyse convenues initialement et que les différences entre les types d’implantation des stations ont rendu plus difficile de comparer les données reçues de toutes les stations. En outre, le Délégué de la Belgique a déclaré que les stations belges qui fournissent actuellement des données ne peuvent êtreconsidérées comme de véritables stations de base. 4. Un deuxième rapport d'avancement (voir page 18) a été ensuite établi par M. Granat ; il contient un résumé des données reçues, des suggestions pour la poursuite de ce programme et une description du matériel et des méthodes utilisées par l’I.M.I., avec les différences entre ce matériel et ces méthodes et ceux qui étaient proposés à l’origine

Uranium : ressources, production et demande

Depuis août 1965, l ’Agence pour l’Energie Nucléaire a publié périodiquement des rapports sur les ressources et la demande d’uranium, qui, à partir de 1967, ont été établis conjointement avec l ’Agence Internationale de l ’Energie Atomique. (...) Dans le présent rapport, qui constitue une nouvelle version révisée de cette série, une place importante est faite à une étude plus exhaustive des activités de prospection et de la disponibilité de l’uranium. En plus d’une mise à jour des estimations relatives aux ressources et à la production, on s’est aussi efforcé, parallèlement, de couvrir dans cette étude un plus grand nombre de pays.Les informations relatives à la demande d’uranium ont également été révisées, compte tenu des prévisions les plus récentes concernant l’expansion de la puissance nucléaire installée et l’on a analysé l’incidence à plus long terme des réacteurs de type avancé. Les données sur l’offre et la demande de services liées aux autres parties du cycle de combustible ne figurent pas dans cette révision, eu égard à la publication d’un rapport distinct de l ’AEN intitulé ’’Besoins liés au cycle du combustible nucléaire et considérations sur l’approvisionnement à long terme”.Les informations sur les ressources, la production et la prospection d’uranium ont été établies dans le cadre d’un ’’Groupe de travail commun AEN/AIEA sur les ressources en uranium”. La partie relative aux besoins en uranium a été élaborée par le Secrétariat sur la base des travaux du Groupe de travail de l’AEN sur la demande d’uranium. On trouvera en Annexe la liste des membres du Groupe de travail sur les ressources en uranium, sous la direction duquel le présent rapport a été établi

Réduire le bruit dans les pays de l'OCDE

Le problème du bruit concerne tous les pays de l ’OCDE. Il est considéré comme l ’un des aspects les plus gênants de l ’environnement. Le bruit constitue souvent une atteinte au bien-être et peut même, à un certain niveau, présenter un danger pour la santé. En dépit de réglementations diverses, le bruit continue à augmenter

International energy trends : monthly supplement on oil trends, may 26th, 1978

United States oil consumption (19.2 mbd) increased sharply on 4th quarter 1977 (18.1 mbd) reflecting the coal miners' strike which lasted up to rend March, temperatures which were much lower than normal and an increase in industrial production towards the end of the quarter. Increased consumption applied to middle distillates and residual fuel oil. Motor gasoline consumption remained at the 4th quarter 1977 level. With temperatures returning to normal for the season, consumption figures for April (18.9 mbd) show a considerable decline against March (19.9 mbd) in spite of a significant gain in industrial production

Rapport des experts nationaux sur la lutte contre l'eutrophisation

Ce rapport diffusé pour la première fois le 16 janvier 1970, a été soumis au Groupe de Recherche sur l'Aménagement de l‘Eau en septembre 1969 par les experts délégués par les pays, qui furent chargés de sélectionner les domaines prioritaires de recherche qui donneraient aux administrations les informations nécessaires au développement d'un programme pour le contrôle de I'eutrophisation. Ce rapport comprend une description générale et une définition du phénomène d'eutrophisation et une revue de ses conséquences. Les divers moyens pour combattre et contrôler I'eutrophisation sont énumérés et discutés et un tableau montrant la recherche en cours sur le contrôle de l'eutrophisation dans les pays Membres de l’OCDE, y figure.Les méthodes techniques qui ont été, ou pourraient être employées pour combattre l'eutrophisation sont envisagées ainsi que les questions légales telles que le contrôle des engrais agricoles et leur application, et la production de détergents sans phosphore. Le document comprend, en appendice, des propositions pour un système concerté de mesures essentielles destiné àfournir une utile base de comparaison