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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Heikki Eskelinen; Lauri Dieter Frank; Timo Hirvonen |
| Abstract: | Broadband infrastructures with a high transmission capacity are seen as a key precondition for the development of an information society, and therefore, their supply and availability have become important issues in public policies. The paper analyses the policy strategies applied in Finland and Sweden for promoting territorial rollout of broadband infrastructures. The experiences of these two countries can be seen to be of scientific interest and political relevance especially for the following two reasons: Both countries have been forerunners in the development of information society in general, and telecommunications in particular. Secondly, these two countries are sparsely populated, which is a most relevant conditioning factor in the rollout of broadband infrastructures characterised by nodal features. Despite the above-mentioned similarities of the two countries, they have applied quite different strategies in the rollout of broadband. In Sweden, the public sector has taken a more interventionist role than in Finland. This implies the question whether and how this difference can be seen in the territoriality of broadband supply. The paper attempts to answer this question, and provide conclusions for effective policy strategies. The paper is an outgrowth of the ESPON (European Spatial Planning Observation Network) project 1.2.2 “Telecommunications Services and Networks: Territorial Trends and Basic Supply of Infrastructure for Territorial Cohesion” (see: http://www.espon.lu). |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p257&r=ict |
| By: | António Soares; Gonçalo Santinha |
| Abstract: | Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their widespread have produced profound changes at economic and social levels. We are now in what is known as Information Society. The ways in which people, firms, institutions and governments deal with ICTs and understand their impacts is an important issue. One of the main characteristics of Information Society is the growing competition between agents through innovation. By innovation we mean the capacity to manage creatively the knowledge as an answer to changes in social needs and in technology. Hence, innovation occurs as a means of competitive advantage. The paper addresses this issue by highlighting the importance of innovation for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are by far the most relevant actors in European Economy. It is argued that the access and use of information as well as the existence of interaction between agents are key factors for innovation. ICTs, if used in a correct and efficient matter, can play an important role by inducing and help SMEs to innovate. In spite of helping firms overcoming a wide range of barriers, the adoption and the search for efficiency in ICTs use can however become a problem. This is even more significant concerning SMEs and particularly those located in peripheral regions. In fact, acknowledging the existence of a regional digital divide and a digital divide by company size, the European Commission is developing several actions in order to face and overcome these problems. The paper addresses several initiatives undertaken by the European Commission since the Lisbon summit at March 2000. More recently, the European regional policies have changed from simply getting SMEs connected to the Internet to the effective integration of ICTs into business processes. As a conclusion, the authors argue that Digital Policies should take into account that ICT adoption and use by SMEs, cannot be regarded as a panacea to solve the problems of firms and regional development. Regional policies to help SMEs to adopt ICT must be integrated (in a coherent way) within broader regional strategies. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p435&r=ict |
| By: | Crescenzio GALLO (Università di Foggia-Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Matematiche e Statistiche) |
| Abstract: | Theoretical Computer Science classically aimed to develop a mathematical understanding of capabilities and limits of traditional computing architecture (Boole, von Neuman, Turing, Church, Godel), investigating in computability, complexity theory and algorithmics. Now it seems more natural to revisit classical computer science notions under a new game- theoretic model. The purpose of this work is to investigate some themes at the intersection of algorithmics and game theory, emphasizing both mathematical and technological issues. |
| Keywords: | computer science, game theory, network, protocol |
| JEL: | C7 D8 |
| Date: | 2005–09–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpga:0509003&r=ict |
| By: | Ute Hansen |
| Abstract: | In the State of Schleswig-Holstein the strategy of economic policy is based on a concept which is known as “Cluster Building”. An economic cluster initiates the networking of all participants in a value-added chain. The objective is to bundle the potentials and competences for increasing the innovation power and competitiveness of the partners in a cluster. Because of internet-technology, business and government networking in a rural area will obtain a driving force. Internet-technologies, like infrastructure, applications, platforms, broadband, enable the business processes between companies, research institutes and government to be networked. eBusiness and eGovernment/eAdministration will cause a fundamental structural change of the private and public sector. Owing to this development, there is a new demand for Economic Policy and Technology Policy. With the strategy of eClustering this demand is taken into account. The partners in an eCluster are networked by processes which are more and more standardised and so able to be supported by online-applications. An eCluster needs a central infrastructure and services. Knowledgemanagement, eLearning, eMarketplaces, personnel management and last but not least eGovernment are the main processes and services of an eCluster. Funding activities focuses on innovative eClustering-projects in the State of Schleswig-Holstein: They should on the one hand increase the demand for broadband infrastructure and services and therewith for the regional development of TIMES (Telecommunication, Information Technology, Multimedia, Entertainment, Security) and on the other hand support networking and eBusiness. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p650&r=ict |
| By: | Paulo Cesar Lima Segantine; Rui António Ramos |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, is a common sense the importance of geotechnologies in urban planning, transportation engineering and other different areas of knowledge. The Geographic Information System (GIS) is one of the geotechnologies that has been used increasingly. The collection of information and creation of a database are the most expensive, complex and important task in a GIS project. The collection of information results from the direct and indirect measurement of the real world. The reason for creating databases is to register and the maintain the different sources of collecting information. This paper has the objective to present the different techniques for data collection as input in GIS, as well as a brief discussion on the cost associated with the collection of data. Furthermore, comments on precision, accuracy and the quality of database are given. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p495&r=ict |
| By: | Pavel Okunev (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley & Bank of America) |
| Abstract: | We propose a simple approach to combining internal and external loss data in the case when internal and external data come from the same distribution. We assume that the internal data is uncensored but the external data includes only losses above a known threshold. This approach is an alternative to the method of Baud et al. \cite{BA1}, when the latter is too computationally expensive due to the large quantity of data available. |
| Keywords: | operational risk, basel accords, combining internal and external data, stratified sampling, weighted average |
| JEL: | G |
| Date: | 2005–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0508013&r=ict |