Toward Infrastructure Improvement An Agenda for Research (1994) / Chapter Skim
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Technology Management
Technology Management
Pages 95-104
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From page 95... ...
For infrastructure, which operates within the context of a city or region, this means studies of such matters as inducements and barriers to innovation, public perceptions of technology, government policies mat influence private R&D, and distributions of responsibility among public agencies and private enterprise. Research payoffs in this area could include improved productivity of the investment made by the NSF and others who fund research, reduced barriers to infrastructure innovation, and ultimately more rapid improvement in infrastructure performance.
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From page 96... ...
Defining and Measuring Performance Research is needed to develop criteria and measures of infrastructure performance that can be used for direct comparison of diverse technological alternatives. For example, it is very difficult to compare directly the long-term merits of investments in transport versus those in water supply, or use of wood versus steel for bridge structures, because of the wide range of factors to be considered.
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From page 97... ...
For example, during the evacuation of New York's World Trade Center following the 1993 bombing incident, internal communications systems were disabled, and local cable television connections provided the only link to people stranded in the buildings. Burst water mains in the early l990s have disrupted transit and street traffic, power supplies, and communications in several East Coast cities.
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From page 98... ...
SCHNOOK INDECENT Facade me e~rabon ~ opposes for congruous mul~od~ mo~tor~g and control systems for urban infrastructure, for example Dim impended sensors, cellular or Fired commu~cabons, and high-speed data processing. TECHNOLOGY ADAPTATION 10 INERASlXO~RE ~ tec~olo~es me erg ~ may herds (e.g.' medic-' corpus lag/ and consumer electronics)
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From page 99... ...
Market potential studies typically developed by private-sector firms, based on future profit potential, cannot be easily adapted to the public decision process. Research in this area could develop the bases for alternative procedures for assessing market potential and presenting that assessment effectively within the public decision-making context, for example by seeking to define protocols and database systems for public-sector infrastructure technology assessments.
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From page 100... ...
Other studies could assess the influence of government and private procurement processes on incentives and obstacles to developers of new technology, and what role ownership structures (e.g., public utility or toll authority versus government department) play in determ~ung willingness to adopt promising new infrastructure technology.
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From page 101... ...
{Photo courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts, Presidential Design Awards program}
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From page 102... ...
Overly detailed and specific lists of requirements, functions, characteristics, or attributes obscure key underlying functions or performance desired. Such restrictiveness arises in trying to reduce uncertainty by controlling process, when methods for measuring performance of the product are lacking.
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From page 103... ...
Typical questions for research might include: · What is the impact on productivity of distributed government support of infrastructure research (e.g., distinct local, regional, state, and federal responsibilities, distributed among separate energy, transportation, or water resources agencies) versus more concentrated management typical of many European countries (e.g., a single national ministry of construction and local authorities)
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From page 104... ...
Here, riveted railway bridge girders that have seen 50 years of service are tester] in the laboratory to determine accumulated damage and help researchers develop tests and mathematical models for predicting the remaining service life of old structures.
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