The stewardship performance of forms of privatised water infrastructure

In this research Agency Theory and Stewardship Theory are used to analyse the relative performance of different forms of privitisation of water infrastructure and in doing so enriches understanding of previously underdeveloped aspects of both theories. The prior Agency Theory literature had established assumptions about the behaviour of principals and agents in contracts and these were found not to be correct in the context of contracts between modern government and private organisations. Agency theory was extended to include steward-like behaviour of an agent and Stewardship Theory was developed by the identification of factors within the contractual relationship which promote the sense of responsibility to the principal. The alliance, joint venture and Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) forms of privatisation were found to achieve stewardship of the infrastructure.

A distributed computing framework for all-to-all comparison problems

Distributed computation and storage have been widely used for processing of big data sets. For many big data problems, with the size of data growing rapidly, the distribution of computing tasks and related data can affect the performance of the computing system greatly. In this paper, a distributed computing framework is presented for high performance computing of All-to-All Comparison Problems. A data distribution strategy is embedded in the framework for reduced storage space and balanced computing load. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed approach. They have shown that about 88% of the ideal performance capacity have be achieved in multiple machines through using the approach presented in this paper.

The impact of infrastructure charges on house prices in Australia

Developer paid fees or charges are a commonly used mechanism for local governments to pay for new infrastructure. However, property developers claim that these costs are merely passed on to home buyers, with adverse effects to housing affordability. Despite numerous government reports and many years of industry advocacy, there remains no empirical evidence in Australia to confirm or quantify this passing on effect to home buyers. Hence there remains no data from which governments can base policy decision on, and the debate continues. This paper examines the question of the impact of infrastructure charges on housing affordability in Australia. It presents the findings of a hedonic house price model that provides the first empirical evidence that infrastructure charges do increase house prices in Australia. This research is consistent with international findings, that support the proposition that developer paid infrastructure charges are passed on to home buyers and are a significant contributor to increasing house prices and reduced housing affordability.

Sustainable infrastructure projects in balancing urban–rural development: Towards the goal of efficiency and equity

In current practice, urban-rural development has been regarded as one of the key pillars in driving regenerative development that includes economic, social, and environmental balance. In association with rapid urbanization, an important contemporary issue in China is that its rural areas are increasingly lagging behind urban areas in their development and a coordinated provision of public facilities in rural areas is necessary to achieve a better balance. A model is therefore introduced for quantifying the effect of individual infrastructure projects on urban-rural balance (e-UR) by focusing on two attributes, namely, efficiency and equity. The model is demonstrated through a multi-criteria model, developed with data collected from infrastructure projects in Chongqing, with the criteria values for each project being scored by comparing data collected from the project involved with e-UR neutral “benchmark” values derived from a survey of experts in the field. The model helps evaluate the contribution of the projects to improving rural-urban balance and hence enable government decision-makers for the first time to prioritize future projects rigorously in terms of their likely contribution too.

Sustainability in infrastructure investment : building the business case

Many infrastructure agencies adopt sustainability objectives at a corporate level and incorporate sustainability targets and indicators as part of corporate reporting processes. These objectives are expected to translate to all stages of the project delivery process, including project selection. For infrastructure capital works projects and programs, a robust project management approach involves the development of a business case to guide investment decision making. A key tool in the assessment of project options and selection of a delivery strategy is Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). Infrastructure providers are required to undertake cost benefit analysis to support project selection through regulatory approval and budgetary processes. This tool has emerged through the prism of economic analysis rather than sustainability. A literature review reveals the limitations of CBA alone to effectively evaluate economic, environmental and social externalities or impacts that apply over a long time frame, and that are ultimately irreversible. Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) has been introduced as a means to incorporate a wider array of factors into decision making such as sustainability. This, however, presents new challenges with issues around how to transparently represent wider community values in the selection of a preferred solution. Are these tools effective in assessing the wider sustainability costs and benefits taking into account that these are public works with long life spans and significant impacts across institutional boundaries? The research indicates a need to develop clear guidelines for investment decision making in order to better align with corporate sustainability objectives. Findings from the literature review indicate that a more sustainable approach to investment decision-making framework should include: the incorporation of sustainability goals from corporate planning documents; problem definition and option generation using best practice investment management guidelines; improved guidelines for Business Case development using a combination of both Cost Benefit Analysis and Multi-Criteria Analysis; and an integrated public participation process.

Networked livecoding at VL/HCC 2013

Network connectivity offers the potential for a group of musicians to play together over the network. This paper describes a trans-Atlantic networked musical livecoding performance between Andrew Sorensen in Germany (at the Schloss Daghstuhl conference on Collaboration and Learning through Live Coding) and Ben Swift in San Jose (at YL/HCC) in September 2013. In this paper we describe the infrastructure developed to enable this performance.

Use of contract models to improve environmental outcomes in transport infrastructure construction

The type of contract model may have a significant influence on achieving project objectives, including environmental and climate change goals. This research investigates non-standard contract models impacting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in transport infrastructure construction in Australia. The research is based on the analysis of two case studies: an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract and a Design and Construct (D&C) contract with GHG reduction requirements embedded in the contractor selection. Main findings support the use of ECIs for better integrating decisions made during the planning phase with the construction activities, and improve environmental outcomes while achieving financial and time savings. Key words: greenhouse gases reduction; road construction; contracting; ECI; D&C

Exploring the effect of political risks in large infrastructure projects in politically unstable countries using a probabilistic modelling approach

This research aims to explore and identify political risks on a large infrastructure project in an exaggerated environment to ascertain whether sufficient objective information can be gathered by project managers to utilise risk modelling techniques. During the study, the author proposes a new definition of political risk; performs a detailed project study of the Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project in Pakistan; implements a probabilistic model using the principle of decomposition and Bayes probabilistic theorem and answers the question: was it possible for project managers to obtain all the relevant objective data to implement a probabilistic model?

Building energy simulation and parallel computing : opportunities and challenges

Increased focus on energy cost savings and carbon footprint reduction efforts improved the visibility of building energy simulation, which became a mandatory requirement of several building rating systems. Despite developments in building energy simulation algorithms and user interfaces, there are some major challenges associated with building energy simulation; an important one is the computational demands and processing time. In this paper, we analyze the opportunities and challenges associated with this topic while executing a set of 275 parametric energy models simultaneously in EnergyPlus using a High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster. Successful parallel computing implementation of building energy simulations will not only improve the time necessary to get the results and enable scenario development for different design considerations, but also might enable Dynamic-Building Information Modeling (BIM) integration and near real-time decision-making. This paper concludes with the discussions on future directions and opportunities associated with building energy modeling simulations.

An investigation into the effect of infrastructure on fly-in fly-out mining workers

Objective: To explore fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining workers' attitudes towards the leisure time they spend in mining camps, the recreational and social aspects of mining camp culture, the camps' communal and recreational infrastructure and activities, and implications for health. Design: In-depth semistructured interviews. Setting: Individual interviews at locations convenient for each participant. Participants: A total of seven participants, one female and six males. The age group varied within 20–59 years. Marital status varied across participants. Main outcome measures: A qualitative approach was used to interview participants, with responses thematically analysed. Findings highlight how the recreational infrastructure and activities at mining camps impact participants' enjoyment of the camps and their feelings of community and social inclusion. Results: Three main areas of need were identified in the interviews, as follows: (i) on-site facilities and activities; (ii) the role of infrastructure in facilitating a sense of community; and (iii) barriers to social interaction. Conclusion: Recreational infrastructure and activities enhance the experience of FIFO workers at mining camps. The availability of quality recreational facilities helps promote social interaction, provides for greater social inclusion and improves the experience of mining camps for their temporary FIFO residents. The infrastructure also needs to allow for privacy and individual recreational activities, which participants identified as important emotional needs. Developing appropriate recreational infrastructure at mining camps would enhance social interactions among FIFO workers, improve their well-being and foster a sense of community. Introducing infrastructure to promote social and recreational activities could also reduce alcohol-related social exclusion.

Opportunities and challenges in engaging citizens in the co-production of infrastructure-based public services in Australia

Research and practice have observed a shift towards service-oriented approaches that depend on input from citizens as co-producers of services. Yet in the delivery of public infrastructure the focus is still on managing assets rather than services. Using a Policy Delphi approach, we found that although experts advocate service-centric approaches guidelines and policies lack a service-centric perspective. Findings revealed a range of impediments to effective stakeholder involvement. The paper contributes to co-production and new public governance literature and offers directions for public infrastructure decision-makers to support and reconnect disengaged government–citizen relations, and determine ways of understanding optimal service outcomes.