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P-GRADE portal is one of the most widely used general-purpose grid portal in Europe. The paper summarizes the most advanced features of P-GRADE, such as parameter sweep workflow execution, multi-grid workflow execution and integration with the DSpace workflow repository. It also shows the NGS P-GRADE portal that extends P-GRADE with the GEMLCA legacy code execution support in Grid systems, as well as with coarse-grain workflow interoperability services. Next, the paper introduces the second generation P-GRADE portal called WS-PGRADE that merges the advanced features of the first generation P-GRADE portals and extends them with new workflow and architecture concepts. Finally, the application-specific science gateway of the CancerGrid project is briefly described to demonstrate that application-specific portals can easily be developed on top of the general-purpose WS-PGRADE portal. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Several global developments (e.g. diminishing production resources, growing demand for bio-energy) and numerous sector-wide crises (e.g. BSE, swine fever, dioxin) have led to a changing attitude of society towards the consequences of the food systems activities for social, economic and environmental issues, captured in the term of sustainability. Consumers in their role as final customers, and as a consequence also enterprises within agri-food supply chains, show increasing interest in the characteristics of food, and in turn, on the availability of related information and guarantees. Enterprises in agri-food supply chains are facing new expectations and are seeking to communicate social, economic and environmental performance of their business to customers within their supply chain and to consumers. New solutions for determination and communication of sustainability are needed for the agri-food sector, covering single aspects of sustainability as well as sustainability in a broader sense, including social, economic and environmental issues. Integrated, computer-based information services, since they are mainly building on existing systems, provide flexible solutions for enterprises to measure and evaluate sustainability of products throughout agri-food supply chains. Gained information on product characteristics might be used for decision support within enterprises as well as for communication of sustainable practices to customers and consumers, resulting in increased competitiveness of enterprises, supply chains and the sector by satisfying customers’ and consumers’ demands for information on the sustainability of a product. The present paper introduces a framework for developing information services for European pork chains using the three selected information domains food safety (representing social sustainability), quality (representing economic sustainability) and global warming potential (representing environmental sustainability). Resulting information models give an aggregated overview on information availability and exchange in European pork chains, additional information demands of possible service users and deficiencies in the existing information infrastructures. The paper supports different stakeholders involved in agri-food production, such as service developers, enterprise decision makers and management consultants, in developing enterprise- and chain-specific solutions which meet customers’ and consumers’ demands by providing appropriate sustainability information and guarantees. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increasing use of research metrics in the monitoring and evaluation of research has led to the expansion of research information infrastructure, as indicated by the rising number of national databases for research output and research information systems. At the same time, debates on requirements of national databases for research output are typically guided by simplistic assumptions about what an infrastructure is and how it shapes our understanding of different phenomena. We present an alternative framing of databases wherein infrastructure and context are seen as mutually constitutive. Drawing upon qualitative data on 12 national databases in Europe, we investigate the role that databases for research output play in research metrics and consequently in our understanding of research activities. Specifically, we bring to the surface database features that are typically left implicit and yet are crucial for understanding these databases in context. A key outcome of this study is an identification of two database logics—New Public Management and Enlightenment—that underpin database designs and the organization of database work. These logics do not merely guide practical database work (e.g. by determining the features of highest priority), but through the outcomes of that work they both enact and distribute a particular conception of what research is. In this article, we show how the two logics manifest and how they are related to each other. Situating these findings in the landscape of developments in research information infrastructure, we discuss implications for research evaluation and the understanding of research in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) Directive (2007) requires public organisations across Europe to share environmentally-related spatial datasets to support decision making and management of the environment. Despite the environmental focus of INSPIRE, it offers limited guidance for archaeological datasets. Most primary data is created outside, but ultimately curated within, the public sector. As spatial evidence from fieldwork activities is not considered by the Directive, it overlooks a range of barriers to sharing data, such as project-based fieldwork, a lack of data standards, and formatting and licencing variations. This paper submits that these challenges are best addressed through the formalised management of primary research data through an archaeological Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). SDIs deliver more efficient data management and release economic value by saving time and money. Better stewardship of archaeological data will also lead to more informed research and stewardship of the historic environment. ARIADNE already provides a digital infrastructure for research data, but the landscape and spatial component has been largely overlooked. However, rather than developing a separate solution, the full potential of spatial data from archaeological research can and should be realised through ARIADNE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cybersecurity is still considered a purely technological challenge; however, despite all technological progress, this challenge remains unsolved -- as emphasized by many high-impact attacks against public administration and industry worldwide. We postulate that the mere focus on technology fogs the bigger picture, since people generate, operate, and interact with all technological systems, thus making them socio-technical systems. Hence, in this commentary we argue for a change of perspective towards a holistic, interdisciplinary view on our technological infrastructure. By example of the European power grid -- inarguably a critical infrastructure not only for daily life but also for the continuity of our polity -- we show that through interpretation as a socio-technical system, systematic and interdisciplinary studies would allow to reveal how its (cyber)security is not only a technological matter. An interdisciplinary approach combining STEM disciplines and Social Sciences would additionally advance the understanding of stakeholders and their goals and mindsets as well as the manifold dependencies between technology and human actors. While interdisciplinary endeavours appear to be generally supported by funding agencies, reviewers, universities, and researchers, they rarely occur in practice. We discuss why this is the case and present ideas on how to facilitate more interdisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Creating large scale testbeds for evaluating wireless mesh technologies and protocols, and for testing their ability to support real world applications in realistic environments, is a crucial step towards the ultimate success of the WMN paradigm. In this paper we suggest the hierarchical federation of a planetary scale infrastructure, such as PlanetLab, with a number of local OMF-based wireless testbeds as a viable approach towards this goal. Along such direction, we present an architectural model for integrating at the technical level these two kinds of infrastructures and our initial implementation of such a model. We also present some test case experiments we run on our initial implementation of the integrated architecture, to illustrate how an experiment on peer-to-peer traffic optimization can be executed by combining both wireless nodes of a OMF-based testbed and PlanetLab nodes located across Europe. The possibility of running this kind of experiments in such a hybrid experimental scenario highlighted several real-world issues that are worth to be further investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The president of the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations initiated a discussion on the creation of a common library policy in Europe at the conference of the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation in Vienna (May 30, 2008). The European library landscape is heterogeneous, only the two-thirds of the 27 EU-countries have legislation governing the library sector. A common policy guideline was published by EBLIDA and the Council of Europe in 2000, but it has not proved to be very effective. It would be important to concentrate on compiling a White Paper that describes the role of libraries in Europe and recommends the member states to act on behalf of the libraries.To provide relevant information about European library issues the EBLIDA Executive Committee has decided to establish a Knowledge and Information Centre (KIC) to collect, mediate and disseminate information about the library, information and documentation sector in Europe. The president describes the aims of KIC, and characterises the tasks of five expert groups (on information law, digitization and online access, life-long learning and education, culture and information society, professional education). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Competition between parallel infrastructures incorporates opposing welfare effects. The gain from reduced deadweight loss might be outweighed by the inefficient duplication of an existing infrastructure. Using data from broadband Internet access for western Europe 2000–04, this paper investigates which effect prevails empirically. Infrastructure competition between DSL and cable TV had a significant and positive impact on the broadband penetration. However, comparing the additional social surplus attributable to cable competition with the cable investments, it can be concluded that, in the absence of significant positive externalities, infrastructure competition has probably not been welfare enhancing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cities are central to the economic and social development of European society, not only because over 80% of European citizens live in urban areas, but also because cities are at the same time centres of production, innovation, employment, and culture, and loci of segregation, deprivation, and ethnic conflict. The emergence of a European-wide urban policy, has given new impetus to the need for comparable indicators of the quality of life to monitor development and policy implementation. This paper reviews the literature on quality of life indicators, and argues that traditional measures of the quality of life need to be supplemented with two new dimensions that reflect more recent postmodernist thinking about the composition of urban landscapes, and the contribution to the quality of life of the emerging information society. We argue that the challenges of building appropriate indicators reflecting these new dimensions are considerable, even in urban environments so rich in information systems and data sources, if they are to qualify as 'digital cities'. There are difficulties in finding common workable definitions of the indicators themselves, as well as definitions of the relevant populations, including city residents, and users. By raising these issues and suggesting possible avenues for addressing these challenges we contribute to a much-needed debate on how to define such indicators, which is the prerequisite for their development and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revisits the Euroconference on "The Digital City" sponsored by the European Science Foundation in 2001. Distinction proposed by Mike Batty between the raw data or content of cities and methods used to analyze them; Theoretical framework for construction of the digital city by Helen Conclelis; Paper by Michele Campagna and Giancarlo DePlano.

We analyse the innovative activity of European regions in the fields of biotechnology and semiconductor technology. We explain regional patenting levels from publication levels within each region and nearby regions to account for local knowledge spillovers. We extend this approach by including connectivity measures for each region in order to indicate their position in the pan-European networks of Internet backbone providers, airline routes and global banks. We hypothesise that a region's position in all these networks contributes to its innovation capability as these networks provide high-quality and relative cheap access to digital information (Internet), fellow researchers (airlines) and financial resources (banks). The results show that connectivity indeed supports a region's patenting level in science-based technologies. In particular, we found that connectivity through the Internet backbone and through global banks enhance innovative activity, while airline connectivity does not. A second conclusion holds that while local knowledge spillovers are found to be very strong for patenting in biotechnology, this effect is found to be absent in semiconductor patenting. This result indicates that the importance of geographical proximity in generating knowledge spillovers is highly technology-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis on the voluntary stakeholders agreements (VSA) and rights information infrastructures (RII) in digital library programmes. It mentions the significance of consensus, free negotiation and representation as main characteristics of VSA. A European project called Arrow that develops a system to manage rights information for digital library programme and facilitates diligent search to identify the right status for digitization is also mentioned.

The article discusses the evolution of infrastructure networks. The authors model this evolution as a preferential attachment process. The authors talk about geographical distance and country borders as barriers to link formation in infrastructure networks. The authors use empirical data on the European Internet infrastructure network covering 209 cities to validate the model. The authors state that the simulated network shows a significant correlation with the observed European Internet infrastructure network. The article also discusses the future uses of preferential attachment models in the light of the literature on world cities and global cities.

The article discusses the impact of e-learning among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. It mentions that owner-managers have not shown any positive attitudes towards technology learning and training in small firms. This indicates that technology infrastructure may vary among companies with different size and from different economic sectors.

In this article a range of national and international policies, many tied to electronic business and electronic government initiatives, are reviewed from the much older perspective of the Information Society. As a concept, the Information Society has retained a form of residual currency but while not quite dormant, it has been overshadowed by what are essentially techno-economic New Economy perspectives. Although these techno-economic priorities can be viewed as contributing to the ultimate development of an Information Society, this contribution continues to fall somewhat short of what would be deemed sufficient. The shortfalls are particularly evident in the case of socially disadvantaged members of the community. In reviewing such developments mainly in Europe but with examples drawn from elsewhere, progress towards Information Society status is assessed in a social context that illustrates the gap that exists between aspiration and achievement in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In free trade areas that consist of several sovereign Member States, legal restrictions in the provision of cross-border banking and financial services are caused by the divergent or conflicting norms (either public or private law), which apply in the constituent national markets. The solution to the restrictive effects of the conflict of laws is either extensive harmonization or perhaps uniform law or trade liberalization on the basis of mutual recognition and 'country of origin' regulation. In the case of the European internal market for banking services a hybrid solution has been achieved. After outlining the current hybrid EC framework, I will examine the contribution of the E-Commerce Directive to a better functioning single European market for cross-border Internet banking. I will also present the implementation of the 'country of origin' rule in the UK and its likely impact on cross-border electronic banking services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]