Search

The aim of this research was to evaluate the new procurement practices of information and communication technology (ICT) services in Finnish-speaking schools in the City of Kauniainen. In the new model, schools define their needs and school administration mandates the procurement through tendering. The research included a review of the problems associated with procurement practices and the assessment of the procurement model. The results show that service levels have been improved and unit costs as well as the environmental load have been reduced. The new model requires the schools to have the skills and expertise to define their needs and the competencies to prepare and execute the procurement process. The case analysis of the Finnish “Dream School” in Kauniainen shows that administrative and governance aspects are equally important in successful deployment of technology.

Weather service systems that collect, refine and distribute information to road users and to network and maintenance operators can generate significant benefits to stakeholders and society. For maintenance operators improved efficiency through timely reactions, smaller amounts of de-icing materials and better personnel utilization offer clear potential for reduced costs. In the future, better weather models will result in more accurate longer-term forecasts thus increasing the potential for benefits. New technology enables new kinds of services (e.g. decision support systems). This paper provides a structured view of the impacts of weather information services to different stakeholders.

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan suomalaisten peruskoulujen opetuksen tietotekniikkapalveluihin ja niiden järjestämiseen liittyviä ongelmia, haasteita ja mahdollisuuksia. Artikkeli perustuu haastatteluaineistoon, joka on kerätty osana laajempaa tutkimushanketta. Hankkeessa on tavoitteena laatia arviointikriteeristö tietotekniikkapalveluiden teknisille ratkaisuille, toteutustavoille, hankintaprosesseille ja taloudellisen vaikuttavuuden arvioinnille. Tutkimushankkeen osana tehtyjen haastattelujen tarkoituksena oli kerätä taustatietoa taloudellisen vaikuttavuuden arvioinnin tueksi. Haastatteluaineiston keskeiset havainnot tukevat soveltuvin osin myös työpaketissa tarkasteltavia muita arviointikriteerejä (tekniset ratkaisut ja niiden toteutustavat, poliittiset tavoitteet, organisatoriset tarkastelut, innovatiivisuus ja ekologisuus). Haastattelujen tuloksena saatiin laaja ja monipuolinen näkemys siitä, millaisia ongelmia, haasteita ja mahdollisuuksia tietotekniikkapalveluissa tällä hetkellä on suomalaisen koulumaailman näkökulmasta katsottuna.

CroBIT (Cross Border Information Technology) will deliver the IT-part to improve the European rail freight traffic. CroBIT is a 5th Framework Programme research and demonstration project under the supervision of the European Commission. CroBIT is able to connect all freight railways along any transport corridor. Participants deliver their information into the CroBIT-System. In return, the participants get added value information from others, about their wagons and consignments. CroBIT combines information about consignments, wagons and trains. Train movements are followed by each railways' internal operational systems. Each train consists of a locomotive and wagons. Wagons include consignments. CroBIT has been demonstrated in two ways: demonstration with real-world transports in Portugal and with virtual data and transports between Italy and Finland. Demonstration was completed in Spring 2005. Rail cargo operators stand to gain the most by using CroBIT. Also the policy and socio-economic impacts are positive. CroBIT will be a joint effort of pioneering railway and IT service companies that will maintain and operate the system on the basis of common agreement. The commercialisation of CroBIT, if successful, will eventually lead to a market-oriented service company "RISE" (Rail Information Service Europe). The earnings of RISE will be based on added value information services.

A novel extreme weather risk indicator (EWRI) was developed as part of the Extreme Weather Impacts on European Networks of Transport (EWENT) project. The EWRI is applied to the European transportation system in order to indicate and rank the risks to the transport systems of the Member States of the EU-27.

Monen suomalaisyrityksen toimitusketjut ja -verkostot ulottuvat itäiseen Eurooppaan ja Aasiaan. Valmistuksen ja hankinnan laajentaminen tälle alueelle on muuttanut myös riskien kokonaiskuvaa: esimerkiksi raaka-aineiden saatavuus ja eettisyys, kuljetusketjujen tekninen luotettavuus sekä poliittiset riippuvuudet ovat riskejä. Samalla myös yritysvastuun merkitys kasvaa.