Currently, no academic work examines the history of the legality of roads in Chile during its independent existence as a sovereign country. Addressing this gap in the literature, this paper focuses specially on the period from 1842 to 1969, when different actors articulated a set of guiding ideas about the duties of the state and the legal powers of the administrative authority in terms of planning, construction and management of road infrastructure that would allow connectivity between population centers and across regions, according to the ideas and resources available at their historical time. This historical overview of Chilean “road law” is done in the light of insights and questions of contemporary intellectual history and institutional history. In this regard, it is argued that the evolution of road infrastructure norms and institutions during the period under study can be divided into three historical regimes, based on their fundamental legislative milestones, guiding ideas, institutional settings, and strategies of state action: from 1842 to 1887, a period of a decentralized “minimal road state” with precarious roads characterized by both material and juridical uncertainty; from 1887 to 1920, the emergence of a “proto-developmentalist road state” intent on strengthening its grip on the nationwide road infrastructure; and from 1920 to 1969, a period of a “techno-developmentalist road state” that created a nationwide paved road network for the new technology of mobile vehicles.

This study aims to empirically analyze the impact of budget allocation by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) on national research competitiveness, thereby reassessing the value of investing in research infrastructure within a knowledge-based society. In the 21st century, research and development (R&D) have emerged as a pivotal element of national competitiveness, underlining the increasing importance of investments aimed at constructing and enhancing research infrastructure. However, empirical studies examining the causal relationship between research infrastructure investment and national research competitiveness are still notably scarce. Accordingly, this research endeavors to systematically delineate the effect of research infrastructure investment, with a focus on KISTI’s budget allocation, on enhancing national R&D outcomes. To achieve this, the structural relationship between KISTI’s budget, national R&D budget, and various academic and industrial performance indicators was analyzed using multiple regression and simple regression analysis. In particular, by demonstrating the mechanism through which the budget management of research support organizations like KISTI contributes to strengthening national research competitiveness, this study aims to shed new light on the strategic value of research infrastructure investment in a knowledge-based society. Furthermore, these findings are expected to provide valuable evidence for the formulation of national R&D policies in Korea and the strategic planning of budget operations for research support organizations. Through strategic investment of limited budgets, this could enhance the efficiency of national R&D investments and contribute to strengthening the capacity for scientific and technological innovation required in a knowledge-based society.

Sustainable development within music education is essential, particularly in ensuring that popular music can continually and effectively serve educational systems. This research aims to 1) examine pop music chord progression, 2) develop a chord progression book specifically for teaching music students, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of this educational tool in improving music composition skills. A mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research, was used. Research tools included an interview guide, Ioc forms, a textbook, and a performance assessment form. Interviews were conducted with five experts in pop music composition, while a group of 14 undergraduate music students participated in the experimental study. These methods evaluated how teaching popular music chord composition enhances students’ practical composition abilities. The findings indicate that 1) chord composition in popular music primarily involves five aspects: melody, rhythm, chord structure, music form, and melody development techniques, with melody and chord as the foundational elements; 2) the chord progression textbook for popular music differs from traditional composition theory texts, combining theory and practical application with a focus on chord progression techniques; and 3) instruction in popular music chord composition significantly enhances students’ skills in melody creation, production, and listening, ultimately fostering practical music creation abilities. This study supports the sustainable integration of popular music in both music infrastructure construction and music education system development, offering insights into how such integration can drive long-term advancements in music education.

Our intention in assembling this special issue of the Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development is to offer a state-of-the-art tour through the political economy issues associated with the provision of public infrastructure, and with the use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in particular. Anyone who is familiar with PPPs cannot fail to be impressed by the diversity of positions and claims regarding their properties. Some scholars maintain that PPPs are an efficient tool to enhance productivity due to their ability to manage demand-side risk. In contrast, other scholars see in PPPs a scheme whereby the public assumes the risk while the private partner takes the profit.

This financial modelling case study describes the development of the 3-statement financial model for a large-scale transportation infrastructure business dealing with truck (and some rail) modalities. The financial modelling challenges in this area, especially for large-scale transport infrastructure operators, lie in automatically linking the operating activity volumes with the investment volumes. The aim of the paper is to address these challenges: The proposed model has an innovative retirement/reinvestment schedule that automates the estimation of the investment needs for the Business based on the designated age-cohort matrix analysis and controlling for the maximum service ceiling for trucks as well as the possibility of truck retirements due to the reduced scope of tracking operations in the future. The investment schedule thus automated has a few calibrating parameters that help match it to the current stock of trucks/rolling stock in the fleet, making it to be a flexible tool in financial modelling for diverse transport infrastructure enterprises employing truck, bus and/or rail fleets for the carriage of bulk cargo quantifiable by weight (or fare-paying passengers) on a network of set, but modifiable, routes.