This exploratory study aims to identify the main characteristics and relationships between artificial intelligence (AI) and broadband development in Asia and the Pacific. Broadband networks are the foundation and prerequisite for the development of AI. But what types of broadband networks would be conducive are not adequately discussed so far. Furthermore, in addition to broadband networks, other factors, such as income level, broadband quality, and investment, are expected to influence the uptake of AI in the region. The findings are synthesized into a set of policy recommendations at the end of the article, which highlights the need for regional cooperation through an initiative, such as the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS). 

Over the past decade, Ontario has seen a renewal in efforts to stimulate economic growth by investing in infrastructures. In this paper, we analyze the impact of public infrastructure investment on economic performance in this province. We use a multivariate dynamic time series methodological approach, based on the use of vector autoregressive models to estimate the elasticities and marginal products of six different types of public infrastructure assets on private investment, employment and output. We find that all types of public investment crowd in private investment while investment in highways, roads, and bridges crowds out employment. We also find that all types of public investment, with the exception of highways, roads and bridges, have a positive effect on output. The relatively large range of results estimated for the impact of each of the different public infrastructure types suggests that a targeted approach to the design of infrastructure investment policy is required. Infrastructure investment in transit systems and health facilities display the highest returns for output and the largest effects on employment and labor productivity. In terms of the nature of the empirical results presented here it would be important to highlight the fact that investments in health infrastructures as well as investments in education infrastructures are of great relevance. This is a pattern consistent with the mounting international evidence on the importance of human capital for long term economic performance.

This study examines conditions that impact PPP delivery success or failure in the roadways sector in India using Qualitative Comparative Analysis. QCA is well-suited for problems where multiple factors combine to create pathways leading to an outcome. Past investigations have compared PPP and non-PPP project delivery performance, but this study examines performance within PPPs by uncovering a set of conditions that combine to influence the success or failure road PPP project delivery in India. Based on data from 21 cases, pathways explaining project delivery success or failure were identified. Specifically, PPPs with high concessionaire equity investment and low regional industrial activity led to project delivery success. Projects with lower concessionaire equity investment and low reliance on toll revenue and with either: (a) high project technical complexity or (b) high regional industrial activity, led to project delivery failure. The pathways identified did not have coverage values that they were extremely strong. Coverage strength was hindered by lack of access to information on additional conditions that could be configurationally important. Further, certain characteristics of the Indian market limit generalization. Identification of combinations of conditions leading to PPP project delivery success or failure improves knowledge of the impacts of structure and characteristics of these complex arrangements. This study is one of the first to use fuzzy QCA to understand project delivery success/failure in road PPP projects. Moreover, this study takes into account factors specific to a sector and delivery mode to explain project delivery performance.

Infrastructure development is critical to delivering growth, reducing poverty and addressing broader development goals, as argued in the World Bank Report Transformation through Infrastructure (2012). This paper surveys the literature of the linkages between infrastructure investment and economic growth, discusses the role of infrastructure in the participation of global value chains and in supporting economic upgrades, highlights the challenges faced the least developed countries and provides policy recommendations. It suggests that addressing the bottlenecks in infrastructure is a necessary condition to provide a window of opportunity for an economy to develop following its comparative advantage. With the right conditions, good infrastructure can support an economy, particularly a less developed economy, to reap the benefit through the participation in the global value chains to upgrade the economic structure.

Helical deep hole drilling is a process frequently used in industrial applications to produce bores with a large length to diameter ratio. For better cooling and lubrication, the deep drilling oil is fed directly into the bore hole via two internal cooling channels. Due to the inaccessibility of the cutting area, experimental investigations that provide information on the actual machining and cooling behavior are difficult to carry out. In this paper, the distribution of the deep drilling oil is investigated both experimentally and simulatively and the results are evaluated. For the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation, two different turbulence models, i.e. the RANS k-ω-SST and hybrid SAS-SST model, are used and compared. Thereby, the actual used deep drilling oil is modelled instead of using fluid dynamic parameters of water, as is often the case. With the hybrid SAS-SST model, the flow could be analyzed much better than with the RANS k-ω-SST model and thus the processes that take place during helical deep drilling could be  simulated with realistic details. Both the experimental and the simulative results show that the deep drilling oil movement is almost exclusively generated by the tool rotation. At the tool’s cutting edges and in the flute, the flow velocity drops to zero for the most part, so that no efficient cooling and lubrication could take place there. In addition, cavitation bubbles form and implode, concluding in the assumption that the process heat is not adequately dissipated and the removal of chips is adversely affected, which in turn can affect the service life of the tool and the bore quality. The carried out investigations show that the application of CFD simulation is an important research instrument in machining technology and that there is still great potential in the area of tool and process optimization.