Highlights of ADB’s Cooperation with Civil Society Organizations 2020

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting meaningful engagement with civil society organizations (CSOs) in delivering better development results. Partnerships with these CSOs help promote community participation and social inclusion throughout the project cycle of ADB-financed operations. In light of its enhanced commitment to CSO engagement, ADB approved in 2020 a new indicator for assessing civil society engagement. This report provides insights on ADB’s cooperation with CSOs in 2020 in terms of generating knowledge, tapping expertise, sharing good practices, and improving policy dialogues. It also features lessons and success stories of CSO contributions in Asia and the Pacific.

An Analysis from the English School Perspective on conflict issues in the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation and the United States

When the current literature on RF and the USA's Arctic doctrines, strategies and disputes are examined, it is seen that there are two basic approaches that provide analyzes from realist and liberal perspectives. A large body of these analyzes focus on singular and linear dimensions, primarily on energy security and military issues. The number of studies which examine the dimensions of the conflict from a realistic perspective and synthesize with the cooperation and governance offered by the liberal perspective is relatively low. There is a need for a more in-depth understanding of the region, so extensive studies involving multidisciplinary dimensions that can promote collaboration and expertise sharing as well as resolution of disputes among security actors. In this study, the subject dispute matters were examined from the perspective of English School, which can present a unique framework by synthesizing the traditions of realism, rationalism and revolutionism. In conclusion part, possible solution suggestions in accordance with the international law for the resolution of disputes are discussed within a broader framework offered by the English School perspective. In addition, the role and functions of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the struggle for dominance of the region as the third actor, which led to various discussions with large–scale investments and cooperation agreements across the region, were also included. In today's world where power-based approaches are replaced by binding international rules, it is concluded that in order to develop the cooperation in the Arctic Region, the international community, especially in terms of the the littoral states; developing policies that support joint scientific studies and prioritize measures to increase the socio-economic conditions and human development levels of indigenous peoples and communities living in the region are more significant than being a commercial and economic gain center provided by the rich energy resources and new maritime trade routes which emerged due to global warming. Özet RF ve ABD’nin Arktik politika, doktrin, strateji ve uyuşmazlık konularını ele alan güncel literatür incelendiğinde realist ve liberal bakış açılarından analizler sunan iki temel yaklaşımın olduğu görülmektedir. Söz konusu analizlerin büyük bir kısmı başta enerji güvenliği ve askeri konular olmak üzere, tekil ve doğrusal boyutlar üzerine odaklanmaktadır. Uyuşmazlık boyutlarını realist bir bakış açısıyla irdeleyerek, liberal perspektifin sunduğu iş birliği ve yönetişimle sentezleyebilen çalışma sayısı ise oldukça azdır. Bölgeye yönelik daha derinlikli bir anlayışı, dolayısıyla, güvenlik aktörleri arasında uyuşmazlıkların çözümünün yanı sıra iş birliği ve uzmanlık paylaşımını teşvik edebilecek çok disiplinli boyutların analize dâhil edildiği kapsamlı çalışmalara ihtiyaç bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada bahsi geçen uyuşmazlık konuları, gerçekçilik (realism), akılcılık (rationalism) ve devrimcilik (revolutionism) geleneklerini sentezleyerek özgün bir çerçeve sunabilen İngiliz Okulu perspektifinden irdelenmiştir. Sonuç bölümünde anlaşmazlıkların çözümü için uluslararası hukuka uygun olası çözüm önerileri İngiliz Okulu yaklaşımının sunduğu daha geniş kapsamlı bir çerçevede tartışılmıştır. Ayrıca bölgeye yönelik büyük çaplı yatırımları ve iş birliği anlaşmaları ile çeşitli tartışmalara yol açan Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti’nin (ÇHC) üçüncü aktör olarak bölge hâkimiyet mücadelesindeki rolü ve işlevi de incelemeye dâhil edilmiştir. Güç temelli yaklaşımların yerini, bağlayıcılığı bulunan uluslararası kuralların aldığı günümüzde Arktik Bölgesi’ndeki iş birliği potansiyelinin geliştirilebilmesi için başta kıyıdaş devletler olmak üzere uluslararası toplumun; küresel ısınma nedeniyle ortaya çıkan zengin enerji kaynaklarının ve yeni deniz ulaşım / ticaret yollarının sunduğu ticari ve ekonomik bir kazanç merkezi olmaktan ziyade ortak bilimsel çalışmaları destekleyen ve bölgede yaşayan yerli halkların ve toplulukların sosyoekonomik koşullarını ve insani gelişim düzeylerini artıracak önlemleri önceleyen politikalar geliştirmelerinin daha önemli olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

shARe-IT: Ad hoc Remote Troubleshooting through Augmented Reality

Abstract10 years ago, Castellani et al. (Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work, vol. 18, no. 2–3, 2009, pp. 199–227, 2009) showed that using just an audio channel for remote troubleshooting can lead to a range of problems and already envisioned a future in which augmented reality (AR) could solve many of these issues. In the meantime, AR technologies have found their way into our everyday lives and using such technologies to support remote collaboration has been widely studied within the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. In this paper, we contribute to this body of research by reporting on an extensive empirical study within a Fab Lab of troubleshooting and expertise sharing and the potential relevance of articulation work to their realization. Based on the findings of this study, we derived design challenges that led to an AR-based concept, implemented as a HoloLens application, called shARe-it. This application is designed to support remote troubleshooting and expertise sharing through different communication channels and AR-based interaction modalities. Early testing of the application revealed that novel interaction modalities such as AR-based markers and drawings play only a minor role in remote collaboration due to various limiting factors. Instead, the transmission of a shared view and especially arriving at a shared understanding of the situation as a prerequisite for articulation work continue to be the decisive factors in remote troubleshooting.

Expert Systems and knowledge management for failure prediction to onshore pipelines: issue to Industry 4.0 implementation

The paper aims to propose an Expert System to predict the failure of onshore pipelines. Knowledge Management supports expertise sharing throughout the organization. The Expert System Prototype Model proposed is classified as Empirical Descriptive Research, and may support maintenance management. The findings evidence that Expert System proposed grounded in employee knowledge may be considered a promising solution to support Industry 4.0 implementation. The Expert System facilitates the decision-making of the experts so that the employees’ expertise can be better used in the implementation of Industry 4.0 and to face the new challenges related to the daily work in the organization. In this context, the Expert System can be considered as an innovative approach to manage maintenance processes and supporting reliable, consistent decisions during I.4 implementation.

IAEA Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory: Support to IAEA Member States and Recent Developments

As part of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Physics Section, the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory (NSIL) helps Member States (MSs) to establish, operate and maintain various nuclear instrumentation and spectrometry techniques in support of a wide range of applications such as health care, food, agriculture, environment, forensics, cultural heritage, and materials science. NSIL is contributing to capacity building, transfer of knowledge and expertise sharing, including the development of instruments and validation of analytical methodologies. This paper describes NSIL's key activities and provides an overview of the recent developments and achievements, including the commissioning and utilization of an end-station at one of the beam lines in Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (EST, Italy), the upgrade of an ultralight radiation monitoring system onboarded on a drone, as well as the development of a full field X-ray fluorescence analytical system for forensic applications and characterization of valuable art/archaeological objects.