The Development of Digital Technologies in a Transformational Change in Production

The present article examines the issues of digital transformation of the production sphere (based on methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization and systematization of material relevant to the topic), which has great relevance for changes in modern production due to the transition to a new technological mode. The role of production, especially the industrial production, in the historical aspect of socio-economic development of the country is always pivotal and the competitiveness of economic systems at the micro, meso and macro levels of the country, as well as the country as a whole in the world market, depends on the timeliness of its modernization. The analysis of the production output categories allowed the authors to find out the specific weight of innovative products and give its characteristic in the aspect of production sectors: 1) high-tech; 2) medium-tech; 3) low-tech. Therein, it is shown that the first group has only 25 % of industries in it, the second has 31 % and the third has 44 %. Russia’s share of innovative products (services) in the world market is only 4,3 %, and the business sector has software deficiency. The authors draw the conclusion that, in order to intensify the modernization of the production sphere, it is necessary to widely implement digital technologies in small industrial enterprises, as well as in import-substituting enterprises, as they are more receptive to innovation. The authors examined the structure of manufacturing production and provided a description of the state of digitalization in all federal districts of Russia. They also carried out a correlation and regression analysis of the digitalization potential of the production sphere, based on the assessment of the closeness of the relationship between the use of broadband Internet and the volume of manufacturing production.

Calculating Beamforming Vectors for 5G System Applications

The growing demand for broadband Internet services is forcing scientists around the world to seek and develop new telecommunication technologies. With the transition from the fourth generation to the fifth generation wireless communication systems, one of these technologies is beamforming. The need for this technology was caused by the use of millimeter waves in data transmission. This frequency range is characterized by heavy path loss. The beamforming technology could compensate for this significant drawback. This paper discusses basic beamforming schemes and proposes a model implemented on the basis of QuaDRiGa. The model implements a MIMO channel using symmetrical antenna arrays. In addition, the methods for calculating the antenna weight coefficients based on the channel matrix are compared. The first well-known method is based on the addition of cluster responses to calculate the coefficients. The proposed one uses the singular value decomposition of the channel matrix into clusters to take into account the most correlated information between all clusters when calculating the antenna coefficients. According to the research results, the proposed method for calculating the antenna coefficients allows an increase in the SNR/SINR level by 8–10 dB on the receiving side in the case of analog beamforming with a known channel matrix.

Developing the approaches to monitoring of risks of failure to achieve the national development objective ‘Digital Transformation’ in the strategic planning system of the Russian Federation

Subject. The article investigates identification of risks that prevent the achievement of national development objectives and implementation of national projects, as the methodological approach to their assessment is still in the process of formation. Objectives. The purpose is to develop conceptual and methodological approaches to monitoring of risks of missing the national development targets in the strategic planning system of the Russian Federation. Methods. The research methodology rests on the theoretical basis of indicative analysis. In its logic, the risks of failure to achieve the targets of national development of the Russian Federation can be tracked through monitoring the achieved and predicted values of target indicators within their valid values. Results. The paper specifies factors that have a significant impact on the achievement of the national target ‘Digital Transformation’, defines quantifiable values of the target indicator ‘The Share of Households with Broadband Internet Access’ and limits of its permissible values. We presented a forecast, showing the most likely behavior of the analyzed indicator in the strategic perspective until 2030, revealed that the target value of the indicator, defined at the level of 97%, significantly exceeds the results of trend forecasting, which is indicative of a high risk of non-achievement of target by the key date. Conclusions. Determination of risks of failure to achieve the digital transformation of national development objectives should become an essential stage in the procedure for monitoring the implementation of strategic planning documents in Russia.

Asset-Based, Sustainable Local Economic Development: Using Community Participation to Improve Quality of Life Across Rural, Small-Town, and Urban Communities

We analyze survey data from 5,487 residents of 85 Texas communities, including rural communities, small towns, medium-sized cities, and the five largest urban centers, to model the influence of the degree of urbanity and rurality of a community as well as residents’ social position, values, and their satisfaction with local assets. The paper’s central argument is that a wide range of factors impact how community members think about their needs and thus should be considered in any community development process. This human-centered approach to looking at how these factors impact economic and quality-of-life development project preferences will support the adaptation of community development decision-making processes to the conditions of each community. For the sake of parsimony, the present study presents results for three community development project concepts: 1) renovating some downtown buildings as mixed-use facilities with retail shops and apartments, 2) opening a community health center, and 3) and deploying gigabit high-speed fiber broadband internet in the downtown area. Our findings specifically highlight areas where participatory processes can be introduced to guide further interactions between experts and community members to 1) identify groups in the community to bring into the process who may be most impacted by the choice of one intervention over another, and 2) target areas where further community discussion and deliberation is necessary around which community dialogues (round tables, town halls, workshops, etc.) could be facilitated.

Digital Agriculture Infrastructure in the USA and Germany

The USA and Germany have compared the issues that surround the adoption of digital technology on the farm that will foster more environmentally sustainable food production/processing systems. Both countries lack robust broadband internet pathways to foster the adoption of these technologies. The problem is currently relevant to making this data technology available on every farm and field. The implementation of this infrastructure is even more important as society demands more and more information on the product and production process of agriculture and industry.

Introduction

Broadband internet use is often heralded for its transformative potential in a broad range of policy areas, but there is scarce evidence on whether this is so, and how it can be utilized most effectively by organizations and communities. While the attribution of change to programmatic efforts is a familiar challenge in evaluation research, broadband technologies present some particular issues for evaluation: the “black box” problem of understanding user behavior, the complexity of theorizing about the interaction between technology and policy-specific processes, and understanding change over time. How can we better address both the challenges and the opportunities for evaluating broadband initiatives? This chapter introduces the plan of the volume in the context of answering these questions.

Telehealth Availability and Use of Related Technologies among Older Cancer Survivors: An early snapshot from the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)

BACKGROUND There has been rapid integration of telehealth into care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about technology ownership, internet access and use for communication, and telehealth availability among cancer survivors who are disproportionately older. OBJECTIVE To identify sociodemographic associations with technology ownership, internet access and use for communication, and telehealth availability in a population-based sample of older cancer survivors. METHODS Data are from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey COVID-19 Summer 2020 Supplement administered between June 10, 2020–July 15, 2020. Analyses were restricted to beneficiaries who reported a prior (non-skin) cancer diagnosis and a usual source of care (N=2,044). Dichotomous outcomes included: (1) technology ownership, (2) internet access, (3) internet use for communication, and (4) telehealth availability from providers. Sociodemographic correlates included sex, age, race/ethnicity, Medicare/Medicaid dual enrollment, rurality, Census region, and self-reported comorbidities. RESULTS Over half (53%) of cancer survivors reported using the Internet for communication purposes and 62% reported that their usual provider had telehealth services available. Using the internet for communication purposes was reported less frequently for rural compared to urban survivors (adjusted probability of 28% vs. 46%, p<.001), and for Hispanic and Black survivors compared to non-Hispanic Whites (29%, 31%, and 44% respectively, p<.01). Rural survivors reported lower telehealth availability (53% vs. 63% p<.001); no differences in telehealth availability were identified by race/ethnicity (p>.05). CONCLUSIONS During the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings highlight a complex digital divide among Medicare beneficiaries with a history of cancer related to device ownership necessary for telehealth, internet access and use for communication, and reports of providers having telehealth available. Multilevel approaches are needed to increase equitable telehealth availability and use for older cancer survivors. Suggested strategies include increasing broadband internet access to providers and patients in at-risk communities; supporting telehealth implementation among providers that serve populations with known health disparities; raising awareness of providers’ available telehealth services among patients; and screening for technology use and provision of telehealth-related technical assistance among older, Black and Hispanic, dual Medicare/Medicaid enrolled, and rural cancer survivors.