Blockchain Papers

Gianluca Miscione, Rafael Ziolkowski, Liudmila Zavolokina, Gerhard Schwabe

The blockchain technology offers a novel mode of distributed authentication, which does not depend on a central authority. We consider this novelty against established governance modes. We illustrate our argument by paying special attention to blockchain-based authentication functions in the empirical domain of land registries across the world. Based on interviews with representatives from organizations deploying blockchain, and con-tent analysis of related grey literature, we discuss established governance idealtypes against what the rivalry that cryptocurrencies and blockchains bring to digital settings. After referring to market, hierarchy, network, and bazaar, we conclude outlining the prospects of a different, blockchain-related governance mode called -˜tribal’ that better captures the -˜togetherness’ which rivalry originates.

Moris Adidi Yogia

This paper gives an overview of the implementation of the constitution laws such as the embodiment of the political will of the Central Government, but in practice occur various obstacles. The model has become divided in 3 (three), namely: the bottleneck in the autonomous region, of good Governance and capacity building in implementing Regional Autonomy. The Government of the provinces, counties and cities should implement the values of good Governance, such as strategic vision, transparency, responsiveness, fairness, consensus, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, freedom of Assembly and participation, rule of law, democracy, in cooperation with community organizations, our commitment to the market, and commitment to environment and decentralization. Some elements of capacity development in order to realize a good Governance can be seen from some of the items, the first development of the vision and mission of regional and provincial government institutions/district/city. Second, the institutional development of the Government of the province/district/city. Third, the development of a network of Government provincial/district/city. And fourth, the development and utilization of the environment of the Government of the province/district/city.

Jakob Lövhall

This thesis introduces a debit card based payment system that aims to provide fast in-store payments using Bitcoin. The system introduces physical constraints to Bitcoin payments to enable stores to accept payments before they are in a block.The proposed system was tested in a proof of concept model to estimate the time itwould take to pay with the system on the real Bitcoin network. A security analysis was performed to validate system security and to point out potential problems. The security analysis was done by interviewing five experts from different organizations to receive different views on the system. The analysis of the system indicated that it could potentially be fast enough to be used in stores, however security problems exist and need to be considered.

Raghav Gupta

Digital mindsets and technology transformation is an inevitable need that organizations, businesses and individuals cannot ignore anymore. Businesses worldwide are gearing up for digital transformation in their existing processes, competencies, models and transactions. Digitization of financial systems and transactions are fallout of this revolution. Bitcoin can also be called a child of this technological revolution. At the onset, bitcoins can be seen as the first pan-global medium of which have been used by people internationally and independently, i.e. without any reliance on government regulations. Of the various forms of digital currencies available today, the current bullish (rather more than bullish) rally of Bitcoin in the year 2016-17, caught my attention and motivated to examine the future of this transaction system, and analyze the two often speculated status of bitcoin - as the currency of the future or an asset worthy of investment, or a mere bubble that will eventually burst. As the most popular form of cryptocurrency (according to research produced by Cambridge University in 2017, there are 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, most of them using bitcoin) that is used for transactions and can be recorded in a ledger, various conflicting opinion exists regarding its perceived value as the digital currency of the future. In the paper I evaluate how the value of bitcoin is created and examine its potential as a currency of future or a commodity or asset.

Jerzy Kubasik

W artykule przedstawiono współczesne zagadnienia w dziedzinie walut cyfrowych. Przeanalizowano czynniki ekonomiczne, które doprowadzily do powstania walut cyfrowych wskazując, że jest to naturalny krok w rozwoju środków płatniczych. Dokonano przeglądu głów­nych typów walut cyfrowych i omówiono wplyw ich konstrukcji na popularność poszczególnych walut. Opisano zwięźle konkurencję na rynku kryptowalut.

M. Léon Rolland, Assen Slim

Le Bitcoin, cryptomonnaie apparue en 2009, repose sur une infrastructure technique censée offrir « un nouvel espace de liberté » selon l’expression de ses concepteurs. Cette infrastructure, s’appuyant sur un protocole décentralisé, une chaîne de blocs et le minage, a été pensée pour permettre l’interaction directe des individus sans aucun recours à un tiers. Cet article s’attache à montrer que la gouvernance par l’infrastructure du Bitcoin conduit, comme elle contraint, à l’émergence d’une gouvernance de l’infrastructure socialement située. Problèmes et solutions prennent alors place hors du champ de la technique, au sein d’espaces de débats et de prise de décision socialement construits et organisés. Contre l’attente de ses concepteurs, le Bitcoin relève désormais d’une gouvernance « duale », à la fois technique et sociale.

Jason Potts, Ellie Rennie

No abstract is available for this record.

Charles Dutertre

Natural populations present an abundant genetic variability. Like mutation or natural se- lection, dierent processes are at stake to generate this variability. Population genetics is a topic that emerged in the late 40's, thanks mainly to the biologists Fisher and Wright. Its goal is to analyze and understand the interactions between those evolutionary processes. Among others, a byproduct of this eld has been the development of evolutionary models that try to explain how genetic information is transmitted along a genealogy of individuals sampled in the same population or in distinct ones but from the same species. Simpler models are non spatial, i.e. dealing with individuals as if they were in the same location; more complicated models suppose the population to be distributed on a lattice, but the most interesting ones consider the individuals to be distributed in a spatial continuum, leading to a leap in the complexity of the model. Nowadays, genetic information has become very cheap and abundant, but the computer power required to process all this data has not followed the growth of data availability, and especially in the case of spatial models. The intersection between population genetics and computational biology, in which this project takes place, is actively working on ways to make those computations faster. In this project we focus on one particular model, called the spatial A-Fleming Viot. This model, that appeared in the literature less than ten years ago, alleviates mathematical problems that hampered classical (spatial) models, and that Felsenstein pointed out in 1975. The general goal of this work is to investigate this model and the statistical inference of its parameters - i.e. nding the values of parameters of the model, given a sample of a population at present time (that evolved under the model). Inference methods have already been proposed, for instance using Markov Chain Monte Carlo, in Guindon et al. [2016], but, particularly because of the spatial dimension, those methods are computationally intensive. Finding ways of simplifying the problem, and making the computations faster is the object of current research. In section 1 we will present the rst model that has been proposed, in 1943 and 1948 by Wright and Fisher, along with the Kingman coalescent, proposed in 1982, that proposes to build a genealogy by going backwards in time. We will also brie y describe more recent models that try to take into account the spatial dimension. In section 2 - which is a bibliographic study - we will define the spatial -Fleming Viot, which is a measure-valued process, thus already requiring theoretical tools to get a full understanding of its definition. We will also give the proof of a fundamental property the model: time reversibility. In section 3 - which is a personal study of the spatial -Fleming Viot - we give a basis for comparison between this model and others by computing, both theoretically and by simulations, two parameters of interest that give a good description a modelled population. In the last section we focus on inference. This more theoretical part oers the description of an importance sampling inference scheme using time reversal as a proposal distribution, that applies generally to the case of rare events modelling, and that was explained by Koskela in his PhD thesis in 2016. Then we propose a way to simplify this scheme by making use of a particular type of genetic information: the Single Nulceotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).

J. Maria Glover

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23, and with it, the advent of the modern class action. As the fiftieth anniversary approached, many scholars, including myself, said that class actions were dead, dying, or headed for a zombie state. Many of the Supreme Court’s recent class action cases all but confirmed that view. In just the last six years, the Supreme Court ratcheted up the requirements for class certification under Rule 23 in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes and Comcast v. Behrend, increasing the cost and difficulty of obtaining certification. And, in a series of cases, the Court permitted the use of class action prohibitions in arbitration contracts, thus eliminating a swath of class actions and, often, the underlying claims themselves. The Court’s language in these cases also tracked stock arguments against the class action, leaving the distinct impression that the Roberts Court was on a mission to diminish or destroy the class action procedure. But a funny thing happened on the way to the funeral: just as the obituaries for the class action were being written, the Supreme Court issued a series of decisions that breathed new life into it. In Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc. (Halliburton II) and Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds, the Court reaffirmed the fraud-on-the-market theory, a critical tool in securities class actions. In Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, the Court vindicated the use of statistical proof to satisfy Rule 23 requirements, distancing itself from strong suggestions in prior cases that individualized proof requirements would doom class certification. And the language in these cases tracked stock arguments in favor of class actions. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the class action’s death now seem greatly exaggerated. But the Court’s class action decisions raise a new and perhaps more vexing question. If the Court is not fully intent on destroying the class action, what drives its seemingly disparate decisions? Do they reflect an anti–class action agenda losing steam, as Professor Coffee has suggested? Was the unbridled anti–class action agenda an illusion to begin with? Or is there a deeper explanation for these decisions? Part I of this Article demonstrates that the Court’s “pro–class action” decisions cannot be easily reconciled with their “anti–class action” counterparts through traditional means—neither through straightforward applications of Rule 23, nor precedent, nor particular case facts. But Part II posits that the Court’s seemingly disparate class action cases can still be rationalized. To do so, however, one must look past the procedural veneer and consider the underlying substantive rules and remedial regimes at stake. Indeed, a key question presented in each case—notwithstanding what appears in the petitions for writs of certiorari—is whether the Court will embrace an interpretation of a substantive rule that has the effect of facilitating the availability of the class action. The Court’s ultimate answer reflects a composite judgment about the substantive rule at issue and its implications for the availability of the class action device. Accordingly, to the extent one insists that procedural rules are, or ought to be, transsubstantive—that, “in form and manner of application, [they do] not vary from one substantive context to the next”—the Court’s class action jurisprudence might actually be deemed “non-transsubstantive.” This Article’s thesis has numerous implications—for separation of powers, judicial lawmaking power, federalism, the role of precedent, notions of transsubstantive procedure, procedural theory, and the nature and legitimacy of the judicial role, among others. The limitations of the Article format permit consideration in Part III of just two: First, the implications for the nature and scope of the federal courts’ procedural and substantive lawmaking powers under the Rules Enabling Act [hereinafter Enabling Act]. And second, related implications for the nature and legitimacy of the judicial role in “procedural” opinions.

David Houéto, Graziella Ghesquiere, Maurice Agonnoudé, Amavi Hounouvi · 6 authors

Introduction According to Canavan et al. [1], results-based financing (RBF) is a method of financing focused on the assumption that linking motivations to the performance would help to improve accessibility, quality and equity in the provision of health services. Blanchett quoted by Canavan et al., [1] argues that its impact would vary

Merle Hanke

Mobile diagnostics – or mobile health in general – is highly appealing, not only for clinicians, but also for patients. It implies empowerment, in particular of those who are really in need, such as inhabitants of less developed regions within the world who have limited access to healthcare. It also implies simplification: Easy data management – a continuous flow of information. Therefore, development of miniaturized and highly integrated diagnostic systems allowing near patient “instant” diagnostics gain a lot of momentum since more than a decade. However, system integration requires time and a significant amount of investment. In addition, there is strong competition on resources from other emergent technologies, such as next generation sequencing which made the collection of e.g. human genome data less expensive and much faster. A more severe challenge is that mobile diagnostics require a change in healthcare management, e.g. towards integrated practice units. This, in turn, requires implementation of adequate reimbursement, standards of interoperability, training of staff, quality control. In 2010, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the grant initiative Mobile Diagnostic Systems (MD, 2011─2015) as part of its high-tech strategy. MD aimed at generating knowledge on how microsystem technologies fit into German healthcare environments. On the basis of interviews with multidisciplinary MD actors, this thesis evaluated retrospectively how the publicly funded innovation network managed to overcome pre-defined external barriers of diffusion, including technology, regulatory affairs and market access. Retrospectives reveal internal barriers involving knowledge and technology transfer, negatively influencing generation of innovation. In particular, financing still represents a high hurdle for biotech innovators in Germany: Larger firms look predominately for market-ready or in-market technologies rather than prototypes and venture capitalists are rare or extremely risk-averse. Another important finding was, that actors involved were highly focused on individual work packages. This risks of not seeing the whole environment embedding MD. Consequently, potential opportunities may be missed, e.g. synergies with relatively close (DIALOC) or more distant initiatives (Global Health Delivery Project-based discussion rounds). This could be partly due to the fact that publicly funded networking activities provide less freedom-to-operate because of pre-defined milestones. In addition, further development of actors with respect to role playing (e.g. boundary spanning or innovation selling) is often not included in such “innovation packages”, but can help to maneuver change. Internal barriers need to be addressed first before targeting the major remaining external hurdle: Reimbursement. Although the latter was covered within MD, standardization of technology evaluation is still an unmet need which strongly influences the willingness-to-implement novel mobile diagnostics. Thus, the value added is to be demonstrated to justify adequate reimbursement. Achieving this goal can be successful, when innovation networking finds its path towards a common vision, e.g. towards value-based integrated healthcare. Pathfinding and visioning can be facilitated by process promoter with excellent network management capabilities. In addition, such a promoter could help to further develop engagement, openness and commitment of collaborators. Therefore, transfer of MD activities to established “top” networks or clusters is recommended for securing valuable knowledge generated. In this environment, an important next step – globalization of MD for ensuring future return on investment – could be triggered as well. Since MD innovation was found to involve both product and service innovation, maneuvering change is particularly challenging for small and medium sized enterprises. These could benefit from engagement in innovation networking. Findings of this case study can help all direct and indirect actors in the field of MD innovation or in other high complex environments to reconsider pathfinding as well as role playing in networking.

Peter G. Klein, Robert Wuebker

Which is more innovative: the decentralized, diversified firm, or the centralized, more narrowly focused firm? The economics and finance literatures argue that diversified firms have innovation advantages as their operating units have access to an internal capital market. In contrast, the strategy and entrepreneurship literatures argue that managers of these firms suffer from “managerial myopia,” discouraging them from investing in projects with long‐term, uncertain payoffs. We take a fresh look at the relationship between innovation and diversification using a comprehensive sample of diversified and nondiversified firms and a novel approach that teases out the mechanisms influencing the relationship between diversification and innovation. Consistent with conceptual and empirical work in strategy, we find a robust negative correlation between diversification and R&D intensity, suggesting that diversification reduces innovation by discouraging investment. However, our analysis suggests that internal capital market inefficiencies, rather than managerial myopia, is responsible for this observed negative relationship.

Débora Ley

Decentralized renewable energy (DRE) projects have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development objectives. DRE systems are considered for emissions reduction or poverty alleviation purposes while their role for climate change adaptation has hardly been analysed. In terms of adaptation, DRE provides electricity that can be used both to prepare for and recover from disasters, and to provide additional income and livelihood opportunities, thus reducing dependency on natural resources. For example, DRE can power early warning systems, telecommunication systems, health clinics and potable water systems. Although it might be said that climate change adaptation applications of DRE systems have already been implemented, the vulnerability of these systems towards climate impacts, and the robustness of these systems to climatic impacts are oftentimes not even considered. The assessment of 15 community-owned renewable energy projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua show that, under certain conditions, renewable energy projects can simultaneously meet the triple objective of sustainable development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Research also points to specific drivers which can facilitate or hinder projects meeting their own stated objectives and, consequently, the triple objective, and their long-term functioning. These drivers include the specific background of the beneficiary community, the financing and implementing entities and the local governance structures in place.

Shuyan Cao, Yanan Cao, Xiaoyu Wang, Yanqiao Lu

Analyzing 242 articles related to the study of blockchain which were published in China and abroad from 2014 to 2016, and from the aspects of literature sources, research subjects, research methods and western countries, the basic frame of blockchain research classification is put forward. Summarize the current blockchain technology progress, research limitations and future development trends. The research shows that the domestic research on the blockchain is more decentralized, non-systematic, and has not reached a certain research depth. What’s more, it is lack of quantitative analysis. Digital currency, Internet finance, and the risk of blockchain technology research will be the focus of future research.

Jesús Felicidades García, Ángeles Piñeiro Antelo

The incorporation of the territorial perspective into the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), through the delimitation of fishing areas and the creation of Fishery Local Action Groups (FLAGs), has allowed the decentralized management Axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) through the application of the LEADER method in this sectoral policy. The present study brings together the research of five case study regions (including Portugal) and their FLAGs in the period 2007-2013. Based on the analysis of each participatory local development strategy (LDS) and measures financed, there are different responses to the experience: misalignment and lack of cohesion between projects, excessive dependence on local power, and, in contrast, very meritorious actions and impact both in the fisheries sector and in the sustainable development of the coastal communities.

Deborah Farringer

Part I of this Article describes how the healthcare industry has arrived in this place of vulnerability, including (1) the history of the movement toward EHRs through HIPAA, (2) HIPAA’s meaningful use regulations and the background of current ransomware attacks, and (3) the distinctions between these attacks and other security breaches that have plagued large insurers and health systems within the last five years. Next, Part II will examine current industry culture when it comes to cybersecurity and review current legal and business approaches to address this growing threat. Then, Part III will argue that, while the current laws—including HIPAA and HITECH—are a good start, they do not go far enough to curb the current ransomware attacks and thus, should be amended. It will further argue that such amendments cannot be the only solution. Rather, the healthcare industry has to spur its own movement toward better and tighter security over its healthcare technology. Lastly, this Article will conclude with some suggestions and recommendations for how industry and government regulators can work together to assure that hospitals and health systems are not faced with the dilemma of having to choose between patient safety and the payment of a bitcoin ransom.

ChengYuan Qu

No abstract is available for this record.

Mihkel Pajunen

Bitcoin has emerged as the leading cryptographic currency since its inception in 2009 and at the time of writing holds a market capitalization of $28.4 billion. This ever-increasing figure has attracted adopters seeking to advance their investments, often leaving purely technical aspects on the sidelines. As is the case with any innovative technology, misconceptions are plentiful and information is not always conclusive. The research effort presented in this paper consists of a quantitative study seeking to address the subject of user anonymity in the Bitcoin network by employing an online survey on one of the most prominent Bitcoin forums. This includes 50 eligible participants, whose motivation is derived through the application of temporal motivation theory. The survey seeks to form an understanding of user attitudes towards the aspect of anonymity by following a methodological approach for exploring common tendencies among the representatives and will serve as the underlying data set from which conclusions can be drawn. Furthermore, this paper will present a literary study of the actual state of anonymity in this peer-to-peer technology by reviewing current findings highlighted in the area, thus presenting a comprehensive view of anonymity in the Bitcoin network, which will contrast the user study.

Martin Walker, Jose Luu

No abstract is available for this record.

Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson, Jason Potts

No abstract is available for this record.

Joy Wahba, Sydney Byrns, Timothy Smith

Due to decentralization policy in Malawi, district government water offices responsible for providing\ndirect support for water service delivery find themselves with an increase in devolved responsibilities but\nwithout the corresponding funds to carry them out. EWB has been implementing a strategy to advocate\nfor a realistic devolution of funds to district level government to carry out the minimum direct support\nnecessary to improve water point functionality. This approach is focused on the generation of specific\nevidence, as well as mapping and coordination of sector stakeholders to generate a feasible plan for an\nincrease in devolved funds. This case study highlights the key lessons learned in advocating for more\nresources to an underfunded sector in a competitive resource constrained context where most sectors\nremain severely underfunded.

Abeer ElBahrawy

No abstract is available for this record.

Tua Björklund

Making a series of small bets rather than one large gamble is at the core of experimentation, thereby scaling down what is at stake. Less effortful and more specific behaviors are more likely to be followed through, so making things tangible increases your odds of translating intentions into actions. Small wins mark progress and offer proof-of-concept, opportunities for feedback, and opportunities for joining development efforts.

Luis Ibáñez, Elena Simperl

No abstract is available for this record.