Blockchain Papers

Poppema, M., Verger, A., Novelli, M., Altinyelken, H.K.

School-based management (SBM) has been on the educational reform agenda of International Organisations (IOs) since the 1990s and is regarded as the most radical form of educational decentralisation.Although the models might differ, the main rationale given for the implementation of SBM is that by enhancing the participation of local stakeholders, decentralisation will lead to more efficient services and boost educational achievement.Most analysis of SBM programmes (SBMPs) evaluate the functioning of the programmes and their main outcomes.In this chapter, the focus shall be placed on the specific political and economic context that gave rise to the two first SBMPs in the Global South, namely, the Autonomous Schools Programme (ASP) in Nicaragua and the EDUCO Community-Managed Schools Programme in El Salvador.They were implemented at a time when major (post) conflict transformation processes in Central America (CA) were driven through the direct intervention by the Unites States (US) and their Agency for International Development (USAID).Since then, these SBMPs have been implemented in countries where IOs have great leverage, as in (post-) conflict countries (Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, etc.) or in countries that are undergoing significant political, social and economic change.Next to USAID, the World Bank is the major promoter of SBM and has continuously expanded its support for this kind of decentralized reform.A review of World Bank's lending portfolio over the years [2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006] shows that SBM projects amount to US$1.7 billion, representing approximately 18 per cent of total education financing (Barrera-Osorio et al. 2009).The EDUCO programme in particular has been cited as the best practice, arguing that the project was built on the experience of at least 500 community-run schools operating in conflict-affected areas in the 1980s.'When the country emerged from war, the new Ministry of Education launched Education with Community Participation (EDUCO), a programme that gave these schools official recognition and financial support.' (UNESCO 2011, p. 224).This appreciation has been highlighted in all the World Bank documents on the topic (see Jimenez et al.

Benjamin Nadeau

This paper is a primer on many topics related to the digital cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Bitcoins have been developed and advertised as a private digital money. We analyze this claim, generally to conclude that Bitcoins as they presently exist are not money. They are not generally accepted in exchange and do not serve as a unit of account. We test the hypothesis that the value of Bitcoins are determined largely by network externalities, finding very limited data to support this claim. We analyze features of bitcoins, such as their high exchange rate volatility with respect to the U.S. dollar and other currencies. We examine pricing on various exchanges, and how the law of one price works in bilateral and trilateral exchange rates involving Bitcoins. The potential for arbitrage is examined. We look at the use of bitcoins at Overstock.com, and the impact of that decision on Overstock.com stock prices and on the value of Bitcoins. We consider Bitcoins as an asset and examine their contribution to portfolio holdings. We discuss Bitcoin’s use in fraud resembling a Ponzi scheme. Finally, we speculate on the future of Bitcoins and the potential uses for the underlying technology.

Mega Sistiana, Moc. Makmur

This research wasintended to describe the degree of fiscal decentralization in the autonomous regions in East Javaprovince in 2006-2010. This research belongs to the genre of secondary data with quantitativedescriptive type. The population in this study was all regencies/cities in East Java Province. Thedegree of fiscal decentralization was calculated from data collected by the three ratios, that is: a)PAD (Local Revenue) with TPD (Total Local Revenue); b) BHPBP (Tax and Non-Tax Sharing)with TPD; c) regional contribution to TPD. The research results showed that, first, seen from theratio of PAD to TPD, DDF (Degree of Fiscal Desentralization) of regencies/cities in East Javain 2006-2010 was in very low category with an average DDF percentage of 8%. Second, DDFof regencies/cities measured in terms of ratio of local contribution and TPD, had a high level ofDDF, reaching 83%. Third, DDF of regencies/cities in East Java in 2006-2010 of BHPBP ratiowith TPD had a very low percentage, reaching an average of only 9%, so the region’s financialdependence on the construction financing of central government funding is very high. Keywords : regional autonomy, fiscal decentralization, degree of fiscal decentralization.

Risca Ardhyaningtyas, Laksono Trisnantoro, Retna Siwi Padmawati

Background: In this era of decentralization , access and provision of drugs for people in the local area is the responsi- bility of local governments. Because the limitations of the local budget, the central government is obliged to guarantee the availability of drugs in the area. Financing sources of drugs from central and local government have not reached the stan- dard of WHO i.e. 2 dollars per capita. To cover demand of financing drug, a Specific Allocation Fund (DAK) proposed state budget that funds given to certain areas to fund special activities that are regional affairs and in accordance with na- tional priorities. General criteria to consider certain areas (re- gional fiscal capacity), specific criteria (regional characteris- tics) and technical criteria (policy formulation from Ministry of Health). Since drug financing is allocated in DAK in 2010, there is a need to evaluate the drug financing at the local level. The purpose : to evaluate the amount of DAK for Pharma- ceutical services in 2011 and 2012. Methods : The study used secondary data from 2010 and 2011 consist of 6 (six) factors: fiscal capacity, character of the area, population number, proportion of poverty , local bud- get for drugs and prediction for the remaining stock of the drug. The analysis statistics uses chi-square and multiple regression. Qualitative interviews is conducted with manag- ers of pharmacy in 2 districts with high financial capability. Results : Result from multiple regression test of the 6 factors used in the allocation of SAF 2011 and 2012 shows only 3 factors that really affects the allocation which are the number of population, the poor and the prediction of the remaining stock of the drug . However, the highest factor is the popula- tion. Result for qualitative with 2 respondents shows that since they got DAK they reduced local budget for drugs, because the drug financing is sufficient from DAK. Conclusion : local sense of ownership towards the health budget in the area is low resulting in reliance on the central health budget. The effeciency of the central budget causes reduction of health budget both in central and local level. Latar belakang : Dalam era desentralisasi ini, akses dan penyediaan obat bagi masyarakat di daerah menjadi tanggung jawab pemerintah daerah. Namun keterbatasan anggaran daerah maka pemerintah pusat berkewajiban menjamin ketersediaan obat di daerah. Sumber pembiayaan obat di daerah melalui APBN dan APBD belum mencapai standar WHO, 2 dol- lar per kapita. Untuk menutupi kekurangan pembiayaan obat, diusulkan DAK yaitu dana APBN yang diberikan kepada daerah tertentu untuk mendanai kegiatan khusus yang merupakan urusan daerah dan sesuai dengan prioritas nasional. Daerah tertentu mempertimbangkan kriteria umum (kemampuan fiskal daerah), kriteria khusus (karakteristik daerah) dan kriteria teknis (rumusan kebijakan Kementerian Kesehatan). Sejak kebijakan obat melalui DAK pada tahun 2010, perlu dilakukan evaluasi besaran DAK Bidang Kesehatan untuk Kefarmasian tahun 2011 dan 2012. Tujuan : tujuan penelitian ini adalah melakukan evaluasi besaran DAK Bidang Kesehatan untuk Kefarmasian 2011 dan 2012. Metode : Penelitian menggunakan data sekunder 2010 dan 2011 yang terdiri 6 faktor yaitu; kemampuan fiskal, karakter wilayah, jumlah penduduk, penduduk miskin, anggaran obat dalam APBD dan prediksi sisa stok obat untuk pengalokasian DAK 2011 dan 2012. Uji analisis menggunakan chi square dan multipel regresi. Kualitatif dengan wawancara pengelola farmasi di 2 kabupaten dengan kemampuan keuangan tinggi. Hasil: Dari uji multiple regresi terhadap 6 faktor yang digunakan dalam pengalokasian DAK 2011 dan 2012 hanya 3 yang mempengaruhi alokasi yaitu jumlah penduduk, penduduk miskin dan prediksi sisa stok obat. Namun yang paling tinggi adalah jumah penduduk. Untuk kualitatif pada 2 responden, sejak mendapat DAK terjadi pengurangan anggaran obat di APBD, karena pembiayaan obat cukup dengan DAK. Kesimpulan: daerah belum memahami ownership anggaran kesehatan di daerah sehingga masih mengandalkan anggaran dari pusat, dimana ketidakstabilan anggaran pusat dengan ef isiensi menyebabkan pemotongan merata anggaran kesehatan di pusat dan daerah.

Saravanan Sundaresan, Robin Doss

In this paper, we propose a secure yoking proof protocol for RFID passive tags based on Zero Knowledge. The protocols that have been proposed earlier are either found to be vulnerable to certain attacks or do not comply with EPC standard for passive tags because they use complex encryption schemes. Also, the unique design requirements of yoking/grouping proofs have not been fully addressed by many. Our protocol addresses these important security and design gaps in yoking proofs. The proposed protocol uses pseudo random squares and quadratic residuosity to realize the zero knowledge property. Tag operations are limited to functions such as modulo (MOD), exclusive-or (XOR) and 128-bit Pseudo Random Number Generators (PRNG). Passive tags are capable of these operations and hence the protocol achieves EPC compliance and also meets the necessary security requirements.

Ki-Yeon Nam

No abstract is available for this record.

Jane Qiu

The amount of arable land per person in China is only about 40% of the global average. In the next two decades, the country will need to produce 30–50% more food to meet the demand of its growing population. It's a daunting task for an agricultural sector that has long been plagued by pest infestation, crop diseases, soil pollution and degradation, water shortage and labour efflux—which will be exacerbated by climate change. To secure food supply, China is increasingly looking to genetic modification (GM) technology. In 2008, it rolled out a 12-year, 25 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) programme to promote the research and development of GM technology. Six years on, Chinese scientists lament about the slow progress and public misconceptions, whereas some social scientists and non-government organizations are concerned that GM proponents are missing the forest for the trees. In a forum chaired by National Science Review's executive associate editor Mu-ming Poo, five panellists from diverse backgrounds locked horns over a myriad of issues of GM technology. Bing Liu Social Scientist at Tsinghua University in Beijing Baorong Lu Ecologist at Fudan University in Shanghai, a member of National Committee on the Biosafety of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms (NCBAGMO) Lanying Zhang Coordinator of the non-government organization Farmer Seed Network in Beijing Yunlong Zhou Researcher at Ministry of Agriculture's Centre for Science and Technology Development in Beijing, a member of NCBAGMO Zhen Zhu Geneticist at Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology in Beijing Mu-ming Poo (Chair) Neurobiologist at Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai Poo: What's the stance of the Chinese government on GM technology? Zhu: Food security in China is extremely pressing at the moment. With a growing population, it's only going to get worse in the future. This is why the No.1 Document—central government's first policy document of the year—in the past consecutive years invariably focused on agriculture issues, with particular mention of seed industry and GM technology. The government really sees GM technology as central for feeding its people, and has invested heavily on its research and development. Lu: This is in line with the rapid development of GM technology around the world. The cultivation area of GM crops has reached 175.2 million hectares in 2013, constituting over 11% of global farmlands, up by 3% compared with the previous year. Zhu: There has been a lot of progress in GM research in China: hundreds of field trials of GM crops have been approved and conducted, and half a dozen have been approved for commercial production. In 2009, the government awarded safety certificates to two GM rice varieties, but it's unlikely that they will make their way to the market. The commercial cultivation of GM crops in China has been stagnated for years—since the great success of Bt cotton. Lu: Indeed. At 4.2 million hectares, China ranked sixth in 2013 in the cultivation area of GM crops, mostly Bt cotton—after the USA, Brazil, Argentina, India and Canada—dropping from the fourth place 10 years ago. Even in Pakistan and South Africa, which have much less land mass than China, the cultivation area of GM crops reached nearly 3 million hectares last year. China is in danger of being left behind by the rest of the world. Zhu: This will have serious implications for food security. China imports nearly 70 million tonnes of GM corn, soybean and rapeseed a year, about 12% of China's total production of all crops. If we do not get a significant boost from GM technology, our reliance on imports will continue to rise. This is a grave matter of food security. Poo: Why has the commercialization of GM crops been so slow in China despite the major government push? Zhou: The public concerns for ethical and biosafety issues are the main reason. We develop GM crops to serve consumers. Even if they are safe, it'd be no good if nobody buys them. The government is reluctant to grant further approval for commercial production unless there is a sea change in public mood. Poo: There've been fierce debates in China about GM crops, which are increasingly polarized. What are the underlying reasons? Lu: In the past five years, the public attitude has shifted from being more or less neutral to being negative. We did a survey recently and found that most people don't really know what GM technology is about, but oppose their commercialization. As scientists, we haven't done a good job in communicating the importance of GM crops to the public. Zhu: The public debates on GM crops are a sign of progress, illustrating China's improving democracy. Compared to a few decades ago, people demand a greater say in important public policies, especially about the environment they live in and the food they eat. But they should listen to the experts—scientists and economists—about the value of GM technology and how safe it is. Zhou: Scientific and technological breakthroughs are often controversial at the beginning. China's economic development has reached a stage in which basic livelihood is not a problem for most people. The public are really concerned if it's safe to eat GM foods—not only for themselves but also for future generations—and whether GM crops could damage the environment. When the public hasn't received proper information, they are more likely to be influenced by scaremongering claims that GM crops are unsafe than those that support them. Zhang: The public are also concerned whether GM technology will make farmers and national food production heavily rely on a small number of biotech companies, and what impact they will have on local cultivars, traditional farming practices and indigenous knowledge. Another issue is that people want to retain their right to choose what they eat, especially when staple food is concerned. This is a basic autonomy that must be respected. They simply cannot and would not accept to have GM foods, especially GM rice, imposed upon them. This is why compulsory labelling is absolutely essential. China is losing ground in the international race of transgenic technology. —Zhen Zhu Liu: The debates about GM crops are not just about science or economics. Rather, it concerns a myriad of issues, including the role of science in society, ethics, culture, tradition and even religion. A main problem is that China still uses the outdated science-communication approach in which scientists tell the public about their findings, which the public passively understand and accept. This is highly problematic and rarely effective. A better approach is to have a dialogue between experts and multiple stakeholders and involve diverse perspectives and opinions. Poo: This discussion is very interesting. We really need to have more interactive dialogues involving multiple stakeholders, not just the public being told by the scientists. There is a lack of intelligent debates in the Chinese media—most are one-sided, either supporting or opposing GM—which is partly to blame for fuelling the polarization. Liu: The fierce GM debates also result from a serious mistrust on the experts. Scientists have been saying that GM crops are safe, but this hasn't persuaded the public. Some people wonder if those scientists are part of an interest group conspiring to benefit financially from the commercialization of GM crops. This suspicion has been exacerbated by the fact that there is a lack of transparency in terms of who the committee members are, how the assessment is done, how the decisions of commercialization are reached and whether different opinions are considered. Zhu: I agree we need to adopt a more interactive approach when engaging with the public. The right to choose is also very important, and we are not saying that we will force people to eat certain things just because they are safe. But we can't ignore the harsh reality: the demand for food supply is overwhelming; a lot of people still live below the poverty line in many parts of the world. As we overemphasize the importance of the right to choose, aren't we depriving people's right to basic livelihood? Isn't that something we should take into consideration in our ethical debates? Zhou: It's unlikely that we will be able to persuade everybody. So who should make the decision? I think government and international organizations must take a lead on this. Otherwise we'd be going nowhere if we have to consider the opinions of every individual. It's as much about the respect for individual's rights as the collective interest. Lu: There is a lot of misinformation floating around, which contributes to some public anxieties about GM crops. For instance, most people don't realize that compulsory labelling is required for all products derived from GM crops according to the Chinese biosafety regulations. GM rice would be labelled, too, so consumers would always have the choice. Zhu: The GM debates touch upon many issues. But the most fundamental question we must consider before anything else is: are GM crops safe? The answer must be based on solid scientific evidence. Poo: So what have we learned about the potential impact of GM crops on human health? Zhu: The world has been consuming foods derived from GM crops for nearly 20 years and there have been no safety issues. Zhou: China imports 70 million tonnes of GM corn, soybean and rapeseed a year. GM foods have long got into our food chain. Liu: I don't think it's appropriate to make a sweeping statement about the biosafety of GM crops in general. It really depends on which GM crops you are talking about. If Bt rice turns out to be harmful, its large-scale cultivation and commercialization would have unthinkable consequences. — Bing Liu Zhu: That's true. GM is a technology. It's neutral. Whether it's safe or not depends on what kind of genes you introduce to crops. If you have a GM toxin, of course it won't be safe. Lu: Indeed. We cannot say all GM crops are safe before biosafety assessment. Biosafety must be assessed on a case-by-case basis—which is one of the fundamental principles in biosafety evaluation in China and around the world. GM technology is not that much different from traditional breeding, but is more targeted, efficient and can cross species reproductive barriers. There are mainly two types of GM crops that have been commercialized in the world: one is genetically modified to produce a protein made by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that can kill a type of pests belonging to the lepidopteran order and the other is modified to produce an enzyme called EPSP synthase that can protect plants from herbicides. Extensive research and nearly 20 years of commercial cultivation have really shown that neither Bt nor EPSP crop has any adverse impact on health and environment. Zhang: I don't think the picture is as black and white as you portrayed. In 2012, a study led by French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini and published in Food and Chemical Toxicology showed that EPSP maize caused tumours and other serious diseases in rats after two years of feeding experiments. In a controversial move, the journal retracted the paper a year later on the grounds that ‘no definitive conclusions can be reached’. It was republished this June by Environmental Sciences Europe, another peer-review journal. I don't think there is a consensus within the scientific community. Zhu: The Seralini study, along with other similar research, has been widely refuted by mainstream scientists. Until now, there is simply no solid evidence that GM foods could pose any threat to human or animal health. Liu: I agree with Zhang: the health impacts of GM crops are still an open question. Most of the existing GM crops are either used as animal feeds or consumed after having been processed. None of them has been directly consumed to the extent as rice is in China. So even if no health issue has emerged so far, this does not mean that Bt rice would be safe. No country in the world—not even the USA—has commercialized a GM staple crop. Zhang: The pest-resistant protein Bt is a toxin. The Bt pesticides are also derived from the same chemical. I think the public anxiety over Bt rice is understandable. Liu: I certainly don't think that those three-month rat experiments are sufficient to reassure the public that eating toxin-containing rice three times a day for their entire life would be safe. If Bt rice turns out to be harmful, its large-scale cultivation would have unthinkable consequences. Zhu: I think you are holding an impossible standard for biosafety studies. If three months of animal experiments are not enough, how long a duration would assure you? Two years, 50 years or 500 years? If one demands such stringent proof, there would be no hope for any technology. Zhou: The issues of staple crops have attracted a lot of public attention. But I don't think, as a staple crop, GM rice is a special case from the point of view of biosafety. China takes biosafety issues very seriously, which was why it took 15 years to approve the two Bt rice varieties. It has also dedicated 40% of the funding of the major GM programme, billions of yuans, to biosafety research. Liu: We should be extremely cautious about GM rice. Is the issue of food supply so pressing that we must subject one billion people to the biggest human experiment in history? There are several historical examples, in which new inventions, such as pesticides, seemed wonderful at the time but has turned out to be harmful. They are cautionary tales for GM technology. Lu: No technology is absolutely safe, and so we should balance the risks and benefits of GM crops. As pointed out by the Chinese proverb: when we face two benefits, choose the greater one; when we face two evils, choose the lesser one. Poo: What could GM crops do to environment and biodiversity? Lu: One worry is whether Bt toxin, which aims at killing target pests, could also affect neutral or beneficial insects—the so-called non-target effects. There has been a lot of research around the world, and most studies show little impact. Another concern regards gene flow—that is, whether the transgene could get into unmodified, wild or weedy relatives through cross-pollination. We have done a lot of research on Bt rice in the past 15 years. Because rice produces seeds strictly through self-pollination, the efficiency of gene flow to rice crops is extremely It would be even if you have a between GM and rice. The efficiency of gene flow to wild rice is but we haven't found any significant adverse with the Bt Zhu: There are some issues with GM cotton. For instance, the first Bt is to but the of non-target pests, such as of the after a few years and the main Scientists have the of GM with two are to Liu: that the widely used gene into weedy rice, could make the plants and more in the of the This is a of the GM crops could have on the environment. It's because any gene flow to weedy rice is the transgene to and subject to But of studies are rarely in debates about the biosafety of GM crops. Poo: GM crops have any on environment or Zhu: GM technology can pollution caused by of pesticides and GM crops have the of Scientists are GM crops that can take up and much more so less would be There could also be GM that are to and crop diseases and can in Lu: At the we have two we either rely on pesticides, at and more with serious impacts on health and or we pest-resistant crops. We must risks and benefits in this kind of Liu: I that we have a lot of with such as those caused by pesticides and But are we really a of either GM crops or those there other we should a little and how we have got into such a before what we should Zhang: A lot of agricultural issues are in decades of farming such as of pesticides and land which have out and the of to and A on GM crops is a for and the Liu: I we need to take a approach agricultural The of GM technology to is just the than the The of which can just as much as is a case in farmers are on pesticides, the same as I the transgenic GM to and will other In the USA, the benefits of GM crops have also because have mostly to farming Zhang: GM technology is not a for food production. on GM could also further for improving traditional and farming Zhou: No one is saying that GM technology is a for all agriculture It's a that we cannot not to take GM is not the only for such as pest infestation, but it's the main up to Poo: What are the impact of GM crops on traditional agriculture and One I have in is GM it was in the USA, farmers growing traditional have China must consider of issues if it is to GM crops on a Zhang: farmers I of GM technology. When I told them that if they GM crops they have to seeds every year, they really worry about their autonomy and Lu: We should take into consideration interest. But as we get into a the traditional farming approach of and is way to large-scale This is a global not an issue to GM technology. Zhou: I also the seeds if they rice or and have to get supply from seed with technology. farming has always been in and but I don't think is a Lu: I think Bt really how GM technology could impact it was in the production nearly because of pest The was and of farmers year. The of Bt has really the has a lot of labour and A study led by of Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Centre for Chinese Agricultural showed that by yuan per No technology is absolutely safe and so we should balance the risks and benefits of GM crops. Lu Zhang: The benefits of Bt are They most significant in the first a few years after Bt was but to as pests and farmers on This is by the fact that Bt is more to diseases and their seeds are several times more than traditional Liu: is a major only the seeds but also of and are all by it's about who and the food supply of billion population. Zhu: the of GM products would be able to get sufficient from the and would always on government the of between China and would if we do not develop Poo: and of GM crop research trials is to their development and public has it been The in which at the Academy of Sciences field trials of GM crops has serious Zhou: China has a of and on GM technology such as basic research, field commercial food and compulsory They are all in line with international and The government takes biosafety evaluation very The National Biosafety between five government of experts on public environment food safety and Liu: The issue at is not only about having a good but also It's similar to China has a very good on but many and are have that the of GM crops is not Zhang: Indeed. GM seeds have been found at local in several because of GM rice has also been for years. to by China's of and the for Food and found times of GM rice in food products from China. panellists the importance of GM technology in but this could be for China's food The debates should all stakeholders and take diverse opinions and perspectives into Zhang Liu: In the are genetically to produce a of to the efficiency of of to after of the rice approval or from the This is just another of and Zhang: of GM crops is also for and the of But I just don't that China is able to face up to such on a Poo: We are out of their Zhu: GM crops are safe and China is losing ground in the international race of transgenic technology. We should to science and and be engaging in and the great The food shortage that we must Lu: There is no We should balance risks and benefits, the greater benefit and the lesser The potential risks of GM crops can be to Zhou: The of GM technology is on The Chinese government will take and consider public when important it's about the most out of this technology and at the same time risks as much as we Liu: We should be extremely cautious and potential risks when over the commercialization of GM crops, especially GM rice. The national biosafety committee should be much more about its members and The public has a right to Zhang: The GM debates are not just about science and technology. A lot of social issues are also such as ethics, culture, tradition and The debates should all stakeholders and take diverse opinions and perspectives into

Devavrat Shah, Kang Zhang

In this paper, we discuss the method of Bayesian regression and its efficacy for predicting price variation of Bitcoin, a recently popularized virtual, cryptographic currency. Bayesian regression refers to utilizing empirical data as proxy to perform Bayesian inference. We utilize Bayesian regression for the so-called "latent source model". The Bayesian regression for "latent source model" was introduced and discussed by Chen, Nikolov and Shah (2013) and Bresler, Chen and Shah (2014) for the purpose of binary classification. They established theoretical as well as empirical efficacy of the method for the setting of binary classification. In this paper, instead we utilize it for predicting real-valued quantity, the price of Bitcoin. Based on this price prediction method, we devise a simple strategy for trading Bitcoin. The strategy is able to nearly double the investment in less than 60 day period when run against real data trace.

Yong Yu, Man Ho Au, Yi Mu, Shaohua Tang · 7 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Kevin V. Tu, Michael W. Meredith

This Article investigates an increasingly important yet under-developed body of law: regulation of virtual currency. At its peak in March of 2014, the daily volume of Bitcoin transactions in United States dollars exceeded $575,000,000. The growing mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin, however, is best illustrated by the growing number of leading merchants that have decided to accept Bitcoin payments. While Bitcoin’s rise as an alternative payment method is well-chronicled, Bitcoin’s impact extends further due to its use as an investment vehicle and its ability to spur the growth of an industry of Bitcoin-based businesses. Despite increasingly widespread use, Bitcoin (and other virtual currencies) have largely operated without the burden of regulation. Why? Like the potentially transformative innovations that preceded Bitcoin, virtual currency raises unique challenges for which existing legal models may be unprepared. As policymakers struggle to catch-up, the effort to develop an appropriate regulatory regime for virtual currency is at a critical juncture.The response in the United States has thus far involved regulatory bodies acting independently to clarify the treatment of virtual currency under a variety of different laws designed to regulate traditional payment systems, financial services, and investments. This Article argues, contrary to this approach, that a narrow focus on the technical application and extension of existing law creates a deficient regulatory regime. Instead, we suggest that policymakers should: (1) engage the various agency stakeholders to promote cross-communication; (2) think more globally about the wide spectrum of issues arising from virtual currency; and (3) embrace the unique and distinct characteristics of virtual currency. In support of this proposition, we show that refocusing on the collection of policy goals advanced by existing law offers policymakers an additional tool to aid in the development of a comprehensive, cohesive, and appropriately-scaled virtual currency regulatory model.

Andy Yee

Bitcoin is the first decentralised, peer-to-peer network that allows for the proof and transfer of ownership of virtual currencies without the need for a trusted third party. The purpose of this article is to address how we can capture Bitcoin’s potential benefits for the economy while addressing new regulatory challenges.

Benjamin K. Sovacool, Alexander Q. Gilbert, Daniel Nugent

No abstract is available for this record.

Jamal Bouoiyour, Refk Selmi

The present paper seeks to effectively address the following question: What Bitcoin looks like? To do so, we regress Bitcoin price on a number of variables (Bitcoin fundamentals recorded in the literature) by applying an ARDL Bounds Testing approach for daily data covering the period from December 2010 to June 2014. Our findings highlight the speculative nature of Bitcoin. We also provide insightful evidence that Bitcoin may be used for economic reasons but there is any sign of being a safe haven. By considering the Chinese trading bankruptcy and the closing of Road Silk by FBI, the contribution of users’ interest stills sharply dominant, indicating the robustness of our results.

Leonard Apeltsin

Off-Chain transactions allow for the immediate transfer of Cryptocurrency between two parties, without delays or unavoidable transaction fees. Such capabilities are critical for mainstream Cryptocurrency adaption. They allow for the "Coffee-Coin Criteria"; under which a customer orders a coffee and pays for that coffee in bitcoins. This is not possible with On-Chain transactions today. Unfortunately, all existing Off-Chain transaction protocols are notoriously unreliable The current generation of third-party facilitators are vulnerable to hacker-based attacks. As Mt. Gox tragically demonstrated, centralized-transaction institutions are easy targets for Cryptocurrency thieves. The slightest security flaw in a third-party system will pounced on by hackers, who will proceed to devour it like ants devouring a crab. Under such circumstances, it no wonder that the Public treats most Cryptocurrency services with a constant shadow of suspicion. For Bitcoin to flourish, its anti-hierarchy principles must be applied to safe Off-Chain transactions. First and foremost, we need a new hacker-proof protocol that can easily be executed by any experienced developer. Preferably, the protocol will be open-sourced for full reliability and transparency. This paper presents one such procedure, which allows for he safe transmission of Bitcoin private key control by way of Cryptocubic transactions.

Mitra Mojtahedi, Aymeric Fouquier d’Hérouël, Sui Huang

Digital PCR (dPCR) exploits limiting dilution of a template into an array of PCR reactions. From this array the number of reactions that contain at least one (as opposed to zero) initial template is determined, allowing inferring the original template concentration. Here we present a novel protocol to efficiently infer the concentration of a sample and its optimal dilution for dPCR from few targeted qPCR assays. By taking advantage of the real-time amplification feature of qPCR as opposed to relying on endpoint PCR assessment as in standard dPCR prior knowledge of template concentration is not necessary. This eliminates the need for serial dilutions in a separate titration and reduces the number of necessary reactions. We describe the theory underlying our approach and discuss experimental moments that contribute to uncertainty. We present data from a controlled experiment where the initial template concentration is known as proof of principle and apply our method on directly monitoring transcript level change during cell differentiation as well as gauging amplicon numbers in cDNA samples after pre-amplification.

Jim Vaught, Akin Abayomi, Tim Peakman, Peter H. Watson · 6 authors

Biobanking for clinical or research purposes includes the collection, processing, storage, and analysis of biological specimens. It is now well recognized that biobanking involves a complex array of technical and ethical/regulatory considerations. Biobanking policies and procedures are often documented by best practices that are usually voluntary but may be supplemented and reinforced by strict rules and regulations that govern informed consent, privacy, QC, and other critical issues. As biobanking has emerged as a global endeavor, with national networks and international collaboration becoming the norm, it has become even more critical that practices are coordinated and that quality standards are developed. Biobanking is also often a business endeavor, in that formal strategic and business plans need to be developed to ensure the long-term survival of the associated research programs. As new technologies are developed for using biospecimens to diagnose and treat disease, as well as to evaluate genetic risks, patients are becoming more aware of the importance and benefits of biobanking as part of the medical infrastructure. As a result, patients who donate biospecimens are becoming more interested in learning more about their own sample's use and in seeing the actual results of the research. One of the aspects of these evolving attitudes toward biobanking was addressed in a previous Q&A concerning biospecimen “ownership” in the January 2011 issue of Clinical Chemistry (Gronowski et al.; Clin Chem 57:540–4). From the broad array of issues that could be addressed, this Q&A focuses on a few critical issues that many biobanks are facing today: quality management, biobank network design, long-term sustainability, conveying the importance of biobanking to the public, and the return of research results to biospecimen donors. Five experts who are engaged in national and international biobanking programs discuss these complex issues here. What are some of the important issues related to quality management in sample collection, processing, and storage? Tim Peakman: Biobanks should aim to collect and store samples and associated data in the form most useful for scientific research. This means that they should represent the biological environment at the time of collection as closely as possible, and the introduction of variation through the way they are collected and processed should be avoided as much as possible. Where cases and controls come from different sources, this problem may be particularly acute (with the exception of purely genetic studies). In studies where samples are shipped to a different location for processing, the time delay between collection and stabilization may lead to loss of some unstable markers. Where samples are processed at local sites, maintenance of consistent intersite processing can be challenging. Odds ratios for many exposures are typically 1.2–1.5, so that introduction of uncontrolled or unmeasured variation may lead to weak associations' being overlooked, spurious associations' being further investigated, or significantly greater cost as sample size is increased to enhance power of the study. For many studies the greatest source of variation is at the preanalytical stage, in other words the collection, transport, and processing before stabilization at low temperature or on matrices such as blood spot cards. This can be managed by the implementation of a proper quality program that aims to make the collection and processing of samples as consistent as possible. Formal quality schemes such as ISO 9001:2008 may be suitable for larger studies, but whether a formal accreditation is obtained or a laboratory-based approach is taken, the quality management process should include full documentation of the sample processing trail (including dates, times, temperatures, location, operator, etc.), use of standard operating procedures (SOPs),7 training, audits, critical materials review, and so on. Practical steps to reduce introduced variability can be taken that aim to ensure the time from collection from the volunteer to stabilization is as consistent as possible across all samples and any preprocessing (such as clotting time for serum tubes) is standardized. Finally, quality of sample annotation should be ensured using approaches such as bar codes that maintain accuracy of sample attribution and avoid the risk of misidentification that can result in false positives. It is also important to empirically determine the stability of the samples under the particular collection protocol and whether this is sufficient for the intended purpose. Many analytes are quite stable in blood if they are transported and processed at 4 °C and, with a few exceptions, those analytes that aren't stable only degrade a small amount over 24 h. Establishing systems and processes to avoid this marginal loss may be expensive and unnecessary. Peter Watson and Lise Matzke: Quality management (QM) is an essential component of operating and maintaining a biobank. At the end of the day, it's “garbage-in, garbage-out,” or so they say. Operationally, biobanks must be able to track each biospecimen that is collected, processed, stored, and distributed from the facility to manage biospecimen quality and ensure effective future use. Quality is managed by an established system that verifies biospecimens are handled appropriately. Such quality systems involve the creation and maintenance of accurate process protocols, SOPs, and the activities that verify these protocols' being followed by biobank personnel (staff education and training). Further, standards and best practices set by international organizations such as the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories and the National Cancer Institute set guidance around the issues, provide a reference point for content of this documentation, and facilitate harmonization by national organizations and down to individual projects. Implementation of QM activities requires dedicated time and a resourcing strategy which can be very costly. Therefore the scope and scale of the program should be dictated by the scope and scale of the biobank and the nature of the research it is intended to support. A biobank supporting basic discovery research may choose a primary QM focus different from that chosen by a biobank that is intended to support multicenter validation studies. Adequate training and education of biobank personnel and a tracking mechanism to ensure training is current and role specific are essential parts of the overall QM strategy. This helps to ensure consistent and informed application of both quality assurance and QC measures. The process of review of a QM system allows for evaluation around what is and what is not working in the QM and the ability to make changes. There are several types of external assurance programs that are offered on the international stage that are complementary strategies to raise the standards across the discipline of biobanking. Some define an upper standard and use an external assessment process and measurement of product quality, while the focus for other programs is to define a minimal standard and concentrate on education. An example of the latter approach, which ties all these components of QM together, is the concept of biobank certification, which is broadly applicable for all entities handling biospecimens and is offered by the Canadian Tumour Tissue Repository and UBC Biobank Resource Centre. Helen Moore: Quality can mean very different things to different people. One might think of quality management as the process followed to determine that, in the end, you got what you set out to get. For biobanking, quality management would follow the complex set of procedures undertaken to enroll a research participant in biobanking and collect, process, annotate, and store biospecimens, and determine whether that process yielded biospecimens and associated data sufficient for the purpose collected. Foundational elements would include well-documented SOPs that are understood and accepted by those who are collecting, processing, and storing biospecimens, as well as training on SOPs and annotation of deviations from SOPs. Quality criteria must be set at the outset and suitable metrics and analytical tests used to evaluate the processes and determine whether the quality criteria have been met. Having a quality management plan in place for biobanking does not mean that perfection is expected; in fact, it is important that quality management be reasonable in scope and that errors be expected. For example, some level of biospecimen degradation may be unavoidable in some circumstances. Awareness of this possibility and being able to measure relative degradation is part of the quality management plan. Good quality management in biobanking at best can translate to higher quality and reproducibility of research results using the biospecimens. Akin Abayomi: In Africa, where extreme ambient temperatures are the order of the day in conjunction with potentially large geographical distances that samples may need to travel, attention to detail is critical. Clear and comprehensible SOPs and frequent training activities, particularly at sample acquisition research sites, are key to ensuring sample integrity. The emphasis is shifting towards minimizing preanalytical variables, which necessitates the need to have the capacity to bring the process of stabilizing the physiology of the sample closer to the donor. This is possible with good logistics and strategic team activity dovetailing with synchronized operations between the researchers and the biobanking teams. Communication is critical in this process. Kit development and dispatch to sites of collection with good training and harmonized operational activity all along the route of the sample until it gets to its final storage site are mandatory in this process. Where cell-line creation is part of the menu of operations, then the sooner the blood mononuclear cells are isolated and either frozen or processed the better the outcome. This process can start at the collection site to stabilize the cells and completed at a central facility. Staffing at peripheral collection sites will need to be upskilled and infrastructure adapted to this objective. Use of emerging room temperature storage and transportation technology to stabilize the whole sample at time of collection or soon after isolation of nucleic acids may be useful options in some environments. What are the advantages and disadvantages of centralized vs individual/local biobanks? Tim Peakman: There is no right or wrong answer to whether a study should adopt centralized or local sample processing and archiving. This will depend upon factors such as size of the study, daily volunteer recruitment rates and sample acquisition, sample processing throughput, complexity of the processing protocols, available budget, and the expertise of the study team. As a general rule, once studies reach a certain size and certain sample accrual rate, centralized biobanking offers a number of advantages but this does depend upon the study. Use of automation allows much higher numbers of samples to be processed on a daily basis much more consistently and with a robust, secure anonymized data trail. Quality data are recorded as part of the process and, if sample storage and retrieval are automated, samples can be stored and retrieved quickly from very stable, low-temperature environments with complete accuracy. Balanced against this, central services cost a lot to establish and maintain and often samples need to be shipped from collection centers that introduce delays in processing (although the effects of this can be largely mitigated using temperature-controlled shipping conditions) and increase transport costs significantly. Smaller single-site studies may benefit from local processing which is as quick as possible (and is therefore likely to preserve as many analytes as possible), is suitable for very complex protocols, and doesn't incur high setup or transport costs. This approach is limited to relatively small numbers of and can with process and variability the and requires maintenance of a data trail for studies with recruitment From that the cost sample for large studies is also increased with local need to the and of each for their study in their with an of the stability of the samples they are and processing and the costs of different Peter of At the biobanks are the of a complex activity biobanking, and some components of biobanking need increased to reduce research that of and biospecimen while need more to quality processing and and other components need both of networks can be centralized in but with distributed from and at the level are many quality, and factors that what is a facing organizations and research whether to or their A of these and the many and have often been to of the by the to in research is an essential and but of around infrastructure is The types of biobanks and research to be are other important is no only important considerations. as around issues such as reproducibility in research and the need for increased scale and quality in biobanks can only come with implementation of and the need for more components and of many types of biobanks Helen Moore: biobanks can advantages of increased of biospecimens, with systems for quality management, data management, and or local biobanks may provide advantages in and One way of these is biobanks so that individual biobanks use the or at and approaches to biobanking, the of biospecimens across different sites in a or biobank. An quality management program across the system would be an important of such a network and would include to different collection sites and a of collection and storage that might be in place at different It would be important to where approaches and processes could be at different sites, and for (and such where they could A network would good and education about the of the to answer such are to What is the of the is harmonization of approaches and quality management important to the final facilitate better biospecimens and better research through this Akin Abayomi: In Africa, where infrastructure is and can be through is an with a more central biobanks with effective to peripheral collection processing sites would the of the research team and ensure samples are as to that of the volunteer as possible. This would and The centralized more to the emerging of and biobanking being more to the of and able to to samples before of scale can be with and on of or This approach also to the of researchers biobanking which can have on and sample that are becoming more now and for future of biological The ability to focus more on good with to collaboration between studies and larger size studies, which are use of biospecimens for and studies. What are some of the issues facing biobanks in of long-term Peter Watson and Lise Matzke: Biobanks are expensive to and From collection of biospecimens to processing, storage, and activities, the of activities in a biobank is a biobanks are the biobanks in their and Further, as a research biobanks a complex and that is with biobank Biobank is therefore a of and usually the the importance of other aspects or should not be biobanks are often as not being secure they on or it is the complexity and variation of and that is the most important of this and it is the metrics to evaluate the relative importance of individual biobanks and the importance of biobanks other of research infrastructure that the critical of research are and all focus on the of research should in biobanks if the scope and need are not the for any and is very and not and the research to biobanking is recognized as an important part of particularly in the research their in to the research and then to a is At the end, the to to a set of the and standards by which biobanks should be able to at to ensure research quality, is the greatest to of individual The good is that these issues are now a part of an in the biobanking the of new strategies to these issues. Helen Moore: are often collected for specific research the research have been the research may be the biospecimens may have for research use. to the of biospecimen and the to support their storage and can be challenging. A greater emphasis on to the about the of biobanks in and to about the of biobanking, will be important to in biobanking. is about the actual costs of biobanking. The National Cancer Institute is a on the aspects of biobanking. The data will be in and in an that will be able to for about the costs associated with biobanking. Akin Abayomi: In environments with a of in and for the greatest for or is in and on to provide that can either as or as a strategy. Biobanking is not high on the and in environments its return in of and of a is not research that biobanking strategies have the of in to their research In such external can be used as to which will as a for the need to establish national and the right environment to the biobanking, and national research can biobanks better their to researchers and the Peter Watson and Lise Matzke: the of a biobank requires the biobank to be on and and key other words the of the For the the and to key is to researchers and the will the that is in biospecimen for while to the the emphasis is on the end biobanks are working for better these requires a different strategy from vs scientific to each in the design, and of a biobank. Helen Moore: Biobanks are an essential of the medical research and the for and in biobanks must be upon and It is important for the to that of research biospecimens, as well as the by biobanks of the biospecimens for current and future is to medical that may benefit the research and their In the the concept of for the good is to or who are for their they are to whether they would be to donate in the of an It is important now to the about of biospecimens for research. Such education must be across and Akin Abayomi: Communication in the of has to the and of national to and and to the from which samples will be requires a different strategy and of to the in The greatest will be from the of the and are important to effective and The in at the different can be quite and should not be For the national the importance of the is to bring to the advantages to be through not in of of its but also the of the benefits of biobanks requires the the of are critical in an strategy and form an important of overall An aware and informed is to but with this the evolving of The engaged is more and requires to on the emerging and role of biobanks in the return of research results to biospecimen and the that will result from review of and by Peter The issue of of research has become of the most and issues facing research and research in are in of data and the scale and of research data as by the in the of data from biospecimens. The complexity and of different are and the of of the and of biobanks that in between the and the research of the has an all an important issue and is often in the research by its nature and must be and to some from clinical There are both and to to this research biobanks not the clinical and should be to the for return of research is not the as an to raise issues or in the process of return of results from research and become to the biobank. Helen Moore: In larger and larger of research have become part of medical and technologies for and an important role in biospecimens. Such as well as established analysis approaches such as review, can some results that are as to the research In some cases the are of no or clinical but in other cases the may have clinical be such if in a research a clinical to be and researchers or biobanks not to be for the to research their as more is about and studies are for medical the between research and clinical are The of researchers and to return is a of much are the of what are and the benefits and of the to the research their Akin Abayomi: This is a complex clinical that will closer to the of as the concept of more of an It is to potentially useful from a or the the are and the ability to and data in an to the donors. The concept of will as a more to as and to patients more through on or or emerging issues that you will have on the future of biobanking. Tim Peakman: One of the for biobanks will be data This is likely to come from from use of the studies data and samples to other researchers and typically this involves the return of research data to the biobank once the is The of this is that it the for future of the of scientific that can be using these and the technologies used to biobanks will need to data data quality, and data are stored and in a data large biobanks are their expertise and to to large data on their sample For example, Biobank is the is about in the and of the whole and is an approach to collect data on people. data are very large and and of storage, and use. both from such as genetic and new analytical approaches and from by will be a data management in the of the of large biobanks is the of studies can use the should be taken to avoid using the of in a way that in the data It was on this basis that Biobank to the with the that in or it will be to the of all of the people. This a of the so that the can be used for other types of emerging are approaches for the and Helen Moore: across biobanks and research programs will be very important in the future of medical research to better individual in of disease, and to such data while the of individual research is a for the A better of biospecimen the effects of different biospecimen collection, processing, and storage on the of biospecimens, is need to attention to now so that can biospecimen practices for different analysis also need to be the by which biospecimens are and storing this with the biospecimens in This approach will be even more important in the future so that will be some assurance that collected and stored biospecimens are suitable or for for research and of specific as analysis technologies Akin Abayomi: will become an important of the future as a means of tracking samples and related can ensure the ability to track samples from to and to the use of in the should be able to a biological from a research site to primary or and the benefit that is in to a This will become particularly important with the use of cell-line technology in of both a quality assurance and a means of tracking and It will also as a means to in the scientific process and start the for on a standard operating quality

David García, Claudio J. Tessone, Pavlin Mavrodiev, Nicolas Perony

What is the role of social interactions in the creation of price bubbles? Answering this question requires obtaining collective behavioural traces generated by the activity of a large number of actors. Digital currencies offer a unique possibility to measure socio-economic signals from such digital traces. Here, we focus on Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has experienced periods of rapid increase in exchange rates (price) followed by sharp decline; we hypothesise that these fluctuations are largely driven by the interplay between different social phenomena. We thus quantify four socio-economic signals about Bitcoin from large data sets: price on on-line exchanges, volume of word-of-mouth communication in on-line social media, volume of information search, and user base growth. By using vector autoregression, we identify two positive feedback loops that lead to price bubbles in the absence of exogenous stimuli: one driven by word of mouth, and the other by new Bitcoin adopters. We also observe that spikes in information search, presumably linked to external events, precede drastic price declines. Understanding the interplay between the socio-economic signals we measured can lead to applications beyond cryptocurrencies to other phenomena which leave digital footprints, such as on-line social network usage.

You Jeong Lee

This dissertation aims to explain the nature, cause, and consequence of informal fiscal decentralization in China since 1994. The 1994 tax reforms intended to strengthen the central government taxing power by increasing tax revenue through the tax assignment system. China also prohibited local government debt taking, while increasing intergovernmental transfers between the central government and local government. These series of China's centralization reforms in 1994 have realized uneven success. Central government tax revenue was improved significantly. However, local government still takes debt through the financial platform companies. The increased intergovernmental transfers did not decrease regional disparity, which is one of the goals of the central government. These are the unintended consequence of the centralization reform that this study tries to account for. This study shows that revenue centralization unintentionally aggravates problems of local public finance. While maintaining the budget balance according to budget law, local government has carried out competitive economic growth and expenditure management. The ability to manage expenditure and attract investment is the criteria employed to evaluate the accomplishment of local leaders. This study finds that prohibition of local government debt in China is constrained by their social network. This norm influences the strategy of local governments to increase their debt taking beyond the realm of formal rules under the competitive environment. This study also demonstrates that centralization of revenue made local governments increasingly resort to intergovernmental transfers, which in turn fail to reduce inequality across jurisdictions. This study argues that an informally decentralized state reduces the merits of the decentralization. The informal consequence of the political and fiscal systems in China result in local leaders that acquire the medium level of change in power, while pursuing fiscal decentralization and maintaining political centralization. However, the unintended consequence is the retreat of the fiscal system, such as the increased fiscal instability and large gaps across jurisdictions.

Oksana Snizhko

The article is dedicated to critical analysis of competitive conceptual approaches to determining the essence of financial system. The system establishing element of the financial system resource concept is understanding finance as economic relations of formation, allocation and use of financial resource funds with the purpose of performing functions and tasks of the state/company and provision of conditions for expanded reproduction. According to this approach, the notion «financial system» is further determination of finance and shall be interpreted as the totality of relatively separated but mutually related spheres and links of relations, in the process of which centralized and decentralized financial resource funds are created and used. The institutional concept of the financial system considers finance as a social institution that organizes determined ways of interactions between individuals or their separate groups in the society. Its target purpose is to minimize transaction expenses arising at exchange of binding requirements for real resources in the economy. Under this approach, the financial system is understood as an aggregate of means — financial institutions and markets — which result from the evolution of social contracts and with the help of which intertime decisions and interactions are fulfilled and coordination of savings and investments in the economy is performed. The article shows that the alternative theoretical models of financial system contain structural elements heterogeneous by content and nature of interrelations, with various properties. The differences between them concern methodological approach to distinguishing qualitative signs which determine the essential nature and structure of the financial system; mechanism of formation and functioning of financial relations; nature of distribution and scheme of financial resources flow; the nature of functions of the financial system in the economic environment; special mechanism of effect of the financial system upon the economic system. Considering the theoretical and methodological differences between the resource and institutional concepts of the financial system, the author offers to divide them into two theoretical models — financial system concept and the concept of the system of finance

Puvanasvaran

The Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is a one of the requirements which was required by the Automotive Industries Action Group (AIAG) to all the automotive suppliers and manufacturers worldwide through the TS16949 Quality System. There were a lot of dicrepencies detected on implementing the FMEA which directly related to the user experinces and knowledge. The descrepencies cause the FMEA not meeting the objectives of it. Conceptually, Poka Yoke is able to fit into the Process FMEA. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) helps predict and prevent problems through proper control or detection methods. Mistake proofing emphasizes detection and correction of mistakes before they become defects. Poka Yoke helps people and processes work correctly the first time. It refers to techniques that make mistakes impossible to commit. These techniques eliminate defects from products and processes as well as substantially improve their quality and reliability. Poka Yoke can be considered an extension of FMEA. The use of simple Poka Yoke ideas and methods in product and process design eliminates both human and mechanical errors. Ultimately, both FMEA and Poka Yoke methodologies result in zero defects and benefit either the end or the next-in-line customer. The first concept of Poka Yoke emphasizes elimination of the cause or occurrence of the error that creates the defects by concentrating on the cause of the error in the process. The defect is prevented by stopping the line or the machine when the root cause of the defect is triggered or detected. The second concept of Poka Yoke focuses on the effectiveness of the detection system. The foolproof detection system eliminates the defect or detects the error that causes defects. The implementation of the Poka Yoke concept in a foolproof detection system eliminates the possibility that error or defects will slip through the process and reach the customer.

Li Li, Jun Pang, Yang Liu, Jun Sun · 5 authors

In this paper, we describe our analysis of a recently proposed electric vehicle charing protocol. The protocol builds on complicated cryptographic primitives such as commitment, zero-knowledge proofs, BBS+ signature and etc. Moreover, interesting properties such as secrecy, authentication, anonymity, and location privacy are claimed on this protocol. It thus presents a challenge for formal verification, as existing tools for security protocol analysis lack support for all the required features. In our analysis, we employ and combine the strength of two state-of-the-art symbolic verifiers, Tamarin and Prove if, to check all important properties of the protocol.

Alejandro Drexler, Antoinette Schoar

We show that the cost of employee turnover in firms that rely on decentralized knowledge and personal relationships depends on the firms' planning horizons and the departing employees' incentives to transfer information. Using exogenous shocks to the relationship between borrowers and loan officers, we document that borrowers whose loan officers are on leave are less likely to receive new loans from the bank, are more likely to apply for credit from other banks, and are more likely to miss payments or go into default. These costs are smaller when turnover is expected, as in the case of maternity leave, or when loan officers have incentives to transfer information, as in the case of voluntary resignations. This paper was accepted by Wei Jiang, finance.

James Kiarie, Carey Farquhar, Robert Redfield, Kefa O Bosire · 8 authors

Background: Lack and inequitable distribution of human resources for health (HRH) is a major health systems challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa.1,2 The Partnership for Innovative Medical Education for Kenya (PRIME-Kenya) is an innovative approach that seeks to strengthen health systems by increasing linkages and collaborations in health care, health education, and health research. This approach was informed by concerns of inadequate clinical exposure with increasing undergraduate student enrollment at a tertiary hospital; increasing demand for locally relevant health research; and the desire to retain health workers at nontertiary facilities during and after training. Intervention: We focused on three interventions as part of the PRIME-Kenya initiative: decentralized training of undergraduate students, building research capacity at 14 nontertiary health facilities, and a nurse training program based on an eLearning platform. Decentralized Training. We sought to improve medical education capacity at selected nontertiary health facilities by training facility staff that already had postgraduate clinical training by using e-resources (textbooks, guidelines, and online lectures). Staff that completed the training were appointed as adjunct faculty at the University of Nairobi (UoN). Building Research Capacity. We conducted two phases of implementation science research training. First, between December 2012 and August 2013, 354 staff (30–60 per facility) received three days of instruction at their facilities on how to develop research questions, write research proposals, and collect data. Second, in October and November 2013, 35 adjunct faculty (3–5 per facility) received two additional days of training during which they developed research proposals based on research questions developed during the first phase. These adjunct faculty will be mentored by UoN faculty to help them submit their proposals for ethics review, collect and analyze data, and disseminate results. eLearning. In 2012, the School of Nursing Sciences introduced an eLearning Bachelor of Nursing (eBScN) upgrading course for diploma-level nurses. Training is conducted in accredited county hospitals where students are supervised by UoN adjunct faculty. Outcomes: At 14 nontertiary health facilities, 182 adjunct faculty have been trained and 306 students have rotated. Adjunct faculty at 9 health facilities have developed draft research proposals covering various areas including the impact of national health financing policies, staff retention, and quality of services. At 28 county hospitals, 148 students are enrolled in the eBScN program, and initial exam results indicate that trainees are gaining expected knowledge and skills. Comment: According to the interviews, the students felt they had more opportunities to practice clinical skills, closer mentoring, and closer interactions with patients at the nontertiary facilities than at the tertiary hospital. Health workers at the nontertiary hospitals also reported improved quality of patient care, increased job satisfaction, and greater interest in research. Those working in the nontertiary health facilities prioritized research that was highly relevant to local practice and policy. In the eBScN training program, county hospitals have retained employees, and the nurses are upgrading their skills without losing income. This innovative approach is successfully addressing some of the HRH challenges in medical education, health care, and research. Acknowledgments: PRIME-Kenya Secretariat staff members included Collins Owek, Francis Njiri, Raphael Kinuthia, Samuel Runo, James Macharia, Wycliffe Ndege, Juliet Mwangi, Minnie Kibore, Linda Nyaga, Wycliffe Khaemba, Susan Wanja, and Luke D. Davies.

R. G. Collingwood

The argument of this paper may be summarized as follows. Causal propositions (propositions of the type “x causes y”) are ambiguous. Such a proposition may have any one of three meanings (possibly more; but three is enough for this paper). The ambiguity, however, is of a rather odd kind. Sense I, which is historically the original sense, is pre-supposed by the others, and remains strictly speaking the one and only “proper” sense. When we assert propositions containing the word cause in senses II and III, we are “saying” one thing and “meaning” another; we are describing certain things as if they were things of a kind which we do not actually believe them to be. This always has an element of danger in it: the danger of inadvertently beginning to “mean” what one had only intended to “say”, i.e., of thinking that things are what we describe them as if they were. This danger is much worse when our “metaphors” get “mixed”. This is what has happened with the so-called “idea of causation” from the time of Kant onwards. It is a confusion of certain characteristics belonging to sense II with certain others belonging to sense III. Nothing can be done, therefore, towards clearing up our minds about causation, by merely analysing the idea as it stands and detailing the various elements it contains; for these elements are mutually contradictory. We must carry the process further, by segregating the elements under different heads, and distinguishing these as different “senses” of the word. But even this is not enough. A further step in the process is needed: namely a critical discussion of each “sense” taken singly. When this is done it will be found that the best way of avoiding confusion will be to restrict our use of the word cause to occasions on which it is used in its “proper” sense, No. I; that on the occasions on which we use it in sense II we should be wise to use instead the terminology of means and ends; and that when we use it in sense III we should do better to speak of “laws” and their “instances”. In the sense of the word that which is is the and of a and and to do it means a for we may to in the kind of in This is the time a and sense of the word with its and in and of the in of in and in A in a in causes of This not that the to the that with and it that on the up to In the sense we that a causes a to a that causes to from an It is not only a sense, it is of In is the word for as when the the of with the and the of have it that this is a use of the word and from what sense III, i.e., the sense in which one thing in is to be the cause of This is not the sense is the of the as can for will the in the and the in and and the cause in the II and III have of it by a process which in the A cause in this sense of a cause and a The is a of things the is a of things to be of these be a cause if the were A to a certain may be to by a about the of that but this not cause to to in the of an a to a not cause to in a certain if in that The is not a of things as it is a of things by the in to a a certain of the cause of is not this as it is this as to the in by The is not a as it is an A is to in a certain way not by to in that way it is to to but by to in that may be to the of but is not of this kind may the of a and in as the that a certain of things as when a of a certain the to a certain This is to the to do a certain to do The however, is an it not be done not be the it of A causes to do an is and not is a in and is for is a which A to by certain certain is the is the proposition that the by and the proposition that a in of and is for the the proposition the in this A is to the for the This not that a is a which be an which do when they speak of It means that is for the A is for the of certain to certain to the When a of a on its do is not is as an This is what when of the and A is to when about the is not on from and are In this in which a is to is not It has a and a But has done for the of the and the which in the is to cause has done for can be to cause as as to do in that the of be an which to an of on the of and has as only will not what they by the word In sense in sense I, the word cause an idea to but the in this is an intended to not but things in In this sense, the of an in is the to by which we can we to to a and it we can certain of our we about for its The is the cause of an means in this can we This sense of the word may be as follows. A cause is an of things which it is in our to and by which we can that cause it is to be. When speak of to occasions as when one a and the of things by the proposition is the with the to the This is an sense in The cause of a is the which a on the cause of is the of a the cause of a is the cause of is their in a the cause of a is that has taken the cause of a in the is that the the cause of is that and The for causes in sense II is in that sense of the in which is what a not for its and but for its for the which it is and is by The of a is the in terminology of The for is but it of i.e., by that to it to the that things are is to that we can and A of is A of time and is on is the cause of we the cause of we should be to that is the of this But should it be that the cause of to to have the cause of but that not in be of any use the cause had not a thing that be Such a be and one that had done what to It be that not what the word cause the of be it in a a proposition of the “x causes the proposition “x is that can be as of the of This sense of the word is not It can be of to the the in the of the these the A in sense II means which is by to the When in this sense we that causes we are about by We are always about in with things which we do not these will not cause to are The the cause and these as has for by the cause of an as its to sense III, not to sense the should the cause and certain are and the in that the should is of sense II and not of sense the cause is not what we have the cause but this the that the cause is the of a of and that what the cause is one of by a of with a that only to the have that this is by means It is to a on a and what the cause not by a that the of a is further from the its and that is to a to the this is what the has is one of the the of and as has one of these and it the has done what we always But an the up a and on three is the cause of the It is the it has not it has as the thing that can which the will had a by on the have to to the as the cause of the not the is a but can it The cause is not it is to a which is in the of the cause in sense It is for that the has a of things from which But this not In the the of any are in that one them for even if In the one to them should that can get a by certain may be that should not be it a were but as get it do not what these to a in one of them to get do not to what they only to what the one is that has this a which of that the of an three and that are three of A is to and only is to and only and is to and only if each of them the cause of each will have to a different is the for and for The may be by that for any the cause of a thing is that one of its which is to a a certain and the of the cause of the and the is that one must the of the cause a and the is that one must the of the cause and the is that one must the of one of these three the for the on one of the others, if for the is the of to of that it we that be done, by any towards that is to of their cause be a that not in But a cause in this sense of the word is by is this means that so-called is not The proposition in which it is in a cause of from of i.e., that one of its which to is which is to but the of in of in which we and they are that is but of the idea of cause as it is not to it should be. A further of the is for a is not to any of its a has cause and any about it will be a the of a that of had that the cause of This of a but one better from a with these to their In sense II of the word only a is with a certain kind of can an about its a are When to the of in time the idea of a the cause of to which in not are of propositions in sense II of the word they will of be in of the various in which the them can to their and of the means by which in each this can be propositions will be In them that their will on of will to a for any proposition is a of our to a certain of things by the use of certain and one what can can do may by and the that can do a thing that one has done in the the proposition “x causes is a of a it is that can be to in that is to the and are not but and the proposition of is a thing is means of of It be in this sense of the word to the cause of any thing as It is a of sense that proposition is a In sense I, proposition is an which be in the In sense III, propositions be the of the sense a is do describe this in do not they them they them they terminology to things is that of means and the must be that they to to things idea which is by the terminology and not by the is this The is not The terminology an idea not only of one to but of one to an idea of what as is this idea from in our in the of to from the of to do by argument the we in a in which can only carry by that and from the of to do it to this to the of in which we our by not of but of things in In to this we must that sense II of the word cause is a sense, and in with the of in the and that the and the an of of what we the as a of each with its and and and In and in the in the of the use of with is an a these are to be taken and to what they to namely that the way in which use what we as means to our is not in different from the way in which we use We use by them to be with of their and them in a way that they to do what is in with our This is them to in the and original sense of that word. is in much the way as we must use it to the and we can to this use of it the word in the sense, as are certain in which things if to is to their to in these and by the of to them not as they but as if is as to in our we do use which taken but that it is and to be taken and will that this about and that are with a in which that is is that we certain means to certain Sense III of the word cause an to it not to but to the characteristics which to this sense if the were and certain which in the to In the to which sense II a cause is in its as for its on in its as for the of its on In the to which sense III a cause is in its as it to in its as its what not are The cause to its by in the cause and is a can be of and of to of to the and of the in sense II from its in sense III by these senses and A cause thing to and to its to the a cause is one with its is of In to the of sense III, will to the the of in as a of a in and the that a cause its in that in is in sense but in sense III. to the of a and the its is a the and and a of But this is by the of the a of and this process is a of the to the is to the the of the and the of the is in the sense, not the in the proposition “x causes the we to use the word cause in the sense, must any it must the of the not its that process the for be an to be but its the is is the cause in sense III and when it is it its not but in sense III is with it is with its in The cause of the is the causes and that is in a and in a the from to is used in sense may be any as it is by a of which are of But if is used in sense III, must if it be any on the of a and be the and be a But the and causes in sense III, is a not cause in sense III. The of in the is a cause in sense III, is in the of sense III. The about sense III is to what is by that a cause its When is used of senses and II we what it in sense it means that a for in sense II that is means of But what it of it in sense are to this which may be the and The means A on this is a and its to its is the of to a When that means on this that and is the kind of which one has the of one of a the of the and the one as to the of one must that in a the of the can be it and even when it on the of a The therefore, that the cause is the not only in the sense that if the cause the actually but that if the cause is the is to to the of a thing can the by thinking the of Nothing in the of is This is in a in the sense if to a of in which the for causes means a for is to from This in what to to be a of and as is a in to the it that the is But the of causation, it may be as the of a be as an of the propositions by it were these propositions have to be as one that they can be by that by the so-called to be in the so-called it is this is that the what causes a and what a cause have to be by and the of a of the type not an of propositions of the type “x causes propositions of the type “x but the of propositions in that kind of and the use of propositions in the of and propositions not propositions be the of in these propositions This not be by that the in which propositions are Such a that the idea of is a idea which when will the different idea of This to be the of the of and if to it do not to but must that it not from the what the idea is that its had to the means of the this one be taken for will that the proposition “x means merely the have to be with and not in the will be with In the for and we from the of to the of the we from the of these propositions to the that the proposition the have to be with is not what we by “x but is only the on the of which we assert the different proposition “x if means of it must be that is that is is we assert on the of of what to that is what should to assert a we must from the of the propositions to the this is we to assert but on the occasions when we do assert them we to be namely to our has by in a of to which have to but and to for it and to is a of a that it is for of its argument This will the In as it to that in sense III a cause and But to of what to on the a proposition to be even that the in to a in if is a of and of may be an even if they are it may not be to them are the of any we that a will always be a that is in the of a the the which have for do not intended to and But if has a as when on for a paper get of it this i.e., to a paper on this is for to a the word is not a of a it to a of in sense I, and means that has to This sense of in which it to is to the sense which is not only in sense and sense II of the word cause but in sense III The that can be and of the that happened only the of on the that are from one original and that be not in the sense of of by but in the sense of a in it be on of and on to the cause of an but it to be that has a even we what its cause and if a is to the that an has it may may not be but it be a of of for it that that when we use the word in sense III we to by it different from and of in the and in the and that this and is in the of that this is We have to the which we when we found the idea in sense and we have to it in the what is this idea It to be that it is from our of occasions on which we have others to in certain by them in their to the that they are in of a kind that only by can they the we them to and occasions in which we have is an idea from our and in what is a way not only to our with things in II of the word but to the which these things have Causal propositions in sense III are of in The we are in the of these of that they are the of the that it up in with the of to which in sense II of the word but that in this the a of a can be to certain in by certain means to them and if is as of the but it will that will be as about certain things in by the of certain a step in the argument if we to it we should is a thing in by as a means of we to be a in of its but as in the of that must be. in that that which is by the word that word not be as a to and be the is for not the but the This not the in a of causes of the but a cause of a as from The a of the on this it that in certain for the of certain these a in certain to with a kind of and these the of and that of to the is and is a kind of one thing in thing in The and are used and to a sense of and for the of things is taken as the of these causes is a of and is a of This the in which our of and in which the to that were in the and when the of and by a the word cause not a it a and its in these when we to and the to we as a of a taken to in a kind of which to one to as to that a cause is of that in which its is if what is is a of a certain that but by the and of the it is that for the idea of is the idea of by thing which if not under this this different by This of one thing in by is the of is that a by and in have to be in it is to and this which is has to be by an on the of the that This the namely of its which it to the as an to not that this of to is the to is that as a which the of are It is to that in is of not only not assert that must have a and this in In the of a its be what as from is for means and means a from to and to the which is its from to is in sense by the of its from to for it is not is that any which to the of is an the of are in the of that is a thing as as may be any the therefore, it were to that is that is to to the as the of that is on it that is and the be of the It have that is the and that idea of causation” is a of a to which it is is what has the in the and it has the of cause In of that we get a and of the of the of that to that as the of has to an as to up the the of the cause in certain as is not a of their in them the word cause is not used in the sense. are and they use the word cause in sense the use of the word in that sense with it a of but this is not by the A of may its The in has a of one the with its on causes in sense the of causes sense with the of and the of the cause as an in time to its the one thing in which has found namely the that what to a not a as the a which has the that has a the cause of is a and this is to not from but a be by that has a It be if were used in sense In sense II it is in that is not if we for of not to is what Kant a have with the idea in a must be used in sense III. But what can be for can only that the of cause with of that and that a of the of The cause of an can be a III, only when cause is used in sense in the proposition “x causes means be an may have but its be The of a the a these not the only that can is an that is with is in a of is a from The of the is an by the Kant has to that in the propositions the word is used in different is therefore, to it a the to the as a of of of and a certain of the in which had by when to sense III and get to sense the of cause is not only but actually the in of a of cause as can be from with with the of cause to and on a of causes a to have that the only sense of the word cause is sense III. But when as of from to causation, for the of i.e., the of the is it for in of sense II in any on the from of as as to the sense in which the word cause is will to paper the of is that has on the the The of this paper by the of on the is to a of the of has for that the of causation” is and and that in propositions about causes have are by propositions about to to and to that from it may be only in however, a a of the of time which cause and we the may this which the if is used in the sense, this proposition is for it means that is for a certain may be which is must be in the sense. But if is to is the in the sense, of are as a is is but that not that is in that sense, its the only to a is from one sense to the when the in and that the cause it the that causes i.e., that they are in way to is that as not that causes are in way to further and that this is of the word by But what in a is not this it is the cause and have this The has by and the confusion of sense II and sense III is of a the of a proposition of the causes is to a proposition of the the must be taken to not to a of of but to the of the of the word that the word is used in sense III, the sense. But the that it is used in sense for only in that sense is it that in a proposition of the type causes and are is with a idea of in which one element is from the characteristics of sense II and from of sense III. It is not therefore, that even to any proposition must be a for a proposition of the as must be in and is that a proposition which is in is is a of which that is thing as from of a that they in but and of a of this has a on The of and its The which is the of this is the of that the that is by what has This is and the for means the belonging to an to a of have a that therefore, a this as belonging to the of The is for the a namely of of that must have a cause and that this cause must be a but that our of this is have only to what by a in to that this is the that Kant on to will not that we a on as an as a which we will is that will of and to the that one is that is of to the that which is to which it to as it to with happened that but them that we of that is a that it be is not do not that things are as they are they were as they were. But do The are one in an of which to be of them has to any Kant the propositions of which this is are that as to we a of it The have in a to which have to by the word in This is that a it and have it the The word to a of the It is not used by a is thinking is to the is this of which are and what are its have the of it when in they are of their but when they to be to the to of it as have the use of is an will are It have any of the have to that the is is the “idea of causation” which for is the which this our to not only their but their