Blockchain Papers

Martin Chevalier, Benjamin Vignolles

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James Devaney

Quality Control in Fact-Finding is, above all else, a very welcome addition to the literature on international fact-finding. Whilst there has been a marked increase in the number of fact-finding inquiries established in the last couple of decades,1 this has not been matched by a similar increase in the number of scholarly studies of such inquiries.2 In light of both the number and high-profile nature of such inquiries, the absence of scholarship focusing squarely on the contemporary role of inquiries up to the present day seems like an oversight. This collection, published in open access format by Florence-based, not-for-profit ‘academic EPublisher’ Torkel Opsahl (named after the late Professor Opsahl who himself briefly chaired the Commission of Experts for the Former Yugoslavia until his untimely death in 1993), attempts to address this lack of academic attention. The collection ostensibly sets out to ‘make a contribution to the emerging discourse on fact-finding mechanisms’ by ‘focusing specifically on quality awareness and quality improvement in non-criminal justice fact-work’ (at viii). Its accessible style, open access format, and the breadth of topics covered will attract the attention not only of international legal scholars, but practitioners and policy-makers too. In the opening chapter Marina Aksenova and Morten Bergsmo provide a helpful overview of the concept of international fact-finding itself and of the fact-finding missions established in recent decades. The authors define the concept of fact-finding broadly as a method of ascertaining facts used in international relations for differing purposes (at 2), before noting that traditionally there are three main purposes for establishing facts in international law. The first is the narrow purpose of fact-finding ‘in cases where differences of opinion on factual matters underlie a dispute between parties’, for which a procedure of inquiry was set out in the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions, and which has fallen into desuetude.3 The second purpose is that of supervising the execution of international agreements typically carried out by the UN Specialized Agencies, and the third purpose is fact-finding for the purposes of Article 34 of the UN Charter, namely the power of the Security Council to investigate any situation or dispute that may endanger international peace and security. The overview of fact-finding missions established by principal UN organs, subsidiary organs, national governments, and various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), helpfully set out in the form of a table in the opening chapter, provides a valuable introduction to the subject. Commentators in the past have lamented the lack of a standard operating procedure for fact-finding missions.4 However, a recurring theme of this collection is caution against standardization in light of the inherently context-specific nature of international fact-finding inquiries. Richard Goldstone states that ‘[i]t is folly to generalise about fact-finding missions. Each situation will have its unique features. What works with regard to one may well fail if applied to another’ (at 52). Similarly, Martin Scheinin argues in favour of the maintenance of clear functional distinctions between inquiries, in particular asserting that the ‘various mechanisms of mainstream human rights bodies that seek to establish state responsibility for human rights violations should not be subjected to the evidence requirements typical for determining individual criminal accountability’ (at 54). Particularly insightful contributions to the collection are those in which the authors are able to draw on their own practical experience, such as the chapters by Goldstone, Scheinin, Chris Mahony, and David Re. Goldstone’s contribution provides a potentially crucial insight into the mind of a man who has been heavily involved in a number of landmark fact-finding missions, both domestic and international. Much of Goldstone’s account focuses on two domestic inquiries that he led in South Africa, namely the Sithole Inquiry into the death of a member of the ANC in detention shortly before the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in February 1990, and the Sebokeng Inquiry into the action of police during a mass protest-match in March 1990. The relevance of the discussion of these domestic inquiries to a collection on international fact-finding is perhaps not immediately apparent; however Goldstone’s vast experience allows him to make a number of broad proposals for improving the quality of future international fact-finding missions. Amongst them the lessons learned from the Sithole Inquiry in which the transparent nature of the inquiry (which was held in a Johannesburg City Hall instead of a courtroom with no visible security and large public galleries) created a more ‘public-friendly’ atmosphere and insulated it from political interference, and the proposals for opening the appointment process for members of commissions to public scrutiny, are amongst the most helpful and practical proposals. Goldstone’s contribution is also instructive regarding his involvement in the UN Human Rights Council’s Gaza inquiry in 2009, as it illuminates the political machinations ‘behind the scenes’ that led to the formation of the inquiry and possibly is indicative of the political process that has led to the establishment of other commissions of inquiry. Similarly interesting is the issue of consent and cooperation – the refusal of Israel to cooperate with the inquiry clearly impeded the Commission’s operation and was apparently the cause of many of the ‘sleepless nights’ that Goldstone subsequently suffered (at 50). The lack of cooperation, coupled with new facts subsequently coming to light, put Goldstone in the position where he felt he had to row back on some of the inquiry’s factual findings in a Washington Post opinion-editorial. This episode cautions against reliance on any findings-of-fact derived from an inquiry with restricted access to the area investigated, and a resultant need to rely to a much greater extent on secondary sources and press reports. The critical remarks of Wu Xiaodan that Goldstone’s change of heart and the furore surrounding Professor Christine Chinkin’s alleged bias had cast some doubt on the credibility and impartiality of the Goldstone Report provide a useful counterpoint to Goldstone’s chapter (at 201) although an even more robust critique was perhaps warranted. Similarly, Scheinin draws on decades of practical experience in his contribution dealing with fact-finding in the context of treaty-based human rights mechanisms and the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. Scheinin’s contribution provides a helpful typology of the fact-finding apparatus and organizational structure of treaty-based fact-finding mechanisms, including the reporting procedure, individual complaints, and inquiries. Perhaps the most useful part of this contribution is the section dealing with Special Procedures in which the thoughts of an experienced practitioner are key, given the nature of the topic that would otherwise be largely impenetrable to most. For instance, the contribution explores the two fact-finding functions of Special Rapporteurs, namely communications (letters) to governments and country visits. Scheinin is critical of the communications function, noting that the response rate to letters is low and the information gained from communications is such that they cannot be considered a fact-finding mechanism at all. However, Scheinin is able to draw on his own experience as Special Rapporteur, having paid visits to states such as Turkey and Tunisia, and is positive about governmental compliance with requests made by Special Rapporteurs, access to areas under investigation, and ultimately even the uncovering of facts that could later be used for a number of purposes including criminal prosecution. Among the most important contributions to the collection is that of Mahony dealing with the security implications for witnesses appearing before fact-finding commissions. This extended, detailed, contribution draws on the author’s own experience in Nepal, and both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Special Court in Sierra Leone. Whilst having a relatively narrow focus on a small number of situations, the author’s own first-hand experience and the level of detail and practical examples provided allow important conclusions to be drawn regarding means of ensuring the safety of witnesses, including details of the legal regime needed for witness protection, consideration of the crucial issue of funding, and more practical issues such as personnel and the institutional location of the programme that could potentially be of use in the context of other commissions. David Re’s contribution is based on his involvement in the criminal courts in the Former Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone and poses a fundamentally important question: what did the ICTY trial and appeals chamber actually do with UN and NGO fact-finding reports? Interestingly, Re shows that relatively minimal (at least explicit) use was made of such factual findings by the ICTY chambers between 1994 and 2013. Most often such findings were utilized as investigative leads for the prosecutor (at 296). Further, Re argues that the findings-of-fact made by such inquiries are likely to be more politically and historically important than judicially influential (at 280). The conclusions to be drawn from this argument are not fully fleshed out, but it is submitted that it is fundamentally important for the future of international fact-finding that they are considered. Tackling more theoretical issues, Simon De Smet’s contribution addresses the theoretical foundations of fact-finding. He takes as his starting point that most fact-finders approach the subject intuitively; ‘[e]ven though they may display great care and circumspection in making their findings, they do not necessarily have a strongly developed understanding of what the underlying principles and concepts of fact-finding are’ (at 74). De Smet provides a helpful introduction to the epistemology of fact-finding and evidence (at 80) and takes us through important theoretical issues such as the epistemology of how beliefs can be justified, including both probabilistic or Bayesian epistemology and so-called ‘inference to best explanation’ or relative plausibility theory. In doing so De Smet seeks to provide the basis for improving the overall epistemic quality of fact-finding, without making any claims that doing so would in actual fact improve the accuracy of fact-finding in practice. De Smet tackles a wide array of the goals he has set for himself with relish, although one gets the impression that there is simply not enough space to do justice to the substantial number of important issues ranging from philosophical conceptions of probability to the epistemology of testimony, trustworthiness, competence, and cognitive consensus, to name just a few. While the author’s forthcoming monograph will provide a more in-depth analysis,5 in the context of this collection, it might have been better to choose a smaller number of discrete issues and explore them in greater detail, but this is a minor quibble. Despite claiming to deal with non-criminal justice fact-finding (at viii) international criminal law inevitably finds its way into the collection through the contribution by Dov Jacobs and Catherine Harwood which considers the use of international criminal law (ICL) by fact-finding commissions. More specifically, the contribution assesses the creep of international criminal law concepts into the work of fact-finding missions and considers the utility of ICL in general ‘outside the courtroom’. The contribution highlights a number of concerns regarding the use of such concepts in fact-finding inquiries, including the problematic use of the criminal law burden and standard of proof in non-judicial situations which raise issues of due process. For instance, cursory legal determinations of complex situations and divergent legal determinations between different commissions of inquiry have caused controversy in recent times.6 The contribution ultimately concludes that not only does the use of ICL concepts not help to solve some of the operational problems that fact-finding inquiries face, it in effect creates a number of new problems (at 353). Whilst this contribution complements excellent existing work in this field,7 the topic of fact-finding in international criminal law remains one of the most under-researched areas of fact-finding and further research in this area, where the personal liberty of individuals is at stake, is undoubtedly needed. Other contributions address selected issues including quality control in the context of truth and reconciliation (Liu Daqun at Chapter 5), how commissions of inquiry can provide international prosecutors with the background information they need on specific international criminal law situations (Lyal S. Sunga at Chapter 13), fact-finding difficulties encountered by NGOs (Wolfgang Kaleck and CarolijnTerwindt at Chapter 14), and the role of information technology in the work of fact-finding commissions (Ilia Utmelidze at Chapter 16). In the penultimate chapter Charles Garraway provides a contribution on the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission established under Article 90 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which has never been used to date, but which could be of potential use in the future according to the author, although its competences are in some crucial respects limited in scope. Mention is made of these contributions in order to highlight the sheer breadth of the collection, which endeavours to cover so many discrete and diverse issues in relation to international fact-finding. Ultimately, Quality Control in Fact-Finding is a commendable attempt to address the paucity of literature in an area of international law that is seen as increasingly significant. Whilst a final concluding chapter drawing together some of the main themes and findings of the collection would have been welcome, it contains some genuinely useful contributions, in particular those in which the authors are able to draw on their own experience and those which attempt to systematize and make sense of the operation of international fact-finding. Marina Aksenova and Morten Bergsmo, Non-Criminal Justice Fact-Work in the Age of Accountability; Richard J. Goldstone, Quality Control in International Fact-Finding Outside Criminal Justice for Core International Crimes; Martin Scheinin, Improving Fact-Finding in Treaty-Based Human Rights Mechanisms and the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council; Simon De Smet, Justified Belief in the Unbelievable; Liu Daqun, Quality Control in Truth and Reconciliation Processes; Fan Yuwen, Quality Control and the Mandate of International Fact-Finding; Isabelle Lassée, Coherence in the Design and Implementation of the Mandates of International Fact-Finding Commissions: Internal and External Dimensions; Wu Xiaodan, Quality Control and the Selection of Members of International Fact-Finding Mandates; Dan Saxon, Purpose and Legitimacy in International Fact-Finding Bodies; Chris Mahony, Witness Sensitive Practices in International Fact-Finding Outside Criminal Justice: Lessons for Nepal; David Re, Fact-Finding in the Former Yugoslavia: What the Courts Did; Dov Jacobs and Catherine Harwood, International Criminal Law Outside the Courtroom: The Impact of Focusing on International Crimes for the Quality of Fact-Finding; Lyal S. Sunga, Can International Criminal Investigators and Prosecutors Afford to Ignore Information from United Nations Human Rights Sources?; Wolfgang Kaleck and Carolijn Terwindt, Non-Governmental Organisation Fact-Work: Not Only a Technical Problem; Charles Garraway, Fact-Finding and the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission; Ilia Utmelidze, Information Technology and Quality Control in Non-Criminal Justice Fact-Work.

Cedric S. Raine

The following reminiscence by Cedric Raine is the 10th autobiography in a series published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. These have been solicited from senior members of the neuropathology community who have been noted leaders and contributors to neuroscience and to the American Association of Neuropathologists (AANP) and have a historical perspective of the importance of neuropathology in diagnosis, education, and research. His is the first autobiography by a distinguished PhD member (as well as former president) of the AANP, highlighting the contributions and integral roles of basic neuroscientists in our Association. It is hoped that this series will entertain, enlighten, and present members of the AANP with a better sense of the legacy that we have inherited, as well as reintroduce our respected members as humans having interesting lives filled with adventures, joys, and sorrows, and allow them to present their lives in their own words. MNH, RAS “A man is the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.” Mahatma Gandhi Lacking a more original arresting opening, let me begin by saying that to be invited to join the list of esteemed neuropathologists featured in the Journal's Autobiography Series, following icons like Asao Hirano, Robert Terry, and Nicholas Gonatas, is both a privilege and a challenge. Never known for being conventional and sporting a background completely at odds with the standard training of most members of the American Association of Neuropathologists (AANP), I would like to take off on a different foot by thanking my colleagues in the Association for welcoming and accepting me, among the first PhDs, into the fold as an Active Member. When Mike Hart rang me a few months ago asking me to prepare a piece for the Series, my knee-jerk reaction was to decline on the grounds of juvenility and inappropriateness. Recognizing that autobiographies usually represent one's own self-chosen, self- redacted reminiscences, I was in no hurry to wax solipsistic to the readership and my colleagues. As we spoke, however, I rationalized the issue by recalling how many years had flown by since I became involved with the AANP (actually, 44) and how my own development as an investigator had paralleled and benefited from my affiliation with the Association and its mouthpiece, the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (JNEN). Setting feelings of uncertainty aside and with Mike still on the line, I thought, “this is the academic body that gave me the legs to stand on in neuropathology; of course, I'm qualified; I'll do it.” So, for an autobiography garnished more with anecdotes than achievements, read on. I was born in May 1940 in Eastbourne, England, to a single mother; the vivid description of WWII events from her provided me with images difficult to distinguish from actual memories. She used to talk about the Dunkirk evacuation and the dogfights overhead between Spitfires, Hurricanes, and ME 109s, with their contrails slicing the summer sky, all occurring while I was in my push-chair. Moreover, this coastline was also the planned landing site for the German invasion barges waiting to depart Belgium, but thanks to the Royal Air Force and the Valiant Few, it never came to pass. Not surprisingly, Eastbourne residents were advised to evacuate to safer havens, particularly as German bombers driven from the London Blitz fled our airspace and jettisoned unspent bombs along the coast. My mother decided to return to her parents' home in Carlisle, Cumberland, 400 miles north, 8 miles south of the Scottish border. We arrived in Carlisle in 1942, unannounced and definitely not welcome. Apparently, she had left Carlisle about 10 years earlier under a cloud and had not been heard of since. However, her odyssey had ended; her funds had run dry and she had come home. Aunt Maureen, who is 7 years older than me, answered the doorbell and found her sister who she had never seen, standing on the doorstep with “a beautiful little boy in a green woolen suit with small pink flowers across the front.” We were admitted into the house by my grandmother; my grandfather was summoned from his victory garden and there followed an unpleasant confrontation ending with my grandmother (my life's best friend and savior), taking me by the hand out of the fray saying “T am going to put this young man through university, “ and she did. Shortly thereafter, real memories began to form. There were 4 sisters in the house; 3 of them rather like the ugly sisters of Cinderella constantly battled with my mother and abused me at their convenience. I was terrified; I used to hide a lot and developed a bad stutter, which stayed with me until I came to the States in the late 1960s. My mother kept my hair long and in a pageboy style (remember Cedric of “Little Lord Fauntleroy?) and had me attend dancing classes at the age of 3 (Fig. 1). About 12 months later, the hair came off, my mother took a war-related job, and I was released to the Carlisle streets to become a grubby member of the populace. The dance class of Florence Wilkinson (rear center), Carlisle, 1943. That's me, fifth from left, front row, hands on knees. Note pageboy hairstyle. My aunt Maureen (extreme right, in front of man) delivered me to the class. It was wartime and, like many cities in the United Kingdom, Carlisle was in the thick of it. The United States had by now entered the war (thank heavens!), and being a center for about 6 railroad companies and situated on the only road south from Glasgow (the main port for traffic from North America), everything had to come through Carlisle, much to the delight of the local kids. The roadside and railway embankments became our playgrounds as convoys and trains of US and Canadian troops, lines of gray-painted trucks with long trailers carrying airplanes with folded wings, and tanks (oh, the tanks!) trundled through the cobbled streets of Carlisle. Near our street was a long lay-by where tanks would stop as crews took a break. I can still smell the hot oily fumes. We would race like mad to them and climb aboard shouting, “Any gum, chum?” Our reward was usually sticks of Wrigley's gum and/or a Hershey bar—what a delight to kids from families on severe rationing! On 1 occasion, an American soldier, noticing my dirty face, gave me a bar of perfumed soap with which I ran home to give my mother who had not seen its like for some years. The war had a toughening effect on kids: fathers were not around, we lived in a matriarchal society, and we grew up fast. My grandmother, anxious to get me out of the house, walked me down to Brook Street School just after I turned 4 and enrolled me as a 5-year-old in the infants' class. That worked fine until I was to take the 11-plus examination, a to the at the age of and the to a education, at which were My age was and I was to to take the the following I the 11-plus some and a and a on the I and began by saying that I had to the to a a I thought, but was by a about in I still from I of from Brook Street the to 8 but years at Carlisle an in the It was of a at the were and (Fig. the age of well on the of and to to become an My mother no worked and I was by my age from the My grandmother put her foot down and to her she going to I to the following to join the to be for the which I me a to I was by a in by local who I had while (as I summer from the age of to a while to a few taking off for the of the I that I had been by of to become the of What a I thought, as I my for the long home. The following I at to for a my Carlisle School was I mad for about years (Fig. but to down in my to on the which I with a my at I had a with a Maureen (my who I had in in the of where I many at the home of an aunt and with Maureen was after she left and I entered the but after I entered my her and, a gave her my much of my at I had my Maureen to me on the as I and she through to become a at in in were and with a in and a to the and in the United Kingdom, I entered the I the and of on my to be for as a out to with no but 3 I gave up and took a as a in the a house in a of Carlisle. well for me until the I and the local a man who had the many of he would be the to get as and I was with I was in the of a of with a by a he at me the I released the it and the under the On on the he and to climb His hands and he more his on the more he it but I to the is I the Carlisle arrived and took his a had been for earlier the he had the down the road from the many thereafter, would come into the asking to who up and I would them the that it. was to months in and I gave up my as a About a after I left I a who me of a for an at the in The was to and its was I had read of American that featured and on by and in the of and I was with through an who was a of the I to and an was I arrived at the and was up to the of a house, through which where I was to my (Fig. The was to with me about my and my where I had about and I with I the and was a As I left his me to my of some with at a in long after I left the I turned a into a My and training me in I was to the and of the from in and in and became in and The was for basic and was by which many members to and were his His was on and on were and members were to like in their and would stop at to his on my a to the of a of from the community to a by that a he had had for The in the of a for a while he up a series of a of of and from and was to be by my and the left for the to return the following to the the entered my the some of the and the to The the were the was and thereafter, being with the left the by to the were and the became members became of had not of a who would have the was home to a of and among was and only the for to were the I 6 years in the I grew to my on and, I a PhD to he me the to a not to a of to a of and with many my own was not and many young as a of and bad like and we the to the to be the on. it would be to most of the was a and that his was the in the the however, he a he would a for my and me the me to the and and prepare the for When began to and was I was from he be However, as I became more in and and more his me as his unpleasant its ugly he who I to and with me that I would this for my it I never his to get me but it put a on many a after 4 years of Maureen 1 that she had a as a for me to get down to my PhD It worked and I the in 3 but its was a that it be of and that I was not to from the As would have decided to take a to from in and I took the as the to the for my with my own after he I the product to the and for to a as my that I had my and the as a When entered the I to the for me to the to the for at the to and walked became a an with out the I would home and Maureen, no On the 10th I and I of his His he his and later, the was with the the that the for PhD in the United a that the me, and an my to 3 the decided for no to from my much and around, I to the of to into the more but it The the as I was the came in and me with a that I was as of that I my was a and home. Not I came in and was about to attend the a in with its and The and I was a PhD in there was more to had me on a my would to about a in On of the the after my he out different from were and at the of a I to the and was a of was on the that 1 would the of the following The effect was that my PhD me to and a few later, he my a friend with a PhD in at a of and I was to in I decided to there was a of for in the United Kingdom, which was in the of a to the and the United I at 1 to on of the of my but the academic in the and were Maureen and I decided to the United and, I an of a with Robert Terry, an known at the of in the I it. had also heard about me from my friend a who had left for 1 in my as a in the had become a of and had about the to his he was advised to Maureen and I to come to the United I for the of with for the and took them to for in the with a my with and to the for and to to We had no but to put our house on the of it for the small from the going and funds in and for our in England, we in with miles later, in after I the for at the AANP in the to It was a from who had been about to to take up a in became of Neurology at the of me, the in the and me he would take in the of the to he the following to the United Our in were particularly I was from training my and the me advised me not to up and to that was to while on the with the down to and the as I the he entered the I was and that I stop and the to I to until I was began to I to and to with and I and, from that was an of and that a of it was on the I into had the with his the of the and I have vivid memories of I took the and some of the at his much and into the and more was and began for I kept and and he kept and I and to me to I was me and out as he the get for I heard more about this but he never me years later, I this to an of young as of a talk a were I a better than for the On my in the I delivered the to for and would the at the up and into to for our to the to the and to As I left the with my I to he to the of the which he me my training in in the United was of his as of the by an on from and with members and never a in On a arrived at with a Maureen and a to in research. My in was I only We were by who delivered to his in where we his and their 3 and where we stayed for while I in at and Maureen the to an The me into to who was in to took me to the of the I have little more than with into small at I still it how much neuropathology had from that small (the foot in product have been waiting for me, was the (Fig. with in at an in Our was no more than off to attend to while his for I would run the until a the was in I would to a I would my on and would a between the and that of a on of a on which I had also worked and published in been my he left, gave me a of where I the and friend and and a who would become my for in the My first was an to out for there was an of in and out of that small Mike and of them were about to and were to their on These were for the most in the with a of to and were well and with the best the was this from Carlisle in a still the with a an and little from to get a foot on the and not to I the found an a some on and after a little more than 1 at and much the left had a for and, my first I with and of of which would The with and, my I would the just to read and more and more and many for What a from and the into my just as and I (Fig. were a series of on and the AANP in walked into the and me an for an from the of me to prepare the and Experimental and he would the a and the to that The was and 3 (my own an and to the in our the was and and, the to me to at the me up to with a in of a senior to an to a young was my as an investigator at The in thanks to and my colleagues at my was and after into the I was to and an training for and funds for 3 a and and a My was to a home with and that would be to and who would be to on their rather than and of more than years in my was that my from and I was at the on the (Fig. and background with my of with I an for a training and a to which my of will the with and of my in the Raine Note the I was most to a with and that in on and left the 3 of much to our own his of he was there was and we never I also an with and our many contributions to the of the of on as became more this would into the of the and the of in a PhD was for into my at a as were in My into was more by my up with and our on in the much a and of the and most I have known in (Fig. late the the of also in my of which was with of my of the at from its in until his in (Fig. was a and and an the of and our we a of for the first of in the and the of from Moreover, we worked and many of in the and as began to take center I up with and members of his at my own and to and into and our into the of with and was with and which in the first of to in in and the of a of to to and in As we entered the the began to for neuropathology in as of the and as and as began to and as became and more as for our and the at AANP Neuropathology at was also about to a with to in a by the of the decided to but only would with both left, a was was no our was and members became and began to to our Neuropathology became a of a the for a while but and to join the in left for and the was to who the for a few but of the and the he to in the and to run a a of its former (Fig. my own on had been to the it me to my colleagues on. I to (Fig. I a with the of and had the of a who me my from the of the to in in I was to the of with a of from for and and a of by the of we entered the with a of which to Neuropathology and and The were also in my and were in and at of the best I with in the my and with and the of to a of and the most of my years at came through my to and an of and into the of by a and with and were to between to of became a of my the the of an of through my 1 present them in list will me for the German (the 4 with (the 4 with and in a with the following also training with Mike and all the I my thanks for the and into my I their was and I from them at As for some of my I he with from his to his and in (Fig. As for Terry, in 3 of and to to up with a with some by (Fig. was in fine and I was to his the many the at were as as in on a from The of Terry, and we have my and I am left with my to my who my my and my and for years. was my first and as I a for from through the a was with me from the late until ran the of the Journal of which I in from to and it and my (Fig. to I be my and in from to the present My would I be my training a of and the standard for me were to have in About 12 months into my at and I our first on the of in to and I was it was On the I the of was a for a to which I was I and with and I at the I my to the up front and my me into an a in a I with the much to their was I with and my first in The AANP been the for my academic and (Fig. and its was usually the of my of the at I was into from the at a were for Active The was into the most being the the Association to and by I was to the for the and after about 3 years of and we in the AANP that be admitted as Active many years thereafter, was and the basic by who would have on the of I a AANP and on and/or delivered and for 1 was to be being the of and the and the for to Neuropathology I on the of from to academic I have I more to the AANP than to the of a few lines on Maureen and I were never with of our but in while as a in a for Maureen was to a young boy with who had been abused and by his She became of and, he was for she decided we a home. So, in at the age of he entered our lives our and, a of we entered to read and had and a a home and developed a beautiful he worked as an in a a at which he that for began he Maureen, and he never let his get in the of his was with for 12 years and became a and member of our however, the on in his years and his many years on up with and he in thereafter, in Maureen was as having and, as a my at became I began to my to and in until Maureen her like a but after a she in 7 months we had from to Maureen to as a grandmother in the young of and having to in a and her an Maureen lived long to but was never well to from the would have I Maureen much in to the years we were it was of her that I was to it along the road to Neuropathology (Fig. I have just the first is in the center with Mike Hart Maureen, my and Maureen in as a me to my which I and a with I am in There on my for colleagues me and images for of still and I am more to attend So, me on the do and

Nicolas T. Courtois, Lear Bahack

Bitcoin is a "crypto currency", a decentralized electronic payment scheme based on cryptography. Bitcoin economy grows at an incredibly fast rate and is now worth some 10 billions of dollars. Bitcoin mining is an activity which consists of creating (minting) the new coins which are later put into circulation. Miners spend electricity on solving cryptographic puzzles and they are also gatekeepers which validate bitcoin transactions of other people. Miners are expected to be honest and have some incentives to behave well. However. In this paper we look at the miner strategies with particular attention paid to subversive and dishonest strategies or those which could put bitcoin and its reputation in danger. We study in details several recent attacks in which dishonest miners obtain a higher reward than their relative contribution to the network. In particular we revisit the concept of block withholding attacks and propose a new concrete and practical block withholding attack which we show to maximize the advantage gained by rogue miners. RECENT EVENTS: it seems that the attack was recently executed, see Section XI-A.

Andrew Mastin, Patrick Jaillet, Sang Chin

The minmax regret problem for combinatorial optimization under uncertainty\ncan be viewed as a zero-sum game played between an optimizing player and an\nadversary, where the optimizing player selects a solution and the adversary\nselects costs with the intention of maximizing the regret of the player. The\nexisting minmax regret model considers only deterministic solutions/strategies,\nand minmax regret versions of most polynomial solvable problems are NP-hard. In\nthis paper, we consider a randomized model where the optimizing player selects\na probability distribution (corresponding to a mixed strategy) over solutions\nand the adversary selects costs with knowledge of the player's distribution,\nbut not its realization. We show that under this randomized model, the minmax\nregret version of any polynomial solvable combinatorial problem becomes\npolynomial solvable. This holds true for both the interval and discrete\nscenario representations of uncertainty. Using the randomized model, we show\nnew proofs of existing approximation algorithms for the deterministic model\nbased on primal-dual approaches. Finally, we prove that minmax regret problems\nare NP-hard under general convex uncertainty.\n

Mandy M. Archibald, Alexander M. Clark

All is not well for nursing in the new world. The use of social media to share research, access information and build professional networks – although gaining in popularity – has been met mostly with a slow response from those in nursing and its research (Ferguson 2013). Twitter is used by over 550 million people, with 135,000 new users every day (Statistics Brain 2012). Approximately 11% of nurses use Twitter compared with 20% of adults – which places nurses a year behind the general population's usage (Robinson 2013). This inertia is curious, given that reputable health organizations, such as the World Health Organization, now use Twitter (Redfern 2013). Do nurses understand the potential benefits of Twitter? With mainstream popularity and increasing reliance in daily social life, Twitter can allow nurse researchers to connect directly, rapidly and cheaply with communities, disseminate information, and promote translation of research into practice and policy. It has also been found to be effective in engaging with and recruiting potentially hard-to-reach populations (O'Connor et al. 2014). This provides huge potential for methods and dissemination and broadens our understanding of change. Academic institutions now have to consider the merits of ‘virtual impact’ alongside traditional metrics of evaluation, such as publications. As Ferguson lamented in JAN: ‘it is time for the nursing profession to leverage social media’ (2013, p. 745). However, identifying this need does nothing to address how nurses can use Twitter better. Diffusion of Innovations Theory can help. Proposed by sociologist Everett Rogers in 1962, Diffusion of Innovations Theory has become a commonly applied theory for understanding how and at what rate innovations are adopted in different settings. Five characteristics of innovations influence this rate (Rogers 1962/2003): • Relative advantage: ‘…the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being better than the idea it supersedes’. (Rogers 1962/2003, p.229) The purpose of Twitter may not be apparent to nurse researchers. Is Twitter a social networking site; a venue to confer and communicate celebrity status; a networking platform; a venue to disseminate research findings; a site for recruiting participants; or all of the above? This versatility of Twitter actually reduces its perceived relative advantage because it is unclear what Twitter can and should be compared to. Most of these appraisals of Twitter occur in an evidence vacuum. While other widely used forms of media – such as textbooks, television and the internet – are not subject to a similar burden of proof, academics focused on evidence and value may well bemoan the lack of evaluation measures available for Twitter. Given the lack of previous comparable social media platforms, the added value of Twitter to busy professional lives may be unclear. Twitter can create a new world that is highly responsive to each member's needs and interests. Because only tweets (messages of 140 characters or fewer) from followers are viewed, twitter ‘feeds’ tend to reflect common themes. Hashtags can be used to categorize tweets and organize twitter feeds. Based on these tailored preferences, papers, blogs and news stories come to one's attention that would not otherwise have done so. This ability to both benefit from and contribute to tailored twitter feeds is a reciprocal advantage that is very useful. The relative advantage of innovations such as Twitter can be expressed through economic gains and social visibility. Academics can ‘tweet’ at zero cost. Other cost investments such as buying open access for publications can be leveraged through Twitter by tweeting links to online papers and web profiles. Academics may conflate social visibility with social prestige – reflecting a lingering perception of Twitter as a celebrity-oriented/pop culture social platform. However, as high-profile organizations such as the Canadian Nurses Association and leading journal editors in nursing harness Twitter, the social status draw of Twitter may gain appeal for nursing academics. Using Twitter may come to symbolize contemporary thinking and innovation. • Compatibility: ‘The degree to which an innovation is perceived as consistent with existing values, past experiences and needs of potential adopters’. (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 229). (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 240) Twitter's predecessors, particularly Facebook, also influence perceptions of Twitter. Largely a social platform, Facebook's infamous ‘status updates’ contributed to perceptions of Twitter as a social site for quick quips and celebrity updates. Although researchers may not distinguish between such forms of social media, in reality, different platforms can serve distinct purposes (Ferguson 2013). This perception of Twitter as another social media site means that it has come to be seen as being part of a ‘technology cluster’ – a ‘set of distinguishable elements of technology that are perceived by individuals as being interrelated’ (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 249). The implication of the technology cluster is the tendency for users to group otherwise distinguishable technological innovations together (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) without recognizing their distinctive nature and merits. When the blurring of boundaries occurs for adopters, the potential benefits of specific platforms may not be recognized. That said, introducing innovations as part of a technology cluster may increase uptake and harness synergies between innovations. Twitter can be used with LinkedIn (a professional networking profile site) through which strategic use of a tweet can refer followers to a full professional profile. As the introduction of technologies has been sequential, beginning with email, faculty websites, LinkedIn, Facebook and many more that have preceded Twitter, the ‘added benefit’ of new social media innovations may not be recognized. It is natural to contrast the anticipated processes of Twitter to how academic dissemination has previously occurred – through longer formal academic journal articles that are read mostly by other academics. Twitter has been proposed as an alternative means to disseminate academic research; however, assuming that Twitter would be accepted readily as a supplementary form of dissemination risks committing the ‘empty vessels fallacy’ (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 256) wherein the previous knowledge and experiences of potential adopters are neglected. Compatibility with existing experiences is important and necessary for Twitter to ‘fit’ with nurse's existing knowledge related to academic dissemination. Developing links between Twitter and traditional avenues of dissemination can increase compatibility. For instance, integrating Twitter into conference activities by use of a conference hashtag, for example, may help. Indeed, Twitter's name alone could challenge many academics' values. Twitter is synonymous with chatter – the antithesis of academic discourse. Views of Twitter as a time-consuming platform not meritorious for academic career progression and promotion can further reduce its compatibility with extant values. As such, how Twitter is positioned within the nursing community, how it is incentivized as a knowledge translation tool and which of its benefits are emphasized influence its adoption. • Complexity: ‘The degree to which an innovation is perceived as relatively difficult to understand and use’ (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 257) As with any innovation, Twitter has a learning curve. New terminology (e.g. Tweet, Twittersphere, twitterites) and ostensibly mysterious abbreviations (e.g. RT, FFF, BFN, T/J etc.) abound and necessitate a ‘Twittonary (n.d)’ of key definitions (see http://twittonary.com/ for an example). This learning is complex, especially for people less familiar with technology. Generally, different generations define and use social media in different ways (Cain et al. 2010, Taylor et al. 2010, Jones & Hayter 2013). Generational divides in the use of Twitter persist, but may diminish as technological literacy increases (Cresci et al. 2010). As such, the demographic characteristics and background of researchers in nursing also influence perceptions of complexity and use. • Trialability: ‘degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis’ (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 258) Trialability is a mixed bag for Twitter. Twitter can be experimented with easily through establishing, trying and deleting a user account. However, it takes time and effort to establish followers, identify other users to follow and both read and produce tweets regularly. Time and efforts are needed to understand the potential benefits of Twitter, but these also reduce its perceived trialability. This trialability is also constrained by preconceptions. For many academics, tweeting is a formative risk – tweets can potentially be read by many people, cannot be retracted and have been subject to high-profile legal debate and litigation in some countries. For those who have experimented with or regularly use Twitter, perceptions of such risk are diminished as tweets are only shared with and read by one's followers. Trialability is greatly enhanced by personal trials – suggesting a potential avenue for institutions looking to facilitate the uptake of Twitter by academic staff – via peer presentations on social media or hands-on ‘Twitter-sessions’ similar to library database search sessions. • Observability: ‘The degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others’ (Rogers 1962/2003, p. 258) Twitter is a virtual innovation that requires no new hardware and an internet connection. The platform itself is less observable. Aside from the occasional tweet showcased in print, radio or television, tweets are not visible to those not on Twitter. Promoting Twitter through educational sessions and generating awareness of communities of scholars who have adopted the innovation may enhance Twitter's observability. Finally, as researchers and academic institutions alike can be outcomes-driven, finding ways to qualify the impact and effectiveness of Twitter, and to communicate and value these measures within academic research communities are important. Diffusion of Innovations Theory promotes understanding of how academics use Twitter and offers some direction for developing strategies to increase its use in academic settings. Twitter's popularity is increasing and may soon reach a critical mass, tipping the balance in favour of further adoption (Toole et al. 2012). As the time for early adoption of Twitter has passed, waiting for this critical mass is not enough. Institutions can help by emphasizing the relative advantages of Twitter, such as its low cost, possible reach and high impact potentials. Highlighting parallels between Twitter and other dissemination strategies can promote compatibility with values and experiences. To minimize complexities, promote trialability and increase observability guidelines on Twitter, researchers should benefit from guidelines (e.g. Mollett et al. 2011), Twitter training opportunities and better integration of Twitter into professional conferences and meetings. M.A. acknowledges the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program and the Women and Children's Health Research Institute.

Yuli Andriansyah

Objective - This paper was aimed to explain the development of Islamic banks and their contributions in Indonesia local development. Methodology/Technique - The paper described data on essential financial data of Islamic bank in 8 provinces in Indonesia mainly in their economic growth, percentage of population living under the poverty line, along with Islamic financial indicators, i.e. asset, third parties fund, and financing. Findings - The results indicate that Islamic banks accomplish impressive financial performance reflected in fast growing in asset, third parties fund, and financing. In terms of financial intermediaries, Islamic bank also performs well as presented in a larger share of financing compared to third parties fund. Islamic banks are also resilient to local short-run shocks in the economy. However, the relation between these financial indicators with economic indicators is not likely very supportive mainly because Islamic bank's limited market share and issue in financial inclusion in Indonesia. Novelty - As a preliminary research in the relation between Islamic finance and local development particularly in a new emerging decentralized economy, this paper bear a worthy endeavour in expanding this field of study in the future. Type of Paper: Review Keywords : Local Development, Islamic Bank, Financial Intermediaries, Economic Growth, Poverty.

F. H. Healey, Luis Crouch, Robert Hannah

Egypt, currently in the throes of major political change, will likely undergo various reforms in the next few years. Some reforms are likely to give local entities, including schools, greater control over education finances. In 2007, the Government of Egypt began to decentralize some non-personnel recurrent finances from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to lower-level jurisdictions using a number of simple and transparent enrollment- and poverty-based funding formulas. By 2010, a sizable amount of capital expenditure was also being transferred to lower levels of the system via similar equity-based funding formulas. Prior to these formula-based decentralization efforts, a large amount of education-related non-personnel recurrent finances had been moving from the MOF to the muderiyat. Analysis of these latter allocations reveals that they are highly inequitable on an inter-governorate per-student basis, ranging from EGP 966 per student in New Valley to EGP 25 per student in 6th of October. This paper examines the nature and potential causes of this inequity and puts forth a way in which these funds could also be transferred using an equity-based funding formula that “holds harmless” those muderiyat that would lose absolute amounts of money under a more equitable distribution scheme.

Catherine Gamper, Claire Charbit

The share of public investment spending at sub-national level has been slowly but steadily increasing over the past two decades across OECD countries. Degrees and forms of decentralization in infrastructure vary widely across countries, but all governments share a common objective, that is to mobilize authorities along shared infrastructure policy objectives. This involves managing a complex web of vertical (across levels of government) and horizontal (across sectors and across the same levels of government) interdependencies, which require substantial coordination among actors to ensure policy alignment and quality investments. Asymmetric information, multiple principal-agent relationships and significant differences in capacities across levels of government in financing and implementing infrastructure investments have posed important political economic obstacles to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public investment outcomes. This paper will look at persisting coordination challenges more closely by using the results of a recent OECD questionnaire and case studies. It will identify remedies OECD and some selected non-OECD countries have found that work to address coordination issues. This paper will demonstrate that ultimately systematic collection and sharing of information is the key to making coordination work.

Yves Sintomer, Rudolf Traub-Merz, Junhua Zhang, Carsten Herzberg

Introduction: Participatory Budgeting - A Global View Y.Sintomer, R.Traub-Merz & C.Herzberg PART I: ASIAN EXPERIENCES Participatory Budgeting in the City of Ichikawa (Japan) A.Matsubara Participatory Budgeting in Dong-gu, Ulsan - A Korean Case Study A. Songmin Participatory Budgeting in Indonesia - The Tanah Datar Experience S.Mastuti & M.Neunecker Democratic Decentralization and Participatory Budgeting - The Kerala Experience (India) S.George & M.Neunecker PART II: FOCUS: CHINESE EXPERIENCES Participatory Budgeting in China: An Overview B.He Reflections on Participatory Budgeting in China - The case study of Minhang District W.Liu Assessing China's 'Sunshine Finance' Policy - offline and online: J.Zhang & L.Zhang Assessing Transparency in Provincial Government Budgeting: H.Jiang Problems of Participation in China Today: Urban Neighbourhood Communities T.Heberer PART III: EUROPEAN EXPERIENCES Participation and Modernisation. Participatory Budgeting in Germany: The Example of Berlin-Lichtenberg C.Herzberg Participatory Budgeting in Great Britain: Between a Neoliberal Agenda and Community Empowerment J.Hall & A.Roecke Participatory Budgeting and Social Justice - Implications of Some Cases in Spain and Italy G.Allegretti A Polish Case Study: Participatory Budgeting in the City of P?ock D.Dakowska Participatory Budgeting and Mobilisation in Spain: Who Participates and How E.Ganuza & F.Frances Participatory Democracy or 'Proximity' Democracy? The 'High School Participatory Budget' in Poitou-Charentes, France Y.Sintomer, A.Roecke & J.Talpin Conclusion

Simon David Ellis, Aurelio Menéndez Menéndez

This paper will review the key elements required for effective decentralized implementation of rural roads programs. It will review the range of options available and the evidence for successful implementation where it exists. Section 2 makes the case for the importance of rural roads and sets out the evidence for the socio-economic benefits. Section 3 addresses the responsibilities for implementation and critical importance of having clarity over network ownership. Section 4 highlights the difficulties of finance, particularly for longer term maintenance, and sets out options for improving allocations and the reliability of receipt for those allocations. Section 5 sets out the project cycle from planning, design, implementation, maintenance and subsequent evaluation. Section 6 summarizes the key issues and highlights the main policy considerations.

Anwar Shah

During the past three decades, a large number of countries have introduced reforms to decentralize public decision making. Such reforms have proved controversial. Critics of these reforms argue that decentralized provision of infrastructure enhances vulnerability to corruption. Proponents of these reforms counter that corruption arises from lack of people empowerment and decentralization by bringing decision making closer to people shines sunlight on government operations and empowers people to hold government to account and thereby offers potential for combating corruption in the long run. They further state that decentralized provision of infrastructure holds a great promise in upgrading infrastructure to underserviced especially rural areas with local self-government. In theory such decentralization is also expected to improve integrity of such operations especially in the event of local financing. These debates, nevertheless, remain unsettled as empirical evidence on the impact of decentralization on infrastructure provision is scant or non-existent. Empirical work is hampered by a lack of reliable data on the incidence of corruption. This paper presents conceptual underpinnings of the impact of decentralized provision of infrastructure on the incidence of corruption and synthesizes scant available empirical evidence to make a case for further empirical research to document the real world experiences to update our current state of knowledge on this subject. Much work lies ahead to limit our wide zone of ignorance in this area.

Luis Andrés, Dan Biller, Jordan Schwartz

This paper proposes an economic logic for underpinning decentralization in the infrastructure sectors. It starts by detailing the definition of the infrastructure gap and the methodologies to calculate it. It provides some global trends for developing countries in terms of the gap and briefly discusses financing possibilities for developing countries to address the gap. Then it turns to the discussion of the link between the infrastructure gap and decentralization, providing a typology infrastructure subsectors and possible jurisdiction of service provision. It briefly discusses the potential for raising local finances for provision and the relationship between poverty and provision. While it is very difficult to provide blanket recommendations on decentralizing the various sectors and respective subcomponents of infrastructure services, the paper offers a set of guidelines to direct policymakers in their decision to decentralize or not. First, decentralization is intrinsically neither good nor bad for infrastructure; its impact depends entirely on the incentives facing the various decision-makers in the decentralization process; second, decentralization is most fruitful when the decision-makers bear the financial and political cost with respect to design, finance, operation and maintenance; and, finally, political leaders are accountable to their constituents for the manner in which they spend tax revenues and how they use and allocate transfers from the central government.

Jonas Frank, Jorge Martínez-Vázquez

The subnational dimension of infrastructure emerges as one of the greatest challenges in contemporary public finance policy and management. Given the localized nature of most infrastructures, ensuring its efficient provision represents a challenge for all countries irrespective of their level of centralization or decentralization. This paper introduces the fundamental questions surrounding the provision of infrastructure in decentralized settings and summarizes the findings from a collection of original essays prepared for this volume by a set of worldwide experts on this subject with the objective of advancing our understanding of the interplay between decentralization and infrastructure. More specifically, the paper discusses the extent of infrastructure gaps and the quality of subnational spending; inquires how functional responsibilities, financing and equalization can be designed; discusses sector-specific arrangements; drills down to the key steps of the public investment cycle and management aspects; and analyzes the political economy and corruption challenges that typically accompany decentralized infrastructure projects. The paper also presents avenues for the strengthening of decentralized public investment and infrastructure provision processes, concluding that they need to be country-, sector- and place-specific. While it is clear that institutional arrangements for infrastructure management will vary across countries, in all cases several decision-making steps need to be coordinated across levels of government in order to ensure efficiency in delivery, equity in spending, and accountability over final results.

Motoki Kitahara, Junpei Kawamoto, Kouichi Sakurai

In the digital world, so many copyrighted works are made in an illegal way because it is easy to keep and copy. Digital Rights Management has proposed to prevent this theft. Contents providers often bring in one server who has charge of managing the normal user, but there are some problems that it flocks to the server. Against this problem, P2P based DRM system has considered. All users can transfer the encrypted content to other users, so the content server does not have to load so much traffic from users. As a problem with this method, it is hard to figure out usage situation of contents because P2P based system is divided into many pieces of users. In this paper, we propose a new P2P based DRM system using Bitcoin protocol, which is one of the electric commerce. Bitcoin protocol, timestamp server saves all transactions to prevent double spending. We can bring out all usage situations to apply this system.

Cándido Caballero‐Gil, Pino Caballero‐Gil, Jezabel Molina‐Gil

The practical deployment of vehicular networks is still a pending issue. In this paper we describe a new self-organized method of authentication for VANETs, which allows their widespread, fast and secure implementation. Our proposal does not involve any central certification authority because the nodes themselves certify the validity of public keys of the other nodes. On the one hand we propose an algorithm that each node must use to choose the public key certificates for its local store. On the other hand, we also describe a new node authentication method based on a cryptographic protocol including a zero-knowledge proof that each node must use to convince another node on the possession of certain secret without revealing anything about it, which allows non-encrypted communication during authentication. Thanks to the combination of the aforementioned tools, the cooperation among vehicles can be used for developing several practical applications of VANETs, such as detection and warning about abnormal traffic conditions. One of the most interesting aspects of our proposal is that it only requires existing devices such as smartphones, because the designed schemes are fully distributed and self-organized. In this work we include an analysis of both an NS-2 simulation and a real device implementation of the proposed algorithms, which enables us to extract promising conclusions and several possible improvements and open questions for further research.

Henrik Karlstrøm

The new, decentralized, anonymous digital currency Bitcoin has in less than three years gone from a proof-of-concept to being traded for about €78 million on a daily basis. Its ascendancy offers up a puzzle for financial regulators and other law-enforcers worldwide, while also promising to fulfill the political visions of a group of market-anarchist cryptographers. While it is still a very small economy in absolute terms, Bitcoin also poses some interesting challenges to traditional economic institutions, and is thus an interesting case for economic sociology. Using the notion of material embeddedness, this paper examines the possible implications of a further propagation of Bitcoin. If the currency proves a success, this will have ramifications for a large number of economic institutions, such as the possibility of taxation of untraceable money, the credit economy and interest rates, and international currency control.

Robert Idlbek, Verica Budimir, Danijela Hrmić

The mathematical concept of Bitcoin network was introduced in the year 2008. by a person, or group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. During the next year, the first implementation of software for supporting Bitcoin transactions was put into operation. Today, it supports more than 70,000 daily transactions, and market value in the last five years has reached roughly $ 7 billion. Therefore, it can be easily seen that that there is a specific need for the application of new forms of digital payment in electronic commerce

Tadej Ošlovnik

Razsirjenost uporabe virtualnih denarnih valut se v zadnjem casu naglo povecuje, kar napeljuje na potrebo po podrobnejsi seznanitvi z njimi. Virtualne denarne valute, ki iz tehnicnega vidika ponujajo relativno dovrsen in delujoc sistem, obenem prinasajo stevilne negotovosti na podrocju njihovega umescanja v obstojece zakonodajne okvire. Zakonodajalci in pravni strokovnjaki po svetu so sele pred kratkim zaceli odkrivati ta fenomen. V diplomskem delu je iz pravne, ekonomske in tehnicne plati predstavljen sistem virtualnih denarnih valut s poudarkom na valuti bitcoin. Sirok vpogled v delovanje sistema je podlaga za razumevanje zakonodajnih procesov, ki bodo sooblikovali prihodnost virtualnih denarnih valut. Diplomsko delo povzema del zakonodajnih in regulacijskih procesov v razlicnih pravnih redih, ki na teoreticni in prakticni ravni skusajo vkljuciti virtualne denarne valute v urejene pravne okvire.

Rong Zhao

The development and orientation of bit-coin is the forefront of currency issue for it is directly related to the currency position of bit-coin and affects the progress direction of the world economy. At present, there are serious differences in people's discussion about the orientation of bit-coin, the typical representation of which is that they do not have a thorough understanding of the basic properties of bit-coin, neither is there a legal orientation for it, and especially that is a lack of the basis of methodology of various research. All these have been hindering the application and progress of bit-coin. By discussion the current classification and future development of bit-coin, we believe that the generation of bit-coin is a reflection of the Internet economy.

Frederik The

No abstract is available for this record.

Nina Moskalenko, Inna Trygub

Profit - one of the main sources of financial resources of enterprises, the formation of centralized and decentralized funds. The profit is the formation of a significant amount of budgetary resources of the state are financed expansion of enterprises, financial incentives for workers. The planning and profit should be concerned not only labor collectives of enterprises, but also the country as a whole.

Andrei Alexandru Dinu

Five years after the introduction of the peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency bitcoin, cryptocurrencies have flourished and become a global phenomenon. Concerns regarding the impact of cryptocurrency on financial stability and the conduct of monetary policy have drawn regulatory scrutiny and formal policy stances on this emerging phenomenon. The main purpose of the present research is to determine whether cryptocurrencies are scarce and can, by this virtue, be regarded as money. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and litecoin are programmed to have supply scarcity, however the fact that myriad digital coins can be created effortless by emulation raises the question of whether the total combined supply of this potential money is indeed scarce or not. The primary focus of the paper is to determine empirically if the two main cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and litecoin are actually perceived by the market as being different. In order to determine whether bitcoin and litecoin are perceived as similar or not by the market, I conduct an empirical analysis using daily closing price and trade volumes data from major exchanges Bitstamp and BTC-e. I calculate correlations on a monthly and weekly frequency to investigate price co-movement and its dynamics. Complementarity and substitutability for the entire sample and for 4 separate subsamples is formally analyzed through the calculation of direct price elasticities and of cross-price elasticities of volume. I show that in spite of negligible fundamental differences that would lead us to believe that the two cryptocoins are interchangeable and fungible to a great extent, the empirical landscape is more complex, with fair evidence in favor of substitutability, i.e. them being effectively perceived as different monies. The implication of this finding is that the supply scarcity of any individual coin is not placed under question by the potentially infinite aggregate supply of all cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies can posses scarcity, and, other properties left aside, can be regarded as money.

Emil Dahlberg, Lillemor Holmberg

Många länder går mot ett samhälle där kontanter används till en mindre grad vilket har lett till en ökning av elektroniska betalningsmetoder. Utöver kortbetalningsmetoder har andra mer hög teknologiska betalningsmetoder vuxit fram. Bland dem är Bitcoin ett nytt system som vuxit sig relativt stor under de senaste åren. Bitcoin är både kritiserat och hyllat i olika medier. Utifrån de två väletablerade teorierna; Diffusion av innovation och Teknologi acceptans modellen avser studien att identifiera betydande faktorer i Svenska företags adaption av Bitcoin. Denna kvalitativa studie bygger på strukturerade telefon- och mailintervjuer i samband med samling av sekundärdata vilket tillsammans skapar empirins underlag. Studien består av åtta telefonintervjuer och tre mailsvar Studien är av deduktiv natur då den undersöker innovationen utifrån redan befintliga teorier. I användandet av teorin återfinns ingen undersökning av innovationen, istället har innovationer av närliggande karaktär studerats för stödjande av faktorernas vikt för adaptionen av innovationen. Resultaten visar att relativa fördela, kompatibilitet, svårighet att använda och uppfattad risk bör vara de främsta faktorerna. Utöver dessa faktorer finns bevis som pekar på att sociala influenser och tekniskt intresse även är viktiga för Bitcoins adaption.