Blockchain Papers

Inés Sittón-Candanedo

No abstract is available for this record.

Charla Griffy‐Brown, Howard Miller, Vincent Zhao, Demetrios Lazarikos · 5 authors

Emerging Technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and distributed ledger continue to transform businesses, enabling new value creation in transformative ways. Importantly, most investigations and the broader scholarly discourse is around applications. In addition to the potential impacts on society, these technologies create risks, which even in the corporate context are not easily identified or evaluated and therefore cannot be easily addressed. The risks are both upside risks (opportunities or rewards) and downside risks (exposures that jeopardize the company). Can these risks be identified and evaluated? If so, what models might work for evaluating and perhaps even optimizing risk? In this study, we will first explore what technologies are being deployed and where the organizational risk is being considered or evaluated from a governance perspective within the organization. Based on interviews with executives facing these new environments, we developed the over-arching research questions: What theories guide our thinking best in terms of developing risk optimization models? What might these risk models look like? The research involved an exploration using a survey instrument and multiple qualitative methods involving business leaders from companies deploying these technologies as well as the development and preliminary testing of three different risk optimization models using scenario analysis data. Based on this analysis, we developed the foundations for a risk model executives could use to consider these technologies.

V. Lakshman Narayana, Arepalli Peda Gopi, Kosaraju Chaitanya

Blockchain is using in every aspect now because of its distributed ledger which is immutable. It provides the information to the users directly without any third party involvement. It mediates the transactions directly between the interacting parties securely. It also eliminates the friction and also the cost of current intermediaries. It is now using in healthcare system to provide the interoperability, security, decentralization and other. EMR is presently using in healthcare which has some issues. The issues in healthcare are patient cannot access the data of his/her own health information. So by this healthcare has issues like interoperability and delay in communication and some other. These issues can be solved by using the Blockchain in healthcare. By this Blockchain provide security by giving the patients to access their own data rather than provider.

Roberto Spigolon, Luca Oneto, Dimitar Anastasovski, Nadia Fabrizio · 7 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Devendra Dhagarra, Mohit Goswami, P. R. S. Sarma, A.K. Choudhury

Abstract Purpose Significant advances have been made in the field of healthcare service delivery across the world; however, health coverage particular for the poor and disadvantaged still remains a distant dream in developing world. In large developing countries like India, disparities in access to healthcare are pervasive. Despite recent progress in ensuring improved access to health care in past decade or so, disparities across gender, geography and socioeconomic status continue to persist. Fragmented and scattered health records and lack of integration are some of the primary causes leading to uneven healthcare service delivery. The devised framework is intended to address these challenges. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In view of such challenges, in this research a Big Data and blockchain anchored integrative healthcare framework is proposed focusing upon providing timely and appropriate healthcare services to every citizen of the country. The framework uses unique identification number (UID) system as formalized and implemented by the Government of India for identification of the patients, their specific case histories and so forth. Findings The key characteristic of our proposed framework is that it provides easy access to secure, immutable and comprehensive medical records of patients across all treatment centers within the country. The model also ensures security and privacy of the medical records based upon the incorporation of biometric authentication by the patients for access of their records to healthcare providers. Originality/value A key component of our evolved framework is the Big Data analytics-based framework that seeks to provide structured health data to concerned stakeholders in healthcare services. The model entails all pertinent stakeholders starting from patients to healthcare service providers.

Sebastian Lawrenz, Priyanka Sharma, Andreas Rausch

In the digital Economy 'Data is the new oil. In the last decade technology has disrupted every filed imaginable. One such booming technology is Blockchain. A blockchain is essentially a distributed database of records or public ledger of all transactions or digital events that have been executed and shared among participating parties. And once entered, the information is immutable. Ongoing projects and prior work in the fields of big data, data mining and data science has revealed how relevant data can be used to enhance products and services. There are uncountable applications and advantages of relevant data. The most valuable companies of today treat data as a commodity, which they trade and earn revenues.

Andrea Rozario, Chanta Thomas

ABSTRACT Blockchain and smart contracts are evolving business practices by enhancing efficiencies and transparency in the value chain. The fusion of these innovations is also likely to transform auditing by automating workflows but more importantly, by enhancing audit effectiveness and reporting. This paper envisions the future financial statement audit by proposing an external audit blockchain that supports smart audit procedures. The external audit blockchain has the potential to improve audit quality and narrow the expectation gap between auditors, financial statement users, and regulatory bodies.

Shreekanth M. Prabhu, K. N. Balasubramanya Murthy, Subramanyam Natarajan

The idea of Balanced Development is to ensure equitable distribution of necessities of life and creation of productive remunerative employment across society. Balanced development is a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity. To facilitate this challenging task, we have proposed an Ontology-based Tantra Social Information Management Framework that can help set goals, design and evaluate interventions, define and monitor relevant metrics in an ongoing basis. Tantra Framework represents social information using ideas from Zachman Framework and concepts from Unified Foundational Ontology. Tantra Framework inter-operates with well-regarded models. Balanced Scorecard is used to define development objectives. Bartels’ Theory of Separations is used to identify barriers to access, consumption and profitable participation. Theory of Change process is used to arrive at right intervention. Distributed Ledgers are proposed to handle Change Management. A Social Information Management Process is proposed to keep the framework populated, complete and current. Tantra Framework can lead to broader Digital Governance Framework with strong cognizance of Social dimension. The paper explains how Tantra Framework can be used to realize Economic Development in Indian context.

Sinh Huynh, Kenny Tsu Wei Choo, Rajesh Krishna Balan, Youngki Lee

Can cryptocurrency mining (crypto-mining) be a practical ad-free monetization approach for mobile app developers? We conducted a lab experiment and a user study with 228 real Android users to investigate different aspects of mobile crypto-mining. In particular, we show that mobile devices have computational resources to spare and that these can be utilized for crypto-mining with minimal impact on the mobile user experience. We also examined the profitability of mobile crypto-mining and its stability as compared to mobile advertising. In many cases, the profit of mining can exceed mobile advertising's. Most importantly, our study shows that the majority (72%) of the participants are willing to allow crypto-mining as means to replace ads to trade-off for benefits such as a better user experience.

Haijun Zhao, Bang Zhao, Susu Cheng

The confirmation of data property rights is one of the most important functions of big data trading institutions. This paper builds a specialized classifier which aims to the normalization process of data property confirmation in the process of big data transaction and proposes the mechanism of confirming big data property rights based on Smart Contract.

Simona Ibba

The blockchain is one of the most interesting technologies developed in recent years. Blockchain is a ledger, a register, a decentralized and public shared database, reachable by accessing a peer-to-peer network. Each unit of the register represents a block. The blocks are linked together in the same order in which they were created and are connected using cryptographic algorithms that make them and the information stored therein not modifiable.
\nSoftware development needs to be supported by architectural models or blockchain oriented meta-models. The introduction of smart contracts, small computer programs stored inside the Ethereum blockchain, modifies the typical software engineering methodologies. The distributed applications developed on blockchain technologies, can in fact follow rules different from used for the development of the normal centralized applications. The blockchain is instead based on a totally different assumption: the information stored on the blockchain and therefore the smart contracts can not be modified or deleted without compromising the integrity of the blockchain itself. Moreover the smart contracts run in an isolated environment and their results must be the same whatever node they run in. They cannot access the external world that changes with time, but can access and send messages to the blockchain itself that is immutable.
\nSuch an innovative context entails new challenges in software engineering. Greater emphasis on specific security and testing practices, new development tools, specific modeling languages and new metrics to evaluate software quality are needed. These new metrics are required to measure complexity, communication, decentralized systems, but also resource consumption (e.g. the so-called gas in the ethereum system).
\nIn this scenario Agile methodologies, that are suited to system whose requirements are not completely understood, or tend to change, could be a good strategy of software development for blockchain applications. Some of the characteristics of the Agile methodologies are in fact present in decentralized applications (DApps). 
\nOne of the most interesting applications based on blockchain are the Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). An ICO is an innovative way to raise funds and launch a startup. It is also an opportunity to take part in a project, or in a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). 
\nThis fund-raising tool contains however some critical issues, such as the use of tokens that have no intrinsic value and do not generate direct liquidity, and the role of investors in the startup’s management. The Lean software development, an approach that maximizes the value given to the customer, and aims to eliminate waste and optimize across organizations, could be helpful to face these critical aspects.
\nThe ICOs and, more generally the decentralized applications are based on smart contracts. Considering the technological break through introduced by blockchain it is important to know characteristics and measures and quality parameters of the development process and its phases, as well as metrics to help ensure that the development process is under control to meet the product’s quality goals. This thesis analyzes the software development process of blockchain-based applications. In particular this work analyzes the following aspects.
\n• Investigating software engineering activities related to ICOs, recognize the ICOs developed using Agile methods and make a comparison between the characteristics of ICOs and those of Agile ICOs. 
\n• Evaluating the lean startup approach as a methodology for the implementation of an ICO.
\n• Analizyng smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain relatively to smart contracts features, their interaction with the blockchain, the role of the development community, and the source code characteristics.

Shivani Bhalerao, Siya Agarwal, Shruthi Borkar, Shruti Anekar · 6 authors

Yes, that's correct! The paper proposes a solution that utilizes blockchain and AI technologies to ensure the secure and transparent distribution of medical drugs across the supply chain. The system employs smart contracts and a Rasa chatbot integrated into a Flutter app to enable ordering and traceability of medicines. Additionally, the system includes a blockchain-based credit evaluation mechanism to enhance the trustworthiness of the supply chain participants. The smart contracts are deployed on a local blockchain provided by Ganache, and the DApp is connected to the blockchain using Web3.js and Truffle framework. The system also includes trade chain and information chain platforms to construct an overall framework of the supply chain system. Platform interaction rules are formulated to standardize the system information exchange format and ensure the stability and efficiency of system interaction. Smart contracts are a type of digital contract that is designed to automatically execute predefined actions when certain conditions are met. In the context of supply chain systems, smart contracts can be used to facilitate and manage transactions between different parties, as well as to ensure the accuracy and integrity of supply chain information. By using smart contracts, supply chain stakeholders can improve the efficiency of their interactions, reduce transaction costs, and enhance the security and reliability of their data. The experimental results show that the proposed system is feasible and comparatively more secure than existing systems. While the system realizes the basic functions of the supply chain, it also promotes the sharing of information between participants and improves its efficiency. Summary of the text: The text discusses the application of blockchain in supply chain management, specifically for product traceability, and mentions the use of smart contracts to automate processes. The problem of drug counterfeiting is highlighted as a particular area where blockchain can provide benefits. The integration of artificial intelligence and Rasa is also briefly mentioned. The text concludes by emphasizing the need for further research and development in the practical applications and architectures of blockchain in supply chain management.

Wout Hofman

Each manufacturer, supplier, and retailer has its own chain of collaborating stakeholders to meet their customer demands. Many perspectives can be taken like food safety, security, and sustainability, which may each lead to separate solutions that are not necessarily interoperable with each other. Data can only be shared within the context of those solutions and only with extra effort, and thus costs, across these solutions. To address this solution, this paper proposes a methodological approach for specification of data that can be shared with rapid deployment by for instance a blockchain based - or a peer-to-peer infrastructure. The methodological approach is based on basic informatics principles like the Turing machine and ontologies.

Mary C. Lacity, Shaji A. Khan

Enterprise blockchain applications can allow trading partners to transact directly without relying on trusted third parties and promise to: eliminate the need for reconciliations, instantly track and trace assets through a supply chain, provide unbeatable data provenance, settle transactions quickly and cheaply, and enable an information security model that is fault tolerant, resilient, and available. Many of these promised benefits seemingly address the challenges of non-blockchain based inter-organizational systems. However, this research indicates that blockchain based inter-organizational applications pose significant challenges of their own. Based on interview and participant observation data, we identified five challenges: (1) competing blockchain standards, (2) adjusting to different shared governance models, (3) intellectual property concerns (4) industrial espionage risks, and (5) regulatory uncertainty. We also identified emerging practices stakeholders are using to address those challenges when considering enterprise blockchain applications.

Mantas Jurgelaitis, Vaidotas Drungilas, Lina Čeponienė, Rita Butkienė · 5 authors

Blockchain technology and smart contract development currently lacks clarity in its implementation. The complicated architecture of blockchain is an obstacle that developers face during design and implementation of blockchain-based systems. In this paper we propose a method based on Model Driven Architecture, which could be used for defining and specifying blockchain structure and behavior. Such approach could be used as one of the ways for describing blockchain-based systems in a more general language in order to facilitate blockchain development process.

Hossein Hassani, Xu Huang, Emmanuel Sirimal Silva

No abstract is available for this record.

Arno Pfefferling, Christoph Kollwitz, Barbara Dinter

Digitalization drives constantly changes in organizations, whereby disruptive technologies can act as a catalyzer for such adaptions. Specifically, blockchain as an emerging technology establishes data-driven businesses by offering an open and decentralized ecosystem for any kind of transactions. Among others, such blockchain ecosystems can be used by companies for crowd-sourcing to achieve competitive advantages through new access to external knowledge. In addition, new possibilities to integrate business intelligence into public distributed ledgers arise, allowing the investigation and analyses of information created by crowd communities. In our paper, we discuss the foundations of blockchain-based crowd-sourcing by applying the theories of absorptive capacity and knowledge of the firm. We used design science research and derived four general design requirements based on selected literature. The proposed findings serve as a starting point for designing blockchain-based crowd-sourcing applications and resulting business intelligence possibilities, which represent novel ways to transform information into winning business decisions.

Hossein Hassani, Xu Huang, Emmanuel Sirimal Silva

No abstract is available for this record.

Engy Mahmoud Helmy Awad

No abstract is available for this record.

Stefan Seebacher, Ronny Schüritz

In expectation of an impending technological disruption, organizations get familiar with blockchain technology and scout for first value delivering implementations. So far, the promises and expectations fall short and large scale blockchain applications and ecosystems, apart from cryptocurrencies, are still missing. One aspect that contributes to this shortcoming is that blockchain projects face a multitude of implementation barriers, which have not yet been systematically identified. Blockchain can serve as a technological fabric, connecting different parties in a business network and facilitating information exchange. Such systems show clear resemblance to interorganizational information systems (IOIS). Therefore, the questions can be raised to what extent blockchain systems face the same implementation barriers as compared to any other IOIS implementation and, thus, if IOIS literature can be a valuable source for overcoming these barriers? To investigate these questions, we conduct a series of interviews with experts that have implemented blockchain prototypes in an interorganizational context and compare the derived barriers with the results of a structured literature review on challenges of IOIS implementations. We identify technical, organizational and network challenges that emerge along the blockchain implementation process and illustrate how the development of blockchain-based systems extends the existing knowledge on IOIS.

Frank Duchmann, Agnes Koschmider

No abstract is available for this record.

Arnab Banerjee

No abstract is available for this record.

Imad Bani Hani, Olgerta Tona, Sven Carlsson

The main premise of self-service business analytics (SSBA) is to make business users autonomous during data analytics. Driven by this potential, organizations are spending resources to design SSBA environmet to empower business employees and decentralize the analytics capabilities. Yet, little is known about how SSBA is facilitating business employees’ independence, and moreover, the value that is co-created. Based on empirical data from a major Norwegian online marketplace and drawing on service-dominant logic as an analytical framework, we identify three main modes of data engagement in SSBA: no dependency, high dependency, and low dependency. Furthermore, we identify the required business users’ resources in the analytical processes in each mode. We discuss the organizational implications of these findings.

Antonio Clim, Răzvan Daniel Zota, Radu Constantinescu

The most important aspect of handling data in the healthcare industry is its seamless and secure transition across intercepting nodes. Effective elimination of third-party entities and ensuring direct links between patient and healthcare provider can result in the transmission of error-free, unduplicated data. The use of blockchains can open up opportunities to counter the current requirements due to their ability to safely share information across nodes and networks from the access point and secure the safety of transactions. Currently, sharing medical data is observed to be slow, incomplete, insecure, and provider-centric. These shortcomings prevent data interoperability and are a consequence of lack of foundational, structural, and semantic inoperability. By applying the blockchain technologies with appropriate markers, the safety of patient data can be ensured during data transmission. This paper evaluates the potential use of blockchain technology in association with mobile-based healthcare applications.