Blockchain Papers

Ivan Katanić

2009. pojavljuje se prva uspješna implementacija elektroničke gotovine koja se ne temelji na centralnom autoritetu već na decentraliziranoj peer-to-peer mreži i kripto- grafskom lancu blokova. Nekoliko godina kasnije pojavljuje se platforma koja omo- gućava izradu decentraliziranih aplikacija povrh lanca blokova. Takvim aplikacijama mogu se implementirati i pametni ugovori, koji se jednom definiraju programskim ko- dom i objave, a zatim se sami izvršavaju, nepromjenjivi i neuništivi. Pomoću platforme i pametnih ugovora implementirali smo decentraliziranu platformu za nagradno rješa- vanje problema koja se ne oslanja na povjerenje u treće strane. Rješili smo i problem tajne objave rješenja usprkos javnosti podataka na lancu blokova, što može biti od koristi u mnogim drugim aplikacijama.

Adam Watson, Regis Rukundakuvaga, Khachatur Matevosyan

Automated Case Management Systems are still at an early stage of adoption in many developing countries. These are frequently standalone systems implemented with donor financing, and they often fail due to capacity constraints or as a consequence of short-term, project-based funding. But there are examples of developing countries overcoming these pitfalls and producing innovative solutions that surpass government practices in more developed countries. The Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS), developed and implemented by the Ministry of Justice of Rwanda from 2015-2016, is one such innovation. This system has progressed rapidly in its level of adoption and integration between law enforcement, the prosecutor’s office, courts, and corrections. This paper will discuss the key system functionalities and the implementation methodology, including both the benefits and shortcomings of this approach, with the goal of applying lessons learned in future installations. Foremost among the successes of this project were the integrated Sector Wide Approach, the thorough business process re-engineering, and strong ownership by the Rwandan Justice Sector staff. Particularly instructive will be the analysis of the integrated approach, covering five institutions with a single system in less than two years. However, the particular success in this case may not be replicable for governments with a more decentralized approach.

Massimo Bartoletti, Andrea Bracciali, Stefano Lande, Livio Pompianu

No abstract is available for this record.

Jacques Bertrand, Alexandre Pelletier

This article seeks to understand why monks played a central role in anti-Muslim violence in transitional Myanmar (2013–2014). We argue that scapegoating is one of many strategies used by monks to gain visibility, to strengthen their autonomous networks, and to increase their social credentials. By analyzing two episodes of monks' participation in religious violence (1930s and 2013–2014), we identify two factors that make scapegoating strategies more likely: (a) decentralized religions foster a multiplicity of organizations and provide incentives for leaders to be entrepreneurial and compete for followers; while (b) the rapid pluralization of the public sphere explains the timing, because it intensifies competition among religious leaders and between religious and secular leaders for social ascendency and power.

Nadine Ostern

No abstract is available for this record.

Kelvin Fatt Kin Low, Ernie G. S. Teo

The hype over bitcoins has been compared to the tulip mania in 17th century Netherlands and it has spawned a host of similar cryptocurrencies. As it has gained in popularity, the law has approached the subject warily, mostly from a regulatory perspective. However, no comprehensive consideration of the fundamental nature of a bitcoin owner’s private law relation to his/her/its bitcoins has been properly conducted. Whether or not bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies achieve mainstream adoption or remain of interest to only a niche audience, this question will inevitably have to be properly addressed. This paper proposes to consider if bitcoins might be recognised as the subject of property rights by Commonwealth courts and if so, what such rights ought to entail. It will begin with a careful consideration of the controversial question of the scope of the law of property before considering bitcoin’s place within the law of property (if any). What is the meaning of property in the common law? What fundamental differences exist between tangible and intangible property? If ownership of bitcoins is worthy of protection, what shape should it take? It suggests that the common law adopts a more expansive view of property than civilian systems and that it is thus able to accommodate bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies within its law of property. However, owing to their unusual nature, legal rights to them must take on a unique and unorthodox form. The code underlying Bitcoin also poses particular challenges to the law which this paper also addresses.

Matthew B. Hoy

The blockchain is a relatively new technology used to verify and store transaction records for online cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The system is redundant and distributed, making it difficult for transactions to be rescinded, duplicated, or faked. Beyond online currencies, the blockchain has potential uses in health care, education, and many other fields. This column will briefly describe what the blockchain is and how it is being used, potential future uses that may be of interest to librarians and medical practitioners, and some of the problems with the system.

Christoph Van der Elst, Anne Lafarre

No abstract is available for this record.

Pedro Moreno-Sánchez, Tim Ruffing, Aniket Kate

Abstract The I owe you (IOU) credit network Ripple is one of the most prominent alternatives in the burgeoning field of decentralized payment systems. Ripple’s path-based transactions set it apart from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Its pseudonymous nature, while still maintaining some regulatory capabilities, has motivated several financial institutions across the world to use Ripple for processing their daily transactions. Nevertheless, with its public ledger, a credit network such as Ripple is no different from a cryptocurrency in terms of weak privacy; recent demonstrative deanonymization attacks raise important concerns regarding the privacy of the Ripple users and their transactions. However, unlike for cryptocurrencies, there is no known privacy solution compatible with the existing credit networks such as Ripple. In this paper, we present PathShuffle, the first path mixing protocol for credit networks. PathShuffle is fully compatible with the current credit networks. As its essential building block, we propose PathJoin, a novel protocol to perform atomic transactions in credit networks. Using PathJoin and the P2P mixing protocol DiceMix, PathShuffle is a decentralized solution for anonymizing path-based transactions. We demonstrate the practicality of PathShuffle by performing path mixing in Ripple.

Kaylash Chaudhary

No abstract is available for this record.

Jonathan Cottrell

This is a rich, ambitious, and original study. Graciela De Pierris aims to give a new account of the relationship between Hume's skepticism and his naturalism. Notoriously, Hume gives skeptical arguments targeting our best methods of inquiry, such as inductive reasoning. So, how can he—in good intellectual conscience—endorse and rely on those very methods, in his own naturalistic investigation of the human mind (his “science of man”)? Some scholars answer that, despite his skeptical arguments, Hume does not ultimately conclude that we lack justification for beliefs formed through induction or the other methods of inquiry that he employs as a scientist of man. Others answer that his skeptical arguments do not target his own preferred conception of these methods.De Pierris rejects both of these approaches. In her view, Hume argues for a form of skepticism that is “radical,” in that it targets his own preferred conception of our best methods of inquiry—the one that he endorses, as a practicing scientist of man. However, his “radical skepticism” and his “naturalism” can coexist because they constitute two different but mutually complementary “standpoints,” which must both “remain permanently available to all reflective thinkers” (22). In developing and defending this view, De Pierris offers an original interpretation not just of Hume but of early modern philosophy more broadly. She claims that Hume's views have been distorted by scholars who approach them from contemporary perspectives, such as cognitive psychology or naturalized epistemology. She therefore aims to understand Hume's skepticism and naturalism by placing them in the philosophical context of his own time. In doing so, she gives a novel account of the major intellectual fault lines in early modern philosophy.De Pierris divides early modern philosophers along two cross-cutting lines. First, she divides them based on their theories of mental content and “ultimate evidence.” Descartes and Locke accept what she calls “the presentational-phenomenological model of apprehension and ultimate evidence” (hereafter, PPM). According to PPM, we can be acquainted with an “ostensively given” particular content (for example, a particular sensory image) prior to grasping any general contents, such as formal rules of inference, and “ultimate evidence” derives from such acquaintance with particular contents. In opposition to these philosophers, Leibniz accepts the “logical-conceptual model,” according to which we must grasp a system of universal logical rules prior to any particular content, and “ultimate evidence” derives from this system of rules. (De Pierris's conception of “ultimate evidence” seems to have several components, including at least the following: ultimate evidence is the best possible evidence available to us; it confers certainty; and all other evidence derives from and depends on it.)With respect to this first division, De Pierris argues that Hume's theory of impressions and ideas is a version of PPM and is therefore a normative epistemological theory, not just a descriptive psychological one. Hume's version of PPM is the basis for his skeptical arguments, including his arguments for radical skepticism. Here, De Pierris assigns particular importance to Hume's distinction between natural and philosophical relations. As she interprets it, this distinction concerns two different kinds of mental activity: (i) unreflective, associative processes (natural relations) and (ii) reflective assessments of the evidence that particular contents are, or are not, related in certain ways (philosophical relations). Her view that Hume's notion of a philosophical relation is normative (insofar as it concerns the assessment of evidence) is original and informs her interpretation of his argument about induction in Treatise 1.3.6, discussed below.De Pierris's second division is between “mechanical philosophers,” who accept the “demonstrative ideal” of natural knowledge, and philosophers who accept Newton's rival, inductivist ideal. According to the former group, causal relationships are akin to geometric ones—an effect is a “necessary, quasi-geometric consequence” of its cause (164)—and science aims at a priori, demonstrative knowledge of them. Descartes and Leibniz accept this view. And, although Locke denies that we can attain a priori, demonstrative knowledge of nature, he accepts this as an unattainable ideal; this explains why he denies that we can have a genuine science of nature. In contrast, Newton rejects the demonstrative conception of natural knowledge, even as an unattainable ideal. According to his rival methodology, science ideally aims not at demonstration but at inductive “proof”—that is, inductive inference from a perfectly constant conjunction that we have experienced. De Pierris argues that Hume belongs in the Newtonian camp, based on several considerations, including a comparison of Hume's “rules by which to judge of causes and effects” with Newton's “rules for the study of natural philosophy” in the Principia. She sees this as “an important new argument against the skeptical realist interpretation of Hume” (187n258), which, she claims, wrongly assimilates his position to Locke's (14). However, she nowhere considers a striking passage from Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, where Philo suggests that “the whole economy of the universe” may be conducted by a necessity like that of arithmetic, “though no human algebra can furnish a key, which solves the difficulty” (Hume 1947, 191). This passage presents a view like that which De Pierris attributes to Locke, and skeptical realist interpreters have made much of it, so it is disappointing that she neglects to discuss it.De Pierris interprets Hume's skepticism and naturalism in the context of these divisions among early modern philosophers. As she understands it, his naturalism consists chiefly in his endorsement of Newtonian inductive methodology. It is therefore a normative position, not just a descriptive one. Hume's naturalism also involves a distinctive conception of causal necessity, as a projection of “the normative force of our best inductive methods . . . onto nature itself” (176). If I understand this correctly, it means that, for Hume, our conception of causal necessity just is the conception of conformity to those regularities that our best inductive methods tell us that we should believe to obtain. This “epistemological notion” of causal necessity differs from both the mechanical philosophers’ quasi-geometrical notion and the regularity theory of causation that some scholars attribute to Hume, which are both “ontological” (176).Hume's skepticism, on the other hand, derives from his version of PPM. De Pierris finds two main lines of skeptical argument in Hume. One concerns mathematical knowledge; the other concerns natural knowledge and, relatedly, the nature of causation. Each argument has two stages. At the first stage, Hume targets his philosophical opponents’ conception of the knowledge in question. Numerous scholars think that his skeptical arguments end here. But De Pierris holds that these arguments have a second stage, at which Hume targets his own preferred conception of the knowledge in question—the conception that he endorses, as part of his naturalism. This is where his skepticism becomes “radical.”De Pierris's “skeptical inductivist” interpretation of Treatise 1.3.6 (and the corresponding passages of the “Abstract” and first Enquiry) is particularly interesting and original. She claims that this section gives a skeptical argument targeting “causation as a philosophical relation” (240)—that is, targeting the best evidence we can have, when reflectively comparing two phenomenologically given particulars, that they are causally related. For Hume, Newton's inductive methodology specifies what such evidence consists in: experience of a perfectly constant conjunction, which serves as the basis for an inductive “proof,” rather than a mere probability. According to Newton, an inductive proof relies, implicitly or explicitly, on the principle that nature is “ever consonant with itself” (as he puts it in the Principia). In Treatise 1.3.6, Hume argues that we have no good reason to accept this Newtonian uniformity principle. This is a normative, epistemological form of skepticism that targets Hume's own preferred conception of natural knowledge. Hence, De Pierris's interpretation differs from the “cognitive mechanisms” approach of Don Garrett and David Owen, who claim that Treatise 1.3.6 argues for a purely descriptive, nonnormative conclusion about the psychological processes that cause our beliefs about the unobserved. De Pierris's interpretation also differs from Peter Millican's (2002) skeptical interpretation of the corresponding section of the first Enquiry, according to which Hume's argument targets a conception of inductive reasoning that he himself does not endorse.For De Pierris, then, Hume gives skeptical arguments targeting what are, by his own lights, our best methods of scientific inquiry. So how can he continue to endorse and rely on those methods, as a practicing scientist of man? De Pierris claims that Hume's philosophy involves two different “standpoints,” each with its own normative standards. From the “standpoint of common life and science,” Hume endorses and employs Newtonian inductive methodology. From the “radical skeptical standpoint,” he argues that we lack justification for the uniformity principle that underwrites this very methodology. De Pierris claims that these two standpoints cannot be integrated but are nonetheless mutually complementary because those who occupy the standpoint of common life and science (including Newton and his followers) are frequently tempted into religion and superstition, and the radical skeptical standpoint serves to counter this temptation. She contrasts this interpretation with what she calls “the vehicle view,” on which Hume's skeptical arguments serve merely as a preliminary stage, clearing the way for his positive, naturalistic science of man. On her interpretation, by contrast, the radical skeptical standpoint must remain permanently available to the scientist of man, to serve as a check on our superstitious inclinations. She also contrasts her interpretation with Garrett's, which appeals to Hume's “Title Principle,” that “where reason is lively, and mixes itself with some propensity, it ought to be assented to. Where it does not, it can never have any title to operate on us” (Treatise 1.4.7.11/270).1 According to Garrett, this principle gives Hume epistemic permission to pursue his science of man, and to retain a significant degree of belief in its findings, despite the skeptical considerations that he raises. De Pierris gives some interesting objections to this proposal and claims that Hume recommends philosophy not because we have a “propensity” to it but because it is a safer guide than superstition.I am not convinced that De Pierris succeeds in removing the tension between Hume's skepticism and naturalism. For two reasons, it seems to me that the Humean scientist of man, as characterized by De Pierris, is irrational by his or her own lights.First, I can find only one argument in this book that supports Newtonian methodology. It proceeds by using Hume's version of PPM to eliminate the mechanical philosophers’ alternative methodology: Hume argues that a cause and its effect are always phenomenologically separable, and therefore lack an internal necessary connection that would allow us to demonstrate the existence of one from that of the other—contrary to the mechanical philosophers’ “demonstrative ideal” of natural knowledge. However, Hume's version of PPM is also the basis for his radical skeptical argument against Newtonian methodology (225, 237n297). So, someone who accepts Hume's version of PPM is rationally committed to rejecting both the mechanical philosophy and the Newtonian alternative. And so, it is irrational to accept Newtonian methodology on the strength of Hume's PPM-based argument against the mechanical philosophy.Second, according to De Pierris, Treatise 1.4.1 argues that Hume's own “rules by which to judge of causes and effects” epistemically require us to reduce our degree of belief in the conclusion of any piece of reasoning to zero. The Humean scientist of man endorses these rules. So, if he or she continues to believe any conclusions of reasoning, then this is irrational, by his or her own lights.It therefore seems to me that De Pierris's Hume cannot, in good intellectual conscience, pursue his science of man. In contrast, Garrett's Hume (who accepts the Title Principle) is epistemically permitted do so.There is much of value in this book beyond its main line of argument about Hume's skepticism and naturalism and their intellectual context. It contains interesting and original discussions of early modern theories of mathematical knowledge, Locke's relation to Newton, and Hume's view of space and geometry. Concerning this last view, De Pierris rejects, and develops an alternative to, two influential interpretations: the “discrete space” interpretation due to Donald Baxter, James Franklin, and others; and the “actual parts” interpretation due to Thomas Holden. De Pierris proposes that, contrary to the “discrete space” interpretation, Hume does not aim to replace Euclidean geometry with an alternative, finitist geometry. Instead, he accepts Euclidean geometry as a demonstrative science, albeit an inexact one that cannot achieve the same degree of certainty as algebra and arithmetic. And contrary to the “actual parts” interpretation, a given spatially extended whole is not composed of a determinate number of indivisible minima whose existence is metaphysically prior to that of the whole. Instead, extended wholes have a kind of priority over the minima that compose them: minima are defined in terms of processes of diminution or division performed upon such wholes.Ideas, Evidence, and Method is essential reading not just for Hume scholars, but for all philosophers interested in early modern epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of science.I thank Andrew Chignell and Don Garrett for helpful feedback on earlier drafts.

Timothy Revell

No abstract is available for this record.

Nicola Fabiano

The IoT is innovative and important phenomenon prone to several services and applications, but it should consider the legal issues related to the data protection law. However, should be taken into account the legal issues related to the data protection and privacy law. Technological solutions are welcome, but it is necessary, before developing applications, to consider the risks which we cannot dismiss. Personal data is a value. In this context it is fundamental to evaluate the legal issues and prevent them, adopting in each project the privacy by design approach. Regarding the privacy and security risks, there are some issues with potential consequences for data and liability. The IoT system allows us to transfer data on the Internet, including personal data. In this context, it is important to consider the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will be in force on 25 May 2018. The GDPR introduces Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), data breach notification and very hard administrative fines in respect of infringements of the Regulation. A correct law analysis allows evaluating risks preventing the wrong use of personal data. The contribution describes the main legal issues related to privacy and data protection focusing on the Privacy by Design approach, according to the GDPR. Furthermore, I resolutely believe that is possible to develop a global privacy standard framework that organisations can use for their data protection activities.

Yang Zhen, Miao Yue, Zhongyu Chen, Changbing Tang · 5 authors

The Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm guarantees the safety and dependability of Blockchain systems. Miners can achieve a consensus through the PoW algorithm during the mining process, that is mutual attacking. However, when the miners attack each other, all miners earn less. In this paper, we established a model that mining between two miners is an iterative game, and proposed a subclass of ZD strategy (a pining strategy) to alleviate miners' dilemma, a miner can control another miner's payoff and increase the social revenue through a pinning strategy. Numerical simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. In summary, this work leads to the better understanding and analysis of the PoW algorithm via the game theory, rendering it possible to design a more rational consensus algorithm in the future.

Han Jiang, Qiuliang Xu, Changyuan Liu, Zhe Liu

In this paper, we propose a CPA-Secure encryption scheme with equality test. Unlike other public key solutions, in our scheme, only the data owner can encrypt the message and get the comparable ciphertext, and only the tester with token who can perform the equality test. Our encryption scheme is based on multiplicative homomorphism of ElGamal Encryption and Non Interactive Zero Knowledge proof of Discrete Log. We proof that the proposed scheme is OW-CPA security under the attack of the adversary who has equality test token, and IND-CPA security under the attack of adversary who can not test the equality. The proposed scheme only suppose to compare two ciphertexts encrypted by same user, though it is less of flexibility, it is efficient and more suitable for data outsourcing scenario.

Dan Geng

The financial services sector has seen dramatic technological innovations in the last several years associated with the “fintech revolution.” Major changes have taken place in channel management, credit card rewards marketing, cryptocurrency, and wealth management, and have influenced consumers’ banking behavior indifferent ways. As a consequence, there has been a growing demand for banks to rethink their business models and operations to adapt to changing consumer behavior and counter the competitive pressure from other banks and non-bank players. In this dissertation, I study consumer behavior related to different aspects of financial innovation by addressing research questions that are motivated by theory-focused research literature and managerial considerations in business practice. I seek to understand how technology is reshaping financial services, and how financial institutions can leverage big data analytics to create deep insights about consumer behavior for decision support.

Rawia Bdiwi, Cyril de Runz, Sami Faïz, Arab Ali Chérif

Ubiquitous learning environments have an increasing trend considering the huge number of connected smart devices dedicated to educational services. Ubiquitous learning (U-learning) provides to students the possibility to learn at anyplace and anytime within the collaborative environment using interactive multimedia system that enables effective communication among teacher and learners. The architecture of ubiquitous learning environment (ULE) still suffers from the problems of vulnerability. Blockchain (BC) technology recently explored to provide much more privacy and security using essentially peer-to-peer (P2P) networks has a significant role in the development of decentralized topologies. This paper expounds a novel BC-based architecture for ULE that preserves the benefits of security and privacy. The architecture offers new opportunities to design secured collaborative learning system. It provides data exchange with BC using trust methods within the decentralized topology. The evaluation of this implemented system demonstrates its efficiency while it delivers security and privacy for ULE.

Nicolas Buchmann, Christian Rathgeb, Harald Baier, Christoph Busch · 5 authors

In contrast to electronic travel documents (e.g. ePassports), the standardisation of breeder documents (e.g. birth certificates), regarding harmonisation of content and contained security features is in statu nascendi. Due to the fact that breeder documents can be used as an evidence of identity and enable the application for electronic travel documents, they pose the weakest link in the identity life cycle and represent a security gap for identity management. In this work, we present a cost efficient way to enhance the long-term security of breeder documents by utilizing blockchain technology. A conceptual architecture to enhance breeder document long-term security and an introduction of the concept's constituting system components is presented. Our investigations provide evidence that the Bitcoin blockchain is most suitable for breeder document long-term security.

Peng Xie, Jiming Wu, Chongqi Wu

In  the  context  of  Bitcoin,  we  examine  the  relationship  between  Bitcoin  price movement  and  social  data  sentiment.  Baseline  findings  reveal  that  social  media provides value-relevant information in both short-term and long-term predictions. By  comparing the  predictive  power  across  different  information  channels  and different user groups, we found that (1) while speculative information predicts both long-term and short-term returns effectively, fundamental-related information only predicts long-term returns, and that (2) prediction accuracy is higher for less active users than for active users on social media, especially in long-term prediction.

Thomas Bocek, Sina Rafati, Bruno Rodrigues, Burkhard Stiller

No abstract is available for this record.

Sara Aurorae

The Gülen Movement's growing power and influence, followed by its public criticism of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in 2010 and 2013, and finally the coup attempt in July 2016, has led to an unprecedented crackdown on the Gülen Movement in Turkey. The purge has ousted thousands of employees from major state and civil society institutions, including military, judiciary, and education institutions, as well as the mass media. The rise and fall of the Gülen Movement has been one of the defining issues in Turkish politics in the twenty-first century.The turmoil following the gradual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire during the late nineteenth century led to the sharp rise of Turkish nationalism. During this period, the Young Turks (Jöntürkler) attempted to define the “nation” and what it meant to be “Turkish.” Following international and domestic chaos that precipitated the fall of the Ottoman Empire during the Balkans Wars and the Great War, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established the Turkish Republic and transformed the remnants of the Ottoman Empire into a modern, secular nation-state. The state abolished the caliphate, controlled the appointments of imams, rescinded religious courts and schools, and created new laws that further limited the power of religion in Turkish public life. These political and cultural reforms were intended to transform civic culture by strengthening loyalty to the new Turkish Republic. Nevertheless, winning popular acceptance for this new secular nationalism was an uneven and complex process that was not fully embraced by all sectors of Turkish society.Accordingly, leading religious intellectuals such as Bediuzzaman Said Nursî sought to challenge the new nationalist ideology or Kemalism, which was influenced by the work of Ziya Gölkalp, who strongly suggested suppressing any connections to the former Ottoman regime. Nursî believed that reinforcing Islam would establish a balance with secularism in all areas of Turkish society, particularly in education and intercultural dialogue. When the Turkish political system moved from a one-party authoritarian regime to a multiparty system in the middle of the twentieth century, discussions of Islam that had long laid dormant began to emerge, and the scale of this divide between Kemalist secularists and religious Turks became clear. Beginning in the 1960s, these cultural and religious tensions during a period of economic turmoil gradually prompted civil violence and led the military to intervene in government affairs. It was only with the 1980 coup d'état, and the sweeping reforms that were initiated following the deaths of thousands, that the Turkish-Islam Synthesis (Türk-İslam Sentezi) was introduced. This was an attempt to establish a political balance between Kemalism and Sunni Islam (Hanafi). Political parties—like the Welfare Party (Refah Partisi) and the Virtue Party (Fazilet Partisi)—were shut down in 1998 and 2001, respectively, leading to a cycle of socio-political tension. It was in this atmosphere that the AKP emerged.The AKP's initial success was due to support from influential religious and social institutions, like the peculiar and autonomous Gülen Movement. Strengthened by this significant and influential alliance during the first decade of the twenty-first century—particularly with leading figures in the judiciary loyal to the Islamic movement's leader, Fethullah Gülen—tensions surfaced between the ruling AKP and Gülen. Namely, after Gülen criticized the government for its anti-Israel rhetoric following the May 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla crisis in Gaza and additionally for its use of excessive force during Gezi Park Protests in May 2013. The political alliance was ruptured when notable AKP figures were arrested or questioned for corruption, money laundering, and bribery charges, in what became one of the largest and most controversial legal cases in Turkey, leading Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to brand the Gülen Movement a “parallel structure” (Paralel Devlet Yapılanması) or a state-like organization without democratic legitimacy. It is important to distinguish between the enigmatic figure of Fethullah Gülen, who leads an ascetic lifestyle in the remote Pennsylvania countryside of the United States, and his persona as a contemplative Sufi cleric who vis-à-vis the movement holds identifiable wealth and influence in Turkey and across the globe. Turkey's political polarization and the AK Party's use of pro-government discourses has served as a platform to promote an authoritarian legitimacy, thus deepening the confusion.Caroline Tee's The Gülen Movement in Turkey: The Politics of Islam and Modernity is an essential introduction to the topic that addresses the Gülen Movement's intentions, networks, and its broad influence in Turkish society. The book begins with Fethullah Gülen and the influence of Islamic theologian Bediuzzaman Said Nursî—particularly, the effect his seminal work Risale-i Nur—on Gülen's own spiritual framework. Raised in Erzurum, which is located in socially and religiously conservative Eastern Anatolia, Gülen gained his traditional religious education at a Sufi tekke (lodge), which were the religious institutions of both the Naqshbandi and Qadiri Sufi Orders. He continued his formal education in Islamic jurisprudence and by the age of eighteen became a state-qualified Imam. Several years later, Gülen was posted to the center of Izmir as the director of the Qur'anic school in Kestanepazan Mosque. Although he desired to move to a more conservative environment, and away from the liberal atmosphere of the western provinces of Turkey, he remained in Izmir and developed his vision of spiritual reform with the intent of reinvigorating Islam and bringing it to a wider audience. He gained a small following both at the mosque and through regular meetings at coffee houses, creating the Hizmet or “service” movement during the rigid secular posture of the state in the 1960s.The movement began to grow when his vision for an altın nesil, or “golden generation,” was implemented through organized summer camps that aimed to educate the next generation of Turks in both Islam and the modern sciences. This illustrates the influence of Said Nursî, who also envisioned the revitalization of Turkish religious culture, which had been vastly transformed by modern secularism, calling for positive action (müspet hareket) from pious individuals to engage in all areas of the public sphere. Said Nursî emphasized the importance of education in both Islam and the sciences, directly influencing Gülen's pedagogy. Nursî's attempt to change the impression that religion is inimical to science. Eventually, the summer camps became after-school centers (dershane) that gradually began to expand into other cities across Turkey, despite the growing social and political tensions between leftists and right-wing factions during the 1970s.A complete overhaul of the constitution following the 1980 military coup d'état ushered in a period of economic liberalization led by Turgut Özal. And the new Turkish-Islam synthesis (Türk-İslam Sentezi) that emerged removed some of the restrictions on religious life in Turkey. Tee explains how the Gülenists began investing in business and media interests and taking advantage of new international opportunities, particularly in Central Asia, which provided the movement with fertile ground for geographic expansion.The second part of the book contains the core of Caroline Tee's research into Gülen Movement's membership and its approach to scientific education. Tee uses anthropological fieldwork to explain how Gülen's Islamic creationist movement teaches science within an Islamic framework. Tee describes her experiences with the Gülenist educational system, which is characterized by strong academic achievement. Gülenist schools are preferred by conservative religious families for their moral and religious commitment and secular curriculum. Nevertheless, Gülenist schools are not explicitly linked to Gülen and are not promoted as such; instead the connection to Gülen is a matter of local knowledge illustrating the decentralized and low-key nature of the Gülen Movement. Tee notes, “Both he and his followers prefer to speak of a loose connection of initiatives that are all ‘inspired’ by his teachings, but do not constitute a single coordinated entity” (57). Any organized efforts to coordinate initiatives are usually through local affiliations between several schools in a given region or city, while well known and prestigious schools established by Gülen followers, such as Yamanlar Koleji in Izmir and Fatih Okulu in Istanbul, have franchised a number of schools directly.One intriguing element of the Gülen network that Tee brings to light is the concept of “service” (hizmet) in Gülen-run institutions, such as assigning a chemistry teacher, Irem, “against her personal wishes,” to a particular school far away from her home in northwest Turkey (54). Referred to as fedakarlik or self-sacrifice, they consider themselves as educators rather than mere teachers, thus functioning as a representative or role model to guide or inspire the ethical and personal education of the students. Such dedication lacks financial reward but is motivated by a spiritual eschatology and the belief in sevap (good deeds) that will be rewarded on Judgement Day. This clearly suggests a formal membership structure within the movement that transcends mere professional networking. Tee conducted her fieldwork in two Gülen schools in order to ascertain how science is taught within a secular curriculum yet framed by Islamic theology and the philosophy of Said-Nursî. Tee also exposes the considerable influence of religious ontology in science classes at the Gülen schools. For example, an educator in a middle-school science class, who was teaching students about a skin disease, claimed that the disease was given to a person as part of a divine test (sinav) and that the students should give thanks for not having such a skin disease. While remaining within the required boundaries of scientific education, the staff attached an Islamic ethic to the content, educating students through religious inferences in an attempt to establish coherence between science and religion.Tee discusses Islamic creationism as an essential belief within the Gülenist framework (Chapter 4), the Gülen Movement's argument being that science has become secularized, particularly through the theory of biological evolution that has created an unnecessary rift between science and an Islamic education. Gülen has written about evolution in his book Yaratılış Gerçeği ve Evrim, among other sources, and not only rejects the theory of evolution but views it as an attempt to justify atheistic materialism. Tee shows that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk advocated for evolutionary biology and the secular policies of his time, enforcing the addition of evolution in the school curriculum at the founding of the Turkish Republic. Said Nursî opposed this change, which radically changed the fabric of Turkish society through what Nursî saw as the coercive disassociation with Islamic values. Accordingly, Gülen opposes the inclusion of evolutionary theory in the curriculum, and an antievolutionary agenda has allowed the movement to reconcile modern science with Islam and harmonize what were once two mutually exclusive categories.Overall, the Gülenist target is to combat atheism through education. The Gülenists' belief that failing to adapt to the social requirements of modernity by refusing a scientific education favors Darwinian adherents; thus Gülenists battle atheism by teaching science through an Islamic lens. Tee explains that from the outset the movement has prioritized spreading Islamic values through local recruiting and international networking, particularly engaging students in Gülenist schools in foreign countries. The schools provide scholarships, educational and employment opportunities, and other opportunities for self-improvement. This emphasis on competitive achievement is one reason why Gülenist schools emphasize participating in the Science Olympiads, a prestigious international competition that provides students with the opportunity to compete for financial rewards, as well as improving their chances of getting admitted to prestigious universities. These competitions also play a vital role in changing the status quo, by allowing “Islamic actors to engage successfully with a critical aspect of modernity” (77). Higher education institutions, such as Irfan University—which is economically supported by a group of investors sympathetic to the movement, hosting a number of high-achieving students and staffed by academics with strong credentials and research excellence. Higher education offers the movement a way to increase its global influence.The exact number of Gülen-run educational institutions remains unknown as they do not “publically affiliate with one another” (55) nor do they identify with Gülen or even share a common name or logo as institutions often do. Tee tackles—albeit briefly—some important questions that lie at the heart of the movement's ambiguous status. For example, is there an Islamist agenda at the core of its endeavors? Skeptics label the movement a cemaat (religious community), implying its interests do not lie solely in the principle of positive action in civil society, which is what the movement emphasizes. These concerns have been exacerbated by Gülen's public sermons reminding his followers to be responsive to the dangers of materialism. However, the movement's economic interests allow it to continue to project its influence and demonstrate the strength of Islam by building international institutions of higher education. In a similar vein, staff members working at Gülen-run institutions straddle an ambiguous personal and professional line, where spiritual goals are integrated into their curricula. While this educational homogeneity strengthens the quality of teaching and increases overall academic achievement, its lack of clarity has led to several legal cases against Gülenist schools in the United States, for mismanagement of funds and failing to clearly outline their affiliation with the Gülen Movement. Other contradictions include Gülen's statements that he supports secularism and seeks only to change the nature of Turkish secularism, which actively opposes Islam. Yet in other statements, either directly or indirectly, Gülen encourages the complete collapse of Turkish secularism and its replacement with an Islamic state.Caroline Tee focuses much of her work on the structure of the organization and its ambiguous position in Turkish political, judicial, and civil society. She argues that while there is no official criteria for joining the movement, it consists of a multitiered level of commitment that includes not only the core followers, such as teachers at Gülen-led schools, but also those on the periphery of the movement, including sympathizers (onaylayanlar) and consumers. Consumers are those who use the movement's products and services, whether consciously or unconsciously, and play a vital role in strengthening the success of the movement. Tee's analysis slightly differs from Joshua Hendrick, author of Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World (NYU Press, 2013), who argues that the movement consists of four—rather than three—groups of affiliates that engage with the movement. Hendrick divides the core group of Gülenists into two: the “aristocracy” who are surrounded by “friends.” The third part of Tee's book, “The Wider Context” (Chapters 6–8), provides an overview of the Gülen Movement's place in Turkish politics, vis-à-vis their impaired relationship with the AK Party, as well as its global status, particularly with respect to the United States.The Gülen Movement's intercultural dialogue initiative through The Journalists and Writers Foundation (Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakfi), where Gülen himself serves as honorary chairman, promotes dialogue between Muslims and other religions and cultures. The Gülen Movement's emphasis on intercultural dialogue stems from Said Nursî, who also promoted interfaith communication. The movement attempts to find common ground between the major religions of the “People of the Book” (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) as a strategy for peaceful engagement and effective networking, promoting Islam as well as Turkey and the movement as a whole. Since 1999, Gülen has lived in Pennsylvania and is often referred to by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Pennsylvania'daki adam (the man from Pennsylvania). Gülen's move to the United States has been subject to allegations that he has a relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Indeed, it is interesting to note that a former CIA agent and senior staff member at the National Intelligence Council supported Gülen's for a Nevertheless, the move to the United States established the global of the movement and the that The movement has a in membership with and Turkish despite its It is not what led to Gülen's to to the United States, but his there has allowed the movement to on an international most of the the movement has or religiously instead engaging in that and which allowed the Gülen Movement and AKP to to the movement has not embraced political despite the that loyal Gülenists were the leading figures in the against senior AKP The led Erdoğan to on the movement, or loyal Gülenist and the movement was a to by to the Tee attempts to whether the Gülen Movement is an or more public with a of it is that the Gülenists' was to Erdoğan and a change in the Turkish the of the AKP had to Gülen from the United States to to the Gülen Movement as a organization or after Tee's book was that her research to explain the movement as an Islamic group of the of science and as part of her yet attempts to the political between the a approach in the of political Islam. The AKP and the Gülen movement were by their common Islamic in the school of Sunni Islam and the of the power of the military The collapse of the Welfare Party (Refah Partisi) in 1998 led by and the Virtue Party (Fazilet Partisi) in led to the of the AKP which the belief that Islamic would as long as a strong military continued to play a role in Turkish The AKP has to the given to the military through the and which the military as a that was intent on the These were only with support from senior and staff loyal to Gülen. figures were arrested and given life all of have been the rift began in late 2013, Gülen has any in the Nevertheless, Tee it that Gülen is of contradictions and and even his of an and nature as to his acceptance of intercultural a of the Gülen which other Islamic a strong emphasis on science education, Caroline Tee's book provides an of the into the political or social of the which be in other sources, explains the and of the about the sweeping against Gülen schools and the including and the public against the movement. She also provides a of the movement's schools by engaging with students and teachers at within these institutions in several cities Turkey. Tee's fieldwork is a vital to the on the Gülen it light on some of the of the movement and its global She also exposes some of the movement's such as the to public order and as part of even there are no formal or any clearly for membership However, positive with the of Islam into modern society, is a part of the Gülenist the of whether followers actively this agenda would have been a addition to Tee's This is what Joshua Hendrick has is the movement's which is due to the political and social in Indeed, as Tee Gülen Movement as an but one which has to significant power and The use of social as a framework to the and structure of the movement is a approach that to of the movement's social influence, which has become the for its success and

Jonathan Ehrenfeld

Over the last two decades, key aspects of the financial industry have been automated to a substantial degree. While most progress in automation has come from traditional technologies, recent advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence and robotics are likely to accelerate the pace. In such a context, Distributed Ledger Technologies, Robo-Advisors and cognitive tools are creating a foundation for solving major problems faced by the industry. This paper provides an overview of the capabilities and limitations of these technologies and the challenges that await market participants who want to embrace and implement them. It draws attention to the importance of collaboration, governance, standards and market practice harmonisation in order to successfully deploy these technologies in a multi-party, globalised network environment.

Juan Pablo Urdánigo Zambrano, Ángel Joel Yépez Rosado, Norma María Guerrero Chuez

En el estudio se detallaron aspectos relevantes para el rediseno de la carrera Ingenieria Ambiental, resultado del proyecto de Rediseno en la Universidad Tecnica Estatal de Quevedo, Ecuador. La demanda ocupacional se encuentra afin con el ejercicio real y posible de la profesion. En consecuencia, fue fundamental determinar la demanda ocupacional de ingenieros ambientales a nivel regional y local, considerando el Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir, Codigo Organico de Organizacion Territorial, Autonomia y Descentralizacion, Agenda de Desarrollo Zonal 5, Planes de Desarrollo y Ordenamiento Territorial Provinciales y Municipales, actores y sectores vinculados a la produccion. Esto permitio justificar la formacion de nuevos profesionales de la carrera de Ingenieria Ambiental, considerando los requerimientos establecidos en el Reglamento de Regimen Academico Ecuatoriano. De esta manera, se pudo evidenciar la relacion entre los campos de actuacion de los futuros ingenieros ambientales y las necesidades locales, nacionales y globales relativas a la problematica ambiental que enfrentan los asentamientos humanos, a fin de promover el desarrollo de la sociedad en armonia con la naturaleza. El principal demandante de mano de obra calificada en temas ambientales fueron las empresas privadas, seguido por los Gobiernos Autonomos Descentralizados Municipales, Provinciales, Parroquiales. En base al analisis de las necesidades se proyecto la necesidad de formar un total de 2565 ingenieros ambientales. PALABRAS CLAVE: Diseno curricular; Gobiernos Autonomos Descentralizados; sector privado; Educacion Superior. THE REDESIGN OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CAREER. OCCUPATIONAL DEMAND BY PUBLIC POLICIES AND TRENDS OF ACTORS AND SECTORS LINKED TO PRODUCTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREA 5 COAST-CENTER, ECUADOR ABSTRACT The study detailed aspects relevant to the redesign of the Environmental Engineering career, a result of the Redesign project at Quevedo State Technical University, Ecuador. The occupational demand is related to the actual and possible exercise of the profession. As a consequence, it was essential to determine the occupational demand of environmental engineers at the regional and local level, considering the National Plan for Good Living, Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization, Zonal Development Agenda 5, Provincial Development and Territorial Planning Plans and Municipalities, actors and sectors linked to production. This allowed to justify the formation of new professionals of the race of Environmental Engineering, considering the requirements established in the Regulation of Ecuadorian Academic Regime. In this way, the relationship between the fields of action of future environmental engineers and the local, national and global needs related to the environmental problems faced by human settlements could be evidenced in order to promote the development of society in harmony with nature. The main claimant of skilled labor in environmental issues was private companies, followed by the Decentralized Municipal, Provincial and Rural Autonomous Governments. Based on the needs analysis, the need to train a total of 2565 environmental engineers was projected. KEYWORDS: Curricular design; Decentralized Autonomous Governments; private sector; Higher Education.

Zakariae El-Abdelouarti Alouaret

In this thesis we are exploring the prediction of next day Bitcoin (BTC) price through the usage of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) . Our aim is, by using state-of-the-art techniques, to predict the price of BTC with higher accuracy than the previous works in the literature. This thesis uses up to 27 time series, spanning from 03/01/2009 to 28/04/2016, with a granularity of 1 data point per day.