After the invention of bitcoin in 2008, the blockchain technology that underlies it has been shown to have a variety of applications within financial services and in digital applications beyond. While internet based currencies are feasible and sustainable, the experience of bitcoin shows that regulatory requirements are still needed. However, before regulators and other stakeholders adapt their practices, they await the outcome of what amounts to a high stakes, broad innovation race.Our study focuses on innovation around applications of the core protocol and on how building a private and secure version of the blockchain can operate safe and secure networks. The innovation race is characterized by four features: high levels of investment, a standards race, an effort to control the directions of diffusion, and new rules of the game that will be applicable to generating business models. 1) Whereas RD Visa is developing a âsecure, scalable blockchain networkâ at a time when the payments industry is undergoing major transformation; IBM have connected blockchain to IoT and ran a âproof of conceptâ on their platform, Adept; In healthcare blockchain is regarded as a means to put patients in control of information while delivering a high level of trust. Similar applications are possible to voting and consultation systems within democratic organizations; Factom has reportedly partnered with the Honduras government on a program to record land ownership. Their goal is to reduce fraud and corruption associated with a government-controlled centralized registry.Our paper assesses such new business sectors where operations models can be altered by the use of blockchain and on identifying regulatory practices that might provide stimulus for this type of innovation.
Purpose â The aim of this article is to provide strategic insights of how multinational organizations lead IT-enabled change on a global scale. The article summarizes the findings from a three-year case study of the international telecom company Ericsson. This company managed to successfully transform their finance and accounting (F & A) unit from a highly decentralized structure into a so-called shared service center (SSC) structure and the whole change was enabled by enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Design/methodology/approach â The case study data consists of in-depth interviews, archival data, and observations collected during three years. Findings â The article provides rich description of how the transformation was executed together with three key strategic lessons. Originality/value â The article offers unique and novel insights of how strategist drives IT-enabled change on a global scale.
We have proved that zero-knowledge proofs technique using integer factorization problem has big-oh O(Ï1/4)for factoring integers algorithm given by Pollard's rho in comparison with Henry for discrete logarithm problem that is Ï+Ï/lgÏ. Also, we have positively presented covariance between our result and Henry which clearly implies the input variables used for both functions tend to show similar behavior.
Bitcoin mining presents a significant economic incentive for efficient hashing and broadcast of data, both parameters stemming from the Proofs of Work used to advance the network. This incentive has led to the development of Bitcoin specific application specific integrated circuits and centralized mining pools, undermining the decentralized motivations behind Bitcoin's design. In addition, the imminent block reward halving threatens the profitability of mining at any scale. Some work has been done in formal models for miner profitability, but existing models do not account for conditions such as the pricing of off-peak power and diverse investment strategies regarding sunken costs. There is also a lack of formal study of how the profit model changes as mining scales from the individual to the industrial level. Given the lack of analysis of these conditions, there are alternative models for profitable or net zero mining that operate at smaller, and therefore more desirable, scale.
Botnet phenomenon in smartphones is evolving with the proliferation in mobile phone technologies after leaving imperative impact on personal computers. It refers to the network of computers, laptops, mobile devices or tablets which is remotely controlled by the cybercriminals to initiate various distributed coordinated attacks including spam emails, ad-click fraud, Bitcoin mining, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), disseminating other malwares and much more. Likewise traditional PC based botnet, Mobile botnets have the same operational impact except the target audience is particular to smartphone users. Therefore, it is import to uncover this security issue prior to its widespread adaptation. We propose SMARTbot, a novel dynamic analysis framework augmented with machine learning techniques to automatically detect botnet binaries from malicious corpus. SMARTbot is a component based off-device behavioral analysis framework which can generate mobile botnet learning model by inducing Artificial Neural Networks' back-propagation method. Moreover, this framework can detect mobile botnet binaries with remarkable accuracy even in case of obfuscated program code. The results conclude that, a classifier model based on simple logistic regression outperform other machine learning classifier for botnet apps' detection, i.e 99.49% accuracy is achieved. Further, from manual inspection of botnet dataset we have extracted interesting trends in those applications. As an outcome of this research, a mobile botnet dataset is devised which will become the benchmark for future studies.
This Note will undertake to analyze bitcoin under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)âtwo important sources of commercial lawâto see whether any existing asset categories adequately protect bitcoinâs commercial viability. This Note will demonstrate that although commercial law dictates that bitcoin shouldânay mustâbe regulated as a currency in order to sustain its existence, the very definition of currency seems to preclude that from happening. Therefore, this Note will recommend that we experiment with a new type of asset that receives currency-like treatment, specifically designed for cryptocurrencies, under which bitcoin can be categorized in order to preserve its commercial feasibility and to give legal regulatory clarity.
Francois Belletti, Evan Sparks, Michael J. Franklin, Alexandre M. Bayen · 5 authors
Linear causal analysis is central to a wide range of important application spanning finance, the physical sciences, and engineering. Much of the existing literature in linear causal analysis operates in the time domain. Unfortunately, the direct application of time domain linear causal analysis to many real-world time series presents three critical challenges: irregular temporal sampling, long range dependencies, and scale. Moreover, real-world data is often collected at irregular time intervals across vast arrays of decentralized sensors and with long range dependencies which make naive time domain correlation estimators spurious. In this paper we present a frequency domain based estimation framework which naturally handles irregularly sampled data and long range dependencies while enabled memory and communication efficient distributed processing of time series data. By operating in the frequency domain we eliminate the need to interpolate and help mitigate the effects of long range dependencies. We implement and evaluate our new work-flow in the distributed setting using Apache Spark and demonstrate on both Monte Carlo simulations and high-frequency financial trading that we can accurately recover causal structure at scale.
What factors shape the distribution of funds and functions in Latin American federations? In this chapter, I empirically assess the capacity of the theoretical argument developed in Chapter 1 to account for changes in the distribution of funds and functions across cases and time in Latin America. The main hypothesis is that changes in the distribution of funds and functions in Latin American federations are more likely when either the president or subnational actors hold more political power and when the fiscal context in which they interact is more critical. I present statistical evidence to sustain some of the expectations in the argument and discuss some of its limitations. The immense majority of countries in Latin America, being federal or unitary, with relatively strong or weak subnational governments, have transferred funds and/or functions (or initiated some kind of decentralization policies1) during the last two decades. In political terms, this means that where subnational officials are usually appointed, many Latin American countries are electing intermediate governments, and the vast majority of them (in fact, all South American countries) have now elected local authorities.2 In fiscal terms, new resources have been transferred to lower levels of government across the region (Falleti, 2000, 1; 2005, 327; Rodden, 2006, 25-26; World Bank, 1998, 2001, 2004a).3 Likewise, new functions and administrative capabilities have also been transferred to subnational governments in several countries. Lower levels of government in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico (among other countries; see: Di Gropello and Cominetti, 1998; Falleti, 2000) now handle the administration of education and health care services. This dramatic convergence in Latin America toward the decentralization of funds and functions to subnational governments has generated a vast body of literature and theoretical frameworks to explain the dynamics and characteristics of these policies. A large share of the scholarly works on the topic have been interested in explaining the policy results rather than exploring the dynamics of the bargaining processes that led to the outcome. In the following sections, I first review some of the main arguments, which stress institutional factors (such as electoral rules or party nomination procedures), economic variables (such as fiscal crisis or the level of economic growth), external pressures (from international financial organizations), or demands from civil society as the main factors that promoted decentralization in the region. In this chapter, I attempt to, first, empirically assess the main theoretical contributions in these frameworks to explain changes in the distribution of funds and functions in all the federal countries in the region (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela) and some unitary ones (Chile, Ecuador, and Uruguay), stressing some of their shortcomings and limitations. I selected these cases in order to have the widest possible range of variation in the dependent variables. Second, I examine the empirical strength of the argument developed in Chapter 1, according to which the distribution of funds and functions is the result of power struggles between central and subnational governments in federal democracies in conditions of fiscal crises. This claim is valid for federal democracies with relatively autonomous states or provinces. But I also include evidence for unitary countries with more dependent subnational governments (although in some of these countries subnational governments have recently gained more power). This argument can help us to account for the distribution of funds and functions across cases (federal and unitary), and it can provide dynamic explanations for decentralization and centralization processes alike. In the following sections, I first define what I mean by distribution of funds and functions. Second, I put forward the central hypothesis and operationalize it. Third, I develop a statistical analysis of the main and the competing arguments. I present the results, analyze them, and conclude in the final section.
Decentralization in the health sector has been widely implemented since the 1970s as a reform mechanism with mixed results. This study describes Fiji's 2 attempts at decentralizing its health sector and examines the implications they have had for the functions of planning, financing, and delivery of health services. The first wave attempted a major restructure by devolving Fiji's health system. Political instability, along with a lack of acceptance, stalled its implementation resulting in a delegated system. While the functions of planning and financing remained centralized, the function of delivery was delegated to geographic regions. The second wave was a more focused effort that targeted the deconcentration of outpatient services in one division. This attempt also decentralized the delivery function while keeping the other 2 functions centralized. Fiji's incremental approach to decentralization could provide lessons for Asia-Pacific countries that have had failed attempts in large scale decentralization efforts.
The right to education for children from rural migrant families in urban areas has sparked heated debates in China. While there are increasing indications of policy changes to bring public education to all citizens regardless of their residency, it is less clear what kinds of resources are needed to create an education supply to serve this constantly moving and ever-growing population. Using archival and interview data on a large urban district in Shanghai, the authors analyze the constraints faced by local government in providing full-scale free education to migrant children. The authors find that the public finance scheme, teacher staffing policy and land use policy are the three factors that constrain the supply of public education in large metropolitan areas. This analysis also shows that under the current decentralized management scheme, local government alone does not have the capacity to resolve these constraints. This finding calls for coordination among various state branches at the national level.
An introduction to Bitcoin. The relationship between Bitcoin and other currencies. Bitcoinâs risks and its connection with criminal activities. The empirical analysis.
The fiscal incentives literature emphasizes how the design of transfer systems has a significant implication on the behavior of local governments within decentralized systems. The empirical findings on the relationship between intergovernmental transfers and the incentives they create for local revenue generation are inconclusive and differ from country to country. Given the lack of data on local public finances, this type of study rarely involves developing countries. Using a unique and rich socio-economic and public finance data covering a large set of Moroccan municipalities over the period 2005 to 2009, this paper contributes to the new generation of fiscal federalism literature by assessing the fiscal incentive effects of two types of transfers: general purpose transfers (unconditional) defined by a formula and specific purpose transfers (conditional) allocated on an ad-hoc basis. After correcting for the endogeneity problem, our findings support the existence of a significant incentive effect of unconditional transfers and a less robust effect of conditional transfers. Suggesting that transfers from the central government complement local own revenues by encouraging Moroccan municipalities to collect more revenues.
O Bitcoin e um sistema de pagamento totalmente digital independente de uma entidade centralizadora como bancos ou governos. O projeto foi criado e publicado em 2008 atraves da Internet. Entretanto apenas em 2009 a rede tornou-se operacional. O Bitcoin e um protocolo de codigo aberto e uma rede ponto a ponto de participantes que e responsavel pelo funcionamento do sistema. Seguranca criptograïŹca, ausencia de taxas e de custos de instalacao sao fatores que convenceram varias empresas do mundo a adota-lo como alternativa de pagamento. Apesar dos trabalhos acerca da moeda digital, pouco ainda se sabe sobre sua topologia e caracteristicas, principalmente pela otica de ciencia de redes. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho apresenta o estudo da dinamicidade de suas principais variaveis no seu funcionamento diario. No decorrer do trabalho sao apresentadas duas formas de extracao de dados da rede Bitcoin para futuras analises.
In this explorative study, we examine the economy and transaction network of the decentralized digital currency Bitcoin during the first four years of its existence. The objective is to develop insights into the evolution of the Bitcoin economy during this period. For this, we establish and analyze a novel integrated dataset that enriches data from the Bitcoin blockchain with off-network data such as business categories and geo-locations. Our analyses reveal the major Bitcoin businesses and markets. Our results also give insights on the business distribution by countries and how businesses evolve over time. We also show that there is a gambling network that features many very small transactions. Furthermore, regional differences in the adoption and business distribution could be found. In the network analysis, the small world phenomenon is investigated and confirmed for several subgraphs of the Bitcoin network.
The research aims to measure the inequality of income distribution of each area and regional finance in Purbalingga District. The inequality of income distribution of each area was measured by the Williamson Index and the fiscal capacity was measured by the fiscal decentralization degree.The result of this research shows that the average of economic growth per year is 5.07 percent, the average of fiscal decentralization degree per year is 16.42 percent thai it is included to a high level of fiscal dependency on the central government category, while the average of inequality of income distribution of each area per year is 0.45 that it is included to a medium inequality category.
Studies have demonstrated that news reporting (as information) is critical to the adoption and pricing of Bitcoin. This early stage work represents the first look into how this information is being used as part of the speculation decision making process and how this might be compatible with a trust model. The outputs of this work will build a trust model for Bitcoin speculatorsâ use of news reporting as an information<br/>source. The work will further demonstrate if, and how, this trust model might be usurped by something as simple as a confirmation bias thus confirming a more psychological approach to speculative behaviours than that portrayed in a rational economics approach
HÄkan JankensgÄrd, Alf Alviniussen, Lars Oxelheim
This article provides a comprehensive critique of current corporate foreign exchange risk management (FXRM) practices. The authors characterize much of FXRM as a âlegacyâ activity, a set of outdated, often decentralized and âearningsâdrivenâ methods and procedures that have not been subjected to rigorous costâbenefit analysis at the enterprise level. And according to the authors, the costs of poorly designed and executed FXRM have increased sharply in recent decades because of the growing demand by analysts and investors for costâefficiency, transparency, and predictability. After discussing six ways in which the FX policy of most large multinationals fails to serve the interests of their investors and other important stakeholders, the authors offer the following: (1) a restatement of the goals of FXRM; (2) an illustration of various ways of implementing a largely (if not completely) centralized approach to FXRM; (3) a proposal for aligning performance evaluation and executive pay with the goals of FXRM; (4) suggestions for improving decisionâsupport tools in relation to FXRM; (5) proposals for integrating FXRM into an enterpriseâwide risk management system, which include shifting responsibility for FXRM from the Finance/Treasury group to a centralized risk committee (typically under a Chief Risk Officer who reports to the board of directors); and (6) suggestions for improving communication of a company's risk management policies and practices to investors and other stakeholders.
Revealed a variety of approaches and concepts ethnogeny of the Ukrainian people in the context of its primary mentality. Within historiosophical Ukrainian mentality paradigm study describes key milestones ethnogeny of Ukrainians. Emphasized on the bright tilling discovered the nature of Tripoli culture â protocultural Ukrainian, which defined the original features of their mentality. Ants state is seen as the first proto-Ukrainian political community, which laid the mental qualities that find their further development in the political mentality of the Ukrainians: democracy, decentralization, regionalism and more. The article made the following conclusions. To solve the problem of Ukrainian ethnogeny finally and clearly, convincingly and consistently play its period features and is quite a difficult task given the complex dynamic processes ethnogeny. The process of the emergence of ethnicity is not always adequate and comprehensive reflection of scientific sources. But we can talk about the possibility and the need to find the most acceptable and scientifically correct hypotheses concerning Ukrainian ethnogeny. In this connection, the indigenous-origin Ukrainians autonomous version looks like is that most meets the requirements. Summarizing some moments Ukrainian ethnogeny should pay attention to the specific features of the formation of primitive mentality of pre Ukrainians who subsequently receive proper development of the mentality of the Ukrainian people. Prolonged existence of matriarchal clan system in the distant predecessors Ukrainian ensured the dominance of women in their mentality primary which is fixed at the time of Tripoli culture in the cult of the earth-mother, typical, however, for all grain-growing nations. Surely this time there is a future mental dominant Slavs â female archetype of the Earth Mother. The emergence of a day of metals territorial community where there is communal land ownership, and processing is carried out a separate family, on the one hand, determines saving big role family (actually a mother) in the education and life of a particular individual, and withother hand, reinforces sedentary, propensity to a certain piece of land that forms the mentality of a no-aggressive expansionist motivations and as a result â peacefulness. The latest feature best manifested in Ukrainian, which for all its history never won one but, however, were themselves the object of permanent conquest. The existence of modern Ukrainian territory ScythianSkolot, Ants States is representative of the capacity of the substrate to the proto-Ukrainian political organization. Study of the socio-political system Ants state, which M. S. Grushevsky generally believed the first Ukrainian state formation, and to determine certain characteristics of political mentality of their own immediate ancestors Ukrainian. The decisive role of tribal assembly, which later transformed into Kiev Rus in the council, shows immanence democratic guidelines original Ukrainian mentality. At the same time the actual exercise of functions among convening meetings of tribal council of elders, which often had the sole head â his head, which writes the same M. S. Grushevsky [6, p. 33], indicating both the propensity to collective forms of governance, and in disregard of the principle of autocracy and a mistrust or neglect their own authorities. The latter attitude will develop in a typical Ukrainian political mentality and will be called «egalitarian negativity» with respect to their political leaders and the political elite. Polycentric state system Ants state determines the political and mental focus our ancient predecessors decentralism that evolutionary regionalism to Ukrainian