Blockchain Papers

WU Qun, Yongle Li, Yan Siqi

No abstract is available for this record.

Dominic Wörner, Thomas von Bomhard

Bitcoin is an emerging technology which allows two entities to exchange value overt the Internet without trust. Embracing that those entities could well be machines we present a system that allows a sensor to offer its measurement data directly to a world-wide data market. Based on the concept introduced in Noyen et al [1], we describe a prototypical implementation of the process of exchanging data for electronic cash between a sensor and a requester by leveraging the Bitcoin network and discuss its current limitations.

Samo Turšič

V okviru diplomskega dela je bila izdelana informacijska resitev, ki omogoca izvajanje razlicnih trgovalnih strategij nad kriptovaluto Bitcoin. Podprte borze so Bitstamp, Btc-e ter MtGox. Na podrocju tehnicne analize za Bitcoin že obstajajo razne resitve, ki trgovalcem pomagajo pri trgovanju in jim svetujejo s pomocjo tehnicnih indikatorjev in vzorcev. Vendar ima vsaka resitev svoje slabosti, ki se jih je želelo odpraviti. Razvita je bila spletna aplikacija v tehnologiji Node.js, ki poleg izvajanja strategij na zgodovinskih podatkih za vsako podprto borzo ponuja se prikaz grafa vrednosti kriptovalute skozi cas z japonskimi svecniki ter grafa globine trga skupaj s knjigo narocil. Uporabnik ima možnost implementirati tudi lastno strategijo. Trgovalni podatki, ki so potrebni za delovanje spletne aplikacije in morajo biti osveženi, se s podprtih borz pridobivajo preko vmesnikov API s pomocjo javanskih programov in shranjujejo v podatkovno bazo MongoDB.

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

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

Stephen A. Dueppen

West Africa is home to myriad small and large-scale societies with non-centralized political systems. While a substantial ethnographic record describes the intricate balances of power and authority in such systems, their developmental trajectories are largely unknown owing to the lack of historical documentation and archaeological investigation. Given this gap in historical context, a great many assumptions and doubts exist in regards to the utility of the region’s ethnographic observations to world-wide archaeological and anthropological models. In this book I explore the long-term developmental trajectory of an ancient community (Kirikongo (Figure 1.1)) ancestral to the modern Bwa, who inhabit remarkably complex autonomous villages with extensive social differentiation despite a strong ethos of egalitarianism. Through the presentation of empirical data I argue that many of the characteristics of modern and colonial period African societies that have been seen by some as devolved social systems disrupted by the slave trade and colonial practices may in fact be the end results of highly complex political histories. In particular, I suggest that the political organizations of many West African societies are derived from long histories of negotiations between social segments (including popular collective actions and revolutions), which have led to the development of diverse social contracts. At Kirikongo, the political actions of several constituencies over time resulted in a trajectory where inequalities were rejected altogether in favor of a reinvented egalitarianism, but similar processes have likely contributed to the formation of the myriad ethnographic and historically known polities in the region where the power of elites was constrained.

César Albarrán Torres

After the opening of a number of new Bitcoin-only casinos over the past 18 months, there has been some buzz about this virtual currency making huge waves ...

Rémy Chrétien, Stéphanie Delaune

De nombreux articles ont insiste sur des aspects financiers ou societaux du bitcoin. Nous avons choisi de vous presenter ici les algorithmes qui rendent possible cette crypto-monnaie.

Benjamin Nadeau

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

Mega Sistiana, Moc. Makmur

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

Hamid Boustanifar

No abstract is available for this record.

Henry Njuguna

The research is based on financing mechanisms and the efficiency of water service provision within Mombasa County. The specific emphasis is on Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company. The objective of this research is to establish how loans, grants, subsidies and tariffs utilization affect management and organizational arrangements in the water utility and how this decision consequently affect the efficiency of water utility. The literature reviews global trends in financing water through multilateral loans and other forms of debt, grants, subsidies’ typologies and tariff formulation structures, mainly focusing on the general information regarding these mechanisms as applied internationally and locally in Kenya. Part of the research addresses the relationship between effect and impact as well as various forms of decentralization of public services with specific focus on unbundling of public goods with review of theory behind unbundling as well as focus in the water sector. On efficiency which is the other variable the research covers Governance, Commercial, Financial, Technical, Customer service and Human resource efficiencies. Each of these indicators is reviewed independently based on certain aspects developed by the International Water Association as the best matrix for evaluating utility efficiency at different functional levels. The findings of the report are contained in chapter four and includes among other aspects, visual images including graphs and discussion regarding, projects funded by loans and grants, each with detailed analysis of funding amounts and target projects as well as goals, the progress made to date and analysis on the trends of the impact of the funding. Tariffs and subsidies are also analysed as applied in Mombasa County and their effects on the utilities performance as well as their trends over the last six years. There is also detailed analysis on statistical records on Mowassco’s financial statements including Net profits, Non-Revenue Water, Billing and Collection efficiency, trends of electromagnetic meters and their impact on revenue as well as consumption records for each of the six business units. The research concludes that while loans have been utilized in rehabilitating networks, grants on capacity building and tariffs on mainly cost recovery and subsidies on supply to low income areas, each of the methods has had its positive and negative impacts. Loans has mostly improved and stabilized water supply volumes, grants have improved policy and equipping within the company but failed in ensuring impact is felt on the ground while tariffs have contributed to continuity of service to the residents but also overburdened residents. Subsidies in return have failed as the policy used to manage them is poorly implemented and has been hijacked by water kiosk cartels making it hard for the utility to perform its mandate leading to over pricing and in appropriate location of service centres. The conclusion consists of the overall average utility efficiency calculation done based on mean obtained by getting the average of the ranking (1-5), of questionnaire response questions per indicator as rated by utility senior and junior managers as well as consultants with previous assignments in the water utility and converting this to a percentage to get mean efficiency (%) for each indicator. The overall average utility efficiency was then found by getting the average of the sum of all efficiencies of the six indicators. The average score for the utility was found to be 57% while the average Non-Revenue Water which is a global utility efficiency indicator for the past one year was found to be 50%, hence some close assessment on efficiency. The chapter then concludes by giving an assessment on the influence on efficiency of the utility as a result of the financing mechanisms.

Risca Ardhyaningtyas, Laksono Trisnantoro, Retna Siwi Padmawati

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

Saravanan Sundaresan, Robin Doss

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

Ki-Yeon Nam

No abstract is available for this record.

Gheith A. Abandah, Khalid A. Darabkh, Tawfiq Ammari, Omar Qunsul

Electronic voting provides accuracy and efficiency to the electoral processes. World democracies would benefit from a secure e-voting system not only to improve voter participation and trust but also to prevent electoral fraud. However, current e-voting systems are complex and have security weaknesses. In this paper, we describe a secure e-voting system for national and local elections (S-Vote). This system satisfies the important requirements of an e-voting system through state-of-the-art technologies and secure processes. S-Vote relies on homomorphic cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs, biometrics, smartcards, open-source software, and secure computers for securely and efficiently implementing the system processes over the various stages of the electoral process, without relying on online network connections. We outline the main conclusions of the pilot implementations of S-Vote that tested the main technologies and processes used. We also explain how the used technologies and processes achieve the system requirement. In conclusion, we recommend adopting S-Vote for its security, flexibility, economic, and scalability features.

Xiaoling Zhu, Donghui Hu, Zhengfeng Hou, Liang Ding

Existing location privacy-preserving methods, without a trusted third party, cannot resist conspiracy attacks and active attacks. This paper proposes a novel solution for location based service (LBS) in vehicular ad hoc network (VANET). Firstly, the relationship among anonymity degree, expected company area and vehicle density is discussed. Then, a companion set V is set up by k neighbor vehicles. Based on secure multi-party computation, each vehicle in V can compute the centroid, not revealing its location to each other. The centroid as a cloaking location is sent to LBS provider (P) and P returns a point of interest (POI). Due to a distributed secret sharing structure, P cannot obtain the positions of non-complicity vehicles by colluding with multiple internal vehicles. To detect fake data from dishonest vehicles, zero knowledge proof is adopted. Comparing with other related methods, our solution can resist passive and active attacks from internal and external nodes. It provides strong privacy protection for LBS in VANET.

이상수

At the present time, the local autonomy is guaranteed at the constitution. The decentralization becomes the core of the local autonomy as well as the national development. The local government has the right to dispose all affairs in local region on self-responsibility. It can be said the autonomy is exercised through the power of statutory interpretation. Traditionally, the statutory interpretation of the central government has been understood as to has the legal priority, when there is a contradictory in administrative statutory interpretation between central and local government. Nowadays, judged from viewpoint of the constitutional guarantee of Local Autonomy and the principle of subsidiarity, or the vertical separation of powers between the local government and central government, the local government can be said that it has legal priority of statutory interpretation, especially concerning on autonomous affairs of local government. On the study of legal priority of statutory interpretation, Jeju Special Self-governing Province is so special. Because the special act on the Jeju special self-governing Province has the special regulations such as to be organization of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and to delegate most of legal powers of the central government to Jeju Province, to minimize the involvement of the central government and to ensure their autonomous decisions on the future of Jeju. Especially it can be seen through not only allowing Jeju government to directly intervene in the revision process of the special act but also installing of Audit Committee in the Jeju Province to rule out the Audit of the central government. Shortly concluded, local government has the power to interpret on the law of local affairs. In particular, the government of Jeju Special Self-governing Province has the right of more special autonomous statutory interpretation than the other local government.

Jane Qiu

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

Unknown author

No abstract is available for this record.

Adam Gregerman

Comparative Christian Hermeneutical Approaches to the Land Promises to Abraham Adam Gregerman While formerly inflammatory topics such as the deicide charge have waned in Jewish–Christian relations, disputes over the land and State of Israel provoke intense controversy and disagreement. Decades ago, in the Christian world, this topic was already widely said to be especially divisive, and today, it remains so. It is not surprising that an issue that provokes intense geopolitical interest and touches on territory of nearly unsurpassed religious significance would be so provocative. The nexus of politics and religion is especially volatile. Among Christians, church organizations and individual theologians in the west (North America, Europe) join diverse religious claims and biblical interpretations to their foreign policy statements and arguments. Sometimes, it seems that the political views trump the religious. For example, Christian disputes over the State of Israel often can be mapped onto existing deep divisions in the American churches over domestic policies or military action, with left and right presenting predictable arguments. It is understandably tempting to see appeals to Scripture and theology as tools to buttress pre‐existing political views. However, a sympathetic reader should also recognize the presence of serious theological reflections on this contested and fraught sacred space. Christians who grapple with the land and State of Israel do so in the wake of highly complex millennia‐old Christian theological traditions about Jews and Judaism, sacred space generally, and the land of Israel in particular. There are profound religious issues at stake that go beyond politics, for the State of Israel as a “Jewish state” inevitably raises religious questions for Christians, especially for those rethinking largely negative historical views of Jews and Judaism. For many centuries, nearly all Christians believed that Jewish powerlessness and exile were divine punishment for Jews’ refusal to believe in and/or murder of Jesus. The ejection of many Jews from the biblical land of Israel and the end to Jewish sovereignty there were proofs of the truth of Christianity. Not surprisingly, then, in the wake of the 1948 creation of the State of Israel, the ingathering of (some) Jews to the land, and the (partial) end of Jewish subordination to Gentile rulers, many Christians struggled to make sense of this event not just politically but theologically. The difficult theological questions raised by this event, and for some subsequent events, such as the Israeli capture of all of Jerusalem in 1967, include as follows: Does the creation of the state—though a result of a United Nations vote—have any religious significance for Christians, as a contemporary act of God in history or manifestation of God's will? Need it prompt changes in Christians’ views about Jewish landedness or landlessness, and if so, how broad might these changes be? Are the policies of the state to be evaluated by Christians using religious criteria different from those used when evaluating other countries? Because these questions rest on underlying (and changing) Christian theological views about Jews and Judaism, they should be situated in a broader context: how do widespread contemporary Christian efforts to understand Judaism in theologically positive ways influence Christian views of the land and State of Israel specifically? This last question provides the context for addressing this topic. Since many western Christian groups and thinkers now reject supersessionism and affirm the ongoing legitimacy of the Jews’ covenant, the biblical promises concerning the land are an unavoidable topic. Even those who deny any contemporary religious significance to the State of Israel must face it, if only to make this separation between biblical promises and the modern nation‐state clear. There have been studies on contemporary Christian views of the religious significance or lack of religious significance of the land and State of Israel. Most have focused on one group or one perspective, such as liberal Christians, Catholics, evangelical/conservative Christians, and even British churches or Canadian churches. Other studies—fewer in number—survey a variety of perspectives. Much attention has been paid in particular to church/Christian activism, such as support for or opposition to Israel and its policies. Surprisingly, less attention has been paid to the underlying religious issues of the covenant between God and the Israelites/Jews and...

Israa Alqassem, Davor Svetinović

Bit coin is a new protocol with a potential to revolutionize financial system. Bit coin has a complex structure, where several interacting components build a peer-to-peer currency and a payment system without relying on any trusted third party. Bit coin is continually improved by an open source community, and various Bit coin libraries, APIs, and alternative implementations are being developed. Nevertheless, there is no up-to-date protocol specification or architecture description since the official whitepaper was published back in 2008. In this paper, we provide an up-to-date protocol specification and architectural analysis of the Bit coin system. We perform this analysis as the first step towards specification of the crypto currency reference architecture. The future reference architecture will serve as a starting architectural point for the development of new systems that leverage Bit coin protocol in different contexts and for various purposes. We also discuss whether the current architecture satisfies the system's primary purpose, i.e., Providing a pure decentralized version of the crypto currency.

Devavrat Shah, Kang Zhang

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

Annelie Ekelin, Sara Eriksén

No abstract is available for this record.

falah Hassan Thuwaini

No abstract is available for this record.