Blockchain Papers

Sung-Wook Park, Im-Yeong Lee

Recently, smart devices for various services have been developed using converged telecommunications, and the markets for near field communication mobile services is expected to grow rapidly. In particular, the realization of mobile NFC payment services is expected to go commercial, and it is widely attracting attention both on a domestic and global level. However, this realization would increase privacy infringement, as personal information is extensively used in the NFC technology. One example of such privacy infringement would be the case of the Google wallet service. In this paper, we propose an zero-knowledge proof scheme and ring signature based on NTRU for protecting user information in NFC mobile payment systems without directly using private financial information of the user.

Hengzhou Xu, Yin HONGCHUN, Guo Yuyan

Based on the Chinese provincial panel data from 1995 to 2008, using the panel co-integration method, this paper presents an empirical study on the long-term equilibrium relationship between the fiscal decentralization, the local government competition and the farmland conversion. On this basis, establishing the dynamic panel data model, using the generalized method of moments (GMM) to analyze the dynamic impact of the fiscal decentralization and the local government competition on the farmland conversion from the view of three cross-regional groups and the mainland China. The results show that there is a long-run co-integration relationship between the fiscal decentralization, the farmland conversion and the local government competition, and also there is a positive significant influence of the fiscal decentralization and the local government competition on the farmland conversion, a 1% increase in the degree of fiscal decentralization will increase the area of farmland conversion by 0.3280%. In addition, there is a significant difference of the incentive effect of local government competition on the farmland conversion in different regions. The paper ends with policy suggestions for perfecting the system of the fiscal decentralization, taxation and the division of responsibility and authority, reforming the criterion of the political achievement assessment, strengthening the management of land revenue, reducing the reliance of the local government on land finance; at the same time, the farmers' land property rights should be perfected.

Žan Jan Oplotnik, Mateja Finžgar

The purpose of an article is to compare systems of fiscal decentralization in EU member states according to selected quantitative criteria and European Charter of Local Self-Government principles. The results show that a higher number of lower levels of government usually indicate a greater share of local finance within the total public finance, however, this finding does not confirm the inverse link. Even though the structure of expenditures in EU countries is similar, the shares of funds for the implementation of individual tasks differ significantly. On average, the countries allocate most funds to education, social security, healthcare, administration and political systems, with only a quarter of the countries recording the same or higher amounts of revenues than expenditures. Most of the countries still cover the existing deficit either through transfers from the central to lower levels of government or through equalization schemes or borrowing, which otherwise represents a departure from one of the basic principles of the Charter, which stipulates that financial resources must be commensurate with the responsibilities of local self-government.

D. van Wijk

Only recently developed by the Japanese academic Satoshi Nakamoto (2008), the Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be traded all over the world. Even though the money has been printed on several occasions the essence of the Bitcoin lies in the fact that it exists entirely on the digital highway. The coins themselves are a string of code that can be stored in the so-called wallet on your own computer. Subsequently, the Bitcoins can be used in transactions all over the internet, provided that the other person accepts the Bitcoin as a means of payment. The most remarkable thing about all this is that neither a government nor any financial institution is involved in any part of this transaction or in the regulation of the currency. Currently, the main users of the Bitcoin are technologically interested geeks who want to use the newest innovations, anarchists who have lost trust in the governments and the banking systems, and speculative risk-seekers looking for a new gamble. However, this is quickly changing due to the increase in the value of the Bitcoin and the attention that it gets in the news. In the academic sphere, little research has been done on the subject and the research that has been done is mostly technical and concerns cryptography rather than economics. However, my belief is that the Bitcoin is a rare, new phenomenon worth researching on the economic level as well. The fact is that this string of code, of which the Bitcoin exists, is worth intrinsically nothing. So, people are willing to spend an increasing amount of money on something that is literally worthless, with no guarantee that the Bitcoin will be worth anything in the future. If an explanation could be found where the value of the Bitcoin is derived from or what influences the value of the Bitcoin, a future for the Bitcoin can be predicted much better than before. Therefore the question is raised: “How does day-to-day financial data influence the value of the Bitcoin?” The literature that is investigated concerns the theory of fiat money, money without intrinsic value, and investigates what drives the value of this fiat money. Subsequently, financial data will be collected and used in the analysis to see what affects the value of the Bitcoin. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn from the results of this analysis that will show what has an effect on the value of the Bitcoin. After that, several suggestions will be given for an expansion of this research in several ways.

Mohan Paudel

This article is a reflection about whether new public management (NPM) styles of reforms seen in other developing countries are also seen in Nepal, and to substantiate these facts with the available evidence and findings. The author saw the emergence of NPM ideas in Western industrialized countries like the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Now it exists in several developing countries of Africa and Asia; but it is very hard to generalize the degree and scope of NPM elements' existence. In Southeast Asia, there is still a mix of the old bureaucratic system with new NPM-oriented reform initiatives. Series of administrative reforms, donor conditionality, and the reestablishment of democracy in the country after 1991 have influenced an orientation toward an efficient, people-oriented, mixed-economy model with increasing partnership of private agencies and nongovernmental organizations in Nepal. The political movement of the last 15 years in the country has strongly called for a new, efficient, and performance-oriented administration and management culture in the country. There are several initiatives already introduced (public-private partnership, decentralization, good governance, accountability/public auditing, performance-based outcome/results-oriented financing and reporting systems). However, to take this momentum up, it still requires strong willingness of political leaders and senior administrators. At the moment, peace and stability of turmoil, political stability, state-of-the-art management skills, and supportive organizational culture are the fundamental requirements for increasing the realization of, and sustaining the NPM-oriented reforms in Nepal.

Laura Fair

In May 1966, the first—and perhaps only—socialist drive-in on the planet opened in Tanzania, on the site of what is today the American embassy in the nation's capital, Dar es Salaam.1 The brainchild of C. C. Patel, a cunning and well-connected insurance magnate with business, political, and family ties throughout East Africa, with the assistance of Second Vice-President Rashid Kawawa, a former actor, the drive-in was heralded by leading Tanzanian politicians as a stunning example of the modernist development opportunities achievable through African socialism.2 At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the minister of commerce and cooperatives, Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu, an avowed Marxist and an avid supporter of state socialism, hailed it as an “exemplary project of co-operation” between private enterprise and the socialist state.3 The capital for building and operating the drive-in was provided entirely by Patel. The Tanzanian government acquired a 30 percent stake in the venture through a “donation” of land, while unnamed officials were granted shares in the company in exchange for their support.4 In the spirit of African socialism that was sweeping the nation at the time, the corporate name of the drive-in was Sisi Enterprises, with the “C. C.” of Patel's initials superseded by Sisi, Kiswahili for “we” or “us.”5 Yet why, one might reasonably ask, would a young nation such as Tanzania—striving to dig its way out from under the problems caused by decades of colonial underdevelopment—choose to invest its limited resources in a drive-in? How could state ownership of a drive-in possibly help to advance a socialist agenda? Didn't the drive-in—predicated as it was on the commercial consumption of foreign films and propelled by the urban amenities of electricity, cars, and leisure—directly contradict President Julius Nyerere's vision of village-based African socialism? What motivated a righteous communist such as Babu, or Kawawa, who was responsible for launching several campaigns against youthful “debauchery” in the 1960s and 1970s, to participate in the opening festivities for a space that was commonly regarded as a passion pit?6 How did the same government that banned television broadcasting until the mid-1990s and arrested private owners of televisions and VCRs in the early 1980s rationalize owning a drive-in? And why would a regime that frequently vilified Tanzanian Asians in the state-owned press and nationalized their property in the name of equality partner with Patel, one of the wealthiest men in East Africa? The most obvious answer to these questions is that states, like the individuals who compose them, are complicated and often contradictory entities that sometimes say one thing and do another. While the anomaly of a socialist drive-in cinema may complicate our understanding of state-centered development, we can use it to explore the complex and contradictory visions of socialism, modernity, and independence that were debated in Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s. Sisi Enterprises was but one of many high modernist commercial leisure and industrial projects presaged by the National Development Corporation (NDC) in their published reports and magazines, heralding the state's ability to fulfill not only needs, but desires as well. Socialism and communism were conceived by many as an alternative to capitalism when it came to the fulfillment of consumptive desires. The aim was to achieve abundance; the goal was to do the and with to to and to who decades of the drive-in to to and the as that with former of the and that were to an on the of of the at the were of and in from the The drive-in for and and the of and the to the the was the at that is and to as the of in urban in many questions at the drive-in of a for a when and the nation were and a for the space and and urban the drive-in one of the for leisure in Dar es In 1966, its of the a Tanzanian in the of in At a when the was that came to the drive-in that a the most for leisure in Tanzania, would out to the drive-in and in at in the the did not until at the leading from the drive-in was often a to the and most of a in that or in of was a for who in Dar es between and of the was could a of the their way a the socialist of a drive-in might Sisi Enterprises provided an space urban and were was a one could Asians and by in their cars, and and in the same films and not but and were to their at the drive-in a the but in to the for cars, were for as as on the the cars, were by who from on their or from the the In Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s, it was not to a of the to an at the and one came on by in the of a in a or in a private was the The films that at the drive-in were at the in as and it was not for to the same on opening and were of the same as to and the and to the to an of the was a of urban in did not to the many of the the was that were and could in these the of the In its it to Sisi Enterprises as a of the and that could achieve by a of socialist the modernist projects were the and in the and in the a way to the on the from in to in that of would to a only in the the and to that independence a with the The of that to to the by Sisi Enterprises to the In to the and the of a to to as an to it as a of their with in their of to explore the the to for or visions of of The of a socialist drive-in is of the and contradictory of and development that were debated in Tanzania in the decades drive-in the of in Dar es National Development and es is to that socialism, like modernity, was in Tanzania, and that the leading to socialist development was was on to or socialist and of socialism in Tanzania, the and often thing that to is President Nyerere's on development and the state's to of socialist The was by to Tanzanian socialism from its and was not or it was of a and to that were and that and were Nyerere's of socialism was in a vision of the as In Africa, and and to the of the and under the of a was the that Tanzania to development on the resources it and was in for the did not it was to the it could the the out the on socialism, the of of the and the for development in the use of state resources for urban and industrial projects that the in when to electricity, as as and the nation resources on urban Nyerere's and and alternative of the was by many to the of the but was not the only of the family with a vision or a the family of Tanzanian African National in government and the and of the nation who their at were a of and by and for the that was Tanzania The of and of the of the of many of were were by the but that did not that or of who were with that only through could for were in and regarded as to of were of the to their ties to foreign capital and the of the that was to the of capital out of the for the of commonly for their to that the industrial as the most in and the one to to a the at the opening for the that were not only but The for a to socialist of in the Development was the National Development Corporation in was a commercial in and and and the it was the or of the of most of in industrial and were the was to vision of a drive-in might to a of project a or at the were and to ownership it a of to such an The was in the in but it was only in the that the drive-in at the same as of their American and and many in the of the were only a of on the as the in in of a in with the cinema with the operating in the or Dar es was of for to to their former colonial on but the drive-in on at one for cars, a a a for from the and and the and it was on with operating in at the At the did not to to the were in the In that the drive-in to from development at the and from their of the by the drive-in and that was a to a Sisi Enterprises most of the African as a was the by the Yet of were and most were for the with a of was the only on the to a drive-in in the were not in the but were in their for modernity, and was a of in opening a drive-in a and only in the to did and the were and of the that their drive-in was one of only a on the and that with it was the only one not with owners from At a when Tanzania as the African for from to the and of the drive-in provided it may Sisi Enterprises for the that African socialism could the not with but with as well. In to one of the most to a the drive-in the in and to and the most of the The of a of a drive-in the of the from on of the in not only with and but with the on the the as as the for one for the of that the as their was a in In Dar es Tanzanian the of their by for in a that the that to several men who the a the the and the as in at the many of to but the most that Sisi Enterprises was one of the in the that were not with or from Sisi Enterprises Nyerere's for and resources to The drive-in was the state a percent in its of a percent from to from in to in At a when the state of to and and Sisi Enterprises a of for In to the of the and were The on and entirely the In percent of the by to and an percent of were through for and for and the and often of their on or and that could not their needs, the drive-in of and that and several by The of the was in the was the in the nation to to its to the of leading the with and a of its The and films were from but the and frequently the was and out it from the drive-in was of the was and the most in the The of a drive-in is on the ownership of private cars, that was a of and state in the urban of development, as private ownership was to urban and to Dar es In the early 1970s, percent of in the were in the the the of private in a nation equality was an and most of the to on their to them, and their to was not in for in or of the to but it was not until that in the nation's capital was nationalized or that the state its in and of the ownership as of their for modernity, and of as was an in as In the private ownership In were a in the and most of were or in and were operating in Tanzania, with the in private ownership was the of many a Tanzanian The a but in the 1970s, men most of the cars, did most of the and most of the were for of the and many of from the granted to individuals for the of to a of African in Dar es a was often a provided for in the of state-owned and of to the for of that of men that could on and and of the or to a and who as a in the 1960s and 1970s, that were and were to for who a that an could for in a for when was In the the family for of in Dar es was ownership the of who was a at a of in men were not In the were ownership was and by campaigns to In an in to the of the their for and their to a government who out for as as to their government and that from by from the of The the use of limited foreign exchange to such as to and to the consumption of by of the the minister of who for not was one of the that to the as of the in and in as the was to a socialist by the government and the who socialist of it to Yet at the same that was and government for their of Vice-President and the of were for the drive-in with C. C. Patel. could as a way to with the who to to their to the or their to to for the National the was by limited to the example and on the state-owned the a nation to socialism its foreign exchange Yet while was the in of the to socialist development and of the state were a for the at the was on way to the of the minister of the minister for and development and their were the and in the from the of their officials at a drive-in for the from opening of the were to the in were to and of of and Development and And The drive-in desires of ownership in the decades the drive-in a to is with to and it provided of the and the with an and a to that were on the In of in the that in for a drive-in to to and an with their What Tanzanian men in the for in the and their as often as did their to in the African and through the of and not but and may as a of but many ownership as that independence The were not the only who that the of independence was to with the of the colonial and by a did many who to the of on and from leading in and the was in Tanzania not only for of but for of African and as a leading from was most for in as to that in and with many and a for Yet as a to to state socialism and for the of Marxist of the and a of the of when by the was out of when of a of at the in to that from the and from as minister of was the same of when the of was a of the in the a in leading in the Tanzanian was as did not by The drive-in to for and that were of as and from the through the many of were on the Dar es African between and and the by percent from to or the were on the of colonial in was to to in the only when it was to who in colonial were to out of the of when were to and in Dar es were to out of the The of the drive-in was on to as as colonial of space to to one to that drive-in the of by as The in the to the it was a with through the by a to the was The drive-in and to the of a of the a only as and who or frequently the as an that and on their way to the drive-in from their in and was a in and of with cars, out for the drive-in as early as the as to the as the the and that were by Sisi was by an space for the and from and who came to and were in for by from African and of to to the or with and the of a to to the were by men who on a Tanzanian the drive-in of for not a private with a The was that were at the that it did not to and young was a of young men could on the or in the the from the the cinema would with of or who could not the could not the but an of were to the in the a and the of that were the of was a of building a socialist and the drive-in many to a space as to to the of the and to only for the who came to Dar es from of the the drive-in a While its with the that when in one could to the of the were to a or in a who in that the of and to the an and for the many in but of drive-in was like a of who to Dar es from at the of in was a at the but that not as a urban until a with a to the that as like a of and use of a and a but the was for was by to to the in with Yet a from to to the drive-in as the of the In cars, but their to but was like the drive-in to was at its most a for leisure and not as a to a the goal of independence was in to the drive-in was it was In to a example of the of African socialism, the and were a and perhaps example of In a was by and and most and were were one of the that from the the same leisure films provided for to their and frequently and a The on an from the of the to the and of the While the of equality by may is that it to and and to and as well. The drive-in was a for in was and could in for as often on the Tanzanian to their in to for their as in a for and to as their their way the in the when and from to the drive-in on a who and to the drive-in or in that a to to with their for an with and of to the drive-in as a as and it was to under and that could in for who the drive-in for that and the were of the but with the in as way of the their as a of to the of and for In the most drive-in to of that the would at the of to to do to the of in but it to the and of a of the with to to not what say their but The who were in Dar es of on the the and their their American in the and many that the the in it was and to with their could the to the and in it was a thing to do with the family on could to the and the could or and could and the with in who an avid to to the when young the cinema with in is and with the the are and is in are to was a and would to at the the to the or to with in an At the of Nyerere's vision of African socialism was a on a family under the of a who not on but on these of building socialism, were to a family or who to these at the In the was on men to not and for their but and leisure and family as well. National independence heralded a of on many and the drive-in was one of these and were and it was as a to the family and out to and the drive-in was the most to in and out for a as a and and from of with were that that to the drive-in as a we to to the we to to the would it was to a it to and was a to to the drive-in it that as the of the it was to out to the to at a for an of for several of family and of that was what a was to that the drive-in was one of the a that to the drive-in our only of the only the family could in of what it to a or a responsible and the as was the the at in time, and of often came with In Dar es the decades a ability to family out for a on the and to leisure not only with but with and was an of a modernity, as as an of responsible urban While many and were in African and it was for leisure to a family was not only the it was and socialist as well. a the drive-in a and could and their as urban and a for space in a at the drive-in the was a a with to of the in the that one of the of an at the drive-in was to to to and with the to out of the and as as the to with of as the of the In was at the way at the of at the was young at the time, and not to the of in Dar es was not the to and in a of the as a of the and such was a of the early independence a nation that was to a of the drive-in provided an for its to as a with were in of Tanzanian socialism, the and at the to the drive-in was one that In of that was one of the and of the The was and for and when their of to the drive-in when were was like a that one and to and and of the of was the until by in the we were in the a and our way the was an or would out of the and out on the of the would or and the for and While with in and men and and and and and to out the and it the as that of a with and the of in as as an at a time, but it the it was were for leisure or could on their desires the at the drive-in did the at the one could their of the drive-in the was and it in and as one could the most against the regime and of and and of in for and consumption and by The to the drive-in was in the it the only did a the to but who were were not for limited was that for would is of the in was state or the to the but and was for to and are that are commonly with socialism and and in Tanzania the and 1980s were of name was at or was only in limited and of and the and to Tanzania to for or as an at the in when was in a in the a the with a and to an can of on and on the an of could with the What a use of a while for the to and their to the The was an of abundance; consumptive desires were The on the for the at the may and the of the but on was out their and and who in to the The that the drive-in in the Nyerere's vision of socialist with what family would or or would and could not one would and a of to when family could on their of the drive-in of for as of the former not only and but the of or The and at the drive-in in the way that and of one could when of the in the of we could to at the who the was of ability to with and and were in of the were as as are of the from many was the to in only at the as as to the that for of the cinema was in a of their of the with and and The of the drive-in as an was by the it The drive-in not for and but for the and by socialism as well. the drive-in that and were to was an could on the that came to at the would a or a with many it was a of who and of a with who to In the of in Tanzania, as in the in the in the or who was often with and was a to men who were in a their of to the drive-in in the 1980s to when was and that it was one of the and to The socialist of to an American in Tanzania who an for the thing Dar es socialist was that was and was in one way or another. At the drive-in a of would a of with the provided by through their with it a the The drive-in was a for a it was an space and were only for a at is a on and in of it as a in the former and East often of the the and of under in their of and for the that to the the In Tanzania, many of the 1960s and 1970s, or the colonial Yet as in on is not it is by and What for in their of the is the can for the drive-in for a and and in these the and the are often who in the their of the or the early of with the a in and with and and a that the would The drive-in is in it is with the of a in and that who from their to the 1960s and and for the and in the with early The drive-in is a it provided space and for these to with the and the of the the was that with Tanzanian socialism, but the drive-in was one the state and private provided the and it to the of socialism and and Sisi Enterprises by The company was when as in and the and our or the of Dar es came to the Yet were that the drive-in to do with the may the but it was the who on the space by the who urban to in of their and in of the were in urban of the and and the drive-in was a of for the who the of its of the drive-in are of family out in in with and the the a or at the drive-in was the of and for it was a of often the in their that was it was from the of were and The of for family leisure was to and as to as the of a from a in Dar es in and are to The and that were for and most who was at the drive-in with of that are to and to In the the of the drive-in to as Tanzanian socialism and was and was the were in the Tanzania was to the of its it to the films from the their and their of that on was for such as and The of to the that a for a family the In from the and for and In Tanzania, are for that might is a it and to while their or that what their to is that are for the when a desires could with a of on In the that the to politicians to with from the state Sisi Enterprises was of a in for in the drive-in to one of its the Tanzania to the of Sisi Enterprises from from to and and In the the of state-owned were to for and their were The embassy that on the by the drive-in a for the of socialism and the of Yet the for a but not vision can as out as the the embassy at the drive-in were a for a who came of in Dar es in the 1960s and 1970s. often socialism is as it were only and of but of a socialist drive-in that such a a and debated and many but the drive-in as a and space a young nation's were and are urban or with for the to and who and provided on of and provided by who at the of the African in and the in The and for the to and on by with who with on in Tanzania, many a to on socialism and the of the state in

Sílvia Cypriano Vasconcellos

This study characterizes as an exploratory qualitative case study, with the aim of analyzing the foundations of federal and state funding in Primary Healthcare of the municipalities of the state of Bahia, bringing light upon current conflicts after the deployment of the Pact for Health as well as the uncertainties that surrounded its funding. Data were collected in two stages, the first semi-structured interviews were conducted with closed and open questions, applied to current managers of the State Council of Municipal Health Secretaries of the State of Bahia (BA-COSEMS/ Conselho Estadual dos Secretrios de Sade-BA), in the second stage, it was developed a document review, through reading and analysis of ordinances, resolutions, state and federal, as well as minutes of meetings of the Managers Bipartite Commission (Comisso Intergestores Bipartite-CIB), which dealt with the theme Politics and funding of primary healthcare. It was observed that the issues, in relation to health financing, particularly Primary Healthcare, persist even after the institution of the Pact for Health. Therefore, it was concluded that decentralization will succeed when the amount of financial resources needed to meet commitments assumed to serve the population is adequate, and also when there is regular funding, increased resources for health by the three spheres of government. It is estimated to be necessary to discuss the

Maryna Petrivna Tolopilo

There have been analyzed the changes in the process of the formation and execution of local budgets due to the implementation of the Budget and Tax Codes in the practice of the budget process. There has been considered the mechanism of formation of baskets revenues to finance their own and delegated authority in the field. The tendencies for local budgets revenues accumulated by transfers, tax and non-tax and other sources are analysed. The basic contradictions and weaknesses of the existing order of formation of local budget revenues to finance implementation of the functional state of local authority and powers of local government are defined. Directions of further changes in the formation of local budgets, allocation of public revenues to budgets of different levels and taxation system aimed at increasing decentralization of budgetary resources are offered.

Tyler Moore

No abstract is available for this record.

Guomin Yang, Chik How Tan, Yi Mu, Willy Susilo · 5 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Meilė Jasienė, Arvydas Paškevičius, Ieva Astrauskaitė

Searching for alternative source of bank financing, the view on capital market is taken. Recent research on capital market issues are arranged into four dimensions: theory and assumptions of efficient capital market, government’s role in it, other distortions and global interrelatedness. Main investigations are decentralized and visualized in “theoretical eight” model. Conclusions made on the diversity of interpretation of market efficiency, strongly expressed demand of information symmetry, soft actions of governments and the value of foreign performance in domestic markets. Furthermore, new approach to the classification of countries by their maturity in capital market is argued. The state of art of 2009-2012 of bond market and government debt is briefly described.

Gabriela Coutinho Machado de Souza

The increasing growth of mobile devices in the whole world, and the forecasts for the coming years has been indicated by several reports. Nonetheless, this need for ubiquitous collaboration has brought new possibilities and challenges to the scientific community. Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) emerges in this scenario allowing devices to interconnect autonomously, without the need of a fixed infrastructure, in order to provide communication and information services. Due to such decentralization and the natural constraints of mobile devices, it remains, to this day, a challenge to provide efficient routing for MANETs. In this dissertation we propose new routing enhancements based on policies for MANETs running the HTR protocol. We consider the role(s) a user associated to a device performs within an organization. Hence our policies can guide the routing based on these roles. With this scheme we improve communication according to different business needs and scenario requirements. To this end, we propose a set of policies that affects the routing behavior and present four case studies to present each policy. Then we analyze two policies in terms of end-to-end delay, and nodes’ lifetime. Through simulation we evaluate these metrics while varying parameters such as the amount of nodes participating in the network, the mobility characteristics, and the number of traffic sources. Our results show that it is possible to achieve these goals without causing great impact on the average end-to-end delay and energy consumption, two important metrics in any MANET evaluation. We explore the results in several scenarios and detail our findings, which can provide a different perspective for future MANET applications.

Harry G. Frankfurt

The most central and familiar lines of argument of the Meditations, Rene Descartes professes to perceive the following propositions clearly and distinctly. Descartes&s;s very sincerity in promulgating it is under a cloud. Considering just what is at stake in Descartes&s; concern with clear and distinct perception will help to identify more fully the source of fascination his argument evokes. Descartes is sometimes thought to have advocated a kind of lunatic apriorism, according to which a person might spin all of philosophy and all of science out of his own head without ever needing to turn to perceptual data. The precise value and import of consistency proofs, particularly in an unlimited context such as one in which Descartes operates, are difficult to specify exactly. It might perhaps be desirable, instead of construing his argument as attempt to prove the consistency of reason, to understand Descartes as attempting just to establish that there is no reasonable ground for doubting that reason is consistent.

Adrianna Kalous, James I. Stake, Joel K. Yisraeli, Christine E. Holt

ABSTRACT Local synthesis of β‐actin is required for attractive turning responses to guidance cues of growth cones in vitro but its functional role in axon guidance in vivo is poorly understood. The transport and translation of β‐actin mRNA is regulated by the RNA‐binding protein, Vg1RBP (zipcode‐binding protein‐1). To examine whether Vg1RBP plays a role in axon navigation in vivo , we disrupted Vg1RBP function in embryonic Xenopus laevis retinal ganglion cells by expressing a dominant‐negative Vg1RBP and by antisense morpholino knockdown. We found that attractive turning to a netrin‐1 gradient in vitro was abolished in Vg1RBP‐deficient axons but, surprisingly, the long‐range navigation from the retina to the optic tectum was unaffected. Within the tectum, however, the branching and complexity of axon terminals were significantly reduced. High‐resolution time‐lapse imaging of axon terminals in vivo revealed that Vg1RBP‐GFP‐positive granules accumulate locally in the axon shaft immediately preceding the emergence a filopodial‐like protrusion. Comparative analysis of branch dynamics showed that Vg1RBP‐deficient axons extend far fewer filopodial‐like protrusions than control axons and indicate that Vg1RBP promotes filopodial formation, an essential step in branch initiation. Our findings show that Vg1RBP is required for terminal arborization but not long‐range axon navigation and suggest that Vg1RBP‐regulated mRNA translation promotes synaptic complexity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 74: 303–318, 2014

M Snyder, Jason Dunn, Eddie Gonzalez

Made In Space, Inc. participated in four weeks of microgravity testing with NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program during the Fall of 2011 and Summer of 2013. The company tested the effects of microgravity on custom built and commercially available extrusion additive manufacturing machines, more commonly known as 3D printers. The testing took place on board a modified Boeing 727 aircraft flown by the Zero-G corporation, in conjunction with NASA’s Reduced Gravity Office and Flight Opportunities Program. The company has utilized the knowledge gained through this campaign on the project that will deliver the first 3D printer to the International Space Station (ISS). 3D printing in space is an enabling technology that is crucial to the exploration of space beyond the low Earth orbit environment. In order for 3D printing to finally be realized as a permanent fixture in space exploration, the behavior must be fully understood in microgravity. Various 3D printers were flown and tested, as well as multiple individual sub-components. With some modification to the key systems, Made In Space was able to demonstrate that additive manufacturing with extrusion-based machines functions similarly in microgravity as it does on the ground, allowing for a full proof of concept. The microgravity flights enabled the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the technology to be elevated to a TRL-6.

I. M. A. Gomes, Íkaro Daniel de Carvalho Barreto, A. E. A. Paixão, S.L. RUSSO

As políticas de apoio ao empreendedorismo são fundamentais para a geração de novas empresas. No Brasil, capital semente, instalação de parques tecnológicos, programas de financiamento a juro zero e, subvenção econômica como o Programa Primeira Empresa Inovadora (PRIME) são exemplos de políticas de incentivo. Para execução do PRIME, em particular, a Agência Brasileira de Inovação (FINEP)descentralizou a operacionalização para que as incubadoras de empresas pudessem selecionar os projetos inovadores. Este artigo analisa o programa PRIME do Centro Incubador de Empresas do Estado de Sergipe (CISE), após o cálculo das médias e desvio-padrão das notas obtidas pelas empresas nos fatores de inovação, potencial de mercado, retorno econômico financeiro, estratégia de mercado e equipe e aplicação do teste Mann-Whintey. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: Policies that support entrepreneurship are key to the generation of new business. In Brazil, seed
\ncapital, installation of technology parks, programs and zero interest financing, economic subsidy as Program First Innovative Company(PRIME) are examples of incentive policies. For the implementation of PRIME, in particular the Brazilian Innovation Agency(FINEP) decentralized operationalization so that business incubator scould select the innovative projects. This paper analyzes the program PRIME Business Incubator Center of the State of Sergipe (CISE) after calculating theme an and standard deviation of the grades obtained by companies in the factors of
\ninnovation, market potential, financial return economic, market strategy and staff and application of the Mann-Whintey, given by the Evaluation Committee. And we used the Mann-Whintey to understand the significant differences between the approved and disapproved. The results show the companies of the Information Technology (IT) capital had more success.

Mario Cimoli

During import substitution, the institutional structure was attributed to support for the industrialization process, production needs and investment for the development of large projects. In the 1970s, once the industrialization phase had been consolidated, highly specialized sectoral institutions prevailed, providing solutions to new management requirements for scientific personnel and supporting critical industrial sectors – electric and nuclear energy, oil and water – at the same time driving the scientific and technological activities schedule within national institutions. Government policies were important in order to carry out specific projects, considering both the operational and financial aspects. Liberalization policies, privatization of public enterprises and public subsidy to support demand for technological services have modified the modes of linkages and interaction between production system and institutions. During the 1980s and 1990s new institutions appeared and the older ones changed their activities and organizational configuration. Given this, particular attention is dedicated in the present chapter to the bridging institutions. These institutions are dedicated to support services for firms and other institutions (such as standardization, quality and certification, particularly to SMEs) and the reinforcement of inter-management activities. Bridging institutions have several origins, and financing can be public, private or mixed. The analysis is also devoted to the role played by the SEP-CONACYT Centres, a research system formed by different specialized institutions and decentralized in different regions of the country. Its regional distribution and linkages with a high heterogeneity of firms contribute to shape a specific intermediate structure supporting the innovation process. Within this institutional framework, our principal interest is the nature of networks that have been created and the features of the linkages generated by institutions and firms.

Zongyang Zhang, Zhenfu Cao, Haojin Zhu

No abstract is available for this record.

Gianluca Dini, Fabio Martinelli, Andrea Saracino, Daniele Sgandurra

We propose PICARD (ProbabIlistic Contract on Android), a framework to generate probabilistic contracts to detect repackaged applications for Android smart phones. A contract describes the sequences of actions that an application is allowed to perform at run-time, i.e. its legal behavior. In PICARD, contracts are generated from the set of traces that represent the usage profile of the application. Both the contract and the application's run-time behavior are represented through clustered probabilistic automata. At run-time, the PICARD monitoring system verifies the compliance of the application trace with the contract. This approach is useful in detecting repackaged applications, whose behavior is strongly similar to the original application but it differs only from small paths in the traces. In this paper, we discuss the framework of PICARD for describing and generating contracts through probabilistic automata and introduce the notion of Action Node, a cluster of related system calls, used to represent high level operations. Then, we present a first set of preliminary experiments on repackaged applications, to evaluate the viability of the proposed approach.

Kornschnok Dittawit, Finn Arve Aagesen

With the present residential electricity usage pattern, the power grid is not efficiently utilized. To avoid the need of grid expansion as a result of increasing power demand, a framework that works on behalf of both power utilities and consumers is needed. Such a framework consisting of a trustworthy adaptable smart home energy system and electricity contracts is presented. The system adapts energy usage in the home according to factors such as electricity prices, electricity contracts, and electricity usage control requests from the power utilities. The proposed contract defines pricing elements as well as the well-being of the consumer, comprising comfort and freedom to use electricity.

Marco Cucco

Abstract Italian cinema has often been a battle-ground between national government and local administrations. Since 1975 many laws have been passed in order to find a compromise between centralized control of filmic activities and a collective management that involving the State and local institutions. Despite the controversy, in the past two decades local administrations have become aware of the economic benefits from supporting film productions. Therefore they have been implementing film-friendly measures (film commissions, film funds, film incentives and tax revenues). At the same time the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali/Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities is reconsidering its mission by moving from financing films to becoming a promoter, financier and regulator of the Italian cinema industry as a whole. This article analyses how in the past 35 years the Italian state and regions have negotiated their powers regarding cinematographic activities. It also examines the development of film commissions and film funds introduced by local administrations for supporting film production. The final part of the article suggests that financing and regulation of film production in Italy is experiencing a decentralization process.

Nai‐Ling Kuo, Bennis Wai Yip So

This paper critically accounts for why fiscal decentralization does not necessarily enhance revenue autonomy in the experience of Taiwan, as local governments do not pursue it. This experience is especially relevant to unitary countries that are undergoing both democratization and fiscal decentralization. This paper shows that, with inter‐jurisdictional competition, democratically elected local governments are inclined to pursue tax harmonization and have little incentive to maximize taxing powers even though doing so increases own‐source revenues. The local governments in Taiwan take a ‘mini‐max’ fiscal strategy, which involves minimizing changes to own‐source revenues while maximizing local expenditures. To finance increasing expenditures as a response to the demands of constituencies, local governments tend to press the central government to increase local government's tax bases, and to try to gain a greater share of intergovernmental transfers by having their administrative status upgraded. In summary, revenue autonomy is not being pursued by local governments because of political considerations. In a decentralized fiscal system, local governments can be fiscally accountable, but still irresponsible .

Raúl Alejandro Palacios Pacheco, Juan Diego Quiroz Carranza

In order for the Municipal Autonomous Decentralized Government of Junin have an contingency plan for equipment and systems, it was performed the analysis, detection, evaluation and prioritization of potential threats that may suffer the institution and at same time prioritized relevance and important to the organization. To achieve this purpose MAGERIT was used because it is a Methodology of Risk Analysis and Management Information Systems, which is directly related to the widespread use of electronic, computer and telematics. The final product contributes to the institution known vulnerabilities and thus achieves to protect the integrity of information and physical and logical components.

Thea Johnson

QUITO, Ecuador—The prosecutor stands to deliver her opening statement in the case. She wears a tight, electric-blue dress that comes to mid-thigh. Standing on her matching stiletto heels, she turns toward the three-judge panel at the front of the room and lays out her case against the defendant. The defendant, she begins, had cut down an ancient and valuable tree, thereby committing a crime against the property owner and the state. Her opening statment is short, mostly read from the page in front of her. The judges, two middle-aged men and a young woman in her early 30 s, listen intently from their seats behind a folding table. They face the audience, crammed into two narrow rows at the back of the room, and are flanked to the left by the prosecution team and to the right by the defendant and his lawyer, all seated at creaky folding tables. The defendant—a dark-skinned, middle-aged man in a short-sleeve button-down blue shirt—sits listlessly, his arms folded across his chest. His lawyer takes occasional notes during the opening statement, but mostly looks down at the thin binder before him. Everyone in the room—audience, judges, and lawyers—sits in folding chairs. Next to the judges is the clerk of the court at a computer. Besides that, the room is barren.It wouldn’t be much of a room if not for the spectacular view out of the dirty glass windows that take up the entire length of the left-side wall. From each, rise the sloping peaks and craggy, green ridges of the Andean mountain range that surround Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. The trial in this tiny sixth-floor courtroom on a foggy Friday morning is part of a grand experiment. Ecuador has taken a step toward an adversarial system of criminal justice. The heart of this experiment—public, oral trials—is coming to life here in this small, non-descript space.Until the 1990 s, almost all Latin American countries had strict inquisitorial systems. So all decision-making was centralized in the judge, who was, in theory, a neutral party tasked with discovering the truth in a criminal case and rendering a verdict and sentence. The process was closed to the public and based entirely on a written dossier compiled by a public prosecutor and handed off to the judge for decision. The problems with this system in a region with a history of corruption as rich as Latin America are obvious and became even more so as many Latin American countries struggled under the weight of soaring drug-related arrests in the 1990 s. The solution posed by some both in and out of the region was a move toward an American-style adversarial system, where a defense attorney and a prosecutor duke it out in a public forum before a judge or jury until the parties reach, through this healthy back-and-forth, the truth. Or the truth as decided by the judge or jury, who watch the process and then mete out justice. The “oral” adversarial system (or accusatorial system, as it also often called), the argument went, would shine a light into the shrouded and corrupt criminal justice structures in place in Latin America.And so a slow wave began away from the inquisitorial investigation model and toward an accusatorial template. It began in fits ands starts. Ecuador adopted a constitutional amendment in 2000 that required all provinces in the country to adopt an adversarial prototype. But judges had little understanding of what it meant to have an “oral” system and, searching for a solution, began reading the record and their verdicts aloud into tape recorders in their offices. This was technically “oral,” but certainly not adversarial.As the groundwork began to take shape, a litany of issues remained unresolved. How, for instance, do you develop rules of evidence when none have ever existed? How about burdens of proof at the pre-trial, trial, and appellate levels? And how can you develop rules and precedents when no one in the country is trained to act in the roles typically required in an adversarial system—a vigorous defense bar; a neutral, but zealous public prosecutors’ office; and a judge whose job is not to be a main stage performer, but rather a ring-master of the circus before him?These were the sorts of questions that faced at least 15 Latin American nations as they transitioned to a new criminal justice regime. This conversion has occurred at some level in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (in some states), Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. And what’s unusual about this dedication of effort and resources to criminal justice is that Latin Americans have never been particularly passionate about the topic.Historically, crime has been dealt with officially by the most local municipality and, unofficially, by the community. In places like Peru and Brazil, for instance, which have experienced a significant upsurge in street crime, the electorate has consistently rejected political candidates who run on a “tough on crime” platform. When Alberto Fujimori of Peru used the same tactics against common street criminals that had proved so successful against the Shining Path guerrilla group, voter response was negative. Latin America has just never been very into “Law & Order.”In many Latin American countries, the assumption has been that fairness in the arena of criminal justice is a pipe dream, particularly for the poor and underclass. Ximena Ortiz Crespo, a former Congresswoman and current professor of Ecuadorian history at the International University of Ecuador, explains that in places like Ecuador, “law is not present in people’s lives,” and when it does poke its head out, people run the other way. You’d rather pay a police officer to make the case “go away” than pay a lawyer down the road to defend you in a court you don’t trust or believe in. In Ecuador, she explains, there is a saying that goes la justicia es solamente para los de poncho, or justice tends to fall only on those who wear ponchos—the indigenous who inhabit the lowest rungs of the social and economic ladder. Criminal justice has long been an after-thought.And yet, many Latin American countries have shown surprising dedication to improving and making more robust their criminal justice systems. In Ecuador, this has meant a series of changes, including instituting public, oral trials and opening the first ever Public Defender’s Office.One Wednesday afternoon, the doors of the Office of the Public Defender at the bustling corner of Robles and 6 de Diciembre are wide open, with a steady flow of people washing through the empty space. Inside, cubicles are filled with young lawyers, fresh out of law school, typing away at computers or chatting with a revolving crowd of concerned family members, inquiring about the lawyer’s incarcerated “users” (in Ecuador represented defendants are called usarios, or “users” of the system). The fledgling lawyers, who grew up watching syndicated episodes of “Law & Order” and “CSI” on Ecuadorian television, never knew a model of criminal justice before the adversarial system. This lack of institutional memory is one of their greatest assets. As Ernesto Pazmiño, Chief Public Defender for Ecuador, explains, the criminal justice system is going through a “total cultural change” that will require the justice sector to reimagine itself. It’s a sentiment on the lips of many in the field—that this shift from an inquisitorial to an adversarial model requires not merely a change in infrastructure or procedure, but a fundamental reshaping of Ecuadorian legal culture. It is the public defenders who are best poised to make this change.One such public defender, Demetrio Santander, understands the procedure from arrest to sentence to appeal in the current Ecuadorian criminal justice system. Some parts are working well and are fully adversarial in nature, while others are still developing. At 26-years-old, Demetrio is typical of many public defenders in the office—young, dedicated, and bright (he’ll be leaving the office in less than a month to pursue a masters at Oxford through a scholarship program run by the Ecuadorian government). He knows how the system works and, more importantly, how it’s supposed to work.Many times, the public defenders—required to represent all indigent defendants in the system and even non-indigent defendants who fail to hire their own attorneys—are those most familiar with the adversarial system. They’ve learned cross-examination from veteran criminal attorneys from the United States and other countries who come to provide training through the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative and other programs. They know when to object to the introduction of evidence and how to formulate a case theory. One afternoon, a group of supervisors who head up units assigned to each phase of the new system gather in an office. They are young, energetic, and largely female. In considering why they became public defenders, they talk about their passion for justice, their desire to protect the most vulnerable members of society, and their love of a good fight. They are the face of the new criminal justice system.The great benefit of this transition is what many Ecuadorian lawyers, judges, and politicians refer to as publicidad, essentially the opening up of the process to the public. During the Friday morning trial of the accused tree-killer, anyone could walk into the non-descript building that serves as the courthouse, past the guard chatting quietly on his cell phone, hike up the six flights of stairs (the lone elevator is busted), and slip into the seats set up for the audience. The age-old issue of corruption is far from gone. Indeed many lawyers suggest it’s very much alive, but the opening of the forum has forced all parties to account, in some measure, for their actions. Prosecutors must charge people publicly. Judges no longer review evidence or announce decisions in the privacy of chambers. Defendants have advocates who are required by the constitution to represent their interests. In fact, the constitution adopted in 2008 is unprecedented in the guarantees promised by the state to the accused. The commitment to due process in the law is clear. At least that’s the theory.The picture on the ground, though, is not nearly as rosy. In contrast to the robustness of the public defender’s office, the reputation of the judges and prosecutors, who populate the new system, is somewhat less stellar. While public defenders simply never existed before 2007, judges and prosecutors—largely holdovers from the ancient regime—have had to adjust to new roles that shifted the nature of their power in the system. At this point, there are still no juries in Ecuador and trials are presided over by a three-judge panel.Prosecutors, who never had a meaningful relationship with the police, except to accept the police paper work and put it neatly into the dossier they prepared for the judge, now have full investigatory responsibilities that involve their cooperation and integration with the police force. Neither side has responded well to this forced friendship. And, judges, once the center of the party, are now left to twiddle their thumbs until prosecutors come to the table with the results of their investigations and their own formulation of the charges.Judges also haven’t escaped the taint of corruption that lingers from the days of the inquisitorial system. Although President Rafael Correa overhauled the justice system when he entered office in 2006, booting a number of judges and installing a host of new judges and administrators, the result was as much an end to old corruption as it was an assurance that the judiciary and the executive would stay closely connected going forward. Indeed, one of the first cases to come through this new network on the civil side, that has won worldwide attention, is the topsy-turvy, never-ending litigation between the Chevron corporation and a group of Indians from the Amazon region of Ecuador. Chevron, which tried for a decade to get the case moved from the United States to Ecuador under forums non conveniens grounds, is now slinging mud at the Ecuadorian justice system in foreign and domestic courts around the world, claiming the system is corrupt to its core. These protestations, though, come on the heels of a $19 billion award against Chevron.Indeed the power and presence of Correa is of huge importance to the future of the transition. The constitution that inaugurated an adversarial criminal justice system was adopted before Correa came to power, during a time when Ecuador saw eight presidents in nine years. Bumper stickers from the last election in Ecuador read, Ya tenemos Presidente, or “Already we have a President.” The slogan is tremendously popular, and it’s not hard to understand the power of a message that basically says—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.Correa has ruled over Ecuador for seven years during a time of relative stability and rising income equality. He has lowered child labor rates, improved medical care across the board, and focused on educational reform. But he has also been accused of wielding tremendous political influence over every aspect of Ecuadorian life, most recently in a series of high profile cases he has launched against the press in Ecuador. Like the presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia, he’s also committed to lessening, not strengthening, U.S. influence in his country. This is a president who has hosted the mother of Julian Assange personally for a sit-down talk, but not the current United States ambassador.What this means for the transition to an adversarial system in Ecuador remains to be seen. USAID, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, were early funders and supporters of the transition to an accusatorial model in Ecuador, providing both training and for the has began to out of the country as it that the two nations are not on the same page on a range of including the of that through Ecuador. The lack of U.S. does not put the entire at Ecuador is far in the transition to back But it does that the commitment to training and building infrastructure in the justice sector will have to come from the Ecuadorian going so of the justice or to be a number one for the Indeed, while is in for the building of new and the of the building case to a new legal not to many many of the old problems that the new system was to is of the of for many who are and a lack of in for those of no one so an arrest on a crime to Public defenders to their by a of other making it for side to about the case. remains been only from the of in the 1990 s, which to but little in the system to The sentence for the of of is still years in One public many people in are longer for than for Although a new criminal is its toward the lack of in means that the man trial on that foggy Friday morning for down a could get a month in for one and up to years if there were others is all this in working toward a new system is a adversarial system is a good The adversarial system in the is in the United and that system is by from arrest to and of even President Correa understands all of His was in the for a of into the United States and to and a years in an American behind was a young who would tremendous his and would one be president of their years for but those years away in a American for a common have improved his of remains the adversarial system has to and is often as a country that has in a adversarial commitment to the transition process has been through the dedication of meaningful to the justice sector and by working closely with the United The is a more and just system of criminal justice, but part of this commitment has also been the of From to 2007, was in Colombia, there were of defendants a as to who were a is the greatest of the adversarial system in the United It behind closed doors and with little or no record of what has occurred between the prosecutor and the defendant and his on a wide it some of the most inquisitorial of the former system—a process of the countries that have adopted it as the for criminal the presence of an adversarial system is no of or justice. The come from understanding and the fundamental behind the accusatorial model that a country like Ecuador to a more and less corrupt criminal justice to this is to jury are one of the of an adversarial system. for jury was at the of early in Latin America against an adversarial As a on adversarial in Latin has the early was a time of over how to criminal procedure in the Latin American nations with the of toward an adversarial system or a system of both the accusatorial and inquisitorial though, Latin American they and the jury as well as oral and public their were not for lack of juries a of this have had a passion for it has often come in the of street the eight presidents in almost as many that has put the on that of with of or civil or not that’s the it that jury is the of this desire for from the street to the to the process of justice. and a in their and this is of so much as a jury system. In a country where people have long that justice on those in indigenous men and as well as of all on juries is a to and with the system. It’s of that juries are an to and take a at the jury room in the of American And in Ecuador and in Latin they are certainly to even more so than the other in the system, they and don’t have to to anyone about the they But are not to up on the some of in from and a new of Ecuador is prepared than ever before to with jury don’t much if cases don’t get to One of the greatest to the adversarial process in the United States is that, by most than of cases end up at While trials means more it also means that almost no one in the system is the right to a trial by his or her about in Ecuador are very but at this there be trials and of oral trials are the heart of the system, and they the country. One to this is to make that prosecutors and public defenders are and which Ecuador to be good between two is what a trial to make trials is to the on the system This can be by the instituting of to people in while their cases are in don’t they The more defendants get the to in their the of a more they will to But and must also be for the system to if works as it from arrest through trial, if remains and are the of the system has and the presence of trials will be by the presence of filled with people in for the many questions around this most with a in the process is at the of the of Ecuador to the state prosecutor transition to a system of case The office is in the former U.S. a with the of a The building is by that and like across the the lawyers back and between and a in the he’s new to the office, there is on no on his no not even a But he the same passion for his work as was at the office of his the public As to Ecuador will transition fully and to an adversarial system at some point, he his head His away his in the and city of in the of Ecuador. He that he has no that Ecuador will have a successful and fully adversarial system. we are here like building a he are building it for