Blockchain Papers

Robert G. Webster

Graeme Laver, one of Australia’s greatest influenza research scientists, died after collapsing en route to an influenza meeting in Portugal in September 2008. Graeme was born in Victoria, educated at Ivanhoe Grammar School and graduated from the University of Melbourne in biochemistry. He received his PhD in biochemistry at the University of London before returning to the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University (ANU) in 1958. After the Burnet School at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne changed its focus from influenza to immunology, the influenza research program moved with Frank Fenner’s group to ANU, where it was anchored by Stephan Fazekas de St. Groth. There the pioneering influenza work of Sir MacFarlane Burnet continued, with Graeme Laver as biochemist and Stephan Fazekas as the mathematical modeler of virus neutralization. I (Rob Webster) joined the group in 1959 to carry on the virus neutralization studies. To elucidate the subunit structure of influenza viruses, Graeme gently dissociated the lipid bilayer of the virus with the mild detergent sodium deoxycholate and established the basis for the first Australian subunit influenza vaccine. Before that accomplishment, only intact inactivated influenza vaccines had been used in Australia and they were considered undesirably reactogenic. Studies first in rabbits and then in children established the proof of principle for the vaccine. The ANU paid Laver and myself 10 shillings each for the patent rights. Australian subunit influenza vaccines have been further improved, but the fundamental principle established by Laver remains the same: that the proteins must be kept in their native conformation for the vaccine to be effective. Further studies with Robin Valentine of the National Institute of Medical Research at Mill Hill, London, established the morphology of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subunits by electron microscopy, and later work with Nick Wrigley produced the first electron microscopy images of antigen-antibody complexes. After the emergence of the Asian influenza pandemic in 1957 the influenza community, led by Martin Kaplan of the World Health Organization (WHO), began searching for the origins of influenza pandemics. During a fishing trip to the Southeast coast of Australia, near Bateman’s Bay, New South Wales, Laver and I found the beaches littered with dead mutton birds (Puffinus pacificus). Knowing that A/Tern/South Africa/61 (H5N3) influenza virus had been isolated from seabirds, we speculated that the mutton birds might have been killed by an influenza virus. In 1970, serological studies of mutton birds on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia found the first evidence of human N2 neuraminidase–inhibiting antibodies, and in 1973 influenza viruses were isolated for the first time from wild migratory seabirds. These findings provided the first links in the chain of evidence that subsequently showed that the migratory aquatic birds of the world are the natural reservoirs of all influenza A viruses. Studies on the structure of influenza virus neuraminidase began with Graeme’s keynote paper in 1978 on crystallization of the heads of the human N2 neuraminidase molecule (Virology 1978; 96: 78–87). These and subsequent studies culminated in the resolution of the three-dimensional structure of the neuraminidase, with Peter Colman and Jose Varghese. With this information, Mark von Itzstein was able to design the first structure-based anti-influenza drug, zanamivir (Relenza). Further development using NA crystals provided by Graeme led to the development of the orally available anti-influenza drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). The WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network was established in 1952 to keep up with antigenic drift in influenza viruses and to recommend changes in vaccine strains to stay abreast of antigenic variation. However, there was no fundamental understanding of the mechanisms involved until Graeme Laver began peptide mapping of the hemagglutinin (HA) molecule and provided evidence of multiple antigenic determinants on HA spikes (Virology 1974; 59: 230–244). The advent of monoclonal antibodies by Georges Kohler and Caesar Milstein and their use to select influenza virus escape mutants, together with sequence analysis of the HA molecules (Virology 1979; 98: 226–237), established that a single amino acid change in the HA would allow the influenza virus to escape neutralization. Antigenic mapping of the HA and NA molecules soon followed and, ultimately, establishment of the antibody binding domains and visualization of the epitopes on the NA subunits (Nature 1987; 326: 358–363). Thus, the mechanism of antigenic drift in influenza and the epitopes involved were elucidated thanks to the seminal work of the Laver laboratory. Graeme Laver had a sense of adventure in all aspects of his life, from family to friends to research, and was always a free spirit who was willing to challenge bureaucracy when they “got it wrong”. He was an avid skier, mountaineer, gardener and axeman. In later life, his scientific passion was the production of perfect crystals of NA through studies in zero gravity on the Russian MIR space station and crystallization chambers set up in every laboratory he visited. Some of the most beautiful crystals were the N9 neuraminidase of an influenza virus isolated from a noddy tern on the Great Barrier Reef. Photographs of these crystals appeared on the covers of many scientific journals, and Graeme and photographer Julie Macklin were awarded the Nikon “Small World” prize in 1987. In addition to influenza, Graeme made contributions to our knowledge about adenoviruses, sialidases and paramyxoviruses. His multiple scientific achievements were recognized by his election to the Royal Society of London in 1987 and by co-receipt of the Australia Prize with Peter Coleman, Mark von Itzstein and Paul Janssen in 1996. In its efforts to prepare for an influenza pandemic and to identify the best options for controlling seasonal influenza, the global community owes a very special debt to Graeme Laver. The current strategies for control of both pandemic and seasonal influenza, the stockpiles of anti-influenza drugs and prepandemic vaccines are products of his life’s work. His final mission was to have anti-influenza drugs made available over the counter so that every household could have an immediate supply in the face of a pandemic. He argued that this option would have no effect on the emergence of resistance and could save millions of lives in the event of infrastructure failure. New Zealand has taken the lead in following his visionary advice.

Fabienne Fecher, Benoît Lévesque

When the Annals of Collective Economy became the Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics in 1974, it incorporated the term ‘social economy’ into its French title (Annales de l'économie publique, sociale et coopérative), even though the social economy had not yet gained recognition in any country, not even France. Although the public enterprise and public services sectors emerged as the principal sector conveying the general interest, the social economy did not yet constitute a recognized ‘third sector’, despite that fact that mutual societies, cooperatives and associations had existed for over a hundred years. Three decades later, the issue of general interest – and that of the State as its principal architect – would be raised in other ways. This long period was marked by crisis and change in various Nation-States, and in geopolitics throughout the world, with the emergence of regional blocs, including the European Union, and more recently with the economic rise of China and India. Thus, to a significant extent, States were re-engineered, both in terms of the division of skills through globalization and decentralization and in their core function, especially their methods for intervening and regulating the economy and society (Lévesque 2003). Many public enterprises had to open up to competition, as did several large cooperatives and mutual societies, while numerous cooperatives and associations emerged – principally in social services, local development, job creation and labour market integration, and fair trade. In addition, there was a growing trend toward privatization, demutualization and even decooperativization. While the State is still one of the principal participants in defining general interest, it is no longer the only one, since other ‘solidarity perimeters’ have now established themselves (Monnier and Thiry 1997). Thus, economic and political entities, have become more complex, more interdependent and more hesitant in confronting global challenges such as global warming, security and, more broadly, sustainable development. With the above factors in mind, we analysed the content of the Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, for the period 1975–2007, in the light of activities that fall within the domain of general interest. To we a of in the that were in period of the we the public enterprises and public enterprises and and the though the of the social economy and the principal and significant in terms of though we were not to of In addition, the of the Annals is the of the content of the various in the not the of the the of interest of and the Annals is not the public the social economy and the their mutual as established through their to the general interest. and the of country, rise to that to that the of general interest. the a of is with a as and as the one is into with public enterprises and public services, while the with the is the of the social economy mutual societies, and associations and for the decades as a of the with the public sector and with the While the public sector the with of the the sector in the with of the we the the the of the by the and the in we be in a to the and the principal raised within the To we to their of in terms of general interest and to the of a in in (Monnier and Thiry 1997). To it with the to the we have to to public enterprises and public Thus, we have with several public sector such as public public and even public the and of the public and especially of public have the a of and public enterprises a as in the of In addition, public sector was to the market and of the of and of the of such as and public the the was State to period the of of and public enterprises were into enterprises and and enterprises the it was to public Thus, enterprises be to general interest of were and especially through of public In the in such as the Annals over it that only a of the public enterprise be a by Thiry we not the be it a with public in we not as a in the be it a a enterprise with a is that of by the and of is by of the of the the general even by in a in the While of a public enterprise it not with public by for enterprises have to a for such as a significant of the Thus, in to public there is a that the public enterprise sector become a the one enterprises that in sectors the public is and, the other it is of the of of that over the decades the sector In the of public enterprises that have a public sector is to market is not in the in terms of the and This is European States to the in the and of public with the by and for and When in the public – even it is a – only a is the while the public be content with a though it have a in the with in the of the and the of the and there is both and the of the of its and and various both public and In and public more not a economic and social and In a of in and In their enterprises more enterprises enterprises to other of Thus, the public in enterprise – in a in market economy would not – there is State while not State is for and (Monnier Many of the to public enterprises in the and that the to as public in and be in in enterprises have by one several market the fact that a of the public and significant to of in a significant and of the long term and In the methods for sectors were were especially by the by of other factors a the in to their more and of were to to activities that were and by to to their of enterprises In the European a rise in the and the by the public enterprise sector a by While the in its over the be to various the and was as to as the French in and as to such as for sectors in as the in the public enterprises and public services, as over the decades in the of the with a in the of public enterprises in and in the other of the of and in and in in the period with of the and significant the period of to the period and had of the their in the for of the that of the with other to public not be analysed in in in the of and the of and of by sector and country, over in to the of the with the public sector over the decades not in and that not in the to public by the and the of and to various public in the of and development, and even for the social including the of public the of public in more one the and the of the general interest and the of public services have analysed in emergence and of not only to of economic – the – to the of European the in the we and of and of enterprise is as the to the to it by its be of the enterprise in large to a of public enterprises more numerous and be as in numerous to in This in the of the enterprise to its with a of and to the to the the et the and the and in that the the of and there public enterprise to its services for the of even a long public enterprises in their and in their of economic and in their of their enterprises with economic and trend since the a for such as public and public and even sector by the European Union, through and Public enterprises in and in the of and in over in sectors the regional with even in In their as enterprises and for social we their of since the for public enterprises a term not would be more to that there was of that had existed the the term more for were and to were were to a that to the core of to was to the of of In was and the of were by privatization, of the more for Thiry as the of enterprise to the the be be of and and the French is since it not to local regional public for their be to term to a of and in State In addition, the that be to in the of public to privatization, though constitute to to and to have the for Thiry and economic and the of public enterprises that be to a of State and especially in public established within the that the European the trend toward In and the of a market economy to and and of the Annals the of in and and privatization, especially in sectors public have to and a for the State Many of the of and and in sectors have the activities the State its in the of to its in the enterprises it its as a that of the and sector have a of the economic activities by within a in as a enterprises a and activities to in the of and market with and to that to more in a is in and their enterprises to that there is no the of general interest and public and in their of and their enterprises in a that of the is the in it was for the State to enterprise a State services with to the general for public services and to that were it to to the general interest. have to in of public be that there public enterprises and economic activities to public enterprises with public no public public services were by enterprises even the of the and in the more of public defining and and their the European the of of general of and public is that of and a by the and in is as a of services of a to and have services not as as general interest public not the such as the services is and the for in the and other the of the sector general interest public and have several economic that market into the that other security of in terms of and and and throughout the for of the large the to even the the of the and of the be social the of the of in have public and a of for the public in the in of the is the one for the a public a to in the sector not public that in of the is that of public services and methods within the of public and of a to to a public enterprise a be is through the to the through a in the principal is not the the of the In is as to the to public services of up to market constitute one for the of the of be in by the of and by and by the State that in and the of a for While we that the Annals have analysed the of and and political have for the numerous This for not only their for the of European the of and in In the period were in the with the public This with the by the Thus, is in numerous While the analysed it was to the public sector of to and to be more in integration, it to is the especially in public its the fact that by and it to various of public is is with and in of the as for within a the the and various and to and the and that to the of with the of the to that the be more in the sector in the public the is to public and Public that in public sector including to their and of of especially is to that the State the general interest. of for its the of that in the for – that the to and the to In that is in public is to a of the of public have no that public be In several to Public there no sector and public sector market to public sector To the public for and several especially as the of and large of have the of public and fall within the of and the of that and methods to numerous and and of a to of to and that with the and that sector to social economy for of the and of the in the to in the the of that with recognition of the social economy and the rise of This in the sector did not the of since the in the to in the a in cooperatives in the social economy as a a of sector did not in the while the the did not we to with a significant the by social economy numerous the ‘social economy’ more as we the of with cooperatives and mutual in the of public the sector a Annals for associations the especially in society had a the associations a social in the decades became economic in for more of the labour Thus, in and the more to in in the any other economic and In the associations and the that a sector that to as that of With the in associations that in became ‘social and the cooperatives over the decades a a period for the of cooperatives and a period of for cooperatives In the the of and with a significant of cooperatives became even trend the of trend was that of and were to the of market While such as and such as the sector and mutual societies, and especially in the and and the of were in sectors that within the of the such as social services, social and local and In addition, to a of social not associations Thus, that the of by the is by its economic its in the not its be by the social and recognition of the social in the of the a of the trend in mutual and to with the that a that of social to a and term of the is not since to no one that cooperatives mutual have in and even that be for trend did not in European country, did it the In there is no of mutual and associations that social and services, the ‘social economy’ and ‘third still the sector be the of social economy the social economy there of defining the its and of mutual societies, the the by including and to various This including the of services to the by its and the of and over to since Thus, its of the is not its of there and the have no have a the associations that in economic activities that have recognized the social have that to political and there is no of the social the of the the Economy a for of in the and since it not not in the to the as by et the to the creation of for to the of to and in to extent, and to the of interest is of of be as of to themselves and with services that not by and in the principal and their services toward have no the is through through to associations the of by other Thus, only associations toward the of a be as the general interest especially in have raised of the of the sector and 1997). While in both it is to to the sector even the social there the the the of their of social economy to the into to the other to the of its in the to the general interest in the one the of of and, in the and the of to to of the the and mutual societies, social economy not in economic the State the fact that associations of the social economy and of especially of the by large and the of cooperatives is in the world, there is that of associations would be in the social economy is the of though of the with and the social we with the social economy and with of When the of the social the of and in the the To the social both its and the In the social economy enterprise is as the of a of and is economic and a of the for Thus, the social economy be analysed more activities that have not have by the market the and to the of the economic with the This up the of the to both and economic with as such as the of the economy and the social have in the in interest services its and the economy a that in to activities with the and of to economic by of the of and and and to political the of the public both the social and political of services and 2003). the social enterprise is as economic and a social in large in defining the social economy and have especially that with and for and methods the social economy and associations and economic activities fall within the not only of the market the the public and the In addition, to their of and associations and more the social economy be a for to the several of and and of In the social economy be analysed such as the and and and and and, of economic and In the of several have to of a issue in the social economy and the various in the as the to and Thus, the for a and the of and the that the of the social the the to with cooperatives and mutual there no to with the social economy and we have is both to the by cooperatives mutual as the in the established by and to its and there the numerous the of cooperatives and mutual that of in and, Thus, the is and and To the of the to market especially for and and to its local its et is to for Thus, to the creation of a by a social by the up the to and even and a especially with that have rise to its and the have the fact that by their especially since the of the sector is by its 1997). that within the by especially the fact that analysed the of the of interest and To is to with the of is in the of a to would to the of economic with a for activities to such as that to the of and into the methods by associations more open to into and In the to economic it to the to the various period to was marked by economic crisis and a into of the of toward the general that to by including demutualization and the of while that to by of with the the market and as as the of of economic crisis more in several its for the it it is with the in the more one of the in the period to the for the of the social economy is analysed in with the public the of a economy a cooperatives in While for of the the be since a of sectors such as and is analysed in terms of enterprises by and With the of the issue and the is In enterprises even though the of enterprises have Thus, several to the of the of cooperatives and the of one of the with enterprises the fact that would themselves in the a general in the of in the of the as the enterprise This several a of the not be as and and the to in several with in the to by local the for the of the social and was to to economic that the numerous in the States in the of and the creation of enterprises by a of in the the economic crisis one to that the social economy in with the by of the in with the that it was with the social and economy’ the mutual and associations in such as and were to a social economy’ In the of economic and social was for that the sector to the of and the of a to the State not that the be the of a the public economy and public the the one the for and and, the other economic not to economic and social we the of the sector with public enterprises and social economy such it a of for public enterprises and cooperatives that was and that for now is the for since there no in is not as as the In to in in the Annals have cooperatives as and as a of de to cooperatives and the that for the for de the of and the for to the there were more the of with the sector enterprises the cooperatives other cooperatives the with and the demutualization other we various with the large of enterprises be in by the of and to for the in economic especially the to and the skills of Thus, to as as the by to have the emergence and of enterprises In the by and would in large the of cooperatives to their especially there was in and public did not in their and of enterprises as a to to the in the and in that were were even and and the cooperatives in with the of cooperatives in various and such as in the and the in and, the of and a cooperatives was toward such as and the social of cooperatives by with were analysed as there were and that had become that it be to were and especially and for and In including cooperatives in would the social of economic This is in the of social cooperatives that with to is with by of to in the – though and to and the the of in especially analysed more the of social economy for of the for the period the issue economic with the and a the with such as the of and not the the to and the of the and in and and and to and to the of activities market and the for and the to the of associations and their of and demutualization is a one that the for a the principal with were in the Annals In the and that In addition, the by mutual to Thus, of demutualization and to demutualization the of the issue of the of mutual societies, was analysed and and of demutualization and more was not the the the social economy and the sector of over the the were more and especially that of cooperatives and mutual by over other and associations the sector and the other sectors within the economy as as and the a for other the and cooperatives especially enterprises and cooperatives in such as fair social et and social and the and of social economy enterprises for the of This though cooperatives and mutual In the for the period was that for In the mutual and with that of by to and 2003). factors were including et and into a and and of and cooperatives of and and and In there was of and In the for of the by the sector no more by the of and by the of and While demutualization the of in more one it the of of especially was not as in issue of and was raised in the of other In the of for the of to to the of cooperatives and of associations was analysed by it to that of other of to their with and to be more in the public and sectors and 2003). associations social economy had such as and social of the with associations be and and and the of the of the of to a and a to and and social and With to the of a with their for is public sector and sector and and of associations and cooperatives is the of the of in the of and and and is in the of and 2003). with social services that the social economy more to social integration, enterprise creation and local and and the of the the sector and the other sectors to the period and and Thiry 1997). that the social economy a sector and a This the of the sector the the sectors have to and rise to the of the et 2003). economy the In the enterprise and public enterprise as a in in and was by a in for were 1997). 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In sector enterprises had to the of with the though within the of with the even such as social fair and sustainable the of a social and economy that would into not only social and economic as not only for within a the and the and with to of any to be to the and more of the social enterprises and to the of general interest be not yet in the be in the the is still open to and that interest in the and especially economic activities toward the general interest. the of a of the to into that fall within the of market and society and that economic is not it its is a of that now did not to have – its – to such as social social and and In have over the in of to as and other is the of the of that not with This to a to be by in the of general interest, and to the of the by the especially its the general interest, it to a not only to and social economy to the that to of economic and social in a more interdependent and

Hans‐Peter Brunner

No abstract is available for this record.

Daniel Cohn

Abstract The Canadian province of British Columbia has been widely recognized as the North American leader in employing Design, Build, Finance Operate public–private partnerships to create new public infrastructure. Canada is one of the most decentralized federations in the world. Provinces exercise considerable autonomy and have powerful revenue raising power at their disposal. Although Canadian local governments are generally seen as substantially inferior to the two senior levels of government, those in British Columbia have in fact managed to achieve quite a bit of autonomy due to non-constitutional factors. Large infrastructure projects, for which municipalities and other local government agencies must look to the province for financial support are among the most controversial of issues within the provincial–local government relationship. The introduction of public–private partnerships represents a classic example of a political entrepreneur changing the rules of the game to favour their desired outcomes. In this case, a government leader determined to pursue an infrastructure program that the province lacked the capital to support and the re-structuring of the state along New Public Management lines. However, even though the rule change favoured the Premier's immediate goals, and allowed him to over-ride much local objection, it can be argued that in the long run neither local governments nor the province have necessarily gained in power by changing the rules of the game. In keeping with the general tenants of the New Public Management, the introduction of public–private partnerships has given precedence to technocratic forms of knowledge, especially those involved with finance and accounting, with the aim of pursuing public goals in the most “economically efficient” manner possible. The flip side is that democratic input is strictly limited to the initial question as to whether or not a project is desirable, not how it can be best achieved or whether, once underway, it still represents a wise move. As a result, if there are any real winners in terms of autonomy, it has been senior public managers at both the provincial and local level and their financial and accounting advisors. These actors have had the range of issues for which they are accountable markedly simplified when it comes to major infrastructure projects, even as the complexity of such projects are increased by the use of public–private partnerships. Evidence is drawn from government documents, news accounts and interviews conducted by the author with senior managers, politicians and appointed board members of local government organizations (a quasi-governmental agency and a regional municipality's transit authority) as well as a provincial ministry, which acts as a control case. By employing three cases within the same province and the same time-frame, many of the contextual factors that can confound a study of this sort have been held constant for the purpose of comparison.

Yuanyuan Zhang

The paper considers a three-tier credit chain consisting of a bank, a logistic company and a retailer. The paper analysis the following outsourcing structure implemented by top-tier bank: inhouse consignment, under which the bank signs independent contracts with the logistic company and the retailer. Under the assumption that the logistic company cannot change its decision, the paper investigates the equilibrium behavior of the decentralized credit chain with non-cooperation newsvendor under demand uncertainty. The model includes the case of a risk-neutral bank offering loan to a noncooperative risk-neutral retailer who mortgages its inventory to the bank to finance more inventory. The retailer faces a random demand in a single sales season as in the classical newsvendor problem. By game theorem, the paper gives the optimal loan to value to retailers with different initial capital.

Rosaria Rita Canale

:This paper aims to show how state intervention within the European Monetary Union can have positive effects not only on growth but also on public balances and debt. The relation between centralized monetary policy and decentralized fiscal policy partly solves the lack of coordination between the two. Each time a fiscal expansion in an EU country is not accompanied by a Central Bank interest rate increase, the expansionary effect of public spending, initially financed through the emission of public bonds, will be reinforced by endogenous money creation due to the increase in growth. The final result, if growth exceeds the rate of interest, is not only an increase in equilibrium income, but also a reduction in debt.

Kazuhiko Mori

Autonomous Decentralized System (ADS) has been making progress in these 31 years since it was proposed in 1977. During these long years in the rapidly advancing computer and communication technologies, the ADS concept has not been changed but its technologies have been growing in accordance with the change and diversity of the social, economical and personal requirements and through the globalization of the market and the restructuring organizations. The ADS technologies are system-atized to cover all processes of system design, operation, maintenance and modification. This paper reviews the work done in fields of ADS in past 31 years from not only technological perspectives, but it also encompasses users requirements and value, system design, industrial activity, academic activity and standardization [1]-[26]. Moreover the new directions of the ADS are suggested.

Claudio Shuftan

The topic of the above title has vividly interested the author for many years. Regretfully, the issues at stake have not changed for the last 25 years. As proof of this - and on purpose - references dug up and quoted are only those published before 1986. The end result has been the (re)construction of a scenario that has been stubborn to change and that looks into most of the burning questions of then and now pertaining to the title.The materials here presented are an informal, non-systematic review of the literature on the ethical, ideological and political implications of health as a science and as a praxis. The materials here collected are, in a way, "out of the box" and, in the author's view very needed. The article sheds some light on the major issues at the core of this universal discussion that - whether we like it or not - was and continues to be at the very base of our daily work as health professionals.

Daniel Plaatjies

The design of the decentralized co-operative governance system, conditioned and
\nregulated by the South African constitution is of critical importance for policy design and
\nimplementation. The division of powers falls within a unitary form of government. This
\nstudy, which is about the processes, mechanisms and modalities of public policies
\ndesign and implementation uses the public finance and health sectors, as a case study
\nor lens through which policy design and implementation is examined within a
\ndecentralized cooperative governance system. The study is per se not about the public
\nhealth system, but rather a review and an analysis about how the decentralization and
\ncooperative governance nature, practice and dynamic of government system, influences
\nand condition the policy processes and practice on finance and health, separately and
\ncollectively within the public health system.
\nIn its attempt to unbundle the health function, but also reform the public health system,
\ncentral and provincial governments have introduced a number of reforms. These reforms
\nwere ostensibly driven by different policies and programmes originating either from the
\npublic finance or public health sectors with significant consequences for the provinces.
\nMoreover, these different policies also outlined structural and functional responsibilities
\nand authority among the central and provincial government departments. The
\nimplementation of these policies was at times based on different interpretations of policy
\ndesign and implementation responsibilities and authority between the central and
\nprovincial governments within co-operative governance system.
\nThe argument of this study is that despite intentions implicit to public policy, co-operative
\ngovernance system is contested at a central government level within the public health
\nsystem, as well as between levels of government and the public health and finance
\nsectors. This dissertation explores the nature of the relationship between the central and
\nprovincial governments by exploring co-operative governance in the health sector on
\npolicy and financing processes and mechanisms. The central question is how does
\ndecentralized co-operative governance really work in the public health system?
\nA case study method was used to conduct this research. Data was collected over a four
\nand half year period using a variety of data collection methods, including semi-structured
\nin-depth interviews; documents and reports analyses; policy content review and
\nanalyses; and revenue and expenditure reviews and analyses.
\nThe study’s findings are:
\na) the functional and structural decentralization of policy-making and implementation
\nwithin the co-operative governance system contributes to undermining the cooperative
\ngovernance relationship between the public finance and health sector and
\ncentral and provincial governments;
\nb) the central government is using its overriding powers to “impose co-ordinated
\nsolutions” to problems within the co-operative governance system, leading to
\nsituations where ‘imposed co-ordination’ is considered as ‘co-operative governance’;
\nc) the theory provides a classical distinction between state control, supervision and
\ninterference models. This dissertation shows that, depending on the policy context
\nand circumstances, the uniqueness of South Africa’s co-operative governance
\nsystem allows the central government to mobilize any of these models to achieve its
\npolicy intentions, whether written or unwritten; and
\nd) the classical arguments of decentralization, particularly within a devolved system of
\nco-operative governance where greater autonomy and authority are given to subnational
\ngovernments, are found wanting within the South African governance
\nsystem, given both the policy-making and fiscal resource strength of the central
\ngovernment relative to the provinces.
\nThis dissertation leads me to conclude that the South African practice of co-operative
\ngovernance in the health system is actually imposed co-ordination and that provinces
\nare de facto administration outposts of central government policies, programmes and
\nservice delivery responsibilities. Therefore in reality there is no autonomy and
\nindependence of the provinces from the central government as envisaged in the
\nConstitution of the Republic of South Africa. In fact, provinces only exist, in terms of their
\nconstitutional competencies as far the central government allows it to exist given its
\nplenipotentiary powers over both micro and macro matters affecting institutions, fiscus
\nand social policies.

Donna Lee Van Cott

Decentralization and democratization in Bolivia and Ecuador occurred in the context of regional and global trends that shifted powers from central to local governments and expanded citizen participation in public decision making. These trends converged with the return to civilian-elected rule in Latin America in the late 1970s and accelerated and deepened over the next decade. Latin America in subsequent decades produced some of the most admired decentralization experiences (Eaton 2004: 36). Development professionals embraced the writings of political theorists extolling the “normative, substantive and instrumental benefits of participation” (Humphreys et al. 2006: 585–6). By the 1990s virtually all major development players – multilateral and bilateral donors and civil society groups – had embraced a preference for governance methods that facilitate the autonomous involvement of stakeholders in the choice, design, implementation, and monitoring of development programs. Thus, when Andean indigenous governments sought new ways to link social-movement organizations with public decision-making bodies in the 1990s, they received enthusiastic support from many development actors. Before we investigate the variations in institutional innovation in particular municipalities, it is important to understand the enormous impact of the larger legal, political, and economic contexts in each country. We must remember that the most important decisions that affect local living conditions are made in distant national, and even international, capitols (Bebbington 2005: 5; Grindle 2007: 182–3). In the first section I describe the development of decentralization in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Payman Mohassel, Enav Weinreb

No abstract is available for this record.

Joël Alwen, Abhi Shelat, Ivan Visconti

No abstract is available for this record.

Yevgeniy Dodis, Victor Shoup, Shabsi Walfish

No abstract is available for this record.

Chris Peikert, Vinod Vaikuntanathan

No abstract is available for this record.

Feili Yu, Fang Tu, Krishna R. Pattipati

Based on the concept of autonomous cooperating holons, this paper presents a holonic command and control (C2) organizational control architecture (OCA) that models aC2organization as an integration of holonic multilevel decentralized decision-making networks. The OCA consists of two levels: operational- and tactical-level controls. Authority and control are highly distributed among agents belonging to different levels of the holarchy to empower the edges, whereas the integration of decisions is ensured to achieve overall mission objectives. In order to complete a mission in real time in dynamic environments, the decision makers (DMs) at different control levels need to coordinate their actions extensively and be prepared to adapt their schedules. Based on the proposed OCA, we present a holonic multiobjective evolutionary algorithm that produces flexible distributed schedules that account for the unexpected changes in the mission environment, such as asset breakdown, appearance of new events, DM failure, etc. This approach generates multilevel Pareto optimal solutions and, as a consequence, produces a set of ranked neighboring schedules. The actual schedule is a combination of different phases from alternative neighboring schedules that adapt to environmental disturbances. Moreover, the cost of adaptability is reduced while maintaining the stability of the organization. Numerical experiment shows the advantages of the proposed OCA, viz., simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility, which enable an organization to achieve high performance under dynamic and uncertain environments.

Ning Ding, Dawu Gu

No abstract is available for this record.

Jacek Cichoń, Marek Klonowski, Mirosław Kutyłowski

No abstract is available for this record.

Yael Tauman Kalai, Ran Raz

No abstract is available for this record.

Oded Goldreich

Various types of probabilistic proof systems have played a central role in the development of computer science in the last couple of decades. These proof systems deviate from the traditional concept of a proof by introducing randomization and interaction into the verification process. Probabilistic proof systems carry an error probability (which is explicitly bounded and can be decreased by repetitions), but they offer various advantages over deterministic proof systems. This primer concentrates on three types of probabilistic proof systems: interactive proofs, zero-knowledge proofs, and Probabilistically Checkable Proofs (PCP). Surveying the basic results regarding these proof systems, we stress the essential role of randomness in each of them.

Thomas Schmickl, Ronald Thenius, Christoph Moeslinger, Gerald Radspieler · 7 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Lu Li, Jinsong Han, Yunhao Liu, Lei Hu · 7 authors

Most of the current trust models in peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are identity based, which means that in order for one peer to trust another, it needs to know the other peer's identity. Hence, there exists an inherent tradeoff between trust and anonymity. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no P2P protocol that provides complete mutual anonymity as well as authentication and trust management. We propose a zero-knowledge authentication scheme called pseudo trust (PT), where each peer, instead of using its real identity, generates an unforgeable and verifiable pseudonym using a one-way hash function. A novel authentication scheme based on zero-knowledge proof is designed so that peers can be authenticated without leaking any sensitive information. With the help of PT, most existing identity-based trust management schemes become applicable in mutual anonymous P2P systems. We analyze the security and the anonymity in PT, and evaluate its performance using trace-driven simulations and a prototype PT-enabled P2P network. The strengths of our design include (1) no need for a centralized trusted party or CA, (2) high scalability and security, (3) low traffic and cryptography processing overheads, and (4) man-in-middle attack resistance.

Brandi Nelson

On January 8, 1997, the former President of Brazil, Fernando Enrique Cardoso signed the National Water Resource Policy into law (Law No. 9.433, 1997). The key principles of the National Water Policy include: an integrated approach with the river basin as the planning unit, water as a fragile and finite resource, water as an economic good, and finally, decentralized and participatory management of the resource (Formiga and Scatasta, forthcoming). The legislation provided for the implementation of bulk water pricing with the resulting revenues meant to finance the activities mandated by basin committees in the watershed area of Rio Paraíba Do Sul (in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and also in the state of Minas Gerais, that basin committee is Comitê para Integraςão da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Paraíba Do Sul (CEIVAP) (Abers and Keck, 2004). To improve the sustainability of many different resources it is a widely accepted concept that charging a fee for something will spur sparing use by the target audience, particularly if the price is high. One-hundred percent of the collected monies have been invested within the basin; mainly designated to the following: non-structural institutional interventions, sediment control projects, and municipal wastewater treatment. Payments from agriculture and small hydroelectric plants have been mostly symbolic or non-existent and payments from other sectors have not been high enough to maintain a sustainable system. Convincing those that have not been actively participating is central to the success of this initiative: this paper will explain a framework called Social Marketing which is becoming more widely used throughout the globe to inspire behavior change. Social Marketing is a tool that can be used to persuade more users to pay the cobrança.

Vesna Aleksić

Pursuant to the Local Self-Government Act adopted in February 2002, the fiscal decentralization has been carried out without the institutional decentralization of functions of the central tax administration, whereby only the affirmation of the self-government authorities has been done in the part of financing the budges of self-government units, but not in the part of administering the original local public revenues. The Local Self-Government Financing Act created a legal ground for decentralization of functions of the central tax administration (Tax Administration). Further concretization of competence of the local tax administration shall be done by the Amendment Act to the Tax procedure and Tax Administration Act.

Youliang Tian, Changgen Peng, Renping Zhang, Yuling Chen

A practical publicly verifiable secret sharing (PVSS) is constructed based on the bilinear pairing on elliptic curves, which has all advantages of B. Schoenmakerspsila PVSS and its secret is not the form of discrete logarithm, thus this PVSS is extremely practical. Moreover, in the schemepsilas distribution of shares phase, only using bilinearity of bilinear pairing, anybody can verify whether the participants received correct shares without implementing zero-knowledge proofs, without implementing the non-interactive protocol and without construction so called witness of shares applying Fiat-Shamirpsilas technique. Subsequently, in the schemepsilas reconstruction of secret phase, the released shares may be verified by anybody with the same method. Since the PVSS need not to implement non-interactive protocol to prevent malicious players. Therefore this scheme is simpler, more efficient and practical suitable for some especially case.