The rapid development of digital infrastructures demands new approaches to managing born-digital data and enabling knowledge valorisation. Rather than constructing another digital Library of Alexandria, the SODHA-team is developing Project BLU, a framework for building a distributed information network. Drawing inspiration from Web3 principles—decentralisation, interoperability, and user-driven discovery—the project explores methods for metadata exchange between archives. This project engages with established metadata standards like the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI), exploring how they can support or be extended to enable interoperability. Instead of centralising data, Project BLU enables a shared, federated catalogue based on metadata-exchange accessible from any entry point. Researchers will navigate this network to discover and link data across disciplines, reducing access barriers and opening new avenues for metadata specialists. These include promoting and, where needed, upgrading DDI standards, linking interdisciplinary data, and bridging vocabularies across scientific fields. The interconnected nature of the system reinforces adherence to FAIR principles, improves access to both open and restricted data, and enhances knowledge reuse at national and international levels (e.g. linking CESSDA and DDI partners). This presentation outlines the conceptual foundations of Project BLU and its vision for transforming metadata into dynamic, actionable links across the research landscape.
M. Mut-Puigserver, M. Magdalena Payeras-Capellà, Rosa Pericàs-Gornals, Jaume Ramis
This paper introduces FAIR (Federated Agreement for Independent Resolution), a cross-chain protocol designed to enhance scalability, transparency, and auditability in decentralized decision-making processes. Unlike traditional blockchainbased voting systems that rely on a single global chain, FAIR leverages a federated model in which local decisions are conducted on independent blockchains and subsequently aggregated into a global result through a secure cross-chain mechanism. The protocol employs Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) and Rejectable SBTs (RejSBTs) to ensure verifiability, immutability, and explicit acceptance of results, thereby strengthening both the integrity and security of cross-chain operations. We formalize the protocol, provide smart contract implementations, and illustrate its applicability in diverse contexts such as multinational corporations, district-based elections, and decentralized autonomous organizations. FAIR demonstrates that a federated and tokenized approach to decision-making enables efficient large-scale participation while maintaining strong guarantees of trust, transparency, and robustness.
Salim Saay, Sean O’Brien, Amandeep Singh, Amalia de Götzen · 6 authors
This research investigates the use of diverse visual knowledge communication tools in the multidisciplinary training produced in the BC4ECO project. During this project, teaching and learning content was developed to enable postgraduate learners to utilise blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to solve complex, real-world problems related to environmental sustainability. We examine how visual modelling techniques enhance comprehension across disciplines and facilitate interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, particularly for learners who may not have prior programming or computer science knowledge. Findings suggest that using these tools leads to enhanced collaboration between computer scientists and non-computer scientists and aids in the facilitation of joint problem solving between seemingly disparate disciplines. Additionally, the study highlights how the use of tools for established software engineering modelling, like Visual Paradigm for UML, bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical implementation, strengthening problem solving skills and improving software development education.