Introducing the new paradigm of Social Dispersed Computing: Applications, Technologies and Challenges

[EN] If last decade viewed computational services as a utility then surely this decade has transformed computation into a commodity. Computation is now progressively integrated into the physical networks in a seamless way that enables cyber-physical systems (CPS) and the Internet of Things (IoT) meet their latency requirements. Similar to the concept of ¿platform as a service¿ or ¿software as a service¿, both cloudlets and fog computing have found their own use cases. Edge devices (that we call end or user devices for disambiguation) play the role of personal computers, dedicated to a user and to a set of correlated applications. In this new scenario, the boundaries between the network node, the sensor, and the actuator are blurring, driven primarily by the computation power of IoT nodes like single board computers and the smartphones. The bigger data generated in this type of networks needs clever, scalable, and possibly decentralized computing solutions that can scale independently as required. Any node can be seen as part of a graph, with the capacity to serve as a computing or network router node, or both. Complex applications can possibly be distributed over this graph or network of nodes to improve the overall performance like the amount of data processed over time. In this paper, we identify this new computing paradigm that we call Social Dispersed Computing, analyzing key themes in it that includes a new outlook on its relation to agent based applications. We architect this new paradigm by providing supportive application examples that include next generation electrical energy distribution networks, next generation mobility services for transportation, and applications for distributed analysis and identification of non-recurring traffic congestion in cities. The paper analyzes the existing computing paradigms (e.g., cloud, fog, edge, mobile edge, social, etc.), solving the ambiguity of their definitions; and analyzes and discusses the relevant foundational software technologies, the remaining challenges, and research opportunities.Garcia Valls, MS.; Dubey, A.; Botti, V. (2018). Introducing the new paradigm of Social Dispersed Computing: Applications, Technologies and Challenges. Journal of Systems Architecture. 91:83-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sysarc.2018.05.007S831029

Deployment of distributed ledger and decentralized technology for transition to smart industries

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Impact of peer-to-peer trading and flexibility on local energy systems

To meet the 2050 net zero emission targets, energy systems around the globe are being revisited to achieve multi-vector decarbonisation in terms of electricity, transport, heating and cooling. As energy systems become more decentralised and digitised, local energy systems will have greater potential to self-sustain and hence, decrease reliance on fossil-fuelled central generation. While the uptake of electric vehicles, heat pumps, solar and battery systems offer a solution, the increase in electricity demand poses challenges in terms of higher peak demand, imbalance and overloading. Additionally, the current energy market structure prevents these assets in the distribution network from reaching their true techno-economic potential in flexibility services and energy trading. Peer-to-peer energy trading and community-level control algorithms achieve better matching of local demand and supply through the use of transactive energy markets, load shifting and peak shaving techniques. Existing research addresses the challenges of local energy markets and others investigate the effect of increased distributed assets on the network. However, the combined techno-economic effect requires the co-simulation of both market and network levels, coupled with simultaneous system balance, cost and carbon intensity considerations. Using bottom-up coordination and user-centric optimisation, this project investigated the potential of network-aware peer-to-peer trading and community-level control to increase self-sufficiency and self-consumption in energy communities. The techno-economic effects of these strategies are modelled while maintaining user comfort levels and healthy operation of the network and assets. The proposed strategies are evaluated according to their economic benefit, environmental impact and network stress. A case study in Scotland was employed to demonstrate the benefits of peer-to-peer trading and community self-consumption using future projections of demand, generation and storage. Additionally, the concept of energy smart contracts, embedded in blockchains, are proposed and demonstrated to overcome the major challenges of monitoring and contracting. The results indicate benefits for various energy systems stakeholders. Distribution system end-users benefit from lower energy costs while system operators obtain better visibility of the local-level flexibility along with the associated technical challenges in terms of losses, imbalance and loading. From a commercial perspective, community energy companies may utilise this study to inform investment decisions regarding storage, distributed generation and transactive market solutions. Additionally, the insights about the energy smart contracts allow blockchain and relevant technology sectors to recognise the opportunities and challenges of smart contracts and distributed ledger technologies that are specific to the energy sector. On the broader scale, energy system operators, regulators and high-level decision-makers can compare the simulated impact of community-led energy transition on the net zero goals with large-scale top-down initiatives

La reconnaissance juridique des contrats intelligents face à la réglementation globale des technologies

La technologie de la chaîne de blocs peut être résumée en un réseau décentralisé et distribué de registre de transactions numériques. Sa mise en oeuvre dans le marché des cryptomonnaies a été suivie par d’autres utilisations, comme les Organisations autonomes décentralisées (DAO) et les contrats intelligents. Ce mémoire s’attachera à examiner deux volets de la reconnaissance juridique des contrats intelligents : au regard des normes étatiques déjà existantes ou en cours d’élaboration au sein de différentes juridictions, y compris le Québec, et au regard du potentiel des normes alternatives. Le contexte de la globalisation, du pluralisme juridique et des mutations de la souveraineté étatique est pris en considération à cette fin. La première partie de cette étude se concentre sur les aspects technologiques, afin de présenter les fondements du fonctionnement des contrats intelligents. La seconde partie est consacrée à une analyse du panorama juridique. L’encadrement normatif du droit positif présente d’ores et déjà des normes applicables aux contrats intelligents, certaines générales et d’autres spécifiques. Il est également pris en considération que les normes alternatives peuvent être un moyen d’harmoniser un contexte globalisé. Une harmonisation dans cette direction serait importante visant à renforcer la réglementation des nouvelles relations issues de la démarche technologique. L’ensemble de ces faits rend l’utilisation des normes alternatives opportune, conjointement avec les normes étatiques, dans le cadre de la réglementation des nouvelles technologies afin, notamment, de surmonter l’incertitude juridique encore existante dans ce milieu.The Blockchain technology is essentially a decentralized and distributed network of digital transactions records. Its implementation on the cryptocurrency market was followed by other applications, such as the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) and Smart Contracts. This thesis will focus precisely on the legal recognition of smart contracts in the light of the established positive law and the regulations currently being drafted in various jurisdictions, including Quebec, as well as in the light of the soft law. The context of globalization, legal pluralism and state sovereignty changes are taken into consideration. The first part of this study focuses on the technological aspects in order to present the foundations of the Smart Contracts operation. The second part is dedicated to analyzing the current juridical panorama. The normative framework of the positive law already provides applicable regulations to Smart Contracts, some general, others more specific. It is further understood that the soft law could be a way of harmonizing the current context. A harmonization in this direction would be relevant in order to enhance the essential regulatory framework of new relations coming from the technological development. Given all these facts, the soft law along with hard law seem to be appropriate to chart the legal framework for the new technologies, in order to overcome the many legal uncertainties existing in this field

Social accounting in a selection of Arab countries : critical and post-colonial perspectives

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The Proceedings of the 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (DGO2022) Intelligent Technologies, Governments and Citizens June 15-17, 2022

The 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research theme is “Intelligent Technologies, Governments and Citizens”. Data and computational algorithms make systems smarter, but should result in smarter government and citizens. Intelligence and smartness affect all kinds of public values - such as fairness, inclusion, equity, transparency, privacy, security, trust, etc., and is not well-understood. These technologies provide immense opportunities and should be used in the light of public values. Society and technology co-evolve and we are looking for new ways to balance between them. Specifically, the conference aims to advance research and practice in this field. The keynotes, presentations, posters and workshops show that the conference theme is very well-chosen and more actual than ever. The challenges posed by new technology have underscored the need to grasp the potential. Digital government brings into focus the realization of public values to improve our society at all levels of government. The conference again shows the importance of the digital government society, which brings together scholars in this field. Dg.o 2022 is fully online and enables to connect to scholars and practitioners around the globe and facilitate global conversations and exchanges via the use of digital technologies. This conference is primarily a live conference for full engagement, keynotes, presentations of research papers, workshops, panels and posters and provides engaging exchange throughout the entire duration of the conference