Developing an Evaluation Framework for Blockchain in the Public Sector : The Example of the German Asylum Process

The public sector presents several promising applications for blockchain technology. Global organizations and innovative ministries in countries such as Dubai, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Germany have recognized these potentials and have initiated projects to evaluate the adoption of blockchain technology. As these projects can have a far-reaching impact on crucial government services and processes, they should involve a particularly thorough evaluation. In this paper, we provide insights into the development of a framework to support such an evaluation for the German asylum process. We built this framework evolutionarily together with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Its final version consists of three levels and eighteen categories of evaluation criteria across the technical, functional and legal domains and allows specifying use-case specific key performance indicators or knockout criteria

Supporting communication and cooperation in the asylum procedure with Blockchain technology : A proof of concept by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees

The proof of concept showed that the use of Blockchain technology could support cross-organisational communication and cooperation in the asylum procedure. In addition, Blockchain could provide an important foundation for the establishment of digital identities and allow an asylum seeker’s procedure to be tracked based on this identity. Admittedly, not all applicable data protection regulations were fully implemented in the proof of concept. However, the findings gained as part of the project provide a promising basis for the development of a Blockchain-based solution for the asylum procedure that complies with data protection requirements. Moreover, the developed concept could scale beyond Germany’s borders. Blockchain-based, transnational management of asylum procedures could therefore become a joint project of the European member states to strengthen cooperation while safeguarding federal structures. This means that Blockchain technology could be the start of digital federalism in Europe (including the asylum procedure)

A review of Smart Contract Blockchain Based on Multi-Criteria Analysis: Challenges and Motivations

A smart contract is a digital program of transaction protocol (rules of contract) based on the consensus architecture of blockchain. Smart contracts with Blockchain are modern technologies that have gained enormous attention in scientific and practical applications. A smart contract is the central aspect of a blockchain that facilitates blockchain as a platform outside the cryptocurrency spectrum. The development of blockchain technology, with a focus on smart contracts, has advanced significantly in recent years. However research on the smart contract idea has weaknesses in the implementation sectors based on a decentralized network that shares an identical state. This paper extensively reviews smart contracts based on multi criteria analysis challenges and motivations. Therefore, implementing blockchain in multi-criteria research is required to increase the efficiency of interaction between users via supporting information exchange with high trust. Implementing blockchain in the multi-criteria analysis is necessary to increase the efficiency of interaction between users via supporting information exchange and with high confidence, detecting malfunctioning, helping users with performance issues, reaching a consensus, deploying distributed solutions and allocating plans, tasks and joint missions. The smart contract with decision-making performance, planning and execution improves the implementation based on efficiency, sustainability and management. Furthermore the uncertainty and supply chain performance lead to improved users confidence in offering new solutions in exchange for problems in smart contacts. Evaluation includes code analysis and performance while development performance can be under development.Comment: Revie

Mindful technology adoption: Exploring the role of technology features in blockchain adoption

Blockchain has become a hyped emerging technology that is predicted to be heavily influential in all our lives, not just triggered by the success of Bitcoin. Yet, until now, it has failed to deliver most of its advertised benefits. To tackle this problem and provide an explanation for the missing wider success, this study focuses on the role of technology features in the adoption of blockchain. Thus, this research integrates the view on technological characteristics, represented by aspects of the mindfulness concept, with the sociological aspects influencing technology adoption decisions based on the widely used unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The resulting research model is evaluated qualitatively, based on 11 international cases. This research advances previous research by focusing on the role of technology features for the potential adoption of blockchain technology in a cross-industry context. It expands the literature on technology adoption models by highlighting the role of technical characteristics and combining social, psychological and technological factors into one model. Further, it helps practitioners to understand the causes for the limited success of this technology and advances the general knowledge on the adoption of technology. The findings indicate that the unique technology features of blockchain technology are one crucial factor for adoption decisions which is often neglected due to the hype state of this technology. However, the overall missing success of blockchain technology is found having also different causes like for example missing regulation and standardization

A method for emerging technology evaluation. Application to Blockchain and smart data discovery

International audienceEmerging technologies represent a major innovation that offers significant advances to both private and public organizations. Examples of these technologies are the "Blockchain technology" which combines cryptographic mechanisms and peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture and "Smart Data Discovery" combining artificial intelligence and analytics. The importance of these emerging technologies requires the use of evalua-tion methods in order to understand their contribution and the associat-ed risks. The objective of this article is to propose a method supporting the evaluation of emerging technologies. A guidance approach is pro-posed. It is based on the recognition that emerging technologies are complex systems. Our approach combines three conceptual frame-works: the underlying theory of complex information systems, systems theory, and the ISO 25001 standard devoted to software quality. We propose a multi-criteria hierarchy which serves as the basis for the eval-uation. To illustrate this approach, we apply it to the particular cases of "Blockchain" technology and "Smart Data Discovery"

Rise of technomoral virtues for artificial intelligence-based emerging technologies’ users and producers : threats to personal information privacy, the privacy paradox, trust in emerging technologies, and virtue ethics.

In terms of communication and internationalization, global openness is a defining characteristic of this era due to the revolution in advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs). While these emerging technologies (ETs) play significant roles in the maturity of information societies, they also pose severe threats to society’s values, such as personal information privacy (PIP). The impact of advanced ICTs is challenging to estimate due to their ubiquity and omnipresence. This situation will worsen because of disruptive emerging ICTs, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoTs), and big data-based applications heavily dependent on users’ real-time personal information. Prior research suggests that despite concerns over the collection of personal information by these technologies, the increasing trends of data breaches, and the distribution of users’ personal dynamic information, individuals’ usage of modern technologies has paradoxically increased. Accordingly, this study explores how individuals will develop trust in AI-based ETs in the presence of PIP threats and the root causes behind their paradoxical thinking regarding their privacy. This study’s literature review reveals that trust in ETs and the privacy paradox are subjective phenomena that are not merely outcomes of cost-benefit analysis. Individuals’ moral values (i.e., virtues) and experiences are essential in developing trust and explaining people’s paradoxical behavior. This study designed a research framework based on virtue ethics, the concourse theory, and Q-methodology to understand these phenomena and their associated subjectivity by following abductive logic in the constructionist paradigm. The data analysis reveals five moral virtue structures (MVSs) predominant among this study’s participants, related to their development of trust in ETs in the presence of PIP threats. Based on these MVSs, this study identified five types of users. These MVSs show individuals’ belief that the virtues of hopefulness, altruism, commitment, hospitality, humor, tolerance, resourcefulness, dignity, boldness, loyalty, trustworthiness, warmth, thrift, magnanimity, thoughtfulness, harmony, cooperativeness, openness, and perspicacity are more important for developing trust in ETs in the presence of PIP threats. The findings also show that in addition to individuals’ blind enthusiasm for technologies and beliefs in their trustworthiness, their’ socialistic views also play a critical role in the development of trust in ETs. This study establishes a clear link between individuals’ temptation for technologies and moral character weakness, which in turn causes the privacy paradox. Individuals’ temptations for new technologies have become a distraction, preventing them from thinking about technology usage risks. This study concludes that individuals’ MVSs have been corrupted due to their temptations for new technologies. Due to this, they cannot determine their PIP value. By applying Aristotelian virtuous person logic, this study finds that individuals lack critical virtues (i.e., cheerfulness, prudence, self- discipline, and insightfulness) for developing trust in ETs in the presence of PIP threats. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in multiple ways. It explains the reasons behind the privacy paradox and individuals’ sacrifice on their PIP and trust development in ETs through the virtue ethics perspective. This study also proposes a research framework for moral philosophers and psychologists to study individuals’ virtues and their mind’s transient states (i.e., transient subjectivity) from within the subjective paradigm. In closing, this study explains how the findings are relevant to policymakers and offer them privacy protection and regulation opportunities