Electronic Services in a Decentralized State

The Netherlands puts much effort in establishing itself as a modern country and as on of the leading coutries in the information age. At the same time, however, it has been losing its positoin as a forerunner in the electronic delivery of public services. This is mainly due to the fact that most pulic services are delivered at the level of the Dutch municipalities. At this level eService development is almost stagnant because of a) lacking nunicipal resources and limited potential benefits and b) a reserved, soft attitude by central government which has adhered to the Dutch institutional principles of municipal autonomy and the consensus model. In recent years, however, we see some developments which may help to solve the existing stalemate ans may indeed bring the Netherlands back on track.

Building to Last: Experiences & Best Practices from a Long-Standing ETD Program

Those who support the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) program at Kansas State University have learned much since starting the journey in 2004. Organizational structures, policies and procedures, and technology have changed dramatically over the years and have made supporting ETDs through periods of change challenging but by no means insurmountable. This presentation will provide an overview of K-State’s ETD program including personnel roles, submission and review workflow, support services, preservation, and how the infrastructure has evolved over the years. K-State’s ETD program and supporting services are decentralized with various organizational units providing support in specific areas but cooperating closely to ensure the 450+ theses, dissertations, and reports created every year are processed, preserved, and made openly accessible through the K-State Research Exchange, the institutional repository. The presentation will provide key pieces of good practices related to copyright (including author rights) services, ETD licensing, formatting assistance services, and how to build and maintain support services, even in a decentralized environment. Graduate students are being asked more and more to publish prior to thesis and dissertation completion and to work closer with private industry, potentially involving corporate intellectual property and trade secrets, to be more competitive post-graduation. The presentation will touch on ways to manage risk while maintaining a commitment to open-access. The presentation will conclude with considerations for the future and possible plans for the improvement of K-State’s ETD program

Defining and Regulating Cryptocurrency: Fake Internet Money or Legitimate Medium of Exchange?

Digitalization makes almost everything quicker, sleeker, and more efficient. Many argue cryptocurrency is the future of money and payment transfers. This paper explores how the unique nature of cryptocurrencies creates barriers to a strict application of traditional regulatory strategies. Indeed, state and federal regulators remain uncertain if and how they can regulate this cutting-edge technology. Cryptocurrency businesses face difficulty navigating the unclear regulatory landscape, and consumers frequently fall prey to misinformation. To reconcile these concerns, this paper asserts cryptocurrency functions as “currency” or “money” and should be treated as such for regulatory purposes. It also proposes each state implement a uniform cryptocurrency-specific framework following the Uniform Regulation of Virtual-Currency Business Act. Such a harmonious approach would reduce compliance costs for cryptocurrency businesses, protect consumers, and provide satisfactory state and federal oversight

Embrapa Technological Information: a bridge between research and society

This paper presents the efforts undertaken by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation regarding Science and Technology information management, through one of its Decentralized Units, Embrapa Technological Information (Scientific and Technological Information Service', SCT). The major aim of SCT is to promote and improve the processes of scientific communication - information that feeds and that results from research activities - and of science and technology dissemination - information that results from research activities and that is directed to the general publi

The Role of International Rules in Blockchain-Based Cross-Border Commercial Disputes

[excerpt] The concept of online dispute resolution (ODR) is not new. 1 But, with the advent of Web 3.0, the distributed web that facilitates pseudonymous and cross-border transactions via blockchain\u27s distributed ledger technology, 2 the idea of, and pressing need for, appropriate dispute resolution models for blockchain-based disputes to support this novel system of distributed consensus and trust of which blockchain proponents boast, is a primary concern in rapid development. 3 The common goal of each project is to utilize smart contracts to facilitate superior, quicker[,] and less expensive proceedings by eliminating so many of the tedious and protracted trappings of traditional arbitral proceedings, such as the sending and receiving of documents via courier. , Despite myriad approaches, all emerging blockchain-based dispute resolution services (BDR solutions) generally seek to bridge the divide between automated performance mechanisms, like smart contracts, and the human judgment traditionally required to settle legal disputes.5 How our existing legal frameworks must develop to ensure that smart contracts 6 facilitate, rather than frustrate, the parties\u27 intent is a critically important question to ask as the blockchain stack\u27s infrastructure and application layers are being built and, ultimately, scaled. Indeed, interest is high in the race to create alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve disputes arising from blockchain-based commercial transactions that, due to the transnational, borderless, pseudonymous, and distributed nature of blockchain, clearly necessitate international solutions.

Systematizing Decentralization and Privacy: Lessons from 15 Years of Research and Deployments

Decentralized systems are a subset of distributed systems where multiple authorities control different components and no authority is fully trusted by all. This implies that any component in a decentralized system is potentially adversarial. We revise fifteen years of research on decentralization and privacy, and provide an overview of key systems, as well as key insights for designers of future systems. We show that decentralized designs can enhance privacy, integrity, and availability but also require careful trade-offs in terms of system complexity, properties provided, and degree of decentralization. These trade-offs need to be understood and navigated by designers. We argue that a combination of insights from cryptography, distributed systems, and mechanism design, aligned with the development of adequate incentives, are necessary to build scalable and successful privacy-preserving decentralized systems

Beyond Bitcoin: Issues in Regulating Blockchain Transactions

The buzz surrounding Bitcoin has reached a fever pitch. Yet in academic legal discussions, disproportionate emphasis is placed on bitcoins (that is, virtual currency), and little mention is made of blockchain technology—the true innovation behind the Bitcoin protocol. Simply, blockchain technology solves an elusive networking problem by enabling “trustless” transactions: value exchanges over computer networks that can be verified, monitored, and enforced without central institutions (for example, banks). This has broad implications for how we transact over electronic networks. This Note integrates current research from leading computer scientists and cryptographers to elevate the legal community’s understanding of blockchain technology and, ultimately, to inform policymakers and practitioners as they consider different regulatory schemes. An examination of the economic properties of a blockchain-based currency suggests the technology’s true value lies in its potential to facilitate more efficient digital-asset transfers. For example, applications of special interest to the legal community include more efficient document and authorship verification, title transfers, and contract enforcement. Though a regulatory patchwork around virtual currencies has begun to form, its careful analysis reveals much uncertainty with respect to these alternative applications

Decentralized Sewer Unit Packages as an Alternative for Bulloch County to Manage Fast Growth

Throughout the state of Georgia, rural areas rely on septic tanks to dispose of bodily waste for small commercial, industrial, and residential construction. Septic tanks act as the most conventional system when properties fall outside the service areas of municipal and private wastewater treatment facilities. Bulloch County has a vast number of rural dwellings within its boundaries. Moreover, the County experienced a steady 3 to 5% annual growth over the last several years. Therefore, an examination of alternatives to the traditional septic systems is warranted if the County wishes to maintain continued sustainable growth. This study focuses on the factors driving growth in Bulloch county including: population, housing, commercial and industrial development, subdivision development, assessed property values, and future development projections. Next, we compare two waste disposal systems that could substitute for traditional septic systems: a Small Diameter Gravity System (SDGS) and the Bioclere Onsite Wastewater Treatment System. Working Paper Number 2005-001