42 research outputs found

    Application of knowledge management principles to support maintenance strategies in healthcare organisations

    Get PDF
    Healthcare is a vital service that touches people's lives on a daily basis by providing treatment and resolving patients' health problems through the staff. Human lives are ultimately dependent on the skilled hands of the staff and those who manage the infrastructure that supports the daily operations of the service, making it a compelling reason for a dedicated research study. However, the UK healthcare sector is undergoing rapid changes, driven by rising costs, technological advancements, changing patient expectations, and increasing pressure to deliver sustainable healthcare. With the global rise in healthcare challenges, the need for sustainable healthcare delivery has become imperative. Sustainable healthcare delivery requires the integration of various practices that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare infrastructural assets. One critical area that requires attention is the management of healthcare facilities. Healthcare facilitiesis considered one of the core elements in the delivery of effective healthcare services, as shortcomings in the provision of facilities management (FM) services in hospitals may have much more drastic negative effects than in any other general forms of buildings. An essential element in healthcare FM is linked to the relationship between action and knowledge. With a full sense of understanding of infrastructural assets, it is possible to improve, manage and make buildings suitable to the needs of users and to ensure the functionality of the structure and processes. The premise of FM is that an organisation's effectiveness and efficiency are linked to the physical environment in which it operates and that improving the environment can result in direct benefits in operational performance. The goal of healthcare FM is to support the achievement of organisational mission and goals by designing and managing space and infrastructural assets in the best combination of suitability, efficiency, and cost. In operational terms, performance refers to how well a building contributes to fulfilling its intended functions. Therefore, comprehensive deployment of efficient FM approaches is essential for ensuring quality healthcare provision while positively impacting overall patient experiences. In this regard, incorporating knowledge management (KM) principles into hospitals' FM processes contributes significantly to ensuring sustainable healthcare provision and enhancement of patient experiences. Organisations implementing KM principles are better positioned to navigate the constantly evolving business ecosystem easily. Furthermore, KM is vital in processes and service improvement, strategic decision-making, and organisational adaptation and renewal. In this regard, KM principles can be applied to improve hospital FM, thereby ensuring sustainable healthcare delivery. Knowledge management assumes that organisations that manage their organisational and individual knowledge more effectively will be able to cope more successfully with the challenges of the new business ecosystem. There is also the argument that KM plays a crucial role in improving processes and services, strategic decision-making, and adapting and renewing an organisation. The goal of KM is to aid action – providing "a knowledge pull" rather than the information overload most people experience in healthcare FM. Other motivations for seeking better KM in healthcare FM include patient safety, evidence-based care, and cost efficiency as the dominant drivers. The most evidence exists for the success of such approaches at knowledge bottlenecks, such as infection prevention and control, working safely, compliances, automated systems and reminders, and recall based on best practices. The ability to cultivate, nurture and maximise knowledge at multiple levels and in multiple contexts is one of the most significant challenges for those responsible for KM. However, despite the potential benefits, applying KM principles in hospital facilities is still limited. There is a lack of understanding of how KM can be effectively applied in this context, and few studies have explored the potential challenges and opportunities associated with implementing KM principles in hospitals facilities for sustainable healthcare delivery. This study explores applying KM principles to support maintenance strategies in healthcare organisations. The study also explores the challenges and opportunities, for healthcare organisations and FM practitioners, in operationalising a framework which draws the interconnectedness between healthcare. The study begins by defining healthcare FM and its importance in the healthcare industry. It then discusses the concept of KM and the different types of knowledge that are relevant in the healthcare FM sector. The study also examines the challenges that healthcare FM face in managing knowledge and how the application of KM principles can help to overcome these challenges. The study then explores the different KM strategies that can be applied in healthcare FM. The KM benefits include improved patient outcomes, reduced costs, increased efficiency, and enhanced collaboration among healthcare professionals. Additionally, issues like creating a culture of innovation, technology, and benchmarking are considered. In addition, a framework that integrates the essential concepts of KM in healthcare FM will be presented and discussed. The field of KM is introduced as a complex adaptive system with numerous possibilities and challenges. In this context, and in consideration of healthcare FM, five objectives have been formulated to achieve the research aim. As part of the research, a number of objectives will be evaluated, including appraising the concept of KM and how knowledge is created, stored, transferred, and utilised in healthcare FM, evaluating the impact of organisational structure on job satisfaction as well as exploring how cultural differences impact knowledge sharing and performance in healthcare FM organisations. This study uses a combination of qualitative methods, such as meetings, observations, document analysis (internal and external), and semi-structured interviews, to discover the subjective experiences of healthcare FM employees and to understand the phenomenon within a real-world context and attitudes of healthcare FM as the data collection method, using open questions to allow probing where appropriate and facilitating KM development in the delivery and practice of healthcare FM. The study describes the research methodology using the theoretical concept of the "research onion". The qualitative research was conducted in the NHS acute and non-acute hospitals in Northwest England. Findings from the research study revealed that while the concept of KM has grown significantly in recent years, KM in healthcare FM has received little or no attention. The target population was fifty (five FM directors, five academics, five industry experts, ten managers, ten supervisors, five team leaders and ten operatives). These seven groups were purposively selected as the target population because they play a crucial role in KM enhancement in healthcare FM. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with all participants based on their pre-determined availability. Out of the 50-target population, only 25 were successfully interviewed to the point of saturation. Data collected from the interview were coded and analysed using NVivo to identify themes and patterns related to KM in healthcare FM. The study is divided into eight major sections. First, it discusses literature findings regarding healthcare FM and KM, including underlying trends in FM, KM in general, and KM in healthcare FM. Second, the research establishes the study's methodology, introducing the five research objectives, questions and hypothesis. The chapter introduces the literature on methodology elements, including philosophical views and inquiry strategies. The interview and data analysis look at the feedback from the interviews. Lastly, a conclusion and recommendation summarise the research objectives and suggest further research. Overall, this study highlights the importance of KM in healthcare FM and provides insights for healthcare FM directors, managers, supervisors, academia, researchers and operatives on effectively leveraging knowledge to improve patient care and organisational effectiveness

    A Generic Approach for the Automated Notarization of Cloud Configurations Using Blockchain-Based Trust.

    Get PDF
    Debido a su escalabilidad, las aplicaciones en la nube tienen una importante ventaja de costes para las empresas. En consecuencia, las empresas quieren tanto externalizar sus datos como obtener servicios de la nube. Sin embargo, dado que la mayoría de las empresas tienen políticas internas y requisitos de cumplimiento para operar y utilizar aplicaciones de software, el uso de aplicaciones en la nube crea un nuevo desafío para las empresas. La inclusión de aplicaciones en la nube equivale a la subcontratación de servicios en el sentido de que las empresas deben confiar en que el proveedor de aplicaciones en la nube aplicará los requisitos de cumplimiento interno en las aplicaciones adoptadas. La investigación ha demostrado que la confianza y el riesgo están estrechamente relacionados y son factores clave que influyen en la utilización de aplicaciones en la nube. Esta tesis pretende desarrollar una arquitectura en la nube que aborde este reto, trasladando la confianza en las configuraciones de cumplimiento del proveedor de aplicaciones en la nube a la cadena de bloques. Así, este trabajo pretende reducir el riesgo de adopción de las aplicaciones en la nube debido a los requisitos de cumplimiento. En esta tesis, la investigación de la ciencia del diseño se utiliza para crear la arquitectura para trasladar la confianza mencionada a la cadena de bloques. Un grupo de discusión determinó el alcance del trabajo. La base de conocimientos de este trabajo se construyó utilizando inteligencia artificial y una revisión sistemática de la literatura, y la arquitectura presentada se desarrolló y prototipó utilizando el método de desarrollo rápido de aplicaciones. Se utilizaron entrevistas guiadas semiestructuradas de método mixto para evaluar el enfoque de la arquitectura presentada y valorar las cualidades de reducción del riesgo de adopción. La tesis demostró que la arquitectura de software desarrollada podía trasladar la confianza del proveedor de la nube a la cadena de bloques. La evaluación de la arquitectura de software propuesta demostró además que el riesgo de adopción debido a las configuraciones de la nube basadas en el cumplimiento podía reducirse de "alto" a "bajo" utilizando la tecnología blockchain. Esta tesis presenta una arquitectura que desplaza la confianza para la implementación de configuraciones basadas en el cumplimiento de la normativa desde el proveedor de la nube a la cadena de bloques. Además, muestra que el cambio de confianza puede reducir significativamente el riesgo de adopción de las aplicaciones en la nube.Administración y Dirección de Empresa

    Blockchain technology: Disruptor or enhancer to the accounting and auditing profession

    Get PDF
    The unique features of blockchain technology (BCT) - peer-to-peer network, distribution ledger, consensus decision-making, transparency, immutability, auditability, and cryptographic security - coupled with the success enjoyed by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have encouraged many to assume that the technology would revolutionise virtually all aspects of business. A growing body of scholarship suggests that BCT would disrupt the accounting and auditing fields by changing accounting practices, disintermediating auditors, and eliminating financial fraud. BCT disrupts audits (Lombard et al.,2021), reduces the role of audit firms (Yermack 2017), undermines accountants' roles with software developers and miners (Fortin & Pimentel 2022); eliminates many management functions, transforms businesses (Tapscott & Tapscott, 2017), facilitates a triple-entry accounting system (Cai, 2021), and prevents fraudulent transactions (Dai, et al., 2017; Rakshit et al., 2022). Despite these speculations, scholars have acknowledged that the application of BCT in the accounting and assurance industry is underexplored and many existing studies are said to lack engagement with practitioners (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017; Lombardi et al., 2021; Schmitz & Leoni, 2019). This study empirically explored whether BCT disrupts or enhances accounting and auditing fields. It also explored the relevance of audit in a BCT environment and the effectiveness of the BCT mechanism for fraud prevention and detection. The study further examined which technical skillsets accountants and auditors require in a BCT environment, and explored the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of the adoption of BCT in the accounting and auditing professions. The current COVID-19 environment was also investigated in terms of whether the pandemic has improved BCT adoption or not. A qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews to engage practitioners from blockchain start-ups, IT experts, financial analysts, accountants, auditors, academics, organisational leaders, consultants, and editors who understood the technology. With the aid of NVIVO qualitative analysis software, the views of 44 participants from 13 countries: New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa were analysed. The Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework with consequences of innovation context was adopted for this study. This expanded TOE framework was used as the theoretical lens to understand the disruption of BCT and its adoption in the accounting and auditing fields. Four clear patterns emerged. First, BCT is an emerging tool that accountants and auditors use mainly to analyse financial records because technology cannot disintermediate auditors from the financial system. Second, the technology can detect anomalies but cannot prevent financial fraud. Third, BCT has not been adopted by any organisation for financial reporting and accounting purposes, and accountants and auditors do not require new skillsets or an understanding of the BCT programming language to be able to operate in a BCT domain. Fourth, the advent of COVID-19 has not substantially enhanced the adoption of BCT. Additionally, this study highlights the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of adopting BCT as financial technology (FinTech). These findings shed light on important questions about BCT disrupting and disintermediating auditors, the extent of adoption in the accounting industry, preventing fraud and anomalies, and underscores the notion that blockchain, as an emerging technology, currently does not appear to be substantially disrupting the accounting and auditing profession. This study makes methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. At the methodological level, the study adopted the social constructivist-interpretivism paradigm with an exploratory qualitative method to engage and understand BCT as a disruptive innovation in the accounting industry. The engagement with practitioners from diverse fields, professions, and different countries provides a distinctive and innovative contribution to methodological and practical knowledge. At the theoretical level, the findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated conceptual TOE framework. The framework offers a reference for practitioners, academics and policymakers seeking to appraise comprehensive factors influencing BCT adoption and its likely unintended consequences. The findings suggest that, at present, no organisations are using BCT for financial reporting and accounting systems. This study contributes to practice by highlighting the differences between initial expectations and practical applications of what BCT can do in the accounting and auditing fields. The study could not find any empirical evidence that BCT will disrupt audits, eliminate the roles of auditors in a financial system, and prevent and detect financial fraud. Also, there was no significant evidence that accountants and auditors required higher-level skillsets and an understanding of BCT programming language to be able to use the technology. Future research should consider the implications of an external audit firm as a node in a BCT network on the internal audit functions. It is equally important to critically examine the relevance of including programming languages or codes in the curriculum of undergraduate accounting students. Future research could also empirically evaluate if a BCT enabled triple-entry system could prevent financial statements and management fraud

    Blockchain Technology: Disruptor or Enhnancer to the Accounting and Auditing Profession

    Get PDF
    The unique features of blockchain technology (BCT) - peer-to-peer network, distribution ledger, consensus decision-making, transparency, immutability, auditability, and cryptographic security - coupled with the success enjoyed by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have encouraged many to assume that the technology would revolutionise virtually all aspects of business. A growing body of scholarship suggests that BCT would disrupt the accounting and auditing fields by changing accounting practices, disintermediating auditors, and eliminating financial fraud. BCT disrupts audits (Lombard et al.,2021), reduces the role of audit firms (Yermack 2017), undermines accountants' roles with software developers and miners (Fortin & Pimentel 2022); eliminates many management functions, transforms businesses (Tapscott & Tapscott, 2017), facilitates a triple-entry accounting system (Cai, 2021), and prevents fraudulent transactions (Dai, et al., 2017; Rakshit et al., 2022). Despite these speculations, scholars have acknowledged that the application of BCT in the accounting and assurance industry is underexplored and many existing studies are said to lack engagement with practitioners (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017; Lombardi et al., 2021; Schmitz & Leoni, 2019). This study empirically explored whether BCT disrupts or enhances accounting and auditing fields. It also explored the relevance of audit in a BCT environment and the effectiveness of the BCT mechanism for fraud prevention and detection. The study further examined which technical skillsets accountants and auditors require in a BCT environment, and explored the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of the adoption of BCT in the accounting and auditing professions. The current COVID-19 environment was also investigated in terms of whether the pandemic has improved BCT adoption or not. A qualitative exploratory study used semi-structured interviews to engage practitioners from blockchain start-ups, IT experts, financial analysts, accountants, auditors, academics, organisational leaders, consultants, and editors who understood the technology. With the aid of NVIVO qualitative analysis software, the views of 44 participants from 13 countries: New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa were analysed. The Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework with consequences of innovation context was adopted for this study. This expanded TOE framework was used as the theoretical lens to understand the disruption of BCT and its adoption in the accounting and auditing fields. Four clear patterns emerged. First, BCT is an emerging tool that accountants and auditors use mainly to analyse financial records because technology cannot disintermediate auditors from the financial system. Second, the technology can detect anomalies but cannot prevent financial fraud. Third, BCT has not been adopted by any organisation for financial reporting and accounting purposes, and accountants and auditors do not require new skillsets or an understanding of the BCT programming language to be able to operate in a BCT domain. Fourth, the advent of COVID-19 has not substantially enhanced the adoption of BCT. Additionally, this study highlights the incentives, barriers, and unintended consequences of adopting BCT as financial technology (FinTech). These findings shed light on important questions about BCT disrupting and disintermediating auditors, the extent of adoption in the accounting industry, preventing fraud and anomalies, and underscores the notion that blockchain, as an emerging technology, currently does not appear to be substantially disrupting the accounting and auditing profession. This study makes methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. At the methodological level, the study adopted the social constructivist-interpretivism paradigm with an exploratory qualitative method to engage and understand BCT as a disruptive innovation in the accounting industry. The engagement with practitioners from diverse fields, professions, and different countries provides a distinctive and innovative contribution to methodological and practical knowledge. At the theoretical level, the findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated conceptual TOE framework. The framework offers a reference for practitioners, academics and policymakers seeking to appraise comprehensive factors influencing BCT adoption and its likely unintended consequences. The findings suggest that, at present, no organisations are using BCT for financial reporting and accounting systems. This study contributes to practice by highlighting the differences between initial expectations and practical applications of what BCT can do in the accounting and auditing fields. The study could not find any empirical evidence that BCT will disrupt audits, eliminate the roles of auditors in a financial system, and prevent and detect financial fraud. Also, there was no significant evidence that accountants and auditors required higher-level skillsets and an understanding of BCT programming language to be able to use the technology. Future research should consider the implications of an external audit firm as a node in a BCT network on the internal audit functions. It is equally important to critically examine the relevance of including programming languages or codes in the curriculum of undergraduate accounting students. Future research could also empirically evaluate if a BCT-enabled triple-entry system could prevent financial statements and management fraud

    Using Foresight to develop eHealth intervention implementation strategy

    Get PDF
    One of the key focus areas of the National Dementia Strategy, released by the Canadian government in 2019, is improving informal caregivers' quality of life through better support. While an array of services are available to support them, it’s usually up to caregivers to find them and navigating through a fragmented health and social support system can be challenging, time-consuming, frustrating, and often ineffective. Innovative approaches and eHealth interventions that can provide easy, timely, and need-based access to knowledge resources, enhances and safeguards care capacity among informal caregivers, reducing stress and depression levels, delaying nursing home placements, improving mood and their quality of life (Brodaty & Donkin, 2009). Innovations in technology are becoming a crucial element in improving support for and the well-being of family caregivers but a number of social, cultural, ethical, and technical issues complicate the rapid emergence of new technologies which affects its adoption, implementation, and scalability. Using a participatory foresight approach, this research project speculates futures, 15 years from now, to explore and envision an implementation model for eHealth services for informal Dementia caregivers in Ontario. At a time when technology innovations present significant challenges and opportunities, the purpose is to identify leverage points that will inspire and inform organizations, developers, researchers, healthcare providers, and innovators interested in translating knowledge into practice by designing sustainable and resilient eHealth interventions. This has been accomplished by understanding the needs of informal caregivers, implications of emerging technologies, and factors affecting implementation of eHealth solutions that support informal caregivers

    Modern trends in digital transformation of marketing & management

    Get PDF
    The monograph examines the current trends in the development of digital technologies in marketing, management and business administration. The prospects for the development of digital technologies in various sectors of the economy of Ukraine and the trends of the influence of digital technologies on global shifts in the systems of marketing management and business administration are determined. The transformations of business models in the conditions of the digital economy are analyzed, the impact of blockchain technologies on the development of promising areas of the marketing management system and business administration is analyzed. Reasonable impact of digital technologies on the transformation of management systems in social, public, legal and administrative spheres and various sectors of the economy. The contours of the formation of the digital economy in the sectors of economic activity and the social sphere have been developed

    Blockchain Games and a Disruptive Corporate Business Model

    Get PDF
    This Article is the first to identify and theorize on a new disruptive corporate business model unfolding in the gaming industry that is larger than both the movie and music sectors combined. Corporations in blockchain gaming reject the old paradigm of amassing profits by turning the public into spenders for and consumers of corporate products. The new corporate business model transforms members of the public into producers and true owners of new corporate property while earning income and garnering governance voting rights. Through a case study of Axie Infinity, a blockchain game launched in 2021, this Article explores how the new corporate business model challenges traditional theories of the corporation and relationships among stakeholders. Additionally, the disruptive model percolates implications of decentralized property ownership in the age of widening income inequality

    Blockchain for supply chain traceability and anticounterfeiting: the oracles’ enabling role

    Get PDF
    Blockchain and physical oracles in the Collectible Industry. Supply chain fairness and bargaining power in agriculture supply chain: the blockchain effect. Unlocking the Blockchain Potentials through Oracles: Empirical Evidences on Supply Chain Challenges and Performance

    Blockchain technology and competition policy within the european legislative framework

    Get PDF
    Το δίκαιο και η τεχνολογία ως έννοιες παρουσιάζουν πολλά κοινά στοιχεία στη δομή και την εξέλιξη τους κυρίως όσον αφορά το διαρκώς μεταβλητό του χαρακτήρος τους. Στο σύγχρονο γίγνεσθαι, η ραγδαία ανάπτυξη, πρόοδος και συνεχής καινοτομία των τεχνολογικών εφαρμογών φαίνεται να θέτει ερωτήματα ως προς την εφαρμογή του ισχύοντος νομοθετικού πλαισίου σε ένα τέτοιο, διαρκώς και ταχέως μεταβαλλόμενο τεχνολογικό και οικονομικό περιβάλλον. Η τεχνολογία blockchain, ως μία ανερχόμενη, απολύτως καινοτόμα και πολλά υποσχόμενη τεχνολογία, φαίνεται να διαταράσσει τα καθιερωμένα συστήματα συναλλαγών και μεταφορών, καθώς και τον τρόπο λειτουργίας των αγορών, των εταιρειών και των οργανισμών σε όλο τον κόσμο. Ωστόσο, το καινοτόμο του χαρακτήρα της καθώς και των πολλών πιθανών χρήσεων της, φέρνει αντιμέτωπο το ισχύον δίκαιο συναλλαγών εν γένει, αλλά ακόμα περισσότερο το δίκαιο του ανταγωνισμού και τις αρχές τις οποίες αυτό επιτάσσει, με μια σειρά ερωτημάτων και προκλήσεων όσον αφορά την εφαρμογή του. Η παρούσα εργασία εξετάζει τον τρόπο με τον οποίο η τεχνολογία blockchain αλληλοεπιδρά με το δίκαιο και την πολιτική ανταγωνισμού εντός του Ευρωπαϊκού Νομοθετικού Πλαισίου. Η έρευνα επικεντρώνεται στα χαρακτηριστικά και τις χρήσεις της τεχνολογίας blockchain και εξετάζει το υφιστάμενο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο ανταγωνισμού, με επίκεντρο το άρθ. 101 και άρθ. 102 της Συνθήκης Λειτουργίας της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (ΣΛΕΕ) υπογραμμίζοντας τις προκλήσεις που φαίνονται ή δύνανται να ανακύπτουν από την αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ της τεχνολογίας blockchain και του δικαίου ανταγωνισμού. Στο κύριο μέρος αυτής της εργασίας παρατίθεται και αναλύονται τα ζητήματα που αναδύουν κατά την εφαρμογή των υφιστάμενων νομικών κανόνων, τη δημιουργία νομοθετικών πολιτικών και την γενική προσπάθεια εναρμόνισης και κατανόησης της τεχνολογίας blockchain στο υφιστάμενο Νομοθετικό Πλαίσιο Ανταγωνισμού. Κατόπιν ενδελεχούς εξέτασης των ως άνω, καθίσταται προφανές πως η τεχνολογία blockchain δύναται εκ πρώτης όψεως αντιανταγωνιστικές συμπεριφορές, ιδίως μέσω κάθετων και οριζόντιων συμφωνιών και της κατάχρησης δεσπόζουσας θέσης. Η κύρια ρίζα του προβλήματος έγκειται στο ότι τα καινοτόμα τεχνικά χαρακτηριστικά της τεχνολογίας blockchain καθώς και ο τρόπος λειτουργίας της δεν συνάδουν με τις θεμελιώδεις πτυχές και τη λογική πάνω στην οποία έχει βασιστεί το υφιστάμενο Δίκαιο του ανταγωνισμού. Η διάσταση αυτή φαίνεται να δυσχεραίνει την εφαρμογή κανόνων ανταγωνισμού σε πλατφόρμες blockchain, όπως και την επιβολή των κανόνων κατά την απόκτηση αθέμιτων ανταγωνιστικών πλεονεκτημάτων. Στο δεύτερο μέρος, αναφέρονται ορισμένοι από τους τρόπους με τους οποίους η τεχνολογία blockchain δύναται να χρησιμοποιηθεί ως εργαλείο από τις αρχές ανταγωνισμού.. Συνολικά κρίνεται ότι η χρήση εφαρμογών blockchain αφενός μεν δύναται να καταστήσει τη διαδικασία επιβολής του νόμου περί ανταγωνισμού πιο αποτελεσματική και διαφανή και αφετέρου θα έφερε σημαντικά πλεονεκτήματα από πλευράς κόστους, ελαχιστοποιώντας τον χρόνο και την προσπάθεια που απαιτείται για την εφαρμογή των κανόνων και τη παρακολούθηση των διαδικασιών συμμόρφωσης. Εν κατακλείδι, η καλύτερη κατανόηση των πρωτοκόλλων σχεδιασμού των blockchain από την πλευρά των κυβερνήσεων, των φορέων και των επιτροπών ανταγωνισμού, καθίσταται αναγκαία με απώτερο στόχο την ενεργή συμμετοχή τους στην ανάπτυξη νέων πλατφορμών. Ταυτόχρονα, απαιτείται η διαρκής αξιολόγηση των νέων προκλήσεων ή των πιθανών κινδύνων που ελλοχεύουν από την χρήση της τεχνολογίας blockchain. Οι μελέτες αγοράς και κόστους οφέλους παρουσιάζονται ως μέσο διευκόλυνσης των αρχών του ανταγωνισμού για την αξιολόγηση πιθανών κωλυμάτων , απειλών και ευκαιριών που ενδεχομένως να ανακύψουν από την ενσωμάτωση της τεχνολογίας blockchain στο δίκαιο του ανταγωνισμού, καθώς και για την ορθή ενημέρωση των μοντέλων διακυβέρνησής τους, ώστε να συμπεριλάβουν και να αξιοποιήσουν τα αποκεντρωμένα και κατανεμημένα χαρακτηριστικά του blockchain.Law and Technology have historically been foundational interconnected aspects of a well-functioning, equitable and prospering society. The proliferation of disrupting technological applications over the last years, however, has posed new questions in regards to how can Law adapt to a rapidly changing technological and economic environment. The blockchain technology is one of the most recent disrupting technological innovations with high potential to disrupt the established transaction, transfer, and registration systems, and the way markets and institutions function across the world. This creates significant new challenges for governments and competition authorities in ensuring free and fair competition and regulatory certainty. This dissertation aims to present how the blockchain technology interacts with Competition Law and Policy within the European Legislative Framework. Research focuses on the characteristics and uses of Blockchain Technology, such as its decentralized and distributed character. The existing Competition Legislative Framework is reviewed, focusing on the Art. 101 and Art. 102 of Treaty of Functioning of European Union (TFEU), along with notable cases and judged by the European Court of Justice and their verdicts, highlighting the potential issues and violations that may occur from the interaction between blockchain technology and Competition Law. The issues arising from the application of legal rules, creation of legislative policies and the general fitting of the blockchain technology in the existing Competition Legislative Framework are discussed. The analysis reveals that competition authorities are facing major challenges in accounting for the Blockchain Technology’s innovations, in particular on anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominant position. The innovative technical characteristics of blockchain technology as well as its way of functioning are not in line with the foundational aspects and the logic on which Competition Law is built. This results in serious problems when it comes to applying competition rules in blockchain platforms, as blockchain technology can be used to facilitate anti-competitive practices and gain unfair competitive advantages. However, the analysis also underscores that the blockchain technology can and should be used as a novel tool by competition authorities to better enforce competition law. This can be achieved through the use of smart contracts to ensure compliance with competition requirements and commitments, and verifiable information stored on blockchain ledgers to provide evidence on anti-competitive conduct and collusion cases, as well as streamline leniency programs. Overall, utilizing blockchain applications would not only make the competition law enforcement process more effective and transparent, but also result in considerable cost savings by minimizing the time and effort required to monitoring compliance and implementation. Governments and competition authorities should focus on better understanding the design protocols of blockchains and aim to actively participate in the development of new blockchains. However, it is important to properly evaluate the key risks in utilizing blockchain applications more broadly. Market studies would help competition authorities properly evaluate the potential barriers, threats, and opportunities in integrating blockchain technology into Competition Law, and update their governance models to encompass the decentralized and distributed characteristics of the blockchain

    A BLOCKCHAIN BASED POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD (EHRS)

    Get PDF
    The rapid development of information technology during the last decade has greatly influenced all aspects of society, including individuals and enterprise organizations. Adopting new technologies by individuals and organizations depends on several factors, such as usability, available resources, support needed for adoption benefits, and return on investment, to mention a few. When it comes to the adoption of new technologies, one of the main challenges faced by organizations is the ability to effectively incorporate such technologies into their enterprise solutions to maximize the expected benefits. For the last several years, Blockchain technology has become a popular trend in a variety of sectors, attracting the attention of many governments and industries. Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger with the general purpose of information exchange that requires authentication and trust. It acts as an immutable ledger and allows for distributed, encrypted, and secure logging of digital transactions after the participating nodes or entities have reached a consensus. Because of the asymmetric cryptography and distributed consensus algorithms that have been built for users’ security and ledger consistency, this technology has gained a lot of attention. Blockchain has enormous potentials; however, as with any emerging technology, several drawbacks may exist and have negative consequences. To determine how the technology may be deployed, a framework is usually required. However, due to the lack of clear national and international standards for controlling and reducing risks associated with such technology, legal and organizational factors must be addressed before the technology can be implemented. The thesis herein is a proposal for such a new policy framework for Electronic Health Records (EHRs) management. Through the establishment of a new policy framework specifically related to Blockchain technology, this proposal aims to achieve the following: first, provide policies to govern sustainable management of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information concerning Blockchain applications and solution implementation across health care entities; and second, the prevention and reduction of related information security risks and threats
    corecore