Sustainable Development Report: Blockchain, the Web3 & the SDGs

This is an output paper of the applied research that was conducted between July 2018 - October 2019 funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and conducted by the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and RCE Vienna (Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development).Series: Working Paper Series / Institute for Cryptoeconomics / Interdisciplinary Researc

Sustainable Development Report: Blockchain, the Web3 & the SDGs

This is an output paper of the applied research that was conducted between July 2018 - October 2019 funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and conducted by the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and RCE Vienna (Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development).Series: Working Paper Series / Institute for Cryptoeconomics / Interdisciplinary Researc

Emergence and Spread of ‘Unconferences’ as a New Temporary Organizational Form

Extant research mostly looks at the process of how temporary organizations proliferate within a single organization field. This study examines temporary organizations that emerge in one organizational field and are then introduced into other organizational fields. We argue that when this occurs, organizers must contend with the illegitimacy threat posed by temporary organizational forms that have long been institutionalized in the other fields. Organizers must decide whether they should accept the threat and retain the original form of the temporary organization, or whether they should modify the new temporary organizational form in order to make it more acceptable to audiences in other organizational fields. We argue that organizers will use legitimacy claims from the organizational field in which the temporary organization first emerged to mitigate the threat of illegitimacy. We further argue that the effectiveness of this strategy will depend on similarity in norms and beliefs between these fields: The more similar the organizational fields the more persuasive are the legitimacy claims, and the easier it is for the organizers to retain the form as it was first created; the more dissimilar are the organizational fields when it comes to norms and beliefs the harder it is for organizers to persuasively use these legitimacy claims, and the more organizers will have to modify the temporary organizational form to take account of audience expectations. We examine this using the case of the so called “unconferences”: an alternative conference form that emerged within the software development community at the start of the millennium in conjunction with the Web 2.0 movement. Our data comprises of 228 distinct unconferences between 2004 – when the unconference was first launched, and 2015. We examine the influence of organizational field dissimilarity of unconferences from the original field where it was first held, on the extent to which the pure unconference format is retained. We show that as adopters of the new form move away from the original organizational field, they are more likely to modify the original unconference form

Emergent social capital from styles of organizing: a case study of creative industry cluster in China

The research presented here was inspired by the growing interest in enterprise cluster research and the need to better understand the creation of social capital in a cluster. By exploring how social capital is created and grown in a specific cluster, which adopts an innovative style of organizing, it will show that the creation and management of clusters is not only an economic issue, but also a social psychological one. This study not only aims to make a contribution to the literature of social capital and cluster, but also seeks to provide practical solutions for building sustainable creative clusters in China. In the theoretical part, an overview of China’s creative clusters and the challenges faced by their top-down style of organizing will be provided. After reviewing the classic literature of cluster and social capital, the potential contribution from social psychology to the construction of social capital in cluster will be examined. In the empirical part, the focus is on a specific bottom-up case named Xindanwei. The present researcher entered into the field as both an academic observer and a wine merchant. Two main research questions have guided the research： 1. What is social capital in the real-world cluster? 2. How can social capital be created in a cluster? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and web documents. Thematic analysis and a theory-driven approach were applied in the interpretation of data. The findings indicate the emergent and context-based nature of social capital, which appears to originate from dynamic guanxi (with physical, institutional and mental elements) rather than static network. Social capital is usually perceived as individually owned asset, but here it can also be co-owned by participating members in cluster. In order to generate social capital, it not only calls for a facilitative platform with multi-level installations, but also requires cluster members to take productive actions and consider the context constraints in the real world. In the end, a facilitative framework to create social capital in clusters is proposed

From filthy to filthy rich: Exploring opportunities for social enterprise to improve solid waste management in the Accra Metropolitan Area

Thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University College, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, April 2016Cities in developing nations round the world cannot keep up with the vast quantities of solid waste they produce daily. In Accra, Ghana’s capital, despite the fact that about 100% of the waste collection function has been ceded to private waste contractors, about 30% of the waste produced remains uncollected, ending up in gutters, choking drains and blocking waterways. This poses a health risk to the people of Accra Ironically, waste holds economic, environmental and social value, hence its potential benefits are worth exploring and exploiting. Current literature has largely ignored the role of social enterprises in improving waste management in the major cities of developing countries such as Accra. This paper uses the UN-Habitat Integrated Sustainable Waste Management benchmarking methodology, to evaluate waste management in Accra and to identify opportunities for social enterprises to contribute to improved waste management. It was found that there is a lot more that can be done in Accra to improve its current waste collection coverage, controlled disposal as well as recycling rates, which are lagging behind the international median for lower-middle income regions. There is also a vibrant informal sector which social enterprises can organize and integrate into existing waste management structures to contribute to waste segregation, composting and recycling. There are however gaps in the policy framework and legislation for social enterprises which continue to hinder the scope and magnitude of their goal of positive social value creation.Ashesi University Colleg

First-Class Objects

What is the difference between James Grimmelmann and @grimmelm and why should we care? Some computer systems, like Facebook and credit reporting agencies, are inherently about people. Others are not. This essay argues that the key technical difference is whether they use unique identifiers to refer to people in their databases. From this single distinction, a host of social and humanistic consequences follow. The essay taxonomizes them and teases out some of their implications for privacy law

Analysis and Design of Online Application System of Second Car Loan Based on J2EE

国内二手车市场增长迅速，而随着消费者观念的改变，金融产品的介入，也必将推动着国内二手车金融产品的快速发展。而制约二手车金融的因素很大一部分是本文根据本人所在公司试图通过金融这一核心产品策略，引入第三方参与风险承担，帮助释放二手车市场需求，同时充分发挥互联网优势，将原来线下繁琐的申请流程简化至线上，由于产品设计为一期产品，所有在设计过程中还有些流程是需要二期进行优化，但是这一创新型的产品已经是一个新突破。 本文以二手车贷款为研究对象，运用.NET技术实现了一套符合单位实际现状的二手车贷款管理系统。本文首先简要说明了二手车贷款现状，指出了二手车贷款中存在的问题 通过对目前金融公司线下业务人员进...The domestic second car market is growing rapidly, but with the change of consumer's concept, the intervention of financial products will also promote the rapid development of the domestic used car finance products. And the constraints of the second-hand car finance is a big part of this dissertation, according to my company's attempt to finance this core product strategy, the introduction of thir...学位：工程硕士院系专业：软件学院_工程硕士(软件工程)学号：X201323160

Educational Perspectives on Mediality and Subjectivation

This open access book examines the complex relationship between education, media and power. Exploring the entanglement of education media and power structures, the contributions use various examples and case studies to demonstrate how subjectivation processes and digital structures interact with one another. The book asks which modes of subjectivation can be identified with current media cultures, how subjects deal with the challenges and potential of digitality, and how coping and empowerment strategies are developed. By addressing theoretical as well as empirical evidence, the chapters illuminate these connections and the subsequent significance for media education more widely