Blockchain, business and the fourth industrial revolution:Whence, whither, wherefore and how?

Blockchain is one the most remarkable technological innovations of the 21st century. The most notable application of blockchain is in the development and operation of cryptocurrencies (e.g. bitcoin, ethereum, among others). Besides the financial services industry, blockchain is also considered in other sectors such as international trade, taxation, supply chain management, business operations and governance. However, blockchain has not been examined comprehensively in all areas of relevant literature. This article conducts a survey of the literature to gain an understanding of the opportunities and issues presented by blockchain in various business functions. The article begins by providing a discussion regarding how the blockchain technology operates. The paper takes a broad focus in its analysis of the prospects of blockchain for various business functions, including banking and the capital markets, corporate governance, international trade, and taxation. The paper demonstrates how organisations and regulators can leverage blockchain to upscale business operations, enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs. The key drawbacks of blockchain that stakeholders need to bear in mind before adopting the technology are also highlighted. The article also reflects on how organisations can tap into blockchain to reap the full potential of the fourth industrial revolution

Schizophrenia Among Carriers: How Common and Private Carriers Trade Places

This article will examine court cases and actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that distort the traditional concepts of common and private carriage by establishing new rights and responsibilities previously applicable to the other category of carrier. This article will also consider the feasibility of (a) maintaining the traditional common carrier regulatory model and (b) continuing the application of that model to basic services provided by local exchange carriers (LECs). This is especially important as LECs qualify to become private carriers tapping new market opportunities, even within the same geographical region where they provide basic services. Finally, this article examines the circumstances that continue to require application of the pure common carrier model (e.g., the FCC currently regulates the telecommunication transport operations of Comsat Corporation, but does not regulate its non-carrier ventures)

Schizophrenia Among Carriers: How Common and Private Carriers Trade Places

This article will examine court cases and actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that distort the traditional concepts of common and private carriage by establishing new rights and responsibilities previously applicable to the other category of carrier. This article will also consider the feasibility of (a) maintaining the traditional common carrier regulatory model and (b) continuing the application of that model to basic services provided by local exchange carriers (LECs). This is especially important as LECs qualify to become private carriers tapping new market opportunities, even within the same geographical region where they provide basic services. Finally, this article examines the circumstances that continue to require application of the pure common carrier model (e.g., the FCC currently regulates the telecommunication transport operations of Comsat Corporation, but does not regulate its non-carrier ventures)

Internet content control in Australia : data topology, topography and the data deficit

The success of the online adult industry has provoked a public policy controversy over the need for internet censorship, and in recent times there has emerged desire to protect minors from possibly unsuitable content. On January 1st 2000, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act (Cwlth, 1999) (BSA) was proclaimed. The Act purports to regulate and control Internet content in Australia. Operating in tandem with the Act is the Internet Industry Association Code of Practice, giving Australia a co-regulatory approach to Internet content control. The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) is charged with implementing the regime. This study sets out examine the Internet content control problem in the Australian context. The political issues surrounding the topic of Internet censorship and the lack of reliable operational statistics, revealed the difficulty of estimating the effectiveness of the current control regime. Pivotal questions for the study concerned the scope and scale of content control in the Australian context and trends in hosting. This study used website typology, as defined by data topology and data topography, to examine the scope and scale of the content control task, and the implications for the effectiveness of the BSA. It was expected that if the BSA was to have an impact, that a discernible change in user download behaviour should ensue. This study used information provided by the adult Internet Content Provider (ICP) industry to gauge the BSA\u27s impact-on user download behaviour as a measure of the control regime’s effectiveness. It was suggested by some observers that the so-called \u27data deficit\u27 between Australia and the US would be exacerbated by the new content control regime, with possible negative implications for the conduct of e-commerce in Australia generally. A study of Australian adult website hosting arrangements and data topography was conducted to examine the implications of the control regime for the data deficit\u27. This study suggests that most Australian online adult content is in fact hosted in the US. The reasons for offshore hosting are almost totally financial and pre-date the introduction of the Broadcasting Services Act (Online Services) Amendment Act 1999. The study also suggests that any effect on the \u27data deficit\u27 should be minimal, and that the typology of adult content websites in such that the current co-regulatory regime may prove ineffective in controlling access to adult content

Cenzura na internetu

Internet je trenutačno najrasprostranjeniji medij, sredstvo komunikacije koje dostupnošću i jednostavnošću sve više zauzima revolucionarnu ulogu u društvu, sličnu onoj koju je imao tiskarski stroj pet stoljeća ranije. I kao i pet stoljeća ranije, brza diseminacija informacija omogućava nove načine usvajanja znanja i protoka ideja, i to na vrlo demokratičan i lako dostupan način, no kao i tada, mnogim autoritarnim državama ili institucijama osvještavanje građana i korisnika ugrožava stabilnost režima. Cilj ovog rada je bio definirati cenzuru na internetu, upozoriti na njezine negativne posljedice, pozvati na oprez u vrlo diskutabilnim situacijama cenzuriranja u svrhu zaštite, sigurnosti i borbe protiv kriminalnih aktivnosti i terorizma. Prezentirane su metode cenzure uz primjere provođenja istih u različitim zemljama svijeta.The Internet is currently the most prevailing medium in the world, mode of communication that by its accessibility and simplicity now takes a revolutionary part in society, similar to the one that printing press had five centuries ago. And as five centuries ago, fast dissemination of information democratically enables new ways of learning and flow of ideas, but also, for many authoritarian states or institutions enlightenment of citizens and users endangers the stability of regime. The intention of this paper was to define Internet censorship, point out the negative consequences and to forewarn about the disputable situations of censoring with pretext of protection, safety and fight against crime and terrorism. The paper also reviews different methods of Internet censorship with examples of implementation of the aforementioned in several world states

Making Strategic Sense of Cyber Power: Why the Sky Is Not Falling

View the Executive SummaryCyber is now recognized as an operational domain, but the theory that should explain it strategically is, for the most part, missing. It is one thing to know how to digitize; it is quite another to understand what digitization means strategically. The author maintains that, although the technical and tactical literature on cyber is abundant, strategic theoretical treatment is poor. He offers four conclusions: (1) cyber power will prove useful as an enabler of joint military operationsl; (2) cyber offense is likely to achieve some success, and the harm we suffer is most unlikely to be close to lethally damaging; (3) cyber power is only information and is only one way in which we collect, store, and transmit information; and, (4) it is clear enough today that the sky is not falling because of cyber peril. As a constructed environment, cyberspace is very much what we choose to make it. Once we shed our inappropriate awe of the scientific and technological novelty and wonder of it all, we ought to have little trouble realizing that as a strategic challenge we have met and succeeded against the like of networked computers and their electrons before. The whole record of strategic history says: Be respectful of, and adapt for, technical change, but do not panic.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1528/thumbnail.jp

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Recolonisation of Africa

This book argues that the fourth industrial revolution, the process of accelerated automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices via digital technology, will serve to further marginalise Africa within the international community. In this book, the author argues that the looting of Africa that started with human capital and then natural resources, now continues unabated via data and digital resources looting. Developing on the notion of "Coloniality of Data", the fourth industrial revolutionis postulated as the final phase which will conclude Africa’s peregrination towards recolonisation. Global cartels, networks of coloniality, and tech multi-national corporations have turned Big Data into capital, which is left unguarded in Africa as the continent lacks the strong institutions necessary to regulate the mining of data. Written from a decolonial perspective, this book employs three analytical pillars of coloniality of power, knowledge and being. It concludes with an assessment of what could be done to help to turn the fourth industrial revolution from a curse into a resource. Highlighting the crippling continuation of asymmetrical global power relations, this book will be an important read for researchers of African studies, politics and international political economy