In blockchain and cryptocurrency, miners participate in a proof-of-work-based distributed consensus protocol to find and generate a valid block, process transactions, and earn the corresponding reward. Because cryptocurrency is designed to adapt to the dynamic miner network size, a miner's participation affects the block difficulty which sets the expected amount of work to find a valid block. We study the dependency between the mining power control and the block difficulty and study a rational miner utilizing such dependency to dynamically control its mining power over a longer horizon than just the impending block. More specifically, we introduce I-O Mining strategy where a miner takes advantage of the block difficulty adjustment rule and toggles between mining with full power and power off between the difficulty adjustments. In I-O Mining, the miner influences the block difficulty and mines only when the difficulty is low, gaming and violating the design integrity of the mining protocol for its profit gain. We analyze the I-O Mining's incentive/profit gain over the static-mining strategies and its negative impact on the rest of the blockchain mining network in the block/transaction scalability. Our results show that I-O Mining becomes even more effective and profitable as there are greater competitions for mining and the reward and the cost difference becomes smaller, which are the trends in cryptocurrencies.
more »
« less
Platforms, blockchains and the challenges of decentralization
This commentary explores the feasibility of blockchain technologies (and cryptocurrencies) in contesting the power of centralized, corporate platforms. While proponents of blockchain and cryptocurrencies regularly proclaim their power to decentralize and counter corporate power, I am much more constrained in my assessment and note the significant challenges facing open blockchain approaches in competing with platforms. From this, I highlight three key areas in which blockchains may complicate platform operations, albeit in indeterminate ways. These include (i) closed, state-based blockchain systems focused on making back-office processes more efficient, (ii) the use of cryptocurrencies for platform-based transactions and (iii) providing digital objects with an element of “uniqueness” that makes them tradable in new ways. In the end, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are technologies like any others, providing affordances for some kinds of action over others but ultimately their embeddedness in practice and space shapes how they impact the organization and geography of economies, societies and regions.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1853718
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10410765
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1752-1378
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 367-372
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Prior studies have already predicted that enforcement of IP on the additive manufacturing industry will not be successful due to the widespread use of file-sharing technologies, similar to the entertainment and music industry. This paper discusses the capabilities of Blockchain technology for protecting IP in the design and manufacturing area. A conceptual framework for a digital platform is defined in this paper and further, a survey study of engineering design and manufacturing students has been conducted to identify the main motivation behind developing these platforms and the types of features that should be included in Blockchain-based IP platforms for asset protection, particularly for product design. In addition, respondents provided their opinions about the type of industry that might be affected more by the threat of counterfeiting products and the role of Blockchain-based IP systems on the growth and development of innovation.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)Abstract With the United States military stretched thin in the “global war on terror,” military officials have embraced psychopharmaceuticals in the effort to enable more troops to remain “mission-capable.” Within the intimate conditions in which deployed military personnel work and live, soldiers learn to read for signs of psychopharmaceutical use by others, and consequently, may become accountable to those on medication in new ways. On convoys and in the barracks, up in the observation post and out in the motor pool, the presence and perceived volatility of psychopharmaceuticals can enlist non-medical military personnel into the surveillance and monitoring of medicated peers, in sites far beyond the clinic. Drawing on fieldwork with Army personnel and veterans, this article explores collective and relational aspects of psychopharmaceutical use among soldiers deployed post-9/11 in Iraq and Afghanistan. I theorize this social landscape as a form of “medication by proxy,” both to play on the fluidity of the locus of medication administration and effects within the military corporate body, and to emphasize the material and spatial ways that proximity to psychopharmaceuticals pulls soldiers into relationships of care, concern and risk management. Cases presented here reveal a devolution and dispersal of biomedical psychiatric power that complicates mainstream narratives of mental health stigma in the US military.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract This paper presents an implementation of Connected Spaces (CxS)—an ambient help seeking interface designed and developed for a project‐based computing classroom. We use actor network theory (ANT) to provide an underutilized posthumanist lens to understand the creation of collaborative connections in this Computational Action‐based implementation. Posthumanism offers an emerging and critical extension to sociocultural perspectives on understanding learning, by pushing us to decenter the human, and consider the active roles that human and non‐human entities play in learning environments by actively shaping each other. We analyse how students in this class adjusted their help‐seeking and collaborative habits following the introduction of CxS, a tool designed to foster (more inter‐group) collaboration. ANT proposes generalized symmetry—a principle of considering human, non‐human and more than human entities with equivalent and comparable agency, leading to describing phenomena as networks of actors in different evolving relationships with each other. Analysing collaborative interactions as fostered by CxS using an ANT approach supports design‐based research—an iterative design revision process highlighting understandings about design as well as learning—by providing a temporal and informative lens into the relationship between actors and tools within the environment. Our key findings include a framing of technologies in classrooms as bridging
agentic gaps between students and becoming actors engaging in different behaviours; learners enacting new agencies through technologies (for instance a more comfortable non‐intrusive help seeker), and the need for voicing and teachers to connect help networks in CxS equipped classrooms.Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic
Collaborative learning is a valuable skill and practice; opportunities to mentor others are critical in empowering minoritized learners, especially in STEM and computing disciplines.
School norms solidify a power and expertise hierarchy between teachers and learners and fail to productively support learners in learning from each other.
Additionally, lack of awareness about peers' knowledge is a common hindrance in students knowing who to ask for help and how.
What this paper adds
An example of a designed interface called Connected Spaces with potential to foster more inter‐student collaboration, especially outside of mandated within‐group collaboration—in the form of cross‐group help seeking and help giving.
A design based research study using actor network theory highlighting the limitations of Connected Spaces in sparking notable behaviour change among students by itself but being retooled as a teacher support tool in enabling cross‐group collaborations.
Presenting conceptions of collaboration through technologies as bridging agentic gaps and acting with new agencies in performing help‐seeking related actions.
Provoking the idea of testing emerging technologies in classrooms along with sharing our analyses and reflections with the classroom as a key idea in computing education—surfacing the gap between designed intentions and the different kinds of extra social work needed in the on‐ground success of different technologies.
Implications for practice and/or policy
Designers and researchers should create and test more interfaces alongside teachers across different classrooms and contexts aimed at supporting different kinds of voluntary collaborative interactions.
Curricula, standards and school practices should further center providing students with opportunities to engage as mentors and build communities of learning across disciplines to empower minoritized students.
Researchers engaging in design based research should consider using more posthumanist lenses to examine educational technologies and how they affect change in learning environments.
-
Near-field communication (NFC) is one of the essential technologies in the Internet of Things (IoT) that has facilitated mobile payment across different services. The technology has become increasingly popular, as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have revolutionized how payment systems can be designed. However, this technology is subject to security problems, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, double-spending, and replay attacks, raising the need to incorporate other solutions such as blockchain technology. Concerns about the security and privacy of payments using NFC technology raise the need to adopt blockchain-based cryptocurrency payment. For instance, NFC payment has been criticized for a lack of measures to counter potential attacks, such as brute force or double-spending. Thus, incorporating blockchain technology is expected to improve the security features of the NFC mobile payment protocol and improve user experience. Blockchain technology has been praised for enabling fair payment, as it permits direct transactions without engaging a third party. Therefore, integrating blockchain cryptocurrency in IoT devices will revolutionize the NFC payment method and provide value transfer using IoT devices. Combining NFC with blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies is necessary to address security and privacy problems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential behind incorporating blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the NFC payment protocol.more » « less
