Use Cases
- by Pilar Villegas
- 3 posts
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How can Blockchain technology be used to help those most in need when humanitarian disaster strikes?
These and other questions were at the heart of the first Humanitarian Blockchain Summit hosted by the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs,Fordham University, New York, in partnership with the University of Northampton, UK, both members of the global AshokaU network of Changemanker Campuses united in pursuit of social innovation.
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
Humanitarian Blockchain Summit
The summit brought together academics, technology experts and practitioners to discuss the future of blockchain technology in humanitarian operations against a backdrop of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Areas of discussion included practical ways of facilitating the ethical adoption of humanitarian blockchain solutions in response to technical, legal, and governance issues, new cross-sector partnerships to encourage technical collaboration and explore non-traditional funding sources and building a digital community of developers interested in monitoring the social impact of humanitarian aid.
A video of the proceedings can be found here.The assumption behind the conference is that blockchain technology, implemented ethically and with ingenuity, has the potential to revolutionise humanitarian aid. Whether it’s the transfer cash to disaster victims, coordination of delivery of supplies, streamlining humanitarian financing, or making humanitarian projects more gender-inclusive, blockchain technology can help.
The summit comes at a time when humanitarian aid is being viewed cynically by sections of the public. UK foreign Aid distribution currently stands at 0.7% of GDP, which in 2016 was £12.7 billion. Despite the UK being just one of a handful of OECD counties to have met this UN-inspired target it remains controversial, with accusations ongoing that money is being wasted or misspent through corruption.
There is also a sense that the current system has become self-serving, with the major beneficiaries the aid organisations themselves. Audit processes set up to measure outcomes add more layers of administration and cost. And, in the worst of all possible outcomes, long-term dependency on aid can end up rewarding poverty.
This is where blockchain comes in. The technology has the capacity to ensure more secure delivery of aid through supply chain tracking, transparent procurement, impactful humanitarian financing and safer protection mechanisms.
As the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies, blockchain could allow aid to be administered through digitised tokens that represent money. Provided stakeholders in the chain have done what they promised, the tokens are cashed in for local currency by recipients directly.
A blockchain solution could cut transaction costs so more resource ends up where it is needed most, while the improved transparency would help stop corruption.
Encouragingly, some humanitarian organisations are already looking at ways blockchain can make aid delivery more efficient and transparent.
Examples include Aid:Tech who provide e-vouchers on a blockchain to Syrian refugees in camps, Handshake who are designing a system for fair and legal labour contracts for migrant workers to prevent exploitation, and Disberse a UK fund management platform that uses blockchain to finance aid development.
The Centre for Citizenship, Enterprise and Corporate Governance, a spin-out from the University of Northampton, has also been exploring innovative blockchain solutions in supply chain procurement and education that link directly to the United Nations SDGs. These pioneers are at the start of what could be the most radical shake-up of aid funding in a generation. However, the technology used in this way is not without problems.
Blockchain is currently unregulated by international law, meaning data managed on a global, cross-border, decentralised network could be at risk in territories with poor corporate regulation - often the very places where aid is needed urgently.
When disaster strikes in the shape of flood, famine or earthquake, humanitarian feet on the ground must always be the first recourse. Money in the form of foreign aid and charitable donations inevitably follows. But it would be complacent of charities and NGOs to assume people will continue to give indefinitely at present levels.
Blockchain provides a fresh opportunity convince an increasingly sceptical press and public that humanitarian aid can be made transparent enough to justify their continued support.
Discover even more articles and reports about blockchain, cryptocurrencies and technology published by Huffpost here: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/a-blockchain-for-humanity_uk_5a1441f0e4b010527d6780af
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst "Blockchain provides a fresh opportunity convince an increasingly sceptical press and public that humanitarian aid can be made transparent enough to justify their continued support." In a world which is more and more chaotic and mistrust is rife, Blockchain is more than a technology, it is the tool to show new ways to improve the humankind and the human relationships, universal ethics etc.- 10 1 vote
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Use Case: Blockchain courts will offer effective dispute resolution in smart con... (thenextweb.com)Arbitration is a fundamental aspect of human relationships be it social, professional, or business relationships. The emotional and psychological composition of humans cannot be absolutely prevented from interfering during the execution of contractual agreements and processes.
Contractual disputes
Disputes over contracts aren’t always caused by ulterior motives or deliberate intentions to short-change another party. Sometimes, they may be as a result of honest mistakes or inadequate understanding of the original contract.
However, no matter the reason behind eventualities and disputes during the execution of contractual agreements, there is usually the provision for settlement systems that are supposed to interpret the terms and conditions of the given contracts and deliver fair judgment.Weaknesses in existing systems
Traditional dispute resolution systems have been exposed to several deficiencies that make them inadequate for today’s business environment. Modern technology and the pace at which business processes move these days, do not permit the luxury of the relative setbacks inherent in traditional systems.
This has led to the development of a decentralized arbitration platform that suits the ecosystem of emerging technologies as we have them today.Some of the disadvantages of traditional arbitration systems that make them inadequate for emerging systems include:
• High price
Professional legal services are extremely expensive, with preliminary consultations alone costing hundreds of dollars, while lawyer’s fees for civil lawsuits can run up to thousands of dollars.
• Duration of proceedings
As a rule, it takes several court sessions at intervals of 1-2 months to solve a case. That, of course, is too long for most disputes.
• Judgment execution
Even if a judgment is delivered, its execution takes time and is carried out by third parties. The losing party may abscond, declare bankruptcy or otherwise avoid fulfilling its obligations.
• High entry requirements
Most often, only big cases are heard in courts, and few people are ready to start serious litigation for disputes over everyday matters like a poor-quality product or service. The cost and complexity of proceedings do not depend too much on the subject of the deal.
• Jurisdictions
Public courts administer justice under the laws of a certain state, which vary significantly between countries.• Political engagement and bias
Courts are not always independent — they are often influenced by other institutions and people.
• Complexity
Few people can protect their own interests; for the rest, trials are very complicated.
• Lack of choice
There is no way to choose the specific rules to be used for dispute resolution. Usually, it is the national legislation of a certain country, which cannot be altered by the parties.The blockchain solution
By implementing a decentralized arbitration system on the blockchain, issues are resolved by a panel of jurors resident on the Jury.Online platform.
This system serves to eliminate the above-listed setbacks which are detrimental to business operations in the fast moving technologically empowered societies of today.
Users on this platform can create deals and have them registered on the blockchain as immutable and transparent smart contracts.
This enables every fact and detail of the deal to be available and traceable in case of any dispute.
To settle eventual disputes, judges are chosen randomly from a pool of judges, unless the involved parties unanimously select a particular judge over themselves whose decision will be binding over the issue at hand.
Anyone can apply for an arbiter within or without a pool to Jury.Online project with background and experience description and get a chance to become a professional arbiter.A typical example
A simple real-life example of implementing the Jury.Online system can be in a deal involving two individuals, a business owner and a website designer where the business owner contracts the website designer to create a website for his business.
Assuming that both parties only agreed on the creation of a website without the mention of hosting it, a dispute may arise when the business owners assume that hosting is automatic and complimentary, while the designer thinks otherwise.
Jury.
Online simplifies and speeds up the settlement process of such a case because every fact and detail of such a contract would be placed as a smart contract from the beginning on the open source protocol of the Jury.Online blockchain.
These details remain constant and immutable and when jurors are chosen from a pool of arbiters by the disputing parties, they carry out their investigations independently on existing facts and details and deliver judgment immediately.
Once judgment is delivered, the execution aspect which involves sealing up the deal is carried out immediately and everyone moves on.Lead developers
The Jury.Online project is pioneered by Alexander Shevtsov and Konstantin Kudriavtsev. Alexander is a mathematician and a high-qualified specialist in cryptography, who has a background in abstract and theoretical areas of mathematics, engaged in cryptography, and has written several educational articles for universities.
According to Alexander, his interest in blockchain technology and cryptography lies in the reality of its application in the real world.“First of all I’m interested in blockchain because this technology, and cryptography in particular, are some of the very few spheres of abstract mathematics, its matchless beauty and elegance can be applied in the real world”, he says.
For Konstantin who holds a degree in Technical Cybernetics, and work experience in some of the world’s largest banks (PrivatBank, Alfa Bank, UBS London Bank), the innovation that blockchain brings into the technology circle should be embraced by everyone.Konstantin says;“In general, all the technologies separately (p2p Protocol, encryption, etc.) were already known, but by combining them together, the technical world has been disrupted with blockchain technology and this is a breakthrough which should not be missed by anyone.”
Discover more stories like this on TNW here: https://thenextweb.com/money/2017/10/30/blockchain-courts-will-offer-effective-dispute-resolution-sm...
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Blockchain may revolutionize the way we do business nearly as much as the internet did. Here are seven benefits it can have for businesses.
While cryptocurrency as a speculative trade – and, to a lesser extent, an everyday payment system – is creating much hype, blockchain technology is where the raw potential lies.
For the most part, the undercurrent technology is lying low, taking a backseat as developers and industry leaders come to grips with what can be done with it.
But being in the background is in no way an indication of its importance.In fact, many are likening the advance of blockchain technology to the dawn of the internet, predicting significant economic and societal change.
This is due to the fact that, as a decentralized network, it stores identical blocks of information across all computer nodes in the network that owns a copy of the blockchain code.
The network as a whole jointly manages the database of information it contains.The significance? It cannot be controlled by a single entity, the information it contains cannot be corrupted, and the flow of information is completely open and transparent.
Benefits of employing blockchain technology in your business
While there is much still to be discovered about blockchain, and particular applications will be industry-dependent, there are some overall benefits.What is important to keep in mind is that you don't need more than just a general understanding of the backbone of the technology to consider its deployment.
The personal computer first came on the market in the late 1970s, yet most people still don't have an extensive understanding of how it works. However, blockchain developers are in high demand, indicating that, cost-wise, there is still quite a substantial barrier to entry this early in the game.
Here are some potential uses of blockchain technology.
1. Smart contracts
If your business operations support an if-then agreement, smart contracts could be programmed to support execution and deliverables.
2. Cutting out the middleman
The sharing economy has been one of the most important business model innovations in recent years. Blockchain technology can effectively cut out the middleman, enabling peer-to-peer transactions without the fees attributed to the central organizing party.
3. Identity management
Ecommerce will be easier, thanks to more streamlined personal identification systems. An individual's sensitive information that is available online owing to online transactions can be managed more securely.
4. Supply chain auditing
With blockchain, a product's claims can be verified every step of the way, from inception to market, thanks to timestamped dates and locations. This will form an important part of ethical business practices in future.
5. Intellectual copyright protection
Thanks to the transparent, open-access nature of blockchain, the expensive, lengthy process of copyrighting intellectual property will give way to a much more affordable, irrefutable process. It will also transform owned electronic media, eliminating the exorbitant dues currently lost because of illegal file sharing and redistribution.
6. Data management
Everything free online comes at a cost to your personal data, which is shared with the company in question. Blockchain technology will empower users to choose to sell this information to interested parties and manage what activity-generated data is available online.
7. Transparent governance
Voting systems, for anything from unilateral internal decision-making to international politics, can run on blockchain in a process that is fair, universally trackable and completely transparent.
This is by no means an exhaustive list.
Nor are they pipe dreams. For each of these use cases, there is at least one startup operating in the space.
Society has moved into the information age, and with the invention of blockchain technology, we will enter an unprecedented era of trustless business operations that will, as far as we can tell, be technologically immune to human corruption.
Blockchain technology will also continue to make doing business smoother and more intuitive, automating many tasks and eliminating many unnecessary costs.
Michael HenmanMichael is the owner of Venture Team Building. He has over 10 years experience as a trainer, facilitator and manager in Canada, Japan, and Southeast Asia. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, personal development, and creating great teams.
If you enjoyed reading this article, discover even more on Business.com here:https://www.business.com/articles/blockchain-uses-in-business/
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Jakobo Gimeno There is a site that Is using the blockchain technology to trade in game items from Dota 2 and CSGO these items are worth thousands of dollars and sites that trade them would shut down and steal the items they found out its safer to use blockchain for trading because the items will be safe and impossible for one to steal, the world is adapting.
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