Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Affordable and reliable supply chain visibility is becoming increasingly important as the complexity of the network underlying supply chains is becoming orders of magnitudes higher compared to a decade ago. Moreover, this increase in complexity is starting to reflect on the cost of goods and their availability to the consumers. Optimizing the physical distribution phase in supply chain by providing increased visibility to trading partners can directly reduce product cost. Current supply chain information systems often lack the ability to cost-effectively relay ground truth in- formation in near real time to all stakeholders and most importantly to the supplier and the customer during the transport of the shipment. This thesis presents a solu- tion that addresses this gap through a distributed architecture. The solution enables small, medium and large businesses to interact in a dynamic and shipment-centric manner through a private blockchain sub-ledger that digitizes the transfer of custody for each shipment. Information in this private ledger is augmented by a public event ledger that reflects the movement of the shipment in real time. Third party monitors are engaged in the validation of the geolocation of the shipments by posting their physical proximity in the form of events to the public ledger.

of the Dissertation The Musical Entourage of Rudolf II (1576-1612) reconstructed from the Imperial Accounting Ledgers Michaela Žáčková Rossi (2016, Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Petr Daněk Ph.D.) The proposed dissertation is undertaken as an attempt to make accessible the payments of the imperial court under Rudolf II concerning its musical life. Quite a century ago Albert Smijers published payments to the imperial musicians, but only to them of the chapel, while the other categories were considered unsystematically; but even among the "trometter", "kammermusici" and "servants on two and more horses" we find excellent composers. This dissertation, using the known sources and on the basis of new heuristics in the State Archives of Vienna, brings for the first time a complete list of all musicians of the Rudolf's court, including the period, function and wages development of their stay. Thanks to the extensive lists and graphs, it also present the specialization and career evolution of the Imperial musicians, number and quality of their extraordinary payments, bonuses etc. The conception of a first global view on the Rudolfine musical entourage in Prague will be complemented in a forthcoming monograph by a complete list of (Gnadengeld), it means "grace payments" to the musicians for their music dedications...

Mycorrhizal Networks (MNs) facilitate the exchange of resources including energy, water, nutrients, and information between trees and plants in forest ecosystems. This work explored MNs as an inspiration for new market models in transactive energy networks, which similarly involve exchanges of energy and information between buildings in local communities. Specific insights from the literature on the structure and function of MNs were translated into an energy model with the aim of addressing challenges associated with the proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs) at the grid edge and the incorporation of DER aggregations into wholesale energy markets. First, a systematic review of bio-inspired computing interventions applied to microgrids and their interactions with modern energy markets established a technical knowledge base within the context of distributed electrical systems. Second, a bio-inspired design process built on this knowledge base to yield a structural and functional blueprint for a computational mycorrhizal energy market simulation. Lastly, that computational model was implemented and simulated on a blockchain-compatible, multi-agent software platform to determine the effect that mycorrhizal strategies have on transactive energy market performance. The structural translation of a mapped ectomycorrhizal network of Douglas-firs in Oregon, USA called the 'wood-wide web' created an effective framework for the organization of a novel mycorrhizal energy market model that enabled participating buildings to redistribute percentages of their energy assets on different competing exchanges throughout a series of week-long simulations. No significant changes in functional performance –- as determined by economic, technical, and ecological metrics – were observed when the mycorrhizal results were compared to those of a baseline transactive energy community without periodic energy asset redistribution. Still, the model itself is determined to be a useful tool for further exploration of innovative, automated strategies for DER integration into modern energy market structures and electrical infrastructure in the age of Web3, especially as new science emerges to better explain trigger and feedback mechanisms for carbon exchange through MNs and how mycorrhizae adapt to changes in the environment. This dissertation concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications and an analysis applying the ecological principles of robustness, biodiversity, and altruism to the collective energy future of the human species. / Doctor of Philosophy / Beneath the forest floor, a network of fungi connects trees and plants and allows them to exchange energy and other resources. This dissertation compares this mycorrhizal network (mycorrhiza = fungus + root) to a group of solar-powered buildings generating energy and exchanging it in a local community marketplace (transactive energy markets). In the analogy, the buildings become the plants, the solar panels become the leaves, and the electrical grid represents the mycorrhizal network. Trees and plants produce their own energy through photosynthesis and then send large portions of it down to the roots, where they can trade it or send it to neighbors via the mycorrhizal network. Similarly, transactive energy markets are designed to allow buildings to sell the energy they produce on-site to neighbors, usually at better rates. This helps address a major infrastructure challenge that is arising with more people adding roof-top solar to their homes. The grid that powers our buildings is old now and it was designed to send power from a central power plant out to its edges where most homes and businesses are located. When too many homes produce solar power at the same time, there is nowhere for it to go, and it can easily overload the grid leading to fires, equipment failures, and power outages. Mycorrhizal networks solve this problem in part through local energy balancing driven by cooperative feedback patterns that have evolved over millennia to sustain forest ecosystems. This work applies scientific findings on the structure and function of mycorrhizal networks (MNs) to energy simulation methods in order to better understand the potential for building bio-inspired energy infrastructure in local communities. Specifically, the mapped structure of a MN of douglas-fir trees in Oregon, USA was adapted into a digital transactive energy market (TEM) model. This adaptation process revealed that a single building can connect to many TEMs simultaneously and that the number of connections can change over time just as symbiotic connections between organisms grow, decay, and adapt to a changing environment. The behavior of MNs in terms of when those connections are added and subtracted informed the functionality of the TEM model, which adds connections when community energy levels are high and subtracts connections when energy levels are low. The resulting 'mycorrhizal' model of the TEM was able to change how much energy each connected household traded on it by changing the number of connections (more connections mean more energy and vice versa). Though the functional performance of the mycorrhizal TEM did not change significantly from that of a typical TEM when they were the context of decentralized computer networks (blockchains) and distributed artificial intelligence. A concluding discussion addresses ways in which elements of this new model could transform energy distribution in communities and improve the resilience of local energy systems in the face of a changing climate.

The ideas and techniques of cryptography and decentralized storage have seen tremendous growth in many industries, as they have been adopted to improve activities in the organization. That called Blockchain technology, it provides an effective transparency solution. Generally, Blockchain has been used for digital currency or cryptocurrency since its inception. One of the best-known Blockchain protocols is Ethereum, which has invented the smart contract to enable Blockchain’s ability to execute a condition, rather than simply acting as storage. Applications that adopt this technology are called ‘Dapps’ or ‘decentralized applications’. However, there are ongoing arguments about synchronization associated with the system. System synchronization is currently extremely important for applications, because the waiting time for a transaction to be verified can cause dissatisfaction in the user experience. Several studies have revealed that privacy leakage occurs, even though the Blockchain provides a degree of security, as a result of the traditional transaction, which requires approval through an intermediate institution. For instance, a bank needs to process transactions via many constitution parties before receiving the final confirmation, which requires the user to wait for a considerable amount of time. This thesis describes the challenge of transaction synchronization between the user and smart contract, as well as the matter of a privacy strategy for the system and compliance. To approach these two challenges, the first task separates different events and evaluates the results compared to an alternative solution. This is done by testing the smart contract to find the best gas price result, which varies over time. In the Ethereum protocol, gas price is one of the best ways to decrease the transaction time to meet user expectations. The gas price is affected by the code structure and the network. In the smart contract, testing is run based on two cases, and solves platform issues such as runners and user experience and reduces costs. It has also been found that collecting the fee before participating in an auction can prevent the problem of runners. The second case aims to prove that freezing the amount of a bid is the best way to increase the user’s experience, and to achieve the better experience of an online auction. The second challenge mainly focuses on the privacy strategy and risk management for the platform, which involves identifying possible solutions for all risk situations, as well as detecting, forecasting and preventing them. Providing strategies, such as securing the smart contract structure, increasing the encryption method in the database, designing a term sheet and agreement, and authorization, help to prevent system vulnerabilities. Therefore, this research aims to improve and investigate an online auction platform by using a Blockchain smart contract to provide evocative user experiences. / Idéer och tekniker för kryptografi och decentraliserad lagring har haft en enorm tillväxt i många branscher, eftersom de har antagits för att förbättra verksamheten i organisationen. Den som kallas Blockchain-tekniken ger den en effektiv transparenslösning. Generellt har Blockchain använts för digital valuta eller cryptocurrency sedan starten. Ett av de mest kända Blockchainprotokollen är Ethereum, som har uppfunnit det smarta kontraktet för att möjliggöra Blockchains förmåga att utföra ett villkor, snarare än att bara fungera som lagring. Applikationer som använder denna teknik kallas 'Dapps' eller 'decentraliserade applikationer'. Det finns emellertid pågående argument om synkronisering associerad med systemet. Systemsynkronisering är för närvarande oerhört viktigt för applikationer, eftersom väntetiden för att en transaktion ska verifieras kan orsaka missnöje i användarupplevelsen. Flera studier har visat att sekretessläckage inträffar, även om Blockchain ger en viss säkerhet, till följd av den traditionella transaktionen, som kräver godkännande genom en mellaninstitution. Till exempel måste en bank bearbeta transaktioner via många konstitutionspartier innan den får den slutliga bekräftelsen, vilket kräver att användaren väntar en betydande tid. Den här avhandlingen beskriver utmaningen med transaktionssynkronisering mellan användaren och smart kontrakt, samt frågan om en sekretessstrategi för systemet och efterlevnad. För att närma sig dessa två utmaningar separerar den första uppgiften olika händelser och utvärderar resultaten jämfört med en alternativ lösning. Detta görs genom att testa det smarta kontraktet för att hitta det bästa gasprisresultatet, som varierar över tiden. I Ethereum-protokollet är gaspriset ett av de bästa sätten att minska transaktionstiden för att möta användarens förväntningar. Gaspriset påverkas av kodstrukturen och nätverket. I det smarta kontraktet körs test baserat på två fall och löser plattformsproblem som löpare och användarupplevelse och minskar kostnaderna. Det har också visat sig att insamlingen av avgiften innan du deltar i en auktion kan förhindra löparproblemet. Det andra fallet syftar till att bevisa att frysning av budbeloppet är det bästa sättet att öka användarens upplevelse och att uppnå en bättre upplevelse av en online auktion. Den andra utmaningen fokuserar huvudsakligen på sekretessstrategin och riskhanteringen för plattformen, som innebär att identifiera möjliga lösningar för alla risksituationer, samt att upptäcka, förutse och förhindra dem. Tillhandahållande av strategier, som att säkra den smarta kontraktsstrukturen, öka krypteringsmetoden i databasen, utforma ett termblad och avtal och godkännande, hjälper till att förhindra systemets sårbarheter. Därför syftar denna forskning till att förbättra och undersöka en online-auktionsplattform genom att använda ett smart avtal med Blockchain för att ge upplevande användarupplevelser.

The electronic identification regulation, eIDAS, and its trusted service providers are currently based on technologies that have been used for decades. The eIDAS and many others in the security industry have shown interest in newer technologies such as distributed ledgers and blockchain. This research looks into the current eIDAS regulation, its plans for future work, and how the current trusted systems could benefit from introducing blockchain into the solutions. Looking at new technologies is of importance to move forward but also making solutions more secure for the user with for example Self-Sovereign Identity solutions. The research was conducted through a literature review followed by interviews. A number of themes were identified to answer the research question. The findings were that blockchain is a viable technology to use but only if used in the right cases. A better understanding and knowledge of the technology is needed for new implementation to succeed and should not be rushed due to the hype of blockchain technology. / Se bif. fil