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Calls for Papers (special): Journal of Database Management (JDM)
https://www.igi-global.com/calls-for-papers-special/journal-database-management/1072
Special Issue On: Blockchain and Smart Contracts
Submission Due Date
4/1/2019
Guest Editors
Hemang Subramanian, Florida International University, USA
Rong Liu, Stevens Institute of Technology, USA
Introduction
Every 10 to 15 years, computing has undergone a paradigm shift.
Today, close to the tenth anniversary of the Bitcoin white-paper,
we have the “trust” based computing era, wherein computing systems
and applications can replace a centralized authority and execute
programs on a censor-proof decentralized and Turing-complete,
distributed global computing system (Nakomoto, 2008). Such “trust”
based computing has implications for many industries such as
information systems, financial and banking systems, healthcare
systems, supply-chain systems, accounting methods, and business
contracts. Beyond improving efficiencies and lowering costs in
matching transacting entities, and facilitating faster,
more-secure, soft-real time transactions, the blockchain also
enables a completely new set of automated rule-based functions for
smart contracts (Subramanian, 2018). In addition to the spawning
of a completely different asset class of cryptocurrencies (Liu
& Tsyvinski, 2018 ), the blockchain technology facilitates
many different functions such as immutability, security, byzantine
fault-tolerance and distributed transaction validation.
Objective
We propose a special issue for the Journal of Database Management
that invites paper submissions that study interesting questions
pertaining to the Blockchain and Smart Contracts in the following
research areas.
Recommended Topics
1. Blockchain Core Technologies
Blockchain, as a class of distributed-transaction systems,
encompasses a number of key technologies, including distributed
ledger, cryptography, consensus protocols, and smart contracts.
These components are leveraged together to achieve desirable
properties such as disintermediation, immutability, transparency,
and automation. It would be essential for researchers and
practitioners to understand these underlying components, their
variations, and the pros and cons of each variation so that the
community can appreciate blockchain better. Topics in this
category includes, but are not limited to:
* Survey papers highlighting existing proofing-mechanisms,
providing a comparative study of proofing mechanisms, summarizing
or proposing solutions to Byzantine Fault tolerance, or studying
encryption algorithms used in different blockchain systems.
* Verification of smart contracts and the integration of smart
contracts with business processes.
* Reward and penalty mechanisms for design for oracles (e.g.
Athena blockchain system), agents that extract external
information and push to smart contracts.
* Private and public blockchain architectures, and comparison
between these two types.
* Enterprise application architectures using Enterprise Ethereum
Alliance (EEA) or Hyperledger applications.
* New development to evolve the essential technological components
of blockchain.
2. Innovative Blockchain Applications
Following the success of bitcoin, blockchain initiatives
proliferate across industries, many innovative applications have
been proposed. These applications can provide the community better
understanding of blockchain’s capabilities and the nuances of
effective architectures. Topics in this category may include:
* Trust based computing using blockchain mechanisms such as
assurance computing, automated auditing, automated compliance,
etc.
* Smart contract and blockhain analytics platforms (e.g., Numerai,
Polymath, etc.)
* Decentralized financial exchanges and incentive mechanisms
* Prediction market applications atop the blockchain (e.g., Augur,
Truthcoin, etc.)
* Securitized token applications – blockchain-based security token
creation and validation mechanisms.
* Crowdsourcing applications and reward mechanisms atop the
blockchain.
* Smart contract based rule validation with mechanisms for
automated reasoning.
3. Decisions and Challenges Related to Blockchain Adoption
Although blockchain is gaining more momentum in industries, very
few blockchain applications are operational. A number of
challenges have been revealed through early experiments, including
efficiency, scalability, interoperability, complexity, and
regulation. Moreover, systematic approaches are needed to help
firms make various technological or economic decisions in
designing and operationalizing blockchain based systems. Topics in
this category may include:
* Protocol economic mechanisms that delve into the game-theoretic
or mechanism design aspects of blockchain incentives such as
“renting mechanics”, “control mechanics” and “voting mechanics”.
* Surveys of existing scalability challenges on blockchain systems
(e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum) and discussion of algorithms and
mechanisms to address these challenges.
* Cross-chain compatibility issues; cross-chain validation
mechanisms and cross-implementation issues.
* Service design and pricing of blockchain Software-as-a-Service
platforms.
* Blockchain adoption strategies: Software-as-a-Service,
consortium blockchain networks, or private blockchain platforms.
* Methods to evaluate blockchain solutions in terms of
performance, cost, risk, network effect, and scalability.
4. Second-Order Effects of Blockchain and Beyond
It is widely believed that blockchain is promising to
revolutionize business and redefine companies and economies.
Iansiti and Lakhani (2017) considered blockchain as a foundational
technology comparable to TCP/IP with the potential to create new
foundations for our economic and social systems. We invite
discussion on blockchain’s impact on technologies, governance,
organizations, or societies such as
* Papers relating blockchain with market efficiency papers
discussing how blockchain impacts markets
* Cryptocurrencies and their impacts on society and economy
* New models for auditing and regulatory compliance
References:
1. Iansiti, Marco, and Karim R. Lakhani. "The truth about
blockchain." Harvard Business Review 95.1 (2017): 118-127.
2. Nakamoto, Satoshi. "Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash
system." (2008).
3. Subramanian, Hemang. "Decentralized blockchain-based electronic
marketplaces." Communications of the ACM 61.1 (2017): 78-84.
4. Liu, Yukun, and Aleh Tsyvinski. Risks and Returns of
Cryptocurrency. No. w24877. National Bureau of Economic Research,
2018.
Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit papers for
this special theme issue on Blockchain and Smart Contracts on or
before April 1st , 2019. All submissions must be original and may
not be under review by another publication. INTERESTED AUTHORS
SHOULD CONSULT THE JOURNAL’S GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS
athttp://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write//.
All submitted papers will be reviewed on a double-blind, peer
review basis. Papers must follow APA style for reference
citations.
All submissions and inquiries should be directed to the attention
of:
Hemang Subramanian and Rong Liu
E-mails:hsubrama@fiu.edu<mailto:hsubrama@fiu.edu>;
rong.liu@stevens.edu<mailto:rong.liu@stevens.edu>
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