Halal certification assures that a product or a service has been created, processed, and delivered according to Islamic laws. Currently, the certificate is printed on a security paper and includes a ...QR code that can be used to verify the certificate online. However, there are some problems with the ongoing certificate verification process. The verification site is centralized, creating a single point of failure. The current verification system is also unable to detect the modified printed certificate. The research aims to propose an alternative halal certificate recording and verification system. A smart contract that runs on the Ethereum blockchain is developed and deployed for that purpose. As a result, the average certificate creation cost is US$20.035, and the process requires 5.75 seconds, while verification is free, and the result can be obtained in about one second. Utilizing the blockchain to store and verify the halal certificate increases trust in the product or service since once the data is stored, it cannot be changed and accessible to the public. Nodes around the world replicate the blockchain to ensure service availability. For future consideration, the system can be extended to automate and track the halal application process and integrated as an alternative to the current system by implementing multiple signatures in the smart contract for each party. Furthermore, the system can be integrated with a peer-to-peer sharing system such as IPFS to store the digital certificate
The security of the web improved greatly throughout the last couple of years. A large majority of the web is now served encrypted as part of HTTPS, and web browsers accordingly moved from positive to ...negative security indicators that warn the user if a connection is insecure. A secure connection requires that the server presents a valid certificate that binds the domain name in question to a public key. A certificate used to be valid if signed by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA), but web browsers like Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari have additionally started to mandate Certificate Transparency (CT) logging to overcome the weakest-link security of the CA ecosystem. Tor and the Firefox-based Tor Browser have yet to enforce CT.
In this paper, we present privacy-preserving and incrementally-deployable designs that add support for CT in Tor. Our designs go beyond the currently deployed CT enforcements that are based on blind trust: if a user that uses Tor Browser is man-in-the-middled over HTTPS, we probabilistically detect and disclose cryptographic evidence of CA and/or CT log misbehavior. The first design increment allows Tor to play a vital role in the overall goal of CT: detect mis-issued certificates and hold CAs accountable. We achieve this by randomly cross-logging a subset of certificates into other CT logs. The final increments hold misbehaving CT logs accountable, initially assuming that some logs are benign and then without any such assumption. Given that the current CT deployment lacks strong mechanisms to verify if log operators play by the rules, exposing misbehavior is important for the web in general and not just Tor. The full design turns Tor into a system for maintaining a probabilistically-verified view of the CT log ecosystem available from Tor’s consensus. Each increment leading up to it preserves privacy due to and how we use Tor.
Coal power accounts for a major share within electricity production and significantly contributes to the overall greenhouse gas emissions in many European countries. According to official reports, ...Germany will not achieve its emission reduction targets in 2020. Therefore, a shut-down of coal capacities is currently being discussed and a plan is developed by the so-called Coal Commission.
In this study, we analyse the effects of a national coal phase-out policy on carbon emissions and prices, and compare these to the effects of EU-wide coal phase-out policies. Considering high CO2 certificate prices and ambitious renewable energy targets, a coal phase-out in Germany would have a minor additional impact on overall European emissions. An EU-wide coal phase-out however, would significantly reduce the emissions, by around 19%. Alternatively, a very high CO2 certificate price policy provides an even greater reduction in CO2 emissions.
•A national phase-out leads to a significant reduction of domestic carbon emissions.•Renewables and gas-fired production replaces coal-fired electricity production.•German coal phase-out has only a small impact on electricity prices.•EU-wide phase-out policy is far more effective than a national policy.•A large reduction of EU-wide emissions can also be achieved by very high CO2 prices.
Public views on the Covid‐19 immunity certificate: A scoping review Barello, Serena; Acampora, Marta; Paleologo, Michele ...
Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy,
December 2022, Volume:
25, Issue:
6
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Introduction
Already in its first implementation, the introduction of the Covid‐19 immunity certificate has generated some debate among the public. This debate might be a hindrance to the effective ...realization of this policy. This study aimed to systematically review published research evaluating public feeling of the Covid‐19 immunity certificate policy measure and to find which factors might influence its acceptance.
Methods
We followed the scoping review methods manual by the Joanna Briggs Institute. We included studies with no time limits that presented novel data, and no exclusions have been made based on study design. We excluded articles that presented just expert opinions.
Results
We found and reviewed 17 articles. The included studies were conducted in two main countries (the United Kingdom and Switzerland), with the rest from Israel, Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, Taiwan and China. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were included, and nonrepresentative samples were mostly used to explore the public feeling about the Covid‐19 immunity certification. The included studies showed that public views on immunity certification are quite contradictory and influenced by age, gender, ethnicity, political orientation and attitudes towards Covid‐19 vaccination. The topic more often addressed by the included studies was the public's views on the positive and negative implications of the Covid‐19 immunity certificate in terms of ethical, legal and behavioural consequences of this measure.
Conclusion
The varying acceptance rates are notable and may partly be linked to differences in demographics, Covid‐19 concerns and ideological beliefs, as seen in other health‐related tracking policies. Moreover, dominant factors behind the (un)success of this policy are complex and entangled with the cultural and political dimensions rather than being just technical. For this reason, it is important to expand psychosocial research to better understand the concerns behind health certifications and allow planning of culturally based and ethically sound suitable strategies. This would be very relevant to increasing public approval and compliance with this public health measure.
Patient or Public Contribution
This does not apply to our work as it was a review paper.
Urban planners, local authorities, and energy policymakers often develop strategic sustainable energy plans for the urban building stock in order to minimize overall energy consumption and emissions. ...Planning at such scales could be informed by building stock modeling using existing building data and Geographic Information System-based mapping. However, implementing these processes involves several issues, namely, data availability, data inconsistency, data scalability, data integration, geocoding, and data privacy. This research addresses the aforementioned information challenges by proposing a generalized integrated methodology that implements bottom-up, data-driven, and spatial modeling approaches for multi-scale Geographic Information System mapping of building energy modeling. This study uses the Irish building stock to map building energy performance at multiple scales. The generalized data-driven methodology uses approximately 650,000 Irish Energy Performance Certificates buildings data to predict more than 2 million buildings’ energy performance. In this case, the approach delivers a prediction accuracy of 88% using deep learning algorithms. These prediction results are then used for spatial modeling at multiple scales from the individual building level to a national level. Furthermore, these maps are coupled with available spatial resources (social, economic, or environmental data) for energy planning, analysis, and support decision-making. The modeling results identify clusters of buildings that have a significant potential for energy savings within any specific region. Geographic Information System-based modeling aids stakeholders in identifying priority areas for implementing energy efficiency measures. Furthermore, the stakeholders could target local communities for retrofit campaigns, which would enhance the implementation of sustainable energy policy decisions.
•Evaluation of existing approaches for GIS-based building energy and data modeling.•Generalized methodology to predict building energy performance on a large scale.•Data-driven approaches for GIS-based building energy modeling.•Formulated GIS maps identify areas with energy savings potential.•The study facilitates energy planning, analysis, and supports decision-making.
This research was ⅿotivateⅾ by the nսⅿber of ⅼanⅾⅾispսtes that occսrreⅾ in Centraⅼ Kaⅼiⅿantan which was caսseⅾ by the existence of a ⅾoսbⅼe ⅼanⅾ Certificate (SKT) issսeⅾ by the Viⅼⅼage Heaⅾ. This ...stսⅾy raises a ⅼanⅾⅾispսte that occսrreⅾ between party X anⅾ a paⅼⅿ oiⅼ coⅿpany where each party owns an SKT on ⅼanⅾ objects on the saⅿe borⅾer ⅼanⅾ with a ⅾifferent ⅾistrict base. This ⅾispսte occսrs becaսse there are no cⅼear anⅾ firⅿ rսⅼes governing ⅾoսbⅼe SKT on borⅾer ⅼanⅾ so there is no ⅼegaⅼ certainty for SKT hoⅼⅾers. Baseⅾ on the ⅾescription above, the researcher raises the probⅼeⅿ forⅿսⅼation: what is the ⅼegaⅼ certainty for hoⅼⅾers of ⅾoսbⅼe ⅼanⅾ certificates on the ⅼanⅾ borⅾer of Teteiⅼanan Viⅼⅼage, Soսth Barito Regency, Centraⅼ Kaⅼiⅿantan)? This research սses jսriⅾicaⅼ eⅿpiricaⅼ research, jսriⅾicaⅼ socioⅼogicaⅼ approach, priⅿary anⅾ seconⅾary ⅾata sets which are anaⅼyzeⅾսsing qսaⅼitative anaⅼysis. The resսⅼts of this stսⅾy inⅾicate that there is no ⅼegaⅼ certainty for hoⅼⅾers of ⅿսⅼtipⅼe ⅼanⅾ Certificate, this is becaսse the ⅼanⅾ Certificate can be սseⅾ as eviⅾence of controⅼ over ⅼanⅾ rights in carrying oսt the ⅼanⅾ registration process reⅼateⅾ to the presence of incoⅿpⅼete ⅼanⅾⅾocսⅿents. The existence of ⅾoսbⅼe SKT is caսseⅾ by 3 (three) first things, naⅿeⅼy the ⅼack of orⅾer in the aⅾⅿinistration of ⅼanⅾ recorⅾs in the viⅼⅼage registration book, reⅼateⅾ to the probⅼeⅿ that the apparatսs in charge of ⅼanⅾ registration ⅿսst re-coⅼⅼect ⅾata then register in the viⅼⅼage registration book on the resսⅼts of the re-ⅾata coⅼⅼection. Seconⅾ, the repⅼaceⅿent of the Viⅼⅼage Heaⅾ or Viⅼⅼage Apparatսs, reⅼateⅾ to this probⅼeⅿ the new Viⅼⅼage Heaⅾ or Viⅼⅼage Apparatսs ⅿսst ⅾoսbⅼe-check the viⅼⅼage registration book in orⅾer to ⅿiniⅿize the occսrrence of ⅾoսbⅼe SKT. Thirⅾ, naⅿeⅼy the ⅼoss or ⅾaⅿage of the viⅼⅼage registration book, reⅼateⅾ to this probⅼeⅿ, the viⅼⅼage heaⅾ or the reⅼevant viⅼⅼage apparatսs ⅿսst ⅿake a copy of the ⅾata containeⅾ in the viⅼⅼage registration book sսch as a copy of a photocopy or eⅼectronic fiⅼe.
Searchable Encryption (SE) enables a user to search over encrypted data, such as data stored in a remote cloud server. Existing certificate-, identity-, and attribute-based SE schemes suffer from ...certificate management or key escrow limitations. Furthermore, the semi-honest-but-curious cloud may conduct partial search operations and return a fraction of the search results (i.e., incomplete results) in order to reduce costs. In this paper, we present a secure cryptographic primitive, Verifiable Multiple Keywords Search (VMKS) over ciphertexts, which leverages the Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) and certificateless signature techniques. The VMKS scheme allows the user to verify the correctness of search results and avoids both certificate management or key escrow limitations. We then demonstrate the security of proposed VMKS scheme (i.e., the scheme achieves both ciphertext indistinguishability and signature unforgeability). We also use a real-world dataset to evaluate its feasibility and efficiency.
•The substitution effect of RPS and REC trade for the FIT was calculated and analyzed.•A multi-region power market model was proposed and developed.•REC trade can reduce the government’s expenditure ...on subsidies for renewable energy.•FIT subsidy provides guarantees of the local power sectors’ profit.•RPS, REC trade and FIT subsidy need to be considered together.
The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) has been successfully used to promote the development of renewable energy; nevertheless, it may cause financial burden on the governments at the same time. Compared with FIT, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) trading have been considered to reduce the government’s expenditure caused by the subsidization. To examine the effectiveness of RPS and REC trading, the development of renewable energy and the environmental and economic benefits under different policies have been quantitatively investigated by using a multi-region power market model and China has been chosen as a case study. The obtained results show that: (i) REC trading can efficiently reduce the government’s expenditure on subsidies for the development of renewable energy; (ii) Compared to FIT, RPS and REC trading will reduce the power sectors’ profit; and (iii) RPS and REC trading may not be enough to achieve the target on renewable energy especially when the capital cost is high, therefore, RPS, REC trade and FIT subsidy should be implemented as complementary policies, not independent.
Companies that want to do business that involve the food sector (restaurants, catering, slaughterhouses and home industry) are required to obtain halal certification permits. In order to determine ...business lines, whether micro, large, medium, small businesses are based on the initial asset value, this does not include the appraisal value of land and buildings and turnover from the total sales of goods or the number of permanent employees. Based on the results of the research, the requirements for granting halal certificates are KTP (Identity Card) of Business Owners, Business Permits, IUMK (Micro and Small Business Permits), Home Industry Food (P-IRT), and NPWP (Taxpayer Identification Number). Whereas the procedure has an understanding regarding the requirements for halal certification and is willing to take part in the halal assurance system training, implement the Halal Assurance system (SJH), prepare halal certification document files, carry out (upload halal certification data document), monitor pre-inspection and make certification accent payments, carry out inspection, conducts post-inspection monitoring, has Halal Certification. Thus, the requirements and procedures for granting Halal Certification, especially in West Tulang Bawang Regency, can be done easily. It's just that it requires extra power and maximum effort to obtain this. Thus, it is necessary to provide convenience and relief in the cost of making Halal Certificates, especially for the general public, whose majority still lack knowledge of technology.
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