Assignment

Objectives

This assignment is one of two portfolio item for this course. You will be writing a scholarly paper. There is more to just writing in this assignment, however.

1. Research a topic from the general to the specific.
2. Explain abstract and technical concept using formal English.
3. Articulate an argument in support of a thesis statement.
4. Properly attribute facts and ideas in support of your argument.

Instructions

1. Starting with the research that you have done in a previous assignment, construct a mindmap of the topic and identify areas that are particularly interesting to you. From this, select a thesis statement that you want to explore for your research paper.

2. Expand you research to identify strong sources that are relevant to your thesis statement. Build a database of citations in the citation manager of your choice.

3. For as long as you are unclear about certain aspects, GOTO step 1.

4. Consult the grading rubric for this assignment to understand better what is expected.

5. Using the citation manager, prepare a research paper. If you use a LeTeX document, use the documentclass=article, and the package natbib for citation. The bibliographystyle must be set to ieee.

6. Submit your paper as a PDF. Word documents WILL not be graded.

7. A complete paper should be between 1200-1500 word (not including citations).

Your thesis statement should drill down into a sub-topic that is of interest to you. You may go in any directions with this:

• Go deeper on topics related to assymetriccrytpography, distributed systems, etc.
• Explore the economics of cryptocurrencies.
• Explore the impact of cryptocurrencies on business.
• Explore how people trust currencies.
• Explore the social impact of cryptocurrencies.
• Explore the future applications of the technology.
• etc.

It must, however, be a meaningful exploration of one aspect of the topic that will inform your reader

Gervais, A., Karame, G. O., Capkun, V., &Capkun, S. (2014). Is Bitcoin a Decentralized Currency? IEEE Security and Privacy, 12(3), 54-60. http://doi.org/10.1109/MSP.2014.49

Nachiappan, Crosby, M., Pattanayak, P., Verma, S., &Kalyanaraman, V. (2016). BlockChain Technology: Beyond Bitcoin. Applied Innovation Review, (2). Retrieved from http://scet.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/AIR-2016-Blockchain.pdf

Van Alstyne, M. (2014). Why Bitcoin has value. Communications of the ACM, 57(5), 30-32. http://doi.org/10.1145/2594288

Wallace, B. (2011). The rise and fall of Bitcoin. Wired Magazine.[Online]. Available, 1-9. Retrieved from http://fromm.robertkeahey.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Session-7-The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Bitcoin.pdf

Reid, F., &Harrigan, M. (2013). An analysis of anonymity in the bitcoin system. In Security and Privacy in Social Networks (pp. 197-223). http://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4139-7_10

Foroglou, G., &Tsilidou, A. L. (2015). Further applications of the blockchain. Conference: 12th Student Conference on Managerial Science and Technology, At Athens, (MAY), 0-8. http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.2350.8568

Urrico, R. (2016). Blockchain Brings Hopes and Fears. Credit Union Times, 27(3), 1-16. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=112758275&site=ehost-live