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PhD Progress Report - May 2023

Student’s name & surname Ben Biedermann
I.D. Card number 2008395
Mode of attendance Part-time
Commencement date February 01, 2023
Expected completion date January 31, 2029
Thesis title Disseminating technocratic narratives: Public policies on digital infrastructure in small jurisdictions

Description of work done

Within the first quarter after commencing the PhD/MPhil program, four main areas of activities within the scope of the program were initiated. Firstly, literature that was collected during the proposal writing was organised, systematised, and is being read.

Secondly, for engaging with research community on relevant issues and contributing to the academic discourse, conferences were attended, and applications to conferences made. Additionally, one journal paper was published that originated from research relevant to the PhD research, but predating its commencement. To this end databases for calls for papers were searched for relevant conferences, to which then applications were submitted. This resulted in two successful applications, which are listed below and notwithstanding the attendance of an additional conference as an attendee.

Thirdly, drafting parts of the literature review section have commenced in the context of recapitulating supra-national policy shifts in the digital identity space to contextualise the specific developments related to digital infrastructure in small jurisdictions. Lastly, regular meetings with supervisors are held in a fortnightly cycle, where structuring the results from the ongoing literature are reviewed. These meetings led to the organisation of materials to plan the incorporation of the methodology into work on the dissertation.

Attended Conferences

Title Conference Place Date Type
Who is to be identified? The importance of flexible identifiers in identity ecosystems. FZI Open House, Forschungszentrum für Informatik Karlsruhe 2023-02-16 Oral presentation
Gov-Tech Workshop 7.Blockchain @HTW Conference, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin 2023-04-14 to 2023-04-15 Attendance

Successful conference applications

Title Institution Place Date Type
The authenticity versus privacy debate. Towards optimal (de)centralised identity solutions. UM Research Expo, University of Malta Valetta 2023-05-17 Poster presentation
Pseudonymity is Not Enough: Why Monero is ‘missing out’ on Decentralised Identity Monero Konferenco, 3rd Annual Monero Conference Prague 2023-06-23 to 2023-06-25 Oral presentation

Publications

Participation in courses at the Doctoral School

Code Title Date
DOC6001 Starting on your Ph.D. 2023-05-03
DOC6023 Approaching Doctoral Research through Mixed Methods 2023-04-03
DOC6032 Introduction to Student Mentoring 2023-03-03

Planned research work in the coming year

The planned research for the coming year of the MPhil/PhD program can be distinguished in two main areas of work. On one hand, the literature review is formalised by conducting a systematic literature review on publicly funded distributed ledger technology (DLT) projects to transition into the methodological section of the PhD. In connection to this work on the formal body and structure of the dissertation, the case study of the policy making process on digital identity in the European Union as a benchmark for contrasting small scale approaches to DLTs as public infrastructure is finalised. It is expected to form a core part of the first part of the dissertation and is envisioned to be published at a reputable venue.

On the other hand, commencing work on the methodology has to be connected to defining data sources and data types for the empirical part of the dissertation. In this regard, the findings from the systematic literature review are finalised and consulted to justify a regional and/or case-based delimitation of the research.

Thus, in the mid-term it is expected to communicate and publish results from intermediary steps towards furthering the knowledge of DLTs as public goods in small jurisdictions for solving obstacles to governance that are rooted specifically in the jurisdictions’ smallness. In the longer term, i.e. towards the end of the academic year of 2023/2024, these two areas of work are anticipated to be unified in the preparation of the dissertation upgrade.

During this time, participation in professional development activities and participation in courses offered by the doctoral school are planned to be continued at the current pace. Certificates of attendance for speaking engagements to count towards the mandatory professional development activities are requested and will be submitted to the responsible department in due course.

Ben Biedermann, May 5, 2023

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