BESSE Curriculum Integration Guide
Overview
BESSE (Blockchain Enabled System for Sustainable Economy) provides a rich, real-world platform for student research projects across multiple disciplines including economics, game theory, environmental science, supply chain management, and blockchain technology. This document outlines how educators can integrate BESSE into their curriculum to enable hands-on research experiences.
Table of Contents
Learning Objectives
Economics & Game Theory
- Understand auction mechanisms (English, Dutch, Fixed Price) and their economic properties
- Analyze strategic bidding behavior and Nash equilibria
- Study market efficiency and price discovery in decentralized markets
- Examine the role of information asymmetry in auction outcomes
- Investigate incentive structures and their impact on participant behavior
Environmental Economics
- Quantify environmental externalities using WARM model integration
- Analyze the economic value of recycling vs. landfilling
- Study carbon credit markets and emission reduction incentives
- Evaluate circular economy models and their sustainability metrics
Blockchain & Decentralization
- Understand smart contract execution and trustless transactions
- Analyze transparency benefits and their impact on market behavior
- Study the economics of blockchain-based systems
- Examine the role of decentralization in supply chain management
Supply Chain Management
- Trace material flows through multi-stakeholder networks
- Analyze information sharing and coordination mechanisms
- Study role-based access control and its impact on efficiency
- Evaluate traceability systems and their value proposition
Research Domains
1. Auction Theory & Mechanism Design
Core Concepts:
- English Auctions (Ascending Price)
- Dutch Auctions (Descending Price)
- Fixed Price Sales
- Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanisms
- Revenue equivalence theorem
- Winner's curse
Research Questions:
- Which auction format generates higher revenue for sellers?
- How does bidder behavior differ across auction types?
- What is the optimal reserve price strategy?
- How does the number of bidders affect auction outcomes?
- Can we predict auction success rates based on material type and starting price?
2. Game Theory & Strategic Behavior
Core Concepts:
- Nash equilibrium in auctions
- Dominant strategies
- Bayesian games with incomplete information
- Repeated games and reputation effects
- Multi-agent systems
Research Questions:
- Do bidders follow optimal bidding strategies?
- How does role-based access control affect strategic behavior?
- What is the impact of information revelation on bidding patterns?
- How do participants coordinate in multi-stakeholder environments?
- Can we model the recycling market as a cooperative game?
3. Environmental Economics & Sustainability
Core Concepts:
- Externalities and market failures
- Carbon pricing and emission trading
- Circular economy models
- Life cycle assessment
- Environmental valuation
Research Questions:
- What is the economic value of recycling vs. landfilling?
- How do WARM calculations influence bidding behavior?
- Can environmental metrics be incorporated into pricing mechanisms?
- What is the optimal policy mix for promoting recycling?
- How do carbon credits affect market participation?
4. Behavioral Economics
Core Concepts:
- Bounded rationality
- Prospect theory
- Anchoring and framing effects
- Social preferences
- Time preferences and discounting
Research Questions:
- How do starting prices anchor bidder expectations?
- Do participants exhibit loss aversion in auction settings?
- How does social proof affect bidding behavior?
- What role does trust play in decentralized markets?
- How do users respond to environmental impact visualizations?
5. Industrial Organization
Core Concepts:
- Market structure and competition
- Vertical integration
- Transaction costs
- Information economics
- Network effects
Research Questions:
- How does blockchain reduce transaction costs in recycling markets?
- What is the optimal market structure for material trading?
- How do intermediaries (brokers) affect market efficiency?
- Can we measure market power in decentralized systems?
- What are the network effects of platform adoption?
6. Supply Chain & Operations Research
Core Concepts:
- Supply chain transparency
- Multi-echelon inventory systems
- Coordination mechanisms
- Information sharing
- Quality management
Research Questions:
- How does blockchain-based tracking improve supply chain efficiency?
- What is the value of real-time tracking information?
- How do role-based permissions affect coordination?
- Can we optimize material flows through the recycling chain?
- What is the impact of quality ratings on transaction success?
Data Collection Opportunities
Available Data Points
BESSE provides rich data for research analysis:
Auction Data
- Auction type (English, Dutch, Fixed Price)
- Starting price, ending price, final price
- Duration and timing
- Number of bids
- Bidder identities (anonymized)
- Material type and quantity
- Seller role and characteristics
Transaction Data
- Transaction history
- Payment amounts
- Asset transfers
- Timestamps
- Participant roles
Environmental Data (WARM Integration)
- Greenhouse gas emissions (MTCO2E)
- Energy requirements
- Labor hours
- Wages generated
- Tax generation
- Material-specific metrics
Supply Chain Data
- Asset creation and tracking events
- QR code scans
- Location data
- Role-based actions
- Delivery confirmations
User Behavior Data
- Registration patterns
- Role distribution
- Participation rates
- Bidding patterns
- Asset creation patterns
Data Access Methods
- API Access: BESSE provides APIs for accessing auction and transaction data
- Firebase Export: Direct database access for approved research projects
- Smart Contract Events: Blockchain event logs for on-chain data
- User Surveys: Supplement quantitative data with qualitative insights
Ethical Considerations
- Anonymization: All user data must be anonymized
- Consent: Obtain IRB approval for human subjects research
- Privacy: Protect sensitive business information
- Transparency: Clearly communicate data usage to participants