Refine
Year of publication
- 2014 (222) (remove)
Document Type
- Journal article (82)
- Conference proceeding (74)
- Book chapter (31)
- Book (22)
- Doctoral Thesis (6)
- Anthology (3)
- Working Paper (2)
- Patent / Standard / Guidelines (1)
- Review (1)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (222)
Institute
- ESB Business School (78)
- Informatik (50)
- Technik (44)
- Life Sciences (42)
- Texoversum (8)
Publisher
- Elsevier (15)
- Springer (14)
- Hochschule Reutlingen (12)
- IEEE (12)
- Universität Tübingen (11)
- Wiley (8)
- Erich Schmidt Verlag (7)
- Arbeitsgemeinschaft Simulation (ASIM) (6)
- Haufe (6)
- IARIA (5)
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Umsetzung eines Wahrnehmungsensors für Softwareagenten, die über ein virtuelles Menschmodell in einer dreidimensionalen Umgebung agieren. Hierbei sollen die Agenten über den Sensor in der Lage sein, semantische Informationen zu geometrischen Objekten in der Umgebung zu erhalten. Hierfür wurden zwei Verfahren umgesetzt, die das menschliche Sehen simulieren, indem Objekte erkannt werden, wenn diese innerhalb eines Sichtfelds liegen. Ein Problem, das dabei gelöst werden muss, ist die Identifizierung möglicher Verdeckungen der Objekte. Ein Ansatz, dieses Problem zu lösen, ist der Ray-Tracing Ansatz, welcher für das erste Verfahren umgesetzt wurde. Das zweite Verfahren verwendet den Occlusion-Culling Ansatz. Auswertungen beider Verfahren haben gezeigt, dass der Ray-Tracing Ansatz eine schnellere Laufzeit aufweist, der Occlusion-Culling Ansatz jedoch mehr unverdeckte Objekte im Sichtfeld erkennt.
Die Kompetenzentwicklung in virtuellen, internationalen Teams ist eine zentrale Herausforderung für alle international agierenden Unternehmen, denn Studien zufolge hängt der Unternehmenserfolg auf den internationalen Märkten stark von der Kompetenz der Mitarbeiter ab. Der Aufbau der Kompetenzen zum Management virtueller, internationaler Teams muss im Zusammenhang immer komplexer werdender Geschäftsmodelle betrachtet werden. Diese Geschäftsmodelle erfordern eine umfangreiche Interaktion von Mitarbeitern in globalen Teams. Die Mitarbeiter stehen darin vor der Herausforderung, verschiedene Aspekte der Zusammenarbeit in unterschiedlichen Dimensionen zu beherrschen, die sich aus dem Arbeitsumfeld ergeben.
Da der Erfolg virtueller, internationaler Teams sowohl von den Kompetenzen jedes einzelnen Teammitglieds als auch der teaminternen Kooperationskompetenz abhängt, ist es wichtig, die erforderlichen Kompetenzen zu analysieren, die vorhandene Kompetenzen zu bewerten und entsprechend der Anforderungen weiterzuentwickeln.
In den Buchbeiträgen werden Vorgehensmodelle für die Kompetenzentwicklung in virtuellen, internationalen Teams für die Kompetenzfelder Interkulturelles Management, Methodikkompetenz und Führungskompetenz vorgestellt und die Inhalte der Kompetenzfelder im Detail diskutiert.
Fähigkeits- und Reifegradmodelle (Capability Maturity Models CMM) bilden die wesentlichen Elemente effizienter Prozesse ab und helfen, diese so zu organisieren und auszuführen, dass eine hohe Wertigkeit des Prozesses bzw. des Produktes bzgl. Zeit-, Kosten- und Qualitätsgesichtspunkten entsteht. Es gibt zwar inzwischen sehr viele Reifegradmodelle am Markt, die von Institutionen und Beratungsfirmen entwickelt wurden, allerdings keines, das sich mit dem Management virtueller, internationaler Teams im Speziellen befasst.
Basierend auf der Reifegradmodellstruktur nach CMMI werden in den Buchbeiträgen Reifegradmodelle für die Bewertung virtueller, internationaler Teams vorgestellt. Neben der Reifegradstruktur werden insbesondere die Inhalte zur Bewertung der Reifegradstufen für verschiedene Schwerpunkte im Detail über mehre Gliederungsebenen heruntergebrochen, so dass ein sehr umfassendes Reifegradbewertungsschema vorliegt. Die Schwerpunktthemen sind Fachkompetenz, interkulturelle Kompetenz, Teambesprechungen, Führungseffektivität und -effizienz sowie der Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT).
Zur Führung eines virtuellen, internationalen Teams bedarf es Führungsinstrumente, zu denen u.a. auch Kennzahlensysteme gehören. Allerdings gestaltet sich die Festlegung von geeigneten Kennzahlen für derartige Teams schwierig, da die Komplexität der Zusammenarbeit, mit der sie konfrontiert sind, aufgrund der räumlichen Trennung und der interkulturellen Unterschiede sehr hoch ist und teilweise starke Wechselwirkungen zwischen einzelnen Bewertungsaspekte auftreten können. Außerdem müssen sehr unterschiedliche Aspekte aus Unternehmens- und Teamsicht bei der Erfolgsbewertung betrachtet werden.
In den Buchbeiträgen werden Methodiken und Kennzahlensysteme zur Leistungsmessung und -bewertung in virtuellen, internationalen Teams entwickelt und die Kennzahlen darin im Detail betrachtet und dargestellt. Die Schwerpunktthemen umfassen die Bereiche Führung, Projektmanagement, Teambesprechungen, Fachwissen und Einsatz von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien.
Für virtuelle, internationale Teams sind Kommunikationstechnologien ein wichtiges Werkzeug, da aufgrund der räumlichen Trennung eine face-to-face-Kommunikation i.d.R. nur selten möglich ist. Sie muss durch Kommunikation ersetzt werden, die mittels Kommunikationstechnologien erfolgt. In den letzten Jahren haben vor allem die Web 2.0 Technologien neue Möglichkeiten der Kommunikation geschaffen. Herkömmliche Kommunikationsformen, wie Telefon, Email und Videokonferenzen werden durch Web 2.0 Technologien ergänzt.
Für die Bewertung des Nutzens, der Chancen und Risiken von Kommunikationstechnologien ist die SWOT-Analyse (Strength-Weakness-Opportunities-Threads-Analyse) eine gut einsetzbare Methode zur Strukturierung und Detaillierung von Bewertungskriterien.
In den Buchbeiträgen werden insbesondere basierend auf der SWOT-Analyse verschiedene Anwendungen von Web 2.0 Technologien für virtuelle, internationale Teams mit den Schwerpunkten Foren und Blogs, Virtuelle Meeting Rooms, Virtuelle Welten und Soziale Netzwerke analysiert und bewertet. Außerdem werden rechtliche Aspekte bei der Nutzung Offener Sozialer Netzwerke für verschiedene, am Markt agierende Anbieter diskutiert und die Auswirkungen auf virtuelle, internationale Teams anhand realer Beispiele genauer untersucht. Abschließend wird ein Konzept einer idealtypischen ITK-Plattform vorgestellt, mit der virtuelle, internationale Teams ihre Arbeitsweise verbessern können.
The powder coating of veneered particle boards by the sequence electrostatic powder application -powder curing via hot pressing is studied in order to create high gloss surfaces. To obtain an appealingaspect, veneer Sheets were glued by heat and pressure on top of particle boards and the resulting surfaceswere used as carrier substrates for powder coat finishing. Prior to the powder coating, the veneeredparticle board surfaces were pre-treated by sanding to obtain good uniformity and the boards werestored in a climate chamber at controlled temperature and humidity conditions to adjust an appropriate electrical surface resistance. Characterization of surface texture was done by 3D microscopy. The surfaceelectrical resistance was measured for the six veneers before and after their application on the particleboard surface. A transparent powder top-coat was applied electrostatically onto the veneered particleboard surface. Curing of the powder was done using a heated press at 130◦C for 8 min and a smooth, glossy coating was obtained on the veneered surfaces. By applying different amounts of powder thecoating thickness could be varied and the optimum amount of powder was determined for each veneer type.
In the powder coating of veneered particle boards the highly reactive hybrid epoxy/polyester powder transparent Drylac 530 Series from TIGER Coatings GmbH & Co. KG, Wels, Austria was used. Curing is accelerated by a mixture of catalysts reaching curing times of 3 min at 150 °C or 5 min at 135 °C which allows for energy and time savings making Drylac Series 530 powder suitable for the coating of temperaturesensitive substrates such as MDF and wood.
Decorative laminates based on melamine formaldehyde (MF) resin impregnated papers are used at great extent for surface finishing of engineered wood that is used for furniture, kitchen, and working surfaces, flooring and exterior cladding. In all these applications, optically flawless appearance is a major issue. The work described here is focused on enhancing the cleanability and antifingerprint properties of smooth, matt surface-finished melamine-coated particleboards for furniture fronts, without at the same time changing or deteriorating other important surface parameters such as hardness, roughness or gloss. In order to adjust the surface polarity of a low pressure melamine film, novel interface-active macromolecular compounds were prepared and tested for their suitability as an antifingerprint additive. Two hydroxy-functional surfactants (polydimethysiloxane, PDMS-OH and perfluoroether, PF-OH) were oxidized under mild conditions to the corresponding aldehydes (PDMS-CHO and PF-CHO) using a pyridinium chlorochromate catalyst. With the most promising oxidized polymeric additive, PDMS-CHO, the contact angles against water, n-hexadecane, and squalene increased from 79.8°, 26.3° and 31.4° for the pure MF surface to 108.5°, 54.8°, and 59.3°, respectively, for the modified MF surfaces. While for the laminated MF surface based on the oxidized fluoroether the gloss values were much higher than required, for the surfaces based on oxidized polydimethylsiloxane the technological values as well as the lower gloss values were in agreement with the requirements and showed much improved surface cleanability, as was also confirmed by colorimetric measurements.
This booklet will give you an overview of the development of CSR from a (brief) historic point of view and will examine the underlying concepts and research. Furthermore, examples of contemporary CSR management will be explored to show how companies Interpret the issue and how they face the challenges of managing the new demands placed upon them. Business, in the end, comes down to figures and numbers which give management, shareholders and stakeholders a chance to measure a company’s success. Therefore, modern methods and approaches for measuring, rating and ranking a company’s CSR management will be presented. Finally, an attempt will be made to evaluate CSR as a tool for increasing global welfare and as a business and management strategy for companies and entrepreneurs.
Im Rahmen der wissenschaftlichen Vertiefung an der Hochschule Reutlingen befasst sich diese Arbeit mit der Untersuchung der Anforderungen und der Machbarkeit zur computergestützten Erkennung der Deutschen Gebärdensprache (DGS) und des deutschen Fingeralphabets. Die Erkenntnisse aus dieser Arbeit dienen als Grundlage zur Entwicklung eines Systems zur Übersetzung von Gebärden der DGS oder des Fingeralphabets in die deutsche Schriftsprache. Zunächst werden grundlegende Informationen zu Geschichte, Aufbau und Grammatik der DGS und des Fingeralphabets aufgeführt. Die Erkennung der Gebärden soll durch optische Bewegungssensoren erfolgen. Hierfür werden unterschieliche Sensortypen betrachtet und verglichen. Im weiteren Verlauf erfolgt die Analyse der benutzerspezifischen und technischen Anforderungen. Erstere basieren auf der Befragung einer Fokusgruppe aus gehörlosen und hörenden Menschen aus dem Bereich der Gehörlosen-, Schwerhörigen- und Sprachbehindertenpädagogik. Abgeleitet aus den Informationen der Anforderungsanalyse ergibt sich, bis zu einem gewissen Grad, die Machbarkeit aus technischer und benutzerspezifischer Sicht. Abschließend erfolgen die Zusammenfassung der Anforderungen, welche an das zu entwickelnde System gestllt werden, sowie eine Handlungsempfehlung für die Entwicklung eines Prototyps.
Die Ionenmobilitätsspektrometrie ist eine gasanalytische Methode, die analytisch zwischen Sensoren auf der einen Seite und Spektrometern auf der anderen angesiedelt ist. Ihre Vorteile liegen darin, auch komplexere Gasgemische als Sensoren erfolgreich vor Ort und online sowie bettseitig im Krankenhaus analysieren zu können. Beispiele als dem Bereich Bio- und Prozessanalytik sollen die jeweiligen Ansätze und das Potential von der Fragestellung über die jeweils spezifische Lösung bis hin zum Ergebnis am Prozess exemplarisch zusammenstellen. Hierbei werden sowohl die analytische Sicht als auch die Marktsicht thematisiert.
The number of publications in the field of breath analysis using different types of ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) has increased over the last few years. In this paper, the publications between 2010 and 2013 are reviewed with respect to different types of IMS such as differential mobility spectrometers, high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometers and multi-capillary columns coupled to conventional IMS. The analytes detected by IMS and declared with significance to a specific medical question were considered further with respect to medical and analytical questions. In total, 42 different analytes were found to be detected using IMS on a high significance level and were compared to findings using other analytical methods with respect to the individual analyte.
Background: Conventional methods for lung cancer detection including computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy are expensive and invasive. Thus, there is still a need for an optimal lung cancer detection technique. Methods: The exhaled breath of 50 patients with lung cancer histologically proven by bronchoscopic biopsy samples (32 adenocarcinomas, 10 squamous cell carcinomas, 8 small cell carcinomas), were analyzed using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and compared with 39 healthy volunteers. As a secondary assessment, we compared adenocarcinoma patients with and without epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. Results: A decision tree algorithm could separate patients with lung cancer including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma. One hundred-fifteen separated volatile organic compound (VOC) peaks were analyzed. Peak-2 noted as n-Dodecane using the IMS database was able to separate values with a sensitivity of 70.0% and a specificity of 89.7%. Incorporating a decision tree algorithm starting with n-Dodecane, a sensitivity of 76% and specificity of 100% was achieved. Comparing VOC peaks between adenocarcinoma and healthy subjects, n-Dodecane was able to separate values with a sensitivity of 81.3% and a specificity of 89.7%. Fourteen patients positive for EGFR mutation displayed a significantly higher n-Dodecane than for the 14 patients negative for EGFR (p<0.01), with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 78.6%. Conclusion: In this prospective study, VOC peak patterns using a decision tree algorithm were useful in the detection of lung cancer. Moreover, n-Dodecane analysis from adenocarcinoma patients might be useful to discriminate the EGFR mutation.
A vapor permeation processes for the separation of aromatic compounds from aliphatic compounds
(2014)
A number of rubbery and glassy membranes have been prepared and evaluated in vapor permeation experiments for separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures, using 5/95 (wt:wt) toluene/methylcyclohexane (MCH) as a model solution. Candidate membranes that met the required toluene/MCH selectivity of ≥ 10 were identified. The stability of the candidate membranes was tested by cycling the experiment between higher toluene concentrations and the original 5 wt% level. The best membrane produced has a toluene permeance of 280 gpu and a toluene/MCH selectivity of 13 when tested with a vapor feed of the model mixture at its boiling point and at atmospheric pressure. When a series of related membrane materials are compared, there is a sharp trade-off between membrane permeance and membrane selectivity. A process design study based on the experimental results was conducted. The best preliminary membrane design uses 45% of the energy of a conventional distillation process.
Model-guided Therapy and Surgical Workflow Systems are two interrelated research fields, which have been developed separately in the last years. To make full use of both technologies, it is necessary to integrate them and connect them to Hospital Information Systems. We propose a framework for integration of Model-guided Therapy in Hospital Information Systems based on the Electronic Medical Record, and a taskbased Workflow Management System, which is suitable for clinical end users. Two prototypes - one based on Business Process Modeling Language, one based on the serum-board - are presented. From the experience with these prototypes, we developed a novel personalized visualization system for Surgical Workflows and Model-guided Therapy. Key challenges for further development are automated situation detection and a common communication infrastructure.
A configuration-management-database driven approach for fabric-process specification and automation
(2014)
In this paper we describe an approach that integrates a Configuration- Management-Database into fabric-process specification and automation in order to consider different conditions regarding to cloud-services. By implementing our approach, the complexity of fabric processes gets reduced. We developed a prototype by using formal prototyping principles as research methods and integrated the Configuration-Management-Database Command into the Workflow- Management-System Activiti. We used this prototype to evaluate our approach. We implemented three different fabric-processes and show that by using our approach the complexity of these three fabric-processes gets reduced.
This introductory chapter starts with a brief discussion about the differences between the long-standing perspective of sports marketing and more modern sports marketing approach. The discussion leads to the ultimate question whether sports marketing can be seen as a new and independent marketing discipline rather than a normal form of marketing. In addition, a coherent definition of sports marketing will be presented which serves as the underlining definition of this edition volumen. Then the most important characteristics of sports of a marketing perspective will be explained using some real-life examples. The structure as well as the individual chapters of this book will be introduced in the following. This first chapter concludes with the introduction of the German Institute for Sports Marketing which has been founded by the editors of this book.
Marketing in sports
(2014)
In this chapter the principals of marketing will be explained an transferred to the contex of sports. Following a brief introduction the principles of marketing will be outlined and explained in further detail. Then the subject of sports marketing will be introduced from different perspectives using various definitions and approaches. Afterwards the focus is on the unique characteristics of sports marketing before a model of sports marketing will be presented. Then it will be shown how professional sporting organisations might market their products an themselves. The chapter concludes with a detailed case study using the example of FC St. Pauli which is one of only few real brands in German sports.
This chapter presents the diverse facets of sports marketing in Western Europe. It showcases the most important types of sports, most significant leagues, bestknown clubs, most popular athletes and the biggest sporting events in Western Europe while elaborating on the relevant aspects of sports marketing. We examine European sportsconsumers, characterise the sports marketing market in Western Europe an explain the current scientific/academic status of sports marketing. Moreover, we illustrate the motives for the internationalisation taking place in sports marketing. In conclusion, this chapter includes an international case study on the entry of the NFL into the European market.
Although sports is generally defined as motor activity, it has always been much more than that. Since management and sports follow the same objective of achieving highest performance, correlation between these two fields nowadays become increasingly interesting in terms of corporate strategy. This chapter aims to point out how organisations as well as individuals can benefit from the general and psychological values and strategies of sports, by first looking at the general framework of professional sports an futher applying approaches from various types of sports directly to certain business functions like general management, human resource management and marketing management. The chapter concludes with an international case study and brief outlook.
This concluding chapter summarises and discusses the different parts and findings of the anthology on hand. The main statements and conclusions of each chapter are presented. Following up, the editors try to look into the future of the sports business and sports management in general and the future of sports marketing in particular and draw a final conclusion.
Im Management von Sportvereinen wächst zusehends der Anspruch im Markt als professionelles Wirtschaftsunternehmen zu agieren, wobei auch Marken-Überlegungen zunehmend strategische Bedeutung erhalten. Die hier in Ausschnitten vorgestellten Studie "Marken im deutschen Profisport 2012/2013" untersucht die Selbst- und Fremdwahrnehmung der Vereine der fünf umsatzstärksten Teamsportligen in Deutschland (1. und 2. Fußballbundesliga, Handballbundesliga, Basketballbundesliga, Deutschen Eishockey Liga). Die Studienergebnisse basieren auf Meinungen von insgesamt 4.678 befragten Sportfans, sowie 58 Vereinen. Dabei wird vor allem festgestellt, dass eine teils erhebliche Diskrepanz zwischen dem eigenem Anspruch vieler Clubs und dem tatsächlichen Markenimage vorherrscht. Nur gerade einmal elf Clubs werden von den Fans als "echte Marke" wahrgenommen. Kernpunkt der Studie ist ein von den Autoren entwickeltes Klassifizierungssytem für Sportmarken, das zukünftig als Grundlage für markenrelevante Entscheidungen dienen könnte.
Executive education in IS is under the scrutiny of many institution for the potential to bring in financial revenues. However teaching executives can be a very challenging task because of the previous experiences, variation in their previous education, and multiplicity of motivations for pursuing a continuous education. The panel aims at sharing successful experiences and highlighting challenges of dealing with executive audiences. The panel will present the results of a large survey among executive students and identify the three most significant elements emerged from the survey: the importance of theory that is actionable, the importance of varied pedagogical tools and practices, and the importance of relevance beyond practical tools. Based on a survey that will be distributed to the audience at the beginning of the panel, the audience will be actively engaged in sharing their experiences on the three topics aiming at capitalize and sum up the collective knowledge of the room.
IGBT modules with anti-parallel FWDs are widely used in inductive load switching power applications, such as motor drive applications. Nowadays there is a continuous effort to increase the efficiency of such systems by decreasing their switching losses. This paper addresses the problems arising in the turn-on process of an IGBT working in hard-switching conditions. A method is proposed which achieves – contrary to most other approaches – a high switching speed and, at the same time, a low peak reverse-recovery current. This is done by applying an improved gate current waveform that is briefly lowered during the turn-on process. The proposed method achieves low switching losses. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by experimental results with IGBT modules for 600V and 1200V.
In this work, a web-based software architecture and framework for management and diagnosis of large amounts of medical data in an ophthalmologic reading center is proposed. Data management for multi-center studies requires merging of standing data and repeatedly gathered clinical evidence such as vital signs and raw data. If ophthalmologic questions are involved the data acquisition is often provided by non-medical staff at the point of care or a study center, whereas the medical finding is mostly provided by an ophthalmologist in a specialized reading center. The study data such as participants, cohorts and measured values are administrated at a single data center for the entire study. Since a specialized reading center maintains several studies, the medical staff must learn the different data administration for the different data center. With respect to the increasing number and sizes of clinical studies, two aspects must be considered. At first, an efficient software framework is required to support the data management, processing and diagnosis by medical experts at the reading center. In the second place, this software needs a standardized user-interface that has not to be trained/taylore /adapted for each new study. Furthermore different aspects of quality and security controls have to be included. Therefore, the objective of this work is to establish a multi purpose ophthalmologic reading center, which can be connected to different data centers via configurable data interfaces in order to treat various topics simultaneously.
The impact of stress of every human being has become a serious problem. Reported impact on persons are a higher rate or health disorders like heart problems, obesity, asthma, diabetes, depressions and many others. An individual in a stressful situation has to deal with altered cognition as well as an affected decision making skill and problem solving. This could lead to a higher risk for accidents in dynamic environments such as automotive. Different papers faced the estimation as well as prediction of drivers’ stress level during driving. Another important question is not only the stress level of the driver himself, but also the influence on and of a group of other drivers in the near area. This paper proposes a system, which determines a group of drivers in a near area as clusters and it derives or computes the individual stress level. This information will be analyzed to generate a stress map, which represents a graphical view about road section with a higher stress influence. Aggregated data can be used to generate navigation routes with a lower stress influence as well as recommend driving behavior to decrease stress influenced driving as well as improve road safety.
Strategy to test mobile apps
(2014)
Nowadays the development of a mobile app implies challenges and difficulties, which have to be faced by mobile app developers. Innovations lead to a rapidly evolving mobile app market, therefore apps should be developed faster and offered in short release cycles to the market. Testing is a decisive activity within the development process that helps to improve the quality of the app. This research paper describes a strategy to test mobile apps that overcomes the challenges that mobile apps confront and permits to test the app in a structural test environment.
Prominent theories of action recognition suggest that during the recognition of actions the physical patterns of the action is associated with only one action interpretation (e.g., a person waving his arm is recognized as waving). In contrast to this view, studies examining the visual categorization of objects show that objects are recognized in multiple ways (e.g., a VW Beetle can be recognized as a car or a beetle) and that categorization performance is based on the visual and motor movement similarity between objects. Here, we studied whether we find evidence for multiple levels of categorization for social interactions (physical interactions with another person, e.g., handshakes). To do so, we compared visual categorization of objects and social interactions (Experiments 1 and 2) in a grouping task and assessed the usefulness of motor and visual cues (Experiments 3, 4, and 5) for object and social interaction categorization. Additionally, we measured recognition performance associated with recognizing objects and social interactions at different categorization levels (Experiment 6). We found that basic level object categories were associated with a clear recognition advantage compared to subordinate recognition but basic level social interaction categories provided only a little recognition advantage. Moreover, basic level object categories were more strongly associated with similar visual and motor cues than basic level social interaction categories. The results suggest that cognitive categories underlying the recognition of objects and social interactions are associated with different performances. These results are in line with the idea that the same action can be associated with several action interpretations (e.g., a person waving his arm can be recognized as waving or greeting).
Putting actions in context: visual action adaptation aftereffects are modulated by social contexts
(2014)
The social context in which an action is embedded provides important information for the interpretation of an action. Is this social context integrated during the visual recognition of an action? We used a behavioural visual adaptation paradigm to address this question and measured participants’ perceptual bias of a test action after they were adapted to one of two adaptors (adaptation after-effect). The action adaptation after effect was measured for the same set of adaptors in two different social contexts. Our results indicate that the size of the adaptation effect varied with social context (social context modulation) although the physical appearance of the adaptors remained unchanged. Three additional experiments provided evidence that the observed social context modulation of the adaptation effect are owed to the adaptation of visual action recognition processes. We found that adaptation is critical for the social context modulation (experiment 2). Moreover, the effect is not mediated by emotional content of the action alone (experiment 3) and visual information about the action seems to be critical for the emergence of action adaptation effects (experiment 4). Taken together these results suggest that processes underlying visual action recognition are sensitive to the social context of an action.
In vivo, cells encounter different physical and chemical signals in the extracellular matrix (ECM) which regulate their behavior. Examples of these signals are micro- and nanometer-sized features, the rigidity, and the chemical composition of the ECM. The study of cell responses to such cues is important to understand complex cell functions, some diseases, and is basis for the development of new biomaterials for applications in medical implants or regenerative medicine. Therefore, the development of new methods for surface modifications with controlled physical and chemical features is crucial. In this work, we report a new combination of micelle nanolithography (BCML) and soft micro-lithography, for the production of polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels, with a micro-grooved surface and decoration with hexagonally precisely arranged gold nanoparticles (AU NPs). The Au-NPs are used for binding adhesive ligands in a well-defined density. First tests were performed by culturing human fibroblasts on the gels. Adhesion and alignment of the cells along the parallel grooves of the surface were investigated. The substrates could provide a new platform for studying cell contact guidance by micro structures, and may enable a more precise control of cell behavior by nanometrically controlled surface functionalization.
Children undergoing systemic chemotherapy often suffer from severe immunosuppression usually associated to severe neutropenia (neutrophils < 0.5 x 109/l). Clinical courses during those periods range from asymptomatic to septic general conditions. Development of septic symptoms can be very fast and life-threatening. Swift detection of risk factors in those patients is therefore needed. So far no early, rapid and reliable marker or tool exists. Ion-Mobility-Spectrometry coupled with a Multi-Capillary-Column (IMS-MCC) can analyze more than 600 volatile components from exhaled air within a few minutes and hence is a potential, rapid detection-tool. As a proof of concept we measured the exhaled breath of 11 patients with neutropenia and 10 healthy controls ranging from 3 to 18 years of age at the time of measurement. Ten milliliters breath samples were taken at the outpatient clinic and analyzed with an onsite IMS-MCC (BreathDiscovery, B&S Analytik, Dortmund, Germany). Dead-space-volume was adapted to two groups (small 250 ml, large 500 ml). Interestingly 59 differing peaks were measured. Eleven were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05), three of which highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) in Mann-Whitney-Rank-Sum-testing. The corresponding analytes used in the decision tree are 2-Propanol, D-Limonene and Acetone. The analytes with the lowest rank sum identified are 2-Hexanone, Iso-Propylamine and 1-Butanol. Eventually we were able to show a three-step-decision-tree, which discerns the 21 samples except one from each group. Sensitivity was 90 % and specificity was 91 %. Naturally these findings need further confirmation within a bigger population. Our pilot-study proves that Ion-Mobility-Spectrometry coupled with a Multi-Capillary-Column is a feasible rapid diagnostic tool in the setting of a pediatric oncology out-patient clinic for patients 3 years and older. Our first results furthermore encourage additional analysis as to whether patients at risk for septic events during immunosuppression can be diagnosed in advance by rapidly assessing risk factors such as Neutropenia in exhaled breath.
Bionic optimisation is one of the most popular and efficient applications of bionic engineering. As there are many different approaches and terms being used, we try to come up with a structuring of the strategies and compare the efficiency of the different methods. The methods mostly proposed in literature may be classified into evolutionary, particle swarm and artificial neural net optimisation. Some related classes have to be mentioned as the non-sexual fern optimisation and the response surfaces, which are close to the neuron nets. To come up with a measure of the efficiency that allows to take into account some of the published results the technical optimisation problems were derived from the ones given in literature. They deal with elastic studies of frame structures, as the computing time for each individual is very short. General proposals, which approach to use may not be given. It seems to be a good idea to learn about the applicability of the different methods at different problem classes and then do the optimisation according to these experiences. Furthermore in many cases there is some evidence that switching from one method to another improves the performance. Finally the identification of the exact position of the optimum by gradient methods is often more efficient than long random walks around local maxima.
The surface properties of human meibomian lipids (MGS), the major constituent of the tear film (TF) lipid layer, are of key importance for TF stability. The dynamic interfacial properties of films by MGS from normal eyes (nMGS) and eyes with meibomian gland dysfunction (dMGS) were studied using a Langmuir surface balance. The behavior of the samples during dynamic area changes was evaluated by surface pressure–area isotherms and isocycles. The surface dilatational rheology of the films was examined in the frequency range 10−5 to 1 Hz by the stress-relaxation method. A significant difference was found, with dMGS showing slow viscosity-dominated relaxation at 10−4 to 10−3 Hz, whereas nMGS remained predominantly elastic over the whole range. A Cole–Cole plot revealed two characteristic processes contributing to the relaxation, fast (on the scale of characteristic time τ < 5 s) and slow (τ > 100 s), the latter prevailing in dMGS films. Brewster angle microscopy revealed better spreading of nMGS at the air–water interface, whereas dMGS layers were non-uniform and patchy. The distinctions in the interfacial properties of the films in vitro correlated with the accelerated degradation of meibum layer pattern at the air–tear interface and with the decreased stability of TF in vivo. These results, and also recent findings on the modest capability of meibum to suppress the evaporation of the aqueous subphase, suggest the need for a re-evaluation of the role of MGS. The probable key function of meibomian lipids might be to form viscoelastic films capable of opposing dilation of the air–tear interface. The impact of temperature on the meibum surface properties is discussed in terms of its possible effect on the normal structure of the film.
Universelle OTA-Testbench
(2014)
Es wird eine universell einsetzbare Testbench zur Simulation von integrierten Schaltungen innerhalb der OTA-Schaltungsklasse (Operational Transconductance Amplifier; Transkonduktanzverstärker) vorgestellt. Transkonduktanzverstärker sind in der analogen Schaltungstechnik weit verbreitet und daher von großer Bedeutung. Sie treten sowohl als eigenständige Schaltungen innerhalb eines Chips, sowie als Bestandteil anderer Schaltungen (z.B. als erste und zweite Stufe von Operationsverstärkern) auf. Es kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass heute kaum ein analoger oder Mixed-Signal-Chip gefertigt wird, in dem keine Transkonduktanzverstärker verbaut sind. Die Entscheidungsfindung des Entwicklers bei der Auslegung eines OTAs beruht maßgeblich auf einer anwendungsspezifischen Simulation. Die Erstellung einer eigenen Testbench für jede Anwendung bedeutet allerdings einen hohen Zeitaufwand und erschwert den Vergleich der Simulationsergebnisse unterschiedlicher Schaltungsvarianten. Durch eine universelle Testbench kann zum einen der Zeitaufwand verringert werden, zum anderen können nun Simulationsergebnisse direkt miteinander verglichen werden. Hierdurch wird die Entscheidungsfindung des Entwicklers objektiviert und beschleunigt. Neben dem Vergleich unterschiedlicher Schaltungen innerhalb einer Technologie ist auch der Vergleich einer Schaltung in unterschiedlichen Technologien denkbar. Die Idee einer universell anwendbaren Testbench lässt sich auch auf andere analoge Schaltungsklassen anwenden und damit als Prinzip verallgemeinern.
Es wird das Ziel verfolgt, eine Möglichkeit für die sichere Wiederverwendbarkeit von Schaltungen aus der OTA-Schaltungsklasse bereitzustellen. Hierfür werden ausgewählte OTA-Schaltungstopologien für die "Copy-and-Paste"-Methode vorgestellt. Es wurde im industriellen Umfeld gezeigt, dass sie sich unter der Voraussetzung einer repräsentativen Topologieauswahl – vordimensioniert für den typischen Anwendungsbereich – schon in dieser Form für die Wiederverwendung eignen.
Clay minerals play an increasingly important role as functional fillers and reinforcing materials for clay polymer nanocomposites (CPN) in advanced applications. Among the prerequisites necessary for polymer improvement by clay minerals are homogeneous and stable Distribution of the clay mineral throughout the CPN, good compatibility of the reinforcement with the Matrix component and suitable processability. Typically, clay minerals are surface-modified with organic interface active compounds like detergents or silanes to obtain favorable properties as filler. They are incorporated into the polymer matrix using manufacturing Equipment like extruders, batch reactors or other mixing machines. In order for the surface modification to survive the stresses and strains during incorporation, the modified clay minerals must display sufficient thermal and mechanical stability to retain the compatibilizing effect. In the present study, thermogravimetry was used in combination with isoconversional kinetic analysis to determine the thermal stability of a silane-modified clay mineral based on bentonite. These findings were compared with the stability of the same clay mineral that was only surfactant-modified. It was found that silane modification leads to significantly improved thermal stability, which depends strongly on the type of silane employed.
The intelligent recycling of plastics waste is a major concern. Because of the widespread use of polyethylene terephtalate, considerable amounts of PET waste are generated that are ideally re-introduced into the material cycle by generating second generation products without loss of materials performance. Chemical recycling methods are often expensive and entail environmentally hazardous by-products. Established mechanical methods generally provide materials of reduced quality, leading to products of lower quality. These drawbacks can be avoided by the development of new recycling methods that provide materials of high quality in every step of the production cycle. In the present work, oligomeric ethylene terephthalate with defined degrees of polymerization and defined molecular weight is produced by melt-mixing PET with different quantities of adipic acid as an alternative pathway of recycling PET with respect to conventional methods, offering ecofriendly and economical aspects. Additionally, block-copolyesters of defined block length are designed from the oligomeric products.
Ethylene terephthalate and ethylene naphthalate oligomers of defined degree of polymerization were synthesized via chemical recycling of the parent polymers. The oligomers were used as defined building blocks for the preparation of novel block-co-polyesters having tailored sequence compositions. The sequence lengths were systematically varied using Design of Experiments. The dispersive surface energy and the specific desorption energy of the co-polymers were determined by inverse gas chromatography. The study shows that polyethylene terephthalate-polyethylene naphthalate (PET-PEN) block-co-polyesters of defined sequence lengths can be prepared. Furthermore, the specific and dispersive surface energies of the obtained block-co-polyesters showed a linear dependence on the oligomer molecular weight and it was possible to regulate and control their interfacial properties. In contrast, with the corresponding random-block-co-polyesters no such dependence was found. The synthesized block-co-polyesters could be used as polymeric modifying agents for stabilizing PET-PEN polymer blends.
The article discusses how drama can support language learning at the university level and how drama can also support learners in acquiring professional competences. In the first part, the article will briefly outline forms of drama in language teaching. It will discuss its benefits, such as putting language in context, making learning holistic and memorable, improving learners’ social and personal competences. The second part describes aspects of drama beneficial for language learning in a professional context and gives a concrete teaching example: theatre projects with a focus on business English.
Gemeinsam in einer multinational zusammengesetzten Gruppe in einer Fremdsprache Theater spielen: fördert dies interkulturelles und /oder transkulturelles Lernen? An einem interdisziplinären Theaterprojekt aus dem Hochschulbereich soll gezeigt werden, dass es idealerweise beidem dienlich sein kann.
Der erste Teil des Beitrags gibt einen Überblick über Potenziale und Risiken von dramapädagogischen Methoden im Fremdsprachenunterricht und ihren Bezug zum inter-/transkulturellen Lernen, während der zweite Teil ein Praxisbeispiel aus dem universitären Englischunterricht beschreibt: Studierende unterschiedlicher Fachrichtungen und Herkunftsländer inszenieren eine moderne Shakespeare-Bearbeitung, die sich mit zahlreichen Aspekten einer globalisierten Wirtschaft beschäftigt, nicht zuletzt auch interkulturellen Begegnungen im Geschäftsleben.
At Reutlingen University in Germany students from different countries and disciplines can learn business English within the framework of a theatre production. In the "Business English Theatre" they work in an international project team staging a play with a business focus and thus improve both their language, social and professional skills.
This article briefly describes reasons for dramatising poetry in the language classroom and then gives practical descriptions of how poetry can be taken ‘from page to stage’. It focusses on the aspects content, form and context of poems and how they can be dramatised. A special focus is on working with Shakespearean sonnets but the ideas can be transferred to other types of poetry as well.
Services Oriented Architectures (SOA) have emerged as a useful framework for developing interoperable, large-scale systems, typically implemented using the Web Services (WS) standards. However, the maintenance and evolution of SOA systems present many challenges. SmartLife applications are intelligent user-centered systems and a special class of SOA systems that present even greater challenges for a software maintainer. Ontologies and ontological modeling can be used to support the evolution of SOA systems. This paper describes the development of a SOA evolution ontology and its use to develop an ontological model of a SOA system. The ontology is based on a standard SOA ontology. The ontological model can be used to provide semantic and visual support for software maintainers during routine maintenance tasks. We discuss a case study to illustrate this approach, as well as the strengths and limitations.
Many future Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) systems may be pervasive SmartLife applications that provide real-time support for users in everyday tasks and situations. Development of such applications will be challenging, but in this position paper we argue that their ongoing maintenance may be even more so. Ontological modelling of the application may help to ease this burden, but maintainers need to understand a system at many levels, from a broad architectural perspective down to the internals of deployed components. Thus we will need consistent models that span the range of views, from business processes through system architecture to maintainable code. We provide an initial example of such a modelling approach and illustrate its application in a semantic browser to aid in software maintenance tasks.
An index in a Multi-Version DBMS (MV-DBMS) has to reflect different tuple versions of a single data item. Existing approaches follow the paradigm of logically separating the tuple version data from the data item, e.g. an index is only allowed to return at most one version of a single data item (while it may return multiple data items that match a search criteria). Hence to determine the valid (and therefore visible) tuple version of a data item, the MV-DBMS first fetches all tuple versions that match the search criteria and subsequently filters visible versions using visibility checks. This involves I/O storage accesses to tuple versions that do not have to be fetched. In this vision paper we present the Multi Version Index (MV-IDX) approach that allows index-only visibility checks which significantly reduce the amount of I/O storage accesses as well as the index maintenance overhead. The MV-IDX achieves significantly lower response times and higher transactional throughput on OLTP workloads.
Poly(dimethylsiloxane) can be covalently coated with ultrathin NCO-sP(EO-stat-PO) hydrogel layers which permit covalent binding of cell adhesive moieties, while minimizing unspecific cell adhesion on non-functionalized areas. We applied long term uniaxial cyclic tensile strain (CTS) and revealed (a) the preservation of protein and cell-repellent properties of the NCO-sP(EO-stat-PO) coating and (b) the stability and bioactivity of a covalently bound fibronectin (FN) line pattern. We studied the adhesion of human dermal fibroblast (HDFs) on non-modified NCO-sP(EO-stat-PO) coatings and on the FN. HDFs adhered to FN and oriented their cell bodies and actin fibers along the FN lines independently of the direction of CTS. This mechanical long term stability of the bioactive, patterned surface allows unraveling biomechanical stimuli for cellular signaling and behavior to understand physiological and pathological cell phenomenon. Additionally, it allows for the application in wound healing assays, tissue engineering, and implant development demanding spatial control over specific cell adhesion.
Plasma polymerization is used for the modification and control of surface properties of a highly transparent, thermoplastic elastomeric silicone copolymer, GENIOMER® 80 (G80). PEG-like diglyme plasma polymer films were deposited with ether retentions varying between 20% and 70% as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis which did not affect the transparency of the substrate. Films with ether retentions of greater than 70% inhibit protein binding (bovine serum albumin and fibrinogen) and cell proliferation. A short oxygen plasma pretreatment enhances the adhesion and stability of the film as shown by protein binding and cell adhesion experiments. The transparency of the material and the stability of the coating makes this material a versatile bulk material for technical (e.g., lab-on-a-chip) and biomedical (e.g., intraocular lens) applications. The G80/plasma polymer composite is stable against vigorous washing and storage over 5 months and, therefore, offers an attractive alternative to poly(dimethylsiloxane).
Noch sind Elektrofahrzeuge die Ausnahme auf deutschen Straßen – im Gegensatz beispielsweise zu Innenstadträumen in China. Lediglich Fahrräder mit elektrischer Antriebsunterstützung haben inzwischen auch in Deutschland eine größere Verbreitung gefunden. Nach wie vor ist jedoch die breite Erfahrung im alltäglichen Einsatz von elektrisch betriebenen Fahrzeugen relativ gering. An der Hochschule Reutlingen steht eine Flotte von 10 Elektrozweirädern, bestehend aus 5 Elektrofahrrädern (Pedelecs) und 5 Elektrorollern (E-Scooter) zur Verfügung. Hiermit werden mehrere Ziele verfolgt: Zum einen soll jedes Mitglied der Hochschule die Möglichkeit haben, Elektrofahrzeuge auszuprobieren und erste Erfahrungen zu sammeln. Andererseits stellen die Fahrzeuge eine Plattform für Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeiten dar. So ist ein Internet-basiertes Reservierungs- und Flottenmanagementsystem entstanden, das auch statistische Auswertungen zulässt. Eine weitere Entwicklung befasst sich mit genauen Reichweitenvorhersagesystemen, mit dem Ziel, die bislang recht ungenaue Batterie-Ladestandsanzeige zu verbessern oder zu ersetzen.
Gelebte Internationalität ist das führende Markenzeichen der Hochschule Reutlingen. Die als Deutschlands "Internationale Hochschule 2010" ausgezeichnete Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften bildet nach dem Grundsatz "global denken, lokal handeln" junge Menschen zu hochqualifizierten und verantwortungsbewussten Persönlichkeiten aus, die aufgrund ihrer interkulturellen Kompetenz souverän und sensibel im globalen Netzwerk agieren können. Alle fünf Fakultäten sind in den Internationalisierungsprozess eingebunden, am weitesten ist man in der größten Fakultät der Hochschule Reutlingen, der ESB Business School.
Quest 3C : an integrative simulation game used to encourage cross-disciplinary thinking and action
(2014)
Interdisciplinary, complex problem-solving and the necessity to communicate effectively in global Teams characterise today’s rapidly changing Business environment. Employers consistently stress the need for business engineering graduates to demonstrate technical expertise, methodological competences and diverse soft skills. The "silo effect" in higher education has partially created a gap between what industry wants and what academia provides. Here we examine how interdisciplinary team teaching and shared ICT might be more effective in bringing higher education teaching in sync with industry and its demands.
In mehreren Untersuchungen hat sich gezeigt, dass sich die Wahrnehmung des eigenen Körpers in einer virtuellen Umgebung positiv auf die Wahrnehmung der gesamten Umgebung auswirkt. Für diese Untersuchungen wurden der Körper einer Person, oder Teile davon, als animierter Avatar aus der Ego-Perspektive dargestellt. Im Kontext der Informatikkonferenz Informatics Inside 2014 an der Hochschule Reutlingen soll in dieser Arbeit eine andere Möglichkeit der Darstellung untersucht werden. In einer prototypischen Augmented Virtuality Anwendung soll die virtuelle Umgebung um reale Inhalte erweitert werden. Es soll einer Person ermöglicht werden, Teile ihres eigenen Körpers nicht als Avatar, sondern auf Basis einer Kameraaufnahme als realistische Repräsentation wahrzunehmen. Die Arbeit beschreibt hierbei die gesetzten Ziele, sowie Aufbau und Funktionsweise der prototypischen Anwendung und deren derzeitigen Stand.
This paper compares the influence a video self-avatar and a lack of a visual representation of a body have on height estimation when standing at a virtual visual cliff. A height estimation experiment was conducted using a custom augmented reality Oculus Rift hardware and software prototype also described in this paper. The results show a consistency with previous research demonstrating that the presence of a visual body influences height estimates, just as it has been shown to influence distance estimates and affordance estimates.
Die Bereitstellung der für einen Zerspanungsvorgang relevanten Werkzeugdaten ist heute selbstverständlicher Bestandteil integrierter Fertigungssysteme. Die für die Herstellung und das Nachschärfen der eingesetzten Zerspanungswerkzeuge notwendigen Informationen bleiben dabei allerdings bisher unberücksichtigt. Diese Lücke will eine VDI-Arbeitsgruppe schließen. Das Ergebnis wird in Form einer offenen Datenschnittstelle auf der bevorstehenden Grindtec 2014 präsentiert.
Seit Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts haben industrielle Revolutionen immer wieder für fundamentale Veränderungen in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft gesorgt. Herbeigeführt wurden sie stets durch neue Technologien oder innovative Organisations-strukturen: Wasser- und Dampfkraft ermöglichten die Mechanisierung, eine umfas-sende Arbeitsteilung war die Basis für Massenproduktion und mithilfe der Mikroelektronik konnten Maschinen und Anlagen automatisiert werden.
Heute stehen wir am Anfang der vierten industriellen Revolution. Gekennzeichnet ist sie durch die umfassende Vernetzung von Menschen, Maschinen, Ressourcen und Produkten. Dies lässt einen Grad an Autonomie der industriellen Prozesse Wirklichkeit werden, der bislang kaum vorstellbar war. Getrieben wird diese Entwicklung zum einem von Technologien, die eine Kommunikation der unterschiedlichen realen und virtuellen Objekte untereinander erlauben – und zwar über Kontinente hinweg. Zum anderen erzeugen aktuelle Dynamiken an den Märkten einen Druck, der Unternehmen zum Handeln zwingt. Sie müssen mit sich ständig wandelnden Anforderungen zurechtkommen – von den Rohstoffpreisen bis zu den Erwartungen der Kunden.
Flexibilität wird damit für sie in vielerlei Hinsicht zur entscheidenden Fähigkeit. Industrie 4.0 – so das gängige Schlagwort für die vierte industrielle Revolution – kann diese Fähigkeit erheblich fördern und damit spürbare Wettbewerbsvorteile realisieren.
So vermutet auch der High-Tech-Verband BITKOM ein immenses Potenzial und prognostiziert für das Jahr 2025 eine zusätzliche Wertschöpfung von insgesamt 78 Milliarden Euro. Doch wie beurteilen Unternehmen in Deutschland das Thema und wie bereiten sie sich auf die anstehende Revolution vor? Antworten darauf liefert die vorliegende Studie, für die wir 227 Entscheider aus Automobil- und Fertigungsindustrie befragt haben.
Das erstaunlichste Ergebnis: Der Begriff Industrie 4.0 war nicht durchgängig bekannt – insgesamt konnten 24% der Befragten mit der Bezeichnung nichts anfangen, bei den OEM waren es sogar 34%. Ob sich ihr eigenes Unternehmen mit dem Thema beschäftigt, konnten 35% aller Befragten nicht beurteilen. Gleichzeitig zeigt die Studie, dass viele der Technologien und Konzepte, die sich unter Industrie 4.0 subsumieren lassen, als wichtig und nützlich erachtet werden. Und dennoch: Mit vollem Engagement will sich kaum ein Unternehmen auf den Weg machen. Dazu erscheint vielen der wirtschaftlichen Nutzen noch zu wage und muten die Risiken – Stichwort Sicherheit – zu hoch an.
Whither the german council of economic experts? The past and future of public economic advice
(2014)
The article discusses the development and impact of the German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE). Firstly, the author studies the historical origins and the institutional setup of the GCEE. In the second step, an analyse of the impact of the annual reports of the German Council is given, along with the international comparison with other advisory boards. Finally, the paper discusses the current economic challenges and the need of modernization of the GCEE in special and political advisory boards in general.
This paper is a brief review on the book ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’ by the French scholar Thomas Piketty. The book has started a new debate about inequality and capital taxation in Europe. It provides interesting empirical facts and develops a theory of the functioning of capitalist economies. However, I personally think the book is less convincing than recognized in the public debate. The demonstrated theory of economic growth in the book is elusive and lacks a psychological and behavioral underpinning. In fact, I do think that the increasing inequality and economic divergence are caused by capitalism but the psychological and behavioral aspects of humans are of similar or greater significance. Therefore, Piketty’s argument does not stimulate an open and scientifically founded debate in all aspects.
This paper examines the relationship of asset Price determination via Google data. To capture this relation, I create a model and estimate several time series’ regressions. I use weekly data from 2004 to 2010 from 30 international banks. To my knowledge this is the first study which differentiates between Google’s search volume and Google’s search clicks. I show that asset prices are positively related to the rate of change in Google’s search volume, trading volume and the level of Google search clicks. Secondly, I demonstrate that the absolute level of Google’s search volume and Google’s search clicks
behave differently regarding the asset price dynamics. Google’s search volume, which measures long-run searches, is negatively related while Google’s search clicks have a positive relationship to asset prices. Hence, Google’s data offer new insights on both measuring attention and pricing financial assets.
This paper develops a new governance scheme for a stable and lasting European Monetary Union (EMU). I demonstrate that existing economic governance is based on flawed incentives especially due to insufficient macroeconomic coordination, failures of institutional enforcement and animal spirit in financial markets. All this caused the European sovereign debt crisis in 2010. Consequently, the EMU crisis is not a conundrum at all rather a failure of national and supranational governance. To tackle this problem, I propose a return to flexible but compulsory rules driven by market forces. The new governance principles shall promote the compliance and effective enforcement of rules.
Applied mathematical theory for monetary-fiscal interaction in a supranational monetary union
(2014)
I utilize a differentiable dynamical system á la Lotka-Voletrra and explain monetary and fiscal interaction in a supranational monetary union. The paper demonstrates an applied mathematical approach that provides useful insights about the interaction mechanisms in theoretical economics in general and a monetary union in particular. I find that a common central bank is necessary but not sufficient to tackle the new interaction problems in a supranational monetary union, such as the free-riding behaviour of fiscal policies. Moreover, I show that upranational institutions, rules or laws are essential to mitigate violations of decentralized fiscal policies.
Die Finanzkrise lies Europa und die Welt erzittern - die Staatsverschuldungskriese wurde zur Zerreißprobe für die Eurozone. Inzwischen hat sich die Situation wieder stabilisiert, doch nun steht die Eurozone vor der Herausforderung, einen Reform-Prozess anzustoßen, der das Überleben des Euros auf lange Sicht sichern soll.
This article focuses on potential economic implications of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Indian Federation. The economic implications are evaluated by estimating an Extended gravity model for all existing FTAs with the Indian Federation. Moreover, we control for the trade contribution of EU member countries in our econometric model during the period from 1990 until 2008. The results show a significant increase in trade, if there is a free trade agreement between India and another country. Interestingly, we find that India has the largest positive impact from FTAs with more advanced economies. Thus, we reaffirm the potential benefits of trade relationships between the EU and India.
This paper studies the impact of governmental transparency on the political business cycle. The literature on electoral cycles finds evidence that cycles depend on the stage of the economy. However, we show a reliance of the cycle on transparency. We use data for G7 countries and compare it with less developed OECD countries. Our theory states that transparency reduces the political cycles due to peer pressure and by voting outs. We confirm the theory with an econometric assessment of 34 countries from 1970 to 2012. We discover smaller cycles in countries with a higher transparency, especially in G7-countries.
This white paper builds a new financial theory of euro area sovereign bond markets under stress. The theory explains the abnormal bond pricing and increasing spreads during the recent market turmoil. We find that the strong disconnect of bond spreads from the respective bonds’ underlying fundamental values in 2010 was triggered by an increase in asymmetric information and weak reputation of government policies. Both factors cause a normal bond market to switch into a crisis mode. Finally, those markets are prone to self-fulfilling bubbles in which the economic effects are amplified by herding behaviour arising from animal spirits. Altogether, this produces contagious effects and multiple equilibria. Thus, we argue that government bond markets in a monetary union are more fragile and vulnerable to liquidity and solvency crises. Consequently, the systemic mispricing of sovereign debt creates more macroeconomic instability and bubbles in the euro area than in a single country. In other words, financial markets are partly blind to national default risks in a currency union. Therefore, the current European institutional framework puts the wrong incentives in place and needs structural changes soon. To tackle the root causes we suggest more market incentives via consistent rules, pre-emptive austerity measures in good economic times, and a resolution scheme for heavily indebted countries. In summary, our paper enhances the bond market theory and provides new insights into the recent bond market turmoil in Europe.
This paper provides a quantitative approach to measuring the effectiveness of ambush marketing by using Google data. To our knowledge, it is one of the first studies that develop an empirical approach that directly measures the attention effect of ambush marketing in sports. The new data consists of 14 ambushers (treatment group) and 26 official sponsors (control group) and covers the time period of 2004 to 2012. These firms conducted marketing activities during the past football World Cups and European Championships. The innovation in our paper is the measurement method of attention by means of Google. The results are as follows: First ambush marketing increases product attention significantly. Second the product awareness of ambushers is greater or the same to that of official sponsors. Finally, we demonstrate that ambush marketing has positive impacts on the company's performance. Overall, we conclude that Google provide new insights for the analysis of ambush marketing.
Mit dem starken Wachstum des CarSharing- Angebots und der großen Menge an Flottenfahrzeugen in Unternehmen nimmt auch die Anzahl der Fahrtenbuch-Apps zu. Bei den meisten mobilen Fahrtenbuch- Anwendungen muss der Benutzer den Kilometerstand manuell eintragen. Dies wirkt sich negativ auf die Usability und die User Experience aus. Hinzu kommt, dass jede Minute kostbar ist, die der Fahrer im ausgeliehenen Auto verbringt. Aus diesen Gründen wird hier eine Lösung vorgestellt, bei der der Kilometerstand aus einer Mercedes Benz A-Klasse über den OBD-Anschluss mit Hilfe des CAN Interfaces „ISI b2air“ automatisch ausgelesen und per Bluetooth an die Fahrtenbuch-App der Berger Elektronik GmbH gesendet wird. Hierfür wird mittels der Software „ISI b2app“ die Kommunikation des Diagnosetesters mit dem Fahrzeug aufgezeichnet. Anschließend werden die CAN-Botschaften analysiert und in Bezug auf den Kilometerstand gefiltert. Die entsprechende Anfrage zum Erhalt des Kilometerstandes wird in den Programmcode des Berger Fahrtenbuches implementiert, so dass die App selbstständig den Kilometerstand auslesen kann.
Fundamentale Veränderungen der heutigen Arbeitswelt stellen Menschen, Systeme, Prozesse und ganze Organisationen vor erhebliche Herausforderungen. Der Faktor Mensch leistet in allen Bereichen dieses Wirkgefüges einen essentiellen Beitrag zum Wettbewerbsvorteil vieler produzierender Unternehmen am Standort Deutschland. Der Wandel von Automatisierung zu selbststeuernden Unternehmen geht dabei nicht spurlos an dem wandlungsfähigsten Glied dieses Gefüges, dem Menschen, vorüber. Belastungsarten verändern sich, singuläre Bewältigungsstrategien genügen nicht mehr, um einen optimalen Beanspruchungszustand jedes einzelnen Individuums zu erreichen und gleichzeitig das höchstmögliche Potenzial zu schöpfen. Das Belastungs- und Beanspruchungscockpit bildet einen Lösungsansatz zur systematischen und durchgängigen Bewertung von Belastungszuständen und der individuellen Beanspruchung von Beschäftigten an Montagearbeitsplätzen. Es liefert in Echtzeit Informationen zum Belastungs- und Beanspruchungszustand des Mitarbeiters und kann mit Ergonomiebewertungsverfahren verknüpft werden. Der Aspekt der Multidimensionalität umfasst die Bewertung verschiedener Indikatoren unter Betrachtung ihrer Wirkzusammenhänge.
Powder coatings provide several advantages over traditional coatings: environmental friendliness, freedom of design, robustness and resistance of surfaces, possibility to seamlessly all-around coating, fast production process, cost-effectiveness. In the last years these benefits of the powder coating technology have been adopted from metal to heat-sensitive natural fibre/ wood based substrates (especially medium density fibre boards- MDF) used for interior furniture applications. Powder coated MDF furniture parts are gaining market share already in the classic furniture applications kitchen, bathroom, living and offices. The acceptance of this product is increasing as reflected by excellent growth rates and an increasing customer base. Current efforts of the powder coating industry to develop new powders with higher reactivity (i.e. lower curing temperatures and shorter curing times; e.g. 120°C/5min) will enable the powder coating of other heat-sensitive substrates like natural fibre composites, wood plastic composites, light weight panels and different plastics in the future. The coating could be applied and cured by the conventional powder coating process (electrostatic application, and melting and curing in an IR-oven) or by a new powder coating procedure based on the in-mould-coating (IMC) technique which is already established in the plastic industry. Extra value could be added in the future by the functional powder toner printing of powder coated substrates using the electrophotographic printing technology, meeting the future demand of both individualization of the furniture part surface by applying functional 3D textures and patterns and individually created coloured images and enabling shorter delivery times for these individualized parts. The paper describes the distinctiveness of powder coating on natural fibre/ wood based substrates, the requirements of the substrate and the coating powder.
The powder coating of wood products as an emerging environmentally sustainable coating technology holds promise in terms of novel product quality features for engineered wood like medium-density fiberboards (MDFs). However, one major limitation currently impeding widespread application of powder coating technology is the availability of MDF panels that are suitable for this process. Typically, special-grade MDF panels are required that are more costly than standard-grade MDF panels to provide reliable coating quality, which makes powder coating economically unattractive for many users. Methods are needed that allow extending the range of available MDF grades. In the present study, three surface pretreatment approaches for MDFs were studied to increase the processability of standard-grade MDF in the powder coating process: atmospheric plasma pretreatment, infrared irradiation, and moisture equilibration in a climate chamber prior to electrostatic powder application. While atmospheric plasma treatment had no beneficial effect on the use of standard-grade MDF panels, both infrared preheating and preconditioning of the panels under controlled temperature–humidity conditions demonstrated that the range of MDF panels suitable for powder coating can be significantly extended by appropriate selection of the pretreatment procedure.
Enterprise Architectures (EA) consists of many architecture elements, which stand in manifold relationships to each other. Therefore Architecture Analysis is important and very difficult for stakeholders. Due changing an architecture element has impacts on other elements different stakeholders are involved. In practice EAs are often analyzed using visualizations. This article aims at contributing to the field of visual analytics in EAM by analyzing how state of-the-art software platforms in EAM support stakeholders with respect to providing and visualizing the “right” information for decision-making tasks. We investigate the collaborative decision-making process in an experiment with master students using professional EAM tools by developing a research study and accomplishing them in a master’s level class with students.
Analysis and planning of Enterprise Architectures (EA) is a complex task for stakeholders. The change of one architecture element has impact on multiple other elements because of manifold relationships and interactions between them. The interactive cockpit approach presented in this paper supports stakeholders planning and analyzing EAs and to tackle the intrinsic complexity. This approach supplies a cockpit with multiple viewpoints to put relevant information side-by-side without losing the context combined with interaction functionality. In this paper, we develop such cockpit starting with relevant use cases, describing a potential design based on well-established foundations in EA modeling, and outline an exemplary usage scenario.
In der Mikroelektronik werden Chips häufig in Mold-Gehäusen verpackt. Die elektrischen Verbindungen vom Chip zu den Anschlussbeinchen des Gehäuses werden mit Bonddrähten realisiert. Für die Berechnung der Gleichgewichtstemperatur in einem Bonddraht bei konstantem Strom sowie von Temperaturverläufen bei transienten Strömen ist die herkömmliche FEM-Methode langsam und unhandlich. Daher wurde der Bondrechner entwickelt, der ein zylindersymmetrisches Ersatz-Modell für das Package in geeigneten mathematischen Gleichungen abbildet.
Im Gegensatz zum Bondrechner der ersten Generation [1], der auf den Gleichungen von [2] basiert, bietet ein neuer mathematischer Ansatz die Möglichkeit, eine endliche effektive Package-Größe, sowie einen endlichen Wärmeübergang zwischen Bonddraht und Mold-Masse zu berücksichtigen. Ebenso wurde die Berechnung der Interaktion von mehreren benachbarten Drähten verfeinert. Die Berechnung von beliebigen transienten Pulsformen mittlerer Länge wurde ebenfalls verbessert. Eine quadratische Komponente in der Temperaturabhängigkeit des spezifischen Widerstandes des Drahtmaterials kann jetzt ebenfalls berücksichtigt werden.
Die Ergebnisse wurden erfolgreich mit FEM-Berechnungen verglichen und die Geschwindigkeit der Berechnung ist um Größenordnungen schneller als mit kommerziellen FEM-Programmen.
The capability of the method of Immersion transmission ellipsometry (ITE) (Jung et al. Int Patent WO, 2004/109260) to not only determine three-dimensional refractive indices in anisotropic thin films (which was already possible in the past), but even their gradients along the z-direction (perpendicular to the film plane) is investigated in this paper. It is shown that the determination of orientation gradients in deep-sub-lm films becomes possible by applying ITE in combination with reflection ellipsometry. The technique is supplemented by atomic force microscopy for measuring the film thickness. For a photooriented thin film, no gradient was found, as expected. For a photo-oriented film, which was subsequently annealed in a nematic liquid crystalline phase, an order was found similar to the one applied in vertically aligned nematic displays, with a tilt angle varying along the z-direction. For fresh films, gradients were only detected for the refractive index perpendicular to the film plane, as expected.
Strategy to adjust people’s performance capabilities to new requirements and grantee employability in the world of work. Good examples for this are the current changes in the logistics environment. Regularly, new services and processes close to production were taken into the portfolio of logistics enterprises, so the daily Tasks are changing continuously for the skilled works.
LOPEC aims in developing and offering special-tailored training for Lean Logistics and required basic skills for skilled workers on shopfloor level. Needed know-how for today’s challenges in logistics will be transferred. Another aspect of LOPEC is the development and use of a personal excellence self-assessment that allows a Person to assess and thus improve his/her own level of maturity in employability skills. Thus, LOPEC is aiming at People ehancement as entry ticket to lifelong continuous learning by increasing the maturity level of personal logistic excellence. A common European view for “Logistics personal excellence” for skilled workers will ensure that the final product is an open product, using international, pan European validated standards. As results LOPEC will provide training modules for post-secondary education in the area of Lean Logistics, required basics skills and offers transparency of personal excellence with a personal self-assessment Software solution, regarding the personal maturity Level of hard and soft skills at any time. It can be used as an innovative tool for monitoring personal lifelong learning routes as well as within companies as a strategic tool within Human Resource Development.
Industry 4.0 predicts that industrial processes, technological infrastructure and all corresponding Business processes, with the help of information and communication technology (ICT), will advance to integrated, ad-hoc interconnected and decentralized Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) with real-time capabilities of selfoptimization and adaptability. Considering this change, the human being will remain in a dominant role, because it is not expected that the human factor with its characteristics and capabilities will be substituted entirely by autonomously acting technology in the foreseeable future. The mechanical intelligence, for instance, is limited to the selection of predefined options, while human creativity, flexibility, the ability to learn and to improve are required to design and configure systems, processes and products. Humans have the expertise and experience to analyze, assess and solve - even in exceptional situations. However, the amount of purely manual tasks for shop floor workers will decrease. Their role will change from a manually executing to a proactive preconceiving worker with increased responsibility. Due to the growing degree of digitalization and interconnectedness, also the tasks and responsibilities for planning and design personnel will continuously expand and become more complex. The work in versatile ad-hoc networks with advanced ICT-Tools and assistance systems will lead to increased requirements regarding the knowledge, capability and capacity of the respective employees. The on-going pervasion of IT and emergence of systems with unprecedented complexity specifically require significantly improved capabilities in analysis, abstraction, problem solving and decision making from future labour. Accordingly, the industry is asking for graduates that are educated interdisciplinary and practice-oriented. Some universities already meet these expectations, using learning factories for realistic, action-oriented classes and trainings. Lecturers are confronted with the challenge to identify future job profiles and correlated qualification requirements, especially regarding the conceptualization and implementation of CPPS, and to adapt and enhance their education concepts and methods adequately and consequently. For the new, virtual world of manufacturing a proper understanding of engineering as well as Computer sciences is essential. Industry 4.0 implies this interdisciplinary split. Integrated competencies for product and process planning and design, methodological competencies for systematical idea and innovation management as well as a holistic system and Interface competence will be crucial to achieve interconnection of physical and digital processes and machines. The Vienna University of Technology and the ESB Reutlingen committed to integrate key aspects of Industry 4.0 into their respective learning factories successively. Thus, the students will act as the coordinators of the CPPS and thereby remain in the center of all learning and implementation activities.
Processing
(2014)
In this chapter, some relevant aspects and illustrative examples of online monitoring tools as the basis for process control in the manufacturing and processing of thermosetting resins are briefly discussed. In principle, any chemical or physical information made accessible by sensors can be used for online monitoring of resin formation, resin location in the mold, and resin cure. For instance, changes in the flow properties of the reaction mixture are often routinely recorded in dependence of the reaction time during resin synthesis as a measure for the degree of conversion of raw materials into macromolecules or oligomers by applying rheometry in an in-process environment. Typically, a small sample of the reaction mixture is by-passed, subjected to rheological measurement, and re-introduced into the bulk reactor. In a similar way, pH measurements, turbidimetric measurements, or other analyses are performed. Although rheometry may not always be suitable for following resin cure (especially in cases where there is a very rapid increase in viscosity after initiation of the cure), [1] naturally, the method can in principle also be used in the subsequent processing of the thermosets, for instance in the curing of wood glue applied to wood specimen [2]. Similarly, pH changes during thermoset curing can be followed. Hence, an encyclopedic and comprehensive approach to present process control methods would systematically proceed according to the involved physical measurement principle. However, since only a very Brief sketch of means for monitoring thermoset processing can be given here, only a small, personally biased selection of important methods and application examples is addressed in the following sections. These examples hopefully illustrate some of the general strategies and solutions to problems that are typically encountered when processing thermosets.
Cyanate esters
(2014)
Cyanate ester resins are an important class of thermosetting compounds that have experienced an ever-increasing interest as matrix systems for advanced polymer composite materials, which among other applications, are especially suitable for highly demanding functions in the aerospace or microelectronics industries. Other names for cyanate ester resins are cyanate resins, cyanic esters, or triazine resins. The various types of cyanate ester monomers share the aOCN functional group that trimerizes in the course of resin formation to yield a highly branched heterocyclic polymeric network based on the substituted triazine core structure. The basic reaction sequence leading to the typical cyanate ester polymer molecule is depicted in Figure 11.1. The curing reaction may take place with or without catalyst.
Unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) and vinyl ester resins (VER) are among the most commercially important thermosetting matrix materials for composites. Although comparatively low cost, their technological performance is suitable for a wide range of applications, such as fiber-reinforced plastics, artificial marble or onyx, polymer concrete, or gel coats. The main areas of UPR consumption include the wind energy, marine, pipe and tank, transportation, and construction industries. This chapter discusses basic UPR and VER chemistry and technology of manufacturing, and consequent applications. Some important properties and performance characteristics are discussed, such as shrinkage behavior, flame retardance, and property modification by nanoparticles. Also briefly introduced and described are the practical aspects of UPR and VER processing, with special emphasis on the most widely used technological approaches, such as hand and spray layup, resin infusion, resin transfer molding, sheet and bulk molding, pultrusion, winding, and centrifugal casting.
Prior studies ascribed people’s poor performance in dealing with basic systems concepts to different causes. While results indicate that, among other things, domain specific experience and familiarity with the problem context play a role in this stock-flow-(SF-)performance, this has not yet been fully clarified. In this article, we present an experiment that examines the role of educational background in SF-performance. We hypothesize that SF-performance increases when the problem context is embedded in the problem solver’s knowledge domain, indicated by educational background. Using the square wave pattern and the sawtooth pattern tasks from the initial study by Booth Sweeney and Sterman (2000), we design two additional cover stories for the former, the Vehicle story from the engineering domain and the Application story from the business domain, next to the original Bathtub story. We then test the three sets of questions on business students. Results mainly support our hypothesis. Interestingly, participants even do better on a more complex behavioral pattern from their knowledge domain than on a simpler pattern from more distant domains. Although these findings have to be confirmed by further studies, they contribute both to the methodology of future surveys and the context familiarity discussion.
Intra-operative fluoroscopy-guided assistance system for transcatheter aortic valve implantation
(2014)
A new surgical assistance system has been developed to assist the correct positioning of the AVP during transapical TAVI. The developed assistance system automatically defines the target area for implanting the AVP under live 2-D fluoroscopy guidance. Moreover, this surgical assistance system works with low levels of contrast agent for the final deployment of AVP, reducing therefore long-term negative effects, such as renal failure in the elderly and high-risk patients.
This paper presents a new broadband antenna for satellite communications. It describes the procedure involved in the design of a microstrip antenna array and its multi-level passive feed network that together yield circular polarization and the necessary gain to be used in an earth-satellite link. The designed antenna is notable for its large bandwidth, circular polarization, high gain and small dimensions.
Schnittschutzhosen stellen ein wesentliches Element der persönlichen Schutzausrüstung des Forstwirts dar, da sie schwerwiegende Verletzungen bei der Motorsägenarbeit verhindern können. Dies setzt aber eine entsprechende Pflege voraus. Welche Veränderungen die Fasern der Schnittschutzeinlage durch Waschvorgänge erfahren und welche Auswirkungen sich dadurch auf die Schnittsicherheit ergeben, wurde im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes untersucht
Melamine Formaldehyde (MF) resins are thermosetting synthetic materials. The present work deals with the evaluation of the impregnation process, modification of resin structure and abrasion resistant applications. During the industrial process paper is impregnated by aqueous oligomers. The drying procedure and the corresponding residual volatile content is a crucial step during production, because of its influence on the later surface quality. Standard measurement routines do not differentiate between physical and chemical origin. Using TGA and DSC methods, the evaporation of water could be characterized as a clear separation of solvent evaporation and the release of water during condensation. The method could be used to upgrade current quality control as well as reaction condition tuning. According to the characteristics of duroplastic material, the formed network is very dense but also brittle. Challenging applications require highly modified resins in order to decrease the network density. Substances from bio renewable resources offer chemical possibilities for covalent crosslinking. Several substance classes have been tested for compatibility via hydroxyl groups or amines. The addition of polyols under appropriate reaction conditions showed chemical incorporation into the MF prepolymer. NMR methods have been used to characterize the resins. The synthesized polymers represent a suitable alternative for the usage in challenging furniture and flooring laminate applications. MF applications for scratch and wear resistant surfaces are commonly reinforced by multiple layer setups with inorganic particles. Fulfilling normative requirements a one sheet setup of decorative paper has been developed and tested. The incorporation of special corundum particles directly on the decorative printed paper combined with a new coating system resulted in surfaces of the requested quality for wear resistance surfaces.
Melamine formaldehyde (MF) resins are widely used for the gluing and surface coating of wood-based consumer products in the interior design of living environments. MF resins are especially relevant in decorative laminate applications because of their good performance-to-price ratio. In their industrial processing, an important intermediate state is the liquid MF prepolymer that is used for decorative paper impregnation. Here, the drying of impregnated papers is investigated with respect to premature curing. A new method to quantify water release upon drying that allows estimation of the degree of undesired precuring is described. Since curing proceeds via polycondensation, crosslinking brings about the release of water molecules. By thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), drying was studied in terms of water release due to physical drying (elimination of “dilution water”) and chemical crosslinking of the prepolymer to a three-dimensional MF network (elimination of chemically liberated water). The results obtained by TGA/IR spectroscopic analysis of the liberated volatiles show that the emission of water from b-stage MF can be clearly analytically separated into a physical (evaporation of dilution water) and a chemical (liberation via condensation) sequence. TGA experiments were correlated with curing experiments performed with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to estimate the residual crosslinking capacities of the impregnated papers. The drying conditions used during the preparation of impregnated decorative papers seemed to significantly affect their remaining reactivity only when harsh drying conditions were used. Upon heat exposure for prolonged time, precuring of the oligomer units results in a shift of the temperature maxima in TGA.
Unraveling the double-edged sword : effects of cultural diversity on creativity and innovativeness
(2014)
Cultural diversity is considered a “double-edged sword” (Kravitz, 2005) as research on its effects on teams’ performance regularly delivers inconsistent and contradictory results. This paper makes an attempt to unravel the double-edged sword by discerning different forms of cultural diversity: separation and variety (Harrison & Klein, 2007). Based on a review of the literature, a conceptual model is developed hypothesizing that cultural variety yields positive, while cultural separation yields negative effects on team creativity and innovativeness. In addition the effects of national diversity are contrasted to proof whether national diversity can serve as a proxy for cultural diversity as is often practiced. The model is tested on a sample of 113 student teams of Entrepreneurship modules at 4 European universities. Cultural diversity is measured directly on the basis of individual team members’ cultural value orientations by means of the CPQ4 (Maznevski, DiStefano, Gomez, Noorderhaven & Wu, 2002). Data is analyzed using the PLS structural equation modeling technique. The results confirm the hypothesized impacts of cultural variety and separation on creativity but do not deliver evidence for impacts on innovativeness. Same is true for national diversity. Interestingly, national diversity does not show any relation to neither form of cultural diversity.
Several diseases occur due to asbestos exposure. Until today, asbestos predicted mortality and morbidity will increase because of the long latency period. Actually, the methods to investigate asbestos related disease are mostly invasive. Therefore, the aim of the present paper was to investigate, whether signals in human breath could be correlated to Asbestos related lung diseases using a multi-capillary column (MCC) connected to an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) as non-invasive method. Here, the breath samples of 10 mL of 25 patients suffering from asbestos related diseases. This group includes patients with asbestos related pleural thickening with and without pulmonary fibrosis. Twelve healthy persons constitute the control group and the breath samples are compared with those of the BK4103 patients. In total 83 peaks are found in the IMS-Chromatogram. A discrimination was possible with p-values <0.001 for two peaks (99.9 %), <0.01 (99 %) for 5 peaks and <0.05 (95 %) for 17 peaks. The most discrimination peaks alpha pinene and 4-ethyltoluol were identified among some others with lower p-values. The corresponding Box-and-Whisker-Plots comparing both groups are presented. In addition, a decision tree including all peaks was created that shows a differentiation with alpha pinene between BK4103 (pleural plaques group) and the control group. In addition, the sensitivity was calculated to 96 %, specificity was 50 %, positive and negative predictive values were 80 % and 86 %. Ion mobility spectrometry was introduced as non-invasive method to separate both groups Asbestos related and healthy. Naturally, the findings need further confirmation on larger population groups, but encourage further investigations, too.
Online measurement of drug concentrations in patient's breath is a promising approach for individualized dosage. A direct transfer from breath- to blood-concentrations is not possible. Measured exhaled concentrations are following the blood-concentration with a delay in non-steady-state situations. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate the breath-concentration into a pharmacological model. Two different approaches for pharmacokinetic modelling are presented. Usually a 3-compartment model is used for pharmacokinetic calculations of blood concentrations. This 3-compartment model is extended with a 2-compartment model based on the first compartment of the 3-compartment model and a new lung compartment. The second approach is to calculate a time delay of changes in the concentration of the first compartment to describe the lung-concentration. Exemplarily both approaches are used for modelling of exhaled propofol. Based on time series of exhaled propofol measurements using an ion-mobility-spectrometer every minute for 346 min a correlation of calculated plasma and the breath concentration was used for modelling to deliver R2 = 0.99 interdependencies. Including the time delay modelling approach the new compartment coefficient ke0lung was calculated to ke0lung = 0.27 min−1 with R2 = 0.96. The described models are not limited to propofol. They could be used for any kind of drugs, which are measurable in patient's breath.
Die Volksrepublik (VR) China möchte bezüglich der Elektromobilität weltweit eine führende Rolle einnehmen. Die Reduzierung der massiven Umweltverschmutzung in den Ballungsräumen ist nur ein Nebeneffekt dieses politischen Zieles der chinesischen Führung. Vielmehr strebt die VR China an, E-Mobilität als eine ihrer Schlüsselindustrien zu positionieren, der wichtigste Markt für diese Technologie zu werden und die Abhängigkeit von Ölimporten drastisch zu reduzieren. Durch eine Sekundärerhebung im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird untersucht, wie deutsche Automobilhersteller in der VR China Marktanteile gewinnen können sowie welche Chancen, Risiken und offenen Fragen sich dabei ergeben. Deutsche Automobilproduzenten können in der VR China von ihrem guten Ruf bezüglich Sicherheitsstandards, Qualität, Komfort und dem Ansehen der deutschen Automobile als Statussymbole profitieren. Im Bereich Alternativer Fahrzeuge konnten deutsche Autobauer im Vergleich zu ihren chinesischen Konkurrenten in den letzten Jahren einen deutlichen technologischen Fortschritt verzeichnen und Maßstäbe setzen. Allerdings sind deutsche Elektrofahrzeuge im Kleinst- und Kleinwagen- Segment im Vergleich zu ihren chinesischen Konkurrenzprodukten um ein Vielfaches teurer und die deutsche Automobilindustrie (inkl. Zulieferer) ist nicht führend im Bereich Batterietechnik. Chancen für deutsche Autobauer können sich in der Übertragung des psychologischen Markenwerts im Bereich Service, Qualität, Sicherheit, Komfort, Ruf und Technologie auf deutsche Elektro-Fahrzeuge ergeben. Die chinesischen Autobauer sind außerdem bislang daran gescheitert, den Markt für Alternative Antriebskonzepte im Privatsektor zu erschließen. Die Beliebtheit von Mittelklassefahrzeugen in der chinesischen Bevölkerung kann für Kleinstund Kleinwagen im Sektor E-Mobilität ein Risiko darstellen. Ein Risiko besteht auch in der Nicht-Transferierung des Statussymbols auf deutsche Fahrzeuge mit alternativen Antriebskonzepten. Die Forderung der chinesischen Regierung nach Lokalisierung und die technologische Unsicherheit im Bereich E-Mobilität sowie die Volatilität des chinesischen Pkw- Marktes aufgrund staatlicher Regulierung stellen Hauptrisikofaktoren dar.
In diesem Beitrag wurde gezeigt, wie mit Hilfe von Verfahren zur Analyse von Petri–Netzen ein in der Programmiersprache Kontaktplan erstelltes SPS–Programm analysiert werden kann. Das Ziel des Verfahrens ist dabei nicht eine Verifikation im eigentlichen Sinne sondern das Aufdecken von verbotenen oder unerwünschten Zuständen. Im Beitrag wurden Regeln zur Transformation des im Kontaktplan erstellten Ablaufs in ein Petri–Netz angegeben und anhand der Analyse eines fehlerhaft implementierten Ablaufs die Leistungsfähigkeit des Ansatzes vorgestellt. Das Beispiel zeigt, dass Programmfehler bereits vor einem Test an der realen Anlage erkannt werden können. Bei der weiteren Entwicklung des Verfahrens liegt ein Schwerpunkt auf der Verallgemeinerung auf im Kontaktplan entwickelte Programmorganisationseinheiten, die nicht nur reine
Abläufe implementieren. Ein weiterer wichtiger Entwicklungsschritt ist die graphische Unterstützung der Fehlersuche im Erreichbarkeitsgraphen, so dass insgesamt ein leistungsfähiges Werkzeug zur Unterstützung der Implementierung von Ablaufsteuerungen im Kontaktplan zur Verfügung steht.
The fiber deformations of once-dried, bleached and never-dried unbleached kraft pulps were studied with respect to their behavior in high- and low-consistency refining. The pulps were stained with congo red to experimentally highlight areas where the arrangement of the fibrils was altered by refining such as dislocated zones or slip planes. The stained fibers were analyzed with conventional Metso Fiberlab but also with a novel prototype measurement device utilizing a color imaging setup. The local intensity of the stain in the fiber was expressed as degree of overall damage (Overall fiber damage index, OFDI). The rewetted zero span tensile index (RWZSTI) was used to verify the OFDI with respect to the pulp strength. High consistency refining resulted in a clear increase in the number of kinks which negatively influenced the pulp strength. The OFDI which was used to detect the intensity of local fiber defects also responded accordingly. A higher OFDI resulted in a lower pulp strength. Low consistency refining removed a significant amount of kinks and resulted in an increase in fiber swelling. A slight increase in fibrillation and a significant increase in flake-like fines were also observed. The OFDI, however, was not reduced in low consistency refining as it would be expected by the removal of less severe dislocations. One reason proposed here is that low consistency refining created new fiber pores that allowed the dye to penetrate into the fiber wall similarly as it does in the zones of the dislocations.
Three different polyols (soluble starch, sucrose, and glycerol) were tested for their potential in the chemical modification of melamine formaldehyde (MF) resins for paper impregnation. MF impregnated papers are widely used as finishing materials for engineered wood. These polyols were selected because the presence of multiple hydroxy groups in the molecules was suspected to facilitate cocondensation with the main MF framework. This should lead to good resin performance. Moreover, they are readily produced from natural feedstock. They are available in large quantities and may serve as economically feasible, environmentally harmless alternative co-monomers suitable to substitute a portion of fossil-based starting material. In the presented work, a number of model resins were synthesized and tested for covalent incorporation of the natural polyol into the MF Framework. Spectroscopic evidence of chemical incorporation of glycerol was found by applying by 1H, 13C, 1H/13C HSQC, 1H/13C HMBC, and 1H DOSY methods. It was furthermore found that covalent incorporation of glycerol in the network took place when glycerol was added at different stages during synthesis. Further, all resins were used to prepare decorative laminates and the performance of the novel resins as surface finishing was evaluated using standard technological tests. The technological performance of the various modified thermosetting resins was assessed by determining flow viscosity, molar mass distribution, the storage stability, and in a second step laminating impregnated paper to particle boards and testing the resulting surfaces according to standardized quality tests. In most cases, the average board surface properties were of acceptable quality. Our findings demonstrate the possibility to replace several percent of the petrol-based product melamine by compounds obtained from renewable resources.
This thesis studies concurrency control and composition of transactions in computing environments with long living transactions where local data autonomy of transactions is indispensable. This kind of computing architecture is referred to as a Disconnected System where reads are segregated -disconnected- from writes enabling local data autonomy. Disconnecting reads from writes is inspired by Bertrand Meyer's "Command Query Separation" pattern. This thesis provides a simple yet precise definition for a Disconnected System with a focus on transaction management. Concerning concurrency control, transaction management frameworks implement a'one concurrency control mechanism fits all needs strategy'. This strategy, however, does not consider specific characteristics of data access. The thesis shows the limitations of this strategy if transaction load increases, transactions are long lived, local data autonomy is required, and serializability is aimed at isolation level. For example, in optimistic mechanisms the number of aborts suddenly increases if load increases. In pessimistic mechanisms locking causes long blocking times and is prone to deadlocks. These findings are not new and a common solution used by database vendors is to reduce the isolation. This thesis proposes the usage of a novel approach. It suggests choosing the concurrency control mechanism according to the semantics of data access of a certain data item. As a result a transaction may execute under several concurrency control mechanisms. The idea is to introduce lanes similar to a motorway where each lane is dedicated to a certain class of vehicle with the same characteristics. Whereas disconnecting reads and writes sets the traffic's direction, the semantics of data access defines the lanes. This thesis introduces four concurrency control classes capturing the semantics of data access and each of them has an associated tailored concurrency control mechanism. Class O (the optimistic class) implements a first-committer-wins strategy, class R (the reconciliation class) implements a first-n-committers-win strategy, class P (the pessimistic class) implements a first-reader-wins strategy, and class E (the escrow class) implements a first-n-readers-win strategy. In contrast to solutions that adapt the concurrency control mechanism during runtime, the idea is to classify data during the design phase of the application and adapt the classification only in certain cases at runtime. The result of the thesis is a transaction management framework called O|R|P|E. A performance study based on the TPC-C benchmark shows that O|R|P|E has a better performance and a considerably higher commit rate than other solutions. Moreover, the thesis shows that in O|R|P|E aborts are due to application specific limitations, i.e., constraint violations and not due to serialization conflicts. This is a result of considering the semantics.
Projektmanagement
(2014)
Seit den 1990er Jahren richten immer mehr Unternehmen ihre aufbau- und ablauforganisatorische Organisation nach Gesichtspunkten des Projektmanagements aus. Gerade im Produktentstehungsprozess setzt sich die Abkehr von starr getrennten Aufgaben und Tätigkeiten in funktional definierten Abteilungen hin zu einer teamorientierten Projektarbeit immer mehr durch. Projektmanagement ist in verschiedenen Ausprägungsstufen realisierbar. Angefangen bei der Festlegung von Projekten ohne Änderung der organisatorischen Abläufe über das Einfluss- und Matrix-Projektmanagement bis hin zur durchgängigen Projektorganisation des Unternehmens sind viele Mischformen möglich.
Fragen, die in diesem Kapitel beantwortet werden:
Welche Bedeutung kommt der Projektplanung für ein erfolgreiches Projektmanagement zu?
Was zeichnet Phasenmodelle bei IT-Projekten aus, welche Varianten werden unterschieden, und inwiefern sind diese für die Projektplanung nützlich?
Wie ist eine Projektstrukturplanung für ein IT-Projekt anzulegen, und welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich dabei für den Projektablauf und die Phasenplanung?
Wie erfolgt eine Ablauf- und Terminplanung für IT-Projekte, und welche Instrumente und Methoden stehen zur Verfügung?
Aus welchen Elementen besteht eine gute Ressourcenplanung, und mit welchen Verfahren lässt sich eine Planoptimierung im Projektmanagement erreichen?
Gibt es wesentliche Teilschritte, die bei der Kostenplanung von IT-Projekten eingehalten werden müssen?
Inwiefern kommt einer ausgewogenen Risikoplanung für das Projektmanagement eine immer größere Bedeutung zu, und in welcher Weise kann diese Planungsaufgabe gelöst werden?
Projektmanagement
(2014)
Komplexe Aufgaben erfordern geeignete Planungs- und Steuerungstechniken. Die Projektleitung muss kontinuierlich Termine, Kosten, Qualität im Griff behalten und sein Team anleiten und motivieren. Dieses Buch zeigt, wie Sie unterschiedliche Anforderungen meistern und Projekte erfolgreich zum Abschluss bringen.
Silicones
(2014)
Silicones are found in a variety of applications with requirements that range from long life at elevated temperatures to fluidity at low temperatures. This chapter first considers silicone elastomers and their application in room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) and heat curing systems (HTV). Also, new technologies for UV curing are introduced. Coverage of RTVs includes both one-component and two-component systems and the different cure chemistries of each, and is followed by a separate discussion of silicone laminates. Due to the high importance of silicone fluids, they are also discussed. Fluids include polishes, release agents, surfactants, and dielectric fluids.
In dieser Arbeit wird ein Ansatz zur Unterstützung von Werkern, Meistern und Instandhaltern vorgestellt, der es ermöglicht, aus der auftretenden Situation heraus (ad hoc), auf aktuelle notwendige Informationen und die Zusammenhänge in einer variantenreichen Serienfertigung zuzugreifen. Schwerpunkt bildet das unternehmensneutrale Gesamtkonzept des fertigungsnahen Kontextinformationssystems, das aus dem Produktionsumgebungsmodell und der Systemarchitektur besteht. Das Produktionsumgebungsmodell beschreibt und vernetzt enthaltene Informationen und Zusammenhänge einer variantenreichen Serienfertigung. Hauptordnungskriterien sind hier die Zugehörigkeit zu einer bestimmten Gruppe (Typ), die Identität eines Gegenstands, dessen Ort und Betriebszustand über die Zeit. Die Systemarchitektur ist modular aufgebaut. Die Module werden in Erfassungsmodule, Kontextverwaltungsmodule, Funktionsmodule zur automatischen und manuellen Informationsfilterung sowie Präsentationsmodule untergliedert und kommunizieren über eine einheitliche Schnittstelle.
Schnittschutzhosen bewahren viele Motorsägen-Benutzer vor Schnittverletzungen. Ob die im Neuzustand der Schnittschutzhose vorhandene Schnittsicherheit auch nach einem intensiven Kontakt mit Kraftstoff und Kettenschmieröl noch gewährleistet ist, wurde im Rahmen eines im Jahr 2013 abgeschlossenen Forschungsprojektes nachgegangen