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A Descriptive Study on Customer Attitudes towards Green Branding in the Fashion Industry in Germany
(2021)
This paper attempts to provide an up-to-date representation and analysis of customers' attitudes towards green branding in the fashion industry and their willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable and ethical clothing in Germany. Related literature strands are reviewed to understand how the fashion industry works, what green branding means, and how customer attitudes are shaped. After creating an attitude measurement model, an online questionnaire was designed and sent to Furtwangen University students, with 153 valid responses returned. The descriptive analysis sheds light on the three attitudinal components related to sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry. It is noted that customers do not hold a definite attitude. However, a tendency towards the positive end is ascertained. Significant gaps still exist in terms of knowledge and awareness of some commitment by fashion brands. Another huge factor influencing attitudes appears to be a lack of trust. The behavioral component showed that customers are trying to contribute through proper disposal and are willing to buy sustainable and ethical clothing more often. However, there is still some room for improvement in terms of customer education. Nevertheless, it is found that they are willing to accept an additional contribution for sustainable and ethical clothing. In general, it can be concluded that there is a foundation to improve the fashion industry towards more sustainability. However, all stakeholders, i.e., customers and fashion brands, as well as the government, need to work together to change the industry in the long run.
Akka Cluster
(2021)
Akka Cluster ist ein Framework, das die Entwicklung verteilter Systeme ermöglicht. In dieser Arbeit wird der Funktionsumfang von Akka Cluster untersucht, ein Teilbereich des Frameworks Akka. Gegenstand der Analyse ist ein einfacher, mit Akka aufgesetzter Cluster, um anschließend Funktionen wie Singletons, Sharding, verteilte Daten und Mechanismen zur Fehlertoleranz zu untersuchen. Dabei wird auch versucht, unter die Abstraktionsschicht zu schauen, die Akka Cluster bietet. Dies gibt unter anderem ein klareres Bild, wie umfangreich die Entwicklung verteilter Systeme ist. Durch Monitoring soll anschließend ein Überblick über einen Cluster gegeben werden, welcher über eine REST-Schnittstelle auch anderweitig verwaltet werden kann.
Sustainability, encompassing the economy, the environment, and society in equal parts, is an increasingly prominent topic that is gaining in importance and awareness due to the climate crisis and the resulting urgent need for action. It is essential to simultaneously focus on the global and on the local scale in order to create a paradigm shift. This study addresses the attitude-behavior gap of employees in the daily operations within companies and evaluates how nudges can be implemented to narrow this gap. A literature review was conducted to understand the separate topics of sustainability, the attitude-behavior gap, and nudging. Based on these three topics and their interrelation, exemplary nudges on habits and on infrastructure to be applied in a company and modified to its needs are developed. The method of implementation of nudges cannot be generalized because (1) attitudes and behavior and their interrelation are individual and influenceable factors and (2) the corporate context and how nudges are communicated impact the effectiveness of the interventions. Investing in internal sustainability practices in combination with indispensable external practices leads companies to a holistic, authentic, and successful approach towards becoming a sustainable business.
Keywords: Attitude-Behavior Gap, Nudging, Corporate sustainability
The present research sought to deepen the debates about how the collector of recyclable material, a subject that has built his political resistance in the Brazilian scenario from the process of re-signification of garbage and his profession. Its empowerment observed from the end of the 20th century was concomitant with the growth of environmental discussions and the strengthening of the solidarity economy as an alternative for economic emancipation in Brazil. In this context, the individual who used to live on the margins of society established himself as a fundamental factor in the recycling chain and became an environmental agent. The question that guided the investigation was "how has the pandemic influenced waste pickers' solidarity organizations, given their challenges and opportunities?". In this context, two specific objectives were determined to be answered in the course of the research. The first sought to understand the relationship between the solidarity economy and the formation of waste picker collectives; the second aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities that could arise from these solidarity organizations' experiences. A vast theoretical analysis was conducted to understand the
foundations of the Solidarity Economy, an alternative to the informal economy and a form of economic empowerment especially considered for vulnerable populations, as a
way to include them economically. Using the case study of Belo Horizonte, a city with a history of alternative economic expressions and strengthened waste pickers' movements, we approached various actors of the recycling chain through qualitative research, using
the in-depth interviews approach.
Among other findings, the research noted that one of the greatest challenges of the post-pandemic Solidarity Economy is related to the expansion of the capitalist market to areas traditionally aggregated by the Solidarity Economy, because they were previously considered to be on the “margins of society”. However, these threats also
give room for opportunities, from responses that reinforce the legitimacy of cooperatives and associations, through their contractual adequacy with the City Hall for
the payment of the environmental service rendered, disconnected from the number of solid waste collected. We have learned that in the daily struggles and achievements of
the waste pickers, challenges and opportunities go hand in hand.
Das Streben des Menschen nach persönlichem Wohlbefinden steigt mit dem Wohlstand – die aktuelle Pandemiezeit wirkt hier stark beschleunigend. Den Traum von einem eigenen Wellnessbereich im privaten Heim erfüllen sich immer mehr Privatpersonen.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde der Geschäftsprozess der Saunafertigung untersucht. Dabei lag der Fokus der Analyse auf den einzelnen Prozessschritten des Fertigungsprozesses hinsichtlich Zeit, Material, Maschine und Mensch. Die herausgearbeiteten Optimierungsansätze orientieren sich dabei an dem magischen Dreieck und der Digitalisierung.
Es zeigte sich, dass viele Prozessschritte noch händisch und in Papierform durchgeführt werden. Der technisch bereits mögliche Einsatz von digitalbasierten Schritten ist nicht in vollem Umfang ausgeschöpft. Für eine effiziente zukunftsorientierte Prozessgestaltung ist die weitere Digitalisierung unerlässlich.
This paper deals with the constructive adaptation of an existing mechanical single-jet valve meter (valve meter driven only by a water jet) for the realisation of a digital system. For this purpose, an existing mechanical single-jet valve meter system is constructively adapted in such a way that the existing mechanical counter can be replaced by an existing digital counter. Subsequently, the measuring behaviour of the newly created meter system is examined on a testing bench
Das Ziel des vorliegenden Forschungsprojektes war es, eine kostengünstige, aber effektive und flexible Automatisierungsmaßnahme für Fräsbauteile einzurichten. Dadurch sollte der Mitarbeiter entlastet und für anderweitige Tätigkeiten eingesetzt werden, um durch diesen Aspekt zeitgleich Kosten einzusparen. Zudem musste die Lösung für zukünftige Optimierungen und Veränderungen an der Maschine ausgelegt sein. Durchgeführt wurde das Forschungsprojekt an einer 3-Achs CNC-Fräsmaschine (Chiron Mill 2000). Die Automatisierung bezieht sich auf die Entnahme von unterschiedlich langen Werkstücken (76 bis 400 mm), deren Abtransport aus dem Maschinenumfeld sowie das Nachschieben des Rohmaterials. Um eine zielgerechte Lösung zu finden, wurden Methoden wie der morphologische Kasten herangezogen. Es entstand eine einfach handhabbare und kosteneffiziente Lösung mit einem Transportband, einem pneumatisch beaufschlagten Spindelgreifer und einem profilgenauen, konstruiertem auf den Greifer montierbaren Fingerpaar. Mit dem Forschungsprojekt wurde eine deutliche Steigerung der Eingriffszeit durch einen Mitarbeiter ermöglicht, wobei aber die Prozesszeit für einen Zyklus angestiegen ist. Zudem konnten die Kosten für die Produktion der Bauteile deutlich gesenkt werden. Durch die Automatisierungslösung konnte der Werker von monotonen Arbeitsgängen befreit und für stärker wertschöpfende Tätigkeiten gewonnen werden.
A major problem in the automotive sector is dealing with used hydraulic oil. Since this oil loses its purity over time, it must be changed. In most cases, the condition of the oil is not really checked, but is changed after a certain number of kilometers. It is possible that intact hydraulic oil is wasted in the process. Until now, there is no cost-effective method to check the purity on hydraulic oils, so there is nothing left but to remove all of the oil. The purpose of this work is to develop a measuring station for a MEMS-based oil quality sensor. With the help of the oil quality sensor, deviations of aged hydraulic oils shall be investigated. An infrared light source and a Fabri-Perot spectrum sensor will be used for more accurate detection of deviations in aged hydraulic oil. The goal is to clarify whether it is possible to use wavelength spectra to detect differences in aged hydraulic oil. To do this, a suitable Fabri-Perot spectrum sensor and a light source with the appropriate wavelength range were carefully selected. Furthermore, a measurement setup for static measurements was worked out. Subsequently, measurements were carried out with and without hydraulic oil and the measured data was compared with reference data. Finally, differences in the aged hydraulic oil could be determined by means of light wave measurements.
Differences in the perception and their effects on the implementation of organizational agility
(2021)
This thesis paper investigates the differences in organizational agility implementation and links practical approaches to complex theory. Several agile transformations have been studied to provide an overview of the common guidelines that foster agile working. In alignment with the ambivalence of agility, the results show that a symbiotic mixture of bottom- up and top-down features in the application is required. Especially in traditional organizations, where hierarchical structures prevail, the practical implementation requires the approval of managers and the active involvement of employees to be successful. Additionally, companies cannot apply a uniform approach to achieving agile but must alter practices to fit their specific needs. Consequently, this paper can be particularly beneficial to companies attempting an agile change.
The topic of traditional fashion retailers fighting for their position against growing e-commerce suppliers has been omnipresent in recent years. Therefore, it is important to understand what possibilities modern technology and innovation has to offer, and how these innovative technologies can be leveraged to achieve traditional brick-and-mortar-retailer’s goal of staying relevant and competitive.
The objective of this thesis is to examine and compare the effectiveness of different in-store digitalization concepts and technologies in retail organisations, analyzing different challenges such as the practical implementation in stores, customer adoption and acceptance factors in context of socio-demographic, and measuring the success of the concepts. Also, the current situation will be explored to see what is already being done today and where there is more potential using different approaches and technologies. For this purpose, a variety of studies, papers and other literature will be analyzed and put into context with the research topic.
Concluding the thesis, we find that all technologies and its practical applications affect relevant variables in different models such as TAM, the convenience/social presence model, and the customer decision-making process. Besides that, the socio-demographic variables geography, age and gender all influence adoption and readiness towards technology to a certain extent. Finally, we give examples on how the technologies can influence classic fashion retail KPIs.
Do Meat-Eating Consumers Use Organic Meat to Rationalize the Consumption of Conventional Meat?
(2021)
This thesis explores how meat-eating consumers may be able to rationalize the consumption of conventional meat by believing to substitute a certain amount of it for organic meat. The underlying rationale is that the positive associations elicited by the organic label and the favorable beliefs consumers have formed about organic meat enable them to use it as a moral license. Building on cognitive dissonance theory, this work specifically investigated whether (1) meat-eaters perceive organic meat better than vegetarians and (2) meat-eaters overestimate how much organic meat they consume. German meat-eating and vegetarian participants were recruited for a study (n=156) to answer these questions. The results show, first, that organic was generally rated as better than conventional meat on all dimensions surveyed, and to a greater extent by meat-eating than by vegetarian respondents. Second, meat-eating participants on average reported estimates of organic meat consumption that were significantly higher than the population mean, indicating that consumers may not eat as much organic meat as they believe. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that organic meat might be used to rationalize unsustainable food choices.
Vernetzte Systeme in Fahrzeugen dienen vor allem
der Erhöhung der Sicherheit, Effizienz und dem Komfort im Straßenverkehr sowie der Reduzierung der Umweltbelastung. Ein Beispiel hierfür bietet das sogenannte eCall-System, welches seit März 2018 in allen Neuwägen verpflichtend verbaut werden muss. Dabei setzt das System nach einem Verkehrsunfall einen automatisierten Notruf ab, bei welchem Daten zum Standort, zur Uhrzeit, zur Fahrtrichtung sowie zur Fahrzeugbeschreibung übermittelt werden. Anhand der dadurch resultierenden Erhöhung der Reaktionszeit der Einsatzkräfte um 40 Prozent bis 50 Prozent, können sowohl Menschenleben gerettet als auch eine schnellere Behandlung an Verletzten durchgeführt werden. Trotz der schnelleren Reaktionszeiten ist die Anzahl an verletzten und getöteten Personen im Straßenverkehr annäherungsweise konstant geblieben. Daher stellt sich zunehmend die Frage, ob bestimmte Arten von Verkehrsunfällen, wie z.B. Unfälle
aufgrund von Alkoholeinfluss oder Sekundenschlaf, mit Unfallpräventionssystemen verhindert werden können. Hierzu stellt dieses Paper ein Konzept in Form eines UseCase- und Aktivitätsdiagrammes dar, bei welchem die Überwachung der Vitaldaten mit Hilfe von Biosensoren in das bereits existierende e-Call-System integriert wird. Dabei werden zu Beginn dieses Papers die theoretischen Grundlagen erläutert. Im Anschluss daran werden psychische und physische Faktoren im Straßenverkehr sowie die Messung dieser mit Hilfe von Vitaldaten aufgezeigt. Daraufhin wird das Prinzip des Gehörgangsensor erörtert,der als Grundlage zur Bearbeitung des Konzeptes dient. Nachfolgend wird das Konzept aufgezeigt und erläutert. Am Ende dieses Papers werden die wesentlichen Ergebnisse in prägnanter Form dargestellt und im Anschluss kritisch hinterfragt.
Um bei Winkelmessungen zu geringen Kosten nicht in der Anzahl der Umdrehung beschränkt zu sein, wird eine Neuentwicklung eines Low-Budget Drehgebers in diesem Projekt verfolgt. Die Anforderungen sind hierbei Herstellkosten im einstelligen Bereich, eine Auflösung von ca. 0,1° und der Drehgeber soll auf Arduino-Basis betrieben werden. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es mit Hilfe von Simulationen die Grenzen des Systems festzulegen, mit diesen Erkenntnissen einen Prototyp zu erstellen und diesen anschließend mit einem Messgerät zu validieren.
Die Firma XYZ benötigt einen neu entwickelten Tragarm für die folgende Generation der Schweißzange. Die Konzeption und Entwicklung des Tragarms findet unter den Gesichtspunkten der Fertigungs- und Montagekosten, sowie Nutzerfreundlichkeit und Design statt. Die Nutzerfreundlichkeit und das Design wird mit Hilfe des aktuellen Tragarms und einer Benchmarkanalyse optimiert. Die Benchmarkanalyse zeigt dabei die unterschiedlichen Ansätze der am Markt existierenden Produkte. Die Bewertung der Konzepte findet mit Hilfe einer Nutzwertanalyse statt. Durch die gewichteten Ergebnisse und Interviews mit den Projektbetreuern können Schwachstellen aufgedeckt und weitere Optimierungsmöglichkeiten gefunden werden. Die Konstruktion wird mit analytischen Methoden zur Berechnung und Auslegung ergänzt. Das Ergebnis ist ein Tragarm, dessen Reichweite und Arbeitsraum den Kundenbedürfnissen entspricht. Unter Berücksichtigung der Tragfähigkeit, Kippsicherheit und Nutzerfreundlichkeit weist der Tragarm ein eigenständiges Design mit Kippmechanismus auf, welches eine stufenlose Anpassung des Arbeitsraumes ermöglicht.
Der Frauenanteil in den Führungsetagen der deutschen Wirtschaft stagniert seit Jahren auf einem niedrigen Niveau und spiegelt nicht im Entferntesten den Anteil weiblicher Beschäftigter wider (vgl. Tonn 2016, S. 11). Vor allem im Top-Management sind Frauen deutlich unterrepräsentiert. Die Grundannahme dieser Bachelorarbeit besteht darin, dass Frauen grundsätzlich motiviert sind, Führung zu übernehmen und die gleichen Potentiale wie Männer besitzen. Um eine Führungsposition einzunehmen, müssen die Rahmenbedingungen passen. Aufgrund biologischer Unterschiede und der Sozialisation präferieren Frauen andere Rahmenbedingungen als Männer. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Frage untersucht, was sich aus Sicht der Frauen verändern müsste, damit sie ihr Potential entfalten können. Dazu wurden 50 weibliche Probandinnen aus unterschiedlichen Branchen befragt. Die systematische Betrachtung der Aussagen ergab im Wesentlichen folgende sieben Aspekte: Gestaltungsfreiheit, Unterstützung zu Beginn und in der Führungsposition, Vertrauen, eine gute Feedback- und Fehlerkultur, die Vereinbarkeit mit dem Privatleben, Menschlichkeit im Fokus und attraktive Anreize. Des Weiteren konnten durch die Ergebnisse Handlungsoptionen abgeleitet werden, um strukturelle und kulturelle Rahmenbedingungen zu gestalten, die talentierten und motivierten Frauen einen einfacheren Zugang zu mehr Führungsverantwortung verschaffen.
Many entrepreneurs are still conducting business today according to the principle "the purpose of business is business". The focus here is primarily placed on the corporation’s profits while human relations within the enterprise are almost completely ignored. Humanity and business are, after all, seen as two mutually exclusive concepts. However, results of studies undertaken by well-known research institutes, such as Gallup, indicate this management style to be inefficient for businesses in the long run as the resulting low emotional bond of employees with their companies generates high costs for organizations.
For this reason, the present paper examines the extent to which humanity and business are really two mutually exclusive ideas and provides an answer to the research question of whether taking a human approach in a business is a crucial factor for its success. In addition, the possible effects resulting through the integration of humanity in business are analyzed.
To provide an answer to the research question, the currently most recent working challenges in organizations as well as their corresponding demands were first worked out. Subsequently, the human being - with a specific focus on human emotions and emotional needs – was closer examined due to its significance in the company. Finally, the possible effects achieved by taking a human approach in a business were presented on the basis of two already human-oriented corporations. All researches were predominantly based on primary sources as well as on the results of a self-conducted qualitative interview.
The results of all investigations clearly suggest that taking a human approach in an organization is a decisive factor for its success. In addition, it was established that human interactions even help enterprises in achieving astonishingly quick and long-lasting financial successes.
It is therefore plain that it is necessary for companies pursuing the goal to be successful in the long-term to break free from the common principle of "the purpose of business is business" and instead be more open to new forms of management, such as "Humanity and Business".
Weite Bereiche der Softwareentwicklung werden
bereits heute durch diverse Werkzeuge unterstützt und teilweise automatisiert. Eine Verbesserung dieser Automatisierung soll dazu führen, dass die Entwicklung schneller und kosteneffizienter wird und eine höhere Qualität aufweist. Durch stetig steigende Forschungsarbeit im Bereich der künstlichen Intelligenz kann auch die werkzeugunterstützte Softwareentwicklung (engl. computer-aided software engineering, CASE) profitieren, indem bereits gängige Automatisierungsschritte durch den Einsatz neuer Methoden stark verbessert werden. Auch können sich durch diese Forschung neue Möglichkeiten ergeben, weitere Aufgaben während der Entwicklung zu automatisieren. Diese Verbesserungen und neuen Möglichkeiten sollen in dieser Ausarbeitung erklärt und gegebenenfalls genauer untersucht werden. In Tests, die im Rahmen dieser Ausarbeitung durchgeführt wurden, hat sich das Potential einiger Werkzeuge gezeigt, jedoch auch, dass sich die meisten Werkzeuge auf die KI-gestützte Verbesserung bereits verbreiteterWerkzeuge beschränken und damit nur wenig zu einer Automatisierung des kompletten Prozesses beitragen. Außerdem hat sich mit dem sog. Data Poisoning neues Gefahrenpotential herausgestellt.
The paper shows the influence of low-pressure plasma on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to achieve improved layer adhesion between PET and ALD multilayers. The literature describes a relationship between functional groups that are incorporated into the polymer surface and better layer adhesion. In this work, the relative number of functional groups after treatment on the surface of PET was measured by the surface energy.
The PET film Hostaphan® RNK was exposed to oxygen and argon plasma with varying treatment times. Subsequently, the surface energy was determined via the contact angle measurement.
The investigations have shown that with increasing treatment time in the oxygen plasma, an increasing surface energy is associated, which is due to the increased incorporation of functional groups, such as hydroxy groups. Furthermore, the results have confirmed the thesis that if the plasma treatment is too long, oxidation takes place on the polymer surface and thus the surface energy decreases. Another aspect that has emerged in the results of the study is the subordinate role of the power of the plasma.
Since the study has not proven the connection between a good layer adhesion, of ALD multilayers on PET, and a high surface energy, this work should serve as an indication for the investigation of this thesis.
ALD can be used in medical technology to produce thin and stable protective coatings. For example, such coatings can be used as tarnish and oxidation protection for silver electrodes used in high-frequency surgery. For the investigation of the pretreatment method, platelets of sterling silver were used instead of silver electrodes. Three methods were used to pretreat the silver substrates. The first pretreatment method is cleaning with acetone and isopropanol. In the other two, the samples are additionally cleaned with a phosphoric acid etching mixture or citric acid. The pretreated substrates were coated using the atomic layer deposition method. 45 nm of aluminum oxide was deposited on the silver samples, followed by another 45 nm of titanium oxide. Subsequently, the samples were autoclaved in order to check the clinical routine and the reusability. The results show a significantly improved adhesion in contrast to samples that were not cleaned. The layer no longer flakes off the silver substrate. Nevertheless, small blisters appear on the protective layer after autoclaving. These indicate that the layer is weakened by the stress.
Investigation on adhesion strength of Parylene-C coatings with different adhesion promotion methods
(2021)
Delamination of encapsulation materials (here the polymer Parylene-C) is one of the biggest failure mechanisms for active medical implants. This problem is addressed by the application of different pre-treatment and adhesion promotion methods. The methods applied in this research are oxygen and Silane A-174 solution pre-treatment and Silane A-174, titanium oxide and Trimethylsilane as adhesion promoters. The adhesion forces of these methods are quantified after different soaking times in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution to mimic environment of the human body.
Patient engagement is the most important element in the process of research/development of medicinal products and healthcare management in today’s times. In a country like India which has a huge population and limited state of regulatory affairs it becomes important to walk the extra mile to protect the patient lives and truly serve them. Time and again it is seen that there is no or limited focus on patient centric processes and we still tend to focus on sponsors as the key stakeholder.
The author in this thesis aims to focus on the clinical trial landscape of India and determine if there is a need to improve the clinical trial processes. If yes, then what type of change is the audience looking for.
The author tries to introduce the human element in the process and remind us all that it is the ‘patients’ who are the centre for the drug development process and serving them and alleviating their pain in the true purpose of the process.
The author along with the helping us find a definition of patient centricity in India, also proposes a model that can be used by the Indian pharmaceutical companies to focus on patient centricity at different stages of the drug development cycle within their organisations.d
Diese Arbeit behandelt mehrere Konzepte zur Leistungsbewertung von eingebetteten und Echtzeitsystemen. Das Ermitteln von oberen Zeitschranken, insbesondere der schlechtesten Ausführungszeit, lässt sich durch Verwendung von Zeitanalysen realisieren, wobei zwischen statischen und messbasierten Zeitanalysemethoden unterschieden wird. Für die Gesamtbewertung des Systems ist Benchmarking eine geeignete Methode, um wichtige Zeitparameter zu messen und diese ggf. in den Vergleich mit anderen Systemen zu setzen. Der Einsatz von Simulationen zur eistungsbewertung erweist sich als besonders sinnvoll, wenn die Kosten eines Fehlers unakzeptabel hoch sind oder die Validierung mit der Realkomponente unpraktikabel ist und somit Qualitätsmaßnahmen durch fr¨uhzeitige Validierung
benötigt werden.
Wikipedia is the largest free encyclopedia and one of the most popular websites worldwide. Analyzing user activity within this encyclopedic ecosystem represents unique opportunities for academic research and analysis. For this reason, this work is fundamentally concerned with obtaining and processing real-time article edit streams from Wikipedia. In this regard, we leverage the Wikimedia EventStreams API and propose a general-purpose event pipeline allowing for further processing of observed page edits. In the suggested pipeline, events are ingested and transported via an Apache Kafka cluster and inserted into a ClickHouse database for storage and analysis. Finally, we confirm the viability of our design by exploring several exemplary analytical use cases.
Die additive Fertigung von Bauteilen aus Kunststoff bietet einige Vorteile gegenüber der klassischen Fertigung durch Spritzguss. Da das Herstellungsverfahren jedoch einen großen Einfluss auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften eines Bauteiles hat, wird in dieser Untersuchung das anisotrope Verhalten von Polyamid, das durch FDM verarbeitet wird, analysiert und dem Spritzguss gegenübergestellt. Des Weiteren wird auf der Grundlage der Ermittlung von Materialkennwerten im Zugversuch ein FEM-Modell aufgebaut. Dadurch wird eine Möglichkeit zur Vorhersage der Verformungen von anisotropen, additiv gefertigten Bauteilen geschaffen.
In dieser wissenschaftlichen Publikation werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten alternativer Energieträger vor allem im Automobilbereich vorgestellt und miteinander bezüglich Schadstoffausstoß, Speicherung, Gesamtwirkungsgrad und Infrastruktur verglichen. Aufgrund des hohen Potenzials von Methan als alternativem Energieträger wird genauer auf die Modifizierung des Verbrennungsmotors bei Verwendung von Methan als Kraftstoff eingegangen. Da für die Gewinnung der meisten hier vorgestellten Energieträger elektrische Energie benötigt wird, spielt die Energiequelle eine große Rolle für die Zukunft des automotiven Antriebs.
Die bisherige Forschung zu nachhaltigen und sozial verantwortlichen Investitionen konnte finanzielle, nichtfinanzielle und soziale Einflussfaktoren für die Investitionsentscheidung nachweisen. Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Identifikation der wichtigsten Motiven und Barrieren, die junge Menschen in Deutschland beim Investieren wahrnehmen. Dafür wurde eine Umfrage mit 354 Teilnehmern, die zwischen 18 und 25 Jahre alt waren, durchgeführt. Es wurden Daten zu neun Motiven und elf Barrieren erhoben. Entgegen der Annahme, dass nichtfinanzielle Motive überwiegen, zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass junge Menschen vor allem an einen Trend von nachhaltigen und sozial verantwortlichen Geldanlagen glauben und davon profitieren möchten. Junge Menschen sind demnach vom Wachstum des Marktes überzeugt. Als wichtigste Barriere wurde Informationsdefizite der Anleger angenommen. Die Erkenntnisse aus der Studie zeigen jedoch, dass für junge Menschen die Intransparenz der Anlagen die relevanteste Barriere darstellt. Unternehmen, Anbieter und regulierende Marktteilnehmer sollten, um das Wachstum des Marktes zu fördern, Maßnahmen einleiten, die diese Barriere abbaut.
Die vorliegende Bachelor-Thesis beschäftigt sich mit der Täuschung auf maschinellem Lernen basierender Schadsoftwareerkennung unter realitätsnahen Bedingungen.
Neben der detaillierten Betrachtung des Forschungsgegenstandes werden hierfür, die vom aktuellen Forschungsstand hervorgebrachten Angriffe, hinsichtlich des Effektivitätskriteriums der Über- tragbarkeit auf zum Angriffszeitpunkt unbekannte Modelle, evaluiert und ein speziell für diese Bedingungen konzipierter, iterativer Ensemble-Ansatz zur Generierung von übertragbaren Adversarial Examples vorgestellt.
Die aus den Untersuchungen stammenden Ergebnissen zeigen, dass die Leistung herkömmlicher Verfahren, unter wirklichkeitsnahen Bedingungen oder im Einsatz gegen kommerzielle Produkte, stark abnimmt. Weitere Erkenntnisse der Forschung umfassen den Ausschluss eines linearen Zusammenhanges zwischen verfügbarem Wissen und Evasionserfolg, die Steigerung der Übertragbarkeit durch Zunahme der Ensemblegröße sowie die Einsatzfähigkeit der entwickelten Methodik gegen kommerzielle Antivirus Produkte.
Die Inhalte der vorliegenden Thesis verfolgen dabei einen rein edukatorischen Ansatz, der durch das Aufdecken von sicherheitsrelevanten Schwachstellen als Handlungsimpuls für Betreiber kommerzieller Antivirus-Lösungen dienen und nicht zum Begehen von Straftaten animieren soll.
Die Anforderungen an eingebettete Systeme steigen. Immer mehr Anwendungen mit steigender Komplexität sollen darauf ausgeführt werden, ohne dass der Energiebedarf zu stark zunimmt. Nur durch bessere Hardware lässt sich diese Herausforderung allerdings nicht bewältigen. In dieser Arbeit werden verschiedene Ansätze zur Optimierung eingebetteter Systeme betrachtet. Es werden Optimierungen der Software und der Einsatz rekonfigurierbarer Systeme vorgestellt. Außerdem werden Techniken zur Optimierung des Speichersystems erläutert. Dieses hat einen besonders hohen Anteil am Energieverbrauch eines eingebetteten Systems
Die derzeitige Kühlkreisregelung einer bestehenden Drehmaschinenbaureihe, welche ein kontinuierliches Erwärmen der Werkzeugspindel während der Bearbeitung nicht verhindern kann, wurde im Rahmen dieser Projektarbeit optimiert. Hierbei verkürzt die neue Kühlkreisregelung der Werkzeugspindel sowohl die Warmlaufphase und gewährleistet gleichzeitig eine gleichbleibende Temperatur der Komponenten bei der Bearbeitung der Werkstücke. Dies sorgt für eine konstante Spitzenhöhe der Spindel sowie des Reitstockes über mehrere Betriebsstunden hinweg. Auch die Kühlung des Hydrauliköls wurde optimiert, sodass dieses deutlich schneller als bisher auf Betriebstemperatur erwärmt und anschließend konstant gehalten werden kann.
Optogenetics and optogenetic systems cover a wide range of applications in the research of neurological pathways. In this overview, relevant aspects regarding the development of optogenetic systems should be shown. These are the optogenetic systems – opsins and optical switches – as well as optoprobes, materials, application areas and limitations of these applications. Additionally, a short outlook should be given. No detailed analysis for specific optogenetic systems or their partial aspects were carried out.
The purpose of the study is to identify the profile of a start-up founder. In particular, it investigates whether there are some determined personality characteristics which are common among start-up founders. The present paper is questioning which neuropsychological traits and brain areas are responsible for entrepreneurial behavior. Therefore, the main focus was on the correlation between brain areas and individual attitudes or behaviors. After explaining the related basics about the human brain, it is important to locate some key tasks or activities in specific brain regions. Neuroimaging tools such as fMRI and EEG are particularly helpful to explain the reason for specific behaviors because they determine the presence of connection between cognitive processes and brain areas. In the present paper, EEG will be taken into consideration since this method can provide some practical insight into differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. The most important characteristics of entrepreneurs are defined in order to show theoretically whether there is a fundamental difference between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs on a neuropsychological level. Even though there are elements which are emphasized in the personality of start-up founders, further research is required to prove that these aspects determine indisputably entrepreneurial behavior.
Parylene-C is used for various biomedical devices because of its high conformity and biocompatibility. However, delamination could occur because of low adhesion between Parylene-C and other materials. For this experiment 4-inch Si-wafers are used. Parylene is deposited by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Silane A-174 as adhesion promoter is added between Parylene-Parylene layers. The samples are soaked at different duration 1 h, 24 h and 120 h in PBS solution at 37 °C. A peel test is further performed to investigate the adhesion properties of the samples.
In the present work, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) was pretreated with oxygen plasma to investigate the influence on the contact angle and surface energy. For this purpose, PEEK samples were fabricated over several manufacturing steps, which were used as substrates for later investigations. A series of measurements was performed at a power of 300 W for different treatment durations and the contact angle of H2O on the PEEK surface was determined. The results show that plasma pretreatment significantly affects the surface modification of PEEK disks. The best hydrophilic properties of the PEEK surfaces were measured at a treatment time of 540 s and a power of 300 W. A much longer treatment time caused the correlated values of contact angle and surface energy to increase and in this case an excessive treatment time did not contribute to a further increase in hydrophilicity.
Plötzliches Unvermögen ist strategisches Thema und Meilenstein auf der Euro-NCAP Roadmap für das Jahr 2025. Diese Arbeit widmet sich der Frage nach der Umsetzbarkeit und rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen kamerabasierter Innenraumüberwachung im Hinblick auf die Erkennung plötzlichen Unvermögens durch Myokardinfarkt. Nach einleitender Definition des Terminus „Plötzliches Unvermögen/Sudden Sickness“ erfolgt eine Übersicht der NCAP Anforderungen sowie ein Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungs- und Entwicklungsstand. Im Folgenden wird auf Anforderungen aus Verbraucher- und Datenschutzsicht eingegangen. Schwerpunkt dieses Papers bildet die Erstellung, Umsetzung und Bewertung von Use Cases zur Erkennung einer Sudden Sickness durch Myokardinfarkt. Abschließend werden offene Forschungsfragen erläutert. Ein experimentelles Beispielsystem wurde exemplarisch umgesetzt und evaluiert. Die wesentlichen Erkenntnisse dieses Prototypen waren, dass besonderer Fokus/Aufmerksamkeit gelegt werden muss auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der Zielhardware, insbesondere im Hinblick auf Echtzeitanforderungen.
Recommender Systems
(2021)
Empfehlungssysteme sind aus dem modernen Web nicht wegzudenken. Für Unternehmen können mit relevanten Empfehlungen enorme Summen an Geschäftswert generiert werden. Für Benutzer wird dabei ein personalisiertes Erlebnis auf der Plattform geboten. In dieser Arbeit werden zunächst die Herausforderungen an Empfehlungssysteme sowie die unterschiedlichen Arten von Algorithmen umrissen. In einem Proof-of-Concept (PoC)werden zwei verfügbare Lösungen – Amazon Personalize und
LibRec – untersucht und bewertet. Grundlage des PoC ist ein offline Wikipedia-Modell, welches eine ausgewählte Untermenge von Artikeln aus unterschiedlichen Kategorien in einem zusammenhängenden Graphen abbildet. Zur Generierung von Daten für das Empfehlungssystem wird der Graph von simulierten Benutzern zufällig durchlaufen. Jeder Nutzer bekommt dabei pro Sitzung eine Lieblingskategorie. Artikel aus dieser Kategorie werden sehr gut bewertet, im Graph weit entfernte Artikel bekommen in dieser Sitzung schlechtere Bewertungen. Das Empfehlungssystem soll die Zugehörigkeit der Artikel zu den Kategorien reproduzieren, ohne explizite Kenntnis der Kategorien zu haben. Als Bewertungskriterium werden für jeden Artikel die besten fünf Empfehlungen des jeweiligen Empfehlungssystems betrachtet. Als Metrik dient dabei der Prozentsatz, wie viele der Empfehlungen zur selben Kategorie gehören, wie der Artikel, für den die Empfehlungen gegeben werden. Amazon Personalize erreicht mit diesem Test eine Präzision von über 95%, LibRec erreicht dabei bis zu 73%.
This research examines whether a company's popularity is a determining factor for its attractiveness among employees. For this purpose, two groups of subjects were asked to rate the attractiveness of an identical job advertisement. The only difference between the groups was that one group was led to believe that it was the job advertisement of a well-known company, whereas the other group was presented with the advertisement of a rather unknown, but in terms of activity and prestige comparable company. The results suggest that the familiarity of the company does indeed influence popularity to a significant degree. Implications of this finding are also further explored.
This work gives the theoretical background which is needed to understand what self-assembling monolayers are, how they work, how and for what they can be used. A closer look is taken on the possibility to create an area selective atomic layer deposition process. In a practical experiment the foundation for this process is laid. Therefor a silicon wafer is coated with gold using a evaporation process. The gold samples are exposed to the SAMs solution to grow them. Contact angle measurements as well as Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy are used to check the existence of SAMs on the gold samples. Also there is investigated if different exposure times make any differences.
Smart Glasses sind Brillen mit einem integrierten Computer, welche dem Träger visuell Informationen in das Sichtfeld einfügen und mithilfe von Eyetracking, Gesten- und Sprachsteuerung bedient werden können. Smart Glasses werden bereits heutzutage in vielen verschiedenen Branchen wie Beispielsweise in der Logistik, Bauwirtschaft und Flugzeugwartung eingesetzt, um verschiedene Problemstellungen der Arbeiter zu vereinfachen beziehungsweise diese komplett zu lösen. In der Bauwirtschaft werden diese Beispielsweise benutzt, um Leitungen hinter Wänden und unter den Böden zu visualisieren, um diese beim Bohren nicht zu treffen. Aufgrund der variablen Einsatzmöglichkeiten gewinnen diese auch im medizinischen Kontext immer mehr an Bedeutung. Dieses Paper zeigt auf, wie aktuelle und zukünftige Smart Glasses Technologien in Zukunft im Chirurgischen Kontext eingesetzt werden können, um den Operationsprozess optimieren zu können.
This paper aims to evaluate the European Green Bond market's current state by analyzing the issuer countries, types, and sectors. Moreover, the impact of regulatory developments in the last two years on the market is analyzed. As a basis for discussion, both literature review and qualitative research in the form of a semi-structured interview were conducted. The interviews were held with four market experts to gain insight into the actual market's reaction to the EU Green Bond Standard and the upcoming EU Taxonomy. In detail, the following questions are answered: What is the current state of the European Green Bond Market? How many bonds are currently issued in Europe and in which countries? Which entities are the most active issuers, and to which sectors do they belong? What are the current developments with regards to regulations? How might upcoming regulations affect the market actors? The European green bond market made up 45% of the global market in 2019, dominated by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, and Italy. The market is still in its growth phase, with the amount issued nearly doubling each year. With the introduction of an EU Green Bond Standard, detailed standardization and framework is established. It will help issuers to overcome market barriers such as the risk of greenwashing and helps in identifying eligible projects. However, with the alignment of the EU GBS, an entity has to align with the extensive EU Taxonomy as well, which represents entry barriers to else willing corporations. Whether an activity counts as green or not based on thresholds is defined by the classification of economic activities. The thresholds are heavily discussed in the market as either too high and excluding whole sectors from the market or too low and not ambitious enough. The alignment with the EU GBS and thus with the EU Taxonomy is connected to various efforts. Nonetheless, it offers a great chance for the market by emphasizing the need for climate action. Through this, a strong green market can emerge and hopefully impacts the world positively.
Change from face-to-face to online mode of lectures due to the Covid-19 pandemic affected greatly the day-to-day life of students of Hochschule Furtwangen University. Therefore, this research paper aims to find out how student productivity has been affected by switching from face-to-face lectures to online or hybrid lectures. In this context, student productivity is defined through input and output, where input is students' time invested in lectures, research, group work, learning, and participation in class, and where output comes from the knowledge that the student has acquired as a result, measured by the grades of the examination or study performance. Hypothesis that the switch from face-to-face lectures to hybrid or fully online lectures has led to an increase in student productivity was formed for this research paper and for that reason, empirical research was conducted. Interviews with several students were performed to identify dimensions affecting student productivity as the basis for the student survey. Dimensions identified are Learning Facilities, Technology Use, Interaction Process, Student Participation and Study Time. The survey was conducted with a random sample of 149 students and analysed using SPSS software. Interviews with HFU professors were carried out to present experts’ opinions on this topic. Lastly, the grade statistics of HFU programmes were analysed to identify output of productivity. Results of the student survey suggest that a total of four dimensions were identified as relevant components of the input and output of the productivity of the students at HFU in connection with the change of the lecture mode, while the dimension Learning Facilities did not show a correlation to the student productivity. Grade statistics improved in winter semester 2020/2021 compared to the winter semester 2019/2020. Expert interviews suggested that the improvement in grades could be attributed to more time spent studying or lower standards of grading. Main hypothesis cannot be completely accepted or rejected, therefore, future research on whether students’ productivity increased in the switch from face-to-face to online mode is necessary.
Pro-environmental attitude is, on many occasions, a weak indicator for pro-environmental behavior. Personal interests interfere with the human desire to follow normative goals during the decision-making process, which may result in the unpleasant state of attitudinal ambivalence. The more balanced two contrary attitudes are, the higher is the chance for external persuasion as it may decrease the internal ambivalent conflict. However, moral informational interventions seem not to cause the desired behavioral change but may instead increase the sense of resignation and guilt. This paper aims to set focus on the attitude-behavior relationship in the concrete example of plastic-packed food and how post-decisional evaluations vary when either individual (hedonic or gain goal) or collective motives (normative goal) are being followed. Measured indications for actual disengagement or attitude adaption are relatively weak but felt ambivalence in the case of immoral decisions could be demonstrated in the form of response times. Practical conclusions that may facilitate pro-environmental behavior are being presented at the end of the work.
In 2013 China's President Xi Jinping announced a new project. In his vision, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) creates and opens trade routes between China and western countries, mostly the Middle East, Central Asia, Afrika, and Europe, via maritime and land routes. These trade corridors should establish and improve trade relationships often by high investments in the infrastructure.
The motivation behind the initiative is manifold. On the one hand, China wants to become more independent from the Western industrialized countries by building a new economic system. On the other hand, it wants to consolidate and expand its geopolitical influence.
China's state-owned banks have been the largest investors in the Belt and Road Initiative so far, but China has also been able to attract major EU countries such as Germany, France, the UK, and others to jointly establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and invest in BRI projects through it.
Although German companies are hoping to participate in the Belt and Road because they expect significant economic benefits, the German government is refraining from concluding an agreement with China for the time being. The EU is somewhat skeptical about the initiative, but no sanctions or interventions have been taken from its side so far. Yet, the EU is split, and countries such as Greece or Italy have already signed an agreement with China and thus received financial support for their infrastructure.
This bachelor thesis explains the Belt and Road Initiative in detail, tries to highlight the motives behind it and illustrates the impact the Belt and Road Initiative has on Germany and the EU and which implications this has for the German economy.
Many companies are struggling with the decision of whether they should invest resources in the new app TikTok to communicate and develop their employer brand. Therefore, this thesis addresses, the question: Should German companies invest in TikTok as an employer branding tool? As this topic is not well researched yet, this work is based on individual opinions of HR professionals and opinions on the internet. There is no scientific verification of the accuracy of the statements made in this paper.
To answer this question, interviews with 14 German HR experts have been conducted. Afterwards, the interviews have been summarized and evaluated. The results show that the answer to the research question depends on several factors.
TikTok is considered as a suitable tool if the company’s DNA correspond to that of the application and if enough personal resources are available. Also, if the target group and their needs match the young audience and if the company has already gained experiences on social media. Furthermore, the uploaded content should be authentic and involve motivated representatives of the target group (age 16 to 24). The company must give those employees full support, trust and freedom. Nevertheless, they should also invest in their training and let them know what is desired. The content on TikTok should be informative, short, in the language of the audience and the company should act as an adviser. Employer branding content should be published infrequently and only once a community has been built. The app should be understood as an awareness channel and it should not be expected to bring many applicants immediately. Firms should weigh the positive and negative sides and use the above factors to decide whether TikTok fits their own company.
The success of TikTok can be explained, for example, due to the dopamine release when watching videos on social media and the complex algorithm behind the app, which filters only relevant videos for the individual preferences of each user. Moreover, other hormones such as adrenalin and oxytocin are released, as well. The variety of sounds available and the possibility to share the content with other social media platforms, could also lead to a high popularity of the app. The short videos are favorable for the short attention span of social media users and not often being interrupted by any comments or advertisements makes watching TikTok videos fun.
The longevity industry has been expanding for several years now, with the goal to prolong not only the lifespan of people but also their healthspan. One of the most remarkable techniques in the field is the CRISPR Cas-9 gene-editing tool, which owing to its flexibility and efficiency, allows humans to develop new treatments to prevent or cure a great variety of diseases. This paper aims to forecast the future state of the CRISPR Cas-9 technology in Germany in 2035 by using the INKA 4 scenario manager software. A total of five areas of influence –– i.e. scientific, economic, demographic, ethical, and legal –– were identified. From those, 11 descriptors were created based on relevant scientific literature and were introduced in the INKA software to develop the scenarios. This process resulted in three clearly differentiated scenarios that exhibit high probabilities of a positive outlook for the CRISPR-Cas9 technology in Germany by 2035.
Compared to relational databases, graph database systems provide a novel way of processing and analyzing highly interconnected data. Due to their unique properties, graph databases embody an interesting area of research in academic circles. For this reason, this work is fundamentally concerned with examining the state of the industry and current challenges. In this regard, we revisit the basic concepts and highlight the tremendous heterogeneity of available systems using the example of differing path semantics. Based on this insight, we explore algorithmic advancements for graph query processing regarding path finding and worst-case optimal joins. Subsequently, we discuss issues regarding performance and support for graph analytics. Finally, we provide an overview of GQL, a joint standardization effort towards unification of property graph databases.