The 10 most recently published documents
A sensor fusion concept integrating the optical and microfabricated eddy-current sensor for the non-destructive testing of the grinding burn is reported. For evaluation, reference grinding burn with varying degrees are fabricated on 42CrMo4 tool steel cylinder. The complementary sensing nature of the proposed sensors for the non-destructive testing of the grinding burn is successfully achieved, wherein both the superficial and an in-depth quantitative profile information of the grinding zone is recorded. The electrical output (voltage) of the optical sensor, which is sensitive to the optical surface quality, dropped only by 20 % for moderate degree of grinding burn and by ca. 50 % for stronger degree of grinding burn (i.e. by exclusively considering the superficial surface morphology of the grinding burn). Moreover, a direct correlation among the average surface roughness of the grinding burn, the degree of grinding burn and the optical sensor’s output voltage was observed. The superficial and in-depth information of the grinding burn was recorded using a microfabricated eddy-current sensor (planar microcoil with circular spiral geometry with 20 turns) by measuring the impedance change as function of the driving frequency. The depth of penetration of induced eddy-current in the used 42CrMo4 workpiece (with a sensor to workpiece distance of 700 µm) varied from 223 µm to 7 µm on increasing the frequency of the driving current from 1kHz to 10 MHz, respectively. A very interesting nature of the grinding burn was observed with two distinct zones within the grinding zone, namely, the superficial zone (starting from the workpiece surface to 15 µm in grinding zone) and a submerged zone (>15 µm within the grinding zone). The impedance of the microcoils changed by ca. 8 % and 4 % for the superficial and submerged zone for regions with stronger degree of grinding burn at a frequency of 10 MHz and 2.5MHz, respectively. Furthermore, a correlation between the microhardness of the grinding burn and the impedance change is also observed.
Funding is the key to success for a start-up. Since start-ups are often operating in innovative industries, they rarely receive loans from traditional debt lenders such as banks. However, start-ups do have the option of acquiring money for company growth through equity financing. One possibility for this is venture capital. In this scope, Germany is significantly behind the United States of America due to various aspects. This problem shows the relevance of the topic and justifies the critical examination of this subject. This work aims to analyze the German venture capital market, its development over the last 20 years, its advantages on the one hand and its disadvantages on the other hand as well as its future perspectives. Beyond that, the differences between the German and the American venture capital market and its success factors are presented. To answer all research questions, a broad literature review in combi-nation with several conducted expert interviews, which are evaluated on the principle of the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring, is applied. The results of the analysis indicate that there are mainly three fields that are crucial for a successful venture capital market: Political actions, attitudes of the society, and the economic situation. Within these fields, some aspects of Germany are considered worse than in the U.S. In the United States of America politics often intervenes to create better conditions for investments via venture capital. Besides, the risk affinity of society in the U.S. is a major advantage compared to the risk-averse society in Germany. This is complemented by a pronounced start-up mentality in the U.S. and the positive attitude of society towards the failure of a new start-up. In Germany, the opposite can be found in both aspects. Nevertheless, the German venture capital market has developed positively in recent years and has some advantages, such as a wide range of government grants for start-ups and the opportunity for investors to earn high returns on the initial investment. All experts that were interviewed are very confident that venture capital in Germany will continue to develop positively. They identified the reasons for this evolution in an increasing number of start-ups and better skills among the founders, which increases a start-ups' chances of success. For this reason, the experts forecast rising yield expectations, as well as an increasing number of venture capital providers, and venture capital takers. This research also indicates that the volumes of venture capital funds will rise, and the COVID-19-pandemic will accelerate the development of venture capital in Germany. The results of the research clearly show that despite some weaknesses, the German venture capital market has been on a good path for several years, and that there is a high probability that the growth will continue in the future.
The topic of education and web-based training in particular in the technical domain has gained wide acceptance as an effective medium for enterprises to deliver learning and training for their employees and customers. Since learning through the web has several didactic challenges to face, companies must choose the adequate learning method to deliver training to their employees. In the case of Bosch Communications Systems, using web-based training for instruction in the field of professional audio engineering, software remains a subject of investigation and constant innovation. The present study aimed to determine which method of web-based training is better to apply for Expert Level learning on the use and configuration of the sound system software SONICUE. To achieve so, the instructional design of the two methods of study, video tutorial and simulation tutorial, were developed based on cognitive theories. Learning outcomes and levels of user experience of both methods were measured and compared. A sample of 31 participants of Bosch Communications Systems, divided into the two tutorial groups, took part in the present research. Results indicated no significant differences in learning outcome; however, the video tutorial received higher levels of preference among participants and was perceived in a more positive manner than the simulation tutorial in terms of practicality, design, features and navigation. The results of this evaluation reflect the importance of incorporating cognitive research based frameworks to improve the learning quality.
Die vorliegende Arbeit dient der Beurteilung einer virtuellen Substitutionsmesse hinsichtlich deren Erfolgspotenzial und den Stärken und Schwächen gegenüber physischen Messen. Dabei gibt die Literaturrecherche allgemeine Blickpunkte wieder, die Bezug nehmend auf die Reitsportbranche im praktischen Teil vertieft werden. Eine Analyse des Messewesens und der Reitsportbranche geben vorweg einen Einstieg in die Thematik. Aspekte der Flexibilität, der Wirtschaftlichkeit, des Messe-Erlebnisses und der Multisensorik sowie der Kommunikation und Technik werden zur theoretischen Betrachtung herangezogen und bilden die Grundlage für die Einschätzung der virtuellen Messe. Im Rahmen einer zusammenfassenden SWOT-Analyse können Stärken innerhalb der flexiblen Zeitgestaltung und der technischen Funktionen festgestellt werden. Zusätzlich werden Schwächen innerhalb der Kommunikation und der Erzeugung eines multisensorischen Messererlebnisses erkannt.
Das praktische Beispiel anhand der Pferdemesse „Online Horse Fair International“ unterstreicht die Stärken und Schwächen und resultiert in konkreten Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung einer virtuellen Publikumsmesse im Rahmen der Pferdebranche. Anhand einer Teilnehmer Zufriedenheitsumfrage kann ein besonderer Fokus der Informationsfunktion der Messe festgestellt werden, während das Einkaufen in den Hintergrund rückt. Folglich kann sich die virtuelle Messe durch Schaffung eines Ortes des Erfahrungs- und Wissensaustausch von der physischen Messe abheben. Allgemein gilt es daher nicht die bestmögliche Annäherung an eine reale Messe zu kreieren, sondern ein aus den Stärken abgeleitetes Alleinstellungsmerkmal hervorzubringen.
This thesis is written based on secondary research to understand the main determinants of purchase intention of Generation Y women towards Fast Fashion products and how important is sustainability among those determinants. There are many different studies dedicated to Generation X and Z, however, when it comes to Generation Y there are not many sources available. I decided to put them together in this study.
This thesis consists of secondary researches, mostly journal articles and case studies from different countries, with detailed specific information.
The gathered information is categorized into 3 small hypotheses, which include theoretical and practical approaches.
More research can be made conducting primary research in different countries using physical stores and online stores.
Recent years have shown a shift in consumer demand in favor of environmentally and consumer-friendly products. These dynamics can be observed in the market through the rapid growth of the natural cosmetics segment. To highlight the ecological products, producers increasingly use ecolabels. The objective is to facilitate vertical product differentiation and to attract the environmentally aware consumer. This research aims at analyzing whether the natural cosmetics user is aware of the implications of the different ecolabels and whether the knowledge depends on demographical factors. The overall result indicates that the consumer possesses a superficial knowledge about ecolabels, which is not correlated to the purchasing behavior or demographic factors. The profusion of ecolabels hinders consumers from taking advantage of the information provided by the ecolabels. In the future, efforts should be made to improve the knowledge of the consumer, which will boost purchasing behavior.
Over many decades, greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity have been increasing and negatively impacting the environment and promoting climate change. One sector that contributes heavily to these emissions is the food industry.
With the aim of reducing these environmental impacts, climate labeling has been introduced as one possible approach to target emissions related to consumer purchasing behavior. This thesis investigates consumer responses to the possible introduction of climate labeling of food products. Moreover, necessary criteria for such an implementation and the potential consequences in terms of increasing sustainability in the food industry are evaluated.
Findings indicate that a label can be effective and change consumer behavior if food labels meet specific label criteria such as an attractive design and little but comprehensible information. Moreover, other factors such as pricing of products can influence the success of food labels.
Regarding the overall food industry, a label could have positive effects but is dependent on changes on both consumer and producer sides following the label introduction. However, it is difficult to exactly evaluate the impact of a label on an entire industry, as green-house gas reductions caused by a label would be hard to measure specifically. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to predict the actual impact of a climate label on the food industry, but it is possible to assume a positive tendency towards more sustainability.