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Outcomes with a natural order commonly occur in prediction problems and often the available input data are a mixture of complex data like images and tabular predictors. Deep Learning (DL) models are state-of-the-art for image classification tasks but frequently treat ordinal outcomes as unordered and lack interpretability. In contrast, classical ordinal regression models consider the outcome’s order and yield interpretable predictor effects but are limited to tabular data. We present ordinal neural network transformation models (ontrams), which unite DL with classical ordinal regression approaches. ontrams are a special case of transformation models and trade off flexibility and interpretability by additively decomposing the transformation function into terms for image and tabular data using jointly trained neural networks. The performance of the most flexible ontram is by definition equivalent to a standard multi-class DL model trained with cross-entropy while being faster in training when facing ordinal outcomes. Lastly, we discuss how to interpret model components for both tabular and image data on two publicly available datasets.
Deep 3D
(2017)
The code-based McEliece cryptosystem is a promising candidate for post-quantum cryptography. The sender encodes a message, using a public scrambled generator matrix, and adds a random error vector. In this work, we consider q-ary codes and restrict the Lee weight of the added error symbols. This leads to an increased error correction capability and a larger work factor for information-set decoding attacks. In particular, we consider codes over an extension field and use the one-Lee error channel, which restricts the error values to Lee weight one. For this channel model, generalized concatenated codes can achieve high error correction capabilities. We discuss the decoding of those codes and the possible gain for decoding beyond the guaranteed error correction capability.
This paper proposes a pipelined decoder architecture for generalised concatenated (GC) codes. These codes are constructed from inner binary Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) and outer Reed-Solomon codes. The decoding of the component codes is based on hard decision syndrome decoding algorithms. The concatenated code consists of several small BCH codes. This enables a hardware architecture where the decoding of the component codes is pipelined. A hardware implementation of a GC decoder is presented and the cell area, cycle counts as well as the timing constraints are investigated. The results are compared to a decoder for long BCH codes with similar error correction performance. In comparison, the pipelined GC decoder achieves a higher throughput and has lower area consumption.
Location-aware mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular and GPS sensors are built into nearly every portable unit with computational capabilities. At the same time, the emergence of location-aware virtual services and ideas calls for new efficient spatial real-time queries. Communication latency in mobile environments interacting with high decentralization and the need of scalability in high-density systems with immense client counts leads to major challenges. In this paper we describe a decentralized architecture for continuous range queries in settings in which both, the requested and the requesting clients, are mobile. While prior works commonly use a request-response approach we provide a stream-based adaptive grid solution dealing with arbitrary high client counts and improving communication latency that meets given hard real-time constraints.
Flash-Speicher wurden ursprünglich als Speichermedium für Digitalkameras entwickelt, finden inzwischen aber in vielen Bereichen Anwendung.
Die in Konstanz ansässige Firma Hyperstone GmbH ist ein führender Anbieter von Flashcontrollern für Anwendungen mit erhöhten Anforderungen an Zuverlässigkeit und Datenintegrität. Bereits seit April 2011 kooperiert die Firma Hyperstone mit der HTWG Konstanz bei der Entwicklung von Fehlerkorrekturverfahren für einen zuverlässigen Einsatz von Flash-Speichern. Aufgrund der rasanten Entwicklung bei Flashspeicherbausteinen ist auch eine stetige Weiterentwicklung der Korrekturverfahren notwendig. Im Rahmen dieser Kooperation wurde inzwischen zwei Flashcontroller mit sehr leistungsfähiger Fehlerkorrektur entwickelt. Der folgende Artikel gibt Einblick in den Einsatz von Flash-Speichern und erläutert die Notwendigkeit für eine leistungsfähige Fehlerkorrektur.
Unintrusive health monitoring systems is important when continuous monitoring of the patient vital signals is required. In this paper, signals obtained from accelerometers placed under a bed are processed with ballistocardiography algorithms and compared with synchronized electrocardiographic signals.
Der hybride Baublock behauptet sich in Deutschland nach wie vor als erfolgreichster und beliebig kopierbarer Stadtbaustein der städtebaulichen Wettbewerbe, so der Autor in einer Analyse wichtiger Entscheidungen der letzten drei Jahre. Allerdings steht das Wohnhochhaus vor einem erstaunlichen Comeback.
Das WITg wird digitaler
(2019)
Die Massai greifen seit einiger Zeit international agierende Modehäuser an. Unstatthafte kulturelle Aneignung, so lautet der Vorwurf. Die Volksgruppe will die Unternehmen nun mit ihren eigenen Waffen schlagen. Sie plant, ihre kulturellen Zeichen zu kommodifizieren. Wer das vorhat, ist mit dem Eintritt ins internationale Marktgeschehen zwangsläufig denselben Regeln unterworfen wie alle anderen Marktteilnehmer auch. Das heißt: Ohne solide Ausschließlichkeitsrechte werden die Massai von möglichen Verhandlungspartnern als potentielle Lizenzgeber erwartungsgemäß nicht ernst genommen werden. Auch läuft die afrikanische Volkgsruppe Gefahr, dass die kulturell-historische Bedeutung ihrer Zeichen im Wege eines kommerziellen Einsatzes überschrieben oder im schlimmsten Fall sogar umgedeutet wird.
Das Haus als Palimpsest
(2017)
Das Abenteuer der Kritik
(2015)
Das Abenteuer der Kritik
(2016)
The ageing infrastructure in ports requires regular inspection. This inspection is currently carried out manually by divers who sense by hand the entire underwater infrastructure. This process is cost-intensive as it involves a lot of time and human resources. To overcome these difficulties, we propose to scan the above and underwater port structure with a Multi-SensorSystem, and -by a fully automated processto classify the obtained point cloud into damaged and undamaged zones. We make use of simulated training data to test our approach since not enough training data with corresponding class labels are available yet. To that aim, we build a rasterised heightfield of a point cloud of a sheet pile wall by cutting it into verticall slices. The distance from each slice to the corresponding line generates the heightfield. This latter is propagated through a convolutional neural network which detects anomalies. We use the VGG19 Deep Neural Network model pretrained on natural images. This neural network has 19 layers and it is often used for image recognition tasks. We showed that our approach can achieve a fully automated, reproducible, quality-controlled damage detection which is able to analyse the whole structure instead of the sample wise manual method with divers. The mean true positive rate is 0.98 which means that we detected 98 % of the damages in the simulated environment.
This paper presents a framework to assess the cultural sustainability of Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia, which meets must take into account the protection of human rights, good self-governance, identity, control of land, the tourism product’s authenticity, and a market-ready tourism product. These criteria are specified by two indicators each. The cultural sustainability framework was generated by triangulating qualitative research methods like experts’ interviews, secondary research, and participant and non-participant observations. This paper is thus conceptual in nature and inductive in its approach. It partly leverages a collaborative approach, as it includes interviewees in an iterative research loop. Furthermore, the paper shows why cultural sustainability is a determinant of the success of Aboriginal tourism.
Cultural Mapping 4.0
(2021)
Die Bodenseeregion gehört zu einer der ältesten Kulturlandschaften Europas. Ihre regionale kulturelle Identität trägt zum Image sowie Identifikation seitens der Bevölkerung mit der Bodenseeregion bei. Dennoch mangelt es an einer ganzheitlichen, die gesamte Bodenseeregion umfassende Betrachtung der Frage, was die kulturelle Identität der Bodenseeregion ausmacht. Das Forschungsprojekt «CultMap4.0» hat daher zum Ziel, aus einer räumlichen Perspektive die Wechselwirkung zwischen regionaler Identität, Kultur und Mobilität zu untersuchen. Neben der Leitfrage, was kulturelle Identität in einer grenzüberschreitenden und diversen Region wie dem Bodensee zu sein und leisten vermag, werden im Rahmen von vier Themenschwerpunkten folgende Forschungsfragen untersucht: Wie nehmen einheimische Bevölkerung, Unternehmen und TouristInnen die regionale kulturelle Identität (Eigenbild) und das Image (Fremdbild) der Bodenseeregion wahr? Wie kann der Ansatz des “Cultural Mappings” durch partizipative Kartierung digital transformiert werden, und wie können kulturelle Identität und Mobilität mit digitalem Storytelling in Storymaps visualisiert werden? Welchen Beitrag kann “Cultural Mapping 4.0” als partizipatives Werkzeug zur Regionalplanung und zur Kommunikation mit Stakeholdern in der Bodenseeregion und anderenorts leisten? Die dabei entstehenden Storymaps – interaktive Webinhalte aus Texten, Karten und weiteren Medien – zur kulturellen Identität der Bodenseeregion sollen auf der Plattform “Cultural Mapping” Project Lake Constance” veröffentlicht werden, um so von den Stakeholdern als Planungs- und Entscheidungstool sowie fürs Standortmarketing genutzt werden zu können.
Cultural Mapping 4.0
(2021)
Cultural mapping aims to capture and visualize tangible and intangible cultural assets. This extend abstract proposes the consequent extension of analogue forms of cultural mapping using digital technologies, and its contribution is two-fold. First, the necessary theoretical basis is provided by a literature review of the still-young field of cultural mapping and the complementary disciplines of participatory mapping and digital story-mapping. Second, we propose a digitally enhanced Cultural Mapping 4.0 vision based on a case study from an ongoing research project in the Lake Constance region. Digital participatory mapping approaches are applied to capture data, and to validate and disseminate the results, story-mapping - a spatial form of digital storytelling - is used.
Viele Unternehmen befassen sich mit Compliance und Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) getrennt voneinander. Dies mag zum einen der Historie der beiden Themen geschuldet sein, zum anderen aber auch der organisatorischen Verortung vonseiten insbesondere großer Unternehmen, die Compliance häufig der Rechtsabteilung und CSR der Kommunikationsabteilung zuordnen. Durch die isolierte Betrachtung der Themen bleiben aber nicht nur potenzielle Synergien ungenutzt, es werden auch unnötige Konflikte und Redundanzen erzeugt, die sich durch eine integrierte Herangehensweise vermeiden ließen. Bezogen auf die Umsetzung wird ein integriertes Vorgehen durch eine Reihe von Instrumenten begünstigt, die per se sowohl CSR- als auch compliancerelevante Themen ansprechen. Dass eine, aus theoretischer Sicht notwendige und sinnvolle Verknüpfung der beiden Themen auch in der Praxis künftig an Bedeutung gewinnen wird, lässt sich bereits heute an den letzten Überarbeitungen der fünf „großen“ internationalen CSR-Standards bzw. Rahmenwerken erkennen, die allesamt Themen ansprechen, die klassischerweise sowohl dem CSR- als auch dem Compliancemanagement zugeordnet werden können.
CSR und Compliance
(2018)
Viele Unternehmen befassen sich mit den Themen CSR und Compliance – in erster Linie aufgrund ihrer historischen Entwicklung – im Rahmen paralleler organisationaler Strukturen. Da CSR und Compliance nach heutigem Verständnis jedoch sowohl in der Theorie als auch in der Praxis inhaltlich zunehmend große Schnittmengen aufweisen bzw. einander wechselseitig bedingen, kann dies zu unnötigen Redundanzen und Zielkonflikten in der Umsetzung führen.
Das vorliegende Herausgeberwerk knüpft an dieser Stelle an und zeigt auf, was CSR und Compliance gemein ist, inwiefern sie einander bedingen und folglich synergetisch gemanagt werden können oder sogar sollten. Neben Wissenschaftlern sollen dazu auch explizit Praktiker zu Wort kommen, die mit der Integration von CSR- und/oder Compliancethemen betraut sind und Hinweise zu deren praktischer Umsetzung geben können.
Mit dem vorliegenden Sammelband werden daher nicht nur Wissenschaftler, sondern ausdrücklich auch Anwender angesprochen, die Denkanstöße oder konkrete Hinweise zur ganzheitlichen Integration und Umsetzung der beiden Themen aus der Lektüre mitnehmen möchten.
CSR und Compliance
(2015)
CSR Pyramid
(2023)
Border issues continue to be of interest in tourism literature, most significantly that which focusses on cross-border shopping (e.g., currency values, taxation,
security). Borders as destinations are recognized in this area but the notion of shopping as a destination is perhaps less acknowledged. Following a review of the relevant literature, including the presentation of a table summarizing key areas of cross-border tourism research around the world, this paper presents a unique example of a border region with two-way traffic for cross-border shopping tourism: the border between Germany and Switzerland.
The particular case is where two cities meet at the border: Konstanz, Germany and Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. An intercept survey and key informant interviews were conducted in both communities in the spring of 2015. The results indicate high levels of traffic for various products and services. And while residents are generally satisfied with cross-border shopping in their communities, there are emerging issues related to volume and, in particular, too many in Konstanz and not enough in Kreuzlingen.
The paper concludes with a discussion that includes the development of a model cross-border shopping tourism that recognizes the multiple layers in space and destination.
The paper concludes with a proposal to further investigate the particular issues related to the volume on both sides of borders where cross-border shopping is the destination.
Uncertainty about the future requires companies to create discontinuous innovations. Established companies, however, struggle to do so; whereas independent startups seem to better cope with this. Consequently, established companies set up entrepreneurial initiatives to make use of startups' benefits. Consequently, this led-amongst others-to great interest in socalled corporate entrepreneurship (CE) programs and to the development and characterization of several different forms. Their processes to achieve certain objectives, yet, are still rather ineffective. Thus, considerations of the actions performed in preparation for and during CE programs could be one approach to improve this but are still absent today. Furthermore, the increasing use of several CE programs in parallel seems to bear the potential for synergies and, thus, more efficient use of resources. Aiming to provide insights to both issues, this study analyzes actions of CE programs, by looking at interviews with managers of seven corporate incubators and accelerator programs of five established German tech-companies.
Creative industry and cultural tourism destination Lake Constance - a media discourse analysis
(2020)
The following media discourse analysis examines the news media coverage of four regional online newspapers, about the topics “creative industries” and “cultural tourism” at Lake Constance region in the period from 2006 until 2016. The results show that, besides event-relater reporting, there is currently no vibrant media discourse on the topics “creative industries” and “cultural tourism”. Even though the image of the Lake Constance region is heavily influenced by tourism, “cultural tourism” also plays a secondary role when it comes to regional news reporting. Moreover, discourses do not overlap and thus no synergies within the local media discourse are formed. This result is relevant for the regional tourism development, because the cooperation between “creative industries” and “cultural tourism” creates opportunities such as the expansion of the tourism offer and an extension of the tourist season. To activate unused opportunities at the different destinations of the region, a supra-regional visibility of the sector “creative industries” should be developed and the cooperation of the sector with local stakeholders of cultural tourism should be promoted.
Die Digitalisierung und Flexibilisierung der Fertigung wird die Arbeitsbedingungen und Prozesse genauso wie Geschäftsmodelle stark verändern. In der Praxis ist gegenwärtig eine wachsende Diskrepanz zwischen Großunternehmen und KMUs erkennbar. Die Lernfabrik an der HTWG Konstanz will genau dies überbrücken.
As a result of increasing needs and shrinking resources, aquaculture is gaining progressively significance in the recent years. Ecological issues such as negative effects on the ecological system due to the high fish density in the farms, the use of copper as antifouling strategy etc. are very present, particularly regarding the increasing number of fish going to be produced in farms in the future. Current trends focus on larger farms operated offshore. To make these farms working safe and economical, reliability has to be improved and maintenance costs need to be reduced. Also, alternatives with higher mechanical strength compared to current textile net materials as well as common metal wires might be necessary. In the last years, a new net system made of high strength duplex stainless steel wires with environmentally friendly antifouling properties suitable for offshore applications was developed. The first nets are operating for one year now as predator protection (i.e. seals) for fish farms and show a good performance in cleaning capability and predator protection. But in the real usage, some corrosion effects in the contact points of the net made of duplex stainless steel 1.4362 occur which were not observed in preliminary tests in laboratory and at different test sites around the world. These corrosion effects endanger the sustainable success of the net system. In this work, the observed corrosion effects are investigated. A laboratory test, which simulates the movement in the contact points of the net, was developed. Two pieces of wire are bent in the middle and get stucked into each other. One wire is fixed at both ends and the second wire is fixed on one end. On the other end, a circular movement with 1-2 rps and a 1 cm displacement is applied. The movement generates friction between the wires and the passive layer will be locally damaged. When the movement stops, a repassivation starts. The passivity breakdown and the repassivation were measured with electrochemical techniques. During the friction phase, when the surface will be activated, the open circuit potential breaks down. When the friction stops, the OCP increases. Between the movement phases, measurements of critical pitting potential were done. Thereby the quality of repassivation was investigated. The tests were done in a 3% sodium chloride solution. Different temperatures were tested as well as the influence of air saturation and low oxygen content.
Corrosion
(2016)
Nowadays, there is a continuous need for many corporations to renew their business portfolio strategically in anticipation of changes in the business environment (e.g., technological change). The ongoing booming of founding international start-ups suggests that small entrepreneurial teams are an effective means to develop new businesses. Corporations should be able to benefit from this form of self-organized innovation when entering novel business domains for strategic renewal. However, corporations that establish small entrepreneurial teams (corporate ventures) are facing two obstacles. First, corporate ventures often fail for reasons that are not well explored. Second, it remains unclear how the partial successes may be improved to large successes. Although the key success factors remain ambiguous, there is little hope that corporate ventures will be successful without effective management. Since an empirical model for corporate venture management does not exists so far, the thesis formulates and answers the following problem statement: How can corporate management effectively manage corporate ventures? Building on qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, a model for effective corporate venture management is developed and tested statistically in the German IT consulting industry. The research results reveal some of the essential management principles through which corporate management can increase corporate venture success systematically.
Corporate venturing is one way for corporations to
introduce strategic renewal into their business portfolios, which is
imperative for ongoing success in innovation-driven industries.
Prior research finds that corporate ventures should be separated
from the mainstream business in loosely coupled sub-units, but
scholars continue to discuss how loose or tight the ventures should
be to balance exploration and exploitation. Hence, the antecedents
for successful venture management are yet to be fully explored and
our study contributes to this effort. The study shows that
corporate venture success is enhanced when corporate
management grants job and strategic autonomy to the venture
managers. This is further amplified when corporate management
simultaneously imposes an exploitative policy that forces venture
managers to prioritize extensions to and improvements of existing
competences and product-market offerings.
Die Vorstellung über die "Nature of the Firm" hat sich innerhalb der vergangenen Jahrzehnte stetig verändert und weiterentwickelt. Insgesamt lässt sich festhalten, dass an Wirtschaftsunternehmen zunehmende Anforderungen hinsichtlich der Übernahme gesellschaftlicher Verantwortung gestellt werden. Deutlich zeigt sich dies in der "Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung", in der die Vereinten Nationen Organisationen der Wirtschaft als zentrale Akteure zur Erreichung der Nachhaltigkeitsziele (Sustainable Development Goals) benennen. Darin spiegelt sich die Überzeugung, dass bestimmte gesellschaftliche Problemstellungen erfolgreich über neuartige marktorientierte und moralökonomische Lösungsmodelle adressiert werden können.
Das vorliegende Buch nimmt das damit verbundene Phänomen "Corporate Social Entrepreneurship" in den Blick. Es geht hierbei nicht um philanthropische Aktivitäten oder die Reduzierung negativer externer Effekte von bestehenden Wertschöpfungsketten. Vielmehr geht es um die Generierung positiver (externer) Effekte beziehungsweise gesellschaftlicher und privater Wertschöpfung durch die Entwicklung und Durchsetzung innovativer Güter, Dienstleistungen und Geschäftsmodelle zur Lösung der benannten gesellschaftlichen Probleme.
Für viele Firmen stellt Corporate Social Entrepreneurship eine Veränderung der Praxis ökonomischen Handelns und eine große organisatorische Herausforderung dar, die bedeutende strategische Vorteile verspricht. Diese liegen nicht primär im Beitrag zur finanziellen "Bottom Line", sondern in Produkt- und Geschäftsmodellinnovationen sowie in Kreation und Erschließung neuer Märkte.
Die vorliegende Arbeit folgt der Annahme, dass mit dem Aufkommen von neuartigen Prozessen ökonomischer Organisation Fragen zur Form ökonomischer Organisation - also zum Wesen, zum Zweck und zum gesellschaftlichen Verhältnis der Firma - neu gestellt werden müssen. Vor diesem Hintergrund fokussiert das Werk die Analyse und die Beschreibung von Corporate Social Entrepreneurship als Prozess ökonomischer Organisation und zieht hieraus Schlüsse für die Firma als Form ökonomischer Organisation. Dabei ist die Arbeit interdisziplinär ausgerichtet und zielt darauf ab, einen Beitrag zur Erweiterung und Konkretisierung der Governanceökonomik und Governanceethik zu leisten.
Nachhaltiger Unternehmenserfolg erfordert die Umsetzung von Ambidextrie in der Organisation: Das Nebeneinander von effizienter Optimierung im Kerngeschäft und strategischer Innovation und Transformation in neue Geschäftsfelder. „Eingebettete Unternehmerteams“ werden in diesem Kapitel als eine konkrete Form der Implementierung hierzu vorgestellt. Mit kleinen, autonomen und agilen Teams werden iterativ und unternehmerisch neue Geschäftsfelder aufgebaut. Dies verbessert die Innovationsfähigkeiten und Veränderungskompetenzen und unterstützt die notwendige digitale Transformation im Unternehmen. Für solche hybriden Formen der Organisation sind spezielle Rollen und Profile erfolgskritisch: Der angestellte Unternehmer bzw. Corporate Entrepreneur oder Intrapreneur und sein Team. Dieses Kapitel stellt diese Rollen mit den wesentlichen Aufgaben vor und diskutiert detailliert hierfür erfolgskritische Kompetenzen und Charakteristiken sowie das Zusammenspiel im Team. Anhand zahlreicher Praxisbeispiele werden erfolgreiche angestellte Unternehmer beschrieben, sodass für den Leser ein greifbares Bild dieser Rolle und dafür geeigneter Persönlichkeiten entsteht. Darüber hinaus zeigt das Kapitel auf, wie die Einführung und Umsetzung eingebetteter Unternehmerteams das unternehmerische Handeln, Corporate Entrepreneurship in der Organisation und mit alternativen Karrierepfaden auch die Attraktivität als Arbeitsgeber stärkt.
Unternehmen stehen heute vor der Herausforderung, dass eine klare Trennung von verpflichtenden Anforderungen und freiwilliger Verantwortungsübernahme nur noch schwer möglich ist. Haftungsvermeidung, Reputationsschutz sowie der Aufbau und die Sicherung von Vertrauenskapital in Kooperationsbeziehungen gehen Hand in Hand. Der Beitrag beleuchtet Corporate Compliance und Integrity Management als Gestaltungsansätze eines gezielten und integrierten Managements der Unternehmensverantwortung. Compliance ist dabei das Rückgrat, Integrity ihr Herz.
Bernstein polynomials on a simplex V are considered. The expansion of a given polynomial p into these polynomials provides bounds for range of p over V. Bounds for the range of a rational function over V can easily be obtained from the Bernstein expansions of the numerator and denominator polynomials of this function. In this paper it is shown that these bounds converge monotonically and linearly to the range of the rational function if the degree of the Bernstein expansion is elevated. If V is subdivided then the convergence is quadratic with respect to the maximum of the diameters of the subsimplices.
A method is investigated by which tight bounds on the range of a multivariate rational function over a box can be computed. The approach relies on the expansion of the numerator and denominator polynomials in Bernstein polynomials. Convergence of the bounds to the range with respect to degree elevation of the Bernstein expansion, to the width of the box and to subdivision are proven and the inclusion isotonicity of the related enclosure function is shown.
Electricity generation from renewable energies often fluctuates due to weather and other natural effects. The instrument of control energy (balancing energy) can compensate for these fluctuations and thus guarantee the system and supply security of the electricity grid. Luxury hotels on tourist islands could react to fluctuations in electricity generation and provide balancing energy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the electricity consumption of luxury hotels to assess their potential as a source for providing control energy.
Infrastructure-making in interwar India was a dynamic, multilayered process involving roads and vehicles in urban and rural sites. One of their strongest playgrounds was Bombay Presidency and the Central Provinces in central and western India. Focusing on this region in the interwar period, this paper analyzes the varied relationship between peasant households and town-centred modernizing agents in the making of road transport infrastructures. The central argument of this paper is about the persistence of bullock carts over motor cars in the region. This persistence was grounded in the specific regional environment, the effects of the 1930s economic depression, and the priorities of social classes. Pinpointing these connections, the paper highlights that “modernization” of infrastructure was not a simple, linear process of progressivist change, nor did it mean the survival of apparently “old” technologies in the modern era. Instead, the paper pays attention to conflicting social complexities, implications, and meanings of the connection between infrastructure and modernity that modernization assumptions often overlook. Here, the paper shows how technological change occurred as a result of real, material class interests pulling infrastructural technology in different directions. This was where and why arguments of road-motor lobbyists and cart advocates eventually clashed, and Gandhian social workers resisted motor transport in defense of peasant interests.
Long-term sleep monitoring can be done primarily in the home environment. Good patient acceptance requires low user and installation barriers. The selection of parameters in this approach is significantly limited compared to a PSG session. The aim is a qualified selection of parameters, which on the one hand allow a sufficiently good classification of sleep phases and on the other hand can be detected by non-invasive methods.
The encoding of antenna patterns with generalized spatial modulation as well as other index modulation techniques require w-out-of-n encoding where all binary vectors of length n have the same weight w. This constant-weight property cannot be obtained by conventional linear coding schemes. In this work, we propose a new class of constant-weight codes that result from the concatenation of convolutional codes with constant-weight block codes. These constant-weight convolutional codes are nonlinear binary trellis codes that can be decoded with the Viterbi algorithm. Some constructed constant-weight convolutional codes are optimum free distance codes. Simulation results demonstrate that the decoding performance with Viterbi decoding is close to the performance of the best-known linear codes. Similarly, simulation results for spatial modulation with a simple on-off keying show a significant coding gain with the proposed coded index modulation scheme.
Business units are increasingly able to fuel the transformation that digitalization demands of organizations. Thereby, they can implement Shadow IT (SIT) without involving a central IT department to create flexible and innovative solutions. Self-reinforcing effects lead to an intertwinement of SIT with the organization. As a result, high complexities, redundancies, and sometimes even lock-ins occur. IT Integration suggests itself to meet these challenges. However, it can also eliminate the benefits that SIT presents. To help organizations in this area of conflict, we are conducting a literature review including a systematic search and an analysis from a systemic viewpoint using path dependency and switching costs. Our resulting conceptual framework for SIT integration drawbacks classifies the drawbacks into three dimensions. The first dimension consists of switching costs that account for the financial, procedural, and emotional drawbacks and the drawbacks from a loss of SIT benefits. The second dimension includes organizational, technical, and level-spanning criteria. The third dimension classifies the drawbacks into the global level, the local level, and the interaction between them. We contribute to the scientific discussion by introducing a systemic viewpoint to the research on shadow IT. Practitioners can use the presented criteria to collect evidence to reach an IT integration decision.
Domain-Specific modelling is increasingly adopted in the software development industry. While textual domain specific languages (DSLs) already have a wide impact, graphical DSLs still need to live up to their full potential. In this paper we describe an approach that reduces the time to create a graphical DSL to hours instead of months. The paper describes a generative approach to the creation of graphical editors for the Eclipse platform. A set of carefully designed textual DSLs together with an EMF meta-model are the input for the generator. The output is an Eclipse plugin for a graphical editor for the intended graphical language. The entire project is made available as open source under the name Spray and is being developed by an active community. This paper focuses on the description of the workflow and provides an introduction into the possibilities through this approach of a graphical modelling environment.
Healthy sleep is one of the prerequisites for a good human body and brain condition, including general well-being. Unfortunately, there are several sleep disorders that can negatively affect this. One of the most common is sleep apnoea, in which breathing is impaired. Studies have shown that this disorder often remains undiagnosed. To avoid this, developing a system that can be widely used in a home environment to detect apnoea and monitor the changes once therapy has been initiated is essential. The conceptualisation of such a system is the main aim of this research. After a thorough analysis of the available literature and state of the art in this area of knowledge, a concept of the system was created, which includes the following main components: data acquisition (including two parts), storage of the data, apnoea detection algorithm, user and device management, data visualisation. The modules are interchangeable, and interfaces have been defined for data transfer, most of which operate using the MQTT protocol. System diagrams and detailed component descriptions, including signal requirements and visualisation mockups, have also been developed. The system's design includes the necessary concepts for the implementation and can be realised in a prototype in the next phase.
Reed-Muller (RM) codes have recently regained some interest in the context of low latency communications and due to their relation to polar codes. RM codes can be constructed based on the Plotkin construction. In this work, we consider concatenated codes based on the Plotkin construction, where extended Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) codes are used as component codes. This leads to improved code parameters compared to RM codes. Moreover, this construction is more flexible concerning the attainable code rates. Additionally, new soft-input decoding algorithms are proposed that exploit the recursive structure of the concatenation and the cyclic structure of the component codes. First, we consider the decoding of the cyclic component codes and propose a low complexity hybrid ordered statistics decoding algorithm. Next, this algorithm is applied to list decoding of the Plotkin construction. The proposed list decoding approach achieves near-maximum-likelihood performance for codes with medium lengths. The performance is comparable to state-of-the-art decoders, whereas the complexity is reduced.
This work investigates data compression algorithms for applications in non-volatile flash memories. The main goal of the data compression is to minimize the amount of user data such that the redundancy of the error correction coding can be increased and the reliability of the error correction can be improved. A compression algorithm is proposed that combines a modified move-to-front algorithm with Huffman coding. The proposed data compression algorithm has low complexity, but provides a compression gain comparable to the Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithm.
Um die Antwort zu der Frage nach der Notwendigkeit von Compliance- Management für mittelständische Unternehmen gleich vorweg zu nehmen: ja, auch mittelständische Unternehmen tun gut daran, sich mit Compliance-Management auseinander zu setzen. Die Notwendigkeit für Compliance-Management verstanden als die Sicherstellung von Compliance, d. h. der Einhaltung gesetzlicher Regelungen, von Soft Law sowie interner Regeln und Verhaltensstandards, ergibt sich bereits allein aus der Verantwortung der Unternehmensleitung, das Unternehmen vor Bedrohungen zu schützen und den Fortbestand des Unternehmens sowie die Kooperationsbeziehungen mit den verschiedenen Stakeholdergruppen langfristig zu sichern. Anders formuliert: Compliance-Management ist Risikomanagement und somit von strategischer Bedeutung für eine verantwortungsvolle Unternehmensführung (good Corporate Governance) – in Großunternehmen wie in mittelständischen Unternehmen. Einzig die Frage nach dem „Wie“ von Compliance-Management in mittelständischen Unternehmen hat ihre Berechtigung.
Compliance und Compliance-Management sind als Schlagworte mittlerweile fest in das alltägliche unternehmerische Handeln und Denken integriert. Ausgehend von der unternehmerischen Legalitätspflicht und dem Bedürfnis nach Haftungsvermeidung durch bestmögliche Organisation liegt es nahe, dass Unternehmen, Unternehmer und Führungskräfte ein Bedürfnis nach rechtssicherem Agieren in einem rechtssicheren Umfeld haben. Ob und inwiefern hieraus eine Rechtspflicht zur Errichtung einer Compliance-Organisation bzw. eines Compliance-Management-Systems (CMS) abzuleiten ist, ist allerdings jedenfalls auf den ersten Blick nach wie vor unklar. Ob es sich bei der Einführung eines CMS bzw. einer Compliance-Organisation um eine nur angezeigte Notwendigkeit oder aber eine rechtliche Pflicht handelt, lässt sich anhand der bisherigen Entwicklung in Literatur und Rechtsprechung mittlerweile recht eindeutig beantworten.
Welche Kompetenzen brauchen Führungskräfte, damit der Ansatz Compliance und Integrity als Führungsaufgabe in Organisationen verfängt? Und wie lassen sich diese systematisch nutzen und trainieren? Der Beitrag stellt den ersten Baustein eines am Konstanz Institut für Corporate Governance angesiedelten Forschungsprojekts vor, das darauf abzielt, bestehende Compliance-Systeme in Unternehmen praxistauglicher zu machen und die Wirksamkeit der Maßnahmen eines Compliance-Management-Systems (CMS) zu steigern.
Compliance meets CSR
(2023)
Was früher Gegenstand freiwilliger Selbstverpflichtung war, wird seit einiger Zeit zunehmend reguliert: die Wahrnehmung der unternehmensspezifischen Verantwortung gegenüber Umwelt und Gesellschaft, neudeutsch Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR und Compliance rücken damit näher zusammen. Vieles, was früher durch CSR-Abteilungen im besten Fall systematisch gemanagt wurde, ist nun gesetzlich vorgeschrieben und fällt damit in den Aufgabenbereich von Compliance. Liegt es da nicht nahe, die beiden Bereiche miteinander zu verschmelzen respektive CSR dem Bereich unterzuordnen, der seit den spektakulären Korruptions- und Bilanzfälschungsskandalen zu Beginn dieses Jahrtausends über die größere Management-Awareness verfügt?
Der vorliegende Beitrag versucht deutlich zu machen, wie das Verhältnis sachlich-fachlich einzuordnen ist und welche Schlussfolgerungen in der Praxis daraus gezogen werden könnten.
Compliance im Personalwesen
(2019)
Der Erfolg eines Unternehmens hängt nicht nur von qualifizierten, sondern maßgeblich auch von motivierten, zuverlässigen und integren Mitarbeitern ab. Denn mögliche Compliance-Risiken beruhen in vielen Fällen auf einem Fehlverhalten der eigenen Mitarbeiter. Derartige Risiken können sehr einfach minimiert werden, indem von vornherein keine Personen eingestellt oder befördert werden, die in der Vergangenheit straffällig geworden sind oder deren Zuverlässigkeit und Integrität angezweifelt werden kann. Doch nicht immer ist die Sachlage so offensichtlich. Für Unternehmen ist es daher wichtig, Compliance auch im Personalmanagement und in den Personalprozessen zu berücksichtigen und zu integrieren.
Compliance im Mittelstand
(2016)
Die Etablierung eines Compliance-Management-Systems (CMS) stößt v. a. im Mittelstand immer wieder auf teils erheblichen (kosten- wie kulturbedingten) Widerstand. Der nachfolgende Beitrag erläutert Motive und Gründe zur Einrichtung eines CMS, welches eine systematische Sicherstellung der Einhaltung von geltenden Gesetzen sowie internen Vorgaben gewährleisten soll, um Unternehmen und deren Organe sowie Mitarbeiter vor rechtlichen Risiken zu schützen.
Compliance Governance
(2020)
Für die Funktionsfähigkeit und Wirksamkeit eines Compliance-Management-Systems (CMS) – und damit verbunden, einer guten und verantwortungsvollen Corporate Governance – ist die Compliance Governance von fundamentaler Bedeutung. Damit sind passende Compliance-Strukturen und eine positive Compliance-Kultur gemeint, die in den Mittelpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit rücken. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird dieser Themenkomplex aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven beleuchtet. Zunächst nimmt Stephan Grüninger eine Begriffsbestimmung zur „Compliance Governance“ vor (1.3.1), um darauf aufbauend die wesentlichen Erfolgsprinzipien wirksamer Compliance-Struktur und -Kultur aus betriebswirtschaftlicher und organisationstheoretischer Perspektive herauszuarbeiten (1.3.2). Der Kontrolle und Aufsicht im Rahmen einer guten „Compliance Governance“ kommt eine wichtige Funktion zu, so dass Roland Steinmeyer darauf aufbauend (1.3.3) aus rechtlicher Perspektive die Verantwortlichkeiten des Aufsichtsrats im Rahmen des Compliance- Managements (CM) beschreibt. Abschließend (1.3.4) gibt Christian Strenger Einblicke in die Praxis der Compliance-Aufsicht und benennt Anforderungen, die Aufsichtsräte bei der Ausübung ihrer Überwachungsfunktion zu erfüllen haben und Herausforderungen, denen sie dabei gegenüberstehen.
Compliance Essentials
(2017)
Compliance Essentials
(2017)
Complex Event Processing
(2017)
Eine wichtige Aufgabe für die IT der vernetzten Welt ist die maschinelle Auswertung und Verarbeitung von Informationen, die für eine Anwendung relevant sind und übers Netz verschickt werden. Mit Complex Event Processing (CEP) können große Mengen von zeitbehafteten Daten unterschiedlichster Art in nahezu Echtzeit analysiert und weiterverarbeitet werden. Die grundlegende Vorgehensweise beim CEP entspricht der menschlichen Entscheidungsfindung in Prozessabläufen des täglichen Lebens und stellt eine Erweiterung bekannter Methoden des Data Analytics wie Data Mining, statistische Analyse oder regelbasierte Wissensverarbeitung dar. Typische Anwendungsgebiete sind Big-Data-Systeme, Internet of Things, Industrie 4.0.
Industrial growth and a rapidly growing world population have large impacts on the global environment and allocation of material resources. Most changes in the environment are brought about by human activities and these activities result in a flow of materials. The flows of resources from the natural environment to the economy are a prerequisite of production while flows of residuals from the economy to the environment are the consequence of production and consumption. A full understanding of these processes requires a complete description of the physical dimension of the economy and its interaction with the environment.
Three-level inverters are used in electrical drive systems, as grid infeed inverter in PV power plants or as active power line filters. Up to now so called hard switching topologies have been used. A new 'Soft Switching Three Level Inverter (S3L Inverter)' which is now available provides reduced switching losses and higher efficiency. In this paper the S3L inverter is compared with a hard switching T-type inverter topology (H3L inverter). S3L inverters provide higher efficiency and additionally advantages in electromagnetic compatibility due to the soft switching performance, especially when using the 'Super Soft Switching Three Level Inverter (SS3L Inverter)'.
Good sleep is crucial for a healthy life of every person. Unfortunately, its quality often decreases with aging. A common approach to measuring the sleep characteristics is based on interviews with the subjects or letting them fill in a daily questionnaire and afterward evaluating the obtained data. However, this method has time and personal costs for the interviewer and evaluator of responses. Therefore, it would be important to execute the collection and evaluation of sleep characteristics automatically. To do that, it is necessary to investigate the level of agreement between measurements performed in a traditional way using questionnaires and measurements obtained using electronic monitoring devices. The study presented in this manuscript performs this investigation, comparing such sleep characteristics as "time going to bed", "total time in bed", "total sleep time" and "sleep efficiency". A total number of 106 night records of elderly persons (aged 65+) were analyzed. The results achieved so far reveal the fact that the degree of agreement between the two measurement methods varies substantially for different characteristics, from 31 minutes of mean difference for "time going to bed" to 77 minutes for "total sleep time". For this reason, a direct exchange of objective and subjective measuring methods is currently not possible.
Comparison of Data-Driven Modeling and Identification Approaches for a Self-Balancing Vehicle
(2023)
This paper gives a systematic comparison of different state–of–the–art modeling approaches and the corresponding parameter identification processes for a self–balancing vehicle. In detail, a nonlinear grey box model, its extension to consider friction effects, a parametric black box model based on regression neural networks, and a hybrid approach are presented. The parameters of the models are identified by solving a nonlinear least squares problem. The training, validation, and test datasets are collected in full–scale experiments using a self–balancing vehicle. The performance of the different models used for ego–motion prediction are compared in full–scale scenarios, as well. The investigated model architectures can be used to improve both, simulation environments and model–based controller design. This paper shows the upsides and downsides arising from using the different modeling approaches. Videos showing the self–balancing vehicle in action are available at: https://tinyurl.com/mvn8j7vf22nd
This paper presents a systematic comparison of different advanced approaches for motion prediction of vessels for docking scenarios. Therefore, a conventional nonlinear gray-box-model, its extension to a hybrid model using an additional regression neural network (RNN) and a black-box-model only based on a RNN are compared. The optimal hyperparameters are found by grid search. The training and validation data for the different models is collected in full-scale experiments using the solar research vessel Solgenia. The performances of the different prediction models are compared in full-scale scenarios. %To use the investigated approaches for controller design, a general optimal control problem containing the advanced models is described. These can improve advanced control strategies e.g., nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) or reinforcement learning (RL). This paper explores the question of what the advantages and disadvantages of the different presented prediction approaches are and how they can be used to improve the docking behavior of a vessel.
In this paper, a systematic comparison of three different advanced control strategies for automated docking of a vessel is presented. The controllers are automatically tuned offline by applying an optimization process using simulations of the whole system including trajectory planner and state and disturbance observer. Then investigations are conducted subject to performance and robustness using Monte Carlos simulation with varying model parameters and disturbances. The control strategies have also been tested in full scale experiments using the solar research vessel Solgenia. The investigated control strategies all have demonstrated very good performance in both, simulation and real world experiments. Videos are available under https://www.htwg-konstanz.de/forschung-und-transfer/institute-und-labore/isd/regelungstechnik/videos/
Comparison and Identifiability Analysis of Friction Models for the Dither Motion of a Solenoid
(2018)
In this paper, the mechanical subsystem of a proportional solenoid excited by a dither signal is considered. The objective is to find a suitable friction model that reflects the characteristic mechanical properties of the dynamic system. Several different friction models from the literature are compared. The friction models are evaluated with respect to their accuracy as well as their practical identifiability, the latter being quantified based on the Fisher information matrix.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are leading contributors to global mortality, necessitating advanced methods for vital sign monitoring. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Respiratory Rate, key indicators of cardiovascular health, are traditionally monitored via Electrocardiogram (ECG). However, ECG's obtrusiveness limits its practicality, prompting the exploration of Ballistocardiography (BCG) as a non-invasive alternative. BCG records the mechanical activity of the body with each heartbeat, offering a contactless method for HRV monitoring. Despite its benefits, BCG signals are susceptible to external interference and present a challenge in accurately detecting J-Peaks. This research uses advanced signal processing and deep learning techniques to overcome these limitations. Our approach integrates accelerometers for long-term BCG data collection during sleep, applying Discrete Wavelet Transforms (DWT) and Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) for feature extraction. The Bi-LSTM model, leveraging these features, enhances heartbeat detection, offering improved reliability over traditional methods. The study's findings indicate that the combined use of DWT, EEMD, and Bi-LSTM for J-Peak detection in BCG signals is effective, with potential applications in unobtrusive long-term cardiovascular monitoring. Our results suggest that this methodology could contribute to HRV monitoring, particularly in home settings, enhancing patient comfort and compliance.
Spatial modulation is a low-complexity multipleinput/ multipleoutput transmission technique. The recently proposed spatial permutation modulation (SPM) extends the concept of spatial modulation. It is a coding approach, where the symbols are dispersed in space and time. In the original proposal of SPM, short repetition codes and permutation codes were used to construct a space-time code. In this paper, we propose a similar coding scheme that combines permutation codes with codes over Gaussian integers. Short codes over Gaussian integers have good distance properties. Furthermore, the code alphabet can directly be applied as signal constellation, hence no mapping is required. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed coding approach outperforms SPM with repetition codes.
Large-scale quantum computers threaten today's public-key cryptosystems. The code-based McEliece and Niederreiter cryptosystems are among the most promising candidates for post-quantum cryptography. Recently, a new class of q-ary product codes over Gaussian integers together with an efficient decoding algorithm were proposed for the McEliece cryptosystems. It was shown that these codes achieve a higher work factor for information-set decoding attacks than maximum distance separable (MDS) codes with comparable length and dimension. In this work, we adapt this q-ary product code construction to codes over Eisenstein integers. We propose a new syndrome decoding method which is applicable for Niederreiter cryptosystems. The code parameters and work factors for information-set decoding are comparable to codes over Gaussian integers. Hence, the new construction is not favorable for the McEliece system. Nevertheless, it is beneficial for the Niederreiter system, where it achieves larger message lengths. While the Niederreiter and McEliece systems have the same level of security, the Niederreiter system can be advantageous for some applications, e.g., it enables digital signatures. The proposed coding scheme is interesting for lightweight Niederreiter cryptosystems and embedded security due to the short code lengths and low decoding complexity.
Three-dimensional ship localization with only one camera is a challenging task due to the loss of depth information caused by perspective projection. In this paper, we propose a method to measure distances based on the assumption that ships lie on a flat surface. This assumption allows to recover depth from a single image using the principle of inverse perspective. For the 3D ship detection task, we use a hybrid approach that combines image detection with a convolutional neural network, camera geometry and inverse perspective. Furthermore, a novel calculation of object height is introduced. Experiments show that the monocular distance computation works well in comparison to a Velodyne lidar. Due to its robustness, this could be an easy-to-use baseline method for detection tasks in navigation systems.
Cloud Computing
(2016)
Climate protection in Seychelles through tourism: the advantages of a small-sized destination
(2020)
CO2 abatement costs are often low in developing countries. This is why most carbon offset projects are being implemented there. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the holiday resort and the project country are in any way related to each other. Linking compensation projects with the destination country could increase the willingness of air travellers to finance voluntary CO2 compensation measures.
This paper describes how a possible combination of CO2 compensation projects in the Seychelles could affect the voluntary carbon offset behaviour of Seychelles tourists. On the one hand, the issue of whether the voluntary willingness of Seychelles travellers to compensate can be increased is examined; on the other hand, whether tourists would be willing to visit a co-financed project in the Seychelles.
As a result, the willingness of tourists to offset air-travel carbon emissions can be increased. Important factors for this are e.g. that all persons have adequate information and that the carbon offset providers display a high degree of transparency. In addition, a broad interest in visiting the projects in the Seychelles during the holiday was expressed. An important condition for this is the spatial vicinity to the project. Due to its small size, the Seychelles are an ideal location for fulfilling this premise.
The aim of this paper is to portray the risks of climate change for low mountain range tourism and to develop sustainable business models as adaption strategy. A mixed-method-approach is applied combining secondary analysis, a quantitative survey, and qualitative in-depth-interviews in a transdisciplinary setting. Results show, that until now, climate change impacts on the snow situation in the Black Forest – at least above 1,000 m – have been mild and compensated by artificial snowmaking, and up to now have not had measurable effects on tourism demand. In general, the Black Forest appears to be an attractive destination for more reasons than just snow. The climate issue seems to be regarded as a rather incidental occurrence with little importance to current business decisions. However, the authors present adaption strategies as alternatives for snow tourism, e. g. the implementation of hiking hostels, since climate change will make winter tourism in the Black Forest impossible in the long run.
The aim of this paper is to find out in how accommodation providers in the Seychelles perceive climate change and what mitigation and adaptation measures they can provide. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative mixed-method-approach, comprised of twenty semi-structured interviews, an online-survey and participant observation was used. Results show that accommodation providers especially perceive the effects of climate change that directly affect their business and that they have already partly implemented some mitigation and adaptation measures. However, strategies and regulations are needed at the Seychelles’ government level and on a global level to actually achieve CO2 neutral travel.
Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) supports the strategic renewal of established companies. Corporate venturing represents one key concept of CE that supports companies to strengthen their innovation capabilities. For the successful implementation of corporate ventures dual structures are recommended. The question, how the interface should be designed, plays a crucial role. Although it seems to be an important factor, this aspect requires further attention. One relevant element of the interface design are the different roles of the individuals that are interacting within the interface. This study is based on nine interviews that are representing six internal corporate ventures within one large German corporate from the ICT sector. The results that were mirrored with short case studies of 25 additional companies of the data sample, contribute to a better understanding of the interface design by adding insights about roles in corporate entrepreneurship. This deeper understanding about roles allows to draw conclusions on the interface design from a structural point of view.
The citizen-centered health platform project is intended to provide a platform that can be used in EU cross-border regions, where social and economic exchange occurs across national borders. The overriding challenges are: (a) social: improving citizen-centered health and care provision; (b) technical: providing a digital platform for networking citizens, service providers, and municipal actors; (c) economic: developing long-term successful (sustainable) business models/value chains. The platform should strengthen and expand existing networks and establish new regional networks. Each network addresses particular challenges and apply them in a region-specific manner. Here, the national boundary conditions and the interregional needs play an essential role. These objectives require sufficient participation of civil society representatives. Furthermore, the platform will establish an overarching, sustainable, and knowledge-based network of health experts. The platform is to be jointly developed and implemented in the regions and follow an open-access approach. Therefore, synergies will be shared more quickly, strengthening competencies and competitiveness. In addition to practice partners, scientific and municipal institutions and SMEs are involved. The actors thus contribute to scientific performance, innovative strength, and resilience.
Chinesische Studierende in der wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzungskultur an deutschen Hochschulen
(2022)
Die zunehmende internationale Vernetzung der akademischen Welt, die sich in den
aktuellen Internationalisierungsbemühungen deutscher Hochschulen widerspiegelt, erfordert eine Auseinandersetzung mit interkulturellen Aspekten der Hochschuldidaktik. Unterschiedliche Lernstile und Rollenerwartungen an Lehrende und Studierende beeinflussen die gegenseitige Wahrnehmung und den Studienerfolg. Der Beitrag reflektiert Erfahrungen deutscher/westlicher Lehrender und chinesischer Studierender: Aus verschiedenen Perspektiven und auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen werden Diskrepanzen zwischen Erwartungen und tatsächlichen Gegebenheiten aufgezeigt und im Kontext unterschiedlicher Lerntraditionen erklärt. Dabei stehen die Anforderungen an die Lehrenden als den zentralen Akteur*innen einer erfolgreichen Wissensvermittlung im Vordergrund. Im internationalen Kontext sind ihre interkulturellen Kompetenzen ähnlich wichtig wie ihre Fachkompetenzen. Die chinesische Lerntradition erschwert chinesischen Studierenden einen direkten Anschluss an die Studienkultur im deutschen Hochschulsystem. Zu dem Hemmnis, in einer Fremdsprache zu studieren, kommt die Schwierigkeit, Debattenkultur und Wissenschaftsstreit als angemessene Auseinandersetzungsformen zu verstehen. Der direkte, offene und häufig nur aus westlicher Sicht als objektiv empfundene Umgang mit Themen kann aufgrund unterschiedlicher kultureller Prägung dazu beitragen, dass das Studium in Deutschland als anstrengend und befremdlich empfunden wird. In diesem Beitrag werden erfahrungsbasierte Überlegungen geteilt, wie chinesische Studierende an die Debattenkultur an deutschen Hochschulen herangeführt werden können. Der Beitrag endet mit Hinweisen und guidelines für deutsche Lehrende im Umgang mit chinesischen Studierenden.
Characterization of NiTi Shape Memory Damping Elements designed for Automotive Safety Systems
(2014)
Actuator elements made of NiTi shape memory material are more and more known in industry because of their unique properties. Due to the martensitic phase change, they can revert to their original shape by heating when subjected to an appropriate treatment. This thermal shape memory effect (SME) can show a significant shape change combined with a considerable force. Therefore such elements can be used to solve many technical tasks in the field of actuating elements and mechatronics and will play an increasing role in the next years, especially within the automotive technology, energy management, power, and mechanical engineering as well as medical technology. Beside this thermal SME, these materials also show a mechanical SME, characterized by a superelastic plateau with reversible elongations in the range of 8%. This behavior is based on the building of stress-induced martensite of loaded austenite material at constant temperature and facilitates a lot of applications especially in the medical field. Both SMEs are attended by energy dissipation during the martensitic phase change. This paper describes the first results obtained on different actuator and superelastic NiTi wires concerning their use as damping elements in automotive safety systems. In a first step, the damping behavior of small NiTi wires up to 0.5 mm diameter was examined at testing speeds varying between 0.1 and 50 mm/s upon an adapted tensile testing machine. In order to realize higher testing speeds, a drop impact testing machine was designed, which allows testing speeds up to 4000 mm/s. After introducing this new type of testing machine, the first results of vertical-shock tests of superelastic and electrically activated actuator wires are presented. The characterization of these high dynamic phase change parameters represents the basis for new applications for shape memory damping elements, especially in automotive safety systems.
Flash memories are non-volatile memory devices. The rapid development of flash technologies leads to higher storage density, but also to higher error rates. This dissertation considers this reliability problem of flash memories and investigates suitable error correction codes, e.g. BCH-codes and concatenated codes. First, the flash cells, their functionality and error characteristics are explained. Next, the mathematics of the employed algebraic code are discussed. Subsequently, generalized concatenated codes (GCC) are presented. Compared to the commonly used BCH codes, concatenated codes promise higher code rates and lower implementation complexity. This complexity reduction is achieved by dividing a long code into smaller components, which require smaller Galois-Field sizes. The algebraic decoding algorithms enable analytical determination of the block error rate. Thus, it is possible to guarantee very low residual error rates for flash memories. Besides the complexity reduction, general concatenated codes can exploit soft information. This so-called soft decoding is not practicable for long BCH-codes. In this dissertation, two soft decoding methods for GCC are presented and analyzed. These methods are based on the Chase decoding and the stack algorithm. The last method explicitly uses the generalized concatenated code structure, where the component codes are nested subcodes. This property supports the complexity reduction. Moreover, the two-dimensional structure of GCC enables the correction of error patterns with statistical dependencies. One chapter of the thesis demonstrates how the concatenated codes can be used to correct two-dimensional cluster errors. Therefore, a two-dimensional interleaver is designed with the help of Gaussian integers. This design achieves the correction of cluster errors with the best possible radius. Large parts of this works are dedicated to the question, how the decoding algorithms can be implemented in hardware. These hardware architectures, their throughput and logic size are presented for long BCH-codes and generalized concatenated codes. The results show that generalized concatenated codes are suitable for error correction in flash memories, especially for three-dimensional NAND memory systems used in industrial applications, where low residual errors must be guaranteed.
NAND flash memory is widely used for data storage due to low power consumption, high throughput, short random access latency, and high density. The storage density of the NAND flash memory devices increases from one generation to the next, albeit at the expense of storage reliability.
Our objective in this dissertation is to improve the reliability of the NAND flash memory with a low hard implementation cost. We investigate the error characteristic, i.e. the various noises of the NAND flash memory. Based on the error behavior at different life-aging stages, we develop offset calibration techniques that minimize the bit error rate (BER).
Furthermore, we introduce data compression to reduce the write amplification effect and support the error correction codes (ECC) unit. In the first scenario, the numerical results show that the data compression can reduce the wear-out by minimizing the amount of data that is written to the flash. In the ECC scenario, the compression gain is used to improve the ECC capability. Based on the first scenario, the write amplification effect can be halved for the considered target flash and data model. By combining the ECC and data compression, the NAND flash memory lifetime improves three fold compared with uncompressed data for the same data model.
In order to improve the data reliability of the NAND flash memory, we investigate different ECC schemes based on concatenated codes like product codes, half-product codes, and generalized concatenated codes (GCC). We propose a construction for high-rate GCC for hard-input decoding. ECC based on soft-input decoding can significantly improve the reliability of NAND flash memories. Therefore, we propose a low-complexity soft-input decoding algorithm for high-rate GCC.
Leichtbauwerkstoffe bewegen sich im Spannungsfeld neuer Werkstoffkombinationen, Herstellungs- und Fügetechnologien sowie von Lebensdauer und Nachhaltigkeit. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit sollte daher hybriden CFK-Metallverbunden gelten. Gefördert von der Internationalen Bodensee Hochschule IBH untersucht etwa das Werkstoffprüflabor der Hochschule Konstanz (HTWG) in einem internationalen Forschungsprojekt die Festigkeit von Sandwich-Verbunden aus Aluminium und CFK.