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Umgang mit negativen Effekten in Talentmanagement Programmen von Vorarlberger Großunternehmen
(2022)
Zusammenfassung: Eine umfassende Literaturrecherche (Comprehensive Literature Search, CLS) bezeichnet eine umfangreiche und aufwändige Recherche mit dem Ziel, möglichst alle Studien zur Beantwortung einer zugrundeliegenden Forschungsfrage im Rahmen einer systematischen Übersichtsarbeit zu identifizieren. Konkrete Empfehlungen oder eine Definition des Begriffs CLS gibt es jedoch nicht. Der vorliegende Beitrag führt in eine Rahmung der CLS ein, stellt die damit einhergehenden Herausforderungen dar und weist auf methodische Implikationen sowie mögliche zukünftige Forschungsbereiche hin.
In recent years, ultrashort pulsed lasers have increased their applicability for industrial requirements, as reliable femtosecond and picosecond laser sources with high output power are available on the market. Compared to conventional laser sources, high quality processing of a large number of material classes with different mechanical and optical properties is possible. In the field of laser cutting, these properties enable the cutting of multilayer substrates with changing material properties. In this work, the femtosecond laser cutting of phosphor sheets is demonstrated. The substrate contains a 230 micrometer thick silicone layer filled with phosphor, which is embedded between two glass plates. Due to the softness and thermal sensitivity of the silicone layer in combination with the hard and brittle dielectric material, the separation of such a material combination is challenging for both mechanical separation processes and cutting with conventional laser sources. In our work, we show that the femtosecond laser is suitable to cut the substrate with a high cutting edge quality. In addition to the experimental results of the laser dicing process, we present a universal model that allows predicting the final cutting edge geometry of a multilayer substrate.
The e-commerce market has been growing for years and this trend seems to be continuing. Online stores for clothing are very successful. It seems that hardly any company can afford not to have a digital presence. This goes hand in hand with the fact that the range of products on offer to customers is getting bigger and bigger. But it's not just the range that's getting bigger, it's also the effort customers have to make to find the right product. For this reason, many successful online stores are already relying on AI. In doing so, companies are creating opportunities for customers that an employee could hardly manage. Implemented on the website, AI can check inventory, update it in real time, predict trends and evaluate customer or user data and make suitable recommendations. This is important for the customer because with the huge choice available, for one thing, personalization is increasingly important and being presented with a relevant selection. A central question is whether the recommendations are trustworthy and whether they can be equated with a real salesperson advising the customer. After all, trust is relevant in longterm customer relationships in that it leads to loyalty and satisfaction, which in turn increases the intention to repurchase. The recommendation tools mentioned are also of particular interest for another reason. On the one hand, they help customers to get a relevant selection of the offer and thus to get faster to the desired one. On the other hand, they are relevant for companies not only because of customer satisfaction, but also because of the chance to reduce returns. The large online stores for clothing offer their customers very generous opportunities to return the goods free of charge. In doing so, the companies have responded to customer wishes, because hardly anything is more important to them when it comes to online shopping: free returns. In this way, customers have minimized the risk of having to keep goods that do not fit or please them. This thesis examines whether recommendation tools can help customers to better assess the sizes and properties of clothing, so that they receive more suitable clothing and do not even feel the need to order several sizes of the same item of clothing. It can therefore be assumed that trust in the recommendations of the AI tools reduces uncertainty, which in turn should reduce the intention to return goods. Another assumption to be tested is that of the perceived usefulness of the recommendation tools. As a prerequisite to get an assessment of these assumptions is the usage of the tools. Therefore, a survey was initiated in the DACH region to assess the extent to which usage influences the factors mentioned. It was found by means of a regression analysis that the frequency of online purchases, mediated by perceived usefulness, explains the influence on trust.
Transparent laser-structured glasses with superhydrophilic properties for anti-fogging applications
(2019)
Ultrashort pulse laser structuring enables direct modification of glass surfaces to generate superhydrophilic properties for anti-fogging applications. This approach makes coatings dispensable and the generated surfaces remain thermally, mechanically, and chemically resistant. However, the laser-generated structures usually cause scattering, which decreases transmission and may disturb the vision through the modified glass in the dry state. The aim of this study was to find a laser-processing strategy to achieve superhydrophilic, anti-fogging properties on glass surfaces with maximum transmission and minimal visual perception of the generated structure. For this purpose, we used an ultrashort-pulsed laser to generate periodic patterns of rippled circles or rough holes with varying pitch. The water contact angle and transmission of the structured glasses were measured as a function of the structured area. It was found that a periodic pattern of holes, which covers less than 1% of the surface, is already sufficient to reach the superhydrophilic state (contact angle < 5°) and provides nearly the same transmission as pristine glass. Pictures of objects imaged through dry, structured glasses, which were placed close to the lens or object, showed in both cases only a minimal decrease of contrast. If this minor drawback can be accepted, this direct laser structuring approach could be an interesting alternative to coating-based techniques and leaves even room to apply additional coatings for the fabrication of multi-functional special glasses.
Data is the new oil,” said British Mathematician and Tesco marketing mastermind Clive Humbly1. Data has also been described as the backbone of digital retail enterprises2 and the currency of the digital age. Whether these statements live up to be true is debatable, but what is certain is the fact that the internet age has contributed to the avalanche of data witnessed today. In a century dominated by predictive analysis and artificial intelligence, it is no surprise that by the end of the last decade, data companies Apple, Amazon and Microsoft closed as the world´s first trillion-dollar companies, with their revenues dwarfing economies of several countries across the globe.3The recognition of the importance of data in today´s economy bears with it the responsibility to protecting its owners. While this intricate balance has long been the subject of legal analysis the General Data Protection Regulation, 2018, is hailed as the world´s most comprehensive and strict data protection regime currently in force. In addition to protecting the personal data of persons from its member countries, the Regulation also seeks to ensure the same protection accompanies any data transferred out of the European Union to other countries. It is almost 5 years since the Regulation was passed and process of implementation into business operations an important topic of discussion. Of importance to this study are the Modernized Standard Contractual Clauses, a tool of data transfer to countries outside the EU, which replace the three sets of SCCs adopted by the now repealed Data Protection Directive 94/46. These Standard Contractual Clauses came into effect on 27th September 2021, and companies have until 27th September 2022 to rely on the old set of clauses. With this deadline coming up, how far have the clauses been integrated into operations by businesses in Austria and the EU?
In this work, we present a significant step toward in vivo ophthalmic optical coherence tomography and angiography on a photonic integrated chip. The diffraction gratings used in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography can be replaced by photonic integrated circuits comprising an arrayed waveguide grating. Two arrayed waveguide grating designs with 256 channels were tested, which enabled the first chip-based optical coherence tomography and angiography in vivo three-dimensional human retinal measurements. Design 1 supports a bandwidth of 22 nm, with which a sensitivity of up to 91 dB (830 µW) and an axial resolution of 10.7 µm was measured. Design 2 supports a bandwidth of 48 nm, with which a sensitivity of 90 dB (480 µW) and an axial resolution of 6.5 µm was measured. The silicon nitride-based integrated optical waveguides were fabricated with a fully CMOS-compatible process, which allows their monolithic co-integration on top of an optoelectronic silicon chip. As a benchmark for chip-based optical coherence tomography, tomograms generated by a commercially available clinical spectral-domain optical coherence tomography system were compared to those acquired with on-chip gratings. The similarities in the tomograms demonstrate the significant clinical potential for further integration of optical coherence tomography on a chip system.
A trend from centralized to decentralized production is emerging in the manufacturing domain leading to new and innovative approaches for long-established production methods. A technology supporting this trend is Cloud Manufacturing, which adapts technologies and concepts known from cloud computing to the manufacturing domain. A core aspect of Cloud Manufacturing is representing knowledge about manufacturing, e.g., machine capabilities, in a suitable form. This knowledge representation should be flexible and adaptable so that it fits across various manufacturing domains, but, at the same time, should also be specific and exhaustive. We identify three core capabilities that such a platform has to support, i.e., the product, the process and the production.We propose representing this knowledge in semantically specified knowledge graphs, essentially creating three through features interconnected ontologies each representing a facet of manufacturing. Finally, we present an exemplary implementation of a Cloud Manufacturing platform using this representation and its advantages.
Da konventionelle Kältemittel im Vergleich zu CO2 ein großes Treibhauspotential (GWP) aufweisen, gewinnen neue, alternative Kältemittel, sogenannte low-GWP Kältemittel, stärker an Bedeutung. Zu diesen low-GWP Kältemitteln gehören u.a. die Fluide der HFO und HCFO Kältemittel. Durch ihre thermophysikalischen Eigenschaften eignen sie sich insbesondere für die Anwendung in industriellen Hochtemperaturwärmepumpen (HTWP), die im Temperaturbereich von 100 °C bis 160 °C ein großes Potenzial in der Nahrungsmittel-, Papier- und Chemieindustrie zur Prozesswärmebereitstellung aufweisen. In dieser Masterarbeit werden die Kältemittel R1336mzz(Z), R1233zd(E), R1224yd(Z), R1234ze(Z) und R514A auf ihre Anwendbarkeit in drei verschiedenen Kältekreiskonfigurationen untersucht. Dabei soll herausgefunden werden, welches Kältemittel sich unter Berücksichtigung des COPs, der volumetrischen Heizleistung, der Verdichtungsverhältnisse und Verdichtungsendtemperaturen am besten eignet. Der Kreislauf mit internem Wärmeübertrager (IHX) findet bereits Anwendung in HTWP und dient zum grundlegenden Vergleich der Kältemittel. Die beiden neuen Kreisläufe eignen sich u.a. für große Spreizungen an der Senke. Eine in dieser Arbeit betrachteten Kältekreiskonfiguration besteht aus zwei parallel angeordneten IHX Kreisläufen (2KP) und die andere aus einer zweistufigen Kreislaufkonfiguration (2SE).
Mithilfe des Programms EES wird für die Kreisläufe ein Modell erstellt, mithilfe dessen der Senkentemperaturbereich von 100 °C bis 160 °C und der Quellentemperaturbereich von 40 °C bis 80 °C untersucht werden kann. Die Auswertung der Simulationen kam zu dem Ergebnis, dass R514A bis zu einer Senkentemperatur von 130 °C und R1336mzz(Z) ab dieser Senkentemperaturen im IHX und 2SE Kreislauf die besten COP Werte aufweist. Zudem sind die Verdichtungsendtemperaturen und das Verdichtungsverhältnis günstig, die volumetrische Heizleistung hingegen am geringsten. Im 2KP Kreislauf besitzt die Kältemittelkombination R1336mzz(Z)/R514A die besten COP Werte. Der 2KP Kreislauf weist die besten COP Werte der betrachteten Kältekreiskonfigurationen auf. Im Betriebspunkt bei einer Senkentemperatur von 130 °C (ΔT Senke 60 K) und einer Quellentemperatur von 60 °C (ΔT Quelle 10 K) liegt der COP des IHX bei 3,95, der des 2SE bei 4,05 und der des 2KP bei 4,26. R1233zd(E) überzeugt im IHX und 2SE Kreislauf mit einer deutlich höheren VHC im Vergleich zu R1336mzz(Z), bei etwas geringeren COP Werten. Die Untersuchung zeigt auch, dass die Auswahl einer Kältekreiskonfiguration und eines Kältemittels stark von den Betriebstemperaturen abhängt.
In an oversaturated market, companies are required to use innovative and, above all, creative advertising methods to capture their customers’ attention, and thus differentiate themselves from rival businesses. To this end, companies have been increasingly relying on the use of humor, a phenomenon that remains highly subjective and is perceived differently by each individual. This master’s thesis, which was completed as part of the International Marketing and Sales program at the FH Vorarlberg, focuses on this phenomenon of humor as well as its impact on advertising perception. With the aid of three different theories, the term “humor” is defined. Furthermore, this study explains and researches the so-called vampire effect, wherein various factors (in this case humor) draw attention away from the actual advertising message. In addition, this thesis takes a closer look at involvement, as a person’s involvement or interest in a brand or product can influence brand and product recall and recognition. An online survey was conducted to determine whether the vampire effect caused by humor is able to influence brand and product recall. In other words, this concerns whether the viewer can still remember the brand and product afterward or whether the humor employed triggers the vampire effect. Furthermore, this thesis explored whether the vampire effect caused by humor is able to influence brand and product recognition. Recall is the retrieval of information from memory without direct cues, whereas recognition refers to the recognition of information when it is presented again. Furthermore, within this context, it was discovered that brand and product recall varies with low and high involvement viewers of the advertisement. In other words, this means that the strength of the vampire effect caused by humor changes depending on the strength of the viewer’s involvement. During the course of this research, it was further observed that the humor employed significantly affects the perception of the advertising message, thus confirming the existence of the vampire effect. This effect also influences both brand as well as product recall and recognition. In both cases, participants in the survey were less able to remember the product and brand in the humorous advertising. Furthermore, it was proven that people with low involvement in the advertised product group are more heavily affected by the vampire effect. As such, they are more likely to not remember the product or brand after seeing the advertisement.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a human rights framework in the context of multi-level governance child protection policies central to social work education and practice (United Nations, 1989). In line with this statement, children’s rights-based education introduces undergraduate social work students to the principles of the CRC, namely participation, protection, harm prevention and provision, to facilitate knowledge acquisition by building core competencies for critical practice (IFSW, 2002). It equips social workers with analytical and advocacy skills that foster critical thinking and creativity in the juxtaposition between child protection, autonomy and self-determination.
This chapter provides insights for social work education to locate and analyse the underlying casualties of social problems using a problem and resource framework, the w-questions (Geiser, 2015). The framework is used to develop theory driven social work interventions as illustrated against the backdrop the anonymised case study, Amira, an accompanied child asylum seeker in Austria (Fritsche, Glawischnig, & Wolfsegg, 2019). Correspondingly, CRC is addressed along a continuum between human needs fulfilment and human right entitlements (Obrecht, 2009; IFSW, 2002; Ife, 2012). The concept of need is understood as tension in our concrete biological and psychological bio-values and states (Obrecht, 2009, p. 27). The assertion is that when children lack support or are obstructed from achieving their equal right to education due to social, cultural or economic barriers, this exacerbates social marginalisation because it deprives them of membership in the school social system. Social marginalisation thwarts the fulfilment of needs and weakens social cohesion by causing alienation and anomie (Mayrhofer, 2015). The tentative conclusion is that knowledge and practice models that link human needs and children’s rights equip social workers with the expertise to reduce children’s vulnerability whilst strengthening their protection, autonomy and self-determination.
In recent years, more and more companies have become aware that a brand also has a social dimension, and with the advent of social media platforms, brand communities have experienced a shift from a traditional offline to more of an online presence. Brands of innovative consumer durables have also recognized social media brand communities as a very significant marketing strategy. It is therefore important to understand the influence of these communities on members' purchase intentions.
This master’s thesis has the goal of demonstrating to enterprises what aspects of a social media brand community will influence the purchase intention of its members and what should be considered in order to enhance it. This will ultimately lead to the following research question: How do social media brand communities influence the diffusion process of innovative consumer durables in the DACH region?
To answer this, a quantitative study has been conducted that has targeted people who are participating in a social media brand community of innovative consumer durables in the DACH region. This involved testing various criteria of a social media brand community and their impact on the diffusion process (purchase intention).
The findings of the study revealed that increased positive electronic word-of-mouth leads to enhanced purchase intention of members. Furthermore, the research has shown that higher identification with a social media brand community, greater engagement, increased entertainment value, faster corporate responsiveness, and reduced occurrence of social spam, do not have a positive effect on the diffusion process of innovative consumer durables.
The presented master thesis of the study subject International Management and Leadership at the University of Applied Science Vorarlberg in Dornbirn handles the potential future influence of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due diligence on SMEs. First this thesis introduces the most important regulations that might come into place with this Due Diligence Act and gives a theoretical input when and how it will come into place, and also who it will affect directly and who will be affected indirectly. The empirical data resulted of several qualitative expert interviews and a following quantitative research. The expert interviews are split in two different groups, first the topic experts from institutions like chamber of commerce or chamber of labour and second experts from highly successful Austrian companies which are already handling the topic and the future challenges. Expected outcome of the qualitative interviews was a better view on the actual situation especially the impact on small and medium enterprises. On the basis of this results the quantitative survey was produced. In the quantitative survey the goal was to see, how much entrepreneurs and companies in the small and medium sector already are aware of the upcoming legal challenges throughout the supply chain. With all this collected data the practical outcome of this thesis is the Checklist, which helps entrepreneurs to find out if and how much they will be affected by the Act. And finally, the most important part is the Guideline, which introduces first risk assessment tools, that will help companies to prepare for future legislation and bring undoubtedly a certain advantage for the upcoming challenges.
Influencer Marketing has been discussed by various marketing experts for years and is already a fixed component of the marketing strategy in many companies. These are mainly companies from the B2C sector. Recently, more and more companies are asking themselves about possible areas of application within the B2B structure. This phenomenon is influenced by the increase in digitalization and the ever-higher hurdles in reaching target groups using traditional marketing tools.
The topic of this master’s thesis was the result of professional and personal development. Various modules attended during the study inspired a deeper interest in the subject. Furthermore, the topic was always a point of discussion in the professional environment, resulting in the realisation that there is currently very little knowledge in B2B companies regarding Influencer Marketing.
The aim of the research was to discover how to systematically find end users for the use of Influencer Marketing in B2B companies in the tool and hardware industry. Furthermore, the success factors for a long-term cooperation between influencers and companies from this industry will be identified and presented.
Research questions were created in order to realise the above-mentioned objectives. Therefore, the primary research question and three sub-research questions were created for both the theoretical and empirical part of the work. To answer these questions, eight experts from B2B companies in the tool and hardware industry were interviewed. The evaluation was based on the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring.
From the research results, a possible selection procedure could be identified, which would enable companies to systematically select influencers for marketing purposes. Furthermore, success criteria for a long-term cooperation between influencers and companies were also identified.
The present research had compared how Uppsala and Bartlett & Ghoshal (B&G) models explain the internationalization process of the Brazilian pulp producer Fibria.
The Uppsala model describes the developments of capabilities that enable the firm to move towards higher commitments abroad. Despite its sine-qua-non dependence on foreign markets, it is unlikely that Fibria will internationalize its production to another country, given the country-specific advantages that the company has in Brazil. Nevertheless, Fibria set its structure abroad even when the direct exports would suffice to reach the markets without any foreign direct investment.
B&G deals with the aspects of the organizational structure and described the Transnational type as the evolution of the international firm. In their typology, Fibria was a Global and Ethnocentric type, but interestingly, elements of Transnational and Geocentric models were also observed in the company.
Both theories overlap or complement each other in many aspects. However, they could not explain the peculiarities of the internationalization of Fibria. One reason is the lack of country-related elements in these models.
Eventually, comparisons between theories such as those presented enable decision-makers to align the corporate strategy using suitable models, bearing in mind the limitations that each method entails.
The presented master thesis of the study subject International Marketing and Sales at the Fachhochschule Vorarlberg in Dornbirn deals with the influence of emotions on the attitude toward hydrogen cars and their purchase intention. For this purpose, an empirical analysis with a correlation analysis was conducted in order to be able to determine the correlations of the individual parameters.
At the beginning of the thesis the hydrogen technology was presented in more detail and by means of suitable criteria it was shown that the hydrogen car represents a certain potential, however, in comparison to the combustion cars and electric cars, the hydrogen car is currently in third place. The relatively long range, the fast-refueling and the sustainability were identified as advantages, while the current high price and the poorly developed refueling station network are currently the biggest ob-stacles to a hydrogen car. It can be seen that research and development of hydrogen cars is being driven forward in many countries around the world, including by the gov-ernment side through the provision of various subsidies. For this reason, the future development of the driving technology remains exciting and simultaneously uncertain.
In the second step of the work, emotions were examined in more detail. The aim was to find out which emotions exist and which of them are predominant when buying a car, and then to find out what influence emotions have on the cognitive process, the attitude, and the purchase intention. It turned out that the majority of the population is highly involved in the purchase of a car and therefore tries to make rational decisions, which makes the influence of emotions more difficult, but not impossible.
By presenting suitable marketing tools for measuring emotions, it was shown that measuring emotions is a difficult undertaking. Measurement is often difficult or expen-sive and involves a great deal of effort. For this reason, beside the presentation of marketing tools, the strategic approach for a marketing campaign was also presented.
Based on the conducted empirical analysis, the influence of emotions on attitude and purchase intention could not be significantly confirmed but it could be proven that the knowledge about hydrogen cars is currently low. One inside is that an increase in awareness increases the purchase intention of hydrogen cars. Furthermore, a signifi-cant correlation between the sustainable attitude and the purchase intention could be proven. In addition, people who like to follow new trends are more likely to buy a hy-drogen car than others. This paper concludes with a brief summary of the findings and an outlook on the potential for improvement of the hydrogen car market.
Keywords: Hydrogen Cars, Sustainability, Emotions in Marketing, Purchase Inten-tion, Attitude, Marketing Tool
With green cosmetics becoming widely used in Germany, this research would like to fill a research gap and investigate the impact of transatlantic transportation on the willingness of German customers to purchasing the product. With growing environmental awareness this information might be decisive for companies willing to expand internationally. They can take it into consideration when creating their international expansion strategy and deciding for the mode of entry.
Current research also explores the option of targeting the customers with marketing messages to share information about the low environmental impact of the transatlantic transport. It tests different marketing messages and analyses their impact on green purchase intention.
The impact of organizational citizenship behavior for the environment on corporate sustainability
(2022)
Today, many businesses increasingly engage in pro-environmental activities to face environmental challenges such as pollution or climate change. In addition to formal management practices, employees are impacting environmental advances with voluntary pro-environmental activities, also known as Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment. The purpose of this master thesis is to explore factors that could influence employees’ engagement in Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment. For this aim, five semi-structured interviews were carried out with multinational corporations from the DACHL region. The results show that certain leadership styles, corporate culture, a sustainability-driven mindset, environmental concern, communication and motivation can influence employees’ engagement in Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment. In addition, the cumulative effect of small initiatives seems to considerably impact environmental sustainability. In contrast to past research on this topic, this study takes a qualitative approach to explore different influencing factors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment. In addition, the study focuses on businesses located in the DACHL region.
Organic acidurias (OAs), urea-cycle disorders (UCDs), and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) belong to the category of intoxication-type inborn errors of metabolism (IT-IEM). Liver transplantation (LTx) is increasingly utilized in IT-IEM. However, its impact has been mainly focused on clinical outcome measures and rarely on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Aim of the study was to investigate the impact of LTx on HrQoL in IT-IEMs. This single center prospective study involved 32 patients (15 OA, 11 UCD, 6 MSUD; median age at LTx 3.0 years, range 0.8–26.0). HRQoL was assessed pre/post transplantation by PedsQL-General Module 4.0 and by MetabQoL 1.0, a specifically designed tool for IT-IEM. PedsQL highlighted significant post-LTx improvements in total and physical functioning in both patients' and parents' scores. According to age at transplantation (≤3 vs. >3 years), younger patients showed higher post-LTx scores on Physical (p = 0.03), Social (p < 0.001), and Total (p =0.007) functioning. MetabQoL confirmed significant post-LTx changes in Total and Physical functioning in both patients and parents scores (p ≤ 0.009). Differently from PedsQL, MetabQoL Mental (patients p = 0.013, parents p = 0.03) and Social scores (patients p = 0.02, parents p = 0.012) were significantly higher post-LTx. Significant improvements (p = 0.001–0.04) were also detected both in self- and proxy-reports for almost all MetabQoL subscales. This study shows the importance of assessing the impact of transplantation on HrQoL, a meaningful outcome reflecting patients' wellbeing. LTx is associated with significant improvements of HrQol in both self- and parentreports. The comparison between PedsQL-GM and MetabQoL highlighted that MetabQoL demonstrated higher sensitivity in the assessment of diseasespecific domains than the generic PedsQL tool.
This research seeks to explore the cultural impact in the development of a new product, and if operational CRM (CRM technologies) can bring these two concepts together. As an industrial designer, the researcher finds it fascinating to explore how the abilities that a designer uses can help to solve users' problems could be implemented into structural or strategic decision-making of a company. Therefore, the researcher believes that the results might bring value to the head of international teams in charge of Product Development, by bringing some ideas for what is essential to consider in these processes and how CRM could become a relevant tool to satisfy customers and users.
This research generates value to international management and leadership studies because it brings the management of new product development from an organizational point of view within an international context to the forefront. It also builds an understanding of what to consider when the value chain is decentralized and involves international collaboration in product development processes. And positive elements and/or problems that may arise concerning culture and the role of the CRM within this process.
The phenomenon of the increase of numerous widespread and common diseases, ranging from simple dental problems to obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes, is a concern which can be observed in various aspects of the entire world. Reasons for this is a combination of an unhealthy diet and insufficient physical activity. Consequently, governments across the globe are seeing the need to change consumer behaviour by introducing plain packaging regulations. From an entrepreneurial point of view, this would result in financial losses as well as various limitations in product design, branding and differentiation. Therefore, an empirical study with 232 respondents was conducted, which revealed that the use of images on packaging activates emotions in customers within a few seconds. This master thesis examines possible correlations and differences between the importance of emotionally loaded product packaging and consumer behaviour at the point of sale. The persuasive effect of images on purchase decisions is based on personal consumer experiences and validated processing in the brain which trigger specific emotions. Modern companies are able to communicate company values through emotions by using images correctly. The results of the conducted survey enable Diezano to successfully implement the communication strategy in the event of the introduction of plain packaging regulations. By using mountain graphics, Diezano conveys values such as home, regional, refreshment, tasty, memories of childhood and nostalgia, which the brand aims to convey to the market. Based on the result of this master thesis, it is concluded that the picture superiority effect is mostly underestimated, yet it is an indispensable medium for emotional differentiation and thus a company’s success.
Packaging has important functions, such as the marketing function or protecting the product from spoilage. However, the supply in the supermarket must be viewed critically, as the majority of packaging is designed for single use. The question of how producers and retailers can increase customer acceptance of sustainable packaging in supermarkets has particular relevance in terms of the environmental impact of packaging waste. Although more and more customers are interested in the topic of sustainability, a gap between their attitude and behavior is apparent. This is addressed in more detail on the basis of two product categories. Expert interviews with international producers and retailers as well as a consumer survey allow the views of these three decision-makers to be taken into account. At the end, concrete recommendations for action are presented. These show that, among other things, information and transparency are essential in order to be able to influence consumers' purchasing decisions. In addition, the responsibility of all decision-makers is seen as the key to success.
Thank god it's friday
(2022)
Das Ziel der vorliegenden Masterarbeit ist es zu untersuchen, welche Rolle Design im Kontext gesellschaftspolitischer Bewegungen spielt und in welchen Zeichen sich der Protest der Klimabewegung Fridays for Future äußert. Ebenfalls untersucht wird, inwiefern sich diese einst subversiven Elemente der Klimabewegung wiederum in den Mainstream der Werbeindustrie eingliedern.
Dazu wird die folgende Forschungsfrage gestellt: In welchen Zeichen manifestiert sich der aktuelle Klimaprotest und welche Zeichen finden sich in der Werbung wieder? Lässt sich für den Betrachtenden noch dechiffrieren wo der Protest aufhört und der Konsum beginnt?
Das Erkenntnisinteresse besteht darin, Bilder aus dem Aktionsrepertoire der Fridays for Future Bewegung über den Zeitraum 2019-2021 zu sammeln, die Ausbildung ihrer visuellen und sprachlichen Ausdrucksformen zu analysieren und zu dechiffrieren.
Zur Untersuchung des Bildmaterials werden Methoden aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen eingesetzt. Protestäußerungen, die über Plakate, Fotografien und andere Medien zum Ausdruck kommen, werden gesammelt und mit bildwissenschaftlichen und rhetorischen Methoden untersucht. Die Argumentation erfolgt anhand der Untersuchung dreier konkreter Beispiele aus der Werbung mittels der dokumentarischen Methode der Bildinterpretation nach Bohnsack. In der Analyse der Kampagnen geht es um das Wechselverhältnis zwischen der ästhetischen Selbstdarstellung der Bewegung und ihrer Rezeption bzw. Re-Inszenierung in der Werbung.
Die Ergebnisse der Analyse zeigen, wie sich Werbung durch die Aneignung der Klimasymbolik vom klassischen Kommunikationsinstrument der Wirtschaft zunehmend zu einer Kommunikation auf nicht-ökonomischer und gesamtgesellschaftlicher Ebene entwickelt.
Bezugnehmend auf die Re-Inszenierung der Protestcodes in der Werbung werden diese in der praktischen Ausarbeitung durch die Antiwerbung-Aktionsform des Culture Jammings selbst noch einmal zitiert und ironisiert. Dabei werden die Medien und Mittel der Werbung verwendet, wodurch sich ein Dreisatz aus Aneignung, Manipulation und Wiedereinspeisung ergibt.
During two studies the influence of technologies on sleep were analyzed. The first one is about the effect of light on the circadian rhythm and as a consequence on sleep quality of persons in a vegetative state. The second one, which is still running, surveys the influence of several technologies on the sleep of elderly people living in a nursing home.
We present the technological verification of a size-optimized 160-channel, 50-GHz silicon nitride-based AWG-spectrometer. The spectrometer was designed for TM-polarized light with a central wavelength of 850 nm applying our proprietary “AWG-Parameters” tool. For the simulations of AWG layout, the WDM PHASAR photonics tool from Optiwave was used. The simulated results show satisfying optical properties of the designed AWG-spectrometer. However, the high-channel count causes a large AWG size with standard design approaches. To solve this problem we designed a special taper enabling the reduction of AWG structure by about 15% while keeping the same optical properties. The AWG design was fabricated and the measured spectra not only confirm the proposed size-reduction but also the improvement of optical properties of the size-optimized AWG.
Das Teach Pendant wird dazu genutzt um Industrierobotern Zielposen beizubringen, damit diese die Zielposen daraufhin autonom anfahren können. Durch den auf dem Teach Pendant zur Eingabe verbauten Joystick oder die 3D-Maus ist es möglich mit geringem Rechenaufwand Bewegungen und somit Zielposen präzise vorzugeben.
Durch den rasanten Anstieg der Rechenkapazität und den stetigen Erfolgen bei der Erforschung von künstlichen neuronalen Netzwerken sind heutzutage Gestenerkennungssysteme in das Blickfeld der Forschung gelangt. Gestenerkennungssysteme versprechen intuitive und leicht zu erlernende Bedienungskonzepte. Durch den Einsatz von Gesten kann zudem auf ein zusätzliches Gerät in den Händen verzichtet werden, wodurch das Nutzererlebnis gesteigert werden kann. Dies kann bei schweren Eingabgeräten nicht nur die Arme sondern auch die Hände vor Ermüdungserscheinungen schonen.
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit soll es daher darstellen, ein Gestenerkennungssystem mit und ohne ROS-Anbindung zu erstellen, testen und analysieren. Die Gesteninformationen werden von einer Tiefenkamera vom Typ Azure Kinect bereitgestellt. Als Industrieroboter wird hierbei der "WidowX 200"-Lernroboter eingesetzt, da dieser aufgrund seiner kleinen Bauform einfach und effizient zum Testen von neuen Funktionalitäten eingesetzt werden kann. Die Tiefenkamera- und Roboter-Komponente sollen austauschbar bleiben. Die zu entwickelnden Gesten sollen vor allem hohe Ergonomie bereitstellen und vor unbeabsichtigter Durchführung gesichert sein. Die Genauigkeit der Gestenerkennung wird analysiert, um die Zuverlässigkeit der ausgewählten Gesten zu evaluieren. Die Genauigkeit der erreichten Zielposen des "WidowX 200"-Lernroboters wird analysiert und Latenztests werden durchgeführt um das Gestensystem als Gesamtes bewerten zu können.
For a given set of banks, how big can losses in bad economic or financial scenarios possibly get, and what are these bad scenarios? These are the two central questions of stress tests for banks and the banking system. Current stress tests select stress scenarios in a way which might leave aside many dangerous scenarios and thus create an illusion of safety; and which might consider highly implausible scenarios and thus trigger a false alarm. We show how to select scenarios systematically for a banking system in a context of multiple credit exposures. We demonstrate the application of our method in an example on the Spanish and Italian residential real estate exposures of European banks. Compared to the EBA 2016 stress test our method produces scenarios which are equally plausible as the EBA stress scenario but yield considerably worse system wide losses.
Grey Box models provide an important approach for control analysis in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sector. Grey Box models consist of physical models where parameters are estimated from data. Due to the vast amount of component models that can be found in literature, the question arises, which component models perform best on a given system or dataset? This question is investigated systematically using a test case system with real operational data. The test case system consists of a HVAC system containing an energy recovery unit (ER), a heating coil (HC) and a cooling coil (CC). For each component, several suitable model variants from the literature are adapted appropriately and implemented. Four model variants are implemented for the ER and five model variants each for the HC and CC. Further, three global optimization algorithms and four local optimization algorithms to solve the nonlinear least squares system identification are implemented, leading to a total of 700 combinations. The comparison of all variants shows that the global optimization algorithms do not provide significantly better solutions. Their runtimes are significantly higher. Analysis of the models shows a dependency of the model accuracy on the number of total parameters.
SysML Modellierung komplexer Systeme und automatische Erzeugung domänenspezifischer Ressourcen
(2021)
Moderne Technische Systeme und ihre Entwicklung werden zunehmend komplexer. Durch eine Vielzahl bei der Entwicklung beteiligter Modelle/Dokumente wird eine konsistente und rückverfolgbare Modellierung erschwert. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) ist ein Ansatz, welcher diese Problemstellung adressiert und bei der Systementwicklung formale Modelle anstelle von Dokumenten einsetzt/verwendet. Im Gegensatz zu Dokumenten sind Modelle formal definiert, können automatisiert überprüft werden und ermöglichen eine leichte maschinelle Verarbeitung der Informationen. Im Zentrum der Entwicklung steht ein Systemmodell, welches mit einer formalen Modellierungssprache erstellt wurde. Während der Entwicklung entstehende Informationen werden in das Systemmodell integriert, sodass eine konsistente Single Source of Truth entsteht. Aus dem Systemmodell können über automatisierte Modelltransformationen domänenspezifische Ressourcen, wie beispielsweise Digital Twins, generiert werden. Digital Twins und die damit verbundenen Simulationen können einen deutlichen Mehrwert in Bereichen, wie Optimierung, Wartung und Anomalieerkennung liefern. Allerdings ist die manuelle Erzeugung Aufwändig und Fehleranfällig sein, weshalb eine automatische Erzeugung aus den Informationen des Systemmodells eine Erleichterung darstellt.
Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dieser Problemstellung und der Modellierung komplexer Systeme. Es wird ein Systemmodell mit der Modellierungssprache Systems Modeling Language (SysML) erstellt, welches durch domänenspezifische Profile erweitert wird um Modellierung/Integration der Domänen zu ermöglichen. Mittels einer Modelltransformation in Acceleo werden Informationen aus dem Systemmodell in ein Simulationsmodell der Simulationssoftware twin, welche zur Simulation von Digital Twins geeignet ist, transformiert. Der in der Arbeit präsentierte Ansatz wird anhand er Modellfabrik des Forschungszentrums Digital Factory Vorarlberg veranschaulicht.
Graphite substrates underwent two methods of creating doped silicon carbide films via carbothermal reduction; the first method being liquid-phase processing, or dip-coating, and the second gas-phase processing, otherwise referred to as the solid-vapour reaction. The dip-coating procedure resulted in flaky coatings, while the solid-vapour reaction resulted in polycrystalline films with columnar growth that displayed promising morphological and electrical properties. The films were tested on their performance as semiconductor diodes, and proved that carbothermal reduction in the gas phase is a promising technique for creating polycrystalline silicon carbide films for the application of light-emitting diodes.
Synthese von Gashydraten
(2019)
Bei Clathraten handelt es sich um Einschlussverbindungen, bei denen beliebige Gastmoleküle in einem Käfig bzw. Gitter von beliebigen Wirtsmolekülen eingeschlossen sind. Bei hohem Druck und niedriger Temperatur können beispielsweise Gasmoleküle in einem Wirtsgitter aus Wassermolekülen eingelagert werden. Natürlich vorkommende Hydrate in den Tiefeneisfeldern der Schelfmeere und in Permafrostgebieten zu finden und haben hauptsächlich Methan als Gastgas. Im Forschungsbereich Energie der Fachhochschule Vorarlberg (FHV) werden die Bildungs- und Zerfallsprozesse von Gashydraten erforscht. Für die Herstellung dieser Proben ist ein Mikroreaktor vorhanden, mit dem keine zufriedenstellenden Ergebnisse erzielt werden können, da die Dauer der Bildung von ausreichenden Mengen an Hydratproben hoch ist. Obwohl die Synthese von Hydraten bereits mehrfach Gegenstand der Forschung war und es weiterhin ist, besteht nach wie vor ein großes Potential in der Beschleunigung des Wachstumsprozesses von Hydraten. Da der Beginn des Hydratwachstums durch einen stochastischen Prozess ausgelöst wird, kann die Dauer der Keimbildung bzw. bis zum Beginn des Kristallwachstums viel Zeit in Anspruch nehmen. Für weitere Forschungsarbeiten im Forschungsbereich Energie der FHV ist eine beschleunigte und technisch einfache Herstellung von Hydraten von hoher Wichtigkeit. Deshalb ist der Fokus bzw. das Thema dieser Arbeit die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Versuchsreaktors, der die Möglichkeit bietet, verschiedene bekannte sowie neue Methoden für die Synthese von Gashydrat anzuwenden und für die Herstellung von Hydratproben untereinander zu kombinieren. Der im Zuge dieser Arbeit entwickelte Versuchsreaktor ist so aufgebaut, dass mehrere aus der Literatur bekannte Synthesemethoden, sowohl einzeln wie auch in Kombination untereinander, verwendet werden können. Als zusätzliche und neuartige Synthesemethode ist eine Baugruppe des Aufbaus darauf ausgelegt, das Hydratwachstum ausschließlich aus der Gasphase zu ermöglichen. Der Versuchsaufbau verfügt über mehrere Temperaturfühler und einen Druckaufnehmer, die über ein Datenerfassungssystem eine Steuerung und eine Überwachung des Herstellungsprozesses erlauben. Es wurden neben verschiedenen Inbetriebnahmetests insgesamt drei Versuche zur Ermittlung der Tauglichkeit des Systems zur Hydratsynthese durchgeführt. In jeder dieser drei Versuchsreihen konnten neue Erkenntnisse bezüglich des Wachstumsprozesses von Hydraten gewonnen werden, die auch in der gesichteten Literatur bisher nicht dokumentiert sind. Weiters wurde die neuartige Synthesemethode aus der Gasphase erprobt. Obwohl diese grundsätzlich funktioniert, sind die erreichbaren Produktionsraten prozessbedingt niedrig. Das Ziel, Hydratproben einfach und schnell erzeugen zu können, konnte mit dem entwickelten Versuchsreaktor erreicht werden.
Sustainable distribution
(2020)
This master thesis gives an insight into the topic of sustainability in the banking industry and focuses on distribution. In the first part of the thesis, the terms and concepts of sustainability and sustainable distribution are being explained and existing methods for measuring sustainability are presented on the basis of an extensive literature research.
Subsequently, the banking industry is introduced, the distribution of financial services is explained, and the specifics of sustainable distribution in the banking industry are elaborated.
An empirical study in form of expert interviews was used to show to what extent sustainability currently plays or will play a role in the banking sector. For this purpose, experts from six banks were interviewed.
In the final part of the paper, the hypotheses formulated at the beginning of the paper as well as additional questions are examined or answered and a model for evaluating the effects of selected distribution channels on ecological and social sustainability is being presented.
Background: Mobile health interventions are intended to support complex health care needs in chronic diseases digitally, but they are mainly targeted at general health improvement and neglect disease-specific requirements. Therefore, we designed TrackPAD, a smartphone app to support supervised exercise training in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
Objective: This pilot study aimed to evaluate changes in the 6-minute walking distance (meters) as a primary outcome measure. The secondary outcome measures included changes in physical activity and assessing the patients’ peripheral arterial disease–related quality of life.
Methods: This was a pilot two-arm, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Patients with symptomatic PAD (Fontaine stage IIa/b) and access to smartphones were eligible. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to the study, with the control group stratified by the distance covered in the 6-minute walking test using the TENALEA software. Participants randomized to the intervention group received usual care and the mobile intervention (TrackPAD) for the follow-up period of 3 months, whereas participants randomized to the control group received routine care only. TrackPAD records the frequency and duration of training sessions and pain levels using manual user input. Clinical outcome data were collected at the baseline and after 3 months via validated tools (the 6-minute walk test and self-reported quality of life). The usability and quality of the app were determined using the Mobile Application Rating Scale user version.
Results: The intervention group (n=19) increased their mean 6-minute walking distance (83 meters, SD 72.2), while the control group (n=20) decreased their mean distance after 3 months of follow-up (–38.8 meters, SD 53.7; P=.01). The peripheral arterial disease–related quality of life increased significantly in terms of “symptom perception” and “limitations in physical functioning.” Users’ feedback showed increased motivation and a changed attitude toward performing supervised exercise training.
Conclusions: Besides the rating providing a valuable support tool for the user group, the mobile intervention TrackPAD was linked to a change in prognosis-relevant outcome measures combined with enhanced coping with the disease. The influence of mobile interventions on long-term prognosis must be evaluated in the future.
The term start-up has become indispensable when new ideas are to be turned into business ventures. The number of start-ups is continuously increasing, but at the same time, many new start-ups are marked by failure. The successful path from start-up to a stable business model is to be explored in more detail in this thesis. The focus here is on the various success factors and how decisive they are.
At present, start-ups are mainly focusing on the area of digitalisation, not only triggered by the Covid19 pandemic but also by the high demand for digital products and services. In the past, start-ups founded in Silicon Valley/USA have been incredibly successful. Nevertheless, currently many other countries offer decisive advantages for start-ups and are therefore more attractive than the Silicon Valley. In Europe, Spain stands out with a rapidly growing start-up scene, primarily in the metropolises of Madrid and Barcelona.
This Master's thesis aims to empirically investigate the interrelationships of the necessary success factors in the start-up scene for the country of Spain. The focus of the study here is on the digitalisation industry. Qualitative content analysis is used for closer examination and is carried out through expert interviews. Qualitative research allows a much deeper insight into the interviewees' personal experiences and examines non-measurable factors. The subsequent evaluation is intended to present correlations and provide new insights. In summary, a list of recommendations is generated to provide future founders with suitable suggestions and advice right from the start.
The fact that services have emerged a driving force and the fastest growing sector in international trade attracts researchers to follow the changes taking place in the service industry. This study extends the scientific discussion on internationalization of service firms. Unlike previous research that examined factors that influence a single firm’s decision to internationalize, I acknowledge the heterogeneity of services, and based on the results obtained from secondary analysis of primary qualitative data sets, answer the main research question how internationalization motives differ between people-processing services, possession-processing services, and information-based services. This research goes beyond identification of variation in internationalization motives and analyses the service characteristics that might be responsible for the differences. In addition, I assess the key trends in the service sector and predict the possible future internationalization motives that are likely to emerge from the current trends.
Findings of this study reveal two major issues. First, it is evident that reasons for internationalization differ among hotel, retail firms and Higher education institutions representing people-processing services, possession-processing services, and information-based services respectively. Second, a few motives are common across sub-sectors, however the significance of the motives vary from sub-sector to sub-sector. I conclude that the differences in underlying structures of the respective service sub-sectors is the fundamental cause for the variation in internationalization motives among service sub-sectors. Other factors such as distinctive characteristics of service, firm’s competitive strategies, income elasticity of demand, and life-cycle stage of the service sub-sector also contribute to the differences in internationalization motives.
This paper also presents three different factors, which are likely to emerge as significant factors that influence service firm internationalization decision in future. (1) Company’s urge to be socially responsible and the need to contribute towards the environmental well-being (2) The need to sell regional products and services to neighbouring nations and respond to consumers’ demand for sustainable consumerism (3) Decision to penetrate foreign markets facilitated by the low risks and low cost of internationalization.
Observing the ratios of the rail usage in terms of passenger travelled per km and per capita, we see that there are huge differences between countries, so some railway systems are performing better in catching passengers than others. By analysing the factors that make the railways attractive for users, and setting standard values for these factors, we can analyse how well a system is performing. This paper has investigated those factors and developed an assessment tool that will inform about the required improvements, so in a later stage specific strategies can be developed to increase the performance in order to attract more passengers. Spain will be used as case study, since the country has specially low passenger rail usage compared to other countries even though the large investments in high speed lines the country undertook in the last decades.
Post-operative isoflurane has been observed to be present in the end-tidal breath of patients who have undergone major surgery, for several weeks after the surgical procedures. A major new noncontrolled, non-randomized, and open-label approved study will recruit patients undergoing various surgeries under different inhalation anaesthetics, with two key objectives, namely to record the washout characteristics following surgery, and to investigate the influence of a patient’s health and the duration and type of surgery on elimination. In preparation for this breath study using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS), it is important to identify first the analytical product ions that need to be monitored and under what operating conditions. In this first paper of this new research programme, we present extensive PTR-TOF-MS studies of three major
anaesthetics used worldwide, desflurane (CF3CHFOCHF2), sevoflurane ((CF3)2CHOCH2F), and isoflurane (CF3CHClOCHF2) and a fourth one, which is used less extensively, enflurane (CHF2OCF2CHFCl), but is of interest because it is an isomer of isoflurane. Product ions are identified as a function of reduced electric field (E/N) over the range of approximately 80 Td to 210 Td, and the effects of operating the drift tube under ‘normal’ or ‘humid’ conditions on the intensities of the product ions are presented. To aid in the analyses, density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the proton affinities and the gas-phase basicities of the anaesthetics have been determined. Calculated energies for the ion-molecule reaction pathways leading to key product ions, identified as ideal for monitoring the inhalation anaesthetics in breath with a high sensitivity and selectivity, are also presented.
Entangled photon generation at 1550 nm in the telecom C-band is of critical importance as it enables the realization of quantum communication protocols over long distance using deployed telecommunication infrastructure. InAs epitaxial quantum dots have recently enabled on-demand generation of entangled photons in this wavelength range. However, time-dependent state evolution, caused by the fine-structure splitting, currently limits the fidelity to a specific entangled state. Here, we show fine-structure suppression for InAs quantum dots using micromachined piezoelectric actuators and demonstrate generation of highly entangled photons at 1550 nm. At the lowest fine-structure setting, we obtain a maximum fidelity of 90.0 ± 2.7% (concurrence of 87.5 ± 3.1%). The concurrence remains high also for moderate (weak) temporal filtering, with values close to 80% (50%), corresponding to 30% (80%) of collected photons, respectively. The presented fine-structure control opens the way for exploiting entangled photons from quantum dots in fiber-based quantum communication protocols.
The importance of Agent-Based Simulation (ABS) as scientific method to generate data for scientific models in general and for informed policy decisions in particular has been widely recognised. However, the important technique of code testing of implementations like unit testing has not generated much research interested so far. As a possible solution, in previous work we have explored the conceptual use of property-based testing. In this code testing method, model specifications and invariants are expressed directly in code and tested through automated and randomised test data generation. This paper expands on our previous work and explores how to use property-based testing on a technical level to encode and test specifications of ABS. As use case the simple agent-based SIR model is used, where it is shown how to test agent behaviour, transition probabilities and model invariants. The outcome are specifications expressed directly in code, which relate whole classes of random input to expected classes of output. During test execution, random test data is generated automatically, potentially covering the equivalent of thousands of unit tests, run within seconds on modern hardware. This makes property-based testing in the context of ABS strictly more powerful than unit testing, as it is a much more natural fit due to its stochastic nature.
„Sozialraumarbeit“ und „Sozialraumorientierung“ sind Schlagworte der letzten Jahre, die die Wiederentdeckung des Sozialräumlichen nicht nur in der Sozialen Arbeit markieren. Das gesteigerte Interesse reicht weit über die Disziplin und Profession der Sozialen Arbeit hin-aus und findet ihren Niederschlag auch in der Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung, in kommunalen und regionalen Strukturen sowie in den Organisationen des Sozialwesens. Die Entstehungsgeschichte der Sozialen Arbeit in Vorarlberg ist eng verknüpft mit der sozialräumlichen Bearbeitung sozialer Probleme. Weniger Aufmerksamkeit in der Auseinandersetzung der letzten Jahre wird hierbei auf die Soziale Arbeit als Profession bzw. die Sozialarbeiten-den selbst gelegt. Die Studie soll hierzu im Hinblick auf die Gestaltung von kommunaler sowie sozialräumlicher Sozialer Arbeit und der Profession Soziale Arbeit einen Beitrag leisten. Grundlage der Studie ist die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse leitfadengestützter qualitativer Interviews mit Sozialarbeitenden der sozialräumlichen Sozialen Arbeit Vorarlbergs. Anhand der zentralen sowie theoretischen Dimensionen von Sozialer Arbeit und Konzepten der sozialräumlichen Sozialen Arbeit werden Faktoren für gelingende sozialräumliche Soziale Arbeit, im Speziellen im kommunalen Rahmen, sowie die Herausforderungen in der Praxis und als Profession identifiziert.
Unternehmen müssen heute eine Vielzahl von Compliance-Anforderungen erfüllen. Bei Konsumgüterherstellern gewinnt hierbei die Erweiterte Herstellerverantwortung immer mehr an Bedeutung, deren unterschiedliche Gesetzgebungen in verschiedenen Ländern eingehalten werden müssen, um Bußgelder oder Vertriebsverbote zu verhindern. Unternehmen müssen folglich Wege finden, um die Compliance-Anforderungen möglichst ressourceneffizient und nachhaltig in Geschäftsprozessen zu implementieren.
Die vorliegende Masterarbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit der Frage, wie Unternehmen bei der sozialen und technischen Implementierung von Compliance-Anforderungen in Geschäftsprozessen vorgehen sollten, um eine möglichst hohe Akzeptanz und Umsetzungssicherheit zu gewährleisten. Basierend auf einer Literaturrecherche und der Modellierung praxisnaher Beispiele mit DMN werden schrittweise verschiedene Möglichkeiten zur Implementierung von Compliance-Anforderungen in Geschäftsprozessen, von der Anforderungsidentifikation bis zur Aufstellung von Business Rules, aufgezeigt.
Um Compliance-Anforderungen nachhaltig in Geschäftsprozessen zu implementieren, sollten die Anforderungen in den Geschäftsprozessen hinterlegt und deren Einhaltung regelmäßig durch Audits überprüft werden. Eine flexible und umsetzungssichere Möglichkeit bieten außerdem Business Rules. Auch spielen soziale Aspekte wie die Prozessorganisation, klare Zuordnungen von Rollen und Verantwortlichkeiten und Change-Management eine Rolle, da diese einen Einfluss auf die Akzeptanz durch die Prozessbeteiligten haben. Nur unter Beachtung der technischen und sozialen Aspekte können Compliance-Anforderungen in Geschäftsprozessen nachhaltig implementiert werden.
Sonnenhaus 2.0
(2021)
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich im Rahmen einer Fallstudie hauptsächlich mit der Steigerung des Anteils an PV-Batteriebeladungsenergie von Elektrofahrzeugen. Zentral ist die Frage einer möglichen Beeinflussung dieses PV-Ladeanteils durch Re-konfiguration des thermischen Systems (Speicherkapazitäten, Betriebsstrategie der WP).
Dazu wurde das Mehrfamilienhaus anhand der dynamischen Gebäude- und Anlagensimulation nachgebildet. Im ersten Schritt erfolgte die Ermittlung der für die Gebäudekonditionierung notwendigen Nutzenergie anhand eines Gebäudemodells. Anschließend erfolgte eine Bedarfsoptimierung, um die Grundlast des Wärmeerzeugers möglichst weit zu senken. Dabei wurde zum einen der thermische Komfortbereich ausgenutzt, zum anderen wurde eine Steuerungslogik für die Verschattungs- und Nachtlüftungsautomatik erstellt. Hierdurch konnte der Heizwärmebedarf um 24% und der Kühlwärmebedarf um 70% gesenkt werden. Die Performance des Systems wurde außerdem in Simulationen mittels zukünftigen Klimaszenarien überprüft, in welchen sich die Reduzierung KWB als besonders vorteilhaft herausstellte. Im zweiten Schritt wurde die fassadenintegrierte PV-Anlage nachsimuliert und hinsichtlich ihrer standortspezifischen Ertragssituation mit konventioneller Dachbelegung verglichen. Es zeigte sich, dass die Fassadenbelegung in Südausrichtung über die Wintermonate ertragreicher ist als die, in der Jahresbilanz superiore Dachaufständerung. Im dritten Schritt wurde das technische Gebäudesystem des realen Objektes in der Software Polysun nachgebildet und mittels eigens entworfener Regelungslogik betrieben. Es wurden Variantenstudien der zentralen Parameter Speicherkapazität, Speichertemperatur und Betriebsstrategie durchgeführt.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Variation von Speichergröße und maximaler Speichertemperatur keinen relevanten Einfluss auf die PV-Beladeenergie der Elektrofahrzeuge hat. Jedoch zeigte die erhöhte Betriebsweise der Wärmepumpe bei PV-Überschuss (PVready) eine Steigerung der PV-Batteriebeladung von jährlich ca. 2 % sowie in einzelnen Monaten bis zu 6%. Außerdem konnte eine Steigerung der Autarkie des Gesamtsystems von 13,6% sowie eine Halbierung des Netzbezuges beobachtet werden.
Grid-scale electrical energy storage (EES) is a key component in cost-effective transition scenarios to renewable energy sources. The requirement of scalability favors EES approaches such as pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) or compressed-air energy storage (CAES), which utilize the cheap and abundant storage materials water and air, respectively. To overcome the site restriction and low volumetric energy densities attributed to PSH and CAES, liquid-air energy storage (LAES) has been devised; however, it suffers from a rather small round-trip efficiency (RTE) and challenging storage conditions. Aiming to overcome these drawbacks, a novel system for EES is developed using solidified air (i.e., clathrate hydrate of air) as the storable phase of air. A reference plant for solidified-air energy storage (SAES) is conceptualized and modeled thermodynamically using the software CoolProp for water and air as well as empirical data and first-order approximations for the solidified air (SA). The reference plant exhibits a RTE of 52% and a volumetric storage density of 47 kWh per m3 of SA. While this energy density relates to only one half of that in LAES plants, the modeled RTE of SAES is comparable already. Since improved thermal management and the use of thermodynamic promoters can further increase the RTEs in SAES, the technical potential of SAES is in place already. Yet, for a successful implementation of the concept - in addition to economic aspects - questions regarding the stability of SA must be first clarified and challenges related to the processing of SA resolved.
Smart HR - welchen Mehrwert erhalten Industrieunternehmen der Bodenseeregion durch HR Analytics?
(2022)
Das Thema HR Analytics bringt viele interessante Aspekte mit sich. Diese Aspekte werden in dieser Masterarbeit mit Hilfe einer gründlichen Literaturrecherche und zehn Expert:inneninterviews, detailliert beschrieben: angefangen von den zu erfüllenden technischen-organisatorischen Voraussetzungen bis hin zur rechtlichen-ethischen Betrachtung. Nicht zu vergessen sind die damit verbundenen Herausforderungen bei der Einführung und Nutzung von HR Ana- lytics, die es zu bewältigen gilt. Zudem werden verschieden Begriffe und Prozesse, die in Verbindung mit HR Analytics stehen näher erklärt und Zusammenhänge gebildet. Das Ziel dieser Masterarbeit ist es, aufzuzeigen, ob sich durch HR Analytics ein Mehrwert für Industrieunternehmen der Bodenseeregion ergibt und falls ja welcher. Schließlich werden Handlungsempfehlungen definiert, um Industrieunternehmen den Einstieg und die Hinführung zu HR Analytics zu erleichtern.
Die Ökosysteme dienen uns Menschen bereits seit hunderttausenden von Jahren als Lebensraum und sorgen durch ihre Ressourcen für unser Wohlbefinden und Überleben. Doch heute stehen wir vor gravierenden Umweltproblemen, die durch den Menschen verursacht wurden und die eine große Bedrohung für unseren Planeten darstellen. Die Ursache dafür ist unter anderem die Entfremdung des Menschen von der Natur. Immer häufiger kommt es schon während der Kindheit zu einer Entfremdung von den naturnahen Ökosystemen, dabei ist Empathie für die Ökosysteme sowie systemisches Ökologiebewusstsein unumgänglich, um unseren Planeten zu retten.
Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit der Forschungsfrage: Wie kann ökologisches Wissen für Kinder so aufbereitet werden, dass ein Lerneffekt eintritt und dabei auch die Empathie für die naturnahen Ökosysteme gefördert wird?
Für die Beantwortung dieser Frage wurden theoretische Erkenntnisse, Best Practice Analysen und Personas herangezogen sowie explorative Experteninterviews durchgeführt. Anhand der Ergebnisse wurde ein Anforderungskatalog und eine Konzeption für eine Anwendung entwickelt, die Familien mit Kindern, in Form von unterschiedlichen digitalen Educational Games mit interaktiven Aufgaben, naturnahe Ökosysteme näherbringen soll. Als Anwendungsszenario wurde ein Protoyp für das Fohramoos am Bödele erstellt und evaluiert. Die Ergebnisse der Evaluation zeigten sowohl Motivation und Spielspaß, als auch einen Lerneffekt bei den Kindern. Außerdem wurde die Beziehung der Kinder zum Ökosystem positiv beeinflusst.
Die digitalen Vermittlungsformate sowie Educational Games sind im Bereich Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklungen bisher nur sehr wenig erforscht. Deshalb trägt diese Arbeit dazu bei diese Forschungslücke zu schließen.
Wärmepumpen werden als vielversprechende Lösung zur Dekarbonisierung des Gebäudesektors angesehen. Konventionelle Kältemittel, die als direkte Emissionen aus Wärmepumpensystemen austreten, stellen insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund steigender Installationszahlen ein relevantes Treibhauspotenzial dar. Natürliche Kältemittel verfügen über ein geringes Treibhauspotenzial und können daher zur Substitution konventioneller Kältemittel verwendet werden. Dennoch werden sie bislang nicht im großen Maßstab eingesetzt. Es bedarf weiterer Studien und Anreize, um den Einsatz natürlicher Kältemittel voranzubringen. In dieser Fallstudie erfolgt anhand eines Referenzprojektes ein simulativer Vergleich zweier reversibler Luft-Wasser-Wärmepumpen. Im Referenzfall wird das konventionelle Kältemittel R32 verwendet, als Alternative dient das natürliche Kältemittel R290. Die beiden Systeme werden hinsichtlich ihrer Effizienz, Klimawirksamkeit und Wirtschaftlichkeit verglichen. Die notwendigen Berechnungen basieren auf einem kalibrierten Simulationsmodell des Gebäudes und der Anlage. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen energetischen und ökologischen Vorteil für R290. Im Heizbetrieb, der den Hauptteil des thermischen Energiebedarfs im Referenzprojekt ausmacht, erreicht die Wärmepumpe mit R290 eine um 9% höhere Jahresarbeitszahl. Im Gegensatz dazu erzielt die R32-Wärmepumpe eine um 12% höhere Jahresarbeitszahl im Kühlbetrieb. Durch die höhere Effizienz im Heizbetrieb und das niedrigere Treibhauspotenzial des Kältemittels liegen die Emissionen durch den Betrieb der R290-Wärmepumpe um 17% unter denen der R32-Wärmepumpe. Der wirtschaftliche Vergleich der beiden Systeme fällt aufgrund höherer Investitionskosten zum Nachteil der R290-Wärmepumpe aus.