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Zur Förderung einer freien und offenen Wissenschaft fördert und unterstützt die Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg den ungehinderten Zugang zu wissenschaftlicher Arbeit. Um die wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse der Forschenden an der H-BRS einer breiten Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen, wird die Möglichkeit gefördert, wissenschaftliche Arbeiten Open Access zu publizieren. Dadurch lassen sich diese ohne Zugriffsbeschränkungen nutzen und sind international sichtbar.
TREE Jahresbericht 2019/2020
(2021)
Der Jahresbericht soll in seiner Breite als auch in seiner Tiefe die Stärken unserer gemeinschaftlichen Anstrengungen im Forschungsfeld der nachhaltigen Technologien aufzeigen: interdisziplinär, forschungsstark, nachwuchsfördernd und gesellschaftszugewandt.
Im vergangenen Jahr war die Pandemie auch für das Insitut TREE eine Herausforderung. Wie die Mitglieder mit der Umstellung auf eine hauptsächlich online stattfindende Kommunikation umgegangen sind und wie das Hochschulleben sich dadurch verändert hat, wurde im Jahresbericht unter "See you online" festgehalten. Auch der Wechsel im Direktorium des Instituts ist Thema des diesjährigen Jahresberichts. Unter den Hauptthemen "Wissenschaftstransfer", "TREE und Wirtschaft" und "Transfer Öffentlichkeit" können sie die wichtigsten Ereignisse für das Institut in den Jahren 2019 und 2020 nachlesen.
One of the biggest challenges faced by many tech start-ups from developed markets is to have validated market-fit products/services and to see their solutions implemented. In several sectors, stringent regulations, and the law of handicap of head start at home can be hurdles that limit the development and even the survival potential of theses start-ups. Tech start-ups seeking implementation, learning, and legitimacy may have a solution in expanding into emerging markets. Emerging markets offer both business opportunities in sectors in need of new technologies as they are “fertile grounds” for developing and testing internationalisation business models. We present here a process designed to help tech start-ups to identify, access, shape and seize these opportunities and to overcome their own specificities and emerging markets specificities. The three phases of the proposed process cover entry node concept, partnership, and business, operating and revenue joint models’ development. DesignScience Research Paradigm is used for the design and evaluation of the process. To show the relevance of this process, a case study on the expansion in Morocco of a Dutch start-up active in e-health is used. The study shows the importance of the process for the embeddedness in a local relevant value network with a relevant adopter’s system, a key enabler to achieve time and cost-effective expansion in that specific business and institutional contexts. A pilot to assess the proposed models and evidence of benefits is under development. To boost their chances of growth tech start-ups from developed markets should consider expansion into emerging markets in their strategy. It would be beneficial that policy makers adopt a strategy by which to assist tech start-ups in accessing value networks in emerging markets. It is also important for policy makers from emerging markets to consider developing schemes to attract tech start-ups from developed markets.
Research on entrepreneurial eco-systems is evolving with exhortations for empirical studies at regional and local levels to augment national surveys. The study, therefore, sought to explore the entrepreneurial eco-system of the Central Region, which is relatively well-endowed with natural resources but lags behind in economic advancement in Ghana. Through descriptive research design, quantitative data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from a convenience sample of 44 entrepreneurs under the presidential business support programme in the Central Region of Ghana, in 2019. Data were analysed, by conducting descriptive analysis such as means (M) and percentages and by exploratory factor analysis, with the IBM SPSS Version 25. Descriptive results of 37 valid responses showed that the respondents were satisfied, in varying degrees (M = 4.19-5.65), with 11 factors within the eco-system; the top three factors were demand, security and availability of raw materials. Respondents were, however, not satisfied with access to business development services, access to finance, rent charges and access to repairers of equipment and thus, pose as challenges to their entrepreneurial pursuits. Principal component analysis revealed inter-connectedness among the factors in the eco-system with strong loadings of measures of institutions and resource endowment under the two components of the solution. Based on the findings, it is concluded that the entrepreneurs surveyed were satisfied with more factors in the EES of the Central Region while they were dissatisfied with relatively few but critical factors in the EES, thereby posing as major challenges to their entrepreneurial activities. As an exploratory study, the findings suggest that the entrepreneurial eco-system of the Central Region of Ghana is, to some extent, supportive of entrepreneurial activities but has key challenges. To achieve maximum outcomes, policy interventions should collectively address, at a time, factors that interact strongly to influence entrepreneurship within the system.
Developing the Circular Economy in Uganda: Prospects for Academia-Public-Private-Partnerships
(2021)
Issues: Circular economy is a production system that optimizes the reusability of by-products/waste as raw materials. As the global population threatens to reach 9 billion by 2050, consumption levels grow proportionally, raising food, material, and energy demands. In Uganda, soil nutrient depletion and energy poverty are key challenges faced by urban and rural communities. Rampart depletion of natural resources calls for transit from the linear economic models towards sustainable production/consumption technologies. This study investigated prospects for APPP to optimize the reusability of by-products/waste as raw materials. Approach: Quantitative and qualitative tools were used to collect data via document analysis, interviews, and participant observations. The tools were administered to municipal authorities, private waste-collecting agencies in cities and municipalities; officials in Ministries of energy and Agriculture; officials in universities research units and entrepreneurs that deal in agricultural and energy products; officials from civil society organizations. Findings: there are a number of sustainability projects being undertaken by Universities and High schools, Government agencies, companies, and civil society organization isolation. Singlehandedly, individual agencies lack the requisite capacity to develop closed-loop production/consumption models. Analysis of a few successful RRR projects suggests that APPP is positioned to promote CE. Transiting towards a circular economy requires joint ventures to optimize human, technological, and financial resources and develop policy and institutional frameworks. In Uganda, recycling biotic by-products can promote environmental sustainability; reduce stress on natural resources; enable cost savings; promote green entrepreneurship, and create jobs/livelihoods. Conclusion: working jointly, CE could be enhanced via technical and business models by the academia, private capital investment by companies, community engagement by CSOs, and development of supportive policy and institutional frameworks to facilitate decision-making processes. The APPPs are positioned to use interactive platforms for creating awareness and promote sensitization about green values through education and multimedia communication platforms.
This study sought to apply the Structure Conduct Performance paradigm to Africa´s air transport landscape in general. To do that, it examines the past, present, and future expectations of four of Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest aviation economies, namely South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. Secondary data containing historical passenger traffic was analysed, and predictions for growth in the next ten years were proposed. The findings suggest that the experience of the existing liberalization initiatives, such as the Yamoussoukro Declaration (YD), has produced less than expected benefits. However, the future of aviation in Africa is somewhat positive, with a growth trajectory expected to follow a linear and gradual path supported by various initiatives, including the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA). The study’s contribution is to illuminate the current discourse on the aviation sector in Africa through the Structure-Conduct-Performance theory paradigm and suggests a conceptual model that could be applied to future studies relating to aviation in Africa.
Personal values and electronic waste disposal behaviours among households in Cape Coast Metropolis
(2021)
The study examined social values that accounted for electronic waste recycling and reuse behaviours. Via a crosscommunity survey of 193 of households in the Cape Coast Metropolis, a correlational design was employed in the study. Partial Least Squares-Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Results from the analysis showed the influence of altruistic values (β = 0.275, p < 0.05) on reuse behaviour. Similarly, environmental awareness (β = 0.213, p<0.05) also showed significant influence on participation in recycling, whereas psychological ownership significantly influenced both reuse (β = 0.319, p < 0.05), and participation in recycling (β = 0.339, p < 0.05), The joint significance of altruistic values, environmental awareness and psychological ownership to explaining recycling participation was 21.3% (R2 = 0.213, p < 0.05) and that of reuse was 24.6% (R2 = 0.246, p < 0.05). The results of the study showed that individuals who are knowledgeable about the state of their environment were more likely to participate in recycling. On the other hand, individuals with altruistic values preferred giving unwanted electronic equipment to others for reuse. Altruistic values are particularly true of collectivist cultural orientation. Psychological ownership was significant in predicting both behaviours, however, the effect size on reuse was moderate. Psychological ownership due to waste aversion and frugality lead consumers to keep, and subsequently give to close relatives in their social network. It was recommended that individuals should be encouraged to patronize formal recycling services. as a way to show concern for the well-being of others by reducing pollution due to improper waste treatment. Again, like in developed economies, second-hand collection systems for unwanted electronic products can be developed, and made convenient for individuals with reusable items, who may be willing to donate or even resell.
There is severe clinical vitamin A deficiency (VAD) prevalence among Ghanaians and many African countries. Foodbased diets has been suggested as a more sustainable approach to solving the VAD situation in Africa. In this study, A participatory action research between orange flesh sweet potato farmers, gari processors within central region and academia was adopted to develop gari containing provitamin A beta-carotene. Gari is a major staple for Ghanaians and people in the West African subregion due to its affordability and swelling capacity. It is mainly eaten raw with water, sugar, groundnut and milk as gari-soakings or with hot water to prepare gelatinized food called gari-kai in Ghana or “eba” among Nigerians. However, gari is limited in provitamin A carotenoids. Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is known to contain large amount of vitamin A precursor. Therefore, addition of OFSP to gari would have the potential to fight the high prevalence rate of vitamin A deficiency amongst less developed regions of Africa. To develop this, different proportions of orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) was used to substitute cassava mash and fermented spontaneously to produce composite gari - a gritty-crispy ready-to-eat food product. Both the amount of OFSP and the fermentation duration caused significant increases in the β-carotene content of the composite gari. OFSP addition reduced the luminance while roasting made the composite gari yellower when compared with the cake used. Addition of OFSP negatively affected the swelling capacity of the gari although not significant. The taste, texture, flavour and the overall preferences for the composite gari decreased due to the addition of the OFSP but fermentation duration (FD) improved them. The sample with 10% OFSP and FD of 1.81 days was found to produce the optimal gari. One-portion of the optimal gari would contribute to 34.75, 23.2, 23.2, 27, 17 and 16% of vitamin A requirements amongst children, adolescent, adult males, adult females, pregnant women and lactating mothers respectively. The study demonstrated that partial substitution of cassava with OFSP for gari production would have the potential to fight the high prevalence rate of vitamin A deficiency amongst less developed regions of Africa while involvement of farmers and processors prior to the design of research phase enhanced the adoption of intervention strategies.
In times of climatic or political grievances that affect not only human life worldwide, but also the environment and the economic situation of a country, a change in the way of thinking about tourism is beginning and the sector of ecotourism is also becoming increasingly important in Germany. The applicability of this form of tourism in the East African destination Kenya in the form of a travel package that is both partly unique and can be designed individually describes the subject matter of this elaboration and is illustrated using the example of the charitable organization Mully Children's Family and the related registered tourism company, MCF Africa Safaris. The underlying research aims to determine how to transform the organisation's own tree planting initiative into a niche tourist market and how this must be geared to gain the interest of the German eco-tourist. Based on the evaluation of the research results, there is high potential, which is dedicated to the implementation of a form of travel consisting of the active support of the named charity and its initiative as well as individually selectable holiday activities in the target market Kenya. As a result, there are basic prerequisites, the consideration of which is essential for the successful integration of the so-called niche market tree planting and the branch-specific nature of ecotourism in the Kenyan travel market.
Most economies across the globe rely on entrepreneurship for growth. There is evidence to suggest that entrepreneurship creates job opportunities and spurs economic growth and development (Pacheco, Dean, & Payne, 2010; Mojica, Gebremedhin, & Schaeffer, 2010, and Solomon, 2007). Even though entrepreneurship is one of the fastest growing education disciplines globally, researchers are still divided on what should be taught and how it should be taught in institutions of higher learning. Entrepreneurial decision-making is laced with uncertainty and drawbacks. Hence, entrepreneurship learners must be taught using practical and conceptual methodologies to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skill that will enable them to confront such challenges in their entrepreneurial activities. This calls for entrepreneurship teachers to be innovative and to also encourage their learners to be innovative as entrepreneurship involves the generation of new business ideas. This paper sought to examine teaching methodologies for entrepreneurship education in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. A mixed-method approach that involved triangulation as the main data collection technique was used. Interviews were administered with teachers and learners of entrepreneurial education in Kenya, with a view to identifying the most commonly used teaching methodologies of entrepreneurial education and their shortcomings. Course outlines and curricula borrowed from twenty (20) institutions of higher learning in Kenya were reviewed. Results indicate that entrepreneurial education in Kenya is largely theoretical and does not meet the needs of the modern entrepreneur. The paper therefore recommends innovative teaching methodologies of entrepreneurial education that can be utilised by the teacher to prepare students adequately to generate entrepreneurial ideas and to identify entrepreneurial opportunities. For this reason, the paper recommends the use of such methodologies as business plan generation, idea generation, innovation, creativity, networking, opportunity recognition, expecting and embracing failure, and adapting to change.
Rural Social Entrepreneurship (RSE) is considered an essential factor for achieving Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) and improving rural people's socio-economic status through increasing production, productivity, reducing unemployment, and accelerating the progress in achieving SDGs. The paper aims at examining the role of social entrepreneurship in achieving (SRD) in Sudan with reference to Wad Balal Project for investment and rural development in Gezira State, which established in 2005 in small villages in Gezira State through mobilizing of local savings and resources for creating job opportunities, sponsoring poor households, improving the infrastructures, and reducing poverty. The study depends on cross-sectional data collected through a questionnaire and focus group discussion from 100 head of households in the village under research. A questionnaire is internally consistent, and its questions are stable. Frequencies and percentages have been used for describing the basic characteristics of the respondents. Statistical t-test was adopted to test the opinions of respondents about the role of the project based on the Likert scale. The results revealed that the project has significantly increased the opportunities of job and training as well as household income, the results also confirmed that the project has improved the status of education and health services in the village. The project has extended and established many branches; the project also diversified its investment to cover more kinds of investments, the project reinvested 50% of its profits and directed the rest to charity, and social services in the village, many lessons can be learned from the project story. The research recommended that a similar social entrepreneurship project can be generalized to more villages in Sudan and other developing countries to accelerate sustainable rural development. Local communities have to support similar initiatives for developing their villages.
A school leader’s achievement is not what they study in learning institutions but the way they organize themselves into problem solving and realistic decision making. While this includes some taught hard skills, the bulk of school activities rely on soft skills. Soft skills, however, are frequently neglected, although they play an important role in school principals’ daily operations as an instructional supervisor. This study aimed to examine the relationship between soft skills training and Principals' performance. The study adopted a cross-sectional mixed survey design. Using Yamane formulae, the sample comprised of 167 principals from 286 public secondary schools in Kiambu County. These were spread proportionally across all the 12 sub-counties in the County. The principal research instrument was primarily a questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was deemed reasonable at.73. The findings showed that a substantial relationship exists between the training of the principal on soft skills and their good performance of the duties. The study suggests routine in-service training should be undertaken in the county to improve the development of soft skills. It is also advisable that undergraduate, postgraduate, or in-service training include soft skills as a unit, to build knowledge of the value of soft skills.
Studies in entrepreneurship education in hospitality and tourism has indicated that further attention could be given toward helping students to develop creativity and critical thinking skills, engage in deeper self-discovery experiences, and understand tourism more fully to help prepare them for entrepreneurial roles. This study aims at evaluating Hospitality entrepreneurial modules offered in Tourism programs in Ghanaian institutions. The curriculum of Tourism in two tertiary institutions in Ghana offering Tourism is studied. The research highlights on the need to integrate hospitality technical skills into Tourism education to create a culture that will enhance the growth of entrepreneurial hospitality into Tourism as culinary Tourism is becoming common. Some of the challenges faced by tourism students and entrepreneurship educators are highlighted. Structured interview technique was used to collect data from 20 purposive sampled students of the selected institutions. The results revealed that the level of importance and attention given to hospitality skills in tourism and the perception of students on acquisition of the required competencies is minimal. It is therefore recommended that more skills and competences in hospitality operation, food and beverage production and service be introduced in tourism education in a more holistic manner with emphasis on skill acquisition in order to make the tourism graduate more creative and critical thinker in today’s global competitive environment.
Datenschutz und informationelle Selbstbestimmung sind Bestandteile aktueller Leitbilder einer Digitalen Bildung in der Schule. Im Kontext der Schulschließungen und der vorrangigen Nutzung digitaler Medien zeigte sich jedoch, dass Datenschutz weder als Thema noch als Gestaltungsprinzip digitaler Lernumgebungen in der bildungsadministrativen und pädagogisch-praktischen Schulwirklichkeit systematisch verankert ist. Die Diskrepanz zwischen aktuellen Leitbildern einer digitalen Bildung und der sichtbar problematischen Praxis des digitalen Notfalldistanzunterrichts markiert den Ausgangspunkt des Beitrages, der sich der übergeordneten Frage widmet, welche Herausforderungen sich bei der Realisierung von Datenschutz in der Schul- und Unterrichtswirklichkeit in einer digital geprägten Welt stellen. Im Sinne einer Problemfeldanalyse werden prototypische Handlungsprobleme der Schule herausgearbeitet. Fokussiert betrachtet werden exemplarische Herausforderungen und Anforderungen an Technologien und Akteur:innen der inneren und äußeren Schulentwicklung auf den Ebenen der Unterrichtsentwicklung, der Personalentwicklung, der Technologieentwicklung und der Organisationsentwicklung.
Machine learning and neural networks are now ubiquitous in sonar perception, but it lags behind the computer vision field due to the lack of data and pre-trained models specifically for sonar images. In this paper we present the Marine Debris Turntable dataset and produce pre-trained neural networks trained on this dataset, meant to fill the gap of missing pre-trained models for sonar images. We train Resnet 20, MobileNets, DenseNet121, SqueezeNet, MiniXception, and an Autoencoder, over several input image sizes, from 32 x 32 to 96 x 96, on the Marine Debris turntable dataset. We evaluate these models using transfer learning for low-shot classification in the Marine Debris Watertank and another dataset captured using a Gemini 720i sonar. Our results show that in both datasets the pre-trained models produce good features that allow good classification accuracy with low samples (10-30 samples per class). The Gemini dataset validates that the features transfer to other kinds of sonar sensors. We expect that the community benefits from the public release of our pre-trained models and the turntable dataset.
The role of tourism entrepreneurship in rural development continues to be a subject of interest and debate among academia and practitioners. Theoretically, it is anticipated that tourism entrepreneurship will lead to livelihood diversification, enhancement and ultimately a revitalization of the rural economy. While tourism is posited as an accessible entrepreneurship pathway, there is a dearth of information regarding rural dwellers’ actual experiences with it, especially within the Ghanaian context. Using a case study approach and qualitative data from Wli; a rural tourism destination in Ghana, this paper delves into the opportunities and concerns associated with tourism entrepreneurship in rural areas. Data was obtained between November and December 2016 from 27 persons who were either tourism enterprise owners or employees. Findings from the study showed that entrepreneurial activities centred on the provision of accommodation, food and beverage, souvenir and guiding services. The nature of the activities enabled easy transfer of existing skills and knowledge. Further, entry into tourism entrepreneurship was perceived to be easy by the majority of study participants. These findings confirm the potential for tourism to be employed in boosting entrepreneurial activities in rural areas. Nevertheless, there were concerns regarding access to credit, institutional support, unhealthy competitions, low incomes, unguaranteed pensions, and seasonality and skewness of demand. These concerns threatened the growth and sustainability of tourism entrepreneurship within the community. From a policy perspective, there is a need for institutional recognition and support for tourism entrepreneurial intentions and activities in rural areas. Practice-wise, credit facilities need to be designed specifically for tourism-related rural enterprises. Further, periodic skills and knowledge augmentation programmes must be initiated to help expand the skill sets for the rural entrepreneurs. Finally, there is a need for the formation of traderelated networks to provide a platform for knowledge and experience sharing among the entrepreneurs.
Kenya as a touristic destination is well known as an exotic country offering many different landscapes as well as the diversity of wildlife; this is typical for several African countries. To ensure a sustainable tourism development, different forms of tourism have to be considered. One of these forms could be eco-mountain bike cycling tours, as these tours are gaining in popularity, for example in Germany. The aim of this study was to obtain results regarding the market potential for mountain bike eco-tourism in Kenya. The up-and-coming tourism branch of mountain biking was examined in connection with the increasing demand for long-distance travel. The results of this study showed that mountain biking in exotic countries like Kenya has market potential in principle. However, it was also found that mountain biking alone is not a sufficient pull factor for tourists. The combination with other activities turned out to be promising. It was found that tourist packages that include mountain biking as an activity are perceived as attractive. Moreover, it was obtained that not only tourists who ride a mountain bike regularly are addressed as a target group. Even "regular" tourists find mountain biking an attractive (touristic) activity, especially in combination with game drives. Experts also assess the market potential for eco-mountain bike tourism as positive and find existing routes and accommodation attractive. The findings are giving indications for the possibilities to develop eco-mountain bike tourism as a touristic alternative and addition to existing touristic products.
Object-Based Trace Model for Automatic Indicator Computation in the Human Learning Environments
(2021)
This paper proposes a traces model in the form of an object or class model (in the UML sense) which allows the automatic calculation of indicators of various kinds and independently of the computer environment for human learning (CEHL). The model is based on the establishment of a trace-based system that encompasses all the logic of traces collecting and indicators calculation. It is im-plemented in the form of a trace database. It is an important contribution in the field of the exploitation of the traces of apprenticeship in a CEHL because it pro-vides a general formalism for modeling the traces and allowing the calculation of several indicators at the same time. Also, with the inclusion of calculated indica-tors as potential learning traces, our model provides a formalism for classifying the various indicators in the form of inheritance relationships, which promotes the reuse of indicators already calculated. Economically, the model can allow organi-zations with different learning platforms to invest only in one traces Management System. At the social level, it can allow a better sharing of trace databases be-tween the various research institutions in the field of CEHL.
Hinreichende Datensouveränität gestaltet sich für Verbraucher:innen in der Praxis als äußerst schwierig. Die Europäische Datenschutzgrundverordnung garantiert umfassende Betroffenenrechte, die von verwantwortlichen Stellen durch technisch-organisatorische Maßnahmen umzusetzen sind. Traditionelle Vorgehensweisen wie die Bereitstellung länglicher Datenschutzerklärungen oder der ohne weitere Hilfestellungen angebotene Download von personenbezogenen Rohdaten werden dem Anspruch der informationellen Selbstbestimmung nicht gerecht. Die im Folgenden aufgezeigten neuen technischen Ansätze insbesondere KI-basierter Transparenz- und Auskunftsmodalitäten zeigen die Praktikabilität wirksamer und vielseitiger Mechanismen. Hierzu werden die relevanten Transparenzangaben teilautomatisiert extrahiert, maschinenlesbar repräsentiert und anschließend über diverse Kanäle wie virtuelle Assistenten oder die Anreicherung von Suchergebnissen ausgespielt. Ergänzt werden außerdem automatisierte und leicht zugängliche Methoden für Auskunftsersuchen und deren Aufbereitung nach Art. 15 DSGVO. Abschließend werden konkrete Regulierungsimplikationen diskutiert.
The universal basic income grant (UBIG): A comparative review of the characteristics and impact
(2021)
In recent years, public debates, pilot projects and academic research have internationally boosted the prominence of the universal basic income grant (UBIG) as a policy option. Despite this prominence, the arguments and evidence of the UBIG discussion have not been systematically put forward and discussed in light of the different UBIG conceptual understandings and applications. This paper adds value to the debate by systematic presenting the social, economical and political arguments in support of and against a UBIG. It furthermore discusses the UBIG dimensions/characteristics and variations, and also pose questions about whether all the UBIG experiments can really be classified as a UBIG. Antagonist of a UBIG often raise concerns about the negative effect of the lack of conditions and targeting in a UBIG. Since evidence on the impact of UBIG is limited, this paper turns to the evidence base on unconditional cash transfers and conditional cash transfers. The results show that it is the cash transfer rather than the conditionality and targeting that produce positive outcomes in areas of personal wellbeing.
Nudging stellt eine Methode zur positiven Verhaltensbeeinflussung unserer Mitmenschen dar. Mit diesem Instrument kann das Sicherheits- und Gesundheitsverhalten von Arbeitnehmern gestärkt werden. Allerdings findet sie trotz intensiver Forschung bislang wenig Anwendung im betrieblichen Kontext. Daher lautet die Forschungsfrage dieser Arbeit: „Wie lässt sich Nudging seitens der Unternehmen als Präventionsmaßnahme während der Corona-Pandemie einsetzen?“. Mit der Übertragung von Nudging in der Arbeitswelt auf die derzeitigen Herausforderungen der aktuellen Corona-Pandemie leistet diese Arbeit einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Entwicklung neuer Präventionsmaßnahmen in Unternehmen. In der Arbeit konnte festgestellt werden, dass die Entwicklung von Nudges im Unternehmen unter Einbeziehung der Mitarbeiter in einem proaktiven und partizipativen Prozess stattfinden sollte. Mithilfe eines solchen Prozesses werden Gründe für das mögliche Fehlverhalten der Arbeitnehmer analysiert. Anschließend sollten Nudging-Techniken eingesetzt werden, die genau an diesen Punkten anknüpfen – am Fehlverhalten der Menschen. Über den partizipativen Nudging-Prozess wird die Akzeptanz der Arbeitnehmer im Hinblick auf etwaige Maßnahmen gefördert. Es wird am reflektierten Entscheidungssystem der Arbeitnehmer angesetzt. Unter Berücksichtigung der Corona-Pandemie sollte im betrieblichen Kontext zur Förderung des Sicherheitsverhaltens besonders auf den Wirkmechanismus „Norms“ gesetzt werden. Im Home-Office eignen sich aufgrund der Distanz zu den Arbeitnehmern Nudges mit technischer Natur, wie z.B. automatisierte Anmeldungen zu Maßnahmen des Gesundheitsmanagements. Hier greift der Wirkmechanismus „Defaults“. Diese Bachelorarbeit wurde als theoretische Arbeit auf Grundlage einer Literaturrecherche verfasst.
This study investigated the application potential of Black Soldier Fly Larva Hermetia illucens Stratiomyidae: Diptera (L.1758) for wastewater treatment and the removal potential of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, and phosphorus of and liquid manure residue and municipal waste water containing 1% solids content. Black Soldier Fly Larva were found to reduce the concentration of chemical oxygen demand, but unfortunately, increase the concentration of ammonia and phosphorus. The ability of Black Soldier Fly Larva to feed on organic waste of Liquid manure residue showed that Black Soldier Fly Larva increase their weight by 365% in a solution with 12% solids content and by 595% in a solution having 6% solids content. The study also showed that Black Soldier Fly Larva have the ability to survive in a solution of 1% solids content and have the ability to reduce chemical oxygen demand by up to 86.4% for liquid manure residue and 46.9% for municipal wastewater after 24 hours. Generally, ammonia increased by 43.9% for Liquid manure residue and 98.6% for municipal wastewater. Total phosphorus showed an increase of 11.0% and 88.6% increase for liquid manure residue and municipal wastewater respectively over the 8-day study. Transparent environments tend to reduce the COD content more than the dark environment, both for the liquid manure residue (55.8% and 65.4%) and municipal wastewater (71.5% and 66.4%).
The idea of a basic income grant (BIG) is not new and there are ongoing debates internationally as well as nationally in low- and middle-income countries just like in high-income countries of a BIG as a social protection policy option. The challenge is that there are different conceptualisations, which conflates and muddles the understanding. In the context of social assistance provision, a universal basic income grant (UBIG) is often compared and contrasted against targeted cash transfers (CTs). This case study systematically presents the arguments for targeted CTs and UBIGs. The value of the case study is that it systematically brings together these arguments, highlighting the variations in UBIG applications, including the evidence and actual impact of UBIG experiments. The structure of the case study is as follows: Section 2 simultaneously contrasts and compares the arguments for targeted CTs and UBIG. Section 3 discusses UBIG experiments, as well as presenting the evidence on the application of the UBIG idea, and Section 4 concludes.
A qualitative study of Machine Learning practices and engineering challenges in Earth Observation
(2021)
Machine Learning (ML) is ubiquitously on the advance. Like many domains, Earth Observation (EO) also increasingly relies on ML applications, where ML methods are applied to process vast amounts of heterogeneous and continuous data streams to answer socially and environmentally relevant questions. However, developing such ML- based EO systems remains challenging: Development processes and employed workflows are often barely structured and poorly reported. The application of ML methods and techniques is considered to be opaque and the lack of transparency is contradictory to the responsible development of ML-based EO applications. To improve this situation a better understanding of the current practices and engineering-related challenges in developing ML-based EO applications is required. In this paper, we report observations from an exploratory study where five experts shared their view on ML engineering in semi-structured interviews. We analysed these interviews with coding techniques as often applied in the domain of empirical software engineering. The interviews provide informative insights into the practical development of ML applications and reveal several engineering challenges. In addition, interviewees participated in a novel workflow sketching task, which provided a tangible reflection of implicit processes. Overall, the results confirm a gap between theoretical conceptions and real practices in ML development even though workflows were sketched abstractly as textbook-like. The results pave the way for a large-scale investigation on requirements for ML engineering in EO.
Target meaning representations for semantic parsing tasks are often based on programming or query languages, such as SQL, and can be formalized by a context-free grammar. Assuming a priori knowledge of the target domain, such grammars can be exploited to enforce syntactical constraints when predicting logical forms. To that end, we assess how syntactical parsers can be integrated into modern encoder-decoder frameworks. Specifically, we implement an attentional SEQ2SEQ model that uses an LR parser to maintain syntactically valid sequences throughout the decoding procedure. Compared to other approaches to grammar-guided decoding that modify the underlying neural network architecture or attempt to derive full parse trees, our approach is conceptually simpler, adds less computational overhead during inference and integrates seamlessly with current SEQ2SEQ frameworks. We present preliminary evaluation results against a recurrent SEQ2SEQ baseline on GEOQUERY and ATIS and demonstrate improved performance while enforcing grammatical constraints.