Automated Tracking of User Interactions in Web-Based Adaptive Learning for Software Engineering

This paper explores the automation of generating and dispatching Experience API (xAPI) statements for comprehensive tracking of user interactions in e-learning environments. It introduces the react-xapi-wrapper library, an extension of the xAPI JavaScript library designed for use in web applications. Key aspects discussed include the library’s features, its integration into a web-based adaptive learning system (ALS) for software engineering, and the custom verbs used. The goal is to reduce implementation effort for tutors and developers while taking advantage of xAPI’s interoperability, scalability, and ability to track student learning activities and behaviors, laying the foundation for more responsive and personalized learning experiences

Sustainable Business Model Canvas

Imagining, designing and teaching regenerative futures is challenging. Educators often lack approaches that allow them to address the complexities of global challenges through new narratives, which make space for the imagination of desirable futures. Commonly in education, we retell the story of an apocalyptic future when speaking about global challenges such as biodiversity degradation and climate change. This narrative, which focuses on the risks and dangers of global environmental change, is built on the assumption that the induced fear might lead to action. This toolkit supports educators who wish to follow a different route. It is based on the assumption that “we can’t create what we cannot imagine” (quote by Lucile Clifton). Consequently, imagining, designing, and teaching regenerative futures is the basis and starting point for actualizing them. The beginning of fundamental change is often hard to track because it first takes place in our minds. Visible, large-scale change arises from invisible, wild ideas and imaginations. According to the philosopher and educator John Dewey, imagination is “the ability to look at things as if they could be otherwise”. This ability to ask “what if?” is central to envisioning and enacting better lives. The lack of broad-scale action towards regenerative ways of living can be seen as a lack of imagination to create shared visions of an alternative future. Collectively envisioning desirable futures provides the motivation and guidance for change, or as the poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it: “the future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.” This toolkit introduces a broad variety of creative and arts-based methods for regeneration and transformation that can be used in various educational settings. It harnesses the power of creative and arts-based practices, which are increasingly seen as a means of expanding future imaginaries and supporting the development of new scenarios of transformative change. The toolkit was developed within the COST Action SHiFT Social Sciences and Humanities for social transformation and climate change as an initiative of Working Group 3: Creative Practices and Outreach. It comprises a selection of 68 creative methods brought together in a collaborative effort by 124 authors from 31 countries and 6 continents. Its intention is to comprise a valuable resource for educators, teachers, lecturers, community workers, and change-makers who are aiming to empower their learners while providing competencies in regenerative design, climate action, futures thinking, human-nature connection, wellbeing and community engagement. This toolkit is more than a collection of methods but a call to action and a comprehensive resource developed through the synergistic efforts of contributors worldwide

Preisstabilität in Deutschland in Zeiten von D-Mark und Euro

Mit der Abschaffung der D-Mark und der Einführung des Euro waren Hoffnungen verbunden, aber auch Befürchtungen, dass die neue Währung nicht so stabil wie die D-Mark sein könnte. Die D-Mark gehörte international über 50 Jahre zu den zwei Währungen mit den niedrigsten Inflationsraten. In diesem Beitrag wird die Entwicklung der Preise und der Kaufkraft in Deutschland in zwei gleich langen Perioden vor und nach der Euro-Einführung verglichen. Der Euro weist dabei sogar geringere durchschnittliche Inflationsraten, gemessen an den Verbraucherpreisen in Deutschland, als die D-Mark auf. In den Jahren 1999 bis 2020 herrschte weltweit ein günstigeres Inflationsumfeld, was es auch der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) leichter machte, ihr Preisstabilitätsziel zu verfolgen. Die ersten schweren Herausforderungen ergaben sich für die EZB seit 2021, als die Inflationsrate aufgrund negativer Angebotsschocks und einer beispiellosen Fiskalexpansion auf über 10% anstieg. Die Deutsche Bundesbank konnte in ähnlichen Krisen in den 1970er Jahren mit einer konsequenten Stabilitätspolitik den Preisauftrieb deutlich stärker und nachhaltiger bekämpfen als die meisten anderen Länder. Ein Erfolg, zu dem auch ihr hoher Grad der Unabhängigkeit von der Politik beitrug. Ob dies der EZB gelingt, bleibt abzuwarten. Anfang 2025 liegt die Inflationsrate im Euroraum und in Deutschland trotz einer tiefgreifenden Konjunkturschwäche mit 2,5% noch immer über dem Inflationsziel von 2%

Vision transformer based cut interruption detection and prediction of laser fusion cutting from monitored melt pool images

Incomplete cuts during laser fusion cutting result in a closed kerf, preventing the workpiece from detaching from the sheet and resulting in rework or rejection. We demonstrate the approach of a vision transformer, used for image classification, to detect cut interruption during laser fusion cutting in steel and aluminum. With events impending an incomplete cut in steel, we attempt to predict cut interruption before they even occur. To build a data set for training, cutting experiments are carried out with a 4 kW fiber laser, forcing incomplete cuts by varying the process parameters such as laser power and feed rate. The thermal radiation from the process zone during the cutting process is captured with a size of 256 × 256 px2 at sample rates of 20 × 103 fps. The kerf is recorded with a spectral sensitivity between 400 and 700 nm, without external illumination, which enables the melt to be observed in the range of the visual spectrum. The vision transformer model, which is used for image classification, splits the image into patches, linearly embedded with an added position embedding, and fed to a standard transformer encoder. For training the model, a set of images was labeled for the respective classes of a complete, incomplete, and impending incomplete cut. With the trained model, incomplete cuts in steel and aluminum can then be recognized and impending incomplete cuts in steel can be predicted in advance

Infrared heating for a sustainable powder coating technology

The recent energy crisis revealed the dependence of many manufacturing companies on fossil fuels Industrial processes need to be transformed into sustainable alternatives For powder coatings, which traditionally rely on gas or oil heating systems, infrared radiation can deliver the required process heat The strong dependence of the IR absorption on the geometry of the irradiated parts as well as on the color and sort of the coating powder has to be considered before the implementation of this innovative heating The aim of the NAPUBEST project (German abbreviation for Nachhaltige Pulverbeschichtungs Technologie which means “Sustainable Powder Coating Technology”) is to get a better understanding of these correlations In our laboratory, we realized a prototype of an IR oven for test measurements The high reflectivity of silver coated reflector sheets facilitates the concentration of infrared radiation inside the oven. On the other hand, the absorption of powder coated samples in different paint colors has an impact on the heating efficiency First tests of the equipment and measurements of the angular dependence of the reflectivity of various coated samples are presented

Novel X-ray optics developed within the AHEAD2020 project

We present a summary of our contribution to the EU Horizon 2020 project AHEAD2020, with emphasis on the X-ray optics work package. The Czech Technical University – together with other collaborating institutes – studied innovative Lobster Eye and Kirkpatrick-Baez X-ray modules, based on the Multi Foil Optics technology. In addition, a student’s workshop in December 2023 and a summer school in May 2024 were organized within the project

Risikoorientierte Management Control Systems im Beschaffungsmanagement von kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen

Megatrend Klimawandel, Krisen und regulatorische Vorgaben wie das Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) haben in den letzten Jahren enorme Herausforderungen für Unternehmen generiert. Unternehmen sehen sich einem steigenden Steuerungsbedarf im Bereich Risikomanagement und Beschaffung gegenüber. Ein geeignetes Instrument im strategischen und operativen Controlling ist hierfür ein risikoorientiertes Management Control System. Darüber hinaus macht das LkSG Vorgaben für die Ausgestaltung eines Risikomanagements. Insbesondere die Ausgestaltung der Lieferketten und des Risikomanagements mussten neu gedacht und strategisch eingebunden werden. Daneben zeigen sich auch zunehmend Nachhaltigkeitsimplikationen auf das Working Capital Management in Unternehmen. Insbesondere das LkSG wirkt zunehmend auf unternehmerische Entscheidungen und führt zu Trade-offs zwischen Compliance, Nachhaltigkeit und Profitabilität. Hier können Sustainability Control Systems eine wichtige Rolle spielen, die im Vergleich mit klassischen Management Control Systems Nachhaltigkeitsaspekte inkludiere

Revealing patterns in major depressive disorder with machine learning and networks

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifaceted condition that affects millions of people worldwide and is a leading cause of disability. There is an urgent need for an automated and objective method to detect MDD due to the limitations of traditional diagnostic approaches. In this paper, we propose a methodology based on machine and deep learning to classify patients with MDD and identify altered functional connectivity patterns from EEG data. We compare several connectivity metrics and machine learning algorithms. Complex network measures are used to identify structural brain abnormalities in MDD. Using Spearman correlation for network construction and the SVM classifier, we verify that it is possible to identify MDD patients with high accuracy, exceeding literature results. The SHAP (SHAPley Additive Explanations) summary plot highlights the importance of C4-F8 connections and also reveals dysfunction in certain brain areas and hyperconnectivity in others. Despite the lower performance of the complex network measures for the classification problem, assortativity was found to be a promising biomarker. Our findings suggest that understanding and diagnosing MDD may be aided by the use of machine learning methods and complex networks

Polydopamine – a bionic material and its potential applications for batteries

Polydopamine (PDA) recently came into focus as an innovative material for applications in various technical fields, especially in the energy field it is considered for batteries as well as for supercapacitors. It is a very strong glue that sticks on almost everything, even under water: In nature, PDA is found in the byssal thread cuticles of mussels. The wet-resistant adhesion ability of PDA can be used in the treatment of separator membranes in batteries, but furthermore PDA is also considered as an electrode material for batteries. We have investigated thin layers of poly-dopamine with different methods including ellipsometry, tactile measurements of the layer thickness and in situ absorption measurements during the polymerization process

New Work - Transformation der Arbeitswelt : Ringvorlesung im Wintersemester 2024/2025 an der TH Aschaffenburg

Die Arbeitswelt wandelt sich schon seit jeher und permanent. Dies ist ökonomischen und technologischen Innovationen, politisch-gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen und auch ökologischen Herausforderungen geschuldet. Auffällig dabei ist, dass dieser Wandel zunehmend kürzere Zyklen hat und mit großer Intensität auf unsere Gesellschaft einwirkt. Der Begriff „New Work“ existiert seit etwa 50 Jahren – und er bedeutet mehr als nur den Einsatz neuer Methoden und Werkzeuge. Er steht für eine umfassende Transformation, die fast alle Aspekte der beruflichen und persönlichen Lebenswelt betrifft. Die Ringvorlesung „New Work“ der Technischen Hochschule Aschaffenburg beleuchtete im Wintersemester 2024/2025 ganz unterschiedlichen Facetten dieses Wandels. Die Perspektiven unterschiedlicher Branchen und Institutionen wurden dargelegt und vermittelt. So wurde ein fundiertes und vielseitiges Bild des „New Work“ gezeichnet. Die vorliegende Zusammenfassung der Ringvorlesung bietet eine nützliche Ressource für die praxisnahe Auseinandersetzung mit den Chancen und Herausforderungen des New Work