Off-grid rainwater and greywater treatment and reuse on household level : conceptual approach and pilot operation at the KREIS-Haus demonstration case, Switzerland

KREIS-Haus, a living lab in Feldbach, Switzerland, features a novel, decentralized, closed-loop water system that combines rainwater harvesting and greywater treatment for reuse to achieve water self-sufficiency. This study evaluated the system's technical and economic viability. Weekly samples were taken pre- and post-treatment of both rain and greywater treatment and analysed for a set of water quality parameters. Treated greywater met reuse standards, and rainwater complied with most Swiss drinking water limits. However, occasional instances where limits were surpassed revealed the need for continuous monitoring and system adjustments. Throughout the 8-month monitoring period, the house achieved full water self-sufficiency, which utilized only 26% of collected rainwater and 24% of treated greywater, suggesting greater reuse potential. At this time, the house was not always fully occupied. A further dynamic simulation indicated that with full occupancy of up to three people, the house could maintain its water self-sufficiency. The energy consumption of the water treatment system was rather high due to the off-grid, water-self-sufficient design, which replaces centralized infrastructure. A cost analysis positioned the system as economically competitive when mandatory connection fees were excluded, highlighting the influence of regulatory frameworks on the adoption of such water systems

Quelles émotions autour de l’IA ? Analyse discursive de témoignages d’apprenant-es

On est rarement indifférent au sujet de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) : la (non-)utilisation de ces outils et le battage médiatique qu’ils génèrent participent à la polarisation autour de ce sujet. Nous souhaitons dans notre intervention analyser les émotions ressenties par les apprenant-es de langues face à l’IA générative (IAGen) et, notamment, les générateurs automatiques de textes (GAT). On sait que les émotions jouent un rôle essentiel dans les processus cognitifs et les comportements, qu’elles influencent la perception, le traitement de l’information et la prise de décisions (Zajonc 1984 ; Lazarus 1991). Elles inspirent donc certainement, en tous cas en partie, l’attitude des utilisatrices et utilisateurs des GAT et par la suite leur façon d’utiliser ces outils. Les émotions semblent donc une clé d’analyse intéressante pour les enseignant-es qui désirent mettre en place des stratégies d’apprentissage de litteracie en IAGen (Cardon et al., 2023) pour leurs apprenant-es. La plupart des études sur l’IA et les apprenant-es se concentrent sur leur usage et sur les attitudes face à ces outils (Barrett & Pack 2023 ; Alm & Ohashi 2024). Quelques chercheur-es se sont penchés sur les émotions élicitées par l’utilisation de la traduction automatique (Koskinen & Ruokonen 2017 ; Lehr 2021) mais il manque des informations sur les émotions face aux GAT. Gkinki & Elbanna (2022) ont trouvé que les émotions des utilisateurs et utilisatrices de chatbot variaient beaucoup entre réponses positives et négatives. L’adoption des outils d’IAGen a été analysée selon des modèles d’acceptation de la technologie qui, parfois, prennent en compte le côté émotionnel mais dans une moindre mesure (Cai et al. 2023 ; Liu et al. 2024 ; Liu & Ma 2024 ; Ma et al. 2024). Notre analyse repose sur une trentaine d’entretiens semi-dirigés avec des étudiant-es de deux hautes écoles suisses qui apprennent tous et toutes une langue étrangère. Ces témoins, utilisateurs et utilisatrices novices ou chevronnés de l’IAGen, ont répondu aux questions des enquêtrices basées sur les trois éléments du cadre de Steinert & Roeser (2020) : les caractéristiques de la technologie, son emploi et son implémentation, en particulier dans le processus de décision. Quelques entretiens pilotes ont montré la difficulté des apprenant-es à nommer des émotions. Nous avons donc aussi utilisé comme référence dans les entretiens les vingt émotions différentes proposées par la roue des émotions de Genève (Sacharin et al. 2012). Les entretiens ont ensuite été codés de manière ouverte dans une analyse thématique selon le modèle utilisé par Taskara & Ekmekci (2024) pour en faire ressortir les émotions et les déclencheurs. L’analyse de nos données devrait donc offrir un premier bilan sur les émotions élicitées par les outils d’IAGen pour les apprenant-es de langues. Sur cette base, les enseignant-es pourront proposer des interventions plus ciblées pour développer la litteracie en IAGen dans leurs classes

Leveraging open educational resources to foster sustainable educational development in Switzerland

Open Educational Resources (OER) are defined by UNESCO as “teaching, learning and research materials in any medium, digital or otherwise, that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions” (UNESCO 2012, 1). OER are closely linked to the United Nations seventeen SDGs (United Nations n.d.a), especially to SDG 4, Quality education: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. At Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften/Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), the OER team is based in the Hochschulbibliothek/University Library and has established an OER Policy and an OER community. An innovative approach to OER was taken in a project Students4OER, funded by the University’s Sustainable Impact Program. Students were invited to create materials, videos, blog posts, interviews, quizzes, podcasts, or posters, in connection with at least one of the SDGs for publication as OER for worldwide visibility. In a subsequent project, Students4OER II, a collaborative project between the ZHAW University Library and the teaching staff of the ZHAW School for Life Sciences and Facility Management, the creation of OER with and by students became part of a master’s degree module. This chapter explores the nature of OER and their connection to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the seventeen SDGs and examines how openness in education goes beyond mere access to free resources to link with new, and more open didactic approaches like open pedagogy. The role of the Library and its services related to the creation of OER as well as the implementation of open pedagogy is explored through presenting the outcomes of the OER projects

Digital media and social inequality : a primer in the context of Swiss digital society

Digital media innovations are used differently by people from different social groups and have varying consequences. Research has not found that these divides are narrowing. On the contrary, individuals who are socially better positioned appear to benefit more from digital media transformation. At the societal level, there is a need for a transparent negotiation of the values underlying the digital media infrastructure – values that can guide democratic governance. Digitale Medieninnovationen werden von Menschen entlang sozialer Bruchlinien unterschiedlich genutzt und haben unterschiedliche Folgen. Die Forschung deutet nicht darauf hin, dass sich diese Klüfte verringern. Vielmehr scheinen sozial besser positionierte Menschen mehr von digitalen Medientransformation zu profitieren. Auf gesellschaftlicher Ebene braucht es eine transparente Aushandlung der Werte, die der digitalen Medieninfrastruktur zugrunde liegen, und die die demokratische Steuerung anleiten können

Process development and quality monitoring of additively manufactured 1.6657 case hardening steel for gear applications

Lightweight versions of components made from 1.6657 case-hardening steel could significantly benefit automotive and industrial machinery applications, where this material is valued for its high toughness and fatigue resistance. Although additive manufacturing enables the production of lightweight and complex geometries, the availability of dedicated case hardening steels suitable for this technology remains limited. This paper aims to address that gap by demonstrating the successful production of 1.6657 gears using Powder Bed Fusion with a Laser Beam. This work also proposes to adjust two traditional parameter development tools by, on the one hand, presenting a method to prevent the misuse of volumetric energy density, and on the other hand, by integrating additional material characteristics into the process map beyond density alone. Specifically, it focuses on incorporating pore features relevant to fatigue performance, with the aim of embedding gear performance requirements already in the early stages of parameter development. Finally, this work demonstrates how the proposed development framework enables a strong correlation between melt pool monitoring data and specific porosity types. This correlation supports the use of melt pool monitoring as a reliable tool for detecting pore formation in critical areas of the additively manufactured gears

Klimawandel und Insektenfauna : Heuschrecken und Tagfalter im Gletschervorfeld Morteratsch

Als unmissverständliches Zeichen des Klimawandels gelten die Rückzüge der Gletscher. Die Fläche, welche durch den Gletscherrückgang eisfrei wird, bietet eine einmalige Möglichkeit, die Neubesiedlung von Flora und Fauna zu untersuchen. Die Tagfalter- und Heuschreckenfauna wurde im Gletschervorfeld des Morteratschgletschers (Gemeinde Pontresina GR) untersucht. Dabei soll die Frage beantwortet werden, wie die Artzusammensetzung von Tagfaltern und Heuschrecken im Gletschervorfeld vom Alter der Eisfreiheit und der Vegetationsstruktur beeinflusst wird. Als Kartiermethode wurde ein Transekt gewählt. Für jeden Fund wurden folgende Vegetationsparameter in einem Umkreis von 10 m bzw. 5 m geschätzt: Gesamtdeckung Vegetation, Sträucher/Bäume, Kräuter/Gräser, offene Bodenstellen und Steine. Das Gletschervorfeld wurde anhand der Gletscherstände in Schritten von 20 Jahren in Kategorien der Eisfreiheit eingeteilt (1-20, 21-40, 1-60, 61-80, 81-100, 101-120, >120 und Referenztransekt). Für jede Kategorie wurden Shannon-Index, Evenness, Artenzahl und Individuenzahl berechnet. Um die Ähnlichkeit der Artgemeinschaften für jede Kategorie der Eisfreiheit darzustellen und um zu analysieren, welche Arten mit welchen Vegetationsparametern assoziiert sind, wurde eine Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in R durchgeführt. Im Gletschervorfeld wurden 35 Tagfalterarten mit 382 Individuen und 6 Heuschreckenarten mit 264 Individuen gefunden. Der Shannon-Index erreicht bei den Tagfaltern bei 61-80 Jahren Eisfreiheit seinen Höchstwert (2.56) und nimmt gegen ältere Kategorien wieder leicht ab. Bei den Heuschrecken ist der Shannon-Index auf dem Referenztransekt am höchsten (1.28) und im Gletschervorfeld treten nur zwei Arten dominant auf (Gomphocerus sibiricus, Podisma pedestris). Die PCA der Alterskategorien der Eisfreiheit ergab, dass ein Grossteil der Tagfalter mit den Kategorien 61-80 und 81-100 Jahren der Eisfreiheit assoziiert sind. Bei den Vegetationsparametern sind die Gesamtdeckung der Vegetation und Kräuter/Gräser am relevantesten. In den Jahren 1-20 der Eisfreiheit wurden keine Tagfalter/Heuschrecken gefunden. Der Fund von 35 Tagfalterarten weist auf die hohe Diversität von alpinen Lagen hin. Tagfalter haben eine hohe Mobilität; das Fehlen in den Jahren 1-20 der Eisfreiheit ist also nicht dadurch zu erklären. Da das Vorkommen von Tagfaltern aber eng mit dem Blütenangebot verknüpft ist, ist davon auszugehen, dass dieses das Vorkommen im Gletschervorfeld bestimmt. Das Alter der Eisfreiheit dient demnach als grobe Einschätzung des Entwicklungsstadiums der Vegetation bzw. des Blütenangebotes. Gletschervorfelder sind bei steigenden Temperaturen besonders für kalt-adaptierte Tagfalter und Heuschrecken ein wichtiger Rückzugsort. Um die dafür wichtige floristische Vielfalt der Wiesenhabitate zu erhalten ist ein aktives Management notwendig, mit dem Ziel, das Einwachsen von Sträuchern/Bäumen zu verhindern. Für weiterreichende Aussagen über die mittelfristigen Auswirkungen des Klimawandels ist ein Monitoringprogramm in alpinen Regionen bzw. Gletschervorfeldern notwendig.The retreat of the glaciers is an unmistakable sign of climate change. The area that is becoming ice-free as a result of glacier retreat offers a unique opportunity to study the recolonization of flora and fauna. The butterfly and grasshopper fauna were studied in the glacier forefield of the Morteratsch glacier (near Pontresina GR). The aim of this study is to answer the question of how butterflies and grasshopper communities are influenced by the time of deglaciation and the vegetation structure. A transect was chosen as the sampling method. The following vegetation parameters were estimated for each find within a radius of 10 m or 5 m: total vegetation cover, shrubs/trees, herbs/grasses, open ground patches and stones. The glacier forefield was divided into ice-free categories (1-20, 21-40, 1-60, 61-80, 81-100, 101-120, >120 and reference transect) based on glacier levels in 20-year increments. Shannon index, evenness, number of species and number of individuals were calculated for each category. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in R was performed to visualize the similarity of species communities for each ice-free category and to analyse which species are associated with which vegetation parameter. In the glacier forefield, 35 butterfly species with 382 individuals and 6 grasshopper species with 264 individuals were found. The Shannon index for butterflies reaches its highest value (2.56) at 61-80 years of deglaciation and decreases slightly towards older categories. For grasshoppers, the Shannon index is highest on the reference transect (1.28). Only two species (Gomphocerus sibiricus, Podisma pedestris) were dominant in the glacier forefield itself. The PCA of the ice-free categories revealed that the majority of butterflies are associated with the categories 61-80 and 81-100 years of deglaciation. Among the vegetation parameters, total vegetation cover and herbs/grasses are the most relevant. No butterflies/grasshoppers were found in years 1-20 of deglaciation. The butterfly species richness of 35 indicates the high diversity of alpine ecosystems. Butterflies are highly mobile, so their absence in years 1-20 of deglaciation cannot be explained by this. Since the occurrence of butterflies is closely linked to the availability of flowers, it can be assumed that this determines their occurrence in the glacier forefield. The age of deglaciation therefore serves as a rough estimate of the development stage of the vegetation and thus the availability of flowers. Glacier forelands are an important refuge for cold-adapted butterflies and grasshoppers in particular as temperatures continue to rise. To preserve the floristic diversity of meadow habitats, active management is necessary with the aim of preventing the encroachment of shrubs and trees. Sound statements about the effects of climate change are only possible with a monitoring program in alpine regions or glacier forefields

Psychometric inspection of an internalized homonegativity measure

Internalized homonegativity (IH) is a substantively important construct linked to various health-related quality-of-life indicators. Despite IH’s prominence in the homosexuality literature, however, several measurement challenges are posed to advancing its empirical evidence base. This study aimed to bring modern psychometric methods to bear on a measure of IH in a general population sample of self-reported gay, lesbian, and bisexual respondents in Switzerland ( n = 988). Specifically, we used a prospective observational cross-sectional design with questionnaire methodology to examine three aspects of the validity of a 7-item IH instrument: (1) structure validity, (2) cross-linguistic validity, and (3) “known-groups” (discriminant) validity. Our findings indicated support for the 7-item IH measure’s essential unidimensionality. Furthermore, we found support for IH’s measurement equivalence across German- and French-speaking regions, whereas mixed support was found for its extension to bisexual respondents. Finally, the IH measure exhibited discriminant validity, such that depression and poor self-reported health status were associated with higher IH scores. In conclusion, the IH instrument may be used as a unidimensional measure across German- and French-speaking general populations; however, further research should focus on extending its linguistic validity and measurement equivalence to bisexual and transgender populations

Onsite greywater reuse in a low-tech solar-driven pilot laundry facility : field insights on performance, self-sufficiency, and user acceptance

This study evaluates the LaundReCycle system, a unique low-tech laundry facility designed for water and energy self-sufficiency through greywater treatment and reuse, rainwater harvesting, and solar power. Installed in Cape Town, South Africa, the system treats greywater using a settling tank, biofilter, sediment and activated carbon filters, and UV disinfection. Treated water is reused for washing, while rainwater replenishes losses and an off-grid solar setup supplies energy. The biofilter achieved 82% chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 95% turbidity removal after a 3-day retention time. This demonstrates effective treatment within a short timeframe. The results suggest potential suitability for low-grade laundry reuse. However, broader applicability may be limited by residual coloration and stable compounds. Water self-sufficiency improved during the study, reaching up to 93 %. Energy self-sufficiency reached 91.6 and 90.8 % in a scenario with increased energy efficiency and operational capacity, respectively. Complementary socioeconomic surveys in South Africa and Switzerland revealed cultural influences on attitudes toward greywater reuse. These findings support the scalability of decentralised non-potable reuse systems when adapted to local conditions