Toward Sound Localization Testing in Virtual Reality to Aid in the Screening of Auditory Processing Disorders

Sound localization testing is key for comprehensive hearing evaluations, particularly in cases of suspected auditory processing disorders. However, sound localization is not commonly assessed in clinical practice, likely due to the complexity and size of conventional measurement systems, which require semicircular loudspeaker arrays in large and acoustically treated rooms. To address this issue, we investigated the feasibility of testing sound localization in virtual reality (VR). Previous research has shown that virtualization can lead to an increase in localization blur. To measure these effects, we conducted a study with a group of normal-hearing adults, comparing sound localization performance in different augmented reality and VR scenarios. We started with a conventional loudspeaker-based measurement setup and gradually moved to a virtual audiovisual environment, testing sound localization in each scenario using a within-participant design. The loudspeaker-based experiment yielded results comparable to those reported in the literature, and the results of the virtual localization test provided new insights into localization performance in state-of-the-art VR environments. By comparing localization performance between the loudspeaker-based and virtual conditions, we were able to estimate the increase in localization blur induced by virtualization relative to a conventional test setup. Notably, our study provides the first proxy normative cutoff values for sound localization testing in VR. As an outlook, we discuss the potential of a VR-based sound localization test as a suitable, accessible, and portable alternative to conventional setups and how it could serve as a time- and resource-saving prescreening tool to avoid unnecessarily extensive and complex laboratory testing

Increasing the Sustainability of Pharmaceutical Grade Water Production

Water serves for the production of pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and final products. Accordingly, the quality requirements are particularly high. Next to quality, sustainability of the production and climate change mitigation will play an increasingly important role. For instance, in 2015, the total global emissions of the pharma sector was significantly higher than the CO2 emissions generated by the automotive sector. Thus, efforts must be made at all stages of production of pharmaceuticals to reduce the environmental impact

Nonlinear Approach to Jouguet Detonation in Perpendicular Magnetic Fields

The focus of this paper was Jouguet detonation in an ideal gas flow in a magnetic field. A modified Hugoniot detonation equation has been obtained, taking into account the influence of the magnetic field on the detonation process and the parameters of the detonation wave. It was shown that, under the influence of a magnetic field, combustion products move away from the detonation front at supersonic speed. As the magnetic field strength increases, the speed of the detonation products also increases. A dependence has been obtained that allows us to evaluate the influence of heat release on detonation parameters

Analysis of Climate Change Adaptive Capacity among Landowners in Mara Siana in Kenya and Identification of appropriate Measures

Due to the global phenomenon of climate change the region of Mara Siana is projected to increasingly face extreme weather events that particularly comprise prolonged droughts and heavier rainfalls. To be able to adequately adapt to these changing circumstances and maintain their livelihoods communities need to build respective capacities. As the main objective, this research aims at determining landowners’ climate change adaptative capacity (CCAC) across different villages in Mara Siana. Accordingly, a semi-quantitative approach was carried out including qualitative interviews and the subsequent quantitative calculation of CCAC based on a multidimensional indicator set and a respective coding system. In addition to predominantly positive results of socio-cultural characteristics and the quality of natural resources, this work reveals clear weaknesses and potential for improvement in the areas of income security and financial stability, the expansion and resilience of infrastructure, and the relationship between communities and local authorities. Moreover, differences in capacity results are not only identified between the investigated villages as well as between individual households but also systemic disadvantage in capacity building affecting female landowners and community members can be indicated from the obtained interview data. Therefore, this research gives concrete recommendations for the implementation and verification of suitable adaptive measures that are particularly tailored for the improvement of low-performance indicators while following a gendertransformative approach and thus hold the potential to increase CCAC in the long-term

Cohesion Is Lower in Virtualized Collaborations: A Comparison of Teams’ Network Structure

Virtualization fundamentally changes how social relations form, but its effect on network structure in collaborative teams is poorly understood. This paper compares team networks from nine government-funded projects that were conducted virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic with 15 prepandemic projects from the same funding program. Results of our comparative analysis of 2,746 dyadic ties in 24 teams showed lower levels of network density, clustering, and structural cohesion in virtualized projects, indicating fragmented virtual teams. Furthermore, expressive networks, defined by the sharing of personal information, were affected more than instrumental networks, which revolve around the sharing of expert knowledge

Attending [to] Futures : Matters of Politics in Design Education, Research, Practice

Acknowledging the ways in which design (as practices, forms of knowledge, and sets of objects) is accountable for ongoing social and environmental injustices, this anthology contains contributions that envision alternative ways of exploring and designing more livable futures. Attending to these futures requires a reckoning with a multiplicity of actors and contexts, from institutional norms and regulations, to pedagogies, curricula, programs, digital tools, infrastructures, and architectural environments. Last but not least, attention is drawn to the mechanisms and protocols by which these futures are imagined and shaped. This includes critically examining the ways in which design is talked about, taught, and learned in order to empower future designers to engage with the political issues, cultural conditions, and social and environmental implications of their work

Gezielte Maßnahmen zur Förderung von Studentinnen in IT-Studiengängen: Ein Ansatz für den Campus Gummersbach der TH Köln

Die Bachelorarbeit mit dem Titel ”Gezielte Maßnahmen zur Förderung von Studentinnen in IT-Studiengängen am Campus Gummersbach der TH Köln” verfolgt das Ziel, die Präsenz und den Erfolg von Frauen in den IT-Studiengängen der Technischen Hochschule Köln zu verbessern. Der Fokus dieser Arbeit liegt darauf, basierend auf empirischen Erkenntnissen und einem theoretischen Rahmen, realisierbare Fördermaßnahmen zu entwickeln. Zur Hauptmaßnahme gehört die Initiative ”Be a IT-Girl”, die durch verschiedene Ansätze wie ein spezifisches Podcast-Format und ein vielseitig nutzbares Raumkonzept die Gleichstellung und das Empowerment von Studentinnen fördern soll. Die Arbeit wurde durch eine Kombination aus qualitativer und quantitativer Forschung gestützt, wobei Befragungen und Analysen zu den Herausforderungen und Bedürfnissen der Studentinnen am Campus Gummersbach durchgeführt wurden. Die entwickelten Maßnahmen wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Durchführbarkeit und erwarteten Effektivität bewertet, wobei ein besonderer Fokus auf die praktische Umsetzbarkeit und die Anpassung an die spezifischen Bedingungen Standort Gummersbach gelegt wurde. Insgesamt bietet die Arbeit nicht nur einen tiefen Einblick in die Problemstellungen und Potenziale zur Förderung von Frauen in IT-Bereichen, sondern auch konkrete Lösungsansätze, die zu einer nachhaltigen Veränderung und Verbesserung der Situation beitragen können

Differentiating Between Crop and Soil Effects on Soil Moisture Dynamics

There is an urgent need to develop sustainable agricultural land use schemes. Intensive crop production has induced increased greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced nutrient and pesticide leaching to groundwater and streams. Climate change is also expected to increase drought risk as well as the frequency of extreme precipitation events in many regions. Consequently, sustainable management schemes require sound knowledge of site-specific soil water processes that explicitly take into account the interplay between soil heterogeneities and crops. In this study, we applied a principal component analysis to a set of 64 soil moisture time series from a diversified cropping field featuring seven distinct crops and two weeding management strategies. Results showed that about 97 % of the spatial and temporal variance of the data set was explained by the first five principal components. Meteorological drivers accounted for 72.3 % of the variance and 17.0 % was attributed to different seasonal behaviour of different crops. While the third (4.1 %) and fourth (2.2 %) principal components were interpreted as effects of soil texture and cropping schemes on soil moisture variance, respectively, the effect of soil depth was represented by the fifth component (1.7 %). However, neither topography nor weed control had a significant effect on soil moisture variance. Contrary to common expectations, soil and rooting pattern heterogeneity seemed not to play a major role. Findings of this study highly depend on local conditions. However, we consider the presented approach generally applicable to a large range of site conditions

Partizipative Weiterentwicklung und Veröffentlichung eines geräteübergreifenden Browserspiels als Open-Source-Projekt

Angesichts der wachsenden Bedeutung verteilter Systeme, der vielfältigen Nutzung von Multimedia-Inhalten auf unterschiedlichen Geräten und der fortlaufenden Weiterentwicklung von Browsern wird die Relevanz deutlich, das Potenzial von geräteübergreifenden Browserspielen zu untersuchen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit besteht darin, den im vorangegangenen Praxisprojekt entwickelten Prototyp des Spiels "Finalblockdown" durch einen partizipativen Prozess weiterzuentwickeln und schließlich als Open-Source-Software zu veröffentlichen. Das direkte Einbeziehen ausgewählter Testnutzer in die Weiterentwicklung des Spiels zielt darauf ab, das Spielerlebnis, die technische Leistung sowie die Benutzerfreundlichkeit umfassend und nutzerorientiert zu verbessern. Zur Durchführung des partizipativen Prozesses wurden mehrere Fokusgruppen gebildet, die während der gesamten Entwicklung aktiv mitgewirkt und jede Iteration eingehend getestet sowie evaluiert haben. Die Testläufe waren eine Kombination aus Play-Testing und Gruppeninterviews, die zur Auswertung mitgeschnitten wurden. Basierend auf dem dokumentierten, zusammengetragenen und eingestuften Feedback aller Gruppen wurde ein Entwicklungsplan für die jeweilige Iteration erstellt. Der partizipative Prozess brachte signifikante Vorteile, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Gestaltung der Benutzeroberfläche, Spielmechaniken und des Testens. Limitationen durch begrenzte Zeit und Ressourcen zeigen jedoch, dass der partizipative Ansatz zeitintensiv ist, was in der Planung berücksichtigt werden muss. Durch den Prozess wurde ein visuell und spielerisch überzeugendes Spiel entwickelt, das komplexe Programmierkonzepte wie Websockets, WebGL-Grafiken und Spatial Hashing in Vanilla JavaScript umgesetzt hat und durch eigenes Hosting veröffentlicht wurde. Trotzdem hat das System noch umfangreiches Optimierungs- und Entwicklungspotenzial, weswegen es sich gut als Open-Source-Software eignet und so über den Projektrahmen hinaus weiterentwickelt werden wird. Weiterführende Forschungen könnten sich sowohl auf prozessbezogene als auch auf technische Aspekte konzentrieren. In der Weiterentwicklung des partizipativen Prozesses könnte man analysieren, wie die Einbindung von Testnutzern in komplexe Bereiche der Entwicklung, einschließlich Systemarchitektur und Leistung, die Demokratisierung des Designs verstärken könnte. Technische Untersuchungen könnten sich darauf konzentrieren, wie Optimierungen in den Bereichen Hosting, Websockets und Kollisionserkennung zur Leistungssteigerung des Systems beitragen können

More Help Was Offered—But Was It Effective? First Responders and Volunteers in the 2021 Flood Disaster in Germany

The floods in 2021 in Germany laid bare the need to better integrate volunteers into official disaster management. An online survey with 1767 valid interviews after the floods in July 2021 reveals the shared experiences of professional and non-professional groups. Communication and coordination problems are the main results of the survey analysis. Overall satisfaction was a bit lower for the volunteers than for the professionals. The behavior of the superiors could have been more satisfactory. The preparation and opportunity for reflection could have been better after the operation. The information provision before and during the flood operation could have been more satisfactory. Worries were higher about elderly persons, and misinformation was a perceived danger. Problems experienced in the flood operations ranged from psychological stress to hygiene, self-endangerment, assignment of tasks, and misinformation, both from the media and official sources. Infrastructure-related problems included electricity, water, communication lines, roads, and rail. The suggestions for improvements ranged from communication and information about warnings and behavior to persons that transfer knowledge between organizations, digital exchange platforms, and exchange between countries