The impact of performance communication on process efficiency : a RPA implementation project

How can you use an effective and reproducible process to incentivise executives of one of Portugal's largest companies to prioritise a repetitive task? This question led to our main goal of the project, which is documented in the following and supported by fundamental literature research, how to design and implement effective performance-based communication through the technological mapping of Robotic Process Automation. The problem of the Master Thesis was brought to the author's attention by the research partnership of the Portuguese Postal Service CTT with the Catolica Lisbon School of Business and Economics and was attempted to be solved in an implementation project with the help of the already existing RPA capabilities of CTT. In a first step, the processes affected by the problem were documented and subsequently restructured with the help of the CTT project management framework in order to integrate them into the architecture of the organisation using the RPA technology. In order to solve the problem of incentivising higher prioritisation of the task, the nudging method of communication was identified. By applying this, personalised ranking-based notifications were sent to solve the problem. In summary, the underlying work should provide the reader with documentation to apply the described process in a replicable way to comparable problems.Como pode utilizar um processo eficaz e reprodutível para incentivar os executivos de uma das maiores empresas portuguesas a darem prioridade a uma tarefa repetitiva? Esta pergunta conduziu ao nosso principal objectivo do projecto, documentado no seguinte e apoiado por investigação bibliográfica fundamental, como conceber e implementar uma comunicação eficaz baseada no desempenho através do mapeamento tecnológico da Automação de Processos Robóticos. O problema da tese de mestrado foi trazido à atenção do autor pela parceria de investigação do Serviço Postal Português CTT com a Escola de Negócios e Economia Católica de Lisboa e foi tentado ser resolvido num projecto de implementação com a ajuda das capacidades de RPA já existentes dos CTT. Numa primeira fase, os processos afectados pelo problema foram documentados e subsequentemente reestruturados com a ajuda do quadro de gestão do projecto dos CTT, a fim de os integrar na arquitectura da organização utilizando a tecnologia RPA. A fim de resolver o problema de incentivar a atribuição de maior prioridade à tarefa, foi identificado o método de comunicação de incentivo. Ao aplicar este método, foram enviadas notificações personalizadas baseadas na classificação para resolver o problema. Em resumo, o trabalho subjacente deveria fornecer ao leitor documentação para aplicar o processo descrito de uma forma replicável a problemas comparáveis

Classical surrogates for quantum learning models

The advent of noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers has put the search for possible applications to the forefront of quantum information science. One area where hopes for an advantage through near-term quantum computers are high is quantum machine learning, where variational quantum learning models based on parametrized quantum circuits are discussed. In this work, we introduce the concept of a classical surrogate, a classical model which can be efficiently obtained from a trained quantum learning model and reproduces its input-output relations. As inference can be performed classically, the existence of a classical surrogate greatly enhances the applicability of a quantum learning strategy. However, the classical surrogate also challenges possible advantages of quantum schemes. As it is possible to directly optimize the ansatz of the classical surrogate, they create a natural benchmark the quantum model has to outperform. We show that large classes of well-analyzed re-uploading models have a classical surrogate. We conducted numerical experiments and found that these quantum models show no advantage in performance or trainability in the problems we analyze. This leaves only generalization capability as possible point of quantum advantage and emphasizes the dire need for a better understanding of inductive biases of quantum learning models.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

"UWBCarGraz" Dataset for Car Occupancy Detection using Ultra-Wideband Radar

We present a data-driven car occupancy detection algorithm using ultra-wideband radar based on the ResNet architecture. The algorithm is trained on a dataset of channel impulse responses obtained from measurements at three different activity levels of the occupants (i.e. breathing, talking, moving). We compare the presented algorithm against a state-of-the-art car occupancy detection algorithm based on variational message passing (VMP). Our presented ResNet architecture is able to outperform the VMP algorithm in terms of the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for all three activity levels of the target. Specifically, for an SNR of -20 dB the VMP detector achieves an AUC of 0.87 while the ResNet architecture achieves an AUC of 0.91 if the target is sitting still and breathing naturally. The difference in performance for the other activities is similar. To facilitate the implementation in the onboard computer of a car we perform an ablation study to optimize the tradeoff between performance and computational complexity for several ResNet architectures. The dataset used to train and evaluate the algorithm is openly accessible. This facilitates an easy comparison in future works.Comment: v1 (17.11.2023). 6 pages, 5 figure

Fast Variational Block-Sparse Bayesian Learning

We present a fast update rule for variational block-sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) methods. Using a variational Bayesian framework, we show how repeated updates of probability density functions (PDFs) of the prior variances and weights can be expressed as a nonlinear first-order recurrence from one estimate of the parameters of the proxy PDFs to the next. Specifically, the recurrent relation turns out to be a strictly increasing rational function for many commonly used prior PDFs of the variances, such as Jeffrey's prior. Hence, the fixed points of this recurrent relation can be obtained by solving for the roots of a polynomial. This scheme allows to check for convergence/divergence of individual prior variances in a single step. Thereby, the the computational complexity of the variational block-SBL algorithm is reduced and the convergence speed is improved by two orders of magnitude in our simulations. Furthermore, the solution allows insights into the sparsity of the estimators obtained by choosing different priors.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing on 1st of June, 202

„An meine getreuen österreichischen Völker“. Das „Völkermanifest“ Karls I. vom 16. Oktober 1918 – Ein später Versuch zur Abwendung des Zerfalls der Habsburgermonarchie?

“An meine getreuen österreichischen Völker“. The “Völkermanifest“ of Charles I of Austria from October 16th, 1918 – A late attempt to avoid the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? Charles I of Austria was Habsburg’s last emperor. The interpretations of his person and reign range from the mythical “emperor of peace“ to the powerless ruler who sees his empire falling apart. On October 16th, 1918, Charles enacted the “Völkermanifest“. The purpose of this paper is to examine the central reasons for this enactmen as well as the political background and driving powers. Was the Manifest the attempt of a monarch to avoid the apparantly inevitable decline of his empire? What are the circumstances of the Manifest’s evolution and why did it fail? The examination focusses also on the reactions of politics, population and the press to the Manifest’s decree

Effects of ibrutinib on effector B cells in patients with systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease with significant morbidity and reduced survival of patients. Currently available treatment strategies only alleviate symptoms and slow disease progression. Previous attempts of immunomodulating therapies addressing B cell pathology like rituximab and tocilizumab in SSc showed insufficient efficacy. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of ibrutinib, a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor used in B cell malignancies, to alter B cell pathology in SSc in an in vitro model of autoimmunity. Our data show that ibrutinib was able to reduce the production of the profibrotic hallmark cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α, which are mainly released by the effector B cell population, in response to TLR9-stimulation, while preserving the release of immunoregulatory IL-10 and IFN-γ from B cells. This investigation supports efforts for a potential future clinical application of ibrutinib in patients with SSc as a novel treatment for the underlying pathogenetic immune imbalance contributing to disease onset and progression

„Walliser off Gultüre“. Die Wanderungsbewegung der Walser und Galtür

This bachelor thesis focusses on the history of the Walser migration in general and the settlement of Galtür in particular, looking at the reasons why the Walser people left their homeland and at the conditions under which they established new settlements. In addition this paper tries to find out whether traces of the Walser people and their culture still exist, particularly on the example of Galtür. Does a commemorative culture in the centres of the Walser migration and settlement exist in today’s Galtür? Do people there identify themselves as Walsers? The research to answer these questions is based on literature, online newspaper databases and empirical data gathered from an interview with an elderly resident of Galtür

Indigene und Cook. Der Tahitianer Omai (1751–1780) als Fallbeispiel für das Konzept des „Edlen Wilden“?

During James Cook’s second voyage of discovery, a young Tahitian by the name of Omai (1751–1780) was taken aboard the Adventure, one of the two ships of this expedition. Omai travelled to England, where he was introduced into the British Upper Class and much admired as a living example of a noble and pure South Sea islander in tune with Mother Nature. Omai became accepted in the highest society circles, was painted by several great artists of the time and became part of the collective hype surrounding James Cook’s voyages of discovery and the new experiences with non-European cultures. This paper compares available scientific literature on this topic and aims to analyze the role of Omai as a historical figure and as the personification of the idealized European concept of the noble savage

Self-supporting End Effectors: Towards Low Powered Robots for High Power Tasks

AbstractNew tasks for industrial robots often require high stiffness or entail high reaction forces, which are currently provided by the robot structure itself. This leads to heavy and expensive robot structures: designed for the main task, but oversized for positioning and movement tasks.We propose a new approach to resolve these contradicting requirements: supporting the end effector directly against the workpiece or its surroundings, thus diverting the reaction forces away from the robot structure. We demonstrate this approach in a joining application and present design methods for self-supporting robotic tools as well as potential industrial applications of this technique