Blockchain-basierte Anwendungen im Online-Advertising - eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse

Untersuchungsziel – Diese Arbeit untersucht, welche Chancen und Herausforderungen mit dem Einsatz blockchain-basierter Anwendungen im Online-Advertising einhergehen. Zweck dieser Arbeit ist es, mit den gewonnenen Erkenntnissen das noch junge Forschungsfeld, das die Schnittmenge von Blockchain-Technologie und Online-Advertising zum Gegenstand hat, durch Grundlagenforschung zu unterstützen und so Forschung und Praxis gleichermaßen dienlich zu sein. Methodologie – Zur Beantwortung der forschungsleitenden Fragestellung werden Websites von Unternehmen, respektive ihren blockchain-basierten Anwendungen, im Online-Advertising recherchiert. Hierfür kommen methodische Anleihen aus dem Bereich systematischer Literatur-Reviews zum Einsatz. Die Texte der recherchierten Websites werden dann qualitativ inhaltsanalytisch erschlossen. Das Vorgehen der Inhaltsanalyse orientiert sich maßgeblich an den Vorgaben von Philipp A. E. Mayring. Resultate – Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung zeigen, dass der Einsatz blockchain-basierter Anwendungen Transparenz schafft, Kontrolle der Supply-Chain ermöglicht, und damit einen Mehrwert für das Ökosystem stiftet. Die Kontrolle der Akteure und ihrer Aktivitäten sowie deren Validierung auf der Blockchain erzeugt Brand-Safety und reduziert Ad-Fraud. Durch Smart Contracts können manuelle und damit fehleranfällige Prozesse automatisiert und ersetzt werden. Für Konsumenten hält die Blockchain technologie-immanente Schutzmechanismen für ihre Daten bereit. Allerdings gilt es, die Kardinalprobleme Skalierbarkeit, Interoperabilität und Energieeffizienz zu überwinden. Implikationen – Die Wissenschaft sollte eben jene Kardinalprobleme erforschen und Lösungen entwickeln. Die Legislative sollte Rechtssicherheit schaffen. Verbraucherschützer sollten über die positiven (wie negativen) Effekte der Technologie informieren. Die Wirtschaft sollte weiterhin spezifische Anwendungsszenarien prüfen. Limitationen – Zur Untermauerung der Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung sollten quantifizierende Methoden eingesetzt werden

Intertidal patterns and processes tracking the effects of coastline topography and settlement choice across life stages of the mussels perna perna and mytilus galloprovincialis

Within landscapes, spatial heterogeneity is common and specific landscape features can influence propagule dispersal by wind or water, affecting population connectivity and dynamics. Coastline topographic features, such as bays and headlands, have a variety of biophysical effects on nearshore oceanography, larval transport, retention and supply, and the processes of larval settlement and recruitment. Although this has been demonstrated in several parts of the world, engendering a perception of a general ‘bay effect’, few studies have investigated this generality in a single experiment or region, by replicating at the level of ‘bay’. The Agulhas biogeographic region of the south coast of South Africa is a useful system within which to test for such generality. Using the intertidal mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis and Perna perna as model organisms, patterns of adult distribution were surveyed across four large ‘halfheart’ bays and intervening stretches of open coast, providing replication at the level of ‘bay’ and duplication of ecologically similar species. In support of a general, pervasive influence of bays on intertidal populations, mussel cover was found to be greater in bays than on the open coast for both species, although the effect was strongest for M. galloprovincialis. To explain this adult distribution, settlement, post-settlement mortality and recruitment were examined over 12mo at the same sites, with the prediction that rates of each would favour larger bay populations. Contrary to this, an interaction between month and bay-status was found, with greater settlement and recruitment on the open coast than in bays reflecting extreme settlement and recruitment events at 3 westerly open coast sites during summer. Re-analysis excluding these outliers, revealed the expected effect, of greater settlement and recruitment in bays. While this indicates the broad generality of the bay effect, it highlights exceptions and the need for replication in time and space when examining landscape effects. Measuring post-settlement mortality required testing small-scale settlement behaviour on established and newly deployed settler collectors. It was found that all settlers preferred collectors with biofilm, but that primary settlers avoided conspecific settlers, while secondary settlers were attracted to them. With discrepancies in settler attraction to new and established collectors accounted for, initial (over 2d) and longer-term (over 7d) post-settlement mortality rates were found to be substantial (ca 60 %) for both species. No topographic effect on p-s mortality was evident. Finally, recruit-settler, adult-recruit and interspecies correlations were examined at regional and local scales. Synergistic (or neutral) effects maintained the initial settlement pattern in recruit and adult populations regionally, but not at local scales; striking interspecies correlations suggested the influence of common regional transport processes. Ultimately, the results emphasize the importance of the direction of effects in different life stages and at different spatial scales, and the possibility that antagonistic effects may mask even strong patterns

Allgemeine arbeitsweltbezogene Weiterbildung: Ergebnisse eines Innovationsprojekts

"Die Studie gliedert sich in zwei Teile: eine Synopse sowie das Modellprojekt, dem ein Workshop und verschiedene Experteninterviews voraus gingen. Im Folgenden wird ein kurzer Überblick über den Aufbau der Studie gegeben. Vor dem Hintergrund der Notwendigkeit der Förderung der allgemeinen arbeitsweltbezogenen Weiterbildung wurde im Rahmen des Innovationspools des hessischen Kultusministeriums in einem ersten Schritt eine Synopse über das bisherige Angebot allgemeiner arbeitsweltbezogener Weiterbildung erstellt. Die Synopse zeigt, dass es Ansatzpunkte und erste Konzepte für eine Verbindung von allgemeiner und arbeitsweltbezogener Weiterbildung gibt. Außerdem wurde festgestellt, dass es seitens der VHS ein Potenzial dafür gibt, das jedoch bisher kaum genutzt wurde. Ziel des Modellprojektes war es, in Kooperation mit Betrieben und Volkshochschulen Strategien zu entwickeln, mit denen das Angebot und die Nachfrage nach allgemeiner arbeitsweltbezogener Weiterbildung effektiver aufeinander abgestimmt werden können, so dass dieser Bereich der Weiterbildung von den Betrieben verstärkt durchgeführt wird. Die Innovation dieses Modellprojekts besteht darin, dass innerhalb des bestehenden Systems von Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen und -trägern neue Wege und Strategien erprobt wurden, Angebot und Nachfrage nach allgemeiner arbeitsweltbezogener Weiterbildung zielgerichtet zu koordinieren und Potentiale der Träger allgemeiner Weiterbildung über ihre bisherige Akzeptanz und Verbreitung hinaus systematischer durch die Betriebe zu nutzen. Ergänzend wurde überprüft, ob ein wirtschaftsnaher Bildungsträger effektivere Vorgehensweisen und Strategien wählt, um im Bereich der allgemeinen arbeitsweltbezogenen Weiterbildung Maßnahmen mit Betrieben durchzuführen." (Autorenreferat

Mechanisms of nearshore retention and offshore export of mussel larvae over the Agulhas Bank

Ecological connectivity is critical for population dynamics but in many benthic species it is complicated by a planktonic larval phase, whose dispersal remains poorly understood. Using a plankton pump, we examine the distribution of intertidal mussel larvae along three axes: alongshore, cross-shelf and by depth during a large scale (600 km) cruise over the Agulhas Bank off southern Africa in August/September 2010. As a general pattern, higher veliger abundances were found close to the coast. Our analyses of the nearshore flow, estimated from ADCP data and the vertical distribution of larvae, show that onshore larval retention may be mediated by active vertical swimming through the water column guided by light and wind-induced turbulence. A massive offshore export of larvae off St Francis Bay was, however, observed during an Agulhas Current meander which influenced inner shelf waters. We hypothesize that, by increasing and homogenizing flow, the Agulhas Current may erase the effects of larval vertical positioning on onshore retention and transport larvae offshore. Our study highlights the need to integrate the effects of complex, region-specific physical dynamics with the swimming behaviour of larvae in order to explain their spatial distribution, population connectivity and the consequences for population dynamics

Patchiness and Co-Existence of Indigenous and Invasive Mussels at Small Spatial Scales: The Interaction of Facilitation and Competition

Ecological theory predicts that two species with similar requirements will fail to show long-term co-existence in situations where shared resources are limiting, especially at spatial scales that are small relative to the size of the organisms. Two species of intertidal mussels, the indigenous Perna perna and the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis, form mixed beds on the south coast of South Africa in a situation that has been stable for several generations of these species, even though these populations are often limited by the availability of space. We examined the spatial structure of these species where they co-exist at small spatial scales in the absence of apparent environmental heterogeneity at two sites, testing: whether conspecific aggregation of mussels can occur (using spatial Monte-Carlo tests); the degree of patchiness (using Korcak B patchiness exponent), and whether there was a relationship between percent cover and patchiness. We found that under certain circumstances there is non-random conspecific aggregation, but that in other circumstances there may be random distribution (i.e. the two species are mixed), so that spatial patterns are context-dependent. The relative cover of the species differed between sites, and within each site, the species with higher cover showed low Korcak B values (indicating low patchiness, i.e. the existence of fewer, larger patches), while the less abundant species showed the reverse, i.e. high patchiness. This relationship did not hold for either species within sites. We conclude that co-existence between these mussels is possible, even at small spatial scales because each species is an ecological engineer and, while they have been shown to compete for space, this is preceded by initial facilitation. We suggest that a patchy pattern of co-existence is possible because of a balance between direct (competitive) and indirect (facilitative) interactions

Effects of Endolithic Parasitism on Invasive and Indigenous Mussels in a Variable Physical Environment

Biotic stress may operate in concert with physical environmental conditions to limit or facilitate invasion processes while altering competitive interactions between invaders and native species. Here, we examine how endolithic parasitism of an invasive and an indigenous mussel species acts in synergy with abiotic conditions of the habitat. Our results show that the invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis is more infested than the native Perna perna and this difference is probably due to the greater thickness of the protective outer-layer of the shell of the indigenous species. Higher abrasion due to waves on the open coast could account for dissimilarities in degree of infestation between bays and the more wave-exposed open coast. Also micro-scale variations of light affected the level of endolithic parasitism, which was more intense at non-shaded sites. The higher levels of endolithic parasitism in Mytilus mirrored greater mortality rates attributed to parasitism in this species. Condition index, attachment strength and shell strength of both species were negatively affected by the parasites suggesting an energy trade-off between the need to repair the damaged shell and the other physiological parameters. We suggest that, because it has a lower attachment strength and a thinner shell, the invasiveness of M. galloprovincialis will be limited at sun and wave exposed locations where endolithic activity, shell scouring and risk of dislodgement are high. These results underline the crucial role of physical environment in regulating biotic stress, and how these physical-biological interactions may explain site-to-site variability of competitive balances between invasive and indigenous species

Immune physiology in tissue regeneration and aging, tumor growth, and regenerative medicine

The immune system plays an important role in immunity (immune surveillance), but also in the regulation of tissue homeostasis (immune physiology). Lessons from the female reproductive tract indicate that immune system related cells, such as intraepithelial T cells and monocyte-derived cells (MDC) in stratified epithelium, interact amongst themselves and degenerate whereas epithelial cells proliferate and differentiate. In adult ovaries, MDC and T cells are present during oocyte renewal from ovarian stem cells. Activated MDC are also associated with follicular development and atresia, and corpus luteum differentiation. Corpus luteum demise resembles rejection of a graft since it is attended by a massive influx of MDC and T cells resulting in parenchymal and vascular regression. Vascular pericytes play important roles in immune physiology, and their activities (including secretion of the Thy-1 differentiation protein) can be regulated by vascular autonomic innervation. In tumors, MDC regulate proliferation of neoplastic cells and angiogenesis. Tumor infiltrating T cells die among malignant cells. Alterations of immune physiology can result in pathology, such as autoimmune, metabolic, and degenerative diseases, but also in infertility and intrauterine growth retardation, fetal morbidity and mortality. Animal experiments indicate that modification of tissue differentiation (retardation or acceleration) during immune adaptation can cause malfunction (persistent immaturity or premature aging) of such tissue during adulthood. Thus successful stem cell therapy will depend on immune physiology in targeted tissues. From this point of view, regenerative medicine is more likely to be successful in acute rather than chronic tissue disorders

Erfahrungsbericht ueber die 'Richtlinie zur Foerderung von Frauen im oeffentlichen Dienst der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg' fuer den Erfahrungszeitraum vom 1.1.1984 - 31.9.1985

IAB-96-231-2-HH AM 592 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman