@phdthesis{DeCesare2021, author = {De Cesare, Ilaria}, title = {Word order variability and change in German infinitival complements}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-52735}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-527358}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xii, 231}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The present work deals with the variation in the linearisation of German infinitival complements from a diachronic perspective. Based on the observation that in present-day German the position of infinitival complements is restricted by properties of the matrix verb (Haider, 2010, Wurmbrand, 2001), whereas this appears much more liberal in older stages of German (Demske, 2008, Mach{\´e} and Abraham, 2011, Demske, 2015), this dissertation investigates the emergence of those restrictions and the factors that have led to a reduced, yet still existing variability. The study contrasts infinitival complements of two types of matrix verbs, namely raising and control verbs. In present-day German, these show different syntactic behaviour and opposite preferences as far as the position of the infinitive is concerned: while infinitival complements of raising verbs build a single clausal domain with the with the matrix verb and occur obligatorily intraposed, infinitive complements of control verbs can form clausal constituents and occur predominantly extraposed. This correlation is not attested in older stages of German, at least not until Early New High German. Drawing on diachronic corpus data, the present work provides a description of the changes in the linearisation of infinitival complements from Early New High German to present-day German which aims at finding out when the correlation between infinitive type and word order emerged and further examines their possible causes. The study shows that word order change in German infinitival complements is not a case of syntactic change in the narrow sense, but that the diachronic variation results from the interaction of different language-internal and language-external factors and that it reflects, on the one hand, the influence of language modality on the emerging standard language and, on the other hand, a process of specialisation.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Skopeteas2009, author = {Skopeteas, Stavros}, title = {Word oder and information structure: empirical methods for linguistic fieldwork}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {373 S.}, year = {2009}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ermeydan2014, author = {Ermeydan, Mahmut Ali}, title = {Wood cell wall modification with hydrophobic molecules}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-71325}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Wood is used for many applications because of its excellent mechanical properties, relative abundance and as it is a renewable resource. However, its wider utilization as an engineering material is limited because it swells and shrinks upon moisture changes and is susceptible to degradation by microorganisms and/or insects. Chemical modifications of wood have been shown to improve dimensional stability, water repellence and/or durability, thus increasing potential service-life of wood materials. However current treatments are limited because it is difficult to introduce and fix such modifications deep inside the tissue and cell wall. Within the scope of this thesis, novel chemical modification methods of wood cell walls were developed to improve both dimensional stability and water repellence of wood material. These methods were partly inspired by the heartwood formation in living trees, a process, that for some species results in an insertion of hydrophobic chemical substances into the cell walls of already dead wood cells, In the first part of this thesis a chemistry to modify wood cell walls was used, which was inspired by the natural process of heartwood formation. Commercially available hydrophobic flavonoid molecules were effectively inserted in the cell walls of spruce, a softwood species with low natural durability, after a tosylation treatment to obtain "artificial heartwood". Flavonoid inserted cell walls show a reduced moisture absorption, resulting in better dimensional stability, water repellency and increased hardness. This approach was quite different compared to established modifications which mainly address hydroxyl groups of cell wall polymers with hydrophilic substances. In the second part of the work in-situ styrene polymerization inside the tosylated cell walls was studied. It is known that there is a weak adhesion between hydrophobic polymers and hydrophilic cell wall components. The hydrophobic styrene monomers were inserted into the tosylated wood cell walls for further polymerization to form polystyrene in the cell walls, which increased the dimensional stability of the bulk wood material and reduced water uptake of the cell walls considerably when compared to controls. In the third part of the work, grafting of another hydrophobic and also biodegradable polymer, poly(ɛ-caprolactone) in the wood cell walls by ring opening polymerization of ɛ-caprolactone was studied at mild temperatures. Results indicated that polycaprolactone attached into the cell walls, caused permanent swelling of the cell walls up to 5\%. Dimensional stability of the bulk wood material increased 40\% and water absorption reduced more than 35\%. A fully biodegradable and hydrophobized wood material was obtained with this method which reduces disposal problem of the modified wood materials and has improved properties to extend the material's service-life. Starting from a bio-inspired approach which showed great promise as an alternative to standard cell wall modifications we showed the possibility of inserting hydrophobic molecules in the cell walls and supported this fact with in-situ styrene and ɛ-caprolactone polymerization into the cell walls. It was shown in this thesis that despite the extensive knowledge and long history of using wood as a material there is still room for novel chemical modifications which could have a high impact on improving wood properties.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Arf2019, author = {Arf, Shelan Ali}, title = {Women's everyday reality of social insecurity}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43433}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-434333}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {334}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Since 1980 Iraq passed through various wars and conflicts including Iraq-Iran war, Saddam Hussein's the Anfals and Halabja campaigns against the Kurds and the killing campaigns against Shiite in 1986, Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the Gulf war in 1990, Iraq war in 2003 and the fall of Saddam, the conflicts and chaos in the transmission of power after the death of Saddam, and the war against ISIS . All these wars left severe impacts in most households in Iraq; on women and children in particular. The consequences of such long wars could be observed in all sectors including economic, social, cultural and religious sectors. The social structure, norms and attitudes are intensely affected. Many women specifically divorced women found them-selves in challenging different difficulties such as social as well as economic situations. Thus the divorced women in Iraqi Kurdistan are the focus of this research. Considering the fact that there is very few empirical researches on this topic, a constructivist grounded theory methodology (CGT) is viewed as reliable in order to come up with a comprehensive picture about the everyday life of divorced women in Iraqi Kurdistan. Data collected in Sulaimani city in Iraqi Kurdistan. The work of Kathy Charmaz was chosen to be the main methodological context of the research and the main data collection method was individual intensive narrative interviews with divorced women. Women generally and divorced women specifically in Iraqi Kurdistan are living in a patriarchal society that passing through many changes due to the above mentioned wars among many other factors. This research is trying to study the everyday life of divorced women in such situations and the forms of social insecurity they are experiencing. The social institutions starting from the family as a very significant institution for women to the governmental and non-governmental institutions that are working to support women, and the copying strategies, are in focus in this research. The main research argument is that the family is playing ambivalent roles in divorced women's life. For instance, on one side families are revealed to be an essential source of security to most respondents, on the other side families posed also many threats and restrictions on those women. This argument supported by what called by Suad joseph "the paradox of support and suppression" . Another important finding is that the stat institution(laws , constitutions ,Offices of combating violence against woman and family) are supporting women somehow and offering them protection from the insecurities but it is clear that the existence of the laws does not stop the violence against women in Iraqi Kurdistan, As explained by Pateman because the laws /the contract is a sexual-social contract that upholds the sex rights of males and grants them more privileges than females. The political instability, Tribal social norms also play a major role in influencing the rule of law. It is noteworthy to refer that analyzing the interviews in this research showed that in spite that divorced women living in insecurities and facing difficulties but most of the respondents try to find a coping strategies to tackle difficult situations and to deal with the violence they face; these strategies are bargaining, sometimes compromising or resisting …etc. Different theories used to explain these coping strategies such as bargaining with patriarchy. Kandiyoti who stated that women living under certain restraints struggle to find way and strategies to enhance their situations. The research finding also revealed that the western liberal feminist view of agency is limited this is agree with Saba Mahmood and what she explained about Muslim women agency. For my respondents, who are divorced women, their agency reveals itself in different ways, in resisting or compromising with or even obeying the power of male relatives, and the normative system in the society. Agency is also explained the behavior of women contacting formal state institutions in cases of violence like the police or Offices of combating violence against woman and family.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Wittenberg2016, author = {Wittenberg, Eva}, title = {With Light Verb Constructions from Syntax to Concepts}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-329-9}, issn = {2190-4545}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-82361}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {ii, 139}, year = {2016}, abstract = {This dissertation uses a common grammatical phenomenon, light verb constructions (LVCs) in English and German, to investigate how syntax-semantics mapping defaults influence the relationships between language processing, representation and conceptualization. LVCs are analyzed as a phenomenon of mismatch in the argument structure. The processing implication of this mismatch are experimentally investigated, using ERPs and a dual task. Data from these experiments point to an increase in working memory. Representational questions are investigated using structural priming. Data from this study suggest that while the syntax of LVCs is not different from other structures', the semantics and mapping are represented differently. This hypothesis is tested with a new categorization paradigm, which reveals that the conceptual structure that LVC evoke differ in interesting, and predictable, ways from non-mismatching structures'.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Afifi2023, author = {Afifi, Haitham}, title = {Wireless In-Network Processing for Multimedia Applications}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-60437}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-604371}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xiii, 233}, year = {2023}, abstract = {With the recent growth of sensors, cloud computing handles the data processing of many applications. Processing some of this data on the cloud raises, however, many concerns regarding, e.g., privacy, latency, or single points of failure. Alternatively, thanks to the development of embedded systems, smart wireless devices can share their computation capacity, creating a local wireless cloud for in-network processing. In this context, the processing of an application is divided into smaller jobs so that a device can run one or more jobs. The contribution of this thesis to this scenario is divided into three parts. In part one, I focus on wireless aspects, such as power control and interference management, for deciding which jobs to run on which node and how to route data between nodes. Hence, I formulate optimization problems and develop heuristic and meta-heuristic algorithms to allocate wireless and computation resources. Additionally, to deal with multiple applications competing for these resources, I develop a reinforcement learning (RL) admission controller to decide which application should be admitted. Next, I look into acoustic applications to improve wireless throughput by using microphone clock synchronization to synchronize wireless transmissions. In the second part, I jointly work with colleagues from the acoustic processing field to optimize both network and application (i.e., acoustic) qualities. My contribution focuses on the network part, where I study the relation between acoustic and network qualities when selecting a subset of microphones for collecting audio data or selecting a subset of optional jobs for processing these data; too many microphones or too many jobs can lessen quality by unnecessary delays. Hence, I develop RL solutions to select the subset of microphones under network constraints when the speaker is moving while still providing good acoustic quality. Furthermore, I show that autonomous vehicles carrying microphones improve the acoustic qualities of different applications. Accordingly, I develop RL solutions (single and multi-agent ones) for controlling these vehicles. In the third part, I close the gap between theory and practice. I describe the features of my open-source framework used as a proof of concept for wireless in-network processing. Next, I demonstrate how to run some algorithms developed by colleagues from acoustic processing using my framework. I also use the framework for studying in-network delays (wireless and processing) using different distributions of jobs and network topologies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Siegmund2022, author = {Siegmund, Nicole}, title = {Wind driven soil particle uptake Quantifying drivers of wind erosion across the particle size spectrum}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57489}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-574897}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {ix, 56}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Among the multitude of geomorphological processes, aeolian shaping processes are of special character, Pedogenic dust is one of the most important sources of atmospheric aerosols and therefore regarded as a key player for atmospheric processes. Soil dust emissions, being complex in composition and properties, influence atmospheric processes and air quality and has impacts on other ecosystems. In this because even though their immediate impact can be considered low (exceptions exist), their constant and large-scale force makes them a powerful player in the earth system. dissertation, we unravel a novel scientific understanding of this complex system based on a holistic dataset acquired during a series of field experiments on arable land in La Pampa, Argentina. The field experiments as well as the generated data provide information about topography, various soil parameters, the atmospheric dynamics in the very lower atmosphere (4m height) as well as measurements regarding aeolian particle movement across a wide range of particle size classes between 0.2μm up to the coarse sand. The investigations focus on three topics: (a) the effects of low-scale landscape structures on aeolian transport processes of the coarse particle fraction, (b) the horizontal and vertical fluxes of the very fine particles and (c) the impact of wind gusts on particle emissions. Among other considerations presented in this thesis, it could in particular be shown, that even though the small-scale topology does have a clear impact on erosion and deposition patterns, also physical soil parameters need to be taken into account for a robust statistical modelling of the latter. Furthermore, specifically the vertical fluxes of particulate matter have different characteristics for the particle size classes. Finally, a novel statistical measure was introduced to quantify the impact of wind gusts on the particle uptake and its application on the provided data set. The aforementioned measure shows significantly increased particle concentrations during points in time defined as gust event. With its holistic approach, this thesis further contributes to the fundamental understanding of how atmosphere and pedosphere are intertwined and affect each other.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Loll1997, author = {Loll, Renate}, title = {Wilson loop and discrete lattice methods in quantum gauge and gravitational theories}, pages = {getr. Z{\"a}hl.}, year = {1997}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Meyn2010, author = {Meyn, Andrea}, title = {Wildfire-climate relationships : conceptual model and regional-scale analyses}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {148 S.}, year = {2010}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Haarmann2022, author = {Haarmann, Stephan}, title = {WICKR: A Joint Semantics for Flexible Processes and Data}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-54613}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-546137}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xvii, 191}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Knowledge-intensive business processes are flexible and data-driven. Therefore, traditional process modeling languages do not meet their requirements: These languages focus on highly structured processes in which data plays a minor role. As a result, process-oriented information systems fail to assist knowledge workers on executing their processes. We propose a novel case management approach that combines flexible activity-centric processes with data models, and we provide a joint semantics using colored Petri nets. The approach is suited to model, verify, and enact knowledge-intensive processes and can aid the development of information systems that support knowledge work. Knowledge-intensive processes are human-centered, multi-variant, and data-driven. Typical domains include healthcare, insurances, and law. The processes cannot be fully modeled, since the underlying knowledge is too vast and changes too quickly. Thus, models for knowledge-intensive processes are necessarily underspecified. In fact, a case emerges gradually as knowledge workers make informed decisions. Knowledge work imposes special requirements on modeling and managing respective processes. They include flexibility during design and execution, ad-hoc adaption to unforeseen situations, and the integration of behavior and data. However, the predominantly used process modeling languages (e.g., BPMN) are unsuited for this task. Therefore, novel modeling languages have been proposed. Many of them focus on activities' data requirements and declarative constraints rather than imperative control flow. Fragment-Based Case Management, for example, combines activity-centric imperative process fragments with declarative data requirements. At runtime, fragments can be combined dynamically, and new ones can be added. Yet, no integrated semantics for flexible activity-centric process models and data models exists. In this thesis, Wickr, a novel case modeling approach extending fragment-based Case Management, is presented. It supports batch processing of data, sharing data among cases, and a full-fledged data model with associations and multiplicity constraints. We develop a translational semantics for Wickr targeting (colored) Petri nets. The semantics assert that a case adheres to the constraints in both the process fragments and the data models. Among other things, multiplicity constraints must not be violated. Furthermore, the semantics are extended to multiple cases that operate on shared data. Wickr shows that the data structure may reflect process behavior and vice versa. Based on its semantics, prototypes for executing and verifying case models showcase the feasibility of Wickr. Its applicability to knowledge-intensive and to data-centric processes is evaluated using well-known requirements from related work.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kroll2012, author = {Kroll, Alexander}, title = {Why public managers use performance information : concepts, theory, and empirical analysis}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-59795}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Diese Dissertation untersucht die Verwendung von Performance-Informationen („Kennzahlen") durch F{\"u}hrungskr{\"a}fte in der {\"o}ffentlichen Verwaltung. Unter „Verwendung" wird dabei die zweckorientierte Nutzung der Daten verstanden, um zu steuern, zu lernen und {\"o}ffentliche Leistungen zu verbessern. Die zentrale Frage der Arbeit lautet: Wie k{\"o}nnen Unterschiede bei der Verwendung von Performance-Informationen erkl{\"a}rt werden? Um diese Frage zu beantworten, wird die bereits existierende Literatur strukturiert ausgewertet. Forschungsl{\"u}cken werden aufgezeigt und eigene Ans{\"a}tze vorgestellt, wie diese geschlossen werden k{\"o}nnen. Der erste Teil der Dissertation untersucht den Einfluss von Manager-bezogenen Faktoren auf die Nutzung von Performance-Daten, die bislang in der Forschung noch keine Ber{\"u}cksichtigung gefunden haben. Der zweite Abschnitt testet ein modifiziertes Modell aus der Psychologie, das auf der Annahme basiert, dass die Verwendung von Performance-Informationen ein bewusstes und durchdachtes Verhalten darstellt. Der dritte Teil untersucht, inwieweit sich die Erkl{\"a}rungen f{\"u}r die Nutzung von Performance-Informationen unterscheiden, wenn wir diese nicht nur als Kennzahlen definieren, sondern ebenfalls andere Quellen von „unsystematischem" Feedback ber{\"u}cksichtigen. Die empirischen Ergebnisse der Arbeit basieren auf einer Umfrage aus dem Jahr 2011. Im Rahmen dieses Surveys habe ich die mittleren Manager (Amtsleiter und Fachbereichsleiter) aus acht ausgew{\"a}hlten Bereichen aller kreisfreien St{\"a}dte in Deutschland befragt (n=954). Zur Auswertung der Daten wurden die Verfahren Faktorenanalyse, Multiple Regressionsanalyse und Strukturgleichungsmodellierung eingesetzt. Meine Forschung f{\"o}rderte unter anderem vier Erkenntnisse zu Tage, die durch {\"a}hnliche Befunde der verschiedenen Teile der Dissertation abgesichert sind: 1) Die Verwendung von Performance-Daten kann als bewusstes Verhalten von F{\"u}hrungskr{\"a}ften modelliert werden, das durch deren Einstellung sowie durch die Einstellung ihres sozialen Umfeldes bestimmt wird. 2) H{\"a}ufige Nutzer von Performance-Informationen zeigen {\"u}berraschenderweise keine generelle Pr{\"a}ferenz f{\"u}r das abstrakt-analytische Verarbeiten von Informationen. Stattdessen bevorzugen sie, Informationen durch pers{\"o}nliche Interaktionen aufzunehmen. 3) Manager, die sich fr{\"u}h im Rahmen der Ermittlung von Performance-Informationen engagieren, nutzen diese sp{\"a}ter auch h{\"a}ufiger, um Entscheidungen zu treffen. 4) Performance-Berichte sind nur eine Informationsquelle unter vielen. Verwaltungsmanager pr{\"a}ferieren verbales Feedback von Insidern sowie das Feedback von wichtigen externen Stakeholdern gegen{\"u}ber systematischen Performance-Daten. Die Dissertation erkl{\"a}rt diese Befunde theoretisch und verdeutlicht deren Implikationen f{\"u}r Theorie und Praxis.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Verch2023, author = {Verch, Ronald}, title = {Whole-body electrical muscle stimulation superimposed walking as training tool in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-63424}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-634240}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {IX, 78}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Background: The worldwide prevalence of diabetes has been increasing in recent years, with a projected prevalence of 700 million patients by 2045, leading to economic burdens on societies. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), representing more than 95\% of all diabetes cases, is a multifactorial metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance leading to an imbalance between insulin requirements and supply. Overweight and obesity are the main risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. The lifestyle modification of following a healthy diet and physical activity are the primary successful treatment and prevention methods for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Problems may exist with patients not achieving recommended levels of physical activity. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is an increasingly popular training method and has become in the focus of research in recent years. It involves the external application of an electric field to muscles, which can lead to muscle contraction. Positive effects of EMS training have been found in healthy individuals as well as in various patient groups. New EMS devices offer a wide range of mobile applications for whole-body electrical muscle stimulation (WB-EMS) training, e.g., the intensification of dynamic low-intensity endurance exercises through WB-EMS. This dissertation project aims to investigate whether WB-EMS is suitable for intensifying low-intensive dynamic exercises such as walking and Nordic walking. Methods: Two independent studies were conducted. The first study aimed to investigate the reliability of exercise parameters during the 10-meter Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (10MISWT) using superimposed WB-EMS (research question 1, sub-question a) and the difference in exercise intensity compared to conventional walking (CON-W, research question 1, sub-question b). The second study aimed to compare differences in exercise parameters between superimposed WB-EMS (WB-EMS-W) and conventional walking (CON-W), as well as between superimposed WB-EMS (WB-EMS-NW) and conventional Nordic walking (CON-NW) on a treadmill (research question 2). Both studies took place in participant groups of healthy, moderately active men aged 35-70 years. During all measurements, the Easy Motion Skin® WB-EMS low frequency stimulation device with adjustable intensities for eight muscle groups was used. The current intensity was individually adjusted for each participant at each trial to ensure safety, avoiding pain and muscle cramps. In study 1, thirteen individuals were included for each sub question. A randomized cross-over design with three measurement appointments used was to avoid confounding factors such as delayed onset muscle soreness. The 10MISWT was performed until the participants no longer met the criteria of the test and recording five outcome measures: peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), relative VO2peak (rel.VO2peak), maximum walk distance (MWD), blood lactate concentration, and the rate of perceived exertion (RPE). Eleven participants were included in study 2. A randomized cross-over design in a study with four measurement appointments was used to avoid confounding factors. A treadmill test protocol at constant velocity (6.5 m/s) was developed to compare exercise intensities. Oxygen uptake (VO2), relative VO2 (rel.VO2) blood lactate, and the RPE were used as outcome variables. Test-retest reliability between measurements was determined using a compilation of absolute and relative measures of reliability. Outcome measures in study 2 were studied using multifactorial analyses of variances. Results: Reliability analysis showed good reliability for VO2peak, rel.VO2peak, MWD and RPE with no statistically significant difference for WB-EMS-W during 10WISWT. However, differences compared to conventional walking in outcome variables were not found. The analysis of the treadmill tests showed significant effects for the factors CON/WB-EMS and W/NW for the outcome variables VO2, rel.VO2 and lactate, with both factors leading to higher results. However, the difference in VO2 and relative VO2 is within the range of biological variability of ± 12\%. The factor combination EMS∗W/NW is statistically non-significant for all three variables. WB-EMS resulted in the higher RPE values, RPE differences for W/NW and EMS∗W/NW were not significant. Discussion: The present project found good reliability for measuring VO2peak, rel. VO2peak, MWD and RPE during 10MISWT during WB-EMS-W, confirming prior research of the test. The test appears technically limited rather than physiologically in healthy, moderately active men. However, it is unsuitable for investigating differences in exercise intensities using WB-EMS-W compared to CON-W due to different perceptions of current intensity between exercise and rest. A treadmill test with constant walking speed was conducted to adjust individual maximum tolerable current intensity for the second part of the project. The treadmill test showed a significant increase in metabolic demands during WB-EMS-W and WB-EMS-NW by an increased VO2 and blood lactate concentration. However, the clinical relevance of these findings remains debatable. The study also found that WB-EMS superimposed exercises are perceived as more strenuous than conventional exercise. While in parts comparable studies lead to higher results for VO2, our results are in line with those of other studies using the same frequency. Due to the minor clinical relevance the use of WB-EMS as exercise intensification tool during walking and Nordic walking is limited. High device cost should be considered. Habituation to WB-EMS could increase current intensity tolerance and VO2 and make it a meaningful method in the treatment of T2DM. Recent figures show that WB-EMS is used in obese people to achieve health and weight goals. The supposed benefit should be further investigated scientifically.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Jacob2022, author = {Jacob, Karen}, title = {Who are the Bene Israel from India?}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-55450}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-554508}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {146}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This study explores the identity of the Bene Israel caste from India and its assimilation into Israeli society. The large immigration from India to Israel started in the early 1950s and continued until the early 1970s. Initially, these immigrants struggled hard as they faced many problems such as the language barrier, cultural differences, a new climate, geographical isolation, and racial discrimination. This analysis focuses on the three major aspects of the integration process involving the Bene Israel: economic, socio-cultural and political. The study covers the period from the early fifties to the present. I will focus on the origin of the Bene Israel, which has evolved after their immigration to Israel; from a Hindu-Muslim lifestyle and customs they integrated into the Jewish life of Israel. Despite its ethnographic nature, this study has theological implications as it is an encounter between Jewish monotheism and Indian polytheism. All the western scholars who researched the Bene Israel community felt impelled to rely on information received by community members themselves. No written historical evidence recorded Bene Israel culture and origin. Only during the nineteenth century onwards, after the intrusion of western Jewish missionaries, were Jewish books translated into Marathi . Missionary activities among the Bene Israel served as a catalyst for the Bene Israel themselves to investigate their historical past . Haeem Samuel Kehimkar (1830-1908), a Bene Israel teacher, wrote notes on the history of the Bene Israel in India in Marathi in 1897. Brenda Ness wrote in her dissertation: The results [of the missionary activities] are several works about the community in English and Marathi by Bene-Israel authors which have appeared during the last century. These are, for the most part, not documented; they consist of much theorizing on accepted tradition and tend to be apologetic in nature. There can be no philosophical explanation or rational justification for an entire community to leave their motherland India, and enter into a process of annihilation of its own free will. I see this as a social and cultural suicide. In craving for a better future in Israel, the Indian Bene Israel community pays an enormously heavy price as a people that are today discarded by the East and disowned by the West: because they chose to become something that they never were and never could be. As it is written, "know where you came from, and where you are going." A community with an ancient history from a spiritual culture has completely lost its identity and self-esteem. In concluding this dissertation, I realize the dilemma with which I have confronted the members of the Bene Israel community which I have reviewed after strenuous and constant self-examination. I chose to evolve the diversifications of the younger generations urges towards acceptance, and wish to clarify my intricate analysis of this controversial community. The complexity of living in a Jewish State, where citizens cannot fulfill their basic desires, like matrimony, forced an entire community to conceal their true identity and perjure themselves to blend in, for the sake of national integration. Although scholars accepted their new claims, the skepticism of the rabbinate authorities prevails, and they refuse to marry them to this day, suspecting they are an Indian caste.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Itonaga2009, author = {Itonaga, Naomi}, title = {White storks (Ciconia ciconia) of Eastern Germany: age-dependent breeding ability, and age- and density-dependent effects on dispersal behavior}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-39052}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Dispersal behavior plays an important role for the geographical distribution and population structure of any given species. Individual's fitness, reproductive and competitive ability, and dispersal behavior can be determined by the age of the individual. Age-dependent as well as density-dependent dispersal patterns are common in many bird species. In this thesis, I first present age-dependent breeding ability and natal site fidelity in white storks (Ciconia ciconia); migratory birds breeding in large parts of Europe. I predicted that both the proportion of breeding birds and natal site fidelity increase with the age. After the seventies of the last century, following a steep population decline, a recovery of the white stork population has been observed in many regions in Europe. Increasing population density in the white stork population in Eastern Germany especially after 1983 allowed examining density- as well as age-dependent breeding dispersal patterns. Therefore second, I present whether: young birds show more often and longer breeding dispersal than old birds, and frequency of dispersal events increase with the population density increase, especially in the young storks. Third, I present age- and density-dependent dispersal direction preferences in the give population. I asked whether and how the major spring migration direction interacts with dispersal directions of white storks: in different age, and under different population densities. The proportion of breeding individuals increased in the first 22 years of life and then decreased suggesting, the senescent decay in aging storks. Young storks were more faithful to their natal sites than old storks probably due to their innate migratory direction and distance. Young storks dispersed more frequently than old storks in general, but not for longer distance. Proportion of dispersing individuals increased significantly with increasing population densities indicating, density- dependent dispersal behavior in white storks. Moreover, the finding of a significant interaction effects between the age of dispersing birds and year (1980-2006) suggesting, older birds dispersed more from their previous nest sites over time due to increased competition. Both young and old storks dispersed along their spring migration direction; however, directional preferences were different in young storks and old storks. Young storks tended to settle down before reaching their previous nest sites (leading to the south-eastward dispersal) while old birds tended to keep migrating along the migration direction after reaching their previous nest sites (leading to the north-westward dispersal). Cues triggering dispersal events may be age-dependent. Changes in the dispersal direction over time were observed. Dispersal direction became obscured during the second half of the observation period (1993-2006). Increase in competition may affect dispersal behavior in storks. I discuss the potential role of: age for the observed age-dependent dispersal behavior, and competition for the density dependent dispersal behavior. This Ph.D. thesis contributes significantly to the understanding of population structure and geographical distribution of white storks. Moreover, presented age- and density (competition)-dependent dispersal behavior helps understanding underpinning mechanisms of dispersal behavior in bird species.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Knoll2013, author = {Knoll, Lisa Joanna}, title = {When the hedgehog kisses the frog : a functional and structural investigatin of syntactic processing in the developing brain}, series = {MPI series in human cognitive and brain sciences}, volume = {150}, journal = {MPI series in human cognitive and brain sciences}, publisher = {MPI}, address = {Leipzig}, isbn = {978-3-941504-34-9}, pages = {157 S.}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{SchmidtKassow2007, author = {Schmidt-Kassow, Maren}, title = {What? beat got to do with it? The influence of meter on syntactic processing: ERP evidence from healthy and patient populations}, series = {MPI series in human cognitive and brain sciences}, volume = {89}, journal = {MPI series in human cognitive and brain sciences}, publisher = {MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences}, address = {Leipzig}, isbn = {978-3-936816-63-1}, pages = {iii, 190 S. : Ill., graph. Darst.}, year = {2007}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Lorey2014, author = {Lorey, Johannes}, title = {What's in a query : analyzing, predicting, and managing linked data access}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-72312}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The term Linked Data refers to connected information sources comprising structured data about a wide range of topics and for a multitude of applications. In recent years, the conceptional and technical foundations of Linked Data have been formalized and refined. To this end, well-known technologies have been established, such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a Linked Data model or the SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) for retrieving this information. Whereas most research has been conducted in the area of generating and publishing Linked Data, this thesis presents novel approaches for improved management. In particular, we illustrate new methods for analyzing and processing SPARQL queries. Here, we present two algorithms suitable for identifying structural relationships between these queries. Both algorithms are applied to a large number of real-world requests to evaluate the performance of the approaches and the quality of their results. Based on this, we introduce different strategies enabling optimized access of Linked Data sources. We demonstrate how the presented approach facilitates effective utilization of SPARQL endpoints by prefetching results relevant for multiple subsequent requests. Furthermore, we contribute a set of metrics for determining technical characteristics of such knowledge bases. To this end, we devise practical heuristics and validate them through thorough analysis of real-world data sources. We discuss the findings and evaluate their impact on utilizing the endpoints. Moreover, we detail the adoption of a scalable infrastructure for improving Linked Data discovery and consumption. As we outline in an exemplary use case, this platform is eligible both for processing and provisioning the corresponding information.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Urbach2012, author = {Urbach, Tina}, title = {What makes or breaks proactivity at work : how personal motives affect the evaluation of improvement suggestions}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {226 S.}, year = {2012}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Scheithauer2019, author = {Scheithauer, Linda}, title = {What have you been doing besides studying? Evaluators' competence attributions on extracurricular activities in application documents}, pages = {213}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Maraun2006, author = {Maraun, Douglas}, title = {What can we learn from climate data? : Methods for fluctuation, time/scale and phase analysis}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-9047}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2006}, abstract = {Since Galileo Galilei invented the first thermometer, researchers have tried to understand the complex dynamics of ocean and atmosphere by means of scientific methods. They observe nature and formulate theories about the climate system. Since some decades powerful computers are capable to simulate the past and future evolution of climate. Time series analysis tries to link the observed data to the computer models: Using statistical methods, one estimates characteristic properties of the underlying climatological processes that in turn can enter the models. The quality of an estimation is evaluated by means of error bars and significance testing. On the one hand, such a test should be capable to detect interesting features, i.e. be sensitive. On the other hand, it should be robust and sort out false positive results, i.e. be specific. This thesis mainly aims to contribute to methodological questions of time series analysis with a focus on sensitivity and specificity and to apply the investigated methods to recent climatological problems. First, the inference of long-range correlations by means of Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) is studied. It is argued that power-law scaling of the fluctuation function and thus long-memory may not be assumed a priori but have to be established. This requires to investigate the local slopes of the fluctuation function. The variability characteristic for stochastic processes is accounted for by calculating empirical confidence regions. The comparison of a long-memory with a short-memory model shows that the inference of long-range correlations from a finite amount of data by means of DFA is not specific. When aiming to infer short memory by means of DFA, a local slope larger than \$\alpha=0.5\$ for large scales does not necessarily imply long-memory. Also, a finite scaling of the autocorrelation function is shifted to larger scales in the fluctuation function. It turns out that long-range correlations cannot be concluded unambiguously from the DFA results for the Prague temperature data set. In the second part of the thesis, an equivalence class of nonstationary Gaussian stochastic processes is defined in the wavelet domain. These processes are characterized by means of wavelet multipliers and exhibit well defined time dependent spectral properties; they allow one to generate realizations of any nonstationary Gaussian process. The dependency of the realizations on the wavelets used for the generation is studied, bias and variance of the wavelet sample spectrum are calculated. To overcome the difficulties of multiple testing, an areawise significance test is developed and compared to the conventional pointwise test in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Applications to Climatological and Hydrological questions are presented. The thesis at hand mainly aims to contribute to methodological questions of time series analysis and to apply the investigated methods to recent climatological problems. In the last part, the coupling between El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Monsoon on inter-annual time scales is studied by means of Hilbert transformation and a curvature defined phase. This method allows one to investigate the relation of two oscillating systems with respect to their phases, independently of their amplitudes. The performance of the technique is evaluated using a toy model. From the data, distinct epochs are identified, especially two intervals of phase coherence, 1886-1908 and 1964-1980, confirming earlier findings from a new point of view. A significance test of high specificity corroborates these results. Also so far unknown periods of coupling invisible to linear methods are detected. These findings suggest that the decreasing correlation during the last decades might be partly inherent to the ENSO/Monsoon system. Finally, a possible interpretation of how volcanic radiative forcing could cause the coupling is outlined.}, subject = {Spektralanalyse }, language = {en} } @phdthesis{CamaraMattosMartins2011, author = {Camara Mattos Martins, Marina}, title = {What are the downstream targets of trehalose-6-phosphate signalling in plants?}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {164 S.}, year = {2011}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{FigueroaCampos2022, author = {Figueroa Campos, Gustavo Adolfo}, title = {Wet-coffee processing production wastes}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-55882}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-558828}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {X, 159}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Countries processing raw coffee beans are burdened with low economical incomes to fight the serious environmental problems caused by the by-products and wastewater that is generated during the wet-coffee processing. The aim of this work was to develop alternative methods of improving the waste by-product quality and thus making the process economically more attractive with valorization options that can be brought to the coffee producers. The type of processing influences not only the constitution of green coffee but also of by-products and wastewater. Therefore, coffee bean samples as well as by-products and wastewater collected at different production steps of were analyzed. Results show that the composition of wastewater is dependent on how much and how often the wastewater is recycled in the processing. Considering the coffee beans, results indicate that the proteins might be affected during processing and a positive effect of the fermentation on the solubility and accessibility of proteins seems to be probable. The steps of coffee processing influence the different constituents of green coffee beans which, during roasting, give rise to aroma compounds and express the characteristics of roasted coffee beans. Knowing that this group of compounds is involved in the Maillard reaction during roasting, this possibility could be utilized for the coffee producers to improve the quality of green coffee beans and finally the coffee cup quality. The valorization of coffee wastes through modification to activated carbon has been considered as a low-cost option creating an adsorbent with prospective to compete with commercial carbons. Activation protocol using spent coffee and parchment was developed and prepared to assess their adsorption capacity for organic compounds. Spent coffee grounds and parchment proved to have similar adsorption efficiency to commercial activated carbon. The results of this study document a significant information originating from the processing of the de-pulped to green coffee beans. Furthermore, it showed that coffee parchment and spent coffee grounds can be valorized as low-cost option to produce activated carbons. Further work needs to be directed to the optimization of the activation methods to improve the quality of the materials produced and the viability of applying such experiments in-situ to bring the coffee producer further valorization opportunities with environmental perspectives. Coffee producers would profit in establishing appropriate simple technologies to improve green coffee quality, re-use coffee by-products, and wastewater valorization.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Fuchs2013, author = {Fuchs, Sven}, title = {Well-log based determination of rock thermal conductivity in the North German Basin}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-67801}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In sedimentary basins, rock thermal conductivity can vary both laterally and vertically, thus altering the basin's thermal structure locally and regionally. Knowledge of the thermal conductivity of geological formations and its spatial variations is essential, not only for quantifying basin evolution and hydrocarbon maturation processes, but also for understanding geothermal conditions in a geological setting. In conjunction with the temperature gradient, thermal conductivity represents the basic input parameter for the determination of the heat-flow density; which, in turn, is applied as a major input parameter in thermal modeling at different scales. Drill-core samples, which are necessary to determine thermal properties by laboratory measurements, are rarely available and often limited to previously explored reservoir formations. Thus, thermal conductivities of Mesozoic rocks in the North German Basin (NGB) are largely unknown. In contrast, geophysical borehole measurements are often available for the entire drilled sequence. Therefore, prediction equations to determine thermal conductivity based on well-log data are desirable. In this study rock thermal conductivity was investigated on different scales by (1) providing thermal-conductivity measurements on Mesozoic rocks, (2) evaluating and improving commonly applied mixing models which were used to estimate matrix and pore-filled rock thermal conductivities, and (3) developing new well-log based equations to predict thermal conductivity in boreholes without core control. Laboratory measurements are performed on sedimentary rock of major geothermal reservoirs in the Northeast German Basin (NEGB) (Aalenian, Rhaethian-Liassic, Stuttgart Fm., and Middle Buntsandstein). Samples are obtained from eight deep geothermal wells that approach depths of up to 2,500 m. Bulk thermal conductivities of Mesozoic sandstones range between 2.1 and 3.9 W/(m∙K), while matrix thermal conductivity ranges between 3.4 and 7.4 W/(m∙K). Local heat flow for the Stralsund location averages 76 mW/m², which is in good agreement to values reported previously for the NEGB. For the first time, in-situ bulk thermal conductivity is indirectly calculated for entire borehole profiles in the NEGB using the determined surface heat flow and measured temperature data. Average bulk thermal conductivity, derived for geological formations within the Mesozoic section, ranges between 1.5 and 3.1 W/(m∙K). The measurement of both dry- and water-saturated thermal conductivities allow further evaluation of different two-component mixing models which are often applied in geothermal calculations (e.g., arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, Hashin-Shtrikman mean, and effective-medium theory mean). It is found that the geometric-mean model shows the best correlation between calculated and measured bulk thermal conductivity. However, by applying new model-dependent correction, equations the quality of fit could be significantly improved and the error diffusion of each model reduced. The 'corrected' geometric mean provides the most satisfying results and constitutes a universally applicable model for sedimentary rocks. Furthermore, lithotype-specific and model-independent conversion equations are developed permitting a calculation of water-saturated thermal conductivity from dry-measured thermal conductivity and porosity within an error range of 5 to 10\%. The limited availability of core samples and the expensive core-based laboratory measurements make it worthwhile to use petrophysical well logs to determine thermal conductivity for sedimentary rocks. The approach followed in this study is based on the detailed analyses of the relationships between thermal conductivity of rock-forming minerals, which are most abundant in sedimentary rocks, and the properties measured by standard logging tools. By using multivariate statistics separately for clastic, carbonate and evaporite rocks, the findings from these analyses allow the development of prediction equations from large artificial data sets that predict matrix thermal conductivity within an error of 4 to 11\%. These equations are validated successfully on a comprehensive subsurface data set from the NGB. In comparison to the application of earlier published approaches formation-dependent developed for certain areas, the new developed equations show a significant error reduction of up to 50\%. These results are used to infer rock thermal conductivity for entire borehole profiles. By inversion of corrected in-situ thermal-conductivity profiles, temperature profiles are calculated and compared to measured high-precision temperature logs. The resulting uncertainty in temperature prediction averages < 5\%, which reveals the excellent temperature prediction capabilities using the presented approach. In conclusion, data and methods are provided to achieve a much more detailed parameterization of thermal models.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Pingel2021, author = {Pingel, Ruta}, title = {Well-being effects of proactivity through the lens of self-determination theory}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {106}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In modern times of evolving globalization and continuous technological developments, organizations are required to respond to ever-changing demands. Therefore, to be successful in today's highly uncertain environments, organizations need employees to actively search for opportunities, anticipate challenges, and act ahead. In other words, employee proactivity in the workplace represents a highly valuable resource in nowadays organizations. Empirical studies conducted as part of this thesis advance the research on the outcomes of proactivity from the individual perspective. The main contribution of this thesis pertains to revealing several important individual and contextual conditions under which engaging in proactivity will have negative and positive effects on employees' well-being and their consequent behaviours, as well as shedding light on the unique psychological mechanisms through which these effects unfold. From a practical standpoint, this research underscores the importance of creating work environments that support employees' autonomous motivation for proactivity and urge organizations and managers to be mindful about the pressures they place on employees to be proactive at work. Besides, this thesis stimulates research efforts aimed at further extending our knowledge of when and how individual proactive behaviours at work will do more good than harm for those who enact them.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mofina2012, author = {Mofina, Sabine}, title = {Weighing the Role of the Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1a in Tumor and Stroma for tumorigenesis}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {IX, 132 S.}, year = {2012}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{LedererKessler2008, author = {Lederer, Markus and Kessler, Oliver}, title = {Weber, S., (Hrsg.) Globalization and the European Political Economy; New York, Univ., 2001}, year = {2008}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Klimke2018, author = {Klimke, Jan}, title = {Web-based provisioning and application of large-scale virtual 3D city models}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42805}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-428053}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xiii, 141}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Virtual 3D city models represent and integrate a variety of spatial data and georeferenced data related to urban areas. With the help of improved remote-sensing technology, official 3D cadastral data, open data or geodata crowdsourcing, the quantity and availability of such data are constantly expanding and its quality is ever improving for many major cities and metropolitan regions. There are numerous fields of applications for such data, including city planning and development, environmental analysis and simulation, disaster and risk management, navigation systems, and interactive city maps. The dissemination and the interactive use of virtual 3D city models represent key technical functionality required by nearly all corresponding systems, services, and applications. The size and complexity of virtual 3D city models, their management, their handling, and especially their visualization represent challenging tasks. For example, mobile applications can hardly handle these models due to their massive data volume and data heterogeneity. Therefore, the efficient usage of all computational resources (e.g., storage, processing power, main memory, and graphics hardware, etc.) is a key requirement for software engineering in this field. Common approaches are based on complex clients that require the 3D model data (e.g., 3D meshes and 2D textures) to be transferred to them and that then render those received 3D models. However, these applications have to implement most stages of the visualization pipeline on client side. Thus, as high-quality 3D rendering processes strongly depend on locally available computer graphics resources, software engineering faces the challenge of building robust cross-platform client implementations. Web-based provisioning aims at providing a service-oriented software architecture that consists of tailored functional components for building web-based and mobile applications that manage and visualize virtual 3D city models. This thesis presents corresponding concepts and techniques for web-based provisioning of virtual 3D city models. In particular, it introduces services that allow us to efficiently build applications for virtual 3D city models based on a fine-grained service concept. The thesis covers five main areas: 1. A Service-Based Concept for Image-Based Provisioning of Virtual 3D City Models It creates a frame for a broad range of services related to the rendering and image-based dissemination of virtual 3D city models. 2. 3D Rendering Service for Virtual 3D City Models This service provides efficient, high-quality 3D rendering functionality for virtual 3D city models. In particular, it copes with requirements such as standardized data formats, massive model texturing, detailed 3D geometry, access to associated feature data, and non-assumed frame-to-frame coherence for parallel service requests. In addition, it supports thematic and artistic styling based on an expandable graphics effects library. 3. Layered Map Service for Virtual 3D City Models It generates a map-like representation of virtual 3D city models using an oblique view. It provides high visual quality, fast initial loading times, simple map-based interaction and feature data access. Based on a configurable client framework, mobile and web-based applications for virtual 3D city models can be created easily. 4. Video Service for Virtual 3D City Models It creates and synthesizes videos from virtual 3D city models. Without requiring client-side 3D rendering capabilities, users can create camera paths by a map-based user interface, configure scene contents, styling, image overlays, text overlays, and their transitions. The service significantly reduces the manual effort typically required to produce such videos. The videos can automatically be updated when the underlying data changes. 5. Service-Based Camera Interaction It supports task-based 3D camera interactions, which can be integrated seamlessly into service-based visualization applications. It is demonstrated how to build such web-based interactive applications for virtual 3D city models using this camera service. These contributions provide a framework for design, implementation, and deployment of future web-based applications, systems, and services for virtual 3D city models. The approach shows how to decompose the complex, monolithic functionality of current 3D geovisualization systems into independently designed, implemented, and operated service- oriented units. In that sense, this thesis also contributes to microservice architectures for 3D geovisualization systems—a key challenge of today's IT systems engineering to build scalable IT solutions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Leeratanavalee2002, author = {Leeratanavalee, Sorasak}, title = {Weak Hypersubstitutions}, pages = {105 S.}, year = {2002}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hayn2010, author = {Hayn, Michael}, title = {Wavelet analysis and spline modeling of geophysical data on the sphere}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {95 S. : graph. Darst.}, year = {2010}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Solopow2019, author = {Solopow, Sergej}, title = {Wavelength dependent demagnetization dynamics in Co2MnGa Heusler-alloy}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42786}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427860}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {91}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In dieser Arbeit haben wir ultraschnelle Entmagnetisierung an einer Heusler-Legierung untersucht. Es handelt sich um ein Halbmetall, das sich in einer ferromagnetischen Phase befindet. Die Besonderheit dieses Materials besteht im Aufbau einer Bandstruktur. Diese bildet Zustandsdichten, in der die Majorit{\"a}tselektronen eine metallische B{\"a}nderbildung aufweisen und die Minorit{\"a}tselektronen eine Bandl{\"u}cke in der N{\"a}he des Fermi-Niveaus aufweisen, das dem Aufbau eines Halbleiters entspricht. Mit Hilfe der Pump-Probe-Experimente haben wir zeitaufgel{\"o}ste Messungen durchgef{\"u}hrt. F{\"u}r das Pumpen wurden ultrakurze Laserpulse mit einer Pulsdauer von 100 fs benutzt. Wir haben dabei zwei verschiedene Wellenl{\"a}ngen mit 400 nm und 1240 nm benutzt, um den Effekt der Prim{\"a}ranregung und der Bandl{\"u}cke in den Minorit{\"a}tszust{\"a}nden zu untersuchen. Dabei wurde zum ersten Mal OPA (Optical Parametrical Amplifier) f{\"u}r die Erzeugung der langwelligen Pulse an der FEMTOSPEX-Beamline getestet und erfolgreich bei den Experimenten verwendet. Wir haben Wellenl{\"a}ngen bedingte Unterschiede in der Entmagnetisierungszeit gemessen. Mit der Erh{\"o}hung der Photonenenergie ist der Prozess der Entmagnetisierung deutlich schneller als bei einer niedrigeren Photonenenergie. Wir verkn{\"u}pften diese Ergebnisse mit der Existenz der Energiel{\"u}cke f{\"u}r Minorit{\"a}tselektronen. Mit Hilfe lokaler Elliot-Yafet-Streuprozesse k{\"o}nnen die beobachteten Zeiten gut erkl{\"a}rt werden. Wir haben in dieser Arbeit auch eine neue Probe-Methode f{\"u}r die Magnetisierung angewandt und somit experimentell deren Effektivit{\"a}t, n{\"a}mlich XMCD in Refletiongeometry, best{\"a}tigen k{\"o}nnen. Statische Experimente liefern somit deutliche Indizien daf{\"u}r, dass eine magnetische von einer rein elektronischen Antwort des Systems getrennt werden kann. Unter der Voraussetzung, dass die Photonenenergie der R{\"o}ntgenstrahlung auf die L3 Kante des entsprechenden Elements eingestellt, ein geeigneter Einfallswinkel gew{\"a}hlt und die zirkulare Polarisation fixiert wird, ist es m{\"o}glich, diese Methode zur Analyse magnetischer und elektronischer Respons anzuwenden.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{FortesMartin2023, author = {Fortes Mart{\´i}n, Rebeca}, title = {Water-in-oil microemulsions as soft-templates to mediate nanoparticle interfacial assembly into hybrid nanostructures}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57180}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-571801}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {119}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Hybrid nanomaterials offer the combination of individual properties of different types of nanoparticles. Some strategies for the development of new nanostructures in larger scale rely on the self-assembly of nanoparticles as a bottom-up approach. The use of templates provides ordered assemblies in defined patterns. In a typical soft-template, nanoparticles and other surface-active agents are incorporated into non-miscible liquids. The resulting self-organized dispersions will mediate nanoparticle interactions to control the subsequent self-assembly. Especially interactions between nanoparticles of very different dispersibility and functionality can be directed at a liquid-liquid interface. In this project, water-in-oil microemulsions were formulated from quasi-ternary mixtures with Aerosol-OT as surfactant. Oleyl-capped superparamagnetic iron oxide and/or silver nanoparticles were incorporated in the continuous organic phase, while polyethyleneimine-stabilized gold nanoparticles were confined in the dispersed water droplets. Each type of nanoparticle can modulate the surfactant film and the inter-droplet interactions in diverse ways, and their combination causes synergistic effects. Interfacial assemblies of nanoparticles resulted after phase-separation. On one hand, from a biphasic Winsor type II system at low surfactant concentration, drop-casting of the upper phase afforded thin films of ordered nanoparticles in filament-like networks. Detailed characterization proved that this templated assembly over a surface is based on the controlled clustering of nanoparticles and the elongation of the microemulsion droplets. This process offers versatility to use different nanoparticle compositions by keeping the surface functionalization, in different solvents and over different surfaces. On the other hand, a magnetic heterocoagulate was formed at higher surfactant concentration, whose phase-transfer from oleic acid to water was possible with another auxiliary surfactant in ethanol-water mixture. When the original components were initially mixed under heating, defined oil-in-water, magnetic-responsive nanostructures were obtained, consisting on water-dispersible nanoparticle domains embedded by a matrix-shell of oil-dispersible nanoparticles. Herein, two different approaches were demonstrated to form diverse hybrid nanostructures from reverse microemulsions as self-organized dispersions of the same components. This shows that microemulsions are versatile soft-templates not only for the synthesis of nanoparticles, but also for their self-assembly, which suggest new approaches towards the production of new sophisticated nanomaterials in larger scale.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Burdack2014, author = {Burdack, Doreen}, title = {Water management policies and their impact on irrigated crop production in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, isbn = {978-3-86956-306-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-72245}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {307}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The economic impact analysis contained in this book shows how irrigation farming is particularly susceptible when applying certain water management policies in the Australian Murray-Darling Basin, one of the world largest river basins and Australia's most fertile region. By comparing different pricing and non-pricing water management policies with the help of the Water Integrated Market Model, it is found that the impact of water demand reducing policies is most severe on crops that need to be intensively irrigated and are at the same time less water productive. A combination of increasingly frequent and severe droughts and the application of policies that decrease agricultural water demand, in the same region, will create a situation in which the highly water dependent crops rice and cotton cannot be cultivated at all.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Munz2017, author = {Munz, Matthias}, title = {Water flow and heat transport modelling at the interface between river and aquifer}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-404319}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {XIII, 123}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The functioning of the surface water-groundwater interface as buffer, filter and reactive zone is important for water quality, ecological health and resilience of streams and riparian ecosystems. Solute and heat exchange across this interface is driven by the advection of water. Characterizing the flow conditions in the streambed is challenging as flow patterns are often complex and multidimensional, driven by surface hydraulic gradients and groundwater discharge. This thesis presents the results of an integrated approach of studies, ranging from the acquisition of field data, the development of analytical and numerical approaches to analyse vertical temperature profiles to the detailed, fully-integrated 3D numerical modelling of water and heat flux at the reach scale. All techniques were applied in order to characterize exchange flux between stream and groundwater, hyporheic flow paths and temperature patterns. The study was conducted at a reach-scale section of the lowland Selke River, characterized by distinctive pool riffle sequences and fluvial islands and gravel bars. Continuous time series of hydraulic heads and temperatures were measured at different depths in the river bank, the hyporheic zone and within the river. The analyses of the measured diurnal temperature variation in riverbed sediments provided detailed information about the exchange flux between river and groundwater. Beyond the one-dimensional vertical water flow in the riverbed sediment, hyporheic and parafluvial flow patterns were identified. Subsurface flow direction and magnitude around fluvial islands and gravel bars at the study site strongly depended on the position around the geomorphological structures and on the river stage. Horizontal water flux in the streambed substantially impacted temperature patterns in the streambed. At locations with substantial horizontal fluxes the penetration depths of daily temperature fluctuations was reduced in comparison to purely vertical exchange conditions. The calibrated and validated 3D fully-integrated model of reach-scale water and heat fluxes across the river-groundwater interface was able to accurately represent the real system. The magnitude and variations of the simulated temperatures matched the observed ones, with an average mean absolute error of 0.7 °C and an average Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency of 0.87. The simulation results showed that the water and heat exchange at the surface water-groundwater interface is highly variable in space and time with zones of daily temperature oscillations penetrating deep into the sediment and spots of daily constant temperature following the average groundwater temperature. The average hyporheic flow path temperature was found to strongly correlate with the flow path residence time (flow path length) and the temperature gradient between river and groundwater. Despite the complexity of these processes, the simulation results allowed the derivation of a general empirical relationship between the hyporheic residence times and temperature patterns. The presented results improve our understanding of the complex spatial and temporal dynamics of water flux and thermal processes within the shallow streambed. Understanding these links provides a general basis from which to assess hyporheic temperature conditions in river reaches.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Janetschek2016, author = {Janetschek, Hannah}, title = {Water development programs in India}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401337}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {279}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In the past decades, development cooperation (DC) led by conventional bi- and multilateral donors has been joined by a large number of small, private or public-private donors. This pluralism of actors raises questions as to whether or not these new donors are able to implement projects more or less effectively than their conventional counterparts. In contrast to their predecessors, the new donors have committed themselves to be more pragmatic, innovative and flexible in their development cooperation measures. However, they are also criticized for weakening the function of local civil society and have the reputation of being an intransparent and often controversial alternative to public services. With additional financial resources and their new approach to development, the new donors have been described in the literature as playing a controversial role in transforming development cooperation. This dissertation compares the effectiveness of initiatives by new and conventional donors with regard to the provision of public goods and services to the poor in the water and sanitation sector in India. India is an emerging country but it is experiencing high poverty rates and poor water supply in predominantly rural areas. It lends itself for analyzing this research theme as it is currently being confronted by a large number of actors and approaches that aim to find solutions for these challenges . In the theoretical framework of this dissertation, four governance configurations are derived from the interaction of varying actor types with regard to hierarchical and non-hierarchical steering of their interactions. These four governance configurations differ in decision-making responsibilities, accountability and delegation of tasks or direction of information flow. The assumption on actor relationships and steering is supplemented by possible alternative explanations in the empirical investigation, such as resource availability, the inheritance of structures and institutions from previous projects in a project context, gaining acceptance through beneficiaries (local legitimacy) as a door opener, and asymmetries of power in the project context. Case study evidence from seven projects reveals that the actors' relationship is important for successful project delivery. Additionally, the results show that there is a systematic difference between conventional and new donors. Projects led by conventional donors were consistently more successful, due to an actor relationship that placed the responsibility in the hands of the recipient actors and benefited from the trust and reputation of a long-term cooperation. The trust and reputation of conventional donors always went along with a back-up from federal level and trickled down as reputation also at local level implementation. Furthermore, charismatic leaders, as well as the acquired structures and institutions of predecessor projects, also proved to be a positive influencing factor for successful project implementation. Despite the mixed results of the seven case studies, central recommendations for action can be derived for the various actors involved in development cooperation. For example, new donors could fulfill a supplementary function with conventional donors by developing innovative project approaches through pilot studies and then implementing them as a supplement to the projects of conventional donors on the ground. In return, conventional donors would have to make room the new donors by integrating their approaches into already programs in order to promote donor harmonization. It is also important to identify and occupy niches for activities and to promote harmonization among donors on state and federal sides. The empirical results demonstrate the need for a harmonization strategy of different donor types in order to prevent duplication, over-experimentation and the failure of development programs. A transformation to successful and sustainable development cooperation can only be achieved through more coordination processes and national self-responsibility.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Heiden2018, author = {Heiden, Sophia L.}, title = {Water at α-alumina surfaces}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42636}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-426366}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {124}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The (0001) surface of α-Al₂O₃ is the most stable surface cut under UHV conditions and was studied by many groups both theoretically and experimentally. Reaction barriers computed with GGA functionals are known to be underestimated. Based on an example reaction at the (0001) surface, this work seeks to improve this rate by applying a hybrid functional method and perturbation theory (LMP2) with an atomic orbital basis, rather than a plane wave basis. In addition to activation barriers, we calculate the stability and vibrational frequencies of water on the surface. Adsorption energies were compared to PW calculations and confirmed PBE+D2/PW stability results. Especially the vibrational frequencies with the B3LYP hybrid functional that have been calculated for the (0001) surface are in good agreement with experimental findings. Concerning the barriers and the reaction rate constant, the expectations are fully met. It could be shown that recalculation of the transition state leads to an increased barrier, and a decreased rate constant when hybrid functionals or LMP2 are applied. Furthermore, the molecular beam scattering of water on (0001) surface was studied. In a previous work by Hass the dissociation was studied by AIMD of molecularly adsorbed water, referring to an equilibrium situation. The experimental method to obtaining this is pinhole dosing. In contrast to this earlier work, the dissociation process of heavy water that is brought onto the surface from a molecular beam source was modeled in this work by periodic ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. This experimental method results in a non-equilibrium situation. The calculations with different surface and beam models allow us to understand the results of the non-equilibrium situation better. In contrast to a more equilibrium situation with pinhole dosing, this gives an increase in the dissociation probability, which could be explained and also understood mechanistically by those calculations. In this work good progress was made in understanding the (1120) surface of α-Al₂O₃ in contact with water in the low-coverage regime. This surface cut is the third most stable one under UHV conditions and has not been studied to a great extent yet. After optimization of the clean, defect free surface, the stability of different adsorbed species could be classified. One molecular minimum and several dissociated species could be detected. Starting from these, reaction rates for various surface reactions were evaluated. A dissociation reaction was shown to be very fast because the molecular minimum is relatively unstable, whereas diffusion reactions cover a wider range from fast to slow. In general, the (112‾0) surface appears to be much more reactive against water than the (0001) surface. In addition to reactivity, harmonic vibrational frequencies were determined for comparison with the findings of the experimental "Interfacial Molecular Spectroscopy" group from Fritz-Haber institute in Berlin. Especially the vibrational frequencies of OD species could be assigned to vibrations from experimental SFG spectra with very good agreement. Also, lattice vibrations were studied in close collaboration with the experimental partners. They perform SFG spectra at very low frequencies to get deep into the lattice vibration region. Correspondingly, a bigger slab model with greater expansion perpendicular to the surface was applied, considering more layers in the bulk. Also with the lattice vibrations we could obtain reasonably good agreement in terms of energy differences between the peaks.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Walter2009, author = {Walter, Thomas}, title = {Volcano-tectonics: Volcano deformation, dynamics and structure affected by intrusions and earthquakes}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {137 S.}, year = {2009}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Salzer2017, author = {Salzer, Jacqueline T.}, title = {Volcano dome deformation processes analysed with high resolution InSAR and camera-based techniques}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {137}, year = {2017}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ruch2010, author = {Ruch, Jo{\"e}l}, title = {Volcano deformation analysis in the Lazufre area (central Andes) using geodetic and geological observations}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-47361}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Large-scale volcanic deformation recently detected by radar interferometry (InSAR) provides new information and thus new scientific challenges for understanding volcano-tectonic activity and magmatic systems. The destabilization of such a system at depth noticeably affects the surrounding environment through magma injection, ground displacement and volcanic eruptions. To determine the spatiotemporal evolution of the Lazufre volcanic area located in the central Andes, we combined short-term ground displacement acquired by InSAR with long-term geological observations. Ground displacement was first detected using InSAR in 1997. By 2008, this displacement affected 1800 km2 of the surface, an area comparable in size to the deformation observed at caldera systems. The original displacement was followed in 2000 by a second, small-scale, neighbouring deformation located on the Lastarria volcano. We performed a detailed analysis of the volcanic structures at Lazufre and found relationships with the volcano deformations observed with InSAR. We infer that these observations are both likely to be the surface expression of a long-lived magmatic system evolving at depth. It is not yet clear whether Lazufre may trigger larger unrest or volcanic eruptions; however, the second deformation detected at Lastarria and the clear increase of the large-scale deformation rate make this an area of particular interest for closer continuous monitoring.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zali2023, author = {Zali, Zahra}, title = {Volcanic tremor analysis based on advanced signal processing concepts including music information retrieval (MIR) strategies}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-61086}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-610866}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {viii, 95}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Volcanoes are one of the Earth's most dynamic zones and responsible for many changes in our planet. Volcano seismology aims to provide an understanding of the physical processes in volcanic systems and anticipate the style and timing of eruptions by analyzing the seismic records. Volcanic tremor signals are usually observed in the seismic records before or during volcanic eruptions. Their analysis contributes to evaluate the evolving volcanic activity and potentially predict eruptions. Years of continuous seismic monitoring now provide useful information for operational eruption forecasting. The continuously growing amount of seismic recordings, however, poses a challenge for analysis, information extraction, and interpretation, to support timely decision making during volcanic crises. Furthermore, the complexity of eruption processes and precursory activities makes the analysis challenging. A challenge in studying seismic signals of volcanic origin is the coexistence of transient signal swarms and long-lasting volcanic tremor signals. Separating transient events from volcanic tremors can, therefore, contribute to improving our understanding of the underlying physical processes. Some similar issues (data reduction, source separation, extraction, and classification) are addressed in the context of music information retrieval (MIR). The signal characteristics of acoustic and seismic recordings comprise a number of similarities. This thesis is going beyond classical signal analysis techniques usually employed in seismology by exploiting similarities of seismic and acoustic signals and building the information retrieval strategy on the expertise developed in the field of MIR. First, inspired by the idea of harmonic-percussive separation (HPS) in musical signal processing, I have developed a method to extract harmonic volcanic tremor signals and to detect transient events from seismic recordings. This provides a clean tremor signal suitable for tremor investigation along with a characteristic function suitable for earthquake detection. Second, using HPS algorithms, I have developed a noise reduction technique for seismic signals. This method is especially useful for denoising ocean bottom seismometers, which are highly contaminated by noise. The advantage of this method compared to other denoising techniques is that it doesn't introduce distortion to the broadband earthquake waveforms, which makes it reliable for different applications in passive seismological analysis. Third, to address the challenge of extracting information from high-dimensional data and investigating the complex eruptive phases, I have developed an advanced machine learning model that results in a comprehensive signal processing scheme for volcanic tremors. Using this method seismic signatures of major eruptive phases can be automatically detected. This helps to provide a chronology of the volcanic system. Also, this model is capable to detect weak precursory volcanic tremors prior to the eruption, which could be used as an indicator of imminent eruptive activity. The extracted patterns of seismicity and their temporal variations finally provide an explanation for the transition mechanism between eruptive phases.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{ArbabiBidgoli2003, author = {Arbabi-Bidgoli, Sepehr}, title = {Voids in the Large Scale Structure of the Universe}, pages = {108 S.}, year = {2003}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Landes2005, author = {Landes, Nico}, title = {Vitamin E : elucidation of the mechanism of side chain degradation and gene regulatory functions}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5222}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2005}, abstract = {For more than 80 years vitamin E has been in the focus of scientific research. Most of the progress concerning non-antioxidant functions, nevertheless, has only arisen from publications during the last decade. Most recently, the metabolic pathway of vitamin E has been almost completely elucidated. Vitamin E is metabolized by truncation of its side chain. The initial step of an omega-hydroxylation is carried out by cytochromes P450 (CYPs). This was evidenced by the inhibition of the metabolism of alpha-tocopherol by ketoconozole, an inhibitor of CYP3A expression, whereas rifampicin, an inducer of CYP3A expression increased the metabolism of alpha-tocopherol. Although the degradation pathway is identical for all tocopherols and tocotrienols, there is a marked difference in the amount of the release of metabolites from the individual vitamin E forms in cell culture as well as in experimental animals and in humans. Recent findings not only proposed an CYP3A4-mediated degradation of vitamin E but also suggested an induction of the metabolizing enzymes by vitamin E itself. In order to investigate how vitamin E is able to influence the expression of metabolizing enzymes like CYP3A4, a pregnane X receptor (PXR)-based reporter gene assay was chosen. PXR is a nuclear receptor which regulates the transcription of genes, e.g., CYP3A4, by binding to specific DNA response elements. And indeed, as shown here, vitamin E is able to influence the expression of CYP3A via PXR in an in vitro reporter gene assay. Tocotrienols showed the highest activity followed by delta- and alpha-tocopherol. An up-regulation of Cyp3a11 mRNA, the murine homolog of the human CYP3A4, could also be confirmed in an animal experiment. The PXR-mediated change in gene expression displayed the first evidence of a direct transcriptional activity of vitamin E. PXR regulates the expression of genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification, including oxidation, conjugation, and transport. CYP3A, e.g., is involved in the oxidative metabolism of numerous currently used drugs. This opens a discussion of possible side effects of vitamin E, but the extent to which supranutritional doses of vitamin E modulate these pathways in humans has yet to be determined. Additionally, as there is arising evidence that vitamin E's essentiality is more likely to be based on gene regulation than on antioxidant functions, it appeared necessary to further investigate the ability of vitamin E to influence gene expression. Mice were divided in three groups with diets (i) deficient in alpha-tocopherol, (ii) adequate in alpha-tocopherol supply and (iii) with a supranutritional dosage of alpha-tocopherol. After three months, half of each group was supplemented via a gastric tube with a supranutritional dosage of gamma-tocotrienol per day for 7 days. Livers were analyzed for vitamin E content and liver RNA was prepared for hybridization using cDNA array and oligonucleotide array technology. A significant change in gene expression was observed by alpha-tocopherol but not by gamma-tocotrienol and only using the oligonucleotide array but not using the cDNA array. The latter effect is most probably due to the limited number of genes represented on a cDNA array, the lacking gamma-tocotrienol effect is obviously caused by a rapid degradation, which might prevent bioefficacy of gamma-tocotrienol. Alpha-tocopherol changed the expression of various genes. The most striking observation was an up-regulation of genes, which code for proteins involved in synaptic transmitter release and calcium signal transduction. Synapsin, synaptotagmin, synaptophysin, synaptobrevin, RAB3A, complexin 1, Snap25, ionotropic glutamate receptors (alpha 2 and zeta 1) were shown to be up-regulated in the supranutritional group compared to the deficient group. The up-regulation of synaptic genes shown in this work are not only supported by the strong concentration of genes which all are involved in the process of vesicular transport of neurotransmitters, but were also confirmed by a recent publication. However, a confirmation by real time PCR in neuronal tissue like brain is now required to explain the effect of vitamin E on neurological functionality. The change in expression of genes coding for synaptic proteins by vitamin E is of principal interest thus far, since the only human disease directly originating from an inadequate vitamin E status is ataxia with isolated vitamin E deficiency. Therefore, with the results of this work, an explanation for the observed neurological symptoms associated with vitamin E deficiency can be presented for the first time.}, subject = {Vitamin E}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schmiedchen2014, author = {Schmiedchen, Bettina}, title = {Vitamin D and its linkage between chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular integrity}, pages = {113}, year = {2014}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zona2024, author = {Zona, Carlotta Isabella}, title = {Visuo-linguistic integration for thematic-role assignment across speakers}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-63185}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-631857}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {147}, year = {2024}, abstract = {This dissertation examines the integration of incongruent visual-scene and morphological-case information ("cues") in building thematic-role representations of spoken relative clauses in German. Addressing the mutual influence of visual and linguistic processing, the Coordinated Interplay Account (CIA) describes a mechanism in two steps supporting visuo-linguistic integration (Knoeferle \& Crocker, 2006, Cog Sci). However, the outcomes and dynamics of integrating incongruent thematic-role representations from distinct sources have been investigated scarcely. Further, there is evidence that both second-language (L2) and older speakers may rely on non-syntactic cues relatively more than first-language (L1)/young speakers. Yet, the role of visual information for thematic-role comprehension has not been measured in L2 speakers, and only limitedly across the adult lifespan. Thematically unambiguous canonically ordered (subject-extracted) and noncanonically ordered (object-extracted) spoken relative clauses in German (see 1a-b) were presented in isolation and alongside visual scenes conveying either the same (congruent) or the opposite (incongruent) thematic relations as the sentence did. 1 a Das ist der Koch, der die Braut verfolgt. This is the.NOM cook who.NOM the.ACC bride follows This is the cook who is following the bride. b Das ist der Koch, den die Braut verfolgt. This is the.NOM cook whom.ACC the.NOM bride follows This is the cook whom the bride is following. The relative contribution of each cue to thematic-role representations was assessed with agent identification. Accuracy and latency data were collected post-sentence from a sample of L1 and L2 speakers (Zona \& Felser, 2023), and from a sample of L1 speakers from across the adult lifespan (Zona \& Reifegerste, under review). In addition, the moment-by-moment dynamics of thematic-role assignment were investigated with mouse tracking in a young L1 sample (Zona, under review). The following questions were addressed: (1) How do visual scenes influence thematic-role representations of canonical and noncanonical sentences? (2) How does reliance on visual-scene, case, and word-order cues vary in L1 and L2 speakers? (3) How does reliance on visual-scene, case, and word-order cues change across the lifespan? The results showed reliable effects of incongruence of visually and linguistically conveyed thematic relations on thematic-role representations. Incongruent (vs. congruent) scenes yielded slower and less accurate responses to agent-identification probes presented post-sentence. The recently inspected agent was considered as the most likely agent ~300ms after trial onset, and the convergence of visual scenes and word order enabled comprehenders to assign thematic roles predictively. L2 (vs. L1) participants relied more on word order overall. In response to noncanonical clauses presented with incongruent visual scenes, sensitivity to case predicted the size of incongruence effects better than L1-L2 grouping. These results suggest that the individual's ability to exploit specific cues might predict their weighting. Sensitivity to case was stable throughout the lifespan, while visual effects increased with increasing age and were modulated by individual interference-inhibition levels. Thus, age-related changes in comprehension may stem from stronger reliance on visually (vs. linguistically) conveyed meaning. These patterns represent evidence for a recent-role preference - i.e., a tendency to re-assign visually conveyed thematic roles to the same referents in temporally coordinated utterances. The findings (i) extend the generalizability of CIA predictions across stimuli, tasks, populations, and measures of interest, (ii) contribute to specifying the outcomes and mechanisms of detecting and indexing incongruent representations within the CIA, and (iii) speak to current efforts to understand the sources of variability in sentence comprehension.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Truemper2014, author = {Tr{\"u}mper, Jonas}, title = {Visualization techniques for the analysis of software behavior and related structures}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-72145}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Software maintenance encompasses any changes made to a software system after its initial deployment and is thereby one of the key phases in the typical software-engineering lifecycle. In software maintenance, we primarily need to understand structural and behavioral aspects, which are difficult to obtain, e.g., by code reading. Software analysis is therefore a vital tool for maintaining these systems: It provides - the preferably automated - means to extract and evaluate information from their artifacts such as software structure, runtime behavior, and related processes. However, such analysis typically results in massive raw data, so that even experienced engineers face difficulties directly examining, assessing, and understanding these data. Among other things, they require tools with which to explore the data if no clear question can be formulated beforehand. For this, software analysis and visualization provide its users with powerful interactive means. These enable the automation of tasks and, particularly, the acquisition of valuable and actionable insights into the raw data. For instance, one means for exploring runtime behavior is trace visualization. This thesis aims at extending and improving the tool set for visual software analysis by concentrating on several open challenges in the fields of dynamic and static analysis of software systems. This work develops a series of concepts and tools for the exploratory visualization of the respective data to support users in finding and retrieving information on the system artifacts concerned. This is a difficult task, due to the lack of appropriate visualization metaphors; in particular, the visualization of complex runtime behavior poses various questions and challenges of both a technical and conceptual nature. This work focuses on a set of visualization techniques for visually representing control-flow related aspects of software traces from shared-memory software systems: A trace-visualization concept based on icicle plots aids in understanding both single-threaded as well as multi-threaded runtime behavior on the function level. The concept's extensibility further allows the visualization and analysis of specific aspects of multi-threading such as synchronization, the correlation of such traces with data from static software analysis, and a comparison between traces. Moreover, complementary techniques for simultaneously analyzing system structures and the evolution of related attributes are proposed. These aim at facilitating long-term planning of software architecture and supporting management decisions in software projects by extensions to the circular-bundle-view technique: An extension to 3-dimensional space allows for the use of additional variables simultaneously; interaction techniques allow for the modification of structures in a visual manner. The concepts and techniques presented here are generic and, as such, can be applied beyond software analysis for the visualization of similarly structured data. The techniques' practicability is demonstrated by several qualitative studies using subject data from industry-scale software systems. The studies provide initial evidence that the techniques' application yields useful insights into the subject data and its interrelationships in several scenarios.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Bohnet2010, author = {Bohnet, Johannes}, title = {Visualization of Execution Traces and its Application to Software Maintenance}, address = {Potsdam}, pages = {150 S.}, year = {2010}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gandhi2022, author = {Gandhi, Nilima}, title = {Visionary leadership and job satisfaction}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57269}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572691}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {154}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Current business organizations want to be more efficient and constantly evolving to find ways to retain talent. It is well established that visionary leadership plays a vital role in organizational success and contributes to a better working environment. This study aims to determine the effect of visionary leadership on employees' perceived job satisfaction. Specifically, it investigates whether the mediators meaningfulness at work and commitment to the leader impact the relationship. I take support from job demand resource theory to explain the overarching model used in this study and broaden-and-build theory to leverage the use of mediators. To test the hypotheses, evidence was collected in a multi-source, time-lagged design field study of 95 leader-follower dyads. The data was collected in a three-wave study, each survey appearing after one month. Data on employee perception of visionary leadership was collected in T1, data for both mediators were collected in T2, and employee perception of job satisfaction was collected in T3. The findings display that meaningfulness at work and commitment to the leader play positive intervening roles (in the form of a chain) in the indirect influence of visionary leadership on employee perceptions regarding job satisfaction. This research offers contributions to literature and theory by first broadening the existing knowledge on the effects of visionary leadership on employees. Second, it contributes to the literature on constructs meaningfulness at work, commitment to the leader, and job satisfaction. Third, it sheds light on the mediation mechanism dealing with study variables in line with the proposed model. Fourth, it integrates two theories, job demand resource theory and broaden-and-build theory providing further evidence. Additionally, the study provides practical implications for business leaders and HR practitioners. Overall, my study discusses the potential of visionary leadership behavior to elevate employee outcomes. The study aligns with previous research and answers several calls for further research on visionary leadership, job satisfaction, and mediation mechanism with meaningfulness at work and commitment to the leader.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Marwecki2021, author = {Marwecki, Sebastian}, title = {Virtualizing physical space}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-52033}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-520332}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xi, 128}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The true cost for virtual reality is not the hardware, but the physical space it requires, as a one-to-one mapping of physical space to virtual space allows for the most immersive way of navigating in virtual reality. Such "real-walking" requires physical space to be of the same size and the same shape of the virtual world represented. This generally prevents real-walking applications from running on any space that they were not designed for. To reduce virtual reality's demand for physical space, creators of such applications let users navigate virtual space by means of a treadmill, altered mappings of physical to virtual space, hand-held controllers, or gesture-based techniques. While all of these solutions succeed at reducing virtual reality's demand for physical space, none of them reach the same level of immersion that real-walking provides. Our approach is to virtualize physical space: instead of accessing physical space directly, we allow applications to express their need for space in an abstract way, which our software systems then map to the physical space available. We allow real-walking applications to run in spaces of different size, different shape, and in spaces containing different physical objects. We also allow users immersed in different virtual environments to share the same space. Our systems achieve this by using a tracking volume-independent representation of real-walking experiences — a graph structure that expresses the spatial and logical relationships between virtual locations, virtual elements contained within those locations, and user interactions with those elements. When run in a specific physical space, this graph representation is used to define a custom mapping of the elements of the virtual reality application and the physical space by parsing the graph using a constraint solver. To re-use space, our system splits virtual scenes and overlap virtual geometry. The system derives this split by means of hierarchically clustering of our virtual objects as nodes of our bi-partite directed graph that represents the logical ordering of events of the experience. We let applications express their demands for physical space and use pre-emptive scheduling between applications to have them share space. We present several application examples enabled by our system. They all enable real-walking, despite being mapped to physical spaces of different size and shape, containing different physical objects or other users. We see substantial real-world impact in our systems. Today's commercial virtual reality applications are generally designing to be navigated using less immersive solutions, as this allows them to be operated on any tracking volume. While this is a commercial necessity for the developers, it misses out on the higher immersion offered by real-walking. We let developers overcome this hurdle by allowing experiences to bring real-walking to any tracking volume, thus potentially bringing real-walking to consumers. Die eigentlichen Kosten f{\"u}r Virtual Reality Anwendungen entstehen nicht prim{\"a}r durch die erforderliche Hardware, sondern durch die Nutzung von physischem Raum, da die eins-zu-eins Abbildung von physischem auf virtuellem Raum die immersivste Art von Navigation erm{\"o}glicht. Dieses als „Real-Walking" bezeichnete Erlebnis erfordert hinsichtlich Gr{\"o}ße und Form eine Entsprechung von physischem Raum und virtueller Welt. Resultierend daraus k{\"o}nnen Real-Walking-Anwendungen nicht an Orten angewandt werden, f{\"u}r die sie nicht entwickelt wurden. Um den Bedarf an physischem Raum zu reduzieren, lassen Entwickler von Virtual Reality-Anwendungen ihre Nutzer auf verschiedene Arten navigieren, etwa mit Hilfe eines Laufbandes, verf{\"a}lschten Abbildungen von physischem zu virtuellem Raum, Handheld-Controllern oder gestenbasierten Techniken. All diese L{\"o}sungen reduzieren zwar den Bedarf an physischem Raum, erreichen jedoch nicht denselben Grad an Immersion, den Real-Walking bietet. Unser Ansatz zielt darauf, physischen Raum zu virtualisieren: Anstatt auf den physischen Raum direkt zuzugreifen, lassen wir Anwendungen ihren Raumbedarf auf abstrakte Weise formulieren, den unsere Softwaresysteme anschließend auf den verf{\"u}gbaren physischen Raum abbilden. Dadurch erm{\"o}glichen wir Real-Walking-Anwendungen R{\"a}ume mit unterschiedlichen Gr{\"o}ßen und Formen und R{\"a}ume, die unterschiedliche physische Objekte enthalten, zu nutzen. Wir erm{\"o}glichen auch die zeitgleiche Nutzung desselben Raums durch mehrere Nutzer verschiedener Real-Walking-Anwendungen. Unsere Systeme erreichen dieses Resultat durch eine Repr{\"a}sentation von Real-Walking-Erfahrungen, die unabh{\"a}ngig sind vom gegebenen Trackingvolumen - eine Graphenstruktur, die die r{\"a}umlichen und logischen Beziehungen zwischen virtuellen Orten, den virtuellen Elementen innerhalb dieser Orte, und Benutzerinteraktionen mit diesen Elementen, ausdr{\"u}ckt. Bei der Instanziierung der Anwendung in einem bestimmten physischen Raum wird diese Graphenstruktur und ein Constraint Solver verwendet, um eine individuelle Abbildung der virtuellen Elemente auf den physischen Raum zu erreichen. Zur mehrmaligen Verwendung des Raumes teilt unser System virtuelle Szenen und {\"u}berlagert virtuelle Geometrie. Das System leitet diese Aufteilung anhand eines hierarchischen Clusterings unserer virtuellen Objekte ab, die als Knoten unseres bi-partiten, gerichteten Graphen die logische Reihenfolge aller Ereignisse repr{\"a}sentieren. Wir verwenden pr{\"a}emptives Scheduling zwischen den Anwendungen f{\"u}r die zeitgleiche Nutzung von physischem Raum. Wir stellen mehrere Anwendungsbeispiele vor, die Real-Walking erm{\"o}glichen - in physischen R{\"a}umen mit unterschiedlicher Gr{\"o}ße und Form, die verschiedene physische Objekte oder weitere Nutzer enthalten. Wir sehen in unseren Systemen substantielles Potential. Heutige Virtual Reality-Anwendungen sind bisher zwar so konzipiert, dass sie auf einem beliebigen Trackingvolumen betrieben werden k{\"o}nnen, aber aus kommerzieller Notwendigkeit kein Real-Walking beinhalten. Damit entgeht Entwicklern die Gelegenheit eine h{\"o}here Immersion herzustellen. Indem wir es erm{\"o}glichen, Real-Walking auf jedes Trackingvolumen zu bringen, geben wir Entwicklern die M{\"o}glichkeit Real-Walking zu ihren Nutzern zu bringen.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Berg2013, author = {Berg, Gregor}, title = {Virtual prototypes for the model-based elicitation and validation of collaborative scenarios}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-69729}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Requirements engineers have to elicit, document, and validate how stakeholders act and interact to achieve their common goals in collaborative scenarios. Only after gathering all information concerning who interacts with whom to do what and why, can a software system be designed and realized which supports the stakeholders to do their work. To capture and structure requirements of different (groups of) stakeholders, scenario-based approaches have been widely used and investigated. Still, the elicitation and validation of requirements covering collaborative scenarios remains complicated, since the required information is highly intertwined, fragmented, and distributed over several stakeholders. Hence, it can only be elicited and validated collaboratively. In times of globally distributed companies, scheduling and conducting workshops with groups of stakeholders is usually not feasible due to budget and time constraints. Talking to individual stakeholders, on the other hand, is feasible but leads to fragmented and incomplete stakeholder scenarios. Going back and forth between different individual stakeholders to resolve this fragmentation and explore uncovered alternatives is an error-prone, time-consuming, and expensive task for the requirements engineers. While formal modeling methods can be employed to automatically check and ensure consistency of stakeholder scenarios, such methods introduce additional overhead since their formal notations have to be explained in each interaction between stakeholders and requirements engineers. Tangible prototypes as they are used in other disciplines such as design, on the other hand, allow designers to feasibly validate and iterate concepts and requirements with stakeholders. This thesis proposes a model-based approach for prototyping formal behavioral specifications of stakeholders who are involved in collaborative scenarios. By simulating and animating such specifications in a remote domain-specific visualization, stakeholders can experience and validate the scenarios captured so far, i.e., how other stakeholders act and react. This interactive scenario simulation is referred to as a model-based virtual prototype. Moreover, through observing how stakeholders interact with a virtual prototype of their collaborative scenarios, formal behavioral specifications can be automatically derived which complete the otherwise fragmented scenarios. This, in turn, enables requirements engineers to elicit and validate collaborative scenarios in individual stakeholder sessions - decoupled, since stakeholders can participate remotely and are not forced to be available for a joint session at the same time. This thesis discusses and evaluates the feasibility, understandability, and modifiability of model-based virtual prototypes. Similarly to how physical prototypes are perceived, the presented approach brings behavioral models closer to being tangible for stakeholders and, moreover, combines the advantages of joint stakeholder sessions and decoupled sessions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Elsaid2022, author = {Elsaid, Mohamed Esameldin Mohamed}, title = {Virtual machines live migration cost modeling and prediction}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-54001}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-540013}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xiv, 107}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Dynamic resource management is an essential requirement for private and public cloud computing environments. With dynamic resource management, the physical resources assignment to the cloud virtual resources depends on the actual need of the applications or the running services, which enhances the cloud physical resources utilization and reduces the offered services cost. In addition, the virtual resources can be moved across different physical resources in the cloud environment without an obvious impact on the running applications or services production. This means that the availability of the running services and applications in the cloud is independent on the hardware resources including the servers, switches and storage failures. This increases the reliability of using cloud services compared to the classical data-centers environments. In this thesis we briefly discuss the dynamic resource management topic and then deeply focus on live migration as the definition of the compute resource dynamic management. Live migration is a commonly used and an essential feature in cloud and virtual data-centers environments. Cloud computing load balance, power saving and fault tolerance features are all dependent on live migration to optimize the virtual and physical resources usage. As we will discuss in this thesis, live migration shows many benefits to cloud and virtual data-centers environments, however the cost of live migration can not be ignored. Live migration cost includes the migration time, downtime, network overhead, power consumption increases and CPU overhead. IT admins run virtual machines live migrations without an idea about the migration cost. So, resources bottlenecks, higher migration cost and migration failures might happen. The first problem that we discuss in this thesis is how to model the cost of the virtual machines live migration. Secondly, we investigate how to make use of machine learning techniques to help the cloud admins getting an estimation of this cost before initiating the migration for one of multiple virtual machines. Also, we discuss the optimal timing for a specific virtual machine before live migration to another server. Finally, we propose practical solutions that can be used by the cloud admins to be integrated with the cloud administration portals to answer the raised research questions above. Our research methodology to achieve the project objectives is to propose empirical models based on using VMware test-beds with different benchmarks tools. Then we make use of the machine learning techniques to propose a prediction approach for virtual machines live migration cost. Timing optimization for live migration is also proposed in this thesis based on using the cost prediction and data-centers network utilization prediction. Live migration with persistent memory clusters is also discussed at the end of the thesis. The cost prediction and timing optimization techniques proposed in this thesis could be practically integrated with VMware vSphere cluster portal such that the IT admins can now use the cost prediction feature and timing optimization option before proceeding with a virtual machine live migration. Testing results show that our proposed approach for VMs live migration cost prediction shows acceptable results with less than 20\% prediction error and can be easily implemented and integrated with VMware vSphere as an example of a commonly used resource management portal for virtual data-centers and private cloud environments. The results show that using our proposed VMs migration timing optimization technique also could save up to 51\% of migration time of the VMs migration time for memory intensive workloads and up to 27\% of the migration time for network intensive workloads. This timing optimization technique can be useful for network admins to save migration time with utilizing higher network rate and higher probability of success. At the end of this thesis, we discuss the persistent memory technology as a new trend in servers memory technology. Persistent memory modes of operation and configurations are discussed in detail to explain how live migration works between servers with different memory configuration set up. Then, we build a VMware cluster with persistent memory inside server and also with DRAM only servers to show the live migration cost difference between the VMs with DRAM only versus the VMs with persistent memory inside.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Xiong2018, author = {Xiong, Tao}, title = {Vibrationally resolved absorption, emission, resonance Raman and photoelectron spectra of selected organic molecules, associated radicals and cations}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-418105}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {iv, 100}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Time-dependent correlation function based methods to study optical spectroscopy involving electronic transitions can be traced back to the work of Heller and coworkers. This intuitive methodology can be expected to be computationally efficient and is applied in the current work to study the vibronic absorption, emission, and resonance Raman spectra of selected organic molecules. Besides, the "non-standard" application of this approach to photoionization processes is also explored. The application section consists of four chapters as described below. In Chapter 4, the molar absorptivities and vibronic absorption/emission spectra of perylene and several of its N-substituted derivatives are investigated. By systematically varying the number and position of N atoms, it is shown that the presence of nitrogen heteroatoms has a negligible effect on the molecular structure and geometric distortions upon electronic transitions, while spectral properties are more sensitive: In particular the number of N atoms is important while their position is less decisive. Thus, N-substitution can be used to fine-tune the optical properties of perylene-based molecules. In Chapter 5, the same methods are applied to study the vibronic absorption/emission and resonance Raman spectra of a newly synthesized donor-acceptor type molecule. The simulated absorption/emission spectra agree fairly well with experimental data, with discrepancies being attributed to solvent effects. Possible modes which may dominate the fine-structure in the vibronic spectra are proposed by analyzing the correlation function with the aid of Raman and resonance Raman spectra. In the next two chapters, besides the above types of spectra, the methods are extended to study photoelectron spectra of several small diamondoid-related systems (molecules, radicals, and cations). Comparison of the photoelectron spectra with available experimental data suggests that the correlation function based approach can describe ionization processes reasonably well. Some of these systems, cationic species in particular, exhibit somewhat peculiar optical behavior, which presents them as possible candidates for functional devices. Correlation function based methods in a more general sense can be very versatile. In fact, besides the above radiative processes, formulas for non-radiative processes such as internal conversion have been derived in literature. Further implementation of the available methods is among our next goals.}, language = {en} }