This paper considers hypertext in its various forms as a paradigm that has the potential to reduce a number of ethical concerns that come with (generative) AI. Based on a user scenario, the paper points out some ethical issues and explains how they can be addressed by hypertext. To do so, it distinguishes between System 1 (fast automation of simple tasks) and System 2 (critical thinking) tasks. Drawing on existing publications in philosophy, the paper argues that AI systems cannot be moral agents; they cannot be trustworthy or truly intelligent. This breaks with some of the wording, partly used for marketing purposes, that currently makes “artificial intelligence” a hype. The analysis follows the three most important ethical theories: deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics. The paper concludes that hypertext, although a niche topic, is already prepared to solve some of the most prominent and urgent ethical issues in AI.

E-mail phishing attacks remain one of the most significant challenges in IT security and are often used for initial access. Many organizations rely on phishing simulations to educate their staff to recognize suspicious e-mails. Previous studies have analyzed the effectiveness of these phishing simulations, with mixed findings. However, the perception of and attitudes towards phishing simulations among staff have received little to no attention.

This paper presents findings from a study that we carried out in cooperation with a multinational company that conducted phishing simulations over more than 12 months. We first conducted a quantitative survey involving 757 employees and then qualitative interviews with 22 participants to gain deeper insights into the perception of phishing simulations and the corresponding e-learning. We could not find evidence that employees feel attacked by their organisation as previous studies suspected. On the contrary, we found that a majority (86.9 %) have a positive or very positive attitude towards phishing simulations. The interviews revealed that some employees developed new routines for e-mail processing, but most describe themselves as having become more vigilant without concrete changes. Furthermore, we found evidence that phishing simulations create a false sense of security, as the employees feel protected by them. Additionally, lack of communication and feedback can negatively impact employees’ attitude and lead to adverse consequences. Finally, we show that only a small portion of the employees who clicked on the phishing website interacted with the interactive e-learning elements, which raises questions about its objective usefulness, although they are perceived as useful.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) provide confidentiality and hide the original IP address. Although many VPN providers promise not to record user activity, several media reports of data breaches show that this is often not true. Tor, on the other hand, allows anonymous communication using onion routing and takes privacy and anonymity seriously, but at the cost of performance loss. What is missing is a sweet spot between VPNs and anonymization networks that supports bulk downloads and video streaming but provides countermeasures against untrusted VPN providers and Autonomous System (AS)-level attackers.

In this paper, we present OnionVPN, an onion routing-based VPN tunnel, that provides better bulk transfer performance than Tor and offers additional security features over a VPN: (1) intermediate VPN nodes see only encrypted traffic, (2) protection against AS-level attackers with a new path selection algorithm, and (3) onion services with a novel cryptographic NAT traversal algorithm using the Noise protocol framework. We analyze 118 VPN providers, systematically compare them to our requirements and show that OnionVPN is currently possible with three VPN providers. An alternative to Tor for bulk traffic could relieve the Tor network and provide a better experience for other users who need higher privacy and anonymity features.

In today's dynamic business landscape, efficient supply chain management is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and sustainability. Traditional methods often lead to fragmented processes, lack of transparency, communication gaps, and increased operational costs. This research addresses these challenges through a case study, literature review, and comparative analysis, proposing a software platform solution named SuppliFlow. The study integrates insights from various sectors, including e-commerce, to explore Digital Supply Networks, Distribution Management, Integrated Supply Chain Management, and sustainability practices aligned with the Circular Economy. It also advances the concept of Supply Chain as a Service. This research develops customizable workflows within SuppliFlow, designed to cater to specific supply chain requirements from procurement to delivery. The integration of the Beckn Protocol, an open-source data protocol, is examined for its potential to establish decentralized networks and secure transactions. The study also investigates real-time order tracking and consolidated payments for financial and data management efficiencies. A SuppliFlow prototype tailored for assembly service providers was created and tested to assess its effectiveness in standardizing procurement-to-delivery processes. The findings indicate that SuppliFlow can enhance supply chain efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve visibility. This research contributes to supply chain management by presenting a novel approach through the development and testing of SuppliFlow. The implications suggest potential pathways for future research and practical applications in improving organizational performance in the global marketplace.

This study extends congruence theory by providing novel insights into the influence of congruence and incongruence on eWOM. The study compares groups of high and low-intensity social networking site (SNS) users and provides suggestions for managers of tertiary educational institutions to adapt communication to the needs of those user groups.

Mid-sized thermal energy storage (TES) systems, especially in the distributed sector, have received little attention for public buildings. Validation of such systems, especially for the use of multiple renewables with different operating modes using CFD simulations, is still pending. The objective of this study is to validate a CFD model for the operation of complex and mid-sized TES systems for simultaneous charging and discharging cycles to enable investigations on optimized operating modes, geometric optimizations, and predictive charging and discharging scenarios. For this purpose, the 60 m3 local heating storage of Großbardorf, Germany, was used to obtain real-time operating conditions and in-situ temperature distribution data. Charging and discharging cycles as well as combined scenarios were calculated and compared with the experimentally determined dynamics of the thermocline. Simulations were performed using the open-source tool OpenFOAM® with the single-phase transient solver buoyantPimpleFoam in laminar and turbulent modes, including ambient heat losses. Good agreement was found between simulated and experimental data, especially in the regions of layer transitions with a RMSE of 1.2 ℃ or less over the entire observation period. It is shown how the validation allows further improvements and optimizations of TES with greater confidence. In particular, for research on the efficient use of multiple, fluctuating renewable energies and the increase of self-sufficiency in the decentralized sector, a demand-optimized charging and discharging layout is presented for a mid-sized TES to be installed at the new Institute for Hydrogen and Energy Technology (iwe) at Hof University of Applied Sciences. By conducting research in facilities such as the iwe, this approach will not only create opportunities for the future deployment of renewable energy storage and related systems, but also highlight the importance of decarbonization in the decentralized sector.

Background

The Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) is widely used. However, there are limited data on how much a reduction in the MIDAS score indicates a change that matters to the patient.

Methods

Data from the DMKG (i.e. German Migraine and Headache Society) Headache Registry were used to determine the minimal important difference (MID) of the MIDAS, using the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) as anchor and applying average change and receiver operating characteristic curve methods.

Results

In total, 1218 adult migraine patients (85.6% female, 40.2 ± 12.8 years, baseline MIDAS 44.2 ± 47.4, follow-up MIDAS 36.5 ± 45.3) were included. For patients with baseline MIDAS >20 (MIDAS grade IV, n = 757), different methods using PGIC “somewhat improved” as anchor yielded percent change MIDs of the MIDAS between −29.4% and −33.2%. For baseline MIDAS between 6 and 20 (grades II and III, n = 334), using PGIC “much improved” as anchor, difference change MIDs were between −3.5 and −4.5 points.

Conclusions

Based on the above results, we estimated the MID of the MIDAS at −30% for patients with a baseline MIDAS >20, and at −4 points for those with a baseline MIDAS of 6–20, for a tertiary headache care population.

Trial Registration

The DMKG Headache Registry is registered with the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS 00021081).

In our project, we aimed to create historically authentic and vivid virtual representations of historic personalities that are connected to the regional Fichtelgebirge (Bavaria, Germany) to support the storytelling of our immersive XR applications. We are describing the tools in detail, the process of the tool chain and the resulting media. Next, we are discussing the challenges in media production like historical correctness and the consultation of historians. In order to create visual reproducibility we are explaining the detailed text prompts, their limitations and how to cope with resulting errors of the human physiognomy. Finally, we are briefly describing the application of the animated and talking generated historic characters in an immersive interactive WebXR environment. The XR experience is presented in web browsers on smartphones, tablets and XR headsets and the underlying software is based on the open-source framework Aframe. Our paper will describe the process, the results and the limitations in detail. Furthermore, we will provide a flow chart of the tool pipeline with visual examples of these aspects. The animations and voices of the historic characters will be demonstrated in videos of the XR application.

Surfing is a complex sport that encounters the interaction between the surfer and the highly unsteady water hydrodynamic of ocean or river waves. With the availability of off-shore river waves or wave pools, it becomes more and more popular being included in the Olympic Games 2021 in Tokyo/Japan. To analyze the biomechanical characteristics of surfers, all forces that act on the surfer have to be measured which has not yet been done before.

Four pressure sensors were integrated water-tightly in a 3D-printed surfboard fin, each two sensors on opposite side. The fin was mounted at the rear end of a surf board on the left side of the centerline within a three-fin-configuration. The sensors were connected to a micro controller with micro SD-card within the board that performed and stored the measurement data with an acquisition rate of 27 Hz. For the measurements, a male surfer performed a set of turning maneuvers on an artificial river wave as shown in figure 2. Thereby, the surfer’s motion was recorded by a camera using frame-rate of 30 fps. The synchronization of the pressure and the video signals was achieved in a post-processing step.

The pressure signals showed a negative pressure difference between the inside sensors and the outside sensors at all surf maneuvers, see figure 3. It generated an outwardly directed force that becomes largest during the turns. The smallest pressure difference was detected on the surf-path from the left to right side of the wave or the other way around.

Taking both lateral fins into account, the pressure forces are contrarily directed apart from the surfboard. This arrangement generates the stabilizing effect of the board’s rear end which helps the surfer to keep the board on the desired track. Especially during the turns, the forces became largest giving the surfer a stable center of rotation at the rear end of the board. This stabilizing effect of surfboard fins was reported and observed in computational models [1,2,3]. The measurement of hydrodynamic forces enables to develop a biomechanical model of a surfer that show the characteristic biomechanic stress level peak and location within the surfer’s body.

Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Andreas Wagener im Rahmen der Stadtvorlesung Hof, 2024: Die immer schneller voranschreitende Entwicklung Fortschritt bei den „digitalen“ Technologien – wie generative KI und Virtual Reality – verändern bereits heute die Grundlagen des menschlichen Alltags. Schon jetzt ist damit die Simulation menschlicher Erscheinungs- und Verhaltensweisen im Digitalen möglich. Die Darstellung rein digitaler „Wesen“ in menschlich wirkender Optik sowie die Erzeugung passender menschlicher Sprache gestatten eine „lebensechte“ Kommunikation im virtuellen Umfeld. Was bedeutet das für das Miteinander von Mensch und Technik? Welche gesellschaftlichen und auch welche ethischen Fragestellungen erwachsen hier? Und wie sehen die möglichen Antworten des Menschen auf die immer weiter voranschreitende technische Entwicklung aus? Können wir die Technik beherrschen? Oder müssen wir uns anpassen und zu „Cyborgs“ werden, die ihren Körper (und Geist) mit dem Ziel, mithalten zu können, technisch aufrüsten?

In the midst of the growth in fashion retail industry, fitting of clothing remotely can be utilized to reduce return rates and unnecessary shipping. Due to recent advancements in Generative AI, models for generating a virtual try-on experience have also been able to develop further. This paper evaluates different models and techniques which are built for the application of virtual try-on. Additionally, this paper discusses about different models - ClothFlow model, Contextual-VTON model or FitGAN along with a deep insight into algorithms and methodologies namely Residual Networks, U-Net and Generative Adversarial Networks. Additionally, the paper compares these state-of-the-art models against the various evaluation metrics such as Frechet Inception Distance (FID), Inception Score (IS), Structural Similarity index (SSIM). It also explains, how the generated image outputs vary based on the changes made in hyper-parameters such as learning rate, batch size etc., and how these changes impact on the generated output. 

This project has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE).