Täglich hört man von der angeblich unausweichlichen Notwendigkeit eines Social-Media-Verbotes für Minderjährige. Das scheint weitgehender gesellschaftlicher Konsens zu sein. Einige wichtige Fragen werden dazu aber nicht gestellt: Was ist mit den Eltern?  Und warum eigentlich nur für Minderjährige?

We present SITUATE, a novel dataset designed for training and evaluating Vision Language Models on counting tasks with spatial constraints. The dataset bridges the gap between simple 2D datasets like VLMCountBench and often ambiguous real-life datasets like TallyQA, which lack control over occlusions and spatial composition. Experiments show that our dataset helps to improve generalization for out-of-distribution images, since a finetune of Qwen VL 2.5 7B on SITUATE improves accuracy on the Pixmo count test data, but not vice versa. We cross validate this by comparing the model performance across established other counting benchmarks and against an equally sized fine-tuning set derived from Pixmo count.

Digital transformation in health and social care extends far beyond the adoption of new technologies and requires coordinated organizational change. The projectpulsnetz –Mensch und Technik im Gemeinwesen (MuTiG)addresses this challenge with an Integrative Model for Leadership and Employee Development that links individual upskilling with strategic organizational transformation to advance digital maturity.Led by an interdisciplinary consortium, the project began with a comprehensive needs assessment and subsequently developed modular training programs, tailored organizational consulting, and a digital knowledge platform to foster long-term learning and peer exchange. Implementation is continuously evaluated using standardized online surveys and qualitative interviews. To date, more than 3,700 professionals from health and social care organizations have participated. Survey response rates have been moderate to high, and feedback is largely positive, with mean ratings typicallyabove 3.5 (0–4 Likert-scale); trainer performance and support receive the highest scores. Participants in leadership roles reported slightly lower levels of new learning, likely due to their higher prior knowledge.Preliminary findings suggest that sustainable digital transformation requires a combined focus on individual skill development, organizational learning, and structural adaptation. The MuTiG model provides a scalable, practice-oriented, and transferable framework that can guide health and social care organizations in their digital transformation journeys. While long-term impact cannot yet be fully assessed due to the project’s ongoing nature, early results underline its potential to support lasting digital transformation.

Triple Graph Grammars (TGGs) are a visual, intuitive approach for specifying model transformations, allowing the automatic derivation of model management operations including forward/backward transformations and incremental synchronisation with guaranteed, desirable properties.
The conceptual simplicity of TGGs comes at a price, however, as all TGG tools impose substantial limits on practical expressiveness (measured by ease of specification, size, and readability in this paper), rendering TGGs unsuitable for real-world transformations and representing a major barrier to their mainstream adoption.
This paper discusses excerpts of model transformations that are exceedingly difficult (and perhaps even impossible) to specify using TGGs, analyses the underlying causes, and suggests suitable extensions of existing language features.
Our goal is to inspire research that improves the practical expressiveness of TGGs and facilitates applications of the approach.

This paper revisits the Families to Persons Case with a significant extension: concurrent model synchronization. Building on the original benchmark test cases, we introduce new tests for synchronizing models and resolving conflicts, thereby enhancing the framework's capability to benchmark bidirectional transformation tools under more realistic conditions. This advancement is crucial for assessing the tools' performance in concurrent engineering scenarios requiring data consistency across multiple models.

Rowhammer bit flips in DRAM enable software attackers to fully compromise a great variety of systems. Hardware mitigations can be precise and efficient but suffer from long deployment cycles and very limited or no update capabilities. Consequently, refined attack methods have repeatedly bypassed deployed hardware protections, repeatedly leaving commodity systems vulnerable to Rowhammer attacks.

In this paper, we present Memory Band-Aid, a principled defense-in-depth against Rowhammer. Memory Band-Aid is no replacement for long-term, efficient hardware mitigations but a defense-in-depth that is activated when hardware mitigations are discovered to be insufficient on a specific system generation. For this purpose, Memory Band-Aid introduces per-thread and per-bank rate limits for DRAM accesses in the memory controller, ensuring that the minimum number of row activations for Rowhammer bit flips cannot be reached. We implement a proof-of-concept of Memory Band-Aid on Ubuntu Linux and test it on 3 Intel and 3 AMD systems. In a micro-benchmark to cause DRAM pressure, we observe a slow down up to a factor of 5.2. In a collection of realistic Phoronix macro-benchmarks, we observe a low overhead of 0 % to 9.4 %. Both overheads only apply to untrusted throttled workloads, e.g., sandboxes, for instance in browsers. Especially as Memory Band-Aid can be enabled on demand, we conclude that Memory Band-Aid is an important defense-in-depth that should be deployed in practice as a second defense layer.

Rowhammer is a disturbance error in Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) that can be deliberately triggered from software by repeatedly reading, i. e., hammering, proximate memory locations in different DRAM rows. While numerous studies evaluated the Rowhammer effect, in particular how it can be triggered and how it can be exploited, most studies only use a small sample size of Dual In-line Memory Modules (DIMMs). Only few studies provided indication for the prevalence of the effect, with clear limitations to specific hardware configurations or FPGA-based experiments with precise control of the DIMM, limiting how far the results can be generalized.

In this paper, we perform the frist large-scale study of the Rowhammer effect involving 1 006 data sets from 822 systems. We measure Rowhammer prevalence in a fully automated crossplatform framework, FLIPKIT, using the available state-of-theart software-based DRAM and Rowhammer tools. Our framework automatically gathers information about the DRAM and uses 5 tools to reverse-engineer the DRAM addressing functions, and based on the reverse-engineered functions uses 7 tools to mount Rowhammer. We distributed the framework online and via USB thumb drives to thousands of participants from December 30, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Overall, we collected 1 006 datasets from systems with various CPUs, DRAM generations, and vendors. Our study reveals that out of 1 006 datasets, 453 (371 of the 822 unique systems) succeeded in the first stage of reverseengineering the DRAM addressing functions, indicating that successfully and reliably recovering DRAM addressing functions remains a significant open problem. In the second stage, 126 (12.5 % of all datasets) exhibited bit flips in our fully automated Rowhammer attacks. Our results show that fully-automated, i. e., weaponizable, Rowhammer attacks work on a lower share of systems than FPGA-based and lab experiments indicated but with 12.5 % enough to be a practical vector for threat actors. Furthermore, our results highlight that the two most pressing research challenges around Rowhammer exploitability are more reliable reverse-engineering addressing functions, as 50 % of datasets without bit flips failed in the DRAM reverse-engineering stage, and reliable Rowhammer attacks across diverse processor microarchitectures1, as only 12.5 % of datasets contained bit flips. Addressing each of these challenges could double the number of systems susceptible to Rowhammer and make Rowhammer a more pressing threat in real-world scenarios. 

This paper introduces StoryMachine (AHRC grant ref. AH/Z507222/1, DFG project number 547532269), a newly funded transdisciplinary project (2025-2028) conducted jointly by six research groups in Germany and the UK, which aims to develop an innovative digital infrastructure to preserve, explore, and democratize access to folklore traditions and vernacular storytelling practices around the world, with a particular focus on German- and English-speaking communities. Recognizing folklore as a cornerstone of shared cultural identity, the project addresses critical challenges in archival practices, and in particular the lack of interactive, dynamic, accessible and inclusive tools for exploring both traditional and emerging folk narratives. Existing approaches to digital folklore archiving remain largely static, focusing on isolated collections without fostering meaningful exploration, collaboration, or analysis. StoryMachine redefines these paradigms by integrating spatial hypertext and recommender systems to create a visually dynamic, user-centered interface.

The transdisciplinary Digital Humanities project StoryMachine, conducted jointly (2025–2028) by six research groups in Germany and the UK, is developing an innovative digital infrastructure to preserve, explore, and democratize access to folklore traditions and vernacular storytelling practices around the world, with emphasis on German- and English-speaking communities. Recognizing folklore as a cornerstone of shared cultural identity, the project addresses critical challenges in archival practices, and particularly the lack of interactive, dynamic, accessible and inclusive tools for exploring both traditional and emerging folk narratives. Existing approaches to digital folklore archiving remain largely static, focusing on isolated collections without fostering meaningful exploration, collaboration, or analysis. StoryMachine redefines these paradigms by integrating spatial hypertext and recommender systems to create a visually dynamic, user-centered interface, which empowers users to actively participate in ongoing transregional, transcultural narrative practices while expanding previously dominant linear forms of storytelling to reflect the diversity and multifaceted nature of contemporary folklore.

This paper investigates the physiological responses of individuals driving both on a real
route and within a vehicle simulator designed as a digital twin of that route. The analysis
of observed data patterns in stress response bio signals provides sufficient evidence of
similarity to validating the driving simulation digital twin as a reliable replacement for
real-world experiences in controlled and consistent settings, or when overall trends of
physiological variables, rather than specific variable levels, are of interest. The findings also
stress the need for optimizing the precision of digital twins in complex settings. This study
introduces a time-series-based validation approach for driving digital twins by comparing
continuous physiological trajectories between real and simulated driving

At a time when vehicle automation is becoming increasingly important, there
is a growing need for greater consumer centricity. However, the importance of
effectively deriving functional product specifications appears to be diminishing.
The case of Automated Parking Systems (APS) demonstrates that the automotive
industry often employs a top-down approach, in contrast to a more customer-
-centric method in the development process. To assess the effectiveness of this
top-down approach, we conducted a field study and a mixed-method online
survey to explore user expectations of APS functionality. Our findings indicate
that drivers strongly dislike excessive parking maneuvers caused by overly re-
strictive product specifications. Moreover, user demands are less stringent
than the development requirements set by OEMs. Based on these insights, we
recommend adopting a more user-centered approach. This shift could enable
companies to reduce development costs and time investments, while accelerat-
ing the adoption of their innovations.

Scents influence emotions, cognition and behavior by activating memories, enhanc-
ing mood and modulating mental processes. Perception of scents is shaped by both
stimulus-related dimensions, including familiarity, pleasantness and intensity and
individual factors – such as mood, sensory sensitivity and personality traits. The
present study systematically examined the relative impact of these determinants in
a quasi-experimental design involving 51 participants. Seven scents were evaluated
along perceptual dimensions (recognizability, pleasantness, familiarity, intensity)
and related to participants’ individual characteristics. Findings emphasize the inter-
play of stimulus-related dimensions and personality traits but highlight the need
for refined measures of (sensory-specific) personality traits in olfactory process-
ing for multisensory marketing and immersive applications.

Für die Organisation von Inhalten und Informationen, als Lernumgebung und zur Strukturierung von Wissen ist es schon länger DIE Killer-Applikation – NotebookLM. Jetzt kann man mit dem kostenlosen Google-Tool auch zusätzliche Formate wie Lern- und Erklärvideos auf Knopfdruck erstellen.

Der Einsatz von Blockchain und Smart Contracts ermöglicht auch den Aufbau und Betrieb dezentraler autonomer Organisationen, sogenannter DAOs, die auf Grundlage eines zuvor fixierten Regelsystems automatisiert Entscheidungen treffen und an den Märkten als eigenständige Institution agieren können. Während DAOs in anderen Bereichen – in der Finanzwirtschaft und in der Creator-Economy – bereits regelmäßig zum Einsatz kommen, ist im industriellen Umfeld eine entsprechende Nutzbarmachung bislang kaum zu verzeichnen. Dabei bietet gerade die Vernetzung durch das „Internet der Dinge“ hierfür sinnvolle Anknüpfungspunkte. Der Beitrag befasst sich mit den möglichen wirtschaftlichen Adaptionsansätzen und lotet potenzielle Geschäftsmodelle aus, die sich aus der Errichtung von DAOs in der „Industrie 4.0“ ergeben könnten.

Background

Rare diseases affect a small percentage of the population, leading to challenges such as delayed diagnoses and limited treatment options. Mobile health technologies offer solutions to improve patient outcomes, yet their application in rare diseases remains underexplored. The German citizen science project SelEe created a customizable app for the self-management of rare diseases through a co-creation process that involved patients with such conditions.

Methods

The project consisted of three phases. In Phase 1, 9 to 68 patients or relatives of patients participated in workshops to define research topics and app requirements. Phase 2 involved a core research team of nine patients and researchers who iteratively developed the app, released in March 2023. Phase 3 focused on evaluating the app’s usage and usability through an in-app survey conducted from March 2023 to February 2024. We utilized descriptive statistics to evaluate app usage and employed the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire to assess usability.

Results

The SelEe app offers the possibility to create and store data in a personalized health diary. Patients can create their own templates or use templates which were defined by the core research team. Users can record findings (e.g. blood test results) and export data using different graphs and formats. Furthermore, the app supports blind users. The app was downloaded 3040 times and 1456 users registered, with 1967 unique diseases entered. 50.7% of the diseases were rare, 30.5% non-rare, and 18.8% were classified as suspected, undefined, or symptoms. A total of 1223 valid user profiles were analyzed for app usage and demographics. Furthermore, 432 users qualified for the in-app survey by making at least one health diary entry, and 117 participated. The app was rated with an overall usability score of 5.19 out of 7. While the app’s health diary function was frequently used, other functionalities like findings and data export were less utilized. Feedback highlighted the need for improved usability and additional features.

Conclusions

The study highlights active patient engagement in developing a mobile health app for individuals with rare diseases. Although improvements are necessary for broader acceptance, the app is promising for the management of rare diseases.

We introduce WireTrust, a VPN architecture for ARMv8-A devices that leverages ARM TrustZone to mitigate OS-level vulnerabilities. Contrary to commodity VPNs, WireTrust does not rely on the security of the OS, its network stack, or its routing tables to provide a secure VPN full tunnel. WireTrust operates transparently to applications on the device and enforces that all IP traffic is routed exclusively through the VPN tunnel, blocking attempts to bypass it even if the OS has been compromised. WireTrust ensures that packets outside the tunnel are discarded before they reach the OS, significantly reducing the device’s attack surface that is exposed to the public internet. Extending the WireGuard VPN, we implement a proof of concept on real hardware, show that WireTrust's additions to the trusted computing base account for 6.61%, and measure a performance penalty of 2.12% - 5.50% on TCP throughput and 1.40% on latency compared to stock WireGuard.

KI im Marketing, Methoden des maschinellen Lernens, Anwendungsmöglichkeiten von KI im Marketing, insbesondere auch von generativer KI

This paper introduces a novel benchmark dataset designed to evaluate the capabilities of Vision Language Models (VLMs) on tasks that combine visual reasoning with subject-specific background knowledge in the German language. In contrast to widely used English-language benchmarks that often rely on artificially difficult or decontextualized problems, this dataset draws from real middle school curricula across nine domains including mathematics, history, biology, and religion. The benchmark includes over 2,000 open-ended questions grounded in 486 images, ensuring that models must integrate visual interpretation with factual reasoning rather than rely on superficial textual cues. We evaluate thirteen state-of-the-art open-weight VLMs across multiple dimensions, including domain-specific accuracy and performance on adversarial crafted questions. Our findings reveal that even the strongest models achieve less than 45% overall accuracy, with particularly poor performance in music, mathematics, and adversarial settings. Furthermore, the results indicate significant discrepancies between success on popular benchmarks and real-world multimodal understanding. We conclude that middle school-level tasks offer a meaningful and underutilized avenue for stress-testing VLMs, especially in non-English contexts. The dataset and evaluation protocol serve as a rigorous testbed to better understand and improve the visual and linguistic reasoning capabilities of future AI systems.

As universities around the world welcome increasing numbers of international students, there is a growing demand for scalable, objective tools that can support both language learning and applicant selection based on spoken language proficiency. In particular, pronunciation and comprehension remain persistent challenges for non-native speakers and are key factors for communication in academic environments. Traditional methods of assessing these skills are labor-intensive or often rely on surface-level metrics such as transcription accuracy, which do not fully capture a learner’s communicative competence. This work introduces TalkPro, a multi-modal system for pronunciation and comprehension assessment as well as language learning, designed to address this need. The system provides continuous, personalized feedback on learners’ spoken language, with a specific focus on phoneme-level accuracy as well as articulatory patterns. Instead of relying solely on conventional speech recognition outputs, which are often able to compensate even major pronunciation errors, TalkPro generates detailed acoustic analyses that pinpoint learner-specific difficulties. These include not only phoneme-level errors but also recurring articulatory tendencies, such as misplacement of the tongue, incorrect voicing, or inappropriate manner of articulation. The system also includes a text-to-speech (TTS) engine to generate spoken content adapted to vocabulary gaps, which is then followed by targeted comprehension questions. TTS can also be used to test listening comprehension either word by word in a dictation style or semantically using a large language model (LLM) as a judge. Overall, these components form an integral approach to pronunciation and comprehension training in a blended learning environment and can also be used for automated assessment. Preliminary experiments with incoming students from India to Germany indicate that phoneme-level ASR effectively identifies pronunciation errors, whereas grapheme-level ASR tends to overlook them. Future research will involve a comprehensive evaluation of automated results against human judgment, alongside the expansion of TalkPro's training capabilities with LLM-based reading comprehension modules that prioritize conceptual understanding over traditional verbatim recall.