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Designing a Gamified Artefact for Training Creativity as an Entrepreneurial Competency in Higher Education: A Design Science Research Approach
No full textThis thesis aims to advance understanding of how creativity can be effectively trained as a core entrepreneurial competency within entrepreneurship education and training. Acknowledging the increasing emphasis on developing entrepreneurial mindsets in higher education and in society, this research addresses the persistent challenge of fostering creativity through structured pedagogical methods and artefact-based learning experiences.
To this end, the study applies the Design Science Research (DSR) framework to design, develop, and evaluate an artefact—a physical board game—that operationalises creativity training within the idea-generation process. The artefact integrates principles from experiential learning, gamification, and the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) approach to provide a structured yet engaging environment for entrepreneurship students, potential entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs.
The research adopts a multi-phase, iterative design approach that incorporates a literature review, expert consultation, and empirical validation, producing new and rich knowledge that is fruitful for creating the conditions to tackle the design science process. Based on existing and produced knowledge, the artefact is designed to simulate realistic entrepreneurial challenges, enabling participants to apply creativity in collaborative and problem-solving contexts, fostering and enhancing creativity as an entrepreneurial competency.
The outcomes of this research contribute both theoretically and practically to the field of entrepreneurship education. Theoretically, it expands the discourse on creativity as a trainable entrepreneurial competency and demonstrates the application of Design Science Research in entrepreneurship, specifically in entrepreneurship education and training. Practically, it provides educators with a tested artefact and a replicable framework for integrating creativity training into entrepreneurship courses through game-based learning
International benchmark on radionuclide solubility and speciation for the Long-term In-situ Test (LIT) at Grimsel Test Site (GTS, Switzerland)
No full textIdentification of Energy Dissipation Models in the Drivetrain of an Energy Efficient Bipedal Robot
No full textFor the development of an energy-efficient bipedal robot prototype, an automated parameter identification framework is presented, making use of gradient-based optimization to minimize the residual error between the simulated and measured system states and locate optimal parameters. For the identification, the prototype is mounted on a test-stand, such that its legs emulate the motion of either a single or a double pendulum, its angular displacements and velocities measured by encoders integrated within the motors at each joint, which are used as reference in the identification. The identification framework is formulated to have a global nature, allowing multiple measurements sets from either single or double pendulum configuration of the prototype to be combined in the same optimization routine, enabling parameter identifications valid over a range of operating regimes of the prototype. The identification framework is then implemented to identify the dissipation effects in the drivetrain of the prototype, which is critical for energy efficiency. To facilitate the simultaneous identification of dissipation along with other mechanical and electrical parameters of the prototype, the dissipation torque within each joint is modelled as a polynomial velocity-dependent ansatz function. Furthermore, to investigate the transient nature of the dissipation with changing joint angular velocity regimes, low-velocity and high-velocity measurements from the prototype are combined in the identification framework. For low velocities, constant and linear dissipation effects dominate in the hip and knee joints respectively, whereas for high velocities, non-linear dissipation effects, more specifically with a cubic dependence on velocity, is observed for both the joints. Above all, the observed dissipation torques are several orders of magnitude lesser than the input torques for both low and high velocity regimes, confirming the energy-efficient design of the prototype drivetrain
Divergent Ozone Predictions in China Under Carbon Neutrality: Why Chemical Mechanisms Disagree
No full textUncertainty in air quality models can lead to divergent assessments of emission control policies. Here, we investigate why two widely used chemical mechanisms in the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) predict inconsistent ozone levels and conflicting responses to emission reductions over major city clusters of China. By combining process analysis with an explainable machine learning technique, we reveal that these discrepancies primarily stem from differences in the rates of ozone-forming and -suppressing reactions involving hydroperoxy (HO2) and organic peroxy (RO2) radicals between the two mechanisms. This thereby underscores the need for a more accurate depiction of volatile organic compounds reactivity in models. We further quantify the impact of these discrepancies by projecting ozone levels across China from 2030 to 2060 under the carbon neutrality emission reduction scenario. Divergences peak in 2030, with the two mechanisms disagreeing on whether ozone mitigation in city clusters is achievable. Over time, their predictions begin to converge. By 2060, both mechanisms agree that nearly the entire Chinese population will experience reduced ozone levels, and support the continued reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions as an effective strategy for curbing ozone pollutions. However, significant differences persist in the magnitude of reductions, with one mechanism projecting greater policy efficacy. Continued efforts are therefore required to further reduce the model uncertainty
Untersuchungen zum Einfluss von Arsenit auf die epigenetische Regulation und globale DNA-Methylierung in humanen Lungen- und Leberzellen
No full textInvestigating the transcriptional regulation of midkine a during adult neurogenesis in zebrafish
No full textZebrafische haben eine bemerkenswerte Fähigkeit, Teile ihres Gehirns zu regenerieren. Um die molekularen Mechanismen hinter diesem Prozess zu verstehen, untersucht meine Dissertation, wie das Gen midkine a (mdka), das hauptsächlich in den ruhenden neuralen Stammzellen (NSCs) des Telencephalons erwachsener Zebrafische exprimiert wird, auf transkriptioneller Ebene reguliert wird, insbesondere als Reaktion auf Gehirnverletzungen. Diese Studie zielt darauf ab, die Regulation von mdka sowohl in der konstitutiven als auch in der regenerativen Neurogenese im Erwachsenenalter zu untersuchen, indem die cis-regulatorischen Module (CRMs), insbesondere Enhancer, identifiziert und validiert werden. Mithilfe von ATAC-Sequenzierungen zur Identifizierung regulatorischer Regionen haben wir zebrafischspezifische epigenomische Daten durch das DANIO-CODE Track Hub (integriert im UCSC Genome Browser) sowie Sequenzen mit hohen Konservierungsscores analysiert. Dieser Ansatz führte zur Identifikation von acht potenziellen mdka-Enhancern (mdkaEnh0 bis mdkaEnh7) und einem Promoter-Kandidaten (mdkaPR).
In vivo-Tests durch Transgenese zeigten, dass bestimmte Enhancer, insbesondere mdkaEnh3 und mdkaEnh4, eigenständig EGFP-Reporter Expressionsmuster steuern können, die den endogenen räumlich-zeitlichen mdka-Expressionsmustern während der frühen Entwicklung des Zebrafisches ähneln. Meine Ergebnisse deuten außerdem darauf hin, dass mdka durch mehrere Enhancer reguliert wird, anstatt durch nur einen einzigen. So steuern mdkaEnh2, mdkaEnh3 und mdkaEnh4 die mdka-Expression in Embryonen, während mdkaEnh2, mdkaEnh4 und mdkaEnh7 die Expression im Telencephalon adulter Zebrafische koordinieren und die Neurogenese aus NSCs regulieren.
Zusammenfassend beleuchtet diese Dissertation die komplexe Regulation der mdka-Expression im Zebrafisch, die durch mehrere Enhancer-Sequenzen gesteuert wird, welche mit verschiedenen Basalpromotoren aus unterschiedlichen Genen über Entwicklungsstadien hinweg interagieren. Eine weiterführende Charakterisierung dieser CRMs, insbesondere durch die Identifizierung von Transkriptionsfaktor-Bindungsstellen (TFBS), die an die Enhancer-Regionen binden könnten, wird das Verständnis der molekularen Mechanismen und Signalwege vertiefen, die die Aktivität von NSCs steuern
The Leaching Behavior of Non-Pertechnetate Species in Cementitious Waste Forms
No full textUncertainty has been identified around the release behavior of nonpertechnetate species from cementitious waste forms disposed at locations with a pathway to potable water. Nonpertechnetate species have been identified in the legacy nuclear wastes stored at the Hanford Site, yet little is known regarding the retention behavior of nonpertechnetate species from cementitious waste forms. This work presents an evaluation of the nonpertechnetate species immobilized as cementitious waste forms using real Hanford tank waste. The tank waste samples were stripped of pertechnetate leaving a nonpertechnetate inventory dominated by either Tc(VI) or Tc(I). Semidynamic leach testing of the resulting waste form samples was combined with a resin contact of the leachates to show a significant oxidation of the nonpertechnetate to pertechnetate (>80% conversion). The rate of oxidation and release of the nonpertechnetate compound was slower in the presence of reducing blast furnace slag in the waste form suggesting that reducing conditions can slow the oxidation process. These results mature the understandings around the behavior of nonpertechnetate within cementitious waste forms and around long-term waste form modeling for how to handle the release from a nonpertechnetate inventory in the parent waste stream
