Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
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Social protection institutions from an economic perspective: social accountability and institutional effectiveness
No full textKLUGER Transfer (Klima-Umwelt-Gesundheit) - Institutionalisierte Transfer-Kooperation zwischen außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen und Hochschulen für Angewandte Wissenschaften
No full textDas KLUGER-Transfer-Projekt zielt darauf ab, den Wissenstransfer zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft zu fördern, um die globale Klima- und Umweltveränderung zu überwinden. Durch die Entwicklung von innovativen Transferformaten wie "Tandem Talks" und "ScienceConnect" sowie die Durchführung von Studierendenexkursionen und -projekten, Citizen-Science-Projekten und Workshops wurde der Wissenstransfer zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis erleichtert. Die Ergebnisse des Projekts zeigen, dass die entwickelten Transferformate effektive Instrumente für den Wissenstransfer sind und dass die Zielgruppen durch ihre Teilnahme am Forschungsprozess ihre Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten verbessern konnten. Der Bericht präsentiert die Ergebnisse des Projekts und diskutiert die Implikationen für die Zukunft des Wissenstransfers zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft.The KLUGER Transfer Project aims to promote knowledge transfer between science and society in order to overcome global climate and environmental changes. Through the development of innovative transfer formats such as "Tandem Talks" and "ScienceConnect", as well as the implementation of student excursions and projects, citizen science projects, and workshops, knowledge transfer between science and practice was facilitated. The project's results show that the developed transfer formats are effective tools for knowledge transfer and that target groups were able to improve their knowledge and skills through their participation in the research process. The report presents the project's results and discusses the implications for the future of knowledge transfer between science and society
Determinants of Public Support for Social Protection in Ghana: A Micro-level Analysis
No full textIn recent years, social protection reforms have gained significant traction, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. However, the dynamics shaping these reforms, including factors that influence public support or otherwise, remain relatively understudied. Focusing on Ghana, this book investigates the factors that influence citizen's support for two key social protection initiatives: the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) cash transfer programme and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Using data from an attitudinal survey, the author finds that economic self-interest, poverty attribution beliefs, institutional trust, and knowledge are key determinants of public support for the LEAP cash transfer programme. However, in the case of the NHIS, public support is predominantly shaped by poverty attribution beliefs, trust, and knowledge alone. Collectively, these findings emphasize the importance of programme-specific factors in shaping public attitudes towards social protection. They also underscore the need for targeted policy interventions, particularly efforts to strengthen institutional trust and improve citizen awareness of these initiatives, in order to foster broader and more sustained support for social protection policies and programmes in Ghana
Generating Explanations for Models Predicting Student Exam Performance
No full textUnderstanding and improving student performance is a central concern in education, and predictive models can provide valuable insights—provided their decisions are transparent and explainable. However, many machine learning (ML) models used for this purpose lack interpretability, limiting their practical utility. In this work, we apply two complementary eXplainable AI (XAI) methods: SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and the Bayesian Counterfactual Generator (BayCon), to explain the predictions of an ML model trained on multimodal data to forecast student exam outcomes. SHAP is used to identify and visualise the most influential features contributing to each prediction, while BayCon generates actionable counterfactuals. These counterfactuals are then converted into natural language using a large language model (LLM), making them easier to understand. Our approach is designed to support both students and educators by offering clear, personalised insights into the factors affecting academic performance. We present the explanation generation pipeline and discuss its interpretability and potential benefits for educational contexts
Acute inflammation triggered by two lightweight hernia meshes: a comparative in vitro and retrospective cohort study
No full textPURPOSE
Retro-muscular mesh augmentation is standard for repairing abdominal incisional or larger primary hernia. A wide variety of meshes with diverse properties are available. The knowledge on the immune-modulating effects of meshes is, however, insufficient. This study investigates the impact of two widely used lightweight meshes, ULTRAPRO® and ProGrip™, on macrophage activation (in vitro), systemic inflammation (in vivo), patient perioperative and long-term outcomes.
METHODS
Human THP-1 cell-derived macrophages were cultured in absence and presence of ULTRAPRO® or ProGrip™ meshes. The release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, was measured following inflammasome activation. In a retrospective study, systemic inflammation and postoperative outcomes after retro-muscular hernia repair using ULTRAPRO® (321 patients) or ProGrip™ (161 patients) meshes were analyzed.
RESULTS
In the presence of ULTRAPRO®, IL-1β and IL-6 release by macrophages was increased, whereas ProGrip™ tended to reduce cytokine levels (p ≤ 0.05; n = 7). Baseline characteristics were comparable between both groups; systemic C-reactive protein levels were likewise higher in patients receiving ULTRAPRO® compared to ProGrip™ (mean difference: 26.9 ± 7.5 mg/dl; p < 0.0001). No relevant differences were observed in perioperative morbidity or short-term outcomes, including complications and hospitalization after hernia repair, but hernia recurrence rates tended to be higher within three-year follow-up after ProGrip™ implantation compared to ULTRAPRO® (p = 0.0630).
CONCLUSION
Meshes exhibit distinct immune-modulating effects on macrophages, leading to differential activation that may influence foreign-body reaction and systemic inflammation. These immune responses potentially impact clinical outcomes and recurrence after hernia repair. This study underscores the need for comparative prospective, randomized-controlled trials to further evaluate the clinical relevance of mesh-specific immunological effects
Prediction of creep behavior in short fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites using an elementary volume approach
No full textCreep behavior of short glass fiber reinforced poly(butylene terephthalate) (SFRC PBT) composites was analyzed using plates processed by injection molding and push–pull processing, with fiber contents of 0, 20, and 30 wt%. Tensile test bars were extracted parallelly and perpendicularly to the flow direction to assess short-term mechanical properties, fiber length distribution, and orientation. An elementary volume approach was used to predict the longitudinal and transverse creep compliances, showing that the time dependencies were mainly governed by the PBT matrix. Given the minimal fiber orientation in the thickness direction, a transformation based on RM Jones’ mechanics of composite materials was applied to account for fiber misalignment. This led to the introduction of the unknown shear modulus G12, which was addressed by expressing it in terms of the transverse compliance J22 and shear correction factor. Comparison of predicted and measured creep compliances revealed an underestimation of 15–30% parallelly and 5–15% perpendicularly to the flow direction, attributed to imperfect fiber-matrix adhesion. SEM analysis of fracture surfaces indicated different failure behaviors based on the fiber orientation. This suggests that fiber-matrix adhesion is stress-direction dependent. The time range for accurate prediction of composite creep behavior, governed by matrix creep, is defined by the creep time limit, which decreases exponentially with increasing creep stress
Gaming im Spectator Mode: Das Publikum des Videospieljournalismus
No full textDas Unterhaltungsmedium Videospiel ist in Deutschland von gesellschaftlicher und wirtschaftlicher Relevanz. Daraus ergibt sich ein Informationsbedürfnis, das durch einen Videospieljournalismus befriedigt werden soll. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, das Publikum dieses journalistischen Themenfeldes zu charakterisieren, dessen Nutzung zu identifizieren und Einschätzungen gegenüber dieser zu ermitteln. Diese Betrachtung schließt sowohl den professionellen Videospieljournalismus als auch Blogs, Influencer und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit ein. Dazu wurde eine standardisierte Befragung als Online-Umfrage angewandt, die auf Videospielende des deutschsprachigen Raums abzielt.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Publikum des deutschsprachigen Videospieljournalismus im Vergleich zu den Videospielenden Deutschlands jünger und eher männlich ist. Es weist ein hohes Interesse für die Thematik auf und fordert Fachkenntnisse von den Medien ein, zeigt ihnen gegenüber aber Vertrauen. Da auch Influencer und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit als Informationsquellen dienen, besteht hier eine Konkurrenzsituation, die der Journalismus durch eine Abgrenzung von diesem mit unabhängigen Inhalten lösen muss. Die Ergebnisse dienen vornehmlich der redaktionellen Publikumsforschung als Denkanstoß für zukünftige Maßnahmen.Video games as an entertainment medium are of social and economic rele-vance in Germany. Hence, there is a need for information that should be satisfied by video game journalism. The purpose of this thesis is to characterize the audience of this journalistic field, to identify its consumption and their opinions about it. This examination includes professional video game journalism as well as blogs, influencers and public relations. For this purpose, a standardized survey has been used as an online questionnaire targeting video game players in German-speaking countries.
The results show that the audience of German-language video game journalism is younger and more likely to be male compared to video game players in Germany. They show a high level of interest in the subject and demand expertise from the media, but show trust in them. Since influencers and public relations also serve as sources of information, there is a competitive situation that journalism must resolve by differentiating itself from them with content independent of corporate interests. The results primarily serve as inspiration for future measures in editorial audience research
Analyzing the impact of irrigation on dietary diversity: a comparison between farmer-led and public irrigation in Kenya
No full textIrrigation is often celebrated as a means of intensifying agricultural production and improving food and nutrition security. In the context of semi-subsistence smallholder agriculture irrigation can have a positive impact on dietary diversity through various pathways. However, studies on the linkages between irrigation and rural household nutrition show mixed results. This study argues that irrigation is not a simple agricultural input factor but is embedded in socio-technical conditions. It compares two different irrigation arrangements to understand how irrigation can contribute to transforming local food systems through different pathways. The impact of irrigation on dietary diversity and the potential impact pathways (agricultural income, production diversity and women’s empowerment) are analyzed using a propensity score matching (PSM) approach. The analysis is repeated for subsets of farmer-led and public irrigation to explore how different irrigation arrangements lead to different outcomes. The results show that both farmer-led and public irrigation have a positive impact on agricultural income and dietary diversity. The positive effect on dietary diversity was stronger in farmer-led irrigation while the income effect was stronger in public irrigation arrangement. However, the positive impact on dietary diversity appears to be dampened by a reduction in production diversity, particularly in the case of public irrigation. This study highlights that irrigation development may lead to a more diverse diet, strengthen the income pathway but weaken the production diversity pathway with the extent of this effect depending on the irrigation arrangement. Therefore, policy makers should be aware of this trade-off and seek to support irrigation that allows increased production for urban markets without compromising the dietary intake of rural households
Biopolymer-Based Vehicles for Drug Encapsulation
No full textBiopolymers are increasingly used to design drug delivery systems (DDSs), which incorporate therapeutic agents to deliver drugs precisely to the diseased sites with minimal side effects. An ideal DDS targets and controls drug release, protecting drugs from breakdown during transport. Due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, the DDS made of biopolymers acts as a drug vehicle to reduce the side effects in the body [1].
In this preliminary work, chitosan hydrogels were prepared using 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid (BTC) as a crosslinker. In addition, the release behavior of the hydrophobic dye (Rhodamine B) from the chitosan hydrogels was examined. The dye was used in this work to visually track and quantify the loading and release behavior
