The 20 most recently published documents
Abstract
Remote participation in school is possible today with the help of telepresence robots. Such technologies can offer great opportunities for children with long-term illnesses to continue attending school. Consequently, telepresence robots are already used in some schools when children are absent for long periods. However, despite their positive impact, such robots also create challenges for the privacy of people involved in such a setting. Therefore, in this paper, we discuss the user needs of such robots in this specific and privacy-sensitive application field. We held three workshops with different user groups with and without experience with the robots. Among them were formerly and currently ill children, parents, teachers, head teachers, media educators, and supporting personnel. We discussed their experiences (if any), ideas, expectations, and concerns with a focus on privacy aspects to find out about the user needs of different user groups. Our results reveal various interrelationships and conflicts between the individual actors. They serve as a basis to discuss the implications for the design of future telepresence robots for schoolchildren.
Abstract
Future social robots will act autonomously in the world. Autonomous behavior is usually realized by using AI models built with real-world data, which often reflect existing inequalities and prejudices in society. Even if designers do not intend it, there are risks that robots will be developed that discriminate against certain users, e. g. based on gender. In this work, we investigate the implications of a gender-biased robot that disadvantages women, which unfortunately is a bias in AI that is often reported. Our experiment shows that both men and women perceive the gender-biased robot to be unfair. However, our work indicates that women are more aware that a gender bias causes this unfairness. We also show that gender bias results in the robot being perceived differently. While the gender bias resulted in lower likability and intelligence ratings by women, men seem to lose trust in the robot if it behaves unfairly.
Abstract
Telepresence robots offer great opportunities for children with long-term illnesses to continue attending school. Consequently, they are already used if children are absent for long periods. When designing such systems, the privacy of various stakeholders must be considered. However, conflicts often arise because the privacy requirements of different user groups cannot be fulfilled simultaneously. In this paper, we analyze the corresponding trade-offs that have to be made when designing telepresence robots under conflicting privacy requirements. We analyzed previous literature and held three workshops with different user groups (children, parents, teachers, head teachers, media educators, and supporting personnel) with and without experience with telepresence robots in schools. Based on the literature and the workshop results, we present four major privacy trade-offs we identified and discuss design approaches for them. With this work, we contribute to the design research on telepresence robots in schools by revealing the major privacy-related conflicts and potential design approaches to overcome the conflicts.
Abstract
Video tutorials are an effective method of knowledge transfer and learning. However, they are often time-consuming to create and difficult to access during work. This paper introduces an approach that simplifies the creation of video tutorials in the workplace and promotes their use during work. By utilizing smart glasses, practitioners can record video tutorials during their daily work processes and utilize them for knowledge transfer to other employees without much additional effort. This offers the advantage of directly and easily sharing expertise in the workplace without being constrained by time or location. Given the intended simplicity of this approach, the question arises whether it creates video tutorials that help people in their learning. The paper presents a study that compares the effectiveness of knowledge transfer using these video tutorials against traditional personal training methods in the workplace. With 18 participants from the nursing and production sectors, we observed the training and learning outcomes of using video tutorials on smart glasses over multiple sessions, comparing them with personal training, which is considered the standard for practical onboarding. The study results indicate that learning with video tutorials does not significantly differ in terms of learning outcomes from traditional personal training methods. Overall, this study highlights the potential of video tutorials with smart glasses for knowledge transfer in workplaces, while also identifying challenges and opportunities for optimizing onboarding processes for employees.
Abstract
Robots are gradually being freed from their safety fences due to the advances in safety features integrated with most new robots. These robots enable a new form of human-robot interaction in which contact is possible. There are two robot-related factors that play a decisive role in the interaction dynamics and human perception in such a case - the motion speed and distance the robot keeps away from the human. Literature indicates that these factors influence whether humans perceive trust, safety, and comfort, which are essential components in the acceptance of robots by their end users. However, although speed and distance were intensively investigated in isolation, little is known about their combined effect. To this end, we conducted an experiment investigating the impact of the industrial robot arm’s approaching speed and stopping distance on the users’ trust, safety, and comfort while they were performing a collaborative task. Our results provide interesting insights into the implications of speed and trust. While we were able to replicate former studies in terms of implications of speed and distance, our data does not show any interaction effect between the two variables. However, our participants’ observations indicated that distance impacts the dependent variables more severely than speed.
ABSTRACT
Trust is important for collaboration. In hybrid teams of humans and robots, trust enables smooth collaboration and reduces risks. Just as collaboration between humans and robots differs from interpersonal collaboration, so does the nature of trust in human-robot interaction (HRI). Therefore, further investigations on trust formation and dissolution in HRI, factors affecting it, and means for keeping trust on an appropriate level are needed. However, our knowledge of interpersonal trust and trust in autonomous agents cannot be transferred directly to HRI. In this paper, we present a study with 32 participants on trust formation and dissolution as well as forecasting to influence trust in an industry robot. Results show differences in dynamics and factors of trust formation and dissolution. Additionally, we find that the effect of forecasting on trust depends on task success. These findings support the design of trustful human-robot interaction and corresponding robotic team members.
Abstract
Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a personality trait characterized by a high sensitivity to sensory stimuli (Aron & Aron, 1997). On the basis of environmental sensitivity theory (Pluess & Boniwell, 2015) as well as the job characteristics model (Hackman & Oldham, 1976), we investigated the moderating impact of SPS (HSP Scale; Aron & Aron, 1997; Konrad & Herzberg, 2019) on the relationship between job characteristics (Work Design Questionnaire; Morgeson & Humphrey, 2006; Stegmann et al., 2010) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB Scale; Podsakoff et al., 1990). The results of our two-wave survey study with 199 employees from a broad range of industries and students indicate that SPS strengthens the relationship between feedback as well as task significance and OCB, but SPS weakens the relationship between autonomy (work methods) as well as task variety and OCB.
Zusammenfassung:
Bislang existierte keine deutschsprachige, validierte Übersetzung der Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist daher die Validierung einer deutschen Übersetzung der AMS in zwei Studien. Die Übersetzung der AMS folgte dem TRAPD-Modell, einer Weiterentwicklung der Back-Translation-Methode. Die erste zweiwellige Studie (N = 211) zeigte gute bis sehr gute interne Konsistenzen und mit den Originalversionen der AMS weitgehend übereinstimmende Retest-Reliabilitäten. Die postulierte siebenfaktorielle Struktur wies gegenüber einem ein- bzw. dreifaktoriellen Modell den besten Modell-Fit auf. Die zweite zweiwellige Studie (N = 221) analysierte die konvergente und divergente Validität, sowie die Kriteriumsvalidität. Zusammenfassend verfügt die deutsche Version der AMS über gute psychometrische Eigenschaften und kann daher in Forschung und Praxis eingesetzt werden.
In der öffentlichen Debatte wird die Generation Z häufig als zentrale Herausforderung für die zukünftige Arbeitswelt dargestellt. Es wird behauptet, dass diese Generation, geprägt durch digitale und gesellschaftliche Umbrüche, andere Erwartungen an Arbeitgeber hat als ihre Vorgänger. Unsere Studie untersucht, ob diese Annahme wissenschaftlich haltbar ist und ob sich die Relevanz von Arbeitgeberattraktivitätsfaktoren zwischen den Generationen Baby Boomer, Generation X, Y und Z signifikant unterscheidet.
Basierend auf einem neuen empirischen Ansatz analysieren wir mit einer umfangreichen deutschen Stichprobe (N=1133) mittels multipler Regressionen die Vorhersagekraft von 19 Arbeitgeberattraktivitätsfaktoren für die allgemeine Arbeitgeberattraktivität. Dabei prüfen wir, ob und inwieweit die Generationszugehörigkeit moderierende Effekte auf die Bedeutung dieser Faktoren hat.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass wesentliche Attraktivitätsfaktoren wie Identifikation mit dem Unternehmen, Management und Führung sowie die Arbeitsaufgabe generationsübergreifend relevant sind. Unterschiede zeigen sich lediglich in einzelnen Dimensionen wie Arbeitsplatzsicherheit, Corporate Social Responsibility, Work-Life-Balance und Unternehmensimage, wobei die Varianzaufklärung durch Generationsunterschiede äußerst gering ist (<2 %) und die signifikanten Regressionskoeffizienten im Durchschnitt nur bei .23 liegen.
Die Studie liefert eine empirische Basis für die Diskussion über Generationsunterschiede bei arbeitsrelevanten Einstellungen. Unsere Ergebnisse stellen die gängige Praxis von generationsspezifischem Employer Branding und eine Überschätzung von Generationsunterschieden, die auf stereotypen Annahmen beruhen, infrage. Selbst Alters- und Lebensphaseneffekte lassen sich in unseren Ergebnissen kaum nachweisen. Zukünftige Forschung sollte verstärkt longitudinale Designs verwenden, um die Dynamik von Alter, Lebensphasen und Generationen besser zu verstehen.
Mit „Blindterni" wird ein inklusives Spiel für Menschen mit Sehbehinderung nach der Methode Design Thinking entwickelt. Für die Fertigung wird ein verbreitetes und günstiges additives Verfahren gewählt. Iterationsschleifen bei Entwicklung und Testung sorgen dabei für eine hohe Nutzerakzeptanz. Die Resonanz der Testgruppe einer Schule mit dem Förderschwerpunkt Sehen ist durchweg positiv und trägt ihrerseits maßgeblich zur Verbesserung bei. Das Spiel verfolgt den opensource-Ansatz und kann so von enthusiastischen Laien mit Zugang zu einem 3D Drucker einfach und günstig gefertigt werden.
Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of expressive writing in reducing work stress. Expressive writing involves structured written exercises of self-disclosure for cognitive and affective processing of stressful experiences over several writing sessions. Using a 3x3 mixed design, we examined the effects of the intervention on work stress as well as work-related motivation and attitudes in 62 German participants. We found a sex-specific effect in the significant reduction of exhaustion in men in the experimental group. In contrast, women in the control group showed significantly higher levels of exhaustion. This effect was not found for women in the experimental group. Despite the limitations of our research in terms of sample differences in baseline levels, our research identifies an alleviating effect of expressive writing on emotional exhaustion as the core facet of burnout. Future research should specifically select individuals with higher levels of stress to address the limitations mentioned.
Abstract
In this experimental study, we investigated the impact of a mindfulness intervention on knowledge sharing and knowledge collecting (de Vries et al. 2016) during a 2-day command post exercise of German senior police officers. The setting of the experiment took place under the terms of a command post exercise (Stabs-Rahmenübung), held once a year at the Federal Academy for Civil Defense and Civil Protection (Bundesakademie für Bevölkerungs- und Zivilschutz—BABZ). The BABZ provides premises and technical facilities for advanced training, and the police officers spend a week focusing exclusively on learning and training for police staff work (polizeiliche Stabsarbeit). Mayring (2010) identified three aspects (cognition, emotion, action) influencing communication’s semiotic aspect. These three aspects were addressed during the mindfulness intervention used in the field study, with participants being asked to provide a short statement about their current state of cognition, emotion, and physical experience. The intervention was conducted before and after each of the two daily command post exercises for the experimental group (N = 46), while no intervention occurred for the control group (N = 58). Knowledge sharing and knowledge collecting were assessed with the Knowledge Donating and Knowledge Collecting Items (de Vries et al. 2016). While planned contrast analyses revealed no effect on knowledge donating, our data suggest a tendency for a
positive influence of the mindfulness intervention on knowledge collecting. These differences between knowledge sharing and collecting might occur because knowledge collecting is more implicit and part of the process of building a shared mental model (Cannon-Bowers et al. 1993). The impact of knowledge collecting will be discussed in light of the self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci 2000) and the impact of individual and collective mindfulness in high-reliability organizations (Weick and Sutcliffe 2001), respectively high-responsibility teams (Hagemann et al. 2012).
Zusammenfassung:
Der letzte Beitrag des Themenhefts fasst die Debatte um Subjektivität, Intuition und Bauchgefühl als Entscheidungsgrundlagen in der Personalauswahl zusammen, wie sie ausgehend vom Schwerpunktartikel von Deters und Klopprogge (2025a) zur Diskussion gestellt wurde. Die Herausgeber reflektieren die Kernaussagen der Autoren, die eine Balance zwischen objektiver Diagnostik und subjektiver Intuition fordern und eine deutliche Diskrepanz zwischen wissenschaftlicher Theorie und unternehmerischer Praxis wahrnehmen. Die Rezeption im Themenheft zeigt ein breites Spektrum von Positionen: Während Intuition teils als wertvoller Impuls in komplexen Entscheidungsprozessen gesehen wird, warnen Kritiker vor ihrer Anfälligkeit für Biases. Die Herausgeber plädieren für integrative Verfahren und diagnostische Zugänge, die subjektive und objektive Ansätze verbinden, und betonen die Notwendigkeit eines differenzierten, praxisnahen Dialogs zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis, um fundierte und zugleich flexible Entscheidungsprozesse zu gestalten.
Wirtschaftspsychologie
(2025)
Silicon carbide (SiC)-bonded diamond materials, comprising approximately 50% diamond by volume, represent innovative composites with exceptional mechanical and thermal properties, including high hardness, wear and corrosion resistance, and elevated thermal conductivity. Despite these advantageous properties, the machining of these composites presents formidable challenges due to their extremely high hardness. Grinding with diamond tools is commonly employed among the limited viable machining methods. However, the efficiency of this process is hindered by high grinding forces, elevated temperatures, and significantly high tool wear. Additionally, the surface integrity, form, and dimensional accuracy of the workpiece are compromised by the effects of tool wear and high cutting forces. To address these technological constraints in the grinding of SiC-bonded diamond materials, a laser-assisted grinding process has been developed. Ultra-short pulsed laser radiations were effectively utilized to induce material ablation with controlled structural damages, enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the grinding process through reduced grinding forces, temperatures, and tool wear. Furthermore, this study investigated the influence of grinding tools’ specifications, design variations, and parameters on key aspects such as grinding forces, surface quality, and tool wear. Substantial reductions of up to 70% in tangential grinding forces, 83% in normal grinding forces, and a modest improvement in surface roughness achieved. The surface integrity analysis revealed a damage-free ground surface when utilizing laser assistance. Furthermore, there was a substantial enhancement in the grinding ratio (G-ratio), achieving an increase of up to 247%, concurrently with a noteworthy improvement in the actual removal depth, reaching up to 99%, when compared to conventional grinding processes. Compared to the utilized segmented metal bonded diamond grinding wheel, the vitrified bonded diamond grinding wheel induced lower grinding forces and higher actual removal rates.
NGS Detects Extensive Genomic Alterations in Survivors of Irradiated Normal Human Fibroblast Cells
(2024)
Abstract
It is thought that cells surviving ionizing radiation exposure repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and restore their genomes. However, the recent biochemical and genetic characterization of DSB repair pathways reveals that only homologous recombination (HR) can function in an error-free manner and that the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathways canonical NHEJ (c-NHEJ), alternative end joining (alt-EJ), and single-strand annealing (SSA) are error-prone, and potentially leave behind genomic scars and altered genomes. The strong cell cycle restriction of HR to S/ G2 phases and the unparalleled efficiency of c-NHEJ throughout the cell cycle, raise the intriguing question as to how far a surviving cell reaches after repairing the genome back to its pre-irradiation state. Indeed, there is evidence that the genomes of cells surviving radiation treatment harbor extensive genomic alterations. To directly investigate this possibility, we adopted next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and tested a normal human fibroblast cell line, 82-6 hTert, after exposure up to 6 Gy. Cells were irradiated and surviving colonies expanded and the cells frozen. Sequencing analysis using the Illumina sequencing platform and comparison with the unirradiated genome detected frequent genomic alterations in the six investigated radiation survivor clones, including translocations and large deletions. Translocations detected by this analysis and predicted to generate visible cytogenetic alterations were frequently (three out of five) confirmed using mFISH cytogenetic analysis. PCR analysis of selected deletions also confirmed seven of the ten examined. We conclude that cells surviving radiation exposure tolerate and pass to their progeny a wide spectrum of genomic alterations. This recognition needs to be integrated into the interpretation of biological results at all endpoints, as well as in the formulation of mathematical models of radiation action. NGS analysis of irradiated genomes promises to enhance molecular cytogenetics by increasing the spectrum of detectable genomic alterations and advance our understanding of key molecular radiobiological effects and the logic underpinning DSB repair. However, further developments in the technology will be required to harness its full potential.
Abstract
A low-cost plasma nozzle/setup was developed to allow demonstrations, and it invites hands-on experimentation with nonthermal plasmas of air and other gases. Several high-tech plasma applications, such as surface cleaning and activation, as well as mild but effective sterilization, will be explained and adapted to be eagerly explored by undergraduate and senior high school students. The results were surprisingly similar to those obtained with a commercial plasma treatment system. While the focus is on the experimental introduction to plasma physics and chemistry, it will be highlighted how a multidisciplinary approach enables the study and discussion of important concepts ranging from surface energies and contact angles to environmental or microbiological control.
