Fachhochschule Salzburg

Urban renewal is not a typical topic that only takes place in larger Austrian cities such as Vienna, Linz or Graz, but is also evident in the multiple processes of urban transformation in small and medium-sized towns. Especially alpine regions, such as the province of Salzburg, are characterized by this type and size of settlement structure. Although the spatial structures are comparable, the specific challenges differ in the respective places. These range reaches from general issues such as the creation of housing space and the adaptation of the transportation system to special challenges such as dealing with a historic building structure or the tourist orientation of the specific city. What the sites have in common is that there are no institutionalized procedures at the national level for how the process of urban renewal or urban redevelopment is carried out. In each case, these procedures are organized in Austria at the level of the provinces, which makes differences between Vienna and Salzburg, for example, obvious. The background is that at the federal level there is no legislative power in the field of spatial planning, but only recommendations can be issued. (Gruber et al.2018) Rather, these are individual measures or project ideas of the localities, which are implemented on the basis of the local spatial development concept and possibly based on the resulting development plan. The background to this is that the processes of spatial planning in the sense of strengthening local centers are not regulated by any formally defined processes at the level of the federal states. This means that each municipality, depending on the specific task, deals with the issue individually and develops their own process and solution. If we take the federal state of Salzburg as an example, challenges such as the migration of retail trade, the transformation of the center into a leisure destination or insufficient residential density in the core of the cities are generally common and entail comparable issues. The individual towns can only be compared to a limited extent with regard to the orientation of the town center and measures can be transferred accordingly. The individual small and medium- sized towns are organized very differently and range from places with a supra-regional administrative and school location to tourist centers that accommodate many times the local population during the peak season. The differences lie particularly in how the existing building fabric can be dealt with. In addition to legal and economic reasons, the ability to further develop the floor plan as well as the adaptation of the building’s uses play a role. Many communities have in common that already first measures for the renewal and optimization of the local centers were accomplished. Often, this concerns the design upgrading of public spaces, in the form of level paving, the design of square areas or the creation of other recreational areas. Especially the reduction of through traffic or the creation of meeting zones have contributed to a more positive perception of the centers. There have also been the first initiatives and programs to provide businesses with inexpensive storefronts, although this must be regarded more as an individual measure. In summary, there is a lack of a uniform legal and financial framework for municipalities to deal with the renewal of their centers. The interaction between legislation at the national level and at the level of the federal states, which legally and organizationally control the concrete measures, is necessary.

In this special issue of IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), we are pleased to present the journal papers from the 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR 2024), which will be held as a hybrid conference between October 21 and 25, 2024 in the Greater Seattle Area, USA. ISMAR continues the over twenty-year long tradition of IWAR, ISMR, and ISAR, and is the premier conference for Mixed and Augmented Reality in the world.

This paper proposes a holistic overview of value co-creation and value co-destruction among stakeholders at transformative events. Through a thematic research design rooted in value co-creation and co-destruction, 31 semi-structured in-depth interviews with transformative event stakeholders including transformative experience facilitators, co-facilitators, event designers and participants, were analysed. The study’s findings conclude that value co-creation and value co-destruction occur between various stakeholders and further refine resources and activities that contribute to or obstruct the formation of value within the events industry. Given the scarcity of research in transformative event design in general, and the co-creative or co-destructive role of stakeholders beyond the consumer perspective in particular, the study is novel in contributing to value formation in transformative experiences from a multi-stakeholder perspective. For event management practice, this research provides an overview of activity categories and resources for transformative event stakeholders to intentionally increase co-created value outcomes and avoid value co-destruction.

Due to the continuous improvement of Augmented Reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs), these devices are bound to be increasingly integrated into our daily routines. So far, a major focus of AR research has been on indoor usage and deployment. However, since seamlessly supporting users in their activities while being on-the-move in various outdoor contexts becomes increasingly important, there is a need to investigate the current state-of-the-art of AR technologies while people are in motion outdoors. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review of pertinent HCI publications, specifically looking into applications concerning vulnerable road users. We identify the contexts in which such technologies have been researched, prevailing challenges in the field, and applied methodological approaches. Our findings show that most contributions address pedestrians, a shift towards HMDs, and a prevalence of lab studies due to technology limitations. Based on our findings, we discuss trends, existing gaps and opportunities for future research.

The rapid advancement and diversification of technical domains, particularly in automotive and smart grid sectors, are pivotal in driving the emerging energy revolution. This evolution is instrumental in governing the future of smart cities, characterized by escalating complexity and diversity within these domains. Such a landscape necessitates seamless collaboration among various domain experts, a task often complicated by the prevalent use of domain‐specific languages and tools tailored to specific engineering needs. This poses a significant challenge towards cross‐domain interoperability. Addressing this challenge, our research introduces a novel approach leveraging abstraction layers inspired by the Software Platform Embedded Systems (SPES) methodology. This approach aims to enhance the compatibility of domain‐specific frameworks, with a focus on the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) and the Automotive Reference Architecture Model (ARAM). By applying these SPES‐inspired abstraction layers, our work facilitates the reconciliation of varying levels of detail across different domains. The paper culminates in a proof of concept that demonstrates the practical implementation of this approach, showcasing a method to achieve effective cross‐domain interoperability. This implementation not only underscores the feasibility of our proposed solution but also illuminates a pathway for managing the intricate interplay of systems in the rapidly evolving landscape of smart cities.

This work explores the elaboration of wood particle‐based composites incorporating bio‐based phase change materials, with epoxidized linseed oil or clay as a binder. Fire performance evaluation of the novel composites includes an assessment to determine the impact of the addition of boric acid as a fire retardant, as well as the incorporation of recycled paper fibres containing boric acid, and the application of trimethoxymethylsilane coating. The study employs thermogravimetric analysis and cone calorimetry under uniform external irradiance, with a T‐history method to analyse thermal behaviour. Results indicated that fire retardants do not compromise the energy functionality of bio‐based phase change material composites, exhibiting a latent heat of approximately 50 J/g. The density ranges from 750 to 875 kg/m ³ . The use of clay as a binder improves fire performance, leading to a 60% decrease in total heat release and 52% of the composite mass remaining after analysis. Although enhancing fire performance presents challenges, incorporating wood particles in clay demonstrates a promising potential approach for safe use in building applications, contributing to energy efficiency in indoor heating and cooling. The findings contribute valuable insights into these materials for creating safer and more efficient building solutions, particularly in terms of thermal regulation and fire safety.

In this work, we focus on the prediction of the influence of CO2 laser parameters on the kerf properties of cut spruce wood. Laser kerf cutting is mainly characterized by the width of kerf and the width of the heat-affected zone, which depend on the laser power, cutting speed, and structure of the cut wood, represented by the number of cut annual rings. According to the measurement results and ANN prediction results, for lower values of the laser power (P) and cutting speed (v), the effect of annual rings (ARs) is non-negligible. The results of the sensitivity analysis show that the effect of v increases at higher energy density (E) values. With P in the range between 100 and 500 W, v values between 3 and 50 mm·s−1, and AR numbers between 3 and 11, the combination of P = 200 W and v = 50 mm·s−1, regardless of the AR value, leads to the best cut quality for spruce wood. In this paper, the main goal is to show how changes in the input parameters affect the characteristics of the cutting kerf and heat-affected zones for all possible input parameter values.

ImmunoCAP ISAC E112i (ISAC) and Allergy Explorer 2 (ALEX2) detect specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) reactivity. Both multiplex assays contain molecular allergens and ALEX2 additionally includes allergen extracts and inhibitors that block the binding of IgE to cross-reacting carbohydrate determinants (CCDs). This study aimed to compare the performance of ISAC and ALEX2 by determining the IgE reactivity against allergen extracts and/or allergen components and by using qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative analyses of all comparable allergen components in sera from 216 participants recruited in South Tyrol/Italy. For extract sensitization in ALEX2, the analysis revealed negative corresponding allergen components in 18.4% and at least one positive corresponding allergen component in 81.6% of all cases. For ISAC, the corresponding results were 23.5% and 76.5% of cases, respectively. The ALEX2 CCD inhibitor eliminated CCD-positive signals detected by ISAC in 88.5% of cases. Based on sensitization values of 0.3–14.9 ISU or kUA/L, there was good agreement between ALEX2 and ISAC, although ALEX2 showed higher values than ISAC. The addition of allergen-extract tests in ALEX2 resulted in the detection of more sensitizations than with corresponding allergen components alone. In the range of <15 ISU or kUA/L, ALEX2 may be more effective in detecting sensitizations.

Bark residues from Douglas fir are an abundant resource that is currently used primarily in low-value energy recovery or is landfilled. Bark extractives are rich in diverse compounds like terpenes, fatty acids, phenols, and sugars with potential uses in a variety of high value applications. The study explores the potential of enzymatic hydrolysis to improve phenolic compounds from Douglas fir bark. It also assesses differences in chemical composition among rhytidome, phloem, and comingled bark fractions from an industrial waste pile. Phloem fractions exhibit higher yields of extractives, rhytidome fractions have elevated lignin levels, while the comingled fraction lies between the two except in ash content which was higher than in the separated fractions. Fungal decay tests with Gloeophyllum trabeum and Coniophora puteana on extract treated wood suggest potential for growth inhibition in extracts, about 58–31 % and 30–7% mass loss (in average) respectively, but due to high mass loss at low concentrations an enzymatic modification approach seems crucial for enhanced inhibition. Growth responses in whole-cell fermentation approach display variability depending on the participating microorganisms. Enzymatic hydrolysis with beta-glucosidase improved the antioxidant properties of bark extracts and holds promise for altering the chemical composition and enhancing bioactivity.

Higher education institutions have a mandate to serve the public good, yet in many cases fail to adequately respond to the global climate crisis. The inability of academic institutions to commit to purposeful climate action through targeted research, education, outreach, and policy is due in large part to “capture” by special interests. Capture involves powerful minority interests that exert influence and derive benefits at the expense of a larger group or purpose. This paper makes a conceptual contribution to advance a framework of “academic capture” applied to the climate crisis in higher education institutions. Academic capture is the result of the three contributing factors of increasing financialization issues, influence of the fossil fuel industry, and reticence of university employees to challenge the status quo. The framework guides an empirical assessment evaluating eight activities and related indices of transparency and participation based on principles of climate justice and the growing democracy-climate nexus. The framework can be a helpful tool for citizens and academics to assess the potential for academic capture and capacity for more just and democratic methods of climate action in higher education. We conclude with a series of recommendations on how to refine and apply our framework and assessment in academic settings. Our goal is to further the discussion on academic capture and continue to develop tools that transform higher education institutions to places of deep democracy and innovative climate education, research, and outreach to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.