Resolving the Complex Spin Structure in Fe-Based Soft Magnetic Nanocrystalline Material by Magnetic Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

in Neutron News (2022), 33(2), 15-17

"But you know you won't be back"

Article for general public (2022)

To Kill or Not to Kill – An experimental test of moral Decision-Making in gaming

in Entertainment Computing (2022)

Commercial video game titles with meaningful and morally relevant storylines are becoming increasingly popular and an intensely researched topic for entertainment scholars. In line with this research, the ... [more ▼]

Commercial video game titles with meaningful and morally relevant storylines are becoming increasingly popular and an intensely researched topic for entertainment scholars. In line with this research, the current study investigates behavioral, emotional, and personality patterns of moral decision-making in gaming with a special emphasis on selected contextual factors. In the current laboratory experiment, a total of N = 101 participants played four chapters of Detroit: Become Human for approx. 55 min. A maximum of 13 moral decisions had to be made either under time pressure or not. Before playing, participants were assigned to one of three conditions (i.e., playing morally vs. immorally framed character vs. no framing/control condition). As expected, players generally preferred to act morally regardless of character framing. Time pressure further increased the proportion of moral (vs. immoral) decision-making. Our results underline that moral decision-making is dependent on specific contexts and that morality theories can be applied to virtual gaming scenarios. [less ▲]

Exploring the use of self-sovereign identity for event ticketing systems

in Electronic Markets (2022), 32

This position paper discusses the challenges of blockchain applications in businesses and the public sector related to an excessive degree of transparency. We first point out the types of sensitive data ... [more ▼]

This position paper discusses the challenges of blockchain applications in businesses and the public sector related to an excessive degree of transparency. We first point out the types of sensitive data involved in different patterns of blockchain use cases. We then argue that the implications of blockchains’ information exposure caused by replicated transaction storage and execution go well beyond the often-mentioned conflicts with the GDPR’s “right to be forgotten” and may be more problematic than anticipated. In particular, we illustrate the trade-off between protecting sensitive information and increasing process efficiency through smart contracts. We also explore to which extent permissioned blockchains and novel applications of cryptographic technologies such as self-sovereign identities and zero-knowledge proofs can help overcome the transparency challenge and thus act as catalysts for blockchain adoption and diffusion in organizations. [less ▲]

Temporary Protection in the EU - State of Play

Report (2022)

On 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was an unprecedented act of aggression against a sovereign and independent ... [more ▼]

On 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was an unprecedented act of aggression against a sovereign and independent country and goes against fundamental principles of international law. It has been strongly condemned by the international community, including the European Union. As of mid-March, over three million Ukrainian and international refugees are fleeing the war to neighbouring EU and third countries (including Moldova). This massive inflow of Ukrainian refugees into the EU resulted in the Council adopting the implementing Decision 2022/382 of 4 March 2022, introducing temporary protection as a means of dealing with the crisis. [less ▲]

La relecture entre pairs : un levier de motivation de la pratique de l’écrit

Scientific Conference (2022, March 17)

Les enseignants corrigent et donnent des conseils d’amélioration à leurs apprenants, mais les commentaires des enseignants sont parfois mal compris (Cole, Coats, Lentell 1986 ; Smith 1997), alors que la ... [more ▼]

Les enseignants corrigent et donnent des conseils d’amélioration à leurs apprenants, mais les commentaires des enseignants sont parfois mal compris (Cole, Coats, Lentell 1986 ; Smith 1997), alors que la relecture entre pairs apporte un échange avec moins de pression (Lejot 2017). Cet échange se fait à un niveau de hiérarchie égal et facilite la négociation de sens des éléments du texte. Néanmoins, certains élèves pointent le manque de qualification des pairs pour remplacer les commentaires des professeurs dans l’enseignement supérieur (Rollinson 2005). Cette démarche trouve toute sa force pour les doctorants. Mis en place sur un semestre, ce système fermé de relecture et de commentaires reçus en boucle est bénéfique et motivant pour ces derniers. Dans les ateliers interdisciplinaires sur les compétences transversales et en l'occurrence celle de l'écrit académique, les doctorants soulignent l’énergie, la réflexion commune et le soutien que leur a apporté la relecture de texte d'un pair et d'être eux-mêmes relus (Lejot 2017). Relire est formateur et être compris par des chercheurs pairs fait faire un grand pas en termes de cohérence d'écriture et d'argumentation bien articulée à ces groupes des écoles doctorales. [less ▲]

Retrograde Procedural Memory in Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional, Case-Control Study

in Journal of Parkinson's Disease (2022)

Background: The analysis of the procedural memory is particularly relevant in neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease, due to the central role of the basal ganglia in procedural memory. It ... [more ▼]

Background: The analysis of the procedural memory is particularly relevant in neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease, due to the central role of the basal ganglia in procedural memory. It has been shown that anterograde procedural memory, the ability to learn a new skill, is impaired in Parkinson’s disease. However, retrograde procedural memory, the long-term retention and execution of skills learned in earlier life stages, has not yet been systematically investigated in Parkinson’s disease. Objective: This study aims to investigate retrograde procedural memory in people with Parkinson’s disease.We hypothesized that retrograde procedural memory is impaired in people with Parkinson’s disease compared to an age- and gender-matched control group. Methods: First, we developed the CUPRO evaluation system, an extended evaluation system based on the Cube Copying Test, to distinguish the cube copying procedure, representing functioning of retrograde procedural memory, and the final result, representing the visuo-constructive abilities. Development of the evaluation system included tests of discriminant validity. Results: Comparing people with typical Parkinson’s disease (n = 201) with age- and gender-matched control subjects (n = 201), we identified cube copying performance to be significantly impaired in people with Parkinson’s disease (p = 0.008) No significant correlation was observed between retrograde procedural memory and disease duration. Conclusion: We demonstrated lower cube copying performance in people with Parkinson’s disease compared to control subjects, which suggests an impaired functioning of retrograde procedural memory in Parkinson’s disease. [less ▲]

Defeating Super-Reactive Jammers WithDeception Strategy: Modeling, SignalDetection, and Performance Analysis

in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (2022), 21(9), 7374-7390

This paper aims to develop a novel framework to defeat a super-reactive jammer, one of the mostdifficult jamming attacks to deal with in practice. Specifically, the jammer has an unlimited power budgetand ... [more ▼]

This paper aims to develop a novel framework to defeat a super-reactive jammer, one of the mostdifficult jamming attacks to deal with in practice. Specifically, the jammer has an unlimited power budgetand is equipped with the self-interference suppression capability to simultaneously attack and listen tothe transmitter’s activities. Consequently, dealing with super-reactive jammers is very challenging. Thus,we introduce a smart deception mechanism to attract the jammer to continuously attack the channel andthen leverage jamming signals to transmit data based on the ambient backscatter communication whichis resilient to radio interference/jamming. To decode the backscattered signals, the maximum likelihood(ML) detector can be adopted. However, the method is notorious for its high computational complexityand require a specific mathematical model for the communication system. Hence, we propose a deeplearning-based detector that can dynamically adapt to any channel and noise distributions. With the LongShort-Term Memory network, our detector can learn the received signals’ dependencies to achieve theperformance close to that of the optimal ML detector. Through simulation and theoretical results, wedemonstrate that with proposed approaches, the more power the jammer uses to attack the channel, thebetter bit error rate performance we can achieve [less ▲]

State Responsibility for Judicial Acts in Investment Arbitration

Doctoral thesis (2022)

This thesis deals with the issue of state responsibility for judicial acts in investment arbitration. In general, it is undisputed that states can be held internationally liable for the conduct of their ... [more ▼]

This thesis deals with the issue of state responsibility for judicial acts in investment arbitration. In general, it is undisputed that states can be held internationally liable for the conduct of their judiciary. The protection against denial of justice was traditionally the main international standard used for determining state responsibility for judicial acts, characterized by a relatively high threshold. Only with the proliferation of primary obligations of states towards individuals, the practical relevance of this standard was somewhat decreased. Nonetheless, this type of state responsibility – arising from domestic judicial acts – remains particularly sensitive due to the special nature and position of the national judiciary. It is commonly noted that role of national courts and their decision-making process is so particular that international courts and tribunals should not treat national judicial acts in an identical manner as acts of other state organs. Against this background, this thesis examines whether and to what extent the investment tribunals’ practice on cases concerning domestic judicial acts differs from comparable practices of other international adjudicatory bodies – in particular, the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Through the analysis of various standards of protection – when applied to judicial acts – and the relevant case law, the thesis aims to address two different questions. Firstly, whether the standards of protection granted investment treaties substantially differ from standards commonly applied by other international adjudicatory bodies. Secondly, if the investment tribunals practice’ in cases concerning host states’ judicial acts is influenced only by these substantive standards or protection, or it is also shaped by more general features of investment law and the investor investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. Ultimately, this research – through the analysis of these particular types of investor-state disputes – tries to offer novel insights into the deficiencies of the ISDS regime that should be taken into account, especially in light of the current initiatives for the reform of this regime. [less ▲]

Presenter: The War in Ukraine and History

Presentation (2022, March 16)