IRF: Institutional Repository FHNW
Welcome to the publication and research database of the FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland.
The institutional repository contains publications, projects and student theses.
Further information can be found in the IRF manual (available in German).
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Recently added
Windternet: Designing grid-liberated servers for regenerative energy communities
(18.06.2024) Snodgrass, Eric; Pritchard, Helen; Moss, Miranda; Gustafsson, Daniel; Zapico, Jorge Luis
Imaginations of server practices that depend on renewable energy, Such as wind or solar, highlight alternative paradigms to the fossil Fuel intensive, resource hungry computation of cloud regimes. More often than not, the materials used to maintain off-gridness, Such as batteries and solar panels, depend on intensive resource Extraction, land grabbing and damage to soil dependent Ecosystems. This raises important questions of how both Renewables and computing are dependent on extractive practices. In response, the windternet project explores how regenerative Commitments can act as resource “limits” capable of challenging And generating alternative approaches in computing otherwise, Renewables and sustainable technological prototyping more Generally. Following propositions of regenerative agriculture and Related approaches that start from a point of not only sustaining but Actively improving socioecological relations, we outline an account Of the design practice of a grid-liberated, hybrid solar and wind Powered regenerative energy community server. Transversing Across different imaginaries of limits and abundance, we discuss How components in the designs of regenerative prototypes can be Substituted, eliminated or repurposed. This includes growing Compost-promoting wind turbine blades from mycelium, Repurposing e-waste generators and developing a custom low-cost, Open source hybrid charge controller for low power servers. In Doing so, we explore what it can mean to center regenerative Commitments when practicing with technological and Computational tools for the resourcing of community Infrastructures.
04B - Conference paper
Role of young people’s personal network in subjective well-being: A longitudinal study in residential care
(Elsevier, 2026) Fellmann, Lukas; Osswald, Jana; Kindler, Tobias; Köngeter, Stefan; Schaffner, Dorothee; Schmid, Thomas; Carole Zellner
The promotion of children’s and young people’s well-being has been recognized as a primary goal in residential care. Research shows that personal relationships are a key factor in well-being. However, young people in residential care are embedded in a dynamic social context, making it difficult to form close and long-lasting relationships. This study analyzed the impact of young people’s personal networks on their subjective well-being. Data spanning 2022–2024 were collected in three waves via a classroom-based or self-administered online survey. The sample comprised 228 young people living in a residential care facility in Switzerland in at least the first wave of data collection. The young people’s networks were collected through individual personal networks. Subjective well-being was measured using a slightly adapted version of the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using fixed-effects panel regression. Notably, the number of supportive ties (B = 0.08, p = 0.01) and contact frequency with network members (B = 0.13, p = 0.05) were positively associated with subjective well-being. However, personal networks predominantly comprising friends had a negative effect on their well-being (B = − 0.01, p = 0.02). Young people should have the opportunity to develop close and supportive relationships inside and outside the residential care facility they can rely on when they leave institutional care.
01A - Journal article
Never say never. exploring the effects of knowledge availability on agent persuasiveness in controlled physiotherapy motivation dialogues
(Frontiers Research Foundation, 2026) Vonschallen, Stephan; Häusler, Rahel; Schmiedel, Theresa; Eyssel, Friederike
Generative Social Agents (GSAs) have the capability to influence their human users through persuasive communication. On the one hand, they might motivate users to pursue positive personal goals, such as following a healthier lifestyle. On the other hand, GSAs are linked to negative outcomes like manipulation and deception. These emerge as a consequence of the fact that we only have limited control over probabilistic agent outputs. However, at the same time, GSAs manifest communicative patterns based on available knowledge. Therefore, their communication behavior can be shaped by regulating their access to such knowledge. Following this approach, we explored persuasive messages from GSAs in the context of human-robot physiotherapy motivation. We did this by comparing ChatGPT-generated responses to predefined inputs from a hypothetical patient in physiotherapy. In Study 1, we qualitatively analyzed 14 ChatGPT-generated dialogue scripts with varying knowledge configurations. In Study 2, third-party observers ( N = 27) rated a selection of these scenarios in terms of the agent's expressiveness, assertiveness, and persuasiveness. Our findings indicated that LLM-based GSAs can adopt assertive and expressive personality traits, thereby significantly enhancing perceived persuasiveness. Moreover, persuasiveness improved when information about the patient's age and past profession was available, mediated by perceived agent assertiveness and expressiveness. Context-related knowledge, e.g., regarding benefits associated with physiotherapy did not significantly impact agent persuasiveness. This might be due to the fact that the LLM we used already included such information from pre-training. Overall, the present research highlights the importance of studying autonomous GSA behavior from an empirical perspective. Particularly, future research should focus on the information that is required in order to enable and assure coherent and responsible communication with generative AI systems.
01A - Journal article
Implicit inference of the reionization history with higher-order statistics of the 21-cm signal
(Oxford University Press, 2026) Cerardi, Nicolas; Giri, Sambit K; Bianco, Michele; Piras, Davide; de Salis, Emmanuel; De Santis, Massimo; Selcuk Simsek, Merve; Denzel, Philipp; Hess, Kelley M; Toribio, M Carmen; Kirsten, Franz; Ghorbel, Hatem
The Epoch of Reionization (EoR), when the first luminous sources ionised the intergalactic medium, represents a new frontier in cosmology. The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will offer unprecedented insights into this era through observations of the redshifted 21-cm signal, enabling constraints on the Universe’s reionization history. We investigate the information content of the average neutral hydrogen fraction ($\bar{x}_{\rm HI}$) in several Gaussian (spherical and cylindrical power spectra) and non-Gaussian (Betti numbers and bispectrum) summary statistics of the 21-cm signal. Mock 21-cm observations are generated using the AA* configuration of SKAO’s low-frequency telescope, incorporating noise levels for 100 and 1000 hours. We employ a state-of-the-art implicit inference framework to learn posterior distributions of $\bar{x}_{\rm HI}$ in redshift bins centred at z = 8.0, 7.2 and 6.5, for each statistic and noise scenario, validating the posteriors through calibration tests. Using the figure of merit to assess constraining power, we find that Betti numbers alone are on average more informative than the power spectra, while the bispectrum provides limited constraints. However, combining higher-order statistics with the cylindrical power spectrum improves the mean figure of merit by ~0.25 dex (~33 % reduction in $\sigma (\bar{x}_{\rm HI})$). The relative contribution of each statistic varies with the stage of reionization. With SKAO observations approaching, our results show that combining power spectra with higher-order statistics can significantly increase the information retrieved from the EoR, maximising the scientific return of future 21-cm observations.
01A - Journal article
Renegotiating solidarity and deservingness during the COVID-19 pandemic. the role of frontline social work
(Policy Press, 2026) Schambron, Livia; Drilling, Matthias
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a dual dynamic became visible in welfare states: on the one hand, vulnerability intensified, particularly among people in precarious legal situations; on the other hand, inclusive measures in solidarity with groups usually excluded were expanded. In this exceptional context, notions of belonging, solidarity and (un)deservingness were renegotiated. At the heart of these processes, frontline social workers played a pivotal role. Drawing on 80 semi-structured interviews with representatives of frontline organisations in Switzerland, complemented by participant observation, we identify three key dimensions in these negotiations: belonging, solidarity and deservingness. Frontline social workers found themselves in a position where the civic engagement rationale of belonging gained new prominence. They actively contributed to shaping shifts within what Sarah Schilliger called an ‘infrastructure of solidarity’ while navigating scarce resources, moral evaluations and the ethical principles of social work. With this article, we seek to advance the understanding of the role of frontline social work in negotiation processes during times of crisis and beyond.
01A - Journal article