@phdthesis{Bangelesa2022,
  author    = {Bangelesa, Freddy Fefe},
  title     = {Impacts of climate variability and change on Maize (\(Zea\) \(mays\)) production in tropical Africa},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-25934},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259347},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Climate change is undeniable and constitutes one of the major threats of the 21st century. It impacts sectors of our society, usually negatively, and is likely to worsen towards the middle and end of the century. The agricultural sector is of particular concern, for it is the primary source of food and is strongly dependent on the weather. Considerable attention has been given to the impact of climate change on African agriculture because of the continent's high vulnerability, which is mainly due to its low adaptation capac- ity. Several studies have been implemented to evaluate the impact of climate change on this continent. The results are sometimes controversial since the studies are based on different approaches, climate models and crop yield datasets. This study attempts to contribute substantially to this large topic by suggesting specific types of climate pre- dictors. The study focuses on tropical Africa and its maize yield. Maize is considered to be the most important crop in this region. To estimate the effect of climate change on maize yield, the study began by developing a robust cross-validated multiple linear regression model, which related climate predictors and maize yield. This statistical trans- fer function is reputed to be less prone to overfitting and multicollinearity problems. It is capable of selecting robust predictors, which have a physical meaning. Therefore, the study combined: large-scale predictors, which were derived from the principal component analysis of the monthly precipitation and temperature; traditional local-scale predictors, mainly, the mean precipitation, mean temperature, maximum temperature and minimum temperature; and the Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI), derived from the specific crop (maize) water balance model. The projected maize-yield change is forced by a regional climate model (RCM) REMO under two emission scenarios: high emission scenario (RCP8.5) and mid-range emission scenario (RCP4.5). The different effects of these groups of predictors in projecting the future maize-yield changes were also assessed. Furthermore, the study analysed the impact of climate change on the global WRSI. The results indicate that almost 27 \% of the interannual variability of maize production of the entire region is explained by climate variables. The influence of climate predictors on maize-yield production is more pronounced in West Africa, reaching 55 \% in some areas. The model projection indicates that the maize yield in the entire region is expected to decrease by the middle of the century under an RCP8.5 emission scenario, and from the middle of the century to the end of the century, the production will slightly recover but will remain negative (around -10 \%). However, in some regions of East Africa, a slight increase in maize yield is expected. The maize-yield projection under RCP4.5 remains relatively unchanged compared to the baseline period (1982-2016). The results further indicate that large-scale predictors are the most critical drivers of the global year-to-year maize-yield variability, and ENSO - which is highly correlated with the most important predictor (PC2) - seems to be the physical process underlying this variability. The effects of local predictors are more pronounced in the eastern parts of the region. The impact of the future climate change on WRSI reveals that the availability of maize water is expected to decrease everywhere, except in some parts of eastern Africa.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Hirth2016,
  author    = {Hirth, Matthias Johannes Wilhem},
  title     = {Modeling Crowdsourcing Platforms - A Use-Case Driven Approach},
  issn      = {1432-8801},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-14072},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140726},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Computer systems have replaced human work-force in many parts of everyday life, but there still exists a large number of tasks that cannot be automated, yet. This also includes tasks, which we consider to be rather simple like the categorization of image content or subjective ratings. Traditionally, these tasks have been completed by designated employees or outsourced to specialized companies. However, recently the crowdsourcing paradigm is more and more applied to complete such human-labor intensive tasks. Crowdsourcing aims at leveraging the huge number of Internet users all around the globe, which form a potentially highly available, low-cost, and easy accessible work-force. To enable the distribution of work on a global scale, new web-based services emerged, so called crowdsourcing platforms, that act as mediator between employers posting tasks and workers completing tasks. However, the crowdsourcing approach, especially the large anonymous worker crowd, results in two types of challenges. On the one hand, there are technical challenges like the dimensioning of crowdsourcing platform infrastructure or the interconnection of crowdsourcing platforms and machine clouds to build hybrid services. On the other hand, there are conceptual challenges like identifying reliable workers or migrating traditional off-line work to the crowdsourcing environment. To tackle these challenges, this monograph analyzes and models current crowdsourcing systems to optimize crowdsourcing workflows and the underlying infrastructure. First, a categorization of crowdsourcing tasks and platforms is developed to derive generalizable properties. Based on this categorization and an exemplary analysis of a commercial crowdsourcing platform, models for different aspects of crowdsourcing platforms and crowdsourcing mechanisms are developed. A special focus is put on quality assurance mechanisms for crowdsourcing tasks, where the models are used to assess the suitability and costs of existing approaches for different types of tasks. Further, a novel quality assurance mechanism solely based on user-interactions is proposed and its feasibility is shown. The findings from the analysis of existing platforms, the derived models, and the developed quality assurance mechanisms are finally used to derive best practices for two crowdsourcing use-cases, crowdsourcing-based network measurements and crowdsourcing-based subjective user studies. These two exemplary use-cases cover aspects typical for a large range of crowdsourcing tasks and illustrated the potential benefits, but also resulting challenges when using crowdsourcing. With the ongoing digitalization and globalization of the labor markets, the crowdsourcing paradigm is expected to gain even more importance in the next years. This is already evident in the currently new emerging fields of crowdsourcing, like enterprise crowdsourcing or mobile crowdsourcing. The models developed in the monograph enable platform providers to optimize their current systems and employers to optimize their workflows to increase their commercial success. Moreover, the results help to improve the general understanding of crowdsourcing systems, a key for identifying necessary adaptions and future improvements.},
  subject      = {Open Innovation},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Mederer2009,
  author    = {Mederer, Joachim},
  title     = {Water Resources and Dynamics of the Troodos Igneous Aquifer-system, Cyprus - Balanced Groundwater Modelling -},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-37306},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {The study investigates the water resources and aquifer dynamics of the igneous fractured aquifer-system of the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus, using a coupled, finite differences water balance and groundwater modelling approach. The numerical water balance modelling forms the quantitative framework by assessing groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration, which form input parameters for the groundwater flow models. High recharge areas are identified within the heavily fractured Gabbro and Sheeted Dyke formations in the upper Troodos Mountains, while the impervious Pillow Lava promontories - with low precipitation and high evapotranspiration - show unfavourable recharge conditions. Within the water balance studies, evapotranspiration is split into actual evapotranspiration and the so called secondary evapotranspiration, representing the water demand for open waters, moist and irrigated areas. By separating the evapotranspiration of open waters and moist areas from the one of irrigated areas, groundwater abstraction needs are quantified, allowing the simulation of single well abstraction rates in the groundwater flow models. Two sets of balanced groundwater models simulate the aquifer dynamics in the presented study: First, the basic groundwater percolation system is investigated using two-dimensional vertical flow models along geological cross-sections, depicting the entire Troodos Mountains up to a depth of several thousands of metres. The deeply percolating groundwater system starts in the high recharge areas of the upper Troodos, shows quasi stratiform flow in the Gabbro and Sheeted Dyke formations, and rises to the surface in the vicinity of the impervious Pillow Lava promontories. The residence times mostly yield less than 25 years, the ones of the deepest fluxes several hundreds of years. Moreover, inter basin flow and indirect recharge of the Circum Troodos Sedimentary Succession are identified. In a second step, the upper and most productive part of the fractured igneous aquifer-system is investigated in a regional, horizontal groundwater model, including management scenarios and inter catchment flow studies. In a natural scenario without groundwater abstractions, the recovery potential of the aquifer is tested. Predicted future water demand is simulated in an increased abstraction scenario. The results show a high sensitivity to well abstraction rate changes in the Pillow Lava and Basal Group promontories. The changes in groundwater heads range from a few tens of metres up to more than one hundred metres. The sensitivity in the more productive parts of the aquifer-system is lower. Inter-catchment flow studies indicate that - besides the dominant effluent conditions in the Troodos Mountains - single reaches show influent conditions and are sub-flown by groundwater. These fluxes influence the local water balance and generate inter catchment flow. The balanced groundwater models form thus a comprehensive modelling system, supplying future detail models with information concerning boundary conditions and inter-catchment flow, and allowing the simulation of impacts of landuse or climate change scenarios on the dynamics and water resources of the Troodos aquifer-system.},
  subject      = {Zypern},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kluegl2000,
  author    = {Kl{\"u}gl, Franziska},
  title     = {Aktivit{\"a}tsbasierte Verhaltensmodellierung und ihre Unterst{\"u}tzung bei Multiagentensimulationen},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-2874},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2000},
  abstract  = {Durch Zusammenf{\"u}hrung traditioneller Methoden zur individuenbasierten Simulation und dem Konzept der Multiagentensysteme steht mit der Multiagentensimulation eine Methodik zur Verf{\"u}gung, die es erm{\"o}glicht, sowohl technisch als auch konzeptionell eine neue Ebene an Detaillierung bei Modellbildung und Simulation zu erreichen. Ein Modell beruht dabei auf dem Konzept einer Gesellschaft: Es besteht aus einer Menge interagierender, aber in ihren Entscheidungen autonomen Einheiten, den Agenten. Diese {\"a}ndern durch ihre Aktionen ihre Umwelt und reagieren ebenso auf die f{\"u}r sie wahrnehmbaren {\"A}nderungen in der Umwelt. Durch die Simulation jedes Agenten zusammen mit der Umwelt, in der er "lebt", wird die Dynamik im Gesamtsystem beobachtbar. In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurde ein Repr{\"a}sentationsschema f{\"u}r Multiagentensimulationen entwickelt werden, das es Fachexperten, wie zum Beispiel Biologen, erm{\"o}glicht, selbst{\"a}ndig ohne traditionelles Programmieren Multiagentenmodelle zu implementieren und mit diesen Experimente durchzuf{\"u}hren. Dieses deklarative Schema beruht auf zwei Basiskonzepten: Der K{\"o}rper eines Agenten besteht aus Zustandsvariablen. Das Verhalten des Agenten kann mit Regeln beschrieben werden. Ausgehend davon werden verschiedene Strukturierungsans{\"a}tze behandelt. Das wichtigste Konzept ist das der "Aktivit{\"a}t", einer Art "Verhaltenszustand": W{\"a}hrend der Agent in einer Aktivit{\"a}t A verweilt, f{\"u}hrt er die zugeh{\"o}rigen Aktionen aus und dies solange, bis eine Regel feuert, die diese Aktivit{\"a}t beendet und eine neue Aktivit{\"a}t ausw{\"a}hlt. Durch Indizierung dieser Regeln bei den zugeh{\"o}rigen Aktivit{\"a}ten und Einf{\"u}hrung von abstrakten Aktivit{\"a}ten entsteht ein Schema f{\"u}r eine vielf{\"a}ltig strukturierbare Verhaltensbeschreibung. Zu diesem Schema wurde ein Interpreter entwickelt, der ein derartig repr{\"a}sentiertes Modell ausf{\"u}hrt und so Simulationsexperimente mit dem Multiagentenmodell erlaubt. Auf dieser Basis wurde die Modellierungs- und Experimentierumgebung SeSAm ("Shell f{\"u}r Simulierte Agentensysteme") entwickelt. Sie verwendet vorhandene Konzepte aus dem visuellen Programmieren. Mit dieser Umgebung wurden Anwendungsmodelle aus verschiedenen Dom{\"a}nen realisiert: Neben abstrakten Spielbeispielen waren dies vor allem Fragestellungen zu sozialen Insekten, z.B. zum Verhalten von Ameisen, Bienen oder der Interaktion zwischen Bienenv{\"o}lkern und Milbenpopulationen.},
  subject      = {Agent <Informatik>},
  language  = {de}
}