Objective: To evaluate the long-term safety and performance of four different vibroplasty couplers (round window, oval window, CliP and Bell coupler) in combination with an active middle ear implant. Methods: This was a multicentre, prospective, long-term study including 5 German hospitals. Thirty adult subjects suffering from conductive or mixed hearing loss were initially enrolled for the study, 24 of these were included in the final analysis with up to 36 months of postsurgical follow-up data. Bone conduction and air conduction were measured pre- and postoperatively to evaluate safety. Postoperative aided sound field thresholds and Freiburger monosyllable word recognition scores were compared to unaided pre-implantation results to confirm performance. Additional speech tests compared postoperative unaided with aided results. To determine patient satisfaction, an established quality-of-life questionnaire developed for conventional hearing aid usage was administered to all subjects. Results: Mean postoperative bone conduction thresholds remained stable throughout the whole study period. Mean functional gain for all couplers investigated was 38.5 ± 11.4 dB HL (12 months) and 38.8 ± 12.5 dB HL (36 months). Mean word recognition scores at 65 dB SPL increased from 2.9% in the unaided by 64.2% to 67.1% in the aided situation. The mean postoperative speech reception in quiet (or 50% understanding of words in sentences) shows a speech intelligibility improvement at 36 months of 17.8 ± 12.4 dB SPL over the unaided condition. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improved by 5.9 ± 7.2 dB SNR over the unaided condition. High subjective device satisfaction was reflected by the International Inventory for Hearing Aids scored very positively. Conclusion: A significant improvement was seen with all couplers, and audiological performance did not significantly differ between 12 and 36 months after surgery.

Václav Drozd Object oriented political theory? A contribution of object oriented philosophy for political theory Abstract (in English): This diploma thesis is concerned with the turn to materiality and object in contemporary philosophy and explores its impact on political theory. It focuses on conceptions trying to reformulate the relation between subject and object, culture and nature or human and inhuman entities - symetrical ontology of Bruno Latour, speculative realism and object-oriented ontology. The aim of the study is to identify the benefits of these aproaches for political theory. The first frame topic important for investigated theories is the relation of human and state towards complex technologies. The second general topic is the existence under conditions of anthropocene and climate change. Keywords: anthropocene, speculative realism, object, corelationism, actor, vibrant matter, technologies, symmetry, actor-network-theory, Latour

Levande Stockholm är ett koncept som Stockholms Stad initierade 2015. Syftet med det är att skapa levande och attraktiva stadsrum för medborgarna. Sökandet efter den attraktiva staden är en utveckling som blivit vanligare och viktigare för städer i och med den allt mer tilltagande globaliseringen. Konceptet Levande Stockholm baseras på temporär urbanism för att skapa attraktiva stadsrum under sommaren och har haft ett lyckat utfall. Det är från detta koncept studien tar ansats. Under vintern råder andra förhållanden som påverkar staden och människorna och samspelet mellan dem. Därför undersöker denna studie hur man kan skapa förutsättningar för attraktiva och levande stadsrum vintertid genom temporär urbanism. Forskningsfrågan har besvarats genom att i en fallstudie samla in data från tre olika grupper som vi valt att benämna planerare, externa aktörer samt medborgare. De planerare samt externa aktörer som intervjuats har valts på grund av deras erfarenheter av att jobba med Levande Stockholm eller med att skapa attraktiva stadsrum. Ett medborgarperspektiv har undersökts genom en enkät för att jämföra om deras tankar om attraktiva stadsrum vintertid överensstämmer med åsikterna hos planerare samt externa aktörer. Det teoretiska ramverket består av tre övergripande forskningsfält från olika discipliner; den levande staden, temporär urbanism samt samhällsplanering i ett kallt klimat. Detta skapar en tvärdisciplinär kontext som skapar ett djup och en bredd i studien. Studiens resultat visar att den temporära urbanismen har potential att skapa fler levande och intressanta stadsrum. Vidare visar empirin att de flesta aktörer, offentliga och privata, är överens om att stadens roll är att skapa förutsättningar för levande stadsrum, medan övriga aktörer bör stå för innehåll. Möjliga hinder för att utveckla levande stadsrum vintertid genom temporär urbanism är rigida regler angående snöröjning, upplåtelsetaxa samt tidsperioden för uteservering. Genom att underlätta för aktörer att temporärt utveckla och utnyttja gatu- och stadsrum under vintern kan levande och attraktiva stadsrum skapas. / Levande Stockholm is a concept that Stockholm City initiated in 2015. The purpose of the concept is to create vibrant and attractive urban spaces for the citizens. Developing the attractive city is a process that has become more common and important for cities, due to the ever- increasing globalization. The Levande Stockholm concept is based on temporary urbanism to create attractive city spaces in the summer and has had a successful outcome. This study springs from this concept. During winter, there are different conditions that affect the city, its inhabitants and the interaction between the two. Therefore, this study investigates how to create conditions for attractive and vibrant urban spaces during winter through temporary urbanism. The research question is answered through a case study by collecting data from three different groups whom we chose to label as planners, external actors and citizens. The planners and external actors who were interviewed were chosen due to their experience of working with Levande Stockholm prior. A citizen's perspective has been examined through a survey to compare if their thoughts about attractive urban spaces in winter time are consistent with the views of planners and external actors. The theoretical framework consists of three comprehensive research fields from different disciplines; the vibrant city, temporary urbanism and urban planning in a cold climate. This creates a cross-disciplinary context that allows a depth and breadth in the study. The results show that temporary urbanism has the potential to create more vibrant and interesting urban spaces. Furthermore, our empirics show that most actors, public and private, agree that the municipality’s role is to enable the creation of vibrant spaces, while other actors should be the creators of the content within the urban space. Possible obstacles to developing vibrant city spaces during wintertime through temporary urbanism are rigid rules regarding snow clearance, concession fees and the fixed periods for outdoor seating. Vibrant and attractive urban spaces can be created by enabling actors to temporarily develop and utilize streets and urban spaces during winter.

Le phénomène d'instabilité de la structure de fluide se produit fréquemment dans le système d'écoulement polyphasé des régimes sous-critiques de Reynolds, et le phénomène de vibrations de câbles de sustentation de ponts provoquées par la pluie (sigle RWIV en anglais) est considéré comme un exemple en génie civil pour caractériser l'instabilité causée par les interactions fluide-structure. Le RWIV est supposée être un nouveau type de vibrations; régulièrement accompagné de deux phénomènes significatifs: le ruisseau supérieur vibre circonférentiellement et la fréquence du vortex de Von Karman se déplace vers une valeur beaucoup plus faible par rapport à la fréquence attendue. Les phénomène est observé habituellement sur les haubans du pont à hauban immobilisé. En raison des mécanismes de couplage complexes, le mécanisme de RWIV n'a pas été complètement décrit par les chercheurs précédents. La plupart ont mis l'accent sur les observations sur le terrain et les aspects expérimentaux en soufflerie, mais rarement sur la simulation numérique. Pour élaborer un cadre numérique systématique, nous abordons le modèle non couplé, le modèle faiblement couplé, le modèle couplé, et le modèle multiphasique multi-échelle (MMM). L'objectif est de mettre en place un modèle numérique avec une grande exactitude et précision pour RWIV, et de reconnaître et clarifier le mécanisme de RWIV, diverses enquêtes numériques ont été réalisés dans cette thèse.Pour simuler les effets de la pluie/l’eau pluviale (eng. rainwater) comme un ruisseau artificiel (fixé / solide mobile attaché / oscillé le long de la circonférence de hauban immobilisé) lorsque RWIV se produit, la méthode séparée est mise en œuvre sur la base des équations incompressibles de Navier-Stokes en combinaison avec la simulation monotone intégré des grandes échelles (MILES) pour évaluer les sous-grille termes de pression. Les effets des ruisseaux artificiels de différentes positions le long de la circonférence de hauban immobilisé sur la structure de formation de tourbillons derrière le hauban, la distribution de pression à travers le hauban, et la force aérodynamique fréquence dominante du hauban sont analysés. Cependant, les enquêtes indiquent les positions de ruisseau artificiel le long de la circonférence du hauban affectent très faiblement la fréquence du vortex de Von Karman proche le sillage du hauban.Pour capturer l'évolution dynamique de la morphologie de l’eau pluviale , le modèle semi-couplé simplifie les équations incompressibles de Navier-Stokes avec la théorie de lubrification sur l'hypothèse qu'un mince film d'eau environnante autour du hauban. Les enquêtes indiquent que l’eau pluviale rassemble aux endroits près des points de séparation, et forme deux ruisseaux symétriques le long de la circonférence du hauban. Cependant, la vibration circonférentielle du ruisseau supérieur et les phénomènes de décalage de fréquence accompagnant RWIV ne peuvent être résolus et expliqués clairement.Afin d'améliorer le modèle de semi-couplé à suivre l'évolution de la morphologie de l’eau pluviale, la méthode du Volume-de-Fluide (VOF) combinée avec les équations incompressibles de Navier-Stokes est utilisée dans le modèle couplé. L ‘évolution hautement non linéaire du ruisseau de la pluie le long de la circonférence du hauban immobilisé et les caractéristiques aérodynamiques du hauban de séjour peuvent être obtenus et analysés. Les résultats indiquent que le ruisseau de la pluie est formé près des points de séparation le long de la circonférence du hauban; la zone de pression négative le long de la circonférence du hauban est pré-requise pour la formation de ruisseau supérieur. / A fluid structure instability phenomenon frequently occurs in the subcritical Reynolds regimes multiphase flow system, and rain--wind-induced vibration (RWIV) is taken as an example in civil engineering to characterize the aeroelastic instability caused by fluid-structure interactions. RWIV is hypothesized to be a new type of vibration; regularly accompanied by two significant phenomena: the circumferentially vibrating upper rivulet and the Von Karman vortex shedding frequency shift to a much lower value compared with the convectional evaluation; and customarily observed from the stay cables of cable--stayed bridge. Due to the complicated interactions mechanisms in the liquid-gas-solid system, the mechanism of RWIV has not been thoroughly solved and recognized by the previous researchers. Most have focused on the research topic from the field observation, the analytical dynamic model, and the wind tunnel experiment aspects, but rarely on numerical investigation aspect. To develop a systematic numerical framework, including the separated model, the semi-coupled model, the coupled model, and the multiphase multi-scale model (MMM) distinguished by different ways to simulate the rain effects when RWIV occurs, to establish highly accurate and precise numerical model for RWIV, and to recognize and clarify the mechanism of RWIV, various numerical investigations have been made in this thesis.To simulate the rain effects as an artificial rivulet (fixed/moving solid attaching/oscillating along the circumference of stay cable) when RWIV occurs, the separated method is implemented based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in combination with the monotone integrated large eddy simulation (MILES) to evaluate the sub-grid stress terms. The effects of various artificial rivulet positions along the circumference of stay cable on the vortex shedding structure behind the cable, pressure distribution around the cable, and the aerodynamic force of the cable are analyzed. However, investigations indicate the positions of artificial rivulet along the circumference of cable extremely weakly affect Von Karman vortex shedding frequency near the wake of the cable.To capture the dynamic rainwater morphology evolution, the semi-coupled model simplifies the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the lubrication theory on the assumption that a thin water film surrounding around the cable. The investigations indicate the rainwater gathers at the locations near the separation points, and forms two symmetrical rivulets along the circumference of cable. However, both the circumferentially vibrating upper rivulet and the frequency shift phenomena accompanying RWIV cannot be solved and explained detailedly and clearly. To improve the semi-coupled model on tracking the rainwater morphology evolution, volume-of-fluid (VOF) method combined with incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is employed in the coupled model. Both the high-nonlinear rainwater rivulets evolution along the circumference of cable and the aerodynamic characteristics of stay cable can be obtained and analyzed. The results indicate rainwater rivulet are formed near the separation points along the circumference of cable; the negative pressure zone along the circumference of cable provides a prerequisite for the formation of upper rivulet. However, the computational efficiency is reduced due to the smaller droplets scatter in the surrounding air, furthermore, the assumptions, surrounding the stay cable with the constant volume of rainwater, cannot reflect the real physical conditions (i.e., rain infall process) and cannot obtain the real aerodynamic force from physical aspect.

This thesis aims to develop a new methodological concept better to understand art and curating in a post-human setting. Departing from a post-humanist ontology, my initial idea was to analyse contemporary artworks dealing with food and trace and substantiate a figuration of the gut/intestinal system (connected to post-human notions as the ideas of trans- corporeality, vibrant matter, etc.) and how it could create a productive reading of these works. During my research on food-related art projects, I realised that the gut-figuration has broader implications and could function as a tool to understand the contemporary art world and curating at large, through a post-human lens. Accordingly, I suggest my thesis to be a contribution to what I would like to name an “intestinal turn”, a contemporary post-humanist, trans-corporeal understanding of art that could change how art is perceived and how the subjectivity of the artist, and curatorial work, could be understood today.

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Through two books and a series of video documentations of live performances Mette Ingvartsen makes choreography into a territory of physical, artistic and social experimentation. The Artificial Nature Series focusses on how relations between human and non-human agency can be explored and reconfigured through choreography. By investigating and creating a ‘nonhuman theater’ questions regarding material agency, ecology, natural disasters, the Anthropocene and non-subjective performativity are posed. The resulting reflections are closely related to the poetic principles utilized to create the performances, while also drawing connections to territories outside theater. By contrast, 69 positions inscribes itself into a history of human performance with afocus on nudity, sexuality and how the body historically has been a site for political struggles. By creating a guided tour through sexual performances – from the naked protest actions of the 1960’s, through an archive ofpersonal performances into a reflection on contemporary sexual practice – this solo work rethinks audience participation and proposes a notion of soft and social choreography. The contrasting performative strategiesarticulate a twofold notion of expanded choreography: on the one hand movement is extended beyond the human body by including the agency of nonhuman performers, and on the other hand, movement is expanded into animaginary and virtual space thanks to ‘language choreography’. / <p>LINKS</p><p>https://vimeo.com/164552586</p><p>https://vimeo.com/164558381</p>