A tricky aspect of synchronisation: What happens when too many impulses jam the system?

Whenever people dance in groups, fish swim in shoals and neurons fire in unison, then there is a need for synchronicity. The world has plenty of these phenomena, many of which seem almost magical. Researchers are currently working on replicating this self-organised synchronisation for use in technical systems. Yet they come up against “deadlocks”, where the synchronisation process is jammed. A recent publication in Physical Review E explores new approaches to this tricky issue.

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“The Internet has given us new narrative stages.”

Stories have been told throughout the existence of humankind. While audiences were somewhat limited until the 2000s, thanks to the Internet, virtually the whole world is now available to practically anyone as a potential listener. In her research, Christina Schachtner, professor emeritus at the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, is particularly interested in the “narrative subject”. Now, her book bearing the same title has been published as an open access book in the English language. In an interview with her, we discuss the tragedies and comedies that are performed in virtual space.

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Research into COVID-19-related crisis scenarios at AAU: New technology will optimise the supply of medical protective equipment

Earlier this year, it became painfully clear to many in Europe that the supply of face masks, gloves and protective overalls is by no means crisis-proof. A research team consisting of Austrian and Chinese scientists is now working on new technologies that will address different levels of the supply chain and will ultimately lead to the faster, more efficient and cheaper supply of protective equipment across Europe, even in times of crisis.

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Data pipelines: New measures to tackle the last few congested metres

Today’s data networks are well developed: Even so, although the data can pass through the pipelines smoothly and largely unhindered, the last few metres of the pipeline represent a bottleneck. Firewalls, security and the restrictions imposed by the processing software all tend to slow down processing. Now, thanks to a new H2020 project, a research team at the Department of Information Technology, led by Radu Prodan, has started to work on new measures aimed at tackling the last few congested metres. 

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