Researchers from the fields of computer science and medicine are collaborating to make better use of microscopic videos that record surgical procedures relating to the eyes for the purpose of teaching, research and documentation.

Ophthalmic surgery is usually performed with the aid of a microscope that can be equipped with a video camera in order to record the surgical procedure. Videos captured in this way are highly significant for medical education, research and documentation. The research team working with Klaus Schöffmann and Mario Taschwer (Department of Information Technology) is collaborating with physicians from the Klinikum hospital in Klagenfurt to develop methods for the automatic analysis of these videos. The project bears the title “Relevance Detection in Ophthalmic Surgery Videos” and is supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), which is funding positions for three doctoral students over a period of three years.

Efforts are focused specifically on the automatic detection of relevant temporal segments in surgery videos. Klaus Schöffmann explains: “Relevant content should be learnt automatically through the application of machine learning methods (neural networks in particular), with surgery videos that have been annotated by surgeons serving as training data.” Important video segments might include, for instance, irregular operation phases, which deviate from the procedure used in quasi-standardized eye surgery. Mario Taschwer goes on to add: ”As well as recognising deviations from regular surgical procedures, we also hope to identify and differentiate between irregularities that occur with a certain frequency. To achieve this, we aim to develop and evaluate automatic classification procedures for ophthalmic surgery videos.”

The videos analysed in this way will not only simplify the tracking of video segments featuring “conspicuous” phases of surgery, but thanks to the automatic relevance detection, it will also be possible to improve the compression and storage process. The research project is due to commence in October, with initial results expected approximately one year later.

 

Der Beitrag Automatic recognition of relevant segments in ophthalmic surgery videos erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

Tutors searched!

The “System Safety Laboratory” is looking for a Tutor for the academic year 2018/2019.

Requirements:

• Laboratory completed
• No worries about JavaCard (and the students’ problems)
• English language skills

If you are interested, please send your job application to Mr. Peter Schartner.

Der Beitrag Tutors searched! erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

Erlfried Taurer is CEO of Constantia Industries AG and was voted one of the most powerful industrial managers in Austria by the Industriemagazin trade journal in 2014. Mr Taurer has built up his success from scratch: a portrait of an inquisitive mind.

After finishing technical secondary school, Erlfried Taurer started working in Development as an engineer at a Carinthian industrial company, where he constructed injection moulding and bending die tools. But, as he explained, the purely technical work soon became “too little and too one-dimensional” for him. So he began to take courses on production organisation and quality management alongside his work, discovering in the process a keen interest in connections and business administration. The management rewarded his outstanding commitment and after a time offered him an assistant management position. In this role, he implemented quality management systems, became an auditor and went on to audit quality and environmental management systems for the car industry worldwide. He couldn’t keep away from business administration, and after around ten successful years as an engineer, Mr Taurer decided to embark on a programme of study in Applied Business Administration at Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt. “I can never stand still – or I never want to, I should say. Plus I wanted to supplement my practical experience with the necessary theoretical commercial knowledge so that I could master more exciting challenges and perform even better.”

Mr Taurer chose Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt because “the personal closeness between lecturers and students at AAU is unique. In my opinion, no other university in Austria offers students such a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.” And this, Mr Taurer believes, “has a positive effect on the entire programme of study.” Coming from the world of work, the course enabled Mr Taurer to examine job-related issues and dynamics from a distance and with a new breadth of vision. In addition, his ongoing personal connection between theoretical input and practical professional experience made a lot of things much easier for him in the programme of study. Therefore Mr Taurer’s advice for today’s students is as follows: “You should seize the opportunity to go on international exchanges. That’s how students get to know other cultures and experience the ‘best practices’ of international companies.”

Pioneer, guide and critical authority
As CEO of the holding company and Chair of the Supervisory Board, Erlfried Taurer concentrates on the company’s strategic direction. “It’s a very future-oriented, wide-ranging task that has to be discussed and responded to very carefully and cautiously.” Mr Taurer sees himself as a “pioneer, guide and critical authority” today.

Despite holding multiple offices and roles, he still maintains very close contact with Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt today. He supports the university, its students and graduates in whatever way he can – be it in the links between theory and practice, cooperation projects and collaboration with departments and research projects or discussions with professors on future industrial specialist fields. “I am proud to be an Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt alumni. So I try to be an ambassador for AAU outside Carinthia.”

Der Beitrag Bringing the connection between technology and management to life erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

Andreas Schaffer studied Applied Business Administration at AAU as well as Instrumental and Vocal Pedagogy at the Carinthian State Conservatory. He is now Director of the Gustav Mahler Musikschule Klagenfurt music school, as well as being a flautist and conductor of various ensembles. In an interview, he explains how he benefits from business administration as a musician, what he likes about his job in particular and why you should always have the courage to oppose other opinions and stand up for your own.

What did you study?

Applied Business Administration with a focus on Marketing, Controlling and Italian at AAU and Instrumental and Vocal Pedagogy at the Carinthian State Conservatory.

 That’s an unusual combination. What influence has it had on your career and your current work?

Yes, you’re right. Even during my programme of study, everyone at uni and in the music world asked me: “Business administration and music – how do they fit together?” Today, however, I benefit tremendously from the combination. On the one hand, I work artistically as a musician myself – I am a flautist and conductor of numerous ensembles and orchestras. On the other hand, I need some elements of my business administration studies for my leadership role as Director of Musikschule Klagenfurt: employment law, industrial psychology, sociology, marketing, strategic planning, motivation, complaints management and so on. The thing that has really stayed with me from my programme of study is to analyse each problem first and then think about alternatives.

What is it that you like in particular about your job?

The thing I especially like is that no two days are the same. Sometimes I teach, sometimes I sit in on other tuition sessions. Musikschule Klagenfurt is the largest music school in Carinthia. We have 60 teachers who look after more than 1800 students. Problem solving is something I deal with every day in running our school and I hold a lot of meetings with students, parents and colleagues. My diploma dissertation was on ‘Quality of Service’ and I make use of it almost every day. However, I feel especially privileged because my career means both work and pleasure for me.

Are there situations where you think back to your programme of study?

I have a constant sense of déjà-vu. Situations from back then come to mind time and again. For example, we were often told that the level of entrepreneurship in Carinthia was too low. Although I haven’t established my own business, there is no denying that I have a general urge to shape things actively and to change the status quo.

Do you have any anecdotes from your student days?

Yes, I’ve got a funny one. In one of my first courses, Prof. Robert Rebhahn from the Law department said, “University is one of the biggest marriage markets in Austria. But that shouldn’t be the only reason why you do a degree!”

Do you still have links with AAU now?

Sometimes there are guest lectures which I attend, and some musicians from the academic world play in the symphony orchestra I conduct.

What advice would you give today’s students for the future?

Completing a degree is part of becoming qualified. But a CV should also show different kinds of education, which definitely includes trips abroad and foreign languages. You also need to have the courage to oppose other opinions, and different schools of thought.

What do you miss about your student days (at AAU)?

I’m not really one for nostalgia; I like to move forwards.

Quick-fire questions:

• A happy moment at AAU was… my graduation ceremony
• What have you kept from your student days? Pretty much all of my books and notes
• Who inspired you? Some professors and guest lecturers
• Your programme of study in four words: It has paid off!

Der Beitrag Business administration and music – how do they fit together? erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

When President Donald Trump addresses the nation, he often resorts to discriminatory stereotypes when referring to African American, Mexican American and Muslim American communities. The narrative that suggests that these groups represent a threat to the American nation is shaping a number of current debates, but there are also important counternarratives. Within the scope of a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), scholars from the field of American Studies are investigating how ethnic American literary texts are inviting readers to imaginatively step into the shoes of a character who is different from themselves and to see the world through that character’s eyes.

Cognitive approaches to cultural texts are increasingly gaining currency in contemporary debates in literary and cultural studies. Yet they have often been criticized for focusing too narrowly on the interaction between a text and a single, highly abstract reader, and for disregarding both actual readers and the larger historical, political, and cultural context in which a text is produced and consumed. Alexa Weik von Mossner aims to counter this criticism in a new project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) entitled “Narrative Encounters with Ethnic American Literatures”. As Weik von Mossner (Department of English) explains, “I hope to close some of the perceived gaps between cognitive narratology, which draws on insights in neuroscience, and the more context and politically oriented approaches within literary and cultural studies”.

The research team will study the narrative strategies of a range of ethnic American literary texts, devoting particular attention to African American, Mexican American and Muslim American authors. Alexa Weik von Mossner elaborates further: “We want to take a closer look at empathy, affect and emotion both in the writing and the reading process.” The literary scholars hope to establish which roles empathy and emotion play in literary texts that revolve around the mediation of ethnic and cultural differences. “Ultimately, we hope to gain a better understanding of the repercussions these texts may have for the contemporary political climate in the United States. By examining the consequences of an imaginative engagement with ethnic American literatures, we hope to open up new perspectives.”

Der Beitrag Can novels make us care about others? A study based on ethnic American literatures erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI