tkCybernetics

tkCybernetics is a simulation software that can be used to create and evaluate simple cybernetic circuits as a combination of lowpass and highpass filters and several nonlinear elements. tkCybernetics has been developed for and successfully applied to introductory courses on biological cybernetics at Bielefeld University. Therefore, it is recommended for students who start learning about cybernetics. Students can quickly grasp the concepts used in the graphical user interface and are able to create their own circuits after a short introduction to the program. Its usefulness for advanced students and researchers is limited to quickly testing circuits. This article provides detailed tutorial information on how to install and work with tkCybernetics for self-learning and for higher education.

Building an Academic Cloud for 500,000 Users

Under the brand name “sciebo – the Campuscloud” (derived from “science box”) a consortium of more than 20 research and applied science universities started a large scale cloud service for about 500,000 students and researchers in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. Starting with the much anticipated data privacy compliant sync & share functionality, sciebo offers the potential to become a more general cloud platform for collaboration and research data management which will be actively pursued in upcoming scientific and infrastructural projects. This project report describes the formation of the venture, its targets and the technical and the legal solution as well as the current status and the next steps.