Urban Organic Farming in Austria with the concept of Selbsternte ("self -harvest"): An agronomic and socio-economic analysis

In Vienna, consultants, organic farmers and green-minded consumers have developed a new concept of urban organic farming, called Selbsternte (`self-harvest'). Organic farmers prepare a plot of arable land (the Selbsternte plot) and sow or plant rows composed of 18-23 plant species. In mid-May the plots are divided into subplots that contain 2-6m of every sown species and are rented to so-called self-harvesters for a period of about 136 days. In 2002 Selbsternte was being practiced at 15 plots in Vienna or in neighboring cities, represented by 861 subplots, with a total area of 68,740m2, and managed by 12 organic farmers for 861 registered self-harvesters. At the Roter Berg plot, experimental subplots were established to evaluate yields and the value of the harvested produce, and interviews were conducted with 27 self-harvesters, the eight Selbsternte farmers and one Selbsternte consultant. The experimental subplots were managed in two different ways, namely, `with low intensity' (LIS) and `with high intensity' (HIS; meaning additional harrowing, mulching and sowing of additional plants). At the LIS 24.2 h and at the HIS 38.9 h of work were invested over 51 days. Monetary investment was US$184 for the LIS and US$259 for the HIS subplots. The total harvest of fresh produce was: 163 kg/subplot for LIS and 208 kg/subplot for HIS subplots. The total value of the harvest at the HIS was US$364 for conventional and US$766 for organic prices. All self- arvesters saw the rental of a subplot and the work as an activity of leisure. More than half of the self-harvesters reported `trying something new' at their subplots. The most frequently mentioned innovation for them was growing an unknown species. Twenty-five self-harvesters sowed 54 different, additional plant species. The motivating factors in establishing Selbsternte plots, as reported by all the farmers, were, primarily, better relations with consumers and work diversifcation, and only then were economic factors a consideration. The contribution of Selbsternte to income varied at the farms, being between 0 and 30% of the total farm income. As a main success factor, all of the farmers reported a close relationship between the self-harvesters and the farmers. Selbsternte subplots can be understood as small experimental stations where self-harvesters merge traditional horticultural techniques with urban ideas on permaculture, sustainable land use and participatory farming. Selbsternte has potential value for the improvement of urban agriculture, but also for the development of organic farming in general

Process & Software Selection for Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology for office automation to imitate human behaviour when interacting with computers to perform digitized tasks manually, such as opening and closing applications, reading documents, entering data, and sending e-mails. As with any new digital technology answering the question of where to start and what is the right software, is challenging. In the case of RPA, the question of where to start depends on the selection of the business process to be automated and optimized. There are approaches for process selection in research, but they are relatively complex and have not been validated in practice. To fill this gap, we have simplified the process selection method and validated it on a practical example. We also present a simple method to select the appropriate RPA software. The criteria selection and evaluation were done with the Pairwise Comparison and Benefit Value Analysis method. This approach is relatively easy to follow and to apply in practice and thus also closes a gap in applied research

Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment: Comparison of Tools and Introduction of New Tool for SME

This research aims to establish an assessment tool for assessing the readiness of small and medium enterprises (SME) in industry 4.0. The assessment of the current and future status is crucial for companies to decide on the right strategy and actions on the road to a digital company. First will be compared existing tools such as: IMPULS (VDMA), PwC and Uni-Warwick. On that basis, a tool for SME will be introduce. The tool has 12 categories: data sharing, data storage, data quality, data processing, product design and development, smart material planning, smart production, smart maintenance, smart logistic, IT security, machines readiness and communication between machines. Those categories are grouped into three: data, software and hardware. Each category has five levels of readiness (from 1 to 5), with particular criteria that refer to literature studies and expert’s opinion

The Five Dimensions of Digital Technology Assessment with the Focus on Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

In Technology Management, the assessment of new digital technologies is a challenging process. Most assessments are focusing on cost & benefit. These approaches often fail because main points are neglected. In this paper, the holistic approach of "The Five Dimensions of Digital Technology Assessment" will be described with the example of RPA (Robotic Process Automation). RPA is one of the most promising technologies to save data processing efforts in the office. The Five Dimensions of RPA Assessment is performed by assessing the benefits, technology readiness, usability, company readiness, and the costs that burden the company in the RPA implementation

Managing the multitudes: making sense within the plethora of integrated flexible learning environments

The project management role is becoming more prominent in today’s flexible learning design context. Project managers from an educational background can therefore neither afford to follow a camera-shy, behind-the-scenes management style, nor to be ill-prepared for tasks such as identifying project goals, managing work and task sequences, budgeting, assessing risks and ensuring quality. This paper will explore the generic roles and tasks of the project manager, as applied to the context of integrated flexible learning environments within an adapted ADDIE model. Both authors are employed as project managers within this environment at their current institutions, and will draw and reflect on their current practices, also comparing notes within their different organisational contexts