The ethical challenge of Touraine's 'living together'

In Can We Live Together? Alain Touraine combines a consummate analysis of crucial social tensions in contemporary societies with a strong normative appeal for a new emancipatory 'Subject' capable of overcoming the twin threats of atomisation or authoritarianism. He calls for a move from 'politics to ethics' and then from ethics back to politics to enable the new Subject to make a reality out of the goals of democracy and solidarity. However, he has little to say about the nature of such an ethics. This article argues that this lacuna could usefully be filled by adopting a form of radical humanism found in the work of Erich Fromm. It defies convention in the social sciences by operating from an explicit view of the 'is' and the 'ought' of common human nature, specifying reason, love and productive work as the qualities to be realised if we are to move closer to human solidarity. Although there remain significant philosophical and political differences between the two positions, particularly on the role to be played by 'the nation', their juxtaposition opens new lines of inquiry in the field of cosmopolitan ethics

Ökologischer Kreislauf Moorbad Harbach: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for Agricultural Plant Production and Transportation

In 1992 the community of Moorbad Harbach (Austria), located near the border of the Czech Republic and dominated by extensive agricultural practice on small scale farms, decided to initiate activities for regional devolopment. About 40 farms (27 %) converted to organic farming, a local marketing service as well as regional food processing businesses (slaughterhouse, dairy), operating as linkages between regional agriculture and the local spa hotel were founded. The basic idea for the work presented here was to evaluate the – especially ecological – consequences of such a regional conversion. One part of this attempt of evaluation was carried out as a LCA for the agricultural production in Moorbad Harbach. The emphasis of the study was to compare plant production before and after the regional conversion to organic farming. In another step changes in transportation distances and quantities with special regard to transport of raw milk and milk products were quantified

ATX1/AtCOMPASS and the H3K4me3 Marks: How Do They Activate \u3ci\u3eArabidopsis\u3c/i\u3e Genes?

Despite the proven correlation between gene transcriptional activity and the levels of tri-methyl marks on histone 3 lysine4 (H3K4me3) of their nucleosomes, whether H3K4me3 contributes to, or “registers,” activated transcription is still controversial. Other questions of broad relevance are whether histone-modifying proteins are involved in the recruitment of Pol II and the general transcription machinery and whether they have roles other than their enzyme activities. We address these questions as well as the roles of the ARABIDOPSIS HOMOLOG OF TRITHORAX1 (ATX1), of the COMPASS-related (AtCOMPASS) protein complex, and of their product, H3K4me3, at ATX1-dependent genes. We suggest that the ambiguity about the role of H3K4me3 as an activating mark is because of the unknown duality of the ATX1/AtCOMPASS to facilitate PIC assembly and to generate H3K4me3, which is essential for activating transcriptional elongation

ATX1/AtCOMPASS and the H3K4me3 Marks: How Do They Activate \u3ci\u3eArabidopsis\u3c/i\u3e Genes?

Despite the proven correlation between gene transcriptional activity and the levels of tri-methyl marks on histone 3 lysine4 (H3K4me3) of their nucleosomes, whether H3K4me3 contributes to, or “registers,” activated transcription is still controversial. Other questions of broad relevance are whether histone-modifying proteins are involved in the recruitment of Pol II and the general transcription machinery and whether they have roles other than their enzyme activities. We address these questions as well as the roles of the ARABIDOPSIS HOMOLOG OF TRITHORAX1 (ATX1), of the COMPASS-related (AtCOMPASS) protein complex, and of their product, H3K4me3, at ATX1-dependent genes. We suggest that the ambiguity about the role of H3K4me3 as an activating mark is because of the unknown duality of the ATX1/AtCOMPASS to facilitate PIC assembly and to generate H3K4me3, which is essential for activating transcriptional elongation

Erfolgsfaktoren für regionale Vermarktungsprojekte im Ökologischen Landbau

Unter den vielen, in den letzten Jahren entstandenen regionalen Vermarktungskooperationen zwischen LandwirtInnenen bzw. zwischen LandwirtInnen sowie Verarbeitungs- und Vermarktungseinrichtungen sind einige sehr erfolgreiche Initiativen zu finden. In diesen Fällen ist von Interesse, welche Faktoren und Bedingungen es ermöglichen, dass ein derartiges Projekt „gelingt“ und über längere Zeitdauer bestehen bleibt

Memorial Issue Dedicated to Dr. Howard D. Flack: The Man behind the Flack Parameter

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Erfolgsfaktoren für regionale Vermarktungsprojekte im Ökologischen Landbau

Unter den vielen, in den letzten Jahren entstandenen regionalen Vermarktungskooperationen zwischen LandwirtInnen bzw. zwischen LandwirtInnen sowie Verarbeitungs- und Vermarktungseinrichtungen sind einige sehr erfolgreiche Initiativen zu finden. Welche Faktoren und Bedingungen es ermöglichen, dass ein derartiges Projekt „gelingt“ und über längere Zeitdauer bestehen bleibt, wurde im Rahmen eines Workshops in Kooperation der Institute für Ökologischen Landbau und Agrarökonomik mit StudentInnen sowie vier ExpertInnen aus der Praxis erarbeitet