Influence of production methods and transport distances on the Greenhouse Gas-Balance of organic apple juice

Organic farming is the most adequate system for the production of food and other agricultural 9 products to sustain ecological and environmental sources. Ecologically produced foods are 10 becoming more and more popular; accordingly, the demand for organic products is growing. In 11 addition to the renunciation of the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, the philosophy of 12 this type of food production includes as well the benefits of seasonal and regional goods such 13 as short ways of production and distribution. 14 In the present study the total emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the production of 15 organic apple juice from two different regions were investigated. The goal of the analysis is to 16 clarify whether extensive agricultural production methods in terms of the degree of 17 mechanisation used in the cultivation of apples have a greater influence on the total emissions 18 produced by the apple juice value-added chain in comparison to potentially longer 19 transportation distances to the fruit processing company. For this reason organic apples from 20 Germany’s “Altes Land” region were compared with organic apples from the Southern 21 Carpathians (Romania) under the restriction that the pressing of the fruits takes place in a 22 German facility. The apples from “Altes Land” region are produced with highly mechanised 23 production methods and are due to the restriction comparatively nearby to the fruit processing 24 plant. In contrast the apples from the Southern Carpathians are produced primarily by hand, but 25 need long-distance transports to the German fruit processing plant. 26 The scope of the investigation was the whole value-added chain from the cultivation of the 27 apples to the delivery of the juice to the retailer, whereby the emissions of the respective 28 upstream chain were analysed in addition to the direct emissions. Despite the very extensive 29 agricultural cultivation methods used in the Southern Carpathians, which could be assumed not 2 30 to produce any GHG emissions, the apple juice from these apples were associated with higher 31 total emissions (782 g CO2e/l apple juice) than apples from the “Altes Land“ region 32 (630 g CO2e/l apple juice). The reason for this is the long distance over which the Romanian 33 apples needed to be transported to the fruit processing plant, which exceeded the GHG 34 emissions saved during the apple cultivation in this region. Another result of this study made 35 clear that the post-harvest processing produced the greatest amount of GHG emissions in the 36 apple juice value-added chain (more than 50%.apple juice production, greenhouse gas balance, transportation, organic farming, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

Measuring intercultural competence: development of a German short scale

Als Konsequenz der Globalisierung und Internationalisierung gewinnt interkulturelle Kompetenz im alltäglichen Leben zunehmend an Bedeutung (z.B. Thomas 2009). Mit dem Ziel, eine umfassende sowie zugleich kurze und zuverlässige Skala zur Messung interkultureller Kompetenz in deutscher Sprache zu entwickeln, wurden zwei Studien durchgeführt. In der ersten Studie mit 125 Teilnehmenden ergaben Faktorenanalysen eine Vier-Faktoren Struktur mit den Faktoren interkulturelles Wissen (kognitiv), interkulturelle Verhaltensflexibilität (verhaltensbezogen) sowie Respekt für kulturelle Unterschiede und interkulturelle Offenheit (affektiv/einstellungsbezogen). In der zweiten Studie mit 241 Teilnehmenden wurde kulturelle Selbstreflexion als zusätzlicher Aspekt von interkultureller Kompetenz miteinbezogen. Insgesamt bestätigten die Ergebnisse der zweiten Studie die Resultate der ersten Studie. Die hier vorgestellte kurze Skala zur Erfassung interkultureller Kompetenz kann einen ersten Schritt zu einem neuen und zeitsparenden Messinstrument in verschiedenen Bereichen darstellen.As a consequence of globalization and internationalization, intercultural competence is becoming increasingly important in many parts of everyday life (e.g., Thomas 2009). In order to provide a comprehensive but short and reliable scale measuring intercultural competences in German language, two studies were conducted. In the first study on 125 individuals, factor analyses resulted in a four-factor structure with intercultural knowledge (cognitive), intercultural behavioural flexibility (behavioural) as well as respect for cultural differences and intercultural openness (affective/attitudinal) as important dimensions. In the second study on 240 individuals, cultural self-reflexivity was included as an additional yet often neglected aspect of intercultural competence. Overall, results of the second study replicated the findings of the first study. Taken together, the short scale presented in these studies may be a first step towards a new time-saving instrument of measuring intercultural competence in different areas

Scripting computer-supported collaboration by university students

The present work studies the virtual collaborative elaboration of written documents in three groups of university students, and the influence of the assistance provided by the teacher on this elaboration. For the analysis a model of phases of collaborative construction of knowledge, adapted to the features of the studied tasks, is used. The results show that, although the students follow the instructions proposed by the teacher, they usually do not manage to reach the more advanced phases of collaborative construction of the model.The present work studies the virtual collaborative elaboration of written documents in three groups of university students, and the influence of the assistance provided by the teacher on this elaboration. For the analysis a model of phases of collaborative construction of knowledge, adapted to the features of the studied tasks, is used. The results show that, although the students follow the instructions proposed by the teacher, they usually do not manage to reach the more advanced phases of collaborative construction of the model

Folding and unfolding of a triple-branch DNA molecule with four conformational states

Single-molecule experiments provide new insights into biological processes hitherto not accessible by measurements performed on bulk systems. We report on a study of the kinetics of a triple-branch DNA molecule with four conformational states by pulling experiments with optical tweezers and theoretical modelling. Three distinct force rips associated with different transitions between the conformational states are observed in the folding and unfolding trajectories. By applying transition rate theory to a free energy model of the molecule, probability distributions for the first rupture forces of the different transitions are calculated. Good agreement of the theoretical predictions with the experimental findings is achieved. Furthermore, due to our specific design of the molecule, we found a useful method to identify permanently frayed molecules by estimating the number of opened basepairs from the measured force jump values.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure

Making meaning through joint activity in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) settings: The interplay between content-related and activity-related talk

In the recent literature on CSCL which places the spotlight on participants' talk, there is a clear dichotomy between studies that focus on content-related talk and those that focus on off-topic or activity-related talk. In the approach adopted in this paper, based on the notion of educational influence, the guiding hypothesis is that both forms of talk are closely linked in the collaborative dynamics and that activity-related talk, far from being irrelevant, has an essential role to play in promoting the collaborative construction of knowledge. The paper empirically examines this hypothesis in four online collaborative learning situations. The results show that participants in small group situations requiring the preparation of a written product devote a major part of their discursive activity to negotiating the form of organization of their joint activity and to making sure that all members are familiar with it. In contrast, the technological tools used in the collaborative situation do not seem to have an impact on the relative weight of the type of participants‟ talk, either content-related or activity-related

Scripting computer-supported collaboration by university students.

The present work studies the virtual collaborative elaboration of written documents in three groups of university students, and the influence of the assistance provided by the teacher on this elaboration. For the analysis a model of phases of collaborative construction of knowledge, adapted to the features of the studied tasks, is used. The results show that, although the students follow the instructions proposed by the teacher, they usually do not manage to reach the more advanced phases of collaborative construction of the model

Estrategias discursivas para la construcción colaborativa del conocimiento en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje

El objetivo del presente trabajo es tratar de identificar algunas estrategias discursivas que puedan asociarse de manera específica a y al mismo tiempo, configurar las diversas fases de construcción colaborativa del conocimiento desarrolladas por grupos de estudiantes universitarios que resuelven tareas de elaboración conjunta de productos escritos en un entorno de aprendizaje mediado por ordenador. Para ello, se ha realizado un estudio de casos en situación natural, en dos situaciones o contextos instruccionales distintos, correspondientes a sendas asignaturas del ámbito de la Psicología de la Educación. En cada situación, se han seguido tres pequeños grupos de estudiantes, y se han analizado las tareas correspondientes a dos secuencias didácticas completas y consecutivas. Como resultado, se ha podido identificar un amplio conjunto de estrategias discursivas típicas de cada una de las fases de construcción colaborativa del conocimiento consideradas. Estas estrategias remiten a formas de uso del lenguaje mediante las cuales los miembros del grupo consiguen, en cada caso, alcanzar el nivel de intersubjetividad y el grado de construcción de conocimiento compartido propio de la fase

Scripting computer-supported collaboration by university students

The present work studies the virtual collaborative elaboration of written documents in three groups of university students, and the influence of the assistance provided by the teacher on this elaboration. For the analysis a model of phases of collaborative construction of knowledge, adapted to the features of the studied tasks, is used. The results show that, although the students follow the instructions proposed by the teacher, they usually do not manage to reach the more advanced phases of collaborative construction of the model.The present work studies the virtual collaborative elaboration of written documents in three groups of university students, and the influence of the assistance provided by the teacher on this elaboration. For the analysis a model of phases of collaborative construction of knowledge, adapted to the features of the studied tasks, is used. The results show that, although the students follow the instructions proposed by the teacher, they usually do not manage to reach the more advanced phases of collaborative construction of the model

Introducing a personal learning environment in higher education. An analysis of connectivity

Universities have a key role to play in the progress and development of the Knowledge Society. They should lead the way in the design of teaching strategies that promote knowledge building. Personal learning environments (PLE) represent a groundbreaking new development in educational practices through the incorporation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and an opportunity to promote the creation of universities without walls able to meet the demands of the knowledge society.This study focuses on the relationships established by the participants (students and teachers) in two higher education instructional sequences using institutionally-powered PLE (iPLE). One of the sequences was carried out at the University of Barcelona and the other at the University of Andorra. Both used the same technological support, the Elgg platform, which allows users to build their own personal work and learning environment. The main hypothesis of the study is that the relationships formed depend on the techno-pedagogical design of the teaching and learning process.The results show that in both cases the relationships that the participants establish with their peers and teachers are indeed related to the characteristics and requirements of the particular techno-pedagogical designs. Although the technological environment allowed all the participants to establish relationships with others, the main interactions were found in small working groups created to carry out learning and assessment activities. In conclusion, we stress the importance of planning teaching and learning activities and assessment processes that are able to exploit the full potential of PLE