German Students’ Perception of Bioeconomy – An Exploratory Study

In the present society, the concept of bioeconomy emerged due to the need for a sustainable and responsible change regarding the impact mitigation of several factors on the environment. The rising consumption and the resulting emission of pollutants are interconnected with both economic and population growth. Therefore, measures must be taken using new technologies and solutions, improvement of production methods and the necessary transformation of society through education. Several universities have aligned with the demands and needs of the present and future society regarding sustainability, called ‘transformative universities’. A high-quality education system is a prerequisite to sustainable and transformational efforts as well as transparent, participative processes and a close dialogue and cooperation between science, economy, politics and civil society. The purpose of this research is to bring more awareness, receptivity and responsiveness to the problems of society with a focus on bioeconomy. Therefore, this article is divided into three sections. The first part comprises a summary of bioeconomy related to education and the role of higher education institutions in societal transformation processes. The second part contains the quantitative and qualitative analysis and evaluation of the results of an explorative online survey about the perception of bioeconomy and sustainability of students exemplified by students from two German universities. The third part concludes the article with a summary of findings and prospects for further researches in this area. This research is useful especially for public and educational institutions, organisations that have a direct or indirect impact on the environment, and other stakeholders interested in environmental conservation

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use.

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders1. They are heritable2,3 and etiologically related4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts6-11. In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures

Mittelalter im Labor

Mit diesem Band präsentiert das Schwerpunktprogramm 1173 der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft „Integration und Desintegration der Kulturen im europäischen Mittelalter“ erste Ergebnisse seiner Arbeit. Von Anfang an war ihm die Aufgabe gestellt, das mittelalterliche Europa in transkultureller Perspektive und auf Wegen einer transdisziplinären Wissenschaft zu erforschen und zu begreifen. Immer ging es darum, die disziplinär verfassten Einzelwissenschaften durch transdisziplinäre Arbeit zu ergänzen. Das wissenschaftliche Anliegen des Programms ist es, das europäische Mittelalter von seinen geografischen Rändern und seinen kulturellen Differenzen her zu erforschen und zu beschreiben. Der holistischen Frage nach der Einheit Europas wird die innere Vielfalt als gegenständlicher Ausgangspunkt entgegengesetzt. Europa wird nicht als abgeschlossenes, kohärentes Gebilde verstanden, sondern als ein Kontinent, dessen permanente Austausch- und Wechselbeziehungen zwischen den verschiedenen Regionen und Kulturen überhaupt erst zur Ausbildung seiner charakteristischen Merkmale geführt haben

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders 1 . They are heritable 2,3 and etiologically related 4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts 6–11 . In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures

ANALYSIS OF CORRELATIONS BETWEEN COPRPORATE STRATEGY AND OPERATIONAL STRATEGY CONSIDERING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STANDARDS

Organizations today have to position themselves correctly in the market in order to survive in the competitive landscape. Corporate strategy often forms the way the operational business is executed. Corporate strategy therefore plays an important role for the internal structure of an organization. But is also the opposite true? The goal of this study is to identify relationships between the internal organization of a company and overall goals and strategic settings of the enterprise. This research empirically compares the use of standardized management systems, developed levels of knowledge management and strategic goals of car manufactures. The main question is how the use of certain methodologies and best practise approaches (TQM, ISO-based management systems, etc.) influences the strategies of an organization. The result of this study shows that there is a correlation between the internal organization and the strategies of corporations. Internal methodologies and processes are defined according to strategic decisions of an organization. Internal processes and methodologies on the other side have an effect on the strategy as well. This study also suggests a holistic framework to assess this effect on strategy

The need for digital and soft skills in the Romanian business service industry

The Romanian Business Service Sector developed fast in the last decade. Today it employs more than 120 000 Head Counts and continuously grows. However, companies claim not to get the right skills from employees to pursue the digital transformation from a mere service sector towards a more value-added service. Since it has a very young working population with an average age between 26 and 35 years, it is increasingly important to review the employability skills needed by this industry to safeguard the continuation of the sector. So far, Romanian studies have been deducted reflecting the skills needed from the sector. In the first instance, these studies used the questionnaire methodology or global surveys mostly on a very holistic view (ABSL, 2017; Boşcor and Băltescu, 2014). This paper shows a new approach by deriving the skills needed by employers from their own database: job descriptions of entry positions published in companies or job boards were analyzed within a specified period, allowing an accelerated approach to defining skills needed without a too high time delay given the rapid progressing digitalization. The job descriptions are analyzed by using the method of qualitative content analysis according to Mayring (2014) using specific criteria based on the literature review of employability skills. Key findings confirm demand for hard skills such as languages and IT skills such as Office Suits, Development Environments as well as higher demand for soft skills especially analysis and problem solving induced by digitalization