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

Nuclear Physics from lattice QCD at strong coupling

We study numerically the strong coupling limit of lattice QCD with one flavor of massless staggered quarks. We determine the complete phase diagram as a function of temperature and chemical potential, including a tricritical point. We clarify the nature of the low temperature dense phase, which is strongly bound nuclear matter. This strong binding is explained by the nuclear potential, which we measure. Finally, we determine, from this first-principle limiting case of QCD, the masses of atomic nuclei up to A=12 "carbon".Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; v2: references added, minor changes, published versio

Willingness to Adopt Certifications and Sustainable Production Methods among Small-Scale Cocoa Farmers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

The main objective of this research project was to identify current cocoa production practices and determine the principal factors that affect the adoption of sustainable farming practices and socio-environmental certifications among small-scale cocoa farmers in Ghana. The study was conducted in two cocoa districts (Atwima Mponua and Ahafoano North) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A combination of stratified, systematic and random sampling techniques was employed to select 439 cocoa producing households for the study. A standardized structured questionnaire was used to gather field data through personal interviews. Results showed that membership in farmers’ organizations, awareness of certification and size of cocoa farm were the main determinants of willingness to adopt sustainable cocoa production methods and certifications. Whereas membership in farmer-based organizations and awareness about different aspects related to certification had a significant positive effect on adoption of cocoa certification, farm size tended to have a significant negative effect on adoption of certification. Formation of cocoa farmers’ associations/organizations in various communities, creation of awareness about certification and continuous education of cocoa farmers are recommended to stimulate adoption of cocoa certification to achieve sustainability in the Ghanaian cocoa industry

Satellite versus ground-based estimates of burned area: a comparison between MODIS based burned area and fire agency reports over North America in 2007

North American wildfire management teams routinely assess burned area on site during firefighting campaigns; meanwhile, satellite observations provide systematic and global burned-area data. Here we compare satellite and ground-based daily burned area for wildfire events for selected large fires across North America in 2007 on daily timescales. In a sample of 26 fires across North America, we found the Global Fire Emissions Database Version 4 (GFED4) estimated about 80% of the burned area logged in ground-based Incident Status Summary (ICS-209) over 8-day analysis windows. Linear regression analysis found a slope between GFED and ICS-209 of 0.67 (with R = 0.96). The agreement between these data sets was found to degrade at short timescales (from R = 0.81 for 4-day to R = 0.55 for 2-day). Furthermore, during large burning days (> 3000 ha) GFED4 typically estimates half of the burned area logged in the ICS-209 estimates

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

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

Development and Evaluation of an Impedance Cardiographic System to Measure Cardiac Output and Other Cardiac Parameters, 1 July 1968 - 30 June 1969

Impedance cardiographic system to measure cardiac output and cardiovascular function