Participant Reactions to Two-Way Immersion (TWI) Programs

The purpose of this study was to elicit participant reactions to two-way immersion (TWI) programs in the United States of America. A large number of recent studies have focused on instructor views and perspectives of two-way immersion programs, so this study aimed to gain insight from students who are, or who have, participated in TWI programs throughout North America. One hundred fifty-one TWI schools throughout the United States were contacted and asked to participate in this study. Two similar surveys were developed, one for current TWI students, and another for former TWI students. Students from these two groups were asked to fill out a confidential online survey that addressed specific linguistic skills, abilities, and preferences, as well as connection to the cultures of the target language. Forty-eight percent of the survey respondents were native speakers of English, and the remaining 52% were non-native speakers of English. The number of respondents to the former student survey was so low that the data were inconclusive, and, therefore, will not be included in this study. Since the survey was conducted online, the data were stored in a comma-delimited format for further evaluation. The data were then tallied and analyzed for common themes

Impact of dietary incorporation of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) and exogenous enzymes on broiler performance, carcass traits and meat quality

This study assessed the effect of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), individually and in combination with exogenous enzymes, on growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broiler chickens. One hundred and twenty Ross 308 male chickens were allocated into 40 battery brooders, with 3 birds per cage, and fed ad libitum a corn-based diet during the first 21 D of the trial. The experimental period lasted from day 21 to 35, during which birds were fed 4 different diets: a corn-soybean basal diet, taken as the control group, a basal diet containing 15% Spirulina (MA), a basal diet containing 15% Spirulina plus 0.005% Rovabio Excel AP (MAR), and a basal diet containing 15% Spirulina plus 0.01% lysozyme (MAL). Body weight gain (P , 0.001) and feed conversion rate (P , 0.001) were improved in control chickens, when compared with those fed with Spirulina. In addition, Spirulina increased the length of duodenum plus jejunum in relation to the other treatment (P , 0.01). Chickens on the MAL diet showed a considerable increase in digesta viscosity (P , 0.05) compared with the control group. Breast and thigh meats from chickens fed with Spirulina, with or without the addition of exogenous enzymes, had higher values of yellowness (b*) (P , 0.001), total carotenoids (P , 0.001), and saturated fatty acids (P , 0.001), whereas n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (P , 0.01) and a-tocopherol (P , 0.001) decreased, when compared with the control. In conclusion, the incorporation of 15% Spirulina in broiler diets, individually or combined with exogenous enzymes, reduced birds’ performance through a higher digesta viscosity, which is likely associated with the gelation of microalga indigestible proteins. In addition, cell wall of Spirulina was successfully broken by the addition of lysozyme, but not by Rovabio Excel AP. Therefore, we anticipate that the combination of lysozyme with an exogenous specific peptidase could improve the digestibility of proteins from this microalga and avoid their detrimental gelationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Kapitalismus und Raum – Die Territorialität kapitalistischer Gesellschaft

No abstract available

Constructing landscapes of value: Capitalist investment for the acquisition of marginal or unused land. The case of Tanzania

The current global wave of land acquisition . variously debated as land grabbing or investment in land . is promoted by the World Bank and the FAO as creating win-win-situations for local populations and investors alike. Common policy recommendations suggest expanding the production of export crops, by making use of marginal or unused land. Considerable potentials for such an expansion are assumed. Taking Tanzania as a case study, the evidence for such types of land is assessed by using a broad range of statistics. We will argue firstly, that the terms marginal and unused land serve as a manipulative terminology for the benefit of attempts to commercially valorize and commodify African landscapes, from biofuel to large-scale food production and tourism. However, they relate to different rationalities of domination. Unused land refers to a state-bureaucratic narrative, which excludes user groups deemed irrelevant for national development, while marginal land refers to a capitalist-economic narrative that excludes what is not profitable. Secondly, the terms are analyzed as categories central for state simplification of social relations attached to land. Modelling of these land use categories based on remote sensing is an attempt to compensate weak state capacities to enhance the legibility of the landscape by constructing it as a landscape of commercial value