Preparing them for Europe

Die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt – am Beispiel der im Jahr 2007 gegründeten Red Bull Soccer Academy West Africa Ltd. – das Phänomen europäischer Fußballakademien auf westafrikanischem Boden. Die Analyse teilt sich in drei Teile auf: in eine nach Erkenntnis suchende migrationstheoretische Annäherung an historische Prozesse und Maßnahmen, die schließlich zur Gründung von Akademien führte; in eine an globale Güter- und Wertschöpfungsketten orientierte empirische Analyse der äußeren und inneren Struktur um die Akademie Red Bull Ghanas. Diese Herangehensweise bot sich insofern an, als die Untersuchung des Akademiensystems mittels einer Kettenanalyse in aktuellen themenbezogenen Publikationen empfohlen, aber noch nicht durchgeführt wurde, und globale Güterketten ein probates Konstrukt bieten, um das Gefüge um die besagte Akademie zu beschreiben – wenngleich es sich in der vorliegenden Arbeit um Personen, nicht um ‚klassische Waren’ handelt; der letzte Teil ist ein ebenso an die Güterkettenanalyse angelehnte Erweiterung, die etwaige Auswirkungen der Zielorientierung und des Tagesgeschäfts der Akademie auf die Spieler analysiert. Das hierfür verwendete empirische Material entstammt einer gut einmonatigen Erhebung im August 2010 in Ghana. Die interviewten Personen lassen sich auf vier Gruppen aufteilen: in eine Gruppe von ExpertInnen, die – zur Vorbereitung auf das zu erwartende Feld – in Accra befragt wurden; in Leitung, Personal und Spieler der Red Bull Akademie; sowie in das Leitungspersonal zweier Vergleichsgruppen: der Feyenoord Fetteh- und der Right to Dream-Akademie. Es zeigt sich, dass Akademien im Ausland den Vorteil haben, dass potenzielle Fußballspieler so bereits frühzeitig an den Verein gebunden werden können, und gemäß den Vorgaben des ‚Muttervereins’ ausgebildet werden, und somit auch neue Märkte erschlossen werden können. Die Analyse des Gefüges um die Akademie zeigt ein breites Feld an vom Fußballgeschäft profitierenden Akteuren. Auch gibt die Beschreibung derselben Aufschlüsse über den in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur kritisch beleuchteten Spielerexodus und die damit einhergehende Ausbeutung von Fußballern im Rahmen eines neokolonial anmutenden Systems. Die Analyse der Struktur in der Akademie zeigt ein professionalisiertes Terrain an Expertise, disziplinierenden Abläufen und Ergebnisorientierung, das sich teils positiv für die Spieler auswirken kann, vor allem aber auch eine hohe Ausfallsrate bei gleichzeitigem Mangel an Alternativen aufweist.This thesis’ theme deals with the phenomenon of European football academies in West Africa – using the example of the “Red Bull Soccer Academy West Africa Ltd.”. The analysis is divided into three parts: the first part consists of an historical approach to African football labour migration to Europe with an emphasis on Ghana, and searches for facts which finally led to the appearance of football academies; the second part includes a detailed description of the structures of the Red Bull Academy following an analysis of global commodity chains upon a local level – the usage of a chain approach, which first and foremost deals with industrial commodities, has been lately recommended by a small core of the present scientific corpus, and provides a highly appropriate tool for evaluating the institutional relations around an academy as well as a description of the structures within an academy; the last part of the paper is to be seen as an extension of the chain approach that analyzes certain consequences of the academy’s target and daily processes on the level of the players. The consisting empirical material has been collected through interviews and observances whilst a field study in Ghana, in August 2010 – the interviewees can be divided into four groups: a group of experts in Accra, providing relevant information for the following three groups – the administration, personnel and the players of the “Red Bull Academy”, the administration of the “Feyenoord Fetteh Football Academy” and the “Right to Dream Academy”. Through the installation of oversea academies, new markets are accessible, promising football talents can be early linked to the clubs, and ‘brought up’ apposite to the ‘mother enterprise’. The analysis of the institutional network around the academy demonstrates a broad field of actors benefiting from the football business. The player’s exodus and its tendencies of exploitation which is commonly present in current literature is also going to be covered as are prospective upgrading processes within the training of minors. The analysis of interior of the academy shows a professionalized field of expertise, disciplining and result-oriented processes which can result in certain positive effects for the players, but mainly leads to a high ‘failure rate’ whilst coincidental absence of alternatives to football

At the end of the day, the land belongs to the community

Die Arbeit ist eine Weiterführung zu einer im Frühjahr 2012 eingereichten Abschlussarbeit aus dem Fachbereich Soziologie. Diese und die vorliegende Arbeiten haben denselben Akteur im Zentrum der Analyse: die Red Bull Soccer Academy West Africa Ltd. Beide Arbeiten gehen zurück auf einen Feldaufenthalt in Ghana (Sommer 2010). Während einerseits das Phänomen europäischer Fußballakademien in Westafrika und die damit zusammenhängenden Strukturen innerhalb und das institutionelle Netz außerhalb der Akademie in Verbindung zu Auswirkungen auf deren Spieler untersucht wurden, behandelt die vorliegende Arbeit die Einbettung der Akademie in das lokale Umfeld. Die Akademie ist ein Ableger eines transnationalen Konzerns, angesiedelt in einem rechtspluralen, ‚peripheren’ Umfeld. Vor diesem Hintergrund entstanden drei interessierende Analyseebenen: die lokale Dualität von traditionellem und modernem Recht; die AkteurInnen um die Akademie und ihre Interessen an derselben; und die Profitierenden derselben bzw. akute und potenzielle Konfliktebenen zwischen der Akademie und ihrem Umfeld. Auf theoretischer Ebene wurde ein rechtsanthropologischer Ansatz gewählt, der zum einen die rechtsplurale Struktur um die Akademie beschreibt. Im Weiteren hilft ein Konzept von Governance, um die lokalen Machtverhältnisse und Handlungsräume in der Akademie und im Umfeld derselben zu beschreiben. Um dem ahistorischen Konzept von Governance einen prozesshaft-relationalen Charakter zu geben, wurde die Analyse um den bourdieuschen Ansatz von Feld, Habitus, Kapital und einer Ökonomie der Interessen ergänzt. Die empirische Erhebung geht zurück auf eine Feldforschung im August und September 2010. Die meisten für diese Arbeit verwendeten Daten wurden in und in der nahen Umgebung der Akademie erhoben. Einige wenige Interviews fanden in Accra statt. Die ProbandInnen lassen sich in drei Gruppen einteilen: in das europäische Leitungspersonal der Akademie; in die lokalen Beschäftigten der Akademie; sowie in lokale Autoritäten und sonstige VertreterInnen der lokalen Bevölkerung. Sekundärdaten wurden in Form von Internetrecherche und vor Ort erhaltenen Dokumenten erhoben. Um die Akademie zeigt sich ein neu entstandenes soziales Feld aus verschiedenen AkteurInnen mit multiplen Interessen und unterschiedlichen Vorstellungen von Anspruch und Recht. Die Zielrichtungen der jeweiligen AkteurInnen sind keine gemeinsamen, eine regionale Identifikation ist nicht gegeben. Während diverse AkteurInnen von der Akademie profitieren, fühlen sich andere ausgeschlossen. Auf Basis dessen war – unter Berücksichtigung historischer Prozesse – eine Reihe an Konfliktherden auszumachen, die sich (unter anderem) auf differente Perzeptionen von Recht und Teilhabe zurückführen lassen, zum Teil auch an historisch-hegemoniale Muster erinnern

Docosahexaenoic acid in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): The importance of dietary supply and physiological response during the entire growth period

The aim of this 14-month feeding study was to investigate the effects of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on tissue fatty acid composition, DHA retention and DHA content per biomass accrual in muscle tissues of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). A control feed, formulated with a relatively high DHA inclusion level (F1), was compared with feeds containing gradually reduced amounts of DHA (Feeds F2, F3, and F4). Arctic charr were randomly distributed among 12 tanks and fed one of the feeds in triplicate. The DHA content within muscle tissues of fish fed diets F1 and F2 was generally higher compared to fish fed diets F3 and F4. However, there was an interaction between dietary DHA treatment and season, which resulted in fish muscle tissues having similar DHA contents irrespective of dietary supply during specific sampling periods. Although diets F3 and F4 contained ~4-fold less DHA compared to diets F1 and F2, retention of DHA in dorsal and ventral muscle tissue was up to 5-fold higher relative to the diet content in fish fed diets F3 and F4. However, the difference among treatments was dependent on the month sampled. In addition, younger fish retained DHA more efficiently compared to older fish. DHA (µg DHA/g/day) accrual in muscle tissue was independent of somatic growth, and there was no difference among treatments. The results suggested that dietary DHA may be essential throughout the lifecycle of Arctic charr and that the DHA content of muscle tissues was influenced by diet and metabolic/physiological factors, such as specific DHA retention during the entire growth cycle . Finally, this long-term feeding study in Arctic charr indicated a non-linear function in DHA retention in dorsal and ventral muscle tissues throughout the lifecycle, which varied in its relationship to dietary DHA

Mass Flux Calculations Show Strong Allochthonous Support of Freshwater Zooplankton Production Is Unlikely

Many studies have concluded terrestrial carbon inputs contribute 20–70% of the carbon supporting zooplankton and fish production in lakes. Conversely, it is also known that terrestrial carbon inputs are of very low nutritional quality and phytoplankton are strongly preferentially utilized by zooplankton. Because of its low quality, substantial terrestrial support of zooplankton production in lakes is only conceivable when terrigenous organic matter inputs are much larger than algal production. We conducted a quantitative analysis of terrestrial carbon mass influx and algal primary production estimates for oligo/mesotrophic lakes (i.e., TP≤20 µg L−1). In keeping with the principle of mass conservation, only the flux of terrestrial carbon retained within lakes can be utilized by zooplankton. Our field data compilation showed the median (inter-quartile range) terrestrial particulate organic carbon (t-POC), available dissolved organic carbon (t-DOC) inputs, and in-lake bacterial and algal production were 11 (8–17), 34 (11–78), 74 (37–165), and 253 (115–546) mg C m−2 d−1, respectively. Despite the widespread view that terrestrial inputs dominate the carbon flux of many lakes, our analysis indicates algal production is a factor 4–7 greater than the available flux of allochthonous basal resources in low productivity lakes. Lakes with high loading of t-DOC also have high hydraulic flushing rates. Because t-DOC is processed, i.e., mineralized or lost to the sediments, in lakes at ≈0.1% d−1, in systems with the highest t-DOC inputs (i.e., 1000 mg m−2 d−1) a median of 98% of the t-DOC flux is advected and therefore is not available to support zooplankton production. Further, advection is the primary fate of t-DOC in lakes with hydraulic retention times <3 years. When taking into account the availability and quality of terrestrial and autochthonous fluxes, this analysis indicates ≈95–99% of aquatic herbivore production is supported by in-lake primary production

Effect of partial replacement of dietary fish meal and oil by pumpkin kernel cake and rapeseed oil on fatty acid composition and metabolism in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

The aim of this 15-month feeding study was to investigate the effects of more sustainable feeds on specific growth rate, fatty acid composition and metabolism of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). A control feed, formulated with fish meal and fish oil (F1), was compared with feeds where the marine ingredients were increasingly replaced by pumpkin kernel cake and rapeseed oil (Feeds F2, F3, and F4). Arctic charr were randomly distributed into 12 tanks and fed one of the feeds in triplicate. The biomass of fish fed F1 and F2 diets was significantly higher compared to fish fed diet F4 with highest replacement level. However, the dorsal and ventral muscle tissues had very similar total saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents, irrespective of dietary supply. Although diets F3 and F4 contained 6-fold less fish oil than diets F1 and F2, fish fed diets F3 and F4 retained only 2-fold less highly desired omega-3 (n-3) long-chain (LC)-PUFA in their dorsal and ventral muscle tissues. Incubating isolated hepatocytes with 14C-labeled -linolenic acid (18:3n-3) provided evidence that Arctic charr can bioconvert this essential dietary PUFA to n-3 LC-PUFA, including docosahexaenoic acid. The results suggested that tissue fatty acid compositions in Arctic charr are dependent, not only on dietary fatty acid supply, but also on their ability for endogenous synthesis of n-3 LC-PUFA. Finally, this long-term feeding study indicated that feeds containing pumpkinseed press cake and rapeseed oil produced fish with largely similar fatty acid composition to fish fed diets containing higher contents of fish meal and fish oil

Selective Fatty Acid Retention and Turnover in the Freshwater Amphipod Pallaseopsis quadrispinosa

Gammarid amphipods are a crucial link connecting primary producers with secondary consumers, but little is known about their nutritional ecology. Here we asked how starvation and subsequent feeding on different nutritional quality algae influences fatty acid retention, compound-specific isotopic carbon fractionation, and biosynthesis of ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the relict gammarid amphipod Pallaseopsis quadrispinosa. The fatty acid profiles of P. quadrispinosa closely matched with those of the dietary green algae after only seven days of refeeding, whereas fatty acid patterns of P. quadrispinosa were less consistent with those of the diatom diet. This was mainly due to P. quadrispinosa suffering energy limitation in the diatom treatment which initiated the metabolization of 16:1ω7 and partly 18:1ω9 for energy, but retained high levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) similar to those found in wild-caught organisms. Moreover, α-linolenic acid (ALA) from green algae was mainly stored and not allocated to membranes at high levels nor biosynthesized to EPA. The arachidonic acid (ARA) content in membrane was much lower than EPA and P. quadrispinosa was able to biosynthesize long-chain ω-6 PUFA from linoleic acid (LA). Our experiment revealed that diet quality has a great impact on fatty acid biosynthesis, retention and turnover in this consumer

Selective Fatty Acid Retention and Turnover in the Freshwater Amphipod Pallaseopsis quadrispinosa

Gammarid amphipods are a crucial link connecting primary producers with secondary consumers, but little is known about their nutritional ecology. Here we asked how starvation and subsequent feeding on different nutritional quality algae influences fatty acid retention, compound-specific isotopic carbon fractionation, and biosynthesis of ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the relict gammarid amphipod Pallaseopsis quadrispinosa. The fatty acid profiles of P. quadrispinosa closely matched with those of the dietary green algae after only seven days of refeeding, whereas fatty acid patterns of P. quadrispinosa were less consistent with those of the diatom diet. This was mainly due to P. quadrispinosa suffering energy limitation in the diatom treatment which initiated the metabolization of 16:1ω7 and partly 18:1ω9 for energy, but retained high levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) similar to those found in wild-caught organisms. Moreover, α-linolenic acid (ALA) from green algae was mainly stored and not allocated to membranes at high levels nor biosynthesized to EPA. The arachidonic acid (ARA) content in membrane was much lower than EPA and P. quadrispinosa was able to biosynthesize long-chain ω-6 PUFA from linoleic acid (LA). Our experiment revealed that diet quality has a great impact on fatty acid biosynthesis, retention and turnover in this consumer

PVR: Patch-to-Volume Reconstruction for Large Area Motion Correction of Fetal MRI

In this paper we present a novel method for the correction of motion artifacts that are present in fetal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of the whole uterus. Contrary to current slice-to-volume registration (SVR) methods, requiring an inflexible anatomical enclosure of a single investigated organ, the proposed patch-to-volume reconstruction (PVR) approach is able to reconstruct a large field of view of non-rigidly deforming structures. It relaxes rigid motion assumptions by introducing a specific amount of redundant information that is exploited with parallelized patch-wise optimization, super-resolution, and automatic outlier rejection. We further describe and provide an efficient parallel implementation of PVR allowing its execution within reasonable time on commercially available graphics processing units (GPU), enabling its use in the clinical practice. We evaluate PVR's computational overhead compared to standard methods and observe improved reconstruction accuracy in presence of affine motion artifacts of approximately 30% compared to conventional SVR in synthetic experiments. Furthermore, we have evaluated our method qualitatively and quantitatively on real fetal MRI data subject to maternal breathing and sudden fetal movements. We evaluate peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), and cross correlation (CC) with respect to the originally acquired data and provide a method for visual inspection of reconstruction uncertainty. With these experiments we demonstrate successful application of PVR motion compensation to the whole uterus, the human fetus, and the human placenta.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. v2: wadded funders acknowledgements to preprin

DeepCut: Object Segmentation from Bounding Box Annotations using Convolutional Neural Networks

In this paper, we propose DeepCut, a method to obtain pixelwise object segmentations given an image dataset labelled with bounding box annotations. It extends the approach of the well-known GrabCut method to include machine learning by training a neural network classifier from bounding box annotations. We formulate the problem as an energy minimisation problem over a densely-connected conditional random field and iteratively update the training targets to obtain pixelwise object segmentations. Additionally, we propose variants of the DeepCut method and compare those to a naive approach to CNN training under weak supervision. We test its applicability to solve brain and lung segmentation problems on a challenging fetal magnetic resonance dataset and obtain encouraging results in terms of accuracy