Still searching for (education for) sustainable development – reflections on the need, challenges, and chances of transforming education in the 21st century

Scientific evidence has been put forward over and over again in the past decades that, during the Anthropocene, human impact on the various spheres of the Earth has grown to an extent that actually threatens the overall resilience of the Earth system and thus the basis for the existence of future societies. New concepts to tackle the problems ahead and to regain control about positive future development are urgently needed. Education – or rather the transformation of education – and the possible role of education as a key instrument to reach the Sustainable Development Goals could play a prominent role here. However, as both sustainable development and education for sustainable development are still in their infancy, radical changes of the actual concepts of education (for sustainable development) and a new focus on (constructivist) learning have to be discussed. In this paper, the needs, challenges, and chances of transforming education in and for the 21st century are reflected upon

Operative Verbs as a Key for Teaching and Testing Competencies – About Hopes and Disruptive Factors

The article at hand refers to results from an evaluation study on the 2009 oral A-level examinations in Geography/History plus International Economic and Cultural Regions at Austrian Commercial Academies (secondary education). It addresses the question of whether the use of operative verbs (= verbs that determine what exactly has to be done when dealing with a task, e.g. describe, analyse etc.) can be a key for successful teaching and examining of competencies at different competence levels. It addresses the question of whether the use of the so called operators (= verbs that determine what exactly has to be done when dealing with a task, e.g. describe, analyse etc.) can be a key for successful teaching and examining of competencies at different competence levels. The results stir the hope that systematically organised operator systems may be regarded as rather helpful in the context given, yet a number of disruptive factors can be substantiated as well. Eventually, the question is raised whether the debate on the use of operators and operator systems can really lead to successful, competence oriented teaching and testing without integrating the people involved in the forefront of schooling, students and teachers.Peer Reviewe

The contribution of tsunami evacuation analysis to evacuation planning in Chile: Applying a multi-perspective research design

Research on evacuation behavior in natural disasters provides a valuable contribution in the development of effective short- and long-term strategies in disaster risk management (DRM). Many studies address evacuation simulation utilizing mathematical modeling approaches or GIS-based simulation. In this contribution, we perform a detailed analysis of an entire evacuation process from the decision to evacuate right up to the arrival at a safe zone. We apply a progressive research design in the community of Talcahuano, Chile by means of linking a social science approach, deploying standardized questionnaires for the tsunami affected population, and a GIS-based simulation. The questionnaire analyzes evacuation behavior in both an event-based historical scenario and a hypothetical future scenario. Results reveal three critical issues: evacuation time, distance to the evacuation zone, and method of transportation. In particular, the excessive use of cars has resulted in congestion of street sections in past evacuations, and will most probably also pose a problem in a future evacuation event. As evacuation by foot is generally recommended by DRM, the results are extended by a GIS-based modeling simulating evacuation by foot. Combining the findings of both approaches allows for added value, providing more comprehensive insights into evacuation planning. Future research may take advantage of this multi-perspective research design, and integrate social science findings in a more detailed manner. Making use of invaluable local knowledge and past experience of the affected population in evacuation planning is likely to help decrease the magnitude of a disaster, and, ultimately, save lives

Survey of Long-Term Experiences of Sperm Cryopreservation in Oncological and Non-Oncological Patients: Usage and Reproductive Outcomes of a Large Monocentric Cohort

Progress in oncological treatment has led to an improved long-term survival of young male cancer patients over the last decades. However, standard cancer treatments frequently implicate fertility-damaging potential. Cryopreservation of sperm is the current standard option to preserve patient's fertility after treatment, yet long-term data on usage and reproductive experiences is still limited. Natural fertility after treatment and especially in relation to the type of treatment has been poorly analyzed so far. Therefore, we performed a retrospective survey including male patients with an indication for gonadotoxic treatment who cryopreserved reproductive material at our institution between 1994 and 2017. Study questionnaires regarding treatment, material usage, and reproductive outcomes were sent to eligible patients. Additionally, semen analyses of study participants from the time of cryopreservation were evaluated. A total of 99 patients were included in the study. Respondents' median age was 38.0 years. Most frequent diagnoses were testicular cancer (29.3%) and lymphoma (26.3%). A further 8.1% suffered from autoimmune diseases. Testicular cancer patients had a significantly lower pre-treatment median sperm concentration (18.0 million/ml) compared to non-testicular cancer patients (54.2 million/ml). Until November 2020, the determined sperm usage and cumulative live-birth rate per couple were 17.2% and 58.8%, respectively. Most sperm users received treatments with high (40.0%) or intermediate (33.3%) gonadotoxic potential. 20.7% of all patients reported to had fathered at least one naturally conceived child after treatment, this being the case especially if they had been treated with less or potentially gonadotoxic therapies. In conclusion, our findings emphasize the importance of sperm cryopreservation in the context of male fertility preservation. Furthermore, they indicate that the gonadotoxic potential of patients' treatments could represent a predictive factor for sperm usage

Computational Prediction of Primary Breakup in Fuel Spray Nozzles for Aero-Engine Combustors

[EN] Primary breakup of liquid fuel in the vicinity of fuel spray nozzles as utilized in aero-engine combustors is numerically investigated. As grid based methods exhibit a variety of disadvantages when it comes to the prediction of multiphase flows, the ”Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics“ (SPH)-method is employed. The eligibility of the method to analyze breakup of fuel has been demonstrated in recent publications by Braun et al, Dauch et al and Koch et al [1, 2, 3, 4]. In the current paper a methodology for the investigation of the two-phase flow in the vicinity of fuel spray nozzles at typical operating conditions is proposed. Due to lower costs in terms of computing time, 2D predictions are desired. However, atomization of fluids is inherently three dimensional. Hence, differences between 2D and 3D predictions are to be expected. In course of this study, predictions in 2D and based on a 3D sector are presented. Differences in terms of gaseous flow, ligament shape and mixing are assessed.This work was performed on the computational resource ForHLR Phase II funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg and DFG (”Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft“). In addition the authors would like to thank Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG for the outstanding cooperation. The authors also are grateful for many lively and fruitful discussions with Simon Holz.Dauch, T.; Braun, S.; Wieth, L.; Chaussonnet, G.; Keller, M.; Koch, R.; Bauer, H. (2017). Computational Prediction of Primary Breakup in Fuel Spray Nozzles for Aero-Engine Combustors. En Ilass Europe. 28th european conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 806-813. https://doi.org/10.4995/ILASS2017.2017.4693OCS80681