Cheese whey processing: integrated biorefinery concepts and emerging food applications

Cheese whey constitutes one of the most polluting by-products of the food industry, due to its high organic load. Thus, in order to mitigate the environmental concerns, a large number of valorization approaches have been reported; mainly targeting the recovery of whey proteins and whey lactose from cheese whey for further exploitation as renewable resources. Most studies are predominantly focused on the separate implementation, either of whey protein or lactose, to configure processes that will formulate value-added products. Likewise, approaches for cheese whey valorization, so far, do not exploit the full potential of cheese whey, particularly with respect to food applications. Nonetheless, within the concept of integrated biorefinery design and the transition to circular economy, it is imperative to develop consolidated bioprocesses that will foster a holistic exploitation of cheese whey. Therefore, the aim of this article is to elaborate on the recent advances regarding the conversion of whey to high value-added products, focusing on food applications. Moreover, novel integrated biorefining concepts are proposed, to inaugurate the complete exploitation of cheese whey to formulate novel products with diversified end applications. Within the context of circular economy, it is envisaged that high value-added products will be reintroduced in the food supply chain, thereby enhancing sustainability and creating “zero waste” processes

Domain specificity of motivation: Chemistry and Physics Learning among Undergraduate Students of Three Academic Majors.

This study aimed at investigating the issue of domain specificity of motivation across specific science disciplines (chemistry and physics) in combination with influencing factors related with students’ academic major and gender. A clustered sampling was used to select 281 participants who were undergraduate students (105 males and 176 females) attending three different academic majors (Environmental Technology, Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Food Technology) at a Greek tertiary education institution. Motivation to learn chemistry and physics was evaluated concurrently using the discipline-specific (Chemistry and Physics) versions of Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ II) denoted as CMQ II and PMQ II, respectively. Discipline-based comparisons showed the existence of domain specificity in motivation with the whole student sample displaying higher motivation to learn chemistry relative to physics in all five motivational scales of SMQ II (self-efficacy, self-determination, intrinsic motivation, career motivation and grade motivation). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and discriminant function analysis showed that students’ motivation to learn chemistry and physics depends strongly on their academic major. Furthermore, MANOVA provided evidence for a small gender effect on motivation for either chemistry or physics learning. The implications of the current study for effective tailor-made educational practice and research across different science disciplines are critically discussed

Assessing motivation to learn chemistry: adaptation and validation of Science Motivation Questionnaire II with Greek secondary school students.

In educational research, the availability of a validated version of an original instrument in a different language offers the possibility for valid measurements obtained within the specific educational context and in addition it provides the opportunity for valid cross-cultural comparisons. The present study aimed to adapt the Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ II) for application to a different cultural context (Greece), a different age group (secondary school students) and with a focus on chemistry learning. Subsequently, the Greek version of Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire II (Greek CMQ II) was used in order to investigate Greek secondary school students' motivation to learn chemistry for the first time. The sample consisted of 330 secondary school students (163 boys–167 girls), of which 146 were in lower secondary school (14–15 years old) and 184 were in upper secondary school (16–17 years old). Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for the validity of Greek CMQ II, as well as for configural, metric and scalar invariance, thus allowing meaningful comparisons between groups. The five motivation components of the original instrument namely grade motivation, career motivation, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and self-determination were confirmed. Gender-based comparisons showed that girls had higher self-determination relative to the boys irrespective of the age group. In addition, girls in lower secondary school had higher career and intrinsic motivation relative to the boys of the same age group. Age-based comparisons showed that lower secondary school students had higher grade motivation relative to upper secondary school students

Probing Greek secondary school students’ awareness of green chemistry principles infused in context-based projects related to socio-scientific issues

This study aims at investigating students’ awareness of green chemistry principles (GCPs) which are infused in two context-based projects that are related to socio-scientific issues, namely climate change and materials’ recycling. At first, content analysis of the projects’ activities showed the infusion of four GCPs. Subsequently, the students’ written reports associated with these activities were evaluated in order to examine the incorporation of different GCPs in their argumentation. The four principles identified in the first part of the study, were also shown to be incorporated in students’ argumentation, although with variable frequency. The specific themes which manifest students’ awareness of the different GCPs were also identified. These themes may guide the effective design of educational material dedicated to the infusion of GCPs in chemistry education, thus contributing to the promotion of students’ environmental awareness and the development of skills which characterise socially responsible citizenship. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Integration of web-based tools in science teaching in secondary education in Greece

In science education, a significant portion of the research effort is devoted to the identification of the tools, activities and/or methods that could support students’ conceptual understanding and facilitate their engagement in inquiry processes. This paper presents different aspects of the use of web-based tools in the teaching of the basic science concepts which are involved in an environmental phenomenon (greenhouse effect) via inquiry-based processes. Initially, a specific web-based tool (Web-based Inquiry Science Environment, WISE) is analyzed in order to bring out the inquiry processes that students are engaged in when it is applied in the science classroom. Subsequently, a qualitative analysis is being conducted with regard to the views of Greek secondary school teachers’ on how a tool of this type may be integrated in science classes focusing on advancement of science learning in a way that coherence between scientific practices and content is maintained

Discovering factors that influence the decision to pursue a chemistry-related career: A comparative analysis of the experiences of non scientist adults and chemistry teachers in Greece

This study aims at identifying factors that influence students' choice not to pursue a chemistry-related career by analyzing the experiences of secondary education chemistry teachers in Greece and of Greek adults who have not pursued studies related to science. Data collection was done with the method of individual structured interviews. The comparative analysis of the answers given by 10 adults and 10 chemistry teachers, shows that there is a noteworthy agreement between the factors pointed out by the two independent groups. These factors—proposed to form an interconnected grid—are related to the following issues: the nature of school chemistry, the instructional content and context, the students' characteristics and the status of chemistry in the Greek educational system and Greek society

Shift From a Traditional to a Distance Learning Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic University Students' Engagement and Interactions

The paper reports a study aimed at investigating tertiary education students' engagement and interactions in the traditional face-to-face learning environment and the sequentially applied distance online learning environment imposed by the sudden upsurge of a worldwide health emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020. The study took place in four distinct science learning communities formed by a total of 347 undergraduate students attending three different academic majors (Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Food Science and Technology) and 13 postgraduate students attending a Masters program related to Chemistry Education, in two Greek universities. The majority of the measured variables were shown to depend on the institution, the academic major, and the semester of study, although to a varying degree. Data analysis provided evidence for a statistically significant lower level of emotional engagement in the online relative to the traditional learning environment among the students of all three undergraduate learning communities. Multiple regression analysis showed that this documented decrease in students' emotional engagement is largely explained by the concurrent decrease at the level of human interaction (either student-student or student-instructor) upon the passage from the traditional to the online learning environment