Lack of pupils in German riding schools? A causal-analytical consideration of customer satisfaction in children and adolescents

Not only the horse as a living creature, but also equestrian sport, has a positive influence on the general upbringing and development of young people. Although equestrian sport still exerts a strong fascination, it is becoming more difficult to inspire young people to take part in this time-consuming and costly sport. It is not only the equestrian sport which is affected by this - the majority of sport clubs offering different types of sport have registered diminishing member numbers. Especially those riding schools which consider themselves as being service providers in equestrian sport are confronted with the challenge of binding children and adolescents to their school for a longer term, thereby enabling the schools to manage themselves sustainably. The present study has, therefore, investigated the various factors which influence customer satisfaction in riding schools and their significance by using a structural equation model. A survey of 203 children and adolescents was undertaken in five different German riding schools. Customer satisfaction was particularly influenced by the design of the riding lessons and the school horses. The influence of the riding instructor however, was more indirect (acting over the direct impact on the design of the lessons and the school'horses) than direct. One most noticeable aspect of the results is the strong influence of customer satisfaction on recommendation behaviour. --customer satisfaction,customer loyalty,riding schools,Partial Least Squares (PLS)

Two Sides of the Same Coin? Analysis of the Web‐based Social Media with Regard to the Image of the Agri‐food Sector in Germany

The agri food industry has improved its productivity, especially in developed countries, in an unparalleled way. This development has, however, estranged the agrifood sector in parts from society over the years. Never before has food been as safe and secure, but simultaneously, society has become increasingly critical towards agricultural and food related issues.In the following, this twosided development between society and agribusiness (the existence of two sides of the same coin) will be analyzed using framing theory, which is based on media research that complex issues are simplified and reduced in order to improve understanding. An innovative technique was applied, analyzing the webbased social media in Germany. 50,931 web posts were collected in German web discussion forums and weblogs covering 21 issues identified as relevant in the public discourse with regard to the agrifood sector. All posts were analyzed with quantitative semantic software to characterize the respective framing. The results show that all contentious issues are mainly framed in a twosided way. The modern productivity driven agrifood industry is judged as a negative development, and trends returning towards a more natural food production are seen as positive

Two Sides of the Same Coin? Analysis of the Web-Based Social Media with Regard to the Image of the Agri-Food Sector in Germany

 Never before has food been as safe and secure as it is today, but simultaneously, society has become increasingly critical towards agricultural and food related issues. This two-sided development between society and agribusiness will be analyzed using Framing Theory. A quantitative semantic analysis was applied to evaluate the web-based social media in Germany. 50,931 web posts were collected covering 21 issues identified as relevant for the agri-food sector. The results show that all contentious issues are mainly framed in a two-sided way. The modern productivity-driven industry is judged as a negative development, trends returning to a more natural food production are seen as positive

The Small Heat Shock Protein Hsp27 Affects Assembly Dynamics and Structure of Keratin Intermediate Filament Networks

AbstractThe mechanical properties of living cells are essential for many processes. They are defined by the cytoskeleton, a composite network of protein fibers. Thus, the precise control of its architecture is of paramount importance. Our knowledge about the molecular and physical mechanisms defining the network structure remains scarce, especially for the intermediate filament cytoskeleton. Here, we investigate the effect of small heat shock proteins on the keratin 8/18 intermediate filament cytoskeleton using a well-controlled model system of reconstituted keratin networks. We demonstrate that Hsp27 severely alters the structure of such networks by changing their assembly dynamics. Furthermore, the C-terminal tail domain of keratin 8 is shown to be essential for this effect. Combining results from fluorescence and electron microscopy with data from analytical ultracentrifugation reveals the crucial role of kinetic trapping in keratin network formation

Two Sides of the Same Coin? Analysis of the Web‐based Social Media with Regard to the Image of the Agri‐food Sector in Germany

The agri‐food industry has improved its productivity, especially in developed countries, in an unparalleled way. This development has, however, estranged the agri‐food sector in parts from society over the years. Never before has food been as safe and secure, but simultaneously, society has become increasingly critical towards agricultural and food related issues. In the following, this two‐sided development between society and agribusiness ‐ the existence of two sides of the same coin ‐ will be analyzed using framing theory, which is based on media research that complex issues are simplified and reduced in order to improve understanding. An innovative technique was applied, analyzing the web‐based social media in Germany. 50,931 web posts were collected in German web discussion forums and weblogs covering 21 issues identified as relevant in the public discourse with regard to the agri‐food sector. All posts were analyzed with quantitative semantic software to characterize the respective framing. The results show that all contentious issues are mainly framed in a two‐sided way. The modern productivity‐driven agrifood industry is judged as a negative development, and trends returning towards a more natural food production are seen as positive