An Exercise in Sitting with Discomfort: Towards more equitable support for international relocation in North-South contexts (Summary Report)

Temporary international relocation initiatives (TIRIs) for artists and cultural workers are a form of international solidarity. Yet they are embedded in a context shaped by colonial history and global North-South power dynamics. In this report, the authors draw on the experiences of relocated artists as well as those of team members within TIRIs and host organisations to examine if TIRIs are currently equipped to identify power asymmetries, injustice, discrimination and racism at individual, institutional and structural levels and to effectively mitigate them. Finally, they develop holistic practical recommendations for greater equity and justice as well as an anti-racist approach for TIRIs and host organisations. This report addresses decision-makers and teams in TIRIs and host organisations, arts institutions, funders and policymakers. Both recognizing the existence of structural, systemic and individual injustice, racism and discrimination, and contributing to their eradication requires discomfort and constant self-reflection. Therefore, this report is an exercise in sitting with discomfort. The authors see this discomfort as a catalyst for change processes - an engine to sustain pressure to enact this change that cannot simply be dissolved by individual action. The full report can be downloaded here: https://doi.org/10.17901/akbp1.22.202

An Exercise in Sitting with Discomfort: Towards more equitable support for international relocation in North-South contexts

Temporary international relocation initiatives (TIRIs) for artists and cultural workers are a form of international solidarity. Yet they are embedded in a context shaped by colonial history and global North-South power dynamics. In this report, the authors draw on the experiences of relocated artists as well as those of team members within TIRIs and host organisations to examine if TIRIs are currently equipped to identify power asymmetries, injustice, discrimination and racism at individual, institutional and structural levels and to effectively mitigate them. Finally, they develop holistic practical recommendations for greater equity and justice as well as an anti-racist approach for TIRIs and host organisations. This report addresses decision-makers and teams in TIRIs and host organisations, arts institutions, funders and policymakers. Both recognizing the existence of structural, systemic and individual injustice, racism and discrimination, and contributing to their eradication requires discomfort and constant self-reflection. Therefore, this report is an exercise in sitting with discomfort. The authors see this discomfort as a catalyst for change processes - an engine to sustain pressure to enact this change that cannot simply be dissolved by individual action. The summary report can be downloaded here: https://doi.org/10.17901/akbp1.23.202

Chloroplast Transition Metal Regulation for Efficient Photosynthesis

Schmidt SB, Eisenhut M, Schneider A. Chloroplast Transition Metal Regulation for Efficient Photosynthesis. Trends in Plant Science. 2020;25(8):817-828

Die Wirkung von Feedback im Rahmen eines Development-Centers auf die Selbstbild-Fremdbild-Kongruenz

Angesichts der Bedeutung des Development-Centers als Instrument der Managementdiagnostik rückt die Untersuchung der Effektivität und Wirkung des Verfahrens bezogen auf die Verfahrensziele (z.B. Identifikation von Stärken und Entwicklungsfeldern, Erhöhung der Selbsteinsicht und Kompetenzentwicklung) stärker in den Mittelpunkt. In einer Sekundäranalyse der quasiexperimentellen Studie „Effekte von Feedback-Interventionen in Development-Centern“ (Klebl, 2006) mit 93 Teilnehmer des Verfahrens (Experimentalgruppe) und 31 Kandidaten (Kontrollgruppe) werden die Auswirkung einer Development-Center-Teilnahme auf die Selbstbild-Fremdbild-Kongruenz (Übereinstimmung der Selbstbeurteilung mit der Fremdbeurteilung des direkten Vorgesetzten), die Feedback-Moderatoren der Selbstbild-Fremdbild-Kongruenz sowie die anschließende Kompetenz- und Leistungsentwicklung untersucht. Die Messung der zentralen Konstrukte erfolgte über die Erfassung der Selbstbeurteilung und Fremdbeurteilung in den Dimensionen soziale, Management-, Führungs- und analytische Kompetenz, die Bildung von Übereinstimmungskategorien (Über-, Unter- & übereinstimmende Schätzer), der Einschätzung der Kompetenz- und Leistungsentwicklung durch den direkten Vorgesetzten sowie der Moderatoren Feedbacksuche, Wunsch auf Feedback zu reagieren, Akzeptanz, Nützlichkeit und Spezifität des Feedbacks. Es können differenzierte kleine Effekte der Development-Center-Teilnahme auf die Dimensionen der Selbstbild-Fremdbild-Kongruenz festgestellt werden, die von der „Feedbacksuche“ und dem „Wunsch auf Feedback zu reagieren“ moderiert werden. Weiter zeigen sich positive Auswirkungen der Verfahrensteilnahme auf die Kompetenz- und Leistungsentwicklung, die jedoch in den verschiedenen Übereinstimmungskategorien unterschiedlich hoch ausfallen

Development of fast switching photochromic coatings on transparent plastics and glass

A new photochromic organic-inorganic nanocomposite (Nanomer(R)) coating system has been developed. It is based on an epoxysilane as network former, an organic bisepoxide as spacer, an organic amine as thermal cross-linker and surface modified SiO2 nanoparticles as fillers. This coating system is compatible with different photochromic dyes, like oxazines and pyrans. Photochromic coatings with blue, yellow, red, green, violet and neutral tints were prepared on flat glass and PMMA substrates by dip coating and cured for 3 h at 100 degrees C. The photochromic coatings show the following properties: the transmittance changes reversibly between 80 and 20% with half fading times of about 2-20 s (comparable to the half fading time of the appropriate dye in ethanolic solution) after UV irradiation for 15 s with 5 mW/cm(2). The coatings show a scratch hardness of about 15 g (scratch test with Vickers indenter, coating thickness 10 mu m). The addition of only 3 wt.% SiO2 nanoparticles relative to epoxysilane increases the scratch resistance of the coatings to about 20 g without changing the fast kinetics of the incorporated photochromic dye(s). The long term stability of the photochromic dye(s) in the matrix system can be considerably improved by the introduction of additives like antioxidants, hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS) and UV stabilizers. The half lifetime (decay to 50% of the initial photochromic intensity) of a blue spirooxazine dye (Blue A) measured in a dry sun-test (75 mW/cm(2)) could be increased from 20 h without any additive up to 200 h with an UV absorber (Tinuvin 327) as a stabilizer, which is assumed to be sufficient for ophthalmic applications

Visualizing the logistic map with a microcontroller

The logistic map is one of the simplest nonlinear dynamical systems that clearly exhibit the route to chaos. In this paper, we explored the evolution of the logistic map using an open-source microcontroller connected to an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs). We divided the one-dimensional interval $[0,1]$ into ten equal parts, and associated and LED to each segment. Every time an iteration took place a corresponding LED turned on indicating the value returned by the logistic map. By changing some initial conditions of the system, we observed the transition from order to chaos exhibited by the map.Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 listin

Integrated policy package assessment (IPPA): A problem-oriented research approach for sustainability transformations

In this paper, we present the Integrated Policy Package Assessment (IPPA) approach and relate IPPA to three substantial concepts of problem-oriented research concerned with societal transformations: technology assessment (TA), sustainability research (SR), and responsible research and innovation (RRI). The IPPA approach provides (political) decision-makers with transformation and orientation knowledge via a four-step process of (1) design, (2) analysis, (3) evaluation, and (4) discourse of a policy package assessment. It is illustrated with a case study of urban passenger transport. As an integrated approach, IPPA has substantial ties to TA, SR, and RRI. It connects with TA in fundamental ways, since it combines the field of TA with the field of regulatory assessment based on consequence analysis. Connectable to the field of SR, IPPA addresses deliberation processes and sustainable pathway identification based on multi-criteria assessment. In addition, akin to the area of RRI, IPPA shows cross-cutting axes with regards to social resonance assessment and stakeholder evaluation with a focus on multi-actor responsibilities. In this contribution, we link evidence-based impact assessment with transformation pathway mechanisms and corresponding policy packages, backed by stakeholder-based responsible innovation feedback loops. This enhances the ex-ante analysis of policy packages regarding their intended as well as unintended consequences