Desludging of difficult sludge with easy equipment designs: results of field-testing in Blantyre, Malawi

The purpose of this paper is to document the findings of recent field trials of equipment used for desludging and transportation of sludge, including in emergency settings. During a 9 month testing period in 2013 and 2014, innovative desluding equipment was used to remove over 430 m3 of “difficult faecal sludge” from over 200 household and institutional toilets – mainly unlined and lined pit latrines and a few septic tanks. After some major modifications to the equipment, the field team found that effective and efficient emptying of pit latrines under a wide range of conditions and with difficult sludge is possible, practical, and cost effective for humanitarian agencies and local governments

Sturende factoren voor verhoging van vet- en eiwit gehalten in biologische geitenmelk

Het vetgehalte in biologische geitenmelk ligt significant lager dan in de gangbare geitenmelk. Het verschil in eiwitgehalte tussen de biologische en gangbare geitenhouderij is minimaal. Na statistische vergelijking blijkt dat het vetgehalte in de biologische geitenmelk meer fluctuatie vertoont ten opzichte van eiwit. Door te kijken naar de aspecten voeding en genetica wordt getracht mogelijkheden te bieden ter verhoging van de vet- en eiwitgehalten in de melk

Investigating the Applicability in Emergency Situations of Terra Preta Sanitation System using Lactic Acid Bacteria

LAB failed to keep lacto-fermented sludge’s pH (6.7) and TAN (11.8mg/l) below 4.2 and within 15-30 mg/l respectively. This is despite registering promising results in pH (9.6) and TAN (16.6mg/l) for urine. The results challenged on-site LAB procedure in terms of stabilizing and sanitising faecal sludge possibly due to differences in sludge age, charcoal addition and different environmental factors. Therefore TPS combined with LAB inoculation could not be the best sanitation option for an immediate phase but rather second and third stages of emergency situations.  Malawi experiences emergency situations whose response does not prioritize faecal sludge management challenges. This research adopted a redefined Terra Preta Sanitation (TPS) system that replaced vermicomposting with Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) inoculation. The research aimed at determining possibility of on-site LAB procedure upscalling and safe separation of urine and lacto-fermented sludge as useful agricultural by-products. The study site was Crown Ministries, Blantyre, Malawi. A fermented mixture of15L pasteurized milk, 30ml of Yakult and 1.5g cane molasses was added to a 200L faecal sludge collection drum before use. After defecation, 100cm3 charcoal and 2g molasses were added. Urine was anaerobically collected in 50L drum. Random grab samples results indicated that COD for urine (868.4mg/l) and Lacto-fermented sludge (431.2mg/l) were above 60mg/l Malawi Standard and E. coli (1.05 x107) and Total coliforms (2.18 x 107) for Lacto-Fermented Sludge went above <103 CFU/100ml.

Teaching Turkish‐Dutch kindergartners Dutch vocabulary with a social robot:Does the robot's use of Turkish translations benefit children's Dutch vocabulary learning?

Providing first language (L1) translations in L2 vocabulary interventions may be beneficial for L2 vocabulary learning. However, in linguistically diverse L2 classrooms, teachers cannot provide L1 translations to all children. Social robots do offer such opportunities, as they can be programmed to speak any combination of languages. This study investigates whether providing L1 translations in a robot-assisted L2 vocabulary training facilitates children's learning. Participants were Turkish-Dutch kindergartners (n = 67) who were taught six Dutch (L2) words for which they knew the L1 (Turkish), but not the L2 Dutch form. Half of these words were taught by a Turkish-Dutch bilingual robot, alongside their Turkish translations; the other half by a monolingual Dutch robot. Children also completed Dutch and Turkish receptive vocabulary tests. Results of generalized linear regression models indicated better performance in the Dutch-only condition than in the Turkish-Dutch condition. Children with well-developed Turkish and Dutch vocabulary knowledge outperformed children with less well-developed vocabulary knowledge. The majority of children preferred working with the bilingual robot, but children's preference did not affect word learning. Thus, contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence for a facilitating effect of providing L1 translations through a robot on bilingual children's L2 word learning

Meta-linguistic awareness in early (second) language acquisition

PhD projec

Development of a Field Laboratory for Monitoring of Fecal-Sludge Treatment Plants

In urban humanitarian-aid operations, safe treatment of fecal sludge is highly important. While currently field-deployable fecal-sludge treatment plants are being developed, field-ready analytical equipment for process-control and public health monitoring is missing. Within the Microbial Sludge Quality project, a field laboratory was developed. A minimum set of parameters for the considered processes was developed through literature research. The analytical methods were tested on their field applicability and, if necessary, modified. The following methods were modified for field use: bacteriological analysis (sample homogenization and counting), chemical oxygen demand (sample digestion), volatile fatty acid–alkalinity titration (redesigned test setup), total solids (redesigned test setup), and ammonia determination (redesigned test setup). For bacteriological analysis, chemical oxygen demand, and total solids the modifications lead to highly comparable analytical results. The results obtained by the field methodology for volatile fatty acid–alkalinity titration and ammonia determination were sufficient for field-process monitoring; however, they did not correlate as well. To enable rapid startup of the laboratory during humanitarian-aid missions, it was developed to include analytical and support equipment. The usage of the developed laboratory should allow close-in-time process monitoring and public-health assessments of fecal-sludge treatment plants

Teaching Turkish-Dutch kindergartners Dutch vocabulary with a social robot: Does the robot's use of Turkish translations benefit children's Dutch vocabulary learning?

Providing first language (L1) translations in L2 vocabulary interventions may be beneficial for L2 vocabulary learning. However, in linguistically diverse L2 classrooms, teachers cannot provide L1 translations to all children. Social robots do offer such opportunities, as they can be programmed to speak any combination of languages. This study investigates whether providing L1 translations in a robot-assisted L2 vocabulary training facilitates children's learning. Participants were Turkish-Dutch kindergartners (n = 67) who were taught six Dutch (L2) words for which they knew the L1 (Turkish), but not the L2 Dutch form. Half of these words were taught by a Turkish-Dutch bilingual robot, alongside their Turkish translations; the other half by a monolingual Dutch robot. Children also completed Dutch and Turkish receptive vocabulary tests. Results of generalized linear regression models indicated better performance in the Dutch-only condition than in the Turkish-Dutch condition. Children with well-developed Turkish and Dutch vocabulary knowledge outperformed children with less well-developed vocabulary knowledge. The majority of children preferred working with the bilingual robot, but children's preference did not affect word learning. Thus, contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence for a facilitating effect of providing L1 translations through a robot on bilingual children's L2 word learning

Teaching Turkish‐Dutch kindergartners Dutch vocabulary with a social robot: Does the robot's use of Turkish translations benefit children's Dutch vocabulary learning?

Providing first language (L1) translations in L2 vocabulary interventions may be beneficial for L2 vocabulary learning. However, in linguistically diverse L2 classrooms, teachers cannot provide L1 translations to all children. Social robots do offer such opportunities, as they can be programmed to speak any combination of languages. This study investigates whether providing L1 translations in a robot-assisted L2 vocabulary training facilitates children's learning. Participants were Turkish-Dutch kindergartners (n = 67) who were taught six Dutch (L2) words for which they knew the L1 (Turkish), but not the L2 Dutch form. Half of these words were taught by a Turkish-Dutch bilingual robot, alongside their Turkish translations; the other half by a monolingual Dutch robot. Children also completed Dutch and Turkish receptive vocabulary tests. Results of generalized linear regression models indicated better performance in the Dutch-only condition than in the Turkish-Dutch condition. Children with well-developed Turkish and Dutch vocabulary knowledge outperformed children with less well-developed vocabulary knowledge. The majority of children preferred working with the bilingual robot, but children's preference did not affect word learning. Thus, contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence for a facilitating effect of providing L1 translations through a robot on bilingual children's L2 word learning