Costs and Benefits of Quality Systems: Case Study

The variety of quality systems is a very important and an actual theme in the agri-food sector. These quality systems are only partly acknowledged by different quality standard organizations, but customers within the supply chain demand them. Enterprises, which supply different customers and export abroad this, face the problem that they have to deal with several standards and implement them within the enterprise as well as take part in several systems audits and certifications. The economic problem consists of determining the most efficient introduction of a quality system or a combination of quality systems in the enterprise. The emphasis of the work lies in the development of a framework for the benchmarking of quality systems at all stages of the agri-food production and an allocation and operationalisation of cost and benefit categories. A concept including the database “QualintSys” was developed during a PhD-thesis to estimate the costs and benefits of quality systems.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,

Decision Support Model for the Optimization of Quality Systems in the Agri-Food Industry

Quality management is of paramount importance in all stages of the Agri-Food production and process chain. The approach of quality management has been changed in the past years due to the effects of globalization, numerous deficits in food safety and the legislative such as the new European regulation 178/2002 concerning food safeties. A trend, which can be shown, is the development of several quality systems and norms in response to this challenge. Therefore programmes will be developed and improved in the Agri-Food-industry further on. There are general quality systems, which are applied in different countries and sectors, country and product specific standards and programmes, which were developed by retail initiatives. This paper will give an insight into the variety of quality standards in the agribusiness and food industry in Europe and beyond. The main aspect will be a cost/benefit analysis for the implementation of different quality systems in firms and supply chains.quality management systems, cost, benefit, transaction costs, economic of scales, Agribusiness,

The International Quality Systems Environment

Enterprises in the agri-food sector are increasingly confronted with the need to adjust their production processes and operations to the requirements of quality systems and to integrate these requirements into their own individual integrated process management system. Integra- tion efforts are further aggravated by correlations of quality system requirements with other process related requirements. First initiatives have started to benchmark the requirements of different quality systems to have an analyse about the level of the same requirements. Output of this article will be a description of an advisory model (database model with computerized support), which presents a support tool for the implementation of quality, environ- mental and occupational health systems into the individual integrated (process) management system of enterprises. This tool includes at the moment two main parts: a benchmark of quality standards and a cost and benefit analysis approach.quality standards, benchmark, harmonisation, advisory model, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

“Tears in My Eyes ’Cause Somebody Finally Understood”: Client Perceptions of Practitioners Following Brain Injury

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify practitioner qualities and traits that clients with brain injury see as important. Method: An opportunistic sample of 51 participants with brain injury was interviewed about perceptions of service access and effectiveness. An interview guide was used to gather data for this phenomenological qualitative study. Four interviewers individually conducted audiotaped interviews, which were then transcribed. Coding and theme development were completed using HyperRESEARCH™ software. Results: Three themes regarding practitioner qualities emerged from the data: (a) roles of the provider, (b) perceived helpfulness of services, and (c) personal characteristics of the providers. Beneficial provider roles included advocate, friend, mentor, and team member. Perceptions of helpfulness of the services included relevance, meaningfulness, practical application, skill development potential, and whether periodic feedback on progress was provided. Personal characteristics of the provider valued by the participants were clear and honest communicator, supportive, respectful, good listener, and understanding. Conclusions: Practitioners need to pay increased attention to the perceptions of care and services of clients with brain injury. The current study closely supports previous research related to quality of care in the medical and community arenas and offers some additional suggestions to professionals who work with persons with brain injury, including learning how to time giving information to clients and how to understand client concerns without being prescriptive. Future research in this area needs to focus on and describe providers who demonstrate an ability—through their willingness to don a variety of roles, their helpful services, and their personal characteristics—to meet the unique needs of clients with brain injury

Die Außereuropäische Geschichte am Historischen Seminar

Von insgesamt 108 staatlichen Universitäten in Deutschland können heute nur 20 Professuren zur Geschichte Außereuropas vorweisen – und das Historische Seminar in Kiel gehört seit 1988 dazu. Doch begann die Faszination für die Geschichte jenseits Europas an der Christian-Albrechts-Universität quasi mit der Gründungszeit und damit viel früher: Aufgrund der maritimen Lage und umtriebiger deutscher wie dänischer Mäzene waren Kieler Gelehrte von 1600 bis heute immer wieder mit der Geschichte außereuropäischer Weltregionen befasst. Darunter befinden sich einerseits europäische Wissenschaftler und Forschungsreisende wie Carsten Niebuhr, die sich für etwa für Asien, Afrika und Grönland begeisterten. Andererseits wurden in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten auch Lehrkräfte aus diesen Ländern angeworben, um die Geschichte ihrer Herkunftsregionen am Historischen Seminar zu vermitteln. 1988 begann die Geschichte der dediziert außereuropäischen Geschichtsprofessur in Kiel mit einem Fokus auf Indien, der anschließend vom Mittleren Osten und dann von Afrika abgelöst wurde. Der Aufsatz zeichnet diese Entwicklung wechselnder weltregionaler Schwerpunkte und die Umorientierungen anhand der konkurrierenden Kategorien ›Weltregion‹-, ›Außereuropa‹- und ›Global‹-Geschichte nach.Of a total of 108 state universities in Germany today, only 20 installed professors for non-European history – and the Department of History at Kiel has been one of them since 1988. However, the fascination for history beyond Europe’s borders already started much earlier, when Kiel University was founded: Due to its maritime location and active German and Danish patrons, scholars from Kiel have been investigating the history of non-European world regions from 1600 to the present day. On the one hand, these include European scholars and explorers such as Carsten Niebuhr, who were interested in Asia, Africa and Greenland, for example. On the other hand, academic staff from these countries was recruited in more recent decades to teach the history of their regions of origin at the Department of History. In 1988, the history of the non-European history professorship in Kiel began with a focus on India, which was subsequently replaced by the Middle East and then Africa. The essay traces this development of changing world-regional focuses and the reorientations along the competing categories of ›world regional‹, ›non-European‹ and ›global‹ history

Gene and MicroRNA Expression Profile Changes in ISS Crewmembers Blood Samples

In space, living organisms are exposed to multiple stress factors including microgravity and space radiation. For humans, these harmful environmental factors have been known to cause negative health impacts such as immune dysfunction. Understanding the mechanisms by which spaceflight impacts human health at the molecular level is critical not only for accurately assessing the risks associated with spaceflight, but also for developing effective countermeasures. This study is part of the Functional Immune Project, intended to determine alterations in crewmember immunobiology before, during, and after spaceflight. It emphasizes the study of DNA damage in the ISS crewmembers peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), expression patterns of damage-response and inflammatory process genes, and changes in latent virus reactivation biomarkers

MPLA as an Innovative Immune Countermeasure

Spaceflight perturbs the human immune system. Among other manifestations, crewmembers may experience latent herpes viruses reactivation due to impaired lymphocyte function, as well as allergic/hypersensitivity reactions. Considering future space travel will be of longer duration (thereby increasing stress, exposure to radiation, etc) with no rapid return option, it is of paramount importance to develop a countermeasure(s) to immune dysregulation. Monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) is a derivative of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent inflammatory agent that can cause septic shock. MPLA possesses the immune-stimulatory effects of LPS without the adverse inflammatory effects. We hypothesize that treating immune cells with MPLA will boost their function enough to overcome the inhibitory effects of microgravity. While MPLA has been tested as an adjuvant extensively in mice and preliminarily for human vaccines, it has never been assessed for efficacy in microgravity

»Wer will denn jetzt noch einen Buddha haben?«: Interview mit Hermann Kulke vom 10. Juli 2022

Zeitzeugengespräch mit dem emeritierten Professor für die Geschichte Asiens, Herrmann Kulke, dokumentiert. Darin rekapituliert er die am ganzen Seminar entstandene Indien-Begeisterung sowie die zunehmende Bedeutung der Globalgeschichte, die zum Teil an deren Stelle trat.Interview with emeritus professor of the Asian History, Herrmann Kulke, in which he recapitulates the enthusiasm for India that emerged throughout the Department, as well as the increasing importance of global history, which partly took its place

Pathogens in ticks collected from dogs in Berlin/Brandenburg, Germany

BackgroundTick-borne diseases are a major health risk for humans and dogs. In addition to collection and analysis of questing ticks, analysis of host- associated ticks for the presence of pathogens is a valuable method to gain insight into transmission patterns of tick-borne diseases.MethodsTicks were collected from dogs living in the Berlin/Brandenburg area. The three tick species Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes hexagonus and Dermacentor reticulatus were examined for the presence of Babesia spp., Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasmataceae. Conventional PCR followed by sequencing was used for pathogen detection and characterization.Results Babesia spp. were found in 2.5% and 3% of I. ricinus and I. hexagonus, respectively. Sequencing revealed the presence of Babesia microti, Babesia capreoli and Babesia venatorum. D. reticulatus were free of Babesia canis. Rickettsia spp. were detected in 61% of I. ricinus, 44% of I. hexagonus and 39% of D. reticulatus. Specifically detected were Rickettsia raoulti in D. reticulatus and I. hexagonus, Rickettsia helvetica in I. ricinus and I. hexagonus and Rickettsia monacensis in I. hexagonus. Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis have been reported previously in I. ricinus (6.5% and 4.3%, respectively) and I. hexagonus (3.9% and 5.9%). Borrelia spp. were found in 11.6% of I. ricinus and 11.2% of I. hexagonus. Subsequent genospecies analysis revealed Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Borrelia miyamotoi. Simultanous presence of more than one pathogen was found in 20% of I. ricinus and in 59% of I. hexagonus whereas the total frequency of any pathogen was 65% in I. ricinus, 59% in I. hexagonus and 64% in D. reticulatus. Ticks in which A. phagocytophilum was detected had a significantly increased risk of also containing Rickettsia. Ticks harbouring a pathogen had significantly higher scutal indices than ticks without presence of any pathogen.ConclusionsFrequencies of potential human or canine pathogens in ticks were considerable and DNA of all four groups of pathogens was detected. Differences in scutal indices might suggest that pathogens are frequently taken up by ticks when feeding on dogs in Berlin/Brandenburg