"Press on regardless!" - The role of volitional control in the first year of higher education

Students' motivation is an important predictor of study success and retention, but it declines severly during the first year in higher education. Despite this decline, about two thirds of students continue their studies. Thus, we explored the situations, in which students experience motivational decline, but apply strategies to maintain their motivation and academic goal striving in an interview study with 25 students. Our results indicate that students apply different volitional control strategies directed at their thoughts, their emotions, their motivation and their environment in order to maintain their learning and study motivation as well as their individual interest. 16.12.2015 | Caroline Trautwein & Katrin Stolz (Hamburg

Consumer concerns regarding additional ethical attributes of organic food

In a world where more and more organic products are mass produced, and where most consumers have little – if any – contact with the organic farmers who have produced their food, many people feel that the underlying principles of the organic movement are coming under threat. According to our research consumers are mostly interested in additional ethical attributes like “higher animal welfare standards”, “regional/local production” and “fair producer prices” and they are willing to pay more for organic products which are produced following these higher standards. This gives producers the opportunity to differentiate their products in the organic market. When communicating these additional ethical attributes of organic food producers must take care to use a wording in accordance with their customers‟ comprehension in order to build up and sustain a trustful producer-consumer-relationship

Farmer Consumer Partnerships - How to successfully communicate the values of organic food

As the popularity of organic food increases, many organic businesses are facing ever greater competition in the marketplace. And in a world where more and more organic products are mass produced, and where most consumers have little - if any - contact with the organic farmers who have produced their food, many people feel that the underlying principles of the organic movement are coming under increasing threat. Yet research shows that there is growing interest among today's consumers in the wider ethical principles which underpin organic agriculture. They want fairer working conditions; they want to support disadvantaged societal groups, higher standards of animal welfare, and the preservation of tradition and landscapes through their purchasing decisions - and they are willing to pay more for products which support this 'added value'. This booklet provides farmers and processors with practical advice and case studies on how to target their marketing strategies to the growing number of 'ethical consumers', and how to improve their communication with their customers. This publication summarises the main results of the CORE Organic project 'Farmer Consumer Partnerships'. The research project aimed to determine how the commitment of organic farmers to ethical values can be communicated to customers in order to strengthen the companies positioning in the market

Starting a family during medical studies? Results of a pilot study on family friendliness in the study of medicine at the University of Ulm

Objective: The Ulm pilot study aimed to explore factors for a successful combination of medical education and starting a family. The empirical data derived from this study constitutes the foundation for an evidence-based reform of the medical curriculum in Ulm

Landwirte-Verbraucher-Partnerschaften – Erfolgreiche Kommunikation von Werten ökologischer Lebensmittel.

Durch die zunehmende Beliebtheit ökologischer Lebensmittel bei Verbrauchern steigt auch das Angebot und der Wettbewerb zwischen ökologischen Erzeugern nimmt zu. Viele Produkte werden mittlerweile unter Bedingungen erzeugt, die zwar gerade noch den Minimalanforderungen der EU-Öko-Verordnung an die Produktion entsprechen, in denen aber die ursprünglichen Werte der ökologischen Bewegung kaum noch beachtet werden. In jüngster Zeit gibt es aber auch eine wachsende Gruppe von Konsumenten, die sich eine Orientierung des Öko-Landbaus an diesen weitergehenden „ethischen“ Kriterien, wie fairen Arbeitsbedingungen, der Integration von benachteiligten Menschen, besonders artgerechter Tierhaltung oder die Erhaltung von bäuerlichen Traditionen und den regionaltypischen Landschaften wünscht und durchaus bereit ist für diese „Mehr-Werte“ zu zahlen. Dieses Handbuch gibt Landwirten und Verarbeitern Hinweise, wie sie ihre Marketingstrategie auf den „ethischen Konsumenten“ abstimmen und ihre Kommunikation in diesem Bereich mit den Kunden verbessern können. Diese Veröffentlichung fasst die wichtigsten Ergebnisse des CORE Organic Projekts "Farmer Consumer Partnerships" zusammen. Ziel des Projekts war es zu untersuchen, wie das soziale und ökologische Engagement landwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen, das über die Anforderungen der EU-Öko-Verordnung hinausgeht, erfolgreich an Verbraucher kommuniziert werden kann

Careful, Gentle, Minimal - What are the principles of organic processing? Consumer perspectives

Analyse consumer expectations and acceptance of (organic) food processing technologie

Alleanze tra Agricoltori e Consumatori – Come comunicare con successo il valore degli alimenti biologici ai consumatori Manuale pratico

Il risultato principale della nostra ricerca ha confermato che la comunicazione degli attributi etici addizionali offre a molte aziende biologiche una reale opportunità di differenziazione dei propri prodotti nel più vasto mercato biologico. Molti consumatori e produttori sono d’accordo sul fatto che la produzione biologica in conformità al regolamento UE sull’agricoltura biologica (834/2007) non rappresenta la ‘fase finale’ in riferimento a una produzione alimentare sostenibile ed etica. Un numero crescente di consumatori acquista prodotti che siano realizzati secondo standard ‘etici’ non attualmente ricompresi nelle norme previste dal regolamento UE sull’agricoltura biologica o che – in ogni caso – vanno al di là degli standard minimi ivi previsti. Servendoci di strumenti informatici, abbiamo testato 14 argomenti etici addizionali su circa 1.200 consumatori di cinque paesi Europei: gli attributi etici risultati i più importanti sono stati la ‘produzione regionale/locale’, il ‘benessere animale’, e il ‘prezzo equo per gli agricoltori’, mentre sono risultati meno rilevanti le questioni riguardanti l’’agricoltura sociale’, la ‘tutela della biodiversità’, la ‘considerazione degli aspetti culturali nella produzione’ e gli ‘aspetti sociali della produzione’ (come le condizioni di lavoro)

Junge Hochschul- und Mediendidaktik. Forschung und Praxis im Dialog

Am 29./30.05.2012 fand in Hamburg die Konferenz “Junges Forum Hochschul- und Mediendidaktik” (JFHM) statt. Ausgerichtet vom Zentrum für Hochschul- und Weiterbildung (ZHW) der Universität Hamburg, kooperierten bei der Konzeption und Durchführung der Tagung Vertreterinnen und Vertreter aus hochschul- und mediendidaktischer Berufspraxis mit Vertreterinnen der wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchsförderung aus der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hochschuldidaktik (DGHD) und der Gesellschaft für Medien in der Wissenschaft (GMW). Das Ziel der Tagung war die Sichtbarmachung und Vernetzung theoretischer und praktischer hochschul- und mediendidaktischer Arbeit. Der vorliegende Sammelband vereint Beiträge der Konferenz und gibt so einen Einblick in aktuelle Themen von Hochschul- und Mediendidaktik - und zwar speziell aus der Perspektive jüngerer Forscherinnen und Forscher sowie Praktikerinnen und Praktiker. Er gibt damit auch Anhaltspunkte dafür, welche Themen diese Arbeitsbereiche in Zukunft (weiter) beschäftigen werden. (DIPF/Autor

Clinical Aspects of Feline Retroviruses: A Review

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are retroviruses with global impact on the health of domestic cats. The two viruses differ in their potential to cause disease. FeLV is more pathogenic, and was long considered to be responsible for more clinical syndromes than any other agent in cats. FeLV can cause tumors (mainly lymphoma), bone marrow suppression syndromes (mainly anemia), and lead to secondary infectious diseases caused by suppressive effects of the virus on bone marrow and the immune system. Today, FeLV is less commonly diagnosed than in the previous 20 years; prevalence has been decreasing in most countries. However, FeLV importance may be underestimated as it has been shown that regressively infected cats (that are negative in routinely used FeLV tests) also can develop clinical signs. FIV can cause an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome that increases the risk of opportunistic infections, neurological diseases, and tumors. In most naturally infected cats, however, FIV itself does not cause severe clinical signs, and FIV-infected cats may live many years without any health problems. This article provides a review of clinical syndromes in progressively and regressively FeLV-infected cats as well as in FIV-infected cats