Contributing to an European vision of democratic education by engaging multiple actors in shaping responsible research agendas

Traditionally, expert-based forward looking has been applied to anticipate future challenges, solutions and strategic decisions, but limitations to this approach have become obvious – especially when considering long term perspectives – e.g. failing to include a comprehensive array of opinions. Aiming at producing sustainable strategies for responsible socio-technical change, research funding can benefit from combining forward looking and public participation to elicit socially robust knowledge from consulting with multi-actors, including citizens. In this paper, we give insights into the EU project CIMULACT – Citizen and Multi- Actor Consultation on Horizon 2020. In CIMULACT, more than 4500 citizens, stakeholders and experts from 30 European countries engaged online and offline to co-create research topics. These are supposed to serve as input for the next round of calls in Horizon 2020, national research agendas as well as the ninth framework programme in the making. We investigate key results of this transdisciplinary process focussing on the topic “democratic education” with regard to two levels: What issues concerning the topic were raised? Can we find a common European imaginary for “democratic education”? Our analysis shows that the results contribute to defining and describing challenges for the currently prevailing imaginary of democratic education in Europe

Evolutionary Origins of Drought Tolerance in Spermatophytes.

It is commonly known that drought stress is a major constraint limiting crop production. Drought stress and associated drought tolerance mechanisms are therefore under intense investigation with the view to future production of drought tolerant crops. With an ever-growing population and variable climate, novel approaches need to be considered to sustainably feed future generations. In this context, definitions of drought tolerance are highly variable, which poses a major challenge for the systematic assessment of this trait across the plant kingdom. Furthermore, drought tolerance is a polygenic trait and understanding the evolution of this complex trait may inform us about patterns of gene gain and loss in relation to diverse drought adaptations. We look at the transition of plants from water to land, and the role of drought tolerance in enabling this transition, before discussing the first drought tolerant plant and common drought responses amongst vascular plants. We reviewed the distribution of a combined "drought tolerance" trait in very broad terms to encompass different experimental systems and definitions used in the current literature and assigned a binary trait "tolerance vs. sensitivity" in 178 extant plant species. By simplifying drought responses of plants into this "binary" trait we were able to explore the evolution of drought tolerance across the wider plant kingdom, compared to previous studies. We show how this binary "drought tolerance/sensitivity" trait has evolved and discuss how incorporating this information into an evolutionary genomics framework could provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying extreme drought adaptations

Multi-Objective Topology Optimization of a Broadband Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

In recent years, topology optimization has proved itself to be state of the art in the design of mechanical structures. At the same time, energy harvesting has gained a lot of attention in research and industry. In this work, we present a novel topology optimization of a multi-resonant piezoelectric energy-harvester device. The goal is to develop a broadband design that can generate constant power output over a range of frequencies, thus enabling reliable operation under changing environmental conditions. To achieve this goal, topology optimization is implemented with a combined-objective function, which tackles both the frequency requirement and the power-output characteristic. The optimization suggests a promising design, with satisfactory frequency characteristics

Evolutionary Origins of Drought Tolerance in Spermatophytes

It is commonly known that drought stress is a major constraint limiting crop production. Drought stress and associated drought tolerance mechanisms are therefore under intense investigation with the view to future production of drought tolerant crops. With an ever-growing population and variable climate, novel approaches need to be considered to sustainably feed future generations. In this context, definitions of drought tolerance are highly variable, which poses a major challenge for the systematic assessment of this trait across the plant kingdom. Furthermore, drought tolerance is a polygenic trait and understanding the evolution of this complex trait may inform us about patterns of gene gain and loss in relation to diverse drought adaptations. We look at the transition of plants from water to land, and the role of drought tolerance in enabling this transition, before discussing the first drought tolerant plant and common drought responses amongst vascular plants. We reviewed the distribution of a combined “drought tolerance” trait in very broad terms to encompass different experimental systems and definitions used in the current literature and assigned a binary trait “tolerance vs. sensitivity” in 178 extant plant species. By simplifying drought responses of plants into this “binary” trait we were able to explore the evolution of drought tolerance across the wider plant kingdom, compared to previous studies. We show how this binary “drought tolerance/sensitivity” trait has evolved and discuss how incorporating this information into an evolutionary genomics framework could provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying extreme drought adaptations

Molecular mechanisms controlling plant growth during abiotic stress

Mechanisms that protect against abiotic stress are essential for plant survival, yet their activation generally comes at the expense of growth and productivity, which is particularly serious for agriculture. Recent developments in molecular genetics have contributed substantially to our understanding of the basis of abiotic stress defense. Progress has also been made towards understanding how plants control the switch between growth and defense, especially with regard to timing and mechanism. This ongoing research is critical for the improvement of crop plants

Characterisation of peptide methionine sulphoxide reductase genes in Arabidopsis thaliana

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN057039 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

World-Wide Views on Global Warming Austria – Ein Prozess Partizipativer Technikfolgenabschätzung am Beispiel Globaler Erwärmung – Endbericht

Der Klimawandel weist neue Problemqualitäten wie Globalität, Ursache-Wirkungsentkoppelung, Dringlichkeit, Unsicherheit und Komplexität auf, die nicht nur die Wissenschaft sondern auch die Politik vor große Herausforderungen stellen. Vor diesem Hintergrund gewinnen weltweite Verhandlungsprozesse an Bedeutung, denn globale Herausforderungen erfordern globales Entscheiden. Dies bedeutet auch die Entwicklung neuer Kommunikationsstrategien, Meinungsbildungsverfahren und Entscheidungswege, wozu das Projekt World Wide Views on Global Warming (kurz: WWViews) einen Beitrag geleistet hat

Participatory approaches for technology and autonomous living

"Partizipative Verfahren zum Thema 'Technologie und Autonomes Altern'Ziel von pTA Altern war es, für das Programm benefit jene Themenbereiche zu identifizieren, in denen Partizipation zur Begleitung bzw. als Bestandteil der Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeiten sinnvoll und notwendig ist. Darüber hinaus ging es um die Frage, welche relevanten Gruppen in solche Prozesse eingebunden werden sollen. Die Identifikation möglicher Problembereiche, die für das Programm relevant werden könnten, bildete ein weiteres Ziel