Effects of climate change on the dispersion of white grub damages in the Austrian grassland

Recent changes in occurrence of agricultural pests in Austria might already reflect climate change phenomena. In this study, an inventory of white grub (Melolontha melolontha, Amphimallon solstitiale and Phyllopertha horticola) damages in Austrian grassland including organic cultivation was performed by questioning plant protection consultants of 74 Agricultural County Chambers. Altogether, a cumulated 14.800 hectares of white grub damages were recorded. From 2000 onwards, a steady increase of white grub damages occurred with a climax in the year of heat and drought 2003. The infested fields extended along the alpine main ridge from Vorarlberg up to the alpine foreland. Additionally, southern slopes of the Danube valley in Upper and Lower Austria were affected. Very likely, the damages were mainly due to the garden chafer P. horticola. From 2004 to 2006, the extent of damages decreased again all over Austria. By studying meteorological data, it became obvious that the damaged areas were mainly situated in regions with a strong precipitation deficit. On-farm investigations performed in 2007 strengthened the hypothesis that drought and elevated soil temperatures might be the decisive factors for a strong development of grub populations and subsequent feeding damages. Additionally, drought can increase the effects of grub damage by delaying the regeneration of the damaged sward. A strongly damaged sward on slopes can be dangerous for the farmers e.g. by slipping machines

Business process management tools as a measure of customer-centric maturity

In application of business process management (BPM) tools in European commercial sectors, this paper examines current maturity of customer centricity construct (CC) as an emerging dimension of competition and as a potential strategic management direction for the future of business. Processes are one of the key components of transformation in the CC roadmap. Particular departments are more customer orientated than others, and processes, customer-centric expertise, and approach can be built and utilized starting from them. Positive items within a current business process that only involve minor modification could be the basis for that. The evidence of movement on the customer-centric roadmap is found. BPM in European telecommunications, banking, utility and retail sector supports roadmap towards customer-centricity in process view, process alignment and process optimization. However, the movement is partial and not flawless, as BPM hasn’t been inquired for supporting many of customer-centric dimensions

Eco-Regions: How to link organic farming with territorial development

Organic farming in Austria has seen a rapid development as all over Europe. In some alpine regions over 50% of the farms have converted to organic. Thus the idea of forming “Eco-Regions” (“Bioregionen” in German), transforming organic farming values from a farm level to a regional scale, emerged. The paper presents the results of an action research based project to develop a model for the formation of Eco-Regions and to monitor the success in cross-sectoral networking. Besides a number of prerequisites also bottlenecks for the formation become apparent. The paper describes the model and the implementation in two distinct regions

Two-stage Bayesian model to evaluate the effect of air pollution on chronic respiratory diseases using drug prescriptions

Exposure to high levels of air pollutant concentration is known to be associated with respiratory problems which can translate into higher morbidity and mortality rates. The link between air pollution and population health has mainly been assessed considering air quality and hospitalisation or mortality data. However, this approach limits the analysis to individuals characterised by severe conditions. In this paper we evaluate the link between air pollution and respiratory diseases using general practice drug prescriptions for chronic respiratory diseases, which allow to draw conclusions based on the general population. We propose a two-stage statistical approach: in the first stage we specify a space-time model to estimate the monthly NO2 concentration integrating several data sources characterised by different spatio-temporal resolution; in the second stage we link the concentration to the β2-agonists prescribed monthly by general practices in England and we model the prescription rates through a small area approach

Judging Covers

Cover versions form a loose but identifiable category of tracks and performances. We distinguish four kinds of covers and argue that they mark important differences in the modes of evaluation that are possible or appropriate for each: mimic covers, which aim merely to echo the canonical track; rendition covers, which change the sound of the canonical track; transformative covers, which diverge so much as to instantiate a distinct, albeit derivative song; and referential covers, which not only instantiate a distinct song, but for which the new song is in part about the original song. In order to allow for the very possibility of transformative and referential covers, we argue that a cover is characterized by relation to a canonical track rather than merely by being a new instance of a song that had been recorded previousl

Unlimited Additions to Limited Editions

In this paper I target the relationship between two prints that are roughly qualitatively identical and share a causal history. Is one an artwork if and only if the other is an artwork? To answer this, I propose two competing principles. The first claims that certain intentional relations must be shared by the prints (e.g., editioned prints vs. non-editioned prints). The second appeals only to minimal print ontology, claiming that the two prints need only be what I call \u27relevantly similar\u27 to one other. In the end, I endorse the second principle. There are no trumping features over and above relevant similarity, that is, for any pairwise comparison of relevantly similar prints, one print being an artwork is both necessary and sufficient for the other print being an artwork

Mature students - an examination of DIT’s policy and practice

This paper examines the current position of mature students in the Technological University Dublin, the largest third-level institute in Ireland. It also deals with the treatment of mature applicants, and the position of mature students in the Republic of Ireland in general. The focus of the paper is on equity issues, and in all discussions of equity the underpinning principle is equality of opportunity. Where places on a third-level course are limited, for example, all applicants must be treated equally and the places allocated in a ‘fair’ manner. This does not mean that one cannot discriminate in the true sense of the word but that there should be no ‘unfair’ discrimination. Fair can be taken to mean that the criteria used to discriminate between applicants are appropriate and not arbitrary. For example, a given criterion, such as proficiency in a particular language, might be appropriate in one context and arbitrary in another

How to Frame Serial Art

Most artworks—or at least most among those standardly subject to philosophical scrutiny—appear to be singular, stand-alone works. However, some artworks (indeed, perhaps a good many) are by contrast best viewed in terms of some larger grouping or ordering of artworks. i.e., as a series. The operative art-theoretic notion of series in which I am interested here is that of an individual and distinct artwork that is itself non-trivially composed of a non-trivial sequence of artworks (e.g., Walter de Maria’s Statement Series, Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colors)—as opposed to an art-historically informative or art critically productive thematically, stylistically, or formally unified ordering or grouping of individual and distinct artworks within an artist’s larger body of work (e.g., Kiki Smith’s Blue Print series, Dan Flavin’s Monuments to V. Tatlin series, Jeff Koons’ Made in Heaven series, Robert Rauschenberg’s Tribute 21 series). Given this, my aim is simply to sketch a minimal descriptive and classificatory framework for serial art within which certain informative distinctions may be made and further philosophical enquiry may productively take place