Educating Generation Z About Gender Equality in Sport

The GETZ (Gender Equality Toolkit for Generation Z) project aims to develop, deliver and evaluate an innovative educational resource specifically designed for generation z on the issues relating to gender equality and equal opportunities in sport. In order to understand the perceptions, attitudes and actions related to gender equality and equal opportunities in sport among generation z, undergraduate students from four research institutions involved in the GETZ-project were recruited and a total of eight focus groups were conducted. Data was elicited thought questions regarding: (1)Their perceptions and experiences of gender equality; (2) Personal commitment and attitudes to gender equality; and (3) Any specific actions they had taken or behaviours they had engaged in to promote gender equality or alleviate gender inequality. These questions were informed by the pre-agreed MOOC units of the GETZ Toolkit which are: Culture & Society, Governance & Law, Commerce, Media, Participation, and Events. Preliminary findings indicate that there were common perceptions and experiences among students from Generation Z across all four participating institutions and countries and that there was an outspoken advantage for males in the sport industry, in terms of governance, media and behaviour

Assessment of a novel microalgae-cork based technology for removing antibiotics, pesticides and nitrates from groundwater

Groundwater pollution has increased in recent years due to the intensification of agricultural and livestock activities. This results in a significant reduction in available freshwater resources. Here, we have studied the long term assessment of a green technology (1–4 L/day) based on a photobioreactor (PBR) containing immobilised microalgae–bacteria in polyurethane foam (PF) followed by a cork filter (CF) for removing nitrates, pesticides (atrazine and bromacil), and antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole and sulfacetamide) from groundwater. The prototype was moderately effective for removing nitrates (58%) at an HRT of 8 days, while its efficiency decreased at a HRT of 4 and 2 days (<20% removal). The combined use of PBR-CF enabled antibiotics and pesticides to be attenuated by up to 95% at an HRT of 8 days, but their attenuation decreased with shorter HRT, with pesticides being the compounds most affected (reducing from 97 to 98% at an HRT of 8 days to 23–45% at an HRT of 2 days). Pesticide transformation products were identified after the CF, supporting biodegradation as the main attenuation process. A gene-based metataxonomic assessment linked the attenuation of micropollutants to the presence of specific pesticide biodegradation species (e.g. genus Phenylobacterium, Sphingomonadaceae, and Caulobacteraceae). Therefore, the results highlighted the potential use of microalgae and cork to treat polluted groundwater