The adaption of historic European cultivation techniques for unheated winter vegetable production has gained momentum during the last years in Austria. Studies that evaluate ecological and ...socio-economic sustainability-factors of these production techniques are scarce. In this study, we analyze the greenhouse gas emissions along vegetable supply chains based on a life cycle approach and investigate factors of the socio-economic system towards future market diffusion of these new-old technologies based on the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Data of the supply-chains of lettuce, spinach, scallions and red radish was collected from field trials in different climatic regions in Austria and compared to existing commercial systems in Austria and Italy. The results show, that unheated winter vegetable production is feasible. Greenhouse gas emissions of unheated vegetables are lower with 0.06–0.12 kg CO2 equivalent versus 0.61–0.64 kg CO2 equivalent per kg fresh product crops from heated systems. Due to small packaging units unheated vegetables show maxima of 0.58 kg CO2 equivalent per kg product. Heated products were outreached by two times when individual shopping trips to the farm were taken into account. Keeping salad frost-free was not found to contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional systems. The analysis reveals that a diffusion of unheated winter harvest systems depend primarily on 11 interdepending socio-economic factors. An innovative subsidy system and the creation of a positive image of winter harvest from unheated vegetables production together with an increased utilization rate of polytunnel areas and the consultancy for producers and processors are the most influential factors towards a sustainable market diffusion of winter harvest produce.
•Unheated vegetables e.g. salads or radish withstand indoor temperatures of −8 °C.•Winter harvest systems have low greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE).•GHGE: major hotspots are heating, transport and packaging.•Larger packaging units decrease GHGE.•Positive image creation and subsidies are pivotal towards diffusion.
Replacing carbon by hydrogen is a huge step towards reducing CO
emissions in the iron- and steel-making industry. The reduction of iron oxides using hydrogen plasma smelting reduction as an ...alternative to conventional steel-making routes has been studied at Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Austria. The aim of this work was to study the slag formation during the reduction process and the reduction behaviour of iron oxides. Furthermore the reduction behaviour of iron ore during continuous feeding was assessed. Mixtures of iron ore and calcined lime with a basicity of 0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.3, and 2.9 were melted and reduced by hydrogen. The off-gas composition was measured during the operations to calculate the process parameters. The reduction parameters, namely the degree of reduction, degree of hydrogen utilisation, produced iron, and slag, are presented. The results of the batch-charged experiments showed that at the beginning of the reduction process, the degree of hydrogen utilisation was high, and then, it decreased over the operation time. In contrast, during the continuous-feeding experiment, the degree of hydrogen utilisation could be kept approximately constant. The highest degrees of reduction and hydrogen utilisation were obtained upon the application of a slag with a basicity of 2.3. The experiment showed that upon the continuous feeding of iron ore, the best conditions for the reduction process using hydrogen could be applied.
Laying a smoke screen Meyer, Renate E.; Höllerer, Markus A.
Strategic organization,
11/2016, Volume:
14, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Our research contributes to knowledge on strategic organizational responses by addressing a specific type of institutional complexity that has, to date, been rather neglected in scholarly inquiry: ...conflicting institutional demands that arise within the same institutional order. We suggest referring to such type of complexity as “intra-institutional”—as opposed to “inter-institutional.” Empirically, we examine the consecutive spread of two management concepts—shareholder value and corporate social responsibility—among Austrian listed corporations around the turn of the millennium. Our work presents evidence that in institutionally complex situations, the concepts used by organizations to respond to competing demands and belief systems are interlinked and coupled through multiwave diffusion. We point to the open, chameleon-like character of some concepts that makes them particularly attractive for discursive adoption in such situations and conclude that organizations regularly respond to institutional complexity by resorting to discursive neutralization techniques and strategically producing ambiguity.
This collective volume seeks to approach the practice of language diversity in multi-ethnic urban societies of Austria-Hungary and place it both within its local and its larger European context, and ...within the broader studies of multilingualism and multiculturalism.
Peasant Classes Rebel, Hermann
2017, 2017., 20170314, 2017-03-14
eBook
Focusing on peasant family life in Upper Austria, this study moves beyond generalizations about the growth of the modern state to ask what social relations existed in the early modern period and how ...they worked.
Originally published in .
ThePrinceton Legacy Libraryuses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Der Beitrag behandelt die zentrale Frage, welche Rolle die wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung als Profilelement an den österreichischen Universitäten einnehmen kann. Dazu wird ein Grundverständnis der ...wissenschaftlichen Weiterbildung und ihrer zentralen Einflussfaktoren dargelegt. Abgeleitet von grundsätzlichen Überlegungen zur Profilbildung werden notwendigen Parameter aus Sicht der wissenschaftlichen Weiterbildung aufgezeigt. Anhand aktueller Entwicklungen rund um das Strategiepapier zur Zukunft österreichischer Hochschulen wird abschließend dargelegt, wo sich wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung einordnen kann.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the strategic positioning and product portfolio diversification of Austrian manufacturing firms that face competition from emerging markets as opposed ...to firms that do not.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted in two successive steps. Firstly, a literature review of dynamic capabilities was put into an international and import competition context, from which the domains studied empirically were derived. Secondly, a survey among the largest Austrian manufacturing firms was conducted to explore differences between firms that face competitors from emerging markets, and firms that do not. The questionnaire development was based on the strategic management literature. Even though the data are cross-sectional, backward- and forward-looking questions introduce a dynamic perspective. Both descriptive statistics and a regression analysis were used in the analysis.
Findings
The findings show that facing competitors from emerging markets is not always a force majeure, but the result of firms’ international activity. An analysis of the competitiveness profile reveals that existing strengths and weaknesses are more pronounced when firms face competitors from emerging markets. In addition, emerging market competition is associated with a broader product portfolio and triggers portfolio adjustments. Yet, a larger share of the companies facing emerging market competitors neither adjusts the product portfolio nor plans to develop new competences.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of this study is that it is confined to a survey among Austrian manufacturing firms. The findings may differ in other contexts, and thus, future research should be expanded to include firms from countries that are not from a small, open economy like Austria or from the service sector. The study uses cross-sectional data, and longitudinal/panel data would add causality.
Practical implications
Emerging markets play an increasing role in international business and there is a fierce debate about the strategic reactions of firms that face such competitors, especially from China. The findings provide guidance to managers who adjust their business strategies in a dynamically evolving competitive environment. The results also provide evidence relevant for strategic industrial policies aiming to reduce pressures from low-cost emerging market competitors while maintaining a free trade regime.
Social implications
Import competition from China (and other emerging economies) has been argued to contribute to the decline of the manufacturing industry, especially from the USA. The findings provide a building block of the efforts that aim to alleviate competitive pressures.
Originality/value
Even though researchers increasingly debate the effects of competition from emerging markets, research about incumbents’ responses focuses on broadly defined product diversification or patent analyses. This study aims to fill this gap by providing comprehensive evidence about the strategic positioning of firms, thereby adding to theory. This paper also adds methodologically by offering a comprehensive picture that allows researchers to paint a nuanced picture of firms’ competitiveness.
The costs of biogas and electricity production from maize silage in relation to plant size are investigated in this paper. A survey of manufacturers’ engineering data was conducted to derive a ...reliable relationship between the capacity of a combined heat and power (CHP) unit and its electrical efficiency. Then a model was developed to derive cost curves for the unit costs of biogas and electricity production and for the transport costs for maize silage and biogas slurry. The least-cost plant capacity depends to a great extent on the local availability of silage maize, and ranges in the model calculations from 575 to 1150
kW
el. Finally, the paper deals with the optimum operating plant size due to the investment support available and the graduated tariff for green electricity in Austria.
Transformationsverträge ermöglichen den lesenden Zugriff auf Zeitschriften und regeln gleichzeitig das Open-Access-Publizieren in ihnen. Mit Transformationsverträgen verbinden sich Hoffnungen, zum ...Beispiel auf eine Transformation des Publikationswesens, ebenso wie Befürchtungen, zum Beispiel dass andere Verlage durch Transformationsverträge ungebührlich benachteiligt werden. Zur Untersuchung solcher Fragestellungen wurde der Publikationsoutput von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz untersucht. Im Ergebnis werden keine negativen Auswirkungen durch Transformationsverträge festgestellt, allerdings erfüllen sich bislang auch die Hoffnungen auf substantielle Transformationsschritte nicht. Transformative agreements enable reading access to journals and at the same time regulate open access publishing in them. Transformation agreements are associated with hopes, e.g. for a transformation of the publishing system, as well as fears, e.g. that transformation agreements unduly disadvantage other publishers. To investigate such questions, the publication output of Germany, Austria and Switzerland was examined. No negative effects of transformative agreements were found, but the hopes for substantial transformation steps have not been fulfilled so far either.
Der Umgang mit kulturellem Erbe ist eine weltweite Herausforderung, die durch länderspezifische Traditionen und Kontexte sowohl regional als auch global besondere Anforderungen stellt. Wilfried Lipp ...ist als Denkmalpfleger und Intellektueller für diesen Komplex eine zentrale Person und aktiv an Diskursen und Entwicklungen im Feld beteiligt. Internationale Expert*innen und Entscheidungsträger*innen sowie Persönlichkeiten aus Kultur, Medien und Politik widmen ihm Erörterungen und Analysen im Feld zwischen denkmalpflegerischen Aufgaben, kulturellen Identitäten und dynamischen Lebenswelten - und liefern damit einen umfassenden Einblick in die Heritage Studies.
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