Ökonomie und Arbeit. Der Kontext von Supervision

Supervision ist Beratung beruflichen Handelns. Zentrales Anliegen der Dissertation ist die Entwicklung der Arbeitswelt in der Moderne sowie die aktuellen Veränderungen näher zu beleuchten, um ihre Bedeutung für die Supervision zu eruieren. Vorab werden die Geschichte und Weiterentwicklung der Supervision mit ihren Spannungsfeldern skizziert. Der Hauptteil handelt von der Herausbildung und Durchsetzung der kapitalistischen Produktionsweise. Es wird dargelegt, was für ein vielschichtiger Prozess für den einzelnen und die Gesellschaft in Gang gesetzt wurde, um die moderne Wirtschaftsweise zu installieren und welche Unterstützung aus anderen Bereichen -Religion, Politik etc. - dazu von Nöten war. Darüber hinaus wird aufgezeigt, welche Konflikte von Anfang an vorhanden waren. Das Hauptaugenmerk richtet sich auf die Prämissen der modernen Arbeitswelt und die mögliche Inkompatibilität ihrer Anliegen: Gewinn und Gerechtigkeit, Konkurrenz und Kooperation, freier Markt und staatliche Regulation, Gleichheit und Spezialisierung, Individualität und Kollektivität. Konflikte und Verstrickungen, die sich daraus für den arbeitenden Menschen ergeben und somit Thema für die Supervision wurden, werden herausgearbeitet. In bezug auf Supervision wird dargestellt, welche Problematik der Wirtschaftsweise immanent ist und schwerlich durch Beratung aufgelöst werden kann. Eine bedeutsame Stellung nimmt die Arbeit als eine zentrale Kategorie der Ökonomie ein. Die Verflechtung von Arbeit und Ökonomie sowie der Entwicklungsverlauf von Arbeit werden skizziert: vom Fordismus zur Globalisierung. Beschrieben und erörtert werden die Konsequenzen für die aktuellen Arbeitsformen und -bedingungen durch die Produktivkraftentwicklung und die neuen Produktionskonzepte. Arbeit wird kritisch in ihrer Funktion für die kapitalistische Produktionsweise reflektiert, mit ihren Beeinträchtigungen für den tätigen Menschen. Das ambivalente Verhältnis von Mensch und Ökonomie wird als das signifikanteste Spannungsfeld für die Supervision betrachtet, verbunden mit der Herausforderung, Supervision nicht zu einer Beratungstechnologie zur Anpassung und Funktionalisierung des Menschen an die sich immer rascher verändernde Arbeitswelt zu zuschneiden.

Horizontal nutrient fluxes and production efficiencies in urban and peri-urban crop and livestock husbandry of Niamey, Niger

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) increasingly supplies food and non-food values to the rapidly growing West African cities. However, little is known about the resource use efficiencies in West African small-scale UPA crop and livestock production systems, and about the benefits that urban producers and retailers obtain from the cultivation and sale of UPA products. To contribute to filling this gap of knowledge, the studies comprising this doctoral thesis determined nutrient use efficiencies in representative urban crop and livestock production system in Niamey, Niger, and investigated potential health risks for consumers. Also assessed was the economic efficiency of urban farming activities. The field study, which was conducted during November 2005 to January 2008, quantified management-related horizontal nutrient flows in 10 vegetable gardens, 9 millet fields and 13 cattle and small ruminant production units. These farms, selected on the basis of a preceding study, represented the diversity of UPA crop and livestock production systems in Niamey. Based on the management intensity, the market orientation and especially the nutrient input to individual gardens and fields, these were categorized as high or low input systems. In the livestock study, high and low input cattle and small ruminant units were differentiated based on the amounts of total feed dry matter offered daily to the animals at the homestead. Additionally, economic returns to gardeners and market retailers cultivating and selling amaranth, lettuce, cabbage and tomato - four highly appreciated vegetables in Niamey were determined during a 6-months survey in forty gardens and five markets. For vegetable gardens and millet fields, significant differences in partial horizontal nutrient balances were determined for both management intensities. Per hectare, average annual partial balances for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) amounted to 9936 kg C, 1133 kg N, 223 kg P and 312 kg K in high input vegetable gardens as opposed to 9580 kg C, 290 kg N, 125 kg P and 351 kg K in low input gardens. These surpluses were mainly explained by heavy use of mineral fertilizers and animal manure to which irrigation with nutrient rich wastewater added. In high input millet fields, annual surpluses of 259 kg C ha-1, 126 kg N ha-1, 20 kg P ha-1 and 0.4 kg K ha-1 were determined. Surpluses of 12 kg C ha-1, 17 kg N ha-1, and deficits of -3 kg P ha-1 and -3 kg K ha-1 were determined for low input millet fields. Here, carbon and nutrient inputs predominantly originated from livestock manure application through corralling of sheep, goats and cattle. In the livestock enterprises, N, P and K supplied by forages offered at the farm exceeded the animals’ requirements for maintenance and growth in high and low input sheep/goat as well as cattle units. The highest average growth rate determined in high input sheep/goat units was 104 g d-1 during the cool dry season, while a maximum average gain of 70 g d-1 was determined for low input sheep/goat units during the hot dry season. In low as well as in high input cattle units, animals lost weight during the hot dry season, and gained weight during the cool dry season. In all livestock units, conversion efficiencies for feeds offered at the homestead were rather poor, ranging from 13 to 42 kg dry matter (DM) per kg live weight gain (LWG) in cattle and from 16 to 43 kg DM kg-1 LWG in sheep/goats, pointing to a substantial waste of feeds and nutrients. The economic assessment of the production of four high value vegetables pointed to a low efficiency of N and P use in amaranth and lettuce production, causing low economic returns for these crops compared to tomato and cabbage to which inexpensive animal manure was applied. The net profit of market retailers depended on the type of vegetable marketed. In addition it depended on marketplace for amaranth and lettuce, and on season and marketplace for cabbage and tomato. Analysis of faecal pathogens in lettuce irrigated with river water and fertilized with animal manure indicated a substantial contamination by Salmonella spp. with 7.2 x 104 colony forming units (CFU) per 25 g of produce fresh matter, while counts of Escherichia coli averaged 3.9 x 104 CFU g-1. In lettuce irrigated with wastewater, Salmonella counts averaged 9.8 x 104 CFU 25 g-1 and E. coli counts were 0.6 x 104 CFU g-1; these values exceeded the tolerable contamination levels in vegetables of 10 CFU g-1 for E. coli and of 0 CFU 25 g-1 for Salmonella. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that Niamey’s UPA enterprises put environmental safety at risk since excess inputs of N, P and K to crop and livestock production units favour N volatilisation and groundwater pollution by nutrient leaching. However, more detailed studies are needed to corroborate these indications. Farmers’ revenues could be significantly increased if nutrient use efficiency in the different production (sub)systems was improved by better matching nutrient supply through fertilizers and feeds with the actual nutrient demands of plants and animals.

Economic evaluation of proposed pure and mixed stands in Central Vietnam highlands

In comparison with mixed forest stands, the cultivation of pure plantations in Vietnam entails serious ecological consequences such as loss of biodiversity and higher rate of soil erosion. The economic evaluation is elaborated between pure plantations and mixed forests where the fast-growing tree species are mixed with slow growing tree species which are planted in stripes separating the segments with fast-growing tree species (Acacia sp.). For the evaluation, the input values were used from local costs of goods, services and labour. The results show that the internal rate of return is the highest in the case of pure plantation in comparison with mixed forests – 86% to 77%(first planting pattern: Acacia sp. + noble hardwood species) and 54% (second planting pattern: Acacia + Dipterocarpus sp. + Sindora sp.). The average profit per hectare and year is almost five times higher in the case of mixed stands. The first planting pattern reaches 2,650 $, the second planting pattern 2,280 $ and the pure acacia plantation only 460 $. From an economic point of view, the cultivation of mixed forests that corresponds to the principles of sustainable forestry generates a good economical profit while maintaining habitat complexity and biodiversity.

Management practices and challenges in smallholder indigenous chicken production in Western Kenya

The potential benefit of indigenous chicken (Gallus domesticus) production is still under-exploited in Kenya despite the efforts by different stakeholders to mainstream this production system as a pathway to rural development. The production system is often characterized by low input-low output productivity and low commercialization of the enterprise. This study which dwells on the current management practices and challenges faced by smallholder indigenous chicken farmers was conducted to gain insights into the underlying causes of production constraints. In Western Kenya women (76%) dominate the indigenous chicken production system. The flock composition consists mainly of chicks, hens and pullets (80%) which reflects their retention for production purposes. Less than half of the farmers access institutional support services such as extension, training, credit and veterinary services. In addition, indigenous chicken is largely reared in a low input-low output free-range system with only few farmers (24.2%) adopting management interventions as disseminated by extension service. To improve production and attain increased productivity, policy should focus on repackaging extension messages that considers farmers economic situations and strengthens collective action initiatives. Accessing joint input purchase and collective marketing of chicken products may further assist the farmers to increase profit margins.

Accuracy of outcome anticipation, but not gaze behavior, differs against left- and right-handed penalties in team-handball goalkeeping

Low perceptual familiarity with relatively rarer left-handed as opposed to more common right-handed individuals may result in athletes' poorer ability to anticipate the former's action intentions. Part of such left-right asymmetry in visual anticipation could be due to an inefficient gaze strategy during confrontation with left-handed individuals. To exemplify, observers may not mirror their gaze when viewing left- vs. right-handed actions but preferentially fixate on an opponent's right body side, irrespective of an opponent's handedness, owing to the predominant exposure to right-handed actions. So far empirical verification of such assumption, however, is lacking. Here we report on an experiment where team-handball goalkeepers' and non-goalkeepers' gaze behavior was recorded while they predicted throw direction of left- and right-handed 7-m penalties shown as videos on a computer monitor. As expected, goalkeepers were considerably more accurate than non-goalkeepers and prediction was better against right- than left-handed penalties. However, there was no indication of differences in gaze measures (i.e., number of fixations, overall and final fixation duration, time-course of horizontal or vertical fixation deviation) as a function of skill group or the penalty-takers' handedness. Findings suggest that inferior anticipation of left-handed compared to right-handed individuals' action intentions may not be associated with misalignment in gaze behavior. Rather, albeit looking similarly, accuracy differences could be due to observers' differential ability of picking up and interpreting the visual information provided by left- vs. right-handed movements.