Assignment Subjects for Information Literacy for MOS
Subject Genetic selection to reduce feather pecking in laying hens
Feather pecking (FP) is a major welfare and economic problem in commercial flocks of laying hens, because
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it can lead to feather damage and cannibalism. Especially in large groups, such as free-range flocks, this
behavioural disorder causes significant problems. Conventional battery cages for laying hens are due to be
banned in the European Union in 2012. Together with a ban on beak trimming in some countries, it is
imperative to find alternative solutions to reduce FP behaviour. One promising strategy to reduce this
behaviour in laying hens is through genetic selection of birds that are less prone to feather pecking and
cannibalism. You are asked to perform an extensive literature research on this topic.
Subject Public Participation in Local Policy Decision-making: The Role of Web-based
Mapping
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The local authority for whom you are working, feels the need to improve its policy decision making by
having the public and local communities participate in its urban planning process. For this purpose GIS and
web-based mapping can play a role in the communication and interaction of planning with the public. Your
employer has no experience with this and you, as a junior town planner, are being asked to do a literature
search on this subject.
Subject Using GIS in traffic accident analysis
A Geographic Information System is an effective tool to display different types of spatial accident
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distribution on digital road networks. The use of GIS enables relevant accident data to be quickly processed
and displayed on a map. GIS has also been used as a tool to identify hazardous locations along the
highways depending on the historical road accident data. These in turn will help to improve the safety of
road by advanced planning and maintenance of the so-called accident-prone areas. You are asked to do a
literature search on the use of GIS to monitor, analyse and evaluate road accidents in European countries.
Source (adapted): An analysis of expressway accidents in Singapore using GIS, Kamalasudhan, A.1, Mitra,
S.2, Bo Huang3, and Chin, H.C.4 Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore,
Singapore. GISdevelopment.net
Subject Keeping up the agricultural tradition: coping strategies of farmers in Tamil Nadu
Many farmers in developing countries face difficulties to secure their income. For example, farmers do not
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always have enough possessions and strategies available to cope with the consequences of natural
disasters. Which natural disasters do farmers in Tamil Nadu face? How often do these disasters occur and
to what extent are they covariant? What are the concrete (ex post) coping strategies that farmers use,
when they face the natural disasters? What are the advantages and limitations of these strategies? And
how and why do different factors influence farmers in Tamil Nadu to decide to use different coping
strategies to deal with natural disasters? Source: M. Lenders (2010), Keeping up the agricultural tradition:
coping strategies of farmers in Tamil Nadu, MSc thesis, Wageningen University.
Subject
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Greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable development in the clean
development mechanism
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International business strategy: the case of a producer of ornamental plants
entering the European markets
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Security and robustness in food supply chains
"The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows a country with an emission-reduction or emissionlimitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement an emission reduction project in developing
countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to
one tone of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets. The CDM has two objectives: 1) to
reduce GHG emissions and generate CERs. The CERs could be used to contribute to the donor country’s
emission limit; 2) to promote sustainable development in the host country. Can both goals be harmonized
together within one CDM project and how can sustainable development be evaluated? Source: M. El Solh
(2010) Greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable development in the clean development mechanism, MSc
thesis, WU
"
Pretty Plants is a firm that produces ornamental plants, and one of the major players in the local market of
these plants. The firm, having an in-depth know-how on the production of these plants, having been able
to cover the needs of the local market, and based on its newly built facilities, wishes to assess the
possibilities to enter the European markets of ornamental plants. Research the European ornamental
plants’ trade and give appropriate recommendations to the management of the firm on its international
strategy. Source: I. Kontopoulos (2010) International business strategy: the case of a Greek producer of
ornamental plants entering the European markets : a research on European ornamental plants’ trade and
the international strategy of a Greek producer, MSc thesis, WU
Food can be intentionally or accidentally contaminated at any time and point along the chain and the
occurrence of contamination at one place could have a substantial effect on public health (WHO, 2002). In
addition to the public health impacts, deliberate contamination could cause potentially large economic
consequences including costs for response to an attack, disruption of food distribution and long-term loss of
consumer confidence. Explore the food industry’s activities in preventing the risk from occurrence (risk
prevention) and minimizing the size of loss after occurrence (risk mitigation). Source: S.A. Subuh (2008)
Security and robustness in food supply chains in the Netherlands, MSc thesis, Wageningen University.
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Assignment Subjects for Information Literacy for MOS
Subject
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Molecular regulation of the development of flower parts in seed plants
Subject
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The safety of nanoparticles of TiO2
Subject
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Snack Patterns of elderly in Europe
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Personalized nutrition advice
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Generation of income from non-agricultural sidelines on farms.
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Role of leguminous crops in soil regeneration for African susbsistence farmers
Subject
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Influence of climatic change on food security
A breeding company wants to create new floral variation for some of its products. Before starting up new
breeding activities that result in these flower modifications it may help to have an idea on the molecular,
genetic and genomic regulation of flower development in general. For this reason the head of the
molecular breeding laboratory asks you to perform a literature search on this subject.
In the past, TiO2 particles have been considered non-toxic because of both their chemical inertness and
the conclusions of epidemiological studies dealing with μm-sized particles. Recently, the assignment of
diseases to inhalation of atmospheric particles, and the important industrial development of nm-sized
particles - among which TiO2 particles are prominent, principally because of their photocatalytic properties
- have induced new safety research.
The objective is to describe snack consumption of elderly in different European countries and the effect of
snack consumption on energy and micronutrient intake and health status of the elderly. Source: HavemanNies A., De Groot L.C.P.G.M., Van Staveren W.A. Snack patterns of older europeans (1998) Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, 98 (11), pp. 1297-1302
Personalized nutrition advice receives extensive attention in contemporary nutrition promotion because it
is expected to be more effective than general advice in inducing more healthful eating. The MyFood
program aimed to provide insights into diverse aspects of personalized nutrition advice. The overall aim of
the program was to find new ways to motivate healthful eating on a personal level, as a strategy to
combat the growing number of diet-related illnesses. Source: Bouwman, L.I. Personalized nutrition advice
: an everyday-life perspective (2009) PhD thesis Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Since prices of products are decreasing in the agricultural sector, farmers explore alternative ways of
earning money from farm-related activities. As a result, besides income from the production of agricultural
products, also profit is generated from activities such as social care, camp sites, selling of regional
specialty products, generation of bio energy or subsidies generated from nature management (agrienvironment schemes). As a policy maker you are interested in the growth of income which have been
generated by farmers over the last decennia by shifting from specialized agricultural activities towards
multifunctional agriculture. To get an idea on what has been published in scientific literature you perform a
literature search on this subject.
For a given climate, the capacity of a soil to store organic matter is directly related to its texture through both
direct effects of clays adhering to organic matter and indirect effects on soil aggregation, which render the
organic matter protected from decomposition. Some African soils can contain up to 300 to 400 kg N ha-1 in free
mineral form within the top 2 m of soil, which represents a form of vulnerable capital susceptible to leaching.
Large amounts of organic inputs are required to build up the soil's capital store of N. The approaches most
suitable for this are improved legume fallows, legume-grass leys, or minimum-tillage systems. A major challenge
is to work together -with smallholder farmers to find attractive methods for building the N capital of their soils.
Climate change has a direct impact on local weather patterns. Rising temperatures and less predictable and more
erratic rainfall patterns resulting in periods of droughts or floods will directly affect agricultural production. This
will have a negative impact on the food security of many rural households. To reduce the risks of crop failure and
to be less vulnerable farmers will have to take action. What are the opportunities and possibilities for farmers in
developing countries to adapt their farming systems to climate change?
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