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Purpose: The paper aims to examine interactions between demonstrations at programme level and Agricultural Advisory Services (AAS). It situates analysis of the demonstration programme activities within contemporary advisory contexts, asking: how do demonstration programmes interact with the AAS in which they are situated; and what role do demonstration programmes play in enhancing and contributing to the AAS? Methodological approach: Data, pertaining to organisational arrangements, were collected using interviews and workshops representing 35 demonstration programmes across Europe. Themes from the literature together with emergent themes were used to progressively unpack and understand the interaction between the programmes and the AAS. Findings: Demonstration organisational arrangements show different degrees of embedding in, and adapting to, the AAS. Embedding is being incorporated into existing formalised structures and is more likely in the AAS with a low level of pluralism. Adaptation occurs through collaboration, partnership and networking and is more likely in more pluralistic AAS. Practical Implications: The need to support demonstration programmes to create more stable networks, to strengthen their linking role in the AAS, and to foster strategies for the progression of farmers' learning was identified. Theoretical implications: The paper contributes to the literature by providing insights at the demonstration programme level (as opposed to farm or event level) and revealing embedded and adaptive processes with many interdependencies between the programmes and AAS components. Originality: This paper opens up new perspectives on understanding how demonstrations are positioned in contemporary AAS contexts, looking at AAS influences on delivering demonstrations beyond farm and event level methods.

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to undertake an in-depth exploration of how structural characteristics of on-farm demonstration events impact the effectiveness of the demonstration as perceived by participants. Methodology: An explanatory mixed-methods approach was used based on the responses to 356 post-demonstration questionnaires filled out by the attendees of 31 demonstration events held in 12 EU countries in 2018, together with the qualitative data from an observation tool, interviews and case study reports relating to the same 31 events. Factor analysis was employed to predict general effectiveness, complemented with a qualitative analysis of participants' responses to improve the understanding of the quantitative results. Findings: Results indicate that peer-to-peer learning activities and good facilitation increase participants' perception of the effectiveness of a demonstration event. Furthermore, characteristics such as the structure of the day, the suitability of the host farm, a trustworthy demonstrator, and group size add much to the effectiveness of a demo event. Group dynamics -- including group connectedness and composition -- have the potential to impact perceived effectiveness. Practical implications: The paper contains clear messages for practitioners when designing a demonstration event. Theoretical implications: Our results connect with theories on motivation and adult learning in the context of farmer learning during on-farm demonstration. Originality: The paper is based on a rich empirical dataset. It reveals that group size and learning methods are crucial to achieve effective learning outcomes during demonstration events.

Static visual representations (VRs) of chemical structures are necessary for an understanding of chemical bonding, a topic which continues to lead to learning difficulties and misconceptions for many students. The efficacy and problems associated with the use of VRs of chemical structures and chemical bonding in the form of electrostatic potential maps resulting from accurate quantum mechanical calculations are the subject of this study, which involved a sample of first year, second semester students, studying the elective course “Science Education” (N = 31). Students distinguished between nonpolar and polar covalent bonding, however, they encountered difficulties with concepts related to ionic bonding. Most students did not employ multistructural thinking (in the sense of the SOLO taxonomy), when providing explanations about the variation of bond polarity. Persistence of a covalent-ionic bond dichotomy was apparent, while for some, ions can be involved in both ionic and covalent bonding. Many students preferred to use their established high school knowledge. On a positive note, many students were clearly affected by the information provided by the colored VRs. Finally, the minimal experience of our students with these VRs leads us to believe that a more systematic and extensive coverage would be likely to produce improved outcomes.

In the present study, the physicochemical characteristics of 108 yoghurts purchased from the Greek market have been assessed. Generally, the range of the mean pH values of samples was 3.58–4.64, of fat 0–10.8%, of protein 3.29–10.05%, of total solids 10.75–25.18%, and of ash 0.5–1.17%. Samples were categorized as strained and non-strained (traditional with a crust or plain without a crust). The milk origin was classified as being from sheep, goats, cows, mixture of sheep–goat–cow milk, or cow–donkey milk combination. A significant effect of species origin was determined for yoghurt physicochemical attributes, whereas geographical origin, mainland or island, affected yoghurt acidity only. Discriminant analysis revealed MDA, pH, acidity, syneresis, fat, and protein content and color lightness and redness as the traits responsible for the discrimination of yoghurts into milk-type classes, whereas fat, protein, and ash content, pH, and syneresis attributes were responsible for the discrimination into fat content classes. Yoghurt samples were sufficiently clustered according to their fat content, whereas protein content and species origin discriminated yoghurts to a lesser extent. This first in-depth descriptive research on a wide range of samples of the renowned Greek yoghurt showed that several physicochemical characteristics can be used for sample discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical bonding is a fundamental but complex topic, which has traditionally been associated with learning difficulties, misunderstandings, and misconceptions. This paper reviews some previous studies, concerning students' conceptual difficulties and reports the findings from a research study with Greek students, which set out to examine their knowledge and understanding of a number of key concepts related to bonding. Three student samples were studied; one consisted of tenth-grade students from three public schools, the second contained first-year chemistry and biology students at the beginning of their university courses, and the third involved tenth-grade students from a prestigious private school. The students generally exhibited limited knowledge and possessed certain misconceptions, with the private school and the university students demonstrating better knowledge than the public school students. A quasi-experimental research design was employed using students from the private school, with some students used as a control group and others as a treatment group. The control group was taught using the standard Greek chemistry textbook, while the treatment group used enriched teaching material. It was found that while the two groups demonstrated similar performance for many bonding concepts, the treatment group did show superior knowledge with respect to a number of issues, such as the role of electrostatic interactions, electronegativity, and bond polarity.

This study examines governance strategies that facilitate sustainable regional circular bioeconomy development, culminating in a typology which enables the classification of regional government good practices supporting circular bioeconomy deployment in diverse regions within Europe. Data on regional circular bioeconomy governance models were collected through desk research and a survey, resulting in a compilation of 61 circular bioeconomy governance models. From this compilation, 20 case studies were identified and further explored to develop a typology of regional circular bioeconomy governance strategies in the EU-27. Findings reveal a strong regional commitment to expanding bioeconomies; however, managing conflicting sustainability goals remains a challenge. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of successful governance models and practices, offering valuable insights for policymakers to support the co-development and replication of effective circular bioeconomy strategies across diverse European regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a preceding publication (Tsaparlis, G., Pappa, E. T., & Byers, B. (2018). Teaching and learning chemical bonding: Research-based evidence for misconceptions and conceptual difficulties experienced by students in upper secondary schools and the effect of an enriched text. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 19(4), 1253–1269), we reviewed previous studies on students’ misconceptions and conceptual difficulties with the topic of chemical bonding and tested the knowledge of tenth-grade Greek students on certain key aspects of bonding. In addition, we presented an enriched teaching text on this topic for the tenth grade and examined its effectiveness with regard to the same aspects of bonding. In the present study, we review earlier studies, which made proposals concerning the teaching of this topic, and provide some proposals of our own, based on the findings of our previous study. We recommend that a spiral curriculum spanning all three upper-secondary grades should be adopted. A learning progressions approach, employing lower and upper anchors of relevant scientific knowledge is considered, and a proposed list of potential core concepts, lever concepts, and stepping-stones are presented. Finally, the pros and cons of a modern qualitative quantum mechanical approach to bonding are considered.

Background: Few studies discuss the complication of pulmonary cement embolism (PCE) due to cement augmented pedicle screw instrumentation (CAPSI) of the thoracolumbar spine. Case Description: A 62 female with a history of multiple myeloma and Sjogren's syndrome on chronic steroids developed an osteoporotic L1 compression fracture and underwent posterior stabilization with a T10-L4 CAPSI. However, postoperatively, the patient developed a surgical site infection and a PCE, resulting in severe respiratory compromise and death 1 month later. Conclusion: When performing a T10-L4 thoracolumbar CAPSI (i.e., augmented pedicle screw instrumentation of the thoracolumbar spine) to address an L1 osteoporotic compression fracture, a 62 year old patient developed a life ending multi organ deficiency due to sepsis together with a PCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the interest in the new CAP in advisory services and the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), and the importance of trust development between farmers and advisors, in this piece of work we explore the issue of farmers' trust towards their sources of advice. The field research addressed professional farmers who were in contact with agronomist(s) in Ioannina. Overall, 51 farmers were interviewed using a snowball technique. The trust model was utilized to provide important insights about the antecedents of trust towards advisors on the part of farmers, focusing on three elements: ability, benevolence and integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One way of checking to what extent instructional textbooks achieve their aim is to evaluate the questions they contain. In this work, we analyze the questions that are included in the chapters on chemical bonding of ten general chemistry textbooks. We study separately the questions on intra- and on intermolecular bonding, with the former outnumbering the latter by far. Two aspects of the questions are examined: their form (closed or open type, including their various forms), and the kind of knowledge they test (declarative or procedural knowledge). Questions were further partitioned into four categories, following Pearson and Johnson's and Raphael's schemes of Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) in which: (1) text-centered questions are divided into (a) "precisely there", and (b) "think and search"; and (2) cognition-centered questions that are divided into "you and the author" and "on your own". The following conclusions were drawn: closed-type questions outnumber by far the open-type ones, and are mainly of the "short answer" category; the majority test for declarative knowledge, with fewer questions testing for procedural knowledge; there was complete lack of metacognitive questions; no questions were found that deal with relevant experimental processes. Implications for textbook authors and teachers are discussed. (Contains 2 notes and 7 tables.)

We present a programme for a novel introductory lower-secondary chemistry course (seventh or eighth grade) that aims at the application of theories of science education, and in particular of conceptual/meaningful learning and of teaching methodology that encourages active and inquiry forms of learning The approach is rigorous with careful use of the language, and taking account of students' alternative ideas and misconceptions. Cognitive development and critical thinking are also taken care of. Experiments are designed to be executed by the students working in pairs. There is connection of science with everyday life and applications and awareness of the environmental problems. Finally, special emphasis is paid to the meaningful introduction of the concepts of molecule and atom; this introduction is delayed until the last two units of the course. The programme is made of six units (matter and soil, water, chemical reactions, air, molecules, atoms) that contain twenty-four lessons. A textbook was written and subjected to a preliminary evaluation by four experienced Greek science teachers, who considered as strong points the following features: emphasis on experimental teaching, observation, description, and explanation of phenomena by the students, taking of students misconceptions into account; in addition, the teachers were enthusiastic about the approach to the concepts of molecule and atom. Finally, the questions of the book were evaluated by using the Pearson, Johnson and Raphael scheme. (Contains 4 tables and 2 notes.)