Iodine-Doped Cobalt Phthalocyanine Supported on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Reduction Reaction
- Authors: Nyoni, Stephen , Mashazi, Philani N , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189434 , vital:44846 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/elan.201400499"
- Description: 4-(4,6-Diaminopyrimidin-2-ylthio) phthalocyaninatocobalt(II) (CoPyPc) was iodine doped, and its electrocatalytic properties explored. Physical characterization techniques such as UV-vis, X-ray photoelectron, electron paramagnetic resonance and infra-red spectroscopy were used. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and rotating disk electrode were used for electrochemical characterization of electrodes modified with the prepared phthalocyanine and its nanocomposites. The electrocatalytic effect of a new iodine-doped cobalt phthalocyanine derivative supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes was then investigated towards oxygen reduction reaction. The electrocatalytic activity of the iodine-doped cobalt phthalocyanine was found to be superior in terms of current over the undoped phthalocyanine nanocomposite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Local wood demand, land cover change and the state of Albany thicket on an urban commonage in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Stickler, M M , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/398343 , vital:69402 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0396-6"
- Description: Understanding the rates and causes of land-use change is crucial in identifying solutions, especially in sensitive landscapes and ecosystems, as well as in places undergoing rapid political, socioeconomic or ecological change. Despite considerable concern at the rate of transformation and degradation of the biodiversity-rich Albany Thicket biome in South Africa, most knowledge is gleaned from private commercial lands and state conservation areas. In comparison, there is limited work in communal areas where land uses include biomass extraction, especially for firewood and construction timber. We used aerial photographs to analyze land use and cover change in the high- and low-use zones of an urban commonage and an adjacent protected area over almost six decades, which included a major political transition. Field sampling was undertaken to characterize the current state of the vegetation and soils of the commonage and protected area and to determine the supply and demand for firewood and construction timber. Between the 1950s and 1980s, there was a clear increase in woody vegetation cover, which was reversed after the political transition in the mid-1990s. However, current woody plant standing stocks and sustainable annual production rates are well above current firewood demand, suggesting other probable causes for the decline in woody plant cover. The fragmentation of woody plant cover is paralleled by increases in grassy areas and bare ground, an increase in soil compaction, and decreases in soil moisture, carbon, and nutrients.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The photophysical properties of multi-functional quantum dots-magnetic nanoparticles—indium octacarboxyphthalocyanine nanocomposite
- Authors: Tshangana, Charmaine , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189876 , vital:44942 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-014-1497-6"
- Description: This work presents the development of a multifunctional hybrid nanoparticle made of L-glutathione capped quantum dots (GSH-CdSe@ZnS), amino functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles and indium octacarboxy phthalocyanine (ClInPc(COOH)8). In this work we investigate the photophysical properties of the individual components and the hybrid nanoparticle, in addition we study the energy transfer (Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)) in the complex. FRET efficiencies of ~48 % were obtained for energy transfer between the QDs (when alone or linked to MNPs). Both triplet yields and lifetimes of ClInPc(COOH)8 increase in the nanocomposite, with a decrease in fluorescence lifetime. The hybrid nanoparticle showed improved photophysical properties and as a result can be used in photodynamic therapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The trade in and household use of Phoenix reclinata palm frond hand brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa: Effects on soil nutrients
- Authors: Mjoli, Nwabisa , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/180800 , vital:43647 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-015-9316-9"
- Description: The Trade in and Household Use of Phoenix reclinata Palm Frond Hand Brushes on the Wild Coast, South Africa. This paper reports on an investigation of the harvesting, trade, and use of hand brushes made from fronds of the wild palm, Phoenix reclinata. We considered both the abundance of the resource as well as the demand. Within the harvesting areas, there were approximately 141 palm plants per hectare, of which almost two-thirds showed no signs of frond harvesting. During harvesting, most fronds (82%) were left on the plant, 16% were removed to make brushes, and 2% were cut and discarded. Although the number of harvesters had increased during the last decade, most felt that the number of palm plants had remained stable or even increased over the same period. There was strong consensus that cut fronds were replaced within two months, after which a particular stem could be harvested again. Harvesting and trade were practiced largely by middle-aged to elderly women, who had limited formal education, skills, and employment prospects. Most had entered the trade because of cash income poverty. The main markets for selling the palm brushes were in nearby urban areas. The income earned from the trade was modest, but still rated highly by the traders, for most of whom it was the second most-important source of cash income. For many users, the palm brushes was found to be the only type of brush suitable for cleaning mud and cow-dung flooring and, most importantly for many, their use forms part of a long household use history and culture.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Development of Graphene/CdSe Quantum Dots‐Co Phthalocyanine Nanocomposite for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
- Authors: Nyoni, Stephen , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/189944 , vital:44950 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/elan.201400372"
- Description: Nanocomposites containing CdSe quantum dots, tetra(4-(4,6-diaminopyrimidin-2-ylthio) phthalocyaninatocobalt(II)) (CoPyPc) and reduced graphene nanosheets (rGNS) were devoloped and used for the modification of a glassy carbon electrode. Characterization of the nanocomposites was done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used for electrochemical characterization of the prepared nanocomposite for oxygen reduction reaction. The oxygen reduction activity for rGNS/CdSe-CoPyPc nanocomposite was found to be superior over the individual nanomaterials in this study. The activity of the nanocomposite towards oxygen reduction was also tested for tolerance to methanol crossover effect using chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Optical nonlinearities in non-peripherally substituted pyridyloxy phthalocyanines
- Authors: Sanusi, Kayode , Antunes, Edith M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241618 , vital:50955 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C3DT52462K"
- Description: The optical nonlinearities of six non-peripherally-substituted pyridyloxy phthalocyanines have been studied at 532 nm using a nanosecond Z-scan technique in a dimethyl sulphoxide solution. Ring-strain effects and the absence of a metal center were found to greatly reduce the inherent high nonlinearities expected of some of these phthalocyanine complexes. Of the six molecules investigated, 1(4),8(11),15(18),22(25)-tetrakis-(2-pyridyloxy)phthalocyaninato lead(II) 3, 1(4),8(11),15(18),22(25)-tetrakis-(2-pyridyloxy)phthalocyanine 5, and 1(4),8(11),15(18),22(25)-tetrakis-(4-pyridyloxy)phthalocyanine 6 were found to exhibit negligible nonlinear optical behavior, due to either the absence of asymmetry or central metal and/or the presence of a ring-strain effect. A two-photon absorption process was found to be the major contributor to the observed reverse saturable absorption (RSA) in 1(4),8(11),15(18),22(25)-tetrakis-(4-pyridyloxy)phthalocyaninato lead(II) 4, 1(4)-mono-(2-pyridyloxy)phthalocyaninato lead(II) 7, and 1(4)-mono-(4-pyridyloxy)phthalocyaninato lead(II) 8, with large two-photon absorption cross-section, high hyperpolarizability and high third-order susceptibility values in the range of 4.53 × 10−43–5.33 × 10−42 cm4 s per photon, 1.61 × 10−28–1.89 × 10−27 esu and 9.73 × 10−12–7.05 × 10−11 esu respectively.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Sustainability Assessment of University of Gondar, Gondar, North-west Ethiopia
- Authors: Moges, Haimanot G , Kifle, Desalegn W , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Woldyohhanes, Solomon M
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182845 , vital:43885 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0973408214529990"
- Description: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the cross-institutional assessment of sustainable development practices in the University of Gondar (UoG). The focus of the assessment was the level of UoG academic departments’ integration of sustainability concerns in teaching, research and community service. Management contributions to sustainable development, student initiatives on sustainability issues and policy statements about sustainable development of UoG were also considered in the assessment. The data collection was based on the Unit-based Sustainability Assessment Tool (USAT); in addition, supplementary information was collected through observations across the four campuses of UoG from January to February 2012.The result of the assessment showed that only a few academic departments have incorporated sustainability concerns in their curricula and teaching approach. The initiation and commitment of academic departments in mainstreaming sustainability concerns in the research and community service delivered were relatively poor. The operation and management of UoG showed inadequate sustainable development practices on waste management, energy utilization and purchasing from environment-friendly companies. In addition, the written policy and statements of UoG did not reflect sustainability in an explicit manner. The university is expected to respond to the key themes defined through sustainability declarations on higher education; there is also a need to establish the relevance of these in relation to the systemic environment. From the study undertaken, we have learnt that sustainability assessment of universities using USAT will be more valuable, if universities have already initiated the embedding of sustainability so that USAT can be used to benchmark the continual improvement.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Thaumatotibia leucotreta and the Navel orange: ovipositional preferences and host susceptibility
- Authors: Love, C N , Hill, Martin P , Moore, Sean D
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/423811 , vital:72095 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12126"
- Description: False codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), presents a significant threat to the South African citrus industry. To limit income loss due to direct larval damage or from fruit rejection due to the phytosanitary status of this pest, additional pre-harvest control techniques are required for Navel oranges, which are known to be susceptible to T.leucotreta damage. A number of Navel orange cultivars have been developed, and differences in female T. leucotretaovi positional preference and susceptibility of cultivars to larval penetration are known to exist. Navel orange cultivars were grouped according to time of maturity (early, mid- and late season). Female T.leucotreta were subjected to choice and no-choice tests with these cultivars, measured by oviposition. Host susceptibility was tested by allowing neonate T. leucotreta larvae to penetrate the different Navel cultivars. In the early maturing group, Fischer Navels were least preferred for oviposition and the least susceptible to larval penetration. The mid- and late season maturing groupings showed limited differences in oviposition preference, although host susceptibility did appear to be an important factor in assessing the vulnerability of fruit to T. leucotreta. Despite being widely planted in South Africa, the mid-season Palmer Navels were highly susceptible to larval penetration, while for the late season cultivars, Cambria and Glen Ora Late were the least susceptible to T. leucotreta. As a result of these laboratory trials, it is recommended that farmers increase cultivation of Fischer Navels as the principal early season cultivar, avoid Palmer Navels in favour of other mid-season maturing cultivars and give preference to the late maturing Cambria and Glen Ora Late cultivars, to limit T. Leucotreta damage.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
The ethical function of research and teaching
- Authors: Tabensky, Pedro
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/305738 , vital:58608 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2011.00813.x"
- Description: It is the epistemic as well as the ethical responsibility of academics to aim to approach their research and teaching with a proper understanding of the ultimate ethical purpose or telos of their defining activities and products,which is the practical aim of promoting human flourishing. Minimally, academics should aim at understanding, and a key component of understanding is to understand the ideal ethical purpose of what is being researched and taught. For instance, sadistic Nazi medical researchers and teachers—Mengeles of sorts—in addition to having reprehensible commitments,would be significantly ignorant about their own intellectual concerns by virtue of their abject (belief-expressing) commitments. I will show that insights drawn from extreme cases such as this one apply across disciplines and in less extreme cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Trends in the TD-DFT calculations of porphyrin and phthalocyanine analogs
- Authors: Mack, John , Stone, Justin , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193882 , vital:45402 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S108842461450045X"
- Description: In 2005, Kobayashi and coworkers reported trends in the TD-DFT spectra of 17 Zn (II) porphyrinoids [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005; 127: 17697] that were analyzed using Michl's perimeter model as part of a study of the anomalous magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy of zinc tetraphenyltetraacenaphthoporphyrin. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that TD-DFT calculations with the commonly used hybrid B3LYP exchange-correlation functional of the Gaussian software package are problematic in the B-band region of porphyrinoid spectra, since the degree of configurational interaction between the B and higher energy ππ* state appears to be significantly overestimated. The CAM-B3LYP functional is now often preferred for analyzing the optical properties of porphyrinoids, since it includes a long-range correction of the exchange potential, which incorporates an increasing fraction of Hartree–Fock (HF) exchange as the interelectronic separation increases, making it better suited for studying compounds where there is significant charge transfer in the electronic excited states. The trends in the TD-DFT calculations are reexamined with a wider range porphyrinoid compounds including several with pyrazino moieties and are found to provide a closer agreement with the experimental in the B-band region for complexes such as zinc tetraphenylporphyrin and phthalocyanine.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Comparative phototransformation of environmental pollutants using metallophthalocyanines supported on electrospun polymer fibers
- Authors: Zugle, Ruphino , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190509 , vital:45001 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/app.38381"
- Description: The fluorescence and photoactivity of a series of Zn and Lu phthalocyanine complexes incorporated in various polymer fibers were investigated for the phototransformation of 4-chlorophenol, 4-nitrophenol, and methyl orange. The phthalocyanine complexes functionalized on polystyrene and polysulfone polymer fibers could be applied in the degradation of 4-chlorophenol, 4-nitrophenol, and methyl orange with 4-chlorophenol being much more susceptible to degradation while methyl orange was the least. Also polymer fibers of polystyrene were found to be reusable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Fluorescence “switch on” of conjugates of CdTe@ ZnS quantum dots with Al, Ni and Zn tetraamino-phthalocyanines by hydrogen peroxide
- Authors: Adegoke, Oluwasesan , Khene, Samson M , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241750 , vital:50966 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-013-1222-x"
- Description: In this study, we have developed a novel nanoprobe for H2O2 based on the conjugation of CdTe@ZnS quantum dots (QDs) to different metal tetraamino-phthalocyanine (MTAPc): (M = (OAc)Al, {OAc = acetate}, Ni and Zn). Chemical coordination of the QDs to the MTAPc resulted in the fluorescence “switch off” of the linked QDs which was associated with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). In the presence of varying concentration of H2O2, the fluorescence of the linked QDs was progressively “switched on” and the FRET mechanism between the QDs and the MTAPc was disrupted. The sensitivity/limit of detection of the nanoprobe followed the order: QDs-ZnTAPc (2.2 μM) > QDs-NiTAPc (4.4 μM) > QDs-AlTAPc (9.8 μM) while the selectivity followed the order: QDs-NiTAPc > QDs-AlTAPc > QDs-ZnTAPc. The varying degree of sensitivity/selectivity and mechanism of detection is discussed in detail.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
MCD spectroscopy and TD-DFT calculations of a naphthalene-ring-bridged coplanar binuclear phthalocyanine dimer
- Authors: Mack, John , Liang, Xu , Dubinina, Tatiana V , Tomilova, Larisa G , Nyokong, Tebello , Kobayashi, Nagao
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232511 , vital:49998 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424613500259"
- Description: Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy and TD-DFT calculations are used to analyze the electronic structure and optical properties of an alkyl-substituted naphthalene-ring-bridged coplanar binuclear phthalocyanine dimer. An analysis of the MCD spectrum of the naphthalene-ring-bridged dimer relative to those of benzene-bridged compounds reported previously, demonstrates that there is a significantly weaker interaction between the two phthalocyanine rings. TD-DFT results obtained using the B3LYP functional with 6–31G basis sets were found to be problematic. Closer agreement with the experimental data is obtained when the CAM-B3LYP functional is used instead. The naphthalene-ring-bridged compound is found to be unsuitable for use as a photosensitizer for the formation of singlet oxygen, because the ΦT values are negligible.
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- Date Issued: 2013
The Personal Is the International
- Authors: Magadla, Siphokazi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/298674 , vital:57726 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2013.856568"
- Description: The article reflects on why I opted for Political Science as my career. It tells of a society where once black women could only imagine themselves either as maids, teachers or nurses—this was my mother's world. The narrative shows how a racialised and gendered history shapes both my hopes for a particular kind of international relations theory and practice, as it shapes my frustrations and anxieties about my own future in the discipline. I also locate my place in the discipline within broader global ‘disruptions’ that see previously marginalised actors moving to the centre of international life. I also attempt to demonstrate that international relations today is located in globalised peace but within localised extremes of poverty and privilege. I make the case that the challenge to International Relations (IR) theory today is to find a language, a new language, in which to articulate the contradictions of a globalised peace that exists within localised extremes of poverty and privilege.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Third order nonlinear optical properties of phthalocyanines in the presence nanomaterials and in polymer thin films
- Authors: Britton, Jonathan , Durmus, Mahmut , Khene, Samson M , Chauke, Vongani , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/241772 , vital:50968 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S108842461350003X"
- Description: Third order nonlinear optical properties were determined for phthalocyanine complexes 1–10 containing In, Ga and Zn central metals and tetra- or octa-substituted with benzyloxyphenoxy, phenoxy, tert-butylphenoxy and amino groups at peripheral or non-peripheral positions. The phthalocyanines were embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) polymer in the presence of CdTe quantum dots. All complexes 1–10 were studied in the presence of CdTe quantum dots and embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate) to form thin films. Complex 3 tetrasubstituted with tert-butylphenoxy groups at non-peripheral positions was also studied in the presence of CdS, CdSe quantum dots, fullerenes, single walled carbon nanotubes. Third order nonlinear optical parameters generally increase for Pcs in the presence of CdTe quantum dots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Lost in translation: Transformation in the first round of institutional audits
- Authors: McKenna, Sioux , Quinn, Lynn
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/187384 , vital:44627 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC132752"
- Description: The South African higher education institutional audit process was introduced alongside similar endeavors internationally. However, despite many similarities, each country foregrounds different concerns within their higher education quality processes. In their seminal article, Harvey and Green suggest five possible notions of quality, one of which is quality as transformation, and in South Africa the message has been clearly stated: notions of quality are intricately related to transformation. Local research has however suggested that the notion of 'transformation' as quality takes on particular nuances within the country’s context. In the two institutional case studies presented here, the 'quality as transformation' discourse appears to have been largely lost in translation. In one university transformation was not called upon to construct notions of quality; quality was primarily constructed by a discourse of excellence. In the other institution, the transformation aspects of quality seem to have been interpreted in a particularly reductionist way as relating solely to racial demographics. In both cases, this article argues that the 'quality as transformation' discourse prevalent in the audit documentation in the South African context was lost somewhere between the intentions embodied in national documents and the processes embarked upon by institutions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Tetra and octa (2, 6-di-iso-propylphenoxy)-substituted phthalocyanines
- Authors: Tuhl, Ahmad , Chidawanayika, Wadzanai J U , Ibrahim, Hamada Mohamed , Al-Awadi, Nouria , Litwinski, Christian , Nyokong, Tebello , Behbehani, Haider , Manaa, Hacene , Makhseed, Saad
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/245855 , vital:51411 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612004495"
- Description: This work reports on the synthesis of novel metal free, zinc, aluminum, gallium and indium tetra and octa (2,6-di-iso-propylphenoxy)-substituted phthalocyanine derivatives. UV-visible and 1H NMR analyses confirm that a non-planar conformation, adapted by the phenoxy substituents due to steric interaction in both derivative series, perfectly discourage cofacial aggregation. Fluorescence quantum yields vary as a function of the number of substituents on the ring periphery, while the fluorescence lifetimes display no distinct trend. Triplet quantum yields are significantly larger for the tetra 2,6-di-iso-propylphenoxy- substituted derivatives relative to their corresponding octa-substituted species. However there was no overall trend in the triplet lifetime values. For almost all of the phthalocyanine derivatives, singlet oxygen was produced with relatively good quantum yields. This study explores the possibility of fine-tuning their physicochemical properties by simple structural modification.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Trends in the optical and redox properties of tetraphenyltetraphenanthroporphyrins
- Authors: Mack, John , Lobb, Kevin A , Nyokong, Tebello , Shen, Zhen , Kobayashi, Nagao
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/245809 , vital:51407 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S1088424612500885"
- Description: The results of TD-DFT calculations for a series of tetraaryltetraphenanthroporphyrins containing para-substituents with differing electron donating and accepting properties are compared to the observed optical and redox properties and Michl's perimeter model is used as a conceptual framework for analyzing the results.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Elizabeth Costello and the Biography of the Moral Philosopher
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275635 , vital:55065 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6245.2011.01462.x"
- Description: Imagine someone who informs you that her conversion to vegetarianism began when she read Charlotte's Web or viewed the film Babe. Both stories invite the reader to celebrate the events surrounding a pig being saved from the butcher. What kind of role would her spectatorship of this book or film have played in her conversion? It is perhaps improbable to suspect that she would have undergone this kind of extreme moral conversion solely on the basis of her engagement with one of these fictions; perhaps more likely is the scenario in which her engagement was only one part of a lengthy process of her moral change of mind. In any event, it is certainly possible that our imagined vegetarian would see her encounter with Charlotte's Web or Babe as playing a justificatory role in her conversion. In looking back at her conversion, she might say something like this: “I know that I was young and impressionable, but the way in which the book (or film) made me feel about its characters moved me to further reflect upon animals and the animal industry, and I now realize that it was right to do so.” On her own view, at least, her spectatorship motivated and warranted her taking the further steps that ultimately led to her conversion. If she is right, then fictional narratives can possess—to at least some degree—what Raimond Gaita refers to as an ethical “authority.”
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Use and users of municipal commonage around three small towns in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Davenport, Nicholas A , Shackleton, Charlie M , Gambiza, James
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181116 , vital:43700 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.11.003"
- Description: Municipal commonages surround many small towns throughout South Africa, and are an integral component of the national land reform programme. But little is known about their extent, use or value, and most appear to have limited or no management or investment. This paper reports on a survey of randomly selected households in three small towns in the Eastern Cape to ascertain the extent and purpose of use of municipal commonages. Between 27% and 70% of urban households used commonage depending on site. Key resources used were fuelwood, medicinal plants, and grazing of livestock. Typically, commonage using households were poorer and less educated than other urban residents, although the profile of users is unique for each town. Given the extensive use of commonage resources, and their contribution to the livelihoods of the poor, local municipalities need to develop and implement sound management strategies that account for all users of commonages, rather than the oft encountered focus on livestock owners and production.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011