Stimulus & response : fieldwork in science

From time to time students at the faculty of Education are asked to air their views on particular educational topics which the editors propose to them. In this issue of the journal we reproduce the ideas of two students about the value of fieldwork in science.peer-reviewe

Utopia in adversity : at the borders of the European project

The European Union (EU) was envisaged as a bureaucratic cosmopolitan utopia aiming at restoring peace and economic prosperity between European peoples in the aftermath of the Second World War. The aim of this paper is to critically engage with the current institutional framework and political developments of the EU and its Member States and to offer a utopian counter-discourse to the current rise of right-wing populist discourses pervading EU politics. In order to achieve this, in the first part of the paper I will delve into what I mean by “utopia” following James D. Ingram’s and Chantal Mouffe’s work. In particular, my contention will be that utopian politics is an open-ended struggle which demands that the realm of politics facilitates contestations between “adversaries” in a democratic context. Furthermore, I will posit that where political institutions fail to bring about just and democratic processes, the people have the right and responsibility to demand change through civil mobilisation and alternative ways of resistance, through what Bonnie Honig calls an agonistic cosmopolitcs. The second part of this essay tackles two case studies of the political reactions of Greece and the UK in the face of the current hegemonic and technocratic character of the EU. The third part then deals with the cosmopolitan traces (or lack thereof) which are inherent in the EU institutional frameworks in lieu of the development of the unprecedented immigration crisis. Finally, I conclude by giving insights on how the EU needs to develop into an agonistic cosmopolitan polity.peer-reviewe

The environmental impacts of shipping in Malta

The Mediterranean Sea is known as one of the crucial sea lanes for the transportation of goods and people, in and out of the region (UNEP, 2008). A growth in this industry means that there is a greater probability for further pressures on the marine environment due to: collisions, intentional and unintentional discharges of oil, air pollution and incidents with tankers, like Exxon Valdez, Erika, and Prestige in 1989, 1999, and 2001 respectively (UN, 2010). Moreover, discharge of various substances from daily activities are the foremost negative challenge for the aquatic environment. These include: operational oil spills, chemical cargo residues, anti-fouling paint, sewage, municipal waste, cleaning agents, air emissions, and non-indigenous species from the release of ballast water (UN, 2010). There are specific legislations that address these issues on an international level, namely: the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 1973/78), the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation 1990 (OPRC Convention), and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).peer-reviewe

PARTISIPASI MASYARAKAT DALAM MEWUJUDKAN TRANSPARANSI PELAYANAN PUBLIK DI KOTA BANDA ACEH

ABSTRACTDEA ABDILLA, 2015 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION in REALIZING the TRANSPARENCY of PUBLIC SERVICES in the CITY of BANDA ACEH, Faculty of social sciences and Political Sciences University (vii-46), pp., tabl, bibl, app. (Dr. Syarifuddin, SH, M. Hum, Sufyan, Sh., M. H). Transparency or oppenes is part of the principles of governance that often became a benchmark in assessing the conduct of the public service in the Government of the views of good or bad service given to the public. Successful or whether the Organization of the Government in terms of providing service to the community. Transparency being one important measure of good governance.The goal in this research is to know the system of governance in realizing the transparency of public services in the city of Ban da Aceh. In addition the study also aims to find out other forms of public participation in realizing the transparency of public services in the city of Banda Aceh. In this thesis data collection is carried out by means of field research (field research) that is carried out by means of interview respondents and informants. To get the data skunder through research libraries (library research) that is doing the research to get the secondary data is done by reading the books, legislation, and other reading materials.The results showed that the City Government Banda Aceh in policy transparency organization of Government, perform two -way communication with the public that is directly and indirectly. Directly the public can participate through the activities of the Musrenbang and Musrena. While indirectly through Representatives of the city Banda Aceh, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), print and electronic media in the form of the website and SMS service of public complaints. The Government of the city of Banda Aceh are advised in order to devise a better strategy and more mature in order to realize the transparency in Banda Aceh. Expected to Governments and the DPRK in order to be wise in addressing various asapirasi within the community as well as able to establish good communication with the Government of the city of Banda Aceh and the DPRK.Keywords: Transparency, Patisipasi Society, The City Of Banda Aceh

EFEKTIVITAS PENGGUNAAN METODE THE LEARNING CELL DALAM PEMBELAJARAN MEMBACA PEMAHAMAN TEKS BAHASA PERANCIS

Penelitian ini membahas metode The Learning Cell untuk keterampilan membaca pemahaman teks bahasa Perancis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kemampuan membaca mahasiswa semester V sebelum dan setelah menggunakan metode The Learning Cell. Adapun rumusan masalah dari penelitian ini yaitu: (1) Seberapa besar tingkat kemampuan membaca pemahaman mahasiswa semester V tahun akademik 2017/2018 sebelum dan sesudah menggunakan metode The Learning Cell?; (2) Apakah metode The Learning Cell efektif dalam pembelajaran teks bahasa Perancis?; (3) Bagaimana tanggapan mahasiswa semester V tahun akademik 2017/2018 mengenai metode The Learning Cell untuk keterampilan membaca pemahaman?. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kuantitatif dengan desain Pre-experimental, one group pretest-posttest. Instrumen yang digunakan yaitu tes dan angket. sampel penelitian dari penelitian yaitu karakteristik keterampilan membaca pemahaman Bahasa Perancis dari 30 mahasiswa semester V. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan perbedaan yang signifikan antara sebelum dan sesudah penerapan metode ini, hal ini dibuktikan oleh naiknya nilai rata-rata dari 61,86 menjadi 80,34 yang berarti metode ini efektif untuk digunakan dalam pembelajaran membaca pemahaman. Pengujian hipotesis menunjukkan bahwa metode ini dapat diterapkan dalam pembelajaran keterampilan membaca pemahaman teks bahasa Perancis. Ditambah, berdasarkan hasil angket, peneliti memperoleh hasil bahwa pada umumnya mahasiswa mengganggap bahwa metode ini membantu dalam proses pembelajaran untuk keterampilan membaca pemahaman.;---This study discusses The Learning Cell method for reading comprehension skills in French Text. This study aims is to determine the ability to read semester V students before and after using The Learning Cell method. The following issues of research are: (1) How much is the level of reading comprehension on semester V students of the academic year 2017/2018 before and after using the Learning Cell method ?; (2) Is The Learning Cell method effective for improving students' reading comprehension skills semester V academic year 2017/2018 ?; (3) How is the semester V student’s response 2017/2018 about The Learning Cell method for comprehension reading skill ?. Using a quantitative method of designing Pre-experimental, one group pretest-posttest. The instrument used for the instruction is tests and questionnaires. The sampling of the samples is characteristic of 30 students in reading comprehension skills for french text. The results of the experiments indicate significant differences before and after the implementation of this method, as evidenced by the rise in the mean score from 61.86 to 80.34. Hypothesis shows that the method can be assessed in terms of learning skills in reading the comprehension of the French text. Students assume that this method is very helpful in the learning process for reading comprehension skills

UTILIZATION OF ACTIVATED OF KEPOK BANANA PEEL POWDER (Musa paradisiaca L.) AS AN ADSORBENT OF CADMIUM METAL IONS (Cd2+)

Research on the adsorption of cadmium metal ions (Cd2+) using activated adsorbent from Kepok banana peel powder (Musa paradisiaca L.) has been carried out. Determination of the functional groups contained in the adsorbent used Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) instruments indicate the presence of O-H, C-O and N-H groups. Characterization of pores in the adsorbent using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) instruments that show the occurence of pore and cavity enlargement on the surface of the adsorbent, as well as the appearance of finer topography after the activation process. The result of this study indicate that the adsorbent of Kepok banana peel powder can absorb cadmium metal ions (Cd2+) with the best absorption occurs at optimum conditions pH 5, 60 minutes contact time and a concentration of 1.5 ppm. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent of Kepok banana peel powder at the optimum conditions is 0.04991 mg/g.Research on the adsorption of cadmium metal ions (Cd2+) using activated adsorbent from Kepok banana peel powder (Musa paradisiaca L.) has been carried out. Determination of the functional groups contained in the adsorbent used Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) instruments indicate the presence of O-H, C-O and N-H groups. Characterization of pores in the adsorbent using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) instruments that show the occurence of pore and cavity enlargement on the surface of the adsorbent, as well as the appearance of finer topography after the activation process. The result of this study indicate that the adsorbent of Kepok banana peel powder can absorb cadmium metal ions (Cd2+) with the best absorption occurs at optimum conditions pH 5, 60 minutes contact time and a concentration of 1.5 ppm. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent of Kepok banana peel powder at the optimum conditions is 0.04991 mg/g

Alternative Sugar Sources for Biobased Chemicals

In future biobased economies concept which involves the production of heat, power, transportation fuels and chemicals stems from renewable resources like biomass. has been proposed as an alternative to the current fossil based economy in the last decades. One of the important part of a biobased economy is the Bbiorefineries will be used to y concept where the separate the biomass is separated into fractions that are subsequently converted using dedicated (catalytic) processesbiological, (bio)-chemical, physical and/or thermal processing. Beside sustainable energy and fuels, these biorefineries will also producetion of biobased platform chemicals is also of high interest within the biorefinery concept. Biobased chemicals with a high derivatization potential such as due to the presence of multiple functional groups are often addressed as building block or platform chemicals. A wide variety of platform chemicals can be obtained from sugars and among them, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). is of our particular interest due to its high versatility. The commercial scale production of HMF is still in a stage of infancy, due to high cost of production, associated with high feedstock prices, low yields, and difficulties with product separation. Identification of alternative, cost-efficient feeds for HMF synthesis is one of high relevance interest to improve the techno-economic viability for overall HMF production process. An Preferred feeds ideal substrates should be inexpensive, relatively abundantly available and require minimum or even no pre-treatment. In this thesis, experimental studies on the use of two alternative sugar sources namely “pyrolytic sugars” and “thick juice” for the synthesis of platform chemicals via chemo-catalytic routes with an emphasis on HMF are described. Experimental and kinetic modeling studies were performed and the effects of process conditions and catalysts on HMF yield were investigated in detail. In some cases, the studies were performed on model components to reduce complexity.Interesting results were obtained, showing the potential of both feeds for HMF production

Aza-Michael mono-addition using acidic alumina under solventless conditions

Aza-Michael reactions between primary aliphatic and aromatic amines and various Michael acceptors have been performed under environmentally-friendly solventless conditions using acidic alumina as a heterogeneous catalyst to selectively obtain the corresponding mono-adducts in high yields. Ethyl acrylate was the main acceptor used, although others such as acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate and acrylamide were also utilized successfully. Bi-functional amines also gave the mono-adducts in good to excellent yields. Such compounds can serve as intermediates for the synthesis of anti-cancer and antibiotic drugs.peer-reviewe