High temperature protective coatings for refractory metals progress report no. 1, oct. 23, 1964 - jan. 23, 1965

Iridium as high temperature protective coating for unalloyed niobium and tantalu

The views of commerce students regarding "free" higher education in South Arica

At the end of 2015, student protests (demanding ‘free’ higher education) took place at most South African universities. An official answer from the South African government regarding ‘free higher education’ is still being awaited. In the meantime, a zero present increase in university fees for 2016 and an increase of not more than 8% for 2017 was announced. South Africa is known for expensive higher education as tuition fees increase every year. Many students struggle to fund their studies, while government subsidies to higher education institution decrease. The question that remains is: Will it be feasible for South Africa to implement ‘free higher education’?This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of commerce students at one South African university regarding the feasibility of ‘free’ higher education. A questionnaire was used as research instrument which consisted of Likert-scale statements regarding general ideas about ‘free higher education’ as well as open-ended questions asking students about the definition of ‘free higher education’ and the effects on the South African economy.The results proposed that even though most students were aware of the students protests regarding ‘free higher education’ that took place, not all of them agreed with it. The respondents realised that it is not feasible for South Africa to implement ‘free higher education’ at this moment in time.Despite the views of these commerce students, if ‘free higher education’ were considered as a viable option in South Africa, implementation considerations should be examined. These issues will be discussed in a follow-up study.

Graduate attributes: How some university students experience and learn them

The voices of university students are often absent from academic discourses on the learning of graduate attributes (GAs). Such attributes are mostly constructed and conceptualised from the viewpoint of academics, institutions, education authorities and industry. However, as students within democratic contexts are increasingly challenged to assume greater responsibility for their own growth and development, it seems imperative that they participate in discussions related to the acquiring of graduate attributes. This article reports on how students at one South African university understand and relate to graduate attributes. Data were generated from a group of students at the University of the Western Cape through focus group interviews and photo elicitation. The results indicate that students who understand what graduate attributes are and how they can acquire these attributes might enhance such students’ further growth and their employability

SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC : a new approach to mathematical 3D forward simulation modelling for terrigenous and carbonate marine sedimentation

Most sedimentary modelling programs developed in recent years focus on either terrigenous or carbonate marine sedimentation. Nevertheless, only a few programs have attempted to consider mixed terrigenous-carbonate sedimentation, and most of these are two-dimensional, which is a major restriction since geological processes take place in 3D. This paper presents the basic concepts of a new 3D mathematical forward simulation model for clastic sediments, which was developed from SIMSAFADIM, a previous 3D carbonate sedimentation model. The new extended model, SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC, simulates processes of autochthonous marine carbonate production and accumulation, together with clastic transport and sedimentation in three dimensions of both carbonate and terrigenous sediments. Other models and modelling strategies may also provide realistic and efficient tools for prediction of stratigraphic architecture and facies distribution of sedimentary deposits. However, SIMSAFADIM-CLASTIC becomes an innovative model that attempts to simulate different sediment types using a process-based approach, therefore being a useful tool for 3D prediction of stratigraphic architecture and facies distribution in sedimentary basins. This model is applied to the neogene Vallès-Penedès half-graben (western Mediterranean, NE Spain) to show the capacity of the program when applied to a realistic geologic situation involving interactions between terrigenous clastics and carbonate sediments

The invisible support networks of doctoral candidates : what acknowledgement sections of doctoral theses reveal

CITATION: Leshem, S. & Bitzer, E. 2021. The invisible support networks of doctoral candidates : what acknowledgement sections of doctoral theses reveal. South African Journal of Higher Education, 35(3):1-12, doi:10.20853/35-3-3538.The original publication is available at http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajheAlthough some argue that acknowledgement sections should not form part of doctoral theses, others welcome such sections and are of the opinion that they reflect original and personal contributions, constituting a neglected genre. Previous research on acknowledgement texts have focused more on their linguistic characteristics as related to the academic writing of theses. The present study, however, inquired into acknowledgement sections from a social support perspective. The aim of the study was to bring to light the dimension of the social milieu and its importance in supporting doctoral students in successfully achieving their doctorate. More specifically, the study sought to investigate the role of “significant others” in the academic success of doctoral students as reflected in the genres of acknowledgement in doctoral theses by analysing such texts from 30 completed doctoral theses in South Africa and Israel. Follow-up interviews with graduates assisted to probe deeper into the meaning of the texts. Although limited in nature, the study found that, based on who doctoral graduates acknowledge, several role-players and supporters seem to contribute to doctoral success. This includes family members, friends, colleagues, study supervisors, funders and university administrators. What also became clear was that doctoral candidates rely mainly on psycho-social forms of support and that particular kinds of such support are crucial at different stages of the doctoral journey. Acknowledgement studies confirm the doctoral research process as an activity stream that integrates the personal, the interpersonal and the institutional to reveal the mostly hidden, but very important, influences on the doctorate.https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/3538Publisher's versio

Simulating the Water Requirements and Economic Feasibility of Corn in the Midwest

An evaluation of the economics of supplemental irrigation when using a surface water supply must be site specific in order to account for variations in soil moisture holding capacity, watershed area supplying the runoff, climatic conditions, and proposed irrigation management procedures. With the use of farm specific simulation models to determine grain yields, availability of irrigation water, and economic expenditures involved in irrigation, an economic evaluation of supplemental irrigation can be performed, In the model presented in this report, the Duncan SIMAIZ model is used to predict grain yields using long-term daily weather information. SIMAIZ also determines irrigation water demand for the crop. The Haan Water Yield Model is used to predict flow into a reservoir using the same weather information. By knowing daily water flow into a reservoir and water demand for irrigation, a reservoir size is determined which will supply water at all times for the study period. Simulations are then run by incrementally reducing, by volume, the size of this reservoir, thus limiting the availability of irrigation water, and resulting in reduced irrigated yields. An economic evaluation is performed for each reservoir size. Costs and benefits included are: initial cost of constructing the reservoir, yearly reservoir maintenance cost, yearly irrigation costs of operation, and additional income resulting from the increase in grain yields. After the project life has been assumed, the model determines the capital available for investing in an irrigation system for a given year and reservoir size. By ranking these values, a probability distribution is obtained indicating the probability of making money in any given year. By using the Central Limit Theorem, these results are converted to the probability of making money over the life of the system. A sensitivity analysis examines the sensitivity of capital available for investment in an irrigation system to select input variation. The results indicate that great care should be exercised when assigning values to some inputs, while for others, a reasonable estimate is adequate. This model can be used as a tool for evaluating which irrigation practices, if any, are economically feasible. An example of its use is shown

Ru–Ag and Ru–Au dicarbene complexes from an abnormal carbene ruthenium system

The first complexes containing an anionic dicarbene connected to two different d-block elements are reported. The synthetic pathway entails metalation and transmetalation reactions, starting from a cationic abnormal Ru-NHC complex

More Than One Personal Risk Factor is Associated with Worse Clinical Outcomes Among Adolescents Following Concussion

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