Expansion of Nature Conservation Areas: Problems with Natura 2000 Implementation in Poland?

In spite of widespread support from most member countries’ societies for European Union policy, including support for the sustainable development idea, in many EU countries the levels of acceptance of new environmental protection programmes have been and, in particular in new member states, still are considerably low. The experience of the countries which were the first to implement union directives show that they cannot be effectively applied without widespread public participation. The goal of this study was, using the example of Poland, to assess public acceptance of the expansion of nature conservation in the context of sustainable development principles and to discover whether existing nature governance should be modified when establishing new protected areas. The increase in protected areas in Poland has become a hotbed of numerous conflicts. In spite of the generally favourable attitudes to nature which Polish people generally have, Natura 2000 is perceived as an unnecessary additional conservation tool. Both local authorities and communities residing in the Natura areas think that the programme is a hindrance, rather than a help in the economic development of municipalities or regions, as was initially supposed. This lack of acceptance results from many factors, mainly social, historic and economic. The implications of these findings for current approach to the nature governance in Poland are discussed

Colloidal PbSe/CdSe Heteronanocrystals. Atomic configuration, electronic structure and optical properties

This thesis focuses on the structural characterization and the opto-electronic properties of PbSe/CdSe core/shell QDs and on the structural and morphological evolution of PbSe/CdSe core/shell QDs upon thermal annealing under vacuum

Thermally induced atomic reconstruction of PbSe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots into PbSe/CdSe bi-hemisphere hetero-nanocrystals

The properties of hetero-nanocrystals (HNCs) depend strongly on the mutual arrangement of the nanoscale components. In this work we have investigated the structural and morphological evolution of colloidal PbSe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots upon annealing under vacuum. Prior to annealing the PbSe core has an approximately octahedral morphology with eight {111} facets, and the CdSe shell has zinc-blende crystal structure. Thermal annealing under vacuum at temperatures between 150 C and 200 C induces a structural and morphological reconstruction of the HNCs whereby the PbSe core and the CdSe shell are reorganized into two hemispheres joined by a common {111} Se plane. This thermally induced reconstruction leads to considerable changes in the optical properties of the colloidal PbSe/CdSe HNCs

What Counts? Volunteers and their organisations in the recording and monitoring of biodiversity

There is a pressing need for volunteer amateur naturalists to participate in data collection for biodiversity monitoring programmes in Europe. It is being addressed in some countries, but less so in others. This paper discusses the results from qualitative research using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation within nine Participatory Monitoring Network (PMN) organisations in six European countries. The paper examines the features that facilitate recruitment, retention and motivations of volunteers to participate in biodiversity monitoring, including the social and cultural milieus in which they operate. The paper concludes that volunteers place a high degree of significance on their social experience within PMNs. Successful creation and management of PMNs thus requires that similar levels of attention be paid to social aspects of the organisation as are paid to the generation and management of data

Opto-Electronics of Semiconductor Hetero-Nanocrystals and Hetero-Nanocrystal Solids

Abstract not Available.</jats:p

The different nature of band edge absorption and emission in colloidal pbse/cdse core/shell quantum dots

We present a quantitative analysis of the absorption and luminescence of colloidal PbSe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots (QDs). In absorption, both the energy and the oscillator strength of the first exciton transition coincide with that of plain PbSe QDs. In contrast, luminescence lifetime measurements indicate that the oscillator strength of the emitting transition is reduced by at least a factor of 4 compared to PbSe core QDs. Moreover, the addition of an electron scavenger quenches the PbSe/CdSe emission, while a hole scavenger does not. This implies that the electron wave function reaches the QD surface, while the hole is confined to the PbSe core. These observations are consistent with calculations based on the effective mass model, which show that PbSe/CdSe QDs are at the boundary between the type-I and quasi-type-II regime, where the electron spreads over the entire nanoparticle and the hole remains confined in the PbSe core. However, as this only leads to a minor reduction of the oscillator strength, it follows that the drastic reduction of the oscillator strength in emission cannot be explained in terms of electron delocalization. In combination with the increased Stokes shift for PbSe/CdSe QDs, this indicates that the emission results from lower energy states that are fundamentally different from the absorbing states