Polyaniline-Based Nanocomposites for Environmental Remediation

With growth in civilisation and industrialisation, there is an increase in the release of toxic heavy metal ions and dyes into water system, which is of public concern. As a result, appropriate treatment methods have to be implemented in order to mitigate and prevent water pollution. The discovery of nanotechnology has led to the development and utilisation of various nanoadsorbent for the removal of pollutants from water. PANI nanostructures and nanocomposites are noble adsorbents that have gained popularity in addressing water pollution issues and have been reported in literature. In this chapter, the main focus is on the synthesis of PANI nanocomposites and nanostructures and their application as efficient adsorbents for water treatment. Detailed discussions on different synthetic routes and characterisation have been dedicated to applications of these materials and are compared for the adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions and dyes from water

Economic Efficiency of Table Grape Production in Waterberg and Sekhukhune Districts, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Table grape production plays an important role in the economy of many countries in Africa. It serves as a source of income for the people who are engaged in its production and being one of the enterprises that is labour-intensive, thereby providing employment for more people. The main purpose of this study was to analyse the economic efficiency of table grape production in Waterberg and Sekhukhune Districts of Limpopo province, South Africa. The study used primary data collected through administration of structured questionnaires on a sample of 12 farmers by employing a snowball sampling method. Analytical tools employed include descriptive statistics (such as tables and frequencies), Stochastic Frontier Model and Technical Inefficiency Model. Results from data analysis revealed that in terms of efficiency, farming experience (p<0.01), educational level (p<0.05), household size (p<0.10) and age of farmer (p<0.10) were associated with increased efficiency indicating that these factors play important roles in ensuring that resources used in the production of table grapes enhanced productivity and were not wasted. Also, technical efficiency among farmers was found to range from 0.8 to 1, with a mean of 0.89, thus implying a major possibility for improvement in production. However, the allocative efficiency was found to range from 0.47 to 1, with a mean of 0.68. This indicates that some farmers were finding it difficult to allocate their resources efficiently. Again, economic efficiency ranges from 0.56 to 1, with a mean of 0.73, an indication that most of the farmers were economically efficient. Meanwhile, some of the constraints faced by these farmers include high electricity bills and labour costs, water shortages as well as instability around land policy. The study therefore recommends capacity building of farmers through education and other skill enhancement programmes. Also, provision of incentives to encourage youth participation in farming through internship programmes is very important to increase farm productivity

Proposing love on the way to school: daily mobility, sexuality and youth transitions in South Africa.

Young people's daily mobility in sub-Saharan Africa remains largely invisible and under-researched. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from the Child Mobility Project in South Africa, we show how young people's daily journeys (to school and other places) shape, and are shaped by, the possibility of sexual encounters. Young women are seen to be at risk of sexual violence as they travel around their neighbourhoods and fears of sexual violence and transgressive relationships lead to controls over their mobility, with potentially negative consequences for education and social opportunities. However, mobility can also present opportunities for welcomed sexual encounters and experimentation, which are seen as part of growing up. We discuss the implications for young women's ability to negotiate safe routes to adulthood

Ethylenediamine functionalized waste polyethylene terephthalate-derived metal-organic framework for adsorption of palladium ions from aqueous solutions

The recovery of palladium metal is essential in order to meet its growing global demand and also to address water pollution crisis. Herein, MIL-101(Cr)/ED was fabricated from waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and modified using ethylenediamine (ED) to retrieve divalent palladium (Pd(II)) metal ions from aqueous environment. The successful grafting of ED moieties onto MIL-101(Cr) was established by the appearance of broad bands at around 2800–3300 cm−1 on the Fourier transform infrared spectrum which was supported by the increase in binding energy using density functional theory. The adsorption experiments revealed that higher Pd(II) ion intake occurred using 30 mg of MIL-101(Cr)/ED in acidic media of pH = 3.0. The data fit better on the Langmuir isotherm with the correlation coefficient (R2) 0.9089. At 25 °C, the MIL-101(Cr)/ED achieved a substantial enhancement in the intake capacities of 454.2 mg.g−1. Kinetics data demonstrated to comply with pseudo-second order, achieving a rapid rate of Pd(II) adsorption by the MIL-101(Cr)/ED in less than 3 min given by the rate constant k2 = 0.02065 g.mg−1.min−1. The MIL-101(Cr)/ED has high affinity for Pd(II) ions as more than 80% removal was achieved even in presence of other ions. These observations revealed the potential utilization of MIL-101(Cr)/ED as an adsorbent to efficiently extract Pd(II) ions from wastewater

Where dogs, ghosts and lions roam: learning from mobile ethnographies on the journey to school

This paper draws on mobility research conducted with children in three countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. It has two interlinked aims: to highlight the potential that mobile interviews can offer in research with young people, especially in research contexts where the main focus is on mobility and its impacts, and to contribute empirical evidence regarding the significance of everyday mobility to young people's lives and future life chances in sub-Saharan Africa. During the pilot phase of our research project on children, transport and mobility, the authors undertook walks home from school with teenage children1 in four different research sites: three remote rural, one peri-urban. As the children walked (usually over a distance of around 5 km) their stories of home, of school and of the environment in-between, gradually unfolded. The lived experiences narrated during these journeys offer considerable insights into the daily lives, fears and hopes of the young people concerned, and present a range of issues for further research as our study extends into its main phase

Perspectives on Young People’s Daily Mobility, Transport and Service Access in Sub-Saharan Africa

Young people’s mobility challenges in Western contexts have been the focus of research for some decades, principally – but not only – with reference to the school journey. By contrast, young people’s mobility in sub-Saharan Africa is remarkably under-researched, despite the vital significance of mobility (and immobility) to so many children’s lives. This is an extremely important omission, given that over half the population of many African countries consists of children and young people. Improving mobility and access to health and education facilities for both girl and boy children has massive implications for their subsequent livelihood potential (Bartlett 2001). It is crucial to many of the Millennium Goals, notably universal primary education, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, and reduced child mortality (Fay et al. 2005). In this chapter we review some of the findings from a research study centred on young people’s mobility conducted between 2006 and 2010 in three African countries, Ghana, Malawi and South Africa. This study was extensive in scale (24 sites across urban and rural locations and two different agro-ecological zones per country) and innovative in its inclusion of 70 young research collaborators aged from 11 to c.20 years (when they started work on the study), in addition to conventional academic research. Developing this two-stranded research approach and applying it across diverse countries and sites has enabled us to assemble a strong, comparative evidence base. Our aim was to establish an evidence base substantial enough not only to improve policy in our three focus countries but sufficiently compelling to contribute to a new recognition among policy makers and practitioners across Africa of the key significance of mobility and physical access to services in building young lives

Taking the long view: temporal considerations in the ethics of children’s research activity and knowledge production.

Children are increasingly engaged in the research process as generators of knowledge, but little is known about the impacts on children's lives, especially in the longer term. As part of a study on children's mobility in Ghana, Malawi and South Africa, 70 child researchers received training to conduct peer research in their own communities. Evaluations at the time of the project suggested largely positive impacts on the child researchers: increased confidence, acquisition of useful skills and expanded social networks; however, in some cases, these were tempered with concerns about the effect on schoolwork. In the follow-up interviews 2 years later, several young Ghanaian researchers reported tangible benefits from the research activity for academic work and seeking employment, while negative impacts were largely forgotten. This study highlights the unforeseeable consequences of research participation on children's lives as they unfold in unpredictable ways and underscores the temporal nature of children's engagement in research. © 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Young people’s transport and mobility in sub-Saharan Africa: the gendered journey to school

This paper draws on rich ethnographic data and complementary survey research from a three-country study (Ghana, Malawi, South Africa) of young people’s mobility to explore the gendered nature of children’s journeys to school in sub-Saharan Africa. In most African countries, girls’ participation in formal education is substantially lower than boys’, especially at secondary school level. Transport and mobility issues often form an important component of this story, though the precise patterning of the transportation and mobility constraints experienced by schoolchildren, and the ways in which transport factors interact with other constraints, varies from region to region. We draw attention to the nature of gendered travel experiences in rural and urban areas, the implications of these findings for access to education, and finally suggest areas where policy intervention could be beneficial

Child porterage and Africa’s transport gap: evidence from Ghana, Malawi and South Africa.

Children's load-carrying has been largely invisible in studies of African economies, being commonly subsumed under women's or family labor. This paper, based on interdisciplinary qualitative and quantitative research in 24 sites, examines the role of child porterage in helping to fill Africa's transport gap and considers its developmental significance for education, well-being, and health. It provides detailed information regarding the scale, nature, and perceived impacts of children's load-carrying work in domestic and commercial contexts, indicates the importance of gender and generational analysis, and explores key policy challenges