Biogas Technology on Uzi Island, Zanzibar: A Feasibility Study

With realization of the finite quantity of fossil fuels and improved study on the effects of global climate change there has been an increasing demand for energy production from renewable, sustainable sources in developed and developing nations alike. The population of Tanzania relies overwhelmingly on biomass as a source of primary energy, with such impacts as deforestation and negative health effects. Biogas generation is a renewable energy technology that utilizes organic waste sources to produce a methane-rich gas suitable for cooking and lighting with the potential to replace current unsustainable energy sources and provide several environmental and socioeconomic benefits. A biogas feasibility study was conducted in the village of Uzi, Zanzibar through local surveys, a waste generation audit, and creation of a pilot biogas system. Currently, biogas technology is not feasible in Uzi due to economic and realistic barriers. Methods of financial aid such as government subsidy, microfinance, and a carbon credit system need to be explored in order to realize the potential of biogas technology in Uzi

Estimating Hispanic-White Wage Gaps among Women: The Importance of Controlling for Cost of Living

Despite concern regarding labor market discrimination against Hispanics, previously published estimates show that Hispanic women earn higher hourly wages than white women with similar observable characteristics. This estimated wage premium is likely biased upwards because of the omission of an important control variable: cost of living. We show that Hispanic women live in locations (e.g., cities) with higher costs of living than whites. After we account for cost of living, the estimated Hispanic-white wage differential for non-immigrant women falls by approximately two-thirds. As a result, we find no statistically significant difference in wages between Hispanic and white women in the NLSY97

Putting teachers and learning communities into the policy equation around student engagement and school retention

Discourses on the vexatious issues of student disadvantage, disengagement and withdrawal from schooling are commonly constructed around the perceived deficits, needs and pathologies of schools, families, communities and minority groups (Furlong & Cartmel, 1997; Dei, 2003, Hursh, 2006). Drawing on recent research in low socioeconomic communities (Smyth & Down, 004; Smyth & Angus, 2006), this paper challenges the efficacy of current responses to these issues and argues that meaningful and sustainable change can only occur when governments tackle the root causes of the problem and when teachers and learning communities are placed in the centre of the policy frame. In this paper I have argued that we need a major rethink of the ways in which the so-called 'problems' of school retention and student engagement are named and addressed.C

From naive optimism to robust hope : Sustaining a commitment to social justice in schools and teacher education in neoliberal times

Drawing on a school ethnography and the voices of graduate students, this paper explores the concept of robust hope with reference to the ideal of social justice in education policy and practice. Although the arguments to support a commitment to social justice in education systems, schools and teacher education programs, are often well-articulated, the pedagogical and political strategies to achieve such goals often remain elusive. If we are to reclaim the utopian imagination of socially just schools and egalitarian society we need to move beyond naive optimism to cultivate a notion of robust hope that is praxis-oriented and fully cognisant of the complexities, tensions and difficulties associated with the task. "Getting real" in this sense requires the development of conceptual ideas to critique existing social arrangements, a vision of an emancipatory alternative, and a set of political strategies and resources to affect progressive change. Notwithstanding the difficulties of contesting market-driven approaches to education, this study reveals that there are "resources of hope" in schools, educational institutions and the broader community to guide teachers and teacher educators in pursuing a goal of socially just schooling.C

Heterogeneous models place the root of the placental mammal phylogeny

Heterogeneity among life traits in mammals has resulted in considerable phylogenetic conflict, particularly concerning the position of the placental root. Layered upon this are gene- and lineage-specific variation in amino acid substitution rates and compositional biases. Life trait variations that may impact upon mutational rates are longevity, metabolic rate, body size, and germ line generation time. Over the past 12 years, three main conflicting hypotheses have emerged for the placement of the placental root. These hypotheses place the Atlantogenata (common ancestor of Xenarthra plus Afrotheria), the Afrotheria, or the Xenarthra as the sister group to all other placental mammals. Model adequacy is critical for accurate tree reconstruction and by failing to account for these compositional and character exchange heterogeneities across the tree and data set, previous studies have not provided a strongly supported hypothesis for the placental root. For the first time, models that accommodate both tree and data set heterogeneity have been applied to mammal data. Here, we show the impact of accurate model assignment and the importance of data sets in accommodating model parameters while maintaining the power to reject competing hypotheses. Through these sophisticated methods, we demonstrate the importance of model adequacy, data set power and provide strong support for the Atlantogenata over other competing hypotheses for the position of the placental root

Soluble Lie rings

This work has as its object the study of a rather neglected object, the Lie ring. The general method and type of problem tackled are suggested by analogy with the theory of infinite groups, A recurring theme is the study of residual properties ( mainly residual finiteness) of Lie rings, with particular emphasis on soluble ring's. However this by no means presents the whole picture. Related problems in the field of Lie algebras are tackled in the first few chapters, chapters 3, 6, and 7 are not concerned with residual properties at all, and throughout many results are presented for Lie rings which are not necessarily soluble. Ua."1Yof the results ( mainly. in the second half) will also hold in general nonassociative rings with suitable restrictions imposed, but presentation in this form would make many results which appear natural in the present context seem technical and obscure. Occasional reference is made to general nonassociative rings however. Chapter 1 sets up the notation and a few of the most useful technical tools that are used in the sequel. Chapters 2 and 3 are concerned with certain classes of finitely generated soluble Lie ring ( and Lie algebras ). The approach is through associative ring theory using the ,I universal enveloping ring. Chapter 2 looks at maximal conditions and residual finiteness while chapter 3 examines the Frattini theory of these Lie rings. Chapter 4 examines the residual properties of certain classes of Lie rings, notably nilpotent Lie rings and Lie rings of matrices over integral domains. Chapter 5 considers Lie rings whose underlying abelian groups satisfy certain rank restrictions. Necessary and sufficient conditions for residual finiteness are established for these rings. In chapter 6 we examine which properties when shared by all the abelian subrings of a soluble Lie ring are inherited by the ring itself. Chapter 7 gives a characterization of certain Lie rings which have the subideal intersection property ( i.e. an arbitrary intersection of subideals is once again a subideal )

It's our turn - young people 'tilting' the neoliberal turn

Education is an important and defining element in young people's lives. When conceived properly, it has the potential to transform opportunities and life chances. It hardly comes as news that in recent times the authors have witnessed the inappropriate intrusion into education of notions of school reform that while they might arguably be in the national economic interest, are highly questionable from the vantage point of young people. In this paper, the authors present some counter-narratives from a group of young Australians who have 'disengaged' or been 'shoved' out of school and who resumed learning under a very different set of conditions to those that exiled them. Through the comments from young people, the authors construct an account of how they came to be categorised as 'at-risk' in the first place, what this pathologising meant to them, and how an alternative approach that invested them with power enabled a more positive identity formation to occur. Notwithstanding its altruistic intent and more humane approach, the authors remain unconvinced on the larger question of 're-engagement to where?' for these young people, and whether the fundamentals have been sufficiently unsettled to enable them a different trajectory.© 2013 Taylor & Francis. Funding: AR

Critical ethnography for school and community renewal around social class differences affecting learning

Understanding and exploring complex and protracted social questions requires sophisticated investigative approaches. In this article we intend looking at a research approach capable of providing a better understanding of what is going on in schools, students and communities in "exceptionally challenging contexts" (Harris et al., 2006)-code for schools and communities that have as a result of wider social forces, been historically placed in situations of disadvantage.C

The role of Rnf in ion gradient formation in Desulfovibrio alaskensis

Rnf is a membrane protein complex that has been shown to be important in energy conservation. Here, Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20 and Rnf mutants of G20 were grown with different electron donor and acceptor combinations to determine the importance of Rnf in energy conservation and the type of ion gradient generated. The addition of the protonophore TCS strongly inhibited lactate-sulfate dependent growth whereas the sodium ionophore ETH2120 had no effect, indicating a role for the proton gradient during growth. Mutants in rnfA and rnfD were more sensitive to the protonophore at 5 µM than the parental strain, suggesting the importance of Rnf in the generation of a proton gradient. The electrical potential (ΔΨ), ΔpH and proton motive force were lower in the rnfA mutant than in the parental strain of D.alaskensis G20. These results provide evidence that the Rnf complex in D. alaskensis functions as a primary proton pump whose activity is important for growth.This work was supported by a grant from the Physical Biosciences program, DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division.Ye