Socially networked heterogeneity : the influence of WhatsApp as a social networking site on polarisation in Kenya

Using a cross-sectional survey of two sampled counties in Kenya, this article analyses whether social networking sites reflect social network heterogeneity. It then examines how social network heterogeneity influences polarisation in Kenya. Three types of polarisation are examined: party, ethnic and ideological (around county resources). The study focuses specifically on the public WhatsApp platform (the most popular SNS in Kenya). To assess this empirical data, theoretical perspectives are drawn from the literatures on incidental and selective exposure and their impact on political polarisation. The findings indicate that the randomised composition of a WhatsApp group through public links indeed reflects social network heterogeneity. The findings further show that posting political news, obtaining political news and commenting on political news influence social network heterogeneity to some degree. This social network heterogeneity was also found to influence all three (party, ideological and ethnic) types of polarisation in varying but significant degrees

Freedom as power : the case of poverty

M.A. (Politics).This is a study in political philosophy. It defends the following thesis: where there is poverty there is a lack of power and thus a lack of freedom. It does not follow from this that a life of wealth is a life of freedom and a life of poverty is a life of complete unfreedom. This is because full freedom also involves other components such as political freedom, economic freedom and so on. The thesis defended here is simply the negative one that humans remain unfree as long as they live in conditions of poverty. Thus poverty should be construed as lack of freedom in the sense of constraints or fetters it casts upon people collectively. For example, the harsh effects of segregation in the United States and apartheid in South Africa are that people continue to live in separate communities somewhat along the colour line. The worse effect of this is that those who live in poorly resourced communities are Black. They in this manner remain without freedom here construed as power to tum their situation around. This thesis criticises the liberal account of Berlin and others of similar persuasions and offer a distinct account of freedom that locates it in an individual's capacity to carry out desired actions. It will then argue that poverty constrains freedom in this sense. Thus if you are poor, you are unfree and without power to generate the requisite necessaries of life. This thesis also aims to show how the two concepts of liberty or the liberal perspective of freedom as such do not take into account the important social problems confronting us in the world today, for example poverty which in this project is taken as an exemplar of lack of freedom. Poverty is characterized best as being without the necessities to meet basic human needs such as shelter, food and recreation. More importantly, any alternative to address poverty must take into account the fundamental significance of participation in politics

Effects of Modifying Acidity and Reducibility on the Activity of NaY Zeolite in the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of n-Octane

Non-coking stable alkaline earth metal (M = Mg, Sr, and Ba) modified Ga-NaY catalysts were prepared by ionic-exchange and tested in oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of n-octane using air as the source of oxygen. The role of the alkaline earth metals in NaY was to poison the acid sites while enhancing the basic sites responsible for ODH. The exception was the calcium modified NaY, which was more acidic than the parent NaY, coking and unstable under the ODH conditions used in this study. The role of gallium was to enhance the dehydrogenation pathway and improve the stability of NaY. The sequence of increasing selectivity to octenes followed the order: CaGa-NaY < Ga-NaY< MgGa-NaY < SrGa-NaY < BaGa-NaY. The highest octene selectivity obtained was 37% at iso-conversion of 6 ± 1% when BaGa-NaY was used at a temperature of 450 °C. The activity of the catalysts was directly proportional to the reducibility of the catalysts, which is in agreement with expectations

Effects of Framework Disruption of Ga and Ba Containing Zeolitic Materials by Thermal Treatment

The effect of the thermal treatment of some zeolitic materials was studied on oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of n-octane. Gallium containing faujasite catalysts were synthesized using isomorphic substitution, specifically, a galosilicalite (Ga-BaY(Sil)) and an aluminosilicalite substituted with gallium (Ga-BaY(IS)), with constant Si/M ratio. The catalysts were thermally treated at different temperatures (250, 550, and 750 °C) before catalytic testing. The quantification of total and strength of acid sites by FT-IR (O-H region), pyridine-IR, and NH3-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) confirmed a decrease in the number of Brønsted acid sites and an increase in the number of Lewis acid sites upon increasing the calcination temperature. Isothermal n-octane conversion also decreased with the catalysts’ calcination temperature, whereas octene selectivity showed the opposite trend (also at iso-conversion). The COx selectivity showed a decrease over the catalysts calcined from 250 to 550 °C and then an increase over the 750 °C calcined catalysts, which was due to the strong adsorption of products to strong Lewis acid sites on the catalysts leading to the deep oxidation of the products. Only olefinic-cracked products were observed over the 750 °C calcined catalysts. This suggested that the thermal treatment increases Lewis acid sites, which activate n-octane using a bimolecular mechanism, instead of a monomolecular mechanism

Predicting the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of the invasive tomato pinworm Phthorimaea absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract Phthorimaea absoluta (Meyrick) (= Tuta absoluta) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is the most damaging insect pest threatening the production of tomato and other solanaceous vegetables in many countries. In this study, we predicted the risk of establishment and number of generations for P. absoluta in the current and future climatic conditions under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) of the years 2050 and 2070 using insect life cycle modelling (ILCYM) software. We used a temperature-dependent phenology model to project three risk indices viz., establishment risk index (ERI), generation index (GI), and activity index (AI) based on temperature data. The model projected large suitable areas for P. absoluta establishment in the Southern hemisphere under current and future climatic scenarios, compared to the Northern part. However, the risk of P. absoluta is expected to increase in Europe, USA, Southern Africa, and some parts of Asia in the future. Under current conditions, P. absoluta can complete between 6 and 16 generations per year in suitable areas. However, an increase in GI between 1 and 3 per year is projected for most parts of the world in the future, with an increase in AI between 1 and 4. Our results provide information on the risk of establishment of P. absoluta which could guide decision-makers to develop control strategies adapted for specific agro-ecological zones

Music advocacy, the media and the Malawi political public sphere, 1958–2007

Journalists and writers in Malawi were crucial in the resistance to Dr Banda's hegemony between 1964 and 1993. The contested terrain was orality. This paper concentrates on the role of musicians and asserts that musicians in Malawi were, and arguably are, much braver and more persistent political critics and social change advocates than their counterparts in print journalism. While journalists censored themselves, and were censored, oral practitioners' lyrics and texts were usually much more explicit. Musicians exploited aspects of traditional culture to point out the political-economic suffering of the peasantry. While journalists' critiques and analyses have, since 1995, become more muted, musicians have continued to provide more independent, forceful voices on behalf of the poor in a country where literacy levels remain low and English is the official legislative, political and economic voice. This paper argues that an assessment of Malawi's public sphere excluding oral critiques misses significant and critical inputs important for social and developmental change