Negotiating spaces: The role of media in perceptions of identity among Ethiopian migrants in Johannesburg: a focus on consumption patterns

Student Number : 9201317D - MA research report - School of Journalism and Media Studies - Faculty of HumanitiesJohannesburg has seen a significant increase in its Ethiopian born population since the end of apartheid, which mirrors global patterns of cities being the primary destinations of international migrants. In addition the city is considered instrumental in shaping South Africa’s media landscape. It is this juncture between media and migration which forms the theoretical basis of this study, as they both recognise the work of the imagination. This study explores the local particularities and stylistic features of media consumption patterns of Ethiopian migrants in Johannesburg and the relationship this has with articulating their self-understanding. It argues that South African media informs the bulk of the Ethiopian migrant media experience and as a result it contributes in assisting their integration into Johannesburg society. On the other hand, South African media also plays an active part in enforcing the respondents’ sense of social exclusion, as the media highlights South African behaviours which they find offensive (such as xenophobia). In this way, Ethiopian migrant narratives and the ways in which they consume media serves both to rationalise their choice of leaving ‘home’ and the state of permanent transit in which they live

High-throughput screening of metal-porphyrin-like graphenes for selective capture of carbon dioxide

Nanostructured materials, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks, have been considered to capture CO2. However, their application has been limited largely because they exhibit poor selectivity for flue gases and low capture capacity under low pressures. We perform a high-throughput screening for selective CO2 capture from flue gases by using first principles thermodynamics. We find that elements with empty d orbitals selectively attract CO2 from gaseous mixtures under low CO2 pressures (similar to 10(-3) bar) at 300 K and release it at similar to 450 K. CO2 binding to elements involves hybridization of the metal d orbitals with the CO2 pi orbitals and CO2-transition metal complexes were observed in experiments. This result allows us to perform high-throughput screening to discover novel promising CO2 capture materials with empty d orbitals (e.g., Sc- or V-porphyrin-like graphene) and predict their capture performance under various conditions. Moreover, these findings provide physical insights into selective CO2 capture and open a new path to explore CO2 capture materialsopen

The calcium looping cycle for CO2 capture from power generation, cement manufacture and hydrogen production

Calcium looping is a CO2 capture scheme using solid CaO-based sorbents to remove CO2 from flue gases, e.g., from a power plant, producing a concentrated stream of CO2 (∼95%) suitable for storage. The scheme exploits the reversible gas-solid reaction between CO2 and CaO(s) to form CaCO3(s). Calcium looping has a number of advantages compared to closer-to-market capture schemes, including: the use of circulating fluidised bed reactors-a mature technology at large scale; sorbent derived from cheap, abundant and environmentally benign limestone and dolomite precursors; and the relatively small efficiency penalty that it imposes on the power/industrial process (i.e., estimated at 6-8 percentage points, compared to 9.5-12.5 from amine-based post-combustion capture). A further advantage is the synergy with cement manufacture, which potentially allows for decarbonisation of both cement manufacture and power production. In addition, a number of advanced applications offer the potential for significant cost reductions in the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels coupled with CO2 capture. The range of applications of calcium looping are discussed here, including the progress made towards demonstrating this technology as a viable post-combustion capture technology using small-pilot scale rigs, and the early progress towards a 2MW scale demonstrator. © 2010 The Institution of Chemical Engineers

THE PARADOX OF INDIVIDUALISM IN HIERARCHICAL ORGANISATIONS

MBA thesis - WBSDespite the rise of second wave organisational structures, organisational hierarchies have proven to be resilient and adaptive to change. Given this restrictive reality, grid-group cultural theory suggests that individualists will experience constraining social relations. The purpose of this study was to identify the factor conditions that result in the various coping strategies of individualists. A phenomenological strategy of inquiry was adopted, producing a description of the behavioural strategies of four individualists. Given sufficient factor conditions and an ability to cooperate with colleagues, the individualist was found to thrive. The corollary is that social relations were transformed such that the individualist chose to exit the organisation. Where exit was not viable, the individualist adopted a fatalistic bias, purging work life from the locus of actualisation. The study has validated grid-group cultural theory as an explanatory framework of behavioural strategies and has important implications for the management of organisational cultur

The extent of relative deprivation in upwardly mobile South Africans and its impact on financial attitudes

The purpose of the research was to explore the relationship between relative deprivation and the attitudes driving consumption of upwardly mobile South Africans. Various propositions presented in the literature were tested within the context of upwardly mobile South Africans. Two areas of focus of this study is (1) the extent and impact of relative deprivation on attitudes towards consumption and personal finances, and (2) an assessment of the differences in attitudes towards consumption and personal finances of this group. The study found that this group has a high level of self-esteem and cannot be defined as relatively deprived. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that social comparison within this group does not encourage consumption for the purpose of the achievement of social status. Of particular relevance to South Africa is that the study has demonstrated that there are very few differences in attitudes between the different race groups. This confirms that upwardly mobile South Africans are fairly homogenous in terms of their experience of relative deprivation given that both upwardly mobile blacks and whites have high self-esteem. It also demonstrates that the experience of relative deprivation by the different race groups may be more consistent with each other than previous studies have shown.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte