Waste as property: The law’s role in maximising value

The concept of waste is explored against the background of the law of property. Drawing on the work of Eduardo Peñalver, this article addresses how waste is a form of property, property for which the law heavily regulates disposal. Conceptualising waste in such a manner is possible, as it is possible for property to have not only a positive value but also a negative value. How the law regulates the disposal of our unwanted property has important ramifications for the waste cycle. Restricting the disposal of waste can encourage practices such as recycling, and ensure waste is directed to the waste streams in which maximum value can be extracted therefrom. This contribution aims to illustrate the above through the example of mine waste, as the value of mine waste is context-sensitive. It is possible for this form of waste to take on a positive or a negative value, depending on context. Furthermore, it is crucial that such waste be adequately regulated, to ensure the extraction of maximum value, both economic and social.Significance:• Waste can be conceptualised as property, and the law strictly regulates the disposal of all forms of property. The law can play an important role in ensuring that maximum value is realised from waste

Rethinking 3D-QSAR

The average error of pIC50 prediction reported for 140 structures in make-and-test applications of topomer CoMFA by four discovery organizations is 0.5. This remarkable accuracy can be understood to result from a topomer pose’s goal of generating field differences only at lattice intersections adjacent to intended structural change

The abandonment of landownership: a proposed model for regulated exit

The question whether it is possible to abandon landownership is unresolved in South African law. The subject has only rarely been the subject of attention by scholars, with legislation and existing case law providing little in the way of clear guidance. This lack of clarity is obviously not ideal. In South Africa landowners may find themselves burdened with the ownership of land which has accrued a negative value. This thesis seeks to engage with the question on a theoretical level, including to provide answers to practical problems in the South African landownership context. Ultimately two primary questions must be answered: 1. Is the abandonment of landownership possible in the South African legal framework? 2. Should the abandonment of landownership be permitted, and if so, under what circumstances? The first question is evaluated in light of existing common-law principles, case law, as well as legislation such as the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937. However, the second question will be the primary focus of the thesis. Through the lens of the socialobligation norm of property as conceptualised by Gregory Alexander, as well as comparative studies of Swiss and Scots law, the thesis explores the viability of a right to abandon landownership in South African law. The thesis argues that the abandonment of landownership in South Africa is not possible in the prevailing legal framework. Furthermore, an unrestricted right to abandon is not viable in the South African socio-economic context. However, landowners who find themselves burdened with land which has accrued a negative value for which they are not at fault may require some form of regulated exit from that ownership. The thesis makes suggestions for legislative law reform in this regard, to provide balance between the interests of landowners and the wider community

Plant community establishment on the volcanic deposits following the 2006 nuées ardentes (pyroclastic flows) of Mount Merapi: diversity and floristic variation

Sutomo, Hobbs R, Cramer V (2011) Plant community establishment on the volcanic deposits following the 2006 nuées ardentes (pyroclastic flows) of Mount Merapi: diversity and floristic variation. Biodiversitas 12: 86-91. Species establishment and composition changes in a substrate with little or no biological legacy is known as primary succession, and volcanoes, erosion, landslides, floodplains and glaciers are some type of disturbances that can create this kind of environment. Mount Merapi with its Merapi-type nuées ardentes or pyroclastic flows provides excellent opportunities to study primary succession. Using chronosequence approach, plant establishment and succession was studied, and thus five areas that were affected by nuées ardentes deposits between 1994 and 2006 were chosen as study sites. Results showed that there was a rapid colonization by vascular plants in primary succession as the sites aged. Imperata cylindrica, Eupatorium riparium, Anaphalis javanica, Athyrium macrocarpum, Brachiaria paspaloides, Dichantium caricosum, Selaginella doederleinii, Eleusine indica, Cyperus flavidus, Calliandra callothyrsus and Acacia decurrens were the species mainly responsible in explaining the differences between sites. Furthermore, the species richness and diversity reach their peak 14 years after disturbance

Project Hydra: Designing & Building a Reusable Framework for Multipurpose, Multifunction, Multi-institutional Repository-Powered Solutions

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Fedora User Group PresentationsDate: 2009-05-20 03:30 PM – 05:00 PMThere is a clear business need in higher education for a flexible, reusable application framework that can support the rapid development of multiple systems tailored to distinct needs, but powered by a common underlying repository. Recognizing this common need, Stanford University, the University of Hull and the University of Virginia are collaborating on "Project Hydra", a three-year effort to create an application and middleware framework that, in combination with an underlying Fedora repository, will create a reusable environment for running multifunction, multipurpose repository-powered solutions. This paper details the collaborators' functional and technical design for such a framework, and will demonstrate the progress made to date on the initiative.JIS

We and they: Pronouns as measures of political identification and estrangement

Some people refer to the United States government as "we," some people as "they," in responses to an open-ended survey question on American intervention in Vietnam. This seemingly trivial linguistic difference (and perhaps others) can be included as part of a regular coding operation. In the present instance, race seems to be the most important determinant of pronoun usage, with blacks more likely to refer to the United States as "they" rather than "we." The pattern of other associations to pronoun referent also differs by race: white they-sayers tend to be low in education and in personal trust of other people generally, while black they-sayers are not distinctive in education, but give evidence of solidarity with blacks and of alienation from whites. Not all the results fit together neatly, and limitations of the present measure are noted, but the findings suggest the value of content analysis of linguistic style in verbatim responses to survey questions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21996/1/0000408.pd