Photocatalytic Decomposition of Phenol under Visible and UV Light Utilizing Titanium Dioxide Based Catalysts

Pollution in wastewater effluvia from phenol and phenolic compounds is a common occurrence in many industrial manufacturing plants. Phenol is toxic to human beings as well as a contaminant to the environment, meanwhile, it is difficult to remove from wastewater due to its non-biodegradable nature. To boost the rate of decomposition, various catalytic approaches have been developed. With the interest of decreasing operation cost, titanium dioxide (TiO2) based catalysts have emerged as good candidates for the photocatalytic process. In this honors project, a series of TiO2 based catalysts, including TiO2, N-TiO2, Cu-TiO2, and Cu-N-TiO2, were utilized to study the decomposition of phenol. Each catalyst was studied under the visible light (589nm) and UV light (385nm) conditions. The UV-Vis spectrophotometer was used to evaluate the catalytic performance. The results revealed that the addition of nitrogen improved the decomposition rate of phenol compared with that of TiO2 itself. Copper did not show improved photocatalysis and requires further investigation

Near-surface stellar magneto-convection: simulations for the Sun and a metal-poor solar analog

We present 2D local box simulations of near-surface radiative magneto-convection with prescribed magnetic flux, carried out with the MHD version of the CO5BOLD code for the Sun and a solar-like star with a metal-poor chemical composition (metal abundances reduced by a factor 100, [M/H]=-2). The resulting magneto-hydrodynamical models can be used to study the influence of the metallicity on the properties of magnetized stellar atmospheres. A preliminary analysis indicates that the horizontal magnetic field component tends to be significantly stronger in the optically thin layers of metal-poor stellar atmospheres.Comment: Proc. IAU Symposium 259, Cosmic Magnetic Fields: from Planets, to Stars and Galaxies, K.G. Strassmeier, A.G. Kosovichev and J.E. Beckman, eds. (2009) p.23

WHO CAN TEACH US? AN EXPLORATION OF THE INFLUENCES OF PEDAGOGY ON THE DISEMPOWERMENT OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF OAXACA, MEXICO

Persistent poverty coupled with inequality and marginalization continues to broaden the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous populations of Oaxaca, Mexico. Particularly in the field of education, Oaxaca exhibits an insufficient and inadequate pedagogical system. Federal, State, and NGOs educational interventions have been unreliable at best, demonstrating minimal outcomes predominantly in the degree and percentage of engagement that the indigenous of Oaxaca demonstrate at creating and implementing educational alternatives suitable to their local and state needs. The development of an ethnic pedagogical system—with all its propositions of community engagement for the purpose of progress—is critical to poverty exits as demonstrated by current research. This multi-site case study is an exploration of indigenous teachers and mothers’ perceptions and values concerning education in three communities of the state of Oaxaca. Data was collected using socio-demographic questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and participant observations. The findings suggest that that the degree and rate of engagement of indigenous in the creation of educational alternatives is affected by their perceptions and values concerning education. Participants believed that, for the significance of their survival as nations living within a nation, the fight to recover their cultural identity is a greater priority than academic and universal knowledge, that cultural and traditional principles and ethics should be the directive of education, and lastly the use and teaching of technology should be under the framework of values and behaviors of each individual ethnic group. An additional and vital finding emerging from this study is the notion that while the essential characteristics of education have been used to disempower societies these cultures in turn have disempowered education through rendering it inoperative. These dynamics generate yet another drawback to indigenous peoples: education as the path to indigenous personal and social development and progress at best enjoys a good status while at worst continues to remain neglected along with all its transformative qualities

A Qualitative Investigation of Mindfulness Practice with Clients Suffering from Anxiety

Mindfulness has been proposed as a potentially important new approach for the treatment of anxiety and has been increasingly used in clinical practice. However, to date no studies have researched the approaches that clinicians use in practice with anxiety. The goal of this study was to qualitatively investigate these approaches for anxiety using interviews with therapists on the ways they incorporate mindfulness in their approach with clients with anxiety. Six therapists outside of the formal approaches of mindfulness were interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured and questions were asked about their use of mindfulness in practice with anxiety. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory. The themes that were found in the data were: teaching awareness of self and anxiety, teaching openness and acceptance of anxiety, use of mindfulness exercises, taking mindfulness into everyday life, use of mindfulness in practice as an art, and introduction to mindfulness. The concrete discussion of mindfulness by research participants allows for practitioners to have specific examples of how mindfulness can be incorporated into practice