Climate change plays a vital role in shaping the knowledge construction of farmers for managing their agricultural land. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the coffee farmers’ knowledge construction process regarding climate change. This research utilizes qualitative methods. This research approach uses the grounded theory, which can help researchers uncover the relationship between the coffee farmers’ knowledge construction and climate change. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using constant comparative methods. The transcription of the field notes was analyzed using NVivo version 12, a program for analyzing qualitative data. There were 33 informants in the study. This study found that the conditions and situations of wind speed and uncertain whether strongly influence the farmers’ construction of climate knowledge. Coffee farmers are looking for new ways to respond to climate change, such as increasing the intensity of the care they give to their coffee plants, gradually harvesting according to the ripeness of the coffee fruits, finding alternative ways to dry the coffee beans, and reducing the use of fertilizer. However, coffee farmers are also starting to adapt old knowledge from their parents to the latest perceived climate phenomena, so that they can look for alternative sources of livelihood outside their farms. This knowledge construction process serves as a form of adaptation by the coffee farmers to climate change, and reflects the dynamic between traditional knowledge and current experience. Understanding this knowledge construction helps coffee farmers to cope with climate change and to design appropriate policy strategies to support the sustainability of coffee farming in an era of climate change. Further research is needed at the regional level.
The Bini people of Edo State, located in the Edo South senatorial district, have been the focus of a study investigating the impact of international migration on Nigerian infrastructure. The study employed a descriptive-qualitative approach, using a survey research methodology and structured questionnaires to gather data from 401 respondents. The study used regression and thematic analysis to examine the collected data, focusing on the connection between migration and the advancement of infrastructure. The findings suggest that low incomes, job insecurity, and the development of domestic infrastructure contribute to the momentum behind international migration movements. The study suggests that remittances from migrants and investments are needed to alleviate the situation, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and sustainable approach to addressing the challenges faced by the Bini people in Edo State.
Water splitting, the process of converting water into hydrogen and oxygen gases, has garnered significant attention as a promising avenue for sustainable energy production. One area of focus has been the development of efficient and cost-effective catalysts for water splitting. Researchers have explored catalysts based on abundant and inexpensive materials such as nickel, iron, and cobalt, which have demonstrated improved performance and stability. These catalysts show promise for large-scale implementation and offer potential for reducing the reliance on expensive and scarce materials. Another avenue of research involves photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells, which utilize solar energy to drive the water-splitting reaction. Scientists have been working on designing novel materials, including metal oxides and semiconductors, to enhance light absorption and charge separation properties. These advancements in PEC technology aim to maximize the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, artificial photosynthesis approaches have also gained traction. By integrating light-absorbing materials, catalysts, and membranes, these systems aim to mimic the complex processes of natural photosynthesis and produce hydrogen fuel from water. The development of efficient and stable artificial photosynthesis systems holds promise for sustainable and clean energy production. Tandem cells, which combine multiple light-absorbing materials with different bandgaps, have emerged as a strategy to enhance the efficiency of water-splitting systems. By capturing a broader range of the solar spectrum, tandem cells optimize light absorption and improve overall system performance. Lastly, advancements in electrocatalysis have played a critical role in water splitting. Researchers have focused on developing advanced electrocatalysts with high activity, selectivity, and stability for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). These electrocatalysts contribute to overall water-splitting efficiency and pave the way for practical implementation.
Magnesium hydroxide/melamine phosphate borate (nano MH/MPB), a novel nano-composition intumescent flame retardant, was synthesized with the in-situ reaction method from MgCl2·6H2O sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and melamine phosphate borate (MPB) in the absence of H2O. The structure of the product was confirmed by EDAX IR and XRD. The effects of reaction temperature and time on the dimension of magnesium hydroxide were observed. The effects of mass ratio of magnesium hydroxide to MPB on the flame retardancy of nano-MH/MPB/EP were examined with the limiting oxygen test. The results show that the optimal condition of synthesis of MH/MPB is mMH/mMPB = 0.25, reacting under 75 ℃ for 30 minutes. Finally, the mechanism for flame retardancy of nano-MH/MPB/EP was pilot studied by means of IR of char layer and TG of MH/MPB.
Brunei Darussalam is a small Sultanate country with diverse forest cover. One of them would be Mangrove Forest. As it has four main administrative districts, Temburong would be the chosen case study area. The methods of collecting data for this article are by collecting secondary data from official websites and the map in this article (Figure 1) are showing the forest cover in Brunei Darussalam as of 2020. The aim of this article is to explain the mangrove forest especially at the Temburong District. As for the objectives, it would to be able to show the different types of forests in Temburong, hoping in ability to explain the different subtypes of mangroves forest and to explain in general the green jewel of Brunei Darussalam. Temburong has become the second highest tree coverage in Brunei Darussalam of 124 kha as of 2010, while the mangrove forest covering about 66% of total mangrove forest of 12,164 km2 out of 18,418 hectares. Mangrove forest has seven subtypes: Bakau species, Nyireh bunga, Linggadai, Nipah, Nipah-Dungun, Pedada and Nibong. Selirong Forest Reserve and Labu Forest Reserve are the two-mangrove forest reserves in Brunei Darussalam at Temburong District. Forest cover in Brunei Darussalam are 3800 hectares as of 2020 and has lost its tree coverage of 1.17 kha and one of the reasons would be forest fire and the tree cover loss due to fire is around 197 ha and the district that has lost its tree cover mostly was at Belait District of total 13.4 kha between the year 2001 until 2022.
Green manufacturing is increasingly becoming popular, especially in lubricant manufacturing, as more environmentally friendly substitutes for mineral base oil and synthetic additives are being found among plant extracts and progress in methodologies for extraction and synthesis is being made. It has been observed that some of the important performance characteristics need enhancement, of which nanoparticle addition has been noted as one of the effective solutions. However, the concentration of the addictive that would optimised the performance characteristics of interest remains a contending area of research. The research was out to find how the concentration of green synthesized aluminum oxide nanoparticles in nano lubricants formed from selected vegetable oils influences friction and wear. A bottom-up green synthesis approach was adopted to synthesize aluminum oxide (Al2O3) from aluminum nitrate (Al(NO3)3) precursor in the presence of a plant-based reducing agent—Ipomoea pes-caprae. The synthesized Al2O3 nanoparticles were characterized using TEM and XRD and found to be mostly of spherical shape of sizes 44.73 nm. Al2O3 nanoparticles at different concentrations—0.1 wt%, 0.3 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 0.7 wt%, and 1.0 wt%—were used as additives to castor, jatropha, and palm kernel oils to formulate nano lubricants and tested alternately on a ball-on-aluminum (SAE 332) and low-carbon steel Disc Tribometer. All the vegetable-based oil nano lubricants showed a significant decrease in the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate with Ball-on-(aluminum SAE 332) disc tribometer up to 0.5wt% of the nanoparticle: the best performances (eCOF = 92.29; eWR = 79.53) came from Al2O3-castor oil nano lubricant and Al2O3-palm kernel oil; afterwards, they started to increase. However, the performance indices displayed irregular behaviour for both COF and Wear Rate (WR) when tested on a ball-on-low-carbon steel Disc Tribometer.
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