Jeffery Nicholas differentiates between objective reason as a practice of evaluation that provides justification and critique and subjective rationality as a subspecies of reason limited to means-ends forms of reasoni...Jeffery Nicholas differentiates between objective reason as a practice of evaluation that provides justification and critique and subjective rationality as a subspecies of reason limited to means-ends forms of reasoning. He believes that modem crisis is a crisis of reason due to the dominant form of reason in modernity, i.e., subjective rationality. Nicholas aspires to develop a substantive form of reason to base a critical theory of society aimed at human emancipation in the spirit of the Frankfurt School. The most interesting part of this effort is that although Nicholas thinks that Habermas＇s theory of procedural and situated communicative rationality is an initial step towards a substantive conception of reason, he recognizes the limitations of formalism in this conception and argues that the requisite terms provides Maclntyre＇s theory of tradition-constituted and tradition-constitutive reason. The mediating figure in this project is Charles Taylor, whose critique, first, is used against Habermas and, then, his Gadamerian idea of the ＂fusion of horizons＂ is adopted in order to expand Maclntyre＇s theory.展开更多
Cassava is currently being investigated for biogas production in South Africa as it offers multiple benefits such as high yields of starch and total dry matter. The chemical constituents of the cassava biomass were de...Cassava is currently being investigated for biogas production in South Africa as it offers multiple benefits such as high yields of starch and total dry matter. The chemical constituents of the cassava biomass were determined using standard methods. Using a locally fabricated laboratory batch fermenter, anaerobic digestion was carried out in a 25 L capacity digester maintained at 36 ± 0.5 ℃. Pre-treatment of the cassava biomass with spoilage fungi, Aspergillus niger and PeniciUium species yielded large amounts of fermentable sugars for digestion. Cassava slurry was made and mixed with zebra droppings （2：1 v/v） and loaded into the digester of 20 L working volume. Analysis results showed an increase in most nutrients after pretreatment except for starch which decreased from 76% to 60% as a result of its hydrolysis to fermentable sugars by the spoilage fungi. Theoretical biogas yields were between 0.71 nm3 and 0.75 nm^3 per kg VS （volatile solids） destroyed while the total biogas yields of between 250 nm^3 and 300 nm^3 per kg VS fed into the digester was obtained after 20 days residence time. Cassava is not yet a staple food in some BRICs countries like South Africa and the peels and other by-products of its processing are equally suitable for energy production. The use of cassava will be an alternative feedstock strategy for several rural biogas projects running with cow dungs inside South Africa. In addition, opportunities exist for decentralized, cheaper and socially advantageous bioenergy production from cassava considering that fuel and electricity needs are not satisfied in many rural areas. Finally, the incorporation of cassava anaerobic digestion facility at different scales will deliver additional benefits like the incorporation of nutrients and residual carbon into the land as fertilizer.展开更多
文摘Jeffery Nicholas differentiates between objective reason as a practice of evaluation that provides justification and critique and subjective rationality as a subspecies of reason limited to means-ends forms of reasoning. He believes that modem crisis is a crisis of reason due to the dominant form of reason in modernity, i.e., subjective rationality. Nicholas aspires to develop a substantive form of reason to base a critical theory of society aimed at human emancipation in the spirit of the Frankfurt School. The most interesting part of this effort is that although Nicholas thinks that Habermas＇s theory of procedural and situated communicative rationality is an initial step towards a substantive conception of reason, he recognizes the limitations of formalism in this conception and argues that the requisite terms provides Maclntyre＇s theory of tradition-constituted and tradition-constitutive reason. The mediating figure in this project is Charles Taylor, whose critique, first, is used against Habermas and, then, his Gadamerian idea of the ＂fusion of horizons＂ is adopted in order to expand Maclntyre＇s theory.
文摘Cassava is currently being investigated for biogas production in South Africa as it offers multiple benefits such as high yields of starch and total dry matter. The chemical constituents of the cassava biomass were determined using standard methods. Using a locally fabricated laboratory batch fermenter, anaerobic digestion was carried out in a 25 L capacity digester maintained at 36 ± 0.5 ℃. Pre-treatment of the cassava biomass with spoilage fungi, Aspergillus niger and PeniciUium species yielded large amounts of fermentable sugars for digestion. Cassava slurry was made and mixed with zebra droppings （2：1 v/v） and loaded into the digester of 20 L working volume. Analysis results showed an increase in most nutrients after pretreatment except for starch which decreased from 76% to 60% as a result of its hydrolysis to fermentable sugars by the spoilage fungi. Theoretical biogas yields were between 0.71 nm3 and 0.75 nm^3 per kg VS （volatile solids） destroyed while the total biogas yields of between 250 nm^3 and 300 nm^3 per kg VS fed into the digester was obtained after 20 days residence time. Cassava is not yet a staple food in some BRICs countries like South Africa and the peels and other by-products of its processing are equally suitable for energy production. The use of cassava will be an alternative feedstock strategy for several rural biogas projects running with cow dungs inside South Africa. In addition, opportunities exist for decentralized, cheaper and socially advantageous bioenergy production from cassava considering that fuel and electricity needs are not satisfied in many rural areas. Finally, the incorporation of cassava anaerobic digestion facility at different scales will deliver additional benefits like the incorporation of nutrients and residual carbon into the land as fertilizer.
