This dissertation is entitled, "The Awareness of Wildlife Conservation by learners and educators in the Bojanala District". Following a national initiative driven by the Department of Education, the entire School Curriculum is being changed. Since 1998 there has been a shift from the traditional system of individual, unrelated subjects to an emphasis on integrated themes. The subject of environment was to be incorporated into the new curriculum, particularly at the primary school level, through these themes. The Environmental Education, particularly wildlife conservation topics are therefore likely to receive more attention than it has in the past. However the system has not yet been designed to cater for such topics, which can educate learners on how to preserve, protect and conserve their wildlife species. It is unclear how effective education around environmental issues will be. The study sought to answer the following research questions: • Does the National Curriculum Statement cater for Environmental Education, particularly for the wildlife conservation topics in Bojanala District? • Do educators in schools and other NGO'S promote wildlife conservation in Bojanala District? • What learners' and educators' activities and natural traits endanger wildlife? • Can game animals be managed sustainably? The study drew its population and sample from the Bojanala District area which included both Bojanala West and Bojanala East. The data collected through questionnaire and interviews were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The literature search revealed that wildlife extinction comes about when the birth rate of an established population remains less than its death rate for a sufficiently long time interval to allow random fluctuations in the yearly death rate to diminish the population size to zero. Findings on the view of people were also noted. Learners and educators, including other community members around the Bojanala District area, particularly in the rural areas, have unquestionably contributed to the high rate of extinction of many modem species either directly through hunting or indirectly through habitat destruction. Most of the learners lack information as far as wildlife conservation is concerned. Concerning the remedies, environmentalists and NGO'S around the Bojanala District areas should ensure and encourage the conservation organizations to collaborate their conservation projects together with the local schools to ensure proper understanding as far as wildlife conservation is concerned and to educate both learners and educators on how to protect wildlife species. Finally, to ensure success in trying to deal with the problem caused by lack of knowledge in wildlife conservation matters or projects, the study expressed the need for further research to be conducted on the Curriculum Development, to find out why Environmental Education programmes, particularly wildlife conservation topics are not yet included or integrated into other school learning areas. / Thesis (M.Ed) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2010

Active interrogation of cargo containers employing monoenergetic photons offers an expeditious low-dose approach in pursuit of shielded special nuclear materials. Cherenkov detectors can be used for a variety of purposes, including imaging of the cargo contingent upon gamma ray energies used in interrogation. If the gamma ray energies are sufficiently well separated, as the case in $^{11}$B(d,n-$\gamma$)$^{12}$C reaction resulting in 4.4 MeV and 15.1 MeV photons, spectral analysis using Cherenkov detectors is possible. Applying an array of custom designed Cherenkov detectors reduce undesired low energy background, both natural and scatter from the application environment, while producing the capability of high contrast transmission imaging. Spectral analysis of the image can be used to confirm the presence of high-Z materials by analyzing the relative transmission of the two main energies emitted by exploiting the large difference in Compton Scatter and pair production cross sections. These detectors require a special approach to design and energy calibration due to the lack of resolution in order for spectral analysis to take place. This thesis addresses the design and utility of Cherenkov detectors for active interrogation with monoenergetic photons as well as the results of computational and experimental studies of their energy calibration and application to imaging with material identification.

published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

IRAS observations of extragalactic objects are analyzed, supplemented by optical spectroscopy and 10 μm photometry. The relationship between various forms of activity in the nuclei of spiral galaxies and their mid- to far-infrared spectral energy distributions is explored. It is shown that more than 70% of galaxies with F₆₀/F₂₅ ≤ 3 are Seyferts, while the remainder have bright optical emission lines in their nuclear spectra. It is argued that most Seyferts are powered by their active nuclei at 25 μm, while there is some indication that Seyferts with large F₆₀/F₂₅ flux ratios are undergoing starbursts in the vicinity of their nuclei. The properties of a sample of bright, extragalactic IRAS sources are studied. A catalog containing total infrared and blue fluxes, distance estimates, recession velocities, and morphological classifications for these objects is presented. The brightest sources at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths are (in order of frequency) nearby, normal spiral galaxies; galaxies with disturbed or irregular morphology (often known as interacting galaxies); type 2 Seyferts; and dust-embedded type 1 Seyferts. All of these sources are dominated by thermal emission from dust. The dust in the peculiar, irregular, and Seyfert galaxies is exposed to a higher mean intensity of radiation. Moreover, these IR-active galaxies tend to have strong, compact nuclear sources at 11 μm, whether or not they contain a known Seyfert nucleus. The distinctive spectral behavior of IR-luminous galaxies is shown to result from the presence of compact, dust-dominated IR nuclear sources, which are the predominant cause of IR luminosities above 10¹¹ L(⊙). Compact IR sources are always associated with a dust-embedded region of ionized gas in the galaxy's nucleus, which may exhibit Seyfert, LINER, or H II region characteristics. The luminosity of the compact nuclear source is well correlated with its 60/100 μm color. This relationship is a vital clue to the nature of these sources and has potential application as a standard candle.

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No description available.

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No description available.