Neo-positivist or neo-kantian? Karl Popper and the Vienna Circle.

This paper re-contextualises Popper within a Kantian tradition by examining his interaction with the Vienna Circle. The complexity of Popper’s relationship to the Vienna Circle is often a point of confusion as some view him as a member of the Vienna Circle while others minimise his association with this group. This paper argues that Popper was not a member of the Vienna Circle or a positivist but shared many neo-Kantian philosophical tendencies with the members of the Circle as well as many of their philosophical problems and interests. By better understanding the influence of the Circle’s members upon Popper, we not only remove the myths surrounding Popper’s positivism, but also place the logical positivism of the Vienna Circle within its proper philosophical context. This paper further argues that it was Popper’s friend during his formative philosophical years in Vienna, Julius Kraft (1921–1960) who was responsible for the way in which Popper approached Kant. Through Kraft, Popper was introduced to the thought of Leonard Nelson (1882–1927) and Jakob Fries (1773–1843) as well as a tradition of critical rationalism which Popper would continue both in his methodological orientation as well as through his late German Enlightenment intellectual values.

Consequences of intraspecific seed-size variation in Sparganium emersum for dispersal by fish

1. The potential for seed dispersal by fish (ichthyochory) is likely to vary within aquatic plant species, depending on intraspecific variation in phenotypic seed traits.

2. We studied the effect of seed size variation within the unbranched burreed (Sparganium emersum) on the potential for internal dispersal by the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), by feeding them light (< 10 mg), medium (10–20 mg) and heavy ( > 20 mg) seeds, seed mass being positively related to seed size.

3. We hypothesized: (i) that ingestion, retention time, survival during gut passage and viability after gut passage of S. emersum seeds would be affected by seed size; and (ii) that this would translate into intraspecific variation in dispersal probability and dispersal distance among seed size categories.

4. Ingestion was negatively related to seed size, while survival during gut passage was positively related to seed size. Seed viability after gut passage was not affected by seed size. Since the negative effect of ingestion was counterbalanced by an equally strong but positive effect on seed survival, the probability of dispersal did not differ between the tested seed-size categories.

5. The time that seeds remained in the digestive tract of carp did not differ between seed sizes, suggesting equal potential dispersal distances for all seeds. Based on optimum swimming speeds of carp, ranging from 0·9 to 1·8 km h−1, maximum dispersal distances will most likely range from 13·5 to 27 km.

6. This study highlights the importance of studying all stages of the endozoochorous dispersal process in order to estimate the effect of a phenotypic seed trait on plant dispersal.

The effect of seed morphology on the potential dispersal of aquatic macrophytes by the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

1. The potential for seed dispersal by fish (ichthyochory) will vary among aquatic plants because of differences in seed size and morphology.

2. To examine how seed morphology influences the probability of dispersal by the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), we studied seed ingestion, retention time and subsequent egestion and germination of seeds of Sparganium emersum and Sagittaria sagittifolia, two aquatic plant species with similar sized but morphologically different seeds.

3. We compared dispersal probabilities between the two plant species, in which the probability of dispersal is assumed to be a function of the probabilities of seed ingestion, egestion and germination, and the dispersal distance is assumed to be a function of seed egestion rate over time.

4. We found that, although the soft seeds of S. sagittifolia had an approximately 1.5 times higher probability of being ingested by the carp than the hard seeds of S. emersum (83.15% ± 1.8% versus 56.16% ± 2.7%, respectively), the latter had an almost twofold higher probability of surviving the passage through the digestive tract (38.58% ± 2.7% versus 20.97% ± 1.5%, respectively). Patterns of seed egestion over time did not differ between the two plant species, despite the difference in seed morphology. Gut passage had a different effect on seed germination between plant species. Compared with non-ingested controls, seeds of S. emersum showed a 12.6% increase in germination and a 2.1 day acceleration in germination rate, whereas seeds of S. sagittifolia displayed a 47.3% decrease and 5.1 day delay, respectively.

5. Our results suggest that seed morphology affects the dispersal probability and postdispersal establishment, but not the dispersal distance, of aquatic plants that are dispersed by fish.

Novel B-site ordered double perovskite Ba2Bi0.1Sc0.2Co1.7O6-x for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction

Double perovskite Ba₂Bi_0.1Sc_0.2Co_1.7O_6-x (BBSC) demonstrates low polarization resistance between 600 and 750 °C due to the high oxygen reduction rate of BBSC as reflected by its large D_V and k values, which are derived from the face centered cubic structure and high cobalt content.

Application of Swales' model in research papers by non-native authors

This paper reports the investigation of the organisational structure of introductory sections of research papers written by Polish authors in English and Polish. The aim of the study was to test whether in view of cultural differences, reflected in the Anglo-American and Polish intellectual styles, the rhetorical pattern of research papers would vary between the two cultures. The selected texts were analysed in terms of Swales' Creating a Research Space (CARS) model (Swales 1990). On application of the model in the analysis of articles from the English corpus, it was found that it could only be employed in very generic terms. The analysis of the Polish corpus revealed that the Variation between Anglo-American and Polish schematic patterns was too significant to justify the implementation of the same investigative tool.

Deactivation and regeneration of oxygen reduction reactivity on double perovskite Ba2Bi0.1Sc0.2Co1.7O6−x cathode for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction and thermal gravimetric- differential thermal analysis on room-temperature powder, as well as X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy on quenched powder, were applied to study crystal structure and phase transformations in Ba₂Bi_0.1Sc_0.2Co _1.7O_6-x (BBSC). Heating BBSC in air to over 800 °C produces a pure cubic phase with space group Fm3m (no. 225), and cooling down below 800 °C leads to a mixture of three noncubic phases including an unknown phase between 200 and 650 °C, a 2H hexagonal BaCoO3 with space group P63/mmc (no. 194) between 600 and 800 °C, and an intermediate phase at 800 °C. These three phases exist concurrently with the major cubic phase. The weight gain and loss between 300 and 900 °C suggest the occurrence of cobalt reduction, oxidation, and disproportion reactions with dominant reduction reaction at above 600 °C. The thermal expansion of BBSC was also examined by dilatometry. BBSC has a highly temperature-dependent thermal expansion coefficient which relates well with its structure evolution. Furthermore, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of BBSC was probed by symmetrical cell and three-electrode configurations. The presence of hexagonal phase at 700 °C rarely affects the ORR performance of BBSC as evidenced by a slight increase of its area-specific resistance (ASR) value following 48 h of testing in this three-electrode configuration. This observation is in contrast to the commonly held point of view that noncubic phase deteriorates performance of perovskite compounds (especially in oxygen transport applications). Moreover, cathodic polarization treatment, for example, current discharge from BBSC (tested in three-electrode configuration), can be utilized to recover the original ORR performance. The cubic structure seems to be retained on the cathodic polarization - the normal cathode operating mode in fuel cells. Stable 72-h performance of BBSC in cathodic polarization mode further confirms that despite the presence of phase impurities, BBSC still demonstrates good performance between 500 and 700 °C, the desired intermediate operating temperature in solid oxide fuel cells.

Recording Australian animation history

Animation has been practised in Australia from a relatively early stage in the worldwide history of cinematic animation, as evidenced by quite mature examples of cutout animation by cartoonist Harry Julius beginning in 1912. It may therefore seem odd that there is comparatively little written of its history. In America and Europe established histories of animation have been recorded. The growth of the medium in these other countries led to the comparatively early establishment of institutions teaching its history and practice.

The pioneering years of Australian animation (1900–1930): from animated sketches to animation empire

This article describes the very earliest beginnings of Australian animation, detailing the events, processes, and the people who pioneered this medium from approximately 1900 to 1930. It examines these early achievements, which range from the first ‘animated lightning sketches’ to the rise and subsequent demise of a major animation studio. Much of this article focuses on the innovative work of Harry Julius (1885–1938) who is generally regarded as the chief pioneer of animation in Australia. However, as this article reveals, there were others who experimented with animation before Julius, and there were a number of artists and animators who worked alongside him in those early decades. Together, Julius and team built the very successful Sydney-based studio, Cartoon Filmads, which developed into what could only be described as an ‘animation empire’ with a robust national and international reach. This article details some of the authors’ extensive research surrounding these previously overlooked cinematic efforts, and carefully analyses these in terms of content, production, audience reception and international context.