scholarly journals Introductory Chapter: Dyes and Pigments - Past, Present, and Future

Author(s):  
Raffaello Papadakis
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
John Marmysz

This introductory chapter examines the “problem” of nihilism, beginning with its philosophical origins in the ideas of Plato, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger. It is argued that film is an inherently nihilistic medium involving the evocation of illusory worlds cut loose from objective reality. This nihilism of film is distinguished from nihilism in film; the nihilistic content also present in some (but not all) movies. Criticisms of media nihilism by authors such as Thomas Hibbs and Darren Ambrose are examined. It is then argued, contrary to such critics, that cinematic nihilism is not necessarily degrading or destructive. Because the nihilism of film encourages audiences to linger in the presence of nihilism in film, cinematic nihilism potentially trains audiences to learn the positive lessons of nihilism while remaining safely detached from the sorts of dangers depicted on screen.


Author(s):  
Pål Kolstø ◽  
Helge Blakkisrud

Russian societal nationalism comes in various guises, both ethnic and imperialist. Also Putin’s rhetoric is marked by the tensions between ethnic and state-focused, imperialist thinking. Noting the complex interplay of state nationalism and societal nationalism, this introductory chapter examines the mental framework within which Russian politicians were acting prior to the decision to annex Crimea. The chapter develops a typology of Russian nationalisms, surveys recent developments, and presents the three-part structure of this book: official nationalism, radical and other societal nationalisms, and identities/otherings. It concludes that after the annexation of Crimea, when the state took over the agenda of both ethnic and imperialist nationalists in Russia, societal nationalism finds itself at low ebb.


Author(s):  
Nancy Woloch

This introductory chapter provides an overview of single-sex protective laws. The longevity of protective laws rests in part on reformers' bifocal defense. The goal of such laws, their proponents claimed, was to compensate for women's disadvantages in the labor market and to serve as the linchpin of a larger plan to achieve wage-and-hour standards for all employees. This double-planked rationale—though contradictory—proved versatile and enduring; it suited constituents with varied priorities. Protective laws' longevity also rested on effective social feminist organization and, after 1920, on the federal Women's Bureau. In retrospect, single-sex protective laws were an unwieldy means to achieve egalitarian ends—or what women reformers of the 1920s called “industrial equality.” However, critics charged that the laws failed to redress disadvantage and even compounded it. Protection's supporters also confronted developments they could not anticipate and shifts in attitude they could not foresee.


Author(s):  
Justin Farrell

This introductory chapter briefly presents the conflict in Yellowstone, elaborates on the book's theoretical argument, and specifies its substantive and theoretical contributions to the social scientific study of environment, culture, religion, and morality. The chapter argues that the environmental conflict in Yellowstone is not—as it would appear on the surface—ultimately all about scientific, economic, legal, or other technical evidence and arguments, but an underlying struggle over deeply held “faith” commitments, feelings, and desires that define what people find sacred, good, and meaningful in life at a most basic level. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.


Author(s):  
Biancamaria Fontana

This introductory chapter provides an account of Germaine de Staël's approach to politics that brings out the independence and originality of her contribution. Its main focus is the evolution of her views in the years 1789 to 1800, when she had the opportunity to take part (albeit intermittently) in French political life, and to set forth projects and strategies connected with it. The chapter touches only on Staël's best-known—and more widely studied—fictional and literary works, though naturally these do also have some political relevance. It has been suggested that the protracted exile into which she was forced during the empire was at the origin of Staël's major literary achievements, as it provided her with both the opportunity and the incentive to develop her true potential as a writer.


Author(s):  
Alan L. Mittleman

This introductory chapter first considers the concept of human nature, raising questions such as how human nature and nature as such are related, and how are both related to person. It then turns to what the Jewish tradition says about human nature. It sets out the book's focus, namely a dialogue between contemporary perspectives and traditional Jewish thoughts on human nature. Both sides have something to gain from the dialogue; both have something to lose from shunning it. Judaism risks intellectual irrelevance by failing to engage with the challenges of contemporary thought. Contemporary thought risks attenuating its moral seriousness if it ignores one of the sources of Western civilization. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reda M. El-Shishtawy ◽  
Abdullah M. Asiri ◽  
Nahed S. E. Ahmed

Background: Color effluents generated from the production industry of dyes and pigments and their use in different applications such as textile, paper, leather tanning, and food industries, are high in color and contaminants that damage the aquatic life. It is estimated that about 105 of various commercial dyes and pigments amounted to 7×105 tons are produced annually worldwide. Ultimately, about 10–15% is wasted into the effluents of the textile industry. Chitin is abundant in nature, and it is a linear biopolymer containing acetamido and hydroxyl groups amenable to render it atmospheric by introducing amino and carboxyl groups, hence able to remove different classes of toxic organic dyes from colored effluents. Methods: Chitin was chemically modified to render it amphoteric via the introduction of carboxyl and amino groups. The amphoteric chitin has been fully characterized by FTIR, TGA-DTG, elemental analysis, SEM, and point of zero charge. Adsorption optimization for both anionic and cationic dyes was made by batch adsorption method, and the conditions obtained were used for studying the kinetics and thermodynamics of adsorption. Results: The results of dye removal proved that the adsorbent was proven effective in removing both anionic and cationic dyes (Acid Red 1 and methylene blue (MB)), at their respective optimum pHs (2 for acid and 8 for cationic dye). The equilibrium isotherm at room temperature fitted the Freundlich model for MB, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 98.2 mg/g using 50 mg/l of MB, whereas the equilibrium isotherm fitted the Freundlich and Langmuir model for AR1 and the maximum adsorption capacity was 128.2 mg/g. Kinetic results indicate that the adsorption is a two-step diffusion process for both dyes as indicated by the values of the initial adsorption factor (Ri) and follows the pseudo-second-order kinetics. Also, thermodynamic calculations suggest that the adsorption of AR1 on the amphoteric chitin is an endothermic process from 294 to 303 K. The result indicated that the mechanism of adsorption is chemisorption via an ion-exchange process. Also, recycling of the adsorbent was easy, and its reuse for dye removal was effective. Conclusion: New amphoteric chitin has been successfully synthesized and characterized. This resin material, which contains amino and carboxyl groups, is novel as such chemical modification of chitin hasn’t been reported. The amphoteric chitin has proven effective in decolorizing aqueous solution from anionic and cationic dyes. The adsorption behavior of amphoteric chitin is believed to follow chemical adsorption with an ion-exchange process. The recycling process for few cycles indicated that the loaded adsorbent could be regenerated by simple treatment and retested for removing anionic and cationic dyes without any loss in the adsorbability. Therefore, the study introduces a new and easy approach for the development of amphoteric adsorbent for application in the removal of different dyes from aqueous solutions.


Author(s):  
Muna Ali

This introductory chapter presents three vignettes that illustrate the four narratives that frame this book: the notion of an identity crisis among young Muslims, the purported conflict between a “pure or true” Islam and a “cultural” Islam, an alleged “Islamization of America,” and the imperative for creating an American Muslim community and culture. It also sketches the methodology employed in the book, detailing the centrality of a narrative framework from the inception of this project to its methods, the challenges encountered, the analysis, and ultimately to the production of this ethnographic narrative. This beginning chapter argues that narrative is a particularly useful way to examine identity.


Author(s):  
Julian Murphet

This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for the substantive analyses to follow. It foregrounds Faulkner’s profound continuing attachment to romance tropes which his more modernist aesthetic sensibilities would increasingly deem invalid. It argues that Faulkner’s primary artistic challenge was finding ways and means to “manage” his anachronistic romanticism, via technical strategies of omission, repression, and tropological masking. The chapter both considers the lingering aesthetic ideology of romance in the modern United States, especially the South, and outlines a genealogy of literary tactics Faulkner was able to employ in order to discipline it, before introducing the major new formal device for which he was responsible: masking romance with figures taken from the new media system.


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