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An extended description of Anthrenus (Anthrenops) coloratus Reitter (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Megatominae), the type species for the subgenus Anthrenops Reitter
Get PDFThe descriptions of many Dermestidae species are brief, often inadequate for modern day taxonomic purposes, especially for species described in the 18th and
19th centuries. Anthrenus coloratus is such a species. Anthrenus coloratus from Italy is described in detail. Images of external (habitus, ventrites, antennae) and
internal (aedeagus, male sternite IX, female sternite VIII, female tergite VIII, bursal copulatrix sclerites) characters are provided. Even though A. coloratus is the type species for the subgenus Anthrenops, images of most of these structures are published for the first time
Transforming arable and dairy farming systems by adopting anaerobic digestion and recirculating aquaculture systems to address the demand for sustainable profitability, environment and diets
Get PDFUK agricultural systems face pressures from environmental targets, policy reform, and market volatility, requiring innovative strategies for resilience and sustainability. This study examines integrating anaerobic digestors (AD, 500 kW) and recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS, 157 m³/unit) in arable and dairy farms. Using a 2022 farm data-based linear programming model, we evaluate the economic viability of producing renewable energy and warm-water prawns alongside traditional outputs. Results show significant profit gains: AD alone boosts Net Margins by 24% in arable farms, while combined with RAS can increase margins by up to 56%. For dairy, AD effects are modest (5%), but RAS can improve margins by 70%, often replacing AD due to lower returns. These technologies recycle nutrients from digestate and waste, supporting circular economy goals. AD–RAS synergies maximise energy and heat recovery, with RAS enabling local seafood that reduces import dependence, carbon leakage, and ecological damage from overseas shrimp farming. Despite high capital costs, complexity, and energy price sensitivity, findings highlight AD and RAS’s potential for sustainable diversification, align with UK net-zero and biodiversity goals, and improve resource efficiency, lower emissions, and conserve land. We conclude that integrated AD and RAS are viable paths to enhance farm resilience and deliver economic, environmental, and dietary benefits amid agricultural transition
A time-capsule for Students as Partners 2034: what we left behind, what we’ve taken with us, and what we hope will be
Get PDFComparative consciousness research in ecological context: elephants, macaques, plovers, and a case against plant consciousness
No full textIn this article, I demonstrate the value of the pathological complexity thesis for comparative consciousness research. I discuss how Ristau’s piping plover research illuminates links between life-history complexity and intentionality. How Sinha’s bonnet macaque studies demonstrate how social drivers of pathological complexity predict self-awareness and mindreading capacities. And how Ross’s discussion of elephant life histories and consciousness allows us to compare the phenomenology if humans and elephants. Finally, I address Yilmaz’s discussion of the case for plant consciousness
Permeable screens, porous borders: encountering Samuel Beckett’s works for television with Bracha L. Ettinger’s Theory of the Matrixial
No full textThis thesis examines encounters with alterity, vulnerability and suffering in a selection of
Samuel Beckett’s works for television and does so specifically through the lens of Bracha L.
Ettinger’s theory of the Matrixial, a feminist reformulation of the relationship between self and
other. Bringing together works that were written for television and works that were adapted for
television, it analyses televised productions of Not I (1977), Eh Joe (1966/1990), Footfalls
(1990), Rockaby (1990), Ghost Trio (1977) and …but the clouds… (1977) that were made for
the BBC and Süddeutscher Rundfunk in Germany. Paying attention to the material reality of
how these productions are encountered now – on VHS tape, DVD, as digital files and online –
a situated analysis is used to consider the impact that the material realities of the screen-based
image have on the affective, aesthetic and ethical questions that the works for television raise.
Drawing together the encounters that take place in the plays and the encounters that they
engender, each chapter unpacks a different aspect of Matrixial theory in relation to the physical
and subjective borders that are negotiated in and with the plays. As well as exploring the impact
that Beckett’s own working practices and collaborations have had on the works for television,
the thesis also considers how the work of several other artists and practitioners helps to
illuminate the encounters in and with Beckett’s work. Shifting the focus from artistic influence
and authorial intention, the encounter and its feminist aesthetic application provides a unique
perspective on Beckett’s works for television as we find them today
Beyond empowerment: gendered labour and social reproduction in rural Nigeria
No full textThis article explores gendered intrahousehold labour dynamics in cassava-producing households in South-west Nigeria, moving beyond conventional empowerment narratives to interrogate how labour is organized, valued and controlled within a rural agrarian community. Using a mixed-methods approach with sex-disaggregated survey data collected from 570 households, and in-depth interview and focus groups discussion, this study considers how labour is distributed within the household along the cassava value-chain and its structure through gendered norms and power hierarchies. It reveals that while men increasingly outsource physically demanding agricultural tasks such as land preparation and harvesting due to access to mechanization and hired labour, women’s labour workloads remain intensive and unchanged, mostly concentrated in manual processing, marketing and unpaid reproductive work. The study shows divergence in male and female spouse reports of participation in labour activities. By applying a feminist political economy lens, this study shows that women’s intensive labour in cassava production reflects structural incorporation into gendered labour regimes rather than empowerment. It challenges assumptions of collaborative household labour by revealing how women’s work sustains agrarian accumulation while remaining undervalued and invisible. This advances existing studies by shifting the focus from participation to the structural conditions that reproduce labour exploitation
Bridging the scale gap: enhancing point-scale rainfall estimates by post-processing ERA5
Get PDFAccurately estimating rainfall distributions, from small to extreme totals, is crucial for addressing various environmental challenges, including flood forecasting, water resource management, and disaster preparedness. Global Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models can provide useful rainfall estimates; yet, they often misrepresent point-scale observations from rain gauges, underestimating the frequency of small rainfall totals and underestimating extreme values. This study provides a systematic, global verification of four NWP-modelled rainfall datasets with different resolutions - ERA5’s Ensemble Data Assimilation (62 km, probabilistic), ERA5’s short-range forecasts (31 km, deterministic), short-range ECMWF reforecasts for cycle 46r1 (18 km, control run), and ERA5-ecPoint (point-scale, probabilistic) - against 20 years of point-rainfall observations from rain gauges around the world. The models’ ability to represent the entire rainfall distribution, including extreme rainfall, was assessed. Overall, the higher spatial resolution of NWP models enables a more accurate representation of gauge-based climatologies. Nonetheless, ERA5-ecPoint provides the most accurate representation, capturing the frequency of zeros, the growth rates of rainfall totals, and the wet tails more accurately. Moreover, due to its probabilistic nature, ERA5-ecPoint can estimate long return periods (e.g., 1000 years and more), offering insights into extremely rare or unprecedented events at specific locations. The model significantly improves performance in flat, hilly/mountainous regions. In very mountainous areas (e.g., the Andes), it underestimates zero rainfall totals and overestimates the length of the wet tails. These findings underscore the importance of using post-processing to enhance the local-scale validity of global NWP models. Moreover, as climate change intensifies extreme rainfall events, these findings are crucial for estimating accurate long-period rainfall climatologies, as needed for effective mitigation and resilience building, particularly in areas lacking comprehensive and reliable rain gauge records
How can conscientious brands best influence consumers’ sustainable behaviours? The role of sustainable brand equity in consumer responses to carbon offsetting messages
No full textConscientious brands are emerging as key drivers of sustainable consumption. With limited research on effectively communicating conscientious brands and nudging consumers to adopt sustainable behaviours, this research explores how conscientious brands can best influence consumers' sustainable actions by analysing the impact of sustainable brand equity in consumer responses to carbon offsetting messages. Two online experiments were conducted. Study 1 (n=202) examined the interaction effect of message depth and sustainable brand equity on outcome expectations and subsequent carbon offset purchase. Results indicated that deep claims are significantly more effective in raising consumer outcome expectation and subsequent purchase intention. Sustainable brand equity strengthens the impact of deep and shallow claims while decreasing the effectiveness gap between the two claim types. Study 2 (n=390) examined the moderating effect of mean-end visuals on the relationship between message depth and outcome expectation. Results confirmed the interaction effects that mean-visual enhances the impact of deep claim, whereas end-visual strengthens the effect of shallow claim. This paper expands the existing literature on conscientious brands, focusing specifically on articulating conscientious value proposition that can effectively motivate consumers to engage in sustainable behaviours
Whose experiences shouldn't be missed? Influence of social media endorsers and FOMO content on travel decisions
Get PDFWhile fear of missing out (FOMO) laden content influences audiences’ perceptions and sense of urgency, using FOMO appeals to impact decisions among social media audiences remains largely unexplored. This paper addressed this research gap by presenting the findings of two studies investigating the influence of various endorsers and the interaction with audience demographics on travel-related decisions. Study 1 (n=238) was a cross-sectional survey to validate the hypothesized model. The findings from Study 1 indicate that anticipated elation, anticipated envy, and social influence are associated with personal FOMO, which in turn predicts intentions to visit and recommend. The same pattern is observed for social FOMO, although anticipated elation does not serve as a predictor. Study 2 (n=746) was an online experiment to examine the interaction effect of FOMO content endorsers and audience gender and age on travel decisions. Results indicated that travelers’ FOMO-laden reviews are more effective in influencing males, whereas influencers are more influential than other endorsers in affecting females. While younger audiences are more susceptible to FOMO content than mature individuals, no interaction with endorsers is observed, suggesting a consistent and more potent effect across different endorsers. This research contributes to the growing knowledge of FOMO advertising on social media. Specifically, it provides an understanding of the interaction of FOMO content endorsers and audience demographics on travel decisions
Stronger influence of the tropical Atlantic on interannual variability of Northern Hemisphere land monsoon rainfall since mid-1990s
Get PDFUncovering predictability sources of Northern Hemisphere land monsoon rainfall (NHLMR) is a vital importance for disaster prevention and mitigation as well as sustainable economic development. Using observations from 1971 to 2020, the present study reveals a regime shift of the tropical oceanic drivers of the interannual variation of NHLMR. We show that the interannual variation of NHLMR is dominated by a zonal sea surface temperature (SST) contrast in the tropical Pacific and a uniform SST pattern in tropical Atlantic, and accompanied by a dipole SST pattern in the tropical Indian Ocean. While the relationship of NHLMR with tropical Pacific remains stable over the past five decades, the relationship with tropical Atlantic is strengthened around the mid-1990s. Observations and numerical experiments demonstrate that decadal warming of the tropical Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, associated with the phase transition of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, is the main contributor to the enhanced influence of the tropical Atlantic on NHLMR after mid-1990s by modulating the pan-tropical Walker circulation