Open Research Exeter - University of Exeter
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Transnational Moroccan Cinema: critical dialogues
No full textSince the early 2000s, Moroccan cinema has emerged as a major force in the Maghreb and African cinema, driven by digital technologies, international collaborations and co-production, and a focus on authentic storytelling.
This edited collection explores the complexities of Moroccan cinema's transnational dimensions, moving beyond a purely postcolonial framework to examine its global impact, political significance and diverse influences.
Featuring contributions from leading international scholars in African, Arab and transnational cinema studies, alongside film critics, educators and filmmakers from Morocco, the collection analyses cinema production, distribution and reception within global networks, highlighting the dynamic interplay between local contexts and international trends.</p
Pathogens spread by high-flying wind-borne mosquitoes
No full textMosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue threaten billions of people and cause the death of hundreds of thousands annually. Recent studies have revealed that many mosquito species regularly engage in high-altitude wind-borne migration, but its epidemiological significance remains unclear. The hypothesis that high-flying mosquitoes spread pathogens over long distances has not been directly tested. Here, we report that high-flying mosquitoes are commonly infected with arboviruses, protozoans, and helminths and provide a insights into this pathogen-vector aerial network. A total of 1,017 female mosquitoes intercepted on nets suspended from helium balloons at 120 to 290 m above ground over Mali and Ghana were screened for infection with arboviruses, Haemosporida, and filariae. The mosquitoes collected at altitude comprised 61 species, across 10 genera, dominated by Culex, Aedes, and Anopheles. Infection and infectiousness (capacity to transmit a pathogen to another host inferred based on disseminated infection) rates of migrant mosquitoes were 7.2% and 4.4% with Plasmodium spp., 1.6% and 0.6% with filariae, and 3.5% and 1.1% with flaviviruses, respectively. Twenty-one mosquito-borne pathogens were identified, including Dengue, West Nile, and M'Poko viruses, 15 avian Plasmodium species including Plasmodium matutinum, and three filariids, including Pelecitus sp. Confirmed head-thorax (disseminated) infections of multiple pathogens in Culex perexiguus, Mansonia uniformis, and Anopheles squamosus reveal that pathogens carried by high-altitude wind-borne mosquitoes are capable of infecting hosts far from their departure location. This high-altitude traffic of sylvatic pathogens (circulating in wild animals) may be key to their maintenance among enzootic foci as well as initiating outbreaks at distant locations.</p
Characterising migratory bird assemblages in understudied regions by integrating radar and citizen science data
No full textAim: Migratory birds are declining globally. In regions where bird migration patterns remain poorly documented, comprehensive data and tools are needed to advance conservation efforts, support sustainable development and fulfil international biodiversity commitments. We aim to enhance understanding of migratory birds in understudied regions by quantifying migration dynamics and identifying overlooked species, using Eastern Australia as a model to demonstrate how multi-method approaches can resolve uncertainties in migration patterns. Location: Eastern Australia. Time Period: 2018–2022. Major Taxa Studied: Migratory birds. Methods: We estimated migration phenology from eBird data in ten regions across Eastern Australia based on abundance changes of species throughout the year; we cross-validated phenology estimates with those estimated from movement traffic measured by weather radar. We identified species with movement indicative of migration in each region and investigated their legal protection status in Australia. Results: Radar and eBird data showed strong correlations in mid-latitude regions (Victoria to Southeast Queensland), with median migration dates aligning closely, but weaker agreement in Tasmania and tropical Queensland. We identified 311 species with fluctuations of relative abundance suggestive of migration—far exceeding prior estimates—averaging > 90 migratory species per region. Eleven of 18 avian orders included migratory taxa, but legal protection varied: 70% of migratory Charadriiformes (e.g., internationally migrating shorebirds) were listed under national law. In contrast, Passeriformes, Psittaciformes, Anseriformes, primarily moving within Australia, have lower representation, with only 19% of identified Passeriformes formally protected. Main Conclusions: This study uncovers a hidden diversity of migratory birds in Australia, many of which lack formal protections, especially short-distance and intracontinental migrants. We recommend additional conservation measures and targeted surveys focused on these species to better assess threats and support nature-positive development, including potentially impactful renewable energy projects. Our approach—combining radar and citizen science data—offers a replicable framework to document and protect poorly understood migratory systems globally.</p
What is method under annihilation? Notes on queerness, death and data
No full textDeath no longer equates the sociological doom and gloom of the death drive; rather, death and the beyond become the anti-imperial outpost from which we speak, think and live otherworldly – the last outpost from which we “write ourselves into existence”, so to speak.</p
Co-creating sustainability innovations in a tourism destination: a participatory research design from Barcelona
No full textThis study introduces a participatory research design for co-creating sustainability innovations in tourism destinations by integrating complexity and design science within a participatory action research framework. Applied with 29 stakeholders in Barcelona, the approach combined semi-structured interviews, participatory systems mapping, collaborative design thinking, and reflective evaluation. Stakeholders engaged with visual tools, playful methods, and time-bound design sprints, which were perceived as more inclusive and empowering than conventional policy roundtables. The sequential layering of methods fostered purpose and progress, enabling collaboration among actors who do not typically work together. The research design translated complex sustainability challenges into actionable innovations and built consensus around collective solutions. Findings show that the approach strengthens stakeholder understanding of policymaking, builds trust, empowers collaborative innovation, and supports knowledge transfer between participants and researchers.</p
Weapons allometry, sexual selection and inbreeding depression in the broad-horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus
No full textThe broad-horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus is sexually dimorphic and notably males have enlarged mandibles which females lack. This species has been studied extensively, particularly in the context of sexual selection and conflict. In this thesis, I first provide a general introduction to inbreeding (depression) and sexual selection, and their consequences for traits and their evolution (Chapter 1). Then, using the beetles, I conducted one generation of full-sib mating (i.e. inbreeding) to study i) allometry of the sexually selected mandibles and likely form of selection acting on those traits (Chapter 2) and ii) sex-specific inbreeding effects on morphological traits (Chapter 3). I report that the mandibles showed strong positive allometry but surprisingly, they seem to be under stabilising selection due to lack of inbreeding depression. Also, the response to inbreeding was sex-specific with effects observed in males but not females. This male-biased inbreeding effects can be explained by stronger sexual selection on males. Overall, this work indicates that although estimating selection is often challenging, partly because the form of selection could change over time, inbreeding can be employed as a powerful tool for assessing the nature of selection acting upon traits.</p
Popular Healing: Christian and Islamic Practices and the Roman Inquisition in Early Modern Malta - research database
No full textThis database relates to a British-Academy funded project, 'Popular Healing: Christian and Islamic Practices and the Roman Inquisition in Early Modern Malta', conducted by Catherine Rider and Dionisius A. Agius. The Inquisitions which operated in southern Europe, and in Portuguese and Spanish colonies outside Europe, in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries recorded the cases of many people from across early modern society who were accused, or accused others, of religious offences including magic and superstition. A major focus of these accusations was the use of magical ‘remedies’, which were used to diagnose and cure illnesses (especially illnesses deemed to have been caused by magic) or arouse love. Early modern witchcraft and magic have been the focus of many recent studies, but the records of the Roman Inquisition preserved in Malta have the potential to expand this scholarship by shedding light on an area which still remains largely unexplored: the interaction between Christians and Muslims in the areas of magic, illness and healing. The records of the Roman Inquisition in Malta, held in the Metropolitan Chapter Archives in Mdina are unusually rich sources for exploring this area because the Maltese archipelago had a substantial minority of Muslim slaves owned by the Knights of St John who ruled the islands, who formed one of the most numerous slave populations in the Christian Mediterranean. Both Christian and Muslim inhabitants of Malta came before the Inquisition to make accusations of magic, or to respond to accusations made against them, and the records show that certain Muslim slaves, like some Christians, worked as medical practitioners on the island, offering 'magical' cures and curing 'magical' illnesses.This project asked a series of research questions focusing on the relationship between perceptions of Islam and magical healers, in the period 1598-1608:- Did healers from different faiths or backgrounds offer distinctive remedies, or were they perceived to do so?- Were certain kinds of practitioner especially likely to be described as frauds or magicians, and were Muslim slaves who offered healing particularly vulnerable to these accusations?- How were practitioners chosen, and were there networks of healers who worked together?</p
Temporary carbon dioxide removals to offset methane emissions
No full textUnlike CO 2 , methane emissions have a particularly large short-term effect on temperature. We argue that these largely temporary temperature effects of methane emissions are apt to be offset by temporary CO 2 removal. Temporally matching offsetting temperature reductions to the temperature impulse of methane eliminates the sizable intertemporal welfare transfers that occur when methane is offset by equivalent permanent CO 2 removals. Assessing equivalence based on avoided economic damages suggests that about 87 temporary CO 2 removals over a period of 30 years are needed to offset 1 t of methane. Agreement on the appropriate quantity of temporary CO 2 offsets is insensitive to controversial parameters such as the social discount rate, climate damages and future emission scenarios. Short-term monitoring periods of 20–30 years are likely to be more credibly enforceable for various nature-based CO 2 removal projects than long-term monitoring requirements.</p
Preliminary assessment of the ecological sustainability of a data‐limited small‐scale shark fishery in India
No full textSmall-scale fisheries support millions of people globally, but if poorly monitored and managed, they can negatively impact threatened marine species like sharks. We explore approaches to assess the ecological sustainability of an extremely data-limited, small-scale fishery for blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) in Goa, India. We use an adapted expert elicitation approach, modified to suit local fishing communities, to collect data on shark catch and develop exploratory population models to understand conditions under which the fishery could be sustainable. An estimated 13,881–15,616 newborn blacktip sharks are targeted and captured annually by gillnets across our study sites. Our adapted expert elicitation protocol can serve as a rapid, cost-effective, and inclusive method to obtain critical data for conservation planning, especially in data-limited, Global South contexts. Our population models reveal that the current levels of shark harvesting are unlikely to be sustainable and can only continue if harvest rates are reduced by at least half and if the current local shark population is relatively high. Our study provides crucial information to inform conservation decision-making, highlighting the need for urgent intervention to regulate Goa's shark fishery. Working with the local community and understanding the socio-economic dimensions of this fishery can help identify appropriate conservation interventions.</p
Microvascular Function in Type 2 Diabetes
No full textBackground: Microvascular dysfunction underlies many of the debilitating
complications associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), yet their development and
progression remains poorly understood. Traditional assessments of capillary
microscopy have detected few abnormalities beyond morphological changes,
and the impact of endothelial glycocalyx (EG) loss on microvascular function in
vivo is unclear.
Aims: This study aimed to (1) assess EG integrity (via perfused boundary region
[PBR]) in individuals with T2DM, with and without microalbuminuria, compared to
controls; (2) examine associations between EG integrity and established
measures of microvascular function; and (3) evaluate capillaroscopic parameters
in the hands and feet of T2DM participants versus controls.
Methods: Non-invasive microvascular imaging was performed in a total of 408
participants, recruited across two clinical trials. Techniques included capillary
microscopy (density, flow volume and velocity, spacing heterogeneity).
Measurement of maximum and peak reactive hyperaemia, iontophoresis of
acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside (endothelial dependent and independent
vasodilation), and sublingual microscopy for estimation of EG integrity.
Results: T2DM participants exhibited capillary rarefaction in the hand,
accompanied by increased domain area and spacing heterogeneity, without
differences in flow velocity or volume. Maximum hyperaemia was impaired in
T2DM participants with microalbuminuria, while reactive hyperaemia and
endothelial (in)dependent vasodilation responses were unchanged. Loss of EG
integrity correlated with reduced maximum hyperaemia in T2DM participants;
however, there was no evidence that EG loss was more prevalent in T2DM, or
T2DM+MA groups compared to controls.
Conclusion: This study highlights microvascular structural and functional
abnormalities in T2DM. While EG disruption was linked to impaired MH, no
greater EG loss was observed in T2DM. These findings partially support the role
of EG dysfunction in microvascular impairment and identify areas for further
investigation