Open Research Exeter - University of Exeter
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Commoning and energy poverty: thinking beyond the private doctrine
No full textThis paper argues for policy solutions addressing energy poverty to look beyond the level of individual households. Drawing on commons thinking and recent turns in geographical literature to the idea of commoning as a post-capitalist response to the managing of needs and resources, this paper addresses keeping warm as a human need that can be met collectively. Through empirical research in ‘warm spaces’, which are community-led responses to the growing problem of energy poverty in the United Kingdom, the paper reframes typical understandings of energy poverty as an individual or household problem by demonstrating the value of more collective responses. Community warm spaces in Devon were visited over the winter of 2022–2023, and qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with both providers and users. Using this evidence, we demonstrate that community warm spaces can also combat loneliness and isolation, providing a cross-benefit to simply staying warm. Energy poverty and food insecurity are also closely linked, and these spaces tended to address multiple needs that were exacerbated by high costs of living, poor housing and low incomes. The key contribution of this paper is that energy poverty should be framed as a social rather than an individual challenge, bringing commons-based approaches into the discourse on tackling energy poverty</p
Behavioural ecology in the twenty-first century
No full textBehavioural ecology research has explained traits from foraging and cooperation to mating strategies and sex allocation. However, the size and interdisciplinary nature of this research can obscure the broader contributions that behavioural ecology has made and the major tasks for the future. We first assess the contributions of behavioural ecology to fundamental science, for both understanding nature and the scientific method. Second, we explore the application of behavioural ecology research to global challenges, from pests and pathogens to conservation and mitigating human impact. In all cases, progress has relied on a hypothesis-driven approach that combines mathematical modelling with empirical testing and the strategic choice of simplifying assumptions.</p
Smoking Cessation Advisors’ Perspectives on Pregnant Women’s Attitudes on the Risks and Consequences of Smoking While Pregnant
No full textSmoking while pregnant is known to increase infant mortality, morbidity and can have adverse effects on children’s physical and mental development. Despite strong evidence and public health efforts, cessation support for pregnant smokers remains inconsistent across UK maternity services. Objectives: To investigate smoking cessation advisors’ perspectives on pregnant women’s attitudes and beliefs about smoking during pregnancy and the perceived risks to the unborn child. Methods: Ten smoking cessation advisors, from ten different hospital sites in London and Kent, participated in a focus group. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. Results: Three main themes were identified: (1) building a positive relationship, (2) pregnant smokers’ awareness of health risks, and (3) informative techniques used by smoking cessation advisors. While based on a single focus group, the findings suggest that while many pregnant smokers recognise the health risks, this awareness alone may not lead to cessation. Conclusions: Adopting a person-centred approach that considers pregnant smokers’ knowledge, beliefs, and emotional readiness may help advisors deliver timely and appropriate information to encourage cessation. Practice implications could benefit from a more structured yet flexible framework to guide sensitive discussions about smoking risks and to reinforce the potential benefits of quitting for both maternal and foetal wellbeing.</p
Comparative Responsiveness of Preference-Based Health-Related Quality of Life, Social Care and Wellbeing Measures in the Context of Multiple Sclerosis
No full textObjectivesTo provide evidence on the responsiveness of social care and well-being preference-based measures (PBMs) compared with health-related quality of life PBMs in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS).MethodsThe ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A) and Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) were completed online in September 2019, March 2020, September 2020, via the UK MS Register. Responses were linked to EQ-5D-3L and MS Impact Scale-8 Dimensions (MSIS-8D) values, and to MS Walking Scale-12, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Fatigue Severity Scale scores. Responsiveness was assessed in relation to minimal important differences on MS Walking Scale-12, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Fatigue Severity Scale between time points, using mean change scores, t tests, standardized effect sizes, standardized response means, and multivariable regression analyses.ResultsData from 1742 people with MS were available for analysis. When using standardized values, MSIS-8D showed the greatest responsiveness and EQ-5D-3L the least. In contrast, when absolute utility values were used, EQ-5D-3L performed similarly to MSIS-8D and better than ICECAP-A and ASCOT. Standardized regression analyses indicated the MSIS-8Ds to be the most responsive, followed by the ASCOT, ICECAP-A, and EQ-5D-3L.ConclusionsThe ICECAP-A, ASCOT, and MSIS-8D were more responsive than the EQ-5D-3L in the context of MS when compared using standardized scores. The increased responsiveness of EQ-5D-3L when absolute values were used seems an artefact of the wide-ranging scale of this measure. This illustrates how the maximum potential range of values for a given PBM tariff could influence whether an intervention is found to be cost-effective.</p
An Economic Model of the French Revolution
No full textWe offer a new economic perspective on the French Revolution by analyzing how an elite commitment problem and trade policy shaped revolutionary dynamics. We develop a complete-information game-theoretic model in which revolution can occur on the equilibrium path. By formalizing the interaction between democratization and trade policy, our model explains when revolution may occur with some probability. Unlike models with incomplete information, where revolutions may be mistakes, our approach shows that revolution occurs only when it is beneficial for the rest of society. Paradoxically, we show that revolution could occur only because there was sufficient trust in the Ancien Régime.</p
Offshore installation vessels stability considerations
No full textThe temporary phases of an offshore structure transport require a specialised vessel. The transport vessels may be powered, a Heavy Transport Vessel (HTV) or require towing, a cargo barge. Intact stability, both GM and GZ curves, and damage stability need to be considered. This article outlines the temporary phase definition, marine warranty requirements, typical transport vessels, incidents and stability enhancement. This article covers project cargo used for onshore modularisation projects, renewable (in particular transformer substations) for offshore wind farms, offshore modules and floating cargo.</p
Skill, Chance, and Social Harm: The Legislative Turn in India’s Gaming Law
No full textThis article examines India’s new legislation that imposes a comprehensive ban on online money games, regardless of whether they are games of skill, chance, or mixed formats. The law marks a decisive departure from the century-old jurisprudential framework established under the Public Gambling Act 1867 and reinforced by landmark cases such as R.M.D. Chamarbaugwalla v. Union of India, which entrenched the skill-chance divide. By foregrounding the socioeconomic harms of online money gaming-ranging from addiction and financial distress to youth vulnerability, the Indian Parliament has reframed the regulatory discourse away from technical classifications toward public welfare. Drawing on comprehensive financial analysis of major gaming platforms, documented suicide statistics, and behavioral studies, this article demonstrates that these companies’ business models are structurally predicated on user exploitation through aggressive promotional spending and addictive design features. The article situates this legislative shift against a backdrop of fragmented judicial interventions and state-level prohibitions, where prior blanket bans were struck down as unconstitutional. The article argues that the ban is both constitutionally defensible and normatively justified, supported by empirical evidence showing that online money gaming causes measurable harm across financial, mental health, and social dimensions that cannot be mitigated through the traditional skill-chance distinction.</p
Microplastics as Vectors of Antimicrobial Resistance in Aquatic Systems
No full textMicroplastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are typically viewed as discrete issues, but there are unexplored dynamics between them. A bridging niche between these planetary threats is the ‘Plastisphere’: microbial communities associated with plastic debris. AMR pathogens may be enriched in Plastisphere communities; however, the unique threat that microplastics pose in supporting AMR remains unknown. To address this gap, successive in vitro, in situ and in vivo experiments are described within this thesis.
A literature review (Chapter 1) first highlighted three hypotheses and several outstanding research questions, which dictated the experimental design of four data chapters. In Chapter 2, culture-based biofilm extraction methods were experimentally compared, with an optimised protocol recommended. This method was used in Chapter 3 to explore if different substrates vary in the communities they support; identifying that polystyrene and wood supported AMR faecal bacteria, and sewage-derived polyethylene bio-beads supported pathogenic Escherichia coli. All substrates from Chapter 3 were then incubated along a transect in situ, from highly polluted hospital wastewater to marine surface waters (Chapter 4). Metagenomic analyses identified over 100 unique AMR gene (ARG) sequences in microplastic samples, with an overall increase of ARG prevalence moving downstream across all samples - demonstrating the ability for AMR to persist in environmental settings within the Plastisphere. Polystyrene was again found to support AMR, alongside polyethylene nurdles. From this, it was proposed that microplastics could act as vectors for AMR within the food chain, where microplastic-attached communities may be accidentally ingested by filter-feeders of commercial importance, such as mussels. Chapter 5 addressed this hypothesis by exposing Mytilus edulis to a co-exposure of microfibres and sewage, finding that exposure to microfibres alone selected for faecal indicator organisms and AMR. Finally, Chapter 6 took a broader perspective and explored the ways that plastic raw material extraction, manufacture and use may also influence AMR.
Future work should build on these findings so that evidence-based recommendations can be made to improve environmental monitoring and reduce reliance on potentially high-risk substrates for AMR selection, persistence and spread.</p
Think global, act local? Fortune 500 business strategies for sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11)
No full textThe role of business towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) has been well-established. However, SDG contextualization continues to pose a conundrum, particularly for firms operating in multiple contexts. This becomes even more problematic in the case of SDG 11, the only goal in the sustainable development agenda directly focusing on cities and local communities. Building upon a thematic analysis of Fortune 500 sustainability reports and related data, the study reveals four business strategies towards contextualizing and contributing to the underexplored SDG 11: reducing their own negative impact, outsourcing community support, mobilizing context-relevant competences, and reshaping the community fabric. Importantly, I then synthesize the findings into a matrix and unpack how each of the four strategies represents a distinctive way of business thinking and acting sustainably (local/global), providing theoretical and practical implications for SDG contextualization and the achievement of SDG 11.</p
The results: How Britain voted in 2024
No full textWith the repeal of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act in 2022, the power to call a general election returned to the Prime Minister. The latest possible date was 28th January 2025, and speculation around its timing had been mounting. One criticism of the UK’s lack of fixed terms is that it often benefits the governing party, prompting political pundits to try and calculate the optimal moment for the Conservatives to hold the contest. Most believed it would be November. However, Rishi Sunak surprised the nation, and even his own party, by calling the election on the 22nd May, setting polling day for 4th July 2024—the first July general election since 1945. Although he made the announcement around 5pm, news of an imminent speech had been circulating for much of the day. This gave protesters time to organize musical demonstrations, though it was not enough time for Sunak to check the weather and bring an umbrella. Standing in the rain, with ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ playing in the background, the Prime Minister did not look like he held the advantage.</p