New vernaculars and feminine ecriture; twenty-first century avant-garde film

This practice-based research project explores the parameters of – and aims to construct – a new film language for a feminine écriture within a twenty first century avant-garde practice. My two films, Radio and The New World, together with my contextualising thesis, ask how new vernaculars might construct subjectivity in the contemporary moment. Both films draw on classical and independent cinema to revisit the remix in a feminist context. Using appropriated and live-action footage the five short films that comprise Radio are collaged and subjective, representing an imagined world of short, chaptered ‘songs’ inside a radio set. The New World also uses both live-action and found footage to inscribe a feminist transnational world, in which the narrative is continuous and its trajectory bridges, rather than juxtaposes, the stories it tells. Both the films and the contextualising written text flag the possibility of new approaches at the intersections between cinema, poetry, feminism and critical theory. Drawing on the work of a number of filmmakers, feminists, writers and poets - including Abigail Child, Scott MacDonald, Betzy Bromberg, Christopher MacLaine, Chris Kraus, Eileen Myles and others - I describe the possibilities of cross-pollination of media and approaches. Through interrogating the methodologies of feminist, independent, mainstream & experimental films, their use of protagonists, montage, mise en scene and soundtrack, I argue that my two films have developed new vernaculars, which offer the potential to constitute a new feminine écriture through a knowing revival of cinema as a form of exploratory language. In addition to the constituting force of the films themselves, questions of identity and the current and potential future of film are interrogated via the writings of such cultural theorists, philosophers and artists such as Svetlana Boym, Lauren Berlant, and Christian Marclay

An institutional analysis of sasi laut in Maluku, Indonesia

This study provides an understanding of the extent and functioning of community based coastal resource management systems in Maluku province, Indonesia and suggests recommendations for national, provincial and village government to support, maintain and develop effective traditional and indigenous resource management institutions. The study has shown that the Sasi Laut has benefits that can be used as a basis for building local level management institutions.Fisheries, Co-management, Resource management, Indonesia,

Here and now: perceptions of Indian Ocean islanders on the climate change and migration nexus

Empirical studies exploring the links between climate change and migration are increasing. Often, perceptions are not fully explored from the people most affected by the climate change and migration nexus. This article contributes to filling this gap by eliciting and analyzing perceptions regarding climate change and migration from an understudied population labelled as being amongst those most immediately and directly affected by climate change: Indian Ocean islanders. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted in two case study communities in Maldives (Kaafu Guraidhoo with 17 interviews and Raa Dhuvafaaru with 18 interviews) and two case study communities in Lakshadweep, India (Kavaratti with 35 interviews and Minicoy with 26 interviews). The results present the interviewees’ perceptions of climatic variability and change that they experience; how they perceive the causes of these changes; and links to migration decisions. The interviews demonstrate that perceptions of climate change, of migration, and of the links or lack thereof between the two are centred on the interviewees’ own experiences, their own locations, and the immediate timeframe. External information and direction has limited influence. Their perceptions are framed as being the ‘here and now’ through topophilia (here) and tempophilia (now). The islanders’ views do not avoid, but rather encompass, long-term livelihoods and the future. Such a future might be in another location, but the anchor is expressing future hopes and aspirations through the here and now. It is not linked to the wide-scale, long-term issue of climate change

Outstanding challenges in the transferability of ecological models

Predictive models are central to many scientific disciplines and vital for informing management in a rapidly changing world. However, limited understanding of the accuracy and precision of models transferred to novel conditions (their ‘transferability’) undermines confidence in their predictions. Here, 50 experts identified priority knowledge gaps which, if filled, will most improve model transfers. These are summarized into six technical and six fundamental challenges, which underlie the combined need to intensify research on the determinants of ecological predictability, including species traits and data quality, and develop best practices for transferring models. Of high importance is the identification of a widely applicable set of transferability metrics, with appropriate tools to quantify the sources and impacts of prediction uncertainty under novel conditions

The Consumption of Wild Edible Plants

Wild edible plants are of great importance in both former and current human societies. Their use embodies evolutionary trends, continuing interactions between men and nature, relevant traditional knowledge, and cultural heritage. A conceptual approach to wild edible plants, including the contribution of such species to people's diets and daily lives, focusing on nutritional and cultural value, food sovereignty and security, as well as the huge legacy for future generations, leads to a general overview of new tendencies and availability of wild plant resources according to geographic regions. The potential benefits and the continual need for conservation strategies of plants, habitats, and associated knowledge are also discussed, enhancing biodiversity and biocultural patrimony. Finally, some examples of culturally significant edible wild plants are described, emphasizing the importance of knowledge transmission and sustainable uses in a changing world.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pseudo-nitzschia physiological ecology, phylogeny, toxicity, monitoring and impacts on ecosystem health

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Harmful Algae 14 (2012): 271-300, doi:10.1016/j.hal.2011.10.025.Over the last decade, our understanding of the environmental controls on Pseudo-nitzschia blooms and domoic acid (DA) production has matured. Pseudo-nitzschia have been found along most of the world's coastlines, while the impacts of its toxin, DA, are most persistent and detrimental in upwelling systems. However, Pseudo-nitzschia and DA have recently been detected in the open ocean's high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll regions, in addition to fjords, gulfs and bays, showing their presence in diverse environments. The toxin has been measured in zooplankton, shellfish, crustaceans, echinoderms, worms, marine mammals and birds, as well as in sediments, demonstrating its stable transfer through the marine food web and abiotically to the benthos. The linkage of DA production to nitrogenous nutrient physiology, trace metal acquisition, and even salinity, suggests that the control of toxin production is complex and likely influenced by a suite of environmental factors that may be unique to a particular region. Advances in our knowledge of Pseudo-nitzschia sexual reproduction, also in field populations, illustrate its importance in bloom dynamics and toxicity. The combination of careful taxonomy and powerful new molecular methods now allow for the complete characterization of Pseudo-nitzschia populations and how they respond to environmental changes. Here we summarize research that represents our increased knowledge over the last decade of Pseudo-nitzschia and its production of DA, including changes in worldwide range, phylogeny, physiology, ecology, monitoring and public health impacts

Defining and modeling known adverse outcome pathways: Domoic acid and neuronal signaling as a case study

An adverse outcome pathway (AOP) is a sequence of key events from a molecular-level initiating event and an ensuing cascade of steps to an adverse outcome with population-level significance. To implement a predictive strategy for ecotoxicology, the multiscale nature of an AOP requires computational models to link salient processes (e.g., in chemical uptake, toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics, and population dynamics). A case study with domoic acid was used to demonstrate strategies and enable generic recommendations for developing computational models in an effort to move toward a toxicity testing paradigm focused on toxicity pathway perturbations applicable to ecological risk assessment. Domoic acid, an algal toxin with adverse effects on both wildlife and humans, is a potent agonist for kainate receptors (ionotropic glutamate receptors whose activation leads to the influx of Na + and Ca 2+ ). Increased Ca 2+ concentrations result in neuronal excitotoxicity and cell death, primarily in the hippocampus, which produces seizures, impairs learning and memory, and alters behavior in some species. Altered neuronal Ca 2+ is a key process in domoic acid toxicity, which can be evaluated in vitro. Furthermore, results of these assays would be amenable to mechanistic modeling for identifying domoic acid concentrations and Ca 2+ perturbations that are normal, adaptive, or clearly toxic. In vitro assays with outputs amenable to measurement in exposed populations can link in vitro to in vivo conditions, and toxicokinetic information will aid in linking in vitro results to the individual organism. Development of an AOP required an iterative process with three important outcomes: a critically reviewed, stressor-specific AOP; identification of key processes suitable for evaluation with in vitro assays; and strategies for model development. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:9–21. © 2010 SETACPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78481/1/373_ftp.pd

Dictyotaceae (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) species from French Polynesia: current knowledge and future research

The coral reefs of French Polynesia (FP) have experienced repeated macroalgal blooms over the last decades. These events have prompted intense efforts in fundamental and applied research on macroalgae in this ecoregion, especially regarding species of the order Fucales (Turbinaria ornata and Sargassum pacificum). Recently, however, these proliferations have occurred with a higher frequency, and they now involve additional species. Specifically, over the past decade, the abundance of species belonging to the Dictyotaceae family (e.g., Dictyota bartayresiana and Spatoglossum asperum) has increased on coral reefs around Tahiti Island, the largest and most inhabited island in FP. On the course of evolution, these species have developed physical and chemical defenses to deter grazers, including the production of a wide array of specialized metabolites. These molecules are of particular interest for their promising biological activities as well as for the new Blue Economy opportunities they can offer to FP. We review the current state of knowledge on the diversity, ecology, and potential uses of Dictyotaceae species present in FP. The first section focuses on the diversity and distribution of the family Dictyotaceae in FP. The second part examines the ecological dynamics of Dictyotaceae species in the coral reef ecosystem and their response to various environmental factors. The third and final part reviews the metabolites known from Dictyotaceae species that are present in FP, their associated biological activities, and potential for the development of biotechnological applications in FP