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This project examines representations of hospitality across contemporary visual culture in France, a world leader in cultural production mythologised as 'the hospitable nation'. Through a cross-media analysis of selected 21st-century film, photography and art, this project will show not only what French visual culture reveals about French hospitality today, but also how it informs an understanding of hospitality itself, as the relationship between 'inside' and 'outside', 'host' and 'guest'. Namely, this project will illuminate artists' challenge to traditional parameters of hospitality through their redefinition of both the concept and its practices in engagement with the current contexts of contemporary France.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at www.rcuk.ac.uk/StudentshipTerminology. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Teacups is a bespoke Ginger Beer produced in cask by The Funfair Brewing Company at their microbrewery in Elston. Funding is sought to research the characteristics of this product in a bottle after pasteurization and the effects of bottling on the shelf life. Plans to supply this product into winder distribution chains and for the export market demand the development of it's IP and consistent properties through bottling.

his application describes the first integrated theoretical-empirical study of a major feature of almost all ecologies: namely repellent anti-predator defences. Predation is a fundamental process in the structuring of ecological communities, allowing energy flow from primary producers to higher trophic levels. Predation, and the need of potential prey to avoid attack, is also one of the most pervasive causes of co-evolution in ecological communities. Although great strides have been made in understanding the mechanistic functioning of anti-predator defences, here we take a more ecological view, seeking to explore whether general trends can be seen in variation in the extent of such defences within and among species. This requires integration of knowledge of the effectiveness of defences with consideration of their costs. In particular, we will focus on the taxonomically and ecologically widespread case of toxins and other chemical defences. Chemical defences are particularly common among ectotherms and have been intensively studied from a mechanistic and physiological viewpoint. Further, the distribution of such defences have been considered both taxonomically and geographically. However, there is currently no predictive theory on optimal levels of investment in repellent anti-predator defences, within which such empirically-derived patterns can be interpreted. This stands in contrast to the intense theoretical attention that has focussed on the evolution and maintenance of 'aposematic' signals that can warn potential predators of such chemical defences. However, existing aposematism theory can make no predictions about variation in optimal levels of secondary defences since this theory treats such defences in a simplistic manner as fixed traits that are not subject to selection. The small number of previous works that have sought to determine optimal investment in constitutive secondary defences implicitly assume that although chemical defences act to reduce predation in immature life-history stages, the physiological cost of such defences is only manifest as reduced fecundity in the adult stage. However, there is abundant empirical evidence that acquisition of toxins can slow juvenile growth rates. Hence, the key trade-off is ecological: in that investment in defence increases the chance of surviving an attack, but may increase exposure to attacks by slowing growth rate and so increasing time to maturity. The fact that mathematical treatments of optimal defences have ignored this trade-off greatly limits the taxonomic applicability of these models. Hence, this trade-off lies at the heart of our proposed study. Thus, the aims of this project are to: 1. Provide the first general predictive theory of investment in anti-predator defences, and how this changes with ontogeny, life history and ecology. 2. Parameterise this model using existing empirical relationships and purpose designed experiments. 3. Use this model to make predictions about how investment in defence should change for different ecological situations, life-history strategies and developmental stages. 4. Evaluate these predictions using existing and purpose-collected comparative data. Specifically we will construct state-dependent dynamic programming models to explore the following five issues: a) the effects of external ecology on investment in defence b) the relation between life-history and investment in defence c) the relationship between activity, microhabitat exploitation and investment in defence d) the evolutionary ecology of sequestering versus synthesising of toxins e) the relation between investment in defence and ontogenic colour change This theoretical development will be supported by purposed designed experiments design to parameterise, evaluate and validate model assumptions, and by comparative analysis aimed at testing model predictions.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Mercury is a highly toxic, naturally occurring metal that causes significant harm to both human and ecosystem health. Mercury emissions come from a range of industrial processes, notably large scale combustion. Such industries have an ever growing need to detect and measure Mercury amongst the gaseous substance being released to atmosphere. Mercury is a notoriously difficult element to detect and measure. There are a number of technologies that have been implemented over the last 20 years. Some of these are commercially available as analytical products; current mercury analysers suffer from issues of size, complexity, cost, incomplete measurements and robustness. Protea Limited has previously developed Ultraviolet (UV) analysers in its range of stack gas analysers for "standard" gases. This project aims to further develop this technology and apply it to mercury, with the advantage of offering in-situ analysis of total mercury on a continuous basis. It will overcome the existing shortfall of samples being required to be removed from a stack or chimney. It will also provide continuous data to allow operator intervention, and compile records for monitoring emissions. Environmental benefits are at the heart of what this technology can do and the field that Protea has been working in for 20 years. Making environmental gas monitoring simple and accurate will benefit industrial operators looking to looking to understand and control their emissions. Protea Limited is a UK based SME who are developing significant export sales and this project will further boost international trade for the UK.

Nitrogen-containing compounds, including glycine betaine (GBT), choline and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) are ubiquitous in marine organisms. They are used by marine organisms as compatible solutes in response to changes in environmental conditions, such as increasing salinity, because they do not interfere with cell metabolism. They also have beneficial effects in protecting proteins against denaturation due to chemical or physical damage. In the marine environment, these compounds are frequently released from these organisms directly into seawater due to changing environmental conditions, such as by viral lysis or grazing. The released nitrogenous osmolytes serve as important nutrients for marine microorganisms, which can use them as carbon, nitrogen and energy sources. It is well known that the degradation of these nitrogenous osmolytes contribute to the release of climate-active gases, including volatile methylamines. Methylamines are important sources of aerosols in the marine atmosphere, which help to reflect sunlight and cause a cooling effect on the climate. Our NERC-funded research is starting to understand the microbial metabolism of these compounds and their seasonal cycles in the coastal surface seawater, but our understanding across the world's oceans is limited. Of particular importance to the Earth's climate is the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is an important player in the Earth climate system, and is an ideal region to study ocean-atmosphere connections because of its isolation from continental emissions and the strong circumpolar atmospheric circulation, rendering its air pristine. Opportunities to study the Southern Ocean are rare however, and it remains under sampled even for the most routine measurements compared to the rest of the World's oceans. We have a unique opportunity within the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) to make measurements and collect samples around the entire Southern Ocean, and near Antarctica. Twenty one other international projects will also be conducting research from the same expedition, and six of these projects have excellent links to our research. Unfortunately, there are no plans for after the expedition for the projects to collaborate and integrate data, which is a real missed opportunity. This proposal aims to develop a new international network with six ACE projects and use post-cruise activities to exploit data and knowledge generated to capitalise on our NERC-funded research on nitrogenous osmolytes and to increase its international breadth.

UT's has developed an intelligent air brick (AirEx) that measures temperature & humidity and regulates airflow accordingly by opening/closing embedded air-vents using IoT-enabled algorithms. By replacing existing air bricks, AirEx is proven to deliver a 10-15% reduction on energy bills whilst maintaining indoor air-exchange. AirEx has thus far been optimised for energy efficiency, but we now want to build on its capabilities as an indoor air quality (IAQ) management system. For this project, we therefore want to integrate AirEx into an existing smart-heating control system to develop the first retrofittable smart-heating and ventilation control system ("IVH" - Intelligent Heating & Ventilation") to optimise heating efficiency whilst maintaining air-exchange to improve IAQ. Phase 1 will enable us to design an integrated system with a technology partner and to develop a plan for a Phase 2 trial in conjunction with at least one key customer.

This project focuses on 'informal settlements' in South Africa (SA), which are often characterised by the lack of basic services and infrastructure (eg safe sanitation, reliable electricity), poorly performing building materials (eg wood, cardboard, metal sheets, mud) without any building plans approved and often on illegally-accessed and hazardous land. The idea that the communities in informal settlements should be involved in improving their homes and neighbourhoods is often discussed in the international development community. However, the tools and processes needed to ensure a successful upgrade of environmental and construction management are poorly understood, and top-down policies used by central and local government in SA have not been successful to date. If communities can improve their neighbourhoods through participatory techniques, enhancing construction skills and using available materials, then there could be local, regional and national environmental, social and economic benefits. The research seeks to explore the underpinning barriers and enabling drivers for communities to upgrade their informal settlements in SA. The central question for this research is how can participatory approaches be utilised in an environmental and construction management strategy to achieve self-reliance in informal settlements in Durban. This question will be investigated under six discrete project phases. Phase 1: Local Context and Gap Analysis (UKZN) -Examining factors that have helped communities in Durban upgrade their housing and communities, and barriers to upgrading. Phase 2: Mapping Urban Transitions through Community Participation (Westminster) Through a participatory action-research methodology, the project team will produce findings on bottom-up construction and environmental management in Namibia Stop 8 (NS8) with the involvement of the community living there. NS8 is a good practice case study in Inanda, Durban. Phase 3: Integrated Closed-Loop Environmental Management Systems (UCL with UKZN) - Exploring the potential of closed-loop systems where wastewater generated from NS8 can be reused for agriculture. - Investigating the processes, partnership models and business models required to ensure resilient infrastructure is provided. Phase 4: Skills Enhancement in Construction (Westminster) - Mapping the skills developed and enhanced through the 'self-build' approach adopted in NS8. - Transferring lessons from the UK Government Construction 2025 Strategy. Phase 5: Developing and Testing an Integrated Collaborative Toolkit (Westminster and UKZN) - Bringing together the key findings of individual Phases 1 to 4, this toolkit will take the form of a dynamic decision-making model, which will map potential ways for communities, businesses, and policymakers to collaborate. It will also identify the resources required, skills developed, and the business models created for mobilising private sector involvement and economic growth. Phase 6: Project Management, Communication and Dissemination (Westminster with UKZN) - Allocating around 10% of the total cost of grant to communicate and disseminate findings to a varied audience. The dissemination strategy will include: project website, branding, social media, dissemination material, and dissemination events (UK and SA). The research findings are intended to impact on SA government policy and practice in the field of sustainable urban transitions, building on best practice from the UK. However, this does not negate the potential to transfer knowledge from SA back to the UK or elsewhere. The intended target audience includes local communities seeking to enhance their quality of life and well-being and local authorities enhancing their planning. The research outputs can be also utilised by international agencies (eg UN), policy-makers and practitioners working on upgrading programmes, plans and policies, particularly under the SDG post-2015 development agenda.

"Solomonic enables litigation professionals to use structured, systematic data analysis when making litigation decisions. We do this by methodically analysing and indexing court documents based on a large number of criteria. This is visualised on an online dashboard through visual tools such as graphs, charts and tables. This enables legal professionals to speed up litigation research considerably and provide structured insights that they otherwise would not have the capability to deliver. To date, we have developed a dashboard for one court, the Commercial Court. This has demonstrated market demand for this product. Even before full commercial launch we have two partner organisations (a large law firm and a litigation fund), and a top 5 and top 10 law firm interested in signing up to the product. However, data collection to date has been very manual and time-intensive. We estimate that for each case it currently takes roughly three hours to collect and validate the data collected (with large variations depending on the complexity of the case). For the 850 cases collected to date, that would be the equivalent of 2550 FTE hours of combined employee time. This is very expensive and will limit the speed at which Solomonic will be able to grow. Maintaining the accuracy of the data that we collect is vital to providing a platform that is valuable to our customers and has credibility in the market. This project will investigate the feasibility of applying machine learning algorithms to the large-scale collection of accurate data from court documents. This will enable Solomonic to rapidly scale up the number of courts in the UK legal system that are covered and in due course to expand into other Commonwealth jurisdictions."